Plan of Civil Service Mains Examination

The competitive examination comprises two successive stages :

Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective Type) for the selection of candidates for

Main Examination; and

Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview) for the selection of candidates for the

various services and posts.

The Preliminary Examination will consist of two papers of Objective type (multiple choice questions)

and carry a maximum of 450 marks in the subjects set out in subsection (A) of Section II with penalty

being given to wrongly marked answer. This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only;

the marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for

admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit. The

number of candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination will be about twelve to thirteen times

the total approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year in the various Services and Posts.

Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary

Examination in a year will be eligibe for admission to the Main Examination of that year provided they

are otherwise eligible for admission to the Main Examination.

The Main Examination will consist of a written examination and an interview test. The written

examination will consist of 9 papers of conventional essay type in the subjects set out in sub-section

(B) of Section II. Also see Note (ii) under para I of Section II (B).

Candidates who obtain such minimum qualifying marks in the written part of the Main Examination as

may be fixed by the Commission at their discretion, shall be summoned by them for an interview for a

Personality Test vide sub-section 'C' of Section II. However, the papers on Indian Languages and

English will be of qualifying nature. Also see Note (ii) under para 1 of Section II (B). The marks obtained

in these papers will not be counted for ranking. The number of candidates to be summoned for

interview will be about twice the number of vacancies to be filled. The interview will carry 300 marks

(with no minimum qualifying marks).

Marks thus obtained by the candidates in the Main Examination (written part as well as interview)

would determine their final ranking. Candidates will be allotted to the various Services keeping in view

their ranks in the examination and the preferences expressed by them for the various Services and

posts.

Scheme and subjects for the Preliminary and Main Examinations.

Preliminary Examination

The examination will consist of two papers.

Paper I General Studies 150 marks

Paper II One subject to be selected from the list of optional subjects set out in Para 2 below

300 marks

Total 450 marks

List of Optional subjects for Preliminary Examination.

Agriculture

Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science

Botany

Chemistry

Civil Engineering

Commerce

Economics

Electrical Engineering

Geography

Geology

Indian History

Law

Mathematics

Mechanical Engineering

Medical Science

Philosophy

Physics

Political Science

Psychology

Public Administration

Sociology

Statistics

Zoology

Note

Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions).

The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English.

The course content of the syllabi for the optional subjects will be of the degree level. Details of

the syllabi are indicated in Part A of Section III.

Each paper will be of two hours duration. Blind candidates will, however, be allowed an extra

time of twenty minutes at each paper.

Penalty for wrong answer.

 

Main Examination

Paper I

One of the Indian languages to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution

300 marks

Paper II English 300 marks

Paper III Essay 200 marks

Papers IV and V

General Studies300 marks (for each paper)

Papers VI, VII, VIII and IX

Any two subjects to be selected from the list of the optional subjects set out in para 2 below. Each subject will have two papers.

300 marks (for each paper)

  Interview Test will carry 300 marks.

Note

The papers on Indian Languages and English will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard

and will be of qualifying nature; the marks obtained in these papers will be not counted for

ranking.

The papers on Essay, General Studies and Optional Subjects of only such candidates will be

evaluated as attain such minimum standard as may be fixed by the Commission in their

discretion for the qualifying papers on Indian Language and English.

The paper-I on Indian Languages will not, however, be compulsory for candidates hailing from

the North-Eastern States of Arunachanl Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland

and also for candidates hailing from the State of Sikkim.

For the Language papers, the script to be used by the candidates will be as under

Language Script

Assamese Assamese

Bengali Bengali

Gujarati Gujarati

Hindi Devanagari

Kannada Kannada

Kashmiri Persian

Konkani Devanagari

Malayalam Malayalam

Manipuri Bengali

Marathi Devanagari

Nepali Devanagari

Oriya Oriya

Punjabi Gurmukhi

Sanskrit Devanagari

Sindhi Devanagari or Arabic

Tamil Tamil

Telugu Telugu

Urdu Persian

Bodo Devanagari

Dogri Devanagari

Maithili Devanagari

Santhali Devanagari & Olchiki

Note: For Santhali language, question Paper will be presented in Devanagari script; but candidates will

be free to answer either in Devanagari script or in Olchiki.

List of optional subjects for Main Examination

Agriculture

Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science

Anthropology

Botany

Chemistry

Civil Engineering

Commerce and Accountancy

Economics

Electrical Engineering

Geography

Geology

History

Law

Management

Mathematics

Mechanical Engineering

Medical Science

Philosophy

Physics

Political Science and International Relations

Psychology

Public Administration

Sociology

Statistics

Zoology

Literature of one of the following languages :

Arabic, Assamese, Bengali, Chinese, English, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,

Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Pali, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit, Sindhi,

Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.

Note

Candidates will not be allowed to offer the following combinations of subjects

o Political Science & International Relations and Public Administration;

o Commerce & Accountancy and Management;

o Anthropology and Sociology;

o Mathematics and Statistics;

o Agriculture and Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science.

o Management and Public Administration;

o Of the Engineering subjects, viz., Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and

Mechanical Engineering-not more than one subject.

o Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science and Medical Science.

Each paper will be of three hours duration. Blind candidates will, however be allowed an extra

time of thirty minutes at each paper.

Candidates will have the option to answer all the question papers, except the language papers

viz. Papers I and II above in any one of the languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the

Constitution or in English.

Candidates exercising the option to answer papers III to IX in any one of the languages

included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution may, if they so desire, give English version

within brackets of only the description of the technical terms, if any, in addition to the version

in the language opted by them.

Candidates should, however, note that if they misuse the above rule, a deduction will be made

on this account from the total marks otherwise accruing to them and in extreme cases, their

script(s) will not be valued for being in an unauthorised medium.

The question papers other than language papers will be set both in Hindi and English.

The details of the syllabi are set out in Part B of Section III

General Instructions (Preliminary as well as Main Examination) :

Candidates must write the papers in their own hand. In no circumstances, they will be allowed

the help of a scribe to write the answers for them. However, blind candidates will be allowed to

write the examination with the help of a scribe.

The Commission have discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all the subjects of the

examination.

If a candidate's handwriting is not easily legible, a deduction will be made on this account from

the total marks otherwise accruing to him.

Marks will not be allotted for mere superficial knowledge.

Credit will be given for orderly, effective and exact expression combined with due economy of

words in all subjects of the examination.

In the question papers, wherever required, SI units will be used.

Candidates should use only international form of Indian numerals (i.e. 1,2,3,4,5,6 etc.) while

answering question papers.

Candidates will be allowed the use of Scientific (Non-Programmable type) calculators at the

conventional (Essay) type examination of UPSC. Programmable type calculators will however

not be allowed and the use of such calculators shall tantamount to resorting to unfair means

by the candidates. Loaning or interchanging of calculators in the Examination Hall is not

permitted. It is also important to note that candidates are not permitted to use calculators for

answering objective type papers (Test Booklets). They should not therefore bring the same

inside the Examination Hall.

Interview test

The candidate will be interviewed by a Board who will have before them a record of his career. He will

be asked questions on matters of general interest. The object of the interview is to assess the personal

suitability of the candidate for a career in public service by a Board of competent and unbiased

observers. The test is intended to judge the mental calibre of a candidate. In broad terms this is really

an assessment of not only his intellectual qualities but also social traits and his interest in current

affairs. Some of the qualities to be judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear

and logical exposition, balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion

and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity.

The technique of the interview is not that of a strict cross-examination but of a natural, though

directed and purposive conversation which is intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate.

The interview test is not intended to be a test either of the specialised or general knowledge of the

candidates which has been already tested through their written papers. Candidates are expected to

have taken an intelligent interest not only in their special subjects of academic study but also in the

events which are happening around them both within and outside their own state or country as well as

in modern currents of thought and in new discoveries which should rouse the curiosity of well educated

youth.UNDERSTAND the scenario thoroughly as soon as you walk into the interview.Observe each one on the other side subtly and acknowledge them gracefully. You need not bend your back trying to please them,just be as close to your real self as possible.

USE your plus points effectively while trying not to give out your minus.By this ,I mean, if you are good at conversation,then go ahead and converse. But if you bungle things normally while talking, try to answer to the point.

UPDATE yourself thoroughly with Current Affairs and the country's political scenario. This may help you in starting a discussion about problems facing the country, especially something close to your

heart.UPSCPORTAL.COMUPSCPORTAL.COMPLEASING PERSONALITY- Everyone can always approach a person it he does not have a wall built around himself.Thus having a cheerful & approachable manner can instantly build a rapport with the other side and they can remember you amongst hundreds of aspirants.

UPSCPORTAL.COMUPSCPORTAL.COMPROVIDE a true picture of yourself instead of making tall claims of your achievements.Remember, you have already cleared the exam & that itself is proof enough. So do not bore them by boasting too much about how effective an officer you will be.Send across a signal of co-operation & willingness to learn.

UPSCPORTAL.COMPOSITIVE APPROACH can go a long way in an oral interview.When you are positive,even the most cynical interviewer can begin to get positive vibes.I know, it is a bit difficult, but then in all your life, even in future this may help in solving many a problems.

SMILE- They say, " A Smile can take you Miles". That holds good here too.As soon as they see your smiling face, they know you have come willingly & earnestly for this post. It also infuses a bit of Patriotism to your Personality automatically.

UPSCPORTAL.COMUPSCPORTAL.COMSTRAIGHT FROM THE HEART- This is a very important aspect of a UPSC interview. Mainly you shall be tested for your honesty, integrity & leadership qualities. So whatever you say, should be what you truly believe in & heartfelt.Analyse rationally, and put forth your point of view in as few words as possible. Do not give long lectures.It may work against you.

UPSCPORTAL.COMCONFIDENCE is what you should possess all throughout the interview. Whatever you answer, be confident, Do not criticise the current leaders and confidently say that you can do a better job than them, then it backfires. Otherwise maintain the air of confidence, so that they know you are capable of leading a sector with a managerial quality.

UPSCPORTAL.COMCONSISTENCY WITH CLARITY- You need to be consistent in whatever you say. If you keep changing your opinions all along, you shall be categorized as trying to pull the wool over their eyes. Hence be Clear & Consistent in your approach to a situation.Communication too should be very clear in words as well as diction.

UPSCPORTAL.COMUPSCPORTAL.COMWell, guys, what are you waiting for? See which areas you are strong & which areas you need to improve yourself. Just work towards it slowly & steadily, & I am sure we shall see some of you guys heading some important portfolios!! Al the Best to each one of you!!

Attributes UPSC is Looking ForExtent, depth of knowledge, practical knowledge, fluency, forceful, logic, rationality, clearheaded,

analytical, systematic, practical approach, realistic, alive to facts and limitations, convincing ability.

Self confidence, self assuredness, initiative, enterprise, drive, dash, push, motivation, courage, pluck,

guts, promptness to take decisions, determination, perseverance, judjement, industry, energy, effort,

hardwork, power of command, willingness to take risks.

Cheerful, pleasant, lively, eager, alert, ambitious, smart turnout, poise, graceful movements, confident

approach, straight walk, looking into eyes while speaking, straight spine.

Positive thinking. Confident and determined approach. Optimistic. Hopeful. Sense of right and wrong.

No unreasonable fear. No persecution complex.No jealousy. No irritable nature.

Clear aim and objective. Ambition and goal in life. Planning, Methodical and systematic approach,

Mobilisation and utilisation of resources. Discipline. Loyalty. Integrity. Moral values. Sincerity.

Honor killing in India

Recently, there has been a spate of honor killings in the country and this has led the government to decide what laws should be put in place to stop this heinous crime. More than 1,000 young people in India have been done to death every year owing to 'Honor Killings' linked to forced marriages and the country needs to introduce stringent legislation to deal firmly with these heinous crimes. Supreme Court has said the government must explain what it is doing to prevent "honor killings". Taking note of the rise in "honor crimes", the Supreme Court demanded responses from the federal government and state governments of Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Honor killing is the murder of any family member or social group member by other people due to the belief of perpetrators who feel that the murdered persons actions have brought dishonor upon the family or group. The loose term "honor killing" applies to killing of both males and females in cultures that practice it. Human Right’s definition for Honor Killing is:

Honor crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a variety of reasons, including: refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce—even from an abusive husband—or (allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that "dishonors" her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life

The most watched scenes of honor killing in our country are reflecting that this is a death that is awarded to a man or woman of the family for marrying against the parent’s wishes, having extramarital and premarital relationships, marrying within the same gotra (Brahmins use gotra for deciding marriages) or outside one’s caste or marrying a cousin from a different caste. In fact we have had a tradition of honor killing. This tradition was first viewed in its most horrible form during the Partition of the country in between the years 1947 and 1950 when many women were forcefully killed so that family honor could be preserved. During the Partition, there were a lot of forced marriages which were causing women from India to marry men from Pakistan and vice-versa. And then there was a search to hunt down these women who were forced to marry a person from another country and another religion and when they returned ‘home’ they were killed so that the family honor could be preserved and they were not declared social outcastes from their region. At that time, the influence of religion and social control was much greater and hence there were at least a couple of honor killings a day, if not more. The partition years can be seen to be the beginning of the tradition of honor killing on a large scale. It’s worth mentioning here that Honor Killing is not specifically related to India only. This is a practice that continues to be prevailing in North and South America, Africa, Turkey and many other countries. But the thing that has to be kept in mind is that the number of incidents relating to this crime is very low and there is a very strict punishment for committing this crime in other countries. The misconception about honor killing is that this is a practice that is limited to the rural areas. The truth is that it is spread over such a large geographical area that we cannot isolate honor killings to rural areas only, though one has to admit that majority of the killings take place in the rural areas.

But it has also been seen recently that even the metropolitan cities like Delhi and Tamil Nadu are not safe from this crime because 5 honor killings were reported from Delhi and in Tamil Nadu; a daughter and son in law were killed due to marriage into the same gotra. Sociologists believe that the reason why honor killings continue to take place is because of the continued rigidity of the caste system. Hence the fear of losing their caste status through which they gain many benefits makes them commit this heinous crime. The other reason why honor killings are taking place is because the mentality of people has not changed and they just cannot accept that marriages can take place in the same gotra or outside one’s caste. The root of the cause for the increase in the number of honor killings is because the formal governance has not been able to reach the rural areas and as a result. Thus, this practice continues though it should have been removed by now.

We need to do something to prevent such a thing from happening. Firstly, the mentality of the people has to change. And when we say that the mentality has to change, we mean to say that parents should accept their children’s wishes regarding marriage as it is they who have to lead a life with their life partners and if they are not satisfied with their life partner then they will lead a horrible married life which might even end in suicide. Secondly, we need to have stricter laws to tackle these kinds of killings as this is a crime which cannot be pardoned because. Humans do not have the right to write down death sentences of innocent fellow humans.

Shipra Pandey

Honor killing in India

To be young and in love has proved fatal for many young girls and boys in parts of north India as an intolerant and bigoted society refuses to accept any violation of its rigid code of decorum, especially when it comes to women. The two teenage girls who were shot dead last week by a cousin in Noida for daring to run away to meet their boyfriends are the latest victims of honour killings, a euphemism for doing away with anyone seen as spoiling the family's reputation.

Many such killings are happening with regularity in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. These are socially sanctioned by caste panchayats and carried out by mobs with the connivance of family

members. The usual remedy to such murders is to suggest that society must be prevailed upon to be more gender-sensitive and shed prejudices of caste and class. Efforts should be made to sensitize people on the need to do away with social biases. But equally, it should be made clear that there is no escape for those who take justice into their own hands.

So far, there is no specific law to deal with honour killings. The murders come under the general categories of homicide or manslaughter. When a mob has carried out such attacks, it becomes difficult to pinpoint a culprit. The collection of evidence becomes tricky and eyewitnesses are never forthcoming. Like the case of Sati and dowry where there are specific laws with maximum and minimum terms of punishment, honour killings, too, merit a second look under the law.

In many cases, the victims who run away with 'unsuitable' partners are lured back home after FIRs are filed by their families. The police cannot be unaware that in many cases they are coming back to certain death at the hands of their relatives and fellow villagers. Yet, pre-emptive action to protect them is never taken. Undoubtedly, the virus of caste and class that affects those carrying out such crimes affects the police in the area too. But that can be no excuse to sanction murder.

More than 1,000 young people in India have been done to death every year owing to 'Honour Killings' linked to forced marriages and the country needs to introduce stringent legislation to deal firmly with the heinous crime, two legal experts have claimed.

Participating in International Child Abduction, Relocation and Forced Marriages Conference organised by the London Metropolitan University here, Chandigarh-based legal experts Anil Malhotra and his brother Ranjit Malhotra have said that in traditional societies, honour killings are basically 'justified' as a sanction for 'dishonourable' behaviour.

In a joint paper, they said: "Forced marriages and honour killings are often intertwined. Marriage can be forced to save honour, and women can be murdered for rejecting a forced marriage and marrying a partner of their own choice who is not acceptable for the family of the girl.

They said in India, honour killings happen with regularity in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. Though there was no nationwide data on the prevalent of honour killings in India, they quoted figures compiled by the India Democratic Women's Association, according to which Haryana, Punjab and U P account for about 900 honour killings and another 100 to 300 in the rest of the country.

"The total figure for India would be about the same as estimated for Pakistan, which researchers suggest has the highest per capita incidence of honour killings in the world."

They said the ministries of home affairs and the law and justice are preparing to amend the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to define the act of "honour killing".

The demand for such a law was made repeatedly with the objective of stamping out this social evil.

Vikas Singh

Should we hang all corrupt politicians

India is a largest democracy in the world..A country who gave birth to great souls like mahatama gandhi,guru nanak dev is trying hard to secure its prestige.Is it only because of our corrrupt politicians?A various discrepancies in usage of funds for commonwealthgames earned a worldwide bad name for the country.Commonwealth games were later ridiculed and termed as common man loot games?Is it not only because of our corrupt politicians?Recently 2G spectrum scam rocked the country and even the parliament for the whole winter session.Opposition was firm on JPC but government was also adamnant causing serious losses of crores of ruppee.BJP finds in JPC a way to come to power during next lok sabha elections thats why not trying to solve the deadlock.But who pays for these corrupt politicians?Its we the tax payers.2010 was really a year of das numbri.From time to time government was placed in a dock for its corrupt MPs.

What is it that even after 62 years of independence we are a country of 300 million poor people,where poverty is increasing day by day, where untouchability, caste system, bonded labour like practices still prevail today,where justice is denied to poor, bureaucrats, executives and judiciary are corrupt,where political parties instead of doing something constructive indulge in blame game. Why is it so?

our politicians are seen doing various promises during election campaigns not just relating to development but of providing basic amenities to people.Poor people lured, vote them .When these people come to power they turn their back towards poor voters.Its not just the case with one party.Its the case with almost every(just a mad race to come to power and nothing else).My heart really saddens whem i compare our country with european countries which are so developed,revolutionized.Are we any way less than people of these countries.Answer is no.Our constitutional systems is more fragile than theirs.The worse part is that we are not mooting laws relating to political reforms because law makers who sit at parliament are themselves not ready for so.For example there is a specified educational qualification required to get a job but no such qualification required for being an MP or an MLA.Other main folly of the constitution is that minister cannot be tried for anything done during his tenure.Thats why ministers like A Raja who incurred losses of 1.76 lakh crores to the country go unchecked by just handing over resignations from their posts.

Moreover if political proceedings are initiated against these people due to undue pressure, these influential people are acquitted easily.Now the question is must we hang all our corrupt politicians?We are also responsible for present state of affairs.We select them as representatives using rights of adult franchise.We should select such people who are honest,clean and green.Eliminating the corrupt is not the solution.Bapu told us segregate corruption from corrupt.We have to wage a war against corruption not corrupt people.We are complaining that government institutions run on bribes but who pay these bribes.Its we.What if each one of us decide not to pay bribes.

We shoud inculcate in a child love for motherland,social etiquetes so that he becomes the responsible citizen of India and an honest politician.

Jatin Sehgal

Should we hang all corrupt politicians

When we say the word politician the first thing that comes to mind is that he may be the man of honor who has his life dealt with criminal records, abusive life style or a son of a king who has a right to reign the kingdom created by his forefather’s when they were ruling a particular region in which they got elected because of people’s mercy. This is not a managed monopoly or an unfortunate opportunity given to a wrong, corrupt person who got elected. This is an unmanaged natural calamity which we bore ever since we got independence in 1947. But the irony is we also see them hanging, crushed in between the crowd during the election times begging for the votes, we will do this!! We will do that!! And all the popular slogans you see during the fuss are created one which gets melodramatic at times. In each chance of election, more than just being a legislative affair there is an eye which expects a lot from the upcoming minister and there is an eye opener which realizes the mistake of electing the so called wrong, corrupt and socially evil politician.

We Indians the mango people “Aam Janta” who is desperately depended on that figure, on that public image which is not less than a God, the one who comes to protect us against the all evils of our society, the one who flaunts his sword as soon as he gets noticed of an unwanted happening whether 2G spectrum case or IPL controversy or the commonwealth dodge. Whatever the case may be it is the “we” thing which needs to be protected each time of any scam. But the point is where is it lacking?? Is it lacking on our part to identify right kind of politician or is it is the basic human nature which compels one to become corrupt every time one is assigned a power to act for the state as a politician.

If is it lacking on our part it can be corrected by taking the decision wisely at the time we elect them , but if it is the latter case, you and I have the right to hang the corrupt politician along with ourselves. Yes that’s right along with us! It is quite obvious on our part to pass the buck on one who got elected because of our choice. He being one from our group, our society, our culture, our background, our values, he has evolved from us. So you see the thought process is not very different, it is the same for a normal human being to think about his Roti, Kapdaa & Makaan(basic necessity) and when he has it all he becomes a corrupt politician who has money worth millions of dollars in his new Swiss Bank Account. I don’t blame him for all his corruption because I believe there is something wrong within the hierarchy. The hierarchy which composes of a human being which thinks of overall betterment quality of life and later on by getting promoted to a better position he thinks of even more and then finally it

ends up being corrupt. Who we need to blame? on the contrary we need to look inside of ourselves. Remember the time whenever we approach a local government official to get our work done on basis of we being the public and him being a public servant and we bribe him for our convenience and personal measure of comfort. It is nowhere but inside of us. It is we who provoke them to be a corrupt personnel, it is we who motivate them, encourage them and induce them by way of giving advantages which are otherwise not available to them.

Therefore, the conclusion lies in the fact that we realize ourselves first as an individual not being corrupt but as a society working towards a common goal of social economic development, with an intention of loving the genuinity within us, a desire to live our lives not just for us but for others also and only then we will have an image of a politician one comparable to God. Until then, I don’t think there is any justification to hang a corrupt politician we need to hang the corruption indeed!!

Surbhi Sati

Should Students Be Allowed To Grade Their Teachers

Students are the only true wealth of a nation and their education is the socio-moral responsibility of the country. To be educated is both their right as well as duty. From the gurukuls to the modern day schools, teaching and learning methodologies have taken a quantum leap. It is debated whether a system of grading of teachers by students should be introduced in schools to improve the learning and teaching environment. Let us observe the pros and cons of this idea and decide.

If the system of grading of teachers by the school students is introduced, the teachers and the administration of the school will come to know about the performance of the teachers. It will give them an insight into the minds of the students and show whether the teachers are successful in getting their lessons understood by the students. It will evaluate whether the class atmosphere is conducive to aid their learning. It will measure the satisfaction level of the students. It will also encourage the good teachers to continue their efforts and motivate themselves. It will also expose those who are not doing enough and will lead them to correct their teaching mythologies as well as their attitude towards students . Thus the quality of teaching will certainly improve.

Grading to measure the professional performance is very common these days in all the fields. So why not evaluate the performance of teachers by the grading given by the student? Many times students have problems with a teacher’s attitude but do not know whom to approach and how. The grading system will help them raise their voice by grading their teachers. It will make the lead towards positive changes at schools.

But are the school kids mature enough to grade their teachers? Kids are young and inexperienced. They may not be able to judge correctly whether a certain teacher is good for them or not. Their parameters of grading may be too shallow. They may like or dislike their teachers depending upon the amount of homework he/she gives, the easiness of his tests, the leniency of the marking, their appearance, temper and such other things that appeal to the students and make the teacher a “favorite” among kids but do not generally reveal his effectiveness. But such an attitude is not good for the students in the long run. The grading may threaten the teachers and they may even change their attitude to score good with such students as their grade may be likely to spell the course of their teaching career. They may focus more on getting the right

grades to sustain themselves in the competitive job market rather focusing on teaching the students with sincerity.

Besides students are not administrators. Giving them such power to grade their teachers will also give them the opportunity to misuse it for their interest. They may lose respect for their teachers. It may also pave the way for staffroom politics and thus render the system useless. Also it may lead to students being penalized for having given bad grades to some teacher. They may have to face the consequences for having dared to give low grades.

But with certain conditions and modifications, it can be made useful and free of faults. First of all, grading should be done by students who are above 10 yrs of age since those who are less than 10 may not understand the process very well. Secondly, students should be asked to mention the reasons for giving the grades to respective teachers. Grading process should include the parents to be part of it to make the grading meaningful. The reflection of the parents’ wisdom in the grades will make the system as useful as it can be. Their involvement will make the children more responsible towards the whole procedure.

It is also very important to consider the parameters of grading. This includes his/her behavior-helping or rude, language - polite or abusive, temper, the way he keeps the class disciplined, his punctuality, utilization of time, paying attention to the whole class and not some students in particular and fair attitude to all students. A detailed grading system would ensure that all relevant points are being reported and the problematic areas are being brought to notice in a specific and direct way. Thus the entire score of the teacher will not suffer because of one wrong trait. It will also be easy for the teachers to recognize that trait and correct it by improving upon their methods. The school administration should also see that they are able to differentiate the right feedback from the wrong feedback.

Thus the students, parents and the school head should collectively and responsibly grade the teachers in a fair way. It is a promising concept and will yield surprisingly good results if refined and applied with the right conditions as proposed above. The future of the country depends upon how well the students are nurtured when they are in their formative years. The system of grading of teachers may prove to be a boon for the institutions who aim to nurture the “hope of tomorrow”.

Anubha Gupta

Should Students Be Allowed To Grade Their Teachers

Alas! The prominent bonds of Central Board of Secondary Education exams have been broken down by Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation grading system. The introduction of Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation grading system is one way of reduction of overload over students during the reign of final exams in order to introduce a hidden personality to his own strange potential powers. Anyway I opt for this peculiar grading system only during the professional curriculum and at the beginning of the school age.

Even though the overload on students had reduced embarrassingly. But, the CCE grading system will not be a great success if the teachers are not well trained actually

training and everything are all done systematically. After all teachers should treat the students as friends without any drop of selfishness. Anyway all the homosapiens posses a mind of selfishness and also could emulate a particular personality.

Introduction of the Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation system must be done in a systematic and exegesising manner otherwise it would be a great failure for the mighty Indian education system. Hence, it is the most observant fundamental duty of the administrational set up to train the assigned teachers to realize their students potential strength inorder to lead them into greater achievements.

Even though , Kapil Sibal, Federal Human Resource Development minister has introduced this breath taking system along with suffering for its fame. The CCE grading system has adamantly proved that there were no provision that gave an opportunity to the intrepid students to grade their teachers. Miserably, some students believe in this fallacy of the Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation system.

Our teachers are honorable elders who play the insignificant role of our guardians in the school. Since, they are elder than students they possess a better knowledge and lot more experiences. Providing the rights to the students to grade their valuable teachers is an act of embrocating which will only aid in emasculating the teachers from their honored responsibilities.

A large mob of students in schools may be eagerly urging for such a fascinating provision for establishing a feeling of hatred towards the teachers.

At all cost, grading teachers by the intrepid students contains many ill effects including the formation of a revengeful cloud on the teachers. Hence, I sternly oppose any of the provisions that allow the students to grade their teachers with an alarmed warning.

Ajay Sethu

Western Culture Promotes Divorces

One of the oldest & most popular American myth about divorce is,” Don't stay together just for the sake of the children." "If divorce is better for you, it will be better for your kids.”

Since 30 years, Americans are using this idea to justify their increasing recourse for taking divorce, ignoring the tragic cost of their kids emotions. However according to the experts these kind of justifications are just illusion and the idea of increasing divorce ,solely depends upon wishful thinking of adults as individual happiness has became the new standard at which the marriage is judged now a days.

One of the biggest troubling picture which is encountered due to increasing divorce rate with growing population is the disastrous effects on children over time. By almost every measure children in divorced families fared worse :emotional problems, early sexual experimenting, dropping out of school, delinquency, teen pregnancy, drug use, occupationally aimless, unable to sustain relationship with someone of the opposite sex ,eroding sense of identity, ability to trust someone & commit themselves.

Now a days, even India is not untouched by the haunting spector of divorce due to increasing inclination towards individualism & inner world of self importance. Recent research shows that Couples in the 25-35 age group accounted for 70 per cent of the cases, and 85 per cent of them were filed in the first three years of marriage. This is linked to the fact that most of the case has complain of attitudinal problems while filing for divorce.

So our main concentration while dealing with the divorce cases should wheather such kind of decision is taken due to cruelity , dessertion, harshness of the spouse or due to the fact that traditionally men are not ready to change their BREAD-WINNERS KIND OF AN ATTITUDE & they are not enough comfortable with the women who is more successful then them.

The first condition is day by day becoming too rare as both men & women are well educated, self esteemed & career oriented people. But if the second condition is the main reason of increasing non compatibility, loneliness , boredom, physical & emotional unsatisfaction between the couples then this must be checked as because if things go wrong at a company, sure people lose money…but if upbringing fails the result can be disturbed and unhealthy people! Or even worse.

So, should the women must go back to their traditional agricultural economic gender role ? Will that would solve the issue & if yes, then are we taking a right justified decision on the women part. According to me & other experts the answer is NO, as because it’s taken hundreds of years for women to reach here & they have aspired to reach here because the traditional ‘woman’s work’ has never got them the respect they deserved. Even the secondary fact is that modern industrial society needs the full hearted contribution of such aspirant women.

So, the only way which is left to maintain a relation, to decrease the divorce decisions & to save our upbringing is that all the dad’s has to give equal contribution in parenting , in nurturing their kids so that women must also get some more space to do other important works. And for women the advice is that they should respect their men if they are earning less or are less successful as because both of them has to understand that for a stable long term relation ship and for an efficient cultured up bringing money, ego & success matters has to be kept in lower prioritiese in comparision to love & care.

Nilopher Khan

Western Culture Promotes Divorces

In India marriages are thought for life and the divorce rate is extremely low compared to western Countries. From many centuries, arranged marriages have been a tradition in Indian society. Even today in many of the Indian families, marriages are arranged by their parents and other family members, with the consent of both the bride and groom.

Arranged marriages are a cultural tradition which many of the people gets confused with forced marriages. Arranged marriages are made taking into account age, height, personal values, tastes, status, castes, background of their families and astrological compatibility. In arranged marriages dowry is demanded, this has been outlawed by the Indian government, but even today this practice of dowry system is prevailing. Many people strived hard for the eradication of this system in earlier independent days as a result dowry prohibition act was enacted in 1961. Indian society and culture promotes and maintains his it, though it has been outlawed, by not letting authorities know about arrangements of money or any such exchanges.

Love marriage comes with greater expectations between partners, as they feel that they have mutual understanding and that they know each other inside out by the time marriage arrives. But when the situation changes after marriage, that is, when the expectations are not reached, there arrives the thought to get divorced. Expectations play a key role here.

Divorce rates are high in love or western cultured marriages than arranged marriages. This may be because, social pressures to not to get divorce are more in arranged marriages. There may be many reasons to get divorced one of the important one is abusive behavior of spouse. In earlier days, women used to depend on men for their basic needs but now women are more independent and are not ready to accept any kind of ill behavior of their spouse.

People are selfish and are too lazy to work on their relationships. It’s all about them and what they want, they don’t care about their significant other while relationships are about give and take, compromise, understanding and team work. Western culture of dating, love marriages, agreements made for a shorter time relationship are definitely showing their impact on present generation. This is the main reason for the advancement of divorce rates in India.

In India when traditions are followed divorce rate is very less. Western culture’s impact increased the rate of divorces in India. Divorce rates can be reduced by changing the thinking of people by bringing them out from the impact of western culture. Relationships can be maintained only with a feel to keep them, At least with a feel not to end them for silly reasons. Divorce rates reduce only when people understand this.

Sundeep Shukla

International Current Affairs 2010

Sri Lanka abandons Tamil version of its national anthem (13th Dec 2010)

The Sri lankan government has decided to scrap the tamil version of the national anthem in its official and state functions. This move may possibly further alienate the tamil minorities in the country. A directive to use only the Sinhalese version as been sent by the ministry as president Rajapakse pointed out that no country uses two versions of the anthem.

China reveals world’s fastest train (8th Dec 2010)China unveiled its new high speed train CRH380 that can clock a maximum speed of 486.1 kmph. It is said to be much faster than even the bullet trains of Japan. At a cruising speed of 380 this is certainly a major accomplishment. China on its part has gone ahead and is now working on a model that is expected to clock 600kmph.

Pakistan’s Initiative against Terrorism (23th Nov 2010)

Pakistan has been the victim of international terrorism in the past few months. As a result of this, a top US official recently said that Islamabad should begin to crack down on terrorists and terrorist groups operational within the country immediately. Barrack Obama, President of the United States of America has also agreed to this statement and feels that Pakistan has been one of the major victims of international terrorism lately. President Obama also said that Pakistan needs to take strong and immediate steps against all terrorist groups operating on Pakistani soil. Furthermore, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said that a number of terrorist groups are operating in a syndicate and working together against American interests, not just in the US but in other nations such as Afghanistan and India as well. Mr. Blake also stated that the US has welcomed every step take by Pakistan so far and that it is in full support of Pakistan as always.

Mark Zuckerberg, Times Person Of The Year (16th Nov 2010)

Times magazine has named Mark Zuckerberg as the person of the year . Mr Zuckerberg is the founder of thesmash hit social networking site Facebook and is also the world youngest billionaire currently. Although, Julian Assange the editor in chief of wikileaks was the pick of the time readers, but Zuckerberg won because of the scope and reach his website and how it has touched and remodeled our thoughts on social networking bringing the world that much more closer. Facebook has reached 500 million users this year all around the globe and the numbers are still counting.

UN’s terrorism sanctions list (16th Nov 2010)

In a recent and sudden move, a US committee took down several names of al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists off its terrorism sanction lists. The committee said that the reason for such an action was that several of the names on the sanctions list were probably dead. The committee Chairman Thomas Mayr Harting said that following this step, the committee had started investigations into how many terrorists put on the list were actually dead. This committee was set up in 1999.

Friendly neighbor China (15th November 2010)

Rising concerns over China’s assertive and aggressive attitude in the Asian continent has prompted China’s President Hu Jintao to assure all nations that China is committed to being a friendly and helpful neighbor. China has been in the news recently over its spats with neighboring nations over international borders and territories. The reason for this has been said to be China’s interests in a group of potentially resource rich islands in the Asian Pacific. Speaking to leaders at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Japan, President Hu said that China was committed to the regional policy of building good neighborliness and friendship.

New Government in Iraq (11th Nov 2010)

Prolonged warring and quarrels between rival political factions in Iraq had caused over an eight month deadlock over the issue of forming the next government. Recently, the Iraqi Prime Minister appealed to these political factions to work together and unite following his acceptance of the President’s request to form the next government. Senior officials admitted that a Herculean task now lay before them, that of forming a government comprising of members of all possible political factions. The task has been made harder by the month long deadline to form the government which will preside over the country’s affair as US troops move out and power is handed back to the Iraqi people. The new government is expected to have members from all the political factions such as the Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis. Prime Minister Designate al-Maliki called upon al Iraqi citizens and politicians to help him in this difficult task.

Myanmar polls called fake (10th November 2010)

The first democratic polls in Myanmar after several years of military rule were held among complaints of threats, intimidation and accusations of the polls being a charade. In most constituencies, the poll was a competition between the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the National Unity Party (NUS). Several accusations were made by opposition parties against the USDP, claiming that they illegally collected advanced ballots. USA and UK officials also voiced their concerns about the transparency and fairness of these polls.

Rolls Royce sued by Qantas (8th November 2010)

Australian flight safety officials have recently warned that manufacturing defects have been found in the Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines. Officials further urged airlines using these engines to carry extensive checks before using them because defects present in them could lead to catastrophic failures. In the meanwhile, Qantas began court proceedings against Rolls Royce and was granted an injunction by the federal court of Australia which ensured that the airline could pursue legal action against the engine manufacturing giants.

China’s slowest growth (5 November 2010)

China had its slowest rate of economic growth in a year during the September quarter. In addition to this, a World Bank report hinted at a further decrease in its economic growth. One of the reasons for this has been the long term inflation that China has faced for almost two years. China’s industrial growth has also fallen considerably in recent times. This slow growth in China’s economy has gotten many people to believe that India might be the next economic superpower to rise because of its high levels of industrial and economic growth in recent times. Though not immediately, but experts predicted India’s rate of growth to exceed that of China’s by a considerable margin in the next five years.

India gets UNSC non-permanent seat (12 October 2010)

The biggest news on the international front for India has been its inclusion into the UNSC as a non-permanent member after a gap of 19 years. Even as India’s acclamation for a non-permanent bench on the body that includes fifteen members in total was an inevitable cessation afterwards Kazakhstan back out of the chase for the Asian bench beforehand in early January. India got an unbelievable 187 of the 191 votes in the UN General Assembly ballot on October 14th 2010. India's previous spell in the Security Council was way back in 1992. Almost immediately afterwards India's appointment, Indian agent to the United Nations Hardeep Singh Puri put it straight that New Delhi would make use of this couple of year valid span to build assurance and accord a feeling of aplomb to the five non changing associates (famously known as the P-5) - the United States of America, Russia, Britain, France and China. Considering that Brazil, a running affiliate of the United Nation Security Council, and South Africa and Germany, which got appointed with India, on October 14th were as well in contention for a permanent membership, he stated: 'Of course everybody of us will attempt to bring into play the two years we need to render our allies a feeling of aplomb and formulate trust and faith so that they are at ease with our role playing in the United Nation Security Council on a continued period of time'.

India and Mozambique sign 3 agreementss (5 October 2010)

India and Mozambique came together and signed three agreements and a credit band of 500 million United States dollars has been advanced to that nation state for works regarding the infrastructure, agronomics and power during a convention that featured President of Mozambique Armando Guebuza and Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh. Guebuza and Singh, who captivated entrustment level converses, resolved to actualize an affiliation following the lines of superior political meeting, deepening of bread-and-butter collaboration, deepening of defense and aegis collaboration, distinctively to get hold of sea lanes in opposition to piracy and, cooperation in competence building and human resource (or workforce) development. “Both of us together accord to the aforementioned Indian Ocean association and we carve up familiar issues. It is in our alternate absorption to ensure the assurance and aegis of sea lanes of communication in the Indian Ocean,” Dr. Manmohan Singh said in a collective journalist statement. India will back the enactment in preparation and setting up organizations in Mozambique to back capacity building in the coal business and will as well back the ability formation for the defense and patrolling personnel of that nation state, the Prime Minister alleged. Conveying worry over the assurance and aegis of sea lanes in Indian Ocean, Guebuza promised India it will accommodate all practical aid to safeguard them.

Indians freed from Malay traffickers: (3 September 2010)

Not less than 24 Indian men who were discovered bound up in a residence in a Malaysian boondocks were successfully freed from the arrest and two Pakistani men supposedly engaged in a human trafficking guild were detained with immediate effect. "Inquiries into the matter exposed that those people, age-old amid 20 and 30, were from Uttar Pradesh. If the reports of the media are to be trusted, the victims landed on to the capital’s intl. airport four months back, afore getting picked by the accused people who were apparently looking for workers in an industrial unit in Johor," he said. He further stated that the two men promised the Indian workers appealing wages as the bait. It is once again proved that Malaysia is a magnet for wide spread drug peddling and human trafficking. Unemployed workforce looking out for jobs is brought for added transfers to other Southeast Asian countries and to Australia.

Indians to lead FIDE: (September 2010)

Indians have already proved their metal in various sports at the international level. Tennis, Cricket, Shooting, Boxing and also Chess. After Vishwanathan Anand, another lot of Indians are about to triumph on the World Chess Podium. D.V. Sundar has been elected has the President of the world body for the sport of chess, FIDE at Russia. Apart from that, the president for the Asian Continent was Mr. Dongre and Commonwealth Chess Federation President was revealed in the name of Mr. B.S. Chahuhan, a press statement by the All India Chess Federation revealed.

Make way for the new breed: ( September 2010)

The new world power calendar for 2010 has once again predicted that New Delhi’s dominance in the world will see acceleration by 2025. Among the able coalition, the country has been placed at the fourth position afterwards the US, China and the European Union. ‘The Global Governance 2025’ was together brought out by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) of the US and the European Union’s Institutes for Security Studies (EUISS). In the current year, the US leads the lot of able countries/regions, cumulatively for about 22 percent of the worldwide supremacy. The US is chased by China at 12 percent, European Union at 16 percent and India at eight percent. India comes next to Japan, Russia and Brazil with beneath than 5 percent apiece. Following these global statistics, by 2025 the ability of the US, EU, Japan and Russia will cut down although that of China, India and Brazil will boost but this surge will see the positions unchanged. By 2025, the United States of America will continue to be the most dominating nation, but it will be possessing just a bit above 18 percent of the global authority. The US will be carefully trailed by China with 16 percent, European Union with 14 percent and India with 10 percent looking to overleap.

Mission Accomplished (19 August 2010)

The United States have finally started pulling its troops out of Iraq. President Barack Obama has confirmed that the US plans to withdraw significant number of combat troops from Iraq stating that the war was nearing an end. The remaining force of 50,000 soldiers will train Iraqi security forces and provide security for ongoing US Diplomatic efforts.

Australia with a hung parliament (23 August 2010)

Australians failed to elect a new government in the polls held in August and were left with a hung parliament. The non-result elections between Julia Gillard’s Labor and Abbott’s Liberal party led to the first hung parliament in Australia since World War II. Three key Independents are now in the process of deciding which party to support to form a government.

Pakistani cricketers tainted (30 August 2010)

The Game of cricket gets murkier with alleged match-fixer Mazhar Majeed’s claim of having rigged games played by Pakistan for three years. The British Police recovered cash from hotel rooms of Pakistani players involved in spot fixing. Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammed Asif were interviewed and their mobiles confiscated after Majeed’s confession. The Anti-Corruption Unit of the ICC will probe all 82 international matches played by Pakistan during this time. The news came as a bolt for the flood-stricken and violence-plagued country where cricket is the national sport.

Pakistan Floods (2 August 2010)

In the worst flooding disaster in 80 years the floodwaters have affected about one-fifth of the country washing away millions of hectares of crops, submerging villages and destroying roads, bridges, schools, electricity and communication

setting back the infrastructure by many years. Disease is fast spreading in these flood affected areas and there have been warnings that dams in the south may burst. It is estimated that the floods in Pakistan have displaced people thrice the number displaced during partition.

Hike in Visa fee (11 August 2010)

The Obama Regime has raised H-1B and L1 visa fees to protect its borders from illegal Mexican immigrants. This additional fee would be used to build operating bases and deploy unmanned aerial surveillance to beef up U.S.-Mexico border security. The impact of this hike will be substantial on Indian IT companies that account for approximately 50,000 H1 and L1 visas per year.

Mosque near ground Zero(28 August 2010)

A New York city panel has cleared the way for the construction of a mosque near ground zero that has been causing a political uproar over religious freedom. The proposed construction of the mosque near ground zero has sparked debate all around the country. President Barack Obama, however, supported the right of having a mosque by asserting that Muslims have the same right to freedom of religion as everyone else in America.

China to launch space station(17 August 2010)

Having finished the first module of a planned space station and testing its electronics and other systems China is all set to launch it into orbit next year. Changes were being made to the rocket that will carry the 8.5ton Tiangong 1 module into a set orbit. No finishing or manning dates have been given for the space station. The official Xinhua news agency said that The Shenzhou 8 spacecraft and Shenzhou 9 and 10 spacecraft would dock with it in the second half of 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Online route(30 August 2010)

Oxford English Dictionary that has been in print for over a century may never appear in print for the future generations. The word reference Bible is likely to loose its existence to its online version. With the digital books becoming popular, the format that the 3rd edition, currently being worked upon, will take is anybody’s guess.

Japan Elections(10 July 2010)

Democratic Party of Japan suffered a heavy blow in the elections for the upper house of Japan’s Diet (parliament) when it won ten seats fewer than expected thus loosing its majority. DPJ will now have to look for new coalition partners to restore its majority in the upper house and enable it to easily pass laws through the Diet legislature. After breaking the 55 year period of dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party and naming Naoto Kan the new prime minister just a month back the results have baffled the DJP.

July 15th Summit, Islamabad(15 July 2010)

Failed talks between Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna and the Pakistani counterpart Mr. Shah Mehmood Qureshi's have once again proved that whenever efforts were initiated by India to improve the relations between the two countries. The Pak leaders and officials took deliberate steps to derail the process conveying a clear message to India that the talks can continue only on its terms.

Gulf of Spill(15 August 2010)

More than three months after the April 20 explosion aboard the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil platform, which killed 11 workers and sank the rig gushing

oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the most severe US environmental disaster ever is close to coming to an end. In an operation called “static kill” 2,300 barrels of mud was forced down into the well’s opening overnight pushing the crude back down to its source. A cap over the wellhead has shut in leaking oil since July 15 and the static kill — also known as bull heading — probably would not have worked without the cap in place.

Genocide(12 July 2010)

Omar-al-Bashir, President of Sudan has been charged with three counts of genocide over the Darfur Conflict, he was convicted by the International Criminal Court at The Hague. It is for the first time that a court has accused anyone of genocide.

Jacob Lew the new Budget Director(13 July 2010)

President Barack Obama has chosen Mr. Jacob Lew as his new budget director. This is Mr. Lews second stint with the federal budget.

Current Affairs [June 2010]

Julia Gillard become Australia’s first women Prime Minister replacing Kevin Rudd following a sudden revolt against him.

No more time for sorrow’ written by Robert Beeman. The author predict that terrorist will set off an atom bomb in the USA by 2013.

Tuvalu become 187th member of IMF (International Monetary Fund). The island is located in the Pacific Ocean.

Kyrgyzstan voted for a new constitution in a referendum. It is Central Asia’s first parliament democracy.

G-20 summit held at Toronto, Canada.

Current Affairs [May 2010]

G-15 summit was held at Tehran on 16-17 May. Bangladesh handed over Ranjan Daimary of the National Democratic Front

of Bodoland to India. The group was responsible for serial bombing in Assam in 2008.

National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Myannmar’s democracy leader Aung San Sui Kyi was abolished after deadline to re-register as a political party was over.

EU-IMF provide a $ 1 trillion rescue package to the Greece to resolve its debt crises.

Pakistan successfully test fired two short range ballistic missiles, Shaheen I( range 650 Km) and Ghazani (range 290 Km) capable of carrying nuclear war heads and striking Indian cities.

Current Affairs [April 2010]

Belgium became the Europe’s first country to ban burqa. Pakistan’s National assembly passed a bill that takes away the President’s

power to dissolve parliament, dismiss a elected government and appoint the three services Chiefs. Pakistan’s parliament passes 18th amendment which was later signed by Presient cutting President’s powers.

USA and Russia signed Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty(START) that allowed a maximum of 1550 deployed overheads, about 30% lower than a limit set in 2002. The treaty was signed in the Progue Castle.

Emergency was imposed in Thailand.

Nuclear Security Summit held at Washington.It was a 47 nation summit wherein P.M. announced setting up of a global nuclear energy centre for conducting research & development of design systems that are secure, proliferation resistant & sustainable.

PM visit USA & Brazil, a two nation tour. He attended Nuclear Security Summit in USA & India- Brazil-S.Africa(IBSA) and Brazil-Russia-India-China(BRIC) summit in Brasilia (Brazil).

16th SAARC Summit held in Bhutan in 28-29 April. The summit was held in Bhutan for the first time. It is the silver jubilee summit as SAARC has completed 25 years. The summit central theme was ‘Climate Change’. The summit recommended to declare 2010-2020 as the “Decade of Intra-regional Connectivity in SAARC”. The 17th SAARC summit will be held in Maldives in 2011.

Current Affairs [March 2010]

China will launch in 2011 unmammed space mode ‘ Tiangong I’ for its future space laboratory.

US internet giant Google close its business in China. India’s largest telecom service provider Bharti Airtel buy Zain’s Africa

operations for an enterprise value of $ 10.7 billion (Rs 49000 crore). Currently Bharti’s non-India operations include Sri Lanka & Bangladesh.

Russia abolished two of its eleven time Zones.

Current Affairs [February 2010]

NATO forces carried out Marjah operation (dubbed Moshtarak) against Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

European Union summit was held in Brussels. EU & IMF decided to giving support to Greece in its struggle to bring its ballooning budget deficit under control. EU President is Herman Van Rompuy.

Iran’s President Mahmood Ahmedinejad declared that Iran had produced first batch of 20 % enriched uranium and now Iran became a nuclear state.

Iran launched ‘Kavoshger -3 rocket’ capable of carrying a satellite. It carried a mouse, worms & two turtles.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

Gilgit Baltistan region elected its first Chief Minister Mehdi Shah on the basis of Gilgit Baltistan Empowerment & Self Governance Order 2009. The new appointed CM declare the Gilgit Baltistan region as 5th province of Pakistan. The Indian Govt has, however, of the view that the region was part of J & K, and thus objected to the remarks of CM.

Venezuela devalued it currency ‘Bolivar’. A massive earthquake strike Haiti, the Carribbean nation. Capital of Haiti is

Port-au-Prince. Mahinda Rajapaksa won a second term as Sri Lanka’s President. He

belongs to Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

National Current Affairs 2010

CBI seeking closure in Arushi Talwar case (13th Dec 2010)

CBI has sought closure after being unable to comprehensively solve the Arushi

Talwar murder case which has hogged the limelight for over two years now. The report claims that they have hit a road block and lack of evidence as main reasons for not being able to solve the case. However the report as named the victims father Dr Rajesh Talwar as a possible suspect.

Chandra Babu Naidu ends fast (13th Dec 2010)

Telugu Desam Party president finally ended his hunger strike of eight days on the insistence of visiting leaders like Thambi Durai, Arunkumar, Amba Durai, Maitreya, Prakash Karat, Bardan, Om Prakash Choutala, Sharad Yadav and Ajit Singh. Mr Naidu undertook the fast citing that the Andhra Govt should revise its compensation package for the rain hit farmers of the state. The visiting leaders promised Mr Naidu that they would bring the issue to the notice of the Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh by taking an all party delegation to New Delhi.

Congress blames Sanjay Gandhi for the emergency excesses (13th Dec 2010)

The congress party which is celebrating its 125th birthday this month has accused Sanjay Gandhi for many of the excesses committed during the emergency of 1975-77. Sanjay Gandhi received notoriety for many ruthless measures like slum clearance and mass sterilization programs. The congress has always had to walk a tight rope when it comes to defending Indira Gandhis decision to enforce emergency which led to one of the most turbulent times in Indian history since independence.

CBI seeking closure in Arushi Talwar case (13th Dec 2010) Citibank employee Shivraj Puri accused of fraud surrendersCitibank employee Shivraj Puri who is said to be involved in a massive fraud, finally surrendered to the police after almost 48 hrs since the incident came to light. Mr Puri who works as a relationship manager has been accused of siphoning of money to the tune of 400 crores from atleast 20 clients to other fictitious accounts.

Opposition unrelenting on its demand in JPC probe (13th Dec 2010) The opposition has been steadfast in its demand for the JPC with regard to the 2G scam. The PM Dr Manmohan Singh had earlier offered to appear himself before the PAC headed by BJP stalwart Mr. Murali Manohar Joshi. The opposition still feels the JPC would be the best option that would help to bring this case to its logical conclusion.

Human rights activist Dr Binayak Sen convicted, gets life term (13th Dec 2010) The session’s court of Raipur has convicted Dr Binayak Sen and three others on grounds of sedition and conspiracy thereby sentencing them for life due to their links with the Maoists. Dr Sen has been held guilty under Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, of being a conduit between Naxals and of meeting Narayan Sanyal in jail. The trio has also been convicted under provisions of section 124 IPC (sedition) and 120 B IPC (conspiracy). Dr Sen is a pediatrician and alumni of Christian medical college. The 58 year old doctor has provided over 28 years of selfless service to the poorer sections of Chattisgarh.

Prices of onions hit through the roof (13th Dec 2010) The prices of onions have undergone a steep rise with a kg costing close to Rs 80 in the national capital and its surrounding areas. Other parts of India too have started feeling the pressure and the prices are continuously shooting up. The Government on it part has suspended the export of onions until January in an attempt to bring down the prices. According to traders, they are attributing the supply crunch due to torrential downpours in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Southern states which has lead

to a poor yield.

Indias GSLV vehicle fails during launch. (13th Dec 2010) ISRO suffered a serious setback when its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F06) failed on its course, forcing the team at SriHarikota to abort the mission and self destruct the launch vehicle. The vehicles on board computer lost control of the actuation system raising serious questions about ISROS other ambitious projects that includes a mission to the moon. The GSAT-5P satellite which the launch vehicle was supposed to send into orbit was one of the heaviest and cost ISRO 125 crores. Had it been successful, the satellite would have served the needs of the telecommunication sector and the weather department. It would have eventually replaced the INSAT-2E satellite that was sent up in 1999.

India and China set $100bn trade target by 2015 (16th Dec 2010)

India and China have agreed upon a new $100billion trade target by 2015 which is more than the $6 billion agreed upon in 2010.With the arrival of Chinese PM Wen Jiabao accompanied by 400 Chinese business leaders in India, the two countries signed around 50 deals in power,steel ,wind energy , food and marine products and telecommunications worth $16 billion. This overtakes the $10bn of agreements signed between Indian and American businesspeople during the recent visit of US President Barack Obama.

Sensex drops 458 points (November 2010)

The Bombay Stock Exchange recently fell by a total of 458 points. The reasons for the underperformance of the Indian Equity market have been said to be the series of scams that were unearthed from mid November. Just last month, CBI officials discovered a bribe for loan scandal that involved several officials from financial firms and a few state run banks. The 10.8% rise in industrial growth since last month could not help and several indices ended with huge losses. Major loses were mainly suffered by PSUs, realty, consumer durables and healthcare.

Satyam Trial Case (2 November 2010)

The examination of the first witness in the infamous multi crore Satyam Computer accounting scam would begin from the first of November Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court. CBI officials submitted a list of six witnesses to the courts who were officials of a number of different banks. All ten accused including company founder B Ramalinga Raju were present in court during the hearing of the case. The DIG of police who operates under the department of CBI said that the agency requested permission to set up LCD projectors and screens in the court so that both parties could observe and take notes on all the documents that would be brought up in court. Since cases in the Supreme Court need to be resolved at the earliest, CBI officials submitted close to a thousand documents to the court to speed up the prosecution. The bail of the owner of company and the other 5 individuals associated has been rejected.

Baba Ramdev Temple under threat (2 November 2010)

An anonymous letter was received at the Ramdev Baba temple in Jaisalmer that contained threats to blow up the temple on November 9th. District Collector G S Kushwaha received this letter by normal post. Following this letter security around the temple and the surrounding complex was tightened by posting additional number of policeman around the temple complex. Around 5 million devotees are said to visit the temple every year.

Ashok Chavan’s fate (5 November 2010)

Disgraced Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ashok Chauhan’s would be decided

after the Diwali holiday season, i.e. after November 8th said the Congress party. Recently Chief Minister Ashok Chauhan’s name had come in the Adarsh Housing Society scam. Following this allegation, Mr. Ashok Chauhan immediately offered to resign from his post. No mention of either the Adarsh Housing Society scam or the commonwealth Games fiasco was made by the Congress in its AICC session. Also present at the meeting were Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, Common Wealth Games Organizing Committee Chaiperson Suresh Kalmadi, Heavy Industries Minister and former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Maharashtra PCC President Manikrao Thakre.

Adjournment of Ajmer Dargah blast case (27 November 2010)

The hearing of the Ajmer Gargah blast case was recently adjourned to November 8 by a sessions court due to leave taken by the presiding judge. Over an 800 page charge sheet was produced before the court of the Additional Chief Judge Magistrate on the 22nd of October by the Rajasthan ATS. The five accused in the case have alleged links with the radical Hindu group Abhinav Bharat. Only one accused was brought to the court while the other two are being questioned about the Hyderabad Mecca blast case. The accused have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code like conspiracy to murder, attempt to murder and murder. Over one hundred and thirty witnesses have been cited by the prosecution of the case.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s concern (29 November 2010)

The finance minister of the country Pranab Mukherjee recently raised his fears over the rising of inflation in the country. Minister Mukherjee said that the Reserve Bank of India would take steps at its next monetary policy review to check rising prices because of increased inflation. He further added that rising food prices were solely the reason for this sudden inflation. Inflation for the month of September was estimated to be close to 8.6% much above the acceptable rate of 5%. As said by Finance Minister Mukherjee, food prices had the highest amount of inflation which in Mid October was estimated to be over 13%. Recently, Minister Pranab Mukherjee was in talks with the Reserve Bank of India Governor over the the possible rate hike action by the Central Bank. The global financial crisis, which was worsened by the total collapse of financial firm Lehman Brothers, is being said to be the reason behind the RBI’s recent reversal of its soft monetary policy that it started back in September 2008. Adding to these has been the sudden drop in industrial growth from 15.2% to 5.6%. To combat the aforementioned rise in inflation, the Reserve Bank of India has hiked its key short term lending and borrowing times several times this year.

Protest during Obama visit by Bhopal Gas tragedy victims (6 November 2010)

Victims of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy are said to be planning to stage a protest at Jantar Mantar on the 8th of November, during the time of US President Barrack Obama’s visit to the capital. Several tonnes of the poisonous gas methyl iso-cyanide, leaked from the Union Carbide Plant in Bhopal in 1984, killing over 3000 people the same night and causing the deaths of over 25000 people over the subsequent years. Five different voluntary organizations working for the gas tragedy victims recently held a press conference where they stated that they would be requesting to President Obama to use his Presidential powers to bring the Union Carbide Corporation to Indian Courts and be answerable to them. The verdict of this case many years back had found seven top officials of this corporation to be guilty but as these guilty persons were bailed out within minutes of the verdict, many people till date question the justice imparted in the case. The voluntary organizations further added that hundreds of people regularly fall sick

and die every month due to the long term poisonous effects of the leaked gas on the soil and water. They further plan to ask President Obama for his help as the US government has been largely unhelpful these last few years. The sit in protest organized by the voluntary organizations is said to be comprised of over 5000 gas tragedy victims.

Third stage of Bihar polling completed (28 Oct 2010)

Polling was carried out affably in 48 electorates on 28th Oct 2010, estimating in the third appearance of Bihar Assembly elections, which witnessed an approximated 53% voter responsive. Electorates like Amnour, Taraya, Ramnagar, Balmikinagar and Patepur (Maoist followers) account about 45%-52% voting. Voters were carried by boats in the littoral areas of Raghopur Assembly electorate in Vaishali commune where the popular figure of Rabri Devi was in the tussle. The better half of RJD spearhead Lalu Prasad Yadav is as well battling from Sonepur bench in Saran constituency. More than 185 people were held during the balloting, which saw miniature incidents of affray and fracas. Unlike on a number of occasions before, this time Bihar polling did not see what it usually it experiences in terms of riots, booth capturing and other forms of unrest and violence that hampers the true and the honest spirit of competition. "Apart from this, it was nonviolent and silky," stated by Neelmani (DG of Police). Approximately sixty cars were as well detained. In excess of one crore voters will adjudge the future of six ministers (of the state) in the third stage. The following round i.e. stage 4 will be carried out on Nov. 4 2010.

UID experiences technical hiccups (Oct 2010)

In order to overcome the challenge posed by the huge figure of people (approximately 1.03 billions) in the country, the chief of the dept. stated that the 16 digit long UID numbers will be released in the next year and half or so. He added that the epicenter of its working will be in the city of Bangalore. An easy remedy to the obstacles posed by the allotment of different IDs is to have a bench where every formerly sanctioned UID are kept and a fresh one is given only afterwards verifying that is actually a unique code. Fundamentally, we charge to break an extremely tough difficulty in dispersed schemes once we have copies of the bench (for dependability) and ought to accordingly respond/keep informed the table as questions are asked. Taking the point in consideration, provided the millions of accretion objects affiliated to the web, there is no scrutiny if a prime number selected is the similar chosen by somebody else before. If this is to happen, it is an aegis aperture of the aboriginal order for web; the possibly is, nevertheless, acutely undersized. Population on another instance has proven to be a major obstacle in the development and progress course of India. UID which was anticipated to be a huge success and particularly curb this issue is yet to combat the problem itself to even get kick started.

Haryana barricades polythene bags entry (Aug 2010)

In another attempt to safeguard the environmental and not add insult to the already injured state of the planet, like the govt. of Delhi, Haryana govt. has also decided to prohibit polythene bags in the state. The ban includes a complete no-no of recycling, storage and usage (in any form) within the state. A suggestion to this aftereffect has been supported by Bhupinder Singh Hooda (the honorable Chief Minister of the state), an authorized agent said in the capital on Saturday. The resolution was taken as it was empiric that fractional forbid on use of polythene bags of a clearly defined array bracket did not crop the needed consequences. There was consistent ambiguity over the array of poly bags in exercise and it had as well been discovered that nibbling of a great number of polythene bogs had resulted in deaths of cows on a regular basis, he said. This

type of thinking and resolutions are the only way through which we can combat and better the ailing state of the plant Earth. If all other cities and states like previously Delhi and now Haryana think about the hazards the polythene bags can cost, we will be having better standards of health and hygiene.

PM and Sonia Gandhi inaugurate UID: (28 Sep 2010)

The Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh and UPA Arch Sonia Gandhi shaped a record by accordingly ablution the world's aboriginal ID activity on September 29th 2010 forth with Nilekani, the arch man of the ministry is acclimated to accommodate Unique Identification Numbers for India's citizens (cumulatively well in billions), by rendering them the aboriginal collection of twelve digit figures to ten clannish. The PM as well as the UPA Chief were collectively congratulated in the presence of former Infosys headman. This ID Card is assumed to be nation’s biggest ever tech adeptness action alleged 'Aadhaar'(base), that is due to be issued to all Indians to accommodate them within a lucrative nationally accurate and absolute individual antecedent of character affidavit through an authenticity vault and that will help to accomplish supply processes transparent. Biometric following abstracts include fingerprints and an iris browse getting acclimated for the aboriginal time wherever in the planet.

Yamuna raises its bar, causes menace: (28 Sep 2010)

The baptize akin in the river rose to 206.70 accent recently, 1.87 accent aloft the crisis mark of 204.83 accent and is acceptable to go up added as neighboring Haryana would absolution added water in the river, a chief official of the flood ascendancy administration said. Waters from the flood reached into vicinities like of the local areas as well (Yamuna and Sonia Vihar, Usmanpur, Jaitpur are a few). A large number of localities that reside in the areas forth the banks of the river were apparent lined up on the footpaths on the ITO arch with whatsoever they had of their possessions. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had on Friday requested the inhibiters not to get into agitation and said all basic measures are getting put into abode to accommodated any possible occurrence. Over 100 cadre from National Disaster Response Force, were soon deployed to abetment the bounded authorities. The ascent Yamuna has affected the Northern Railways to abolish 25 trains and absent 36 others. The cancelled train were prominent ones (Kalka and Brahamaputra Mail, Shalimar, A.A. and G.N. Express, etc). The 90 trains that have to be detoured included the most heavily commuted ones and this has disrupted the life of the general public paralyzing their usual movements, a Northern Railway spokesmen stated.

Ayodha Verdict finally out, Allahabad Bench applauded: (Sep 2010)

Culminating 60 years of anfractuous proceedings, asserts and counter-claims, optimism and desolation, Allahabad HC conventions in favor of improvised Ram temple on quarreled site; the remaining of acreage to be disconnected amid Hindus & Muslims. In what is conceivably the most of eagerly anticipated judgment in contempt times, a breach adjudication dispensed out by a three-member bank of Allahabad High Court were in full abounding of the claims of the Hindu petitioners while acclimation a three-way analysis of the acknowledged land. The cardinal provided acknowledged permit to the temporary Ram temple that came up afterwards the annihilation of the acknowledged anatomy in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. The entire panel of adjudicators – the prominent faces of the country (Justice Agarwal, Khan and Sharma) – was very much in favor of the acceptance that captivated the acknowledged land was the native land of the Hindu deity. Mr. Sharma and Mr. Agarwal settled with the long-held affirmation of the Sangh Parivar and an area of archaeologists that the

acknowledged anatomy cannot be advised as an Islamic place of worship as it came into actuality adjoins the credo of Islam.

Lights, Camera and Applause: (Sep 2010)

The 57th Edition of the National Film Award ceremony was concluded for the year 2009 in the month of September. The awards were given away in three groups namely, finest Feature Motion Picture Class led by Chairpersonship of Mr. Sippy, Non Feature Motion Picture Group led by Chairpersonship of Mr. Pandey, and Script on Movies beneath the Chairpersonship of Mr. S. Bandhopadhyay.

The following were the recipients of a few awards in various nominations:

a. Motion Picture: Malayalam flick – KuttySrankb. I.G.A. for the Best first appearance movie : Hindi movie – Lahore for the

Directionc. Box office blockbuster (widespread entertainment): Hindi – 3 Idiotsd. N.D.A. for the Best motion picture on Patriotic Spirit: Hindi – Delhi 6e. Best motion picture on Society’s Matters: Bollywood - Well Done Abbaf. Motion Picture for Kids: Tied between Keshu (Malayalam) and Putaani Party

(Kannada)g. Direction: Rituparno Ghosh for Abohomanh. Actor: Amitabh Bachcha for Auro’s rolei. Actress: Ananya Chatterjeej. Child’s Performance: Tollywood’s Pasangak. Male Singer: Rupam Islam in Bengalil. Female Singer: Neelanjana Sarkar in Bengali

Nuclear liability bill passed (Aug 2010)

Nuclear liability bill which was adopted by Rajya Sabha has now been approved by the process of Voice vote. The session of the Parliament lasted 48 hours extra than the scheduled time so that the legislation can be easily passed and approved. A total of 18 amendments were introduced in this bill by Lok Sabha before processing it further. Soon the bill was selected for a considerable hike in the liability of operator. This liability has now become 3 times then what it was in the past and now holds a value of rupees 1500 crore’s in total. By virtue of progression of this bill and significant increase in the liability many overseas companies have shown their interests in setting up reactors in India. Special accidental care will now be provided for the employees operating in the various sections of the nuclear plants. The decision and the passing of the bill had been strongly opposed by the BJP leaders as they found it insignificant.

Swiss Bank Access (Aug 2010)

Swiss Authorities will provide information to India on cases of tax fraud and tax evasion from January 1,2011under the reworked double tax agreement (DTA) signed by India and Switzerland. The Indian Authorities can now seek information about the account holders in Swiss banks who have a case filed against them for tax evasion.

Government Intervention for CWG (28 Aug 2010)

PM and his select team of ministers takeover as CWG supervisors. Indian Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh took over the reigns of the forthcoming games in the wake of scandals and unfinished work surrounding the event. Committee of Secretaries, headed by a Cabinet Secretary, will now supervise the mega event to be held in October overtaking Organizing Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi.

Bhopal Case reopened (Aug 2010)

The Supreme court of India has reopened the Bhopal Gas leak case in response to Government’s petition for harsher punishment to the guilty for the worst tragedy of its kind in which at least 7,000 people perished within days of the release of the toxic methyl isocyanate gas at the Union Carbide pesticide plant on 3 December 1984, and a further 15,000 died later from exposure to the gas. The tragedy left countless others with lifelong damage to their health.

CSAT to replace the civil services prelims (Aug 2010)

The new Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) will replace the existing civil services (preliminary) examination from 2011. The new scheme will test the candidates for their aptitude for civil services as well as their ethical and moral dimension of decision-making. There will now be two common papers with equal weightage in place of one common paper (general awareness) and one optional paper (any particular subject of choice). The civil services main exam and the interview will remain the same as of now.

Rahul creates controversy (Aug 2010)

Wherein one place Mamta Banerjee is speaking in the favour of naxals and now Rahul Gandhi is sharing a dias with a suspected Maoist , this is the approach of the government in the fight against naxals.

Member Parliament salaries hiked (Aug 2010)

Parliament recently in Delhi has made a decision to increase the salaries of MPs. A hike of about rupees 35000 will be introduced in the salary of each MPs thus taking it from figures like 20,000 to 55,000 or so. Because daily allowance has an important role to play hence parliament has also decided to exactly double the allowances issued daily to each Member of Parliament. Hence daily allowance of rupees 1000 will now become 2000. This daily allowance will be issued only when the parliament session is in progress. Other than the daily allowances the official expenses for every office per month have now been considerably raised and touch a 50,000 amount. That is not all the travel and conveyance charge issued will now become 4 times which were earlier around rupees 1,00,000. Retired members will now get a monthly pension of around rupees 20,000 which was around 10,000 in the past times.

Commonwealth with less green (Aug 2010)

Approximately 40,000 trees have been either felled or transplanted for Delhi’s preparation of Commonwealth Games 2010. Apart from the financial burden of creating world class infrastructure and transport facilities Delhites have to bear the loss of its green cover as the compensatory plantation cannot in any way compensate for the loss of a fully grown, mature tree.

Blackberry controversy (Aug 2010)

Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of Blackberry has finally surrendered to Indian security agencies’ demand for access to their server. The company has proposed for lawful access to its services including the messenger as well as the enterprise with immediate effect and the company would have to set up a server in India if it does not work to the satisfaction of Indian agencies. The security agencies already had access to voice data, SMS and general emails sent through Blackberry devices but Blackberry email and messaging services that are highly encrypted were major concerns for the security agencies. With this understanding in place the government has decided to serve notices to Google and Skype also to fall in line.

Direct tax code (Aug 2010)

The Government deferred the direct tax code(DTC) by yet another year to April 2012 causing yet another disappointment to the taxpayers. Women taxpayers suffered a bolt as the preferential treatment meted out to them earlier is now proposed to be withdrawn. Senior citizens, however, enjoy a higher exemption limit. The bill that replaces the Income Tax Act 1961 seeks an increase in exemption threshold of individuals from Rs.1.6 lakh currently to Rs.2lakh. The corporate taxes will be reduced to a flat 30%.

Leh hit by flood (Aug 2010)

A cloudburst on the intervening night of August 5 and 6 has led to flash floods and mudslides in the Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir. The cloudburst and the following floods have claimed over 175 lives and injured about 400 people, besides causing widespread damage to public and private property. The worst hit Chuglamsar has just turned into debris all over.

More rich than poor Indians (Aug 2010)

National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has estimated in its report, "How India Earns, Spends and Saves", that despite the economic slowdown of the last three years, the number of high-income households in India has exceeded the number of low-income households. Households with high income or earnings have grown by over 3.7% in total and now touch the mark of around 21%. That is not all also the households with low income sources have fallen by around 3.2% and gone down to a mark of 18%.

CWG Anthem (Aug 2010)

When everything is being prepared for the common wealth coming up in October then how could Music maestro A R Rahman stay away from it. Yes, the musician has launched the theme song for the Commonwealth Games 2010 that has the best lyrics covering khelo oh yaaro,,jeeto oh yaaro. During the launch of this theme song honorable Chief Minister Shiela Dixit, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and OC Chairman Suresh Kalmadi were present in the ceremony.

CWG breeding mosquitoes (Aug 2010)

The fingers are already crossed and people fear further delay in the common wealth problems. When the earlier hurdles are not getting removed and new problems are coming into view. The sincere attention is being drawn by the mosquitoes breeding in various dumps. Because of heavy rainfall in the country water is collected in almost every venue and mosquitoes have converted these venues into their favorite breeding places and are increasing the fear of dengue disease.

Yet another marine disaster (Aug 2010)

A foreign cargo ship MV Khalijia-111 which collided with MSC Chitra which was carrying about 1,200 containers with over 266 tonnes of fuel about 10 km off Mumbai harbour has spilled oil into the Mumbai seas. The collision tilted MSC Chitra vessel causing 300 containers carrying oil to tumble into the Mumbai waters creating a thick oil slick two to three kms around the vessel Chitra causing a serious threat to the marine life.

India’s Independence (Aug 2010)

August 15th, 2010 India celebrated the 63rd anniversary of its independence.

IBM Number two employer (Aug 2010)

IBM is the second largest private sector employer in India after TCS . The

company has more than one lakh people on its rolls.

Noose tightening for Politicos in Sohrab case (July 2010)

Sohrab case getting murkier with CBI stepping up pressure on top Gujarat IPS Officers P.C.Pande, O.P.Mathur and Geeta Johri for their suspected involvement in scuttling the probe at the behest of former Gujarat Minister of State for home Amit Shah. Two Rajasthan BJP leaders Gulabchand Kataria and Om Mathur are also facing the CBI heat.Sohrabuddin Sheikh was killed in a fake encounter and his wife who was a witness to her husband’s abduction was also later eliminated. The agency is investigating the police-politico nexus behind the killings.

Chidambaram confident of overcoming maoist problem in three years (July 2010)

Addressing a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for the ministry of home affairs, P Chidambaram informed that in a meeting of chief ministers of seven Naxal-affected states on July 14, a decision of unified command was agreed to namely in-- West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand -- for anti-Naxal operations. A two-pronged strategy of initiating development and police action in the affected areas was designed to overcome Maoist problem after consultations with the Naxal-affected states

Grooming for a succession? (July 2010)

Noel Tata, chairman Ratan Tata’s brother has been installed as the chairman and CEO of Tata Investment Corp and the MD in Tata International while relinquishing his executive position in Trent Ltd within the last two months. There is speculation that these moves are in line with the group’s succession plan for top job i.e. the Chairmanship of Tata Sons in 2012 when Ratan Tata steps down.

Applaud or embarrassment? (July 2010)

According to top sources from Central Vigilance Commission, fake certificates were being routinely issued to pass substandard work and material to the vendors of Commonwealth Games 2010 leading to huge gains for the contractors and vendors. All these certificates were issued without ground verification or technical examination. The compromise, herein, in the quality of materials and workmanship poses a serious threat to the sports personnel from countries all over the world lending a shameful picture of India and hence jeopardizing our ability to host such events in the future.

Valley stir (July 2010)

Following the imposition of curfew in wake of the protest by Syed Ali Geelani demanding the release of dozens of arrested separatist leaders, violence was triggered in the valley due to a spate of civilian killings by security personnel leading to an indefinite curfew being clamped in Srinagar. Educational institutions, shops, post offices, banks, public transport and other business establishments were closed as a precautionary measure. The protests are part of the separatists' 'Quit Kashmir' programme.

Current Affairs [June 2010]

In the Global Peace Index 2010, India ranked at 128. 2010 Failed State Index- Somalia top the list followed by Zimbabwe, Sudan

& Chad. India is ranked at 87 place out of 177 countries. Norway in ranked at the bottom of the list.

President Rule imposed in Jharkhand.

Amar Singh launches a new party ‘Akhil Bhartiya Lok Manch’. South African president Jacob Zuma visited India. Turkmenistan President Gurbaguly Bardimuhamedov visited India. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited India. India signed 7 pacts

with Sri Lanka. India will assist in building 50000 houses in the northen & eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh Govt has requested to rename the train linking West Bengal to Tripura via Banglades as ‘ Sonar Tori’. Earlier the name of the train as envisaged in the Railway Budget 2010 is ‘Epar Bangla Opar Bangla’. Sonar Tori is a collection of poems written by Rabindranath Tagore, whose 150th birth anniversary is being celebrated in 2010.

Maharastra will become first state in the country to have a real estate regulatory authority.

BWA- Broadband Wireless Access. The BWA spectrum was auctioned by the Govt. BWA Spectrum is essential for rolling out WiMAX services enabling hand held devices and laptops to access Intranet. It will allow firms to offer high speed Net, Web telephony & TV Services. The govt fixed Rs.1750 crore as base rate for BWA license. The auction was held for 117 rounds and in 16 days. Rs.12848 crore was the pan India BWA license price which was won by Infotel Broadband services ( in all 22 circles). The Govt auctioned the BWA license for a total of Rs.38,543 crore. Mumbai had the highest bid of Rs.2293 crore followed by Delhi with Rs.2241 crore respectively.

India signed Civil Nuclear agreement with Canada. The agreement was signed by Manmohan Singh and Canada’s PM Stephen Harper. Canada is the 8th nation to enter into such an agreement with India. Canada served nuclear ties with India in 1974 when India conducted its first nuclear test at Pokhran in 1974. India’s nuclear power programme is based on the CANDU ( Canada Deuterium Uranium) reactor.

India become a full fledged member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a 34 member inter governmental body that devises policies at both national & international levels to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. FATF membership will enable Indian authorities to access information on suspect accounts in nations such as Switzerland & UK. India become its 34th member.

Current Affairs [May 2010]

Naxalites killed 47 people in a landmine blast between Dantewada and Sukma in Chattisgarh.

Test fire of nuclear capable Agni-II missile was successfully carried out from Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa on 17th May. Agni II has a range of 2000Km. It is 20m long two stage solid propelled ballistic missile. It was developed by Advanced System Laboratories alongwith DRDO & Bharat Dynamics Ltd.

Supreme Court in a recent judgement upheld a rule that allows the adjustment of reserved category candidate SC/ST/OBC against their quota seats even if they manage to qualify an examination for govt services on merit.

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is the monitoring authority for the Right to Education Act which became effective from April 1, 2010.

Current Affairs [April 2010]

Naxals killed about 75 CRPF personal at Chintalnar-Tarmetla village in Dantewada distt ,Chhattisgarh. Government appoint E.N. Rammohan, to probe the incident.

Uninque Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) now known as Aadhaar. It’s Chairman is Nandan Nilekani. It will assign 16 digit identification number to all residents in India.

NTRO- National Technical Research Organisation. The organization came to limelight after allegation of phone tapping of politicians.

Indian navy commissioned India’s first indigenously built stealth warship ‘ INS Shivalik’. The other stealth warship to be built are named as ‘INS Sahyadri’ and INS Satpura’.

Right To Education Act is notified and will become a legally enforceable from 1 April 2010. Key features of RTE Act are : All children in 6-14 age group must get free and compulsory eduction; No child shall be held back,expelled or required to pass a board examination till Class VIII; There must be 25 % reservation for poor children even in private & minority schools; There must be one teacher for every 30 students; A child rights commission will look into violations of the RTE law.

Govt start Census 2011. It is the 15th Census. It is in two phase. The first phase is called –House listing & Housing Census and the second phase is called decadal headcount which will be held in Feb 2011. The Registrar General of India is C Chandramouli.

Current Affairs [March 2010]

Govt launched National Mission for Empowerment of Women aimed at inter-sectoral convergence of all pro- women programmes.

Constitution 108th Amendment Bill 2008 commonly known as women’s reservation bill was passed by Rajya Sabha by 186 in favour 1 against 39 abstained (Current strength of Rajya Sabha is 233). The bill seeks to reserve a third of the seats on the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for 15 years on a rotational basis. It was first introduced in 1996. Sharad Joshi, an independent MP is the only MP which cast vote against the bill. In the present Lok Sabha, there are 59 women MPs out of 543 MPs. Total MLAs in 29 state assemblies in India are 4093.

Yamunanagar (Haryana) and Vishakhapatnam (AP) are choosen for a pilot project on saving household energy by replacing incandescent lamps with CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps).

Earth Hour 2010 has been celebrated on 27 March organized by World Wide Fund for Nature, India. Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru are official Earth Hour Cities among 15 Indian cities.

Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia visit India in March 2010. Supreme Court allowed religion based 4 % reservations in Govt jobs &

educational institutes in Andhra Pradesh. It extended the benefit to 14 OBC in muslims in the state. The matter is further referred to Constitutional bench of Supreme Court.

’Bold Kurushetra’ a joint armour exercise between India and Singapore was held at Jhansi(UP).

Prohibition of unfair practices in technical, medical educational institutions & universities Bill is passed by Govt. It provided for 3 year imprisonment and a fine of upto Rs 50 lakh for higher education providers guilty of misleading students.

Govt approved Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry & Operation) Bill 2010. It provides foreign universities to set up campuses in

India. Govt amends Anti Hijacking Act 1982. It now provides for death sentence to

the hijackers. Govt starts the scheme for creation of the National Population Register

(NPR) of Indian residents. The project will cover an estimated 1.2 billion people and total cost of the project will be Rs. 3539.24 crore.

India became 1st country in the world to have a ‘manoeuvrable’ supersonic cruise missile, when it successfully test fired 290 km range Brahmos missile.

Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu visit India in March 2010.

Current Affairs [February 2010]

Kirit Parikh committee , set up to review petro pricing regime, submit its recommendation. Its major recommendation are to deregulate the prices of petrol & diesel as per market prices, reduce the subsidy on LPG.

India signed a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with the UK, which became the 8th country to enter into such a pact, since the lifting of atomic trade embargo in 2008.

Govt set up a panel under the Chairmanship of former Justice B N Srikrishna which would consider the demand for splitting Andhra Pradesh.

India and Denmark signed a social security pact which will relieve their workers from double taxation and provide for cooperation in areas of labour market expansion and orderly migration.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Saudi Arabia in Feb 2010. He was the first Indian PM in 28 years to visit the gulf country. Saudi Arabia is India’s largest supplier of crude oil ( 23 %) followed by Iran ( 17 %) and Nigeria ( 11 %). India is offering upto 10 % equity to Saudi petroleum firm Saudi Aramco in a refinery being built in Orissa. PM addressed the Shoura council of Saudi Arabia.

Constitution 111th Amendment – Proposes to incorporate a new Part ( Part IX B) in the Constitution so as to provide for legal framework to regulate the functioning of cooperative societies. A new Article ( Article 43 B) is also proposed to be inserted in Part IV of the Constitution (Directive Principles of State Policy) for the States to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning of cooperative societies.

Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2009 commonly known as Nuclear Liability Bill will be introduced by Govt in Parliament in Winter session 2010. The draft bill aims at limiting the liability of a nuclear plant operator to Rs. 300 crore in the eventuality of an accident. The bill provides for the penalty to be paid by the operator and not the supplier companies which would mainly be American in this case. India has entered into civil nuclear cooperation agreement with eight countries so far.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visit India in Jan 2010. She belongs to Awami League Party. The two countries signed five agreements – on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, on transfer of sentenced persons and on combating international terrorism, organized crime & illicit drug trafficking besides MOU on cooperation in the power sector and on cultural exchanges. India give Bangladesh a $ 1 billion line of credit, the biggest it has given to any country so far.

South Korea President Lee Myung Bak visit India in Jan 2010. The two countries decided to double the bilateral trade to $ 30 billion by 2014. Four facts were signed between two countries – cooperation in peaceful use of

outer space, IT, science & technology for the year 2010-12 and transfer of sentenced persons. South Korean President was also the chief guest at 2010 Republic Day Parade.

Gujarat Local Authorities Law (amendment) Bill 2009- The Bill makes it the duty of a qualified voter to vote during elections to local bodies. Voting is compulsory, but the Bill allows voters to cast their vote in favour of none of the candidates. Election officers will declare those who fail to vote defaulter, and serve them a notice.

India and China has decided to start joint military exercise from 2011. Najib Razak, Malaysia Prime Minister visit India in Jan 2010. Govt launched Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. Key highlights of

the mission are :o To create an enabling policy framework for the deployment of

20,000 MW of solar power by 2020.o To create favourable conditions for solar manufacturing capability

for indigenous production and market leadership.o To promote programmes for off grid applications, reaching 1000 MW

by 2017 and 2000 MW by 2022.o To achieve 15 million sq. meters solar thermal collector area by

2017 and 20 million by 2022.o To deploy 20 million solar lighting systems for rural areas by 2022.

New Governors appointed : a) M K Narayanan – West Bengal, b)Shivraj Patil – Punjab, c) Mohsina Kidwai – Jharkhand, d) Shekhar Dutt – Chhattisgarh, e) E S L Narasimhan – Andhra Pradesh.

Govt plans to create a National Gas Highway Development Authority. The present Gas Pipeline Density in India is 3.29 Km per 1000 Sq.Km.

Govt plans to set up a National Green Tribunal to control Carbon Emissions and pollution. It will be responsible for implementing the low carbon roadmap to be set forth in the 12th Five Year Plan.

Sports Current Affairs 2010

Sachin Tendulkar scores fifty centuries in test cricket (19th Dec 2010)

Sachin Tendulkar scored his fiftieth test century in the second innings of the first test against South Africa at the Centurion. The master blasted scored his century in196 balls with 12 fours and one six. Even thought India lost the first test Sachin’s century helped about bringing some respectability to the proceedings. Incidentally he has also been named the ICC player of the year.

Indian cricket teams wins its second test at Durban. (16th Dec 2010)

The Indian team had a poor game at the centurion where they were bundled out by an innings and twenty five runs by their South African counterparts. The second test they came back with a much more inspired performance with both bat and bowl leading to their first ever win in Durban which had always troubled them in the past. India had scored 205 and 228 in their two innings while the South Africans could score only 131 and 215 respectively.The star of the match was V.VS Laxman whose 96 helped India seal victory.

Saina Nehwal wins Honk Kong Open Super Series. (12th Dec 2010)

Indias star sportswoman Saina Nehwal rallied around from a one game deficit to win 15-21, 21-16, 21-17 over Wang Shixian of China. Saina finished of her year on a wonderful note and has an unmatched record compared to any Indian player with regard to winning the super series title. Current Affairs

Chelsea lose third match out of fourth (16th Nov 2010)

Birmingham City defeated Chelsea by a score of 1-0 at Birmingham City making this the third defeat to be suffered by Chelsea in the four matches that it has played so far. This win helped Manchester United to move up in the English Premier League rankings. Birmingham gained three points in the rankings thanks to the one and only winning goal scored by its player Lee Bowyer. Newcastle lost 5-1 to Bolton while West Ham lost 3-0 to Liverpool alongside Blackpool and Stoke who claimed their respective victories. In their game against Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea let slip past their initial lead of 2-0, to finally lose the game at a score of 3-2. The game was at a score of 2-0 till half time with Chelsea winning but a combination of lack of concentration in players and simple bad luck cost Chelsea the match.

Cricket in 2014 Asian Games (15th Nov 2010)

Rumors recently originated that cricket had been removed from the list of proposed sports and events of the 2014 Asian games. The reason for these rumors has been said to be the decision of the Olympic Committee of Asia to limit the number of sporting events in the Asian games to a maximum of 35. However, these fears proved out to be false as the OCA recently confirmed the inclusion of cricket in the list of sporting events for the Asian games 2014. For the time being cricket and karate have been confirmed as two out of the seven non Olympic events in these games while the other five are still to be decided. However, South Korean organizers are said to not be in support of this decision.

Nadal and Clijsters (Nov 2010)

Rafael Nadal continues to hold the top spot in the ATP rankings with his score being close to 11900 points while Roger Federer holds the spot of number two. On the other hand Kim Clijsters fell to the third position in the WTA rankings released recently followed by Serena Williams on the fourth position.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Nov 2010)

Following his win in the Korean Grand Prix, third position in Brazil and third position in the qualifiers of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso of Ferrari looked like the possible winner. However the title slipped out of his hands, much to his surprise and landed into the hands of Vettel making him the youngest Formula One champion in the history of F1 racing aged just 23 years. Current Affairs

A century of Medals in CWG 2010: (15th Oct 2010)

Thanks to the final in the woman badminton category that India was able to taste the sweet gland of a century tally of medals for the very first time in any CWG edition. India had tallied 38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze medals which cumulatively read 101 medals. Even though India were shattered to an 8-0 defeat by the Aussies the woman shutters’ heroics steered them to a total of medals that read 101. India finished ahead of England (142) and behind Australia (177). The culminating day (Oct 14th) saw the quest of an unimaginable 2nd place finish thanks to Jwala and Ashwini. They defeated Singapore’s Sari Shanti Mulia and Yao Lei with some ease and become the lone pair so far to win gold in women badminton (doubles). But the cherry on the cake was put by Indian badminton pioneer – Saina Nehwal. The hosts scalped addition one inclusive of a bronze medal when our table tennis masters Poulomi Ghatak and Mouma Das won in the doubles for women bronze medal final round alongside the Australian pair. Tan Zed Vivian and Peri Campbell-Innes. But the finals for the hockey men were a match to forget as they were thumped by the Kangaroos scoring 8 past their goal. Going into this match with some resilient attitude as shown in the semis, the Aussies brought them to ground by outplaying them with power play.

Master Blaster’s the Best; ICC admits:Sachin Tendulkar (quite unsurprisingly) was shortlisted for the most decorated cricketing accolade in contempt period, an award given to the greatest cricketer for the year that is named after Sir Garfield Sobers. The Master Blaster turned out to be the second Indian to win the accolade following the success of Rahul Dravid in the same award six years before. Afterwards accumulating 1,000 runs in Test match cricket this calendar year more to the point becoming the aboriginal cricketer to score a double century in LOI cricket playing against South Africa on Feb 24th 2010 in Gwalior, Sachin completed a double of awards at the even by also winning the famous – LG People’s Choice Award. The Men in Blue had a lot extra to applaud about as their striking opener, Virender Sehwag, with 1,282 runs in the game’s longer adaptation, was chosen as the Test Cricketer of the Year and M.S. Dhoni was selected as the captain of a World Test XI. In the previous, Sehwag’s Delhi team mate as well as opening partner, Gautam Gambhir was given this privilege. Decorated Indian off-spinner, B.S. Bedi was introduced into the Hall of Fame (for ICC) forth along with the legendary West Indies’ fast bowlers Garner and Walsh and Rachael Heyhoe Flint (ex-England women cricketer) The LOI (also known as ODI) Player of the Year was bagged by the South African cricketer A.B. de Villiers. Kangaroos see BLUE in India:In a highly anticipated and evenly fought cricket competition between two giants of the beautiful game of cricket between India and Australia, the former proved to be good for the Aussies. The Australian team over a period of time has seen its main workforce in Gilchrist, Hayden, McGrath and others retiring had to rely majorly on the young breed of players lacking experience of play in the Indian subcontinent. India had slipped its rank down a bit from No. 1 and was in a quest to get it back. That’s what actually transpired. Thanks to the great heroics of Sachin along with the rest of his teammates India were not only able to beat the Aussies but finish it as a clean sweep which the team Down Under hadn’t experienced for quite some time. Sachin’s double ton was the highlight of the series and imperative in order to retain the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Apart from the Test Series, India also won the ODI series without losing single game (1-0). Two of the three matches were abandoned due to bad weather conditions while the sole game played, India convincingly beat the Australians thanks to a solid partnership between Suresh Raina and Mohit Tiwary. The partnership between the two batsmen helped India to chase down a total just under 300.Current Affairs [September 2010]

Kalmadi and Co. pocket Common man’s Wealth:The contempt letters of forgery and fraud in Commonwealth Games resulted in an abnormally affliction of our nation’s picture. The bulk of finances used up on modernizing the venues for Commonwealth Games accommodate a prima facie affirmation of ample calibration enticement in the alignment of Commonwealth Games. The abstracts accessible on the Commonwealth Games website reveals that the amount of refurbishing the JNU stadium was USD 215 million; the IGI Stadium USD 150 million; the Hockey stadium (named after Dhyan Chand) USD 60 million; and the Shooting Alleys USD 35 million. An absolute sum of USD 10150 million was spent on renovations. The costs incurred in the advance of the lone cricket stadium in Delhi were USD 20 million. For the LBS stadium in Hyderabad was USD 18 million, and architecture of a contemporary and technology studded stadium in the city of oranges amounted USD 19 million. It is acute that the Central Government anon adjustment a top akin analysis into this arrangement and the dealings embarked on. It is abominable that such all-embracing abusage of communal resources has taken abode in the name of the Commonwealth Games. The accusations of inducement ambit from favoritism in accolade of affairs to big-ticket appoint of accessories for training and abrupt accretion in the costs of architecture treaties.

Bridge Collapses; Casualties cross double figures:Reportedly not less than 27 people were afflicted afterwards an under-construction foot over bridge burst within the close proximity of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the capital area of the Commonwealth Games, bidding the Organizing Committee (OC) to awning up by giving a statement or in other words a false sense of complacency and assurance that everything is being taken care of. The arch was to hotlink the amphitheater to parking for delegates and athletes. The Urban Development Minister, Jaipal Reddy has dismissed the pressures by quoting it is a negligible incident. The Public Works Department (PWD) has urged for an acoount of the structure from the builders. Later the aforementioned day, Organizing Committee Secretary General Lalit Bhanot addressed reporters: "We will put up a great show. He said the venues will be all set in the days to come and there would be added sprucing to accommodate top notch standards. However, the mishap is a concern to the CWG organizers, who are already nabbed amidst accuse of laziness and fraud for the XIX Edition. Previously, Mike Hooper, the main controller of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), remarked on the condition of hygiene at the Games Village as “dirty.”

Chennai are the Super Kings of Twenty20 Cricket:The Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings are the champions of the second edition of the AirTel Champions League Twenty20 hosted by South Africa from September 10th to September 26th. Chennai Super Kings defeated their fellow finalists in some fashion by 8 wickets in the final of the Champions League T20 2010.Warriors had won the toss earlier and decided to bat first but bootless to account an appropriate target, but only capable to set a minimal total of mere 128 runs for 7 wickets. Only Davy Jacobs’s denticulate 34 runs were the notable contribution and was also the best from the entire batting lineup of the Warriors. Muttiah Muralidaran was the most booming bowler scalping 3 wickets for only 16 runs. Ashwin got a couple of wickets for 16 runs as well. Chennai Super Kings started off in some style by baking batting by Murali Vijay who denticulate a 58 run total. Michael Hussey fabricated 42 handy runs to the total. The Opening brace fabricated 103 runs which fabricated their way of triumph easier than it ever seemed. With this Murali Vijay became the highest run getter of the second edition of the Champions League Twenty20. He was facilitated with the Man of the Match Award. With such great triumph on the world stage, the Indian and CSK captain has silenced his critics and is still in contention to be the best ever captain in the world today.

Current Affairs [August 2010]

Sehwag denied centuryA deliberate no ball by the Srilankan off-spinner Suraj Randiv to prevent Virendar Sehwag from completing his century in the tri-series has left a bad taste in the mouth for all cricket lovers. Indians were just short of 5 runs from destination called victory and the opening batsman VEERU was just a run away from his ton. At the same time Lankan skipper chose spinner S. Randiv to come in and bowl. On the third bowl of his spell Virender Sehwag sent the bowl out of the fence with a huge six but the turning point was that it was a no ball which defended Virender Sehwag from completing his century. As per the declaration of the match referee it was been found out that it was an intentional attempt.

Shooting GoldTejaswini Sawant created history by becoming India’s first female shooter to clinch gold at the World Shooting Championship held in Munich, Germany.

The 29-year-old, who shot a score of 597/600 (100, 100, 100, 99, 99, 99), equaling the world record in the process, won the 50m rifle prone event

Sri Lanka wins the tri seriesThe host Sri Lanka’ eight wicket victory over India in Dambulla represents its 25th win in a tournament final. Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara'who won the toss decided to bat against India in the tri-series final. The Sri Lankans won the match by 74 runs in this game. With this it became the second team to win a tournament final on 25 occasions. Australia has won 52 tournament finals.

First Indian US PGA Tour winnerArjun Atwal has become the first Indian Golfer to win the US PGA tour. Atwal, who started playing at the age of fourteen, became one of the leading players on the Asian Tour and the European tour. He is the the first native East Indian golfer to become a member of, and later win the U.S. PGA Tour.

Current Affairs [July 2010]

Saina Nehwal: A smash hitThe Indian Open Grand Prix Gold, the Singapore Open Super Series and then the Indonesian Open Super Series at Jakarta have given enough reasons to Saina to celebrate. The World No.3 defeated a fighting Sayaka Sato of Japan 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 in the badminton finals. Just two notches away from the badminton World No. 1, Saina is now indisputably India's top female athlete.

Khel awardsSaina Nehwal to be conferred the country’s top sporting honour-the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. While Jhulan Goswami skipper of womens cricket team, boxer Dinesh Kumar and Sandeep Singh are tipped to receive the Arjuna Awards in recognition of their outstanding achievements during the last one year, Footballer Sunil Chhetri and Deepak Mondal have also been nominated for the award that will be given away in Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29th Aug by President Pratibha Patil.

World cup for SpainIn a historic football victory Spain lifted their first-ever World Cup after defeating Netherlands 1-0 in Johannesburg. Andres Iniesta secured the only goal of an enthralling final against the Netherlands four minutes from the end of extra-time on Sunday leading his team to victory.

Current Affairs [June 2010]

French Open 2010 :o Men’s singles – Rafael Nadal defeated Robin Soderling. He is the

second person after Bjorn Borg to win 5th French Open titles.o Women’s singles- Francesca Schiavone (Italy) defeated Samantha

Stosur (Australia). She became first Italian women to won the French open.

o Men’s Doubles- Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic defeated Lukas Dlouhy & Leander Paes.

o Women’s Doubles- Serena Williams & Venus Williams defeated Kveta Peschke & Katarina Srebotnik.

o Mixed Doubles – Katarina Srebotnik & Nenad Zimonjic defeated Yavoslava Shvedova & Julian Knowle.

Saina Nehwal defeated Choo Wong Mew to win women’s single title in Yonex-Sunrise Indian Open badminton championship. In the Men’s singles Yunus Alamsyah won the title.

Saina Nehwal defeated Japan’s Sayaka Sato to win women’s singles title in Indonesian Open Super Series 2010.

Indian Ronjan Sodhi won the double trap gold medal at ISSF World Cup in Lonato, Italy.

India defeated Sri Lanka to won Asia Cup(Cricket) 2010. India won the title after 15 years i.e. it won the cup in 1995.

Saina Nehwal won the Women’s singles title in Singapore Super Series badminton championship 2010 defeating China’s Tzu Ying Tai. It was her 2nd consecutive title.

3000th ODI( One day international) cricket match was played between England & Australia.

Current Affairs [May 2010]

England won 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating Australia. The tournament was held at West Indies. Kevin Pieterson of England has been declared as Player of the Tournament.

Australia won 2010 Women’s World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating New Zealand.

India and South Korea were declared joint winner of 2010 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, after suspension of the final match due to heavy rains.India’s Sardar Singh has been declared as Best Player of the Tournament. Australia won the Bronze medal. The tournament was held at Ipoh (Malaysia). India had won the tournament earlier in 1985, 1991, 1995 & 2009.

China won Thomas Cup ( Men’s Badminton) defeating Indonesia. In the World Youth Boxing Championship, held at Baku, Azerbaijan, India

won 1 Gold & 1 Silver. Gold medal was won by Vikas Krishan and Silver medal was won by Shiva Thapa.

India won bronze medal in the 2nd Asian Paragliding Championship held at Nishiewa, Japan.

World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand retained his title after defeating Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the World Chess Championship 2010.

Current Affairs [April 2010]

IPL3 season won by Chennai Super Kings defeating Mumbai Indians. Youth Olympics Games 2010 to be held in Singapore in Aug 2010. World Youth Championship was held at Baku, Azerbaijan. Lawn tennis legend Martina Navratilova diagnosed with Breast Cancer. ‘Jumbo’ chosen as 2011 World Cricket Cup Mascot. World Kabbadi Cup 2010- India defeated Pakistan to won World Cup

Kabbadi 2010 held at Ludhiana. Pankaj Advani won the Asian Billiards Championship defeating Singapore’s

Peter Gilchrist for the consecutive third time. Badminton Asia Championship, Delhi :

o Men’s singles – Lin Dan defeated Wang Zhenguingo Women’s singles-Li Xiurei defeated Liu Xin.

Current Affairs [March 2010]

Tamil Nadu defeated West Bengal to won Vijay Harare Cricket Trophy. Australia won World Hockey Cup 2010 defeating Germany. India ranked at

8th place.

India won six gold medal in the Commonwealth Boxing Championship held at Delhi.

Two new IPL teams, Kochi was auctioned for Rs 1533 crore and Pune was auctioned for Rs 1702 crore. Kochi was auctioned to Rendezvous Adventure Sports Ltd. Pune was auctioned to Sahara Adventure Sports Ltd.

Current Affairs [February 2010]

Sachin Tendulkar became first player in the world to score a double century in ODI (One day International). He scored 200 (Not out) against South Africa.

11th South Asian Games 2010 : Held at Dhaka, Bangladesh from 29 Jan to 8 Feb. Originally scheduled to take place in 2009, but due to general elections in Bangladesh, the games were held in 2010. This was the third time that the Dhaka hosted the Games, thus becoming the first city to hold the games three times. 8 countries participated in the games in 23 different sports, including T20 cricket, which was introduced for the first time in SAG. The 8 countries included are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. 1The logo of the games was ‘Kutumb’, a flying doel , which is the national bird of Bangladesh. The mascot of the games featured a magpie robin, which was holding the torch to begin the games. The final medal tally include : India - 1st place with 90 G 55 S 29 B Total 174, Pakistan- 2nd place with 19 G 25 S 36 B Total 80, Bangladesh- 3rd place with 18 G 23 S 56 B Total 97.

West Zone won Duleep Trophy ( 2009-10) defeating South Zone. India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar won the Asian Tour International Trophy 2010. It is

his 2nd consecutive title. Euro 2012 to be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. 2010 Winter Olympic Games were held at Vancouver, Canada. Mascot of

the game was MIGA (a sea bear), QUATCHI( a sasquatch) and SUMI (animal guardian spirit). The logo of the games was Ilnaaq meaning Friend in Inuktut. There were 86 events in 7 sports. The games were held from 12 Feb to 28 Feb. Final medal tally. Canada- 14 G 7 S 5 B, Germany- 10 G 13 S 7 B, USA- 9 G 15 S 13 B.

IOC (International Olympic Committee ) has approved ICC (International Cricket Council) bid to join the Olympic games 2020. The first time cricket was included in the Olympic games was in Paris Olympic 1900.

11th World Hockey Cup 2010- To be held in Delhi, India. This is 2nd WHC which India is hosting. India also hosted the WHC in 1982 at Mumbai. 12 countries participated in the tournament. WHC is held in the years between two summer Olympics. First WHC was held at Barcelona in 1971. Pakistan has won the cup four times, Netherland three times, Germany two times, India & Australia once each. India won the WHC in 1975.

Commonwealth Shooting Championship was held in New Delhi in Feb 2010. India stood at first place with 35 Gold 25 Silver and 14 Bronze. England stood at 2nd place with 4 gold and Wales stood at 3rd place.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

U-19 World Cup 2010 held in New Zealand from 15 – 30 Jan 2010. Javagal Srinath from India appointed as one of the match referee for the tournament.

Australia won the U-19 World Cup for the third time defeating Pakistan. India is placed at 6th rank. Australia won the cup for the third time.

Rafael Nadal won the Capitala World Tennis Championsip, held at Abu Dhabi defeating Robin Soderling.

Magnus Carlsen becomes the youngest World No.1 chess player at the age of 19 years breaking the Garry Kasparov’s record when he became the world’s top ranked chess player at the age of 22 years in 1985. Magnus Carlsen is the 5th player after Kasparov, Kramnik, Topalov and V.Anand (India) to cross the 2800 ELO rating. In the Jan 2010 FIDE ranking, Carlsen stood at 1st place, Topalov at 2nd place and V Anand at 3rd place.

Marin Cilic defeated Staniglas Wawrinka to won Men’s singles title of Aircel Chennai Open.

Pakistan’s cricketer Shahid Afridi was banned for two T20 internationals after he was found guilty of ball tempering in a ODI against Australia.

Corus Chess Grandmaster Tournament won by Magnus Carlsen. V.Anand of India ranked at 4th place. Hopman Cup 2010- Spain defeated Great Britain.

Australian Open 2010 : Women’s Single- Serena William defeated Justin Henin. It is Serena’s 5th Australian Open title. It is also Serena’s 12th Grand Slam title equaling the record of Billie Jean King.

Men’s Single- Roger Federer(Swiss) defeated Andy Murray(Britain). It is Federer’s 4th Australian Open title. It is Federer’s 16th Grand Slam title.

Men’s Double- Mike Bryan & Bob Bryan defeated Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic.

Women’s Double – Serena Williams & Venus Williams defeated Cara Black & L Huber.

Mixed Double – Laender Paes (India) & Cara Black (Zimbabwe) defeated Ekterina Makasova & Jaroslav Levinsky. It is Paes’s 11th Grand Slam title.

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Indian Current Affairs News Sports News & Current Affairs Science And Technology News International Events

Hillary Clinton nominated as Secretary of State in Obama cabinet1st Dect 2008

Hillary Clinton has been nominated as the Secretary of State in the Obama Cabinet. President Clinton expressed his deep pride for his wife being chosen for this job.

Army Chiefs call for polls rejected by Somchari Nov 27 2008

Political uncertainty continues to loom over Thailand with protestors continuing three siege at Bangkok international airport. This goes on despite the Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat rejecting Army chief Anupong Paochinda's Proposal of getting over the crises by holding general elections. Flights have been gravely affected leaving passengers stranded at airport being unable to board the flight.

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ID card scheme in UK for non European foreign nationals Nov 26, 2008

The british government has put forward as scheme of biometric identity cards.This would be for non-European foreign nationals starting with students and foreign spouses of British citizens. The required people must be in possession of it within 3 years.

One hundred and one Indian prisoners have been released by PakistanNov 26, 2008

As a good will gesture Pakistan has released one hundred and one Indian prisoners mostly fishermen. With the talks of home secretary Madhukar Gupta and his Pakistani counterpart Syed Kamal Shah lead to this decision by the Pakistan government.

President elect Barack Obama faces a economic challenges: Nov 26, 2008

Barack Obama the president elect of US introduced his economic team recently.Timothy F. Geithner has been nominated as Treasury Secretary and Lawrence H.Summers to head the White House economic concil. Obama’s economic policy would be focused for middle class families and financial markets. Christina Romer is nominated for White House Council of Economic Advisers chair, Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary, Lawrence Summers as head of the National Economic Council .

Neel Kashkari-an Indian American to look over the financial crises of Wall Street. (7th October 2008)

The finanacial catastrophe in the Wall street leading to global turmoil will be looked upon.Sure will it be, but that by an Indian American.Neel Kashkari the guy is set to prove his mettle and expert tackling.Just 35,he is the Assistant Secretary for International Affairs in the Department of Treasury,as the interim head for its new office of financial stability,which includes the troubled Asset Relief Program.It is seeing over this $700 billion problematic situation, threatening the US economy.He has served in the Bush administration at Tier Two cabinet levels.If his appointment is confirmed he would be looking over the Treasurury's effort to buy sick areas and deal with them amicably,buying bad loans, and other upset securities.

Kashkari has bachelor's degree in engineering from University of Illinios at Urbana-Champaign.He has masters in aeorospace engineering .Having worked in R&D Principal investor at the company TRW in Redondo Beach,California,he has worked upon a technology for NASA on James Webb Space Telescope,to be replaced for Hubble.It is scheduled to be launched in 2013.

Hillary Clinton a possible official as Secretary of State (22nd Nov September 2008)

Global market heads towards recovery (19th September 2008)

Global markets are recovering now.European stocks opened with considerable margin following a day profiatable trading on Wall Street.The stock market in asia showed considerable recovery.All this happened after the news spread of the package of up to $247 billion to be invested at money markets from the U.S federal reserve,European Central Bank,the Swiss National Bank,the Bank of England,the Bank of Canada and the Bank of Japan.The swelling upto $180 billion in fund availability is for getting away with the financial crises and ensure profitable business.

The bankruptcy of prominent U.S brokerage Lehman Brothers,a Bank of America, Merrill Lynch,AIG has dampened of their confidence by the investors.

Serious financial crises and the world economy (18th September 2008)

The most reputed and stable financial institutions of America have collapsed.Because of this, it has effected economy globally.Merrill Lynch,Lehman Brothers,American International Group AIG have gone in financial crises.This happened because of bad mortgage finance and real estate investments.Both Lehman and Merrill Lynch ventured into real estate with great risk and got caught up in financial problem.

With Lehman's stock tumbling sharply,other firms backed off from doing business with it.This is a serious financial crises and desperate measures are being taken to get out of it.Lehman has decided to curb its trading and filed for bankruptcy. Merrill Lynch has agreed to sell itself on Sunday to Bank of America for roughly $50 Billion.Lehman Brothers a securities firm, filed for bankruptcy and tried to

liquify its assets, because of no buyer.It has decided to curb its trading operations and so on. As concerned to AIG (American International Group), its problem arose with its one unit dealing in complex debt securities and derivatives.That unit is a cause of loss which is more, than the profit margin from its other units functioning profitably.It's credit scores were lowered by credit rating agencies, making it to seek multibillion dollar investment in order to survive.American International Group AIG had to take help from federal Reserve.

According to the associated Press,this is reported to be the biggest collapse of an investment bank after Drexel Burnham Lambert 18 years ago. The whole question is of its after effects on the American economy and global economy like in Asian market and elsewhere.

The desperate need of these tumbling financial giants for buyers,series of deals and grouping and regrouping of other companies to counter financial worsening still does not give much respite from the situation. In India,people rushed to pull their shares of favourable price fearing they may lose more in collapsing sectors.This affected in loss in already wobbly situation.Realty and metal stocks have suffered big loss.Below 3761 is a danger sign.The major losers were Ranbaxy Laboratories (-5.44%), Satyam Computer (-4.52%), DLF (-4.21%), Jaiprakash Associates (-4.11%), Bharti Airtel (-3.82%) and ICICI Bank (-3.59%).Only Tata motors (1.24%) and State Bank of India (0.19%) made profit.

In other asian countires like Japan,Hong Kong, and South Korea stock market dipped more than 5 percent in morning trade.

As for now, the financial situation is very grave and has deteriorated because bulk of the investors have pulled their money all of a sudden and have invested in other places like treasury bills.Cost of borrowing has increased and federal bank is trying to relax its rules to avert the situation to the possible extend. The effect of all this would be more unemployment due to job cuts,less salary,high lending rates affecting the already weak housing market and so on.

Zardari becomes President of Pakistan (9th September 2008)

Asif Ali Zardari is the new Pakistani president after Pervez Musharraf.The widower of Benazir Bhutto and son in law of Late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto is the co-chairman of Pakistan's People Party (PPP).He was elected with big majority. The leader of the House in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani hailed his election and talked about the balance of president's power and the Judiciary.The leader also mentioned of the government's agenda in strengthening of law and order and restoration of Judges.

Georgia snaps diplomatic ties with Russia (30th August 2008)

Georgia has snapped its diplomatic ties with Russia. It moved for new propagation for EU and support from United States to pressurize Moscow to withdraw its troops. With the shutting off the diplomatic ties with the Russian federation, the Russian diplomats would have to leave Georgia. This was said by Deputy Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze.For the hundreds of thousands of Georgians living in Russia, consular relations nevertheless would be maintained as decided. The Human Rights Commissioner, Thomas Hammarberg mentioned of emptiness and large scale damaging situation of the ethnic Georgian villages in the region. The new satellite images give a different picture of havoc and ethnic cleansing against the Georgian population of South Ossetia which are denied by Russia.

Barack Obama, McCain and the American elections. (30th August 2008)

Barack Obama has been nominated for the American President post against McCain.McCain is the nominee from the Republican side.The vice presidential candidate of Obama is Joe Biden who is a senior senator from Delware.The vice presidential candidate of McCain is Sarah Palin who is the governer of Alaska.Her sudden emergence into the limelight for vice presidential nomination has surprised many. Both sides claim of having the best mind on their side and best strategist for steering America into new course for a better future.

Beijing Olympics close with a dazzling show (25 August 2008)

With new records and new histories, the Beijing Olympics ended with a grand spectacle. Magnificent fireworks were displayed with nearly 90,000 people in the stadium in the form of Bird’s nest.

A delegation from London including the flamboyant soccer star David Beckham, was present. Gordon Brown the Prime Minister of Britain and London' mayor too were present. The Olympic flag was handed over to the London mayor by Beijing Mayor Go Jinlong.

The economic power of China was displayed as it had invested more than $40 billion in hosting Olympics. China got most of the gold medals and United States lead overall tally of medals.

There were some serious untoward incidents as the attack on Beijing tourist site when U.S volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon’s father-in-law was fatally stabbed by a Chinese man who committed suicide after. China had taken measures to bring air pollution under control and media too did not display vivid widespread health concerns as foreigners had been attending the games. The menus of the restaurants had been modified keeping in view of tourists and as a whole the communist nation had shown smooth handling of logistics throughout the Olympics.

What is Russian Georgian Conflict basically? (23 August 2008)

Russia claims to have complied by ceasefire agreements but they are accused of still being present at some checkpoints.

The conflict of Georgia Russia is an anecdote of ethnics, regionalism and economic dominance. The issue has come under global limelight again due to the war but the hostilities are since long back. The issue has been cooking up since much before.

But in short, before the fall of the former USSR, South Ossetia was actually a part of Georgia which came under USSR.After the collapse of communism and Russia broke, these became independent countries.

The tension is due to the exertion of political dominance by Georgia over South Ossetia which South Ossetia does not like.Another region Abkhazia which too has the same tension with Georgia too is the cause of this Russia Georgia war.

On Nov 10 1989, the South Ossetia applied for autonomy to the Georgian Supreme Soviet.It had also been granted, but later what irked Ossetia was that the Georgian Supreme Soviet adopted a law barring regional parties in summer 1990.Ossetia took it as move against its concerns and repudiated Georgia’s official status over it by proclaiming South Ossetia a Soviet Democratic Republic. Ossetians also boycotted subsequent Georgian parliamentary elections and held their own contest in December. In turn, Georgia declared this election illegitimate and abolished South Ossetia’s autonomous completely in 11th December 1990. The fresh waves of hostility swept due to this between South Ossetia and Georgia.

Territorial tensions upon migration by natives. One event in turn lead to another, heightening hostility and bloodshed and large scale violence.Due to this violence, Georgians and Ossetians began migrating to other places for safety.This further created tension over territorial areas when Ossetians moved to settle in North Ossetia.This was objected by Ingush as the place had been their former territory before being expelled from there by Stalin. So the arrival of Ossetians at their former place infuriated the Ingush.

In the midst of all this hullabaloo, Georgia signed cease fire with Russia to avoid further escalation of situation.It also confirmed of not imposing of any sanctions against South Ossetia. Howerer the spark remained as Georgia still has control over much regions of South Ossetia including important town of Akhalgori.

To keep the matter from getting uneven, a peacekeeping force of Russians, Ossetians and Georgians was established.

The Incidents leading to attack by Georgia on Ossetia and Russia’s backlash.In spite of ceasefire deal on August 13 2008, incidents like smuggling hostage takings,shootouts and bombing occassionally deteriorated the stability as claimed by Georgia and this one of the basic reason of its immediate attack on South Ossetia on 7th of August 2008 which has made headlines worldwide. Incidents such as passing resolution in support of South Ossetian secessionists by Russia, closure of important market hampering Russia’s trade by Georgia’s side, closure of highway in

retaliation between Russia and Georgia by South Ossetians to hamper Georgia, all this made more reason for Russia to take a plunge into the war against Georgia.

Russia’s and Georgia’s Blame on each other.Also Russia blamed Georgia of killing Russian peacekeepers and doing “ethnic cleansing” of natives in South Ossetia.Since many of the 70,000 people in South Ossetia speak Russian and have Russian passports.Russia thinks it needs to reassert its influence over its immediate borders here that is Georgia and South Ossetia and set things right. Georgia accuses Russia in toppling the government and causing to get regime change.

As of now the cease fire has taken place and Russian troops have withdrawn after the intervention of France in particular to negotiate. Russian military action was also condemned by the United States and other NATO countries to which Georgia has affinity inspite of not being NATO member.

Though all these are apparent reasons for war but the actual and internal motives still linger around economic superiority, proposed long term economic and business plans which either country would like to take advantage of.

Safeguards pact endorsed by IAEA chief (1 August 2008)

The primary inspection plan for India met safeguards standards.Talks have begun on a mode of extended checks,prospects for enhancing Indo-US nuclear deal.A condition set for the Indo-Us nuclear deal to be carried forward was the approval of the inspection plans based on his recommendations. When the International Atomic Energy Agency governers gave a consent on this,India would now seek a waiver from 45 nuclear supplier nations to allow trading with a non NPt countries.After this US Congress would consent to finalise the final deal. Futher pros and cons are underway for full fledged implementations.

Pakistan demands nuclear status (31 July 2008)

After the Indo-US nuclear deal in formation, Pakistan also exerted its right to be granted nuclear status. Mohammed Sadiq,spokesperson for Pakistan Foreign Office showed concern for the national security and expressed that the government of Pakistan would do all within its ability to secure it.In the context, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has shown Pakistan new proofs of the links between country's spy service and some militant groups.The violence in Afganistan is linked to this factor.

Iraq Ban lifted by IOC (30 July 2008)

International Olympic Committee has relented and permitted Iraq to take part in the Olympics. IOC has lifted the ban on Iraqi atheletes for the beijing olympics. After the IOC had meeting with the Iraqi officials in Switzerland,the IOC revised their decision and now the athletes will be able to take part in the Olympics in Beijing next month.

“Bush a total failure” says Pelosi (18 July 2008) The first woman speaker of the United States Nancy Pelosi has been a sharp critic of the American President. With her timely outpour of complete dissatisfaction over his policies in various interviews, she, yet again, came out with a highly frustrated tone. It was a backlash after two days to the President’s criticism in which he talked having just 26 legislative days in hand in the fiscal year. Bush said that Congress would require every other day to get its work done in this span of time. It wasn’t a matter of pride Bush commented.

In the interview, the Nancy Pelosi ruled out the President’s validity on such comments citing reason of him that of having no ideas. She also remarked that he was in no position to criticize the Congress.Meanwhile Pelosi’s comments came when Congress approval was all time low in 30 years. Pelosi linked the cause of this to Congress’ failure in ending the Iraq war. She highly disapproved of congress’ working in ceasing the war.

Again opposed to the President’s favoring for offshore drilling for oil and opening up areas like Artic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska for oil exploration, Pelosi has strongly taken a stand against it. In retrospect to this, 73 percent of poll has shown favor in this regard. The bottom line of her disapproval

is due to the apparent non exhaustion of federal areas leased beforehand for approval in drilling. That should be in focus rather than venturing for new avenues for oil exploration, she meant. 

Iran test fires more missiles (10th July 2008) In continuation of the previous exercises,Iran test fired further missiles on Thursday,prompting United States to take steps to build anti missile defence setup.

G-8 leaders mention of countering global warming (9rd July 2008) G-8 leaders of the world’s major economies pledged to combat climate change without highlighting specific steps in that regard. The leaders unanimously agreed to cut the greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2050. The G-8 countries which make up Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States and the other countries that are South Korea, Mexico European Union, India, South Africa Australia, Brazil, China, and Indonesia.

Betancourt and 14 others get freedom (3rd July 2008)

After being in captivity for more than 6 years, the former Columbian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt along with three US contractors and 11 others got freedom.The rescue operation took on Wednesday by Colombian military force. This was reported by Juan Manuel Santos the defence minister.

The revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) kidnapped Ingrid Betancourt on February 23rd 2002. She is reported to be in fine health. Also when the plane carrying the three contractors Thomas Howes,Keith Stansell and Marc Gonsalves crashed in southern Columbia, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia kidnapped them and were held hostage .The three hostages were under the contract with the US Department of Defence and were working against anti-drug tasks in Columbia. FARC had plans to exchange Betancourt ,the three US citizens as scores of military and police personnel for FARC rebels in prison. The FARC have been outwitted and have lost three of their members including their Boss in recent time.

UN Condemns Zimbabwean government. (24, June 2008)

United Nations has condemned the Zimbabwean government because of its inefficiency in controlling the violence in the election campaign. The UN raised its doubts on smooth facilitation of such elections in such circumstances. But inspite of that Mugabe’s governenment which is incumbent, is confident of holding elections on 27th.

No immediate solution of high oil prices. (24, June 2008) 

The United States has expressed hopelessness in lessening of the oil prices in short time. In the white house release statement, the government has expressed possibility in the increase of the oil production within that country. Though the statement also mentioned of the efforts in bringing down the fuel demand in taking control of other measures, still, there is a lookout for ways to increase domestic production in United States. in the same time Saudi Government has plans to increase its oil output.

Saudi Arabia will increase its oil production.(16th June 2008)

Saudi Arabia has decided to increase its oil production by 200,000 barrels per day from next month.This was told by Kingdom's oil minister to U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon according to Ban's spokesman. On meeting with Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi U.N. chief was disclosed of this decision.

Rise in Oil Prices (6, June 2008)

Oil price have caught the headlines recently due their increased prices. Analysts reason out the increase in prices due to various factors. Some reasons are due to political tensions circulation around middle east countries. The deteriorating condition of Iraq, terror attack in Saudi Arabia, all make impact. The change in supply limit due to speculations on the demand for oil too pave way for a price change. OPEC decided to reduce its production limit, though not causing scarcity, but nevertheless it did cause tension in developed countries and effected price. As the price of Oil is above $120 a barrel, the price of gas, kerosene, petrol and other petroleum products too has been effected. Due to unavoidable circumstances Oil companies were forced to sell at a loss of millions of pounds a day.

Countries too have responded with respect to the global scenario like Malaysia which is a net exporter of Oil has raised fuel prices by 41 percent .It has also dropped subsidies.The price rise of petrol diesel kerosene all has effected a common man in India and there is a heavy pressure on the democracy to come up with a respite in some way or the other.

2008- International Year of Sanitation (4, Jan 2008) 

National Events

Terror attacks in Mumbai Nov 27 2008

Major terror attacks took place in Mumbai on Wednesday .Explosion and firing from various parts of the city took place.Twenty people are reported to have been dead and 348 injuredUnofficial reports give death toll as 60. Maharashtra Director General of Police A.N. Roy said that seven attacks took place three of them encounters. A.K. Sharma reported that 2 and 3 persons carrying AK.47 rifles and grenades entered the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminu8s with AK 47 rifles at 8.35 and indiscrimately opened fire. Outside the Trident Hotel two low intensity explosions and firing was reported. In Colaba firing took place too. Police has been on high alert and people were rushed to hte hospitals. Centre has rushed NSG commandos to Mumbai.

Heavy Rains in Chennai Nov 27 2008

Cyclone name "Nisha"is siad to be the cause of heavy rains wand winds in several parts of chennai. Due to incessant rain nearly 20 flights were affected. In many places road were flooded.Local Administration Ministrator Stalin inspected relief measures in North Chennai. 1500 food packets were distributed. Local helpline number-1913 was put to look after complaints of water stagnation and such flood relief measures.

Turkish consulate to be opened n Mumbai soon Nov 27 2008

Ravi Chaudhary representative of the investment support and promotion Agency of Turkey(ISPAT) said that Turkey will have consulate in Mumbai in next Three months.By 2010-2011 new consulate would be established in either Chennai and Bangalore.

Fuel prices likely to lower after elections Nov 26, 2008

Murli Deora linked over the roll back of petroleum prices after the assembly elections. This will take place in six states. Reasoning that of the international crude oil prices having gone down this decision would take place after polls. The prices of petrol had climbed by Rs 5/- diesel by 3/- a litre and domestic LPG by Rs 50 per cylinder when the international crude oil rate was record high. In July 2008 India’s crude basket was $45.54 per barrel just recently on Monday when international price had reached $147 in July.

Legendary Goal Keeper Peter Thangaraj is no more. Nov 26, 2008

Peter Thangaraj the goal keeper of Indian football team has passed away. In 1962 Indian team won the gold in Jakarta Asian Games of which he was the goal keeper. He is survived by his wife, one son and three daughters. He was voted as Asia’s finest goal keeper in 1958. He has played for India between 1954, 1968. He played for India in four Asiads in 1954,1958,1962 and 1966. He was an Arjuna Awardee.

Nano roll out decided from Gujarat. (7th October 2008)

The proposed site for the manufacture of nano car has been decided in Gujarat.The site near Sanand,25 kms from the western side of Ahmedabad has been selected.The formalities for the allotment of 1000 acres of land to the Tatas is all cleared.The land is located in 2200 acre campus which was owned by the Anand Agriculture University before its being given back to the governement.It is used as a cattle and seed farm.After much looking for other places after the Singur's drop out,many state governments have been inviting tata to invest in their state.

Assam Violence (7th October 2008)

Violence in Assam has been going on between Bodo rebels and Bangladeshi migrants. First clashes broke out in Assam’s Udalguri and Darrang districts. Five hundred houses have been set ablaze till the

update of this news,over one lakh people are sheltering in relief camps. Four companies of BSF were deployed and more have to come.State government spokes man Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused the National Democratic Front if Bodoland (NDFB) of being involved in ethnic-cleansing in the Bodoland Territorial Administered Districts (BTAD).The government threatens to look again over the ceasefire agreements. The media is said to have potrayed the ongoing clash as ethnic cleansing and not communal as said by Sarma who is the health Misnister after visiting troubled Udalguri and Darrang Districts.

Police is using Helicopters for patrolling in Assam to stops attacks over the Bangladeshi migrants. Clashes in the past have killed thousands of mainly Bangladeshi migrants.

Attack on Christians (7th October 2008)

The recent attack on Christians in Orrisa,has caught headlines everywhere.This air is already tense due to the active work of christian missionaries there which is strongly despised by the hindu fundametalists.Since the work also leads to lot of conversions into christianity,occassionally christian missionaries become target of attack due to this.Recently the leader of Bajrang Dal(a radical section of the Hindu nationalist organisation RSS, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh),Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati was murdered.It is percieved to be done by Christians, as the Bajrang Dal leader was sharp opponent of the missionary work particularly of conversions.His murder lead to severe backlash with mass murders,burning of churches,etc.

Though the Maoist group ownes up the killing of the leader but Bajrang Dal activists and their other well wishers deny it.They say his murder does not serve the interests of the maoist group so they don't see enimity with Maoists in his murder.Attacks have also spread to Mangalore in Karnataka state.Both in Orrisa and Karnataka BJP is in power and Karnataka CM is also reported to have asked for cessation of forcible conversions by the christians.In reality no one can forcibly convert into chrisitianity as it is a matter of faith and belief and that is what is the main thing in conversion. Superior General of christian missionary Sister Nirmala has written letter to the Orrisa CM for provision of proper security for the christians under attack.The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Willams,has expressed deep anguish over the attack and destruction on christian interests and has hoped for rebuilding and good future.

US India Business Council cancels visit to Kolkata (19th Sept 2008)

US India Business Council (USIBC) delegation has cancelled its visit to Kolkata. The backup of TATA in nano small car manufacturing from Singur in West Bengal is said to be the reason.

USIBC president Ron Somers disclosed of the cancellation due to the political turmoil created due to Singur controversy. Because of this hope of new investment thereby opportunities for new jobs have dwindled for now. It was however mentioned that the go ahead may be possible in future if the circumstances become more favourable.

USIBC delegates however would visit Hyderabad and Delhi for opening up of more business opportunities in agriculture, retail, real estate and supply chain management. The reason cited for the cancellation by the US consulate in Kolkata was because of time pressure.

Blasts in Delhi kill around thirty and wound hundreds (13th Sept 2008)

India bled on Saturday. The evil head of terrorism raised its ugly head again this time in Delhi, killing the innocents and wounding many. The death toll has reached nearly 30 and hundred others wounded. Home Minister Shivraj Patil has called upon all security personnel to review the security arrangements across the country. Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta told of streamlining the security measures in various ways and the home ministry has listed of precautionary measures to aware the citizens with do’s and don’ts.

Five blasts took place within 40 minutes beginning at around 6:15 pm (1245 GMT), in the city’s crowded Ghaffar Market, Connaught Place and Greater Kailash leaving complete havoc and chaos. At least 4 bombs were defused also. Delhi police has assured of cracking the case soon and bringing the culprits to justice.

British Justice Minister Jack Straw who was in Delhi for a three day visit expressed his anguish and cited urgency for UK and India to jointly work in countering this menace. He conveyed of the British PM Gordon Brown’s worry over this issue. Messages from across the world have been pouring with condemnation over the blasts.

The former president and Missile Man A.P.J Abdul Kalam, has given points in countering terrorism with more effectiveness that is, by implementation for strong anti terror law, stringent punishment and faster justice, effective participation of people for effective gathering of intelligence in all levels. He also called for National citizen identity card to be issued for keeping tab on individuals.

Violence in Srinagar (13th Sept 2008)

It was the second day of continued violence in Srinagar.The clash between security forces and agitators continued since the second day on Saturday in Maisuma area of the city.The situation got sparked off over the killing of two persons in police firing.It had all off a sudden when in a normal day the clashes broke out forcing the closing of shops and other establishments.

Satyam Computer Services Decides of Pull Back from West Bengal (13th Sept 2008)

Satyam Computer Services,which is the fouth largest software exporter of India,has decided to pull out its operations from Kolkata.The company decided not go ahead with its proposed software development center at Salt lake's Sector V, Kolkata's IT hub.This was decided in the meeting last week.The disclosion has not been given formally to the Bengal government.The reasons cited for pull back are,that the piece of proposed land for setup is low lying and prone to water logging particularly in monsoons.

TATA's nano car factory setup in Singur will be pulled out (4th Sept 2008)

TATA have decided that the factory which was setup in Singur in West Bengal will not operate.The infrastructure will be removed

Flood in Assam (2nd Sept 2008)

The flood has created havoc in Assam. One million people have been displaced and 15 people have died. 16 districts have been hit by the floods. Army soldiers were deployed for relief and rescue missions. It is reported that flood affected 1346 villages. affecting a land area of about2.69 609 hectares. These data are from the first wave of floods that began on May 28.

The Singur dilemma and the TATA’s dream project. (28nd August 2008)

The TATA brought a dream and along with it a controversy. It’s a debate over the industrialization over the farming land depicted with an anguished face of a hapless farmer.

The question is all about 400 acres of land. The Bengal government gave 400 acres of land to the TATA’s at Singur in West Bengal for setting up their manufacturing unit of car ‘nano’ and that’s when the hell broke loose. Mamta Banerjee the “Saviour” of farmers jumped into the fray to keep the TATA’s at bay. Mamta Banerjee says that the land has been snatched away from the farmers and is leading agitation against this. A prominent activist Medha Patkar and Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh, former congress leader Soumen Mitra,Krishijami Jiban Jibika Raksha Committee (Save Farmland Committee), convenor Purnendu Bose and other political and social activists have joined hands in the protest.

The Bengal government says that it cannot retreat on this issue as the land in question is segregated and not one whole piece, giving back of it is not feasible. Besides the uprooting of infrastructure too is very problematic but the TATA has nevertheless threatened to pull out if the tension continues.

As of now the work in the factory has been halted due to the security concerns.

PM allots 1000 crore for flood hit Bihar (28nd August 2008)

The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the flood in Bihar as national calamity. Rs 1000 crore have been allotted for the relief and remedial operation with immediate effect. The Prime Minister was accompanied by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in aerial survey of the four most effected districts of Bihar. The flood due to the breakage of Kosi river from its destined route continues to spell doom.

Personnel of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Special Auxiliary Police (SAP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB),state police and the army were engaged in the flood-hit areas to provide help. As per the statical records, more than 20 lakh people and their houses, towns 242 panchyats and 671 villages have been inundated due to the river flow through them.

Kosi River creates Havoc in Bihar (26nd August 2008)

In north Bihar the mighty Kosi River broke its embankment and began to flow on different route causing submerging of towns, many villages. Many people have lost homes and many have died. Near the Bhimnagar barrage, which is close to the Nepal border, it broke its bank and is directed towards the Ganga, over almost 100km south.

The great fear looms further as what is startling is that 3km wide breach is growing by 200 meters every day. Since the Bhimnagar barrage is just 12km away if the breach reaches barrage, huge inhabited areas of Supaul, Aharsa, Araria, Madhepura ,Katihar and Purnea districts would be drowned causing catastrophe on ever bigger scale.

To solve this, repair work need to be done in Nepal. Upon the arrival of Indian team there, violent protest turned them back. It is seen that full fledged involvement of Center is needed to tackle this in understanding with Nepal government

The Amarnath crises remains in deadlock (22nd August 2008)

Amaranth is a cave in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is held significant on basis of Hindu mythology and more people go in large numbers annually in specific period there out of devotion. For the convenience of huge mass coming there and making the trip to the cave, the government of India and the state government of Jammu and Kashmir officially got the 100 acres of forest land transferred to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board(SASB) which is a body involved in Amarnath issue.

The transferring of the land to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) sparked off protest for reversal of the land allotment and the issue got into imbroglio. The government did revoke its order of land transfer under pressure and this in turn created backlash by the devotees against revoking. Timely the curfew were imposed and then lifted but the situation remained tense.

Many people have died in police firing and both the parties stick to their stance, one insisting on not allotting the forest land to the Shrine Board and another insisting upon the allotment of the forest land as before revoking.

In early August 2008, the members of the Amaranth Shrine Board resigned in demand for land allotment. Few of the devotees even went upto commiting suicide to instigate the masses. In the same month Army had been deployed since then to take control of the situation. In midst of the controversy, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned.

In August 22 the Hurriyat began Idgah rally against the land allotment and the government is keen to bring down the matter to the negotiating table. As of now the situation remains in a deadlock.

Longest runway in Asia at IGI Airport. (21st August 2008)

Indra Gandhi International airport will have a new runway which will be the longest one in Asia. The runway would be 4430 meters long and would have advanced runway lighting system.Facility of CAT-3B technology would be deployed for landing assistance in foggy conditions.The new runway would capable to accommodate landing of very big planes such as A-380, AB-225 and so on.

Flights effected due to AAI strike. (20th August 2008)

In the wake for demand of privatisation of government owned airports and salaries, airport authority of India (AAI) went on a 12 hour strike. The nation wide general strike by the the Central Public Sector Trade Unions (CPSTU) has been supported in this respect.

Passengers faced inconvenience in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kokata and other cities. All airport employees had gone on strike under the the airport Authority Employees' Union (AAEU) which demanded cessation of further privatisation or leasing out of other AAI airports in the country. Delhi

International Airport Ltd had taken up preparatory measures to minimise the effect of the strike in airport functioning.

Resignation by all the members of Amarnath Shrine Board (6th August 2008)

All ten members of the Amarnath land row tendered their resignation in the amidst of the controversy of land revocation from the Shrine board. The resignations have been submitted to J&K Governor NN Vohra. The board is firm on its stance for over ruling the previous decision and allotting back the land to the shrine board.

India to get new undersea cruise missiles (4nd August 2008)

India will get the upgraded Kiloclass submarine INS Sindhuvijay.It has dangerous Kub-S-Cruise missiles.It will be bought from Russia and delivery is scheduled in one week.

Curfew imposed in Jammu, Army deployed(2nd August 2008)

Curfew has been imposed and army deployed to check with the menace of violence in the region. Due to firing on the protesters which were against the transfer of forest land to Shri Anmarnathji Shrine Board (SASB),the situation got serious. The situation got tense after the announcement of of Governer NN Vohra that the shrine board would be assigned back the responsibility of annual yatra. In Samba Army was deployed and Jammu and Samba were under the curfew. The representatives of Shri Amarnathji yatra have ruled out of any talks with Governere Vohra over the Amarmanth land scuffle.

Train mishap- Fire engulfs the coaches (2nd August 2008)

Eight people were injured, and 32 died, when fire broke out in the Secunderabad-Kakinada Gouthami Express train. This happened in the wee hours in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh on Friday.About 200 kms from Hyderabad, fire broke out in the speeding train probably due to short circuit.

CPM leader Harkishan Surjeet is no more(1st August 2008)

CPM leader Harkishan Surjeet has passed away due to cardiac arrest on this day. He was 92 and was hospitalized for some time. CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat disclosed of the news. His conditioned had worsened since last week. He had played a vital role in keeping BJP out of power in 1996 and facilitated in the formation of coalition government by the congress at the centre eight years later.

Blasts in Gujarat (29th July 2008)

The death toll of 45 has been officially declared with 160 people wounded.The bombs of ammonium nitrate were were strapped to bicycles and motorbikes and under the seats of crowded public buses.They were detonated with timers.Around 30 people have been taken for interrogation. Three more live bombs have been defused after that in Surat. People have shown concern in maintenance of communal harmony and depicted and understanding that the terror victimizes anyone irrespective of religion or caste and has to be jointly combated in unison by all the citizens living.

Seven Blasts have taken place in Bangalore (25th July 2008)

Seven blasts took place in Bangalore in places namely Midwala bus depot, Mysore road, Adugudi, Koramangla, Vittal Mallaya road, Langford Town and Richmond Town.These blasts took place within one hour. The blasts were timed which was told by Bangalore Commissioner of Police, Shankar Bidari. Some companies shut off their workplaces, as well as some schools, colleges, malls and cinemas. The intensity of explosions are classified as comparatively lower and were of crude explosives. The investigations are on.

Curfew lifted in Jammu (25th July 2008) The curfew was lifted in Jammu on Friday and nearby areas after sensing favourable environment in that respect.Twelve policemen and other 27 were wounded in the violent confrontation with agitators.Jammu Deputy Commissioner Mandeep K Bandari of Jammu told that patrol by the cops and CRPF is intesified and if necessary the curfew will be reimposed according to sources.

Curfew imposed in Jammu (24th July 2008)

The cancellation of land transfer to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) still caused repercussion with latest being the suicide of a man in anger. Divisional Commissioner of Jammu Sudhanshu Pandey disclosed the decision of imposing indefinite curfew in precaution. The dead man Kuldip Kumar Dogra came up with a new idea to instigate the masses by committing suicide in front of them as he consumed poison after a speech thus creating a live scene.It did cause turmoil in people and the situation got violent.

UPA Cabinet Expansion Likely in August (24th July 2008)

The after effects of winning the trust vote by UPA will eventually make significant headlines as of now when PM is planning expansion of ministerial berths. Its likely that that the cabinet maybe expanded in August. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has ruled out any kind of deal under the tables in allotment of ministerial berth in return for vote.Meanwhile the United States expressed its happiness over the win of UPA government.

BJP expels its 8 MPs (23th July 2008)

BJP leashed out its fury by expelling its 8 MPs after it had to take a big jolt as six of its MP’s voted in favor of UPA while some remained absent. The high command expressed it rage by the number of MPs which voted against its directives and has called the voting as tainted. With the conspiracies of bribery creeping up in this episode, Advani demanded investigation in this regard. The retaliatory comments from the various leaders are now from various sides. As in case of the comment by Mayawati, the BSP chief who pointed at NDA for supporting government in order to shield the PM chair from her due to her being a dalit lest it may lead to her accession on it due to her being a Dalit. The allegation was refuted by the sources.

Lok Sabha speaker shown the exit door of the party (23rd July 2008)

The Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee was expelled form the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) for refusing to resign on his own. After the withdrawl of support to the UPA by the four left parties he was pestered to submit his resignation.The politburo of the CPM held meeting which comprises of 14 members to took decision to expel Chatterjee for being inconsitent to the party's concerns.

UPA wins confidence vote, set to move on with Nuclear deal (23rd July 2008)

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is the seventh Prime Minister to win the trust vote.Having won the confidence vote after a heated debate on the Nuclear deal, the Nuclear deal will set to be forwarded to next levels. 

The major moves set for now is that the technical details of the India specific safeguards agreements will be briefed to the IAEA’s 144 members. August 1st is scheduled for endorsement of it by the IAEA board of governors. After this the German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to convene plenary meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers country’s representatives which are 45 in number. It is hoped that NSG exemption will be through by around 1st week of September. Following that, the US congress is expected to be presented with all the agreements along with the 123 pact by the US presidential determination for ratification with an up down vote. India is anxious about the US draft and has specifically conveyed in setting its eyes on it before its being circulated. 

MPs for Sale (21th July 2008) 

There have emerged news about the MP's being offered upto whopping 50 crores to vote in favour of UPA. Shiv Sena had recently clarified its stand as opposed to UPA in nuclear deal.It is now of concern that some of its MP's might 'give way' and vote in favour of UPA as against the party's unanimous decision.The news leaked that at least three its MP's had been seduced with the offering by Congress,NCP and bookies.In the midst of this drama, K Krishnan,chairman of Venus Detectives told TOI of their service being asked for, for prying on the MP's by their respective parties.

Nine soldiers die in a Blast in J& K (19th July 2008) 

Nine soldiers are confirmed to be killed and many others wounded in a Blast in Jammu and Kashmir. The attack is believed to be carried by militant group.When the army convoy neared Narbal which is 15 Km from Srinagar,an IED exploded on Srinagar Baramulla Highway leading to the calamity.

India's draft to IAEA,with clauses (10th July 2008)

The Associated Press obtained a confidential document in which India has placed conditions to be scrutinized by IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). The document is meant to pave way for business with 45 nations which will export coveted nuclear fuel and technical knowhow.The 35 board members were availed of its content for the approval.The 23 page document is along with other safeguard agreements.The document also carries clauses for mending measures by India in any eventuality of cessation of foreign fuel supplies.Though this appears to be controversial as it might facilitate ending of IAEA conditions of some facilities.The facilities which India consents to put under the watch of IAEA are yet undefined. However India's reconciliatory steps should be distinctly outlined in course of cessation of fuel and technology.This concern was expressed by Daryl Kimball,executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington. IAEA safe guarding is important for India's business with nuclear supplying nations. Still some protocols have to take their some months time for India's full fledged involvement as per the agreement.

Left formally withdraws support (9th July 2008)

The left parties led by CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat, met the President Pratibha Patil, handing over the letters for withdrawal of support to the UPA government. The four Parties of the left have number of 59 in Lok Sabha.

US stresses on importance of N-deal (9th July 2008)

In duration of the political waywardness developing in India over the issue of N-deal, US President applauded the Prime Minister’s leadership in sticking with the stance. He stressed the importance for the deal as beneficial for both countries. Singh mentioned about the relationship being in best shape than ever with US. As the meeting went for 50 minutes, both the leaders showed importance for continuation of better relationships between the two countries.

Sensex plunges 444 points in early trade (9th July 2008)

Due heavy selling by funds, in heavy stocks led by Reliance Industries, Infosys Technologies among others ,the sensex lost 444 points in early trade today. The National Stock Exchange index’s Nifty went down by 133.95 points below the 3900 level at 3,896.05. The major companies which were hit were most were were Rcom, Infosys Technologies, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel Reliance Infra, Larsen and Toubro, Maruti, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Grasim Industries,HDFC Bank ONGC HDFC Ltd.

SP leaders in favour of Nuclear Deal (9th July 2008)

With the latest development in following, the Samajwadi Party wants a go ahead in Nuclear Deal. Its leaders talk regarding this with the former President APJ Abdul Kalam who favors the nuclear deal. SP has 39 members in the Lok Sabha. Left allies have 59.Yadav and general party secretary met PM on this issue of its support. Yadav, emphasized his party’s stand in prioritizing of national interest above mere politics by supporting the Indo-US deal. The talks are on in this regard and further steps are being taken.

The inflation rises beyond to 11.63 % (4th July 2008)

The inflation rose to a new peak of 11.63 % till June 21, 2008. Inflation had already soared to a 13 year high of 11.42% by the end of 14th June this year. Though there is no solution immediately in sight, the common man has to bear the brunt of high inflation for now. In measures for checking inflation the RBI raised the cash reserve ratio to 8.75 % and the lending rate to other banks to 8.5 per cent for checking inflation.

Congress gears up for next elections.

Having been stuck on their stance in nuclear deal, the untimely elections seem likely. The Manmohan Singh government did what it thought best- An uncompromising attitude. This has lead to the withdrawal of support paving way for early elections. Sonia Gandhi has asked its party to prepare itself and strengthen itself in the states. She inspected the progression of tasks assigned to the senior leaders and reviewed them in AICC (All India Congress Committee) meeting. The leaders have been asked to jot down preparatory steps for presentation in the next meeting for the elections. This was conveyed to the press by the party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi.

Science and Technology News

Chandrayaan mission Sends images of moon’s surface. Nov 26, 2008

Nine out of eleven scientific instruments on board Chandrayaan have become on. Chandrayaan-1 the satellite successfully launched by the ISRO for getting more data on lunar surface.

The Big Bang Experiment (27 August 2008)

How did the universe begin? That question has always perplexed. The viewing of the celestial bodies by highly advanced telescopes showed red light being emitted. As it was known that the red spectrum in the band of the whole light spectrum is at extreme end this concluded that the bodies are moving further away. In other words the universe is expanding.

After this inference, the after thought emerged about beginning of the universe by conversely viewing the situation of the expanding universe that is of the time when universe was relatively shrunked. That is if the bodies are moving away from each other, then at some time they were close and further going back they would have originated from one point.

The Famous Big Bang theory says just this.That the universe was formed from one big explosion nicknamed as “Big Bang” which the big bang theory states and from that, the celestial bodies emerged and began moving away thus resulting in expansion of the universe.

With this background in mind, people have been witnessing the most expensive scientific experiment ever on the formation of universe which has caught headlines world wide.

The basic aim of the experiment is to find out about the formation of the universe and why is it so. What were the conditions just microseconds after the big bang happened which lead to the formation of the universe. The knowledge out of this question would help to understand better on the forces acting between the celestial bodies. More information on tiny particles quarks and gluons which were just a close cluster just after the big bang would be obtained. Reason for quarks being heavier when confined in larger particles like protons may be known.

For this purpose the scientists have tried to recreate the conditions like at that instant of time by a standard model to see what happens. For this, they have tried colliding atoms successfully to see what happens just microseconds after and watch other effects.

This has been done by using the world’s most powerful accelerator Large Hadron Collider, which is inside 17 mile tunnel lying 328 feel below the ground. It designed to generate nearly one billion collisions between protons per second at energy of 14 trillion electron volts. Also will it be able to create collisions between lead ions at energy of 1,150 TeV.

Mars Exploration by NASA complete (27 August 2008)

NASA's Mars Exploration is complete.The wheeling explorer had descended into the giant crater of Mars and had been there for nearly a year for examining the rocks layers.Next is the inspection of losse cobbles on the plains.The vehicle named 'Opportunity' has six wheels and moves on the rought terrain of Mars analysing the samples from the surface for inspection.

India’s Prospective Space mission (21 August 2008)

Chandrayan-1 is the prospective unmanned mission to moon between October and December. This is planned to be undertaken in collaboration with seven other nations tying up with NASA.

ISRO spokesperson S Satish disclosed of this and a key pact was signed at the conference of International Lunar Users’ Group at Nasa’s Ames Research Center. In this regard, Devi Prasad Karnik represented India who is a space counselor linked to the Indian Embassy in Washington.

The other seven countries which have come into the fold of this mission are Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, France and Britain. This is obviously to pave way for new breakthroughs in this arena and send robotic expedition for a manned mission to the moon.

NASA will be extra benefited with indulgence of these countries apart from India which are keen for manned missions in course for future.

Finger Prints can diclose what chemical substance handled (11 August 2008)

Scientific advancement in criminology has a recent new breakthrough.Finger prints will further reveal the type of chemical substances handled by the suspect.By scrutinizing the impressions of the fingerprint by latest scientific means,detection of chemical traces of handled substances can be done.The traces are left on the ridges of the finger print pattern which are 5 parts per million of chemicals like cocaine,explosives or poisons etc. This has generated a wave in crimonolgy as apart from identity of the person still further handling of substances by him will be detectable giving a further feasibility in investigation process.

The different layers of fingerprints can be individually segregated too as the distribution of compounds found in each fingerprint can be unique.So one fingerprint can be "pulled" from beneath the other fingerprints individually identifying it with the identity of the suspect, and verifying the substances handled by him or her.

Bullet velocity regulated guns now (24 July 2008)

Early 19 century saw development of gun for delivering multiple loads in a single barrel in quick succession in the form of revolver. Now here's another turning point in this era-The development of gun for delivering multiple speed loads in a single barrel.The project is in development stage and the US army is funding into its development.The gun is in development for delivering a velocity regulated shot either enough to just wound a subject or kill him depending upon the gun's setting.

The weapon is called Variable Velocity Weapon System and would be equipped by soldiers for riot controls and such duties.The basic mechanism is that the mixture of liquid or gaseous fuel with air in a combustion chamber would cause the bullet to propel.The explosive capability would depend on the mixture choosed depending upon the setting for lethal or non lethal shot.It makes one to think of the legal complications which can arise with it if there happens to be any sort of malfunction.With no bargain for margin of error in such cases, but possible involvement of laws of probability like in everywhere, its legal aspects have to be clealy defined.Among various other factors,the deciding factor for a velocity setting to be a non lethal one especially for a particular target subject in certain health, built and gender is a matter of debate. Lately with the news of the death of one by tazer gun used by police in US further causes us to reflect just how complicated legal formalities may have to be before the implementation of this Variable Velocity Weapon System commences in actuality.

Petrol shortage? Here’s seems an alternative. (29 June 2008)

Lately lot of media interest has aroused over the use of water powered car. As the name sounds, the car is purely powered by water. Surprising as it sounds but real, the basic idea employed is the electrolysis of water. Electrolysis which is basically passing of current through a solution, as here, water, breaks it into two elements that is oxygen and hydrogen. So oxygen and hydrogen become substitute for gasoline and there you are. Though still it is in preliminary stage of experimentation, there are lot of factors which have to be further enhanced most importantly the speed and power thrust. Though it still runs cool at about 80 kilometers in some models.

Sports News

Indian Boxer Vijender gets bronze (22th August 2008)

Indian boxer Vijender got bronze as he lost in the semi final bout. His opponent did some good footwork and reach. Vijender did however fought gallantly to carry the fight till the fourth round. Emilio, a two-time Pan-American Champion from Cuba had taken an edge over India’s Vijender in the third round. 

The Phelp's Midas touch-eight gold medals but with grit. (21th August 2008)

Eight gold medals in single Olympics- Michael Phelps has surpassed the record of Olympic legend Mark Spitz who won seven gold medals in 1970 Olympics and eight is now a new bench mark. A swimmer whose feat will be engraved in history with time has been the talk of the town, no...planet. With Olympic craze across the globe, the American Swimmer was in his best form and had won the seventh gold by hundredths of a second against Serbian swimmer Milorad Cavic who was sided with silver.

Wrestler Sushil Kumar gets bronze for India (20th August 2008)

In wrestling, India has something to cheer about as wrestler Sushil Kumar won bronze. He defeated Kazkhastan’s Spiridonav in 66 Kg freestyle wrestling at the Beijing Olympics.Before this India had won bronze in 1952 when wrestler Khashabha Jadhav won that year.In the Athens Games Sushil stood14th and he was ranked seventh in the 2007 World Championship.This is for the first time India has won two medals in the same Olympics.

Olympics creating new waves of History (18th August 2008)

Eighth gold medal went to Phelps in Beijing Olympics.China got another eight in total for a Games-leading total of 35 which is seen as best in history.China eight golds in 37 medal events on sunday the 17th was at its best.

As of now, Americans have 31 medals with 12 golds.In total U.S team has 19 total golds and holds a 65-61 lead over China. In rowing China bagged first gold ever in the category of women's quadruple sculls and added victories in men's gymnastics,women's wrestling,table tennis,diving and badminton.

Britian got two golds in sailing,one in rowing and one is cycling having a total of 11.

Rafael Nadal bagged gold for spain making it a second one for the country when he defeated Fernando Gonzalez of Chile in the men's singles tennis final.

In women's doubles,Venus and Serena Williams won the women's doubles title for the US and Elena Dementieva got gold .Russian bagged all medals in singles category in women section.

Usain Bolt of Jamaica won the men's 100 meters in a world record time of 9.69 seconds while in women Shelly-Ann Fraser won in the 100 for Jamaica.Sherone Simpson and Kerron Steward shared silver.

The oldest olympic champion at the age of 38 was Constantina Tomescu of Romania won the women's marathon.

In Hammer throw, Primoz Kozmus won in men's for Slovenia,Francoise Mbango Etone won for Cameroon defending her title successfully.

Russia's Fulnara Galkina Samitova bettered her world record winning the women's 3000 steeplechase and kenenisa Bekele led an Ethiopian 1-2 finish in the men's 10.000 meters.

Britta Steffen won 50-meter freestyle edging Torres by .01 second preventing the 41 year old American from becoming the oldest swimmer to win an olympic gold medal.

Oussama Mellouli of Tunis won in 1500 freestyle.

Indian Boxer Akhil Reaches quarter final in Olympics. (16th August 2008)

Can India add another medal in its stride? The undiminishing hope to last always,yet again got rekindled when Akhil Kumar of India won to reach the quarter final in 54 Kg category in a boxing bout.The boxer from Haryana, needs to win quarter final encounter to win olympic medal.

Akhil boxed aggressively to cover his lag to 7-8 and then to 9-9 in the last round due to some pounches which earned him points.

Coach GS Sandhu expressed confidence in him and hoped that he would be able to make another cheer for India after Abhinav Bindra who won gold in shooting.

Abhinav Bindra bags first ever individual gold for India in Beijing Olympics(11th August 2008)

Abhinav Bindra has claimed first ever individual gold medal for India in shooting. A composed Bindra was in all cheers after receiving the medal. Bindra is 25 and has won gold in the 10m air rifle event at the Beijing Games on Monday. He is a Khel Ratna awardee and had earlier won the gold medal in 2002 Commonwealth Games in the pairs event and silver in the individual event.

The Indian Olympic association has hailed at this moment of pride and the President and the Prime Minister have conveyed their congratulatory messages on his winning the gold in this Olympics.

Monika Devi fails Dope test (6th August 2008)

Weightlifter from India had to backtrack on her participation in the Olympics on account for failing in dope test. Monika was categorized in 69 Kg category in this year's Olympics. It is scheduled to start from 8th August to 24th of this month.She had won silver medal for the country by winning silver and two bronze at the Asian Championship in Japan.

Anand wins Mainz chess title for record 11th time (4th August 2008)

Viswanathan Anand exhibited his prowess yet again when he defeated Magnus Carlsen in the final of the 13th Grenkeleasing Rapid World Championship.Anand won the first two games of the four-game final.This was Anand's 11th win in Mainz. In the opening Anand won in 50 moves and so did he in the second game. In the third Anand again got the game into Sicilian and drew in 56 moves to complete the title.The fourth game was only 11 moves from Catalan and Anand won 3-1.

Vijay Singh wins the WGC Bridegestone invitation (4th August 2008)

Vijay Singh of Fiji, won the WGC Bridgestone invitational by one shot at Firestone country Club on Sunday. This is his first world victory in the World Golf Championship event.

Sharapova will not be in the Beijing Olympics (1st August 2008)

Shoulder injury has forced tennis player Maria Sharapova of Russia to pull out of Beijing Olympics.She injured herself when playing against Marta Domachowska of Poland during WTA tournament,the match in which she won. She confirmed of her non participation in the Beijing Olympics to the reporters and expressed anguish over it.

Asif disqualified for Champions trophy amid doping scandal (14th July 2008)Pakistani cricket player Asif, got into fresh doping scandal in which he tested positive for banned substance.PCB's chief operation officer expressed his disgust in the turn out of the event. Asif however has claimed his innocence over the issue. His probability of inclusion into the Champions Trophy is ruled out.The IPL did comparasion of result from the WADA approved laboratory of Switzerland with the information obtained by IDTM and result was positive. Upon verification it was revealed that Asif had not intimidated and applied for exemption for banned medications, that is for Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).This has complicated his legal status. 

With the extra twist of events with this,the disclosure of Asif's name in doping charge has caused annoyance to the Pakistan Sports Medicine Association.They called it a violation as per WADA rules because player should not be named on doping charges without the analysis of his 'B' sample in his presence or his legal and medical representative.This was stated by Danish Zaheer the head of the Pakistan Medicine Association. In response to this accusation, IPL has denounced any kind of violation saying that it was done in order for the player to stand out for consenting to further verification, in his presence, of his B sample.This might give him a chance to disprove of the doping allegations if they come out negative at next instance.

Rafael Nadal adorns the Wimbledon crown (9rd July 2008) On Sunday a Wimbleldon history got a silver streak for Spain,when the spaniard Rafael Nadal won the wimbledon championship against Roger Federer.Nadal snatched the matched by 6-4,6-4,6-7(5),6-7(8),9-7.What is unusual of this match is that it happens to be the longest one ever as per the records. Nadal is the only spaniard to win the wimbledon title after Manuel Santana who won in 1966.Bjorn Borg of Sweden is the only one to win both french and wimbledon titles in the same year before Nadal in 1980.

Venus William defeats Serena Williams to lift wimbledon title (9rd July 2008) Venus Williams defeated sister Serena Williams to become the wimbledon champion.

Recognizing the impact of Sanitation on Public Health, poverty reduction, economic and social development and the environment United Nations launched 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation to accelerate progress for 2.6 billion people worldwide who are without proper sanitation facililites. India is a signatory to this resolution. The central objective of the International Year of Sanitation is to put the global community on track to achieve the sanitation MDG.India is committed to achieve this objective on a time bound manner and has set out its own goals. As against the UN target to halve the proportion of people without success to basic sanitation by 2015 as defined in the Johannesburg Plan of Action India is committed to increase the sanitation cover from present 50% to cent percent by 2012 AD.

Current Events 2007International Events:

India and China team Up to tackle West on Climate Pact (8, Dec 2007) India and China along with other G-77 countries begun a strong campaign against the pressure mounted at Bali by the industrialized countries to trash the existing global climate change treaty called the UN Framework Convention on Climate change.If the industrialized countries have their way it could see India taking on green house gas emissions which it contends would slow down the country's economic growth. India is demanding that the process of reviewing the industrialized country's failure to reduce their emissions despite existing binding commitments be carried on separately than the discussion on the long term future commitments. But the industrialized countries have been pushing hard for a merger of both the issues.

India,China may win battle for Climate fund (6, Dec 2007) 

India and China are close to bringing an international fund to help developing and poor countries adapt to climate changes revived.The two emerging economies along with other developing and poor nations have forced the agenda onto the table at the UN global meet on climate change in Bali. The move hopes to revive fund which has been defunct for almost a decade.The fund at present made out of a 2%cess on the carbon trade is meant to help non industralized countries adapt to emerging threats from climate change such as protecting coasts against rising sea level.But the kitty for the poor countries has gathered a mere $67 million in the past decade.

World headed for ecological disaster-HDR (28, Nov 2007) 

The warning against carbon emissions just got more urgent.The UN Human Development Report said on Tuesday that unless the global community agrees to cut emissions by half by 2050 the world will face huge economic setbacks and ecological catastrope.The poor nations would be hit the hardest as they are the least equipped to face nature's fury manifest in devastating storms and droughts.

Fidel Castro in grave condition (17, Jan 2007) Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is in very grave condition after three failed operations and complications from intestinal infection. Cuba has released little information on Castro's condition since he temporarily ceded power in July 2006 to his brother, Defence Minister Raul Castro. This prompted much speculation in the country and around the world.

Emergency declared in Bangladesh (12, Jan 2007) A state of emergency was declared in Bangladesh prior to general elections on January 22. President Iajuddin Ahmed stepped down as head of Bangladesh's interim government due to pressure from the Awami League led alliance. Night curfew was imposed in the country fearing violence in the wake of the decision of the alliance led by Awami League chief to stay away from the elections, pressing for the removal of Ahmed as head of the interim government to ensure free and fair polls.

Clashes in Bangladesh (8, Jan 2007) There were renewed clashes in Bangladesh between police and political activists two weeks before parliamentary elections. At least 50 people were injured and 30 detained on the second day of a transport blockade called by former Prime minister Sheikh Hasina's multi party alliance, which is boycotting the January 22 polls. As the violence spread, caretaker President Iajuddin Ahmed summoned army chief Lieutenant General Moiuddin U.Khan to review the situation.

National Events:

Expulsion must for ragging- SC (11,Dec 2007)

Concerned over the tardy implementation of its previous orders ,Supreme Court directed educational institutions to adopt a zero tolerance policy to ragging and expel students found guilty of maltreating freshers.Laying down explusion of offenders in ragging cases as the minimum punishment the court said that this was needed to end the menace that could lead to extreme torture and harrassment and even loss of life.

Forest Rights Act to be enforced from Jan 1 (8,Dec 2007)

The UPA Government decided to operationalize the controversial Forest Rights Act by January 1 .The environment ministry issued guidelines to demarcate critical wildlife habitats as provided in the Forest Rights Act in order to ensure rights of people in the existing tiger reserves,national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

Child Marriages in Ajmer in single day (8,Dec 2007)

Despite India banning child marriages in 1929 the practice still continue without any check.Rajasthan which witnesses many such marriages on Akha Teej every year witnessed the marriages of 25 child couples in a mass ceremony in Ajmer district.It was attended by thousands of people and overlooked by government machinery.

No more funds for Ganga Cleaning (6,Dec 2007)

The Supreme Court took a serious view of the level of pollution in the Ganga despite the ambitious Ganga Action Plan spending Rs 1000 crore and directed the Centre not to release more funds without the states showing utilization certificates for the earlier grants.

Tobacco lobby blocks move on gory warnings (30,Nov 2007)

The govenment move to have pictures of cancerous tumours on cigarette packs and other products to scare people away from smoking has been scuttled by powerful tobacco lobby.The group of ministers headed by Mr Pranab mukarjee has decided to relook at the pictoral warnings.

Lakhs of Cases Pending in Indian Courts (30,Nov 2007)

As many as 37.1 lakh cases were pending in India's 21 high courts as of June 30,2007. On the same day 2.5 crore cases were pending in lower courts. Of the 792 posts of judges sanctioned for high courts 206 are vacant.Of the sanctioned strength of 15,399 judges in lower courts,3,031 are vacant. Indian judicial system is facing severe problems of lack of infrastructure,abnormally low salaries for the judges and unfilled lower court posts with corruption at all levels.The government is not focussing on how to pull the judiciary out of the current mess.Each passing year parliament and state assemblies pass more and more laws yet no-one in the government appears to give thought to the fact that number of judges should be increased to cope with increased number of litigants and that retraining of judges in new laws is necessary.

India's political map is set to be redrawn (29,Nov 2007)

The country's electoral landscape may change soon with a significant fallout for some of the leading players.With the gazette notification of delimitation of 25 states placed in Parliament and nine chief ministers having already written to PM demanding its implementation,the stage is set for a complete alteration of many parliamentary and assembly constitutencies nursed as family boroughs by politicians. What is delimitation? Delimitation is the process of fixing the boundaries of constituencies.The boundaries are redefined from time to time by the Delimitation Commission to reflect new population patterns. How will it affect politics this time? While the total number of LS and assembly seats remains the same in each state,new states will come up and boundaries of old ones redrawn. There will be more urban constituencies ,fewer rural ones. Reserved seats to go up from 116 to 126

280 die in Indian road accidents every day (27,Nov 2007)Indian roads are lethal as it is evident with official figures revealing that nearly 280 people die in road accidents every day.Among the metros Delhi tops the chart with 1,717 persons dying on its roads in 2005. Among cities,Chennai is second behind Delhi with 1,055 dead,followed by Bangalore,Mumbai,Kanpur,Hyderabad,Jaipur and Kolkata.In Delhi nearly 1/4th of the victims were pedestrians a testimony to the city's culture of reckless driving as well as poor road etiquette.

Amethi gets an ordinance factory (27,Nov 2007)The UPA government has sanctioned an ordinance factory for Rahul Gandhi's Amethi constituency.This comes after a new NIFT was sanctioned for the Rae bareli constituency of his mother,Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi.

Indian wins Commonwealth top Job (25,Nov 2007)

Career diplomat Kamlesh Sharma was unanimously chosen as the new commonwealth secretary general after a close race to emerge as the first Indian to

hold the coveted post of the 53-member grouping.Currently India's high commissioner to the UK 66 -year old Sharma was chosen after an intense campaign.

Indo- US Nuclear Deal ( 23, July 2007)

The Indian and US officials finalized the draft 123 agreement on civil nuclear cooperation. This is has been referred to the respective government for review. The draft would come up before the Cabinet Committee on National Security for approval in India and it would go to the president in the US. It has taken two years and two days from July 18, 2005 –the date of the joint statement of Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh and President George W Bush on enhancement of Indo-US cooperation including civil nuclear cooperation at the White House to finalize the draft. This is the fastest negotiation on such civil nuclear cooperation.

India to get reduced aid from US ( 23, July 2007)

India is now transforming country not a developing country according to USAID.The change in nomenclature rids India of decades old label.USAID has decided to reduce the already marginal US assistance to India and eventually eliminate it because of India’s thriving economy. India will be one of the biggest losers under secretary of state Condoleezza Rice’s new aid plan that is tilted towards strife –torn countries such as Iraq, Afganistan and Pakistan. US aid to India is slated to be cut to $ 81 million in 2008.

Dadua, North’s Veerappan gunned down ( 23, July 2007)

Bringing to an end a three decade long reign of terror, the Special Task Force on Sunday gunned down dacoit Shiv Kumar Patel alias Dadua dreaded as the Veerappan of North. Five of his associates were also killed in the late night encounter in the Jhalwal forests in Chitrakoot district. He had a cash reward of Rs 5 lakhs on his head.

Pratibha Patil becomes India’s first woman president ( 23, July 2007)

Pratibha Patil is India’s first female president elect. She was also the first woman Governor of Rajasthan. She won the election by defeating her nearest rival ,Bhairon Singh Shekhawat by over 3,00,000 votes. She will be sworn in on July 25.

India’s own space university ( 23, July 2007)

India’s first space university is all set to start in August for country’s satellite and rocket programme.ISRO is setting up Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology that is expected to meet the high technology requirements of ISRO.It would initially operate from the campus of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre of ISRO which will create a full-fledged infrastructure for IIST near Kerala state capital in about 2 years.

Actress Shilpa Shetty faces racist abuse (17, Jan 2007)Actress Shilpa Shetty has been facing severe racist abuse on a British reality show Celebrity Big Brother. Fellow participants literally drove the actress to tears calling her all sorts of offensive names. These unwarranted for racist attacks have triggered outrage at the highest levels of government in both countries. The Indian government

has taken up the issue with Britain though Shilpa continues to face insults on the show.

Navjot Singh Sidhu behind bars (12, Jan 2007)Former cricketer and BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu surrendered at a court in Chandigarh in a road rage case of 1988 which led to the death of one person. Sidhu was sentenced to a three year prison term by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He is being kept at the Patiala jail in the MP ward but according to the jail officials, no special facilities would be provided to him.

Current Events 2006International Events:

Is US ready for a black President?(16, Dec 2006) In a country where race is still a powerful force, there is speculation that Barack Obama, the senator for Illinois since 2005 might run for President in the next elections. The 45 year old senator graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991 and became the first African - American president of the Harvard Law Review. Enjoying mass adulation, he has been profiled by magazines like Time, Newsweek and Harper's thanks to his best selling book Audacity of Hope. The question of will he or won't he stand for president has become the talking point for Democrats. Though Obama has not commented on the issue, he thinks that people judge you based on your merits and not by your race. Whether U.S is prepared to have a black president or not remains to be seen.

Somalia and Ethiopia brace for war(16, Dec 2006) The inevitability of war hangs over Mogadishu, Somalia's capital city. Unlike the internal anarchy that has affected the country for the past 15 years, the battle is now with Ethiopia which is threatening to de stabilize the country.

In the past week, the increasingly militant Islamists in control of Mogadishu and much of the rest of the country have begun a food drive and a money drive and have sent doctors and nurses, along with countless young soldiers to the frontlines. Analysts are of the opinion that a full scale conflict between the Islamists and Ethiopia, a country with a strong Christian identity would be disastrous for Somalia, which is already suffering from severe flooding and years of neglect. India, Russia Desire Iran Issue Solved Through Talks(18, November 2006) India and Russia agreed that the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved through negotiations, before the United Nations Security Council

In a joint press interaction in Delhi, with the visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Iran had the right to pursue its nuclear programme for peaceful, civilian use. As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, Tehran must fulfill its obligations and ensure that its nuclear programme was for peaceful purposes.

According to Mr. Lavrov, the Security Council's job must be to help and not replace the International Atomic Energy Agency when it came to dealing with Iran.

APEC Summit: Bush Arrives In Vietnam (17, Nov 2006)

US President George W. Bush arrived in Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. APEC's 21 member countries and territories were to meet in Hanoi, Vietnam, where North Korea's nuclear dispute and world trade

were expected to dominate discussions.

US-pushed regional free-trade proposal will be the top agenda item for Bush. Bush is the fourth US president to visit Vietnam

All are partners with the United States in talks aimed at persuading a defiant North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is about to join the summit by the week end.

Bangladesh Elections Likely By Jan 25

Bangladesh Parliamentary elections may take place by January 25. The poll schedule is likely to be announced by the end of November 2006.

The elections must be conducted during the 90-day tenure of the caretaker government under President Iajuddin Ahmed that took office on October 30.

There are to be no prior consultations with political parties.

Pak test-fired Ghauri V missile(16, Nov 2006)

Pakistan test-fired its 1,300 km range nuclear-capable ballistic missile Hatf V which is also known as Ghauri, is capable of targeting several Indian cities, a day after it reached an agreement with India on nuclear risk reduction.

The launch of the medium-range missile was carried out by troops of the Army Strategic Forces Command, ASFC at the culmination phase of a training exercise held to test the operation readiness of a Strategic Missile Group equipped with Ghauri missile.

The test came a day after the two countries instigated the agreement in New Delhi on reducing the risk from accidents relating to nuclear weapons.

Blair warns over Iran threat to West Asia(15, Nov 2006) 

British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed US panel that any solution in Iraq must be part of a broader West Asia strategy, while warning that Iran poses a "strategic threat to the region".

Blair mentioned that the Israel-Palestine conflict was the top priority in the region, because extremists were exploiting it to radicalise moderate Muslims.

The British leader called for a change of strategy and pressed Iran to support Western efforts to quell the relentless bloodshed.

National Events:

Jessica Lal Murder Case: Manu Sharma convicted(19, Dec 2006)The Delhi High court convicted Manu Sharma, son of former Haryana minister and congress leader Vinod Sharma for the murder of Jessica Lal. After he was pronounced guilty, Manu Sharma was immediately sent to Tihar Jail. Jessica Lal was shot dead at South Delhi's restaurant Tamarind Court in 1999. Like in the Priyadarshini Mattoo case, the acquittal of all raised a huge public outcry. The sentence for Manu Sharma is due on 20dec.

Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi acquitted(19, Dec 2006)RJD chief and Railway minister Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi were acquitted in the 7 year old disproportionate asset (DA) case. Lalu Yadav was accused by BI of

amassing property worth over 46 lakh beyond his known source of income when he was the CM of Bihar between1990-1997. His wife Rabri Devi was made a co-accused in the case. The DA case was an offshoot of the fodder scam of 1998 and the duo had to surrender in court and Yadav even had to go to jail. With their acquittal, it was celebration time at the official residence of Rabri Devi in Patna.

Senate Clears Bush Administration's Indo - US Nuclear Deal (17, Nov 2006)

By a vote of 85-12, the US Senate voted to support a Bush administration's nuclear plan to sell nuclear technology and fuel to India, which was the most important strategic diplomatic initiative undertaken by President Bush.

In exchange, India is supposed to open some of its plants to international inspections to prove that the fuel won't be diverted for weapons.

With this, the US aim to expand strategic ties with India, the fastest-growing major economy after China.

Investment Protection Agreement With China (16, Nov 2006)India approved signing an Investment Protection Agreement with Beijing, before Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to India i.e. on November 20, 2006 This will increase the investment between China and India and would be in force for 10 years, according to the Information & Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi.

Trade between the two countries is expected to touch 20 billion dollars this fiscal, against 18.7 billion dollars last year.

India has similar bilateral protection agreements with Britain, Russia, Germany, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Spain and Thailand.

Jessica Lal Murder Case: False Evidence, Said Ram Jethmalani (15, Nov 2006)In the enduring Jessica Lal murder case, on behalf of the prime accused Manu Sharma, lawyer Ram Jethmalani told the Delhi High Court Division Bench, comprising Justices R.S. Sodhi and P.K. Bhasin that much of the two thirds of the evidence produced by the prosecution are false and fabricated, which have created doubts.

Ram Jethmalani contented to reject the testimonies of socialite Bina Ramani, her husband George Mailhot and their daughter fashion designer Malini Ramani as their statements contradicted one another.

The Bench rejected Mr. Jethmalani's plea for a direction to the Delhi police to hand over to him copies of three reports made by the Special Investigation Team about lapses in investigation so that he could defend his client better.

Joint Panel With Pakistan Discussed Anti-Terror Mechanism Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Pakistani Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan, in a joint panel held positive discussions in New Delhi on setting up an anti-terrorism mechanism.

The discussion included "complete achievement" of Jammu & Kashmir related confidence-building measures agreed to in the past.

The discussion incorporated that the two countries will sign agreement on measures to reduce the risk of nuclear war, in the impending future.

Centre To Lay Norms For Regulating Ads Soon

The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Y. K. Sabharwal has asked the government to lay the guidelines for regulating the advertisements containing political content issued by various government departments.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has convened meetings of states and various departments in December to come out with guidelines on the issue.

Indian Navy To Induct US-Made Helicopters

Indian Navy, for the first time would induct US-made helicopter with the government giving the go-ahead for purchase of six Sikorsky-Seaking Helicopters.

The six helicopters are part of the package deal for the purchase of the Landing ship tank USS Trenton, from which the choppers operate.

While, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had cleared the purchase of Trenton at a cost of Rs.200 crores, the sale of helicopters was being negotiated.

Muslims Lagging Behind Other Groups, Says Sachar Committee

The seven-member committee headed by Rajinder Sachar, a former chief justice of the Delhi High Court, that was set up to go into the social, economic and educational status of Muslims, submitted its report to the Prime Minister, which said the community was "lagging behind" other religious groups in development indicators and asked the government to frame appropriate programmes to address its educational and economic backwardness.

In its report, it said the community was "relatively poor, more illiterate, has lower access to education, lower representation in public and private sector jobs and lower availability of bank credit for self-employment".

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Current affairs, is the mainstay of the civil service examination, what with one portion of the exam dedicated to general studies. The current affairs of india and international current event affairs, are an important part of the general studies paper, both in the mains and the prelims. At the interview current affairs news rules and decides the rank of the candidate and even whether s/he will get through or not. In such a scenario the coverage of current affairs in india as well as current world affairs, becomes an important part of your preprations.

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Current Affairs Quiz - new

For the very purpose of getting you ready for the challenge that is Current Affairs In India, we are covering the 2010 current affairs including politics current affair, current affair news, science current affairs, general knowledge current affair, current government affair and international current affairs. Only studying India's current affairs or political current affairs is not sufficient as you have to cover international events and current affairs along with the Indian current affairs, as well as those in the field of science and sports.

International Current Affairs 2011

Salman Taseer Killed in IslamabadPunjab Governor Salman Tasser was shot dead by one of his own body guards at the Khosar market in Islamabad. Taseer was a member of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party(PPP) and was vocal on a various issues including Pakistans Blasphemy Law. The assassin was Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, a member of Punjab Elite Force who shot the Governor with his weapon and surrendered to the security forces moments after shooting the governor dead. Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters that the killer admitted to killing the Governor over his statement when he called the Blasphemy Law as a “black law”.

Iranian plane crash kills 77The IranAir Boeing 727 was flying from Tehran with 106 passengers when it came down and crashed near the city of Orumiyeh. With 77 casualties at least 35 people have said to have been injured. According to official reports plane had taken off an hour later than scheduled, and came down because of bad weather conditions. This is the second major crash since 2009 when a plane caught fire mid are resulting 168 deaths. The country has been under international sanctions for years, preventing it from buying new aircrafts or spare parts from the West. Hence as a result the countries civil fleet of aircrafts are in poor condition due to their old age and lack of maintenance.

35 dead at Moscow Airport Blast.A suicide bomber carrying a suitcase walked into Moscow’s busy Domodedovo airport and set off a huge explosion Monday, killing at least 35 people and wounding 180. The air was engulfed in a cloud of smoke with body parts and shrapnel strewn all over the place. Hundreds of people were in the loosely guarded area at the time. The blast was the worst terrorist attack since two female suicide bombers from the troubled Dagestan region blew themselves up on Moscow’s subway last March, killing 40 people.

Whistleblower Elmer hands over bank data to WikileaksSwiss whistle-blower and former banker Rudolf Elmer has given WikiLeaks information about bank accounts of more than 2,000 prominent individuals who have parked money offshore. Rudolf Elmer once worked in the office of Julius Baer in the Cayman Islands until he was fired by the bank in 2002. The Swiss whistleblower Rudolf Elmer handed over two CDs containing the data to the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, in London on 16/1/2011. However Julian Assange has said the information was unlikely to be published soon and may take a few weeks to process and confirm them.

Brisbane Faces Worst Flood Since 1893Brisbane faces its worst floods since 1893 as overflowing rivers have begun to engulf the city. Overnight, emergency workers went from door to door in Brisbane helping residents flee to higher ground, with hundreds relocating to evacuation centres. About 2500 businesses are said to be fully affected and another 2500 partially affected. Close to 3000 people are in evacuation centres across the state and 60 schools and almost 90 kindergartens and childcare centres have been severely damaged or are inaccessible. The death toll from the floods disaster has risen to 15 and the many parts of the city have been affected by massive power cuts.

Massive Protests Rock Egypt Egypt has been rocked by violent protests by demonstrators who have been demanding the ouster of the country's longtime autocratic president, Hosni Mubarak. Tens and thousandths of people have taken out to streets raising slogans with protests turning violent in many parts of the country. The tension increased today when Mohammed ElBaradei, a former top official at the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency and a high-profile Mubarak opponent was placed under house arrest when he returned to Cairo in his bid to provide a leader for the mass movement.

National Current Affairs 2011

Karnataka Governor sanctions prosecution of CM YeddyurappaKarnataka Governor HR Bharadwaj on 21/1/2011 sanctioned the prosecution of Chief Minister Yeddyurappa on charges of corruption. This is for the first time in Karnataka’s political history that a governor has permitted the prosecution of a chief minister. The Governor gave sanction for prosecution of the Chief Minister who is said to be involved in alleged land scams on a petition made by two lawyers. With this sanction, the lawyers will now approach a local court and will seek a court directive to the police for registering an FIR against the Chief Minister Yeddyurappa and the State Home Minister R Ashoka.

Officer burnt alive by Oil MafiaYashwant Sonawane, Additional District Collector of Malegaon (Maharashtra) was tragically burnt alive by oil mafia at Manmad near Nashik on 25 January 2011. Mr. Sonawane was returning from Chandrar village after reviewing the situation in the wake of a demonstration by onion farmers, when he found some people adulterating kerosene in a tanker parked behind Sagar Dhaba at Panewadi near Manmad. The area has a notorious reputation for smuggling and adulteration of oil. Sonawane stopped and questioned them and also shot a video of them pilfering the kerosene on his mobile phone. The main accused Popat Shinde and three others allegedly poured kerosene on the official, and set him afire. Mr. Sonawane died on the spot. The horrifying incident has caused a lot of shock and anger all across India.

Gujarat attracts Rs 20.83 lakh Crore investment in 2 daysLeading industrialists of India have flocked to Gujrat to sign MOU’s during the two-day long Vibrant Gujarat Summit that began on 1/12/2011. Chief Minister announced that the state has been able to attract investments to the tune of Rs

20.83 lakh crores during the two-day long Summit. As many as 7,936 MOUs were signed by the state government with several industrial houses to invest in the state. It is rare for 60 of India’s top Industrialists representing companies that command the bulk of market capitalization, to share the dais at a single event and it is even rarer to make investments to the tune of thousands of crores for a single state and that too over just two days. The major investments include Anil Ambani group, Adani Group, Essar Group, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra and many others.

Australian firm set to sue Delhi CWG over non payment of dues. In yet another case of embarrassment for India an Australian firm is set to sue the CWG organizers regarding non payment of bills. It is reported that the firm had played a very key and major role in the opening and closing ceremonies of the million dollar sporting event. Sydney Olympics maestro Ric Birch, who was creative director for the Delhi ceremonies, is likely to launch a multi-million dollar class action against Commonwealth Games organizers for substantial unpaid bills. The Australian government has already raised the issue with External Affairs Minister SM Krishna who has promised to look into the matter.

102 lives lost in Sabarimala StampedeAround 102 pilgrims were killed and another 100 injured in a stampede about 40-45 km from the Sabarimala Shrine. The stampede was triggered when a jeep and an auto rickshaw rammed into a crowd of devotees in a narrow forest path at Pulimedu in Idukki district of Kerala on 14/1/2011. Most of the victims are from the Southern state of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The pilgrims were returning after seeking the blessings at the Sabarimala temple on the auspicious day of Makar Sankranti. The temple attracts millions of worshippers and an estimated 150,000 devotees were thought to have taken the narrow path out of the densely forested hills where the stampede took place. CM V.S Achuthanandan has launched a judicial probe into the matter.

Suresh Kalmadi sacked as Chairman of Commonwealth Games Organizing CommitteeSuresh Kalmadi and his deputy Lalit Bhanot were sacked as Chairman and Secretary General of the Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee respectively after three months since the end of the international event. The decision to remove the two top officials was taken by the new Sports Minister Ajay Maken after taking the legal opinion of the Attorney General. The organizing committee has faced several allegations of massive corruption and ineptitude in the months leading up to the games.

Aarushi Talwar's father attacked outside courtDr. Rajesh Talwar father of murdered teenager Aarushi Talwar was attacked by a man outside the Ghaziabad court on 25/1/2011. He received sharp blows from a meat cleaver used by the assailant and the bleeding doctor was immediately rushed to a Hospital. Rajesh Talwar had gone to the court to file a petition demanding a fresh probe by the CBI in the Aarushi- Hemaraj murder case. The attacker has been identified as Utsav Sharma who was earlier also involved in an incident where he attacked SPS Rathore, the retired police officer who was convicted in the Ruchita Girhotra suicide case.

Republic Day celebrations peaceful in KashmirIndia’s Republic Day celebrations in Kashmir passed of peacefully even as BJP activist’s attempts to hoist the flag at Lal Chowk were foiled. Six activists were taken into custody immediately after they came out of a hotel near Lal Chowk and began walking towards the city centre. Another activist was arrested in Residency Road area adjacent to Lal Chowk when he appeared with a national flag and the BJP flag. The days leading to the Republic Day were fraught with tension as BJP’s proposed ‘EktaYatra’ was seen as a move that could possibly reignite tensions in the valley.

Sports Current Affairs 2011

India Vs England match to be shifted from Eden Gardens The India - England World Cup group stage match on February 27, to be held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata , has been shifted following delay in construction work at the venue. This comes as a major embarrassment for the cricketing body of Bengal (CAB) The ICC has asked the BCCI to find out an alternate venue for the match. The Eden Gardens was scheduled to host four matches - on February 27, March 15, March 18 and March 20. Now, it remains to be seen if the ground can be readied quickly and whether the ICC will allow the remaining matches at the venue to go ahead.

India loses ODI series at South AfricaThe Indian cricket team lost its chance at creating history by not being able to win the five match ODI series tournament recently concluded at South Africa. The finals match was expected to be a cracker with both teams having registered a couple of wins each. How ever the rain affected target of 263 set by South Africa proved to be too daunting for the Indian team after losing wickets at regular intervals. However some late fireworks by Yusuf Pathan who scored 105 made it a keenly fought contest.

Djokovic wins Aus Open title Novak Djokovic of Serbia powered his way into winning the Australian Open 6- 4, 6-2, 6-3 over Andy Murray of Britain. It was a power packed power packed performance by the Serbian who played aggressive strokes throughout the match and always looked to be in control. Murray has now been runner-up in three Grand Slam finals extending Britain's near 75-year drought in men's singles Grand Slams

Persons in News December 2011

AR Rahman nominated for two OscarsAR Rahman does it again. The Indian musical wizard has been nominated for two Oscars for his compositions in Danny Boyles movie ‘127 hours’. The film has earned wide scale appreciation in various festivals and was also recently nominated under different categories at the recently concluded Golden Globe awards. ‘If I rise’ sung by Rahman himself and English Pop star Dido has been nominated in the Best Song Category. He has also received a nomination for Best Original Score.

Classical music legend Bhimsen Joshi passes away at the age of 88Legendary vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi passed away after a prolonged period of illness. He was put on life support for age related ailments and was admitted in one of the hospitals in Pune. A pale of gloom descended in the city with people queuing up at his residence in large numbers to pay their last respects. This Bharath Rathna awardee was one of India’s most influential and celebrated Hindustani classical singers. He was a member of the Khirana Gharana school of music who enthralled audiences with his mellifluous renditions of khayals, abhangs and bhajans. His Sant Vani recitals with a flair of marathi bhakthi sangeeth renditions have been hugely popular in both Karnataka and Maharashtra. Bhimsen Joshi was a prolific performer and has toured extensively both home and abroad giving many noteworthy performances.

Jaganmohan Reddy names new party 'YSR Party'Former Congress MP from Kadapa, Jaganmohan Reddy submitted an application to the Election Commission to register his own new party called YSR party. It has been named after his father and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YS. Rajashekar Reddy who died in a helicopter crash on September 2 in 2009, while serving his second term in office. Jaganmohan had resigned from the party after the Congress expressed anger over the episodes telecast on Sakshi television channel owned by him, which criticized the party leadership.

This paper was reintroduced in the scheme of examination in 1993, it has played a crucial role in determining the rank of the student. Most of the top rankers have scored above 55% in this paper. Some candidates have also scored around 60% which has helped them secure a position in the top ten ranks.

Correct choice of topic and the appropriate method of writing are important. It is advisable to choose the factual topics which are non-controversial in nature.

Method of Writing:After deciding the topic1. Start brain stroming2. Write down all the ideas that you about the topic.3. Do not classify or systematise your points at this stage.4. Put them on paper randomly as they flow in.5. Later, arrange the ideas in a logical and sequential manner.6. Having arrived at the sequence, start writing, giving due care to the introduction, the body and finally the conclusion.7. Ensure that you have enough time for revision.8. Remember it is a General Essay Paper and you should not be highly technical.

Here are some help tools for tackling Essay in the UPSC exams, ranging from the syllabus to reading list and other tips. These resources on Essay also includes IAS Question Papers of Essay. We wish you to adopt the best strategy and become

successful. We try our best to provide as many resources for your prepration as possible, but if you can add to this list please feel free to send us links or matter.

Globalization and the Pollution

Globalisation is an universal phenomenon which was introduced with the aim of integrating societies,economies and cultures through a common link of trading policies,technology and communication.With the advent of globalisation though the standard of economy has improved,it also brought many new issues into concern. Brain drain,pollution and spread of diseases are the major problems the world is facing today.For a large extend the factor behind this is globalisation.Each day we could hear new forms of pollution and hundreds of people are becomming victims of this.

As a result of globalisation large number of industries were setup all over the world.For setting up of industries newer areas had to be discovered,so people started destroying large forest lands. Rapid destruction of forests caused serious threat to both plants and animals .Many species of plants and animals have become extinct and many are endangered.Reports reveal that a major portion of forest area is being decreased every year.This can create far reaching consequence on the environment.Due to decline in the number of trees,the temperature of earth is going high.This phenomenon is termed as Global Warming.Many environmentalist have come forward raising this issue,but still nobody could find a way to tackle this problem.Temperature rise causes the polar ice to melt and increase of sea level.This is a major threat to the entire living world.

The next problem to be taken into account is the industrial waste.Each industry produces a huge amount of harmful waste material every day.And many of them have no proper means of waste disposal.They either dump the wastes into the sea or river or in some land mostly banks of rivers.As a result the land and water is being polluted.Many of the water resources have been contaminated and become unfit for drinking.Even the fishes are dying off in mass amount .Due to these reasons the problem of drinking water scarcity has turned out to be fierce.Also the outlet gases from industries are highly dangerous which includes poisonous chemicals like sulphur oxides,nitrogen oxides,carbon monoxide,toxic metals like lead,cadmium etc..This adds to air pollution.Air pollution has far reaching effects on human health.Mostly it affects the respiratory system and the cardiovascular system.Inhalation of polluted air negatively affects the functioning of lungs and other organs of our body.It can lead to minor breathing problems to severe respiratory disorder as the degree of exposure to pollutants increases.

Sulphur oxides reacts with atmospheric water producing sulphuric acid and thus forming acid rain which causes heavy destruction to historical monuments.Such incidents have already been reported in the case of Taj Mahal.Another harmful chemical which appeared on the screen in recent times is chlorofluro carbons (CFCs).CFCs are considered ideal for many industrial,commercial and household applications like coolants for commercial and home refrigeration units,aerosol propellants,electronic cleaning solvents and blowing agents.CFCs were found to be the major reason for the depletion of ozone layer.Depletion of ozone layer can inturn be very destructive for the living beings as it protects our earth from the harmful radiations from the sun which can lead to serious skin diseases. Over a few decades,the agricultural production has increased tremendously with the use of hybrid varieties of plants and highly effective fertilizers and pesticides/insecticides.Such chemicals are hazardous to human well being.Strong evidences of neurological defects have already been reported .

If this pace of globalisation continues,we will have to witness dramatic environmental changes.So we will have to adopt certain eco-friendly techniques to bring down the side effects of globalisation.Of course,some programmes have been introduced like Vanamahotsava and Montreal Protocol.Vanamahotsava aims for planting more number of trees and creating awareness about the importance of trees and forests in the proper environmental balance.Also, strong laws have been imposed against deforestaion.The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by bringing down the use of CFCs and replacing it by some less harmful chemicals.Its the duty of each and every citizen to save our mother earth.So combined effort must be taken in this regard.

Shilna Krishnan