April 1-10

� BJP chief Rajnath Singh appointed Narendra Modi to the party’s parliamentary board, foiling a last-gasp

resistance to the Gujarat chief minister’s return to the top decision-making body after six years. Rajnath’s

firm stance clears the way for the Gujarat strongman to play a major role in the party at the Centre in the

lead-up to the 2014 elections against the backdrop of the growing clamour in the ranks for him to be

projected as the party’s candidate for PM.

� More than 190 countries decided it would build up to a $100 billion kitty by 2020 to fight climate change

globally but the Green Climate Fund looks set to remain an empty pot as the US and other developed

countries have refused to commit the needed money or even set timelines for contributions. In a meeting

of the UN fund held in Berlin, the US and other developed countries refused to discuss a burden-sharing

formula for contributions or set any calendar to schedule the initial funding. By December 2012, only $5.7

million was committed by the rich world to the fund. India was represented at the meeting by Dipak

Dasgupta, principle economic advisor to the finance ministry.

� World No. 1 Serena Williams rallied to defeat world No. 2 Maria Sharapova 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the WTA Miami

final, winning the event for a record sixth time to claim her 48th career tour title.

� The Supreme Court rejected pharma giant Novartis AG’s plea to preserve its patent over a life-saving

cancer drug, Glivec, drawing a huge sigh of relief from thousands of patients in India and in dozens of

developing countries as the fear of an almost 15-fold escalation of drug costs receded. It is the biggest

setback for multinational pharma companies, which have been denied patent protection for a series of life-

saving drugs in recent years.

� Intense police heat on the two alleged killers of BSP moneybag Deepak Bhardwaj paid off, when the hired

guns — Purushottam Rana and Sunil Mann, 26 — were nabbed amid high drama from the Patiala House

complex, where they had come to surrender. The two had been identified in CCTV footage at

Bhardwaj’s Rajokri farmhouse, where they had allegedly gunned down the real estate tycoon.

� The defence ministry has rejected the Army’s case for ownership of the 22 heavy-duty Apache helicopters,

armed with Hellfire and Stinger missiles, which India is all set to acquire from the US in a $1.4 billion

contract. The MoD, citing defence minister A K Antony’s approval, has held the 22 AH-64D Apache

Longbow gunships will remain with the IAF because the procurement deal was an ongoing one, which did

not fall into category of future acquisitions.

� South Korea will strike back quickly if the North stages any attack, the new president in Seoul warned, as

tensions ratcheted higher on the Korean peninsula amid shrill rhetoric from Pyongyang and the US

deployment of radar evading fighter planes. North Korea says the region is on the brink of a nuclear war

in the wake of United Nations sanctions imposed for its February nuclear test and a series of joint US and

South Korean military drills that have included a rare US show of aerial power.

� North Korea’s parliament named former premier Pak Pong-ju, who was sacked in 2007 for failing to

implement economic reforms, as its prime minister in a move that cements the grip of the ruling Kim

dynasty on key posts in the country. Pak, believed to be in his 70s, is a key ally of Jang Song-thaek, the

uncle of the isolated state’s ruler Kim Jong-un.

� Andy Murray beat David Ferrer in the Sony Open final after a gruelling two hour, 45 minute battle in a 2-

6, 6-4, 7-6 win.

SNIPPETS

� Close to three years after they smoked the peace pipe, the two Ambani brothers signalled their growing

rapprochement with a Rs 1,200 crore deal that will allow Mukesh to use Anil-controlled Reliance

Communication’s (R-Com) optic fibre network to roll out 4G services. This is their first business

collaboration since their acrimonious split in 2005. The optic fibre network is just a part of a broader

business arrangement between the two brothers and will involve sharing of each other’s telecom

infrastructure.

� The Supreme Court ordered Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of mining giant Vedanta, to pay Rs 100 crore

as compensation for environmental damage around its Tuticorin-based copper smelting unit in Tamil

Nadu.

� The expansion of UPA’s flagship intervention — direct benefits transfer (DBT) — is likely to be pushed back

by three months, shrinking the window for full scale implementation of the scheme that Congress sees as

its trump card for the 2014 polls. The scheme to ensure delivery of cash subsidies and entitlements to

bank accounts of beneficiaries was launched in January 2013. However, for the scheme to live up to its

“game-changer” billing, it needs to be implemented throughout the country and its scope extended to

cover the full bouquet of entitlements, including pensions and subsidies. But records show that DBT is

moving slower than expected in 43 districts where it was launched in January, covering 26 central

pensions and scholarships. The Centre thinks the scheme’s second phase can kick off only in July after the

targets set for the first phase are met.

� The Supreme Court vacated its order restraining Italian ambassador Daniele Mancini from leaving India

following the return of the two Italian marines, accused of killing two Indian fishermen, to face trial here

as per his commitment to the court.

� The 193-nation UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the first-ever treaty on global arms trade

that seeks to regulate the $70 billion international business in conventional arms ranging from light

weapons to battle tanks and warships. Major arms producers China and Russia joined Cuba, Venezuela,

Bolivia, Nicaragua and other countries in abstaining. A number of countries complained that the treaty

favors exporting over importing states.

� The sixth edition of the IPL kicks off with nine participating teams.

� The Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday launched a full-scale offensive against Gujarat chief minister

Narendra Modi for allegedly seeking to subvert the institution of Lokayukta and appropriate the powers of

the anti-corruption ombudsman. The Gujarat Lokayukta Aayog Bill 2013 proposes a panel of six people

headed by the chief minister to select the Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta.

� The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) collected samples from Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh

and other boxers at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala. Sports secretary PK Deb said that there was

a provision in the anti-doping rules for NADA to conduct an out of competition test on athletes.

� The brutal custodial death of an SFI activist during a Left Front rally has sparked fears of a fresh bout of

political violence in the state ahead of the panchayat polls. Mamata Banerjee endorsed the police claim

that the death of Sudipto Gupta was due to an accident, not thrashing by cops as his friends and

witnesses allege, leading a furious opposition to accuse the chief minister of “trying to influence the

probe”.

� Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders got off to a winning start in IPL-6 with a six-wicket win over

Delhi Daredevils at a packed Eden Gardens.

� In a rare interaction with India Inc — his first with big business since becoming Congress vice-president —

Rahul Gandhi spoke of his continuing discovery of India, glorifying the country’s complexities (which are

viewed by industry as obstacles) and its die-hard spirit, but failed to offer any concrete roadmap for the

future. Gandhi, seen as a PM candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha election, used several anecdotes to

illuminate his points, took a veiled dig at Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, and compared India to a

“beehive” to talk about the buzz that represented India’s dynamism even as he took tentative steps to

stamp his presence in a gathering of India’s corporate elite.

� The National Investigation Agency registered an FIR against the two Italian marines being held since last

year for allegedly killing two Kerala fishermen, charging them with murder and other provisions of law

that carry death penalty. The use of Section 3 of SUA and Section 302 of Indian Penal Code takes on

significance in view of Italy’s claim that it sent the two back on March 22 only on the basis of an

assurance from India that they would not face death penalty.

� Senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who made waves by cancelling the mutation of a land deal between

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra and realty giant DLF in October last year, was

transferred for the 44th time in less than 20 years of his bureaucratic career. The whistleblower officer

was moved to a low profile portfolio of secretary, Haryana archives, after exposing another alleged scam

in the Haryana Seed Development Corporation.

� A global journalistic investigation has exposed secret financial dealings of rich individuals, politicians,

industrialists and even ordinary professionals through tax havens, setting off political ripples across

Europe and Asia. Among those exposed are 612 Indians, including at least two MPs and several

industrialists. The investigation — conducted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

(ICIJ) and its partner media houses — has exposed 1,20,000 companies registered in secretive tax

havens and around 1,30,000 individuals and their front men. Among the Indians with accounts in the tax

havens are Rajya Sabha member and chief of ailing Kingfisher airline, Vijay Mallya, Lok Sabha member

Vivekanand Gaddam, and industrialists such as Ravikant Ruia, Teja Raju, Samir Modi, Chetan Burman,

Abhey Kumar Oswal, Rahul Mammen Mappillai, Saurabh Mittal, Sonu Lalchand Mirchandani, Vinod Doshi

etc.

� Rahi Sarnobat shot her way into history by becoming India’s first pistol shooter to win gold in a World

Cup. The 22-year-old from Kolhapur won the 25m sports pistol event in the ISSF World Cup in Changwon

(South Korea). While six Indians had won gold in a World Cup before Rahi, three had done so in

rifle shooting and three in shotgun. She is the first to win a pistol event.

� Alarmed by Natiional Investigation Agency’s (NIA) booking two of its marines under charges which could

attract death penalty, Italy mounted a diplomatic offensive with its PM Mario Monti calling up foreign

minister Salman Khurshid to say that the move was contrary to India’s assurance that the duo would not

face capital punishment.

� The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pulled up the Odisha government for extending undue

benefits to South Korean company Posco while allotting a plot in Bhubaneswar. The CAG, in its latest

report on the general and social sector tabled in the state assembly on April 6, has detected seven cases,

including Posco’s 21.43 acre of land, where the Odisha government allotted land in “deviation of the land

use zone and category of the land”.

� Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra were adjudged the best popular actors, male and female, at the first

Lux Cozi Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA) held at Vancouver on April 6, for the film Barfi!

� The latest WikiLeaks revelations of Rajiv Gandhi having been a conduit in negotiations for a Swedish

fighter plane in the 70s injected a fresh dose of acrimony in the already bitter Congress-BJP ties. The

WikiLeaks revelation flows from newly released secret “Kissinger” cables dispatched by the US embassy in

India between 1973 and 1976 that claim Rajiv was the “negotiator” for a Swedish firm trying to sell

fighters to the IAF by referring to a Swedish embassy official in India.

� World No. 1 Serena Williams bounced back from a set down to defeat former top ranked Jelena Jankovic

of Serbia 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 and win her third Family Circle Cup title on April 7. The triumph was American

Williams' 49th in WTA play. Only nine players have won 50 or more WTA titles. After dropping the first set

in 45 minutes, Williams cruised through the next two, winning 12 of the final 14 games for her second

consecutive title on the clay at Charleston, South Carolina. She also won in 2008.

� Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” of British politics, who pulled her country back from 35 years of

leftwing government, led it to victory in the Falklands war and helped guide the US and the Soviet Union

through the cold war’s difficult last years, died on April 8. She was 87. Thatcher was the first woman to

become prime minister of Britain and the first to lead a major Western power in modern times. Hard-

driving and hardheaded, she led her Conservative Party to three straight election victories and held office

for 11 years — May 1979 to November 1990 — longer than any other British politician in the 20th century.

� The Supreme Court, on April 8, quashed the Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter FIR against former Gujarat

minister Amit Shah holding that it was part and parcel of the Sohrabuddin Sheikh killing and did not

require registration of a separate case.

� BSP leader and real estate tycoon Deepak Bhardwaj was gunned down at the behest of his estranged son

who feared losing out on his family’s wealth and resented his father’s growing fondness for a young

woman, police said, claiming to have cracked the 15-day-old murder with two key arrests on April 9.

� The ghost of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots has returned yet again to haunt Congress leader Jagdish Tytler. A

sessions court on April 10 ordered reopening of the case against him despite the CBI giving him the clean

chit twice. The former Union minister is accused of instigating a mob on November 1, 1984, whose actions

led to the death of three persons taking shelter in a gurdwara.

� South Korea said on April 10 that there was “very high” probability that North Korea, engaged in weeks of

threats of war, would launch a medium range missile at any time as a show of strength despite diplomatic

efforts to soften its position. Foreign minister Yun Byung-se said South Korea had asked China and Russia

to intercede with the North to ease tension that has mounted since the UN Security Council slapped fresh

sanctions on Pyongyang after a new nuclear arms test last month.

� Having won the T20 international series 3-0 against the lowly-ranked Bangladesh, the Indian women’s

team on April 10 sealed the one-day international (ODI) series too. They beat the visitors by 46 runs to

win the second ODI and took an unassailable lead in the three-match series.

� Indian-American legal maven Sri Srinivasan on April 10 sailed through a Senate confirmation hearing that

saw bipartisan support for President Barack Obama’s nomination of him as a federal judge but otherwise

demonstrated divisive Washington politics.

April 11-April 20

� The Supreme Court on April 11 put a question mark on Bharti Airtel’s 3G mobile telephony in Kolkata,

Uttar Pradesh (east), Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala by restraining the

telecom major from adding new 3G subscribers in these seven circles till further orders.

� The Supreme Court on April 12 declined to commute the death sentence of Khalistani terrorist Devender

Pal Singh Bhullar, found guilty of killing nine and injuring 17 others in Delhi in a bomb attack 20 years

ago, rejecting the plea that death convicts whose execution is delayed should be spared the gallows.

� Around 40 years after India used plutonium from a Canadian heavy water reactor to carry out its first

nuclear test in defiance of world opinion, Ottawa is set to resume nuclear commerce with New Delhi.

� Bollywood villain Pran Sikand has been awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2012), the nation’s top

cine honour. Considered one of the most versatile actors in Hindi films, Pran joined the industry to become

a hero but ended up playing one of the best villains and character actors it ever had in the last 65 years.

Born on February 12, 1920, in Old Delhi, his first film Yamla Jat released in 1945. In Khandan, the second

of his nearly 400 films, he played the hero with Noor Jehan. He achieved fame for his role in Zanzeer as

‘Sher Khan’.

� France’s upper house Senate voted on April 12 to adopt a landmark bill granting homosexual couples the

right to marry and adopt, after a heated debate and protests from conservatives and religious groups.

� Veteran playback singer P B Srinivas died on April 14. Srinivas, known fondly in the film industry and to

fans as PBS, sang more than 3,000 songs for Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films. Srinivas

began his career in the early 1950s and was best known as the voice of Tamil star Gemini Ganesan and

Kannada superstar Rajkumar.

� Venezuelans headed to the polls on April 14 to elect Hugo Chavez’s successor, with his political heir,

Nicolas Maduro, hoping to continue his socialist revolution and rival Henrique Capriles vowing change in

the divided nation.

� Manchester City withstood a valiant fightback from Chelsea to win a gripping FA Cup semi-final 2-1 at

Wembley Stadium on April 14 and knock the holders out of the competition.

� Gujarat will lose its status as the world’s only home for wild Asiatic lions. The Supreme Court on April 15

ordered that some of the lions should be moved to Kuno wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, brushing

aside the Narendra Modi government’s passionate resistance to the move.

� The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad has, for the first time, offered its lush green campus for

a Bollywood film shoot. A 300-member unit from Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions is shooting for ‘2

States’, a film based on IIM-A alumnus Chetan Bhagat’s book by the same name.

� Indian Mujahideen operative Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig, the lone arrested accused in the German Bakery

blast that killed 17 and injured 64 people, three years back, was convicted by a sessions on April 15 for

criminal conspiracy, murder and other charges.

� Just 40 days after his death, Hugo Chavez’s “21st century socialism” was facing its toughest test in

Venezuela even as his political heir Nicolas Maduro was declared winner in the presidential poll on April

14. In a bitterly fought election, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela leader defeated Henrique Capriles

Radonski, the joint candidate of several opposition parties, by a margin of less than 2% votes. While

Maduro got 50.66% of votes, Capriles took 49.07% of the ballots in a tighter-than-expected vote.

� A young Indian-American economist whose pioneering work on education was cited by US President

Obama in last year’s state of the union address has won a prestigious award that is often called the ‘‘Baby

Nobel”. New Delhi-born Raj Chetty, now a professor of economics at Harvard, has been named the 2013

winner of the John Bates Clark Medal, which the American Economic Association awards annually to an

‘‘American economist under the age of 40, who is adjudged to have made a significant contribution to

economic thought and knowledge”.

� Italy, on April 16, accused India of breaching the sovereign assurance given to it and the Supreme Court

judgment by invoking slapping provisions of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts (SUA), which provides for

mandatory death penalty, against the marines facing trial for the murder of two Kerala fishermen.For

Italy, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued that the marines — Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore

Girone — were sent back on India’s assurance that they would not be awarded death penalty even if

found guilty in the trial.

� Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf is out of the electoral race. An election tribunal on April 16

rejected his nomination papers from the only constituency where his eligibility to contest next month’s

polls was accepted earlier.

� Boxer Vijender Singh emerged unscathed from a dope test on April 16 but it would take a while before he

returns to the mainstream, the sports ministry said. The urine and blood samples of the Olympic bronze

medallist contained no banned substances, the ministry said in a statement.

� Terrorists struck in Bangalore on April 17, blasting explosives hidden in a motorcycle parked outside the

Karnataka BJP headquarters that was teeming with people on the last day to file nominations for assembly

elections two weeks later.

� Former Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh Governor V S Ramadevi, the only woman to head the Election

Commission, died e on April 17 following cardiac arrest. Ramadevi was the chief election commissioner

from November 26, 1990 to December 11, 1990. She was the only woman who became the CEC.

� Telugu author Dr Ravuri Bharadwaja was on April 17 chosen for the 48th Jnanpith award for the year

2012.The 86-year-old writer was chosen by the Jnanpith selection board chaired by scholar Sitakant

Mahapatra, a statement of Jnanpith Award committee said. Bharadwaja’s published work includes 37

collections of short stories and 17 novels. His notable creations are Kadambari, Pakudurallu, Jeevana

Samaram, Inupu Tera Venuka and Koumudi and have been translated into English and various Indian

languages.

� The joint parliamentary committee on telecom gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and

rubbished the CAG’s Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss calculation in the 2G scam. It, however, slammed the

Vajpayee government for Rs 40,080 crore loss due to a policy shift in 1999.

� Originally hailing from the restive Russian province of Chechnya, two brothers — Tamerlan (26) and

Dzhokhar (19) — are alleged to have planted the pressure cooker bombs at the Boston Marathon finish

line that killed three people on April 15.

� Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai, who emerged as a global icon for female rights after being shot at by

Taliban for advocating girl’s education, will give her first public speech in New York on her 16th birthday

on July 12, a day that would now be marked as ‘Malala Day’.

� Gold prices rallied to regain Rs 27,000 per 10 gm level in the national capital on April 20 on brisk buying

by retail customers after recent steep fall amid short-covering by speculators on firming global trend. The

gold, which had suffered biggest ever losses following a meltdown in global bullion prices, recovered by Rs

500 to Rs 27,100 per 10 gm. It had gained Rs 250 in the previous session.

� The government has approved sweeping changes to defence procurement procedure to initiate a possible

sudden turnaround in favour of domestic manufacturers and to end India’s over-dependence on imports.

India enjoys the dubious distinction as the world’s biggest importer of military equipment, with over 65%

of its annual requirement coming from foreign suppliers.

� Top seed Ankita Raina of Gujarat lived up to her billing and grabbed her second ITF women’s singles title

by defeating compatriot Natasha Palha 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the $10,000 ITF women’s tennis

tournament.

April 21- April 30

� Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani will now get ‘Z’ category protection, with the Union home

ministry approving an armed squad of CRPF commandos for his proximate security less than two months

after a threat letter, purportedly from the Indian Mujahideen, was hand-delivered at his office in Mumbai.

The letter is said to have threatened a terror attack at his Antilia residence at Altamount Road in south

Mumbai “for supporting Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and investing in the state”.

� Mathematical genius Shakuntala Devi, nicknamed as “human computer” for her ability to make complex

mental calculations, died at a hospital on April 21 following respiratory problems. She was 73. She found a

slot in the Guinness Book of Records for her outstanding ability and wrote numerous books like 'Fun with

Numbers', 'Astrology for You', 'Puzzles to Puzzle You', and 'Mathablit'.

� Over 200 people were killed and 11,500 others injured in the devastating 7-magnitude earthquake in

southwest China, which continued to be rocked by hundreds of aftershocks on April 21.

� Defending triple world champion Sebastian Vettel extended his lead in this year’s title race on April 21

when he claimed an impressive victory for Red Bull in an incident-filled Bahrain Grand Prix.

� Novak Djokovic ended Rafael Nadal’s dreams of a record ninth successive Monte Carlo Masters title with a

6-2, 7-6 (7-1) victory in the final on April 21.The world number one had been a doubtful starter with an

injured ankle but played through the pain to lift hisfirsttrophy in the principality,the 37th of his career and

14th at the Masters 1000 level.

� Former Chief Justice of India J S Verma, who headed the government appointed committee to frame a

tough law to tackle crime against women in the wake of the December Delhi gang-rape case, died on April

22. He had headed the committee formed by the government to give recommendations for a stringent

anti-rape law after the brutal Delhi gang-rape of a 23-year-old Nirbhaya on December 16, 2012. Most of

the recommendations of this committee, which also had Gopal Subramanian and Leela Seth as its

members, were accepted by the government.

� All coal blocks distributed between 1993 and 2008 were done in an unauthorized manner and allotment of

all mines where production is yet to start should be cancelled, the Standing Committee on Coal and Steel

said in its latest report tabled in Parliament on April 22. The committee, headed by Trinamool Congress

MP Kalyan Banerjee, has also recommended that all “personnel” who have been involved “directly or

indirectly” in the allocation process “should be investigated for their role”.

� Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra got a clean chit in the controversial DLF land deal

as a Haryana government panel held there was no undervaluation. The commission thus rejected shunted

IAS officer Ashok Khemka’s allegations of wrongdoing.

� Amit Kumar Dhankhar (66kg), who came in as a replacement for injured Sushil Kumar, won a gold as

India finished with a rich medal haul of two gold, one silver and six bronze medals in the Asian Wrestling

Championship. They had won a gold medal and four bronze medals in the last edition.

� Chris Gayle of RCB created history by plundering an unbeaten 175 off 66 balls against Pune Warriors on

April 23. 175 is the highest-ever individual score in Twenty20 cricket. Century off just 30 balls, is the

fastest ever in all formats.

� Two veteran anti-terrorism prosecutors, including Indian-American Aloke Chakravarty, were entrusted

with the responsibility to nail the Chechen-origin Boston bombings suspect.

� A car bomb targeted the French Embassy in the Libyan capital on April 23, in an attack that President

Francois Hollande denounced as an assault not only on France but all countries engaged in the fight

against terrorism.

� Manchester United wrapped up their 20th league title in convincing style after Robin van Persie’s first-half

hat-trick sank Aston Villa.

� Naresh Goyal's Jet Airways and Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad finally enacted a well choreographed tango

clinching the first foreign direct investment (FDI) deal after foreign airlines were allowed part ownership of

their Indian rivals. On April 24, Jet Airways board cleared preferential allotment of shares (at Rs 754 a

piece) to Etihad giving the latter a 24% direct stake in India's second largest airline by market share.

Etihad will pay $379 million for the stake valuing Jet Airways at $1.57 billion, which is 32% higher than

the current market value of the domestic carrier.

� Shamshad Begum, the Amritsar-born playback singer, passed away on April 23 after prolonged illness in

Mumbai at the age of 94. Shamshad Begum first made her mark singing non-filmi songs for AIR’s Lahore

station in the 1930s. Her earliest film hits came with composer Ghulam Haider.

� Dalits in the United Kingdom have recorded a landmark victory after the British parliament finally agreed

to outlaw caste discrimination. In a major U-turn, the House of Commons, which had earlier trashed an

amendment to include caste among other forms of discrimination, on April 23 voted for legal protection

for the four lakh dalits living in the UK.This makes the UK the first country outside South Asia to legislate

against caste discrimination.

� CBI chief Ranjit Sinha told the Supreme Court on April 26 that the agency was made to share the contents

of its status report on the coal scam probe with the Prime Minister’s Office, law minister Ashwani Kumar

and the coal ministry in a damning acknowledgement that rendered the law minister’s tenure precarious

and pushed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the brink of a huge embarrassment.

� The government, on April 26, for the first time officially admitted that People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

troops had intruded as far as 19km inside Indian territory to pitch their tents there.

� The SC rejected Italy’s objections to the National Investigating Agency probing the killing of two Kerala

fishermen by the Italian marines and the charges that might invite death.

� In a first-of-its-kind study of “national power” a group of eminent strategic experts and scholars have

placed India at the eighth position among a group of 27 most powerful countries in the world.The study,

conducted by the New Delhi-based Foundation for National Security Research (FSNR), judged “national

power” by various indices, including energy security, population, technological capability etc. The US is by

far the world’s most powerful nation, several notches ahead of its nearest competitor, China.

� Ankita Raina of Gujarat stayed on course for her second successive $10,000 ITF women’s singles title with

a 6-4, 6-1 hammering of compatriot and fourth seed Shweta Rana in the semifinals in Lucknow on April

26.

� PV Sindhu, India's best hope after Saina Nehwal's exit in the women's singles quarterfinals, came a

cropper when she was beaten in just over half-hour in the semifinal against World No. 6 Ratchanok

Intanon of Thailand in the India Open Super Series on April 26.

� Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halki survived a bomb attack on his convoy in Damascus on April 29, as

rebels struck in the heart of President Bashar al-Assad’s capital.

� Virat Kohli is the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) choice for Arjuna award. Batting legend

Sunil Gavaskar is BCCI’s choice for the Dhyanchand award (lifetime achievement).

� Italian prosecutors on April 30 sought an instant trial, without any preliminary hearings, into the alleged

corruption in the 2010 deal by India to buy 12 VVIP helicopters from Italian consortium Finmeccanica’s

British arm Agusta Westland.

� Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf’s plans to stage a political comeback were virtually

sealed on April 30 after the Peshawar high court banned him from contesting polls for life while another

court remanded him in judicial custody till three days after the May 11 parliamentary polls.

� Basketball center Jason Collins on April 29 became the first active player in a major American professional

team sport to reveal he is gay — a groundbreaking disclosure greeted with broad support.

� Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands abdicated on April 30, handing over to her eldest son, Willem-

Alexander, who became the first King of the Netherlands in over 120 years.

� Joao Havelange resigned as honorary FIFA president over claims that he had accepted bribes, world

football's governing body announced on April 30. Havelange stood down after being targeted in the

findings of an Ethics Committee set up by FIFA to investigate a scandal involving the now bankrupt Swiss-

based marketing agency ISL and World Cup television rights.

Abdul Hamid

Bangladesh's veteran politician and parliamentary speaker Abdul Hamid was, on April 22, elected unopposed as

the country's new President, a day after ruling Awami League nominated him for the top post. He has been the

Acting President of the country since Zillur Rahman died on March 20 in a Singapore hospital. The President's term

is for five years. Hamid has a long 54 years of career in politics and he was first elected as a member of the then

national assembly in erstwhile Pakistan when he was only 26 while main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party

(BNP) or none other expressed any reservation about his candidature for the highest office.

Anil Goswami

Senior IAS officer Anil Goswami, a seasoned hand on Jammu and Kashmir affairs, was on April 26 appointed as the

new Home Secretary and will have a two-year tenure from June end. 58-year-old Goswami, a 1978 batch IAS

officer, is the first bureaucrat from Jammu and Kashmir cadre to be appointed to the top post.

Archana Bhargava

Archana Bhargava, Executive Director, Canara Bank, has been appointed as Chairman & Managing Director of the

Bank.

Asoke Kumar Mukerji

Ambassador Asoke Kumar Mukerji has taken over as India's Permanent Representative at the UN, succeeding

Hardeep Singh Puri who demitted office Feb 28. Mukerji was earlier special secretary (political) in the external

affairs ministry and looked after India's strategic and security policy consultations in its immediate and extended

neighbourhood. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1978.

Chitra Ramkrishna

Ms Chitra Ramkrishna on April 1 took over as managing director and chief executive officer of the National Stock

Exchange (NSE). The 49-year old Ms Ramkrishna, who was part of the leadership team that helped set up the

National Stock Exchange (NSE) in early 90s, would be only the third person to head the bourse in its entire history

of about two decades. As MD and CEO of the NSE, Ms Ramkrishna succeeds Ravi Narain who would assume the

role of non-executive Vice Chairman with effect from April 1, 2013, after serving in various leadership roles at the

exchange since its inception.

Krishnakumar Natarajan

Information technology industry body Nasscom on April 8 appointed Krishnakumar Natarajan as the Chairman for

2013-14. Krishnakumar is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of MindTree and has been a member

of Nasscom’s executive council. He will take on the new role with immediate effect. He succeeds N.

Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD of TCS, who served as Chairman of Nasscom for 2012-13.

Enrico Letta

Enrico Letta, second-in-command of the centre-left Democratic Party was on Wednesday set to become Italy's new

prime minister at the age of 46 - the youngest premier in 25 years.

Fred Amoroso

The struggling Internet company Yahoo Inc on April 25 announced that its chairman Fred Amoroso is resigning

with immediate effect. Amoroso will be replaced in the chairman role by director Maynard Webb Jr. on an interim

basis until the company's annual shareholder meeting on June 25.

PEOPLE IN NEWS

Giorgio Napolitano

The Italian parliament on April 20 re-elected 87-year-old President Giorgio Napolitano to serve a second term in an

attempt to resolve the political stalemate left by February's inconclusive election.

Dr. Hilary Kprowski

The Polish-born researcher, who developed the first successful oral vaccination for polio in 1950, died in

Philadelphia on April 11.

Horacio Cartes

Millionaire businessman Horacio Cartes of the opposition Colorado Party, a political neophyte, won Paraguay's

presidential election on April 21. Cartes took 45.91 percent of the votes, compared to 36.84 percent for Efrain

Alegre of the ruling Liberal Party. The conservative Colorados held Paraguay's presidency for 60 years until being

ousted by Lugo in 2008, thanks to a united liberal coalition. By contrast, Cartes, one of Paraguay's wealthiest men,

is a relative newcomer on the political scene.

Jagdish Sharan Verma

The face of judicial activism in the 1990s, who was the 27th Chief Justice of India, associated with many verdicts,

campaigns and events and most recently, headed the three-member committee to suggest improvements in

criminal law to tackle crime against women, died at a Gurgaon hospital on April 22.

James Harding

The BBC named former Times editor James Harding, who was forced to apologise to a media ethics inquiry last

year, as its head of news on Tuesday at a time when the publicly-funded broadcaster tackles one of the biggest

crises in its 90-year history.

Khaled Meshaal

The charismatic 56 year old veteran Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal was on April 1, re-elected as the overall head

of the Palestinian Islamist movement which rules the Gaza Strip. He is well – respected in the Arab world and seen

as the best choice to steer the Islamists through a Middle-East in turmoil.

Margaret Thatcher

The powerful lady of British politics, who pulled her country back from 35 years of left-wing government, died on

April 18 in London. She was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century and is the only woman

to have held the office. A Soviet journalist called her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her

uncompromising politics and leadership style. As Prime Minister, she implemented policies that have come to be

known as Thatcherism.

Narendra Kumar

Narendra Kumar has taken over as Managing Director of Indraprastha Gas LTd. (IGL), the sole supplier of

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) in Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad.

N. Ravi

N Ravi, Director of Kasturi and Sons Limited, publisher of "The Hindu" newspaper, has been unanimously elected

President of the Editors Guild of India. He will succeed T N Ninan, Chairman and Editorial Director of "Business

Standard". Ravi's tenure would be of two years.

Nicolas Maduro

Nicolas Maduro was sworn in as new President of Venezuela on April 19. Maduro, who narrowly won Sunday's

presidential elections with 50.75 percent of the votes as acting president, will serve his tenure as president till

2019.

P.B.Sreenivas

Veteran South-Indian singer who known for his playback singing in the Kannada, Telugu and Tamil film industries,

died in Chennai on April 14.

Phil Ramone

A versatile music arranger and producer who won 14 Grammy Awards died in USA on March 30. He was an

American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording,

Inc., a recording studio at 112 West 48th Street, New York, above was what then Manny's Music. The success of

that studio caused it to grow into several studios and a record producing company. He was described by Billboard

as "legendary", and the BBC as a "CD pioneer".

Ram Prasad Goenka

One of the country’s biggest industrialists and the architect of RPG Enterprises – established in 1979, died in

Kolkata on April 14. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions including the likes of Dunlop India and CESC in

1980, CEAT Tyres in 1982, RPG Life Sciences (then Searle India) and KEC International in 1985, the Gramophone

Co. of India (now Saregama) in 1986, Spencers and Harrisons Malayalam in 1988, Bayer India and many more, R.

P. Goenka came to be known as the 'takeover king' in his heyday.

Rajan Bharti Mittal

Bharti Enterprises vice-chairman and managing director Rajan Bharti Mittal has been appointed the President of

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) India.

Ray Lane

Hewlett-Packard Co announced on April 4 that its Chairman, Ray Lane, who came under fire from shareholders for

his role in the acquisition of software company Autonomy Plc, has stepped down.

Richard Griffiths

British actor, best known for his roles in ‘Withnail and I’ and the Harry Potter films, who spent almost four decades

in radio, film, on television and on stage, died on March 28 in England.

Richie Havens

Renowned US folk musician who emerged from the New York folk scene in the 1960s and went on to sing for the

Dalai Lama and President Bill Clinton, died in Jersey City, USA on April 22.

Salam Fayyad

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad formally presented his resignation to President Mahmud Abbas on April

13. Abbas and Fayyad have been at loggerheads as criticism of the prime minister's economic policies has

mounted in the ruling Fatah movement, but Washington has lobbied hard for the US-educated economist to

remain in post.

S.Gopalakrishnan

S Gopalakrishnan, Co-Founder and Executive Co-Chairman of Infosys, has been elected as the President of the

industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2013-14. He succeeds Adi Godrej, Chairman of

the Godrej Group, CII.A Padma Bhushan recipient, Gopalakrishnan was recently voted as the top CEO (IT services

category) in Institutional Investor's inaugural ranking of Asia's Top Executives, and selected as one of the winners

of the second Asian Corporate Director Recognition Awards by Corporate Governance Asia.

Sailen Nath Roy

Renowned stuntman, who had created a world record in September 2012 after pulling a 41 tonne rail engine and

four coaches with his ponytail, met with death when he tried to cross Teesta river hanging on a wire only by his

ponytail at Sevoke Bridge, West Bengal on April 28.

Shakntala Devi

Legendary maths wizard, dubbed as the world’s fastest “human computer”, who made compelx mental calculations

as a child prodigy and held a Guinees World Record for her lightning-speed calculations, died in Bangalore on April

21.

Shamshad Begum

Bollywood’s extraordinaire and one of the top singers of her era with a career of over 40 years in play back singing

without formal training, died in Mumbai on April 23. She was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film

industry. She had a distinctive voice and was a versatile artist, singing over 6,000 songs in Hindi and the Bengali,

Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil and Punjabi languages and of them 1287 songs were Hindi film songs. Her songs from the

1940s to the early 1970s remain popular and continue to be remixed.

Sunil Bharti Mittal

Bharti Enterprises Chairman and Group CEO Sunil Bharti Mittal has been appointed as the Vice-Chairman of the

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), one of the world’s oldest global business organisations. Mittal becomes

the third business person from India in the history of ICC to be appointed on the ICC Executive Board. Prior to

Mittal, late Bharat Ram (1969-1971), who was also the first Indian to be appointed as the Chairman of the ICC

Executive Board and Late Hari Shankar Singhania (1993-1994) were appointed to ICC.

Tammam Salam

Tammam Salam, scion of a prominent political family, was officially named the new prime minister of Lebanon on

April 6 after receiving a string of endorsements from the country’s warring factions over the past few days. Mr.

Salam, 68, was named to the post by the Lebanese president after he garnered 124 of the 128 votes in

Parliament. Lebanon’s government is based on a delicate sectarian system, in place since the end of the civil war

in 1990, that is meant to balance power among the country’s multiple sects. The formula requires that the

president be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the Parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim.

Uhuru Kenyatta

Uhuru Kenyatta, 51, was on April 9, sworn in as Kenya’s fourth President. Mr. Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s first

President, becomes the second sitting African president to face charges at the International Criminal Court over

allegations he helped orchestrate the vicious tribe-on-tribe violence that marred Kenya’s 2007 presidential

election.

V.S.Krishna Kumar

V. S. Krishna Kumar has assumed charge as Executive Director of Canara Bank with effect from April 4. Krishna

Kumar has over three decades of experience and has headed different branches and diverse departments of

Allahabad Bank.

Vijay Shankar

The government has appointed Vijay Shankar Madan as the new director general of Unique Identification Authority

of India (UIDAI). The UT cadre IAS officer takes charge after the incumbent RS Sharma was appointed as the chief

secretary of Jharkhand.

Dada Saheb Phalke Award

Ninety-three-year-old Pran, one of Bollywood’s best known villains but also one of its most versatile actors, was on

April 12 named for the Dada Saheb Phalke award, India’s most prestigious acting honour. He will be given the

award on May 3 — in a year that marks 100 years of Indian cinema. He appeared in over 400 films during his six-

decade-long career, which included negative roles in films such as Madhumati and Kashmir Ki Kali, and affable

characters in hits such as Zanjeer.

Jnanpith Award

Telugu writer Ravuri Bharadwaja was today selected for the prestigious Jnanpith award for the year 2012. The 86-

year-old writer has to his credit more than 37 volumes of short stories and 17 novels among other works. Besides

short stories and novels, he also had written six short novels for children, five compilations of short stories for

children, three collections of essays and biographies and eight plays. His notable creations include Kadambari,

Pakudurallu, Jeevana Samaram, Inupu Tera Venuka and Koumudi and have been translated into English and

various Indian languages.

John Bates Clark Medal (Baby Nobel)

A young Indian-American economist whose pioneering work on education was cited by President Obama in last

year's State of the Union address has won a prestigious award that is often called the "Baby Nobel." New Delhi-

born Raj Chetty, now a professor of economics at Harvard, has been named the 2013 winner of the John Bates

Clark Medal, which the American Economic Association awards annually to an "American economist under the age

of forty who is adjudged to have made a significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge."

MTV Movie Awards

The MTV movie awards were presented at a ceremony held in Los Angeles, California on April 14. The winners in

different in some important categories are:

Movie of the year: The Avengers

Best Hero: Bilbo Baggins (The Hobbit)

Best Female Performance: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)

Best Male Performance: Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)

Breakthrough Performance: Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect)

Pulitzer Prizes

The New York Times won four Pulitzer prizes on April 15, including the award for investigative reporting for stories

that detailed how Wal-Mart used bribery to expand in Mexico. The Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was

awarded the public service Pulitzer for its reporting on off-duty police officers' reckless driving. The Pulitzer in

breaking news photography went to the Associated Press for its coverage of the civil war in Syria.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Templeton Prize

South African anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu won the 2013 Templeton Prize worth $1.7 million for

helping inspire people around the world by promoting forgiveness and justice, organizers. A leading human rights

activist of the late 20th century, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town played a pivotal role in the downfall

of apartheid and subsequently worked to heal wounds in South Africa's traumatized society. Tutu, 81, won the

Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for standing up against white-minority rule. He remains a prominent campaigner for

peace and human rights.

� India’s Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma, on April 8, deposited his country’s

instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks at WIPO,

bringing the total number of members of the international trademark system to 90. The treaty will enter

into force with respect to India on July 8, 2013. The Madrid System for the International Registration of

Marks (Madrid system) offers trademark owners a cost effective, user friendly and streamlined means of

protecting and managing their trademark portfolio internationally.

� Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia has received formal approval from the government to start an airline in

India. This approval will enable AirAsia (India) to apply with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for

the aviation licence to operate as an Indian airline. AirAsia is Asia’s largest low-cost carrier in terms fleet

size and with a route network that spans through to over 20 countries. While AirAsia will hold a 49% stake

in the proposed airline, its Indian partners’ — the Tata Group and Arun Bhatia, a close relative of steel

tycoon Lakshmi Mittal — stake would be 30% and 21%, respectively.

� Apple, on April 23, posted its first quarterly profit decline in more than a decade at $9.5 billion, down

18% from a year ago. Revenue during the period rose 11%, but it was a sharp slowdown from 2012 and

in previous years. Chief executive Tim Cook acknowledged that Apple's once stratospheric growth had

tempered but stressed that the company's position remained strong.

� Cairn India, on April 9, announced that it had made the 26th oil discovery in its Rajasthan block. Oil has

been discovered and tested for the first time in Dharvi Dungar sands in Raageshwari-Tukaram area, where

previous discoveries were in the shallower Thumbli sands. Cairn India CEO P. Elango said the discovery in

the block reaffirmed the company’s belief that an aggressive exploration drilling programme would help

harness the full potential of the Barmer basin in Rajasthan.

� Putting to rest all speculation over the successor to Dr Reddy's Laboratories' (DRL) founder chairman K

Anji Reddy after his recent demise, the Hyderabad-based drug major, on April 1, announced that his son-

in-law GV Prasad, who was the vice-chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, had been

appointed chairman of DRL. Described as the man behind DRL's global generics and API strategies as well

as the 2006 acquisition of German generic drugs company Betapharm for Euro 480 million, one of the

most expensive foreign buyouts by an Indian company, Prasad took over as DRL VC and CEO in 2001

after Cheminor Drugs, which he was heading as managing director and CEO, merged with Dr Reddy's

Laboratories.

� IBM's Alok Ohrie has replaced Sameer Garde as the MD of Dell India. Ajay Mittal, director of the systems

& technology group (STG), IBM India and South Asia, will replace Ohrie. Ohrie had served as the vice-

president of STG for IBM India and SAARC since 2010. The STG division focuses on technology innovation

and expertise throughout the computing stack- material sciences, processors, servers, storage and

operating systems.

� Over 50 million subscribers of the retirement fund body EPFO will be able to apply online for transfer and

withdrawal of their provident fund from July 1, a move aimed at speedy settlement of claims. This will

enable subscribers to apply online for settlement of the withdrawal and transfer of funds claims.

� The Food Corporation of India (FCI), on April 10, said it has raised Rs.5000 crore by issue of taxable

bonds backed by the Government of India Guarantee to meet its additional working capital requirement.

Bond issue was opened on Mar 21 and closed on Mar 22. The Bonds are of two tenures i.e., 10 years

Business & Economy

(Rs.300 crore) and 15 years (Rs.4700 crore). The coupon rate for 10 years was 8.62% per annum and for

15 years 8.80% per annum.

� Moving away from its long joint venture with the Hero Group has proved to be a right decision for

Japanese automotive giant Honda Motor Co, as its Indian two-wheeler subsidiary Honda Motorcycle &

Scooter India has overtaken homegrown rival Bajaj Auto as the country’s second largest two-wheeler

manufacturer in the fiscal ended March 2012.Having dissolved its 26-year-old joint venture with Hero

Group in 2011, the journey for Honda Motorcycle has been one of promise which is now also threatening

world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer and erstwhile partner Hore MoroCorp. According to figures

recently released by SIAM, Honda Motorcycle sold 2,606,841 motorcycles and scooters, in 2012-13 in the

domestic market, leaving behind Bajaj Auto in the race to the top.

� The government, on April 18, approved the Rs 1,083-crore revival package for watch and tractor maker

HMT that aims to modernise the company and help it turn around in five years. The package includes

cash infusion to the tune to Rs 450 crore and another Rs 630 crore non-cash assistance. The package is

aimed at turning the loss making company to profit-making one over five years by increasing production.

� India and Singapore signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on bilateral air services

arrangement in the presence of Civil Aviation Minister, Shri Ajit Singh and Minister of Transport of

Singapore, Mr Lui Tuck Yew on April 2 in Singapore. It rationalizes the capacity entitlements of both

countries in terms of seats per week in each direction with a route specific cap for Singapore on each

route. The MoU also enhances, by 10%, the capacity entitlement with India now entitled to operate

29,400 weekly passenger seats from India to Singapore and the designated airlines of Singapore entitled

to operate 28,700 weekly passenger seats from Singapore to India. No additional point of call has been

given to Singapore. India also did not agree to the demand of Singapore for additional point of calls from

Pune and Madurai.

� Swiss multinational Nestle won a protracted trademark dispute over its popular chocolate brand Kit Kat

on April 22. The intellectual property appellate board (IPAB) in Chennai ruled in favour of Nestle and

dismissed an appeal by Kolkata-based Kit Kat Food Products to use the same trademark.

� Indian patients will be able to get a key cancer drug at a fraction of the price charged by its inventor,

Swiss multinational Novartis, after the Supreme Court dismissed the company's efforts to win a patent

on it, likely sparking more such attempts to bring costly Western medications to the masses. Novartis had

tried to extend the patent on Glivec, its treatment for blood and gastrointestinal cancer, with a modified

version of the original drug. But the apex court ruled against it on April 1 on the grounds that the tweaked

form was not a truly new product. Generally, multinational drug companies charge high prices for drugs

protected by patents.

� Manufacturers such as NCR Corporation and Diebold Systems are helping banks roll out new machines

that not only deposit and dispense cash but can also detect counterfeit notes. State Bank of India, ICICI

Bank and Axis Bank have already started installing these ATMs, also known as cash recycling machines. At

present, these are being used as cash-deposit machines in which a customer can drop loose cash.

� The online advertising market is expected to reach Rs 2,938 crore by March 2014 in the country. The

online advertising market, comprising search, display, mobile, social media, email and video advertising,

has grown by 29 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,260 crore by March, 2013,a report jointly published by the

Internet and Mobile Association of India and IMRB International said.

� State-owned energy major ONGC, on April 18, became the country's most-valued company with market

capitalisation of over Rs 2.86 lakh crore, surpassing Tata Group's software services company TCS.

� The government, on April 16, slashed the tariff value of gold and silver to $499 per 10 grams and $890

per kg, respectively, taking into account weak global prices of the precious metals.

Tariff value is the base price on which the customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing. During

the first fortnight of April 2013, the tariff value of gold stood at $521 per ten grams and silver at $920 per

kg.

� The country's first interoperable Radio frequency Identification Device (RIFD)-based electronic toll

system was, on April 12, rolled out on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai National Highway and the system would

allow vehicles fitted with electronic tags to sail through six toll plazas.