GENERAL AWARENESSSOCIO-ECONOMIC &

BANKING AWARENESS

YEAR BOOK2011

First Edition : 2011

Publisher & Chief Editor

D.V. RAGHURAM

Executive editor

P. SUBHASHINI

CONTENTS3 4

AWARDS / PRIZES - 5-26PERSONS - 27-40APPOINTMENTS - 41-46DEATHS - 47-50PLACES - 51-56SPORTS - 57-76SPORTS AND THE TERMSASSOCIATED WITH THEM - 77-79TROPHIES ASSOCIATED WITHVARIOUS SPORTS & GAMES - 80-82SUMMITS / CONFERENCES - 83-90COMMITTEES - 91-93SCHEMES - 94VISITS / TOURS - 95-106FINANCE & ECONOMYCAPSULE - 107-126ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES - 127-133SPACE RESEARCH - 134-138DEFENCE NEWS - 139-143

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - 144-151POLITICAL AFFAIRS - 152-154INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - 155-164NATIONAL AFFAIRS - 165-178BOOKS - AUTHORS - 179-188IMPORTANT DAYS - 189-194IMPORTANT YEARS - 194-196ABBREVIATIONS - 197-212

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AAAAAWARDS / WARDS / WARDS / WARDS / WARDS / PPPPPRIZESRIZESRIZESRIZESRIZESEnvironment award for Indian

Rajesh Shah of Bangalore has been honoured with the pres-tigious 2010 Intel Environment Award for his efforts to solve globalsafe drinking water and sanitation crises.

Appleby AwardVice-President Hamid Ansari will give away the prestigious

Paul H. Appleby Award for distinguished service to public adminis-tration for 2010 to Jaipur-based academician and managementexpert Ramesh K. Arora at the Indian Institute of PublicAdministration's annual general meeting in New Delhi.

CNN-IBN Lifetime Achievement AwardVeteran agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan has been

conferred the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2010 Lifetime Achieve-ment Award for his “outstanding leadership in the field of agricul-ture that has contributed to ensuring food security for millions ofIndians.” Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented theaward to Dr. Swaminathan at a function here. Dr. Swaminathan, astatement from CNN-IBN noted, has “worked consistently towardsthe actualisation of his dream of a hunger-free world with the helpof his innovative concepts of sustainable development, especiallywith eco-friendly techniques of agriculture, food availability, andbiodiversity conservation.”

Man Booker PrizeBritish writer and journalist Howard Jacobson's novel The

Finkler Question, a semi-autobiographical comic take on Jewishidentity, is the surprise winner of this year's Man Booker Prize. It wasnot the unanimous choice of the jury and, in the end, two of the fivejudges voted against it. Manchester born Mr. Jacobson, who lives inLondon, beat two of the bookies' favourites — Tom McCarthy's Cand Emma Donoghue's Room — to win the £50,000 prize. Criticswere disappointed to see Australian writer Peter Carey miss out onParrot and Olivier in America. Had Mr. Carey won, he would havebecome the first ever writer to win a Booker three times. Mr.Jacobson's previously longlisted novels are Kalooki Nights andWho's Sorry Now?

Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, 2010Outgoing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was

on 19th November selected for the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prizefor Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2010. Lula has beenselected by an international jury chaired by Prime Minister ManmohanSingh. The prestigious prize was given to Lula for his outstandingcontribution to the cause of eliminating hunger and promotinginclusive growth in his country, his advocacy for strong ties amongthe developing countries and for his significant contribution to thecause of India-Brazil partnership, a statement from Indira GandhiMemorial Trust said.Indira Gandhi Peace Prize:

The Indira Gandhi Peace Prize or the Indira Gandhi Prize forPeace, Disarmament and Development is the prestigious awardaccorded annually by India to individuals or organizations in recog-nition of creative efforts toward promoting international peace, de-velopment and a new international economic order; ensuring thatscientific discoveries are used for the larger good of humanity, andenlarging the scope of freedom. The prize carries a cash award of25 lakh Indian rupees and a citation. A written work, in order to beeligible for consideration, should have been published. The panelconstituted by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust consists of promi-nent national and international personalities including previousrecipients. The recipients are chosen from a pool of national andinternational nominees.

Recipients of Indira Gandhi Peace Prize

Year Name of Recipient Year Name of Recipient1997 Jimmy Carter 1998 Muhammad Yunus1999 M S Swaminathan 2000 Mary Robinson2001 Sadako Ogata 2002 Shridath Ramphal2003 Kofi Annan 2004 Maha Chakri Sirindhorn2005 Hamid Karzai 2006 Wangari Maathai2007 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation2008 Mohamed ElBaradei 2009 Sheikh Hasina2010 Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Nobel Prizes, 2010Physiology or Medicine: Robert G. Edwards "for the

development of in vitro fertilization".Physics: Awarded jointly to Andre Geim and Konstantin

Novoselov "for ground-breaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene"

Chemistry: Awarded jointly to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishiand Akira Suzuki "for palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organicsynthesis".

Economic Sciences: The Sveriges Riksbank Prize inEconomic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was awarded jointlyto Peter A. Diamond, Dale T. Mortensen and Christopher A. Pissarides"for their analysis of markets with search frictions".

Literature: Mario Vargas Llosa "for his cartography ofstructures of power and his trenchant images of the individual'sresistance, revolt, and defeat".

Nobel Peace Prize: Awarded to Liu Xiaobo "for his long andnon-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China".

India Science AwardWorld renowned statistician C.R. Rao received the India Sci-

ence Prize in recognition of his outstanding work in statistics fromPrime Minister Manmohan Singh. Singh presented the award toRao, his friend, at the inaugural ceremony of the 21st general meet-ing of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, formerlyknown as Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). India SciencePrize, which carries a reward of Rs.25 lakh and a 200-gram goldmedal, was presented on behalf of the Indian National ScienceAcademy. It is the highest professional recognition that the countryoffers to outstanding Indian scientist for the work done in India.

Honorary DoctorateBollywood actor Preity Zinta, known for her performances in

films like Kal Ho Naa Ho and Veer Zaara, will be conferred a doctorateby a leading U.K. university. Zinta, who has the unique distinction ofaddressing the Oxford Union on Wednesday, will receive thedoctorate from the University of East London. A versatile actor, Zintahas acted in over 30 films in Hindi, Telugu, Punjabi and English.The 35-year-old star made her acting debut with Mani Ratnam’s DilSe in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year. Theseperformances earned her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award,and she was later recognised for her role as a teenage single motherin Kya Kehna (2000). Her first International film role was in theCanadian film Heaven on Earth, for which she was awarded theSilver Hugo Award for Best Actress at the 2008 Chicago InternationalFilm Festival.

Leelavathi AwardWell-known physicist-turned author, journalist and television

producer of Indian origin Simon Lehna Singh has been selected bythe International Mathematical Union for the Leelavathi Award inrecognition of his outstanding contribution to public outreach inmathematics. Named after the immortal mathematical treatise ofthe great Indian mathematician Bhaskaracharya, the award carriesa cash prize of Rs.10 lakh and a citation. It will be presented at theclosing ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians(ICM), which will be held in Hyderabad from August 19 to 27. As of

Nobel Prize Winner - 2010Winner's Name Field Country WorkKonstantin Physics Russia For groundbreaking experiNovoselov ments regarding the two-Andre Geim dimensional material graphene.Liu Xiaobo Peace China The Nobel Peace Prize

2010 was awarded toLiu Xiaobo "for hislong and non-violentstruggle for fundamentalhuman rights in China".

Mario Vargas Llosa Literature Peru For his cartography ofstructures of power and histrenchant images of theindividual's resistance,revolt, and defeat.

Robert G. Edwards Medicine UK For the development of invitro fertilization.

Richard F. Heck Chemistry USA For palladium-catalyzedEi-ichi Negishi USA cross couplings in organicAkira Suzuki Japan synthesis.Peter A. Diamond Economics USA For their analysis ofDale T. Mortensen USA markets with searchChristopher A. Pissarides UK frictions.

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now, the award is a one-time prize. Efforts are under way to make ita regular feature at the future sessions of the ICM.

Dr. Singh was selected by a committee of five eminentmathematicians, led by M.S. Narasimhan of the Indian Institute ofScience, Bangalore.

David Dixon awardTriple Jumper from Jamaica Trecia Kaye Smith was con-

ferred with the prestigious David Dixon award. Bestowed to the bestathlete of the Games and named after the former honorary secre-tary of the Commonwealth Games Federation, the award was intro-duced in the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games. Trecia KayeSmith is the third winner of the award which in earlier additions wentto Natalie Du Toit (RSA) in 2002 and Samresh Jung (IND) in 2006.

Indira Gandhi AwardNoted music composer A R Rahman and Ramkrishna

Mission Ashram Narainpur were on Sunday jointly honoured withthe 25th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration. CongressPresident Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gavethe award. Swami Vyaptanand received the award on behalf of theAshram. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. five lakh and a citation.The Ramkrishna Mission Ashram in Narainpur in Bastar region ofChhattisgarh was selected for the award for its work among thePahadi Madia tribals, while Rahman was honoured for bringingtogether people of all ages and all lands on the uniform platform ofmelody, rhythm and song.

Bihari PuruskarPoet Hemant Shesh has been given the award for his

collection of poetry ‘Jagah Jaisi Jagah’. The award has beeninstituted by the K.K. Birla foundation and is given to only Rajasthaniwriters.

Dewang Mehta AwardLt-Gen Dr D.D.S. Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra

University, has been selected for the Dewang Mehta Award for hisoutstanding contribution to education. The Dewang Mehta Award isconferred upon outstanding educationists and administrators who

have made significant contribution in the field of leadership ineducation and management.

Mercy Ravi awardDelhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has been selected for the

first Mercy Ravi award for exemplary contribution to public life by awoman. The award, instituted by the Mercy Ravi Foundation, carriesa purse of Rs.1 lakh and citation. Making the declaration at a publicfunction organised on the occasion of the first death anniversary ofthe former Congress leader here on Sunday, foundation chairmanP.V. Chandran said the date for presentation of the award would befinalised in consultation with Ms. Dikshit later.

Tagore awardIrom Sharmila who has been observing a fast-unto-death

since November 4, 2000, demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces(Special Powers) Act was given the Rabindranath Tagore Award-2010 on September 11. The award, instituted by the Indian Instituteof Planning and Management (IIPM), carries Rs.51 lakh in cash, agold medal, a citation and a shawl. The IIPM conferred the award on16 people at a function in Kolkata on August 30. As the bed-riddenSharmila could not go there, IIPM chairman M.K. Choudhury,Registrar Ratna Choudhury and Dean Tarun Bose came to the J.N.Hospital here to hand over the award to Ms. Sharmila.

Sahitya Akademi awardsEight books of poetry, four novels, three collections of short

stories, four works of criticism, one travelogue, an autobiographyand a play were among the literary works in 22 languages that havewon the Sahitya Akademi Awards for 2010.

The awards announced here on Monday were recommendedby jury members representing 22 languages, and approved by theExecutive Board of Sahitya Akademi which met under thechairmanship of its president Sunil Gangopadhyay.

The poets honoured are Aurobindo Uzir (Bodo), ArunSakhardande (Konkani), Gopi Narayan Pradhan (Nepali), Vanita(Punjabi), Mangat Badal (Rajasthani), Mithila Prasad Tripathi(Sanskrit), Laxman Dubey (Sindhi) and Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Urdu).

The novelists who have won the award are Bani Basu

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(Bengali), Esther David (English), Dhirendra Mehta (Gujarati) andM. Borkanya (Manipuri).

Uday Prakash (Hindi), Nanjil Nadan (Tamil) and Manoj (Dogri)have won the awards for their short story collections.

Keshada Mahanta (Assamese), Rahamath Tarikere(Kannada), Basher Bashir (Kashmiri) and Ashok R. Kelkar (Marathi)won the awards for their books of criticism.

The other winners are the former Union Minister M.P.Veerendra Kumar (Malayalam) for his travelogue, Pathani Pattnaik(Oriya) for his autobiography and playwright Bhogla Soren (Santhali).

Sahitya Akademi secretary Agrahara Krishna Murthy said theawards for Telugu and Maithili would be announced in a few weeks.He said the books were selected on the basis of recommendationsmade by a three-member jury in the respective languages.

The awards, which include a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh, will bepresented to the winners on February 15 next year during the Festivalof Letters in the capital. The festival will also include a seminar onthe works of Rabindranath Tagore. Akademi is instituting the YuvaSahitya Puraskar for debutant writers in Indian languages under theage of 35 from next year. Earlier this year, the Akademi had institutedthe Bala Sahitya Puraskar for writers of children's literature.

Jnanpith Award, 2007 and 2008Eminent Malayalam litterateur O.N.V. Kurup has been chosen

for the 2007 Jnanpith award. Noted Urdu poet Akhlaq Khan Shahryarhas been chosen for the 2008 award.

Born in 1931 in Kerala’s Kollam district, Kurup is a leadingvoice among the contemporary Malayalam poets. He has reinventedthe narrative transition of Malayalam poetry through his long poemslike ‘Ujjayini’ and ‘Swayamvaram’.

Born in 1936 in a Muslim Rajput family in Uttar Pradesh’sBareilly district, Shahryar shaped himself as an “intellectual poet”,whose poetry strongly expresses an “ideological non-commitment”.His roots lie in his desire for self-realisation and his attempt tounderstand modern problems. Among his famous compositionsis: “Seene Mein Jalan, Akhon Mein Toofan Sa Kyon Hai”.

Dada Saheb Phalke Award, 2009Telugu film actor-producer D. Ramanaidu has been selected

for the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 2009 for his

outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. The award comprises ofa Swarn Kamal, a cash prize of Rs one million and a shawl. Theindustry veteran, who entered the film world in 1963 with "Anuragam",is listed as the most prolific producer with 110 films by the GuinnessBook of Records. He has the distinction of producing movies inHindi, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada,Gujarati, Marathi and Bhojpuri. Some of his well-known films are“Premanagar”, “Dildar” and “Bandish” in Hindi, “SrikrishnaTulabharam”, “Preminchu” and “Ramudu Bheemudu” in Telugu and“Asukh” and “Sudhu Ekbar Bolo” in Bengali.

57th National Film AwardsBest feature film: Kutty Srank (Malayalam).Best Director: Rituparno Ghosh for Abohoman (Bengali).Best Actor: Amitabh Bachchan for Paa (Hindi).Best Actress: Ananya Chatterjee for Lahore (Hindi).Best supporting actor: Farooque Sheikh for Lahore (Hindi).Best supporting actress: Arundhati Naag for Paa (Hindi).Indira Gandhi award for best debut film of a director: Lahore (Hindi)by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan.Best popular film providing wholesome entertainment: 3 Idiots(Hindi).Nargis Dutt award for best feature film on national integration:Delhi 6 (Hindi).Best film on social issues: Well Done Abba (Hindi).Best Music Director: Amit Trivedi for Anurag Kashyap's “Dev-D”.Best Lyrics: ‘Behti hawa sa tha woh’ from “3 Idiots”, written bySwanand Kirkere.Best playback singer (male): Rupam Islam, for his rendering of‘Kolakata’ in the Bengali film “Mahanagar”.Best playback singer (female): Nilanjana Sarkar, for Bengali movie“Houseful”.Best children’s film: Shared by “Putaani Party” in Kannada and“Keshu” in Malayalam.Best child actor: Jeeva and Anba Karaus share the award.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for SportsThe Punjabi University and Guru Nanak Dev University have

been awarded the trophy for academic session 2008-09 and 2009-10, respectively.

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Gallantry Awards, 2010Ashok Chakra: Major Laishram Jyotin Singh, an unarmed

army doctor serving in Kabul, who took on a suicide bomber andkilled him, has been awarded Ashok Chakra (posthumously), thehighest peacetime gallantry award.

Kirti Chakra: Captain Davinder Singh Juss of the ParachuteRegiment and Vinod Kumar Choubey, SP, Chhattisgarh, have beenawarded India’s second highest peace time gallantry award. Jusskilled a foreign terrorist in February 2010 during an encounter inJ&K and Choubey fought against more than 300 naxalites.

Cancer centre chosen for Abu Dhabi forum’saward

Regional Cancer Centre(RCC) here has been selected forthe Chirayinkil Ansar Memorial award instituted by Friends Abu DhabiMalayali Samajam. The award, carrying Rs. 1 lakh, was announcedat a press meet here today by the fourm’s office-bearers. A majorcancer treatment centre in India, RCC was chosen for the award inrecognition of its services and track record in a critical area of medi-care, they said. The selection was made by jury comprising KeralaPress Akademy Chairman S R Sakthidharan, senior journalist T NGopakumar, Gulf-based entreprenuer Thomas John and socialworker Kaniyapuram Sainuddeen. The award was instituted inmemory of Chirayinkil Ansar, who lived many years in Abu Dhabi andleft a mark as writer, journalist and charity organiser.

Arjuna Awards, 2009Indian women’s cricket team captain, Jhulan Goswami, who

won the ICC Women's Player of The Year Award in 2007, is amongthose named for the Arjuna Award for the year 2009 by the commit-tee headed by former track queen P.T. Usha. Other winners are:Joseph Abraham (Athletics), Krishna Poonia (Athletics), DineshKumar(Boxing), Parimrajan Negi (Chess), Deepak Kumar Mandal(Football), Sandeep Singh (Hockey (Men)), Jasjeet Kaur Handa(Hockey (Women)), Dinesh Kumar (Kabaddi), Sanjeev Rajput (Shoot-ing), Rehan Jehangir Poncha (Swimming), Kapil Dev K.J. (Volley-ball), Rajeev Tomar (Wrestling), Rajesh Chaudhary (Yachting),Jagseer Singh (Paralympic (Athletics)). Awardees will receive statu-ettes, citations and cash prize of Rs.5 lakh each.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, 2009India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has been selected for the

prestigious award, for her outstanding achievements on the bad-minton court. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna is India’s highest honourgiven for achievement in sports. The award carries a medal, a scrollof honour and a cash component of Rs. 500,000. The award wasinstituted in the year 1991-92 to supply the lack of a supreme na-tional accolade in the field of sports.

Dronacharya Awards, 2009This award is given by the government of India for excellence

in sports coaching. The award comprises a bronze statuette ofDronacharya, a scroll of honour and a cash component of Rs.500,000each. The award was instituted in 1985. As the best sports-personaward is named Arjuna Award, it is appropriate that the coachingaward is named after Dronacharya, as he was the Guru ofArjuna.

Among the winners of 2009 award were: Subhash B.Aggarwal (Billiards & Snooker), L. Ibomcha Singh (Boxing) and AjayKumar Bansal (Hockey). Captain Roop Chand (Wrestling) and A.K.Kutty (Athletics) were awarded for lifetime achievement.

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar PrizeFor the first time three women figure in the list of nine scientists

chosen for the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2010.The awards were announced at a function to mark the foundationday of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research at New Delhion 2010 September 26th.

The award for S&T Innovations for Rural Development 2009will go to the Indian Oil Corporation's Research and DevelopmentCentre in Faridabad. Award carries a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh, acitation and a plaque and will be presented.

The awardees for Biological Sciences are Sanjeev Galandeof the National Centre for Cell Science, Pune and Shubha Tole ofthe Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.

The others are Swapan K. Pati, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre forAdvanced Scientific Research, Bangalore; Sandeep Verma, IndianInstitute of Technology, Kanpur ; G.K. Ananthasuresh, Indian Instituteof Science, Bangalore; Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, IndianStatistical Institute, Kolkata (Engineering Sciences); Mitali Mukerji,

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Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi , Umesh VasudeoWaghmare, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced ScientificResearch, Bangalore and Kalobaran Maiti, Tata Institute ofFundamental Research, Mumbai (Physical Sciences). This year noaward is being given in Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and PlanetarySciences and Mathematical Sciences.

Dan David Prize

Noted Indian author Amitav Ghosh has won the prestigiousDan David Prize for his remarkable reworking of the great traditionof the western novel in transnational terms. The $1 million award isa joint international enterprise endowed by the Dan David Foundationand head-quartered at Tel Aviv University. It is annually awarded inthree different fields—archaeology, performing arts and materialscience—in the three-dimension time framework of past, presentand future. Ghosh, 53, is the third Indian to win the award, joining anelite league comprising of chemist C.N.R. Rao and musician ZubinMehta. The Indian author will be sharing the prize in the presentdimension with Dr Gordon E. Moore, whose Moore's Law hasbecome the guiding principle for the semi-conductor industry.

Dhyan Chand Award, 2009Anita Chanu (Weightlifting), Satish Pal (Athletics) and Kuldeep

Singh (Wrestling) have been chosen for the award which is India'shighest award for lifetime achievement in sports and games. Theaward is named after the legendary Indian hockey player DhyanChand.

IIFA Awards, 2010Best Film: 3 Idiots.Best Actor: Amitabh Bachchan, for his role as a progeria-afflictedchild in “Paa”.Best Actress: Shared jointly by Vidya Balan for “Paa” and KareenaKapoor for “3 Idiots”.Best Director: Rajkumar Hirani for “3 IdiotsBest Screenplay: 3 Idiots.Best Cinematography: 3 IdoitsBest Supporting Actor (Male): Sharman Joshi for his role in “3Idiots”.

Best Supporting Actor (Female): Divya Dutta for her performance in“Delhi 6”.Best Actor in Negative Role: Boman Irani for his role in “3 Idiots”.Best performance in Comic Role: Sanjay Dutt for performance in“All the Best”.Best Music Director: Pritam for “Love Aaj Kal”.Best Singer (Male): Shaan, for “Behti hawa sa tha woh” (3 Idiots).Best Singer (Female): Kavita Seth for “Iktara’ in “Wake Up, Sid!”.Best Lyrics: Swanand Kirkire for “3 Idiots”.Best Debut (Female): Jacqueline Fernandez and Mahie Gill sharethe award for their role in “Aladin” and “Dev D”, respectively.Best Debut (Male): Omi Vaidya for his role of Chatur in “3 Idiots” andackky Bhagnani for “Kal Kissne Dekha”.Lifetime Achievement Award: Veteran filmmaker J. Om Prakashand yesteryear actress Zeenat Aman.Outstanding achievement by an Indian in International Cinema:Anil Kapoor.

The awards ceremony was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

National Technology Award, 2010A pioneer in processing rice bran oil, A.R. Sharma, who

comes from dusty town of Dhuri in Sangrur district, has beenhonoured with the national award by the Technology DevelopmentBoard of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Former PresidentDr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presented the award Rs 10 lakh and a trophyto him.

Sharma is the chairman-cum-managing director of the A.P.Organics (P) Ltd, a part of Rs 500-crore A.P. Solvex Group ofCompanies. The group is the largest producer of refined rice branoil, a health-friendly cooking oil produced from the outer brown layerof rice. For the past over 50 years, the rice bran oil is being used asa premium cooking oil in countries like Japan, Korea, China andThailand. In Japan, it is popularly known as “Heart Oil” because ofits scientifically proven cholesterol-lowering properties.

India is the second largest producer of paddy in the world,having potential to produce over 12 lakh tonnes per annum of thishealthy cooking oil. Unfortunately, it is used in India more inproducing soaps and detergents than as a nutritious and healthycooking oil. “Our group enjoys the distinction of being pioneer indevelopment of an eco-friendly and health-friendly cooking oil,” says

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Sharma, holding that the process used by the group for productionof refined rice bran oil is economical and scientifically proven process.The patent for the process is registered with the Government ofIndia in my name,” adds Sharma.

Sachin wins Sir Garfield Sobers Award

Sachin Tendulkar capped a fine year with the most covetedcricketing reward in recent times ‘The Sir Garfield Sobers Cricketerof the Year' Award as the maestro glittered bright amidst a galaxy ofleading players at the LG ICC Awards night here on 6th October.Tendulkar became the second Indian to win the award after RahulDravid bagged it in 2004.

After scoring 1,000 Test runs this year besides becomingthe first man to score a double hundred in ODI cricket while SouthAfrica wilted against him at Gwalior, Tendulkar scored another doubleat the awards function as he also won the ‘LG People's ChoiceAward.'

The Indian team had a lot more to cheer about as VirenderSehwag, with 1,282 runs in the game's longer version, was ad-judged the ‘Test Cricketer of the Year' and M.S. Dhoni was namedthe skipper of a World Test XI.

Bishan Singh Bedi was inducted into the ‘ICC Hall of Fame'along with Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh and former Englandwomen's cricketer Rachael Heyhoe Flint.

The night then ebbed away in a medley of tunes as ‘ODIPlayer of the Year' A.B. de Villiers performed with his band.

The awardees:Sir Garfield Sobers Cricketer of the Year: Sachin Tendulkar;

LG People's Choice Award: Sachin Tendulkar; Women's Cricketerof the Year: Shelley Nitschke (Australia); Test Player of the Year:Virender Sehwag; ODI Player of the Year: A.B. de Villiers (SouthAfrica); Spirit of Cricket: New Zealand; Umpire of the Year: AleemDar (Pakistan); Emerging Player: Steven Finn (England); Associ-ate and Affiliate Player: Ryan ten Doeschate (Netherlands);Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: BrendonMcCullum (of New Zealand for his unbeaten 116 against Australiaat Christchurch on February 28, 2010).

Inductees into the ICC Hall of Fame: Bishan Singh Bedi,Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh and Rachael Heyhoe Flint.

ICC Test World XI: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag,Simon Katich, Sachin Tendulkar, Hashim Amla, Kumar Sangakkara,Jacques Kallis, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Dale Steyn andDoug Bollinger.

ICC ODI World XI: Ricky Ponting (captain), Sachin Tendulkar,Shane Watson, Michael Hussey, A.B. de Villiers, Paul Collingwood,M.S. Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Daniel Vettori, Stuart Broad, DougBollinger and Ryan Harris.

PM’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration

Gulshan Bamra has been given the award for his initiative toinvolve community in the Naxal-affected areas of Madhya Pradesh.

Commonwealth Prize, 2010British-Indian author Rana Dasgupta (38) has won the Com-

monwealth Writers’ Prize for ‘Best Book’ on for his second bookSolo. Rana won a prize of £10,000 (Rs 8.5 lakh). Solo is a story toldby a 100-year-old Bulgarian, and includes a cast of riveting charac-ters, among them talking parrots. Though Dasgupta was born inBritain and holds a British passport, he has been based in Delhi forover eight years now. His first novel “Tokyo Cancelled” had alsodrawn enormous praise. Australian author Glenda Guest’s “SiddonRock” won in the Best First Book category.

Saraswati Samman, 2009“Lafzan Di Dargah”, a poetry collection in Punjabi by Surjit

Patar, has been awarded the 19th Saraswati Samman for 2009.The award, instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation in 1991, carriesan award of Rs 5 lakh, a citation and a plaque. It is recognised asthe most prestigious and the highest literary honour in India and isgiven every year to an outstanding literary work written in an Indianlanguage and published during the last 10 years. The first recipientof the award was Harivansh Rai Bachchan in 1991 for his autobiog-raphy. Other awardees include Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar,Oriya writer Manoj Das, Malayalam poetess Balamaniamma, Tamilwriter Indira Parthasarathy, Bengali novelist Sunil Gangopadhyayand Urdu literary critic Shamsur Rahman Faruqi.

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Sangeet Natak Akademi AwardsPunjab has for the first time bagged the highest number of

awards in the performing arts category for 2009, since the inceptionof the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1952. The winners of the covetedhonour include Ustad Lachhman Singh Seen (classical music tabla),Ustad Vilayat Khan, Goslan Khanna (ragi/dhadi) and Neeta Mahindra(theatre). Besides Kamal Arora (theatre make-up) from Chandigarhis another recipient. The award carries a citation, a shawl, a me-mento and a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000.

SAARC Environment Award, 2010Environmentalist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal has been

selected for the award for setting new milestones in the field ofenvironment, especially his initiative on cleaning the Kali Bein rivu-let passing through Kapurthala, Punjab.

Oscar Awards, 2010Best Movie: The Hurt Locker.Best Director: Kathyrn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker). She has becomethe first woman director to win the honour.Best Actor: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart).Best Actress: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side).Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique.Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz.Best Animated Movie: UpBest Foreign Film: The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina).

Chameli Devi Jain Award, 2009The award for an outstanding woman media-person has

been shared by Shoma Chaudhary, executive editor of Tehelka, Delhiand Monalisa Changkija, Editor of Nagaland Page, Dimapur.

Mother Teresa Award, 2010UGC chairman Sukhadeo Thorat has been given the presti-

gious Mother Teresa Lifetime Achievement Award for 2010. Thorat,who has authored 21 publications, has been instrumental in intro-ducing several academic and administrative reforms in higher edu-cation during ongoing XIth plan.

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards,2009

Entrepreneur of the year: Anand G. Mahindra, Vice Chairman andMD of Mahindra Group.Lifetime Achievement award: N. Vaghul, Ex-Chairman of ICICI BankLtd.Entrepreneur of the year (Start-up): Amit Mittal, Chairman andManaging Director of A2Z Maintenance & Engineering Services Pvt.Ltd.Entrepreneur of the year (Business transformation): Dr VikramAkula, Chairperson & founder SKS Microfinance Ltd.Entrepreneur of the year (Manager): O.P. Bhatt, Chairman, StateBank of India.Entrepreneur of the year (Manufacturing): Harsh C. Mariwala,Chairman and Managing Director, Marico Ltd.Entrepreneur of the year (Healthcare and Life Sciences): PankajR. Patal, Chairman and Managing Director, Zydus Cadila HealthcareLtd.Entrepreneur of the year (Services): Shashi Kiran Shetty, Chairmanand Managing Director, Allcargo Global Logistics Ltd.

Sasawaka Prize of UNEP, 2010A portable light that can be recharged by pedalling for 20

minutes and was developed for use in areas not wired for electricity,has won a Canadian of Indian origin, Sameer Hajee, the prestigiousSasakawa Prize of the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP). The device has been developed by Nuru Design (Nurumeans light in Swahili). A pilot project is already in place in MadhyaPradesh and Orissa. The device, called the Nuru light, is essentiallya lighting system that can be recharged by a pedal generator—theNuru POWER Cycle. Nuru Light’s objective is to replace the use ofexpensive, polluting, unhealthy, and dangerous kerosene as asource of lighting for the two billion people without access toelectricity. Of those, nearly 580 million are in India.

Grammy Awards, 2010Life Time award: Michael Jackson, posthumously.Album of the Year: Taylor Swift, Fearless.

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Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media:Jai Ho, written by Gulzar, A. R. Rahman and Tanvi Shah, from“Slumdog Millionaire”.Record of the Year: Use Somebody, Kings of Leon.New Artist: Zac Brown Band.Song of the Year: Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), written by ThaddisHarrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash and Christopher Stewart(Beyonce).Female Pop Vocal Performance: Halo, Beyonce.Male Pop Vocal Performance: Make it mine, Jason Mraz.Pop Performance, Duo Or Group: I Gotta Feeling, the Black EyedPeas.Pop Collaboration: Lucky, Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat.Pop Instrumental Performance: Throw Down Your Heart, BélaFleck.Pop Instrumental Album: Potato Hole, Booker T. Jones.Pop Vocal Album: The E.N.D., the Black Eyed Peas.Solo Rock Vocal Performance: Working on a Dream, BruceSpringsteen.Hard Rock Performance: War Machine, AC/DC.Metal Performance: Dissident Aggressor, Judas Priest.Rock Song: Use Somebody, written by Caleb Followill, Jared Followill,Matthew Followill and Nathan Followill.Rock Album: 21st Century Breakdown, Green Day.Alternative Music Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Phoenix.Female R&B Vocal Performance: Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),Beyonce.Male R&B Vocal Performance: Pretty Wings, Maxwell.Female Country Vocal Performance: White Horse, Taylor Swift.Male Country Vocal Performance: Sweet Thing, Keith Urban.Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or OtherVisual Media: Up.

Tagore Literature Award, 2009Noted Kashmiri poet Naseem Shafai has been conferred

the prestigious “Tagore Literature Award” by the Sahitya Akademi forher outstanding contribution in Kashmiri literature, especially poetry.The award has been instituted by the Akademi at the initiation of theKorean government and the Embassy of Korea in Delhi. Nasem

was selected for this honour for her poetic collection, “Na Thsay NaAks” (Neither shadow nor reflection). She has become the firstwomen poet from Kashmir to be honoured by the Akademi. Thiswas the second collection of Naseem’s poetry after “Derche Machrith”(open windows) in 1999.

Jeevan Raksha Padaks, 2010Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak: Braveheart Rukhsana

Kauser and Delhi’s Narender Kaushik (posthumously) have beenselected for Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak for their conspicuouscourage in saving life under circumstances of very great danger tothe life of the rescuer. Rukhsana, 22, had killed a top Pakistanimilitant and injured another at Kalsian village in Rajouri district onthe night of September 27 2009.

Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak: The winners include SyedAreef Sujauddin from Andhra Pradesh, Umman Antony from Kerala,Rajan Kamble from Maharashtra (all posthumously), besidesKaranbir Singh Kang from Maharashtra and Prachi Santosh Senfrom Madhya Pradesh. Kang, who lost his wife and two children inthe 26\11 Mumbai attacks, had rescued many from Taj hotel andnever dithered from doing his duty.

Jeevan Raksha Padak series of awards are meant formeritorious act of humane nature in saving the life of a person inthree categories: Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, Uttam JeevanRaksha PAdak and Jeevan Raksha Padak.

Golden Globe Awards, 2010Best Director: James Cameron for AvatarBest Motion Picture (Drama): AvatarBest Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): The HangoverBest Actor (Motion Picture Drama): Jeff Bridges for Crazy HeartBest Actor (Motion Picture Musical or Comedy): Robert DowneyJr. for Sherlock HolmesBest Actress (Motion Picture Drama): Sandra Bullock for The BlindSideBest Actress (Motion Picture Musical or Comedy): Meryl Streep forJulie & Julia

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Best Supporting Actor (Motion Picture): Christoph Waltz forInglourious BasterdsBest Supporting Actress (Motion Picture): Monique for Precious.Best Screenplay: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner for Up In The AirBest Original Score: Michael Giacchino for UpBest Original Song: “The Weary Kind” from Crazy HeartBest Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band- Eine Deutsche Kindergeschichte) from GermanyBest Animated Film: Up

Dada Saheb Phalke Award, 2008V.K. Murthy, the ace cinematographer of Guru Dutt’s films

who is best known for his camera work in Chaudvin ka Chand andPakeezah, has been honoured with the award. He is the firstcinematographer to get the award.

56th National Film AwardsBest Film: Antaheen (Bengali)Best Direction: Bala for Naan Kadavul (Tamil)Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Oye Lucky!Lucky Oye!Best Children’s Film: Gubbachigalu (Kannada)Best Film on Family Welfare: Little Zizou (English, Gujarati)Best Actor: Upendra Limaye for Jogwa (Marathi)Best Actress: Priyanka Chopra for Fashion (Hindi)Best Supporting Actor: Arjun Rampal for Rock On!! (Hindi)Best Supporting Actress: Kangana Ranaut for Fashion (Hindi)Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director: A Wednesday(Hindi)Nargis Dutt Award (for Best Feature Film on National Integration):Aai Kot Nai (Assamese)Best Child Artist: Shams PatelBest Cinematography: Avik Mukhopadhyay for Antaheen (Bengali)Best Screenplay: Sachin Kundalkar for Gandha (Marathi)Best Art Direction: Gautam Sen for FiraaqBest Make-up Artist: V. Moorthy for Naan Kadauul (Tamil)Best Costume Design: Neeta Lulla for Jodhaa Akbar

Best Music Direction: Ajay Atul for Jogwa (Marathi)Best Lyrics: Antaheen (Bengali)Best Male Playback Singer: Hariharan for Jogwa (Marathi)Best Female Playback Singer: Shreya Ghoshal for Antaheen(Bengali)Best Choreography: Chinni Prakash and Rekha Prakash for JodhaAkbarBest Audiography: Pramod J. Thomas for Gandha (Marathi)Best Editing: A. Sreekar Prasad for Firaaq (Hindi)Best Special Effects: Govardhan (Tata Elxsi) Mumbai Meri Jaan(Hindi)Special Jury Award/Special Mention (Feature Film): Bioscope

Republic Day Awards, 2010Padma Vibhushan: Nobel laureate of Indian origin

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Apollo Hospitals chief Pratap Reddy,former RBI Governor Y.V. Reddy, Zohra Segal, Ebrahim Alkazi andnoted Mridangam Carnatic artist Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman.

Padma Bhushan: Music maestro A.R. Rahman, Musicmaestro Illaiyaraaja, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and controversialIndian origin businessman Sant Singh Chatwal, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh’s cardiac surgeon R.M. Panda, eminentneurosurgeon Satya Paul Agarwal, prominent industrialist fromPunjab S.P. Oswal, Manvinder Singh Banga, eminent journalistFareed Zakaria and real estate czar K.P. Singh were among the 43winners.

Padma Shri: Cricketer Virendra Sehwag, hockey playerIgnace Tirkey, Formula One driver Narain Kartikeyan, badmintonstar Saina Nehwal, boxer Vijender Singh, Sachin Tendulkar's 'guru'Ramakant Achrekar, Yesteryear Bollywood diva Rekha, Oscar winnersound recordist Resul Pokutty and actor Saif Ali Khan were among83 winners.

Bravery Awards, 2010Kirti Chakra: Rukhsana Kausar and her brother Aijaz Ahmad

have been awarded the second highest gallantry award in peacetime,for their act of bravery in killing a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commanderin their Morha Kalsi village in Jammu and Kashmir in 2009.

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Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, 2009Mridula Koshy's If It is Sweet, a collection of short stories,

has bagged the award. The New Delhi-based author will get Rs 1lakh and a citation. In 2008, Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif's ACase of Exploding Mangoes had won the award. The Shakti BhattFoundation is a non-profit trust set up by the late writer/editor's familyto keep her memory alive.

Lokmanya Tilak National Journalist Award, 2010N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of the Hindu newspaper, has received

the prestigious award, which is conferred for excellence in journal-ism on a personality making important contribution to the field ofjournalism at national level. Vir Sanghvi of Hindustan Times wasthe recipient of the Tilak Award in 2009.

The Asian Television awardThe Asian Television award for the Best Current Affairs

Presenter was presented to Karan Thapar of the CNN-IBN. This isthe fifth time that Mr. Thapar is winning the Best Current AffairsPresenter Award in the 15-year history of the Asian Television awards.He won the award in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. 2010 year Mr.Thapar won the award for his “Devil's Advocate” interview programme.The winning interview with Ram Jethmalani was conducted in June.The subject was Mr. Jethmalani's controversial decision to rejointhe Bharatiya Janata Party. The interview ended abruptly when Mr.Jethmalani walked out in anger over questions that exploredallegations of opportunism surrounding his return to the BJP.

Sarkozy honours two Indians Remembering two French citizens who lost their lives in the

November 26, 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy honoured two Indians (M. Devendra Bharma,executive vice-president of Hotel Oberoi-Trident and M. KarambirKang, former director-general of Hotel Taj Mahal ) by conferring‘d'Officier de l'Ordre national du Merite' on them for being “efficient,attentive, courageous and taking decisions by risking their lives tosave hundreds of lives.”

China-India Friendship Award Professor Manoranjan Mohanty and Professor Tan Chung

and senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury,for their “invaluable contributions” towards strengthening cooperationbetween the two neighbours. Professor Sreemati Chakrabarti, G.Viswanathan, founder-Chancellor of the VIT University, Vellore, TamilNadu; Chandrajit Banerjee, Director-General of the Confederation ofIndian Industry; V. Bhaskaran, general secretary of the India-ChinaFriendship Association, Karnataka, and Editor of India-China People'sView; educationist B.S. Shergill, who is also president of the Friendsof China Association, Chandigarh; and Pallavi Aiyar, who worked fortwo years as The-Hindu's correspondent in Beijing.

Golden Peacock AwardIBM India has been conferred with The Golden Peacock award

2010 for its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Indiaon Oct 7. IBM India is the first IT Company to win this award since itsincep5on in 2002. The company was also been rated as the firstamong equals for its CSR practices amongst other recipients of theaward 2010.

Business India’s Best Bank AwardBank of Baroda (BOB) was presented the 'Business India

Best Bank 2010' award by Union Minister for Road Transport andHighways, Kamal Nath at a function in the Mumbai on Oct 7. M DMallya, Chairman and Managing Director, Bank of Baroda, acceptedthe Award on behalf of the bank.

Finance Minister of the Year for Asia awardFinance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee has won 2010

Finance Minister of the Year for Asia award, conferred by EmergingMarkets, part of Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc.

Green Apple awardUttarkhand based NGO Himalayan Chipko Foundation has

been awarded the Green Apple award at the House of Commons,London, for exposing the Hak Hakook scam in which timber meantfor villagers in the State was sold to the timber mafia.

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PPPPPERSONSERSONSERSONSERSONSERSONSNicole Faria

India's Nicole Faria has been crowned Miss Earth Talent2010 after beating 17 other contestants at a talent competition in HoChi Minh City in Vietnam. Ms. Faria, a 20-year-old girl from Bangalore,won the title at the talent show with a scintillating belly dance thatcombines Oriental and Middle Eastern style. Vietnam'srepresentative Luu Thi Diem Huong was voted among the top fivecontestants with her performance of folk dances that are inspired bytraditional dances in the northern, central and southern region ofthe country.

Title HoldersYear Country Miss Earth National title Location

2010 India Nicole Faria Femina Miss India Nha Trang,- Earth Vietnam

2009 Brazil Larissa Ramos Beleza Brasil Boracay,Philippines

2008 Philippines Karla Henry Miss Philippines Earth Angeles City ,Philippines

2007 Canada Jessica Trisko Miss Earth Canada Quezon City,Philippines

2006 Chile Hil Hernández Miss Earth Chile Manila,Philippines

2005 Venezuela Alexandra Braun Miss Earth Venezuela Quezon City,Philippines

2004 Brazil Priscilla Meirelles Beleza Brasil Quezon City,Philippines

2003 Honduras Dania Prince Miss Earth Honduras Quezon City,Philippines

Alexandria MillsMiss United States of America Alexandria Mills was crowned

Miss World 2010 in China’s island province Hainan on October 30,beating more than 100 other contestants in the competition which

round were from China, USA, Botswana, Venezuela and Ireland.First runner up was Miss Botswana Emma Wareus followed byMiss Venezuela Adriana Vasini. The 18-year-old Mills describedherself as a positive, spontaneous, open minded and outgoingperson on the official Miss World website. The Miss Worldcontestants spent a month in China, travelling to both Beijing andShanghai before reaching Sanya on the southern Chinese island ofHainan. It was the fifth time in eight years that the beauty contestwas held on the popular holiday island. The final marked 60 yearssince the first Miss World competition was first held in 1951.

Title HoldersYear Miss World Country Location

2010 Alexandria Mills United States Sanya, China2009 Kaiane Aldorino Gibraltar Johannesburg, SouthAfrica2008 Ksenia Sukhinova Russia Johannesburg, SouthAfrica2007 Zhang Zilin China Sanya, China2006 Tat(ána Kuchar(ova Czech Republic Warsaw, Poland2005 Unnur Birna Iceland Sanya, China

Vilhjalmsdottir2004 María Julia Mantilla Peru Sanya, China

2003 Rosanna Davison Ireland Sanya, China2002 Azra Akin Turkey London, United Kingdom2001 Agbani Darego Nigeria Sun City, South Africa2000 Priyanka Chopra India London, United Kingdom

Jimena Navarrete

Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete, 22, was crowned MissUniverse 2010 beating off competition from 82 contestants.Navarrete, dressed in a red gown with a flowing train, impressedjudges by highlighting the importance of teaching children aboutfamily values. She was followed by Miss Jamaica Yendi Philippswhile Miss Australia Jenista Campbell was the second runner-up atthe 59th annual pageant held in Las Vegas.

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First woman:Born and raised in the East Bay, Ms. Harris was elected as

the first woman District Attorney in San Francisco's history inDecember 2003, and as the first African-American woman and SouthAsian American woman in California to hold the office. She was re-elected for a second term in November 2007. Ms. Harris is thedaughter of Dr. Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer specialist fromTamil Nadu who travelled to the United States from Chennai to pursueher graduate studies at UC Berkeley.

Hu JintaoChinese President Hu Jintao has been named the most

powerful person in the world by Forbes, ahead of U.S. PresidentBarack Obama who is ranked second among 68 people “whomatter,” a list that also includes Congress President Sonia Gandhiand Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Ms. Gandhi ranks 9th on theForbes 2010 list of the ’World’s Most Powerful People.’ Dr.Manmohan Singh comes in at number 18. India’s business tycoonsReliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Tata Sons ChairmanRatan Tata and head of ArcelorMittal, Lakshmi Mittal also make thelist. Of the 6.8 billion people on the planet, Forbes’ list comprises“the 68 who matter.” Jintao, occupies the top slot for being the“paramount political leader of more people than anyone else on theplanet” and one who “exercises near dictatorial control over 1.3billion people, one-fifth of world’s population.”

‘Time’ readers choose Assange Person of The Year WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is in custody in

London on rape charges, has won an online vote to be Timemagazine’s Person of the Year, amid continuous leak of thousandsof confidential U.S. diplomatic cables by his whistle-blower website.The 39-year-old Australian secured 382,020 votes, which gave himan easy first place, while U.S. President Barack Obama was in thesixth position with 27,478 votes. Mr. Assange received 148,383 votesmore than Recep Tayyip Ergodan, Prime Minister of Turkey, whostood second with a score of 233,638. Pop star Lady Gaga wasthird with 146,378 votes, according to the magazine, which said thatits editors, who choose the actual Person of the Year, reserve theright to disagree with the results of the online poll.

Title HoldersYear Country Miss Universe Location

2010 Mexico Ximena Navarrete Las Vegas, U.S.2009 Venezuela Stefania Fernandez Nassau, Bahamas2008 Venezuela Dayana Mendoza Nha Trang, Vietnam2007 Japan Riyo Mori Mexico City, Mexico2006 Puerto Rico Zuleyka Rivera Los Angeles, U.S.2005 Canada Natalie Glebova Bangkok, Thailand2004 Australia Jennifer Hawkins Quito, Ecuador2003 Dominican Amelia Vega Panama City, Panama

Republic

Kyi, Aung San SuuMyanmar’s iconic opposition leader, she was released on

November 13, 2010, after spending 15 years in house arrest. InMyanmar, she is simply known as ‘The Lady’. She was born inYangon in June, 1945 (known as Rangoon then). Her father, GeneralAung San, is a national hero who was on the verge of wrestingindependence from the British rule when he was assassinated in1947. She was educated in Delhi and Oxford. Her mother wasAmbassador to India. She married Michael Aris, an academic, inOxford and raised two sons. She returned to Myanmar in 1988 totake care of her ailing mother and stayed back. The last elections in1990 were won by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party,but the military refused to hand over power. She refused to leaveMyanmar even when her husband died in 1999.

Kamala HarrisIndian-American Kamala Harris won the election for Attorney-

General of California. Ms. Harris will be the first woman to hold theoffice. Daughter of an Indian mother and African-American father,Ms. Harris is the District Attorney for San Francisco. She will replaceDemocrat Jerry Brown who won the election for Governor of Californiaon November 02. Ms. Harris, who was the only Indian-Americancandidate publicly endorsed by President Barack Obama, defeatedSteve Cooley of the Republican Party in a tough fight.

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Nikki HaleyHaving gone from state legislature to Governor of South

Carolina in a span of just six years, Nikki Randhawa Haley is beinghailed as a rising star on the American political horizon. Daughter ofPunjabi Sikh immigrants from Amritsar, Nimrata Nikki RandhawaHaley has become the first Indian-origin woman, and second Indian-American after Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to become theGovernor of a U.S. state. Another Indian-American Kamala Harriswon the election for Attorney-General of California. Five other Indian-Americans, all Democrats, bit the dust in the face of an anti-establishment vote.

Mario Vargas LlosaPeruvian Mario Vargas Llosa, one of the most acclaimed

writers in the Spanish-speaking world who once ran for President inhis homeland, has won the 2010 Nobel Prize in literature. He haswritten more than 30 novels, plays and essays, includingConversation in the Cathedral and The Green House. In 1995, hewas awarded the Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’smost distinguished literary honour. His international breakthroughcame with the 1960s novel The Time of The Hero, which builds onhis experiences from the Peruvian military academy Leoncio Prado.The book was considered controversial in his homeland and athousand copies were burnt publicly by officers from the academy.Vargas Llosa is the first South American winner of the prestigiousprize since it was awarded to Colombian writer Gabriel GarciaMarquez in 1982. Born in Arequipa, Peru, Vargas Llosa grew up withhis grandparents in Bolivia after his parents divorced. The familymoved back to Peru in 1946 and he later went to military schoolbefore studying literature and law in Lima and Madrid. In 1959, hemoved to Paris where he worked as a language teacher and as ajournalist for Agence France-Presse and the national televisionservice of France. He has lectured and taught at a number ofuniversities in the US, South America and Europe.

Liu XiaoboJailed Chinese pro-democracy activist Liu Xiaobo has won

the Nobel Peace Prize, 2010, “for decades of non-violent strugglefor human rights”. Liu was jailed for 11 years in December 2009, for

subversion of State power, a year after being arrested as lead authorof Charter 08, a manifesto issued by Chinese intellectuals andactivists, calling for free speech and multi-party elections. Liu, aformer literature professor, had risen to prominence as a strikeleader during the protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989. He waslater jailed for 20 months and then spent three years in a “labour re-education” camp during the 1990s, as well as months under virtualhouse arrest.

Ed MilibandEd Miliband has won the Labour leadership in England after

narrowly beating Brother David in a dramatic run-off vote ahead of theparty's conference. Ed won by just over 1% from former foreign secretaryDavid after second, third and fourth preference votes came into play. MrMiliband, replaces acting leader Harriet Harman in the contest triggeredby the resignation of Gordon Brown. The former energy secretaryappears to have benefited from a last-minute surge of support.

Nitish KumarNitish Kumar led NDA alliance has won 206 seats to form

the government in Bihar. Nithish's triumph in 2010 Assembly pollswas the biggest victory for any political leader in the state. Out of 243Assembly seats, Janata Dal (United) has bagged 115 seats and itsally Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) has won 91 seats.

Bihar Assembly PollsParty 2005 2010 GAIN/LOSSJDU 88 115 +27BJP 55 91 +36RJD 54 22 -32LJP 10 3 -7CONG 9 4 -5OTHERS 27 8 -19

Dilip DondeOn May 22, 2010, Commander Dilip Donde of the Indian

Navy became the first Indian ever to circumnavigate the globe soloon a sail-boat when he steered into the Mumbai harbour after hisarduous effort spanning a little over nine months. Commander Dilip

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Donde, who started the voyage on August 19 2009 on INSV Mhadei,touched base back in India at the Sunk Rock Light House in Mumbai.His boat was ceremonially escorted by a fast attack craft of theIndian Navy, along with speedboats and two tugs operating theirwater cannons. Vice-President Hamid Ansari, along with Chief ofNaval Staff Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma and Donde’s familymembers, who were on board INS Delhi, anchored at the finish line,witnessed the historic moment and gave him a rousing reception.

The 56-foot-long Mhadei, with 23-tonne displacement, is thefirst fibre glass yacht constructed entirely in India and boasts ofstate-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment. The 276-day voyage was part of the Navy's daunting Sagar Parikrama project,which aims to revive the old tradition of sea faring. The world recordfor the fastest solo circumnavigation was set in January 2008 byFrenchman Francis Joyon, at 67 days, 13 hours, 34 minutes and 6seconds.

C.K. PrahaladDr C.K. Prahalad, a globally known influential management

thinker, died on April 19, 2010. He shook the corporate world in theUS and elsewhere during the past two decades with his offbeat butradical strategies for managing corporations. The most notableamong them was his “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”through which he urged MNCs to evolve a business model thatwould cater to the huge market of world’s four billion poor. He firmlybelieved that such an approach would help eradicate the scourge ofpoverty. He stole the limelight with his best seller book “The Futureof Competition”. He stressed that it would not be worthwhile for thecompanies to foray into unrelated diversifications. The book is widelyacknowledged as one of the world's most significant forces incorporate thinking. He was a member of the Blue RibbonCommission of the United Nations on private sector anddevelopment. He was also the first recipient of the Lal BahadurShastri Award for contributions to management and publicadministration, presented by the President of India in 2000.

Gen. Vijay Kumar SinghGen V.K. Singh is the Chief of Indian army. A third generation

officer from the Rajput regiment, Gen Singh is a graduate of the

Wellington-based Defence Services Staff College as well as theRangers Course at Fort Benning, USA and the US Army War College,Carlisle. He was commissioned into 2 Rajput Regiment in June1970 and commanded the same unit when it was positioned alongthe Line of Control with Pakistan. Experienced in counter insurgencyoperations, Line of Control and high altitude operations, Gen Singhwas awarded the Yudh Sena Medal for his distinguished serviceduring 'Operation Pawan' against the LTTE in Sri Lanka.

Girija Prasad KoiralaVeteran democratic leader of Nepal politics and former Prime

Minister of Nepal, he died on March 20, 2010. He was 87. He hadthe distinction of becoming the Prime Minister of Nepal five times.He had led the peaceful April Uprising in 2006 and abolished the239-year-old authoritarian royal regime of Nepal.

Sachin is Indian Air Force group captainIndian sports icon Sachin Tendulkar conferred the honorary

rank of group captain by the Indian Air Force (IAF) for services thecricketer has rendered to the nation through the sport. The cricketerwas presented his rank by Air Chief Marshal P V Naik.

Mukesh AmbaniReliance Industries' Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh

Ambani has been elected Member to the Board of World EconomicForum. Others elected to the Board are: Alcatel-Lucent's CEO Ben J.Verwaayen and Special Adviser, International Monetary Fund (IMF)and a former Deputy Governor, People's Bank of China, Zhu Min.Mukesh Ambani will bring an extraordinary level of business acumenand his commitment to the ideals of the Forum. He has played a keyrole, especially related to the integration of India into all our activities.”

V.K. MurthyV. K. Murthy is the first cinematographer, and second

Kannadiga after Kannada movie icon Dr Raj Kumar, to get the DadaSaheb Phalke award for his contribution to the film industry. He isknown for his work in most Guru Dutt films like Sahib Biwi AurGhulam, Kaagaz Ke Phool and Pyaasa. Besides Guru Dutt, Murthyalso worked with Pramod Chakravarthy (Naya Zamana, Jugnu),

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Kamal Amrohi (Pakeezah) and Shyam Benegal (Bharat Ke Khoj, atelevision series). He also shot India’s first cinema-scope movies,Kagaz ke Phool and is also one of the pioneers of colourcinematography.

Simon Lehna SinghFamousphysicist-turned author, journalist and television

producer of Indian origin Simon Lehna Singh has been selected bythe International Mathematical Union for the Leelavathi Award inrecognition of his outstanding contribution to public outreach inmathematics.Named after the mathematical treatise of the greatIndian mathematician Bhaskaracharya, the award carries a cashprize of Rs.10 lakh and a citation and will be presented by theInternational Congress of Mathematicians (ICM).

Samy VelluSamy Vellu until recently president of the Malaysian Indian

Congress (MIC), will be Malaysia's Special Envoy to India and SouthAsia for Infrastructure with effect from New Year's Day 2011.

Vinod SharmaVinod Sharma, political editor of Hindustan Times, is slated

to be appointed member of the National Commission for Minorities.He will be a representative of the majority community. He will succeedveteran journalist Dileep Padgaonkar.

BrahmaBrahma assumes charge as Election Commissioner. Sixty-

year-old Harishankar Brahma, a retired IAS officer of 1975 batchfrom the Andhra Pradesh cadre, assumed charge as ElectionCommissioner at Nirvachan Sadan. Mr. Brahma, who retired as theUnion Power Secretary in April this year, will hold office till April 18,2015. He is the second person from the North-East to become anElection Commissioner, after J.M. Lyngdoh.

Ravindra Kelekar Konkani litterateur and Jnanpith Award winner Ravindra R.

Kelekar, 85, died. Ravindra Kelekar was born on March 25, 1925 atCuncolim in south Goa. Influenced by the Gandhian thoughts, he

was actively involved in the freedom struggle and the Goa liberationmovement. Though he also wrote in Marathi and Hindi, hiscontributions to the growth of Konkani were immense. Always at theforefront of the Konkani movement, he struggled to seek recognitionfor the Konkani language.

Mukesh AmbaniRIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani has topped Forbes

magazine's list of the 100 richest Indians for the third year in-a-row,pipping billionaires like L N Mittal and Azim Premji with a net worth ofUSD 27 billion.

O. P. BhattState Bank of India Chairman O. P. Bhatt has been elected

the new Chairman of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) for 2010-11. Mr. Bhatt will take charge from M. V. Nair, Chairman and Manag-ing Director of Union Bank. HDFC Bank Managing Director AdityaPuri, Bank of Baroda Chairman and Managing Director M. D. Mallyaand Canara Bank Chairman and Managing Director A. C. Mahajanwere elected deputy chairmen. Yes Bank Managing Director andChief Executive Officer Rana Kapoor has been elected HonorarySecretary of the association.

SachinMilestones have become so routine in Sachin Tendulkar’s

career that it hardly came as a surprise when he touched another oneby becoming the first batsman in cricket’s history to notch up an as-tonishing 50 Test hundreds. The 37-year-old right-hander, who hasspent a remarkable over 20 years in international cricket, has per-haps every batting record that is there to be taken under his belt andadding to the countless tally is the historic hundred that he struckagainst South Africa in the opening Test at Centurion, on December19, 2010. Much before his debut on November 15, 1989, Tendulkar’sprecocious talent was there to be seen when he shared an unbeaten664-run stand with buddy Vinod Kambli in the Lord Harris Shieldinter-school game in 1988. Tendulkar is also the only batsman in theworld who has scored a double ton in ODIs, a feat he achieved inGwalior against South Africa in February. This feat was included inTime magazine’s top 10 sports moments of the year.

35 36

Sharad PawarSharad Pawar assumed office as President of the Interna-

tional Cricket Council (ICC) at its annual conference in Singapore.The Union Agriculture Minister and former President of the Board ofControl for Cricket in India succeeded David Morgan after servingas the ICC Vice- President since 2008. Mr. Pawar is only the secondIndian, after Jagmohan Dalmiya, to have become the highest ex-ecutive of the world cricket body. Soon after taking over as the sev-enth President of the ICC for a two-year term.

Kapil DevLegendary all-rounder Kapil Dev, who led India to their only

ODI World Cup triumph in 1983, has been inducted into the Interna-tional Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame. A commemorative cap waspresented to Kapil by ICC President David Morgan, in front of fellowHall of Famer Clive Lloyd, as well as an audience of ICC officialsand other invited guests at the governing body’s headquarters inDubai. The Hall of Fame, run in association with the Federation ofInternational Cricketers' Associations (FICA), recognises some ofthe legends of the game.

UK SinhaUK Sinha appointed as the new Chairman of Securities Ex-

change Board of India (SEBI). Sinha will replace CB Bhave on Feb.17, 2011. Sinha is now the Chairman and Managing Director of UTIAsset Management Company.

YesuratnamMagistrate, A Yesuratnam of Venkatagiri Court in Sree Potti

Sreeramulu Nellore District declared judgements in 300 differentcases. This is the first time that number of judgements is announcedin one single day in the history of Indian judiciary.

Sachin TendulkarSachin Tendulkar can now be seen in IAF fatigues along with

the Sukhoi fighter aircraft in the force’s 2011 calendar. The cricketicon, who was recently conferred the honorary rank of Group Cap-tain, features in the calendar wearing a green flying suit with helmet

tucked under his left arm. Sachin appears on the January 2011page of the calendar with an air superiority fighter Su-30MKI in thebackground. Sachin is the only person appearing in the calendar,which otherwise carries the pictures of various fighter planes andtransport aircraft of the IAF. On September 3, the IAF conferred thehonorary rank of Group Captain on Sachin for his cricketing achieve-ments and contribution to the nation. Sachin is the first sportspersonto be conferred a rank by IAF and the first personality with no aviationbackground to receive the honour.

Prasoon JoshiAd-man and lyricist, he has been named as the Chairman of

McCann Worldgroup Creative Leadership Council. This is the firsttime in McCann’s history that an Asian has been appointed to thetop global creative position.

Prasun ChatterjeeAn Indian environmental engineering student whose re-

search has contributed to a new way of detecting toxic lead andcopper in water, has won one of the highest US research honours.Chatterjee, a research student at the University of Lehigh, Pennsyl-vania, received the 2010 C. Ellen Gonter Environmental ChemistryAward from the American Chemical Society's (ACS) EnvironmentalChemistry Division.

Shyam Saran NegiShyam Saran Negi, resident of the remote Kalpa village in

Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh, was the first to cast his vote inindependent India’s first elections on October 23, 1951. Elections insnow-bound Kinnaur region were held ahead of other places in In-dia, where the elections were held in January and February of 1952.

He PingpingHe Pingping of China, at 2 feet 5 inches is the world’s shortest

man and Sultan Kosen of Turkey, at 8 feet 1 inches is the tallest man.

Rahat TaslimRahat Taslim from Giridih, Jharkhand has become the first

contestant to win the prize money of Rs.1 crore in the fourth seasonof game show Kaun Banega Crorepati.

37 38

John WakefieldJohn Wakefield, fondly known as ‘Papa,'the torchbearer of

Karnataka's first eco-tourism project — the Kabini River Lodge onthe banks of the Kabini at Karapur in Mysore district, passed away.

Chinthakindi MalleshamChinthakindi Mallesham of Sharajipet in Nalgonda Dist se-

lected by the Forbes Magazine as one of the 'seven most powerful ruralenterpreneurs'. Mallesham who dropped the school in eighth classinvented Laxmi Asu Machine to ease the work of handloom weavers.

A.K. AntonyA.K. Antony became the first Defence Minister to land on the

Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) of Nyoma in the Ladakh region ofJammu and Kashmir.The ALG, activated in September,2009 for fixed-wing aircraft, is 23 km from the Line of Actual Control and close tothe Sino-Indian border.

Shabana MahmoodShabana Mahmood, the Labour candidate for Birmingham

Ladywood, in central England, and Yasmin Qureshi, Labour candi-date for Bolton South East, in the north-west, became Britain's firstwomen Muslim MPs.

Atul KhareU.N. Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has appointed Atul

Khare of India as Assistant Secretary-General for PeacekeepingOperations.

Sanath JayasuriyaSri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya made his debut as a

lawmaker, with a runaway victory from a parliamentary constituencyin Matara district in the south. Jayasuriya won on the ticket of theruling United People's Freedom Party alliance of the PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa.

Vim KochharFor the first time, an India-born businessman Vim Kochhar

has been nominated to the Canadian Senate by Prime MinisterStephen Harper.

Mazlan OthmanMalaysian astrophysicist, she has been appointed as the

head of the UN’s little-known Office for the Outer Space Affairs(UUNOOSA). She is officially the world’s first contact for any aliensthat may come visiting.

A. DivyaA. Divya is the first woman cadet in the history of the Officers

Training Academy, one of India’s premier defence training institutes,to be decorated with its highest award, the ‘Sword of Honour’.

Sudarsan PattnaikOrissa-based renowned sand artict, he has won the people’s

choice award at the 8th International Sand Sculpture Festival inBerlin, for his creation on global warming.

Arjun Bajpayee 16-year-old resident of Uttar Pradesh's Noida city, he has

become the youngest Indian to climb the Mount Everest. He brokethe record of Krushnaa Patil,18, from Maharashtra who became theyoungest Indian to reach the highest peak in 2009.

Capt Tejdeep Singh RattanA 31-year-old Dentist, he has become the first Sikh in over 25

years to be allowed to complete US Army officer basic training with-out giving up his turban or shaving his full beard.

Sanjiv MehtaSanjiv Mehta is the new owner of East India Company, the

world’s first multinational whose forces once ruled much of theglobe, including India.

Hardeep Singh PuriIndian Ambassador to the United Nations Hardeep Singh

Puri has been elected Chairman of the all important Security CouncilCommittee on counter-terrorism and two other key committees ofthis 15-membered body. Elected for a two-year term, Mr. Puri wouldchair the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee. Hereplaces Ertugrul Apakan, Ambassador and PermanentRepresentative of Turkey, whose term expired on December 31, 2010.

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AAAAAPPOINTMENTSPPOINTMENTSPPOINTMENTSPPOINTMENTSPPOINTMENTSN A K Browne is new Air Force Vice-Chief

Air Marshal NAK Browne, an ace fighter pilot, 2011 January 1,took over as the Vice Chief of Indian Air Force. He succeeds AirMarshal PK Barbora, who retired on 2010 December 31. AIRcorrespondent reports commissioned into the fighter stream in1972, Air Marshal Browne has flown aircraft including the vintageHunter, all variants of MiG-21s, Jaguar and SU-30MKI. An alumnusof the National Defence Academy, Air Marshal Browne is a fightercombat leader and has also served as an instructor at the Tacticsand Combat Development Establishment and Defence ServicesStaff College, Wellington. A graduate of the Air Command and StaffCollege, USA, the Air Marshal has held many key posts, includingChief Operations Officer and Air Officer Commanding of a SU-30base and Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Intelligence) at Air Headquarters.He was also responsible for establishing the Indian Defence Wingin Tel Aviv, Israel in April 1997 where he served as the defence attachetill July 2000. Air Marshal Browne was previously commanding theDelhi-based Western Air Command.

Justice K.G. BalakrishnanThe government announced the appointment of the former

Chief Justice of India, Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, as the sixth chair-person of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Jus-tice Balakrishnan, 65, retired as CJI on May 12. He was appointed aSupreme Court judge in 2000 and sworn in as CJI on January 14,2007. The post of NHRC chairperson had been lying vacant for thepast one year after the retirement of Justice Rajendra Babu. Sincethen, Justice G. P. Mathur had been acting as the commission's.

Justice Sarosh Homi KapadiaJustice S.H. Kapadia has been appointed the Chief Justice

of India. He is the 38th CJI and will have a tenure of two years andfive months. Justice Kapadia has vast experience in tax, financeand business matters, besides other civil cases and issues relatingto crime. Born on September 29, 1947, he is the first CJI born in

post independence era. An erudite man with a keen interest inEconomics, Public Finance, Theoretical Physics and Hindu andBuddhist philosophies, he would remain at the helm of the judiciarytill September 29, 2012. He started his career as a class IV employeeand possesses integrity as “the only asset”. Justice Kapadia waspart of the Constitution bench that in January 2007 declared thatlaws placed under the protective umbrella of the Ninth Schedule ofthe Constitution were open to judicial review.

Marri Sashidhar ReddyMarri Sashidhar Reddy appointed as Vice Chairman of Na-

tional Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). He is an electedmember of Legislative Assembly from Andhra Pradesh and a formermember of NDMA.

Narsingha MishraThe Central Government announced the appointment of

Narsingha Mishra as another part time member to the 19th LawCommission. He was a senior Advocate in the Orissa High Court.Now the Law Commission has two full-time members and sevenpart-time members. P Venkatarama Reddy is the Chairman of 19thLaw Commission.

Rajapaksa re-elected PresidentOn January 27, 2010, Mahinda Rajapska emerged victori-

ous in the bitterly-fought first post-LTTE era Presidential elections.He won fighting against former army chief Sarath Fonseka, secur-ing nearly 60 per cent of the total votes polled.

Jhumpa LahiriIndian - American Pulitzer Prize - winning author Jhumpa

Lahiri has been appointed as a member of U.S. President BarakObama's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, along with fiveothers.

Justice M.N. RaoThe former Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court,

Makani Narayana Rao, assumed charged as Chairperson of the

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National Commission for Backward Classes. Justice Rao (74), whohails from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, was appointed permanentjudge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in July 1986 and he servedas Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court from Novem-ber 1997 to April 1998. After his retirement, he has been practisingin the Supreme Court. As a panel lawyer for many State govern-ments, he handled several sensitive issues.

Satyanand MishraSatyanand Mishra appointed as Chief Information Commis-

sioner to succeed AN Tiwari. The high-level committee headed byManmohan Singh including Sushma Swaraj and Veerappa Moilydecided in favour of Satyanand Mishar.

P.J. ThomasP.J. Thomas, former Telecom Secretary, was sworn in as

14th Central Vigilance Commissioner by the President of India.

S.Y. Quraishi

S.Y. Quraishi has been appointed as the 17th Chief ElectionCommissioner of India. He is the first Muslim to hold the post. Dr.Quraishi earlier held the position of Election Commissioner. In themanagement of elections, Dr. Quraishi has brought a special focuson people’s participation, voters’ education and youth involvementin the electoral process through scientific research and interventions.He has been an ardent proponent for lending strength to thegrassroots level election functionaries. Born on 11 June 1947, DrQuraishi completed his Masters degrees from St. Stephen’s Collegein Delhi before joining the Indian Administrative Service in 1971. Hereceived a Ph.D for his thesis on “Role of Communication and SocialMarketing in Development of Women and Children”. Dr Quraishi isknown for his special contributions in social sector reforms coveringhealth, education, population, drug abuse, and civil society action.He also has a number of books, articles and talks to his credit onissues related to democracy, elections, HIV AIDS and FamilyPlanning, social marketing, women and child development andYouth. His book ‘Social Marketing for Social Change’ has brokennew ground in the field of Development Communication.

Nehchal SandhuBihar-cadre IPS officer of 1973 batch Nehchal Sandhu

appointed as Chief of Intelligence Bureau from January 1, 2011.Nehchal Sandhu will succeed Rajiv Mathur of 1972 batch.

R. K. MedhekarSenior IPS officer R. K. Medhekar will be the new Director

General of elite commando force National Security Guard. Medhekar,a 1975 batch officer of Kerala cadre, currently serving as SpecialDirector General of Border Security Force.

S. RamakrishnanS. Ramakrishnan, Director (Projects), Vikram Sarabhai Space

Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, has been appointed Director of LiquidPropulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) of the Indian Space ResearchOrganisation (ISRO).

P. Venkatarama ReddyThe Centre has appointed Justice P. Venkatarama Reddy, a

retired judge of the Supreme Court as chairperson of the 19th LawCommission, which will have tenure up to August 31, 2012.

Dilma RousseffDilma Rousseff has been elected as the first female

President of Brazil. 62-year-old economist, Rousseff is a formerMarxist guerrilla who was jailed and tortured for three years in early1970 for fighting against dictatorship in Brazil.

K. Vijay KumarK. Vijay Kumar has been appointed as the Director General

of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Ansar ParvezAnsar Parvez has been name head of IAEA, the UN nuclear

watchdog. Head of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, AnsarParvez, will remain Chairman for the next 12 months, taking overfrom Malaysia.

43 44

Naoto KanNaoto Kan has been elected as the Prime Minister of Japan.

He has become the fifth Prime Minister of Japan in three years,taking the helm as the country struggles to rein in a huge publicdebt, engineer growth in an aging society, and manage ties withsecurity ally USA and a rising China.

Julia GillardJulia Gillard scripted history when she was elected as the

first woman Prime Minister of Australia. She succeeded Kevin Rudd,who stepped down following revolt against him within the Labourparty. The rebellion had been spearheaded by Ms Gillard, opposinghis policies on health, education and climate change.

Roza Otunbayeva Roza Otunbayeva has been elected as the first woman

President of Kyrgystan. She claimed victory in a referendum inKyrgyzstan, making her the interim President till 2011, a vote held todecide the legitimacy of her rule after President Kurmanbek Bakiyevregime was ousted in April 2010.

Nitin NohariaAn Indian-American he has taken over as the Dean of Harvard

Business School. He is the first person of Indian origin to occupythe prestigious and high profile post.

Kamla Persad A 58-year-old woman of Indian origin, she has been elected

as the first woman Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago. Her party,People’s Partnership, won 29 of the 41 parliamentary seats to endthe 43-yeaqr-old rule of the ruling party.

Dr Ratan Kumar SinhaDr Ratan Kumar Sinha has been appointed as the new

Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). He is closelyassociated with the design and development of India’s first Thorium-based advanced Heavy Water reactor.

Sonia Gandhi

UPA chairperson and Congress President, she has beenappointed as the head of National Advisory Council (NAC), four yearsafter quitting the post over an office-of-profit controversy. She willhold the rank and status of a Cabinet Minister.

Salil ShettySalil Shetty has been appointed as the Secretary-General of

Amnesty International. He is the first Indian to be appointed to thejob and will succeed Irene Khan in June 2010.

Michelle BacheletSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment

of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to head a new U.N.body that will seek to improve the lives of women and girls aroundthe world. The body will be known officially as the U.N. Entity forGender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, but officials sayit will be referred to as U.N. Women.

Julia GillardJulia Gillard was sworn in as Australia's first woman Prime

Minister after Kevin Rudd was toppled as the leader of the rulingLabour party.

Sam PitrodaPrime Minister has approved the setting up of a National

Innovation Council to prepare a road map for the Decade ofInnovation 2010-2020. The National Innovation Council would beheaded by Sam Pitroda, Adviser to the Prime Minister on PublicInformation Infrastructure and Innovations. The Council has beengiven the mandate to evolve an Indian model of innovation focusingon inclusive growth and creating an appropriate eco systemconducive to fostedng inclusive innovation. It will delineateappropriate policy initiatives within the government required to spurinnovation. It will also promote the setting up of Sectoral InnovationCouncils and State Innovation Councils.

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DDDDDEAEAEAEAEATHSTHSTHSTHSTHSK.M. Mathew

K.M. Mathew, Chief Editor of the mass-circulation Malayalamnewspaper Malayala Manorama, passed away at his residence. Hewas 93. He had age-related ailments, but was active and at work tilla few months ago. Born on January 2, 1917, Mr. Mathew started offas a rubber planter in Chickmagalur in Karnataka. He later went toBombay to look after another line of the family business. He joinedthe family-owned Malayala Manorama in 1954 as its GeneralManager and Managing Editor. Mr. Mathew became the Chief Editorof the newspaper, founded in 1888, in 1973. Mr. Mathew washonoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1998.

Homi Sethna

Indian nuclear scientist Homi Sethna has died at the age 86.During his career Sethna held several posts including director ofthe Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and chairman of the AtomicEnergy Commission. During his time with the AEC Sethna presidedover India's nuclear experiment at Pokhran in 1974.

M Rajasekhara Murthy

Senior JD(S) leader and Rajya Sabha member MRajasekhara Murthy died at the age of 88 due to cardiac arrest.Rajasekhara Murthy was a freedom fighter. He was first elected toRajya Sabha in 1994 and elected to Rajya Sabha recently fromBangalore in 2006.

Narayana Rao Pawar

Narayana Rao Pawar dies at the age of 85 in Hyderabad dueto ill health. He was born on 3 March 1926 a freedom fighter inIndia's struggle for independence and was the first citizen to throw abomb on the last Nizam of Hyderabad to kill him.

K.Devi Vara Prasad

Senior Telugu film producer K.Devi Vara Prasad Passedaway on Friday at Hyderabad. He was 68 years old. He producedseveral hit films with the late NTR and Chiranjeevi. His films include'Naa Desam', 'Tiruguleni Manishi', Kondaveeti Raja',and the hugely-popular 'Gharana Mogudu'.

Eugenie Blanchard

World's oldest person, named Eugenie Blanchard of FrenchWest Indies died at the age of 114.

Jyoti Basu

The CPM patriarch and former Chief Minister of West Bengal,he died on January 17, 2010 at the age of 95. The “colossus ofIndian politics” left behind a void that will be hard to fill, not only in theLeft but also national politics. He was born on July 8, 1914 in Kolkata.In 1935 he graduated from the Presidency College of Kolkata withhonours in English. Then he went to London to study law and it washere that he was influenced by Communism. In 1940 he joined thethen undivided Communist Party of India. He was one of the founder-members of CPM in 1964. In 1977 he became the Chief Minister ofWest Bengal and continued to hold the office for 23 straight years,making him the longest-serving Chief Minister in India. He quit asChief Minister in November 2000. His major achievements as ChiefMinister of West Bengal were rural land reforms and entrenching ofthe Panchayati Raj institutions. Jyoti Basu played a major role information of coalition governments at the Centre in 1989, 1996,1997 and 2004. In 1996, he narrowly missed out on becoming PrimeMinister of India after his party’s veto.

K.N.Raj

K.N.Raj, widely respected development economist, who wasthe economic adviser to Prime Ministers from Jawaharlal Nehru toP.V.Narasimha Rao and one of the architects of the Indian planedifice, passed away. He was 85.

47 48

Cherukuri LeninThe former international Archer, Cherukuri Lenin died in a

road accident. Two of the Archers he had coached won silver medalsat the recently concluded Common Wealth Games in New Delhi.

Milon Kumar BanerjeeMilon Kumar Banerjee, the former Attorney-General of India,

passed away. Mr. Banerjee, as Attorney-General, had the rare honourof being called upon to address the Parliament regarding the powersof the Election Commission on August 5, 1993, a request that hadnot been made to the Attorney-General for decades, and the PadmaAwards case, where he argued before the Supreme Court that theseawards were not titles and as such were not violative of Article 18 ofthe Constitution.

Bhairon Singh ShekhawatThe former Vice-President and three-time Chief Minister of

Rajasthan in the past, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat died in Jaipurfollowing cardiac arrest.

G.P. BirlaEminent industrialist G.P. Birla passed away. Son of B.M.

Birla, who had helped to set up units such as Orient Paper andIndustries, Hyderabad Industries and Nigeria Engineering Works.He was also involved in setting up the Birla Institute of Technology inRanchi, Birla Science and Technological Museum and BirlaArchaeological and Cultural Research Institute.

Arjun SenguptaEminent economist and Rajya Sabha MP. He leaves behind

a policy footprint that changed the way poverty alleviationprogrammes are discussed in India.

David Warren A pioneering Australian scientist who invented the ‘black box’

after investigating the world’s first jet airliner crash in 1953. He was85. The challenges of determining the causes of an air crash ledhim to the idea of a recording device that could withstand a crashwhere there were no survivors and no witnesses.

Girija Prasad KoiralaFive-time Prime Minister of Nepal and architect of the

landmark peace deal with the Maoists that ended a decade-longinsurgency in Nepal.

Nanaji Deshmukh One of the founder members of Bhartiya Jan Sangh, social

worker and former member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sbha. He was 93.

Kakkadah Nandanath Raj Leading economist of India who made a significant

contribution in preparation of India’s first five-year Plan (1951-56).He was 85.

Nirmal Pandey Hindi films actor. He was 46. A graduate rom National School

of Drama, he is best known for his roles in “Bandit Queen”, “Iss raatkee subha nahin” and “Pyar Kiya to darna kya”.

Tahir Hussain Well-known Hindi film-maker and father of film star Amir

Khan. He is known for producing hits like “Hum hain rahi pyar ke”,“Zakhmee”, “Anamika” and “Caravan”.

Erich SegalAuthor of the tear-jerking novel Love Story and screenwriter

of the Oscar-winning film version. He was 72.

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PPPPPLACESLACESLACESLACESLACES

ChernobylChernobyl now open to tourists. Ukraine announces official

tours of the 1986 nuclear disaster site. Visitors would be offeredtours inside the 50km exclusion zone set up after reactor four at theplant exploded on April 26, 1986, showering northern Europe inradioactive fallout.

Ocucaje DesertBuried in Peru's Ocucaje Desert, fossils draw smugglers.

Discoveries there include gigantic fossilised teeth from the legendary50-foot shark called the megalodon, the bones of a huge penguinwith surprisingly colourful feathers and the fossils of the LeviathanMelvillei, a whale with teeth longer than those of the Tyrannosaurusrex, making it a contender for the largest predator ever to prowl theoceans.

St PetersburgOn November 21, 2010, Russia called for global efforts to

avert extinction of tigers as wildlife activists and officials from 13countries, including India, gathered at a summit in St Petersburg todiscuss ways to double the population of the endangered animalfrom the existing 3,200. Due to decades of poaching and habitatdestruction, there are currently only 3,200 tigers living in the wild,according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), as against 1 lakh acentury ago.

DavosOver 2500 global leaders in business and politics gathered

in Davos, Switzeraland, for the World Economic Forum. Davos islocated on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between thePlessur and Albula Range. At 1,560 meters, it is the highest city inEurope.

HaitiThe capital of this tiny island nation, Port-au-Prince, was hit

by an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale on January13, 2010. More than three lakh people perished in the tragedy. Theearthquake caused major damage to Port-au-Prince, Jacmel andother settlements in the region. Many notable landmark buildingswere significantly damaged or destroyed, including the PresidentialPalace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-PrinceCathedral, and the main jail. Among those killed were Archbishop ofPort-au-Prince Joseph Serge Miot, and opposition leader MichaGaillard. The headquarters of the United Nations StabilizationMission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), located in the capital, collapsed, killingmany, including the Mission’s Chief, Hédi Annabi.

New DelhiThe Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) organised the first

ever ‘Sports Law Conference’ in New Delhi, on July 24-25, 2010, todeliberate on various issues related to sports and law in India.Among other things, the conference discussed the ‘Right toInformation’ (RTI) and accountability of sports federations, andlegalities involved in staging major sports events like the Olympics,Asian Games, Commonwealth Games.

BengaluruThe Electronic Warfare India Conference (EWIC) was held in

Bengaluru. This was the first international conference on electronicwarfare to take place in India.

JaipurUNESCO has granted the World Heritage status to Jantar

Mantar in Jaipur which is a celebrated astronomical observatorybuilt in 18th century. This is India’s 28th and Rajasthan’s secondsite (after Keoladev National Park) to be given the World Heritagestatus.

TiruchiV.K. Saraswat, Chairman of Combustion Institute Indian

Section (CIIS)and Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister, said that

51 52

ultra super critical thermal technology developed by the BHEL andthe NTPC would be used for the first time in the 500-MW IntegratedGasification Combined Cycle power plant coming up at Tiruchi.

KasaragodThe Kerala government had adopted a slew of measures to

help the victims of Endosulfan by banning the use of such pesticidesin Cashew Plantation in Kasaragod and efforts are on to promoteorganic farming.

CharminarArchaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take up repair of

Charminar. Three months after it fell, the chunk of lime stucco workon Charminar is in for repair. Charminar meaning "Mosque of theFour Minarets" and "Four Towers" is the most famous mosque andmonument in the city of Hyderabad. Sultan Muhammad Quli QutbShah , the 5th ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty built Charminar in1591 shortly after he had shifted his capital from Golkonda to whatis now known as Hyderabad.

NarnaulNarnaul, a non-descript village located in the backwaters of

Haryana has got India’s first aero sports centre, which wasinaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, at the localairstrip on January 31, 2010. The centre, named after the late PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi, has been set up by the Department of CivilAviation, Haryana, in collaboration with the Aero Club of India.

Mangalore coastTwo blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), the largest

mammals on Earth, were recently spotted off the Mangalore coastduring a marine survey carried out by the Central Marine FisheriesResearch Institute (CMFRI), Kochi. he blue whales belong to theRorquals family, which includes the humpback, fin and minkewhales. Their skin is greyish blue with light grey mottling on theback. They can grow up to 33 metres in length and weigh up to 200tonnes. Blue whales are long-distance migrants known to undertakelong journeys in search of food and mating grounds. Recently,upwelling (an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven

motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water towards theocean surface, replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depletedsurface water) was reported in the Malabar coast extending fromKozhikode to Mangalore, making the stretch abundant in fish andprawn varieties. The whales could have come in search of food. Afew dolphins were also spotted during the period.

HaryanaNarnaul, a non-descript village located in the backwaters of

Haryana has got India’s first aero sports centre, which wasinaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, at the localairstrip on January 31, 2010. The centre, named after the late PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi, has been set up by the Department of CivilAviation, Haryana, in collaboration with the Aero Club of India.

TembhaliThis remote village in tribal-dominated Nandurbar district of

Maharashtra is the first place in India whose residents have beenissues the Unique Identification Number (UID) or Aadhaar.

Burj KhalifaOn January 4, 2010, blazing fireworks and dazzling lights

marked the opening of the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, formerlyknown as Burj Dubai. The $1.5 billion, 818 metres (2,684 feet) highstructure is an “unprecedented” engineering marvel. Burj Khalifahas been designed to be the centrepiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development that will include 30,000 homes, nine hotels, 7.4acres of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, andthe 30-acre man-made Burj Khalifa Lake.

With more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa holds the followingrecords:

Tallest building in the world Tallest free-standing structure in the world Highest number of stories in the world Highest occupied floor in the world Highest outdoor observation deck in the world Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world Tallest service elevator in the world

Not only is Burj Khalifa the world’s tallest building, it has also

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broken two other impressive records: tallest structure, previouslyheld by the KVLY-TV mast in Blanchard, North Dakota, and tallestfree-standing structure, previously held by Toronto’s CN Tower. TheChicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat(CTBUH) has established three criteria to determine what makes atall building tall. Burj Khalifa wins by far in all three categories.

The building has returned the location of Earth's tallest free-standing structure to the Middle East where the Great Pyramid ofGiza claimed this achievement for almost four millennia before beingsurpassed in 1311 by Lincoln Cathedral in England.

VancouverVancouver, Canada has been named as the world’s most

liveable city. Delhi and Mumbai are placed at 113th and 117th,respectively, in the survey conducted by Economist Intelligence Unit(EIU). Among the top ten are four Australian cities Sydney, Melbourne,Perth and Adelaide. Zimbabwe’s Harare is lowest ranked.

South AfricaSouth Africa will host the Champions League Twenty20 cricket

tournament in September 2010. In 2009 India had hosted thetournament. The tournament will feature 12 teams, including threefrom 2010 IPL.

JalandharThe Rail Coach Factory (RCF) at Jalandhar has developed

India’s first air-conditioned, double-decker prototype coach. TheRailways has decided to introduce these coaches on the ‘yuva’trains.

KhedarThe first 600 MW unit of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Thermal

Power project at Khedar, near Hisar, Haryana became operationalon February 10, 2010. The coal handling capacity of the plant, at2,400 tonnes per hour, is the highest in India.

KapurthalaThe Rail Coach factory, Kapurthala, has rolled out India’s

first AC double-decker rake from its premises. The first AC double-

decker train has been introduced between Howrah (West Bengal)and Dhanbad (Jharkhand).

Seethampeta

Seethampeta, located in the north - western part ofSrikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh and home to the KondaSavaras has now become part of the Food and AgriculturalOrganisation's (FAO) Globally Important Agricultural HeritageSystems (GIAHS). GIAHS has begun identifying and thendocumenting unique agricultural systems across the world to create'agricultural heritage'.

PalakkadPalakkad district in kerala is the first fully electrified district in

the country.

Peace AirportChina is building a new airport near Mount Everest, to be

called ‘Peace Airport’ in Xigaze prefecture in Tibet.

ChennaiInternational Conference on Biodiversity in relation to food

and human security was held in Chennai.

SivagangaMoser Baer Clean Energy, a subsidiary of Moser Baer

Projects, has commissioned a 5 MW solar farm at Sivaganga inTamil Nadu. It is India’s largest solar farm. The technical expertisewas provided by the EPC (engineering procurementcommissioning) arm of Moser Baer Solar. International FinanceCorporation and the IDBI bank have provided debt for the project.The solar farm has been commissioned using amorphous siliconthin film technology which is best suited for the Indian climaticconditions and is connected to the 110 kVA local grid. The projectwas awarded by the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA)and is being implemented under the generation- based incentivescheme of the Union Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.

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SSSSSPORTSPORTSPORTSPORTSPORTSXVI Asian Games

The 2010 Asian Games held at Guangzhou, China, has cometo an end, after 16 days of fierce competition. Medals were up forgrabs across 42 different disciplines, and 45 Asian nations sent intheir best athletes to try and win as many medals as possible.China once again showed why they are the powerhouse of sports,not only in Asia but at the Olympics too, with a sweep of medals overmost of the disciplines at the games. They ended up winning nearlyhalf the gold medals on offer, showcasing their overall strength as asporty nation. South Korea finished a credible second, ahead ofJapan, who once used to give China a tough fight for the top spot. Apoint to note is that out of all the medals China won, almost halfwere gold. This proves that when they competed, it was for the topspot only. Another noteworthy mention is Iran. They have come fromno where and taken the 4th spot on the medal tally. With the suc-cessful hosting of the Asian Games 2010, China now hands overthe responsibility to the Koreans. The next edition of the Asian Gameswill be held in 2014, in Incheon, South Korea.

23 Jordan 2 2 2 624 Vietnam 1 17 15 3325 Kyrgyzstan 1 2 2 526 Macau 1 1 5 727 Bangladesh 1 1 1 328 Tajikistan 1 0 3 429 Syria 1 0 1 230 United Arab Emirates 0 4 1 531 Afghanistan 0 2 1 332 Iraq 0 1 2 333 Lebanon 0 1 2 334 Laos 0 0 2 235 Nepal 0 0 1 136 Oman 0 0 1 137 Bhutan 0 0 0 038 Brunei 0 0 0 039 Cambodia 0 0 0 040 Maldives 0 0 0 041 Palestine 0 0 0 042 Sri Lanka 0 0 0 043 Timor-Leste 0 0 0 044 Turmenistan 0 0 0 045 Yemen 0 0 0 0

TOTAL 477 479 621 1577

RANK COUNTRY G S B T

1 China 199 119 98 4162 South Korea 76 65 91 2323 Japan 48 74 94 2164 Iran 20 14 25 595 Kazakhstan 18 23 38 796 India 14 17 33 647 Chinese Taipei 13 16 38 678 Uzbekistan 11 22 23 569 Thailand 11 9 32 5210 Malaysia 9 18 13 4011 Hong Kong 8 15 17 4012 North Korea 6 10 20 3613 Saudi Arabia 5 3 5 1314 Bahrain 5 0 4 915 Indonesia 4 9 13 2616 Singapore 4 7 6 1717 Kuwait 4 6 1 1118 Qatar 4 5 7 1619 Philippines 3 4 9 1620 Pakistan 3 2 3 821 Mongolia 2 5 9 1622 Myanmar 2 5 3 10

XVI Asian Games 2010 Medal Tally

India’s Biggest medal haul:After producing their best ever show in the Commonwealth

Games, India underlined its rising sporting prowess by bagging thebiggest medal haul in the Asian Games.

India finished sixth with 14 gold, 17 silver and 33 bronze for arecord 64-medal haul. India’s best medal haul in the Asian Gamestill date was recorded in the 1982 Games in New Delhi when theyhad won 13 gold, 19 silver and 25 bronze for an overall tally of 57.India had finished 10th in the last edition of the Games in Doha witha tally of 10-17-26. A quarter century ago there was no Kazakhstan,Uzbekistan and the rest of the former Soviet bloc to make the com-petition as stiff as it was in Guangzhou.

Out of the 14 gold India won in Guangzhou, the highest num-ber of five came from athletics and two each were won in boxing,kabbadi and tennis and one each from shooting, cue sports androwing. Just like in many earlier editions of the Asian Games, athlet-ics contributed the lions share in India’s number of gold medals inthis addition also. A.C. Ashwini (400m hurdles and women’s 4x400relay) and tennis star Somdev Devvarman (men’s singles anddoubles) won two gold medals while Preeja Sreedharan bagged agold and a silver in women’s 10,000m and 5,000m, respectively.

India got its first gold medal of the 2010 Asiad in Billiardswith Pankaj Advani winning the English Singles. Joseph Abrahamand Ashwini Chidananda grabbed gold medals in men’s andwomen’s 400m hurdles, respectively. Teen sensation Vikas Krishanended Indian Boxing’s 12-year-old gold medal drought in the AsianGames by winning the lightweight (60kg) title. Tarundeep Rai re-wrote history in the archery championship by becoming the firstIndian individual medal winner, finishing second behind South Ko-rean world record holder Kim Woojin.

Somdev Devvarman became the first man in 24 years to wina gold in both single and doubles tennis category in Asian Games.Ronjan Sodhi brought an end to the gold drought in shooting bywinning gold in the double trap (shot gun) event. Bajrang Lal Takharcreated history by notching up the first rowing gold medal for India inthe Asian Games. India opened a new page in its Asian Gameshistory with Ashish Kumar clinching the first-ever medal (bronzemedal in men’s floor exercise) in gymnastics. Virdhawal Khadebroke the swimming medal drought after 24 years by winning abronze medal in men’s 50m butterfly event.

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XIX Commonwealth GamesThe 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the

XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth na-tions and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events. Itwas the largest international multi-sport event to be staged in Delhiand India, eclipsing the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. The open-ing and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal NehruStadium, the main stadium of the event. It was the first time that theCommonwealth Games were held in India and the second time itwas held in Asia after Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998. The officialmascot of the Games was Shera and the official song of the Games,"Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto", was composed by celebrated Indian musi-cian A.R. Rahman. The final medal tally was led by Australia. Thehost nation India gave its strongest performance yet to emerge sec-ond, while England placed third.

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total1 Australia 74 55 48 1772 India 38 27 36 1013 England 37 59 46 1424 Canada 26 17 32 755 South Africa 12 11 10 336 Kenya 12 11 9 327 Malaysia 12 10 13 358 Singapore 11 11 9 319 Nigeria 11 10 14 3510 Scotland 9 10 7 26

XIX Commonwealth Games Medal Tally

MascotThe official mascot for the 2010 Commonwealth Games was

Shera, an anthropomorphised tiger.

Official songThe official song of the 2010 Commonwealth Games was

Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto. It was composed and performed by the A. R.Rahman. The song's title was based on the slogan of the games,"Come out and play". The song was penned by Mehboob in Hindiwith a sprinkling of English words.

India’s performance:Indian competitors came out with flying colours. A record

medal haul of 38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze medals, the best-ever harvest for the country in the Games history, helped India climbto the record-high second position and end the multi-discipline eventon a thumping note. The main haul of these 101 medals came fromthe shooting range, wrestling mat, boxing ring, archery range and,to everyone's surprise, the track and field events.

Rifle-shooting ace Gagan Narang scooped up four goldmedals, but could not achieve the feat of overhauling five-gold heroof the 2006 Melbourne Games—Samresh Jung.

Teenage woman archer Deepika Kumari, daughter of anauto-rickshaw driver, who held her nerves even as the more sea-soned Dola Banerjee wilted, to come up with a golden double in thewomen's recurve event.

The track and field events witnessed India's first gold medalin 52 years when Krishna Poonia led a clean sweep of the women'sdiscus throw, Harwant Kaur and Seema Antil won the silver andbronze.

The women's 4x400m relay squad struck an unexpected goldwith a superb display that pushed Nigeria and England to secondand third places.

The women shuttlers, led by Saina Nehwal, brought two goldmedals to bring down the curtains on the country's competitive showwith a bang. Those two gold medals in badminton were vital to helpIndia push England to the third place by the skin of their teeth.

Saina Nehwal created history by becoming the first Indianwoman to win the singles gold in badminton at the CommonwealthGames. Legendary Prakash Padukone (1978) and the late SyedModi (1982) were the two men players to win the singles gold in theGames. Jwala Gutta and Ashiwni Ponnappa scripted history by be-coming the first Indian pair to win the gold at Commonwealth Games.

The men's hockey team, whose fortunes are followed closelyby the sports fans of the country, made history by making it to thefinal for the first time before coming a cropper against world anddefending champions Australia in the summit clash. The 8-0 defeatwas huge and one of the biggest suffered by the country.

Wrestling contingent also did very well, winning 19 medalsin the 21 designated event. Among the 19 medals, there were 10

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gold, five silver and four bronze medals. Sushil Kumar literally walkedhis way to gold, while the women wrestlers, participating in theGames for the first time, stole the show with a memorable perfor-mance. In the six events for women, India won three gold, two silverand a bronze medal to show their supremacy in the freestyle cat-egory.

The trio of Alka Tomar, Geeta and Anita won their final boutswith ease, while Babita Kumari and Nirmala Devi missed out ongold, losing their final rounds, but their performance drew praisefrom all. Geeta became the first Indian women wrestler to bag agold medal in the Commonwealth Games.

India achieved unprecedented success in athletics by bag-ging 12 medals, including two gold. India's 12 medals were twomore than the number it won in all the earlier editions.

Krishna Poonia created history by breaking India's 52-year-old Commonwealth Games gold medal jinx by winning the goldmedal in women's discus throw. Harwant Kaur and Seema Antilbagged silver and bronze, respectively.

Poonia also became the first Indian woman to bag a Com-monwealth Games gold after 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh won themen's 440 yards race in 1958 edition in Cardiff, Wales.

The women's 4X400m relay team of Manjeet Kaur, Sini Jose,Ashwini Akkunji and Mandeep Kaur added another gold in a memo-rable race, beating strong teams like Nigeria and England.

Fancied fisticuff exponents Vijender Singh and Akhil Kumarwere ousted early but Indian boxers still delivered a historic goldenpunch to come up with their best-ever campaign in the Games his-tory. With a hat-trick of gold plus four bronze medals, the Indian ringstylists recorded their best medal haul at the quadrennial multi-discipline sports event, bettering the 2006 campaign at Melbourneby two.

Ashish Kumar of India created history by winning a bronzemedal in Gymnastics, the first ever medal in gymnastics for India inthe Commonwealth Games.

Saina wins Hong Kong Open Super SeriesAce Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal rallied to register a

scintilliating three-game victory over Shixian Wang of China to clinchher third Super Series title of the year at the Hong Kong Open inWanchai. The 20-year-old Indian capped her career's fourth Super

Series title triumph with a 15-21 21-16 21-17 win over the third seedChinese in a gruelling one hour and 11 minutes summit clash atthe Queen Elizabeth Stadium. The girl from Hyderabad won back-to-back titles - Indian Open Grand Prix, Singapore Open Super Se-ries and defended the Indonesian Super Series - before clinchingthe gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in October. Sainaplayed a tactical game after she lost the first game and clawed herway back with some fast-paced rallies and powerful smashes tooutwit the Chinese world number five.

India-New Zealand Test seriesIndia won the three-Test series 1-0 after winning the third

Test in Nagpur by an innings and 198 runs. The first Test, played inAhmedabad, ended in a draw after VVS Laxman and HarbhajanSingh put in a fight-back after India had been reduced to 15 for 5 atone time. In the second Test played in Hyderabad, BrendonMcCullum notched up his best-ever Test score of 225 to ensure adraw. Harbhajan Singh made history by becoming the first numbereight Test batsman to hit back-to-back centuries. In the first Test hehit 115 and followed this with 111 not out in the second Test. His105-run 10th wicket stand with Sreesanth the was best for India.

India-New Zealand One Day seriesIndia won the One Day series 5-0. The rampant India's 5-0

ODI series sweep was set up by the bowlers. Skittled out for 103,the Kiwis were down for the count. This is India's biggest win interms of balls against New Zealand. And India's only previous 5-0sweep was against England at home in the 2008/09 season.Theleft-handed Gambhir was adjudged Player of the Series for 329runs including two centuries at an average 109.66 in the series.

Sri Lanka-West Indies Test SeriesWest Indies opener Chris Gayle made the joint 12th highest

Test score with a magnificent 333 in the first Test. He became onlythe fourth man to achieve the feat twice in Test history, after SirDonald Bradman, Brian Lara and Virender Sehwag.

Australia-Sri Lanka ODI seriesAustralia snapped a run of seven straight losses in all forms

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of cricket when it beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the third and finalmatch. Sri Lanka claimed the series 2-1, after winning the first matchby one wicket and the second by 29 runs.

Hero Honda Women’s Indian Open ChampionshipEngland’s Laura Davies notched up a thrilling play-off win to

lift the trophy. The tournament was held in Gurgaon.

ATP World Tour FinalsRoger Federer polished of Rafael Nadal 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to cap-

ture his fifth season-ending finale, the ATP World Tour final. It wasfor the first time in 24 years that top two players in ATP rankingreached the season finale.

Body Building World ChampionshipBobby Singh of Imphal, a clerk at the North Frontier Railway,

scripted history by becoming the world champion at the secondWBPF World Bodybuilding Championship, held at Varanasi. Indiahas won a world Bodybuilding Championship after 22 years.

India-Australia One Day SeriesIndia won the three-match series 1-0 after the third and final

ODI was abandoned because of rain. The first match also had to beabandoned because of rain. This was the first one-day series vic-tory over Australia in over two decades. India beat Australia by wick-ets in the second ODI. The highlight of the match was the match-winning 118 runs by Virat Kohli.

Bangladesh-New Zealand One Day SeriesRubel Hossain grabber four wickets as Bangladesh com-

pleted a sweep with a thrilling three-run victory in the fifth and finalone day match. The 4-0 series win is Bangladesh’s first sweepagainst a major team.

India-Australia Test SeriesDebutant Cheteshwar Pujara struck a sparkling 72 as India

defeated Australia by seven wickets in the second and final Test,played at Bangalore, to sweep the series, win the Border-Gavaskartrophy and consolidate their world number one status. Man of theseries Sachin Tendulkar followed up his first innings double cen-

tury with an unbeaten 53 to help India chase down the 207-runtarget. Earleir, India won the first Test at Mohali by one wicket. A 81-run ninth wicket stand between V.V.S. Laxman and Ishant Sharmaset up the opening win. Laxman scripted an unbeaten 73 runs andIshant Sharma chipped with a contribution of 31 runs.

Sachin first to make 14,000 runs in TestsSachin Tendulkar has become the only player to make 14,000

runs in Test cricket. At 12,178 runs, Australian skipper Ricky Pontingremains his nearest rival.

Ryder Cup, 2010The 38th Ryder Cup matches were held at the Celtic Manor

Resort in the city of Newport, Wales. It was the first time the compe-tition was staged in Wales. With the USA as the defending Cupholder the event was played on the newly-constructed Twenty 10course, specifically designed for the Ryder Cup. Team Europe wonthe competition.

Surjit Hockey TournamentIndian Oil, Mumbai, have clinched the overall trophy in the

27th Indian Oil Surjit Hockey tournament. They defeated Air India,Mumbai via tie-breaker.

T20 Champions League, 2010IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, led ably by Mahendra

Singh Dhoni, defeated the Warriors of South Africa by eight wicketsto win the Airtel Champions League, played in South Africa.

Mary Kom wins World ChampionshipIndia’s woman boxer MC Mary Kom claimed a historic fifth

successive world championship title on September 18, 2010, beat-ing Steluta Duta of Romania 16-6. This mother-of-two from Manipurremains the only boxer to have won a medal in each edition of theworld championship.

India wins gold in fourth leg of World CupThe Indian men's recurve team of Jayanta Talukdar,

Tarundeep Rai and Rahul Banerjee won gold in the fourth leg of theWorld Cup archery in Shanghai. The trio whipped Japan, who had

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beaten the formidable Koreans in the semi-final. Talukdar wonbronze in the individual event defeating Athens Olympic championMarco Galiazzo of Italy 7-3. Deepika Kumari lost the women’s recurvefinal, but the silver medal ensured Deepika her maiden place in thegrand final in Edinburgh.

Hockey Women’s World CupArgentina defeated reigning World and Olympic champions

Netherlands 3-1 to win their second field hockey world title. Theyhad earlier won the title in 2002 in Australia. The championship washeld at Rosario, Argentina.

Ronjon shoots gold at ISSF World CupIndia’s Ronjon Sodhi clinched a gold at the double trap

Shooting in the ISSF World Cup finals in Izmir, Turkey with a stunningscore of 195 out of 200.

Sushil becomes first Indian to winWorld Championship gold

Wrestler Sushil Kumar has become the first Indian to win agold medal in the World Wrestling Championships, held in Moscow.He defeated Alan Gogaev in the 66-kg freestyle category.

US Open, 2010Rafael Nadal of Spain defeated Novak Djokovic (Serbia) to

win the men’s singles title. The win gave him his first US open titleand was his ninth Grand Slam win.

Kim Clijsters of Belgium defeated Vera Zvonareva (Russia)to take the women’s singles title.

The men’s doubles title was won by Mike and Bob Bryan ofUSA who defeated Indo-Pak team of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq.

The women’s doubles title was won by Vania King (USA)and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhistan) while the mixed doublestitle was won by Liezel Huber (USA) and Bob Bryan (USA).

Wimbledon Championship, 2010The 124th Championships, a Royal tournament thanks to

the first visit to the All England Club by Her Majesty the Queen for 33years, was also a record-breaking occasion in many ways, most

notably in that unforgettable first round men's singles between JohnIsner of the United States and France's Nicolas Mahut, whichsmashed every existing record in the sport.

The Isner-Mahut first round marathon, which stretched overthree days, lasted 11 hours five minutes and totalled 183 gamesbefore Isner staggered away the winner 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68.The final set alone lasted just over eight hours. Both men shatteredthe record for aces in one match, previously held by Ivo Karlovic at78. Isner delivered 112 and Mahut also cracked the century with103. An exhausted Isner crashed out to Thiemo De Bakker of Hollandin the next round, collecting just five games.

In the men’s singles final Rafael Nadal beat Tomas Berdych6-3, 7-5, 6-4 to win the title. This was the second Wimbledon title forthe Spaniard. Berdych became the first Czech since Ivan Lendl in1987 to reach the Wimbledon final.

The women’s singles title was won by defending championSerena Williams who beat Russia’s Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2. Thevictory took her to 13 Grand Slam singles titles, past Billie JeanKing, and sixth in the all-time list.

In the doubles, the men's title went to an unseeded pair,Austria's Jurgen Melzer and Germany's Philipp Petzschner, playingonly their seventh tournament as a team. The women's doubleswas won by an American-Kazakh combination, Vania King andYaroslava Shvedova. Also unseeded, they overcame the Russians,Elena Vesnina and Zvonareva, 7-6, 6-2. The mixed double'schampionship fell to a seeded combination, Leander Paes andCara Black, the second seeds, who beat Wesley Moodie of SouthAfrica and Lisa Raymond (United States) 6-4. 7-6.

French Open, 2010Men’s Singles title: Rafael Nadal won the title by defeating

Robin Soderling. This was his fifth French Open win.Women’s Singles title: Francesca Schiavone became the first

Italian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title when she defeatedAustralian Samantha Stosur to win the women’s singles title.

Men’s Doubles title: Canada’s Daniel Nestor and Serbia’sNenad Zimonjic won by beating defending champions LeanderPaes of India and Lukas Dlouhy of Czech Republic.

Women’s Doubles title: Serena and Venus Williams of USA.Serena Williams won her second French Open Women's Doubles

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title, and the twelfth title in that discipline, which this was the fourthwin in a row in the women's doubles in the Slams. Venus Williamswon her second French Open Women's Doubles title, and the twelfthtitle in that discipline, which this was the fourth win in a row in thewomen's doubles in the Slams.

Mixed Doubles: Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonji?were the winners. Srebotnik won her third French Open MixedDoubles title, and the fourth Slam title in that discipline. Zimonji?won his second French Open Mixed Doubles title, and the fourthSlam title in that discipline.

Australian Open, 2010Serena Williams defeated Belgium’s Justine Henin to win

the women’s singles title for the fifth time and her 12th Grand Slamtitle. With this win she drew level with Billie Jean King’s record of 12Grand Slam wins.

Roger Federer beat Andy Murray to win his fourth Australianopen men’s title, taking his own Grand Slam titles record to 16.

Leander Paes, with partner Cara Black, won the mixeddoubles title. This was his 11th Grand Slam title, equalling MaheshBhupathi’s record of most wins by an Indian.

Mike and Bob Bryan won the men’s doubles title. Thewomen’s doubles title was won by Serena and Venus Williams.

Sri Lanka-New Zealand-India One-Day Tri-seriesSri Lanka rode on Tillakaratne Dilshan’s century to clinch the tri-

series title with an emphatic 74-run win over India, ending M.S. Dhoni’ssequence of four consecutive series triumphs on Sri Lanka soil.

Sri Lanka-India Test SeriesVeteran V.V.S. Laxman cracked a fighting unbeaten 103 as

India pulled off a five-wicket win in the third Test to level the three-Test series 1-1. Laxman was adjudged the man of the match whileVirender Sehwag was adjudged man of the series.

Tendulkar becomes most-capped playerIconic Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar has become the

most-capped Test cricketer (169 Test matches). This feat wasachieved in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka, played inAugust 2010. Steve Waugh (168 Test matches) of Australia had heldthe record earlier.

Santosh Trophy, 2010Kerala lad Denson Devdas struck twice as Bengal made a

spectacular comeback to beat Punjab 2-1, ending their 11 years titledrought in the National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy.

Atwal first Indian to win US PGA titleArjun Atwal has become the first Indian ever to win a US PGA

title when he won the Wyndham Golf Championship.

Tejaswini becomes first Indian woman to win goldat World Championships

Tejaswani Sawant scripted history by becoming the first In-dian woman shooter to clinch a gold medal at the World Champion-ships, with a world-record equalling score in 50m Rifle Prone eventin Munich, Germany.

Hockey Champions Trophy, 2010Australia won their third successive Champions Trophy, and

11th in all, with a comprehensive 4-0 win over England. Nether-lands secured the third place. The championship was held atMonchengladbach, Germany.

Hockey Asian Champions Trophy (Women)Korea beat Japan 2-1 to win the inaugural Asian Women's

Hockey Championship, held at Busan South Korea.The first Asian Women Champions Trophy drew the four high-

est-ranking teams in the region South Korea, China, Japan andIndia which will also compete for the gold medal in the Asian Gamesto be held in Guangzhou, China, in November 2010.

India beat higher-ranked China 2-1 to win the bronze medal.

Youth Olympic GamesSingapore hosted the first Youth Olympics from August 14 to

26, 2010. A total of 3,531 athletes between 14 and 18 years of agefrom 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 201events in 26 sports. The opening ceremony of the Games was heldon 14 August at The Float@Marina Bay, a floating stage near down-town Singapore. Approximately 27,000 spectators attended theevent, which took place against a backdrop of the city's skyline.

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Lyo and Merly were the official mascots. The duo ere madeup of a red male lion and a blue female Merlion. A contest held toname the two mascots was won by two Singaporeans. It took de-signers from Cubix International about six months to complete de-signing the mascots.

China topped the medals tally with 30 gold medals, followedby Russia (18) and South Korea (11). India was ranked 58 with 6silver medals and 2 bronze medals in its kitty.

It was during the 119th session of the International OlympicCommittee (IOC) in Guatemala City on the July 5, 2007 when theIOC decided to create Youth Olympic Games (YOG). The vision ofthe innovative concept for the new sport event is to inspire youngpeople all around the world to participate in sport and adopt and liveby the Olympic values (excellence, friendship, respect).

Innsbruck and Seefeld will host the first Winter Youth Olym-pic Games from January 13-22, 2012.

Muralitharan becomes first bowler to take 800wickets

On July 22, 2010, Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharanbecame the first bowler to take 800 Test wickets, reaching the mile-stone in the last Test of his illustrious cricket career. The 38-year-oldspin wizard got Indian tail-ender Pragyan Ojha caught at slip byMahela Jayawardene to reach the magical figure, which puts himseveral pedestals above his contemporaries.

Foot Ball World Cup, 2010Spain, the European champions, defeated third-time final-

ists the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time, with Andrés Iniesta's goalin the 116th minute giving Spain their first world title, the first timethat a European nation has won the tournament outside its homecontinent. Host nation South Africa, 2006 world champions Italy and2006 runners-up France were eliminated in the first round of thetournament.

In the semi-finals, Spain defeated Germany by 1-0 whileNetherlands had defeated Uruguay. Germany defeated Uruguay 3–2 to secure third place. Germany holds the record for most thirdplace finishes in the World Cup (4), while Uruguay holds the recordfor most fourth place finishes (3). The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the19th FIFA World Cup. It took place in South Africa from June 11 to July

11, 2010. In 2004, the international football federation, FIFA, hadselected South Africa to become the first African nation to host thetournament. The matches were played in ten stadiums in nine hostcities around the country, with the final played at the Soccer Citystadium in South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg. Thirty-two teamswere selected for participation via a worldwide qualification tourna-ment that began in August 2007.Golden Ball: Diego Forlan (Uruguay)Golden Boot: Thomas Müller (Germany)Golden Glove: Iker Casillas (Spain)Best Young Player: Thomas Müller (Germany)FIFA Fair Play Trophy: Spain

The official mascot for the 2010 World Cup was Zakumi, ananthropomorphised leopard with green hair, presented on 22 Sep-tember 2008. His name came from “ZA” (the international abbrevia-tion for South Africa) and the term kumi, which means “ten” in vari-ous African languages. The mascot's colours reflected those of thehost nation's playing strip–yellow and green.

The official song of the 2010 World Cup, "Waka Waka", wasperformed by the Colombian singer Shakira and the bandFreshlyground from South Africa. The song was sung in both En-glish and Spanish. The song is based on a traditional African sol-diers’ song, Zangalewa. Shakira and Freshlyground performed thesong at the opening ceremony and at the closing ceremony.

Yonex-Sunrise India Open Grand PrixSaina Nehwal of India beat Malaysia’s Mew Choo Wong to

win the title. This was her second international title win at home.She had won the Lucknow Grand Prix in 2009.

Indonesia OpenSaina Nehwal notched up an incredible hat-trick of titles by

successfully defending her Indonesian Open Super Series title withs hard-fought win over Japan’s Sayaka Sato. She had earlier wonthe Indian Open Grand Prix and the Singapore Open Super Series.

Singapore OpenIndian ace Saina Nehwal clinched the second Super Series

title of her career by winning the Singapore Open with a straight-game triumph over Chinese Taipie’s Tzu Ying Tai.

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Asia CupIndia defeated Sri Lanka by 81 runs to win the Asia Cup. India

had set the Lankans a stiff target of 299 runs. Dinesh Karthik wasdeclared man of the match.

Boxing Asian Women’s ChampionshipThe Asian Women's Championships were held in Astana,

Kazakhistan, in May 2010. Kazakhastan topped the medals tallywith eight gold medals. China won the most medals in total—10,followed Korea and India amassing eight medals each.

World Chess Title 2010Viswanathan Anand held his nerve and focus better than his

opponent, Veselin Topalov, to win the 12th and final game to retainhis World Championships title. The 40-year-old Indian beat the lo-cal man from Bulgaria in the closing game with black pieces, toemerge a 6.5-5.5 winner and seal his place as a dominant player ofhis era. Anand first won the world title in 2000 and held it till 2002when the chess world was still split. He became the undisputedWorld champion in 2007 and then retained the title in 2008 when hebeat Vladimir Kramnik.

Commonwealth Chess ChampionshipGrandmaster R.R. Laxman clinched his career best win and

bagged the gold after beating GM Pablo Lafuente of Argentina at theParsvnath Commonwealth Chess Championship. In the open cat-egory, Grandmaster Maletin Pavel of Russia signed peace with In-ternational Master Lalith Babu on the top board to win the title. BothPavel and Laxman had nine points after 11 rounds, but the formerhad the better tie-break record on Bucholz count. The Russian wasnot in contention in the Commonwealth category. In the women’scategory, D. Harika outwitted IM Tania Sachdev on account of supe-rior tie-break.

Cricket T20 World Cup, 2010Chasing a challenging target of 148 runs, England defeated

Australia by seven wickets to win the T20 World Cup. The tourna-ment was held in West Indies. Australia’s women held their nervesin a low-scoring final as they beat New Zealand by three runs to liftthe Women’s T20 World cup title.

Indian Premier League-3Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indian by 22 runs to win

the third edition of the tournament. Electing to bat first, Chennai posted168 for 5 and then restricted Mumbai to 146 for 9 to win their maidentitle. Suresh Raina was declared the man of the match. Royal Chal-lengers Bangalore routed Deccan Chargers by nine wickets in thethird and fourth place play-off match. With this win Royal Challangersqualified for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament. SachinTendulkar won the DLF Golden Player award and the Orange cap forhitting the maximum runs in the tournament. Pragyan Ojha won thePurple cap for taking maximum wickets in the tournament. The King-fisher Fair-play award was won by Chennai Super Kings.

19th Sultan Azlan Shah CupIndia and South Korea were named joint champions after

the final match was abandoned following heavy rains in Malaysia.For defending champions India it was their fifth win, matching Aus-tralia, while for Asian champions South Korea this was their secondtitle win; they had last won the cup in 1996.

Sushil, Narshing win gold in Asian WrestlingOlympic bronze medallist Sushil Kumar lived up to his repu-

tation as he bagged a gold in men's 66kg freestyle in the SeniorAsian Wrestling Championships held at New Delhi. Narshing Yadavwon a gold in the 74kg freestyle category.

World Cup Kabbadi Punjab Championship, 2010India outclassed Pakistan 58-24 to win the title. The champi-

onship was held in Ludhiana, Punjab.

Badminton Asian Championship, 2010Men’s Singles: Lin Dan (China).Women’s Singles: Q-Li Xuerui (China)Men’s Doubles: Gun Woo Cho and Yeon Seong Yoo (Korea).Women’s Doubles: Pan Pan and Quing Tian (China)Mixed Doubles: Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh (Malaysia)

The Championship was held in New Delhi.

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Hockey World Cup, 2010Australia defeated Germany 2-1 to deny Germany a historic

hat-trick of titles. Germany had won the title in 2002 and 2006. TheNetherlands came back strongly from a 1-3 first half deficit to prevailover England 4-3 and win the bronze medal. India could manageeight spot only. Guus Vogls of The Netherlands was declared theplayer of the tournament.

Sebastian Vettel wins Malaysian GPSebastian Vettel led Mark Webber in a 1-2 finish for Red Bull

at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Vettel passed pole-sitter Webber in therun to the first corner and held that lead throughout, with Nico Rosbergfinishing third for Mercedes as forecast rain stayed away from theSepang circuit. Renault's Robert Kubica was fourth and Force India'sAdrian Sutil took fifth.

Indian Open badminton at ChennaiThe Yonex-Sunrise Indian Open badminton Grand Prix Gold

will be held at the Nehru Indoor Stadium from June 8 to 13. Nine-teen countries are participating in the tournament, carrying a prizemoney of $1,50,000. After the Chennai event, the players will pro-ceed to Singapore and then to Indonesia, according to a pressrelease from Tamil Nadu Badminton Association.

Cricket can now bid for 2020 OlympicsCricket’s push to be a part of the Olympic Games received a

major boost with International Olympic Council (IOC) granting rec-ognition to International Cricket Council (ICC) on February 12, 2010.This could be seen as a first step towards cricket becoming Olym-pic sports. Its Twenty20 version can now bid to join the 2020 Olym-pic Games though ICC has not made it clear which format it willpush for. Cricket was granted the status of a recognised Olympicsport in 2007, for sports not in the Olympic programme but whichconform to certain criteria, pending a decision for a permanent slotin the Games.

Cricket was part of the 1900 Olympics in Paris and has notappeared since then. The game was part of the 1998 Kuala LumpurCommonwealth Games and its Twenty20 version is set to feature atAsian Games in Guangzhou, China.

Sachin becomes first batsman to hit a doublehundred in an ODI

Sachin Tendulkar rewrote the record books on February 24,2010, hammering the first double century in the history of one-daycricket to add another feather to his well-adorned cap. The capacitycrowd at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior witnessed his-tory as Tendulkar, statistically the greatest batsman the game hasever seen, pushed South African bowler Charl Langeveldt’s deliverythrough the off-side and ran a single to achieve a feat which no othercricketer has achieved.

One Day International cricket, since its 1971 inception, hadto wait nearly four decades to see a batsman score 200. The previ-ous best mark was shared by Zimbabwean Charles Coventry (194not out) and Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar (194).

Top 10 highest individual knocks in the history of one daycricket are:200* : Sachin Tendulkar (Ind) vs South Africa in Gwalior on Febru

ary 24, 2010.194* : Charles Coventry (Zim) vs Bangladesh in Bulawayo on Au

gust 16, 2009.194 : Saeed Anwar (Pak) vs India in Chennai on May 21, 1997.189* : Viv Richards (WI) vs England in Manchester on May 31,

1984.189 : Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) vs India in Sharjah on October 29,

2000.188* : Gary Kirsten (SA) vs United Arab Emirates at Rawalpindi on

February 16, 1996.186* : Sachin Tendulkar (Ind) vs New Zealand in Hyderabad on

November 8, 1999.183* : Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind) vs Sri Lanka in Jaipur on Octo

ber 31, 2005.183 : Sourav Ganguly (Ind) vs Sri Lanka at Taunton on May 26,

1999.181* : Matthew Hayden (Aus) vs New Zealand in Hamilton on Feb

ruary 20, 2007.181 : Viv Richards (WI) vs Sri Lanka in Karachi on October 13,

1987.

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South Asian Games, 2010The 11th edition of South Asian Games (SAG) opened at the

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, on January 29, 2010. Theaquatic show was the main attraction of the opening ceremony, inwhich a concert hosted by Pt. Ravi Shankar and Beatles star GeorgeHarrison for Bangladesh’s Independence day and the March 7 ad-dress of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman were displayed on a water screen.

This was the third time that the Bangladeshi capital hostedthe Games, thus becoming the first city to hold the games threetimes.

Athletes from eight countries— Afghanistan, Bangladesh,Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka—competedin 23 different sports. India continued its dominance with 175 med-als, including 90 gold medals. Pakistan narrowly beat the host tooccupy the second spot with 19 golds, while the host Bangladeshcapture 18 golds, including the most popular and prestigious foot-ball and cricket titles. Sri Lanka’s Shehan Abeypitiya became thefastest man while Pakistan’s Naseem Hamid was crowned thefastest woman of the region.

The logo of the Games was 'Kutumb', a flying doel, known inEnglish as the Oriental Magpie Robin. It is the National Bird ofBangladesh. The mascot also featured a Magpie Robin.

Delhi will host the next South Asian Games. India was pickedto host the regional sporting event after Bhutan, whose turn it was tohost the next SAG, expressed its inability to stage the meet. Indiahas hosted the South Asian Games twice thus far—in 1987 (Kolkata)and in 1995 (Chennai).

Winter Olympics, 2010The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the 21st Winter Olympics,

were a major international multi-sport event held on February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Approximately2,600 athletes from 82 nations participated in 86 events in fifteendisciplines. Cayman Islands, Colombia, Ghana, Montenegro,Pakistan, Peru and Serbia made their winter Olympic debuts. AlsoJamaica, Mexico and Morocco returned to the Games after missingthe Turin Games.

The 2010 Winter Olympics were the third Olympics hostedby Canada, and the first by the province of British Columbia.

Previously, Canada hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal,Quebec and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. Canadatopped the medals tally with 14 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze medals.Germany was second, followed by USA. The 2014 Winter Olympicswill be held from February 7 to February 23, 2014 in Sochi, KrasnodarKrai, Russia.

Asian Tour International crownGaganjeet Bhullar scripted a sensational come-from-behind

victory at Asian tour International crown, played at Bangkok. Thiswas his second Asian tour title.

World Junior Table Tennis ChampionshipSoumyajit Ghosh becomes the first Indian to win the medal

in World Junior Table Tennis Championships. Ghosh won the bronzemedal in mixed doubles along with his team mate NG Wing Nam ofHong Kong. Ghosh won the medal against Korean players atBratislava, Slovak Republic.

Sachin 50 Test CenturiesSachin Tendulkar has become the first batsman in the world

to score Test hundreds for 50 times. The 50th Test century wasmade against South Africa at Centurion grounds. The first Test centuryof Tendulkar was arrived in Manchester in 1990.

FIFA world cup 2018 held in RussiaThe FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association)

Executive Committee member Franz Beckenbauer announced thatthe Soccer World Cup 2018 and 2022 will be held in Russia andQatar respectively. Qatar will be the first Muslim country to hoast thegames. The next 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil. The bid for2018 and 2022 were finalised by the 22 FIFA Executive CommitteeMembers .

Commonwealth Athletics goldKrishna Poonia won India’s first Commonwealth Games

athletics gold, in 2010 Games, after Milkha Singh in 1958.

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Over, No Ball, Off Break, On Drive, Out, Outswinger, Over, MandatoryOver, over Pitch, Popping Crease, Rubber, Run Down, Run Out,Short Pitch, Silly Point, Slip, Square Leg, Stone Walling, StraightDrive, Stumped, Short leg, Spin, Swing, Thirdman, Yorker.Croquet:Hoops, Mallet, Peg Out.Cycling:Track EventsDraughts:HuffEquestrian:Tent PeggingFootball:Advantage Clause, Blind Side, Centre Forward, Corner Kick, DeadBall, Direct Free Kick, Dribble, Goal kick, Golden Goal, Hat-trick,Marking, OffSide, Penalty Kick, Penalty Shootout, Red Card, Striker,Throw In, Tie-Breaker, Tripping.Golf:Best-ball Foursome, Bogey, Bunker, Caddie, Dormy, Fairway,Fourball, Foursome, Greed Holes, Links, Niblic, Par, Put, Rough,Stymied, Tee, Threesome.Gymnastics:A-bars, Ariel, Blocks, Cone of Swing, Dish, Flairs, Giants, Inlocate,Kip, Planche, Tariff, Tumble, Virtuosity, Wrap.Hockey:Advantage, Back-stick, Bully, Cary, Centre Forward, Centre, Corner,Dribble, Flick, Free-hit, Goal Line, Blue line, Green Card, HalfwayLine, Hat-trick, Off-side, Red Car, Roll -in, Scoop, Short Corner, Six-teen-yard hit, Square Pass, Drop pass, Stick, Striking Cirele, Tackle,Tie-breaker, Penalty Corner, Long Corner, Zonal Marking.Horse Racing:Jockey, Punter, Steeplechase, Bookies, Thorough Bred.Judo:Ashi-waza, chui, Dan, Dojo, Gyaku, Hajime, Ippon, Jigotai,Kaeshiwaza, Koka, Makikomi, Nage-waza, O-goshi, Randori, Scarf,

SPORTS AND THE TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM

Archery:Target, Bull’s EyeBadminton:Angled Drive Serve, Backhand Low Serve, Bird, Deuce, DoubleDroup, Fault, Flick Serve, Forehand Smash, Let, Lob, Love All, netShots, Rush, Let, Smash.Baseball:Base, Battery, Bunting, Catcher, Diamond, Hitter, Home Infield, Out-field, Pinch, Pitcher Plate, Pullout, Short Stop, Hitter, Batter, Strike.Basketball:Ball, Basket, Blocking, Dribbling, Free Throw, Held Ball, Holding,Jump Ball, Multiple Throws, Pivot.Billiards:Baulk Line, Break, Bolting, Cannon, Cue, Hazard, In-off, Jigger, Longjenney, Pot, Scratch, Screw Back, short Stop, Strike.Boxing:Ausiliary Point System, Babit Punch, Break, Cut, Defence, Down,Hook, Jab, Lying On, Welter Weight, Knock, Seconds out, Slam,Upper Cut, Weight In, Win by Knock-out.Bridge:Auction, Bid, Chicane, Cut, Declarer, Doubleton, Dummy, Finesse,Grand Slam, Little Slam, Notrumps, Over-trick, Revoke, rubber, Ruff,Shuffle, Suit, Vulnerable.Chess:Bishop, Capture, Castling, Checkmate, En Passant, Gambit, GrandMaster, King, Knight, Pawn, Queen, Rook, Stalemate, Sicilian De-fense, Under Promoting.Cricket:Ashes, Banana, Boundary, Bowling, Caught, Chinaman, Cover Drive,Crease, Doosra, Duck, Duckworth-Lewis Rule, Fine Leg, FollowOn, Full Toss, Gardening, Googly, Gully, Hat-trick, Hit Wicket,Inswinger, l.b.w., Leg-break, Leg-bye, Leg Glance, late Cut, maiden

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Tani-Otoshi, Uchi-komvi, Waki-gatame, Yoshi, Yuko.Karate:Age Zuki, Ai-uchi, Aka, Chakugan, Dachi, Encho Sen, Fudotachi,Gedan, Geri, Hajime, Ibuki, Jion, Kakato, Koka, Makiwara, Nidan,Obi, Rei, Sanbon, Shiro, Tobigeri, Ude, Waza-ari, Yoko-geri, Zanshin,Zen-no.Polo:Bunker, Chukker, Mallet.Rowing:Bow, Bucket, Cow, Ergometer, Feather, Paddle, Drop, Regatta.Rugby Football:A Trackle, Lines, Scrum, Touch, Try.Shooting:Bag, Bull’s Eye, Marksmanship, Muzzle, Plug.Skiing:Tobogganing.Swimming:Breast Stroke, Crawl.Table Tennis:Anti Loop, Backspin, Chop, Loop, Penhold Grip, Push, Spin, Twiddle.Tennis:Ace, Backhand Stroke, Deuce, Deep Volley, Deuce, Double Fault,Fault, Ground Stroke, Half Volley, Let, Love, Slice, Smash, Topspin,VolleyVolleyball:Ace, Base-line, Blocking, Doubling, Foot Fault, Heave, Holding, JumpSet, Lob Pass, Love All, Point, Quick Smash, Scouting, Service, Spike,Tactical Ball, Volley, Windmill Service.Weight Lifting:Clean and Jerk, Bench PressWrestling:Half-Nelson, Head Lock, Heave, Freestyle, Hold, Rebouts, Scissor.Yachting:Soling Tempest, Flying Dutchman, Tornado

TROPHIES ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS SPORTS &GAMES

Air Racing:Jawaharlal Challenge Trophy, King's Cup, World Cup.Archery:Federation CupAthletics:Charminar Trophy, Federation Cup, World Cup.Badminton:Agarwal Cup, Amrit Diwan Cup, Asia Cup, Austrelasia Cup, ChadhaCup, European Cup, Harilela Cup, Ibrahim Rahimatollah ChallengeCup, Konica Cup, Narng cup, Sophia Kitiakara Cup, Konica Cup, S.R. Ruia Cup, Thomas Cup, Tunku Abdul Rahman Cup, Uber Cup,World Cup, Yonex Cup.Basketball:Basalat Jha Trophy, B. C. Gupta Trophy, Federation Cup, S. M. ArjunaRaja trophy, Todd Memorial Trophy, William Jones Cup.Billiards:Arthur Walker Trophy, Thomas Cup.Boat Rowing:American Cup (Yacht racing), Wellington Trophy (India).Boxing:Aspy Adjahia Trophy, federation Cup, Val iBaker Trophy.Bridge:Basalat Jha Trophy, Holkar Trophy, Ruia Gold Cup, Singhania Trophy.Chess:Naidu Trophy, Khaitan Trophy, Limca Trophy, Linares City Trophy,World Cup.Cricket:Anthony D'Mellow Trophy, Ashes, Asia Cup, Benson and HedgesCup, Bose Trophy, Champions Trophy, Charminar Challenge Cup,C. K. Nayudu Trophy, Cooch-Behar Trophy, Deodhar Trophy, DuleepTrophy, Gavaskar-Border Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Gavaskar-BorderTrophy, G. D. Birla Trophy, Gillette Cup, Ghulam Ahmad Trophy,hakumat Rai Trophy, ICC World Cup, Interface Cup, Irani Trophy,Jawaharlal Nehru Cup, Lombard World Challenge Cup, McDowellsChallenge Cup, Merchant Trophy, Moin-ud-Dowla Cup, NatWestTrophy, Prudential Cup (World Cup), Rani Jhansi Trophy, Ranji Tro-phy, Rohinton Baria Trophy, Rothmans Cup, Sahara Cup, Sharjah

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Cup, Sheesh Mahal Trophy, Sheffield Shield, Singer Cup, Sir FrankWorrel Trophy, Texaco Cup, Titan Cup, Vijay Hazare Trophy, VijayMerchant Trophy, Vizzy Trophy, Wisden Trophy, Wills Trophy, WorldSeries Cup.Football:African Natons Cup, Airlines Cup, america Cup, Asia Cup, AsianWomen's Cup, Bandodkar Trophy, B. C. Roy Trophy, Begum HazratMahal Cup, Bicentennial Gold Cup, BILT Cup, Bordoloi Trophy, Co-lombo Cup, Confederations Cup, DCM Cup, Durand Cup, Euro-pean Cup, FA Cup, Federation Cup, G. V. Raja Memorial Trophy, goldCup, Governor's Cup, Greek Cup, Great Wall Cup, IFA Shield, Inde-pendence Day Cup, Indira Gandhi Trophy, Inter-Continental Cup,Jawaharlal Nehru Gold Cup, Jules Rimet Trophy, Kalinga Cup, KingsCup, Kirin Cup, Lal Bahadur Shastri Trophy, McDowell Cup, MerdekaCup, Nagjee Trophy, Naidunia Trophy, Nations Cup, NFL Trophy,Nehru Gold Cup, Nizam Gold Cup, Raghbir Singh Memorial Cup,Rajiv Gandhi Trophy, Rovers Cup, Sanjay Gold Cup, Santosh Tro-phy, Scissors Cup, Sir Ashutohs Mukherjee Trophy, Stafford Cup,Subroto Cup, Supercup Trophy, Todd Memorial Trophy, UEFA Cup,US Cup, Vittal Trophy, Winner's Cup, World Cup.Golf:Canada Cup, Eisenhower Trophy, Inter-Continental Cup, MaekyungLG Fashion Open Trophy, Muthiah Gold Cup, Nomura Trophy,Paralamdi Trophy, President's Trophy, Prince of Wales Cup, RyderCup, Solheim Cup, Topolino Trophy, Walker Cup, Waterford CrystalTrophy, World Cup.Hockey:Agha Khan Cup, Allwyn Asia Cup, Azlan Shah Cup, Beighton Cup,Bhim Sain Trophy, BMW Trophy, Bombay Gold Cup, ChampionsTrophy, Clarke Trophy, Dhyan Chand Trophy, Esanda ChampionsCup, European Nations Cup, Gurmeet Trophy, Guru Nanak Cup,Gyanvati Devi Trophy, Indira Gandhi Gold Cup, Intercontinental Cup,Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Cup, Kuppuswamy Naidu Cup, Lady Rat-tan Tata Cup (women), Lal Bahadur Shastri Cup, Maharaja RanjitSingh Gold Cup, Modi Gold Cup, Murugappa Gold Cup, Nehru Tro-phy, Obaidullah Gold Cup, Prime Minister's Gold cup, RangaswamiCup, Ranjit Singh Gold Cup, Rene Frank Trophy, Sanjay GandhiTrophy, Scindia gold Cup, Shriram Trophy, Tunku Abdul Razak Cup,Wellington Cup, World Cup, Yadavindra Cup.Horse Racing:Beresford Cup, Blue Riband, Derby, Grand Natonal Cup.

Kabaddi:Federation CupKho-Kho:Federation CupNetball:Anantrao Pawar Trophy.Polo:Ezar Cup, Gold Cup, King's Cup, President Cup, Prithi Singh Cup,Radha Mohan Cup, Winchester Cup.Rowing:Beefeather's Gin.Rugby Football:Bledisloe Cup; Calcutta Cup, Webb Ellis Trophy.Shootng:North Wales Cup, Welsh Grand Prix.Snooker:Team Tournament Asean Cup.Table Tennis:Asian Cup, Berna Bellack Cup, Corbillion Cup (women), ElectraGold Cup, Gasper-Giest Prize, Grand Prix, Jayalaxmi Cup (women),Kamala Ramanunjan Cup, Marcel Corbillon Cup, Pithapuram Cup(men), Swaythling Cup (men), Travancore Cup (women), U ThantCup, World Cup.Tennis:Ambre Solaire Cup, A T&T Cup, Champions Cup, ATP President'sCup, Davis Cup, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Cup, Edgbaston Cup, EvertCup, Federation Cup, Ghafar Cup, Grand Prix, Grand Slam Cup,Nations' Cup, Watson's Water Trophy, Wightman Cup, WimbledonTrophy, World Cup, World Team Cup.Volleyball:Centennial Cup, Federation Cup, Indira Pradhan Trophy, ShivanthiGold Cup, World Cup, World League Cup.Weightlifting:World Cup.Wrestling:Bharat Kesari, Burdwan Shield, World Cup.Yachting:America Cup

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India-EU SummitIndia and the European Union will sign their much-delayed

free-trade pact on goods, services and investment by early nextyear, with the respective chief negotiators meeting every month tofast-track the process. European Commission president JoseManuel Barroso and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announcedtheir intention to wrap up the talks next year, during the ongoingIndia-EU Summit in Brussels on December 10. "Let us sign thedeal in 2011," Barroso said after the meeting. Ministers from bothsides will meet in March to finalise the agreement which would besigned by spring, according to a joint report tabled at the summit.The 27-member grouping is India's largest trading partner, withbilateral trade touching $75 billion in 2009-10. The pact is expectedto increase two-way trade by 30%. India has so far signed bilateralfree-trade agreements with Singapore, South Korea, the 10-memberAsean and Sri Lanka. Two more with Japan and Malaysia havealmost been finalised.

First DRR Industry Meet 2010The Directorate of Rice Research (DRR) has organized the

First DRR Industry Meet -2010 on Display of DRR technologies andServices at its Premises in Rajendranagar. Representatives frommore than 30 Private Companies have participated in the meet.

G-20 SummitThe Seoul Action Plan, agreed at the end of the two-day

Summit of the G-20 leaders, called for moving towards more market-determined exchange rates. An undervalued Yuan or a weak Dollaralso has ramifications for India and several other countries in termsof their exports becoming uncompetitive. The G-20 group includesIndia, the US, China, Germany, France, Brazil, Russia and Japan. Inthe face of a currency war between the US and China, global leaders,including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, agreed to refrain from‘competitive devaluation’ and bring in exchange rate flexibility toensure that no country gets undue advantage. These measures,

the leaders said, would help mitigate the risk of excessive volatilityin capital flows facing some emerging market economies.

ASEAN-India SummitThe 8th ASEAN-India Summit was held at Hanoi, Vietnam on

October 30, 2010. Addressing the heads of the state of ASEANcountries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the conclusion ofa “services and investment agreement” between India and ASEANwould be an important step in “our goal of comprehensive eco-nomic cooperation”. With an aim to play a more significant role inthe growing economies of the region, India has been pushing itscase for having a bilateral pact in services and investment at theearliest. Through this pact, India wants to get a foothold in all ASEANcountries for its growing pharmaceutical industry, besides allowingease in visa regimes for its IT professionals, healthcare workers andteachers in Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam,Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand (ASEAN nations). Withan agreement in place for free trade in services and investment, Indiacan offer a bigger share of the pie to these countries in its infrastruc-ture sector that is poised for a major growth.

UN Climate SummitThe UN climate conference at Cancun reached a

compromise to set up a 100 billion Dollar Green Fund to fight globalwarming. The fund is intended to assist poorer nations with lowcarbon development and protective measures against the effects ofglobal warming. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said, themajor emerging economies -- Brazil, South Africa, India and China- BASIC have welcomed the decision. He said they are very happywith the text and Cancun represents an important step forward. Hesaid that many of India's contributions have been incorporated inthe text. The minister pointed out that under the current text,developed countries are subject to stricter scrutiny on their mitigationcuts than developing countries. He also highlighted that no peakingyear for carbon emissions has been mentioned in the draft nor aglobal emission reduction goal set for 2050. Everyone, however,appreciated the efforts of Mexican Foreign Secretary PatriciaEspinosa, who worked for two weeks to ensure transparency in theprocess and help countries work through their differences.

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SUMMITS / CONFERENCES

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3rd National seminar on AIDS3rd National seminar on AIDS was started at Hyderabad

October 29, 2010. National Aids control board conducted thisseminar.

ASEAN SummitThe 17th ASEAN Summit was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on

October 28-30, 2010. The meeting was considered a success, withall members agreeing to cooperate with one another in solving theregion’s economic downturn. The 17th ASEAN Summit focused onthe contents of building the community and implementing the ASEANCharter, external relations and key role of the body, sustainable de-velopment and coping with global challenges.

International Tiger ForumOn November 21, 2010, Russia called for global efforts to

avert extinction of tigers as wildlife activists and officials from 13countries, including India, gathered at a summit in St Petersburg todiscuss ways to double the population of the endangered animalfrom the existing 3,200. Due to decades of poaching and habitatdestruction, there are currently only 3,200 tigers living in the wild,according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), as against 1 lakh acentury ago. “Three sub-species have already disappeared andnone of the other six are secure,” said the declaration that wasadopted by the heads of government at the summit. Russia is theonly country to have seen its tiger population increase in the pastyears, from 80-100 in the 1960s to around 500 now, and expertshave hailed animal lover Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin fortaking an active role in saving the tiger. Along with Russia and India,Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malay-sia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam—home to wild tigers—took part in the summit. Simultaneously, a Youth Tiger Summitopened in Vladivostok on Russia’s Pacific coast, which adopted anappeal to the leaders of their countries to take active steps in tigerconservation.

India’s first sports law conferenceThe Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) organised the first

ever ‘Sports Law Conference’ in New Delhi, on July 24-25, 2010, to

deliberate on various issues related to sports and law in India.Among other things, the conference discussed the ‘Right to Infor-mation’ (RTI) and accountability of sports federations, and legali-ties involved in staging major sports events like the Olympics, AsianGames, Commonwealth Games. It also discussed gender discrimi-nation in sports, intellectual property rights, importance of transpar-ency in corporate structure of professional sports leagues, future ofIPL, besides public relation opportunities and challenges whichare concomitant with it, issues relating to infrastructure in develop-ing and maintaining stadiums, training facilities etc.

Microfinance India Summit

7th Annual Microfinance India Summit held in New Delhi dis-cussed the need for reforms in microfinance industry. Chairman,Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, Dr. C. Rangarajancalled for reforms in MFI business.

Third summit on Global Agenda

The third summit on Global Agenda was held in Dubai inNovember 2010. The summit gave an opportunity to social, politicaland business leaders across the world to benchmark key develop-mental issues against global realities.

16th UN Climate Change Conference

The 16th United Nations Climate Change Conference tookplace in Cancun, Mexico, from November 29, 2010. India was amongthe 190 UN members who took part in the 12-day event.

International Renewable Energy Conference

The International Renewable Energy Conference was heldin New Delhi in October 2010.

UN Summit

The UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals, orMDGs, was held in September 2010 at UN Headquarters in NewYork, USA.

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Mid-East SummitUS President Barack Obama waded into a new round of

Middle East diplomacy September 1, 2010, seeking momentum forrevived peace talks clouded by a flare-up of West Bank violence anda deadlock over Jewish settlements. Obama met Israeli Prime Min-ister Benjamin Netanyahu as he launched a series of one-on-onemeetings with Middle East leaders attending a US-led peace sum-mit that culminated with the first direct Israeli-Palestinian talks in 20months. With Obama's peace bid facing broad skepticism and theclock ticking toward the September 26, 2010 expiration of an Israelisettlement construction freeze, Israel's defence minister soundeda conciliatory note about the prospects for sharing Jerusalem, anissue at the heart of the decades-old conflict. But big obstaclesremain to Obama's quest for a peace deal that eluded so many ofhis predecessors. Hamas militants declared war on the talks evenbefore they began, killing four Jewish settlers in the occupied WestBank, vowing more attacks and underscoring the threat hard-linerspose to the fragile peace process. The summit marked Obama'sriskiest plunge into Middle East diplomacy, not least because hewants the two sides to forge a deal within 12 months, a target manyanalysts call a long shot.

Summit between India-Pak Prime MinistersOn April 29, 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his

Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani held their first bilateralmeeting in nine months to end the diplomatic stalemate in tiesbetween their two nations since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Attheir hour-long meeting, described as an “exercise in soul search-ing” by Indian officials, the two leaders decided to upgrade the bilat-eral dialogue to the political level, something which Islamabad hadbeen insisting upon for months.

16th SAARC SummitThe 16th SAARC summit began at Thimpu, Bhutan, on April

28, 2010, with India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and leadersof seven other member nations pledging to combat extremism andterrorism, launch joint initiatives to deal with climate change andboost intra-regional trade. The Summit ended on April 29, 2010,with leaders adopting the ‘Thimphu statement’ on climate change,

signing an agreement on trade in services and expressing theirfirm resolve to stamp out terrorism from the region. The next sum-mit would be held in the Maldives in 2011. Facing criticism for theslow pace of development in the region, the SAARC leaders reiter-ated their commitment to implement the South Asian Free TradeAgreement (SAFTA) in letter and spirit to boost intra-regional eco-nomic cooperation for the prosperity of their people. The closingceremony of the summit was attended by leaders from all the eightSAARC countries—India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan,Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Representatives of nine ob-server countries—Mauritius, South Korea, China, Japan, Iran, theUS, the EU, Australia and Myanmar—were also present. The seven-page ‘Thimphu Silver Jubilee Declaration-Towards a Green andHappy South Asia’’ emphasised the importance of reducing depen-dence on high-carbon technologies for economic growth and hopedpromotion of climate resilience will promote both development andpoverty eradication in a sustainable manner.

IBSA SummitThe 2nd India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Summit was held in

Brasilia on April 15, 2010. Speaking at the Summit, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh said the grouping of leading developing econo-mies must speak against the protectionist policies, “which are onlyshort-sighted and self-defeating in the long run”. IBSA can contrib-ute to the shaping of the global agenda and highlighting the issuesof concern to developing countries.

Nuclear Security SummitWorld leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan

Singh, attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington D.C.,on April 12, 2010, set a stiff four-year target to secure all vulnerablenuclear material in the world to prevent terrorists from laying theirhands on any of them. In a communiqué issued at the end of thesummit, the leaders emphatically stated: “Nuclear terrorism is oneof the most challenging threats to international security” and agreedthat “strong nuclear security measures are the most effective meansto prevent terrorists, criminals or other unauthorised actors fromacquiring nuclear material.” Another summit would be held in 2012in South Korea to review the progress.

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Asian ForumAsian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Devel-

opment (AFPPD) hosted a conference in Manila, Philippines, in March2010, on indigenous peoples, climate change and rural poverty.

Fifth global steel summitThe fifth global steel summit was held in Goa in February

2010 to serve as a forum to strengthen ties between steel makersand miners.

International Congress of MathematiciansPresident Pratibha Patil inaugurated the International Congress

of Mathematicians (ICM 2010) at HICC, Hyderabad. For the first timeever, the Union's General Assembly has elected Ingrid Daubechies ofthe U.S., a woman as its president for the 2011-14 terms.

Pravas Bharatiya DivasPresident Pratibha Patil delivering the valedictory address at

the Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas (Jan, 9) on the day Mahatma Gandhireturned to India in 1915, pointed out that: Overseas Indian's esti-mated at over 250 lakhs had come to be recognised as the "Knowl-edge Diaspora". India's remittances from Overseas Indians esti-mated at over $ 50 billion last year are the highest in the world.Ofthese about $ 20 billion comes from Overseas Indian workers in theGulf consisting of temporary contracted skilled and semi-skilledworkers.

20th Commonwealth Speakers ConferenceThe 20th Commonwealth Speakers’ Conference was held

in New Delhi from January 5, 2010. It was inaugurated by PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh. Describing the growth of regional par-ties as a challenge for governance and conduct of parliamentarydemocracy, Mr Manmohan Singh said: “Though the aspirations ofsmaller parties may often be anchored in narrow considerations,they carry great weight for their constituents. In the end, democracymust respond to everyday concerns of the common man and Par-liament should be the forum to address such concerns.” The re-mark was in obvious reference to the growing influence of sub-regional parties in coalition politics and Parliament. Presiding offic-ers from 42 Commonwealth nations were present (some in tradi-tional Speaker robes). The Conference discussed, among other

things, the Speaker’s role as a mediator and administrator of Par-liament and use of technology in disseminating information on Par-liamentary proceedings.

Partnership Summit 2010The 16th Edition of the Partnership Summit 2010 was held

in Chennai, organised by the confederation of Indian Industry.

Environment Ministers meetingThe Environment Ministers meeting of the BASIC Countries

(Brazil, South Africa, India and China) was held in New Delhi.

Cabinet Committee on InfrastructureThe Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) approved the

establishment of National Knowledge Network (NKN), which seeksto inter-connect all knowledge institutions in the country throughhigh speed data communication network, at an outlay of Rs 5,990crore to be implemented by NIC over a period of 10 years.

World Telecom Development ConferenceITU's fifth World Telecommunication Development Confer-

ence (WTDC-10), will take place in Hyderabad, India from 24 May to4 June 2010 (consultation of Member States is underway) with par-ticipants to include government delegates, Ministers, Ambassadorsand representatives from the private sector, as well as regional andinternational organizations. It will be an opportunity to review theprogrammes and activities of ITU-D as well as to set the agenda forthe following four-year cycle.

World Classical Tamil ConferenceThe first World Classical Tamil Conference was held in

Coimbatore. President Pratibha Devisingh Patil presented theKalaignar M. Karunanidhi Classical Tamil Award to Asko Parpola forhis work on the Dravidian hypothesis in the interpretation of theIndus script.

Knowledge Millennium SummitEight Knowledge Millennium Summit 2010 - 2020: Decade

of Innovations was held in New Delhi. Former President, A.P.J. AbdulKalam and ASSOCHAM President, Swati Piramal addressed on theissues of food security, energy and water.

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COMMITTEES Bimal Jalan committee

The Bimal Jalan committee was set-up to review the owner-ship and working of capital markets infrastructure institutions (MIIs).One major recommendation of the report is that only banks, insur-ance companies and domestic financial institutes with a net worthof Rs 1,000 crore be roped in as anchor investors.

N.C. Saxena CommitteeThe N.C. Saxena Committee was set up by the Ministry of

Environment and Forests. It details the manner in which laws wereflagrantly flouted to facilitate the Vedanta Alumina Ltd project in Orissa.The project is aggressively opposed by the local tribal groups.

Pharmacopoeia CommissionThe government decided to set up a Pharmacopoeia

Commission in Ghaziabad at a cost of Rs. 14.08 crore for developingindigenous medicines with the aim of raising the country's share inthe $62-billion global herbal drug market.

Justice Srikrishna committeeThe Union government has set-up a five-member committee

headed by Justice B.N. Srikrishna to look into the modalities offorming the separate State of Telangana. The committee has beengiven time till December 31, 2010 to consult all sections of thesociety and submit report.

Three member committeeRajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari Constituted a three -

member committee headed by supreme court judge V.S. Sirpurkar,that will investigate the grounds for impeachment of karnataka chief- Justice P.D.Dinakaran whose removal from office has been soughtjointly by 75 Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha on corruptionand land - grabbing charges. Justice A.R.Dave, cheif Justice of theAndhra Pradesh High court and eminent Jurist P.P.Rao are the othermembers of the panel.

Women's Leadership Summit 2010Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with Lok Sabha

speaker Meira Kumar inaugurated the Women's Leadership Sum-mit 2010 on Inclusive Growth and Empowering Women of RuralIndia in New Delhi.

National Innovation CouncilPrime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed for the setting up of

a National Innovation Council headed by Sam Pitroda, Adviser to thePrime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations,to give shape to the Government's decision to observe the currentdecade (2010-2020) as the Decade of Innovation. The Council willhave a mandate to evolve an Indian model of innovation that fo-cuses on inclusive growth and creating an appropriate eco-systemconducive to fostering inclusive innovation.

Parliamentary Inquiry CommitteeParliamentary Inquiry Committee headed by Justice B

Sudershan Reddy holds Justice Soumitra Sen guilty of misconductand misappropriation of funds.

Equal Opportunities CommissionThe Minority Affairs Ministry has finalised the contours of the

Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) being planned by the gov-ernment to address the inequalities that persist even 60 years afterIndependence and evolve/evaluate mechanisms for affirmative ac-tion. An expert group was set up last year under the chairmanship ofN. R. Madhava Menon to determine the structure and functions ofthe Commission. Besides the chairman, it will have six members,two of them full-time. The members two have to be women will beselected by a three member committee headed by the Prime Minis-ter and comprising the Minister for Minority Affairs and the Leader ofthe Opposition. Unlike most other commissions, the EOC will havea five-year term. Its jurisdiction will extend to all deprived groups,which have been denied or which claim to have been denied equalopportunities by the government or private institutions particularly ineducation and employment. Primarily, the task cut out for the EOC isto create indices for measuring inequality in different sectors ofactivity and among different sections; collect, evaluate and dissemi-nate data; and intervene on behalf of deprived and discriminated

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groups. The experts found that the EOCs were becoming a norm inleading democracies with social and cultural diversities. The groupfound the South African and British models of particular value.

Justice V. Bhaskara Rao commissionThe inquiry commission headed by Justice V Bhaskara Rao

on police firing on protesters after Macca Masjid blast in Hyderabadsubmitted his report to the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Com-mittee was constituted in June 2007 to submit the report in 3 months.

UN General Assembly CommitteeUnited Nations General Assembly Committee issued reso-

lution for a moratorium on death penalty. A total of 107 countriessupported moratorium, along with India 37 other countries opposedand 36 countries abstained.

Takeover Regulations Advisory CommitteeThe Takeover Regulations Advisory Committee under the

chairmanship of C. Achuthan, in its 139-page report to the Securi-ties and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has proposed sweepingchanges on critical issues, including the open offer trigger, offersize, indirect acquisitions, exemptions from open offer obligations,calculating the offer price and competing offers. This comes nearly16 years after the guidelines were formally notified for the first timeand after 23 amendments to the last major review in 1997. Thetakeover panel, formed by SEBI in September 2009, has recom-mended an increase in the open offer trigger from 15 per cent to 25per cent. Further, the open offer has to be made for all the shares ofthe target company, instead of the current practice of an offer foracquiring an additional 20 per cent. Analysts said the proposedrules would raise the financing required for taking over a firm, butwould encourage investors taking strategic stakes in companies.

India-Iran joint commissionIn their first interaction after the UN imposed the fourth round

of sanctions on Tehran in June 2010 over its controversial nuclearprogramme, India and Iran, on July 8, 2010, signed six pacts, in-cluding one on cooperation in new and renewable energy and an-other on increasing the number of flights between the two coun-tries. The MOUs were signed at the end of the two-day meeting ofthe India-Iran joint commission.

Swavalamban SchemeFinance Minister Pranab Mukherjee launched the

Swavalamban Scheme of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on Sep-tember 25, 2010. The scheme seeks to provide pension scheme tothe un-organised sector. Under the scheme, the Central govern-ment will contribute Rs 1,000 per year to each National PensionScheme (NPS) account opened in year 2010-11 and for the nextthree years, till 2013-14.

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima YojnaThe Union Cabinet has approved a proposal of the Labour

Ministry to amend the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, to pro-vide medical facilities to unorganised workers in ESIC hospitalsand recognised private hospitals under the Rashtriya SwasthyaBima Yojna (RSBY), a cashless health insurance scheme.

Rajiv Awas YojanaThe Union government has set up an independent eight -

member expert committee under the chairmanship of DeepakParekh to review the draft guidelines of Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), ahousing scheme for slum dwellers and urban poor.

Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Adolescent GirlsRajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls,

called SABLA, aims to empower adolescent girls between ages 11to 18 years by providing them nutrition, Iron and Folic Acid (IFA)supplementation, health check-up, nutrition and health education,counselling/guidance on family welfare, vocational training etc. waslaunched by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram as a pilot projectfor implementation in 200 districts.

People's welfare programmeUttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati launches people's

welfare programme called "Uttar Pradesh Mukhyamantri MahamayaGarib Arthik Madad Yojna" to disburse Rs.300 per month to the eligiblepoor in the State.

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SCHEMES

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VISITS / TOURS

Visit of Russia President MedvedevRussian President Dmitry Medvedev official two-day visit to

India during which he will discuss trade, economic, energy andcultural cooperation as well as international issues. Medvedev islikely to secure a long-awaited contract with India on jointly develop-ing 250-300 fifth generation fighter aircraft over 10 years. The contractamount is unknown, but unofficially said to be around $35 billion. Hemay have a tough task convincing India to strike more arms dealsfollowing delays to the delivery of some Russian projects, includingthe Admiral Gorshkov heavy aircraft carrying cruiser. Moscow-baseddefence analysts Cast say Russia has nearly tripled the price, anddelayed delivery of the cruiser by four years, since signing the originalcontract in 2004. Up for negotiation during Medvedev's visit will be adeal for a third site for a Russian-built nuclear power plant. "Energy isone area where Russia will be the most important partner for Indiaboth in terms of conventional and non conventional energy.... Rus-sians are one of our main suppliers of nuclear power plants," saidLalit Mansingh, former Indian foreign secretary. Russia is keen tocontinue supplying technology and expertise to energy-hungry Indiaas it plans to add 63,000 MW of nuclear power by 2032 to support itseconomic growth. Behind the rhetoric of expanding ties with its fellowBRIC economy -- the term used to group emerging powers Brazil,Russia, India and China -- bilateral trade is eclipsed by Russia'sbooming economic ties with the European Union and China. TheKremlin said trade with India will total $10 billion this year, whileofficial statistics show Russia's trade with the European Union stoodat $246 billion in the first 10 months of 2010, and trade with Chinawas $47.5 billion in the same period. India and Russia hope to boostbilateral trade to $20 billion within five years.

Visit of China PM Wen JiabaoAt the invitation of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of

the Republic of India, Mr Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Councilof the People's Republic of China, is on a State visit to the Republicof India from 15 to 17 December 2010. Premier Wen Jiabao held

talks with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and will call on Smt.Pratibha Patil, President of India. Leaders of the two countries hadan in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and regionaland international issues of mutual interest in a sincere and friendlyatmosphere and reached broad consensus. The two sides agreedthat as the two largest developing countries in the world, India andChina shoulder important and historical responsibilities of ensur-ing their comprehensive and sustainable economic and social de-velopment. They also make a vital contribution to advancing peaceand development in Asia and in the world at large. India-China rela-tions go beyond their bilateral scope and have acquired global andstrategic significance. The two sides welcome each other's peace-ful development and regard it as a mutually reinforcing process.They believe that their growing relationship offers increasing oppor-tunities to advance their cooperation. There is enough space in theworld for the development of both India and China and indeed,enough areas for India and China to cooperate. The two sidesreviewed with satisfaction the comprehensive and rapid progressof India-China relations in the last ten years, and reaffirmed theircommitment to abiding by the basic principles and consensus con-cerning the development of India-China relations set out in the Dec-laration of Principles for Relations and Comprehensive Coopera-tion between India and China in 2003, the Joint Statement of Indiaand China in 2005, the India-China Joint Declaration of 2006 and AShared Vision for the 21st Century of India and China of 2008. Thetwo sides decided to enhance strategic communication, advancefunctional cooperation, broaden cultural exchanges, and deepenand enrich the India-China Strategic and Cooperative Partnershipfor Peace and Prosperity on the basis of the Five Principles of Peace-ful Co-existence, mutual respect and sensitivity for each other's con-cerns and aspirations.

Visit of France President SarkozyFrance signed a 9.3-billion-dollar framework agreement to

sell two nuclear reactors to India during a trade-centred visit byFrench President Nicolas Sarkozy to New Delhi. India inked thedeal with France's state-run nuclear group Areva for the purchase oftwo reactors for a new plant in Jaitapur in the western state ofMaharashtra. "Negotiations (with Areva) have reached an advancedstage to pave the way for the launching of nuclear power reactors in

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Jaitapur in partnership with Indian industry," Prime MinisterManmohan Singh told a joint press conference. The deal is short ofa final sale contract, but it means Areva has moved ahead of US andJapanese competitors in the race to sell reactors to India, whichaims to tap atomic power for a quarter of its electricity demands by2050. Deals totalling 15 billion euros (20 billion dollars) have beensigned or are about to be signed with Indian companies, Sarkozy'soffice said, including a leasing agreement for 14 Airbus planes andthe modernisation of 51 French-made Mirage fighter jets. Sarkozycame with a delegation of six ministers and around 70 chiefexecutives, including the bosses of aircraft and defence groupsDassault Aviation, aircraft maker EADS, and Areva. The nuclear grouphopes to supply six reactors in total for the Maharashtra nuclearplant. The first two are worth 7.0 billion euros, according to the Frenchpresidency.

President Patil Visit to Abu DhabiIndian President Pratibha Patil made a goodwill visit to Abu

Bhabi and Dubai in November 2010. India’s economic aspirationsand strong growth make it an ideal destination for foreign invest-ment, President Pratibha Patil told members of the Abu Dhabi Cham-ber of Commerce. All religions of the world unite was the President’ssecond message in Abu Dhabi. At an interaction with students ofIndian schools from the UAE at the Abu Dhabi Indian School, thePresident advised them to build friendships and develop the abilityto work constructively as a team. She opined that education was notmerely necessary to secure a job but an investment into the futureand a way to imbibe the concepts of peace, harmony and tolerance.

Inaugurating the Indian Islamic Centre, the President saidthat it was a tribute to the collective efforts of the Indian Diasporaand would serve as a cultural bridge between India and the UAE.The President arrived in Dubai to a grand reception given by theIndian community. She also launched a long-awaited 24-hourhelpline for distressed Indian workers facing problems with theiremployers or contracts.

President Patil’s visit to SyriaIndian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil arrived on Novem-

ber 26, 2001, on a four-day state visit to the Syrian Arab Republic.

Her visit assumed special significance since this was the first evervisit of by an Indian President to Syria. Several Memoranda of Un-derstanding (MoUs), including those on cultural exchange, weresigned during the visit. Her talks with President al-Assad gave anew momentum to the bilateral relations in all fields, particularly onexpanding economic and commercial cooperation. The President’svisit was aimed to bolster a political dialogue between the two coun-tries and discussions were held on bilateral, regional and interna-tional issues, including West Asia peace process.

Syria has already backed India’s demand for a permanentmembership of the United Nations Security Council and has al-ways tried to act as a moderator for toning down Pakistani rhetoricin the meetings of Organisation of Islamic Countries.

President Pratibha visit to LaosIndia will provide the Lao People’s Democra6c Republic the

first tranche worth $72.55million for two power projects as part of apackage of monetary and technical assistance in areas rangingfrom power and irriga6on to culture. The agreements commi7ed tocover several areas. In the field of culture, a cultural exchangeprogramme has been signed for 2011-2013, the centre piece ofwhich is a project for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) assis-tance in the restora6on of the 6th century temple complex of VatPhou in the province of Champassak.

Visit of President ObamaUS President Barack Obama reached India for a three-day

official visit on November 6, 2010. He arrived in Mumbai where hepaid homage to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack victims. Later, ad-dressing the Indian and American entrepreneurs he said severallandmark deals worth US $ 10 billion have been signed betweenIndian and American companies shortly before his arrival. Thesedeals, he said, will help in creating more than 50,000 jobs backhome in USA. Among the biggest deals announced included Reli-ance Power’s purchase of 2,400 MW plants from GE and Spicejet’sdeal to buy thirty three Boeing 737 aircraft.

President Obama landed in Delhi on November 7, 2010. OnNovember 8, President Obama addressed the Indian Parliament.The US President’s speech, which was interspersed with several

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India-specific references and continuously underlined the fast-im-proving partnership between New Delhi and Washington, was at-tended by a packed House, which included Vice-President HamidAnsari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker MeiraKumar, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Cabinet ministers andmembers of the two Houses of Parliament.

India and the United States pledged to defeat all terroristnetworks, including the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), andstrengthen international cooperative activities that will reduce therisk of terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons or material. Condemn-ing terrorism in all its forms, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh andUS President Barack Obama, in a joint statement, issued at the endof the American leader’s official engagements in India, called onPakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbaiterror attacks.

They reiterated that success in Afghanistan and regional andglobal security required elimination of safe havens and infrastruc-ture for terrorism and violent extremism in Afghanistan and Paki-stan. The two leaders also emphasised the importance of closecooperation in combating terrorist financing and in protecting theinternational financial system. Deciding to strengthen and expandthe Indo-US global strategic partnership, the Indian PM and Obamacalled for an efficient, credible and legitimate United Nations to en-sure a just and sustainable international order. Singh welcomedPresident Obama’s affirmation that in the years ahead, Washingtonlooked forward to a reformed UN Security Council that includedIndia as a permanent member.

On the civil nuclear deal, they reiterated their commitment tobuild strong bilateral cooperation through the participation of Ameri-can energy companies in India on the basis of mutually acceptabletechnical and commercial terms and conditions that enabled a vi-able tariff regime for the electricity generated. The two leaders alsodecided to take mutual steps to expand US-India cooperation in civilspace, defence and other high-technology sectors commensuratewith India’s non-proliferation record and commitment to abide bymultilateral export control standards.

Key health and Education pacts singed: A promise to helpIndia battle old and emerging infections and another of forging col-laborations in higher education were the high points of US Presi-dent Barack Obama’s India visit, which saw two key pacts being

inked in the sectors. On the health front, President Obama andPrime Minsiter Manmohan Singh announced the setting up of theGlobal Disease Detection India Centre to come up under the MoUbetween the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi,and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Atlanta. On the educa-tion front, the two sides committed themselves to a higher educa-tion summit in New Delhi in 2011 to develop “collaborations” in thearea. Building lab capacity at home for diagnoses of emerging in-fectious diseases using well characterised reference materials andadvanced technology transfer that meets CDC and global standardswill be the other major takeaways from health MoU.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Japan visitPrime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Japan on October

25, 2010. The visit ended with the successful conclusion of negotia-tions for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement(CEPA). As a first step in realising CEPA, both countries agreed to a“sweeping” liberalisation of their bilateral visa regime.

The successful conclusion of CEPA is expected to elevatetrade and economic relations between the two countries to the nextlevel. Though the trade between the two nations remained almoststagnant for decades, it has been growing rapidly since past threeyears. The agreement will foster new business opportunities, en-hance competitiveness of private sectors, and encourage closerpartnership between the private sectors in India’s teeming SMEsand Japan’s infrastructure and hi-technology enterprises. India ishoping that the CEPA coming into place will also balance out thetrade imbalance between the two countries. As of now, trade be-tween the two countries is strongly in favour of Japan.

Visit of PM Manmohan Singh to MalaysiaPrime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Kaula Lumpur on

October 27, 2010. The highlight of the visit was agreement betweenIndia and Malaysia to forge new ties on two of the most importantissues for their economies—sealing the Comprehensive EconomicCooperation Agreement (CECA) and contain the threat of terrorismthrough establishment of a Joint Working Group on Counter Terror-ism, besides collaboration in defence. The two leaders said thatthe Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will be signed by January 31, 2011and this will be implemented by July 1, 2011.

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Visit of President of MozambiqueOn September 30, 2010, during a meeting between Presi-

dent of Mozambique Armando Guebuza and Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, India and Mozambique inked three pacts and acredit line of $500 million was extended to that country for infrastruc-ture projects, agriculture and energy. The two countries have alsodecided to create a partnership based on greater political engage-ment, deepening of economic cooperation, strengthening of de-fence and security cooperation, specially to secure sea lanes againstpiracy, and cooperation in capacity building and human resourcedevelopment.

Visit of Polish Prime MinisterPolish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited India on Septem-

ber 7, 2010. The Indo-Polish defence cooperation figured promi-nently during talks between the visiting dignitary and Prime MinisterManmohan Singh. Since most of the Indian military hardware wasacquired in the 1970s from the then Soviet Union, Poland, whichwas a key ally of former USSR, has the spares and the technologyfor upgrading the equipment with the Indian forces. Poland is keento sell tank recovery vehicles to India. The proposal was made dur-ing Antony’s visit to Warsaw in April for a meeting of the joint workinggroup (JWG) on defence cooperation between the two countries. Atank recovery vehicle is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used torepair battle or mine damaged as well as broken down vehiclesduring combat operations, or to tow them out of the danger zone formore extensive repairs.

Visit of Myanmar’s military rulerIgnoring worldwide concerns over human rights violations in

Myanmar, New Delhi rolled out a red carpet welcome for Myanmarmilitary ruler General Than Shwe on July 27, 2010. Top Indian lead-ers held wide-ranging talks with him on a plethora of issues, includ-ing bilateral ties as well as international developments. The in-creasing Chinese influence in the South East Asian nation is appar-ently weighing heavily in the mind of the Indian leadership as itseeks to increase its engagement with Myanmar, particularly in thevital energy sector and in fighting Indian insurgents operating alongthe India-Myanmar border. The two countries signed five accords

after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the 77-year-old leader of the military ‘junta’. Simultaneously, the EXIM Bankof India extended a line of credit of $60 million to the Myanmar For-eign Trade Bank.

Visit of British Prime MinisterBritish Prime Minister David Cameron came visiting India in

July 2010. Talking on terrorism affecting the region, he said that Paki-stan could not be allowed to harbour militants and promote terroragainst India, Afghanistan and the rest of the world. On his first visit toIndia after becoming Prime Minister in May 2010, he laid out the basisfor a new “enhanced relationship” with India. Apart from Cameron’sown tough talk on terrorism, his business minister Vince Cable an-nounced the UK was prepared to export civil nuclear technology toIndia, bringing Britain in line with the stance taken by the United States,Russia and France.

Travelling to Bangalore and then to Delhi, Cameron signed aRs 5,082 crore agreement for the Indian Air Force and Navy to buy anadditional 57 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer aircraft from British Aero-space Systems. India and the UK also made announcements in thefield of immigration, education and signed an agreement on culturalcooperation. Cameron welcomed India’s support to Afghanistan,Nepal and Bhutan, its “intellectual leadership” at the G20, and saidthe time was ripe for India to find a place in the UN Security Council.

Visit of South African PresidentOn his maiden visit to an Asian country as the President of

South Africa, Jacob Zuma was given a rousing reception by theIndian leadership on June 4, 2010, as the two countries signedthree key pacts, including one on air services, and agreed to sup-port each other’s candidature for the non-permanent seat at the UNSecurity Council for the 2011-2012 term. A wide range of bilateralissues as well as global developments, including reforms of theUN Security Council, closer cooperation between the two countriesat various international fora, particularly on climate change, andincreasing the volume of bilateral trade, came for discussions dur-ing the talks. Apart from the pact on enhancing air connectivity, thetwo countries signed an MoU on agriculture cooperation and an-other for linkages between the Foreign Service Institute of India and

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the Diplomatic Academy of South Africa. Both India and South Africaare keen to increase the two-way trade, which currently stands at$7.5 billion annually. Zuma said he wanted that to grow to $10 bil-lion by 2012.

Visit of Sri Lankan PresidentSri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited New Delhi

on June 9, 2010. During his talks with Prime Minister ManmohanSingh, he sought to cool down tempers in India over the plight ofTamils in his island nation by promising to quickly resettle displacedTamils and expedite a political solution to the ethnic issue. The twocountries also signed seven agreements, including a treaty onmutual legal assistance in criminal matters and an MOU on sen-tenced prisoners, after wide-ranging talks. The two countries an-nounced a major initiative to undertake a programme of construc-tion of 50,000 houses for internally displaced persons (IDPs) inNorthern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka with India’s assis-tance. India would also be taking up several projects for the recon-struction of the North and the East, including rebuilding of railwayinfrastructure, rehabilitation of Kankesanthurai harbour and PalalyAirport, construction of a cultural centre in Jaffna and several voca-tional training centres, renovation of the Duraiappaj stadium andrehabilitation of war widows.

Visit of Nepalese PresidentPresident of Nepal Ram Baran Yadav visited New Delhi from

February 15, 2010. In an effort to make the visit a truly successfulevent, India offered a 250-million dollar soft loan through EXIM Bankand signed four major accords with the Himalayan nation. Indiaalso offered to supply 50,000 tonne of wheat, 20,000 tonne of riceand 10,000 tonne of yellow peas to its neighbour. An additional2,000 tonne of wheat would be provided to Nepal, if required.

Visit of President Patil to ChinaIndian President Pratibha Patil visited Beijing from May 27,

2010. She is the first Indian Head of State to visit China in a decade.She had been invited by her Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and hertrip coincided with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplo-matic relations between India and China. During her visit, Patil inau-

gurated China’s first Indian-style Buddhist temple in Luoyang city inHenan province. Skirting contentious issues, she held discussionswith the top Chinese leadership. Controversial issues such as Chi-nese border incursions, stapled visas for Kashmiris, Indian visas forChinese telecom companies and Sino-Pak ties did not figure in thediscussions. Patil sought Chinese support for New Delhi's perma-nent membership of the UNSC during talks. The Chinese leaderssupported India's aspirations for UNSC permanent seat and assuredthe Indian leader that Beijing would back India’s bid in 2011’s elec-tion for a non-permanent membership of the UNSC.

Visit of Afghan President KarzaiAfghan President Hamid Karzai, during his two-day trip to

New Delhi on April 26, 2010, sought to allay India’s concerns overthe proposed re-entry of the Taliban in the Afghanistan government.Karzai indicated that his government would enter into a power-shar-ing arrangement with those elements of Taliban who had acceptedthe country’s constitution and were not part of the Al Qaida.

Visit of Prime Minister Putin of RussiaRussian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin’s one-day visit New

Delhi on March 13, 2010, has gone some distance in adding astrong economic dimension to ties between the two nations. Thevisit helped in building a roadmap to strengthen economic ties,including in the pharmaceutical sector, getting Russian investmentsin infrastructure projects and accessing Russian markets for In-dian services. Demonstrating the solidity of their strategic relation-ship to the world, India and Russia sealed multi-billion dollars dealsin key areas like defence, nuclear energy, diamond, petroleum andaviation as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reaffirmedMoscow’s support to Delhi in its fight against terrorism.

The visit is noted for the success in taking this vital strategicpartnership forward, giving the much needed economic impetus. Ahost of steps aimed at scaling up the current $7.5 billion bilateraltrade to $20 billion by 2015 were set in motion. Besides agreementon nuclear reactors, an MoU for cooperation in Russia’s satellitenavigation system was also agreed upon during the visit.

Russia announced its readiness to build 16 nuclear reac-tors for power stations in India. An important agreement was the

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umbrella pact between the National Power Corporation of India Lim-ited (NPCIL) and the Atom Stroy for Kudankulam III and KudankulamIV nuclear reactors as part of the nuclear cooperation accord be-tween the two sides. The agreement on peaceful uses of nuclearenergy is expected to open more avenues of nuclear cooperationbetween the two countries. The two sides also signed a pact onserial construction of Russian designed nuclear reactors. The mostsignificant accords between the two sides were on the AdmiralGorshkov aircraft carrier that was approved by the Union Cabinet forthe purchase of the vessel at $ 2.33 billion and the supply of 29 MIG29K the sea variant of the fighter used by the IAF valued at $ 1.5 billion.

PM Manmohan Singh’s visit to Saudi ArabiaOn February 26, 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh be-

came the first Indian Prime Minister in 28 years to visit Saudi Arabia.During the visit, Saudi Arabia expressed concerns over extremismin Pakistan as New Delhi and Riyadh firmed up a strategic partner-ship. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled a roadmap for com-prehensive economic partnership as he addressed captains of in-dustry from both the countries. Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, who had a discussion with Singh, later spoke of the “dan-gerous trend” of extremism in Pakistan and made it clear that Riyadhhad nothing to do with the Taliban. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan wereamong the few countries that had recognised the Taliban regime inAfghanistan.

Visit of President of TurkeyThe Turkish President, Abdullah Gul, visited India on Febru-

ary 9, 2010 and held wide-ranging talks with Prime MinisterManmohan Singh on all issues of mutual interest, including theinternational situation. Apart from the declaration on terrorism, thetwo countries issued a document on cooperation in the field of sci-ence and technology. Days after keeping New Delhi out of theIstanbul conference on Afghanistan at the instance of Pakistan, Turk-ish President Abdullah Gul sought to placate India by strongly en-dorsing its position on the issue of terrorism. Turkey is the firstOrganisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) member to support India’scall for early conclusion of a comprehensive convention on interna-tional terrorism, which finds a mention in the joint declaration on

terrorism. Turkey’s position is being seen as a major departurefrom that of OIC, which is not willing to exclude armed forces fromthe purview of the convention. On Afghanistan, the Turkish Presi-dent praised the role being played by India in the reconstructionplan in the embattled nation.

Visit of Bangladesh Prime MinisterOn January 11, 2010, India committed one billion dollars line

of credit for developmental projects in Bangladesh and transformedits bilateral ties by signing five accords, including three key securitypacts to expand counter-terror cooperation, during the visit ofBangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina. “This visit has opened a newchapter in India-Bangladesh relations, reflecting the unity of mindsand hearts,” Manmohan Singh told Sheikh Hasina. The one-billiondollar line of credit is the largest ever one-time bilateral financialassistance India has provided to any country. This will be used forconstruction of railway bridges and lines, supply of coaches andlocomotives and buses, and assistance in dredging, an issue ofpressing concern to Dhaka. India also agreed to supply 250 MW ofelectricity through its central grid. The two sides also took majorsteps to improve connectivity, including the start of the Akhara-Agartalarail link.

Visit of Korean PresidentCooperation in the civilian nuclear energy field was high on

the agenda during the meeting between Prime Minister ManmohanSingh and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, on January 25,2010. Presdent Myung-bak was also the chief guest at the RepublicDay. During the visit the two countries signed accords in diverseareas, including IT and civilian space, following the talks betweenthe two leaders. President Lee Myung-bak began his four-day visitto India with a visit to the Hyundai factory near Chennai to meetKorean businessmen living in the city before reaching New Delhi.Regional and global issues, including the intensification of eco-nomic ties and cooperation in sphere of civilian nuclear coopera-tion and space technologies, figured prominently during talks be-tween the two sides. Closer cooperation in combating global finan-cial recession was also discussed in the context of the G-20 sum-mit to be held in Seoul later in 2010.

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India's per capita incomeIndia's per capita income grew by 10.5 per cent to Rs 44,345

in 2009-10 against Rs 40,141 in the year-ago period, according togovernment data. The World Bank, however, pegs India's per capitaincome at a much higher $1,180 per year. India ranks a poor 161stin the world in terms of per capita incomes. The per capita incomewas slightly higher than Rs 43,749 as calculated by the CentralStatistical Organisation in its advance estimates for FY10. However,per capita income grew by 5.6 per cent last fiscal if it is calculated onthe basis of 2004-05 prices, which is a better way of comparisonand broadly factors inflation. Per capita income (at 2004-05 prices)stood at Rs 33,588 in FY10 against Rs 31,821 in the previous year,according to estimates of national income. Per capital incomemeans income of each Indian if national income is evenly dividedamong the country's population of 117 crore (Rs 1.17 billion).

Mumbai gets world's largest diamond bourseThe Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), the world's largest, was

inaugurated at Mumbai on 17th October by Union Commerce andIndustry Minister Anand Sharma. “As on 17th October, in 2009-2010,the export of diamonds in this industry from Mumbai is Rs. 61,000crore and I am hopeful that within a year, this bourse will achieve aturnover of over Rs. 1,00,000 crore”. The BDB has been set up toestablish infrastructure for promotion of diamond export, includingjewellery, and provide all support and service facilities to eventuallymake India an international trading centre for gems and jewellery.Spread over a 20-acre plot, the complex is designed to house around2,500 small and large diamond traders in addition to a CustomHouse, banks and other service providers who will cater for the gemand jewellery trade.

Tobacco India ReportGlobal Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) for India, 2009-10, con-

ducted on 99.9 per cent of India’s population in 29 States, UTs ofChandigarh and Puducherry has submitted its report. According to

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FINANCE & ECONOMY CAPSULEit, India’s obsession with tobacco continues despite laws to tell theusers of its lethal consequences. Though 64 per cent of all adultsbelieve tobacco leads to heart attacks, 35 per cent (one-third) con-tinue to consume tobacco in some form or the other.

RBI raised the repo rateThe Reserve Bank of India raised the repo rate (at which

banks borrow from RBI) to 6.25% and reverse repo rate (the rate ofinterest that banks get with their surplus money being parked withcentral bank) to 5.25% to control the high inflation in the country.

New WPI series in placeInflation for the month of August stood at 8.51 per cent, ac-

cording to the new Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI) series releasedby the government 2010, 14th September. As per the old series witha base year of 1993-94, WPI inflation stood at 9.5 per cent for themonth, according to the Commerce Ministry. Overall inflation in Au-gust witnessed a fall of 1.27 percentage points from 9.78 per cent inthe month of July, as per the new series, which considers 2004-05as the base year. As per the new WPI index, inflation was 0.31 percent in August last year. “It (the new index) will help in informing boththe government and people how the prices are moving. This willgive a robust picture and reflect actual price movement,” CommerceMinister Anand Sharma told reporters in New Delhi. Consumer itemswidely used by the middle class, like ice-cream, mineral water, mi-crowave ovens, washing machines, gold and silver are reflected inthe new series of WPI inflation. The new WPI series has 241 moreitems than the old index. With the additional items, the WPI nowmeasures a total of 676 items against 435 earlier.

New Direct Tax Code (DTC) 2011 BillThe New Direct Tax Code (DTC) 2011 Bill or Direct Tax Code

India 2011 draft or Direct Tax Code Highlights has been released byfinance minister Pranab Mukherjee which would replace currentIncome Tax structure from 2011- 12. This New Direct Tax Code (DTC)2011 Bill or Direct Tax Code India 2011 draft will be applicable fromFinancial Year 2011-12 starting from 1st Day of April 2011 and DirectTax Code Highlights has been declared. The new Direct Tax Code(DTC) bring relief to the taxpayers, as the tax slabs have been sim-

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plified further which was approved by Cabinet yesturday on August26, 2010. The taxpayers can now get more benefits.

Key Features of New Direct Tax Code (DTC) 2011 Bill:

Tax Exemptions for Salaried People – Rs 2 lakhTax Exemption for Senior Citizens – Rs 2.5 lakhTax for Income between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh – 10%Tax for Income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh – 20%Tax for Income over Rs 10 lakh – 30%Rs 1.5 lakh Tax Incentives on Housing Loans will continueThe DTC provides for MAT of 20 per cent of book profits ofcompanies

The original draft had promised a whole new paradigm indirect taxation, drastically lowering the tax burden while also doingaway with most exemptions. A revised draft released in June thisyear brought back some of the exemptions like the one available forinterest on housing loans that the first draft had proposed to get ridof. The speculation that this might force the finance ministry to makethe revision of tax slabs also less ambitious to avoid giving away toomuch revenue has now proved well-founded. Under the originalproposal, the 10% slab would have extended up to Rs 10 lakh andthe 20% slab up to Rs 25 lakh, meaning that the 30% rate wouldhave applied only to incomes of over Rs 25 lakh per annum. On theplus side for individual taxpayers, withdrawal from provident fundswill not be taxed as the original DTC had proposed to do. Also de-ductions from taxable income will be available for interest on hous-ing loans up to Rs 1.5 lakh per annum and on payments into PF andsimilar superannuation schemes up to Rs 1 lakh. Also availablewill be a deduction of up to Rs 50,000 for life insurance and healthinsurance premiums or tuition fees.

INDIA TO BECOME USD 2 TRILLION DOLLORECONOMY

The Indian economy would grow to USD 1.72 trillion in 2011-12, moving closer towards the USD 2 trillion mark, according to anassessment by the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council(PMEAC). The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) at the mar-ket and current prices was measured at USD 1.31 trillion in 2009-10 and is estimated to be USD 1.52 trillion in the current fiscal. If the

nine per cent growth trend is maintained, India would become USDtwo trillion economy in 2013-14 fiscal. In the assessment, thePMEAC, headed by noted economist C Rangarajan, said that it isimperative for India ”to preserve conditions that will enable it to re-turn to the 9 per cent growth trajectory”. After slowing down to 6.7 percent in 2008-09 and 7.4 per cent in 2009-10, the Indian economy isprojected to expand at 8.5 per cent this fiscal and by nine per cent in2011-12.

In the first two months of current fiscal, the industrial produc-tion recorded an annual growth of 14 per cent. “The lead indicatorsof service sector also suggest increased economic activity,” Re-serve Bank Governor D Subbarao said in the first quarter creditpolicy review. If the tax reforms are implemented as planned fromnext fiscal, the economy would get further push. “The gain from GSTwill propel the country from one-trillion dollar economy to two trillion-dollar economy in a short span of time,”.

Before the global economic slowdown since 2008, the In-dian economy grew by over nine per cent for three years in a rowfrom 2005-06 to 2007-08 and expansion was maintained by indus-try and services sectors.

India is largest recipient of World Bank loansIndia remained the largest recipient of World Bank loans in

2009-10. The World Bank, through its lending arms IBRD and IDA,committed $9.3 billion in financial assistance to India in 2009-10,more than the aid committed by the US and European Union. Nextin line were South Africa ($3.8 billion), Brazil ($3.7 billion) and Tur-key ($3.0 billion).

Rupee got SymbolOn July 14, 2010, the Union Cabinet approved a new symbol

for the Indian Rupee an amalgam of the Devnagiri ‘Ra’ and theRoman capital ‘R’, minus its stem. With the gaining of the symbol,the Indian rupee joins the elite club of US dollar, British pound,European euro and Japanese yen that currently have their own sym-bols. 31-year-old IIT-B postgraduate in industrial design, D. UdayaKumar has designed the new symbol. All individuals and entitieswithin and outside India would use the symbol after its incorpora-tion in Unicode Standard, ISO/IEC 10646 and IS 13194. Encoding of

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the symbol in the Indian Standards is estimated to take about sixmonths while encoding in the Unicode and ISO/IEC 10646 will takeabout 18-24 months. It will be incorporated in software packagesand keyboards in use in India. The symbol will standardise theexpression for Indian Rupee in different languages, both within andoutside the country. It would better distinguish the Indian currencyfrom countries whose currencies are also designated as Rupee orRupiah, such as Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

BHEL-NTPS power plantPrime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone

for the much-awaited Rs 6,000 crore BHEL-NTPS power plantmanufacturing project at Mannavaram, near Tirupati. Oncecompleted by the year 2014-15, the BHEL-NTPC joint venture projectwill manufacture power plant equipment and would have capabilitiesto produce equipment required for generation of 5,000 mw powerannually.

SBI Amendment BillThe parliament passed the State Bank of India (Amendment)

Bill providing for reduction of government equity to 51 per cent froma minimum of 55 per cent. With the passing of this Bill, the StateBank of India will raise fresh funds from the capital market.

first global chopper companyEurocopter, a company owned by European consortium,

European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. NV (EADS), has becomethe first global chopper company to open an office in India.

SEBI raised application LimitThe Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has

raised the application limit for retail investors to Rs 2 lakh, from Rsone lakh.

Forbes most powerful womenThree Indian women all from the corporate sector find a spot

on the Forbes list of 100 most powerful women in the world, toppedby US First Lady Michelle Obama. Chennai-born PepsiCo CEO Indra

Nooyi came in at No 6, while Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma andICICI Bank Managing Director & CEO Chanda Kochhar were ranked89th and 92nd, respectively. Surprisingly missing from 2010 list isCongress President Sonia Gandhi. She came in at No 13 in 2009.

Unique Identification Authority of IndiaThe Union Cabinet has cleared a new law providing for strict

penal action and hefty fines going up to Rs 1 crore to guard againstmisuse of data collected for allotment of a Unique Identity Card or aAadhar number to Indian citizens. The proposed legislation, titledthe National Identification Authority of India Act, seeks to give statutorypowers to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UDAI), createdas an attached office under the Planning Commission. The decisionto enact a legislation was taken after fears were expressed over theprivacy and security of data collected by the UDAI. In addition, severalcivil rights groups had also pointed out that actions of the UDAIcould well be questioned in the absence of a legal framework. Thisscheme of providing unique identity number to the citizens of thecountry took off on September 29 when Prime Minister ManmohanSingh presented the first such number at a function in the tribaldistrict of Nandurbar in Maharashtra.

RBI’s mid-term reviewThe RBI, in its first mid-quarter review of its monetary policy,

increased repo and reverse repo rates leaving the cash reserveratio (CRR) unchanged as it battles to contain inflation.

The central bank noted that food inflation has risen to 15.10per cent for the week ending September 4, thus making it necessaryto rein in liquidity. As a result, RBI raised short-term borrowing rate(reverse repo) by 0.50 percentage points to 5 per cent and lendingrate (repo) by 0.25 percentage points to 6 per cent. The increasedrates aim to make financing costly thus curbing consumption.However, the RBI said that inflation rates have reached a plateau.The apex bank also signalled banks to raise fixed deposit rates andalso noted that the government was on target to contain the fiscaldeficit.

Best Business Schools SurveyThe Business Standard Best Business Schools Survey 2010

shows that India’s top business schools are: Indian Institutes of

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Management in Ahmedabad and Kolkata, Indian Institute of ForeignTrade in New Delhi, Institute of Management Technology atGhaziabad, Management Development Institute at Gurgaon, NationalInstitute of Industrial Engineering in Mumbai and XLRI Jamshedpur.

Foreign Direct InvestmentsIndia has replaced the US as the second most important

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) destination for trans-nationalcorporations, according to a survey conducted by UNCTAD. GlobalFDI flows are expected to jump from $1.2 trillion in 2010 to $1.5trillion in 2011 and $1.6-2.0 trillion in 2012.

India’s first agri-biotechnology instituteIndia’s first agri-biotechnology institute, the National Agri Food

Biotechnology Institute (NABI) is being set up in Mohali, nearChandigarh.

world’s most valuable brandApple Computers has emerged as the world’s most valuable

brand in the 50 top valuable brand list of the Forbes magazine.Apple was followed by software major Microsoft, Beverages firm,Coca Cola and technology giant IBM. Search engine Google wasfifth in the ranking. McDonald's, General Electric, Marlboro, Intel andFinnish handset maker Nokia featured in the top 10 list.

New BPLRFrom 2010 July 1, banks will move to a new, more transparent

regime of loan pricing. They will jettison the Benchmark PrimeLending Rate (BPLR) and price loans off a ‘base rate’. Unlike theBPLR that was set somewhat arbitrarily by banks, the base rate willfollow an explicit formula that factors in a bank’s cost of deposits,operating costs (expenses of running its branches, for instance),the cost of statutory drafts on bank funds imposed by the ReserveBank of India (the Cash Reserve Ratio and Statutory Liquidity Ratio)and the profit margin. The base rate will help borrowers to compareinterest rates offered by various banks and make the process ofhow banks arrive at interest rates for loans more transparent. RBIhas stipulated that banks cannot charge below the base rate formost loans. (There are a couple of exceptions like agricultural loans

and export credit.) While the new model will ensure greatertransparency, it need not mean lower lending rates for borrowers.

world's largest gold coinThe world's largest gold coin, "Maple Leaf 2007" has been

sold at an auction for $4.03 million. Measuring 53 centimetres indiameter and with a purity of 99.999 per cent, it is listed in the 2010edition of the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s biggestgold coin. The front side of the coin displays Queen Elizabeth II andthe reverse shows three maple leaves, the national symbol forCanada. There are five Maple Leaf 2007 coins worldwide. One isowned by Queen Elizabeth II, two belong to unidentified investors inDubai and the whereabouts of the fifth are unknown.

Tobin TaxTobin Tax is a levy on all spot conversions of one currency

into another. It is imposed to prevent fluctuations in the market dueto excessive capital inflows.

Survey of slums in CitiesA survey of slums in cities and towns with a population of

over one lakh as per the 2001 Census, says there are 189 citiesand towns in India with big slums. Andhra tops the list—it has 36cities and towns with a slum population of 50,000 and above. It isfollowed by Maharashtra with 26, Uttar Pradesh (25), West Bengal(21) and Madhya Pradesh (15). Other States with a sizable slumpopulation in its cities are Haryana (8), Chhattisgarh (6) and Gujaratand Rajasthan (5 each). Goa and Kerala and north-eastern States,barring Meghalaya, are the only States where slums are non-existent.

The Centre has launched two programmes to improve theliving conditions of slum-dwellers across the country. JawaharlalNehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) provides fundsto States for creating housing and infrastructural facilities for theurban poor in 65 cities, including Mumbai, under the Basic Servicesto Urban Poor Programme (BSUP). For the remaining 124 towns,the Integrated Housing and Slum development Programme (IHSDP)has been introduced. The components for assistance includeprovision of basic services to the slum dwellers, whom thegovernment prefers to call urban poor.

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world's first gold vending machineThe world's first gold vending machine has been set-up in a

hotel in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. The 'Gold To Go' machine gives out 1,5 and 10 gram gold bars as well as gold coins.

withdrawal limit for ATMsThe Reserve Bank of India has decided to increase the cash

withdrawal limit for ATMs to Rs one lakh in a single day.

FDI on Tobacco bannedOn April 8, 2010, the Union government notified the ban on

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in cigarette manufacturing.Manufacturing of cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, oftobacco or of tobacco substitutes have been put under the list ofsectors where FDI is prohibited.

Maharatna status for PSUsThe Central Government has granted ‘Maharatna' status to

four giant public sector undertakings (PSUs) NTPC, Oil and NaturalGas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and SteelAuthority of India Limited (SAIL).

Global Hunger Index 2010India is among 29 countries with the highest levels of hunger,

stunted children and poorly fed women, according to the Interna-tional Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)’s “Global Hunger Index2010”. Despite a strong economy that was predicted to overtakeChina’s within three years by The Economist magazine, India ranked67th among 85 countries in terms of access to food. The reportpoints to widespread hunger in a country that is the world’s largestproducer of milk and edible oils, and the second- largest producerof wheat and sugar. The country has a high “hunger score” of 24.1and ranks behind all its neighbours, barring Bangladesh. Valuesbetween 20 and 29.9 on the index denote an “alarming” hungersituation. Globally, the world is nowhere near mee6ng the target ofthe UN’s goal of halving the proportion of hungry people. India alsoruns the world’s largest free-meal programme for school-goingchildren. Yet, the 2010 hunger report reveals that more than 90 per

cent of the world’s stunted children (whose height is low for theirage) live in Asian countries, such as India and Bangladesh, apartfrom some Africa countries. The highest regional hunger indicessuggesting the worst performers are almost the same for SouthAsian countries, such as India, and Sub-Saharan African nations,such as Congo. India is among countries with “hunger levelsconsiderably higher that their gross national income per capita wouldsuggest”. “It’s kind of ironic,” Ashok Gulati, Asia director of theWashington- based IFPRI said. The IFPRI hunger index compliedin partnership with German NGO Welthungerhilfe, and ConcernWorldwide ranks countries on three equally weighted indicators:the proportion of undernourished, the proportion of underweightchildren under five, and the child mortality rate. The UN Food andAgriculture Organisa6on (FAO) defines hunger as the consump6onof fewer than 1,800 kilocalories a day the minimum required to livea healthy and productive life.

National Business RegisterThe sixth economic census, set to take off in 2011, will provide

India with a National Business Register (NBR) for the first time,containing the details of every business establishment in the country.The creation and maintenance of a business register and directoryare expected to be an economic data framework for various neededstatistical surveys, including the Annual Survey of Industries andothers of the National Sample Survey Organisation. Currently, a fairlyreasonable database exists for the agricultural sector, while muchis lacking for the non-agricultural ones, particularly services. Themove to create a directory will particularly benefit the latter. Theservices sector, contributing 62.5 per cent to the country’s grossdomestic product, does not have a comprehensive data bank. Thenational accounts significantly under-states the sector, even as it isthe major contributor. The business register is to keep an accountof all business establishments with a workforce of 10 or more peopleaddresses, sectors, turnovers, number employed etc.

India’s food security goals in dangerAn alarming new report by the World Bank has shown that an

increasing number of aquifers in India are reaching unsustainablelevels of exploitation, endangering long-term food security goals. If

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current trends continue, in 20 years about 60 per cent of all aquifersin the country will be in a critical condition, putting at risk over aquarter of the harvest, concludes the report “Deep Wells andPrudence: Towards Pragmatic Action for Addressing GroundwaterOverexploitation in India”. The report rings alarm bells for policymakers, warning them against status quo. A rainfall deficit in 1963-66 had decreased India’s food production by 20 per cent, but asimilar drought in 1987-88 had very small impact on food productiondue to widespread prevalence of groundwater, which is nowdeclining. India is the largest groundwater user in the world,exploiting 230 cubic kilometres of groundwater every year over aquarter of the global total. Today, groundwater supports 60 per centof irrigated agriculture and more than 80 per cent of rural and urbanwater supplies. Even though there is a major dependence of manysectors on groundwater and it is being overexploited, there is littleinvestment in its management. This inaction has arisen mainlybecause the solutions often proposed for groundwater managementare very controversial, including “command-and-control” regulationof wells and curbing the supply of free or cheap power for groundwaterirrigation.

Liveability Index 2010According to the Liveability Index 2010, prepared jointly by

the CII and the Institute for Competitiveness, Delhi is the best city tolive in, followed by Mumbai. A liveable city, according to the report, isnot just an urbanised area in an urbanised region defined by thepresence of a municipality. Liveability refers to an urban system thatcontributes to the physical, social and mental well being and personaldevelopments of all its inhabitants.

CSO EstimatesThe per capita income of India in 2009-10 was Rs 43,749

according to the advance estimates of Central StatisticalOrganistation. It was Rs 40,141 in 2008-09. After taking inflation intoaccount, per capita income is estimated to grow by 5.4 per cent atRs 33,540 in 2009-10, against Rs 31,821 during 2008-09.

Union Budget, 2010On February 26, 2010, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee

presented a Budget that broadly focused on fiscal stabilization. The

Union Budget was presented at a time when the Indian economywas on the path of revival and almost all demand indicators hadturned significantly positive. Investment and consumption demandwas also on a revival mode. The buoyancy in the manufacturingsector and up-tick in import and export were also working well foreconomic growth prospects. In the current economic scenario, whatwas required from the Budget was a further push for consumptionand investment. The Budget announcements tried to do just that.

Highlights:Additional Rs 1,65,000 cr for bank re-capitalisationRs 3000 cr for agricultural impetusFarm loan payments to be extended for six monthsFertilizer subsidy to be reducedRs 100 cr woman farmer fund schemeCoal regulatory authority to be set upClean energy fund to be establishedInterest subvention of 2% to be extended for handicrafts andSMEsRs 200 cr for Tamil Nadu textile sectorInterest subvention for housing loans up to 1 lacsAllocation to defence raised to Rs 1.47 lakh crDefence capex raised to Rs 60,000 crDivestment target of Rs 25,000 crRs 1200 cr assistance for drought in BundelkhandRs 48000 cr for Bharat NirmanNREGA scheme allocation raised to Rs 41,000 crAllocation to health Rs 22,300 crAllocation for school education up from Rs 26,800 cr to Rs 31036crAllocation to power sector at Rs 5130 crRs 10,000 cr allocated for Indira Awaas YojnaSocial Security Fund to have corpus of over Rs 1000 crRs 2400 cr for MSMEsGovernment to contribute Rs 1000 per month for pension securityRs 5400 cr allocated for urban developmentRs 66100 cr allocated for rural developmentRs 1900 cr allocated for UID projectGross tax receipts Rs 7.46 lakh crGovernment to set up National Mission for delivery of justice

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15% rise in planned expenditureFiscal deficit target of 5.5% in FY11Excise on all non smoking tobacco raisedTelevisions to be costlierMobile phones to become cheaperCement to be costlierRefrigerators to be costlierJewellery to be more expensiveMonorail granted project import statusCDs to be cheaperExcise duty on CFL halved to 4%Bank farm loan target: Rs 3.75,lakh croreNutrient based fertiliser subsidy scheme to come into force fromApril 1, 2010To build 20 km of highway every dayIncome tax on income upto Rs 1.6 lakh: NilIncome tax on income above Rs 1.6 lakh and upto Rs. 5 lakh: 10per centIncome tax on income above Rs.5 lakh and upto Rs. 8 lakh: 20per centIncome tax on income above Rs. 8 lakh: 30 per cent

Railways Budget, 2010Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee presented the

Railways Budget, 2010, on February 24. No change in passengerfares was announced Planning Commission was pitching for ahike and the freight rates on select, but significant items such askerosene and food grains, were cut to keep prices down. 54 newtrains, including 10 Durantos, were announced. The Minister alsopromised to construct over 1,000 km of new rail lines over next oneyear.

The operating ratio, proportion of expenses to earnings,which was a healthy 75 per cent in 2007-08, was up to 94.7 per centin 2009-10. The Railways hope to bring it down to 92.3 per cent in2010-11. Though the budget proposes to raise net surplus from Rs951.03 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 3,173 crore in 2010-11, these figureswere called “peanuts” by experts when compared to the figures ofsome years ago.

Only Rs 373.09 crore was provided for new projects. Manyprojects come with riders: they’re either proposed in the public-

private partnership (PPP) mode or are “subject to sanction by theFinance Ministry and Planning Commission”.

Highlights:No increase in passenger fares.Rs.100 reduction in freight per wagon for fertilisers and kero-sene.Free travel for cancer patients in 3rd AC classes.Cost-sharing in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode in somegauge-conversion projects.Further extension of Kolkata Metro on priority basis; stations tobe named after Bahadur Shah Zafar, Tagore family.Karmabhoomi trains to be introduced for migrant labour.New Janmabhoomi train between Ahmedabad and Udhampur.Special 'Bharat Teertha' train to be run around India to com-memorate Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary. A spe-cial train to be run from West Bengal to Bangladesh to com-memorate the anniversary.Railway line to be extended from Bilaspur in Himachal Pradeshto Leh in Jammu and Kashmir.Andaman and Nicobar Islands to get railway line from Port Blairto Diglipur.Sikkim capital Gangtok to be connected by rail from Rangpo.Impact of Sixth Pay Commission recommendations placed atRs.55,000 crore.Gross earnings in 2009-10 estimated at Rs.88,281 crore.Working expenditure in 2009-10 estimated at Rs.83,440 crore.Expenses during 2010-11 estimated at Rs.87,100 crore.Thrust on expansion in 2010-11 with allocation of Rs.4,411 crore.Net profit of Rs.1,328 crore in 2009-10.Ten automobile ancillary hubs to be created.Policy decision to employ one member of family whose land isrequisitioned for railway projects.North-south, east-west dedicated freight corridors to be created.Centre for railway research to be established with Indian Insti-tutes of Technology and Defence Research and DevelopmentOrganisation.Design, development and testing centre for railway wheels atBangalore.

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Five sports academies to be set up; astroturf to be provided fordevelopment of hockey; employment opportunities for sportspersons.Railways to be lead partner for Commonwealth Games.

Economic Survey 2010Economy likely to grow by up to 8.75 per cent in 2010-11.Full recovery; return to 9 per cent growth in 2011-12.Broad recovery gives scope for gradual stimulus roll back.High double-digit food inflation in 2009-10 major concern.Signs of food inflation spreading to other sectors.Farm & allied sector production falls 0.2% in 2009-10.Need serious policy initiatives for 4% agriculture growth.Moots direct food subsidy via food coupons to households.Favours making available food in open market.Favours monthly ration coupons usable anywhere for poor.Gross fiscal deficit pegged at 6.5 pc of GDP in 2009-10.India 10th largest gold holding nation at 557.7 tonnes.Exports in April-December 2009 down 20.3 per cent.Imports in April-December 2009 down 23.6 per cent.Trade gap narrowed to USD 76.24 bn in April-December.32.5% savings & 34.9% investment (of GDP in 2008-09) putIndia in league of world's fastest growing nations.Government initiates steps to boost private investment in agri-culture.Wants credit available at reasonable rates on time for privatesector to invest in agriculture.Slowdown in infrastructure that began in 2007, arrested.Domestic oil production to rise 11 per cent in 2009-10.Gas output up 52.8 per cent to 50.2 billion cubic meters with RILstarting production.India world's 2nd largest wireless network with 525.1 millionmobile users.Virtually every second Indian has access to phone.Auction for 3G spectrum to provide existing and foreign playersto bring in new technology and innovations.

13th Finance CommissionThe Union government has accepted most of the

recommendations of the Thirteenth Finance Commission headed

by former Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar. The Commission has toldgovernments at the Centre and States to set their fiscal house inorder, even as it raised the share of taxes that the States would beentitled to receive over the next five years by 1.5 percentage points.

In addition, the Commission, a Constitutional body that isappointed every five years to recommend a tax-sharing formulabetween the Centre and States, has suggested a roadmap for theintroduction of a single-rate goods and services tax (GST), the keyindirect tax reform to create a common market in India. Its stringentnew roadmap for fiscal responsibility suggests, among other things,that the overall debt of the Centre and States be capped at 68 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from the current 82 per cent,and 75 per cent recommended by the Twelfth Finance Commission.

The Finance Commission has recommended that the Centrereduce debt to 45 per cent of GDP by March 2015, against 54.2 percent at present. For States the reduction in debt is recommended at2 percentage points to 25 per cent. The relatively less stringentcondition for States comes with the rider that the Fiscal Responsibilityand Budget Management Act allows the Centre to borrow on behalfof the States to help them counter macro-economic shocks. Duringthe financial crisis, the Centre had relaxed the cap on the fiscaldeficit.

The Finance Commission has said the Centre shouldtransfer 32 per cent of the taxes it collects to States, against 30.5 percent at present. The overall ceiling including transfers to local bodieson transfers from the Centre’s gross revenue has been raised from38 to 39.5 per cent. Among proposals that provide a thrust to fiscalfederalism, the commission has recommended that local bodiesreceive up to 2.5 per cent of the divisible tax pool. Of this, up to 1 percent can be incentive-linked.

While there is more reason for the States to cheer since thecommission proposes an increase in grants, much of it is tied tospecific spending programmes such as those for elementaryeducation and environment. There is, however, a performanceincentive of Rs 1,500 crore for Assam, Sikkim and Uttarakhand anda grant of Rs 51,800 crore to meet the deficits of Jammu & Kashmir,Himachal Pradesh and the north-eastern States (excluding Assam).

Like its predecessor, the Thirteenth Finance Commissionhas recommended a debt relief scheme for the States. The firstelement is to cap the interest rate on a part of the loans from the

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National Small Savings Fund at 9 per cent from up to 10.5 per cent.This will translate into a benefit of Rs 28,360 crore to the States. Inaddition, there is a Rs 4,506 crore benefit with the governmentaccepting the suggestion to write off central loans that are notadministered by the finance ministry but were outstanding at theend of 2009-10. Including the higher grants-in-aid, Madhya Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra would be the biggest beneficiariesin terms of share of transfers. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand andJammu and Kashmir would be the top losers.

The Finance Commission has projected that tax receiptswould see a compounded annual growth rate of over 17 per centbetween March 2010 and March 2015, while nominal GDP growthis estimated at 13.2 per cent.

Prescribing a zero revenue deficit as the golden rule, theCommission has recommended that the endeavour for all Statesshould be to reach that level by 2014-15.

China overtakes Japan as second-largestEconomy

After three decades of spectacular growth, China has passedJapan in the second quarter of 2010 to become the world’s second-largest economy behind the United States. The milestone, thoughanticipated for some time, is the most striking evidence yet thatChina’s ascendancy is for real and that the rest of the world willhave to reckon with a new economic superpower. The recognitioncame on August 16, 2010, when Tokyo said that Japan’s economywas valued at about $1.28 trillion in the second quarter, slightlybelow China’s $1.33 trillion. Japan’s economy grew 0.4 percent inthe quarter, substantially less than forecast. That weaknesssuggests that China’s economy will race past Japan’s for the fullyear.

Japan has had the world’s second-largest economy for muchof the last four decades, according to the World Bank. And during the1980s, there was even talk about Japan’s economy somedayovertaking that of the United States. But, while Japan’s economy ismature and its population quickly aging, China is in the throes ofurbanization and is far from developed, meaning it has a muchlower standard of living, as well as a lot more room to grow. China isalready a major driver of global growth. The country’s leaders have

grown more confident on the international stage and have begun toassert greater influence in Asia, Africa and Latin America, with thingslike special trade agreements and multi-billion dollar resource deals.Beijing is also beginning to shape global dialogues on a range ofissues; for instance, in 2009 it asserted that the dollar must bephased out as the world’s primary reserve currency. While the UnitedStates and the European Union are struggling to grow in the wake ofthe worst economic crisis in decades, China has continued to climbup the economic league tables by investing heavily in infrastructureand backing a $586 billion stimulus plan. There are huge challengesahead, though. Economists say that China’s economy is too heavilydependent on exports and investment and that it needs to encouragegreater domestic consumption something China has struggled todo. The country’s largely state-run banks have recently been criticizedfor lending far too aggressively in 2009, while shifting some loansoff their balance sheet to disguise lending and evade rules meantto curtail lending growth. China is also locked in a fierce debate overits currency policy, with the United States, European Union and othersaccusing Beijing of keeping the Chinese currency, the renminbi,artificially low to bolster exports leading to huge trade surpluses forChina but major bilateral trade deficits for the United States and theEuropean Union. China says that its currency is not substantiallyundervalued and that it is moving ahead with currency reform.

Top 20 B-schools in the worldThe Indian School of Business (ISB) is the only one from

India to find a place on the list of top 20 B-schools in the world,published by the Financial Times. ISB has improved its position tobag the 12th spot on the list of top 100 B-Schools across the globein 2010. The London School of Business topped the list, followed bythe University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School.Stanford University GSB and Insead have been ranked at the fourthand fifth positions, respectively.

Rural poor estimated at 42%Agriculture sector in India continues to suffer, save for sharp

growth in some years. The expert group to review the methodologyfor estimation of poverty, chaired by Suresh Tendulkar, has nowsuggested that the poverty ratio at the all India level was actually37.2% in 2004-05. Rural poverty was projected at 41.8% and urban

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at 25.7% by the committee, as against official estimates of 28.3%and 25.7% for rural and urban population, respectively. In the past,the poverty line was defined in terms of per capita consumerexpenditure at 1973-74 market prices and adjusted over time andacross States for changes in prices keeping unchanged the original1973-74 reference poverty line baskets of goods and services. Theall-India rural and urban poverty line baskets were derived separately,assuming per capita daily calorie intake of 2,400 for rural peopleand 2,100 for urban population. The Tendulkar panel has made fourmajor departures from the past practices. It moved away from thecalorie intake criteria for determining poverty line. Instead, it tests foradequacy of actual food expenditure near the poverty line to ensureaggregate nutrition, rather than just calories.

Nutrient-based subsidy policyThe Union government has approved the Nutrient Based

Fertiliser Subsidy (NBS) plan with effect from April 1, 2010. This islikely to have positive sentimental impact on share prices of fertilisercompanies. Under the new policy, the companies can fix retailfertiliser prices. However the urea prices will be increased by Rs483 per tonne or 10 per cent. Fertilisers are sold at government-fixed prices, which are lower than their costs of production or import.The difference is met through subsidy. The NBS does away withmaximum retail price. It proposes to replace the current system ofgiving subsidy to the industry with direct assistance to farmers.

Solar Mission launchedPrime Minister Manmohan Singh launched India’s Solar

Energy Mission (named Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission)on January 11, 2010. The main aim of the mission is to help generate20,000 MW of solar power by 2022. The Prime Minister urged theindustry to create ‘Solar Valleys’ on the lines of Silicon Valleys andasked business houses to view the Solar Energy Mission as abusiness opportunity. He added that the success of the missionhad the potential of transforming India’s energy prospects whilecontributing to national and global efforts to combat climate change.National Solar mission has been set-up to create an enabling policyframework for the deployment of 20,000 MW of solar power in 2020.The other objectives are: (a) Promote programmes for off-grid

applications, reaching 1000 MW by 2017 and 2000 MW by 2020; (b)to create favourable conditions for solar manufacturing capabilityfor indigenous production and market leadership; (c) to achieve 15million sq metres solar thermal collector area by 2017 and 20 millionby 2022; (d) to deploy 20 million solar lighting systems for ruralareas by 2022.

2010 Environmental Performance IndexIndia and China rank 123rd and 121st in pollution control,

respectively, reflecting the strain rapid economic growth imposeson the environment, according to the 2010 EnvironmentalPerformance Index (EPI). Iceland leads the world in addressingpollution control and natural resource management challenges,according to the index produced by a team of environmental expertsat Yale University and Columbia University. The EPI ranks 163countries on their performance across 25 metrics aggregated intoten categories including environmental health, air quality, waterresource management, biodiversity and habitat, forestry, fisheries,agriculture, and climate change. Occupying the bottom five positionsare Togo, Angola, Mauritania, the Central African Republic, and SierraLeone—countries that lack basic environmental amenities and policycapacity. The US ranks 61st, significantly behind other industrialisednations like Britain (14th), Germany (17th), and Japan (20th).

G-20 raises developing nations’ quota in IMFThe Group of 20 Finance leaders struck a landmark deal on

October 22, 2010, to boost developing countries’ power in theInternational Monetary Fund, even as they failed to set targets for awide-ranging global economic rebalancing. The IMF deal was hailedby fund MD Dominique Strauss-Kahn as a ‘historical’ moment thatwill see Europeans give up two seats on its 24-strong board topowerful developing countries and transfer 6 percent of votes to them.

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ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

India to launch mission to cut emissionsIndia will spare no efforts to contribute to the success of

post-Copenhagen process, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh de-clared on February 6, 2010, as he announced the launch of a Na-tional Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency, aimed at cutting car-bon emissions by 99 million tonnes. Within the ambit of our Na-tional Action Plan on Climate Change, India has already unveiledone of the world's most ambitious plans for promoting solar energy,targeting an installed capacity of 20,000 MW by the year 2022. Theinitiative is expected to lead to avoidance of capacity addition ofnearly 20,000 MW and reduce carbon dioxide emissions of almost99 million tonnes.

A fifth of world's life at extinction riskA fifth of the world’s mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles

and fishes are in imminent danger of going extinct, says this year’sedition of the benchmark IUCN Red List. The percentages of threat-ened invertebrates and plants are similar. Releasing the findings atthe Oct. 18-29 UN biodiversity summit, being attended by 192countries,Nagoya (Japan) on October 27th, Simon Stuart, chair ofthe Species Survival Commission of the International Union forConservation of Nature (IUCN), said their findings on vertebratesshowed that “nature’s backbone is at risk”. Around 3,000 scientistsfrom around the world have worked to put this Red List together.They have found that 25 percent of all mammals, 13 percent birds,41 percent amphibians, 22 percent reptiles and 15 percent fishesrisk extinction, mostly due to loss of their habitats and some due tooverhunting. IUCN has found 64 species that have improved theirstatus in the Red List, moving from the critically endangered to theendangered category, for example. Stuart said all these were inareas that had been protected, “proving the importance of conser-vation”. Results show that the status of biodiversity would have de-clined by at least an additional 20 percent if conservation action hadnot been taken. The successes include three species that were

extinct in the wild and have since been re introduced back to nature:the California condor and the black footed ferret in the US, andPrzewalski’s horse in Mongolia.

Rare snake sighted in West BengalA rare species of snake, spotted only twice in the past, was

discovered at a home in north Bengal's Jalpaiguri town on Septem-ber 30th. “This discovery is particularly exciting because this is thefirst time that a live specimen of the reptile — the Coral Red Kukrisnake – has been reported,” said Divisional Forest Officer (Wild LifeII) Sumita Ghatak. The snake was orange in colour and 88 cm long.Very little is known about the species or its habitat. It is mildly ven-omous. The Oligodon Cheriensis, first discovered in 1936, is namedafter the place in Uttar Pradesh where it was reportedly sighted forthe first time. A sighting was also reported near Mahendranagar inNepal. “The discovery took place on September 13 after a houseowner contacted us to capture the snake. When we caught it, werealised it was a species we had not seen before.” Experts andNGOs were consulted to identify the specimen, that was kept underobservation for about 10 days. It was released into the wild on Sep-tember 25. “Tissue samples from the snake have been collectedfor analysis and we are going to conduct further investigations aboutthe snake. There is no record of the Dooars being a natural habitatfor this snake, and its sudden appearance is very interesting. Weare now on the lookout for more specimens so that more can bestudied about its habitat and behaviour.”

India’s first eco-sensitive zone on a major riverThe Union government has decided to declare the natural

course of the Ganga in 135 km stretch from Gaumukh to Uttarkashiin Uttarakhand as India’s first “eco-sensitive” zone on a major river.This means that part of the river cannot be disturbed for any projects.Following this decision, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approveda proposal of scrapping three big hydel projects Loharinag Pala,Bhairon Ghati and Pala- Maneri and providing 2,000 MW of freepower to Uttarakhand as compensation for the same. The decisionis direct fallout of Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh’s assur-ance to religious gurus, including senior BJP leaders, and environ-ment experts that river Ganga will be allowed to run its natural flow

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in the 135-km stretch. The minister had support of non-official mem-bers of the authority, who had been advocating that no dams smallor big be allowed on the river.

New species of fishes found in Indian watersThe presence of a shark species new to science and 84

other deep-sea dwellers new to the Indian waters have been broughtout by a stock assessment of deep sea fishes of the Indian Exclu-sive Economic Zone and the central Indian Ocean, according toresearchers. Mustelus manglorensis, a new gummy shark spe-cies, was discovered from a depth of 500 metres off the Mangalorecoast. According to researchers, this is the second gummy sharkthat has been reported from the Indian Ocean against the 19 knownworldwide. Of the 84 species of fishes found in the Indian waters,15 were shark varieties, including Baloon, Cat, Lantern and Gulpers.Researchers have also confirmed the presence of 10 species ofeels belonging to Conger, Cusk and Snipe families from the studyregion. Most of the species were found inhabiting the sea at a depthbeyond 500 metres.

183 Elephant Corridors IdentifiedThe Ministry of Environment and Forests has identified 183

corridors for elephants. Out of this 138 are State Elephant Corri-dors, 28 Inter State Elephant Corridors and 17 are InternationalElephant Corridors. Every year the Ministry receives proposals inthe form of Annual Plan of Operation from States / Union Territory’sfor various activities under Project Elephant which includes restora-tion of Elephant Corridors also. In the last three years Rs. 4.5 croreshas been released to Kerala and Rs. 3.25 crores to Tamil Nadu foracquisition of land for Elephant Corridors. The acquisition processare done by respective State Governments.

Nationwide 38 Sites Identified for PlantationThe Ministry has a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Conser-

vation and Management of Mangroves in the country. On a nation-wide basis, 38 sites have been identified as appropriate for plant-ing of mangroves and their conservation and management. TheState-wise list is given in Annexure-I. As per the State of Forest Re-

port 2009, published by Forest Survey of India, the mangrove coverin the country stands at 4639 km2 out of which 353 km2 is in AndhraPradesh. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Conservationand Management of Mangroves, 100% central assistance is ex-tended to Coastal States/Union Territories, who so request, for imple-mentation of their approved Management Action Plans which com-prise components such as Survey and Demarcation, Afforestationand Restoration of Mangroves, Alternate and Supplementary Liveli-hoods, Protection Measures, Education and Awareness etc. Thedetails of central assistance provided to Coastal States/Union Ter-ritories for conservation & management of mangroves during thelast three years and the current year.

2010 in the top three warmest yearsThe year 2010 is almost certain to rank in the top three warm-

est years since the beginning of instrumental climate records in1850, according to data compiled by the World Meteorological Or-ganization (WMO) that were released here on Thursday. A WMOstatement said the global combined sea surface and land surfaceair temperature for 2010 (January–October) is now estimated at0.55 degrees Celsius plus or minus 0.11 degrees Celsius abovethe 1961–1990 annual average of 14 degrees Celsius. At present,2010's nominal value is the highest on record, just ahead of 1998and 2005. The data also indicates that the January-October 2010temperatures are near record levels. The final ranking of 2010 willnot become clear until November and December data are analysedin early 2011. Preliminary operational data from November 1 to 25indicate that global temperatures from November 2010 are similarto those observed in November 2005, indicating that global tem-peratures for 2010 are continuing to track near record levels.

Temperature rise to hit water, forest, healthIndia is expected to witness a 1.7 to 2 degrees Celsius rise

in the annual mean surface air temperature by 2030 due to thechange in climate conditions, according to a report commissionedby Ministry of Environment and Forests. The report, 4X4 Assess-ment of the Impact of Climate Change on key sectors and regions of

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India, has been prepared by 220 scientists from 120 research insti-tutions under the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment(INCCA). It is the first assessment report on the impact of climatechange on agriculture, health, water and forests in four regions ofthe country: Himalayas, Western Ghats, Coastal zone and the North-East in 2030. This is the second major publication on INCCA. In Maya report on GHG Emissions 2007 was released, making India firstdeveloping country to publish such data. Coastal areas are likely towitness maximum increase in temperature while winters are ex-pected to get warmer. India may endure floods 30 per cent moresevere in magnitude and heightened drought conditions by 2030,which may affect crop yields, damage dams and harm infrastruc-ture. In fact, the report says that frequency of droughts is alreadyincreasing, especially in the Himalayan region where the degree ofseverity had increased by more than 20 per cent since the 1970s.

India submits proposed carbon cuts to UNOn January 30, 2010, India submitted its proposed emis-

sion intensity cut targets by 20-25 per cent by 2020 to the UN, a daybefore the world body’s January 31 deadline for submitting the cli-mate change mitigation steps under the Copenhagen Accord. How-ever, it made it clear to the Secretariat of the United Nations Frame-work Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that all its domes-tic mitigation actions were entirely voluntary in nature and not legallybinding, a position India had maintained at Copenhagen Summit inDenmark. Though agriculture sector contributes around 14 per centof the total GHG emissions, India has kept it out of the purview of themitigations actions in its blueprint submitted to the UN to ensurefood security.

BASIC countries seek environment treatyIndia, China, Brazil and South Africa, jointly called BASIC coun-

tries, have said that the legally binding climate treaty on reduction ofcarbon emission should be finalised latest by 2011 as the “worldcould not wait indefinitely”. The third meeting of BASIC ministersconcluded in Cape Town April 25, 2010. The statement also said

that the developing countries strongly support international legally-binding agreements, as the lack of such agreements hurts devel-oping countries more than developed nations. The ministers saidthat negotiations should follow a two-pronged approach. One trackis on long-term cooperative action to combat climate change. Theother is for developed countries to commit to what extent they willreduce their greenhouse gas emissions after 2012, when the cur-rent commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol runs out. The nextBASIC ministerial meeting will be held at the end of July 2010 inBrazil, followed by one hosted by China at the end of October 2010.

Monitoring of Tigers ReportAccording to a report titled ‘Monitoring of Tigers and Prey

Animals of Kaziranga National Park,' released by Assam govern-ment, the Kaziranga National Park, famous for one-horned rhino,has the highest density of tigers in the world.The density of tigers atKaziranga is 32.64 tigers per 100 sq.km., the highest in any knowntiger habitat.

India is world’s third largest carbon emitterIndia is now world’s third biggest carbon dioxide emitting

nation after China and the US. The new emission data from theUnited Nations was a cause of worry for India’s climate negotiatorsat the next round of talks in Tianjin in China, held in October 2010.China, in 2009, moved to the top position while contributing 23 percent of the total global emissions and India, in 2010, surpassedRussia to take the third position with five percent. The saving graceis that the difference in total carbon emissions between the US (22per cent) and India is still huge. Russia's emissions have beenfalling because of economic slowdown. India's per-capita carbonemission is still lowest in the world (about 4.5 tonnes) but the de-mand for energy is rising, especially among the middle-class. Thepressure on India and China to reduce emissions is rising. USchief climate negotiator Todd Stern told a meeting of major econo-mies forum that a legally binding climate treaty was not possibleuntil India and China take “obligation” to reduce emissions.

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World mayors sign climate change pactMayors from around the world have signed a voluntary pact

in Mexico City to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The pact wassigned at a meeting meant as a precursor to the UN-sponsoredtalks in Cancun. Participants from some 135 cities and urban areassigned the pact committing them to adopt a number of measures tostem climate change. Meanwhile, a new study has found that fossil-fuel gases edged back less than hoped in 2009, as falls in ad-vanced economies were largely outweighed by rises in China andIndia. Annual emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of oil,gas and coal were 30.8 billion tonne, a retreat of only 1.3 per cent in2009, compared with 2008, a record year.

Solar-powered LED lanterns to earn carboncredits

The United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)aimed at slowing the warming of the planet has notified govern-ments and companies on how to calculate carbon-emission savedby installing solar-powered Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) insteadof ubiquitous, ancient lanterns. This could give India an incentive toreplace the lamps that are used in 30 per cent of households, mean-ing a saving of 50 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year. Atonne of emission saved fetches up to Rs 19,000 in the interna-tional carbon market. A poor Indian household can save up to Rs1,000 per annum on kerosene costs, half the cost of a solar-pow-ered LED lighting system. Once charged, LED bulb works for up to42 hours, compared with eight to 10 hours that conventional solarlanterns do. LED lamps are about 90 per cent more energy efficientthan traditional incandescent lamps and about 20 per cent morethan Compact Fluorescent Lamps. The UN estimates its new initia-tive can change the lives of a quarter of humanity, which still getslight by directly burning fuels, emitting nearly 200 million tonnes ofcarbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of 60 million cars.

Asiatic Lion census 2010According to the Asiatic Lion census-2010, the population of

Asiatic Lions in the Gir forest in Gujarat's Saurashtra region, theonly abode of the animals in the world, has grown by 13 percent to411. The last count, taken in 2005, was 359.

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SPACE RESEARCH

Russia puts European satellite Ka-Sat in orbitRussia on December 27th put into orbit the European Ka-

Sat satellite launched overnight by a Proton-M rocket from theBaikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. "The satellite was success-fully put into orbit", the Khrunichev space centre said December27th. This was Proton's first successful launch after a failure onDecember 5 of three Russian navigation satellites, Glonass, to reachorbit. They fell into the Pacific some 1,500 kilometres (937 miles)from Hawaii. After the incident, Russia has temporarily suspendedProton launches. Some experts have said programming errorscaused failures. Ka-Sat will ensure access to broadband Internetfor poorly served terrestrial networks in Europe and Mediterraneanbasin. The satellite was constructed by EADS Astrium for Eutelsat,Europe's leading satellite operator.

GSLV-F06 launch failsThe launch of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle,

GSLV-F06, from Sriharikota ended in failure on December 25, withthe rocket bursting to a ball of fire as it ascended into the sky. After asmooth 30-hour countdown, the GSLV-F06 lifted off from its launchpad It ascended into the sky majestically, giving no hint of the disas-ter that awaited the rocket. As it was climbing into the sky, the rocketlost it trajectory and exploded into a ball of fire. Soon after, the skywas filled with white, reddish-orange and dark-grey smoke. Flam-ing debris from the rocket came down in a shower over the Bay ofBengal. It is not known whether the range safety officer in the mis-sion control centre pressed the ‘destructive’ button to destroy therocket, as it was wearing off its path. The rocket GSLV-F06 was tohave put into orbit communication satellite GSAT-5P. The previousGSLV flight flown in April 2010 also ended in failure.

communication satellite HYLAS launchedAn advanced communication satellite HYLAS (Highly Adapt-

able Satellite), built by ISRO on a commercial basis in partnership

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with EADS-Astrium of Europe, was successfully launched Novem-ber 27, 2010 at 00.09 hours Indian Standard Time (IST) by the Euro-pean Ariane-5 V198 launch vehicle. The launch took place from theGuyana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guyana. Thirty-five min-utes after its lift-off, HYLAS separated from Ariane-5 launch vehicleafter reaching its intended Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).ISRO's Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka suc-cessfully received radio signals transmitted by HYLAS and thesatellite's health is normal. HYLAS satellite developed for AvantiCommunications, UK consists of ten high power transponders thatuse eight in Ka and two in Ku band frequencies. The satellite isdesigned to deliver high-speed broadband services through its spotbeams over Europe. The satellite is expected to be operated from33.5 deg. W longitude for European coverage.

Thirty Meter Telescope ProjectOn June 25, 2010, India joined as an observer in the ambi-

tious astronomical observatory, Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT), inHawaii, which will help in unravelling mysteries of black hole, originof galaxies and formation of planets among others. The status of anobserver is first step by India in becoming a full partner in TMT,which will be fully operational in 2018 and will be world’s mostadvanced astronomical observatory. The telescope will have a 30-metre segmented mirror which uses diffraction of light and focusesin much sharper way than smaller telescopes. Such a large size ofaperture will help it collecting more light, thus generating muchclearer and sharper images of fainter objects, which may not bepossible by present day scopes. The images generated by the tele-scope will be 12 times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope.

First Oxygen sampled outside Earth on SaturnA spacecraft has tasted oxygen in the atmosphere of another

world for the first time, while flying low over Saturn’s icy moon, Rhea.NASA’s Cassini probe scooped oxygen from the thin atmosphere ofthe planet’s moon while passing overhead at an altitude of 97 km inMarch 2010. Until now, wisps of oxygen have only been detected onplanets and their moons indirectly, using the Hubble space tele-scope and other major facilities. Instruments aboard Cassini re-vealed an extremely thin oxygen and carbon dioxide atmosphere

that is sustained by high-energy particles slamming into the moon’ssurface and kicking up atoms, molecules and ions. Astronomershave counted 62 moons orbiting Saturn. At 1500 km wide, Rhea isthe second largest and is thought to be made almost entirely of ice.

China’s second lunar mission probe successfulChinese Premier Wen Jiabao unveiled pictures of the ’Bay of

Rainbows’, marking the success of China’s ‘Chang’e-2’ lunar probemission, official media said. The pictures were taken and sent backby ‘Chang’e-2’, China’s second lunar probe, which was launchedon October 1. The lunar probe named after a Chinese mythicalmoon goddess, is currently orbiting 100 km above the moon takingpictures of its surface with a high resolution camera. ’Chang’e-2’,regarded as a trial run to land ’Chang’e-3’ in 2013, is aimed attesting necessary technologies and continuing to transfer data backto earth for further research before eventually landing on the moonas an experiment for future lunar probes. According to the new roadmap, China also plans to send a probe to Mars by 2013 and toVenus by 2015, besides setting up its own manned space station.

PSLV launches five satellitesOn July 12, 2010, five satellites CARTOSAT, STUDSAT and

three foreign satellites were launched by the ISRO-built Polar Satel-lite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The three foreign satellites Algerian,Canadian and Swiss were launched as part of a commercial op-eration. Studsat weighs one kg and has been built by 35 students ofseven engineering colleges of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Ithas a camera that produces high-resolution data. Built at Rs 175crore and weighing 694 kg, CARTOSAT-2B is an earth observationsatellite in a sun-synchronous orbit. Its application will be towardscartography in India. It will generate pictures and data relevant foragriculture and rural development.

National Mission on MonsoonThe Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has proposed a

National Mission on Monsoon towards developing reliable dynamicmodels for forecasting the monsoon over the next three to five-yearperiod through a multi-institutional effort. The mission will includeaspects of short (up to 3 days) and medium-range (up to a week)predictions as well.

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Space shuttle Atlantis lands for final timeOn May 26, 2010, Atlantis and its six-man crew landed at

Florida’s Kennedy Space Center marking the end of Atlantis’ 25years of service. Only two shuttle missions remain, by NASA’s twoother spaceships. The space agency would like Atlantis to return tothe International Space Station in June 2011. But that’s not in thecards unless the White House grants a reprieve. The space stationconstruction mission boosted Atlantis’ mileage to just over 193 mil-lion km, accumulated over 32 flights. The shuttle and its astronautsleft the outpost bigger and more powerful, adding a new compart-ment and fresh batteries.

First solar powered spacecraftJapanese scientists have developed a kite-shaped ‘space

yacht’ that uses only solar power for propulsion. The spacecraftIKAROS would be launched into the space for a six-month missionto Venus. It is the first spacecraft to use such technology. Its name isan acronym for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation ofthe Sun. It also alludes to the Greek mythic hero Icarus who flew tooclose to the Sun and fell into the sea. In space, the spacecraft’sshort cylindrical pod will be separated from the rocket spinning upto 20 times a minute. This will help it unfold its flexible 46-feet sail,which is thinner than a human hair. The square-shaped sail,equipped with thin-film solar cells, uses resistance created by theSun’s energy in the same way as wind propels a yacht throughwater, thus providing the spacecraft with enough thrust to hover androtate.

NASA’s Solar Mission releases pictures of SunUS space agency NASA has released stunning solar im-

ages some of which highlight never-before-seen material stream-ing out of the Sun while others show extreme close-ups of activity onthe Sun’s surface. “These initial images show a dynamic Sun that Ihad never seen in more than 40 years of solar research,” said Rich-ard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquar-ters in Washington. The images were taken by Solar DynamicsObservatory, or SDO that was recently launched by NASA. It is the

first mission of the organisation’s Living with a Star Program or LWSone of the NASA’s many missions to study the Sun and space envi-ronment.

Chandrayaan-I finds deepest crater on moonScientists have discovered moon's biggest and deepest cra-

ter, some 2,400 km-long and 9 km deep, using data from a NASAinstrument that flew aboard India's maiden unmanned lunar missionChandrayaan-I. The US space agency's Moon Mineralogy Mapper(M3) detected the enormous crater, the South Pole-Aitken basin, thatwas created when an asteroid smacked into moon's southern hemi-sphere shortly after the formation of earth's only natural satellite.

Chandrayaan-I finds ice on moonThe success story of Chandrayaan-I, the maiden Indian moon

mission, turned a new chapter with the discovery of ice deposits onthe moon by an American payload aboard the spacecraft. Analysisof data obtained by the Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar (Mini-SAR) aboard Chandrayaan-I spacecraft has provided evidence forthe presence of ice deposits near the moon’s North Pole. The Mini-SAR instrument found more than 40 small craters (two to 15 km indiameter) with sub-surface water ice located at their base.

10 Rohini series indigenous rocketsThe Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) launched a total

of 10 Rohini series indigenous sounding rockets from the Thumba,Equatorial Rocket Launching Station and the Satish Dhawan SpaceCentre in Sriharikota to investigate the effects of the longest annularsolar eclipse of this millennium.

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DEFENCE NEWSUnmanned Aerial Vehicle

The Defence Research and Development Oganisation (DRDO),has successfully flown the indigenously built Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV), named Rustom. It is a medium altitude long endurance UAV,developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), alab of the DRDO. The ADE specialises in UAVs and flight control sys-tems. The subsequent flights of the Rustom will test and demonstratecapabilities like controlling the UAV through GPS satellites. The Rustomhas been designed for endurance of 12-15 hour, with a 25,000-ft alti-tude ceiling and 75 kg payload of cameras and sensors. The data linkfor this has been developed by DEAL, another DRDO laboratory; aprivate Indian company has built the airframe.

INS VagliThe last of India's Foxtrot-class submarines, INS Vagli re-

tired after 36 years of service. The retirement of INS Vagli will leaveonly 14 more submarines for India now.

GE Engines for TejasGE Aviation of USA has bagged the contract for supplying

engines for the Light Combat Aircraft MK-2 (LCA MK-2 or Tejas MK-2). The aircraft is being developed by the DRDO with the HindustanAeronautics Limited (HAL) being the implementing agency for theproject. Installation of the new engine will pave the way for acquisi-tion of the indigenous multi-role fighter jet by the IAF. The necessityfor a new engine arose after the LCA’s present engine, also sup-plied by GE (GE F404 IN20), failed to meet the IAF requirements.Installation of the new engine will necessitate major modificationsto the LCA, especially the fuselage. The ADA expects the Tejas MK2to fly in 2014.

BrahMos cruise missileIndia test-fired the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile, which

has a range of 290 kms, from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at

Chandipur off the Orissa coast. The Brahmos-II, a result of an Indo-Russian joint venture, can be potentially used for surgical strikes,including at terror camps, without causing collateral damage. It cancarry conventional warheads up to 300 kg and effectively engageground targets from an altitude of just 10 metres. The missile cantravel at three times the speed of sound.

IAF launches AFNETThe Indian Air Force, in a significant development, launched

on September 14, 2010, its state-of-the-art digital information sys-tem that will provide real time data, voice and images to command-ers on the ground, as well as to pilots in the air. It will connect allIAF’s, fighters, choppers, transport planes, satellites and UAV’s withground and command stations which will in turn have the positionof the ground-based air defence guns deployed at airbases. Thenew system will make the IAF network centric force. The Air ForceNetwork (AFNET) has replaced the IAF’s old communication net-work set-up using the “tropo-scatter” technology that was first de-vised in the 1950s.

First flight of Tejas supersonic fighter planeThe dream of having a supersonic fighter jet of indigenous

built came one step closer to realisation on June 2, 2010, when theLimited Series Production Tejas aircraft (LSP-4) took off from theHindustan Aeronautics Limited airport, Bangaluru, for its first flight.Test pilot, Group Captain Suneet Krishna, flew the aircraft to analtitude of 11 kms and went supersonic, touching 1.1 Mach speed.A fighter plane flies in supersonic speed when it has already ac-complished its mission and is being chased by enemy aircraft. Fortesting, there was a plane chasing the Tejas LSP-4 during its firsttest flight. The Tejas flew in the configuration that would be finallydelivered to the Indian Air Force.

Navy gets two WarshipsGiving a boost to the Navy’s defence capabilities, two state-

of-the-art high-speed warships, INS Cankarso and INS Kondul, werecommissioned into the naval fleet on June 29, 2010. The indig-enously-built ships use water jet propulsion technology and canachieve speeds in excess of 35 knots. Water jet technology has

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rapidly gained acceptance as the leading means of propulsion forall types of high-speed marine craft, including ferries, work boats,patrol crafts and pleasure boats. The ships will be based in Goaand tasked with the role of detecting, locating and destroying small,fast-moving enemy surface craft engaged in covert operations. INSCankarso and INS Kondul are fitted with 30-mm CRN-91 gun builtby Ordnance Factory, Medak, and Igla missiles and set of machineguns ranging from light to heavy.

New test range of DRDOThe Defence Research and Development Organisation

(DRDO) is building a new test range in Chitradurga district inKarnataka for its aeronautics missions for flight-testing sophisti-cated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), air-to-ground weapons,huge parachutes, Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, aerostats and alsofor testing electronic warfare systems. The DRDO already has anIntegrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea, near Balasore,Orissa, from where different missiles are flight-tested.

INS Chennai Missile Destroyer launchedIndian Navy launched INS Chennai, a missile destroyer in

the Project-15 alpha class, at the Mazgaon Dock in Mumbai on April1, 2010. Elizabeth Antony, wife of Defence Minister AK Antony,launched the warship. Project 15 Alpha is code name for Kolkata-class destroyers that are being made in the Mazgaon dock inMumbai. These are the largest warships ever constructed atMazgaon, the oldest and the most prolific of all Indian navaldockyards. Aimed at adding a new dimension to the country's navalwarfare, India has launched the indigenous warship with enhancedstealth features and land-attack capabilities. The 6800 tonnesKolkata class (Project 15-A) destroyers incorporate Indian systemsincluding the HUMSA-NG (Hull Mounted Sonar Array NewGeneration), 16 Brahmos missiles, torpedos and the Nagin activetowed array sonar, jointly developed by the DRDO's Naval Scienceand Technology Laboratory in Visakhapatnam and BharatElectronics Limited in Bangalore. Russia is assisting Project 15-Awith shafts and propellers. The propulsion package consists of fourreversible gas turbines in combined gas-and-gas configuration.

INS ShivalikOn April 29, 2010, India affected a generational shift in its

warship-building capability by commissioning INS Shivalik the firstindigenously built stealth frigate that is the biggest in its class in theworld. The ship, which is 143 metres long, can tactically fire weaponseven before the enemy detects it. The hard-to-detect warship willform a crucial component of the Indian Navy. It is equipped with amix of Indian, Russian, Israeli and western weapons and sensors.Two other such ships INS Satpura and the INS Sahayadari wouldfollow soon. Each ship would carry on board long-range surface-to-surface Klub missiles, area defence missiles Shtil and Barak, anti-submarine torpedoes, 100 mm mounted gun and six-barrelled 30mm gun. Ships like these would form the core of the India’s battlefleet in the first half of this century. A 250-member crew, including 35officers, will man INS Shivalik. The new design features give theship enhanced operational capabilities in terms of survivability,stealth, sea keeping, ship handling and weapons.

AstraThe first night trial of indigenously developed, beyond visual

range air-to-air missile ‘Astra' was test-fired from the IntegratedTest Range complex at Chandipur.

LCH makes successful first flightOn March 29, 2010, India entered the big boys’ league with

the successful first flight of the prototype of its very own attackhelicopter Light Combat Helicopter (LCH). The maiden test flight ofthe 5.5-tonne attack chopper, a derivative version of Banagalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) flagship productAdvanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv was termed by pilots whoflew it as “very good”. The Shakti engine being used in the LCH hasbeen jointly developed by the HAL and Turbomeca of France withprimary focus on high-altitude operations. The rotor system hasalso been developed indigenously. The helicopter is expected tomeet operational requirements like air support, anti-infantry andanti-armour roles. The twin-engine LCH is a pure attack helicoptermade by the design experience gained from the Dhruv. Currentlyaround 100 Dhruv helicopters are being used by the Indian armedforces and paramilitary forces like the Coast Guard and the BSF,

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civil operators like Pawan Hans and the ONGC. Dhruv is also beingused by foreign countries like Ecuador, Nepal, Mauritius and Male.Though LCH is derived from Dhruv, there are differences in design.While in Dhruv pilots sit side-by-side, in the LCH they sit one behindthe other. All flight controls, hydraulics and fuel system have beenredesigned for the sleeker, heavily armoured LCH.

country's first Anti Submarine Warfare CorvetteM.M. Pallam Raju, Union Minister of State for Defence

launched the country's first Anti Submarine Warfare Corvette (ASWC)for the Indian Navy at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers(GRSE) Limited.

Super Cruiser BrahMos test-fired successfullyOn March 21, 2010, India joined the league of select nations

to have a ‘manoeuvrable’ supersonic cruise missile when itsuccessfully test-fired the vertical-launch version of 290-km rangeBrahMos from a warship in the Bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast.After the latest test, India has become the first and only country in theworld to have a “manoeuvrable supersonic cruise missile in itsinventory”. The test-firing was part of the pre-induction tests by theNavy as moves are afoot to deploy the vertical-launch version of themissile in ships. The weapon system has been designed anddeveloped by the Indo-Russian joint venture company.

India planning to buy C-17 aircraft from USAIndia is set to buy 10 C-17 Globemaster-III giant strategic

aircraft, each of which comes for about $220 million. The four-engineC-17 is capable of carrying payload of up to 78 tonnes, transporttanks and air-drop more than 100 combat-ready paratroopersdirectly into a battle-zone. It can cover 2,400 nautical miles at astretch and with mid-air refuelling it can go even longer distances.The plane has the capability to take off and land on 3,000 feet orless runway, as also on a semi-prepared runway.

Exercise Milan“Exercise Milan” was the largest naval war game hosted by

India, in February 2010, with the participation of 12 navies of theAsia-Pacific region.

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYFlower has world’s longest genome

Researchers at London's Kew Gardens say they've discov-ered the longest genome in the world and that it belongs to a ratherordinary-looking white flower. The scientists say the Paris japonicahas a genetic code 50 times longer than that of a human being andedges out its nearest competitor, the marbled lungfish. A genome isthe full complement of an organism's DNA, complex molecules thatdirect the formation and function of all living organisms.

Scientists develop ‘e-skin’Biotech wizards have engineered electronic skin that can

sense touch, in a major step towards next-generation robotics andprosthetic limbs. The lab-tested material responds to almost thesame pressures as human skin and with the same speed. Impor-tant hurdles remain but the exploit is an advance towards replacingtoday’s clumsy robots and artificial arms with smarter, touch-sensi-tive upgrades. The “e-skin” comprises a matrix of nano-wires madeof germanium and silicon rolled onto a sticky polyimide film. Theresearchers then laid nano-scale transistors on top, followed by aflexible, pressure-sensitive rubber. The prototype, measuring 49square centimetres, can detect pressure ranging from 0 to 15kilopascals, comparable to the force used for such daily activitiesas typing on a keyboard or holding an object.

Artificial kidneyAn artificial kidney implant that would work as well as a natu-

ral organ is in the offing. The first prototype of the device unveiled bythe US researchers could do away with the need for dialysis ordonor organs. The device comprises thousands of microscopicfilters to remove toxins from the blood and a bio-reactor to mimic themetabolic and water-balancing roles of a real kidney. The implant isbeing developed jointly by engineers, biologists and physicians ledby Shuvo Roy at the University of California, San Francisco. Thetreatment has already been proven to work for the sickest patients,using a room-sized external model.

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Wheat genome codeBritish scientists have decoded the genome of wheat, in a

breakthrough research that will prove valuable to crop breeders incountries like India, in increasing the yield of the staple food crop.Wheat production worldwide is under threat from climate change ata time when there is an increase in demand from a growing humanpopulation. Scientists at the University of Liverpool, in collaborationwith the University of Bristol and the John Innes Centre, have se-quenced the entire wheat genome and will make the DNA dataavailable to crop breeders to help them select key agricultural traitsfor breeding. Scientists have analysed the wheat genome, which isfive times larger than the human genome and is the largest ge-nome to be sequenced till date.

India’s first one-megawatt solar plantOn April 7, 2010, solar energy initiative of Reliance Indus-

tries, RIL Solar Group, commissioned India's first one-megawattsolar plant to power a stadium to be used in the CommonwealthGames 2010. Thyagaraj Stadium, where the plant has been com-missioned, is planned to be a model green stadium. RIL SolarGroup has also implemented power plants in the R.K. Khanna Ten-nis Complex. The solar initiative is one of the major ones to com-pensate for carbon-dioxide emissions to be released through thegame. The solar power generated at the Thyagaraj Stadium is ex-pected to result in emission reduction of more than 1,200 tons ofCO2 per year.

Brain chipScientists have developed a brain chip that will help paraly-

sed patients operate their bionic limbs. The technology employstiny microchips to sense nerve messages, decode the signals, andturn thought into movement. The scientists hope that, within fiveyears, they will be able to offer robotic devices to patients with dam-aged spinal cords that will enable them to move their arms or legsat will. A more ambitious idea is not to use robotic devices but toreplace the broken connection to the limb with an artificial link. Thebrain chip would then send signals to an implanted stimulator inthe spinal cord. This would generate electrical impulses to makemuscles contract and move paralysed limbs.

Census of the seasFirst global count of marine life logs 230,000 species—but

scientists warns of mass extinctions. It has been the biggest andmost comprehensive attempt ever to answer that age-old questionhow many fish are there in the sea? A 10-year study of the diversity,distribution and abundance of life in the world’s oceans attemptsjust that. The Census of Marine Life estimates there are over 230,000species in our oceans. A team of over 360 scientists around theworld surveyed 25 regions, from the Antarctic through the temperateand tropical seas to the Arctic. Over fishing, degraded habitats, pol-lution and the arrival of invasive species are major threats to themarine life. But more problems are around the corner: rising watertemperatures and acidification thanks to climate change and thegrowth in areas of the ocean that are low in oxygen and, therefore,unable to support life.

Among the major findings are:

A fifth of the world’s marine species are crustaceans such ascrabs, lobsters, krill and barnacles. Add in molluscs (squid andoctopus) and fish and that accounts for nearly half the species inworld’s seas.Species often used in conservation campaigning—whales, sealions, turtles and sea birds—account for less than 2% of thespecies in the oceans.Enclosed seas such as the Mediterranean, Gulf of Mexico,China’s shelves, Baltic, and the Caribbean are having the mostthreatened biodiversity.The most diverse regions are around Australia and south-eastAsia.Australian and Japanese waters contain more than 30,000 spe-cies each and are among the most biologically diverse in theworld.The manylight viperfish (Chauliodus sloani) is the most “cos-mopolitan” marine creature with a presence in around a quarterof the world’s seas.The number of marine fish species known to science stood at16,764, and was growing at around 100 a year. There are be-lieved to be 22,000 fish species in the world.

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India’s first scientific expedition to South PoleTo commemorate the centenary of Norwegian explorer

Ronald Amundsen’s December 14, 1911 feat, India will launch itsfirst scientific expedition to the South Pole in November 2010. Aneight-member team of scientists would undertake the 3,000-kmlong treacherous terrain from India’s research station Maitri in theAntarctic region to the South Pole. The route to be taken is a fairlynew one and had been charted with the aim to understand climatechange over the past years. These studies are expected to add tothe knowledge of how the ancient landmass, once fused with othercontinents in a super-continent before being separated 200 millionyears ago, has evolved. The challenging effort will be simplified tosome extend with the help of navigational equipment and four mod-ern ice-traversing vehicles that the Union government is planning toacquire for the trip.

India’s 18th nuclear plantIndia’s 18th nuclear power plant at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan

(RAPS-5) began production on February 6, 2010. The plant hasbeen set-up by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. The indig-enously built 220 MW unit uses fuel imported from Russia whichhas been acquired after India got waiver from Nuclear SuppliersGroup guidelines in September 2008. The operationalisation ofRAPS-5 has increased the capacity of Rawatbhata plant to 96 MW.The project, set-up in September 2002, took six years to complete.It had remained idle for some months because of lack of fuel. Withthe commissioning of RAPS-5 the total installed nuclear power ca-pacity of India has risen to 4,340 MW.

Tianhe-1The 13 computer cabinets containing the Tianhe-1, China's

first domestically-made petaflop supercomputer, have been installedand it is scheduled to begin system debugging and testing in Sep-tember, according to the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin.

World’s most precise clockScientists claim to have created the world's most precise

clock based on the oscillation of a trapped aluminium-27 atom.

According to the New Scientist, the new record-holder for the mostprecise timekeeper, built at the National Institute of Standards andTechnology in Colorado, USA, could tick off the 13.7-billion-year ageof universe to within 4 seconds. The optical clock monitors the os-cillation of a trapped atom of aluminium-27 and is more than twiceas precise as the earlier version, reported in 2008.

First robot with emotionsA robot that is capable of developing and showing emotions

has finally been unveiled. When Nao developed by a Europeanresearch team is sad, he hunches his shoulders forward and looksdown. When he's happy, he raises his arms, angling for a hug.When frightened, Nao cowers, and he stays like that until he issoothed with some gentle strokes on his head.

Anti-influenza vaccineIndia launched its first indigenously manufactured anti-

influenza vaccine, Vaxiflu-S manufactured by Zydus-CadilaHealthcare that will protect people against the A (H1N1) flu.

India’s first integrated Waste Management PlantInfra firm a2z Infrastructure will set up India’s first integrated

municipal solid waste management plant in Kanpur. The project,touted to be Asia’s largest, would comprise management of thecity’s solid waste in an environment friendly manner and subse-quent power generation for captive and merchant use. Majority ofthe fuel used in the plant will be RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) derivedfrom solid waste, which is considered a better replacement for coalwith lesser emissions. The power plant will have the capacity toproduce 15 MW power.

IIT-Kanpur to set up experimental power plantThe Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) has planned

to set up a 550 kilowatt (KW) Solar Energy Research ExperimentalStation (SERES) in its campus. The station would serve the pur-pose of solar energy development research, apart from being apilot project for improving the commercial viability of solar energy

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generation. It would provide uninterrupted free power supply to sixneighbouring villages, Nankari, Bara Sirohi, Singhpur, Bakunthpur,Naramau and Kachchar. The villages are electrified, but the presentpower supply is highly erratic. The Rs 18-crore project has beentaken up as a part of the ongoing golden jubilee celebrations at theinstitute.

First life form made by manScientists have created the world’s first synthetic life form in

a landmark experiment that paves the way for designer organismsthat are built rather than evolved. The controversial feat, which hasoccupied 20 scientists for more than 10 years at an estimated costof $40 million, was described by one researcher as “a definingmoment in biology”. Craig Venter, the pioneering US geneticist be-hind the experiment, described the converted cell as “the first self-replicating species we’ve had on the planet whose parent is a com-puter.” He said the achievement heralds the dawn of a new era inwhich new life is made to benefit humanity, starting with bacteriathat churn out bio-fuels, soak up carbon dioxide from the atmo-sphere and even manufacture vaccines. The new organism is basedon an existing bacterium that causes mastitis in goats, but at itscore is an entirely synthetic genome that was constructed fromchemicals in the laboratory.

Microsoft launched latest softwareMicrosoft Corporation launched its latest software Office 2010,

SharePoint 2010, Visio 2010 and Project 2010 for business cus-tomers, unified productivity experience across computers, web andmobile.

Browse at the speed of lightScientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

(MIT) have created a new infra-red laser made from germanium thatoperates at room temperature, which has made light-speed com-puting come one step closer to reality. The research removes thecryogenic cooling systems previously needed for infra-red lasersand could lead to powerful computer chips that operate at the speed

of light. Until now, infra-red germanium lasers required expensivecryogenic cooling systems to operate. The new germanium laseroperates at room temperature. To create the germanium laser, thescientists take a six-inch, silvery-gray disk of silicon and spray it witha thin film of germanium. These same disks are actually used toproduce chips in today's computers.

Climate expedition to AntarcticaOn January 11, 2010, an Indian team set sail on the first

Southern Ocean expedition after the Copenhagen meet — the fourthto be taken up by the National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Re-search (NCAOR), Goa to study, among other things, climate changeand its impact on life. It will also be the first time Indian scientistswill be crossing the 55 degrees South latitude to go almost up to thepolar region on an Indian vessel. Sagar Nidhi, the only Indian ves-sel that can cut through ice, left Goa with 25 scientists for Mauritiusand head farther southwards on a voyage that will last till April 2010.The scientists will take up about 20 studies in the ocean between35 and 66 degrees South latitudes. Prominent among them wouldbe paleo-climatic studies that involve collecting samples from theocean bed at a depth of up to six kilometres. Changes in sedimentformation, water mass and other parameters would be comparedwith previous data to ascertain the impact of climate change.

Mapping of Mycobacterium tuberculosisIndian scientists announced the first-ever detailed mapping

of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The government's Open SourceDrug Discovery (OSDD) initiative released the results of its ‘Con-nect 2 Decode' (C2D) project to re-annotate the biological and ge-netic information relating to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)genome.

Fourth discovery by RIL in Cambay BasinReliance Industries has announced its fourth oil discovery in

exploratory block CB-ONN-2003/1, located on-land in the Cambaybasin and named ‘Dhirubhai-47’. The block was awarded underNELP V round of exploration bidding. This block is located at a

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distance of 130 kms from Ahmedabad and covers an area of 635 sqkms. RIL is the operator and has 100 per cent participating interestin the block. The block has 14 exploratory wells and the company iscontinuing further exploratory drilling efforts in the block. The com-pany says that, based on the acquired 3D seismic data, there areseveral more prospects with upside potential have been identifiedin the contract area.

World’s smallest 3-D map

Scientists claim to have created the world’s smallest threedimensional map a map of the Earth so small that 1,000 of themcould fit on one grain of salt. A team at computer giant IBM accom-plished this through a new, breakthrough technique which uses atiny, silicon tip with a sharp apex 1,00,000 times smaller than asharpened pencil to create patterns and structures as small as 15nanometre at greatly reduced cost and complexity. According to thescientists, this patterning technique opens new prospects for de-veloping nano-sized objects in fields such as electronics, futurechip technology, medicine, life sciences, and opto-electronics. Thecomplete 3D map of the world measuring only 22 by 11 micrometrewas “written” on a polymer. It is composed of 5,00,000 pixels, eachmeasuring 20 NM2, and was created in only 2 minutes and 23seconds.

World's smallest superconductor developed

Scientists have developed the world's smallest supercon-ductor less than one nanometre wide which could be used for mak-ing miniature electronic devices. The superconductor, a sheet offour pairs of molecules, provides the first evidence that nano-scalemolecular superconducting wires can be fabricated. Superconduct-ing materials have an electrical resistance of zero, and so can carrylarge electrical currents without power dissipation or heat genera-tion. Superconductivity was first discovered in 1911, and until re-cently, was considered a macroscopic phenomenon. The currentfinding suggests, however, that it exists at the molecular scale, whichopens up a novel route for studying this phenomenon.

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POLITICAL AFFAIRSForeign Education Bill

After several years of debate, the Union Cabinet, on March15, 2010, unanimously approved a Bill that would allow foreign edu-cation providers to set up campuses in India and offer degrees. ABill to this effect was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha in August1995. The new one is expected to be introduced in Parliament andbe voted into law by the monsoon session of 2010. This is a mile-stone which will enhance choices, increase competition and bench-mark quality. A larger revolution than even in the telecom sectorawaits us,” said Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human ResourceDevelopment (MHRD). The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regu-lation of Entry and Operations, Maintenance of Quality and Preven-tion of Commercialisation) Bill will allow foreign universities to in-vest at least 51 per cent of the total capital expenditure needed toestablish the institute in India. Such institutes will be granteddeemed university status under Section 3 of the Universities GrantsCommission (UGC) Act, 1956. The Bill aims to regulate the entry,operation and maintenance of quality assurance and prevention ofcommercialisation by foreign educational institutions, besides pro-tecting the interest of the student community from sub-standardand ‘fly by night’ operators. The Bill is aimed at not only bringing ininvestment in the education sector, but also draw in foreign stu-dents, besides helping check the flight of Indians to study (thenwork and settle) abroad.

Rajya Sabha passes Women’s Reservation BillFourteen years after it was envisaged, the Rajya Sabha, on

March 10, 2010, passed the landmark Women’s Reservation Billthat will pave the way for reserving 33 per cent seats for women inParliament and State Assemblies. But prior to that, the legislationhas to be seen through in the Lok Sabha. Of the 186 memberspresent in the Rajya Sabha, 185 voted in favour of the Bill. Barringthe parties from the Hindi-belt Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya JanataDal and BSP all other parties that included the constituents of Con-gress-led UPA and BJP-led NDA supported the Bill that was to carry

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out the 108th amendment to the Constitution for enabling reserva-tion. The Congress-led UPA, the BJP-led NDA and also the Leftparties were on the same side as the Parliament authored the “his-toric move”, which could upstage several well ensconced politi-cians but ensure proper representation of women, which languishesat 11 per cent in Lok Sabha.

Main points of the legislation:Seeks to reserve one-third of seats for women in Lok Sabhaand State Assemblies.Allocation of reserved seats shall be determined by the authorityprescribed by the Parliament.One-third of the total seats reserved for SCs and STs shall bereserved for women from these groups in LS and Assemblies.Reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constitu-encies in the State or Union Territory.Reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 yearsafter the commencement of the Act.

Judicial Standards and Accountability BillThe proposed Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill,

which will replace the four decade-old Judges Inquiry Act, has laiddown 14 guidelines for judges. These guidelines will be calledjudicial standards.

N-liabilities BillIn an important step towards the implementation of the Indo-

US civilian nuclear deal, the Union government is to introduce a Billto facilitate the entry of American companies in the nuclear sector.The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2009 is commonly knownas the nuclear liability Bill. The Bill aims at limiting the liability of anuclear plant operator to Rs 300 crore in the eventuality of an acci-dent and provides for appointing a claims commissioner with pow-ers of a civil court to arbitrate such cases. It also provides for thepenalty to be paid by the operator and not the supplier companies,which would mainly be American in this case. The operator wouldnot be liable for any nuclear damages if the incident is caused by“grave national disaster of exceptional character”, armed conflict oran act of terrorism and is suffered by the person on account of hisown negligence. The Bill also provides for the establishment of the

Nuclear Damage Claims Commission, which will have one or moreclaims commissioners for a specified area. The claims commis-sioner shall have all the powers of a civil court for the purpose oftaking evidence on oath, enforcing attendance of witnesses, com-pelling the discovery and production of documents and other mate-rial objects.

Model rules for RTE ActOn January 30, 2010, the Union government approved model

rules for the Right to Education Act 2009, which requires State gov-ernments to make free and compulsory elementary education aright of every child between 6 and 14 years of age. The model rules,list priorities for States, which would have to conform to the stan-dards under the Act within three years of its commencement; non-conformation could bring de-recognition. The Act, passed by theParliament in August 2009, is yet to be officially notified though. Tobegin with, the rules ask school management committees or thelocal authorities to identify children, who have never been to schoolor not managed to complete elementary education, and arrange fortheir special training in appropriate classes so that they can ulti-mately be integrated into the system. Any child above 6 years of agewill be entitled to free special training either at school or residentialfacility, before he/she is ready to enter school at a convenient level.Such children would be allowed to complete elementary educationeven after they have attained 14 years, for the obvious reasons thatthey enter the school late.

At least one primary school (class I to V) must be locatedwithin a km of walking distance of the neighbourhood; for schoolswith classes VI to VIII, this distance would be three km. States needto provide more neighbourhood schools in highly populated areasand ensure safety of students in areas with tough terrains. But be-fore a school comes up, the States would have to undertake a map-ping to identify all children in remote areas, including those fromdisadvantaged groups. This must be done in a year and the dataupdated every year. For the first time, the law mandates mainte-nance of records of all children from birth to 14 years of age througha household survey to be updated every year. The rules further pre-scribe strict norms for non-segregation of students and safe trans-port for disabled children to ensure that they attend school.

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Afghan-Pakistan gas pipelineThe leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan on

December 11th agreed to move forward with a complicated andrisky plan to build a natural gas pipeline across rugged territoryplagued by war and terrorism. The pipeline, which would terminatein India, would bring huge amounts of gas to underdeveloped re-gions and could earn impoverished Afghanistan hundreds of mil-lions of dollars in transit fees. The route for the 1,700-kilometer(1,050-mile) TAPI pipeline from gas-rich Turkmenistan would crossAfghanistan’s Kandahar Province, where the Taliban and interna-tional forces are locked in battle, as well as some of Pakistan’sunruly tribal areas. Concerns about security for the pipeline itselfand for the workers who construct it have cast doubt on the project’snear-term feasibility, but proponents say it would calm the chaoticregion.

Junta’s proxy seeps Myanmar pollMyanmar’s military-backed party captured 77 per cent of the

Parliamentary seats contested in the November 7, 2010 elections,following polling widely decried as manipulated and unfair. The re-sults point to an overwhelming victory, but there has never beenmuch doubt about the outcome because the junta-proxy, the UnionSolidarity and Development Party (USDP), fielded candidates innearly every district, whereas the largest opposition party was ableto contest only 164 of the 1,159 parliamentary seats.

India gets UNSC non-permanent seatThe biggest news on the international front for India has

been its inclusion into the UNSC as a non-permanent memberafter a gap of 19 years. Even as India’s acclamation for a non-permanent bench on the body that includes fifteen members in totalwas an inevitable cessation afterwards Kazakhstan back out of thechase for the Asian bench beforehand in early January. India got anunbelievable 187 of the 191 votes in the UN General Assembly

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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRSballot on October 14th 2010. India's previous spell in the SecurityCouncil was way back in 1992. Almost immediately afterwardsIndia's appointment, Indian agent to the United Nations HardeepSingh Puri put it straight that New Delhi would make use of thiscouple of year valid span to build assurance and accord a feeling ofaplomb to the five non changing associates (famously known asthe P-5) - the United States of America, Russia, Britain, France andChina. Considering that Brazil, a running affiliate of the United Na-tion Security Council, and South Africa and Germany, which got ap-pointed with India, on October 14th were as well in contention for apermanent membership, he stated: 'Of course everybody of us willattempt to bring into play the two years we need to render our alliesa feeling of aplomb and formulate trust and faith so that they are atease with our role playing in the United Nation Security Council on acontinued period of time'.

Ireland becomes second Euro nation to seek aidOn November 22, 2010, Ireland became the second euro

country to seek a rescue as the cost of saving its banks threatenedby a re-run of the Greek debt crisis that destabilized the currency.

India is world’s third largest carbon emitterIndia is now world’s third biggest carbon dioxide emitting

nation after China and the US. The new emission data from theUnited Nations was a cause of worry for India’s climate negotiatorsat the next round of talks in Tianjin in China, held in October 2010.China, in 2009, moved to the top position while contributing 23 percent of the total global emissions and India, in 2010, surpassedRussia to take the third position with five percent. India's per-capitacarbon emission is still lowest in the world (about 4.5 tonnes) butthe demand for energy is rising, especially among the middle-class.The pressure on India and China to reduce emissions is rising. USchief climate negotiator Todd Stern told a meeting of major econo-mies forum that a legally binding climate treaty was not possibleuntil India and China take “obligation” to reduce emissions.

SAARC Folklore and Heritage FestivalThe 3rd,three day SAARC Folklore and Heritage Festival was

held in Chandigarh from 3rd December. The event was organised

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by Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) in asso-ciation with Ministry of External Affairs (Govt of India) and ChandigarhAdministration. FOSWAL, an apex body of SAARC (South Asian As-sociation for Regional Cooperation), is the only organization in eightcountries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan,Nepal, Maldives and Afghanistan, legally authorized to hold culturalprogrammes under the SAARC banner and logo.

Lanka scraps Tamil version of national anthemSri Lanka has scrapped the Tamil version of its national an-

them at official and state functions, a move likely to further alienatethe ethnic Tamils in the country. The decision was taken at the lastcabinet meeting headed by the President Mahinda Rajapksha, whopointed out that no country in the world uses the national anthem inother than one language.

Cablegate Crisis in USA

The United States was catapulted into a worldwide diplo-matic crisis on November 29, 2010, with the leaking to various inter-national media of more than 250,000 classified cables from itsembassies, many sent as recently as February 2010. At the start ofa series of daily extracts from the US embassy cables Arab leadersare privately urging an air strike on Iran and that US officials havebeen instructed to spy on the UN leadership. The cables includecomments on a shift in relations between China and North Korea,high-level concerns over Pakistan’s growing instability, and detailsof clandestine US efforts to combat al Qaeda in Yemen. The cablesalso contain specific allegations of corruption, as well as harshcriticism by US embassy staff of their host governments, from Car-ibbean islands to China and Russia.

Kosovo votes in historic pollKosovo headed to the polls on December 12th for its first

elections since declaring independence in 2008, which look set toweaken Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's grip on power. Many in the1.6 million strong electorate are disillusioned with the current lead-ership as Thaci's reputation was marred by a string of corruptionscandals involving his party officials.

2010 is the top three warmest yearsThe year 2010 is almost certain to rank in the top three warm-

est years since the beginning of instrumental climate records in1850, according to data compiled by the World Meteorological Or-ganization (WMO) that were released. A WMO statement said theglobal combined sea surface and land surface air temperature for2010 (January–October) is now estimated at 0.55 degrees Celsiusplus or minus 0.11 degrees Celsius above the 1961–1990 annualaverage of 14 degrees Celsius. At present, 2010's nominal value isthe highest on record, just ahead of 1998 and 2005.

The data also indicates that the January-October 2010 tem-peratures are near record levels. The final ranking of 2010 will notbecome clear until November and December data are analysed inearly 2011. Preliminary operational data from November 1 to 25indicate that global temperatures from November 2010 are similarto those observed in November 2005, indicating that global tem-peratures for 2010 are continuing to track near record levels.

From 2001 to 2010, global temperatures have averaged 0.46degrees Celsius above the 1961-1990 average, 0.03 degrees Cel-sius above the 2000-09 average and the highest value ever re-corded for a 10-year period. Recent warming has been especiallystrong in Africa, parts of Asia, and parts of the Arctic, the Saharan/Arabian, East African, Central Asian and Greenland/Arctic. Canadasub-regions have all had 2001-10 temperatures 1.2 to 1.4 degreesCelsius above the long-term average, and 0.7 degrees Celsius to0.9 degrees Celsius warmer than any previous decade. Surface airtemperatures over land were above normal across most parts ofthe world.

Human Development Report 2010The 2010 HDR Report by United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP), titled “The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathwaysto Human Development” celebrates the contributions of the humandevelopment approach, which is as relevant as ever to making senseof our changing world and finding ways to improve people’s well-being. The Report is also about how the human developmentapproach can adjust to meet the challenges of the new millennium.India is ranked 119 out of 169 countries on the Human DevelopmentIndex (HDI) of the UNDP’s 2010 Human Development Report. This

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marks an improvement of just one rank between 2005 and 2010though the report, a special 20th anniversary edition, places Indiaamong top 10 performers globally in terms of HDI measured onincome growth. The category is led by China. India comes 10th afterBotswana, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Mauritius. Chinahas improved eight notches (from 2005 to 2010) to secure the 89thposition. In South Asia, Nepal has gained five places to reach the138th rank. Maldives has risen four places to 107; Sri Lanka at 91too has pipped India in the rankings though Pakistan has lost tworanks to fall to 125, while Bangladesh is up one at 129.

UNESCO representative list of India intangiblecultural heritage of humanity

The Aalst Carnival in Belgium, the Peking Opera, SpanishFlamenco, the Wayuu normative system in Colombia, the traditionalskills of carpet weaving in Kashan in Iran, and falconry, presentedby 11 countries, are among the 46 elements inscribed today on theRepresentative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.A UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee, chaired by Jacob OleMiaron from Kenya and meeting in Nairobi until 19 November 2010,examined and inscribed 46 of the 47 nominations presented.

India - Chhau dance: Chhau dance is a tradition from east-ern India that enacts episodes from epics including the Mahabharataand Ramayana, local folklore and abstract themes. Its three distinctstyles hail from the regions of Seraikella, Purulia and Mayurbhanj,the first two using masks. Chhau dance is intimately connected toregional festivals, notably the spring festival Chaitra Parva. Its originis traceable to indigenous forms of dance and martial practices. Itsvocabulary of movement includes mock combat techniques, styl-ized gaits of birds and animals and movements modelled on thechores of village housewives. Chhau is taught to male dancersfrom families of traditional artists or from local communities. Thedance is performed at night in an open space to traditional and folkmelodies, played on the reed pipes mohuri and shehnai. The rever-berating drumbeats of a variety of drums dominate the accompany-ing music ensemble.

India - Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan: Songsand dances are an expression of the Kalbelia community’s tradi-tional way of life. Once professional snake handlers, Kalbelia today

evoke their former occupation in music and dance that is evolving innew and creative ways. Today, women in flowing black skirts danceand swirl, replicating the movements of a serpent, while men ac-company them on the khanjari percussion instrument and thepoongi, a woodwind instrument traditionally played to capturesnakes. The dancers wear traditional tattoo designs, jewellery andgarments richly embroidered with small mirrors and silver thread.Kalbelia songs disseminate mythological knowledge through sto-ries, while special traditional dances are performed during Holi, thefestival of colours. The songs also demonstrate the poetic acumenof the Kalbelia, who are reputed to compose lyrics spontaneouslyand improvise songs during performances. Transmitted from gen-eration to generation, the songs and dances form part of an oraltradition for which no texts or training manuals exist. Song and danceare a matter of pride for the Kalbelia community, and a marker oftheir identity at a time when their traditional travelling lifestyle androle in rural society are diminishing.

India - Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala:Mudiyettu is a ritual dance drama from Kerala based on the mytho-logical tale of a battle between the goddess Kali and the demonDarika. It is a community ritual in which the entire village partici-pates. After the summer crops have been harvested, the villagersreach the temple in the early morning on an appointed day. Mudiyettuperformers purify themselves through fasting and prayer, then drawa huge image of goddess Kali, called as kalam, on the temple floorwith coloured powders, wherein the spirit of the goddess is invoked.This prepares the ground for the lively enactment to follow, in whichthe divine sage Narada importunes Shiva to contain the demonDarika, who is immune to defeat by mortals. Shiva instead com-mands that Darika will die at the hand of the goddess Kali. Mudiyettuis performed annually in ‘Bhagavati Kavus’, the temples of the god-dess, in different villages along the rivers Chalakkudy Puzha, Periyarand Moovattupuzha. Mutual cooperation and collective participationof each caste in the ritual instils and strengthens common identityand mutual bonding in the community. Mudiyettu serves as an im-portant cultural site for transmission of traditional values, ethics,moral codes and aesthetic norms of the community to the next gen-eration, thereby ensuring its continuity and relevance in presenttimes.

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China-Japan spatChina suspended high-level exchanges with Japan on Sep-

tember 19, 2010, and promised tough counter-measures after aJapanese court extended the detention of a Chinese captain whosetrawler collided with two Japanese coastguard ships. The spat be-tween Asia’s two largest economies has flared since Japan ar-rested the captain, accusing him of deliberately striking a patrolship and obstructing public officers near uninhabited islets in theEast China Sea. Beijing viewed the detention as illegal and invalid.

Kyrgyzstan vote for parliamentary democracyIn a development that could have far reaching political im-

pact in the region, Kyrgyzstan is all set to become Central Asia’s firstparliamentary democracy, with an overwhelming 90.55 per cent vot-ers backing a new constitution which strips the President’s wideranging powers. After publishing the official results of the June 27referendum, the Kyrgyz Central Election Commission (CEC), onJuly 1, 2010, declared Roza Otunbayeva as the transitional Presi-dent till December 31, 2011.

Nelson Mandela DayThe United Nations decided to observe the first “Nelson

Mandela Day” on July 18, 2010, in honour of the Nobel laureate whois regarded as the father of the new South Africa.

UNSC slaps sanctions on IranOn June 9, 2010, the UN Security Council slapped sanctions

on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme, targeting the pow-erful Revolutionary Guard, ballistic missiles, and nuclear-relatedinvestments, despite opposition from Brazil and Turkey. In the 15-member Council, 12 countries, including the US and Britain, votedin favour of the resolution, with Lebanon abstaining and Brazil andTurkey voting against.

Pakistan, China signs for six pactsPakistan and China reiterated their resolve to further

strengthen strategic relationship between the two countries, in-crease the level of economic cooperation and take concrete mea-

sures to further bring their people closer, during the visit of Pakistan’sPresident Asif Ali Zardari to China in July 2010. The two countriespledged to make joint efforts to fight terrorism, and signed six dealsof cooperation in the areas of agriculture, healthcare, justice, me-dia, economy and technology.

world’s most valuable brandApple Computers has emerged as the world’s most valu-

able brand in the 50 top valuable brand list of the Forbes magazine.Apple was followed by software major Microsoft, Beverages firm,Coca Cola and technology giant IBM. Search engine Google wasfifth in the ranking. McDonald's, General Electric, Marlboro, Intel andFinnish handset maker Nokia featured in the top 10 list.

US Financial Reform BillOn July 1, 2010, the US House of Representatives approved

a landmark overhaul of financial regulations. The Bill would imposetighter regulations on financial firms and reduce their profits. It wouldboost consumer protections, force banks to reduce risky tradingand investing activities and set up a new government process forliquidating troubled financial firms. However, the Republicans saythe Bill would hurt the economy by burdening businesses with athicket of new regulations. They also point out that it ducks the ques-tion of how to handle troubled mortgage finance giants Fannie Maeand Freddie Mac, which Democrats plan to tackle in 2011.

Hung in BritainOn May 7, 2010, Britain woke up to a hung Parliament, an

election outcome that this country last experienced in 1974 whenthe then Prime Minister Edward Heath tried and failed to persuadethe Liberal Party to join him in a coalition. The Conservatives underDavid Cameron emerged as the single largest party with 306 seatsin the 650-member House of Commons, while Labour bagged 258and Lib Dems 57. Eight NRIs won elections, four each from theLabour Party and the Conservatives. Likewise four Pakistani-originMPs, Sadik Khan, Khalid Mahmood, Anas Sarwar and a womanlawyer Shabana Mahmood, were successful on behalf of the LabourParty. The LibDems play an extremely important role in the forma-tion of the next government, although they have not been able to

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attract as many votes as they hoped for. They were expecting to winmore than 100 seats, but they had to be satisfied with less than 60.However, despite the poor show, they still hold the trump card andare destined to play the role of king-makers. On May 11, Conserva-tive leader David Cameron, who favours a ‘new special relation-ship’ with India, took charge as Britain’s youngest Prime Minister innearly 200 years, heading a coalition with the support of centristLibDems, and vowed to put aside party differences and provide astrong and decisive government. He made Liberal Democrats leaderNick Clegg Deputy Prime Minister.

Icelandic Volcano causes air travel mess inEurope

Europe saw air traffic chaos in April 2010 as a plume of ashfrom the Icelandic volcano that erupted under the Eyjafjallajokullglacier, made northern Europe a no-fly zone. An estimated 63,000flights were cancelled, effecting more than five million passengerswho were trying to get in and out of major cities of Europe. Theeruption of the volcano caused the greatest air travel chaos sincethe Second World War II.

world’s fourth biggest weapons importerThe UAE has become the world’s fourth biggest weapons

importer. China, India and South Korea are the top three arms im-porters, in that order.

Russia has 11 times zonesIndian Standard Time (IST) is set in accordance with the

82.5 degree East longitude. While India has just one time zone,Russia has 11 times zones, USA 10, Australia 9, and Canada 6.France and its dominions have 12 time zones and UK and its over-seas territories use 8 time zones.

World’s smallest 3-D mapScientists claim to have created the world’s smallest three

dimensional map of the Earth so small that 1,000 of them could fiton one grain of salt. A team at computer giant IBM accomplishedthis through a new, breakthrough technique which uses a tiny, sili-con tip with a sharp apex 1,00,000 times smaller than a sharpened

pencil to create patterns and structures as small as 15 nanometreat greatly reduced cost and complexity. According to the scientists,this patterning technique opens new prospects for developing nano-sized objects in fields such as electronics, future chip technology,medicine, life sciences, and opto-electronics. The complete 3D mapof the world measuring only 22 by 11 micrometre was “written” on apolymer. It is composed of 5,00,000 pixels, each measuring 20NM2, and was created in only 2 minutes and 23 seconds.

World’s longest tunnel completedA giant drilling machine punched its way through a final sec-

tion of Alpine rock on October 15, 2010 to complete the world’s long-est tunnel, after 15 years of construction. In a stage-managed break-through, attended by some 200 dignitaries 30 km inside the tunneland broadcast live on Swiss television, engineers from both sidesshook hands after the bore had pummelled through the final 1.5metres of rock. The 57 km high-speed rail link, which will open in2017, will form the lynch-pin of a new rail network between northernand south-eastern Europe and help ease congestion and pollutionin the Swiss Alps. It is the third tunnel to be built through the snow-bound St Gotthard area and is 3 km longer than a rail link betweentwo Japanese islands, the current record holder at 53.8 km.

South Asian University becomes operationalWith the visa issue concerning Pakistani students having

been settled, the South Asian University (SAU), a dream project ofPrime Minister Manmohan Singh, has finally taken off. The univer-sity launched its first academic session on August 26, 2010, start-ing two courses MA in Development Economics and Masters ofComputer Applications. There are 25 students in each course. Ofthe total 50 students, 36 were from India and 14 from five otherSAARC countries Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and SriLanka. As of now, there is no student from the rest of the two SAARCnations, the war-affected Afghanistan and the Maldives. The presentfaculty includes Bangladeshi nationals as well as Australian na-tionals of Indian origin. The faculty would be gradually increasedwhen courses in other disciplines are launched from the next aca-demic year beginning in July 2011. Though the university, the first ofits kind in the region, has been allotted land in the capital for itscampus, classes for the first session are being held at theJawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

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National Green TribunalThe National Green Tribunal (NGT) was officially notified on

October 19, 2010 with its Chairperson, Justice Lokeshwar SinghPanta taking charge of his office. The tribunal is exclusively dedi-cated to environmental issues. Established by an Act of Parliament(the National Green Tribunal Act of 2010), it will have circuit benchesacross the country to try all matters related to and arising out ofenvironmental issues. The tribunal, which shall also consist of othermembers, who are experts in the field of environmental and relatedsciences, has been empowered to issue directions for the com-pensation and restitution of damage caused from actions of envi-ronmental negligence. This is the first body of its kind that is re-quired by its parent statute to apply the “polluter pays” principle andthe principle of sustainable development. The erstwhile NationalEnvironment Appellate Authority had ceased to exist with the launchof the NGT.

National Innovation CouncilPrime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved the setting

up of a National Innovation Council to prepare a road map for the'Decade of Innovation 2011-2020'. Sam Pitroda, adviser to the PrimeMinister on public information infrastructure and innovations, willhead the National Innovation Council. The Council has been giventhe mandate to evolve an Indian model of innovation focussing oninclusive growth and creating an appropriate eco-system condu-cive to fostering inclusive innovation. It will delineate appropriatepolicy initiatives within the government required to spur innovation.It will also promote the setting up of sectoral innovation councilsand state innovation councils.

Mahadayi Water Disputes TribunalThe Union government has constituted the Mahadayi Water

Disputes Tribunal with a sitting Supreme Court judge, Justice J.M.Panchal as its Chairman. Justice Viney Mittal of the Punjab and

Haryana High Court and a former judge of Andhra Pradesh HighCourt, Justice P.S. Narayana, have been appointed as members.The Tribunal has been constituted on a request sent by Goa in July2002, for adjudication of the water disputes with Karnataka relatingto Mahadayi River. Maharashtra also stands to benefit from its adju-dication. The need for setting up the three-member tribunal wasbeing felt since the Union Ministry of Water Resources had tried toresolve the dispute, but was not successful.

CWG Corruption probePrime Minister Manmohan Singh has appointed a high-level

committee headed by a former Comptroller and Auditor General,V.K. Shunglu, to go into allegations of corruption related to the Com-monwealth Games held in New Delhi in October 2010. The devel-opments came as opposition parties, which had held their fire dur-ing the 12-day event, stepped up their demand for thorough probeinto corruption charges so that those guilty can be brought to book.

Foreign tourist arrival goes upIndia has registered a growth rate of more than 10 per cent in

foreign tourist arrivals and more than 27 per cent in foreign ex-change earnings during the first 11 months of current year. TourismMinister Kumari Selja said this while speaking at a conferenceorganised by World Travel and Tourism Council in New Delhi yes-terday. The Minister said that the growth is in comparison to thecorresponding period of last year. She said that after having hostedCommonwealth Games successfully, the country is ready to playhost for Cricket World Cup 2011. India is gearing up to organise itsfirst Formula 1 Race in October 2011 in Uttar Pradesh and debatingupon the idea to hold first ever National Tourism Mart in the year2012.

Parliament hiked the salary of MPsThe Indian Parliament has hiked the salary of Members of

Parliament to Rs 50,000 per month. Two key allowances (constitu-ency and office expenses) have also been increased to Rs 45,000each.

Taj Falaknuma PalaceTaj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad is India’s most expen-

sive hotel. The palace was once the exclusive preserve of the rulers

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

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of Hyderabad. The grand presidential suite at the hotel costs Rs 5lakh per night.

Nuclear Deal with South KoreaIndia and South Korea have struck a deal to finalise an agree-

ment on civil uses of nuclear energy. This was a major success forIndia during the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Asia tour. Theissue came up for discussion during the bilateral meeting of thePrime Minister with the President of the Republic of Korea, LeeMyung-bak, at Hanoi, on the sidelines of the 17th ASEAN Summit.The Korean President has invited the Prime Minister to Korea in2011 and the deal is likely to be signed then.

IIT-B, IISc develop device to detect RDXThe Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay along with Indian

Institute of Science here have come out with a prototype device thatcould be developed to detect RDX and other explosives, replacingsniffer dogs. The prototype, developed at the Rs 100-crore NanoTechnology facility set up jointly by the two leading institutions, wasa bio-sensor array using polymers for detection heart attack. Thedevice could detect all cardiac markers in blood within seven min-utes. The same device could be developed for detecting RDX orother explosives, Professor V Ramgopal Rao of the Department ofElectrical Engineering in IIT-Bombay.

India strengthens ties with VietnamIndia has enlarged its scope of cooperation and relations

with Vietnam another “not-so-happy” neighbour of China. DefenceMinister A.K. Antony, during his visit to Vietnam, announced a slew ofmeasures to expand cooperation as part of the nation’s “look eastpolicy” aimed at engaging key countries situated east of India.

Clean energy investmentsIndia is all set to emerge among the top five nations in G-20

group in terms of clean energy investments. In a report brought outby the US based Pew Charitable Trust, the annual clean energyinvestment in India is expected to grow phenomenally over the next10 years. Within the G-20, India is on tract to climb from the tenth to

the third place in terms of clean power project investments world-wide. It is likely to attract 169 billion dollar in wind, solar, small hydro,geothermal and marine energy projects in the next decade. En-hanced clean energy policies would increase private investmentsin India by 48 per cent, tied with the U.K.

Independence Day speech of ManmohanWith his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2010 the

seventh Manmohan Singh edged past Atal Behari Vajpayee to be-come the Prime Minister of India who has addressed the nation onIndependence Day the third-highest number of times. JawaharlalNehru addressed the nation 17 times and Mrs Indira Gandhi 16times.

India elected for UN General AssemblyThe UN General Assembly has elected India, Germany, South

Africa and Columbia to two-year seats on UN Security Council. Theterm will begin in January 2011. The four countries will be the non-veto-holding members of the 15-nation body.

Backward districts not covered by RSVYMost of the districts identified as backward by the Planning

Commission were not covered under a scheme meant to removeregional disparities, as CAPART failed to reach out to the unservedareas, a CAG report has said. "CAPART (Council for Advancementof People's Action and Rural Technology) could not reach out to theunserved areas of the country as most of the districts identified asbackward by the Planning Commission under the Rashtriya SamVikas Yojna (RSVY) were not covered," a latest report of the Comp-troller and Auditor General of India said. It also observed that thegeographical distribution of the projects was uneven with 51 percent of funds released during 2003-09 going to only six states ofAndhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Orissa and UttarPradesh, while north-eastern states getting less than five per cent.

NRI Remittance To IndiaAs per information received from Ministry of Overseas Indian

Affairs the amount remitted to India in the last financial year (2009-10) from the NRIs working abroad was 40810 USD million (Approx.)

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Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has informed that no data is avail-able for remittance from the Gulf Countries. This information wasgiven by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meenain written reply to a question raised in Rajya Sabha.

Bill to provide women equal guardianship rightsA Bill paving way for the women to get equal rights in guard-

ianship and adoption of children has been passed by the RajyaSabha. The Personal Laws Amendment Bill seeks to amend theGuardians and Wards Act, 1890 and the Hindu Adoptions and Main-tenance Act, 1956. It also seeks to allow the mother, along with thefather, to be appointed as a guardian, making the process gender-neutral. Besides, it aims at removing hurdles in the way of a marriedwoman to adopt. She can give a son or daughter for adoption. Foradoption and guardianship, under the existing Act, only the father isconsidered to be the natural guardian of the child in a Hindu familyand only unmarried, divorced women and widows are allowed toadopt a child. Women separated from their husbands and engagedin lengthy divorce battles cannot adopt a child.

MCD recordMunicipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has become the first

municipal body of India to cash in on cutting down carbon emis-sions warming the planet. A municipal compost plant in south Delhi,run by the private sector ILFS group, generated a first modest chequeof Rs 5 lakh in carbon emission reduction (CER) credits for its planto keep more than 9,000 tonnes of carbon over the next 10 years bystopping methane leaks from garbage.

NAIS Coverage548 districts have so far been covered under National Agri-

cultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS). Continued efforts are made tocreate awareness about ongoing NAIS by the implementing agencyi.e. Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) in coordination with imple-menting States since its inception. The salient activities for cam-paign involve the publicity of features and benefits of the schemethrough advertisements in leading national/local newspapers, tele-cast through audio-visual media, distribution of pamphlets, partici-pation in agriculture fairs / mela / gosthi and organization of work-

shops / trainings etc. Moreover, for making the scheme more farmerfriendly, Government has recently, modified the scheme and theModified NAIS has been approved for implementation on pilot basisin 50 districts from Rabi 2010- 11.

Crucial highway link to KolkataIn major development, Bangladesh has finally agreed to start

the construction of a highway that will not only provide transit facili-ties, ensuring easy movement of goods, but also drastically shortenthe circuitous route crucial from the military point of view betweennorth-eastern States and the port city of Kolkata. The first route willenter from Bengal into Bangladesh at the existing Benapole landport on the border and run across eastwards via Jessore and Dhaka;passing through Sylhet, located on the north-eastern edge ofBangladesh, it will enter Assam/Meghalaya. The second axis willstart from North Bengal and enter Bangladesh at Panchgarh andrun southwards via Srirajganj to Dhaka and further southeast to CoxBazar and Chittagong before entering into Myanmar. India will beable to use both routes.

India to get its first AC double-decker trainIndia's first air-conditioned double-decker train is expected

to be launched on the Howrah-Dhanbad sector. Developed at theRail Coach Factory in Kapurthala, eight double-decker coaches wererecently brought to Howrah for conducting trial runs before the offi-cial flagging-off ceremony. The coaches with a height of 4,366 mmwill be higher than the conventional LHB coaches whose height isaround 3,950 mm.

Allahabad High Court Verdict on Babri Masjid-Ram Janambhoomi dispute

On September 30, 2010, the much-awaited judgement ofthe Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court unanimously ruledthat the idols of ‘Ram Lalla’ in the makeshift temple at the disputedsite in Ayodhya cannot be removed. The three-judge Bench of Jus-tices S.U. Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and Dharamveer Sharma sepa-rately delivered the historic verdict. In a 2-1 majority verdict, JusticesKhan and Agarwal decreed that the 2.7-acre land comprising thedisputed site should be divided into three equal parts and be given

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to Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and the party representing‘Ram Lala Virajman’. However, the third judge Justice D.V. Sharmaruled that that the disputed site is the birth place of Lord Ram andthat the disputed building constructed by Mughal emperor Baburwas built against the tenets of Islam and did not have the characterof the mosque. The Bench directed maintenance of status quo atthe site for three months and invited suggestions from all the par-ties for demarcation of the land. The judges also dismissed theclaims of the Sunni Central Waqf Board over the Babri Mosque dueto limitation or becoming time barred as well as the claim of theNirmohi Akhara. With a 2-1 majority, the Bench held that all the threeparties, namely Muslims, Hindus and Nirmohi Akhara were jointtitleholders of the property in dispute. Both Justices Sudhir Aggarwaland SU Khan made it clear that the share of the Muslim parties shallnot be less than one third of the total area of the premises. “...If whileallotting exact portions some minor adjustment in the share is to bemade then the same will be made and the adversely affected partymay be compensated by allotting some portion of the adjoiningland,” observed Justice Khan.

India, Canada sign civil nuclear pactOn June 28, 2001, India and Canada signed a civil nuclear

cooperation agreement. The pact was signed during Prime Minis-ter Manmohan Singh’s visit to Canada. The deal, the ninth signedby New Delhi, significantly alters Canada’s stance towards India.The North American nation had led the world in pushing for nuclearisolation after the 1974 tests in Pokhran.

Navodaya Vidyalayas celebrated 25 yearsNavodaya Vidyalayas celebrated 25 years of existence in

2010. A befitting match to costly private schools, the Navodayashave shown in last 25 years how gifted children with humble meanscan rise to life.

Nuclear Liability BillOn August 25, 2001, the UPA government successfully

shepherded the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, throughthe Lok Sabha, with active support from the BJP and strategicabsence of some fence-sitters such as the Samajwadi Party.

Quashing opposition from the Left Bloc and other critics, PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh denied that the Bill was railroaded throughthe House to serve US interests. “This Bill is a completion of ajourney to end the nuclear apartheid, which the world had imposedon India in the year 1974,” he said.” The government managed tobring the BJP on board in return for accepting amendments to thecontroversial Clause 17(b) and dropping the word “intent”. The newformulation of 17(b), now states that suppliers would be liable where“the accident has resulted as a consequence of an act of a supplieror his employees, done to cause nuclear damage, and such actincludes supply of equipment or material with patent or latent defectsor sub-standard services”.

The key points of the Bill are:Controversial Clause 17(b) amended by dropping the word‘intent’.Compensation cap to be paid by the operator at Rs 1500 croreprovided in the Bill is not the ‘limit’.Compensation will be decided by the Claims Commissionerand the operator will have to pay.Government assumes full liability for even a plant not operatedby it.The Bill is necessary for full implementation of civil nucleardeal signed with the USA in 2006.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy verdictOn June 7, 2010, nearly 26 years after the world's worst in-

dustrial disaster left more than 15,000 dead in the Bhopal gas trag-edy, former Union Carbide India Chairman Keshub Mahindra andseven others were convicted and sentenced to two years imprison-ment. Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohan P. Tiwari held the 85-year-oldnon-executive chairman of the Indian subsidiary of the US-basedcompany and gave them punishment under less stringent provi-sions of the Indian Penal Code for causing death by negligence.

First Defence UniversityMore than 40 years after it was mooted, the Union Cabinet,

on May 13, 2010, gave its approval to set up the nation’s first de-fence university at Binola, around 20 km from Gurgaon. It would aimat imparting education on strategic challenges to armed forces offi-

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cials, bureaucrats, academicians, parliamentarians and traineesat military academies. To be established at an estimated Rs 300crore, the institute would come up on an area of about 200 acres. Asum of Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for land acquisition. Theexisting defence educational institutions like the National DefenceCollege, New Delhi, College of Defence Management,Secunderabad, National Staff College, Wellington, and NationalDefence Academy, Pune, would also be affiliated to the INDU. Atpresent, these institutions are attached to various universities acrossthe country.

Scientists slam study behind Bt Brinjal banA vital study cited by Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh to

justify his decision to disallow the commercial cultivation of Bt brinjalin India is flawed, claim top European scientists. Mr Ramesh hadreferred to the findings of France-based Caen University professorGilles-Eric Séralini and his team, which had branded Bt brinjal India’sfirst genetically modified (GM) food crop “unsafe”. Experts claim thatSéralini was unduly influenced by the renowned international NGOGreenpeace with its aggressive green agenda which sponsoredthe study, and never carried out a peer-reviewed laboratory study onGM crops he called hazardous, including Bt maize and Bt brinjal, itsgene or seeds. The European Food Safety Association, a risk as-sessment body, has trashed Séralini’s findings on Monsanto’s MON863, a variety of Bt maize. On February 9, 2010, the Union govern-ment decided to freeze the introduction of Bt Brinjal in India till inde-pendent scientific studies established health and environment safetyof the product to the satisfaction of both public and experts.

National Water MissionThe Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change has ap-

proved the National Water Mission, focusing on making water con-servation a peoples' movement in the country. Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, who chaired the meeting of the Council, high-lighted the need to create a general consciousness of the need touse water in the most sustainable manner in view of its scarcity andassess the impact of climate change on water. The Council felt thatto make the Mission a peoples' movement it was essential to makeavailable all data on water in the public domain, to be able to mobilise

citizens, local bodies and State governments for focused action onwater conservation and augmentation. Water Mission is one of theeight missions in the National Action Plan on Climate Changelaunched by the Prime Minister in 2009 to tackle the threats of globalwarming. The government has already launched Energy Efficientand Solar Mission while a draft of Green Mission has been pre-pared for public consultation.

Mizoram Guinness World RecordThe north-eastern state of Mizoram recently set a Guinness

World Record for the “largest and longest dance”. A 10-minute per-formance of its colourful traditional bamboo dance, Cheraw, saw anastounding 10,736 dancers in 671 groups set a record in the heartof Aizawl.

India’s first PG course in Golf ManagementGolf, as a sport, is one of the fastest emerging sectors in

India, with an estimated growth of 30 per cent in the next five years.However, there is a huge gap for good quality management profes-sionals to join the golfing industry in India. To bridge this gap, Inter-national School of Corporate Management (ISCOM) has partneredwith the prestigious Elmwood College, St. Andrews, Scotland, tointroduce the first ever Postgraduate Programme in Golf Manage-ment.

Andaman and Nicobar as a major portThe Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to declare

Andaman and Nicobar set of Ports as a major port and establishthe Andaman and Nicobar Port Trust with its HQ at Port Blair.

Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power projectThe first 600 MW unit of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Thermal

Power project at Khedar, near Hisar, Haryana became operationalon February 10, 2010. The coal handling capacity of the plant, at2,400 tonnes per hour, is the highest in India.

Project SaraswatiUnder Project Saraswati, which is the first of its kind in India,

ONGC proposes to dig deep more than half a kilometre—into

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aquifers along the path the ancient Saraswati river is once believedto have taken.

Nationzl Census 2010The 15th national census exercise, the biggest census ever

to be attempted in human history to cover India's 1.2 billionpopulation, began on April 1, 2010 with President Pratibha Patilbeing the first to be enumerated in the decennial exercise. Thecensus is the most credible source of information on demography(population characteristics), economic activity, literacy and education,housing and household amenities, urbanisation, fertility andmortality, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, language,religion, migration, disability and many other socio-cultural anddemographic data since 1872. Census is the only source of primarydata at village, town and ward level. It provides valuable informationfor planning and formulation of polices for Central and Stategovernments and is widely used by national and internationalagencies, scholars, business people, industrialists, and manymore. The delimitation / reservation of constituencies—Parliamentary / Assembly / Panchayats and other local bodies isalso done on the basis of the demographic data thrown up by thecensus. The census is the basis for reviewing the country's progressin the past decade, monitoring the on-going schemes of thegovernment and most importantly, plan for the future. The slogan ofCensus 2011 is 'Our Census, Our Future'.

New adult literacy mission

The Union government has chosen 19 States to start adultliteracy classes under the all-new Sakshar Bharat Mission, whichthe Prime Minister launched in September 2009. The mission, witha whopping budgetary support of $1 billion, seeks to educate 70million illiterates by 2012; 60 million being women. Its first phasebegan on January 15, 2010 in 167 districts of 19 States, which have,in the past, displayed commitment to adult literacy. The selectedStates are the ones that continued to stress adult literacy even afterthe old National Literacy Mission (NLM) was disbanded. SomeStates like Punjab and Himachal neglected the sector, with nonehaving any ongoing adult literacy component or programme. Themission aims to achieve 100 per cent literacy in 365 low literacy

districts where adult female literacy rate is 50 per cent less as perthe 2001 census. The final goal, however, is to take national literacylevel from 64 per cent to 80 per cent by 2017, and reduce the gendergap from 21 to 10 per cent. In the first phase, Rajasthan has clinchedthe maximum number of projects for 31 districts. Close behind isUttar Pradesh with projects for 26 districts, Andhra Pradesh 18,Gujarat 13 and Uttarakhand five.

Unique Identification (UID) number christenedAadhaar

Aadhaar, or the 12-digit unique identification (UID) numberthat will identify the 1.2 billion residents of India on the basis of theirbiometrics, will have an additional four digits that will be hiddenfrom the common man. As far as people are concerned, there wouldonly be a 12-digit number that would be relevant for their identifica-tion and use. However, a provision of extra four digits would be apost-fix for this 12-digit number for pin-based identification. So, UIDwill become a 16-digit number for use and the database that willmaintain be maintained by UIDAI. These four digits, which the au-thority terms a ‘virtual number’, will change as and when the resi-dent changes his pin number or residence. The user, however, willonly use the 12-digit number allotted to him. The first set of Aadhaarswill be issued between August 2010 and February 2011. The au-thority plans to issue 600 million UIDs over the next five years. UIDAI,which is being headed by Nandan Nilekani, has been allocated Rs1,900 crore for the financial year 2010-11. Of this, Rs 1,300 crore willbe used to enable the registrars to enrol people in the system andthe remaining Rs 600 crore will be spent for setting up the informa-tion technology infrastructure. UIDAI estimates total annual revenueof Rs 288 crore from authentication services in the initial stages.

Social Situation ReportWith over 40 per cent of people in India still living on less

than $1.25 (around Rs 60) a day, India now stands third in terms ofthe highest proportion of extremely poor people in South Asia, nextonly to Nepal and Bangladesh, with corresponding percentages at54.7 and 50.5, respectively. The latest UN Report on the World SocialSituation 2010, places India below Pakistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka

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in terms of extreme poverty. Pakistan is the only nation in the sectorto have achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of cuttingpoverty by half between 1990 and 2015. It had 73 per cent of thepeople in ‘extreme poverty’ 15 years ago; it now has 22.6 per cent asagainst its MDG target of 29.3 per cent. India is lagging on the front,and must have an annual poverty reduction rate of 4.7 per cent(between 2005 and 2015) against 1.4 between 1990 and 2005 if itwants to meet the MDG target of 27 per cent; so far it has touchedonly 41.6 per cent. Rural India has 43.8 per cent of the people inextreme poverty as against 36.2 per cent in urban areas.

National Knowledge NetworkThe Union government has approved the setting up of a

National Knowledge Network (NKN) that will connect all majoreducational institutions like the IITs, the IIMs and top universities forexchange of information and research. One of the importantrecommendations of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC)is to inter-connect all knowledge institutions through high speeddata communication network. This would encourage sharing ofknowledge, specialised resources and collaborative research. Thegovernment’s decision to set up such a network was announced in2008-09 and an initial amount of Rs.100 crore was allocated to theDepartment of Information Technology, Ministry of Communicationsand IT for this. The architecture of the NKN will be scalable and thenetwork will consist of an ultra-high speed core (multiples of 10Gbpsand upwards) to provide a nationwide ultra high-speed data-networkhighway. The IT mesh will connect around 1,500 institutions and thesetting up of core network is expected to be completed in a span oftwo years.

human and gender development reportIndia’s human and gender development record is improving,

with the latest government report showing a significant increase incountry’s position on human (HDI) and gender related developmentindices. India’s HDI, which was 0.530 in 1996, rose to 0.605 in2006, while GDI score improved from 0.514 in 1996 to 0.590 adecade later. A concern, however, is the country’s GenderEmpowerment Measure (GEM) score, which judges women’s

participation in politics and decision-making, their representationin Parliament and legislatures and their control over economicresources. Gendering Human Development Index in India, releasedby Women and Child Development Ministry, claims GEM score of0.497 in 2006 against 0.416 in 1996. Delhi has the highest GEMscore and Nagaland the lowest. The highest GEM scorers in Indiaare Andaman and Nicobar, Puducherry, Goa, Andhra and Himachal.The best performers on political participation of women are Punjab,Andaman and Nicobar, Himachal and Haryana. On economicempowerment of women, Chandigarh, Goa, Delhi and Punjab arethe best, but in terms of control of economic resources, Meghalayastands on top.

India’s first aero sports centre

Narnaul, a non-descript village located in the backwaters ofHaryana has got India’s first aero sports centre, which wasinaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, at the localairstrip on January 31, 2010. The centre, named after the late PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi, has been set up by the Department of CivilAviation, Haryana, in collaboration with the Aero Club of India.

97th Indian Science Congress

97th Indian Science Congress (ISC 2010) hosted by theIndian Space Research Organisation, a national science event heldin Thiruvananthapuram and 98th Indian Science Congress (ISC2011) held at Chennai.

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BOOKS - AUTHORSBooks AuthorsA Bend in the river V.S. NaipaulA Brush with Life Satish GujralA Foreign Policy for India I.K. GujralA Fortune Teller Told Me Tiziano TerzaniA Peep into the Past Vasant NavrekarA Possible India Partha ChatterjeeA Reveolutionary Life Laxmi SehgalA Secular Agenda Arun ShourieA Simple Path Lucinda VardeyA Suitable Boy Vikram SethA Tale of Two Gardens Octavio PazA Tryst With Destiny Stanley WolferAbbot Walter ScottAbsalom, Absalom William FaulknerAbsalom and Achitophel John DrydenAcoession to Extinction D.R. MankekarAdam Bede George EliotAdhe Adhure Mohan RakeshAdonis P.B. ShelleyAdventures of Tom Sawyer Mark TwainAdversary in the House lrving StoneAdvice and Consent Allen DruryAeneid VirgilAffluent Society J.K.GalbraithAfter All These Years Susan IssacsAfter the Dark Night S.M. AliAgainst the Grain Boris YeltsinAge of Reason Jean Paul SartreAgni Pariksha Acharya TulsiAgni Veena Kazi Nazrul IslamAgony and the Ecstasy Irving StoneAirport Arthur HaileyAjatshatru Jai Shankar PrasadAlaska Unbound James MichenerAlchemist Ben Johnson

As I Lay Dying William FaulknerAs You Like It William ShakespeareAscent of the Everest Sir John HuntAshtadhyayi PaniniAsian Drama Gunnar MyrdalAspects of the Novel E.M. ForsterAssignment Colombo J.N. DixitAssignment India Christopher ThomasAthenian Constitution AristotleAtoms of Hope Mohan Sundara RajanAugust 1914 Alexander SolzhenitsynAugust Coup Mikhali S. GorbachevAuthor’s Farce Henry FieldingAutumn Leaves O.Pulla ReddiAvanti Sundari DandinBabbit Sinclair LewisBaburnama BaburBaby and Child Penelope LeachBack to Methuselah G.B. ShawBandicoot Run Manohar MalgonkarBang-i-Dara Mohammad lqbalBanyan Tree Hugh TinkerBeach Boy Ardesher VakilBeast and Man Murry MidgleyBeating the Street Peter LynchBeloved Toni MorrisonBen Hur Lewis WallaceBermuda Triangle Charles BerlitzBetween Hope and History Bill ClintonBetween the Lines Kuldip NayarBeyond Peace Richard NixonBhagwat Gita Veda VyasBharal Aur Europe Nirmal VermaBharat Bharati Maithili Sharan GuptaBig Fisherman Lloyd C. DouglasBig Money P.G. WodehouseBill the Conqueror P.G. WodehouseBilly Albert FrenchBirth of Europe Robert, S. LopezBisarjan R.N. Tagore

Alexander Quartet Lawrence DurrelAlexander the Great John GuntherAlice in Wonderland Lewis CarrollAlien Nation Peter BrimelowAll for Love John DrydenAll Under Heaven Pearl S.BuckAlong the Road Aldous HuxleyAltered States Anita BrooknerAmar Kosh Amar SinghAmbassador’s Journal J.K. GalbraithAmbassador’s Report Chester BowlesAmelia Henry FieldingAmerican Capitalism J.K. GalbraithAn American Dilemma Gunnar MyrdalAn American Tragedy Theodore DreiserAn Apology for Idlers Robert LouisStevensonAn Autobiography Jawaharlal NehruAn Eye to China David SelbourneAncient Evenings Norman MailerAngry Letters Willem DoevenduinAnimal Farm George OrwellAnna Karenina Count Leo TolstoyAnother Life Derek WalcottAntic Hay Aldous HuxleyApe and Essence Aldous HuxleyApple Cart George Bernad ShawArabian Nights Sir Richard BurtonArea of Darkness V.S. NaipaulArion and the Dolphin Vikram SethArrangement Elia KazanArrival and Departure Arthur KoestlerArrow in the Blue Arthur KoestlerArrow of Good Joseph ConradArrowsmith Sinclair LewisArthashastra Kautilya

Bitter Sweet Noel CowardBlack Arrow Robert Louis StevensonBlack Diaspora Ronald SegalBlack Sheep Honore de BalzacBlack Tulip Alexander DumasBleak House Charles DickensBlind Ambitions John DeanBlind Beauty Boris PasternakBloodline Sidney SheldonBlood Sport James StewartBlue Bird Maurice MacterlinkBone People Keri HulmeBook of the Sword Sir Richard BurtonBorn Free Joy AdamsonBostaan Sheikh SaadiBreaking the Silence Anees JungBreakthrough Gen.Moshe DayanBrif History of Time Stephen HawkingBritain’s True History Prem BhatiaBroken Wings Sarojini NaiduBubble Mulk Raj AnandBuddha Charitam AshvaghoshaBunch of Old Letters Jawaharlal NehruBureaucrazy M.K. KawButterfield 8 John O’HaraBy God’s Decree Kapil DevByzantium W.B. YeatsCaesar and Cleopatra G.B. ShawCall the Briefing Martin FitzwaterCancer Ward Aleksandr SolzhenitsynCanterbury Tales G.ChaucerCanvass of Life Sheila GujralCaravans James A. MichenerCardinal Henry M. RobinsonCastle Franz KafkaCatch-22 Joseph HellerCatcher in the Rye J.D. SalingerCentennial James MichenerChance Joseph ConradChandalika Rabindranath Tagore

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Cherry Orchard Anton ChekhovChidambara Sumitranandan PantChild Who Never Grew Pearl S. BuckChildhood Maxim GorkyChildren of Gabelawi Naquib MahfouzChildren of the Sun Maxim GorkyChina Passage J.K. GalbraithChina-Past and Present Pearl S. BuckChina’s Watergate Leo GoodstadtChinese Betrayal B.N. MullickChitra Rabindranath TagoreChoma’s Drum K. Shivaram KaranathChristabel Samuel Taylor ColeridgeChristmas Tales Charles DickensChithirappaavai P.V. AkilandamCity of Joy Dominique LapierreCity of Saints Sir Richard BurtonClass Erich SegalClimate of Treason Andrew BoyleClockwork Orange Anthony BurgessClown Heinrich BollCocktail Party T.S. EliotColonel Sun Kingsley AmisCommon Sense Thomas PaineCommunist Manifesto Karl MarxConfessions J.J.RousseauConfessions of a Lover Mulk Raj AnandComus John MiltonConfidential Clerk T.S. EliotConquest of Self Mahatma GandhiConservationist Nadine GordimerContinent of Circle Nirad C.ChaudhuriCoolie Mulk Raj AnandCoup John UpdikeCourt Dancer Rabindranath TagoreCoverly Papers Joseph AddisonCranford Mrs. GaskellCreation Gore VidalCrescent Moon Rabindranath TagoreCrescent Over Kashmir Anil MaheshwariCricket on the Hearth Charles DickensCrisis in India Ronald Segal

Deserted Village Oliver GoldsmithDesperate Remedies Thomas HardyDetective Arthur HaileyDharmashastra ManuDialogue with Death Arthur KoestlerDiana-The Story So Far Julia DonelliDiana-The True Story Andrew MortonDiana Versus Charles James WhitakerDie Blendung Elias CanettiDiplomacy Henry KissingerDisappearing Acts Terry McMillanDiscovery of India Jawaharlal NehruDistant Drums Manohar MalgonkarDistant Neighbours Kuldip NayarDivine Comedy A.DanteDivine Life Swami SivanandaDoctor Faustus Christopher MarloweDoctor’s Dilemma G.B.ShawDoll’s House lbsenDolly-The Birth of a Clone Jina KolataDon Juan George ByronDon Quixote CervantesDouble Betrayal Paula R. NewburgDouble Helix J.D. WatsonDouble Tongue William GoldingDouble Teeth U.B. SinclairEarth Emile ZolaEarth Mother Pupul JayakarEast of Eden B.N. MullickEast West Salman RushdieEast Wind Pearl S. BuckEdwina and Nehru Catherine ClementEgmont J.W. Von GoetheEight Lives Rajmohan GandhiEmile J.J. RousseauEminent Churchillians Andrew RobertsEmma Jane AustenEnds and Means Aldous HuxleyEnd of an Era C.S. PanditEnd of the Chapter John ForsyteEnemies Maxim GorkyEnvoy to Nehru Escott Reid

Critical Mass William E. BurrowsCritique of Pure Reason Immanuel KantCrossing in River Caryl PhillipsCrown and the Loincloth Chaman NahalCrown of Wild Olive John RuskinCry, My Beloved Country Alan PatanCuckold Kiran Nagar KarCulture and Anarchy Matthew ArnoldCurtain Raisers K. Natwar SinghDamsel in Distress P.G. WodehouseDancing with the Devil Rod BarkerDangling Man Saul BellowDaniel Deronda Geroge EliotDark Room R.K. NarayanDark Debts Karen HallDark Home Coming Eric LustbaderDark Side of Camelot Seymour HershDarkness at Noon Arthur KoestlerDas Kapital Karl MarxDashkumar Charitam DandiDaughter of the East Benazir BhuttoDavid Copperfield Charles DickensDay in Shadow Nayantara SehgalDay of the Jackal Frederick ForsythDays of his Grace Eyvind JohnsonDays of My Yers H.P. NandaDe Profundis Oscar WildeDean’s December Saul BellowDeath and After Annie BesantDeath Be Not Proud John GuntherDeath in the Castle Pearl S. BuckDeath in Venice Thomas MannDeath of a City Amrita PritamDeath of a Patriot R.E. HarringtonDeath on the Nile Agatha ChristieDeath of a Salesman Arthur MillerDeath Under sail C.P. SnowDebacle Emile ZolaDecameron Giovannie BoccaccioDecline of the West O’ SpenglerDemocracy Redeemed V.K. NarsimhanDescent of Man Charles Darwin

Erewhon Samuel ButlerEscape John ForsyteEassay on Life Samuel ButlerEssays in Criticism Matthew ArnoldEssays On Gita Aurobindo GhoshEssays of Elia Charles LambEternal India Indira GandhiEternity Anwar ShaikhEthics AristotleEuropa Time ParksEugenie Grandet Honore de BalzacEverlasting Man G.K. ChestertonExecutioner’s Song Norman MailerExile and the Kingdom Albert CamusEye of the Storm Patrick WhiteEyeless in Gaza Aldous HuxleyFairie Queene Edmund SpencerFall of a Sparrow Salim AliFamily Reunion T.S.EliotFamished Road Ben OkriFar Pavilions M.M.KayeFaraway Music Svetlana AlliluevaFarewell to the Trumpets James MorrisFarewell to a Ghost Manoj DasFarewell to Arms Ernest HemingwayFarm House George OrwellFasana-i-Azad Ratan Nath SarkarFathers and Sons lvan TurgenevFaust J.W. Von GoetheFaustus Chirstopher MarlowFidelio L.BeethovenFiesta Ernest HemingwayFifth Column Ernest HemingwayFinal Passage Caryl PhillipsFine Balance Rohinton MistryFire Next Time James BaldwinFirst Circle Alexander SolzhenitsynFlags in the Dust William FaulknerFlames from the Ashes P.D. TandonFlounder Gunder GrassFollywood Flashback Bunny ReubenForbidden Sea Tara Ali Baig

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Forsyte Saga John GalsworthyFortynine Days Amrita PritamFranklin’s Tale Geoffrey ChaucerFraternity John ForsyteFree Man’s Worship Bertrand RussellFrench Revolution Thomas CarlyleFreedom from Fear Aung San Suu KyiFrench Leave P.G. WodehouseFriends, Not Masters Ayub KhanFrom Hero to Eternity James JonesFrozen Assets P.G. WodehouseFull Moon P.G.WodehouseFuture of NPT Savita PandeGambler Fyodor DostoevskyGandhi and Stalin Louis FisherGardener Rabindra Nath TagoreGarrick Year Margaret DrabbleGathering Storm Winston ChurchillGeeta Govind Jaya DevGhasiram Kotwal Vijay TendulkarGhosts in the Machine Arthur KoestlerGirl in Blue P.G. WodehouseGirl On the Boat P.G. WodehouseGita Rahasya Bal Gangadhar TilakGitanjali Rabindra Nath TagoreGladiators Arthur KoestlerGo Down Moses William FaulknerGoa Asif CurrimbhoyGod and the Bible Mattew ArnoldGodan Munshi Prem ChandGodfather Mario PuzoGold Bat P.G. WodehouseGolden Borough James FrazerGolden Gate Vikram SethGolden Threshold Sarojini NaiduGone Away Dom MoraesGone with the Wind Margaret MitchellGood Earth Pearl S.BuckGoodbye, Mr Chips James HiltonGora Rabindra Nath TagoreGrace Notes Bernard Mac LavartoGrapes of Wrath John Steinbeck

House of Spirits Isabel AllendeHouse Divided Pearl S. BuckHuman Factor Graham GreeneHuman Knowledge Bertrand RussellHumboldt’s Gift Saul BellowHumour Ben JohnsonHungry Stones Rabindra Nath TagoreI am not an Island K.A AbbasI Dare Parmesh DangwalI follow the Mahatma K.M. MunshiIdylls of the King TennysonIdiot Fyodor DostoevskyIdols Sunil GavaskarIf I am Assassinated Z.A. BhuttoImperial Woman Pearl S. BuckIn Confidence Anatolyu DobryninIn Evil Hour Gabriel Garcia MarquezIn Search of Identity Anwar el-SadatIn the Bluest Eye Toni MorrisonIn the Shadow of Pines Mandeep RaiIndia discovered John KeayIndia is for Sale Chitra SubramaniamIndia of Our Dreams M.V. KamathIndia Today Rajni Palme DuttIndia We Left Hymphry TrevelyanIndian Home Rule M.K. GandhiIndian Philosophy Dr.S.RadhakrishnanIndia’s China War Neville MaxwellCentury & Beyond Sandy GordonIndian Mansions Sarah TilostonIndia Changes Taya ZinkinIndia Divided Rajendra PrasadIndian Muslims Prof. Mohd.MujeebIndia, the Critial Years Kuldip NayarIndo-Pakistan Conflict Russen BrinesIndica MegasthenesIndira’s India S.Nihal SinghInferno Alighieri DanteInner Circle Jonathan FirstInside the CBI Joginder SinghInside the Third Reich Albert SpencerInsider P.V. Narasimha Rao

Grapes and the Wind Pablo NerudaGreat Challenge Louis FischerGreat Depression of 1990 Ravi BatraGreat Gatsby F. Scott FitzgeraldGreat lllusion Norman AngellGreat Tragedy Z.A. BhuttoGrey Eminence Aldous HuxleyGrub Street Henry FieldingGuide R.K. NarayanGulistan Boston Sheikh SaadiGulliver’s Travels Jonathan SwiftGurusagaram O.V. VijayanGypsy(poem) PushkinHamlet William ShakespeareHard Times Charles DickensHarsha Charita Bana BhattHamsters C.P. SnowHandful of Dust Evelyn WaughHappy Death Albert CamusHarlot High and Low Honore de BalzacHarvest Majula PadmanabhanHeart of Darkness Joseph ConradHeat and Dust Ruth Prawer JhabwalaHeavy Weather P.G. WodehouseHenderson the Rain King Saul BellowHeritage Anthony WestHero of Our Times Richard HoughHeroes and Hero worship Thomas CarlyleHenry Esmond ThackerayHeir Apparent Dr. Karan SinghHigher than Hope Fatima MeerHimalayan Blunder Brig J.P. DalviHindu View of Life Dr. S.RadhakrishnanHitopadesh R.K.NarayanHind Swaraj M.K.GandhiHindu Civilisation J.M. BarrieHinduism Nirad C.ChoudhuryHis Excellency Emile ZolaHome Comings C.P. SnowHornet’s Nest Patricia CornwellHot Water P.G. WodehouseHouse for Mr. Biswas V.S. Naipaul

In Memoriam TennysonInside Asia John GuntherInside Europe John GuntherInside Africa John Gun therInterpreters Wole SoyinkaIntimacy Jean Paul SartreIntruder in the Dust William FaulknerInvisible Man H.G. WellsIron in the Soul Jean Paul SartreIronhand J.W. Von GoetheIsabella John KeatsIt is Always Possible Kiran BediIvanov Anton ChekhovIvanhoe Sir Walter ScottMarriage Chirstopher AndersonJai Somnath K.M. MunshiJaguar Smile Salman RushdieJajar, Churashir Maa Mahashweta DeviJane Eyre Charlotte BronteJankijeevanam Prof. Rajendra MishraJazz Toni MorrisonJean Christopher Romain RollandJewel Danielle SteelJhoota Sach YashpalJobs for Millions V.V. GiriJoke Milan KundraJudge’s Miscellany M. HidayatullahJulius Caesar William ShakespeareJurassic Park Michael CrichtonJungle Book Rudyard KiplingJunglee Girl Ginu KamaniKadambari Bana BhattKamadhenu Kubernath RayKamasutra VatsyayanKagaz Te Kanwas Amrita PritamKamayani Jai Shankar PanditKaleidoscope of India Tomoji MutoKali Aandhi KamleshwarKanthapura Raja RaoKanyadaan Vijay TendulkarKatghare Main Ram Sharan JoshiKayakalp Munshi Prem Chand

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Kayar Thakazhi Sivasankara PillaiKeepers of the Keys Milan KunderaKenilworth Sir Walter ScottKiller Angels Michael ShaaraKissinger Years T.N. KaulKidnapped R.L. StevensonKiratarjuniya BharaviKim Rudyard KiplingKing Lear ShakespeareKipps H.G.WellsKoraner Nari Taslima NasreenKore Kagaz Amrita PritamKubla Khan S.T. ColeridgeKulliyat GhalibKumar Sambhava KalidasLa Divine Comedia A. DanteLa Peste Albert CamusLady of the Lake Sir Walter ScottLady with the Lapdog Anton ChekhovLady Chatterly’s Lover D.H.LawrenceLajja Taslima NasreenLal Bahadur Shastri C.P. SrivastavaLast Analysis Saul BellowLast Orders Graham SwiftLast Phase Pyare LalLast Things C.P. SnowLaws Versus Justice V.R. Krishna lyerLeaders Richard NixonLeaves of Grass Walt WhitmanLead Kindly Light Cardinal NewmanLes Miserables Victor HugoLatter from Peking Peral S. BuckLetters From the Field Margaret MeadLeviathan Thomas HobbesLiberty or Death Patrick FrenchLight That Failed Rudyard KiplingLife Divine Aurobindo GhoshLife is Elsewhere Milan KunderaLines of Fate Mark KharitonovLipika Rabindranath TagoreLiving Room Graham GreeneLong Walk to Freedom Nelson MandelaLook Back in Anger John OsborneLord Jim Joseph ConradLord of the Files William GoldingLost Child Mulk Raj AnandLost Honour John DeanLost lllusion Honore de BalzacLotus Eaters A.TennysonLove in A Blue Time Hanif Khureshi

Much Ado About Nothing ShakespeareMudra rakshasa VishakhadattaMurder in the Cathedral T.S. EliotMurky Business Honore de BalzacMurder of Aziz Khan Zulfikar GhoseMy Days R.K. NarayanMy Early Life M.K. GandhiMy Experiment With Truth M.K. GandhiMy Life and Times V.V.GiriMy Own Boswell M.HidayatullahMy Father, Deng Xiaoping Xiao RongMy India S. Nihal SinghMy Music, My Love Ravi ShankarMy Presidential Years R.VenkataramanMy Truth Indira GandhiMysterious Universe James JeansMy Several Worlds Pearl S. BuckMy Son’s Father Dom MoraesMy South Block Years J.N. DixitMy Struggles E.K. NayanarMyths of sisyphus Albert CamusMy Prison Diary J.P NarayanNaari Humayun AzadNana Emile ZolaNaganandan Harsha VardhanaNaku Thanthi D.R. BendreNacked Face Sydney SheldonNaked Triangle Balwant GargiNehru Family and Sikhs Harbans SinghNetaji-Dead or Alive Samar GuhaNever At Home Dom MoraesNice Guys Finish Second B.K. NehruNicholas Nickelby Charles DickensNight Manager John le CarreNile Basin Sir Richard BurtonNine Days Wonder John MansfieldNisheeth Uma Shankar JoshiNiti-Sataka BhartrihariNineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell1999-Victory Without War Richard NixonNirbashita Narir Kabita Taslima NasreenNorth Seamus HeanevNorthanger Abbey Jane AustenNothing Like The Sun Anthony BurgessNo Full stops in India Mark TullyNursery Alice Lewis CarrollOccasion for Loving Nadine GordimerOdessa File Frederick ForsythOdakkuzal G.Shankara KurupOdyssey Homer

Lolita V.NabokovLycidas John MiltonMacbeth William ShakespeareMagic Mountain Thomas MannMahabharata VyasaMalati Madhav BhavabhutiMagic Fishbone Charles DickensMagnificent Maharaja K.Natwar SinghMahatma Gandhi Girija Kumar MathurMajor Barbara George Bernard ShawMalavikagnimitra KalidasMain Street Sinclair LewisMan, The Unknown Lewis CarrollMan and Superman G.B. ShawMan for Moscow G.LynneMan of Property John GalsworthyMan, Beast and Virtue Luigi PirandelloMan eaters of Kumaon Jim CorbettMarriage and Morals Bertrand RussellMama Terry McMillanMan for All Seasons Robert BoltMandarin Simon de BeauvoirMansfield Park Jane AustenMany Worlds K.P.S. MenonMasters C.P. SnowMati Matal Gopinath MohantyMaurice E.M. ForsterMayor of Casterbridge Thomas HardyMeghdoot KalidasMein Kampf Adolf HitlerMomories of Hope Charles de GaulleMeri Rehen Meri Manzil Krishna PuriMiddle March George EliotMiddle Ground Margaret DrabbleMidnight’s Children Salman RushdieMill on the Floss George EliotMillion Mutinies Now V.S. NaipaulMirror of the Sea Joseph ConradMiser MoliereMistaken identity Nayantara SehgalMoby Dick Herman MelvilleModern Painters John RuskinMother India Katherine MayoMod Classics Joseph ConradMoonlight Sonata L.BeethovenMoonwalk Michael JacksonMoor’s Last Sigh Salman RushdieMother Maxim GorkyMritunjaya Shivaji SawantMrs. De Winter Susah Hill

Oh, Le Beaux Jours Samuel BeckettOld Curiosity Shop Charles DickensOld Goriot Honore de BalzacOld Man and the Sea Ernest HemingwayOld Path: white Clouds Thich Nht HanhOliver’s Story Erich SegalOliver Twist Erich SegalOliver Twist Charles DickensOmeros Derek WalcottOn History Eric HobswanOne-eyed Uncle Laxmikant MahapatraOne World to Share Sridath RamphalOne Upmanship Stephen PotterOne World and India Arnold ToynbeeOne World Wendell WilkieOnly One Year SvetlanaOperation Shylock Philip RothOrigin of Species Charles DarwinOru Desathinte Katha S.K. PottekattOther Side of Midnight Sydney SheldonOthello ShakespeareOur Films, Their Films Satyajit RayOur India Minoo MasaniOut of Dust F.D. KarakaPadmavati Malik Mohammed JayasiPainted Veil W. Somerset MaughamPainter of Signs R.K. NarayanPair of Blue Eyes Thomas HardyPakistan Crisis David LoshakPakistan Papers Mani Shankar AiyerPanchtantra Vishnu SharmaParadise Lost John MiltonPakistan Cut to Size D.R. MankekarParadiso Alighieri DanteParadise Regained John MiltonPassage to England Nirad C.ChaudhuriPassage to India E.M. ForsterPast and Present Thomas CarlylePast Forward G.R. NarayananPath to Power Margaret ThatcherPatriot Pearl S. BuckPavilion of Women Pearl S. BuckPeculiar Music Emily BrontePeter Pan J.M. BarriePersuasion Jane AustenPickwick Papers Charles DickensPilgrim’s Progress John BunyanPinjar Amrita PritamPlague Albert CamusPlans for Departure Nayantara Sehgal

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Pleading Guilty Scott TurowPoison Belt Sir Arthur Conan DoylePolitics AristotlePortrait of India Ved MehtaPossessed Albert CamusPost Office Rabindranath TagorePower and Glory Graham GreenePower That Be David HalberstanPrathama Pratishruti Ashapurna DeviPrem Pachisi Prem ChandPrelude William WordsworthPremonitions P.N. HaksarPrincess in Love Ann PasternakPrison Diary Jayaprakash NarayanPrisoner of Zenda Anthony HopePrisoner’s Scrapbook L.K. AdvaniPrimary Colors AnonymousPrince MachiavelliPrithviraj Raso Chand BardaiPride and Prejudice Jane AustenPrincipia Isaac NewtonProfessor Charlotte BronteProfiles & Letters K. Natwar SinghPromises to Keep Chester BowlesPurgatory Alighieri DantePyramids of Sacrifice Peter L.BergerPygmation G.B. ShawQuarantene Jim CrassRabbit, Run John UpdikeRage of Angels Sydney SheldonRagtime E.L. DoctorowRaghuvamsa KalidasRajtarangini KalhanaRam Charit Manas TulsidasRangbhoomi Prem ChandRains Came Louis BromefieldRain King Saul BellowRainbow Pearl S. BuckRape of the Lock Alexander PopeRatnavali Harsha VardhanRazor’s Edge Somerset MaughamRebel Albert CamusRebirth Leonid BrezhnevRed and Black StendhalRed Star Over China Edgar Snow

Rediscovering Gandhi Yogesh ChadhaRed Badge of Courage Stephen CraneRemembering Babylon David MaloufReminiscences Thomas CarlyleReminiscences Thomas CarlyleReprieve Jean Paul SartreRepublic PlatoRescue Joseph ConradResurrection Leo TolstoyReturn of the Native Thomas HardyRevenue Stamp Amrita PritamRich Like Us Nayantara SehgalRiding the Storm Harold MacMillanRights the Man Thomas PainaRitu Ka Pehla Phool VijendraRitu Samhara KalidasRivals R.B. SheridanRiver Sutra Gita MehtaRoad to Folly Leslie FordRoad to Freedom K.K. KhullarRobe Lloyd C. DouglasRobinson Crusoe Daniel DefoeRomeo and Juliet William ShakespeareRoom at the Top John Braine RootsRukh Te Rishi Harbhajan SinghSader-i-Riyasat Karan SinghSakharam Binder Vijay TendulkarSaket Maithili Sharan GuptaSatyartha Prakash Swami DayanandSmaler’s Planet Saul BellowSanctuary William FaulknerSands of Time Sidney SheldonSanta Evita Tomas EloymartinezSatanic Verses Salman RushdieSavitri Aurobindo GhoshScarlet Letter Nathaniel HawthorneScarlet Pimpernel Baroness OrczySchindlr’s List Thomas KeneallySchool for Scandal R.B. SheridanSearch for Home Sasthi BrataSecond World War Winston ChurchillSecret Agent Joseph ConradSense of Time S.H. VatsyayanSesame and Lilies John RuskinSeven Summers Mulk Raj Anand

Tale of a Tub Jonathan SwiftTale of Two Cities Charles DickensTales from Shakespeare Charles LambTalisman Sir Walter ScottTamas Bhisham SahniTar Baby Toni MorrisonTarkash Javed AkhtarTemple Tiger Jim CorbettTess of D’Urbervilles Thomas HardyThank You, Jeeves P.G. WodehouseThe Age of Extremes Eric HolsbawmThe Assassination K. MohandasThe Agony and Ecstasy Irving StoneThe Beach Tree Pearl S. BuckThe Commitments Roddy DoyleThe Cardinal Henry Morton RobinsonThe Chinese Betrayal B.N. MullickThe Congress Splits R.P. RaoThe Diplomatic Bag John UreUgly Duckling H.C. AndersonUlysses James JoyceUncle Tom’s Cabin Mrs.Hariet StoweUnconsoled Kazuo IshiguroUnder Western Eye Joseph ConradUnhappy India Lala Lajpat RaiUniverse Around Us James JeansUntil Darkness Parvin GhaffariUtouchable Mulk Raj AnandUpturned Soil Mikhail SholokovUttar Ramcharita Bhava BhutiUtopia Thomas MoreUnto This Last John RuskinUntold Story Gen.B.M.KaulValley of Dolls Jacqueline SusanneVanity Fair ThackerayVendor of Sweets R.K.NarayanVenisamhara Narayana BhattVery Old Bones William KennedyVictim Saul BellowVictory Joseph ConradView from Delhi Chester BowlesView from the UN U ThantVillage by the Sea Anita Desai

Village Mulk Raj AnandVinay Patrika TulsidasVirangana Maithili Sharan GuptaVirginians William ThackerayVoice of Conscience V.V. GiriVoice of Freedom Nayantara SehgalVoice of the Voiceless Rutsh HarringWaiting for Godot Samuel BecketWaiting to Exhale Terry McMillanWake up India Annie BesantWalls of Glass K.A. AbbasWar and Peace TolstoyWar of the Worlds H.G.WellsWaste Land T.S. EliotWay of the World William CongreveWe, Indians Khushwant SinghWe, the People N.A. PalkhivalaWealth of Nations Adam SmithWeek with Gandhi Louis FischerWest Wind Pearl S. BuckWestward Ho Charles KingsleyWhile England Sleeps David LeavittWhispers of the Desert Fatima BhuttoWhite House Years Henry KissingerWidening Divide Rafiq ZakariaWild Ass’s Skin Honore de BalzacWinston Churchill Clive PontingWitness to History Prem BhatiaWitness to an Era Frank MoraesWoman’s Life Guy de MaupassantWorld Within Words Stephen SpenderWorthy it is Odysseus ElytisWuthering Heights Emily BronteYajnaseni Dr. Pratibha RoyYama Mahadevi VermaYashodhara Maithili Sharan GuptaYayati V.S. KhandekarYear of the Upheaval Henry KissingerYear of the Vulture Amita MalikYears of Pilgrimage Dr.Raja RamannaYesterday and Today K.P.S. MenonZulfi, My Friend Piloo Mody

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January 1 - Global Family DayJanuary 1 - World Day of PeaceJanuary 4 - World Hypnotism DayJanuary 6 - World day for War orphans

3rd Sunday of January - World Religion DayJanuary 24 - National girl child day of IndiaJanuary 27 - International Holocaust Remembrance DayJanuary 28 - Data Protection DayJanuary 29 - World Leprosy DayFebruary 2 - World Wetlands DayFebruary 4 - World Cancer DayFebruary 6 - International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female

Genital MutilationFebruary 11 - World Day of the SickFebruary 12 - Darwin DayFebruary 14 - Valentines DayFebruary 20 - World Day of Social JusticeFebruary 21 - International Mother Language DayFebruary 22 - International Scouts DayMarch 4 - World Kamau's DayMarch 6 - Dentist's DayMarch 8 - United Nations Day for Women's Rights and

International PeaceMarch 8 - International Women's DayMarch 14 - International Day of Action for RiversMarch 15 - World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and

FilmMarch 15 - World Consumer Rights DayMarch 20 - International Day of the FrancophonieMarch 20 - World Day of Theatre for Children and Young

PeopleMarch 21 - International Day for the Elimination of Racial

DiscriminationMarch 21 - World Poetry DayMarch 22 - World Day for Water

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IMPORTANT DAYSMarch 23 - World Meteorological DayMarch 24 - International Day for Achievers,

World Tuberculosis DayMarch 25 - International Day of Remembrance of the Victims

of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave TradeMarch 27 - World Theatre DayApril 2 - World Autism Awareness DayApril 4 - International Day for Mine AwarenessApril 7 - World Health DayApril 14 - Cultural Unity Day, recognized by India, Sri Lanka,

Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal.April 16 - World Entrepreneurship Day (WED) siteApril 17 - World Hemophilia Day April 21 - World Creativity and Innovation DayApril 22 - Earth DayApril 23 - World Book and Copyright DayApril 24 - World Day for Laboratory AnimalsApril 25 - World Malaria DayApril 26 - World Intellectual Property DayApril 28 - International Workers' Memorial DayApril 29 - World Dance DayMay 1 - May Day - Labour DayMay 2 - International Day of Deliberately UnemployedMay 3 - World Press Freedom DayMay 4 - International Firefighters' DayMay 5 - International Midwives DayMay 6 - International Awareness Day for Osteogenesis

ImperfectaMay 7 - Rabindranath Tagore's Anniversary DayMay 8 - World Red Cross & Red Crescent DayMay 12 - International Nurses DayMay 15 - International Day of FamiliesMay 17 - World Information Society DayMay 18 - International Museum DayMay 19 - World Hepatitis DayMay 21 - World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and

Development May 22 - International Day for Biological Diversity May 23 - World Turtle Day

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May 29 - International Day of United Nations PeacekeepersMay 31 - World No Tobacco Day1st Tuesday of May - World Asthma Day2nd Saturday of May - World Fair Trade Day2nd Sunday of May - International Mothers' DayJune 1 - International Children's DayJune 4 - International Day of Innocent Children Victims of

AggressionJune 5 - World Environment DayJune 8 - World Brain Tumour DayJune 8 - World Ocean DayJune 12 - World Day Against Child LabourJune 14 - World Blood Donor DayJune 17 - World Day to Combat Desertification and DroughtJune 18 - International Picnic DayJune 19 - World Sickle Cell DayJune 20 - World Refugee DayJune 21 - World Music DayJune 23 - United Nations Public Service DayJune 26 - International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit

TraffickingJune 26 - International Day in Support of Victims of Torture3rd Sunday of June - International Fathers' DayJuly 1 - Doctor's Day, Bidhan Chandra Roy Birth Day1st Saturday of July - International Day of CooperativesJuly 1 - International Reggae Day - JamaicaJuly 7 - International Cooperative DayJuly 8 - Writer's DayJuly 11 - World Population DayJuly 23 - World Stress Down DayAugust 9 - International Day of the World's Indigenous PeopleAugust 12 - International Youth DayAugust 13 - International Lefthanders DayAugust 19 - World Humanitarian DayAugust 23 - International Day for the Remembrance of the

Slave Trade and its AbolitionSeptember 8 - International Literacy Day

September 10 - World Suicide Prevention DaySeptember 11 - World First Aid DaySeptember 15 - International Day of DemocracySeptember 16 - International Day for the Preservation of the

Ozone LayerSeptember 19 - International Talk Like a Pirate DaySeptember 21 - International Day of Peace, recognized by the UNSeptember 21 - World Alzheimer's DaySeptember 26 - European Day of LanguagesSeptember 27 - World Tourism DaySeptember 28 - Right to Know DaySeptember 28 - World Rabies DayFirst Monday of October - World Habitat DayOctober 1 - International Day of Older PersonsOctober 1 - World Vegetarian DayOctober 2 - International Day of Non-ViolenceOctober 3 - World Smile DayOctober 4 - World Animal DayOctober 5 - World Teachers' DaySecond Wednesday of October - International Day for Natural

Disaster ReductionOctober 9 - World Hospice and Palliative Care DayOctober 8 - World Humanitarian Action DayOctober 8 - World Egg Day - 2nd Friday of October every yearOctober 9 - World Post DayOctober 9 - Global Jamie DayOctober 10 - World Mental Health DayOctober 10 - World Day Against Death PenaltyOctober 14 - World Standards DayOctober 15 - World Blind Day / World Sight DayOctober 15 - International Day of Rural WomenOctober 15 - Global Handwashing DayOctober 16 - National Boss Day (Boss's Day)October 16 - World Food Day, recognized by the UNOctober 17 - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

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October 20 - International Day of the Air Traffic ControllerOctober 20 - World Statistics DayOctober 24 - United Nations Day, recognized by the UNOctober 24 - World Development Information DayOctober 27 - World Day for Audiovisual HeritageThird Sunday of November - World Day of Remembrance for

Road Traffic VictimsNovember 1 - World Vegan DayNovember 6 - International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of

the Environment in War and Armed ConflictNovember 8 - Paul S DayNovember 9 - World Freedom DayNovember 10 - World Immunization DayNovember 14 - World Diabetes DayNovember 16 - International Day for ToleranceNovember 17 - International Students DayNovember 19 - International Men's DayNovember 19 - World Toilet DayNovember 20 - Africa Industrialization DayNovember 20 - Universal Children's DayNovember 21 - World Hello DayNovember 21 - World Television DayNovember 25 - International Day for the Elimination of Violence

against WomenNovember 25 - International Meatless DayNovember 30 - Computer Security DayDecember 1 - World Aids DayDecember 2 - International Day for the Abolition of SlaveryDecember 3 - International Day of Persons with DisabilitiesDecember 5 - International Volunteer Day for Economic and

Social DevelopmentDecember 7 - International Civil Aviation DayDecember 9 - The International Day against CorruptionDecember 10 - Human Rights DayDecember 11 - International Mountain Day

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December 16 - International Hug a Recovered Invalid DayDecember 17 - International Rabbit's DayDecember 18 - International Migrants Day, recognized by the UNDecember 19 - United Nations Day for South-South CooperationDecember 20 - International Human Solidarity Day

Important Weeks

March 21–27 - Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Strugglingagainst Racism and Racial Discrimination

May 25–31 - Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories

4th week of September - International Peace WeekOctober 4–10 - World Space WeekOctober 24–30 - Disarmament Week

Important Years

1961 - International Health and Medical Research Year1965 - International Cooperation Year1967 - International Tourist Year1968 - International Year for Human Rights1969 - International Year of Love1970 - International Education Year1971 - International Year for Action to Combat Racism and

Racial Discrimination1974 - World Population Year1975 - International Women's Year1979 - International Year of the Child1981 - International Year of Disabled Persons1982 - International Year of Mobilization for Sanctions against

South Africa1983 - World Communications Year1984 - Year of Women in South Africa1985 - Year of the United Nations

1985 - International Youth Year1986 - International Year of Peace1987 - International Year of Shelter for the Homeless1990 - International Literacy Year1992 - International Space Year1993 - International Year of the World's Indigenous People1994 - International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal1994 - International Year of the Family1995 - World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of Victims of

the Second World War1995 - United Nations Year for Tolerance1996 - International Year for the Eradication of Poverty1998 - International Year of the Ocean1999 - International Year of Older Persons2000 - International Year of Thanksgiving2000 - International Year for the Culture of Peace2000 - World Mathematical Year2001 - International Year of Mobilization against Racism,

Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and RelatedIntolerance

2001 - International Year of Volunteers2001 - United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations2002 - International Year of Ecotourism2002 - International Year of Mountains2002 - United Nations Year for Cultural Heritage2003 - International Year of Freshwater2003 - European Disability Year2004 - International Year to Commemorate the Struggle

against Slavery and its Abolition2004 - International Year of Rice2005 - International Year for Sport and Physical Education2005 - International Year of Microcredit2005 - World Year of Physics2006 - International Year of Deserts and Desertification2007 - Year of the Dolphin (extended to 2008)2007 - International Year of the Scout2007-2008 - International Heliophysical Year2008 - International Year of Languages2008 - International Year of the Potato

195 196

2008 - International Year of Sanitation2008 - International Year of the Frog2009 - International Year of Astronomy2009 - International Year of Natural Fibres2009 - International Year of Reconciliation2009 - Year of the Gorilla2009 - International Year of the Shark2010 - International Year of Communications2010 - International Year of Biodiversity2010 - International Year of Youth2011 - International Year of Forests2011 - International Year of Chemistry2011 - International Year for People of African descent2011 - World Veterinary Year 2011

Important Decades

1976–1985 - United Nations Decade for Women1990s - International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduc

tion1994–2004 - First International Decade of the World's Indig-

enous People1997–2006 - First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of

Poverty2000–2010 - Second International Decade for the Eradication

of Colonialism2000-2010 - Bone and Joint Decade2001–2010 - International Decade for a Culture of Peace and

Non-violence for the Children of the World2001-2010 - Decade to Roll Back Malaria in Developing

Countries, Particularly in Africa (2001-2010)2003–2012 - United Nations Literacy Decade2005–2014 - United Nations Decade on Education for Sustain-

able Development2005–2014 - Second International Decade of the World's

Indigenous People2005–2015 - Water for Life Decade

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ABBREVIATIONSAA : Anti-Aircraft; Author’s Alter-

ationsAAAS : American Association of Ad

vancement of ScienceAAFI : Amateur Athletics Federation

of Afro-Asian GamesAAI : Airport Authority of IndiaAAOU : Asian Association for Open Uni

versitiesAPSO : Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity

OrganisationAASU : All-Assam Students’ UnionABC : Audit Bureau of CirculationsABM : Anti-Ballistic MissilesABSU : All Bodo Students’ UnionABU : Asian Broadcasting UnionAC : Alternating CurrentACAS : Airborne Collision Avoidance

SystemACC : Auxiliary Cadet Corps;

Air Coordinating CommitteeACD : Asian Co-operation DialogueACL : Access Control ListACU : Asian Clearing UnionADB : Asian Development BankADBS : Advanced Data Broadcast

SystemADF : Asian Development FundADRs : American Depository ReceiptsAEC : Atomic Energy CommissionAERB : Atomic Energy Regulation

BoardAF : Audio FrequencyAFC : Asian Football ConfederationAFNET : Air Force NetworkAFP : Agence France-PresseAIIMS : All India Institute of Medical

SciencesAILTA : All India Lawn Tennis

AssociationAIMA : All India Management

AssociationAIMO : All India Manufacturers

OrganisationAIMPLB : All India Muslim Personal Law

BoardAINEC : All India Newspaper Editors’

Conference

AIR : All India RadioAISNEC : All India Small Newspaper

Editors’ ConferenceAISSF : All India Sikh Students’

FederationAITUC : All India Trade Union CongressAIWHA : All India Women Hockey

AssociationAJT : Advance Jet TrainerALGOL : Algorithmic LanguageALH : Advanced Light HelicopterAMC : Army Medical CorpsAMICE : Associate Member of the

Institute of Civil EngineersAMU : Asian Monetary UnionANANDI : Area Networking Development

InitiativeANC : African National CongressANCA : Alternative Nuclear Command

AuthorityANERT : Agency for Non-Conventional

Energy and Rural TechnologyANN : Asian News NetworkAOC : Air Officer CommandingAP : Associated PressAPASL : Asia Pacific Association for

Study of LiverAPCTT : Asia and Pacific Centre for

Transfer of TechnologyAPEC : Asia Pacific Economic

CommunityAPHLC : All Parties Hill Leaders

ConferenceAPM : Administered Price MechanismAPPLE : Ariane Passenger Payload

ExperimentAPPU : Asian Pacific Postal UnionAPT : Asia Pacific Tele communityARC : Administrative Reforms

CommissionARDC : Agricultural Refinance and

Development CorporationARF : ASEAN Regional ForumARP : Air Raid PrecautionARPANET: Advanced Research Project

Agency NetworkARTRAC : Army Training Command

ASCI : Administrative Staff College ofIndia

ASCON : Army Static SwitchedCommunication Network

ASEAN : Association of South East AsianNations

ASEM : Asia Europe MeetingASI : Archaeological Survey of IndiaASK : Aaykar Sampark KendraASLV : Augmented Satellite Launch

VehicleASSOCHAM : Associated Chamber of

Commerce and IndustryATC : Air Traffic ControlATGM : Anti-Tank Guided MissileATM : Automatic Teller MachineATR : Action Taken ReportATS : Anti Tetanus SerumAU : African UnionAVARD : Association of Voluntary

Agencies for Rural DevelopmentAVC : Army Veterinary CorpsAVSM : Ati Vishisht Seva MedalAVTAR : Army Vocational Training and

RehabilitationAWACS : Airborne Warning and Control

SystemAWWA : Army Wives’ Welfare

AssociationBITS : Birla Institute of Technology &

SciencesBJP : Bharatiya Janata PartyBKKP : Bhartiya Kisan Kamgar PartyB2B : Business to BusinessB2C : Business to ConsumerBAC : Business Advisory CommitteeBAI : Badminton Association of IndiaBALCO : Bharat Aluminium Company ltdBARC : Bhabha Atomic Research

CentreBBC : British Broadcasting CorporationBCCI : Board of Control for Cricket in

IndiaBCG : Bacillus Calmette-GuerinBCL : Bachelor of Civil lawBDO : Block Development OfficerBEL : Bharat Electronics LimitedBGA : Blue Green AlgaeBHEL : Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.BHU : Banaras Hindu University

BICP : Bureau of Industrial Costs andPrices

BIFR : Board for Industrial andFinancial Reconstruction

BIMSTEC : Bangladesh, India, Myanmar.Sri Lanka, Thailand EconomicCooperation.

BIPPA : Bilateral Investment Promotionand Protection Agreement

BIS : Bureau of Indian StandardsBKU : Bharatiya Kisan UnionBLOB : Binary Large ObjectsBMW : Bayerische Motoren Warke AGBOAC : British Overseas Airways

CorporationBOLT : Build-Own-Lease-TransferBPE : Bureau of Public EnterprisesBPO : Business Process OutsourcingBRAI : Broadcast Regulatory

Authorities of IndiaBRIC : Brazil. Russia, India and ChinaBRO : Border Roads OrganisationBSE : Bombay Stock ExchangeBSF : Border Security ForceBSI : Botanical Survey of IndiaBSNL : Bharat Sanchar NigamBSP : Bahujan Samaj PartyCAB : Civil Aeronautics BoardCABE : Central Advisory Board for

educationCACCI : Confederation of Asia-Pacific

Chambers of Commerce &Industry

CACP : Commission on AgriculturalCosts and Prices

CADA : Command Area DevelopmentAgency

CAG : Comptroller and Auditor-General

CAN : Calcium Ammonium NitrateCAPART : Council for Advancement of

People’s Action and RuralTechnology

CAPD : Continuous AmbulatoryPeritoneal Dialysis

CAPES : Computer-Aided PaperlessExamination System

CARD : Centre for AstronomicalResearch and Development

CARE : Cooperative for AmericanRelief Everywhere

197 198

CAS : Conditional Access SystemCASE : Commission on Alternative

Sources of EnergyCASI : Centre for the Advanced Study

of IndiaCAT : Computerised Axial Tomogra

phyCAZRI : Central Arid Zone Research

Institute Ltd.CBDT : Central Board of Direct TaxesCBEC : Central Board of Excise and

British CustomsCBFC : Central Board of Film

CertificationCBI : Central Bureau of investigationCBM : Confidence Building Measures

CentralCBR : Central Board of RevenueCBRI : Central Building Research

InstituteCBSE : Central Board of Secondary

EducationCBT : Children’s Book TrustCCEA : Cabinet Committee on

Economic AffairsCCI : Cement Corporation of IndiaCCP : Cabinet Committee on PricesCCS : Cash Compensatory SupportC-DAC : Centre for Development of

Advanced ComputingCDMA : Code Division Multiple AccessC-DOT : Centre for Development of

TelematicsCDRI : Central Drug Research InstituteCDROM : Compact Disc-Read Only

MemoryCDS : Compulsory Deposit SchemeCEC : Chief Election CommissionerCECRI : Central Electro Chemical

Research instituteCEERI : Central Electronic Engineering

Research InstituteCENTO : Central Treaty OrganisationCENVAT : Central Value Added TaxCEO : Chief Executive OfficerCERC : Consumer Education and

Research CentreCFC : Chloro Fluoro CarbonCFSL : Central Forensic Science

LaboratoryCGA : Central Ganga AuthorityCGF : Commonwealth Games

Federation

CGHS : Central Government HealthScheme

CGI : Common Gateway InterfaceCGIAR : Consultative Group on Interna

tional Agricultural ResearchCHOGM : Commonwealth Heads of Gov

ernment MeetingCHOGRM: Commonwealth Heads of

Government Regional MeetingCIA : Central Intelligence AgencyCIB : Credit information BureauCICA : Conference on Interaction and

confidence-building Measures inAsia

CID : Criminal InvestigationDepartment

CIET : Central Institute of EducationalTechnology

CII : Confederation of IndianIndustry

CIIL : Central Institute of IndianLanguages

CISF : Central Industrial SecurityForce

CITES : Convention on InternationalTrade on Endangered Species

CITU : Centre of Indian Trade UnionsCIWTC : Central Inland Water Transport

CorporationCKD : Completely Knocked DownCLASP : Child Labour Action and

Support ProjectCLAWS : Centre for Land Warfare

StudiesCLB : Company Law BoardCM : Common MarketCMA : Coal Mines AuthorityCMAG : Commonwealth Ministerial

Action GroupCMC : Computer Maintenance

CorporationCMEA : Council for Mutual Economic

AssistanceCMERI : Central Mechanical Engineering

Research InstituteCMIE : Centre for Monitoring Indian

EconomyCMP : Common Minimum ProgrammeCNC : Computerised Numerical

ControlCNG : Compressed Natural GasCNN : Cable News NetworkCNS : Chief of Naval Staff

CO : Commanding OfficerCOAS : Chief of Army StaffCOL : Commonwealth of LearningCOMECON: Council for Mutual Economic

AssistanceCOMESA: Common Market for Eastern

and Southern AfricaCOMEX : Commonwealth ExpeditionCOMPS : Coastal Ocean Monitoring and

Prediction CentreCONCORD: Council of North Indian States

for Cooperation and RegionalDevelopment

COPO : Citizens Organisation for PublicOpinion

COPRA : Consumer Protection ActCOPU : Committee on Public

UndertakingsCPC : Civil Procedure CodeCPCB : Central Pollution Control BoardCPF : Contributory Provident FundCPHERI : Central Public health Engineering

Research InstituteCPI(ML) : Communist Party of India

(Marxist-Leninist)CPI : Communist Party of IndiaCPI-IW : Consumer Price Index for

industrial WorkersCPMT : Combined Pre-Medical TestsCPR : Cardio Pulmonary ResuscitationCPSU : Communist Party of the Soviet

UnionCPU : Committee on Public

UndertakingsCPWD : Central Public Works DepartmentCRIDA : Central Research Institute for

Dry-land AgricultureCRISIL : Credit Rating Information

Services of IndiaCRPF : Central Reserve Police ForceCRR : Cash Reserve RatioCRRI : Central Road Research InstituteCRRID : Centre for Research in Rural and

Industrial DevelopmentCRY : Child Relief and YouCSAT : Civil Services Aptitude TestCSCAP : Council for Security Cooperation

in Asia PacificCSCE : Conference on Security and

Cooperation in EuropeCSIO : Central Scientific Instruments

Organisation

CSIR : Council of Scientific andIndustrial Research

CSIRO : Commonwealth Scientificand

Industrial ResearchOrganisation

CSO : Central StatisticalOrganisation

CSP : Concentrated Solar PowerCSSRI : Central Soil Salinity Re-

search I n -stitute

CST : Central Sales laxCT : Computerised TomographyCTBT : Comprehensive Test Ban

TreatyCTO : Central Telegraph OfficeCTV : Colour TelevisionCV : Curriculum VitaeCVC : Central Vigilance

CommissionCVR : Cockpit Voice RecorderCVRDE : Combat Vehicles Research

Development EstablishmentCWC : Central Warehousing

CorporationCWF : Consumer Welfare FundCWPC : Central Water and Power

CommissionCWPRS : Central Water and Power

Research StationDA : Dearness AllowanceDAE : Department of Atomic

EnergyDAP : Di-Ammonium PhosphateDAVP : Directorate of Advertising

and Visual PublicityDCL : Doctor of Civil LawDDT : Dichloro Diphenyl

TrichloroethaneDEAL : Defence Electronics

Applications LaboratoryDEG : German Investment and

Development CompanyDFDR : Digital Flight Data RecorderDGCA : Director General of Civil

AviationDGCEI : Directorate General of

Central Excise IntelligenceDGMS : Directorate General of Mines

Safety

199 200

DGTD : Directorate General ofTechnical Development

DHSD : Duplex-High Speed DataService

DIA : Defence Intelligence AgencyDIG : Deputy Inspector GeneralDIR : Defence of India RulesDMA : Direct Memory AccessDMK : Dravida Munnetra KazhagamDMRC : Delhi Metro Rail CorporationDMRTS : Delhi Metro Rapid Transport

SystemDOD : Department of Ocean

DevelopmentDOE : Department of ElectronicsDOTS : Directly Observed Treatment

Short-CourseDPBS : Developmental Press Bulletin

ServiceDPI : Director of Public InstructionDPSA : Deep Penetration Strike Air

craftDRDO : Defence Research and

Development OrganisationDRES : Department of Renewable

Energy SourcesDRF : Depreciation Reserve FundDRI : Differential Rate of InterestDSB : Digital Satellite BroadcastingDSC : Distinguished Service CrossDSIDC : Defence Scientific Information

and Documentation CentreDSL : Digital Subscriber LineDST : Department of Science and

TechnologyDTAA : Double Taxation Avoidance

AgreementDTH : Direct-to-HomeDTS : Digital Theatre SystemDVC : Damodar Valley CorporationDVD : Digital Versatile/Video DiscDVM : Doctor of Veterinary MedicineDWT : Dead Weight TonnesEAC : Employment Assistance

CentreEARC : Economic Administrative

Reforms CommissionEAS : Employment Assurance

SchemeECA : Essential Commodities ActECAFE : Economic Commission for

Asia and Far East

ECE : Economic Commission forEurope

ECG : ElectrocardiogramECGC : Export Credit and Guarantee

CorporationECHR : European Commission on

Human RightsECM : European Common MarketECOSOC: Economic and Social CouncilECS : Electronic Clearance ServiceEDBI : Educational Development

Bank of IndiaEDCIL : Educational Consultants India

Ltd.EDI : Electronic Data InterchangeEDMS : Electronic Document

Management SystemEEC : European Economic

CommunityEEC : Electro EncephalogramEEZ : Exclusive Economic ZoneEFA : Education For AllEFF : Extended Fund FacilityEGP : Exterior Gateway ProtocolEIL : Engineers India LimitedEIS : Executive Information

SystemELJSA : Enzyme Linked Immuno

Sorbent AssayELSS : Equity Linked Saving SchemeE-mail : Electronic MailingEMF : Electro Motive ForceEMG : Electro MyograniEMS : European Monetary SystemEMU : European Monetary UnionENS : Eastern Newspapers SocietyEOU : Export Oriented UnitsEPCG : Export Promotion Capital

GoodsEPCH : Export Promotion Council for

HandicraftsEPCJ : Enhanced Proliferation

Control InitiativeEPF : Employees Provident FundEPO : Earth Parking OrbitEPZ : Export Processing ZoneERM : Exchange Rate MechanismERNET : Educational and Research

NetworkERS : European Remote SensingESA : European Space Agency

ESC : Electronics and ComputerSoftware Export PromotionCouncil

ESIC : Employees’ State InsuranceCorporation

ESMA : Essential ServicesMaintenance Act

ESP : Extra Sensory PerceptionEST : Eastern Standard TimeEst : EstablishedETT : Embryo Transfer TechnologyETV : Educational TelevisionEVM : Electronic Voting MachineEVR : Electro video RecordingFACT : Fertilizers & Chemicals

Travancore limitedFAO : Food and Agriculture OrganisationFBI : Federal Bureau of InvestigationFBTR : Fast Breeder Test ReactorFBW : Fly-By-WireFCI : Food Corporation of IndiaFCRA : Foreign Contribution Regulation

ActFDI : Foreign Direct InvestmentFEDEX : Federal ExpressFEMA : Foreign Exchange ManagementFERA : Foreign Exchange Regulation ActFICCI : Federation of Indian Chambers of

Commerce and IndustryFIEO : Federation of Indian Exports

OrganisationsFIFA : International Football FederationFIH : International Hockey FederationFII : Foreign Institutional InvestorsFIPB : Foreign Investment Promotion

BoardFIPC : Foreign Investment Promotion

CouncilFIR : First Information ReportFIRE : Fully Integrated Robotised EngineFLAG : Fibre-optic Link Around the GlobeFM : Field MarshalFMCT : Fissile Material Cut-off TreatyFORE : Foundation for Organisational

Research and EducationFRCP : Fellow of Royal College of

PhysiciansFRCS : Fellow of Royal College of

SurgeonsFRGS : Fellow of Royal Geographical

SocietyFRN : Floating Rate NoteFRS : Fellow of Royal Society

FTP : File Transfer ProtocolFTS : Foreign Travel SchemeFTU : Free Trade UnionFTZ : Free Trade ZoneGAAP : Generally Accepted

Accounting PracticesGAEL : Global Alliance for The

Elimination of LeprosyGAIL : Gas Authority of India

LimitedGAP : Ganga Action PlanGATE : Graduate Aptitude Test in

EngineeringGATT : General Agreement on Tariff

and TradeGB : Great BritainGCC : Gulf Cooperation CouncilGCF : Greatest Common FactorGCM : Greatest Common MeasureGDI : Gender-related Development

IndexGDP : Gross Domestic ProductGEF : Global Environment FacilityGEM : Gender Empowerment

MeasureGHQ : General HeadquartersGIAS : Gateway Internet Access

ServicesGIC : General Insurance

CorporationGIEC : Global Indian Entrepreneurs

ConferenceGIS : Global Information SystemGIST : Graphics and Intelligence-

based Script TechnologyGLOBE : Global Learning and Obser-

vation to Benefit theEnvironment

GM : General MotorsGMAT : Graduate Management

Admission TestGMDSS : Global Maritime Distress and

Safety SystemGMPS : Global Mobile Personnel

Communications SystemGMRT : Giant Metrewave Radio

TelescopeGMT : Greenwich Mean TimeGNLF : Gorkha National Liberation

FrontGNP : Gross National Product

201 202

GOC : General Officer CommandingGOI : Government of IndiaGOP : Grand Old PartyGovt : GovernmentGPF : General Provident FundGPO : General Post OfficeGPRS : General Pocket Radio

SystemGRAM : Geo Reference ‘ Area

ManagementGRE : Graduate Record

ExaminationGRT : Gross Rated TonnageGSI : Geological Survey of IndiaGSLV : Geo-synchronous Satellite

Launch VehicleGSM : Global System for Mobile

CommunicationGSP : Generalised System of

PreferencesGSTP : Global System of Trade

PracticesGTICL : Gas Transportation &

infrastructure Co. Ltd.HAI : Health Action InternationalHAL : Hindustan Aeronautics LimitedHCF : Highest Common FactorHDI : Human Development IndexHDML : Hyper Devices Markup

LanguageHEMRL : High Energy Materials Research

LaboratoryHESSI : High Energy Solar Spectroscopic

ImagerHF : High FrequencyHHEC : Handicrafts and Handloom

Exports CorporationHITEC : Hyderabad Information

Technology EngineeringConsultancy

HIV : Human Immunodeficiency VirusHMI : Himalayan Mountaineering

InstituteHMT : Hindustan Machine ToolsHP : Harmonic ProgressionHRD : Human Resource DevelopmentHSD : High Speed DieselHSL : Hindustan Steel LimitedHSTS : High Speed Tram SystemHTCG : High Technology Cooperation

GroupHTML : Hyper Text Markup LanguageHTR : High Temperature Reactor

HTTP : Hypertext Transfer ProtocolHUDCO : Housing and Urban

Development CorporationHVNET : High Speed VSAF NetworkHZL : Hindustan Zinc LimitedI & B : Information and BroadcastingIAAF : International Amateur Athletic

FederationIAAS : Indian Audit and Accounts

ServiceIAC : Indian Airlines CorporationIAEA : International Atomic Energy

AgencyIAF : Indian Air ForceIAMC : Indian Army Medical CorpsIAMR : Institute of Applied Manpower

ResearchIARI : Indian Agricultural Research

InstituteIAS : Indian Administrative ServiceIASRI : Indian Agricultural Statistical

Research InstituteIATA : International Air Transport

AssociationIATP : Income Adjusted to Total

PopulationIBEF : India Brand Equity FundIBM : International Business

MachinesIBRD : International Bank for Recon-

struction and DevelopmentICAA : International Civil Airports

AssociationICAAN : Internet Corporation for

Assigned Names & NumbersICADR : The International Centre for

Alternate Dispute ResolutionICAI : Institute of Chartered

Accountants of IndiaICAO : International Civil Aviation

OrganisationICAR : Indian Council of Agricultural

ResearchICBL : International Campaign to Ban

LandminesICBM : Inter-Continental Ballistic MissileICC : International Cricket CouncilICCR : Indian Council for Cultural

RelationsICCS : International Commission of

Control and Supervision

ICCW : Indian Council of Child WelfareICDS : Integrated Child Development

SchemeICE : InfoTech Communications

And EntertainmentICFTU : International Confederation of

Free Trade UnionsICHR : Indian Council of Historical

ResearchICJ : International Court of JusticeICMR : Indian Council of Medical

ResearchICOR : International Capital Output

RatioICPD : International Conference on

Population and DevelopmentICRA : Investment Information and

Credit Rating Agency of IndiaICRC : International Committee of

Red CrossICRIER : Indian Council for Research on

International Economic RelationsICRISAT : International Crops Research

Institute for the Semi-Arid TropicsICS : Indian Civil ServiceICSI : Institute of Company

Secretaries of IndiaICSSR : Indian Council of social Sciences

ResearchICSW : Indian Council of Social WelfareICW : International Council of WomenICWA : Indian Council of World AffairsIDA : International Development AgenciesIDBI : Industrial Development Bank of

IndiaIDC : Industrial Development CorporationIDD : International Direct DialingIDE : Integrated deice ElectronicsIDN : Internationalised Domain NamesIDPL : Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuti

cals LimitedIDRC : International Development

Research CentreIDSA : Institute of Defence Studies and

AnalysisIELTS : International English Language

Testing SystemIES : Indian Economic ServiceIFA : Indian Football AssociationIFAD : International Fund for Agricultural

Development

IFCI : Industrial Finance Corporationof India

IFFCO : Indian Farmers FertilisersCorporation Limited

IFFI : International Film Festival ofIndia

IFRI : Indian Forest ResearchInstitute

IFRS : International FinancialReporting standards

IFS : Indian Foreign Service; IndianForest Service

IFTU : International Federation ofTrade Unions

IFWJ : Indian Federation of WorkingJournalists

IGCAR : Indira Gandhi Centre forAtomic Research

IGIA : Indira Gandhi InternationalAirport

IGMDP : Integrated Guided MissileDevelopment Programme.

IGNCA : Indira Gandhi NationalCentre for Arts

IGNFA : Indira Gandhi National ForestAcademy

IGNOU : Indira Gandhi National OpenUniversity

IGNP : Indira Gandhi NaharPariyojana

IHF : Indian Hockey FederationIIAS : Indian institute of Advanced

StudiesIIFT : Indian Institute of Foreign

TradeIIIT : Indian Institute of Information

TechnologyIIMC : Indian Institute of Mass

CommunicationsIIP : Indian Institute of PetroleumIIPA : Indian Institute of Public

AdministrationIIPA : International Intellectual

Property AllianceIIRS : Indian Institute of Remote

SensingIISS : International Institute of

Strategic StudiesIIT : Indian Institute of TechnologyILA : International Law AssociationILO : International Labour

Organisation

203 204

ILS : Instrument Landing SystemIMAP : Internet Mail Access ProtocolIMC : Indian Medical CouncilIMDT : Illegal Migrants Determination

by Tribunal ActIMF : International Monetary FundIMS : Indian Medical ServiceIMY : Indira Mahila YojanaINA : Indian National ArmyINL : Indian National LeagueINPEX : Indian National Philatelic

ExhibitionINS : Indian Navy ShipINSA : Indian National Science

AcademyINSAT : Indian National SatelliteINTACFI : Indian National Trust for Art

and Cultural HeritageINTELEX : International Teleprinter

ExchangeINTELSAT: International Telecommunica

tion Satellite ConsortiumINTERPOL: International Criminal Police

OrganisationINTUC : Indian National Trade Union

CongressIOA : Indian Olympic AssociationIOC : International Olympic CommitteeIOCOM : Indian Ocean CommonwealthIOR-ARC : Indian Ocean Rim Association

for Regional CooperationIOSCO : International Organisation of

Securities CommissionIP : Internet ProtocolIPBA : Inter-Pacific Bar AssociationIPC : Indian Penal CodeIPCL : Indian Petro-chemicals

Corporation LimitedIPKF : Indian Peace Keeping ForceIPO : Initial Public OfferingIPR : Intellectual Property RightsIPS : Indian Police ServiceIPSA : International Peace & Security

AdvancementIPU : International Parliamentary

UnionIQ : Intelligence QuotientIRBM : Intermediate Range Ballistic

MissileIRC : International Red CrossIRCI : International Reconstruction

Corporation of India

IRCON : Indian Railway ConstructionCompany

IRCS : International Red CrossSociety

IRDA : Insurance RegulatoryDevelopment Authority

IRDP : Integrated Rural DevelopmentProgramme

IREDA : Indian Renewable EnergyDevelopment Agency

IRNA : Iranian News AgencyIRRI : International Rice Research

InstituteIRS : Indian Remote SensingIRSE : Indian Railway Service of

EngineersISAF : International Security

Assistance ForceISB : Indian School of BusinessISBA : International Sea-Bed AuthorityISBN : International Standard book

NumberISC : Indian Science CongressISCON : Indian Steel Construction

CompanyISD : International Subscriber DialingISDN : Integrated Services Digital Net

workISI : Indian Standards InstituteISP : Internet Service ProviderISRO : Indian Space Research

OrganisationIST : Indian Standard TimeISTRAC : ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and

Command CentreITBP : Indo-Tibetan Border PoliceITDC : India Tourism Development

CorporationITES : Infotech Enabled ServicesITI : Industrial Training InstituteITIR : Information Technology

Investment RegionITO : International Trade OrganisationITPO : Indian Trade Promotion

OganisationITR : Interim Test RangeITU : International Telecommunica

tion UnionIUCD : Intra-Uterine contraceptive

deviceIUML : Indian Union Muslim LeagueIUPEP : Integrated Urban Poverty

Eradication Programme

IVF : In-Vitro FertilisationIWAI : Inland Waterways Authority of

IndiaTWDP : Integrated Watershed Develop-

ment ProgrammeIWRS : Isolated Word Re-organisation

SystemIYC : Indian Youth CongressJ&K : Jammu and KashmirJAAC : Jharkhand Area Autonomous

CouncilJBRI : Japanese Bond Research

InstituteJCC : Junior Chamber of CommerceJCO : Junior Commissioned OfficerJKLF : Jammu and Kashmir Liberation

FrontJMM : Jhatkund Mukthi MorchaJNU : Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityJPC : Joint Parliamentary CommitteeJRC : Junior Red CrossJRY : Jawahar Rozgar YojanaJVM : Janata Vidyarthi MorchaJVP : Janata Vimukthi PeramunaKBE : Knight of British EmpireKMBY : Khetihar Mazdoor Bima YojanaKRC : Konkan Railway CorporationKVA : Kilo-Volt-AmpereKVIC : Khadi and Village Industries

CommissionKVS : Kendriya Vidyalaya SangathanKw : KilowattLAC : Line of Actual ControlLAN : Local Area NetworkLASER : Light Amplification by Stimulated

Emission of RadiationLCA : Light combat AircraftLCD : Liquid Crystal DisplayLCH : Light Combat HelicopterLCM : Lowest Common Multiple.LDC : Least Developed Countries;

Lower Division ClerkLED : Light Emitting DiodeLERMS : Liberalised Exchange Rate

Management SchemeLES : Lunar Escape SystemLIC : Life Insurance CorporationLIPS : Language Independent

Programme Sub-titlesLMG : Light Machine GunLNG : Liquefied Natural GasLOAC : Line of Actual ControlLPG : Liquefied Petroleum Gas

LPT : Licentiate in Printing technol-ogy

Lt. Col : Lieutenant ColonelLTC : Leave Travel ConcessionLTTE : Liberation Tigers of Tamil

Eelam.MAD : Mutual Assured DestructionMAT : Management Aptitude TestMBFC : Mutual Benefit Financial

CompanyMBRS : Multi-Barrel Rocket SystemMBT : Main Battle TankMCA : Monetary Compensatory

AccountMCC : Missile Control CentreMCD : Municipal Corporation of

DelhiMCI : Medical Council of IndiaMCOCA : Maharashtra Control of

Organised Crime ActMDA : Market Development Assis-

tanceMDMA : Multi Disciplinary Monitoring

AgencyMDS : Master of Dental SurgeryMEA : Ministry of External AffairsMES : Military Engineering ServiceMFA : Multi-Fibre AgreementMFN : Most Favoured NationMI : Military IntelligenceMIBOR : Mumbai Inter-Bank Offered

RateMIC : Methyle isocyanateMIGA : Multilateral Investment

Guarantee AgencyMISA : Maintenance of Internal

Security ActMLA : Member of Legislative

AssemblyMLC : Member of Legislative

CouncilMMDS : Multi-Channel Microwave

Distribution SystemMMMF : Money Market Mutual FundMMS : Multimedia Messaging

ServiceMMT : Million Metric TonnesMMTC : Minerals and Metals Trading

CorporationMNAMS : Member of the National

Academy of Medical SciencesMNC : Multinational CorporationMNP : Mobile Number Portability

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MODEM : Modulator demodulatorMODVAT : Modified Value Added TaxMONEX : Monsoon ExperimentMOU : Memorandum of UnderstandingMOX : Mixed Oxide FuelMPA : Master of Public AdministrationMPF : Multinational Protection.

ForceMPFI : Multiple Fuel Infection SystemMPLADS : Member of Parliament Local

Area Development SchemeMRTPC : Monopolies and Restrictive

Trade Practices CommissionMRTS : Mass Rapid Transit SystemMRVC : Mumbai Railway Vikas

CorporationMSS : ManuscriptsMSW : Master of Social WorkMSY : Mahila Sainriddhi YojnaMTCR : Missile Technology Control

RegimeMTV : Music Television

NAAI : National Airport Authority ofIndia

NABARD : National Bank for Agricul-ture and Rural Development

NAC : National Advisory CouncilNAECL : National Authority on Elimi-

nation of Child LabourNAFTA : North America Free Trade

AgreementNALCO : National Aluminium

Company LimitedNAM : Non-Aligned MovementNAMS : National Academy of Medical

ScienceNAPP : Narora Atomic Power PlantNARO : National Amnesty and

Redemption OrganisationNASA : National Aeronautics and Space

AdministrationNASDAQ : National Association of

Securities Dealers AutomatedQuotation

NASSCOM : National Association ofSoftware and Service Companies

NATO : North Atlantic TreatyOrganisation

NAV : Net Asset ValueNAWO : National Alliance for WomenNAYE : National Alliance of Young

Entrepreneurs

NBA : Narmada Bachao AndolanNBCC : National Building Construction

CorporationNBDB : National Book Development

BoardNBFC : Non-banking Finance CompanyNBS : National Business RegisterNBT : National Book TrustNCA : National Commission on

AgricultureNCAER : National Council of Applied

Economic ResearchNCB : Narcotics Control BoardNCBC : National Commission for

Backward ClassesNCBE : National Confederation of Bank

EmployeesNCC : National Cadet CorpsNCDC : National Coal Development

CorporationNCERT : National Council of Educational

Research and TrainingNCL : National Centre for LabourNCNA : New China News AgencyNCO : Non-Commissioned OfficerNCRB : National Capital Region BoardNCTE : National Council for Teachers

EducationNCW : National Commission on

WomenNDA : National Defence Academy;

National Democratic AllianceNDC : National Development CouncilNDDB : National Dairy Development

BoardNDMA : National Disaster Management

AuthorityNDRI : National Dairy Research instituteNDTF : National Democratic Teachers

FrontNEC : North-Eastern CouncilNEDC : National Economic

Development CouncilNEEM : National Elementary Education

MissionNEERI : National Environmental

Engineering Research InstituteNEFA : North East Frontier AgencyNEHU : North-Eastern Hill UniversityNEP : New Education PolicyNER : North Eastern RailwayNES : National Extension ServiceNEW : Net Economic Welfare

NFAI : National Film Archives of IndiaNFC : Nuclear Fuel ComplexNFDC : National Film Development

CorporationNFR : Northeast Frontier RailwayNGO : Non-Governmental

OrganisationNGRI : National Geophysical Research

InstituteNHAI : National Highway Authority of

IndiaNHB : National Housing BankNHPC : National Hydro-electric Power

CorporationNHRC : National Human Rights

CommissionNIB : National investment BankNIC : National Informatics CentreNICD : National Institute of

Communicable DiseasesNID : National Institute of DesignsNIDC : National Industrial Development

CorporationNIDS : National Immunisation DaysNIFT : National Institute of Fashion

TechnologyNII : National Institute of Immunology;

National Information infrastructureNIIT : National Institute of

Information TechnologyNIM : Nehru Institute of MountaineeringNIMHANS : National Institute of Mental

Health and Neuro SciencesNIO : National Institute of OceanographyNIPFP : National institute of Public

Finance and PolicyNIS : Netaji Subhash Institute of

SportsNIV : National Institute of VirologyNKN : National Knowledge NetworkNLM : National literacy MissionNLTA : National Lawn Tennis AssociationNMD : National Missile DefenceNMDC : National Mineral Development

CorporationNMEP : National Malaria Eradication

ProgrammeNMNH : National Museum of Natural HistoryNMR : Nuclear Magnetic ResonanceNNP : National Nutrition PolicyNOC : No Objection CertificateNPC : National Productivity Council

NPCC : National Projects ConstructionCorporation

NPCL : Nuclear Power Corporation ofIndia

NPP : National Perspective PlanNPR : National Population RegisterNPT : Non-Proliferation TreatyNRDC : National Research Develop-

ment C o r -poration

NREGA : National Rural EmploymentGuarantee Act

NREGP : National Rural EmploymentGuarantee Programme

NRF : National Renewable FundNRHM : National Rural Health MissionNRI : Non-Resident IndianNRSA : National Remote Sensing

AgencyNRT : Net Registered TonnesNRY : Nehru Rozgar YojanaNSAP : National Social Assistance

ProgrammeNSC : National Security Council

National Saving CertificateNSCI : National Sports Club of IndiaNSD : National School of DramaNSEI : National Stock Exchange of In-

diaNSG : National Security GuardsNSIC : National Small Industries

CorporationNSS : National Service SchemeNSSO : National Sample Survey

OrganisationNSUI : National Students Union of In-

diaNTC : National Textile CorporationNTP : National Temperature and PressureNTPC : National Thermal Power

CorporationNTS : National Testing ServiceNUJ : National Union of JournalistsNVF : National Volunteer ForceNWDA : National Water Development

AgencyNWGP : National Working Group on

PowerNWRC : National Water Resources

CouncilOAS : Organisation of American

StatesOBC : Other Backward Classes

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OCS : Overseas CommunicationService

ODA : Official DevelopmentAssistance

OECD : Organisation of EconomicCooperation and Development

OECF : Overseas EconomicCooperative Fund

OEEC : Organisation for EuropeanEconomic Cooperation

OGL : Open General LicenceOIC : Organisation of Islamic

ConferenceOIL : Oil India LimitedONGC : Oil and Natural Gas CorporationOPEC : Organisation of Petroleum

Exporting CountriesOPF : Ordnance Parachute FactoryOPV : Oral Polio VaccineORT : Oral Rehydration TherapyOTCEI : Over the Counter Exchange of

IndiaOTS : Officers’ Training SchoolP&T : Posts & TelegraphsPAC : Public Accounts CommitteePAL : Phase Alternative LinePAN : Permanent Account NumberPATA : Pacific Asia Travel AssociationPBS : Public Broadcasting ServicePCC : Pradesh Congress CommitteePCI : Press Council of IndiaPCM : Public Code ModulationPCRA : Petroleum Conservation

Research AssociationPCS : Provincial Civil ServicePDA : Personal Digital Assistant

Preventive Detention ActPDPA : People’s Democratic Party of

AfghanistanPBS : Public Distribution SystemPEC : Projects and Equipment CorporationPERT : Project Evaluation and Review

TechniquePESB : Public Enterprises Selection

BoardPETA : People for the Ethical Treatment

of AnimalsPFC : Power Finance CorporationPFRDA : Pension Fund Regulatory and

Development AuthorityPGA : Parliamentarians for Global

ActionPHC : Primary Health CentrePIA : Pakistan International Airways

PIB : Press Information BureauPIL : Public Interest LitigationPIM : Personal Information Manage-

mentPIN-Code: Postal Index Number CodePIO : Persons of Indian OriginPLO : Palestine Liberation

OrganisationPLR : Prime Lending RatesPM : Prime MinisterPMG : Post Master GeneralPML : Pakistan Muslim League.POTA : Prevention of Terrorism ActPOW : Prisoner of WarPPF : Planet Protection FundPRCL : Pipavav Railway Corporation

Ltd.PRO : Public Relations OfficerPROLOG: Programming LogicPSC : Public Service CommissionPSLV : Polar Satellite Launch VehiclePTBT : Partial Test Ban TreatyPTI : Press Trust of IndiaPTO : Please Turn OverPUCL : People’s Union of Civil Liber-

tiesPVC : Param Vir Chakra; Poly Vinyl

ChloridePVSM : Param Vishisht Seva MedalPWD : Public Works DepartmentPWG : People’s War GroupQCT : Quality Council of IndiaQMG : Quarter Master GeneralQMT : Quantitative Management Tech-

niqueQR : Quantitative RestrictionR&D : Research and DevelopmentRABMN : Remote Area Business Mes-

sage N e t -work

RAD : Research And DevelopmentRADAR : Radio Detecting and RangingRAF : Rapid Action ForceRAM : Random Access MemoryRAW : Research and Analysis WingRAX : Random Access ExchangeRBI : Reserve Bank of IndiaRBS : Risk Based SupervisionRCC : Reinforced Cement ConcreteRCI : Rehabilitation Council of IndiaRDA : Rural Development AgencyREC : Rural Electrification CorporationREM : Rapid Eye MovementREP : Replenishment Export Permit

RI : Rigorous ImprisonmentRIA : Radio Immuno AssayRIMC : Rashtriya Indian Military CollegeRITA : Regional Trade & Investment

AgreementRITES : Rail India Technical and

Economic ServicesRMO : Resident Medical OfficerRMS : Railway Mail ServiceRNA : Ribonucleic AcidRNO : Resident Naval OfficerROM : Read Only MemoryROO : Rules of OriginRPF : Railway Protection ForceRPM : Revolutions Per MinuteRPV : Remote-controlled Pilotless

VehicleRRB : Rural Regional BankRRC : Regional Reactor CentreRSE : Renewable Source of EnergyRSP : Rourkela Steel PlantRSS : Rashtriya Swayamsewak

SanghRTA : Railway Territorial ArmyRTC : Round Table ConferenceRTG : Radio-isotope Thermo-electric

GeneratorRTIA : Regional Trade & Investment

AreaSAARC : South Asian Association fir

Regional CooperationSAC : Space Application Centre

Science Advisory CouncilSADCC : South African Development

Coordination CouncilSADF : South Asian Development

FundSAEC : South Asian Economic

CommunitySAFMA : South Asia Free Media

AssociationSAFTA : South-Asian Free Trade

AgreementSAHR : South Asians Human Rights ForumSAI : Sports Authority of IndiaSAIL : Steel Authority of India LimitedSALT : Strategic Arms Limitation TreatySAM : Surface-to-Air MissileSAPTA : South Asian Preferential Trading

ArrangementSARF : South Asia Regional FundSARS : Severe Acute Respiratory

SyndromeSASEC : South Asian Sub-regional

Economic Co-operation

SAT : Scholastic Aptitude TestSATTE : South Asia Travel and Tourism

ExchangeSAVE : SAARC Audio Visual ExchangeSCBA : Supreme Court Bar AssociationSCI : Shipping Corporation of IndiaSCOPE : Standing Committee of Public

EnterprisesSDI : Strategic Defence InitiativeSDO : Sub-Divisional OfficerSDR : Special Drawing RightsSEATO : South Fast Asia Treaty

OrganisationSEBC : Socially and Educationally

BackwardSEBI : Securities Exchange Board of

IndiaSEPUR : Self-Employment Programme

for the Urban PoorSER : South Eastern RailwaySEWA : Self-Employed Women’s

AssociationSEZ : Special Economic ZoneSFC : State Financial Corporation

Strategic Forces CommandSGAI : Students Global Aptitude IndexSHAR : Sriharikota Tracking StationSHCIL : Stock Holding Corporation of

India Ltd.SIAM : Society’ for Indian Automobile

ManufacturersSIDBI : Small Industries Development

Bank of IndiaSIDC : State Industrial Development

CorporationSIEMA : Southern India Engineering

Manufacturers AssociationSIF : Stock Index FuturesSIMI : Students Islamic Movement of

IndiaSIPRI : Stockholm International Peace

Research InstituteSIT : Special Investigation TeamSITA : Suppression of Immoral

Traffic ActSITE : Satellite Instructional Television

ExperimentSLBM : Sea-Launch Ballistic MissileSLFP : Sri Lanka Freedom PartySLR : Statutory Liquidity RatioSLV : Satellite Launch VehicleSMS : Short Messaging ServiceSMTP : Simple Mail Transfer ProtocolSPCA : Society for the Prevention of

to Animals

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SPE : Special Police EstablishmentSPG : Special Protection GroupSRAM : Short Range Attack MissileSRI : Systems Research InstituteSRO : Statutory Rules and OrdersSSA : Sarva Shiksha AbhiyanSSB : Service Selection BoardSSC : Staff Selection CommissionSSI : Supplemental Security Income

Small Scale IndustrySSM : Surface to Surface MissileSTART : Strategic Arms Reduction TalksSTC : State Trading CorporationSTD : Subscriber Trunk DialingSTEP : Satellite Telecommunication

Experiment ProjectSTF : Special Task ForceSTPI : Software Technology Parks of

IndiaSUV : Sports Utility VehicleSVP : Saturated Vapour PressureSWAPO : South-West Africa People

OrganisationSWIFT : Society for World-wide Inter-

national Financial Transactions,TAC : Technical Advisory CommitteeTACDE : Tactics and Aircraft Develop-

ment EstablishmentTAFE : Technical and Further EducationTAFTA : Trans-Atlantic Free Travel

AgreementTAPS : Tarapur Atomic Power StationTAX : Trunk Automatic ExchangeTCAS : Tactical Collision Avoidance

SystemTCIL : Telecommunication Consultants

India LimitedTDA : Trade Development AuthorityTDMA : Time Division Multiple AccessTDP : Telugu Desam PartyTDS : Tax-Deduction at SourceTELCO : Tata Engineering and Locomo-

tive CompanyTELEX : Teleprinter ExchangeTERI : Tata Energy Research InstituteTERLS : Thumba Equatorial Rocket

Launching StationTFAI : Trade Fair Authority of IndiaTFT : Thin Film TransistorTGS : Trade Guarantee SchemeTHDP : Tehri Hydro Development

ProjectTHI : Temperature Humidity Index

TIFR : Tata Institute of FundamentalResearch

TISCO : Tata Iron and Steel CompanyTMC : Tamil Maanila CongressTMO : Telegraph Money OrderTNC : Transnational CorporationTNT : Tri nitro tolueneTNV : Tripura National VolunteersTOEFL : Test of English as a Foreign

languageTPDS : Targeted Public Distribution

SystemTRACT : Transportable Remote Area

Communications TerminalTRAI : Telecom Regulatory Authority

of IndiaTRIFED : Tribal Cooperative Marketing

Development Federation ofIndia Ltd.

TRIMS : Trade Related InvestmentMeasures

TRIPS : Trade-Related IntellectualProperty Rights

TRP : Television Rating PointsTRYSEM : National Scheme of Training

for Rural Youth for Self-Employment

TTCI : Tea Trading Corporation ofIndia

TTD : Tirumala Tirupati DevasthanamTTE : Travelling Ticket ExaminerTULF : Tamil United Liberation FrontUAE : United Arab EmiratesUAPA : Unlawful ActivitiesUAR : United Arab RepublicUAV : Unmanned Aerial VehicleUDC : Upper Division ClerkUDF : United Democratic FrontUDI : Unilateral Declaration

IndependenceUFO : Unidentified Flying ObjectUGC : University Grants CommissionUHF : Ultra High FrequencyUID : Unique IdentificationULF : United Legislature FrontULFA : United Liberation Front of

AssamUN : United NationsUNAEC : United Nations Atomic Energy

CommissionUNCED : United Nations Conference on

Environment andDevelopment

UNCLOS : United Nations Conference onthe Law of the Sea

UNCOD : United Nations Conference onDesertification

UNCSTD : United Nations Conference onScience and Technology forDevelopment

UNCTAD : United Nations Conference onTrade and Development

UNDC : United Nations DisarmamentCommission

UNDOF : United Nations Disengage-ment Observer Force

UNDP : United Nations DevelopmentProgramme

UNESCO : United Nations Educational,Scientific and CulturalOrganisation

UNFCC : United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change

UNFPA : United Nations Fund forPopulation Activities

UNHCR : United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees

UNI : United News of IndiaUNIC : United Nations information

CentreUNICEF : United Nations Children’s FundUNIDO : United Nations Industrial

Development OrganisationUNSC : United Nations Security CouncilUNSCOM: UN Special CommissionUNTAG : United Nations Transition

Assistance GroupUPA : United Progressive AllianceUPC : Under Postal CertificateUPS : Uninterrupted Power SupplyUPSC : Union Public Service

CommissionUPU : Universal Postal UnionUTI : Unit Trust of IndiaVAM : Virtual Area NetworkVAT : Value-Added TaxVCR : Video Cassette RecorderVCRC : Vector Control Research

CentreVDIS : Voluntary Disclosure Income

SchemeVECC : Variable Energy Cyclotron

CentreVHF : Very High FrequencyVHP : Vishwa Hindu ParishadVHRR : Very High Resolution

Radiometre

VHS : Video Home SystemVIP : Very Important PersonVIRUS : Vital Information Resources

Under SiegeVOA : Voice of AmericaVPP : Value Payable PostVRDE : Vehicles Research and

Development EstablishmentVRS : Voluntary Retirement

SchemeVSAT : Very Small Aperture TerminalVSNL : Videsh Sanchar Nigam

LimitedVSP : Visakhapatnam Steel PlantVSSC : Vikram Sarabhai Space

CentreWADA : World Anti-Doping AgencyWAP : Wireless Application ProtocolWASME : World Assembly of Small and

Medium EnterprisesWAY : World Assembly of YouthWCAR : World Conference AgainstWCD : World Commission of DamsWCO : World Customs OrganisationWEF : World Economic Forum

World Environment ForumWFP : World Food ProgrammeWFS : World Food SummitWFTU : World Federation of Trade

UnionsWHO : World Health OrganisationWILL : Wireless in Local LoopWIFO : World Intellectual Property

OrganisationWMD : Weapons of Mass

DestructionWMO : World Meteorological

OrganisationWPI : Wholesale Price IndexWSIS : World Summit on Information

SocietyWTO : World Trade OrganisationWWF : World Wildlife FundWWW : World Wide WebYMCA : Young Men’s Christian

AssociationYWCA : Young Women’s Christian

AssociationZBB : Zero-Based BudgetingZETA : Zero Energy Thermonuclear

AssemblyZPG : Zero Population GrowthZS : Zoological SocietyZSI : Zoological Survey of India

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