September 1-23, 2010 Awards Telugu film maker, D.Ramanaidu has been honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke award. Eco-friendly Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bags 'Earth Care Award for Excellence 2010 in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation'. Mani Ratnam was awarded 'Jaeger-Le Coultre Glory to the Fimlmaker Award' at the 67th Venice Film Festival. Air India to operate daily Mumbai-Abu Dhabi flights from November 1st 2010 Bharti enters mobile phone business, as group firm beetle launches 8 triple SIM phonespriced between Rs.1,750 to Rs.7,000 Nokia Siemens, Ericsson and Huawei has been awarded the contracts of 3G network infrastructure by Bharti Airtel Sensex ends above 20,000 points, the last before today was on January 15th 2008 India's first Super Hercules plane C-130J, considered to be world's most advanced transport aircraft is being prepared for its maiden flight early October 2010 STAR India PLUS has been launched on America's Verizon FiOS TV MTS partners with Reebok, to offer a pair of sports shoes on purchase of its data card Akai enters Indian mobile market with 10 mobile phone models China-based ZTE bags $64 million WiMax deal from BSNL Entertainment Hollywood studio Warner Bros picks up distribution right of animated feature film'Ramayana - The Epic', slated for a Dasara release in 3 languages(Hindi, Tamil and Telugu) simultaneously across India 2011 edition of the International Indian Film Academy Awards(IIFA) would be held in the North American city of Toronto Chennai-girl Divya Ajith becomes first woman to raise 'Sword of Honour' winning the Best All-Round Cadet award, beats 244 fellow gentlemen and women cadets South Indian playback singer and National award winner Swarnalatha is dead, following lung infection Internet inventor Breners-Lee has urged that everyone across the world should have access to the web for free Former Argentina footballer Francisco Varallo, last surviving player from the 1st football World Cup dies at 100 Rishad, Premji's son is Wipro's Chief Strategy Officer of its IT business Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal slips to No.3 in world ranking M.S.Swaminathan, one for the pioneers of the Green Revolution in India, will receive an honorary doctorate from Canadian University of Alberta for his contribution to food security in the world Indian Broadcasting Foundation, the apex of television channels has appointed Star India CEO Uday Shankar as President M.C.Mary Kom claims a historic 5th successive World Championship title, beating Steluta Duta of Romania 16-6 Anysha Panesar, a 16-year-old Indian-origin teenager has been crowned USA's Perfect Teen Nilsson has been appointed as Executive Director, International Operations by Ashok Leyland Actor Manoj Kumar to get lifetime achievement honour at the Mumbai Academy of Moving IMage(MAMI), to be held between 21st to 28th of October 2010 Legendary Singer, Asha Bhosle turns 77 Tamil actor Murali dies of heart attack Vettori named New Zealand player of the year Microsoft's Stephen Elop is Nokia's new CEO Science India test fired BrahMos cruise missile from the Integrated Test Range(ITR) at Chandipur off Orissa coast BrahMos was developed in collaboration with Russia and is named after the two rivers of Brahmaputra and Mosovo. Sports Kim Clijsters wins 3rd U.S Open title Wrestler Sushil Kumar wins gold in World Wrestling Championship Nadal wins U.S.Open, completes grand slam collection England's Andrew Flintoff retires from international cricket (all forms of the game) England and Wales Cricket Board has handed a 2-week ban, to all-rounder Dmitri Mascarenhas for his Twitter outburst against national selector Geoff Miller Indian teams, including Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran, P.Harikrishna and Surya Shekar Ganguly secure 3rd round victory of the 29th Chess Olympiad held at Khanty Mansiysk in Russia India wins gold in Archery World cup Japanese rider Shpya Tomizawa dies at the San Marino Grand Prix (Moto2 race) which was held in Italy Technology Samsung launches iPad named, Tab Gramateller, a low-cost ATM priced at Rs.1,75,000 which consumes less than 100 watts of power, functions during power cuts with a back-up power supply and has the option of running on solar power has been launched by VortexEngineering Vortex Engineering: L.Kannan a mechanical engineer from IIT Madras. The founder, started the company in the year 2001 to develop innovative technologies to transform rural India Samsung unveils Galaxy to challenge Apple's iPad Symbian 3 run Nokia N8 with 3.5 inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with scratch resistant Gorilla glass to reach India by mid-September Google to play live interpreter (conversations between 2 people who do not speak the same language) using smartphones SanDisk launches world's smallest stamp sized 64-bit solid-state drive

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AGENCIES, ORGANS HEADQUARTERS HEAD United Nations Security Council1 New York, USA The Presidency of the Security Council is held in turn by the members of the Security Council in the English alphabetical order of their names. Each President holds office for one calendar month2. United Nations General Assembly New York, USA President: Joseph Deiss (As on Sept 2010) United Nations Secretariat3 New York, USA Secretary General: Ban Ki-Moon (S. Korea) International Court of Justice4 Peace Palace, The Hague, Netherlands President: Hisashi Owada (Japan) International Criminal Court5 The Hague, Netherlands President: Song Sang-Hyun (S. Korea) United Nations Economic and Social Council6 Ney York, USA President: His Excellency Hamidon Ali (Malaysia) Food and Agriculture Organisation7 Rome, Italy Dir-Gen: Jacques Dioff (Senegal) International Civil Aviation Organisation Montreal, Canada Secy-Gen: Raymond Benjamin (France) (An Indian was once the Secy-Gen of ICAO. Who? When?) International Labour Organisation8 Geneva, Switzerland Dir-Gen: Juan Somavia (Chile) International Maritime Organisation9 London, UK Secy-Gen: Efthimios E. Mitropoulos (Greece) International Fund for Agricultural Development10 Rome, Italy President: Kanayo F. Nwanze (Nigeria) International Monetary Fund11 Washington DC, USA MD: Dominique Strauss Kahn (France) United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation12 Paris, France Dir-Gen: Irina Bokova (Bulgaria) [First woman DG of UNESCO World Bank Group (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development-IBRD, International Development Association-IDA, International Financial Corporation-IFC, Multi-lateral Investment Guarantee Agency-MIGA and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes-ICSID)13 Washington DC, USA Robert B Zoellick (German origins, but from USA) World Health Organisation14 Geneva, Switzerland Dir-Gen: Dr. Margaret Chan (Hong Kong, China) World Intellectual Property Organisation15 Geneva, Switzerland Dir-Gen: Francis Gurry (Australia) International Atomic Energy Agency16 Vienna, Austria Dir-Gen: Yukio Amano (Japan) World Trade Organisation17 Geneva, Switzerland Dir-Gen: Pascal Lamy (France)

CLAT GYAN’S GK COMPENDIUM SEPTEMBER THE 25th, 2010 • Commonwealth Games Federation President – Mike Fennel • Commonwealth Organizing Committee – Suresh Kalmadi • Jnanpith Award for O. N. V. Kurup(Malyalam) and Akhlaq Khan Shahryar (Urdu) for the years 2007 and 2008 respectively. [Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jnanpith_Award] • Peepli Live – Depicting Urban – Rural Divide is India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Film Category at the prestigious Oscars. • Judge Yesu Ratnam of Nellore District is now the new record holder for the most number of cases disposed(270) – beats the MP court recod of 152 cases • Indian Hockey team captain – Rajpal Singh • Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman – C. B. Bhave • Nuclear weapons capable, surface to surface missile – Prithvi • Teresa Lewis – executed by Virginia court – first woman in about 100 years – created uproar p as she was a person with diminished capabilities

SEPTEMBER THE 26th, 2010 • September 26 is known as the “World Heart Day” [as frivolous as it may seem, such innocuous questions have the ugly tendency to turn up in the past years’ papers, and even Mock tests] • Manipuri woman boxer M. C. Mary Kom is a five-time boxing champion • Manipur CM – Okram Ibobi • Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig is the key accused in the German Bakery blast case. • Assam Chief Minister: Tarun Gogoi • ULFA Chief: Arabinda Rajkhowa • Under Article 136 of the Constitution of India any person aggrieved by any judgment, decree, determination or order in any cause or matter passed or made by any Court or Tribunal in the territory of India may appeal to the Supreme Court of India. Accordingly a person aggrieved by any order or judgment of High Court or of Tribunal may appeal to the Supreme Court by filing Special Leave Petition. • Union Urban Development Minister: Jaipal Reddy

CLAT GYAN’S GK COMPENDIUM OCTOBER THE 2nd , 2010

• Bill Gates of Microsoft and Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway are the second and the third richest people in the world. The first is the Mexican Carlos Slim of Telmex, Telcel and América Móvil • Hollywood actor Tony Cutis is dead. He is famous for movies like Some Like it Hot and The Sweet Smell of Success. Was nominated for the Academy Award in ’58 for The Defiant Ones • Union Minister for Agriculture and Civil supplies – Sharad Pawar • Chirayu Amin is the new chief of the Indian Premier League and N. Srinivasan is the new BCCI president. (Homework: Find out the respective office-bearers who’ll be making way for the new ones) • Nirmohi Akhara Chief – Mahant Bhaskar Das; Babri Masjid Action Committee – Hashim Ansari; Zufar Ahmed Farooqui is the Sunni Waqf Board head • Zafaryab Jilani was the counsel for the Muslim parties in the Civil Suit of the contentious Babri Masjid. • The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academia and Management was given to social activist Aruna Roy, who campaigned for the people’s right to information and right to work(the latter, through the greatly successful Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghathan which has been keeping checks on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Employment Scheme’s implementation) • Minister of State for Environment and Forests – Jairam Ramesh; Union Minister for Railways – Mamata Banerjee; Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare – Ghulam Nabi Azad (Homework: Find out the political parties that they belong to)

OCTOBER THE 3RD, 2010 • The new Director General of the Central Reserve Police Forces is going to be K. Vijay Kumar • Indian Overseas Minister: Vayalar Ravi • Ukraine’s President: Viktor Yanukovych

OCTOBER THE 4TH, 2010 • International Olympic Committee is headed by Jacques Rogge

• The Asia Europe Summit (ASEM) is being held in Brussels. It is basically a forum for frank and open discussion on issues ranging from economic and trade policy to climate change • Reading: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article811317.ece?homepage=true

OCTOBER THE 5TH, 2010 • Ng. Soniya Chanu and A. Sandhya Rani Devi won silver and bronze in the 48kg division in the women’s weightlifting event. • The Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has been given to Professor Robert Edwards, the British pioneer of In-Vitro Fertilization treatment. • Air Chief Marshall – P. V. Naik

OCTOBER THE 6TH, 2010 • Olympic shooting champion Abhinav Bindra and world record holder Gagan Narang won the first gold for india. • Gagan Narang holds the record for a score of 703.5. Bindra also won India’s first Gold at the Olympics in Beijing. • Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistan born US citizen who was chaged with the Times Square bomb plot (which was a failed attempt at detonating a car-bomb in the tourist area of Times Square) has been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. • Chinese Premier/Prime Minister: Wen Jiabao • Bhutan’s King: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, Bhutan’s PM: Lyonpo Jigmi Y. Thinley • Prof. Andre Geim and Prof. Konstantin Novoselov have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Both scientists are British citizens

OCTOBER THE 7TH, 2010 • Anisa Sayed and Omkar Singh won one gold each in the shooting event. Taking the total golds in the shooting event to 5. With Gagan Narang setting a world record score while winning the Gold in 10m air rifle gold. Bindra won a silver in the same event • In the wrestling events, Manoj Kumar won a silver for India, while Sunil Kumar and Dharmendra Dalal bagged as bronze each. India now has 4 gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals in the Wrestling category • The Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to three scientists for inventing new ways to bind atoms with uses that range from fighting cancer to producing computer screens. Richard Heck(USA), Ei-Ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki(Japan, obviously) are the awardees.

• Yumnam Renu Bala Chanu gave India its first weightlifting gold by winning the Women’s 58 KG category. • The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research is located in Kalpakkam. Its Fast Breeder Test Reactor will celebrate 25 years on Oct 18. The FBTR has been at the forefront of the second stagew nuclear energy generation of the country.

• Sachin Tendulka won the Sir Garfield Sobers Award • The NCW chief is Girija Vyas • The SC reduced the Death sentence that had been awarded Santosh Kumar Singh for the rape and murder of a college girl in 1996. • The Ramakrishna Mission working in Chhatisgarh and Oscar winning, acclaimed music director AR Rahman have jointly been awarded the 25th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration.

• CitiGroup Chief Executive is Indian-American – Vikram Pandit (during the recession that hit USA this company was going through a difficult time, many blamed its chief exec, hence earning him the name “Vikram Bandit”) • The Food and Agriculture Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations Organization. It is situated in Rome, Italy and headed by Jacques Diouf

SEPTEMBER THE 27th 2010 • Union Finance Minister: Pranab Mukherjee • Swavalamban is a pension scheme for the workers employed in the unorganized sector. • For the first time, three women have been chosen for the prestigious “Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Prize for Scientific Excellence”. It is awarded by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, at present it is headed by Samir Brahmachari. It was founded by Shanti Swaroop. • Economist Arjun Sengupta, also member of the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal was cremated. He was an expert on developmental economics. He headed the Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector, which culminated in the government’s policies of special attention towards the same sector. • Supreme Court Judge Aftab Alam will replace Justice V. S. Sirpukar as head of the three member committee investigating corruption and land grab charges against Justice P. D. Dinakaran.

SEPTEMBER THE 29TH 2010 • Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Chairman – J. Hari Narayan • Asian Development Bank is located in Manila, Philippines and is headed by Haruhiko Karuda • Tembhli in Maharashtra is the first village to get Unique Identification Numbers under the Aadhar scheme, it shall be then declared an “Aadhar village”. • North Korea’s dictator-ruler Kim Jong Il made his son, Kim Jong Un a General. Sending a message across that his son would be the eventual successor.

SEPTEMBER THE 30TH 2010 • Ranbir Singh Butola will head the Indian Oil Corporation, which is the nation’s largest refining and fuel marketing firm. • Mahindra Satyam Chairman: Vineet Nayar, CEO: CP Gurnani • SBI Chairman: OP Bhatt. SBI was established as the Imperial Bank of India by the British in 1806, making it the oldest commercial bank in the subcontinent. In 1959 the Government passed the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, enabling the State Bank of India to take over eight former State-associated banks as its subsidiaries. On 13 September 2008, State Bank of Saurashtra, one of its Associate Banks, merged with State Bank of India.

• The National Association of Software and Service Companies is headed by Harsh Manglik • Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry is headed Rajan Bharati Mittal and its Sec-Gen is Amit Mitra • A. N. Tiwari is the new Chief Information Commissioner, succeeding Wajahat Habibullah. Tiwari will be the second CIC.

OCTOBER THE 1ST 2010 • Delhi’s Lt. Governor – Tejendra Kumar, Delhi’s CM – Sheila Dixit and Organizing Committee for CWG chairman – Suresh Kalmadi • Aung Suu Kyi – Non-Violent Burmese Nobel Laureate who has been under house arrest for most of the last two decades will be freed after her house arrest period ends. • NATO Chairman – Anders Fogh Rasmussen

CLAT GYAN’S GK COMPENDIUM[LENGTHY, COMPREHENSIVE AND NOW, WITH FOOTNOTES!]OCTOBER THE 8TH, 2010•?The BJP govt in Karnataka is still in crisis, although the leadership has confidencethat they will win the trust vote. More and more rebel party legislators are returning tothe fold and are trying to show their allegiance to Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurrappa.When the rebel legislators dissented, the party strength had reduced to 103 in a 225-member assembly. [Homework: What is the minimum percentage of member-supportrequired for government to be in confidence of the legislature? If the

assembly/parliament is the legislature what is the government? What is so significantabout the BJP forming a government in Karnataka?]•?Senior Income Tax Department official, PK Das (till recently he was CommissionerInvestigations with the Central Board of Direct Taxes), will head the pollexpenditure monitoring wing of the Election Commission of India to check thepractice of ‘paid news' and other abuses of money power in elections. He has a fulldivision to support him in checking such malpractices in the overall context of moneypower in elections. (Press Council of India has defined ‘paid news’ as “any news oranalysis appearing in the media (Print and Electronic) for a price in cash or kind asconsideration.”)•?India's Geeta won the gold in the 55kg freestyle category in the newly introducedwomen's wrestling discipline in the Commonwealth Games.•?Interpol has issued red corner notices against five Pakistani nationals, including twoserving Army officers, for their alleged role in plotting terror attacks in Indiaincluding the 26/11 Mumbai strike.The notices have been issued against Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives Sajid Majid andSyed Abdur Rehman Hashim, Major Iqbal, Major Sameer Ali, and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami chief Ilyas Kashmiri.•?The Enforcement Directorate has issued a Blue Notice against the former IndianPremier League chairman, Lalit Modi, in its probe into the finances of the T20 crickettournament. (ok, good, one more Notice. Go Google!)•?Omar Abdulla remarked that Kashmir “had not merged with India but only acceded toit.” When asked for a solution to the Kashmir dispute. This created a furore in theJ&K Assembly1•?A newly developed town on the North-Eastern fringe of Kolkata has been renamedafter veteran Communist leader Jyoti Basu2•?The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is likely to become anintervener in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title suits case now that theUttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board has decided to move the SupremeCourt against the September 30 verdict of the Allahabad High Court.•?Mario Vargas Llosa (74), a celebrated Peruvian-Spanish author and one of the mostrenowned novelists of his generation, has won the Nobel Prize for Literature “for hiscartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual'sresistance, revolt, and defeat”.

2 Longest serving Chief Minister of any Indian state, 23 yearsThe Feast of the Goat (2000)Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1977)The War of the End of the World (1981)Death in the Andes (1993)•?Diamantine: a new stone launched by Goldplus, a jewellery brand from TitanIndustries, “behaves” like a diamond. The new stone has been created by utilisingnano-diamond coating technology.OCTOBER THE 9TH, 2010•?Stalemate continues in the BJP-led Karnataka govt as 10 dissenters stick to theirstand.•?Jailed Chinese political activist Liu Xiaobo, 54, has been awarded the Nobel PeacePrize for 2010.The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the award went to Mr. Liu, who is in prison forhis calls for political reform, “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamentalhuman rights in China.”3•?The Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) - Vinod Rai.•?The Special CBI Court on Friday rejected the bail application of the former GujaratMinister of State for Home, Amit Shah, holding that there was substantial evidenceagainst him in the Sohrabuddin-Kausar Bi murder case.•?Adding to the ever-growing list of Indians appointed to influential positions in theUnited States, Rahul Mehrotra, an architect from Mumbai, has been recruited byHarvard University as Professor of Urban Design and Planning•?A $1-billion fund to facilitate innovations for inclusive economic growth in India hasbeen proposed.3 Nobel Prize in Physics,Chemistry & Economics is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Peace:Norwegian Nobel Committee. Physiology: Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet. Literature: The SwedishAcademyThe proposal, yet to be approved by the Centre, was agreed to at a recent meeting of

the National Innovation Council, according to Sam Pitroda, Adviser to Prime MinisterManmohan Singh on Information Infrastructure and Innovations.•?An SC Bench of Justices JM Panchal and Gyan Sudha Mishra4 stayed a Kerala HighCourt judgment upholding a directive of the Medical Council of India (MCI) to fiveself-financing medical college managements to dismiss 88 management-quotastudents admitted in 2007 as they could not score the minimum 50 per cent marksrequired for admission in the entrance test conducted during 2007-08.•?The empowered committee of state finance ministers was set up to lay out a road mapfor introducing the landmark reform in the indirect tax system(i.e., introduction ofGoods and Services Tax—GST) in India. The launch date was April 1, 2010.•?Chairman of the empowered committee: Asim Dasgupta. He is also the Financeminister of West Bengal•?CIL: Coal India Ltd. CIL Chairman: Partha S Bhattacharya•?SCOPE: Standing Conference of Public Sector Enterprises.•?CIL Chairman bags the SCOPE “Special Award of the Jury”SCOPE Excellence Awards are conceptualised and instituted to recognise thecontribution of public enterprises and to encourage outstanding persons for their hardwork and leadership qualities.•?SIAM: Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers [President: Pawan Goenka]OCTOBER THE 10TH, 2010•?Show-cause notice issued to 10 rebel legislators in the trouble torn BJP govt inKarnataka.•?Ace shooter, Gagan Narang bags his 4th Gold at the CWG.•?Harminder Singh wins the first-ever medal (bronze) by an Indian walker in the20-km walk race in the CWG. It is India's first-ever medal in the walks in the4 The only woman SC Judge as of now. And only the fourth since independence. The Other three are: FatimaBeevi, Sujata Manohar and Ruma Pal.history of CWG. This medal brought the Indian athletics team's tally to twomedals. Kavita Raut had won a bronze in 10000m running race.•?Australian High Commissioner to India: Peter Varghese.•?Four Indian naval ships — INS “Tir”, INS “Shardul”, INS “Tarangini” andICGS “Varuna” — arrive in Sri Lanka for training and exercises with the Sri LankanNavy.•?Maritime security measures moves up a notch as the Coast Guard gets a state-of-theart Pollution Control Vessel (PCV), touted to be “the first of its kind in South Asia” interms of sophistication of technology. It is called ‘Samudra Prahari' or ‘Guardian ofthe Sea'.•?The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has dropped thereferences to Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as “independent entities” inits 2010 report and has initiated a review of system for designating countries andterritories. FAO is HQ’d in Rome and its chief is Jacques Diouf. It also awards the“Agriculture Nobel” known as the World Food Prize, its first winner was M. S.Swaminathan and in 2010 it was bagged by David Beckmann and Jo Luck•?Venue of 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference: Cancun, Mexico. From29 November to 10 December 2010. The 2010 UNFCCC is a.k.a COP 16 as this is the16th session of the meetings. COP-Conference of Parties.•?Telangana Praja Front (TPF): A new outfit to fight for the cause of separateTelangana? President of TPF: ballad singer Gadar.? It is an 85-member strong front.•?Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi appeals to Indian citizensliving abroad to register their names with the embassies as it is important for theimplementation of the recent amendment to the Representation of People Act seekingto give Non-Resident Indians voting rights.•?Eminent writer, historian and columnist Khushwant Singh was conferred theSahitya Akademi Fellowship, an honour reserved for the “immortals ofliterature”.•?Sahitya Akademi secretary Agrahara Krishna Murthy•?General Jones to step down as the National Security Advisor of the US. To bereplaced by Thomas Donilon.•?Kyrgyzstan goes to polls. This marks the transformation of Kyrgyzstan from apresidential to a parliamentary republic. [Haha! WHERE is Kyrgyzstan? Find out,find out!]OCTOBER THE 11TH, 2010

•?Crucial confidence vote in the Karnataka Legislative assembly.•?Sushil Kumar (wrestling) and Somdev Devvarman (single’s tennis) win gold at theCWG.•?The Medical Council of India suspends the licence of its former chief Ketan Desai topractise medicine. He was arrested in May after he allegedly took a bribe of Rs. 2crore for granting recognition to a medical college in Punjab.•?South Asian Cinema Foundation's life-time achievement award: Gulzar•?The ‘cold desert' of Leh enters the Guinness Book of World Records after 50,300saplings were planted at a village there in less than an hour by 9,000 volunteers undera drive supported by Buddhist monks to mark the ‘green' Commonwealth Games inDelhi.Previous record: Peru-40,000 saplings-60 minutes-8,000 volunteers.•?Talal Bugti, president of Jamhoori Watan Party (a Baloch based party) has announceda prize money of Rs.1 billion ($1.1 million) to anyone who kills Pervez Musharraf.OCTOBER THE 12TH, 2010•?Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj recommend to President Pratibha Patil toimpose President's rule in the State.•?BJP wins the confidence motion.•?Karnataka Assembly Speaker K.G. Bopaiah, disqualifies 11 BJP MLAs and fiveindependents from the membership of the Legislative Assembly under the antidefectionlaw [Also the 10th Schedule of the Indian Consti]•?Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha President: Swami Chakrapani.? General secretary: Indira Tiwari.•?AOSIS: Association of Small Island States? Chair of AOSIS: Grenada (an island on the Caribbean Sea)•?“Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Portrait in Letter of an American Visionary” is abook which is a collection of personal letters and journal entries of the former U.S.Senator and Ambassador to India, the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan. It has beenedited by Steven R Weisman. This book alleges that the Congress party tookmoney from the United States during the Indira Gandhi era.•?India is all set to get a seat in the United Nations Security Council as a nonpermanentmember after a gap of 19 years, through the elections in the GeneralAssembly. India is expecting an easy win as Kazakhstan pulled out from the raceearlier this year and there is no other challenger from the region5•?The SC of Pakistan rejected the govt’s plea of deferring the implementation of theSC’s order of nullifying the NRO. (The National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)was an ordinance issued by the former President of Pakistan, General PervezMusharraf, on October 5, 2007. It granted amnesty to politicians, political workersand bureaucrats who were accused of corruption, embezzlement, moneylaundering, murder, and terrorism between January 1, 1986, and October 12, 1999,the time between two states of martial law in Pakistan. It was declaredunconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on December 16, 2009,throwing the country into a political crisis.)5 [Each region has a representation in the UNSC]•?The parliamentary election in Kyrgyzstan produced no clear winner, setting thestage for a fractured legislature, as there were 5 winning parties; 2 of the 5winning parties vowed to restore presidential form of govt in the countryOCTOBER THE 13TH, 2010•?After the disqualification of the rebel MLAs, BJP becomes helpless and goes on trustvote once again.•?India voted as the non-permanent member of the UNSC. It was the sole candidatefrom Asia. It received the highest number of votes — 187 out of 192.•?Guest of honour at the closing ceremony of the CWG- Mahinda Rajapaksa.•?While most of the governments represented at the Stockholm Convention are takingstands in favour of a global ban on Endosulfan, India is opposing it as the Mayeecommittee found no link between the use of this chemical in plantations and healthproblems.Mayee committee was set up by the Kerala govt to review the safety ofEndosulfan.Endosulfan is an organochlorine compound that is used as an insecticideand pesticide.•?U.S. doctors began the first tests of human embryonic stem cells in patients, bytreating a man with spinal cord injuries. The stem cells were provided by biotechcompany Geron Corporation.•?Australian opera legend Dame Joan Sutherland passes away. She was hailed as “LaStupenda” and “voice of the century”.

CLAT GYAN’S GK COMPENDIUMOCTOBER THE 14TH, 2010MINERS IN CHILEMiners rescued in chile after two months of being stuck inside. Chilean president SebastianPinera was there along with world media to greet the rescued miners. The 33 miners werecaught in a collapse on August 5 and spent 17 days in isolation.PRACHANDA ON NEPAL CONSTITUTION PANELAmidst political deadlocks Maoist leader Prachanda was appointed as co-ordinator of a panelentrusted with task of sorting out contentious issues hindering the drafting of the constitution.Prachanda earlier pulled out of the Prime Ministers race after failing to get elected to the toppost.KARNATAKA NATAKAA second trust vote was won by the bjp government in Karnataka.but is validity depends onthe high court verdict which is awaited. As of now the BJP enjoys a majority of 105 in ahouse consisting of 209 members with 16 members disqualified.The independents earlier in the day failed to secure an interim order which would haveallowed them to vote in the trust vote.The bjp sought recall of governor hr bharadwaj as he was deemed to be biased.INTERLOCUTORS FOR KASHMIR TALKSThree interlocutors, Dilip Padgaonkar, a journalist, Information Commissioner MM Ansariand Academic Radha Kumar were appointed by the Union Government. They are expected tohold talks with all sections in J&K. Home minister P Chidambaram called the interlocutors“very credible people”.Special task forces were constituted on Jammu and Ladakh. Planning Commission membersAbhijit Sen and Narendra Jadhav will head STF’s on Jammu and Ladakh respectivelyAWARD FOR MATHThe 2010 SASTRA Ramanujan prize was awarded to Wei Zhang of Harvard UniversityINDIA WINS BORDER-GAVASKARMS Dhoni was all smiles at second press conference as his team won the border-gavaskartrophy against austrailia after beating them 2-0 in the series.GOLDS GALORESharath kamal and Subhajit Saha won the doubles gold in table tennis for India.india alsobagged golds in boxing with Suranjoy,Manoj and Samota winning their final bouts.AIYAR GIVEN FELLOWSHIPMani Shankar aiyar, congressman, was awarded the honorary fellowship of the Cambridgetrinity hall.MANBOOKER GOES TO…Howard Jacobson’s novel “The Finkler Question” trumped the bookies favorites to win theMan Booker Prize 2010. His other novels include “Kalooki Nights” and “Who’s SorryNow?”.BHARAT RATNA FOR MS SWAMINATHANKerala recommended eminent agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan for the bharat ratna nextyear.OCTOBER THE 15TH, 2010 [International White Cane Day :O]CWG ENDSCWG ended with great pomp and show. India bagged the second position in the medals tally.Saina Nehwal snatched a three game victory over the Malaysian player to push India tosecond place,one medal ahead of England. India had 101 medlas including 38 golds. Thecountry had finished fourth in 2002 and 2006. Austrailia was far ahead with a total of 177medals and 74 golds.LALIT MODI CHARGEDCentral crime branch registered a case against former Indian Premier League chairman LalitModi and others on charges of criminal conspiracy and theft.RBI DIVESTS STAKEThe reserve bank of India divested its stake in National Bank of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (NABARAD).with this the RBI’s stake has come down to one percent. And thecentral government owns 99% this move is in line with the Narasimham Committee II reporton banking reformsNADAL OUTTennis world number one Rafael Nadal was dumped out of Shanghai Masters in third roundby austrailian third seed Jurgen Melzer. It was the ninth defeat of the season for the Spaniardwho had previously won the Japan open.Andy Murray qualified for the seasons final event.ANAND DRAWS

Chess world champion Vishwanathan Anand missed out on his chances and had to settle for adraw with Alexei Shirov of Spain in the Fourth round of bilbao final masters chesstournament.HOCKEYAustrailia continued its domination in hockey by defeating India in the CWG finals. This wastheir fourth medal in a row.New Zealand defeated England to win the bronze.OCTOBER THE 16TH, 2010MANMOHAN AND MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA MEETPrime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa discussed theissue of rehabilitation of Tamils in Sri Lanka and other bilateral issues. Mr. Rajapaksadetailed the steps being taken for rehabilitation, India wanted Sri Lanka to act “decisively” onarriving at a political settlement to bridge the ethnic divide.COMMON WEALTH GAMES PROBEThe Centre appointed a high-level committee headed by the former Comptroller and Auditor-General, V.K. Shungloo, to look into “all aspects of organising and conducting” theCommonwealth Games,YUDHYONO TO BE R DAY CHIEF GUESTIndonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will be the chief guest at next year'sRepublic Day parade in Delhi, official sources said . Both countries will seek to build on thejoint declaration on a new strategic partnership signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singhand Mr. Yudhoyono during his previous visit here in 2005. The two sides will also attempt toexpand economic relations bilaterally and under the aegis of the Association of South EastNations (ASEAN) of which Indonesia is a founder-member.DON’T ASK DON’T TELLThe Obama administration has said it would appeal a decision by federal judge in Californiathat struck down the infamous “don't ask, don't tell law,” banning gays from serving in themilitary if they revealed their sexual orientation. Under the law the military cannot, however,ask its recruits about their sexual orientation.BERLUSCONI FACES TAX EVASION INQUIRYItalian prosecutors have launched an investigation against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconifor tax evasion linked to his Mediaset media empire,INFLATION INCHES UPOverall inflation inched up a tad to 8.62 per cent in September from 8.51 per cent in Augustowing to higher prices of essentials, especially vegetables and milk. [Inflation is essentiallythat economic phenomenon wherein there is too much money, but scarcity of goods, resultingin an increase of the prices of goods]MURRAY IN SEMI FINALSTennis British World No. 4 Andy Murray hammered 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 6-2on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters.ANAND DRAWS..AGAIN.World champion Viswanathan Anand split the point with leader Vladimir Kramnik of Russiato remain second after the end of the fifth and penultimate round of the Bilbao Final Masterschess tournamentOCTOBER THE 17TH, 2010BANGALORE BLASTS PROBEThe Rajasthan police and Karnataka anti-terrorist squad (ATS) on Friday arrested two allegedLeT members from Kasargod (Kerala) and Ajmer for their role in the 2008 blasts inBangalore in which one person was killed and over a dozen people were injured.The suspectswere identified as Umar Farooq and Ibrahim Moulvi.HIGH COURT CRACKS WHIP ON CAR IMPORTSIn a landmark order that would prevent illegal imports of all-terrain vehicles, MUVs andsuperbikes into India, the Bombay high court has said that "if the importer is a person whohas lived abroad continuously for two years, then he or she must necessarily be the owner ofthe vehicle".AYODHYA-STAGE SET FOR ACT 2 IN SCEfforts to get an out of court settlement of the Ayodhya dispute took a severe knock onSaturday with the Nirmohi Akhara, a key party in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi titlesuit, announcing it would challenge the Allahabad High Court's verdict in the Supreme Court.Akhara chief Mahant Bhaskar Das' change of heart came around the same time that the AllIndia Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) decided to appeal against the ruling to dividethe disputed site into three parts -- between the Akhara, Ram Lalla and the Sunni Waqf board.INDIA RUSSIA TO BEGIN JOINT COMBATCrack infantry troops from India and Russia kicked off their joint `Indra' counter-terrorismexercise on Saturday, which will involve combat drills in a semi-urban and mountainous

environment.The 10-day "battalion-level'' exercise, being held at Chaubattia near Ranikhet in Uttarakhand,involves a large Russian contingent of 257 personnel from its Southern Command, as also IL-76 transport aircraft.This exercise is the third in the Indra series. While the first was held at the Mahajan ranges inRajasthan in 2005, the second was conducted at Pskov in Russia in 2007.Though India hashad long-standing defence ties with Russia, strangely enough, the armed forces of the twocountries have hardly exercised together. In contrast, Indian and US forces have held over 50combat exercises in the last seven years.India’s Defence minister A K Antony and his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov.OCTOBER THE 18TH, 2010WAR OF WORDS OVER CWGSuresh Kalmadi [Who is he?] and Sheila Dixit seemed to be engaged in a war of words withthe latter saying that most of the corruption came from the organizing committee and theformer replying that there was corruption in the government that Ms Dixit ran.The central vigilance commission is looking into 22 more cases of CWG related corruptionissues. [And the CVC Chief is?]FATHER OF FRACTAL GEOMETRY DEADBenoit Mandelbrot father of fractal geometry who wrote the book “the fractal geometry ofnature” in 1982, aged died 85 in Cambridge Massachusetts.SOUNDARA KAILASAM PASSES AWAYEminent tamil poet and writer, mother of union home minister P Chidambaram SoundaraKailasam passes away at her home in Chennai.she was 83.MURRAY BEATS FEREDERER TO WIN SHANGHAI MASTERSMurray beat roger federer 6-3 6-2 to win shanghai masters,this is his second victory over theswiss world number three in two months.First India austrailia one dayer in the series was abandoned dude to rainANAND FINISHED SECONDAnand came a close second to magnus carlsen of Norway to finish second in the bilbao finalmasters.he was able to keep his world number one ranking.RUSTOM 1 TEST FLOWNRustom 1 , a medium altitude and long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle by the Bangalorebased aeronautical development establishment was successfully test flown.MUMBAI GETS WORLDS LARGEST DIAMOND BOURSEThe worlds largest diamond bourse the Bharat Diamond Bourse was inaugurated by unionminister for commerce and industry Anand Sharma.OCTOBER THE 19TH, 2010KARNATAKA..HIGH COURT BENCH SPLIT. GOES TO THE THIRD JUDGE.The uncertainity over the fate of 11 disqualified members of Karnataka legislative assemblycontinued when a two judge bench of the high court was split on the matter. The case isslated to come up before a third judge on November 2MOST WANTED SEPARATIST HELDThe J & K police achieved a major success by arresting massarat alam bhat the most wantedseparatist in Kashmir.AMENDMENT TO CHILD LABOUR ACTIn a major step toward meeting the guidelines set by ILO,the union government proposes toamend the child labour (prohibition and regulation) act 1986,and introduce changes in thenational policy in child labour 1987 by nringing all children below 18 years of age under thepurview of the act.SPECIES FACING MASS EXTINCTION:U.N193 members of the united nations convention on biological diversity met in central city ofNagoya ,japan to work out strategies to head off a manmade mass extinction.the conventionheld that immediate action was necessary to stop the rapid loss of animal and plant species inthe habitat they live.executive secretary of the CBD is ahmed djoghlaf.jim leape chief ofworld wide fund for nature (wwf) was also present.NEXT CHINESE PRESIDENTVice president Xi Jinping [Zee Kingpin :P] was appointed the vice chairman of the countriy’scentral military commission which is seen as a move of confirmation that he is on track tosucceed Hu Jintao [Who Jintao? :D] in 2012 when his term expires.Neutrino project approved at bodi west hills in theniAn India based neutrino observatory will be set up in theni district of tamil nadu .subatomicparticles will be studied at the observatoryENVIRO PANEL SPLIT ON POSCOA 3:1 split opinion came out of the environment panel on whether to scrap all environment

and forest clearances given to the Korean giant posco’s fiftyonethousand crore integratedsteel project in Orissa.FOOD WASTAGESupreme court hauled up the central government and asked for an assaurance saying thatthere would be no further wastage of food grains and there would be proper distribution totargeted beneficiariesPROPERTY A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT?The supreme court dismissed a PIL seeking a direction to make right to property afundamental right under the constitution.the 44th amendment to constitution had deleted thisright from article 19(1) (f) of the constitution.OCTOBER THE 20TH, 2010NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL OPENEDIndia launched the national green tribunal becoming the third nation to have a special courtfor environmental issues.former judge of the supreme court lokeshwar singh will be its chairperson.this tribunal will have four regional benches.INDIAN IN OBAMA ADMINISTRATIONSubra suresh ,school of dean of engineering, MIT , and an alumni of IIT madras has beenconfirmed directorate of national science foundation under the obama administration.JK ROWLING WINS DANISH AWARD.Harry potter author j k rowling won the hans chirstian Anderson literature prize she is thefirst reciepient of the award.OCTOBER THE 21ST, 2010ENEMY PROPERTY BILLUnion cabinet approved the controversial version of the enemy property bill to replace theordinance that lapsed on September 6th.this bill will be introduced in the winter session of theparliament.BIHAR GOES TO POLLSFirst phase of the bihar assembly polls .one crore voters in the region.PAKISTANS EX PREZ DIESFarooq ahmed khan leghari pakistans eighth president died in Rawalpindi. He was 70.he waspresident from 1993 to 1997.SEEDS BILL GETS CABINET NODUnion cabinet approved the amendments to the seeds bill 2004. This amendment seeks toregulate the quality of seeds and planting material, to curb sale of spurious and poor qualityseeds and to increase private participation in seed productionand distribution and liberaliseimport of seeds and planting materials.DHEERAJ HINDUJA TO HEAD ASHOK LEYLANDDheeraj g hinduja has become the chairman of ashok Leyland.he takes over from r j shahneywho was the chairman since 1977.NIMHANS TO BE DECLARED INSTITUTE OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE.The union cabinet approved the proposal to declare NationalInstitute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, as an institute ofnational importance.

CLAT GYAN’S GK COMPENDIUMOCTOBER THE 21st , 2010•?The controversial Enemy Property Bill, 2010 has got the Cabinet nod and will beintroduced in the Winter Session of the Parliament.•?The Bill bars bars Indian legal heirs from inheriting the properties of relatives whomigrated to Pakistan after Partition. The Custodian of Enemy Property for India, agovernment department, is empowered to appropriate the property.•?Oxford University is to launch a new centre to study the archaeological and culturalheritage of Asia.•?POSCO paid for a report favouring itself-The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) published a report on‘Social Cost Benefit Analysis of the POSCO Steel Project in Orissa,' which claimedthat the project would result in 8.7 lakh jobs in Orissa. This report was funded byPOSCO. And a group of NRI researchers claim that the information is flawed.POSCO [Pohang Iron and Steel Comapany] is a Korean Company and the secondlargest steel producer in the world. [CEO- Chung Joon-Yang.]•?Suddahnshu Mittal - alleged to have been involved in the Commonwealth-relatedirregularities. He is closely associated with Rajnath Singh [President, BJP] and wasclose to late Pramod Mahajan.He owns Delhi Tents and Decorators, which supples

furniture for the Commonwealth Games. His business and other premises werethoroughly searched and he called it "witch-hunt".•?Comptroller and Auditor General- Vinod Rai•?Three interlocutors were appointed by the Central Government to formulate a politicalsolution to the problem in J&K. Thei job is to gather the opinion of a vast number ofpeople from different sections of the society. The three interlocutors are- notedjournalist Dilip Padgaonkar, Prof. M. M. Ansari, Information Commissioner and Prof.(Mrs) Radha Kumar, trustee of Delhi Policy Group.•?The Karnataka High Court rejected the plea of the BJP legislators, to summon therecords of the disqualification proceedings from the Speaker K.G.Bopiah. Tensionsregarding defections increases.•?The Home Ministry, by an order, has made it clear that foreigners will be given jobvisas only for highly skilled jobs and not for non-technical jobs, and if only that theydraw a salary of not less than $25,000 a year.•?William Harris and Tamika Raymond- appointed by National Football Assosiation, togive a firm push to basketball in India. They are currently training the teams for theAsian Games.•?The Bombay High Court is hearing arguments confirming Ajmal Kasab's deathsentence. He refused to appear before the court via video-link and insisted onphysical appearance.•?Leander Peas pulled out of the 16th Asian Games to be held in Guanzhou,China.Reason- He is busy with the Barclay's World Tour Finals at London.He is teamedwith Lukas Dloughy of the Czech Republic.•?Paes is a 12 time grand slam champion. He won gold in men's doubles with MaheshBhupati and mixed doubles with Sania Mirza in earlier editions of the Game.•?15th Asian Games- Doha, Qatar (2006)17th Asian Games- Incheon, South Korea(2014)1st Asian Games- New Delhi, India (1951)OCTOBER THE 22ND , 2010•?"Natural Allies: A Blueprint for the Future of U.S.-India Relations"- report by Centerfor a New American Security (CNAS), argued that Indo- US relations should growand focussed on counter-terrorism and defence cooperation. It also urged US tosupport India in its bid for the United Nations Security Council deal.•?The Nuclear Liability Law - Section 17 (b)- gives Indian operators a ‘right ofrecourse' against nuclear suppliers in the event of an accident caused by defectiveequipment. The Government has refused to make any further changes in the Law.There are allegations by the US that it has not conformed to Convention onSupplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC). •?Three senior peers,all of them Asian, Labour's Lord Swraj Paul and Baroness ManzilaPola Uddin and independent Lord Amir Bhatia, were on Thursday formallysuspended from the House of Lords for claiming excess expenses.•?The Environment Ministry has directed the Orissa Government to initialte legal actionagainst Vedanta Aluminium's illegal expansion of its Lanjigarh refinery.•?The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to pass any order on the special leavepetition filed by the Tamil Nadu government, challenging the Madras High Courtjudgment quashing the appointment of Letika Saran as the State Director-General ofPolice. Background: Ms Saran was appointed as the first woman DGP of TamilNadu. IPS officer R. Nataraj challenged her appointment. Madras High Court struckdown the appointment holding that it was not made in accordance with the guidelineslaid down by the Supreme Court directed that a new DGP should be in place byDecember first week.•?Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) - a monetary scheme for pregnantwomen and lactating mothers. It will be implemented on a pilot basis in 52 districts inthis Five-Year Plan.•?World Anti Doping Agency intervenes: Weightlifter Pradeep Sharma and KavitaChaudhary, a wrestler, were given a clean chit by the anti-doping disciplinary panel inAugust this year. But World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has decided to appealagainst the decision made by the disciplinary panel. This is the first time that WADAihas intervened in a decision of an Indian Disciplinary Panel. Head Quarters-Laussane, Switzerland. President: John Fahey•?Live- in relationships: If a man keeps a woman, this relationship will not be in thenature of marriage for her to claim the benefit of live-in to get maintenance under theProtection of Women from Domestic Violence (PWDV) Act, 2005, the SupremeCourt has held. The Supreme Court held that not all live-in affairs amount to

"relationships in the nature of marriage" which is a pre-requisite of establishing a liveinrelationship. Accordint to Justice Markandey Katju and Justice T.S. Thakur,relationship akin to marraige means- "although not formally married, they must holdthemselves out to society as being akin to spouses. They must be of legal age tomarry. They must be otherwise qualified to enter into a legal marriage, includingbeing unmarried. They must have voluntarily cohabited and held themselves out tothe world as being akin to spouses for a significant period of time.”•?Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) - aim to eradicate manual scavenging. It consists ofmen and women who have voluntarily given up manual scavenging.OCTOBER THE 23RD , 2010•?The United States announced that it would provide a whopping $2.29 billion asmilitary aid to Pakistan to bolster its army's anti-terror capabilities, while India hasbeen crying to it that part of these funds will be used against it!•?CWG Scam- A UK based broadcasting firm, SIS Live has been alleged by the CentralVigilance Commission for tax evasion. The Income Tax Department has invokedprovisions of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India andthe U.K. Central Vigilance Commissioner: P.J. Thomas•?Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case- A supplementary charge sheet was filed by theCBI. Background - He was killed 5 years ago by the Gujarat police. His wife, KauserBi, was also killed. The evidences and witnesses were tampered with in this case. IPSofficer Abhay Chudasama was the prime conspirator in this case and he was laterarrested. He ran an extortion racket, and Sohrabuddin worked for him. Former Gujaratminister of state for home, Amit Shah has also been arrested in this case. CentralBureau of Investigation, Director: Ashwani Kumar•?The International Cricket Council named Castrol, the world's leading lubricantcompany as its official performance partner for the next five years. ICCheadquarters:Dubai, UAE•?President: Sharad Pawar. CEO: Haroon Lorgat•?Malarial deaths, how many?- The WHO has mentioned around 21000 malarialdeaths whereas The Lancet has mentioned around 2,00,000 of them. One alleges thatthe others figures are wrong.•?Medical Exam: New Scheme- An application filed by the Medical Council of Indiain the Supreme Court to introduce a common nationwide eligibility-cum-entrance testfor MBBS and postgraduate medical courses from 2011-12. The Court sent notices toall the states in this regard and it gave time of four weeks for their response.•?The Centre declared Elephant a national heritage animal in order to improvemeasures for their protection.OCTOBER THE 24TH, 2010•?The National Advisory Committee's [President: Madame Sonia Gandhi] universalfood framework has been accepted by the Planning Commission. Main Points:? The concept of Below Poverty Line has been expanded and it covers 75% of thepopulation (which is 90% of the rural population) which is divided into 'priorityhouseholds.' and 'general households.'? They will will get subsidized foodgrains.? Legal guarantees also envisaged which will be included in the draft of the FoodSecurity Bill.•?WikiLeaks released around 4,00,000 American documents which provide details ofthe Iraq War. The civilian killings, the torture, abuse by the Iraqi police and army andthe role of Iran supporting Iraqi militants mentioned. WikiLeaks was founded byJulian Assange who lives in discreet locations away from the public eye. Thewebsite’s aim is transparency and government accountability all over the world, infurtherance of this aim, they publish all sorts of “secret documents” that haveresounding consequences for the world order.•?Nowcast- used to predict weather a few hours ahead, in specific localities. Was usedin the Commonwealth Games 2010 too.•?India- Russia joint exercise called 'Indra' was held in Kumaon Hills in Uttarakhand.•?A fresh case was filed in a Delhi Court against Sajjan Singh, senior Congress Leaderregarding another case relating to the 1984 Sikh riots. Background: CBI has accusedKumar of provoking people against members of a particular community during thecarnage that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, leading tothe killing of five persons in Delhi Cantonment area.OCTOBER THE 25TH, 2010•?India and China to resume high- level defence exchanges . There was a pause due toMr. S.S.Jaswal,who was leading a military delegation to China was offered a stapled

visa. Stapled visa is when a visa is issued on a separate paper instead of stamping it onthe passport. India asked China to adopt a uniform policy and not to issue staple visasto people of Jammu and Kashmir.•?Subansiri Dam- under construction in Assam. Some environmentalists say that it maycause environmental problems is its height is not reduced.•?Kannur , Kerala- experienced poll related violence. BJP imposed district widehartal.•?Manmohan Singh visited Japan to conclude negotiations regarding ComprehensiveEconomic partnership Agreement (CEPA) and also sign a Memorandum ofUnderstanding to ease the visa procedures.•?ICICI Bank and American Express have lauched Prepaid Travel Card, a smartalternative to cash while travelling.•?Kalpasar Dam Alignment- GujaratNarendra Modi [remember the name, will help you] plans to build a over-the-sea damworth 50,00 crores in the northern portion of Gulf of Khambat.•?Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors is planning to venture into China.•?Arundati Roy's controversial statement,'Kashmir was never an integral part of India',drew criticism. Arundati Roy is the first Indian citizen to win the Booker Prize for herbook, 'The God of Small Things' in 1997.OCTOBER THE 26TH, 2010•?Shunglu Panel- To look into the conduct of the Commonmwealth GAmes.•?Headed by V.K. Shunglu, former Comptroller and Auditor General of India.•?Microsoft entered the Limca Book Of World records for the first Display of dominoesin India.•?The European Union is planning to ink a deal with India to offer jobs to Indians. Thisdeal aims at allowing unlimited number of Indian immigrants and foreign specialiststo work in European countries, including Britain.•?The Supreme Court has cancelled bails granted to B.Ramalinga Raju and his brotherB.Rama Raju by the Andhra Pradesh High Court.•?Jayalaitha's land row: The Tamil Nadu Government pleaded in the Supreme Court toallow the Government to acquire Jayalalitha's Kodanadu estate in Ooty as it wascausing public inconvenience. Background: Jayalalitha had purchased the Estate in1995 and allegedly put up a gate on the road in 2007 and collected toll tax from thoseusing the road, besides restricting their movement despite it being the only lifeline ofthe local population.•?Sharad Yadav's controversial statement that Rahul Gandhi should drown in theGanges sparked demands of his arrest by Congress.•?A prestigious college of the Cambridge University, the St John College, announcedthree 'Dr. Manmohan Singh Scholarships.'•?In the Corruption Perception Index 2010, India with 3.3 points is ranked 87th out of178 countries. Denmark ranks No.1 with 9.3 points.•?The Corruption Perception index is published by Transparency International, a nongovernmentalorganization, headquartered in Berlin, Germany.•?Largest solar energy project to come up in United States.•?Saddam Hussein's foreign minister Tariq Aziz was sentenced to death by hanging byIraq’s high criminal court for persecuting members of Shiite religious parties underthe former regime.•?Paul the octopus died in his aquarium in Germany. He shot into fame during theSouth Africa World Cup for correctly predicting the game outcomes.•?‘Little India’ a shopping street in Malaysia whch sells Indian goods is to be launchedby PM manmohan Singh.•?Amensty International has called on Pakistan to probe into the killings and torture ofpolitical leaders and activists in violence struck Baluchistan province.•?Amnesty International, an international NGO founded by Peter beneson in 1961.Headquarters- London.•?Union Ministry of Law has told the Ministry of Home Affairs that the power of thePresident to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment, which isgranted under Article 72 of the Constitution, is “absolute and cannot be fettered byany statutory provisions” under the Code of Criminal Procedure or the prison rules.•?Fishing trawler, Kuber was used by Ajmal Kasab and other terrorists.•?Raavan and Sholay were featured in the Tokyo International Film Festival.OCTOBER THE 27TH, 2010•?Common Wealth Games Federation put up a distorted map of India on its website, forwhich it apologized later.

•?Mahatma Gandhi District in Houston!- the south west part of Houston ahs beenrenamed as mahatma Gandhi District in the honor of Gandhi’s 141st bit\rthanniversary.•?Viveka Bajpayee case- DNA sample shave been detected under her nails.She was amodel and former Miss Mauratius, alleged to have committed suicide by hangingherself.•?India has secured a score of 67 per cent in a global survey about the quantity and typeof budget information that governments make available to the public during thecourse of budget year.•?Open Budget Survey 2010 was conducted in 94 countries by Delhi-based Centre forBudget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) in collaboration with the US agencyInternational Budget Partnership (IBP).•?Honda and Toyota leased Consumer Reports Survey. Toyota's Scion had the fewestproblems of any brand in the survey. Consumer Reports rankings are widely used bycar buyers in the US.•?Chinese military has conducted its first-ever live military exercises involving airforce, artillery and electronic warfare divisions on the Tibetan plateau, close to theIndian border.•?This Country had lost communication with nearly 50 intercontinental ballistic nuclearmissiles [ICBM], one-ninth of its arsenal for 45 minutes – USA•?Indonesia’s most volatile volcano Mount Merapi had erupted again claiming 25lives. It has erupted many times in the past 200 years, in 1930 it claimed 1,20 livesand in 1994 60 lives•?A 10-foot high tsunami in Indonesia claimed around 272 lives.•?Fossil found Gujarat: A trove of insects were found embedded in amber deposits in ageological zone called Cambay Shell.•?MFI’s- Micro Finance Institutions

CLAT GYAN?S GK COMPENDIUM OCTOBER THE 28th, 2010 • India signed the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) at the International Atomic Energy Agency. The signing of the Convention was part of the commitment that India had undertaken when it signed the Civil Nuclear Agreement with the United States of America in 2005. CSC deals with “channelling liability and providing speedy compensation in the event of a nuclear accident”. Only fourteen countries have signed it, and only 4 have ratified it (one of the latter being, USA) • Union Commerce and Industry Minister: Anand Sharma. Malaysia?s Prime Minister: Najib Tun Abdul Razak • 19th Law Commission will be headed by P. V. Reddi. It has a term of 3 years from the date of constitution. • Capital of the North Eastern State Manipur: Imphal • V. K. Shunglu is heading a two member panel to investigate into the irregularities coming out from the Common Wealth Games. He has been given the status of an SC judge, meaning that he has wider powers and better secretarial support. The other member is Shantanu Consul. This panel has been appointed by the Prime Minister?s Office. • All schoolchildren will soon have unique identification numbers (UID), which will help in tracking their movement in educational institutions and academic records. • Union Law Minister: Veerappa Moily • Lt. General Ravi Shankar has taken over as the Director General of the Border Roads Organization • Extremist Right Wing Hindutva group, Bajrang Dal threatened famous writer-activist Arundhati Roy for her statements advocating independence of Kashmir from India.1 • Commonwealth Organizing Committee Chairman: V. K. Sharma • Argentina?s former President Nestor Kirchner is dead. He was the husband of the present President of the country, Cristina Kirchner (first woman president of the country). Capital of Argentina: Buenos Aires • BCCI Chief – Shashank Manohar

OCTOBER THE 29TH, 2010 • South Africa beat Pakistan to clinch Twenty20 series held in Abu Dhabi • The Jamnalal Bajaj award is given to people with outstanding contributions in social development • Home Secretary: G. K. Pillai • China?s Prime Minister: Wen Jiabao; President: Hu Jintao. • Foreign Secretary: Nirupama Rao (only woman apart from Chokilla Iyer to hold the post) • South Korea?s President: Lee Myung-bak. Vietnam PM: Nguyen Tan Dung2 • The Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society Scam: http://www.mid-day.com/opinion/2010/nov/051110-Adarsh-Cooperative-Housing-Society-scam-Opinion.htm 3 • Bihar Chief Minister: Nitish Kumar.

• World?s oldest ruling monarch, Saqr-bin-Muhammad-al-Qasmi of Ras-al-Khaimah is now dead. He was 92, and ruled for more than 60 years. Ras-al-Khaimah is one of the 7 Emirates that together form the United Arab Emirates

OCTOBER THE 30TH, 2010 • Two people belonging to the National Democratic Front for Bodoland (NDFB) have been arrested for their alleged involvement in bomb attacks in Assam in 2008 • Protests against the proposed Nuclear Reactor at Jaitapur, Maharashtra continued near the town of Madban • 1 Lakh per person is the compensation that the West Bengal government has decided to pay to each of the 159 victims of the Nandigram violence of 2007. • Russian and U.S. special forces have carried out their first joint anti-narcotics operation in Afghanistan that marked the first time Russian security personnel set foot in that country in more than 20 years. • China?s supercomputer, Tianhe-1A is now the fastest in the world. It is 1.4 times faster than the second fastest, which is the American Cray XT5 Jaguar. • India to get its own first Double Decker AC Train that?ll run from Howrah (surprise, surprise!) to Dhanbad. • Judge Stephen M. Schwebel, former President of the International Court of Justice, will head the Court of Arbitration being constituted to resolve the Kishanganga hydroelectric project dispute between India and Pakistan. • The extremist Hindutva right-wing conglomerate of “Sangh” activists plan to hold nationwide “protests” against the connection of its activists with “Saffron Terror” plots across India. One of its high-ranking leaders, Indresh Kumar has his name figured in the charge-sheet of the Ajmer Blast case. It should be recalled that the establishment has started investigating various cases of terror attacks all over the country. These cases were so far being investigated one the assumption that these were acts of Islamist terror, and in fact, a lot of these were even claimed to have been “solved”. However, in recent times, investigations have resulted in Hindutva?s henchmen being caught. Starting from Malegaon, Modasa, Ajmer, Mecca Masjid, etc cases.

NOVEMBER THE 1ST, 2010 • The Supreme Court has held that Dowry killings deserve death penalty. According to the doctrine evolved in the famous Bachan Singh case, death penalty can be awarded only in the rarest of the rare instances. • Run-off elections: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-round_system • Vandals belonging the BJP?s Mahila Morcha (Woman?s wing) vandalized author Arundhati Roy?s place of residence in Kautilya Marg, Delhi. For the same old statement on Kashmir?s azaadi. (yawn!)

NOVEMBER THE 2ND, 2010 • India is in the process of manufacturing its own indigenous Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). It intends to procure nine home-grown ones. India already has one that was acquired from Israel and were mounted on Russian Illyushin jet. • The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) will set up an office in the country within six months. The office will support the existing Bangalore-based India chapter of the free online resource website Wikipedia. • The scientific establishment is all set to add one more feather to its cap with the Union Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan launching the first Indian scientific expedition to the magical South Pole on Monday evening. An eight-member team led by the Director of National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Rasik Ravindra, is to leave „Maitri,' the Indian station on the Antarctica, for the South Pole on November 8 and return by the middle of December.• The high voter turnout trend continued in the Bihar Assembly elections as the fourth phase recorded a poll percentage of 51 on Monday despite an incident in the Naxal-plagued Jamui district • Russian President Dmitry Medvedev?s visit to the Kuril islands has angered the Japanese government. • The popular and prominent President Lula Inacio Di Silva will be succeeded by Dilma Rousseff, she is the first woman president of Brazil and has promised to push forward Lula?s successful policies – both, domestic and foreign. • Saudi Arabia?s ultra-conservative clerics have issued a fatwa (opinion/advice) opposing the government?s policy of expanding and encouraging the participation of women in the work force in areas where there might be a chance of both the genders interacting, such as cashiers in supermarkets.5

NOVEMBER THE 3RD, 2010 • The tribunal looking into the notification banning the LTTE reserved its verdict on whether the notification should stay or not. It is chaired solely by Justice Vikramjit Sen. • National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) is headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It has the job of cleaning up the Ganges, rejunevation and protection of the river and the adjoining areas. For this, the state governments have been asked to scrap Hydel power projects that were planned. • Yemen has charged American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki with incitement and plotting to murder foreigners during a trial in absentia [I am hoping you’ve figured the meaning, have you?] that began on Tuesday in Sana'a. He has been associated with the “underwear bomber” Umar Farooq Abdulmutallab. However, there remains considerable doubt about both – his whereabouts and actual credentials of an extremist.

• Setting aside their historic rivalry, Britain and France on Tuesday signed an unprecedented 50-year nuclear deal that would see them share nuclear facilities and jointly develop technology. • Labour peer Swraj Paul on Tuesday resigned as Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords following his suspension from the House over his expenses claims. [If you have read the earlier compendiums, you’ll understand the context] • Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik • Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Chief – J. S. Sarma. • A giant statue, sited at an altitude of 8,500 feet on the Jakhu Hills in Shimla will be unveiled by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

CLAT GYAN‘S GK COMPENDIUM NOVEMBER THE 5th, 2010 • Manmohan Singh holds talks with J&K CM Omar Abdulla (which party does he belong to?) and Home Minister P. Chidambaram to discuss the prospects of putting a group of interlocutors (Do you know what this means?) in place to begin a sustained dialogue with all the people of J&K. The issue of appointing a group of interlocutors, under the chairmanship of an eminent person also figured in the discussions. A senior Congress leader may be picked to head the group which may have two or three members. The chairman of the group is likely to enjoy the rank of a Cabinet Minister. Most of the interlocutors would be from outside the State but they would have a fairly good idea about the issues in Jammu and Kashmir. The government is also said to be considering having a Muslim, a Hindu and a woman in the group of interlocutors. • Four security men (2 Police Sub-Inspectors, 2 CRPF personnel) killed in naxal ambush near Perimili village in southern Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. • Robert Edwards, the British scientist whose pioneering research with his late colleague Patrick Steptoe led to the birth of the world's first ?test-tube baby'' in 19781, has won this year's Nobel Prize for medicine. • Canadian-firm Research In Motion has urged the Centre to set up a joint consultative forum to help evolve procedures to intercept its encrypted BlackBerry email and messenger services. The Centre has asked RIM to either provide a solution enabling its secured services to be monitored by the Indian law enforcement agencies by October 31, 2010 or face ban. • Brazil faces presidential elections. Similar to its neighbours Chile and Argentina, it may soon make history by electing its first ever woman President, Dilma Rousseff (62). She is a candidate of the Workers Party and an economist. She was associated with militant groups fighting against the 1960s dictatorship2. • Ng. Soniya Chanu and A. Sandhya Rani Devi opened India's campaign in the weightlifting campaign with a silver and bronze medal in the 48 kg. division of the women's section on the opening day of the nine-day programme at the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex in New Delhi. • Eighty-one-year-old Professor V. Radhakrishnan, eminent radio astronomer and Trustee of the Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, might be among the few Indians who have been criss-crossing the oceans in a yacht, that too designed by him. The son of Sir C.V. Raman, he is on a mission to learn more on his chosen field on his yacht =Eldemer.' • Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu to simplify tourist permit procedure. • Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has ordered an inquiry into the scuffle that saw a top sports official snatch the national flag from a sportsperson during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games3. • For the first time in its history of formulating five-year plans4, the Planning Commission on Monday launched a website to elicit suggestions from the general public on the =Approach Paper' to the XII Plan (2012-17) so as to make the final document more inclusive and effective.

2 The Brazilian military government was the authoritarian regime which ruled Brazil from March 31, 1964 to March 15, 1985, when civilian José Sarney took office as President. It began after the 1964 coup d'état led by the Armed Forces against the democratically elected government of left-wing President João Goulart. The military revolt was fomented by Magalhães Pinto, Adhemar de Barros, and Carlos Lacerda, Governors of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, respectively. (source: www.Wikipedia.org) 3 Pakistan's flag bearer was scheduled to be weightlifter Shujha-ud-din Malik. However, chef de mission Muhammad Ali Shah announced that he would carry the flag and took it from the designated flag-bearer. (http://www.thenews.com.pk/latest-news/2295.htm) 4 Learn the time periods of the 5-year plans, and when the rolling plans were introduced. MORE ON THE BABRI JUDGMENT • Post Ayodhya verdict, BJP hints at 'recociliation' between Hindus and Muslims. BJP president Nitin Gadkari spoke of the national mood for ?reconciliation,? suggesting that Muslims could build a mosque ?on the banks of the Sarayu river? that flows through Ayodhya. • The Congress' official line on the Allahabad High Court verdict in the Ayodhya case has undergone a subtle change since September 30. Party media spokesperson urged the citizens to wholeheartedly accept the verdict. The party was partly endorsing Manmohan Singh's stand that status quo should be maintained until the SC takes up the case.

• Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader leader L.K. Advani feels ?vindicated? about his Ayodhya rath yatra' in the wake of the Allahabad High Court verdict and prefers a negotiated settlement for building a Ram temple at the place where the makeshift now stands.

Mr. Advani, the mascot of the temple campaign who launched the =rath yatra' in 1989, also rejects criticism that the judgment of the Lucknow Bench ?puts faith above law,? saying it was only a case of ?faith upheld by law.? He strongly endorses his party president Nitin Gadkari's suggestion that Muslims could build a mosque ?outside the complex? in Faizabad on the banks of river Saryu. • Following Babri litigant, Mohammed Hashim Ansari's initiative to resolve the Ayodhya issue through talks and opt for an out-of-court settlement, the Forum for Peace and Unity has appealed to all parties to work for finding an amicable solution.

President of Forum for Peace and Unity: Maulana Zahur Ahmed Siddiqui November THE 07TH, 2010 • US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama visit India. • Severe cyclonic storm =Jal‘ hits North Chennai and South Andhra Pradesh. • Pakistan hands over 13th dossier on the Mumbai terror attacks case and details of the commission Islamabad wants to send to India for pursuing the case. A Foreign Office statement said Pakistan also requested the Indian government to facilitate the visit of the proposed commission. The dossier and details of the proposed commission were handed over to Indian Deputy High Commissioner Rahul Kulshreshth. • The Obama administration‘s decision to support India's membership in the NSG5, the Missile Technology Control Regime6, the Australian Group7 and the Wassenaar Arrangement8 was made public by Deputy National Security Adviser9

10 The concept of Asian Network of Major Cities, popularly known as ANMC-21, was evolved in the first meeting of the four cities -- Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Seoul and Delhi -- in 2000. The idea was to provide an opportunity to Asia to establish a new identity and to develop independently as a world leader. • The Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) of Mumbai protest against Mr. Obama and demand that Warren Anderson, former chairperson of Union Carbide, be handed over to India. • The Union Government of India has ensured considerable progress in rehabilitating internally displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka. • The non-profit Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), which recently formalized its presence in the country by opening an office in New Delhi, has set up a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) defence centre. Founded in 2005 in the United States, the SFLC provides legal representation and other services to protect FOSS in the legal domain.

In India, the SFLC would be focusing on serving the FOSS community in the areas of licensing, litigation support, trademark counselling, patent defence, non-profit organisational assistance, public education and lawyer training, protection of digital civil liberties and supporting the FOSS initiatives in education. • India has been elected to a key committee that controls the purse strings of the United Nations, which has an annual budget of nearly $ 22 billion. • Asian Cities‘ Summit to be held in Tokyo

Delhi is a part of the Summit, and will be represented by its CM Sheila Dikshit. She will be will be attending the ninth plenary meeting of Asian Network of Major Cities (ANMC)10 along with Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister P.K. Tripathi and her political secretary Pawan Khera. • Military-ruled Myanmar goes to the polls, with the junta pledging to stay the course of a self-proclaimed ?roadmap? for the restoration of democracy. The main dissident camp — the recently-derecognized National League for Democracy (NLD) led by the long-imprisoned Nobel Peace Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi — is boycotting the poll. • Indonesia's most volatile mountain Mt. Merapi erupts. It has been touted as the most powerful eruption of the century. Merapi's latest round of eruptions began on October 26, followed by more than a dozen other powerful blasts and thousands of tremors. • All 68 people aboard AeroCaribbean Flight 883 were killed when the Cuban plane crashed near the village of Guasimal in Sancti Spiritus province in Cuba. • U.S. President Barack Obama announces that deals worth $10 billion (nearly Rs.44,000 crore) have been reached between India and the U.S. for creating more than 50,000 jobs back in the U.S.

NOVEMBER THE 8TH, 2010 • Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)11 can be withdrawn from some areas in the State with a rider that the Army can step in again if the situation so warrants. He said he has set up two small committees for Srinagar and Jammu to review the issue. • Union Minister of State for Communications and IT: Sachin Pilot.

• A team from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science claim to have uncovered an entire Ice Age ecosystem after unearthing wealth of bones from an excavation site in western Colorado in the U.S. • Iraq‘s incumbent Prime Minster, Nouri al-Maliki, who belongs to the main Islamic Dawa Party of the Shia bloc (similar to an alliance or a coalition), is expected to continue for a second term, as there has been a power sharing agreement in principle

11 It‘s too long-winded, but read it if you want details about AFSPA in depth http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/armed_forces_special_powers_act1958.pdf Otherwise, this much will suffice- The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), was passed on September 11, 1958 by the Parliament of India. It conferred special powers upon armed forces in what the language of the act calls "disturbed areas" in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. It was later extended to Jammu and Kashmir as the The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990 in July 1990. (Source: www.wikipedia.org) with the rival sunni-secular (unlike India, ?secular? in general means an attitude towards religion that is either antipathetic, apathetic or supports limiting it to the private spaces. While Allawi‘s bloc is dominated by Sunnis, it doesn‘t have a religious/Islamist agenda) Iraqiya formation, led by the former interim Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, over the composition of the new government. • Britain to introduce a new category of visa — Entrepreneur Visa — to encourage foreign nationals from India and elsewhere to catalyse economic recovery in the country.

NOVEMBER THE 9TH, 2010 • U.S. President Barack Obama in support of a permanent seat for India in a reformed U.N. Security Council (So far support for a permanent seat to the UNSC has been given to India by the USA, China, Britain, France and Russia – basically all 5 members. Reading: • Until now, the U.S. has remained firmly adherent to the NPT framework, but, U.S. assures India that NPT criteria is not required for NSG membership. • NDFB: National Democratic Front of Boroland12. Founder of NFDB: Ranjan Daimary. • The Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee was set up by the Centre to go into the demands for a ?separate Telanagana? and a ?united Andhra Pradesh?. It will make its recommendations to the Centre before December 31. Committee Member-Secretary: Kumar Duggal. • The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) has succeeded in creating a miniature version of the Big Bang by smashing stripped-down lead atoms together. • Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC): This eight-member Commission was constituted in May to report on the lessons to be learnt from the events between February 2002 and May 2009 (rejecting International calls for International probe into the killing of thousands of Tamils in the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War and refusing to allow United Nations panel of experts entry into Sri Lanka), their attendant concerns and to recommend measures to ensure that there will be no recurrence of such a situation.

NOVEMBER THE 10TH, 2010 • Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan resigns from his post over the Adarsh Housing Society scam, pending inquiry. He will, however, continue as caretaker Chief Minister until the party appoints a new candidate for the post. • Defence Minister A.K. Antony asks CBI to probe the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam and look into the circumstances under which the No Objection Certificate was issued and the possession of the land in question was relinquished, even though there was shortage of land for the Army in Mumbai. The CBI would also probe how far the housing society had met the commitments to the welfare of wives of dead war heroes/service personnel, as reports emerged that it was to have allocated flats for the families of the Kargil war martyrs. • General Secretary of CPI (Maoist): Muppalla Laxman Rao alias Ganapathy. • B. Sudershan Reddy Committee: ??The Centre to table in the Lok Sabha the report of Justice B. Sudershan Reddy Committee, which probed ?misappropriation? charges against Calcutta High Court judge Soumitra Sen in the removal proceedings initiated by Parliament. ??Justice Sudershan Reddy presented the report to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari. ??The committee included Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and jurist Fali Nariman. ??It was constituted under Section 3 (2) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. ??The purpose of setting up the committee: For investigating the grounds on which the removal of Justice Sen has been brought about through a motion by Shri Sitaram Yechury13 and 56 other members of the Rajya Sabha. ??The charge against Justice Sen was that when he was lawyer, he collected Rs.33,22,800 from a purchaser of goods and kept it in a savings bank account and misrepresented facts to the High Court. ??The case is the second in the history of the country in which Parliament has initiated proceedings for removal of a judge (the first one involved Justice V. Ramaswami). • Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to attend the G-20 Summit in Seoul14 that will review the global economic situation and the status of recovery. • Ronald Noble, who has been Secretary-General of Interpol for the past 10 years, has been re-elected to the post for a third five-year term at the global police agency's general assembly in Doha.

• Venue of the 79th Interpol General Assembly: Qatar, Doha.15 • ILO claims that the unemployment figure, post the economic slowdown, globally is at an all time high of 210 million. • Union Commerce and Industry Minister: Anand Sharma. • U.S. Commerce Secretary: Gary Locke. • Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor16 Usha Thorat retires. The portfolios held by her will temporarily be looked after by deputy governor, Shyamala Gopinath until further orders. • India and Japan to sign CEPA for enhancing trade ties and reduce/eliminate tariffs on over 90 per cent of the goods traded between the two countries. • CEPA: Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

14 Seoul, capital of? 15 Qatar is the capital of Doha. 16 Other Dy Governors: Subir Gokaran, KC Chakrabarty and Shyamala Gopinath. 17 Chagan Bhujbal held this post twice earlier. NOVEMBER THE 11TH, 2010 • Prithviraj Chauhan to be sworn in as the CM of Maharashtra. • Deputy CM of Maharashtra, Chagan Bhujbal soon to be replaced by Sharad Pawar‘s nephew Ajit Pawar. He was also unanimously elected the leader of the NCP legislature party17. • Union Civil Aviation Minister: Praful Patel. • A Parliamentary Inquiry Committee has held Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court guilty of =misconduct' tantamount to =misbehaviour,' warranting his removal as a judge. The allegations made against justice Sen stood proved. • The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Vinod Rai has submitted the report related to the 2G spectrum allocation to the Centre. • Deputy Chief Minster of Tamil Nadu: M.K.Stalin. • The Supreme Court indicated that the petitions filed by Amar Singh, former general secretary of the Samajwadi Party, and actor Jayaprada challenging the provisions of the anti-defection law on disqualification of expelled MPs would be heard by a larger Bench.

Mr. Singh and Ms. Jayaprada were expelled from the SP for indulging in anti-party activities. • Newly-appointed Police Commissioner of Delhi: Brijesh Kumar Gupta. • Justice K.T. Thomas Committee was set up to monitor implementation of the direction passed by the SC in September 2006 on police reforms.

Taking a serious view of non-compliance of its directions on police reforms by most of the States, the Supreme Court has ordered personal appearance of the Chief Secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Karnataka to personally explain why the directions were not implemented. • T. Chatterjee, an IAS officer, will take over as Union Environment Secretary after incumbent Vijai Sharma retires at the end of the year. Currently, he is serving as the Special Chief Secretary in the Andhra Pradesh government's Planning Department. • Senior IPS officer and former Chief of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) Anil K. Pandey passes away. • What is August Maneuver? A Chinese space flight manoeuvring one of its satellites to within about 300 metres of another while they were orbiting Earth is August Manoeuvre.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE COMPENDIUM – 9NOVEMBER THE 12TH, 2010•?PARLIAMENT-ADJOURNEDBoth houses of the parliament were adjourned over the spectrum scam with the Oppositionsticking to its demand for removal of Telecommunications Minister A. Raja and Congressmembers protesting the remarks of the former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief, K.S.Sudershan, against party president Sonia Gandhi. The opposition raised hell by shouting slogansagainst Mr. Raja on the basis of the Comptroller and Auditor-General's report, which is believedto have passed strictures against the 2G spectrum allocation. This policy, approved by Mr. Raja,caused a loss of about Rs 1.76 lakh crore, the CAG report is understood to have pointed out.•?DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESPONDSThe Department of Telecom informed the Supreme Court that no guidelines were flouted in theallotment of the 2G spectrum. That it was the government’s conscious decision to increase teledensityrather than maximising revenue and hence to not go in for auction. This was in responseto a PIL filed by the Centre for seeking action on the basis of the draft audit report of theComptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) that the scam involving Communications Minister A.Raja caused the exchequer a loss of Rs.1,39,652 crore, and helped a few private persons andcompanies make a corresponding gain.The matter will come up before a Bench of Justices G. S. Singhvi and A. K. Ganguly for further

hearing on November 15.•?JAYALALITHAA’S OFFER TO MANMOHANAIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to dismissUnion Communications Minister A. Raja, and offered his government the “unconditional”support of 18 MPs, if the DMK withdrew support.But the Congress dismissed the offer.•?CHAVAN, PAWAR SWORN INWith the promise of delivering a clean government, Maharashtra's new Chief Minister PrithvirajChavan was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor K. Sankaranarayanan. NewDeputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also took the oath along with nine others from the NationalistCongress Party (NCP)•?Bodo National Convention to be held on November 18-19.•?KACHROO JUSTICEAll the four accused senior medical students in the Aman Kachroo ragging case were sentencedto four years rigorous imprisonment by a fast track court in Dharamsala after they were heldguilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for ragging a junior student AmanKachroo, leading to his death. Additional District and Sessions Judge Purinder Vaidya alsoimposed a fine of Rs.10,000 each on the students of the Rajendra Prasad Medical College andHospital in Tanda in Kangra district of the hill State. Ajay Verma, Navin Verma, AbhinavVerma and Mukul Sharma have been held guilty under Sections 304 II (culpable homicide notamounting to murder), 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongfulrestraint), 34 (common intention) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the IPC•?RUCHIKA CASETaking into consideration the closure reports filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in freshcases registered against the former Haryana Director-General of Police, S.P.S. Rathore, theSupreme Court has ordered his release on bail in the molestation case in which he was convictedto undergo 18 months imprisonment.•?IRAQ GETTING A PRO IRAN GOVERNMENTIraq is set to acquire a new government following a power sharing deal, which underscoresIran's growing influence in Baghdad. Incumbent Prime Minister, Nouri Al Maliki, whose Stateof Law bloc won 89 seats will continue for a second term in office. With the 70-seat supportcoming recently from the former rival–turned-ally, Moqtada Al Sadr, Mr. Maliki had alreadyedged close to the mark of 163 seats required to form a new government. Mr. Maliki's tenure fora second term was secured when the Kurdish alliance of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) decided to pool in its 43 seats in favour of the Shiacombine.•?TENDULKAR WORLD CUP AMBASSADORIndian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar will be the event ambassador for the ICC World Cup2011.NOVEMBER THE 13TH, 2010•?RAJA REFUSES TO GOReiterating that the entire 2G spectrum allocation process was carried out as per rules andregulations, Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja has said there wasno question of his resigning from the Cabinet as he had done nothing wrong.•?WORLD LEADERS REACH AGREEMENT-TO CURB IMBALANCESLeaders of the world's biggest economies have agreed to curb “persistently large imbalances” insaving and spending but deferred until next year tough decisions on how to identify and fix them.The agreement, the culmination of a two-day summit meeting of leaders of the Group of 20industrialised and emerging powers, fell short of initial U.S. demands for numerical targets ontrade surpluses and deficits. But it reflected a consensus that longstanding economic patterns inparticular, the United States consuming too much, and China too little were no longersustainable.•?BAN ON LTTE UPHELDObserving that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) still remains a threat to thecountry's security, Justice Vikramajit Sen of the Delhi High Court, constituting the one-manTribunal upheld the May 14, 2010 notification of the Centre extending the ban on the outfit fortwo years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.•?16TH ASIAN GAMES STARTSMassive fireworks, impressive stunts on speed boats mark the opening ceremony of the AsianGames at Guangzhou, China.•?CHAVAN AND PAID NEWSThe former Maharashtra Chief Minister, Ashok Chavan, elected from Bhokar Assemblyconstituency in Nanded district, had paid money to various newspapers to get publicity, and notsubmitted proper accounts for the expenditure made in this regard, claimed Advocate Uday Lalit

before the Election Commission.•?SUSPEND ANTI OBESITY DRUG-DGCIThe Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has ordered the “suspension” of the manufactureand import of anti-obesity drug Sibutramine after the medicine showed serious side effects,including heart attack, among some users. The DCGI also recommended to the Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare a total ban on the sale of the drug. The suspension order was issuedunder Section 26 (A) of Drugs and Cosmetic Act, with immediate effect, with the DCGI alsoseeking a total prohibition on its manufacture and sale in the open market. The ban has to beformally notified by the Health Ministry on the recommendation of the DCGI.•?AIDWA ELECTIONSNinth National Conference of the All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) came toa close with the election of 101 Central Executive Committee members from among thedelegates. In keeping with the three-term policy for office-bearers, Subhashini Ali was relievedfrom the post of president and Shyamoli Gupta from West Bengal was elected in her place.Sudha Sundararaman will continue as general secretary for another three-year term.•?INDIA ON UN WOMEN PANELIndia has been elected to the board of a new U.N. agency to promote equality for women .U.N.Women is the amalgamation of different United Nations bodies focused on women. It wascreated this year to look exclusively at gender equality and empowerment of women. The 41-member executive board also includes the U.S. and Britain, which won seats in the donor nationscategory.•?8 MORE TIGER RESERVES LIKELY IN THE COUNTRYThe new reserves would include one in the Satyamangalam forests in Tamil Nadu, besidesKarnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.•?International Tiger Forum, hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at St.Petersburg from November 21 to 24. The Forum will commit conservation andrehabilitation of tigers to global action.•?The Youth Summit will take place from November 19 to 24 at Vladivostok, home to theAmur Tiger. The involvement of youth at this important meeting is aimed at drawingattention to the importance of tiger conservation. WWF-India has selected studentsAnusha Shankar and Devanshu Sood to represent India at the summit.NOVEMBER THE 14TH, 2010•?SUU KYI WALKS FREEDaw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's celebrated pro-democracy leader and a political prisoner ofglobal stature, has been set free from house arrest in Yangon.•?AFTER OBAMA VISIT, INDIA PLAYS BALL WITH US ALLIESIf Barack Obama's triumphant visit here gave the world the impression that the Manmohan Singhgovernment was drawing too close to the United States, the Russia-India-China (RIC) ForeignMinisters meeting in Wuhan this week will serve as a reminder that India is still willing to playball with powers that see themselves as rivals to America.•?US CHINA ROW RUMBLES ON AT APEC SUMMITU.S. President Barack Obama will be using the Pacific Rim Summit (To be held in Honolulu,Hawaii, USA, from December 11-14, 2010. Visit http://www.bio.org/pacrim/ to know moreabout the Summit) to press China on its flood of exports aided by a cheap Yuan, but PresidentHu Jintao said Beijing would make reforms at its own pace. The competing visions of the twoeconomic giants were laid out a day after the G20 knocked back U.S. proposals for bindingtargets to address global trade imbalances and curbs on currency manipulation — proposalseffectively aimed at China•?US- INDIA PACT TO BETTER MONSOONSIndia's monsoon forecasting is expected to improve with its entering into a new agreement withthe United States. The agreement between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) and India's Ministry of Earth Sciences is part of a series of food security agreementsformalised during President Barack Obama's visit.NOAA administrator: Jane Lubchenco.•?VOLCANO DEATH TOLL UP TO 240Indonesia's most volatile volcano, Mt. Merapi, unleashed another cloud of searing gas. Raisesdeath toll to 240NOVEMBER THE 15TH, 2010•?RAJA QUITSA. Raja, Telecom Minister in the Central Government quit the Union Cabinet in the eye of the2G spectrum allocation scam. A. Raja is the face of DMK party at the center, the party stronglysupports him and claims his innocence, his resignation is on moral grounds according to theminister.•?ADVANI WINS GOLD

Pankaj Advani wins the first gold for India at the 16th Asiad 2010 taking place in Guangzhou,China. He won the Billiards singles event.•?VETTEL WINS CHAMPIONSHIPSebastian Vettel of Red Bull racing team, won the Formula One World Championship for 2010 ,by clinching the victory in the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He became F1’s youngestchampion at 23 years beating Lewis Hamilton’s record. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished 2nd inthe season , while the constructors title was taken By Red Bull, with a handsome margin as MarkWebber, the 2nd team driver finished 3rd.•?FACEBOOK MAILFacebook in order to compete with Google and Yahoo, has announced to launch its e-mailservice shortly.•?RUSSIA- BULGARIA AGREEMENTRussian PM Vladimir Putin and Bulgarian PM Boiko Borisov signed agreements on SouthStream Gas Transit Pipeline in Sofia, Bulgaria. (FYI, Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria.)•?NEW LITERACY PROGRAMME IN KERALAEducation and Cultural Affairs Minister M.A. Baby (Kerala) has launched a new informalliteracy programme which he claimed would gather momentum to become a mass movement inline with the highly successful ‘Literacy Movement' of the past.•?J&K NO LONGER ON UN LISTJammu and Kashmir has been removed from the United Nations list of unresolved disputes, in asetback to Pakistan which has been asking the world body to intervene on the issue. Theomission of Jammu and Kashmir from the list of disputes under the observation of the SecurityCouncil was noticed by Pakistan, whose envoy has filed a protest.•?LC JAIN NO MOREWell-known Gandhian L.C. Jain, 85, passes away.•?PRESIDENT OF MAURITIUS IN INDIAMauritius President Anerood Jugnauth is in India for a two-day-long visit to the State of Orissa.NOVEMBER THE 16TH, 2010•?CWG PROBEAfter registering two cases related to the Queen's Baton Relay held at London prior to theCommonwealth Games 2010, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two sackedsenior officials of the CWG Organising Committee (OC).The agency arrested the former JointDirector-General, T.S. Darbari, and the former Deputy Director-General of the OC, SanjayMohindroo. The first case was registered under Sections 120-B, 420, 468 and 471 of the IndianPenal Code and Section 13 (2) read with Section 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Actagainst Mr. Darbari and Dr. Mohindroo and a director of the OC, a London-based transport firm;its Director and others.•?REPORT SUBMITTEDThe U.R. Ananthamurthy Committee on State Policy on Higher Education has submitted itsfinal report to the Kerala State Higher Education Council.•?TRILATERAL MEETRussia, India and China hold their 10th trilateral ministerial meeting in Wuhan, China.•?CPI SEEKS ENDOSULFAN BANThe Communist Party of India State Council (Kerela) has asked the Centre to ban Endosulfan,which led to deadly diseases and death in several areas in Kasaragod. A resolution adopted by itsaid the ill effects of spraying the pesticide on cashew plantations were hounding an entirepopulation. It was included in the deadly pesticides list and banned in many countries. (Similarnews was reported in one of the compendiums earlier. Do you remember what it was about?)•?SIBAL PUT IN CHARGEA day after A. Raja resigned as Communications and Information Technology Minister over thealleged scam in the 2G spectrum allocation, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibalwas given the additional charge of the Ministry.•?AYODHYA VERDICT CHALLENGEDThe Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JuH) has challenged in the Supreme Court the Allahabad High Court'sverdict in the Babri Masjid title suits.•?SUPREME COURT SUGGESTS AN ARMED FORCES GRIEVANCES REDRESSAL COMMISSIONThe Supreme Court has directed the Centre to constitute the Armed Forces Grievances RedressalCommission to look into the grievances of serving or former members of the armed forces (theArmy, the Navy and the Air Force) or their widows or family members for pension or otherissues and make suitable recommendations expeditiously to the Central government in thisregard.•?MINISTER SOUGHT RS. 15 CRORE BRIBE TO START AIRLINE: TATATATA Group chairman, Ratan Tata, says that he did not enter airline business as he did not wantto bribe a minister with Rs. 15 Crores. (In 2001, when the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power,

the Tatas and Singapore Airlines withdrew as sole bidders their joint bid for Air India, citingpolitical opposition to the sale. Earlier in 1995 and subsequently in 2000, the consortium madeconcerted efforts to obtain a stake in Air India, but controversies that engulfed disinvestmentthrough a strategic sale in a public sector undertaking and the unions' agitation preventedmaterialization of the bids.)NOVEMBER THE 17TH, 2010LIBRARY FOR PRISONERSPart-time library opened at women's prison in TiruchiPRINCE IS ENGAGEDAfter eight years of an on-off relationship, Prince William and his girl friend KateMiddleton, who has no royal or aristocratic family links, are to marry.INDIAN ARTS ON UNESCO LISTThe UNESCO inscribes three Indian performing-art forms, the Mudiyettu, a ritual theatreof Kerala; the Chhau dance, a tradition from eastern India; and the Kalbelia folksongs and dances of Rajasthan in the Representative List of the Intangible CulturalHeritage of Humanity. This annual list, unlike the World Heritage list that focuses onmonuments and natural sites, spotlights performing art forms of outstanding value andare vulnerable due to lack of support.RITA SONI CEO OF NASSCOM FOUNDATIONNASSCOM Foundation (NF), the social development arm of NASSCOM, has announcedthe appointment of Rita Soni as its (CEO).NOVEMBER THE 18TH, 2010•?PM ASKED TO EXPLAINA day after the Supreme Court referred to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's alleged silence ona complaint that sought sanction for prosecution of the former Minister, A. Raja, the BharatiyaJanata Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) stepped up the pressure on him,demanding that he explain the entire 2G spectrum allocation issue. Both the parties TheOpposition has been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JAC) probe into the allegedcorruption in spectrum allocation, the Commonwealth Games and the Adarsh CooperativeHousing Society.•?YEDDY CHARGED WITH LAND SCAMThe Janata Dal (Secular) has released a fresh set of documents in support of its case anddemanded the Chief Minister Yeddyurappa's resignation. With this, the campaign by theOpposition, ahead of the crucial elections to Taluk and Zilla panchayats, seeking the resignationof Mr. Yeddyurappa has gained momentum. The Pradesh Congress Committee president G.Parameshwara has demanded Mr. Yeddyurappa's resignation over his alleged involvement in theland denotification and allotment scam. Mr. Yeddyurappa has defended the allotment of land tohis sons, saying he has abided by the rules. The Chief Minister has announced a judicial probeinto the allegations by a retired Supreme Court judge.•?CAG REPORTSThe report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India on the 2G spectrum allocationindicates that it was the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) that benefited the most from thearbitrary and unfair manner in which licences were given in 2008. The CAG has found that Mr.Ambani's companies were given undue advantage over other players in at least three ways:1. The fact that Swan Telecom (now Etisalat DB Telecom), one of the 2Gbeneficiaries, appeared to have been acting as a front company for ADAG'sReliance Telecom was ignored by the Department of Telecom;2. It got the spectrum before others in the queue;3. Reliance Communications was favoured in the spectrum allocation while gettingaccess to a dual technology licence for offering both CDMA and GSM services.•?SUPREME COURT SPEAKS FOR CHILDRENKidnapping for ransom and murder of children are heinous crimes against society and should befirmly dealt with, the Supreme Court has said. It upheld the life sentence awarded by the trialcourt, and confirmed by the Delhi High Court, to an accused for killing a nine-year-oldschoolboy in the capital as his parents could not meet the demand for a Rs. 20-lakh ransom•?TEHELKA AWARDEDWeekly magazine Tehelka has been selected for the IPI (International Press Institute) IndiaAward for Excellence in Journalism, 2010, for outstanding journalistic work. The award,comprising a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh, a trophy and a citation, will be presented here next month.The IPI is an active forum of editors, publishers and senior executives of newspapers, magazinesand news agencies committed to promotion of free exchange of accurate and balanced newsamong nations.•?KRISHNA TO VISIT SRILANKAExternal Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna is scheduled to make an official visit to Sri Lanka from

November 25 to 27 for bilateral talks. According to diplomatic sources, the focus of the would berehabilitation of the nearly three lakh Tamil civilians displaced during the war between the LTTEand Sri Lankan forces and the need to move beyond resettlement and towards a political solutionto the ethnic conflict.NOVEMBER THE 19TH, 2010TRAI RECOMMENDS 69 CANCELLATIONSTwo days after the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) report on 2G spectrumallocation highlighted the non-fulfilment of rollout obligations by new telecomoperators, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommendedcancellation of 69 licences of six operators, including five new ones, who were sitting onspectrum and failed to provide services in the circles allotted to them.ARE SIKHS A MINORITY IN PUNJAB?The Supreme Court has indicated that it would refer for adjudication by a Constitution Bench theissue whether Sikhs, who form a majority population in Punjab, can claim ‘minority' statusin that State. A Bench of Justices B. Sudershan Reddy and S.S. Nijjar gave this indicationduring the course of arguments on a batch of appeals from the State of Punjab and theShiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) against a judgment of the Punjab andHaryana High Court, which held that Sikhs were not “minorities” in Punjab and could notclaim minority rights. In May 2009, the court stayed the operation of the judgment.Ramakrishna Order President: Swami Atmasthanandaji; Secretary: Swami PrabhanandajiMore relief for Bhopal victimsThe Cabinet has approved an additional payment of Rs. 71.28 crore as ex gratia to 3,486more victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas leak disaster. This is in addition to the Rs. 669crore of compensation payments which have already been approved by the governmentin June.LG LAUNCHES OPTIMUS ONELG launches its latest smartphone ‘Optimus One'BHARTI AIRTEL LAUNCHES NEW BRAND IDENTITYBharti Airtel unveils its new brand identity and announces that its 3G services will belaunched by the end of next month.PASCAL LAMY COMING TO INDIAIn a bid to expedite the much delayed multilateral trade opening agreement, World TradeOrganization (WTO) chief Pascal Lamy is arriving here to hold consultations with theCentre.

CLAT GYAN‘S GK COMPENDIUM NOVEMBER THE 20TH, 2010 • For effective representation,Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvatiwould replace Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniamto appear for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inthe case filed by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamyin the Supreme Court over the 2G spectrum scam.

The Court willhear the petition filed by advocate Prashant Bhushanto examine the Comptroller and Auditor-General's report on the spectrum allocation.• India summoned the Iranian Ambassador to protest Tehran's observations on Kashmir even as it abstained from voting on a U.N. resolution(80 countries voted in favour of the resolution, 44 voted against it and 57 countries abstained.), which alleged human rights violations in Iran, for the first time.India issued a demarche (demarche means line of action) to Iran, the third since June, after Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mentioned Kashmir in his message to Haj pilgrims. On all the three occasions, Iran called on the global Muslim community(Ummah)to support the “struggle” in Kashmir and mentioned it with Gaza and Afghanistan (connecting it to the global oppression that Muslims face in these communities)• Chief Minister Yeddyurappa of Karnataka has ordered a judicial probe into the land de-notification issue and the land acquired by his son and daughter hasbeen surrendered. He has refused to resign.• Mahinda Rajapaksa sworn in as the presidentof Sri Lankafor second term. He was re-elected in the January presidential election with a huge margin over the opposition candidate and former Army Chief, Sarath Fonseka.• Concerned over “blatant vulgarity” on prime time television, the National Commission for Women (Chairperson: Girija Vyas) has demanded that the Prohibition of Indecent Representation of Women and Children Bill, 2008 —the amended Indecent Representation of Women(Prohibition) Act, 1986 —be passed immediately to ensure monitoring of the content on the electronic media. Amendment demanded: broaden the definition of “indecent representation” and expand the scope of the Act to include electronic and digital media, and make punishments stringent.• Indian Medical Association chief G. Samaram and secretary Dharam Prakash cannot practice for six months or until their names are once again added to the medical register. Reason: violation of code of ethics; they endorsed a food product in 2009, which was deemed to be a violation of code of ethics.

• Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has rejected the proposal to clear forests for Posco's(MNC from South Korea)Rs. 54,000-crore integrated steel plant in Orissafor it was violative of the Forest Rights Act (FRA).

The Meena Gupta Committee (It's a 4-member committee with Meena Gupta, ex Environment Secretary, as the head) has been set up to look into how compliant the Posco Integrated Steel Project is with the FRA and Forest Conservation Act. TheCommittee has also been asked to investigate the compliance of the state government and the project developers with the Environment Protection Act and the Coastal Zone Regulatory norms.Earlier, the committee was set up to investigate claims of infringement of the Forest Rights Act and the Forest Conservation Act in the acquisition of land by the Orissa government for the Korean steel giant.In an overlap of sorts, another committee of the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), set up with NAC member N C Saxena as head, to review the overall implementation of the Forest Rights Act in the country had made an interim report to the ministry recommending stoppage of all work at the project site pointing to violation of the FRA. Visit the GK Doses page, more links regarding the background of this imbroglio has been put up.• Outgoing Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been selected for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2010 for promoting strong ties among the developing countries, promoting inclusive growth and for his contribution to the cause of India-Brazil partnership.Dilma Rousseff is the new President-elect for Brazil.The recent winners of the prize include Sheikh Hasina (President, Bangladesh, for giving her country the 10 point program, 2009), Mohammed ElBaradei(2008, Egypt, for his work as the former president of IAEA)and Bill and Melinda Gates (2007, the foundation that funds research initiatives)• ‘Sabla' or the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Adolescent Girls' was launched by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram. It is a special scheme for the well-being and overall empowerment of adolescent girls• The fifth limited series production Tejas Light Combat Aircraftsuccessfullycompleted its first flight near Bangalore.(Further reading • V.K. Saraswat --Scientific Adviser to Defence Ministeralso Director Generalof Defence Research Defence Organization.• The Government is firmon not allowing a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum allocation but appealed to the Opposition to agree to an investigation by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is “almost a permanent JPC.”(Read about the difference between a JPC and a PAC in the GK Doses page “What are we losing to a stubborn opposition?”)• The Gujarat government gave an assurance to the High Court that itwould initiate steps to issue a notification within the next couple of days for the formation of a Special Investigation Team to investigate the encounter killing of Ishrat Jahan and three others on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in June, 2004.• FICCI Secretary-General Amit Mitra.• Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister-T.K.A. Nair.• As reported by The Hindu on 17thAugust that London-listed Anil Aggarwal-led mining group Vedanta Resources announced its decision to acquire a majority of up to 60 per cent stake in Cairn India for $9.6 billion, the Petroleum Ministry on 19thNov indicated that the $8.48-billion Cairn-Vedanta deal would only be considered for approval if Cairn Energy sought government consent for all the properties and not selective ones.Petroleum Minister: Murli Deora(http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/17/stories/2010081753641800.htm).• Commerce Secretary-Rahul Khullar.

NOVEMBER THE 21ST, 2010 • Mr. Yeddyurappa, told journalists his ‘mission' from now would be to annihilate the Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka. He would reveal the “true colours” of that party's leader Deve Gowda and his sons.[Quite an ambitious 'mission', don't you think?]

•Punishment imposed for two cases of the 2008 communal riots in Kandhamal district.14 persons get three-year rigorous imprisonment and imposed a penalty of Rs. 4,500 on each.6acquitted for lack of evidence.Seven persons sentenced to three-year RigorousImprisonment (RI) and fined each Rs.4,500 for burning down houses belonging to the minority community at Sindigaon in Baliguda, and for rioting.In another case of house burning at Budamaha in Raikia, it found all seven accused guilty of the crime. (Background: Goons belonging to the right-wing-extremeist-unreasonably nationalist Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad –associates belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh went on a rampage, killing Tribals who had converted to Christianity for social and economic benefits. This orgy of murder, rape and torture to a whole community was justified as it had followed the murder of a Swami belonging to the VHP who was evidently “fighting”conversions by Maoists in the same area. However, unlike Gujarat and other places, the victims here had some closure as they were allowed to go back to their homes and the suspects were soon rounded off, charged and now, convicted. BJP MLAs have also been involved in the whole imbroglio. The Biju Janata Dal under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik stormed back to power in the 2009 elections after breaking its ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Yes, this narration is biased, just like the riots were)

•In an attempt to defend the Govt. in the 2G Spectrum Scam, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari has claimed that the CAG has used the case of a “defaulter” company —S Tel —as a benchmark for computing the Rs.1.76-lakh crore loss, but the govt auditor's figure is based on the prices achieved by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) from the 3G spectrum auction.But the CAG has defended its claim by stating that its criterion for working out potential loss to the exchequer is based on three scenarios —on the basis of the 3G spectrum auction; on the basis of sale of equity by two new licensees [Unitech (brand Uninor) and Swan (now Etisalat DB)], and on the higher rates of spectrum S Tel offered to pay in 2007.•Head of PAC-Senior Opposition Leader, Murli Manohar Joshi.•The World Bank-funded Rs.745-crore Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP), covering 104 dams in the Tamil Nadu, will be launched in the next financial year (2011-2012).•India beat Pakistan in Hockey at the Asian Games.•India has embarked upon an ambitious project to indigenously design and develop a fifth generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) by 2017.•Swami Asimanand, who was arrested by the CBI in connection with the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast case, has been remanded to judicial custody till November 30.These proceedings came 3 years late until which time the police fed thewhole public a story of Muslim suspects belonging to Bangladesh and even arrested and detained innocent Muslim youth belonging to Hyderabad. These arrests come in the back drop of the rise of Saffron Terror –terror carried out by Hindu outfits.•Kerala's Forest Minister Benoy Viswom said the government would seek a country-wide ban on Endosulfan at a meeting convened by the Centre to discuss India's stand at the Geneva Convention (comprise four treaties and three additional protocols that set the standards in international law for humanitarian treatment of the victims of war. ) and Rotterdam Convention (this convention came into existence for prior informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade. (Further reading: http://www.pic.int/home.php?type=t&id=5&sid=16).•Head of the moderate faction of the HurriyatConference: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Hardline Faction: Syed Shah Ali Geelani•The Central government has notified a National Policy for Open Standards in e-governance. The policy, which lays down a framework for selection of technological standards, mandates that all government e-processes adopt a “single and royalty-free open standard” in each technological domain. This implies that the specifications of the standards —including associated patents and extensions —must be accessible and royalty-free, in perpetuity.ITS SIGNIFICANCE 1.It will promote standards that are inter-operable (say, among various government departments),2.Avoids any form of vendor lock-in3.Cost-effective.4.It can also fuel technological innovation by offering domestic and home-grown companies a level playing field.What is an example of something that was built on Open Standards?The Internet.•A high-level committee of top bureaucrats has shortlisted a panel of three names for selecting the next Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, they are:A. P. Singh, Special Director in the CBI,S. C. Sinha, Director of the National Investigation Agency,N. R. Das, postedas Director-General of the Central Industrial Security Force.The names will be sent by the Department of Personnel and Training to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. The appointment will be made well before month-end as the tenure of Ashwani Kumar as CBI chief ends on November 30.•Chief Vigilance Commissioner: P. J. Thomas.•Home Secretary: G. K. Pillai•Department of Personnel Secretary: Alka Sirohi.Additional Solicitor-General and Delhi High Court Bar Association president A. S. Chandhiok has been honoured with the ‘Sikh of the Year 2010' award for his “outstanding achievements in the legal field and working for betterment of society”.Last year it was MoS of External Affairs, Preneet Kaur who’d received the Award.NOVEMBER THE 22ND, 2010 • Under mounting pressure to quit over alleged land scams, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa claimed that he had the support of all party MLAs and that there was no successor to him. “The only successor is B.S. Yeddyurappa.”[Congratulations, India has successfully mastered human cloning]–STUD statement, if you ask us.• Ronjan Sodhi wins Gold in Shooting at the Asian Games.He is currentlyRank no. 3• The 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2010 is being held in Panaji. It was inaugurated by Railways Minister, Mamata Banerjee

Chief Guest at IFFI: Yash ChopraGuest of Honour at IFFI: Ajay Devg(a)nDirector of Film Festivals: S.M. Khan

• The CBI arrests the sacked treasurer of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, M. Jayachandran, forthe alleged bungling in the Queen's Baton Relay in London last year.• UNESCO has decided to dissociate itself from the World Philosophy Day events scheduled to be held in Iran. As the Secretariat was not fully consulted on all aspects, the Director-General, Irina Bokova, considers that the conditions necessary to guarantee the effective organisation of a U.N. international conference have not been met.

FACT: This Day has been celebrated by the UN body every year since 2002, on the third Thursday of November, both at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris and in other cities around the world. The General Conference of Unesco established the World Philosophy Day in 2005.• Union Secretary for Health and Family Welfare: Sujatha Rao.• NATO and Afghanistan have agreed tothe goal of a phased transfer of security responsibility to the Afghan government by the end of 2014, but acknowledged that allied forces would remain in Afghanistan at least in a support role well beyond that date. • Pope Benedict XVI changes his stance on condoms, steps back from Vatican's blanketban on contraceptives

NOVEMBER THE 23RD, 2010 • In a major embarrassment to the Union government, the Supreme Court asked Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati to take instructions on whether P.J. Thomas could continue in the sensitive post of Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) as a charge sheet is pending against him for his alleged involvement in the palmolein import case. (In this case, the accused, one of whom is PJ Thomas, caused the exchequer a loss of Rs.232 million, importing palmolein at exorbitant rates.) But the AGI maintained that there was no case pending against the CVC chief. • CBI says that the report on the 2G scam will be ready by March 2011.• Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh clinch the men's doubles gold medal in tennis in the Asian Games.• Polish Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa (NPP-1983. Further reading: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1983/walesa-bio.html) has offeredto accept this year's award on behalf of the jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.• The Gujarat government has issued a notification constituting a three-member Special Investigation Team for a fresh probe into the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case (http://theviewspaper.net/justice-probe-finds-ishrat-jahan-encounter-fake/). This is to be headed by Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police, Karnail Singh.• An eight-member Indian scientific team reached the South Pole and hoisted the tricolour.Head of the team, also the Director of the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research: Rasik Ravindran.• Chairperson of Vaishnavi Corporate Communications (VCC): Nira Radia.• The U.S. Senate passed a bill seeking $4.55 billion in compensation to the two minority communities, namely the African-American and American-Indian communities in the US.From the funds, $1.15 billion has been set aside for claimants from the African-American farming community. The money will specifically address the needs of “late petitioners” or farmers who missed the filing deadline in a long-standing class-action suit that was settled in 1999. The bill is still awaiting ratification by the House of Representatives and a Presidential signature.• President of UAE:Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

NOVEMBER THE 24TH, 2010 • Capital of S. Korea: Seoul• Capital of N. Korea: Pyongyang• Somdev Devvarman won his second gold medal of the Asian Games, demolishing top seed Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-1, 6-2 in the men's singles final.• PM of Cambodia (capital: Phnom Pehn): Hun Sen• G4 countries: India, Brazil, Japan and Germany[Primary Aim: Permanent seat at the UNSC, opposed by the coffee table –http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniting_for_Consensus]• Finance Secretary: Ashok Chawla.• The Government of India will release a postage stamp on film legend Ashok Kumar. This was announced at the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Panaji.• Palestiniansand Iran have slammed Israel's new law which will make it harder for Tel Aviv to withdraw from the annexed territories of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The Israeli Parliament passed a law under which withdrawal from East Jerusalem or Golan Heights would be possible only on the basis of a two-thirds approval from Parliament. In case a super-majority in Parliament fails to approve the withdrawal, a referendum will be held on the proposal.• Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, freed by the junta from house arrest reunites with her son, Kim Aris, after he was granted visa by the Junta.• Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ; President: Dmitry Medvedev• In a move that could make it difficult for corporate entities to set up stock exchanges, a SEBI committee has recommended that only banks and public financial institutions could be anchor investors in bourses (means a stock exchange) and stopping them from listing or making huge profits.

• India's oldest stock exchange: Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), India has a total number of 23 small and big Stock Exchanges.

NOVEMBER THE 25TH, 2010 • The ruling Janata Dal (United)-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance smashed through the barriers of region,caste and gender to post the biggest-ever victory in an Assembly election in Bihar.The Opposition stood demolished; leader of the Opposition Rabri Devi lost both Raghopur and Sonepur seats.The JD(U) won 115 of the 141 seats it contested, while the BJP made a near clean sweep, bagging 91 of the 102 seats it contested.This is being touted as a “victory for development”–as they always say “let’s wait and watch”.• Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Konijeti Rosaiah stepped down after14-and-a-half months in office citing “advanced age and work pressure” and Speaker of the Assembly Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddywas chosen by the AICC leadership to succeed him. He will bethe 16thCM of AP to be sworn in.• The EconomicOffences Wing (EOW) of the Central Bureau of Investigation has unearthed a multimillion-rupee bribery scam and arrested top officials of public sector banks and financial institutions, including the Chief Executive Officer of the Life Insurance Corporation Housing Finance Limited, Ramchandran Nair.• Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who was been in the news for allegedly allotting plots to his kin, has been asked by the Bharatiya Janata Party's central leadership to continue in office.• In the monsoon session, Parliament had passed the Representation of People (Amendment) Bill, 2010, to allow NRIs to vote in Indian elections. The Centre has issued a notification to this effect to allow them to exercise their franchise.However, they would still have to be present in their constituency on election day.• .The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an established by Aga Khan IVin 1977. It aims to identify and reward architecturalconcepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Islamic societiesin the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community developmentand improvement, restoration, reuseand area conservation, as well as landscape designand improvement of the environment.It is presented in three-year cycles to multiple projects and has a monetary award, with prizes totalling up to USD500,000.Uniquely among architectural awards, it recognizes projects, teams, and stakeholders in addition to buildings and people.• A 24-member delegation comprising climate campaigners, development practitioners, social activists, former judges and State Ministers left for Cancun, Mexico, to take part in the 16thU.N. Climate Summit. It is being led by Jaipur-based Centre for Community Economics and Development Consultants' Society.• European Union Commissioner for Climate Change: Connie HedegaardNOVEMBER THE 26TH,2010• India ushered in Mobile Number Portability that will allow cell phone users to switch operators without changing numbers. Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal launched the service in Haryana.• What is Areva? A french nuclear companythat will be setting up shop in India after theCivil Nuclearagreement between France and India.Company's CEO: Anne Lauvergeon• Dy CM of Bihar: Sushil Kumar Modi(BJP); Governor: Debanand Konwar• The Strategic Forces Command of the Army fired Agni-1, the surface-to-surface missile, from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) on Wheeler Island, off Damra village on the Orissa coast. Agni-1, which can carry nuclear warheads, is a product of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), a DRDO facility at Hyderabad, developed it. The Strategic Forces Command is in charge of the nuclear delivery systems.

ASL Director (also the ProgrammeDirector for the Agni series of missiles): Avinash Chander• National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman: K.G. Balakrishnan• Huang Hua, a veteran Chinese statesman and former Vice-Premier who played a key role in helping normalise relations between China and India in the 1980s, passes away .• Iraqi Prime Minister: Nouri al-Maliki; President: Jalal Talabani• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's composition:six full members —Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.Four observer-states —India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan.• LIC Chairman: T. S. Vijayan

NOVEMBER THE 27TH, 2010 • With the aim of giving a fillip to development schemes in tribal and backward regions, mostly affected by Naxal violence, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved thecommencement of an Integrated Action Plan (IAP) in 60 selected districts. It is aimed at quick resolution of problems concerning healthcare, drinking water, education and roads.• Vijender Singh's 7-0 win over Uzbekistan's Abbos Atoev for the men's 75-kg boxing title earned a Gold for India at the Asian Games• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is preparing to launch Agni-II + before December 10. The launch will take place from the Wheeler Island, off the

Orissa coast, and preparationsfor it will begin in a few days.

The Agni-II + is a surface-to-surface missile that can carry nuclear warheads. It can strike targets 2,500 km to 3,000 km away. It is an intermediary between Agni-II and Agni-III. While Agni-II has a range of 2,500 km, Agni-III can home in on targets 3,500 km way. Agni-II + will add teeth to the country's nuclear deterrence.• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has formed an experts group chaired by the chief of Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, C. Rangarajan, to examinethe recommendations of the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council on the proposed food security Bill.• BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited (BATL) caters to the product requirements of the country's defence, aerospace and nuclear industries.• Nehchal Sandhu, Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau, has been named its new Director. He will succeed Rajiv Mathur, who retires on December 31.Tenure: 2 years• Booker winner V.S. Naipaul has been forced to pull out of a major literary conference in Turkey after protests over his views on Islam.• President Pratibha Patil's visit to Syria is the first ever visit by an Indian President to this country. President of Syria –Bashar al Assad.

CLAT GYAN‘S GK COMPENDIUM NOVEMBER THE 28TH, 2010 • The Geelani-Roy sedition saga continued, with a Delhi court ordering a First Information Report to be filed against Syed Shah Geelani, a hardline advocate for Kashmir‘s independence and Arundhati Roy for saying that Kashmir was never a part of the Indian Union. [Refer to GK Doses page and previous compendiums for background] • Jaffna, an important town in the Tamil region of Sri Lanka now has its own Indian consulate. • Karnataka‘s Lokayukta Justice Hegde, who has been at loggerheads with CM Yeddyurappa‘s government, is now looking at another roadblock erected by the latter. (Not important, just remember the name) • 16th Asian Games were held in Guangzhou, China. • Assam Chief Minister: Tarun Gogoi. • Key-accused in the Sohrabuddin false encounter case, Amit Shah, a BJP leader and former member of the Narendra Modi government denied that it was a false encounter, despite the government accepting it on the contrary. (Compulsory Reading: http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/28/stories/2010112862651200.htm) • Contending that the use of the expression ?keep? in a recent judgment to describe a woman was highly derogatory and a discrimination against women on grounds of marital status, Mahila Dakshta Samiti, a women's organisation, has moved the Supreme Court for its recall. On October 21, a Bench of Justice Markandey Katju and Justice Gyan Sudha Misra in a judgment had said, ?Not all live-in relationships will amount to a relationship in the nature of marriage to get the benefit of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005. If a man has a =keep', whom he maintains financially and uses mainly for sexual purpose and/or as a servant, it would not, in our opinion, be a relationship in the nature of marriage. Merely spending weekends together or a one-night stand would not make it a domestic relationship.? • The Gujarat High Court has disposed of a petition, with costs of Rs. 1 lakh, filed by an organisation that sought a new law for protection of ?harassed husbands? against atrocities by wives and an amendment to the existing law. A Division Bench of Chief Justice S.J. Mukhopadhyaya and Justice K.M. Thaker fined the Akhil Bhartiya Patni Atyachar Virodhi Sangh (the All India Wives Cruelty Opposition Union) for filing a frivolous petition. (Refer: Section 498A of the IPC and the provisions in Domestic Violence Act, 2005, www.498a.org ) • Bushehr is one of the more prominent Nuclear Reactors of Iran, it is set to join the National Grid (of electricity) in two months. • Compulsory Reading: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2010/12/12/stories/2010121250130300.htm • The Gujarat High Court on Friday rejected the bail application of the former Banaskantha Superintendent of Police, Vipul Agrawal, arrested in the case of alleged fake encounter death of Tulsiram Prajapati, a close associate of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, who was also murdered. • The fourth unit of the Kaiga Generating Station (KGS) — the country's 20th nuclear power reactor — achieved criticality on Saturday. With this unit becoming operational, India now ranks sixth in terms of production of nuclear energy, behind the United States, France, Japan, Russia and South Korea. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) Chairman – S. K. Jain. Kaiga is located in Karnataka. (Read: http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/28/stories/2010112862781300.htm)

NOVEMBER THE 29TH, 2010 • Union Minister of State for Environmental Affairs (Independent Charge) Jairam Ramesh. The Jaitapur Nuclear Project, which will be furthered in collaboration with French nuclear company Areva will be the world‘s largest and is currently the country‘s largest engineering project. Jaitapur is in Maharashtra and has recently seen protests against the project by locals. • United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change conference starts in Cancun, Mexico. • Renowned Sufi singer Abida Parveen underwent emergency heart surgery on Sunday in this eastern Pakistani city.

• Sanjeev Tripathi likely to be next RAW chief. Current Chief: K. C. Verma • Criminal lawyer and special government counsel in the 26/11 attack case, Ujjwal Nikam, will represent India at a global convention on terrorism to be held at the United Nations in New York. He successfully prosecuted Ajmal Amir Kasab – the lone terrorist caught during the gory incidents of 26th November, 2008. • The Ministry for Environment and Forests issued notices to Lavasa, an urban project that claims to be the first planned city in India, for environment norms violations.

NOVEMBER THE 30TH, 2010 • The special court judge, B. U. Joshi, hearing the Gulberg Society massacre case of the 2002 Gujarat riots, has sought the views of the civil society, the voluntary organisations and the media on various aspects to ?arrive at the truth.? (Gulberg society massacre occurred during the pogrom that occurred in Gujarat in the year of 2002. Sixty-nine persons, including the former Congress member of the Lok Sabha, Ehsan Jaffri, were killed in the Gulberg Society massacre. The massacre was conducted on the behest of Hindu nationalistic goons belonging to the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal.) • Son of the late Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy, Jaganmohan Reddy quit the Indian National Congress Party, and also the Kadapa parliamentary constituency seat of which he was the representative. • Following a court order, the Delhi Police on Monday registered a case of sedition against writer Arundhati Roy, hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and revolutionary poet Varavara Rao. • Twin blasts in Iran's capital killed top nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari and wounded another • The Competition Commission of India took over the responsibility from the out dated MRTP Commission. Its primary mandate is to keep in check unfair business practices and monopolistic manipulation. Chairman: Dharendra Kumar • RPG Group company CEAT on Monday acquired the =CEAT' brand from Pirelli & C. SpA for euro 9 million • India won seven medals (two gold, three silver and two bronze) in the 16th Asian Games held in Guangzhou. It is its second best performance after the 1986 Seoul games held in, well, Seoul. • Minister of State for Communications, Sachin Pilot.

DECEMBER THE 1ST, 2010 • The Supreme Court on issued notice to Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and Speaker K.G. Bopaiah on special leave petitions filed by seven of the 11 disqualified Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs challenging the Karnataka High Court order upholding the Speaker's decision. The BJP MLAs were disqualified after they had made a representation to the Governor HR Bharadwaj seeking to derecognize the Yeddy-lead government. • The long-awaited Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan- India (TAPI) gas pipeline project is heading for a breakthrough during a proposed four nation summit at Ashgabat in Turkmenistan next month. • Goa CM: Digambar Kamat. Short films on environmental issues =Niyamgiri You Are Still Alive,' directed by Suma Josson, and =Kaippad,' directed by Babu Kambrath, were declared joint winners of ‘The Vasudha Award,' the country's only government award for an environmental film. The award instituted by the Short Film Centre (SFC) at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) carried a cash prize of Rs. 3 lakh. • All-Party Hurriyat Conference leader, moderate Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was attacked my BJP goons. The Hurriyat Conference‘s main aim is to achieve Kashmir‘s independence through peaceful means. • The Light Combat Aircraft, =Tejas,' on Tuesday conducted its last phase of flight trials by successfully test firing air-to-air close combat missile at Goa. • Politician and MDMK leader Vaiko, has written ?Yes; We Can? which talks about the history of emancipation of blacks in the United States. Vaiko is otherwise known for his support for the LTTE and separate Tamil Eelam. • Amar Pratap Singh, senior-most Special Director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Tuesday took over as the new Director of the CBI. He succeeds Ashwani Kumar • The Army has decided to grant permanent commission to 12 women officers in the Education and Judge Advocate-General branches. Women in the Army have so far been denied permanent service.

DECEMBER THE 2ND, 2010 • Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro, and the Azim Premji Foundation, announced on Wednesday that he would soon transfer 213 million equity shares of the company, valued currently at about Rs.8,846 crore, which are held by entities ?controlled? by him to ?an irrevocable trust.? The trust will use the money for non-profit ventures alone • Union Finance Minister: Pranab Mukherjee. International Monetary Fund Head: Dominique Strass Kahn • From January 1, 2011, mobile subscribers will get relief from unsolicited telemarketing calls and SMS as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday recommended stiff fines and blacklisting of firms that fail to comply with the new guidelines. TRAI Chief: J. S. Sarma • India brings the ICA proposal at Cancun. ICA stands for International Consultation and Analysis. The proposal essentially emphasises that the developed economies fund the developing and least-developing countries in carbon-free and environmentally friendly technologies.

• India denied visas to ex-dictator of Pakistan, Gen. Pervez Musharraf; he was to attend a seminar. The denial came in the light of his recent anti-India statements. • PJ Thomas, Chief Vigilance Commissioner recused himself from the 2G spectrum scam as he was involved in the palmolein oil scam. • Pakistani Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani; Inter-Services-Intelligence (ISI) chief: Shuja Pasha • A high level committee headed by former Reserve Bank Governor Bimal Jalan, which looked into governance and ownership issues relating to market infrastructure institutions • Football World Cup 2018 will be held in Russia and Football World Cup 2022 will be held in Qatar.

DECEMBER THE 3RD, 2010 • President of France: Nicolas Sarkozy; First Lady (wife of the State‘s Head): Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. The couple was on a visit to the country. • World Meteorological Organization says that 2010 is top-3 of the hottest years of the world. WMO chief: Alexander Bedritsky DECEMBER THE 4TH, 2010 • Indian Bank Association and SBI Chairman: O. P. Mathur; Reserve Bank of India (Is the apex bank, regulates banking of the country, decides various banking norms, is the banker of all banks, meaning all banks have to have a certain amount parked with the RBI, it is also the banker of the government, it has the sole right to issue currency) chief Duvvuri Subbarao. • A meeting among the representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Manipur government and the United Naga Council (UNC), a Naga tribal body, was held. • Arrested chairman of the outlawed United National Liberation Front (UNLF): Rajkumar Meghen.

CLAT GYAN?S GK COMPENDIUM DECEMBER THE 5TH, 2010 • French President Nicolas Sarkozy voiced his support for a permanent seat for India in the United Nations Security Council on his four day visit to India. He said that it would help India to fulfil its role in the G20. He feels that it is high time countries like Brazil, Japan, Germany and countries from the Middle- East got representation in the UNSC. • A charge sheet was filed against Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig and six others accused by the Maharashtra ATS (Anti Terrorism Squad) in connection with the German Bakery Blast which occurred in Pune on the 13th of February, 2010. The blast had killed 17 people and injured more than 60 people. Baig was arrested on 7th September and is in judicial custody but the other six are still absconding. The accused include ??Mohsin Choudhary ??Yasin Bhatkal ??Riyaz Bhatkal ??Iqbal Bhatkal ??Faiyaz Kagzi ??Zabiuddin Ansari

Baig is believed to be Lashkar-e-Tayabba?s(LeT?s) Maharashtra unit?s chief. He has been charged under Section 302 (murder), and 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 325 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 324(Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 427, 466, 468, 472, 474, 153(A) (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.), 109 (Punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment.), 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 120(B) (punishment for criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, which pertain to murder, attempt to murder, assault, using equipment to make forged document, trespassing, waging war against India, and Criminal conspiracy. He is also charged under certain sections of the Explosive Substance Act and certain sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which pertain to penalty for being a member of an unlawful organisation, for conspiracy and punishment for undertaking a terrorist act. Under Section 44 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act the name of the witness is being kept secret. • Eight IAS officers have been asked to assess the damage caused by the rains in Tamil Nadu with the death toll mounting to 142. They will assess the solatium to be given to the people affected and assess the crops lost along with arranging for distribution of food. ( Solatium means compensation) • The centre agreed to the demands of the truckers and reduced the toll tax by 30% for commercial vehicles and this ended their strike. The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) had earlier decided to go on a strike form the 5th of December to protest against the high toll taxes. • The 3G services which are already provided by BSNL, may take a little while to be rolled out by private operators. China has had problems while creating the required infrastructure for 3G. Korea has rolled out the facility quite well but the usage is not very high. (3G services or the 3rd Generation Technology succeeds the earlier 1G and 2G cellular technologies. 1G Technology began in the 1980’s and made use of Frequency Division Multiplexing Access (FDMA). 2G technology started in the 1990’s and makes use of Code Division Multiple

Access (CDMA) or the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA). 3G technology offers telephone services, mobile internet, mobile TV and video calling) • BlackBerry mobile devices are made by the Canadian firm, Research in Motion (RIM). RIM said that the Indian government will soon get lawful access to BlackBerry Messenger Services. Sachin Pilot, (Minister of State for Communication) said that as of now security agencies are unable to intercept communication made through this messenger service. • INS Rajput, an Indian warship apprehended 19 foreigners while patrolling the Arabian Sea near Bitra Island in the Lakshwadeep chain. There is also an Exclusive Economic Zone near the island. • Japan said that it does not want to commit to a second phase of the Kyoto Protocol at the Cancun Climate Change. The Kyoto Protocol was created in 1997. The Protocol can be enforced only when the countries which together accounted for 55% of the world?s greenhouse gas emissions in 1990 ratify it. This is why it was enforced only in 2005 when Russia finally ratified it. If Japan pulls out, the Kyoto Protocol would in all probability cease to be effective.

India?s central strategy while dealing with climate change includes 1. Using climate change as a tool of diplomacy 2. Protecting India?s economic interests 3. Consolidating its position in world forums • India?s Nicole Faria was crowned Miss Earth Talent in a competition held in Hi Chi Minh city in Vietnam. The event helped raise 100 million dong. Dong is the currency of Vietnam. 400 Vietnamese Dongs = 1 Indian National Rupee. • The Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) has taken up the repair of the Charminar after an ornamental stucco work fell in August. Lime and mortar were used in the original constructon of the monument 410 years ago and the same will be used for repairing it. • Honda, the Japanese auto giant has come to an agreement to dissolve its 26 year venture with the Hero group. It is selling its entire stake in Hero, India?s largest two-wheeler maker. The pact which is existent will expire in 2015. Hero Honda has three plants in India at Haridwar ( Uttarakhand) , and at Gurgaon and Dharuhera( Haryana). • Asma Jahangir, Pakistan?s human rights activist has won the Bilbao Prize for the promotion of a culture of human rights. Asma is one of the founder members of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission and is the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association. The Bilbao Prize is an award given by the United Nations and is given on the 10th of December ( World Human Rights day) in Bilbao, Spain. • Spain?s military took control of the nation?s airspace after the air-traffic controllers staged a massive protest which left more than 3,00,000 passengers stranded. • As part of the Asian Peoples Solidarity for Palestine, Indian Satyagrahis are on a peace mission to take humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Ghaza Strip. It is the first such mission from India. • The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has declared the area within 5 km of the Sultanpur National Park in Haryana as an eco-sensitive zone. The Park is known for aquatic avifauna. • Suresh Sathya, a sprinter who represented India in the Guangzhou Asian Games tested positive for the steroid nandrolone in a test conducted by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). He was a player of the sprint-relay team which won a bronze medal and set a record of 38.89 seconds in the final. • The 34th National games will be held in Jharkhand from February 12th to 26th. The National Games Organizing Committee (NGOC) is in charge of these games which were initially slated to be held in 2007.

DECEMBER THE 6TH, 2010 • Domestic airlines lowered the fare by 20 – 25% after the Director General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) and the Civil Aviation Ministry pressurized them to reduce the exorbitant rates which had risen boundlessly even though it was the non-peak season. He directed the airlines to put up all rates on their websites so that the passengers do not feel cheated.

DGCA- EK Bharat Bhushan • The Indian Statistical Institute (Kolkatta) and the London School of Economics have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for co-operation in research. • India?s freshwater biodiversity is being assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) after 13 years. IUCN?s Red List is a comprehensive list of the conservation status of plant and animal species worldwide. It includes nine categories

a)extinct n the wild b) critically endangered c) endangered d) vulnerable e) near threatened f) least concern

g) data deficient h) not evaluated i) extinct • The Supreme Court has said that arresting a person should always be the last option since there is great humiliation attached to it. . Arrest violates a person?s fundamental right to liberty and should be used only when it is absolutely imperative. • The plan for setting up a Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership near Bahadurgarh ( Haryana) has been finalized. USA, France, Russia and a few other countries are providing their assistance for this. The name of the village is Kheri Jassaur village. The centre will become a place for the exchange of knowledge and ideas related to nuclear energy and will bring India on the global map in terms of nuclear technology. • According to the latest documents released by WikiLeaks, United States? officials believed that China?s Communist Party Officials planned the hacking attacks on Google last year and told Chinese telecom companies to stop dealing with Google. The US Government has not publically blamed the Chinese Government but told them to investigate into the hacking incidents. The Chinese government denied its role in any such incident. The Google version (Google.cn) which works in China started in 2006 and complied with the restrictions posed by the Chinese Government. Google pulled out of China after its relations became very strained with the Chinese Government after it was accused of providing pornographic links. • According to a secret cable released by WikiLeaks, Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were planning an attack on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi assumedly involving a car. • Secretary of Defence Research and Development, V. K. Saraswat (also scientific advisor to the Defence Minister) said that the websites of defence establishments are completely safe. He said that there is a possibility of hardware being bugged (like the switches for example). An operating system called the Indian Operating System is being designed which will be used exclusively for security applications. Recently, the “Pakistani Cyber Army” claimed responsibility for hacking the Central Bureau of Investigation?s website. The CBI registered a case against this group under various sections of the Information Technology act • An alternative Global Forum for Life, Environmental and Social Justice started in Cancun, Mexico on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Summit (which is being held in Arctic temperatures in the Moon Palace). Lead by the International Peasant Movement (Via Campesina), the forum aims to reject all false and market based solutions to climate change. It is meant to be a direct antagonist of the United Nation?s Summit. • After the Preseidential election in Ivory Coast on Novemebr 28th, both Laurent Gbagbo and his opponent Alassane Ouattara have taken Presidential oaths. This has triggered unrest in the nation. (Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. The capital is Yamoussoukro. Ivory Coast got independence from France in 1960) • Permanent Account Number (PAN) details will have to be furnished form next year by all mutual fund investors, regardless of the amount they are investing in. • Viktor Troicki won Serbia its first ever Davis Cup win. Serbia defeated France 3-2 in the finals. (The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The women's equivalent of the Davis Cup is the Fed Cup. ) • Sweden?s Rikard Karlberg won the Hero Honda Indian Open. (golf)

DECEMBER THE 7TH, 2010 • The Supreme Court is looking into the validity of the appointment of P.J. Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner. A notice was issued to him and to the Centre by the Supreme Court. The final hearing will be on 27th January, 2011. A charge sheet is pending against him in the Kerala palmolein import case. • The Supreme Court acquitted Kaza Nizamuddin, Hyder Ali and Abubucker Siddique. They had been earlier given life imprisonment by a TADA court in Chennai for being involved in the blast on 6th August, 1993 at the RSS office in Chennai. • The Parliament was adjourned for the 17th consecutive day on the 6th of December. Eleven parties (excluding the Bhartiya Janata Party and the Congress party) continued to raise their demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the 2G scam. Mr. Sitaram Yechury, the leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said that this scam was beyond the ambit of a Public Accounts Committee and a JPC is the only solution. • India and France signed a €7-billion agreement for the construction of two European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs -each 1650 MW?s) in Jaitapur, Maharashtra. The agreement between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) and the French nuclear vendor, Areva also includes the supply of uranium fuel to India for the next 25 years. Areva is concerned about the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Bill 2010 and wants a little more clarity on the issue. The first nuclear plant in Jaitapur is expected to come up in 2018. There is a while for the agreement to become operational. The reactor vessel needed for the EPR is manufactured by Japan Steel Works but India has no nuclear-cooperation agreement with Japan. This may be an impediment in the construction.

In all, India and France signed seven agreements, five of which pertain to nuclear energy. There is a deal to double the bilateral trade to an amount of €12 billion.

Areva Global CEO - Anne Lauvergeon • Scientists from the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Delhi have discovered the way tuberculosis bacteria can remain dormant in a person for a number of years and manifest themselves when the immune system of the person weakens. • T.E. Srinivasan, a famous cricketer, passed away. He had scored a century and helped the South Zone win the Duleep Trophy against the North Zone. His team(South) had won the Deodhar Trophy after which he entered test cricket. He played in the national team for the Australia and England tours. He was awarded one of the Five Cricketers of the Year Award in 1978.

DECEMBER THE 8TH, 2010 • The Indian Ambassador to Norway is going to attend the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony for Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. He had authored a manifesto called the Charter 08, which asked for an end to one-party rule and greater political freedom. He was imprisoned for this by the Chinese Government for eleven years starting last December. He is being given the prize for his non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China. China, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Venezuela, the Philippines, Egypt, Sudan, Ukraine, Cuba and Morocco had declined invitations to the ceremony. • The Al Jazeera English channel has finally come to India with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting giving a green signal. Initially, the Home Ministry had not given it a license because of „security reasons?. • The Supreme Court admitted that it made a mistake in upholding the death sentence which had been awarded to Ram Deo Chauhan (for murdering his family) by the trial court and had been confirmed by the Gauhati High Court. It was later upheld by the Supreme Court too. A review petition was also rejected by the Supreme Court but the death sentence was later commuted by the Governor on the basis of an article regarding the doubt whether the accused was a major at the time of the offence. This article was written by a member of NHRC. According to a writ petition, the NHRC should have had no say in the matter. The Governor?s commutation was set aside. The Bench finally restored the Governor?s order and commuted the death sentence. • A terror attack in Varanasi killed one person and injured more than 20 people. The banned terror organization Indian Mujahideen sent mails claiming responsibility for the attacks. The mails were located to the suburbs of Mumbai. • The Supreme Court has banned the sale of „gutka?, tobacco and pan masala in plastic sachets from March 1st. • A Select Committe of the Rajya Sabha has suggested a few amendments to the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010. The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill on the 6th of May without a debate. The Rajya Sabha had blocked the Bill after which it was referred to a 13 member committee.

The suggestions include 1. The definition of torture has to be enlarged to include physical harm, mental agony, sexual assault, threat of rape, offences on the body listed under the IPC. 2. The complaint can be filed within 2 years. 3. The onus to prove the intention of torture is not on the victim. 4. The accused must prove his/her innocence. 5. The definition of public servants has been enlarged to include officials of the Central and State Government companies as well as educational institutions. 6. Guidelines for compensating the victim ( or the family have been suggested) 7. If a person dies in custody because of torture, the punishment will be death or life sentence with a minimum punishment of three years.

Once the law is passed, it will enable India to ratify the UN Convention against Torture which was adopted 13 years ago. • The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) „s chairman Yogesh Agarwal said that the National Pension Sytem (NPS) will now be accessible online. • The Supreme Court has said that all resolutions passed by Bar Associations which advise lawyers not to accept cases from terrorists are null and void. • Arabinda Rajhakhowa, the chairman of the United Liberation Front of Assom ( ULFA) moved a bail petition in the TADA court. Earlier five top leaders of the organization had been released on bail. • The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) under the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Act, 2000. • The French Prezident Nicholas Sarkozy honoured two Indians, M. Devendra Bharma, executive vice-president of Hotel Oberoi-Trident and M. Karambir Kang, former director-general of Hotel Taj Mahal for their exemplary bravery and efficiency during the 26/11 attack which helped save a number of lives. They were given the „d'Officier de l'Ordre national du Merite' award. • Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, was arrested by the British Police after an arrest warrant was issued by the Swedish Authorities for a number of sexual offences. He was denied bail.

DECEMBER THE 9TH, 2010 • THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searched the Delhi and Chennai residences of A Raja, the former Communications and Information Technology Minister. This comes more than a year after a case was registered regarding the 2G spectrum scam. There had been a number of discrepancies in the allotment of the 2G spectrum to private players. These licenses are called Unified Access Service licenses. According to the CBI, the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) were not followed and the licenses were given on a first-cum-first serve basis in 2001 without any competitive bidding. A case had been registered by the CBI in October 2009 against certain Department of Telecommunications? (DoT?s) officials under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and Section 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Comptroller and Auditor General?s (CAG?s) report estimates a loss of Rs. 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer. A Raja resigned after this report was published last month. The Opposition is demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the matter. • Prasar Bharati's Chief Executive Officer(CEO) B.S. Lalli was indicted by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for allegedly misusing parliamentary privileges, mismanaging finances and showing undue favour to certain broadcasting companies. According to the Prasar Bharati Act, the CEO can be removed after a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court, followed by an enquiry. The CEO of Prasar Bharati is appointed by a panel which includes the Prime Minister, the Rajya Sabha Chairman and the Leader of the Opposition of the Lok Sabha. • The first period of commitment to the Kyoto Protocol expires in December 2012 and there is a lot of contention over the second period of commitment. Japan had earlier refused to commit to the second period whereas the European Union with its 27 member states has voiced its favour for a second commitment period. The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and some African countries are insisting on a binding agreement for a second period of commitment. The Least Developed Countries? group of 49 members said that there should be no gap between the first and the second period.

Chairperson of AOSIS - Tillman J. Thomas (also the Prime Minister of Granada). AOSIS has 43 members Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) - Christiana Figueres • The 11th India – EU (European Union) summit is being held in Brussels with a number of Indian officials attending along with the Prime Minister. An agreement for the movement of professionals from India to the EU states is expected to be signed. A Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) is expected to be signed between India and the EU (its largest trading partner) next year. The financial worries for Spain and Portugal have slowed down the pace of things regarding signing of the agreement. • P.J Thomas, the Central Vigilance Commissioner had been accused of causing the exchequer a loss of Rs.232 million by importing palmolein at exorbitant rates.

DECEMBER THE 10TH, 2010 • Tata Nano will now come with a four year or 60/000 km warranty ( whichever is earlier). It is also being extended to existing owners of the car. • The Indian Navy decommissioned INS Vagli, one of the oldest units. INS Vagli is a submarine of the class Foxtrot. It had completed 36 years of service. • The President assented to the probe against Prasar Bharati CEO B S Lalli who will now face a Supreme Court inquiry into charges of financial irregularities against him • Khardungla is the world?s highest motorable road. • Two blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) were spotted off the coast near Mangalore. These are the worlds largest mammals. • Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg has joined the league of warren Buffet and Bill Gates by giving a way a major sum for charitable purposes. • Turanor Planet Solar is the world?s largest solar power boat. • Justice Soumitra Sen filed his reply to the Rajya Sabha Chairman on the findings of the Inquiry Committee which had recommended his impeachment. He had been accussed of misappropriation of large sums of money. • An Indian scientist and his team at MIT have discovered the first carbon-rich exoplanet, WASP- 12b. An exoplanet ( or an extra solar planet) is a planet outside the solar system.

DECEMBER THE 11TH, 2010 • Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in absentia. It is the first time that a resident Chinese citizen has got a Nobel Prize. However, the telecast was blacked out throughout out the country. The Chinese Government considers him to be a „criminal? after he released his Charter-08 (a document which supports democracy) and had hence highly criticized the decision of the Nobel Committee.

The chairman of the Nobel committee, Thorbjoern Jagland placed the award on a chair. In 1936, Carl von Ossietzky, a German, was stopped by Nazi authorities from travelling to Oslo and the prize was given in the same way. The prize has been received by family members for these awardees

1. Andrei Sakharov in 1975 2. Lech Walesa in 1983 3. Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991 • Agni-II Prime?s launch failed as it deviated from its trajectory and plunged into the Bay of Bengal. It was launched from the Wheeler Island which is located near Orissa?s coastline. Agni-II Prime is a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 2500km. It is capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Agni- II Prime is a middle version of Agni-II ( range = 2000 km) and Agni-III ( range = 3000 km) • The Calcutta High Court directed Air India to re-employ forty-four-year-old Nipa Dhar, a airhostess who had been fired because of being overweight. This happened nine years ago. She had filed a writ petition but that had been dismissed. • For the first time in 27 years, he Himachal Pradesh Government has given a license to kill wild animals like monkeys, boars, neelgai, porcupines and hares. The Central Government had earlier refused to allow the export of monkeys for medical study. • India won the ODI series against New Zealand with a victory of 5-0. Gautam Gambhir was declared the Player of the Series. • The Olympic Council of Asia has announced that cricket and kabbadi will be retained for the 17th Asiad in Incheon. • Jalan Committee Report deals with the Indian capital Market. • China has raised its Central Bank?s reserve ratio yet again. This ratio is the money which moneylenders must keep on reserve. By increasing the ratio, the excess cash flow will be curbed and inflation can be bridled to a certain extent. • US lawmakers have introduced an anti- WikiLeaks legislation in the Congress • Liu Xiaobo has dedicated the Nobel Peace Prize to those who died in the Tiananmen Square Protest. • Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), SY Quraishi.

As of now, a person who is convicted of a crime for which the minimum punishment is two years is disqualified from the date of his conviction to six years after his release. ( Section 8 of the Representation of People Act, 1951) The suggestions put forward by the CEC say that even if a person is accused of a crime ( note, not convicted but accused) for which the minimum imprisonment is five years he would face disqualification. • The next climate change conference will be held in Durban, South Africa in December, 2011.

CLAT GYAN‘S GK COMPENDIUM DECEMBER THE 13TH, 2010 • Indian National Congress General Secretary, Digvijay Singh found himself in the midst of a controversy on his claim that former Anti-Terror Squad chief Hemant Karkare had called him hours before the terror attacks on the 26th of December, 2008 to confide in him the fears that he felt threatened by Hindu right-wing extremists due to his investigation and successful arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Singh and Lt. Col. Purohit in the Malegaon blasts. He was later killed during the 26/11 attacks by alleged Pakistani terrorists • India‘s badminton sensation, Saina Nehwal inched towards World Ranking # 1 with her winning the Hong Kong Open held in Wanchai. Saina won back-to-back titles — Indian Open Grand Prix, Singapore Open Super Series and defended the Indonesian Super Series — before clinching the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in October. • Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has been praised for his role as a bridge-builder on contentious issues at the United Nations climate conference here, which ended with a deal to curb global warming, including a $100 billion fund to help developing countries. • Minister of Road Transport and Highways: Kamal Nath; Minister of Commerce and Trade: Anand Sharma. • Kosovo voted on Sunday in its first elections since declaring independence in 2008, which look set to weaken Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's grip on power. • Chief Minister: Bhupinder Singh Hooda • Vijay Diwas is celebrated on the 16th of December by both, Bangladesh and India for the former‘s independence from Pakistan and the latter‘s victory in its war in 1971. • India has a visa on arrival scheme for Luxembourg, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan and Finland; the government has decided to extend the scheme to five other countries: Cambodia, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. For other countries, you require your Visa to be issued before travelling to India, otherwise you are denied passage. • ASEAN: Association of South East Asian Nations. Secretary General: Surin Pitsuwan. Head Quartered in Jakarta, Indonesia. • The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline is expected to get a decisive push with Ashgabat stepping up efforts for a summit meeting next month. The initiative by Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has led to his diplomats attempting to find a window that will ensure a summit meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, in Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat.

• Chief Election Commissioner: S.Y. Qureshi; Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan (belongs to the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party); Union Law and Justice Minister: Veerappa Moily (Indian National Congress) • Rajasthan Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot was accused of inaction on the recent communal riots that occurred in Sarada and Manoharthana • Ivory Coast in crisis

DECEMBER THE 14TH, 2010 • Ratan Tata filed a petition in the SC against the Open and the Outlook magazines for publishing conversations between him and corporate lobbyist Nira Radia (?Radiagate? has been covered extensively in an article on CG, already). • India has lodged a strong protest with the U.S. for the humiliation meted out to its Ambassador to the United Nations Hardeep Puri at an airport. One of India's topmost diplomats, Mr. Puri was asked by officials to remove his turban during a security check at the Houston Airport two weeks ago. • Shivraj V. Patil, ex-SC Judge is going to investigate the 2G Scam. He was appointed as the member of a one-member committee (basically, he IS the committee) that was appointed by acting Communication minister, Kapil Sibal. • Uttarakhand Chief Minister: Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank • Satyanand Mishra, one of six Information Commissioners has been selected to be the next Chief Information Commissioner. The selection was finalised here on Monday by a panel comprising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Law Minister Veerappa Moily and Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj. Mr. Mishra will replace A.N. Tiwari, who has held the post since October 1 this year. • In the recent failed suicide attack attempt to blow up innocent civilians in Stockholm, Sweden, the name of the accused terrorist: Taimour Abdelwahab al-Abdaly come up. He was arrested.

DECEMBER THE 15TH, 2010 • The former Chief Justice of India, K.G. Balakrishnan, was aware of the incident involving advocate R.K. Chandramohan who used the name of the former Union Minister, A. Raja, in an alleged attempt to influence Justice R. Regupathi, former Judge of the Madras High Court, in a criminal case, asserted Supreme Court Justice H.L. Gokhale • The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Wakf Board moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday, challenging the Allahabad High Court's judgment in the Ayodhya title dispute, which it said was based on the belief/faith of a section of the Hindu community for which there was no admissible evidence. • Richard Holbrooke (69), President Barack Obama's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, died on Monday evening after undergoing two surgical procedures for repairing a tear in his aorta. • Taking serious view of the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh (currently the Union Industries Minister), interfering in a criminal investigation against a family of a Congress MLA, the Supreme Court on Tuesday imposed an exemplary cost of Rs.10 lakh on the Maharashtra government. • The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to all States seeking their response to the Tandon committee report recommending de-recognition of 44 deemed universities (DUs) for not meeting the prescribed standards and that these institutions be affiliated to the respective State universities. • Bihar has decided to do away with the MLA Local Area Development scheme (MLALAD). • Chairman Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council: C. Rangarajan • Oscar winning Indian musician A.R. Rahman is in the race to win his second Golden Globe after being nominated in the Best Original Score category for his music in the Danny Boyle directed film ?127 Hours?. His first Golden Globe was for his music in the famous Slumdog Millionaire. • From next year the heavily contaminated area around the Chernobyl power plant will be officially open to tourists • Italy President: Silvio Berlusconi. • WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was on Tuesday granted bail for £240,000, exactly a week after he was arrested on a European arrest warrant seeking his extradition to Sweden to face allegations of sexual offences, including rape.

DECEMBER THE 16TH, 2010 • Premises of A. Raja and Nira Radia were searched by CBI in connection with the 2G spectrum scam. • China‘s Prime Minister: Wen Jiabao visited India recently. President: Hu Jintao. (Remember, PM asks ?When?; President asks ?Who??) • The Supreme Court today stayed the Madras High Court order directing suspension of advocate R K Chandramohan from chairmanship of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for allegedly attempting to influence a judge by taking former Telecom Minister A Raja''s name. • India and China took a giant leap in trade ties on Wednesday, first day of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit here, with the signing of 50 memoranda of understanding (MoU). The MoUs are worth $16 billion, surpassing the $10-billion worth of agreements inked during the recent visit of U.S. President Barak Obama. • A suspected suicide bomber has killed at least 39 pilgrims participating in a mourning ceremony at the Imam Hussein mosque in the south-eastern Iranian city of Chabahar.

• At least 27 refugees, including children, died on Wednesday after their wooden boat shattered in violent seas off Australia before horrified witnesses, with fears as many as 50 could have died. • World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan • Frank Ruggiero, has been made the Acting U.S. Special Representative to the Af-Pak region. • The SCOPE (Standing Conference of Public Enterprises) excellence award in the individual category was conferred on NTPC Chairman & Managing Director Arup Roy Choudhury as outstanding chief executive while Coal India Limited (CIL) Chairman P. S. Bhattacharyya was presented the =Special Award of the Jury'.

DECEMBER THE 17TH, 2010 • Taking a serious view of irregularities and lapses in the National Telecom Policy over the past decade, the Supreme Court on Thursday took charge of the 2G spectrum scam probe being conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation and widened its scope. It asked the CBI to register an FIR and investigate the grant of licences from 2001 to 2006-07, with particular emphasis on the loss caused to the public exchequer and corresponding gain made by the licensees and service providers. • Famous television personality, Larry King, after a 25 year-old stint with the CNN will finally have his broadcast. (He is the guy with an indecipherable voice and suspenders)

DECEMBER THE 18TH, 2010 • It was India-time in the latest batch of WikiLeaks‘ cables, with one cable suggesting that Congress-party MP and Gen-Sec had told American Ambassador Timothy Roemer that he believed that Hindu extremism was a bigger threat to India than Muslim terror. The BJP felt offended, the INC offered explanations. • The Government of India ?condoned? the ?widespread severe torture? of prisoners in Jammu and Kashmir, North-East and other parts of the country during 2002-2004, the then Ambassador of the United States in New Delhi, David Mulford, told Washington in a confidential cable. The cable couldn‘t be confidential anymore, thanks to Wikileaks. • Dr. Mohammad Haneef, who was wrongly implicated by Australian police in a botched up terror attack that attempted to blow-up the Heathrow Airport, UK has returned to Australia after the ?traumatic experience? of detention that he was put through by the police there. He is seeking a compensation for the detention from the government. Dr. Haneef is an Indian citizen and was implicated in the attack after his SIM card was found to be owned (before the attack) by his cousin – who was the actual accused in the attack. • Ex-Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Telugu Desam Party president, Chandra Babu Naidu garu started an indefinite fast for the cause of farmers who had suffered unprecedented crop damage due to the recent rains. • Hyderabad will hold the World Wide Web conference for the year 2011.

DECEMBER THE 19TH, 2010 • Japan Prime Minister: Naoto Kan • Three American missile attacks killed 54 alleged militants on Friday close to the Afghan border, an unusually high number of victims that included commanders of a Taliban-allied group that were holding a meeting, Pakistani officials said. • The Islamabad station chief, Johanathan Banks of the Central Intelligence Agency hastily departed from Pakistan on Thursday after his cover was blown through a suspected deliberate leak by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. The name came out after a lawsuit was filed against the Central Intelligence Agency by a North Waziristan resident against the drone attacks on civilians. •

CLAT GYAN‘S GK COMPENDIUM DECEMBER THE 20TH, 2010 CONGRESS TALKS ABOUT HINDUTVA TERRORISM At its 83rd plenary session which coincided with the 125th anniversary of the party the congress in Burari launched a string attack on the BJP alleging that the idea of India — that is democracy — faces its most serious challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party and it was intent not just on shredding the secular fabric of the nation, but also on destroying the democratic institutions. Stung by the onslaught against it through the recently concluded winter session of Parliament, the Congress unleashed its fury on the BJP. Indeed, the political resolution moved by Pranab Mukherjee, passed after discussion, asked the government to tackle the communal menace in the strongest possible manner and investigate links between terrorists and the RSS and its sister organisations that were uncovered in some recent cases. ?The role of religious fundamentalist organisations in challenging the security of the nation can no longer be ignored,? it said. DEFIANT STAND BY TENDULKAR AND DHONI Sachin Tendulkar, with his 50th Test century, and M.S. Dhoni, with an audacious 90, helped India resist South Africa's push for victory on the fourth day of the first Test here at centurion. Tendulkar (107 batting) kept India from defeat before the thunderstorm that had been forecast blew into SuperSport Park, scattering the players and ending play. India finished on 454 for eight, 30 short of making South Africa bat again. South Africa had just

the first session it would have wanted, removing Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman, two of India's best at batting time, before lunch. OFFICIALS DISMISS CHINA?S KASHMIR BORDER CLAIMS Indian officials on Sunday were dismissive of Chinese claims that their position on the length of the disputed border with India – which China has recently described as 2,000 km and not 3,488 km as India does – remained consistent and unchanged. Chinese analysts on Sunday refuted media reports which said China had recently disregarded a 1,500 km stretch of the border, between Jammu and Kashmir in India and Xinjiang and Tibet in China, in its references of the disputed border, suggesting new Chinese claims over Kashmir. Hu Shisheng, a strategic analyst at the China Institutes for Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), told The Hindu it had always been China's position that the length of the border was 2,000 km. It did not include the disputed western section and Indian claims on the entire region of Kashmir, including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). China's position was that the region is disputed and for India and Pakistan to settle, and hence could not be considered as part of the dispute with India. AL QAEDA RECRUITING WHITE ISLAMISTS FOR MUMBAI STYLE ATTACKS The reported deaths of two British militants in a drone attack in Pakistan's tribal region last week have raised fears that western Muslim converts are being targeted by Al-Qaeda in its search for ?white jihadis? to mount Mumbai-style attacks in Europe, according to The Sunday Times. The newspaper quoted western intelligence agencies as saying that Ilyas Kashmiri, recently named as Al-Qaeda's chief military strategist in Pakistan and Afghanistan and dubbed the “new Bin Laden,” had been “assigned to bring western recruits” into the organisation. GSAT 5P LAUNCH PUT OFF The launch of India's latest communication satellite GSAT-5P scheduled for Monday was deferred after a leak in the Russian cryogenic engine in the launch vehicle GSLV-FO6. (GSLV – Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) TALIBAN ATTACKS AFGHAN ARMY BASES A day after the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Kunduz, the Afghan Taliban have attacked a major military recruitment base in the northern Afghan city. Ms. Merkel was said to be on a ?morale boosting? visit to the city, where German troops have been deployed.?The purpose of her trip was to give morale to her soldiers. But today the successful attack is shaking the hearts of the occupation soldiers,? Taliban spokesman Zaibullah Mujahid was quoted as saying. DECEMBER THE 21ST, 2010 I HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE: MANMOHAN SINGH In a dramatic new twist to the telecom controversy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday offered to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is examining the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG)'s report on the 2G spectrum scam. Speaking on the concluding day of the 83rd plenary session of the Congress in Burari, Dr. Singh, in an emotional passage, accused the BJP ?of falsely propagating? that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was opposed to setting up a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the scam as it did not want the Prime Minister questioned by it.?I wish to state categorically,? the Prime Minister said, ?that I have nothing to hide from the public at large and as proof of my bona fides, I intend to write to the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee that I shall be happy to appear before the PAC if it chooses to ask me to do so…even though there is no precedent to that effect.? CBI SUMMONS RAJA FOR QUESTIONING The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday served notice on the former Union Telecom Minister, A. Raja, asking him to appear before it for questioning, even as the agency went ahead with its ongoing probe into the 2G spectrum scam.The agency quizzed the former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chief, Pradip Baijal. AICC: INDIA NO FLAG BEARER OF THE THIRD WORLD The draft foreign policy resolution of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) noted that India has moved away from leading the non-aligned movement. ?Beyond the past we want to look to the future,? it noted at the far end of a 12-page resolution that was issued along with three other resolutions — 125 years of the Indian National Congress, economic and political. The Indian foreign policy had evolved from ?leading from the front? the Third World and movements for emancipation of Asia and Africa. It was now committed to seeking a leadership role for an equitable global order, the resolution said. RSS DENIES TERROR LINKS Stung by the focus on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's terror links, at the Congress plenary session that ended at burari on Monday, the organisation dismissed it as an attempt by the ruling party to divert attention from other issues it was facing. One suspect charged by the CBI for his involvement in the Mecca Masjid bomb blasts was a prominent RSS leader, he went with the name, Indresh Kumar. TELANGANA REPORT BY DECEMBER 31 The committee headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice B.N. Srikrishna — set up to go into the demands of a ?separate Telangana? State and ?united Andhra Pradesh? — will present its report to the Centre on December 31, the last day of its term. Justice Srikrishna told The Hindu from Mumbai on Monday that since Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram would not be available in Delhi on December 30, it had been decided to present the report on December 31.He added that the report was almost through, and that it would discuss in detail every aspect of the terms of reference (ToR).

GUJJARS ON RAILTRACKS Gujjars, led by Kirori Singh Bainsla, on Monday occupied rail tracks near Bayana in Bharatpur district to press for their reservation demand, even as the Gehlot government said that it would try to solve the issue through talks. The Gujjars are a prominent caste in the state; previously, they were awarded an Other Backward Class‘ status after they went on a similar ?struggle?. Now, they are demanding a separate reservation of 5% INDIA DISSEMINATING 26/11 INFORMATION PREMATURE: US The U.S. had reservations about India sharing information with all countries that had lost their citizens in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, saying it was ?premature? and feared that it would undermine essential law enforcement efforts and forestall further India-Pakistan cooperation.?We believe it is premature for the Indians to be considering a broad dissemination of information on the attack until the investigation has been completed, In this regard, we note that the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] has just presented a long list of information it is still seeking from the Indians to advance its own investigation,? the then U.S. Ambassador in Islamabad, Anne W. Patterson, said in a secret cable sent early last year and made public by WikiLeaks. ONION EXPORTS SUSPENDED TO CHECK PRICE RISE The government on Monday announced suspension of onion exports till January 15 in a last-minute effort to cool prices of the poor man's essential vegetable from the prevailing high of Rs. 60-70 a kg.In a twin strategy, while the farm cooperative major and regulating agency Nafed (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation) and 12 other agencies have been directed to halt issuance of export clearance, the MEP (minimum export price) for onions has also been raised more than double from $ 525 a tonne to $1,200 with immediate effect. DON?T ASK DON?T TELL LAW REPEALED The United States Senate took a historic step forward over the weekend as Congress passed a bill to repeal the controversial ?Don't Ask, Don't Tell? (DADT) law, a ban on openly gay persons serving in the U.S. military.In a statement following Senate vote, President Barack Obama said: ?As Commander-in-Chief, I am also absolutely convinced that making this change will only underscore the professionalism of our troops as the best led and best trained fighting force the world has ever known.? TATA CHEMICALS TO BUY BRITISH SALT Brunner Mond U.K., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Chemicals Ltd. (TCL), signed a binding agreement to acquire a 100 per cent stake in British Salt. The deal has been structured through a holding company, Tata Chemicals Europe Holdings, for a consideration of around Rs.650 crore (93 million pound sterling).British Salt is U.K.'s leading manufacturer of pure dried vacuum salt products with a 50 per cent share of the U.K. market. It owns brine wells in the U.K. with residual life of 50 years. It has the capacity to produce in excess of 7.20 lakh tonnes annually and the acquisition provides Brunner Mond an opportunity to secure long-term brine supplies for its operations. SOUTH AFRICA COMPLETES FORMALITIES South Africa needed just 26 minutes on the fifth morning to complete the formalities of the first Test; indeed so certain of the swift finish were the authorities of SuperSport Park that the buffet lunch was laid out even as play began. The defeat, by an innings and 25 runs, leaves India 0-1 down in the three-match series. The second Test begins in Durban on Sunday. DECEMBER THE 22ND, 2010 RUSSIA IS A SPECIAL PARTNER SAYS MANMOHAN SINGH Belying predictions of diplomatic fatigue, the last visit to India by the head of a P-5 country in 2010 turned out to be one of the most significant, with 30 agreements and a meeting of minds on key political issues emerging from talks in delhi on Tuesday between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.After 90 minutes of restricted talks between the two leaders and 40 minutes among the delegations, Dr. Singh emerged to tell journalists that India's relationship with Russia was ?special and privileged? and would develop independent of its ties with other countries. The highlight of the 30 agreements was the consolidation and extension of strategic cooperation in the civil nuclear, hydrocarbons and space sectors. ANDHRA PRADESH GETS RS 400 CR Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday released Rs.400 crore for the Andhra Pradesh government as advance from the National Calamity Contingency Fund to take up immediate relief and rehabilitation measures in the State that were affected by unprecedented rains and cyclonic storms in the last few months.Dr. Singh told a delegation of over 20 Congress MPs that the Centre would take speedy action on the reports of the Central team that toured the State last week to assess the damage caused to the crops and other properties. Additional relief could be provided based on the Central team's assessment.The delegation was led by Union Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy had met Dr. Singh a few days ago and sought assistance.The announcement on the release of Rs.400 crore comes, even as Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy are undertaking fasts separately to highlight the plight of the farmers. MULLAPERIYAR COMMITTEE VISITS NEW DAM SITE The Empowered Committee on the Mullaperiyar reservoir, led by its chairman A.S. Anand, visited the site of the Kerala Periyar Dam, the new one proposed by the Kerala government on Tuesday.The team of officials led by K. Jayakumar, Additional Chief Secretary of the Kerala government, explained to the visiting team that the proposed dam was a technically feasible proposition and the State government had prepared a technical report for the same. The government was also preparing a detailed project report, the committee members were

told.The five-member committee has K.T. Thomas and A.R. Lakshmanan, former judges of the Supreme Court; C.D. Thatte, former secretary to the Ministry of Water Resources; and D.K. Mehta, former Chief Engineer, Central Water Commission, as members. B.S. LALLI SUSPENDED President Pratibha Patil late on Tuesday night ordered the suspension of B.S. Lalli, 63, Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharati, on charges of irregularities in the country's largest public broadcaster.The action came after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought a Presidential reference earlier this month, setting in motion the process for Mr. Lalli's removal. INDIA RUSSIA SIGN AIRCRAFT PACT The biggest defence programme in India's history — the contract for the preliminary design of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) — was signed on Tuesday between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russia's Rosoboronexport and Sukhoi. It will involve the production of 200-250 aircraft.The FGFA will have advanced features such as stealth, super-cruise, ultra-manoeuvrability, highly integrated avionics suite, enhanced situational awareness, internal carriage of weapons and network centric warfare capabilities.The aircraft would be called Perspective Multi-role Fighter (PMF). It draws upon the basic structural and system design of the Russian FGFA Technology Demonstrator with modifications to meet the Indian Air Force's specifications, which are much more stringent. The contract was signed by A. Isaykin, general director of Rosoboronexport and M. Pogosyan, general director RAC MiG & Sukhoi from the Russian side and HAL chairman Ashok Nayak, and N.C. Agarwal, Director (D&D), HAL from the Indian side here. BRING DOWN ONION PRICES: MANMOHAN SINGH With the Union government refusing to play Santa Claus and regulate market forces, the merciless rise in onion prices threatens to mar Christmas, New Year and Makar Sankrantri festivities.With several markets reporting a further rise in prices to about Rs.85 a kg, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened, by directing the Ministries of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs to take steps to bring its prices to affordable levels. HANEEF GETS COMPENSATION Indian doctor Mohammad Haneef has struck a deal with the Australian government for receiving a ?substantial? compensation for his wrongful detention in connection with the Glasgow bombing attempt in 2007. ISRO TO LAUNCH SINGAPORE SATELLITE The Indian Space Research Organisation is set to place Singapore's first satellite in orbit within a month or so. Announcing this, India's High Commissioner to Singapore, T. C. A. Raghavan, said in singapore on Tuesday that the experimental satellite was made by a university in the City-State itself.Briefing journalists on =The India Show' to be held here next month, Dr. Raghavan said ?there is already a science and technology platform? of cooperation between the universities and research institutes of the two countries. ?One of the very good things in the India-Singapore bilateral relationship is that research institutions and universities have direct links with each other.? And, the governments of the two countries also inked, a Memorandum of Understanding a few years ago. IRAQ GETS NEW GOVERNMENT Iraq's Parliament, after a delay of nine months, has confirmed Nouri al-Maliki as Prime Minister for a second term.The formation of Mr. Maliki's national unity government has been an exercise in balancing the competing interests of Iraq's Sunni, Shia and Kurdish power blocs.Ayad Allawi, the leader of the Iraqiya party that won 91 seats — two more than the Mr. Maliki's State of the Law coalition but was unable to form a government — has been appointed as the head of the national council for strategic studies, a newly created post. GHAURI TEST FIRED Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test fired Hatf V (Ghauri) — a Medium Range Ballistic Missile — capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads over 1,300 km. Lauding the 11-year-old Army Strategic Force Command (ASFC) for the successful launch, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said the test was a signal to the world that Pakistan's defence capability was impregnable and should never be challenged. DECEMBER THE 23RD, 2010 GOVERNMENT OFFERS SPECIAL SESSION TO DISCUSS A JPC The Central government on Wednesday offered a special session of Parliament to discuss the Opposition demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the 2G spectrum allocation scandal.It was a direct response to the call for the Prime Minister's resignation made at the National Democratic Alliance rally in New Delhi. And it was dramatically made by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in an exchange of words with BJP president Nitin Gadkari before a live audience at a CNN-IBN awards function later in the night. PRITHVI II FLIGHT TESTED SUCCESSFULLY Two nuclear weapons-capable Prithvi-II missiles were successfully flight-tested within an hour of each other from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Orissa, on Wednesday.Taken from the production lot, the short-range ballistic missiles were tested for the full range (350 km) and fired at 8.15 a.m. and 9.15 a.m. respectively by personnel of the Strategic Force Command (SFC) as part of a regular exercise. After a flight of about eight minutes, the missiles zeroed in on pre-designated targets with a high degree of accuracy.This was the second mission in which two Prithvi-II missiles were successfully flight-tested. Earlier, they were fired in salvo mode on October 12, 2009. However, the launch of a single missile failed in September this year when it did not take off.Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister V.K. Saraswat congratulated the scientists and the armed forces for the success.

NO RESERVATION FOR GUJJARS The Rajasthan high court ruled that Gujjars could not be given any special reservation in government jobs. GSLV FO6 launch on Saturday The Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV – F06) is getting ready to lift off from Sriharikota (situated in AP, prominent launchpad for ISRO) at 4:01 p.m. on Saturday, December 25.It was originally scheduled to be launched on December 20 but a leak of helium gas from a valve in the upper Russian cryogenic stage on December 18 led to the postponement. The leak of helium gas was more than the acceptable limits. DECEMBER THE 24TH, 2010 KARUNAKARAN DIES The former Chief Minister of Kerala and veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran died at a private hospital in tiruvananthapuram on Thursday evening. He was 93 and is survived by daughter Padmaja Venugopal and son K Muraleedharan. WEST BENGAL BEGINS RESERVATIONS FOR OBC?S The West Bengal government has decided to reserve 17 per cent seats in all government and government-aided colleges for students belonging to the other backward classes (OBCs), with effect from the coming academic session. Sudarshan Roy Chowdhury, State Higher Education Minister announced in the State Assembly here on Thursday. BLASTS AT TWO EMBASSIES IN ROME Package bombs exploded at the Swiss and Chilean embassies in Rome on Thursday, injuring the two people who opened them, said officials. Police ordered checks at all embassies after a false alarm was also reported at the Ukrainian embassy. A group called Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire claimed responsibility. LIFETIME GRAMMY AWARDS FOR JULIE ANDREWS AND PARTON Sound of Music star Julie Andrews, country singer Dolly Parton and jazz drummer Roy Haynes will be honoured with lifetime achievement Grammy awards next year for their artistic contribution to the recording medium.The Recording Academy has also selected punk pioneers The Ramones, Juilliard String Quartet, the Kingston Trio and 101-year-old gospel legend George Beverly Shea for the lifetime Grammys. DECEMBER THE 25TH, 2010 LIFE TERM FOR BINAYAK SEN Celebrated human rights activist binayak sen was sentenced to life term in the Raipur sessions court in chattisgarh By late afternoon, Justice Verma emerged from his chamber to pronounce the three men guilty of criminal conspiracy to commit sedition, under Section 124(a) read with 20 (b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Dr. Sen, Mr. Guha and Mr. Sanyal were also convicted under Section 39(2) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, and Sections 8 (1), (2), (3) and (5) of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005 which charged them with supporting, aiding and abetting in the activities of a criminal organisation, in this instance the CPI (Maoist), which carry sentences of up to 5 years. CBI QUESTIONS RAJA FOR OVER 8 HOURS As part of its investigations into the 2G spectrum allocation scam, the CBI on Friday questioned the former Communications Minister, A. Raja, for over eight hours.Mr. Raja appeared at the CBI headquarters at 10.30 a.m. after he was summoned under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code. He had flown in from Chennai on Wednesday. CHANDRABABU NAIDU CALLS OFF FAST Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu called off his eight-day-old hunger strike, demanding higher compensation for farmers hit by rains and floods, here on Friday evening, following persuasion by leaders of 10 parties. The TDP leader, who began his fast on December 17, was forcibly administered intravenous fluids on Thursday. GUJJAR AGITATION AFFECTS 42 TRAINS Gujjars on Friday blocked rail track at Bandikui, between Delhi and Jaipur, in Dausa, affecting the operation of 42 trains. RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES NEW START The Russian-American New START treaty won preliminary approval of the Russian Parliament, even as Moscow rejected as ?unacceptable? the U.S. Senate ratification resolution. The State Duma, Lower House of Parliament, supported the treaty by a 350-56 majority in a first of three votes on Friday, but postponed its final approval till next year. In Russia, international treaties must be approved by both Houses of Parliament in contrast to the U.S. Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev hailed the pact as ?a cornerstone of stability in the world and Europe for decades to come?. TRADE PACTS WITH JAPAN MALAYSIA AND EU India will open its trade in goods and services with Malaysia, Japan and the European Union in the first half of 2011, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said in New Delhi. Mr. Sharma said the first half of next year would witness signing of comprehensive market and investment promotion agreements with Japan, Malaysia and the EU. India has already signed a framework agreement for the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with Malaysia and concluded negotiations for a similar pact with Japan. Mr. Sharma informed that India had launched negotiations for comprehensive economic partnership agreement with New Zealand and Canada. India had already entered into comprehensive market opening pacts with Singapore, South Korea and 10-nation economic bloc ASEAN.

DECEMBER THE 26TH, 2010 GSLV ERUPTS INTO A BALL OF FLAME The launch of the Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F06) from shriharikota on Saturday ended in a failure, with the vehicle losing control 47 seconds after its flight, breaking up into pieces and erupting into a ball of flame.As the vehicle veered off the safety corridor and the flaming debris could have fallen on the residential areas around Sriharikota, Range Safety Officer (RSO) V.K. Srivastava pressed the ?destruct? button and the explosives around the vehicle ignited and destroyed it. SWAMINATHAN CONFERRED LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD BY CNN IBN Veteran agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan has been conferred the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award for his ?outstanding leadership in the field of agriculture that has contributed to ensuring food security for millions of Indians.?Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the award to Dr. Swaminathan RAW?S NEW CHIEF Sanjeev Tripathi, who heads the Aviation Research Centre (ARC), will be the new chief of the country's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). The ARC is a part of RAW. He will take over on December 30 for a two-year term from the present chief, K. C. Verma, who has expressed his desire to quit a month ahead of his tenure ending on January 31, 2011. 42 KILLED IN PAKISTAN BLAST At least 42 people were killed and nearly double the number injured when a suicide bomber detonated himself at a World Food Programme distribution centre in the Bajaur tribal agency along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Saturday when people were queuing up to collect emergency food rations. 38 DEAD IN NIGERIA DUE TO CHURCH ATTACKS Unprecedented Christmas Eve bomb blasts and attacks on churches left at least 38 people dead in Nigeria as authorities worked on Saturday to keep the violence from spreading. DECEMBER THE 27TH, 2010 CAG TO APPEAR BEFORE PAC TODAY Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India Vinod Rai will appear before Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday in connection with the 2G telecom controversy. 13 KILLED AS BOAT CAPSIZES IN RAMANATHAPURAM In a major boat tragedy, at least 13 persons, many of them women and children, were killed and around eight others feared drowned when a country boat capsized in the sea near Vaala Theevu, one of the 21 islands of the Gulf of Mannar, in Ramanathapuram district on Sunday. „RAJASTHAN GUJJARS SHOULD GET ST STATUS? Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir have thrown their weight behind the Rajasthan Gujjars in their ongoing struggle for grant of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.in an appeal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi through the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, the J&K Gujjars wanted the Rajasthan Gujjars treated on a par with them and those in Himachal Pradesh. DECEMBER THE 28TH, 2010 17,368 FARM SUICIDES IN 2009 At least 17,368 Indian farmers killed themselves in 2009, the worst figure for farm suicides in six years, according to data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). This is an increase of 1,172 over the 2008 count of 16,196. It brings the total farm suicides since 1997 to 2,16,500. The share of the Big 5 States, or =suicide belt' — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh — in 2009 remained very high at 10,765, or around 62 per cent of the total, though falling nearly five percentage points from 2008. Maharashtra remained the worst State for farm suicides for the tenth successive year, reporting 2,872. Though that is a fall of 930, it is still 590 more than in Karnataka, second worst, which logged 2,282 farm suicides MENTAL ILLNESS CAN BE INCLUDED UNDER DISABILITY Mental illness or retardation can be brought within the term =disability' under sections of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 (PWD Act), the Madras High Court has said T.N. NINAN PRESIDENT OF EDITORS GUILD The Chairman and Editorial Director of Business Standard, T.N. Ninan, has been elected president of the Editors Guild of India which, in the wake of the Radia tapes, called upon editors to place integrity above all other considerations. Commi Kapoor of Indian Express was retained as general secretary at the annual general body meeting held here on Friday. Suresh Bafna of Nai Duniya was elected treasurer.Mr. Ninan succeeds Rajdeep Sardesai of CNN-IBN, while Mr. Bafna takes over from senior editor Rohit Bansal. Veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar thanked the outgoing team on behalf of the guild members. KHODORKOVSKY FOUND GUILTY IN SECOND TRIAL The former oil tycoon, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who is serving an eight-year prison term, was found guilty in his second trial, which would keep him behind bars for several more years.A judge who started reading his verdict on Monday said Mr. Khodorkovsky (47) was guilty of stealing oil from his own company and laundering the proceeds. In the second trial, Mr. Khodorkovsky stands accused of stealing 218 million tonnes of oil worth $27 billion from Yukos, the company he owned before it was taken over by the government in 2004 DECEMBER THE 29TH, 2010

SRIKRISHNA COMMITTEE: WE WILL GIVE AN IMPARTIAL REPORT The Srikrishna Committee, which held wide-ranging consultations over the past 11 months on the demand for a state of Telangana as well as to maintain the present status of a united Andhra Pradesh, on Tuesday said it would give an ?impartial and professional? report that would seek to achieve the ?highest satisfaction of the maximum number of people.?The five-member panel, headed by the former Supreme Court judge, Justice B. N. Srikrishna, will submit a report by December 31 to Home Minister P. Chidambaram. It was appointed on February 3. DECEMBER THE 30TH, 2010 TECHNICAL TEAM TO DO SPOT STUDY AT LAVASA After giving the Lavasa Corporation Limited a patient hearing last week, the Environment and Forests Ministry has decided to send a =technical team' shortly for a spot study of the township near Pune, whose construction has been held up due to alleged environmental violations.The Ministry will also submit its reply in the Mumbai High Court on January 10 in connection with a petition filed by Lavasa challenging the stay on construction ordered by the Ministry. ?A technical team of the Ministry will visit Lavasa soon,? Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh told journalists here on Wednesday. PALESTINE STATE GAINING RECOGNITION Taking a cue from its European neighbours, Britain was on Wednesday reported to be considering upgrading the status of the Palestinian representative's office in London to that of a diplomatic ?mission? to put pressure on Israel to allow resumption of peace talks stalled because of its refusal to halt illegal construction of Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian lands.France, Spain, Portugal and Norway have already taken similar initiatives and more European countries are expected to follow suit. a string of other Latin American countries, including Bolivia, Argentina and Ecuador, have followed suit, and Uruguay has said it will recognise a Palestinian state on the same basis in 2011.Other Latin American countries, including Cuba, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Venezuela, already recognised Palestinian statehood several years ago. BOWLERS GIVE INDIA A FAMOUS WIN India concluded another famous win overseas — only its second in South Africa — in glorious sunshine on Wednesday afternoon when it dismissed the home side for 215 in its second innings here at Kingsmead.The victory, by 87 runs and with more than a day to spare, was a fitting riposte by the world's best Test team after the beat-down it suffered in the first match in Centurion and after another lost toss that allowed South Africa the best of the conditions.With the win, India levelled the series 1-1. The third Test will be played in Cape Town from Sunday, and if M.S. Dhoni's side can call upon the intensity it began Wednesday with, a historic series win in South Africa will be within reach. ENGLAND KEEPS THE ASHES England retained the Ashes with a crushing innings and 157-run win in the fourth Test on Wednesday, breaking a 24-year away drought in the series and leaving Australian captain Ricky Ponting's future in doubt.England's biggest win over Australia since 1956 put it an unbeatable 2-1 up with one to play, almost a quarter of a century after Mike Gatting's team claimed the series 2-1 in 1986-87 in England's last triumph in Australia. ON US “REQUEST” INDIA SHUTS IRAN OIL IMPORTS In a move that is being seen worldwide as an example of India succumbing to American pressure, the Reserve Bank of India has barred companies from using the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) to process current account transactions for oil and gas imports — a decision that directly hits at Indian energy imports from Iran.With American and European clearing houses unwilling to process payments involving the Iranian hydrocarbon sector, an urgent solution will now have to be found for the $11 billion worth of oil India imports annually from the Islamic Republic. Diplomatic sources told The Hindu that a senior official from the Central Bank of Iran will hold emergency talks with the RBI on Friday.The ACU has nine members today: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Iran. DECEMBER THE 31ST, 2010 KRISHNA TRIBUNAL GRANTS LION?S SHARE OF WATER TO AP The Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II on Thursday allocated the highest share of Krishna river waters to Andhra Pradesh but distributed the surplus waters, which was hitherto flowing into the State.The shares of other basin States — Karnataka and Maharashtra — were also raised.The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Brijesh Kumar, permitted Karnataka to raise the storage level in the Almatti dam to 524.256 metres from 519.6 metres, a measure seen by Andhra Pradesh as depriving its lower Krishna delta region of water supply. The tribunal, however, directed Karnataka to make regulated releases of 8 to 10 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) from the dam to Andhra Pradesh in June and July. The tribunal asked the Centre to set up a `Krishna Water Decision-Implementation Board' with representation from all the three States. DRDO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES TRIAL OF AEROSTAT SYSTEM The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully completed the trials of a big aerostat system developed by it.During the trials, which comprised surveillance over Agra and interception of a variety of communications, the aerostat carried electro-optic and communication intelligence payloads. The trials were completed on December 25.The DRDO has also developed electronic intelligence and radar payloads that will be put to use in the aerostat.The entire system was designed, developed and integrated by the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), Agra Cantonment.The ADRDE, a premier

laboratory of the DRDO, specialises in developing parachutes, lighter-than-air systems, flotation systems and aircraft arrester barriers. CORPORATE ALLOWED TO START TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS The Centre on Thursday permitted companies registered as non-profit entities to establish technical institutions and reduced the land requirement for non-rural areas to 2.5 acres from the existing 3.5 acres, in addition to allowing vertical expansion barring engineering colleges.In a move that could enhance the intake of students in technical colleges, including engineering, substantially, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has allowed an increase in the number of seats from 40-60 to provide for larger number of seats and optimisation of resources without having to set up new institutions in the area. Up to now, different programmes – one each – were allowed to be integrated into a single campus so that resources could be shared. Now, this facility has been extended to accommodate more than one college in same stream on a single campus.All companies or corporate houses registered as non-profit entities under section 25 of the Company's Act, 1956 can set up technical institutions but no joint ventures would be allowed in such cases. As of now, only registered trusts and societies could set up educational institutions. BONEY M?S BOBBY FERREL DEAD Singer Bobby Farrell of the 1970s European chart-topping group Boney M was found dead in his hotel bed on Thursday while on tour in Russia, his agent said. He was 61.

THE CLATGYAN GENERAL KNOWLEDGE COMPENDIUM JANUARY THE 3RD 2011 1. The MuttahidaQaumi Movement on Sunday withdrew its support to the federal government in Pakistan. 2. The website of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee was found hacked on Sunday evening, with pro-Pakistan slogans appearing on it. 3. After 19 years, India joined the U.N. Security Council as a non-permanent member for a two-year term.Colombia,germany,Portugal and South Africa are the other members to join . 4. The government of Andhra Pradesh is veering round to the view that the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal has made wrong calculations based on “certain mathematical errors” while evolving the formula for distribution of Krishna waters among Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. 5. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the 98 {+t} {+h} Indian Science Congress on Monday.Over 9,000 delegates are expected to take part in the annual five-day event, to be held at SRM University at Kattankulathur, about 40 km from Chennai.K.C. Pandey, general president of the Indian Science Congress Association, said V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and Director-General of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, would receive the Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award for his contribution to missile science and technology. 6. Dalits from the Vellakoil block, who have been fighting for their rights to enter the new UthamapalayamMariamman temple, have decided to perform ‘samathuvapongal' on the adjoining original Mariamman temple premises on January 15. 7. A dictionary of contemporary Tamil will shortly be available in Braille form.The work, based on the 2008 Tamil-Tamil-English dictionary brought out by Chennai-based Crea-A, has been published by 25-year-old Indian Association for the Blind (IAB), which is Madurai based. 8. Big Bazaar presented ‘The Great Indian Awards' to emerging Indians at a function held in the city on Sunday. The store presented the awards to 10 persons from Coimbatore “in recognition of their significant contribution made in education, social service and sports,” according to S. Dharmendra, Senior Operations Manager, Big Bazaar. 9. Brazilian President DilmaRousseff began her first full day in office on Sunday after pledging to build on the policies of her hugely popular predecessor, LuizInacio Lula da Silva. She is the 36th president and the 1st women to hold office.

JANUARY THE 4TH, 2011 1. The Bharti Electoral Trust, a subsidiary of the BhartiAirtel Group headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal, made the single largest donation to any political party in the financial year 2008-2009. The party was the Congress, which received Rs.10 crore by cheque. The party, which reported the highest overall income of Rs. 496 crore for the year, showed Rs. 48 crore as having come from donations. 2. The PrasarBharati Board gained more control of the public broadcaster on Monday by setting up five committees - each including a Board representative - to supervise the functioning and help the institution formulate a future vision for itself.At its first meeting in 2011, the Board also appointed Rajiv Takru, additional secretary in the Information and Broadcasting, as PrasarBharati's chief executive for an interim period, as a replacement for the suspended CEO B.S. Lalli, who is facing an inquiry by the Supreme Court on the orders of the President of India. 3. Taken aback by the Medical Council of India's notifications for holding common entrance tests to graduate and post- graduate courses, the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Monday declared the two notifications “invalid” and directed the MCI to withdraw these with immediate effect

4. SuchitraMitra, legendary exponent of RabindraSangeet (Rabindranath Tagore's songs), died in her South Kolkata residence on Monday after protracted illness. She was 86. 5. National Aerospace Laboratories Director A.R. Upadhya on Monday said a private partner will shortly be selected for a joint venture to manufacture the regional transport aircraft. 6. Regional Passport Office, Chennai, will hold a passport adalat on January 8 between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on ShastriBhavan premises 7. The Gondia police have arrested SudhirDhawle (42), Editor of Vidrohi magazine and freelance journalist based in Mumbai, on charges of waging war against the state. He was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. 8. Public sector carrier Air India has posted cash profit of Rs.21.66 crore in November 2010, a record in recent times for the cash-strapped national carrier. 9. Tata Power on Monday said it had terminated agreement to raise $300 million (about Rs.1,350crore) through selling 14-15 per cent stake in its two coal special purpose vehicles to the private equity firm Olympus Capital Holdings Asia. 10. Citi Bank CEO vikrampandit was issued notice by SEBI for an alleged 300 corers scam in the gurgaon branch office of the bank.

JANUARY THE 5TH, 2011 1. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has decided to set up a research and innovation centre in the Research Park of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras, V.K. Saraswat, DRDO Director-General and Defence Research and Development Department Secretary, said on Tuesday. 2. India and Iran on Tuesday agreed on a “formula” for making payments for oil through a Hamburg-based German bank.Officials in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry said Iran's national oil company National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has a Euro account in Europäisch-IranischeHandelsbank AG (EIH Bank) in Hamburg, which will process the payments made for Iranian crude by Indian companies. 3. India on Tuesday announced an extension of the ban on milk and milk products from China for another year 4. Bahri Estates, promoters of ‘Bahri Beautiful Country', a project on retirement and second home has announced its association with Globosport / Play Sports Surfaces (companies promoted by leading tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi).

JANUARY THE 6TH, 2011 1. The Justice Srikrishna Committee, which held wide consultations in the last 11 months on demands for a separate State of Telangana as well as for keeping Andhra Pradesh united, has offered half-a-dozen options(read the article on telengana) on which the government may take a call in about six weeks. 2. The right of minority institutions under Article 30 is an absolute right being the basic structure of the Constitution. Therefore, any regulation interfering with the right of administration would not be applicable to minority institutions, being violative of the Constitution, the Madras High Court has said. 3. A new railway station building has been proposed for Ariyalur as part of the 273-km Villupuram - Tiruchi - Dindigul doubling project to be executed by the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a Government of India enterprise. 4. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to implement the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) to provide India and neighbouring countries with the Position Navigation and Timing (PNT) service, S.V. Kibe, Brahmprakash Professor in the ISRO Headquarters, Bangalore, said on Wednesday. 5. Panjab University's Department of Geography is launching “Geography Help Services” for students preparing for the Class X Board examinations of CBSE, ICSE and any other board to be held in March 2011, University chairman Prof. Krishna Mohan said here on Wednesday. 6. Anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who led several Shia uprisings against American forces in Iraq before travelling to neighbouring Iran at least three years ago, has returned to Iraq, officials said Wednesday. 7. U.S. cellular technology giant Qualcomm announced that it will acquire wireless networking firm Atheros Communications for $3.1 billion as it seeks to expand operations, Qualcomm said in a statement. 8. The World Bank has issued its first yuan-denominated bond to raise 500 million yuan ($76 million) from the two-year bond issue on the Hong Kong's yuan-denominated bond market. 9. The 52nd National Cost Convention, organised by The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI), will be held in Chennai at Hotel Le Royal Meridian between January 6 and 8. Every year, the convention aims at looking at the challenges thrown by the industry and is coming up with innovative and new methods to tackle the issues. Keeping in line with the thought process this year the theme centres around ‘New enterprise challenges — sustainability and value creation.

JANUARY THE 7TH, 2011 1. A two-day national seminar titled ‘Dalit households in village economies' began in Kolkata . Organised by the Sociological Research Unit at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, it will focus on the extent and forms of economic discrimination that rural dalits across the country face. 2. Projecting India's economy to grow by 8.75 per cent in 2010-11 with a moderation to about 8 per cent during the next fiscal, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has highlighted elevated inflation and complications in

macroeconomic management as the near-term challenges confronting the authorities and called for further monetary action by the Reserve Bank of India to contain the price spiral. 3. NTPC is drawing up plans to increase its footprints overseas. Seeking to expand its presence in the clean energy sector, it is eyeing Maldives for establishing solar power projects. 4. Narain Karthikeyan is back on the Formula One grid. The 33-year-old Coimbatore-born driver has signed up with the Hispania Racing Team, thanks to the sponsorship offered by the Tatas. JANUARY 8TH, 2011 1. Three international accreditation certificates – Quality Management System (ISO 9001), Environment Management System (ISO 14001) and Occupational Health and Safety Management (ISO 18001) – were awarded to the Theni District Collectorate in recognition of its integrated management system by the Dubai Accreditation Centre after evaluating the services of district administration to public in three areas. 2. Leading Australian and Indian researchers, funded by the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, are teaming up to pursue ground-breaking ideas, from new non-invasive tools for detecting cancer to better techniques to monitor the health of our oceans. 3. The Experts Group chaired by the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman, C. Rangarajan, favours mandatory entitlement of subsidised foodgrains to the ‘priority' category (Below the Poverty Line) as recommended by the National Advisory Council (NAC). But the Group does not think that it is feasible to extend to the ‘general' category (Above the Poverty Line) legal entitlement of subsidised foodgrains under the Public Distribution System (PDS). 4. The MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM), which had withdrawn support to the Pakistan People's Party-led federal government on Sunday, has decided to return to the ruling coalition without joining the Cabinet. This was decided on Friday after Prime Minister Syed Yusuf RazaGilani visited MQM's headquarters in Karachi for a meeting with party leaders. 5. MMTC is all set to open its office in Johannesburg on January 10 to step up its business with South Africa and other countries in the African continent.The office will be inaugurated by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma. 6. Dominant England claimed its first Ashes series in Australia for 24 years with its third innings victory over the home team in the final Sydney Test on Friday.It was England's first series victory Down Under since Mike Gatting's team beat Australia 2-1 in 1986-87. Player of the series was Alistair cook.

JANUARY 9TH, 2011 1. IPL auctions took place today , knight riders got in gambhir and yusufpathan in their kitty , pune warriors got robin uthapa and yuvrajsingh , while many players like souravganguly and brianlara were not picked by any team. 2. With the signing of a memorandum of understanding, one more formality has been completed towards resuming the passenger ship liner service from Tuticorin to Colombo, the route of the KappalottiyaTamizhan (the Tamil helmsman), V.O. Chidambaram Pillai. 3. K.G. SankaraPillai's ‘K.G.S. Kavithakal 1997-2007' has been selected for this year's Kerala Varma poetry award, instituted by the MahakaviPandalam Kerala VarmaSmarakaSamithi. 4. Voting starts in Southern Sudan for a referendum to free themselves from the muslim dominated northern sudan . President of present sudan – omar al bashir 5. A federal court in the United States has issued a subpoena to micro-blogging website Twitter to obtain information on several individuals linked to WikiLeaks, the whistleblower website, including its founder Julian Assange, said an Icelandic Member of Parliament also named in the case.

CLAT GYAN’S GK COMPENDIUM JANUARY THE 19TH, 2011 1. With the recent uproar on rising food and vegetables prices providing a handy trigger, the Manmohan Singh Government is all set to give its approval to 51 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail sector with the Commerce and Industry Ministry likely to move a Cabinet note next week. 2. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will reshuffle his Council of Ministers, with the swearing-in of the new incumbents scheduled at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. This comes almost precisely one month after the conclusion of the Congress' 83rd plenary session at Burari, and after weeks of feverish speculation. It also signals the fact that changes in the party organisation, including the reconstitution of the apex decision-making body — the Congress Working Committee — will follow shortly. 3. Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan made a reference to the Supreme Court for the removal of State Information Commissioner Ramanand Tiwari, who is embroiled in the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam. Mr. Sankaranarayanan made the reference under Section 17 (1) of the Right to Information Act.

The section pertains to the removal of State Chief Information Commissioner or State Information Commissioner. 4. Lavasa Corporation Ltd. HQ – Pune, Maharashtra Founder – Ajit Gulabchand

President – Rajgopal Nogja 5. No Australian man has won the Australian Open since Mark Edmondson in 1976. 6. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will soon submit fresh recommendations on 2G spectrum pricing to the government. It is also planning to come out with a consultation paper on fourth-generation mobile (4G) service by mid-2011. 4G or Long-term Evolution (LTE) will provide a wide range of data rates up to ultra-broadband (gigabit-speed) Internet access to mobile as well as stationary users. The TRAI would look into various aspects, including the spectrum band to be allotted for the 4G service and quantum and modes of allotment to operators. 7. TRAI chairman: J.S. Sarma 8. The Punjab government has announced the setting up of a high-power cell headed by an Inspector-General of Police to provide assistance to brides deserted by non-resident Indian husbands. The cell would also assist, rescue and seek to provide justice to youths trapped in other countries after being sent fraudulently by unscrupulous travel agents. 9. A bill to establish a National Geospatial Data Authority would be introduced in the budget session of Parliament, Union Minister of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal told reporters after inaugurating a four-day meet of Geospatial World Forum, 2011 in Hyderabad. 10. Lifetime Achievement award of the Forum: Dr. Kasturirangan. (space scientist at ISRO) 11. Nepal's Foreign Secretary: Madan Kumar Bhattarai. 12. China to provide 10 million RMB ($1.52 million) in emergency humanitarian relief to flood-hit Sri Lanka.

Flooding has left at least 40 people dead and more than one million people displaced in the north, east and central parts of the country. 13. Three opposition Ministers inducted in the day-old national unity government have resigned, escalating further Tunisia's deep political crisis which began on Friday with the collapse of 23-year old dictatorship of the former President, Zine El Abidne Ben Ali.

The three who resigned on Tuesday — Anouar Ben Gueddour, Abdeljelil Bedoui and Houssine Dimassi — belong to the General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT). 14. Indian Oil Corporation Chairman: B. M. Bansal

JANUARY THE 20TH, 2011 1. In a minor expansion of his Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh introduced three new faces, upgraded five Ministers and shuffled the rest of the pack.

Urban Development Minister, Jaipal Reddy - Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry. Petroleum Minister Murli Deora - Corporate Affairs minister. Salman Khursheed - Water Resources and Minority Affairs Minister (earlier he was MoS for Minority Affairs). Sriprakash Jaiswal - Coal Minister Beni Prasad Verma - independent charge of the Ministry of Steel. K.V. Thomas - Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Ministry; E. Ahmed - MoS in the External Affairs Ministry; K.C. Venugopal - MoS for Power. M.S. Gill - Statistics and Programme Implementation. Vilasrao Deshmukh - Ministries of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Valayar Ravi - Civil Aviation Ministry. Kumari Selja - Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry and Ministry of Culture Ajey Maken - MoS with independent charge of the Youth and Sports Ministry 2. What is Third alternative?

11-party non-UPA and non-NDA alliance, which has informally come together 3. 1st case of Crimean–Congo Hemorrhagic Fever – Ahmedabad 4. Groups of Kashmiri Pandits came together to stage demonstrations to highlight the plight of the community on the 21st anniversary of the ‘Holocaust Day', when thousands of them were forced to flee the Valley following the outbreak of militancy. 5. A Swiss Parliamentary Committee has given the go-ahead to the revised tax treaty between India and Switzerland that would eventually allow the Centre to access secret Swiss bank accounts of Indian tax evaders.

JANUARY THE 21ST, 2011 1. Mobile number portability has been launched 2. Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan on Thursday suspended State Information Commissioner Ramanand Tiwari for his involvement in the Adarsh housing society scam. 3. Swiss police have arrested banker, Rudolf Elmer, who claims to have handed details of rich tax cheats to WikiLeaksJANUARY THE 22ND, 2011

1. Public Accounts Committee Chairman: Murli Manohar Joshi 2. Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj accorded sanction to prosecute Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa over allegations of denotification of land acquired by the government, apart from other charges. The prosecution request was made by two advocates.

Mr. Yeddyurappa is the first Chief Minister of the State against whom a Governor has accorded sanction for prosecution. Karnataka will thus join Tamil Nadu and Bihar, where two Chief Ministers were prosecuted after people obtained the permission of Governors M. Channa Reddy and A.R. Kidwai. 3. Charged with suggesting ways and means of tackling corruption, the recently constituted Group of Ministers decided to firm up the Lokpal Bill at the earliest.

Under the bill, even the Prime Minister will be open to scrutiny. Meeting for the first time since it was set up on January 6, the Pranab Mukherjee-led GoM directed the Cabinet Secretary to form two committees to examine various reports dealing with anti-corruption mechanisms. 4. The European Union and some of its member-States will send representatives as “observers” during the January 24 hearing of human rights activist Binayak Sen's bail application in the Chhattisgarh High Court at Bilaspur.

Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) to India: Daniele Smadja 5. The Supreme Court is to hold the final hearing on petitions seeking to examine the validity of Paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, which deprives Scheduled Castes of reservation benefits on their conversion to Christianity, on February 24. 6. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) chairperson: Bhupinder Prasad 7. Wipro Chairman Azim Premji has announced the appointment of T. K. Kurien as the Chief Executive Officer of the company's Information Technology business, replacing joint chief executives Girish Paranjpe and Suresh Vaswani.

JANUARY THE 23RD, 2011 1. International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), 2011 is being held at Las Vegas. 2. The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited's target to roll out 3G services in 760 cities will be achieved by this fiscal, according to its Chairman and Managing Director Gopal Das. 3. A small but “vocal” section of opinion in Kashmir is for implementation of the United Nations resolutions seeking a plebiscite (A plebiscite or referendum is when a country (or a smaller type of government like a city or state) asks the people a certain question on political issues that will affect the country. The people can then either accept the proposal or they can reject it. Sometimes, the results of a referendum are binding for the government, at other times they are not.) and right of self-determination as a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue. 4. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Rajasthan police has taken Swami Aseemanand, a key figure in the Hindutva terror network, into custody in connection with the 2007 Ajmer dargah blast case.

The first DSC Prize for South Asian Literature has gone to H. N. Naqvi's book ‘Home Boy’. DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is a literary prize awarded annually to writers of any ethnicity or nationality writing about South Asia themes such as culture, politics, history, or people. 5. Bollywood actor Aamir Khan has made it to the international jury of the 61st Berlin film festival to be held next month. 6. President Pratibha Patil wound up the diamond-jubilee celebrations of the Election Commission and launched the “National Voters Day” in New Delhi. 7. National Voters’ Day: January 25th. 8. EC Director-General: Akshay Rout.

JANUARY THE 24TH, 2011 1. India may have to wait till at least next year for information from Switzerland on the possible black money trail to Swiss banks, as a treaty for the same might come into force only by the end of 2011. 2. The Planning Commission has decided to disown the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Selected Tribal and Backward Districts that it authored and was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) — in a vastly amended form — in November last. 3. In an attempt to make bilateral ties comprehensive, India and Indonesia will sign nearly three dozen memoranda of understanding or agreements during President Susilo Bamgbang Yudhoyono's visit. India will focus on forging closer ties in energy, defence and investment during the visit of Mr. Yudhoyono, who will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. 4. Hundreds of rural Tunisians reinforced protests led by industrial workers and professionals in the capital Tunis, adding more pressure on the remnants of the regime of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

5. An Israeli probe ruled that a May 2010 raid on a flotilla of Gaza-bound aid ships, which killed nine Turkish activists, did not violate international law. 6. The Tikrel Commission was set up to inquire and investigate the Flotilla incident. 7. Israel's Foreign Minister is putting together an interim peace plan that would grant the Palestinians limited independence in an attempt to blunt their efforts to win international recognition of an independent state.

The Palestinians rejected the notion of a provisional state as a “publicity stunt” and urged Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to work instead to achieve a final peace deal. JANUARY THE 25TH, 2011 1. At least 35 people were killed and about 60 injured in a suicide attack at Moscow's largest, and Russia's busiest airport. Russia's Investigative Committee confirmed that it was a terrorist attack that was probably linked to Russia's troubled North Caucasus. 2. Taking a tough stand, the Centre sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi and his close aide Lalit Bhanot for trying to “intimidate witnesses and hamper investigations” being undertaken by the CBI into the multicrore CWG scam. 3. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, the doyen of Hindustani classical music, breathed his last at a private hospital in Pune. 4. Bharti Airtel, which has the biggest revenue share among mobile phone companies in India.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPIONS: Singles’ men: Novak Djokovic (Serbia) Singles’ women: Kim Clijsters (Belgium) Doubles’ men: Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan (USA) Doubles’ women: Gisela Dulko (Argentina) & Flavia Pennetta (Italy) Mixed Doubles: Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia) & Daniel Nestor (Canada)

JANUARY THE 26TH, 2011 1. Oscar Nominations:

=The King's Speech‘ tops field with 12 Oscar nominations – British historical drama- Directed by Tom Hooper. =The Social Network‘ had been tipped to earn the most Oscar nominations after winning four awards at the Golden Globes A R Rahman bagged two nomination: one for the original score of Danny Boyle‘s =127 Hours‘ and for the song =If I Rise‘ (in collaboration with Dido and Rolo Armstrong), from the same movie. 2. A powerful bomb planted by unidentified militants on a rail bridge in Haflong in Assam exploded derailing a goods train, which was on its way from Lumding to Silchar, on the eve of Republic Day. There was no report of any casualty or injuries. 3. In a brazen act, Additional Collector of Nashik district Yashwant Sonawane was burnt alive by kerosene mafia in Manmad, Nashik, on 25th January, 2011. 4. BJP Leaders arrested in J & K: As soon as the BJP workers, led by Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Ananth Kumar and Anurag Thakur, holding the tricolour and shouting slogans, crossed the Punjab-J&K border, heavy contingents of police arrested them. The police booked all leaders under Section 188 of the Ranbir Penal Code.1 5. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has reiterated the Government's stand that information received on black money stashed by Indians in foreign banks and other tax havens cannot be disclosed in the absence of a legal framework. Mr. Mukherjee noted that to tackle the menace of illicit funds, the government has adopted a five-pronged strategy. It comprises joining the global crusade against =black money'; creating an appropriate legislative framework; setting up institutions for dealing with illicit funds; developing systems for implementation; and imparting skills to the manpower for effective action.

1 The IPC is called the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) in J&K. JANUARY THE 27TH, 2011 1. As part of its continuing efforts to cut cost, the BBC London announced that its Hindi radio service on shortwave will be closed from March, besides five language services. The raft of measures will lead to the loss of 650 jobs. 2. The BJP leaders arrested in J&K were released after night long detention. They ended their =Ekta Yatra‘ by hoisting the Tricolour at Kathua. Sushma Swaraj said that getting arrested for hoisting Tricolour on Republic Day was the ?worst scenario after Emergency?. 3. Disturbance all over Egypt where people are clamouring for an end to the 30-year-old dictatorship of President Hosni Mubarak. The crowds called for the resignations of Mr. Mubarak and Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, dissolution of Parliament and the formation of a new national unity government. 4. Chief Guest for R-Day Parade- Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono 5. Ashok Chakra conferred posthumously on Army doctor Major Laishram Jyotin Singh. 6. Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani (36), a Guantanamo Bay detenu and alleged Al-Qaeda member involved in the 1998 bombings of the United States' embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, was sentenced to life in prison despite being

acquitted on all 276 murder and attempted murder charges and four conspiracy charges that U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder brought against him. 7. President Hamid Karzai swore in Afghanistan‘s new Parliament in a ceremony that marked the end of a drawn-out battle over whether the lawmakers would be able to start work despite ongoing investigations into electoral fraud.

JANUARY THE 28TH, 2011 1. Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister: Jaipal Reddy. 2. An exclusive research station for grapes will be set up on 25 acres in Cumbum valley to impart latest cultivation techniques, and help farmers get hands-on experience in the field itself, said K.P.T. Ganesan, Chairman, Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Marketing Board. 3. Senior advocate, Anil Divan, appearing for petitioner and former Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani, accused the government of not being serious on the black money issue, alleging that Pune-based businessman Hasan Ali had fled the country. 4. Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh stirred up a hornet's nest once again, when he said that Veer Savarkar, the man who coined the word ?Hindutva? and who was a source of inspiration for the Sangh Parivar, had been the first to float the two-nation theory that led to the partition of India. ?It was Veer Savarkar who first mooted the idea of a two-nation theory which was later adopted by Muhammad Ali Jinnah,? he said. 5. Nepal President Ram Baran Yadav arrived in Kolkata on a 10-day official visit to India. He is accompanied by Minister for Federal Affairs and Constituent Assembly Minendra Rijal and senior officials. Mr. Rijal is expected to brief New Delhi about the new initiative to end the political logjam that has led to Nepal being unable to elect a new Prime Minister after 16 rounds of voting. A fresh round of voting with altered rules is scheduled for February 3. 6. The Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) has written to the government, suggesting some major amendments to the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010, ahead of a conference of State Ministers for women and child development, to be chaired by Union Minister Krishna Tirath in New Delhi. Later, an NAC member explained that if the Bill was really intended ?to promote gender equality and justice and the universally recognised human right to work with dignity,? it was of paramount importance to widen the scope of the Bill to include domestic workers. 7. Food inflation inched up marginally to 15.57 per cent for the week ended January 15 from 15.52 per cent a week ago as vegetable prices continued to rule firm at higher levels. The primary concern of the government and the RBI is the spill-over effect of high food inflation on the manufacturing sector which in turn is certain to impede overall economic growth. 8. The International Cricket Council and Yahoo!India announced the launch of the official website of the ICC World Cup 2011 — iccevents.yahoo.com, the online destination to follow the happenings of the sporting extravaganza, starting from February 19.

JANUARY THE 29TH, 2011 1. The Justice B.K. Somasekhara Commission of Inquiry, in its final report on the attacks on churches and prayer halls in several places in Karnataka in 2008, has absolved the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ?mainstream? sangh parivar and the State government from having been ?directly or indirectly? involved in the violence. 2. The Supreme Court on 28th January dismissed a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Haj Committee Act, which provides for grant of a government subsidy for pilgrimage every year. A Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra rejected the contention by Prafull Goradia, former BJP Rajya Sabha member, who said such a grant violated Articles 14 and 15 and in particular Article 27 (freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion). 3. Pakistan Foreign Minister: Shah Mehmood Qureshi 4. Pakistan Foreign Secretary: Salman Basheer. 5. Fifty-five civil society groups from the U.S., the U.K. and Canada have come together to demand the immediate release of jailed human rights activist Binayak Sen, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Chhattisgarh court. The groups have planned demonstrations, vigils and panel discussions on January 30 to voice opposition to the ?brutal suppression of peaceful democratic dissent currently under way? in India. 6. Backed by the strong endorsement from the Ministries of Finance and Home, the Commerce and Industry Ministry is preparing to move a Cabinet note on allowing 49 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in defence sector. Sources said Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who recently held a meeting on the issue, strongly batted for enhancing the FDI limit from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. His view was backed by Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma. 7. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed into law the ratification of a landmark nuclear arms cut pact with the United States, a day after the Upper House of the Russian Parliament unanimously endorsed the pact. 8. U.S. President Barack Obama has named two Indian-Americans — Vivek Murthy and Islam Siddiqui — for key posts in his administration. Mr. Murthy has been appointed to the advisory group on Prevention, Health, Promotion and Integrative and Public Health, while Mr. Siddiqui would be the President's Chief Agricultural Negotiator. 9. Apple's much-awaited gadget — iPad — has made its official debut in India.

10. Mallika Srinivasan will be the new Chairman of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE) and TAFE Motors and Tractors Limited.

JANUARY THE 30TH, 2011 1. A confessional statement given by an accused under Section 15 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) should not be discarded merely for the reason it has been retracted during trial, the Supreme Court has held. The Bench gave this ruling, upholding the life sentence awarded by a Kanpur TADA court to Om Prakash Shrivastava alias Babloo, K.K. Saini and Manjit Singh alias Mange for the murder of Additional Collector of Customs L.D. Arora. 2. The Delhi High Court has rejected the anticipatory bail application of R. Dhanapal Raj, Vice-Chairman of the Bar Council of India and member of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu, cited as an accused in a CBI first information report registered in December 2010. 3. In a joint operation, the Navy and the Coast Guard destroyed a pirate mother ship, Prantalay14, about 300 nautical miles off the Lakshadweep group of islands and apprehended 15 pirates. They also rescued 20 Thai and Myanmarese fishermen, who had been held hostage after a Thai fishing vessel Prantalay14 was hijacked along with Prantalay 11 and Prantalay 12 on April 18 last year. 4. The scarce spectrum will not be offered free of cost, and all operators will have to obtain radio waves through a market-driven process, Union Communications Minister Kapil Sibal said. But he clarified that the new operators who got licence in 2008 would be asked to pay beyond the 4.4 MHz start-up spectrum, while the incumbent service providers would have to pay beyond 6.2 MHz. 5. Russian investigators have traced the deadly Moscow airport bombing earlier this week to the country's restive southern region that includes Chechnya. The Investigative Committee has identified the suicide bomber as a 20-year-old man from Northern Caucasus, said the committee's spokesman on 29th January. The bomb killed 35 people and wounded 180 at Domodedovo airport on 24th January, 2011. 6. Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA): J. Harinarayan 7. The insurance industry registered 23 per cent growth in 2009-10. 8. Young Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave made World champion Viswanathan Anand force a draw through perpetual checks before USA's Hikaru Nakamura outthought Russian youngster Ian Nepomniachtchi to take sole possession of the lead after the 11th round of the Tata Steel chess tournament at Wijk ann Zee, in the Netherlands. 9. Indian entrepreneur Ahsan Ali Syed officially took over as owner of Spanish First Division side Racing Santander. Syed — who made an unsuccessful £300m bid to buy English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers earlier this season — promised that he would bring in new blood to the squad starting with Serbian international striker Nikola Zigic from Premier League side Birmingham City.

JANUARY THE 31ST, 2011 1. The former International Atomic Energy Agency chief-turned-reformist leader, Mohamed ElBaradei, appeared to be fast emerging as the new political face of the Egyptian uprising, as the regime of President Hosni Mubarak seemed fractured despite its desperate attempt to project a united front. 2. External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna is maintaining a close contact with Indian Ambassador in Egypt R. Swaminathan in connection with the developments in that country and to provide assistance to the Indians there. 3. Minister for External Affairs S.M. Krishna has taken strong exception to the radio-tagging of Indian students in San Francisco, and has directed the Consuls General at California and New York to provide assistance to them. He said the students were not criminals and that the radio tags should be removed immediately. The tags were placed around the students' ankles to apparently keep a tab on their movements. 4. London-based Kashmiri novelist Mirza Waheed has lauded the women of Kashmir for their resilience during the 20-year-long conflict, saying: ?They are the bravest in the world.? The novel, 'The Collaborator‘ published by Penguin Books, U.K., has already been listed among the top 10 novels of 2011 and is the first such piece of fiction by someone who was born and brought up in the haze of the conflict in the 1990s. 5. Two of the world's richest people, Warren Buffett and software czar Bill Gates, will visit India this year to seek support of wealthy Indians for philanthropic activities. Legendary investor Buffett along with Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates are leading the =Giving Pledge' campaign that urges rich people to pledge at least half of their wealth to charity. 6. On a day marked by rallies across the country and in some cities in North America and the United Kingdom to protest the life sentence awarded to paediatrician and rights activist Binayak Sen, about 700 people gathered in his home town, Raipur, to demand his release. Nearly five weeks after human rights activist and medical practitioner Binayak Sen was convicted on charges of sedition and awarded life sentence by the Raipur Sessions Court, protests demanding his immediate release continued here on Sunday with his 84-year-old mother Anasuya Sen taking to the streets demanding justice for her son. 7. The original crew of Prantalay14, a hijacked Thai fishing trawler-turned-pirate ship, which was sunk west of the Lakshadweep in a joint anti-piracy action by the Navy and the Coast Guard on Friday, were sent to Mumbai on Sunday by INS Cankarso, which spearheaded the operation.

8. Union Law and Justice Minister M. Veerappa Moily said that all subordinate courts in the country would be converted into fast track courts (FTC) within three months. 9. Urgent and sustained efforts needed to curb female foeticide were discussed at a two-day workshop on ?female foeticide: rights of the girl child, problems and solutions,? held at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai. The workshop was organised to mark the National Girl Child Week from January 24 to 31. 10. Thousands turned out to welcome Tunisian Islamist leader Rached Ghannouchi's return after more than 20 years in exile, as political Islam prepares a comeback following the fall of Tunisia's regime. FEBRUARY THE 1ST, 2011 1. Laying down 60 more conditions, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has granted conditional clearance to Posco's $12-billion steel mill-cum-captive port project in Orissa. Union Minister Jairam Ramesh has also sought an assurance from the Orissa government that there was no violation of the Forest Rights Act in the land acquisition. The project comprises a steel mill, a captive power plant and a minor port. 2. The Chinese government has denied suggestions that it had links with the 17th Karmapa, whose monastery was recently raided in Dharamsala, saying the accusation reflected the Indian government's mistrust towards China. Nearly $ 1.6 million in foreign currencies was found following a raid in a monastery in Dharamsala. 3. The former Telecom Minister, A. Raja, was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation as the agency moved ahead with its ongoing probe into the allegations of financial irregularities and undue favours to some telecom companies in granting 2G spectrum between October 2007 and 2008. According to the sources, Mr. Raja was asked about his conversations with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and the reasons for advancing the cut-off date for allocation of spectrum in 2007. 4. Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat urged the United Progressive Alliance government not to stand in the way of a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament in its budget session. 5. A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionary, accused in the Ajmer blast case, moved a Delhi court seeking registration of a first information report against the Central Bureau of Investigation and Tehelka magazine for making public the confessional statement of Right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand. 6. Australia's Queensland State is facing one of the worst cyclones in its history, bringing wild winds and potentially devastating rainfall to areas still awash with floods. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, a monster storm brewing on the Coral Sea, ?may well be one of the largest and most significant cyclones that we've ever had to deal with?. 7. India's GDP (gross domestic product) growth stands revised upwards to 8 per cent for 2009-10 from the 7.4 per cent expansion estimated earlier for the fiscal, mainly on the strength of better showing by sectors such as manufacturing and services. The country's GDP at factor cost at constant (2004-05) prices in 2009-10 is estimated at Rs.44.94 lakh crore as against Rs.41.63 lakh crore in 2008-09, which works out to an overall economic growth of 8 per cent during the year. 8. The Aditya Birla Group has moved a step closer to its stated intention of being a significant global player in its major businesses of cement, aluminium and carbon black when it announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Atlanta-based Columbian Chemicals Company (CCC) from One Equity Partners, the merchant banking arm of J. P. Morgan Chase & Co for a consideration of $875 million.

CLAT GYAN’S GK COMPENDIUM FEBRUARY 2ND 2011 SHOW OF PEOPLE’S POWER AT TAHRIR SQUARE The Egyptian army kept up its promise of not firing on protestors and facilitated the entry of an unprecedented number of people protesting the rule of president Hosni Mubarak in Cairo.the number of people is expected to be around 2.5 lakh. The newly appointed vice president omar Suleiman has invited the opposition for talks which has signaled its readiness based on two conditions, first that Mubarak has to go and second that vice president should make way for democracy. SUPREME COURT AND 2G REGULARIZATIONS The supreme court says that any policy that the government may adopt as to regularization of 2G spectrum licenses for not fulfilling conditions etc would be subject to the scrutiny of the court. And that the court would have the final say on it. A Bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice A.K. Ganguly refused to pass any interim order on the application filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) to stop the Centre from regularizing the licenses after levying a penalty. SHUNGLU PANEL ASKS FOR STRICT ACTION AGAINST LALLI The panel headed by former CAG VK Shunglu strongly indicted CEO of Prasar Bharati , BS Lalli,and the the director general of Doordarshan Aruna Sharma of causing loss amounting to Rs. 135 crore by conspiring with UK based broadcast firm SIS live during the commonwealth games. The 236 page report asked the government to charge them with the prevention of corruption act and the Indian penal code. MINORITIES COMMISSION HEADED BY WAJAHAT HABIBULLAH The first chief information commissioner of India ,Wajahat Habibullah is now the head of the national commission on minorities. He will be replacing Mohammad Shafi Quereshi who was once a governor and union minister. FEBRUARY 3RD

CBI ARRESTS A RAJA The CBI arrested the former union minister for communication and information technology A Raja and two officers who had worked under him for violating established guidelines and procedures during the allotment of the 2 G spectrum in 2008. CLASHES IN TAHRIR SQUARE With thousands of Mubarak supporters bidding to take control of tahrir square chaos broke out and people were seen blood flowing down their faces after the stone throwing that ensued. Mohammad el baradei called it a crime against Egypt.the military was deployed in full strength.but it took no measures to separate the warring camps. Union minister for external affairs SM Krishna in the mean while supported the anti-mubarak wave in Egypt saying that he should step down and make way for democracy. CENSUS TO BEGIN ON FEBRUARY 9TH The national census is to take place between February 9th and 28th. Registrar-General and Census Commissioner C. Chandramouli called this the biggest ever census attempted in the history of mankind.a colum on sc/ st would be included. but a separate caste based enumeration would take place in june. SALEH SAYS HE WILL QUIT IN 2013 Yemeni leader ali Abdullah Saleh , under pressure from the opposition, says he will freeze constitutional changes that would enable him to remain president for life. Stating that he was against hereditary rule the leader of the arab worlds poorest country said that he would step down in 2013 and not groom his son for ruling after him. CYCLONE IN AUSTRAILIA Austrailias north eastern coast got hit by cyclone yasi which wrecked tens of thousands of homes.this further causes problems for the queensland area which has already lost many people due to floods this year. NEPAL ELECTIONS Nominations were filed for the nepal elections by the four major parties. Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal „Prachanda', Nepali Congress parliamentary party leader Ram Chandra Poudel, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) chairman Jhalanath Khanal, and a leader of the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) Bijay Kumar Gachhedar are the candidates. The voting would take place on Thursday. TAX TREATY WITH NORWAY India signed a revised tax treaty, the double taxation avoidance agreement ,with Norway which facilitates exchange of information and helps catch tax evasion and flow of black money. This treaty will replace the double taxation avoidance convention signed between the countries in 1986 WORLD TRADE CENTRE AT KOCHI Kofi. A. Boateng chief operating officer of world trade centres association announced that a world trade centre at Kochi was being conceptualized. it would be the third in India after Mumbai and one that is supposed to come up in Bangalore this year. he described world trade centres as engines of economic growth through international trade and recalled the WTCA catch phrase -„Prosperity Through Trade.'There are seven approved licenses for WTCs in India — Mumbai, launched in 1970; Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa, Gurgaon and Kochi.

FEBRUARY 4TH JHALANATH KHANAL –NEPAL’S PRIME MINISTER Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), Jhalanath Khanal, secured the support of 368 MPs in the House of 601 to become the 34th Prime Minister, he takes over after 7 months under a care taker prime minister. He was supported by the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), whose chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal „Prachanda' decided to withdraw from the contest right before the voting. IIM –A RANKED 11TH BEST GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, has been placed 11th in The Financial Times Global MBA Ranking of the world's top 100 business schools in 2011.london business schoo, Wharton school of the university of pensylvania and Harvard business school are the best business schools in that order. JUSTICE RAVEENDRAN OPTS OUT OF PINARAYI CASE Pinarayi vijayan is a CPI(m) leader who was accused of offences amounting to rs. 300 crore in the SNC lavalin case by the CBI. Here Mr. Vijayan was accused of wrongfully allowing a Canadian company to renovate power plants when he was the power minister in 1997 . a writ petition filed by him against the governors orders allowing the CBI to prosecute was to come up before the supreme court bench of judges raveendran and A.K . Patnaik. Justice raveeendran said he was not inclined to hear it and without any reason asked the case to be assigned to a bench which excluded him. COURT WARDS FIVE DAYS CUSTODY OF RAJA In newdelhi a court awarded the CBI five days custody of former union minister A Raja and two others arrested along in in the 2 G spectrum allocation case.the public prosecutor told the special judge O.P . Saini that swan telecom and united wireless were two beneficiaries of Mr. Raja's largesse towards certain telecom companies that caused a total loss of Rs.22,000 crore to the exchequer calculated on a pro-rata basis. SIT REPORT BLASTS MODI

The R.K Raghavan headed Special investigation team in a report to the supreme court has held the chief minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi guilty of watering down the seriousness of the situation by making statements that said “every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. The report leaked by Tehelka magazine in its latest issue says that the government over looked the ghastly and violent attacks and that Modi?s strong condemnation of the Godhra incident coupled with justification of the Gujarat pogrom implied a partial stance.the move of placement of ministers in the police control rooms was also severely criticized and also criticized the transferring of police officers who tried to stop the rioting. FEBRUARY 5TH COMMONWEALTH LAW CONFERENCE IN INDIA AFTER 40 YEARS Inaugurated by PM Manmohan Singh, at Hyderabad. NILEKANI SUBMITS TAGUP REPORT TO PRANAB MUKHERJEE UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani submitted the technology advisory group for unique projects (TAGUP) report to union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee which among other things talks about IT intensive projects pertaining to the finance ministry. The report is supposed to help in IT projects such as Tax Information Network (TIN), New Pension Scheme (NPS), National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), Expenditure Information Network (EIN) and Goods and Service Tax (GST) TEHELKA LISTS 15 ACCOUNT HOLDERS IN LIECHTENSTIEN Tehelka news magazine released a list of 15 account holders and trusts having secret accounts in the tax haven of liechtenstien. This list was given to the Indian government in march 2009 and the government had refused to make the names public due to a confidentiality agreement with the government of germany MYANMAR GETS A NEW PRESIDENT Thein Sein a military general turned civilian is myanmars new president . he was elected under the country?s 2008 constitution. he was chosen by the Presidential Electoral College in Myanmar's administrative capital of Nay Pyi Taw. This College was constituted on the basis of results of a controversial “democracy-restoring” general election, which was held in November last. New civilian representatives and the junta's military nominees formed the Electoral College. Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), which was de-registered before the 2010 general election, did not take part in the election.The future role of the junta leader, Senior General Than Shwe is still unsettled. February 6th Egypt- ruling party leaders quit, rocks US- Israel relationships,gas pipeline attacked Marking another step toward democracy the entire top leadership of the ruling party including Hosni mubarak?s son Gamal Mubarak resigned. The pro- democracy movement is now preparing for transition which , it hopes, will lead to national elections.along with leader of the opposing national council for change coalition el baradei the arab league head and former foreign minister Amr Moussa is also seen to be in the running for the next president.meanwhile at tahrir square crowds continued to hold ground where as the military was fully deployed and movement in and out was monitored. A bureau office of the Al- Jazeera was attacked by a pro- Mubarak mob. In United States a white house spokesperson said that they were engaged in calming Israel. President Obama has spoken to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and the white house west asia media advisor Daniel Shapiro has met ameircan jewish leaders. Saboteurs have attacked a gas pipeline to Jordan using explosive in a town in the northern part of Sinai in the Gaza strip forcing authorities to switch off gas supplies.it is not clear who was responsible for the attack and whether it is related to the pro- democracy movement and violent protests against Mubarak which has been going on for 12 days now. FEBRUARY 7TH CAG GOES AFTER ANOTHER SPECTRUM SCAM the comptroller and auditer general of India , after the 2G spectrum scam , is going after another spectrum scam, the S band spectrum scam. This looks into a 2005 agreement between the commercial arm of ISRO Antrix Corporation Ltd. and Devas Multimedia private Ltd. the agreement was about ISRO launcing two satellites for Devas but this led to huge hidden benefits of unbridled use of 70 mega hertz of the scarce S band Spectrum over 20 years. ISRO is under department of space which is directly under the prime minister.according to the CAG this could have resulted in a loss in excess of around 2 lakh crore PRP MERGES WITH THE CONGRESS The praja rajyam party which was headed by actor turned politican chiranjeevi has merged with the congress without any pre condition.the party had supported the congress during rajya sabha elections last year. FIRST WOMAN SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR SAARC In its silver jubilee year the former attorney general of Maldives Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed will become the first woman secretary general of SAARC. She will succeed Indian diplomant Sheel Kant Sharma.SAARC summit will be hosted in Maldives in November this year. ATP SOUTH AFRICA OPEN GOES TO KEVIN ANDERSON With somadev devvarman losing in the finals the ATP south African open went to local favorite Kevin Anderson. In the ATP Zagreb indoor tournament Ivan Dodig has beaten Michael Berrer. FEBRUARY 8TH MUSHARAFF ACCUSED IN BENAZIR CASE Former president Parvez Musharaff is named as one of the accused in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

GOVERNMENT REACTS TO ISRO SPECTRUM DEAL SCAM Reacting to the expose by business line and the hindu the union government said that it was in the process of reviewing the deal between ISRO commercial arm Antrix corporation Ltd. and Bangalore based Devas multimedia which allows an unpaid for access to S band Spectrum to Devas at a loss of Rs. 2 Lakh Crore to the government. The CAG on the other hand said that the inquiries were still in the preliminary stage and that by no stretch of imagination is it possible that the findings given in the papers are those of the CAG. The BJP and the left have asked for a probe into the deal. Meanwhile Devas multimedia has responded to the media reports saying that there are factual inaccuracies in the media reports and that they do not own any unpaid for spectrum.

CLAT GYAN‘S GK COMPENDIUM – JULY 2010 FEBRUARY THE 8TH, 2011 • Saarc Council of Ministers meet was held in Thimpu. Foreign Secretary of Pakistan: Salman Beshir • Dr V M Katoch, Secretary (Health Research) headed the investigation on the death of four girls in AP after they were administered the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine used to prevent cervical cancer by the NGO PATH. • The Madhya Pradesh government has to deal with protests over it allotting a whopping 250 crores to the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)‘s huge gathering for the promotion of reconversion of ex-Hindus. • (Ex-) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak came under fresh pressure on Monday to step down as opponents said concessions offered in landmark talks were not enough to halt a revolt against his 30-year rule as thousands of demonstrators spent a 14th day in central Cairo's Tahrir Square.

FEBRUARY THE 9TH, 2011 • American employee of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Pakistan, arrested after the killing of two locals in ?self-defence? in a crowded intersection of Lahore on January 27: Raymond Davis. • Two Indian-Americans — Ganpat Mani and Vijay Sazawal — were appointed on Tuesday by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke to serve on the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee • Justice Shivraj Patil was appointed to investigate the allocation of telecom licences and bandwidth • In an arrangement, the Praja Rajyam Party of actor-turned politician Chiranjeevi is to merge with the Congress in Andhra Pradesh. FEBRUARY THE 10TH, 2011 • In the high-profile Aarushi Talwar murder case, a designated court in Ghaziabad rejected the CBI‘s plea for closure and charged Aarushi‘s parents for the murder of their daughter. CBI had pleaded for closure of the case as there was no substantial evidence to prosecute the suspected. • CBI, as part of the on-going investigation into the 2G spectrum scam, arrested Swan Telecom‘s promoter, Shahid Balwa. • Aero India 2011 started off in the capital of Karnataka, Bangalore • Tension gripped the Darjeeling hills and parts of the Dooars in north Bengal on Wednesday, the first day of an indefinite bandh the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha called to protest the death of two of its supporters. The GJM has been demanding a separate =Gorkhaland‘ that should be carved out of West Bengal • Defence Minister: AK Antony • Dakshin Prahar: a military exercise conducted annually to gauge and sharpen the IAF's preparedness to combat a range of threats. • Cambodia and Thailand had tensions building over the hotly contested Preah Vihear temple that exists between the countries‘ borders • Facebook founder: Mark Zuckerberg FEBRUARY THE 11TH, 2011 • Bowing to 17 days of ceaseless pro-democracy protests, Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's President for 30 years, appears set to step down, handing over the reins of power to the military, which asserted itself on Thursday. Interim power would be given to an ?Armed Forces Supreme Council?. • Shivraj Patil Committee looked into the spectrum allocation policies of both UPA and NDA governments • Nepal's Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal belongs to the Unified Marxist Leninist Party (Ex PM: Madhav Kumar Nepal) • A two-man committee — comprising Planning Commission member and former Cabinet Secretary B.K. Chaturvedi, and Space Commission member Professor Roddam Narasimha — will review ?the technical, commercial, procedural and financial aspects of the Agreement between Antrix (the commercial arm of ISRO) and (Bangalore-based private firm) Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd

FEBRUARY THE 12TH, 2011 • 43rd Jnanpith Award was recently awarded to ONV Kurup (refer earlier compendiums for details on the award) • The International Labour Organisation's Decent Work Research Prize has been awarded to economist Jayati Ghosh and Professor Eve Landau

FEBRUARY THE 13TH, 2011

• Amidst a sense of accomplishment about Mubarak stepping down the Egyptian army said that it would fill the void left behind and that it would steer the country toward democracy. The army reportedly said that it would abide by all international treaties including the 1979 peace treaty with Israel. • Additional sessions judge B.J.Dhandha has been appointed to the gulber society case as a judge of a special court by the Gujarat high court. He replaces B.U. Joshi. This comes after allegations of B.U. Joshi being biased from citizens for justice and peace an organisation headed by Teesta Setalvad. Mr. Dhandha had been hearing the Naroda Patiya case before but now the Judge Yagnik has been reinstated to that case. • An ajmer court remanded the ajmer dargah blast accused swami Aseemanand in judicial custody till February 15th. He will be kept in central jail.

FEBRUARY THE 14TH, 2011 • Hashim ansari the oldest litigant in the ayodhya land title suit said that he would move the supreme court as all his attempts at an out of court settlement had failed. • Proclaiming itself to be the custodian of steering Egypt into democracy, the Egyptian army suspended the constitution, dissolved the parliament and announced a 6 month deadline for holding fresh parliamentary elections. • Russian president Dmitry Medvedev awarded the pushkin medal to JNU professor Arun Mohanty for his contribution to studies on Russia and promotion of bilateral cultural ties.more than 10 indians have been awarded the medal since its institution in 1977. It is the highest honorary award given in recognition of outstanding contribution to Russian language and culture. • The national e governance award has been given to the tribal research and training institute for a project on use of geoinformatics for implementation of forest rights act, 2006 in Maharashtra.

FEBRUARY THE 15TH, 2011 • A full bench of the Karnataka high court upheld the disqualification of the five MLA‘s by speaker K.G. Bopaiah. The reason given was that the candidates by their actions formed a part of the BJP and hence their withdrawal of support could attract disqualification under the anti-defection act. the five legislators have decided to move the Supreme Court. • The kings speech won the BAFTA awards for best film as the lead actor colin firth picked up the best actor award for the same movie. Helena Carter won best supporting actress for her role as the kings wife and Geoffrey Rush picked up best supporting actor for his role as the kings speech therapist. Actress Natalie portman has won the best actress award for her part in Black Swan.Christopher lee was presented the fellowship award by Tim Burton. • Ajay Parida, executive director of the M.S. Swaminathan Reseach foundation, has been awarded the prestigious TATA Innovation Fellowship of department of biotechnology, Government of India.

FEBRUARY THE 16TH, 2011 • The Japanese navy will for the second time take part in the India-US military exercises this time to be held in the Okinawa coast which has a high concentration of US marines. This Malabar series of excercises will be held between april 2nd to 10th . • The Supreme Court upheld the death sentence given to Surinder Koli for killing a fourteen year old girl, one of his first in a series of killings in Nithari village on the outskirts of delhi. The bench consisted of Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Mishra.

CLAT GYAN?S WEEKLY GK COMPENDIUM FEBRUARY THE 19TH, 2011 • Even after the 48-hour deadline set by the Maoists ended on 18th February 2011 evening, the Orissa government was not able to establish contact with District Collector R. Vineel Krishna, who was kidnapped by the extremists, along with a junior engineer on Wednesday. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik appealed to the abductors to extend the deadline and urged the Maoists not to cause any physical harm to Mr. Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi. • Following a court order, 136 Indian fishermen were sent back to India from Jaffna. After their arrest on the charge of fishing in Sri Lankan waters, two local courts in Jaffna remanded the fishermen in 14 days judicial custody and sent them to jail. • With the government agreeing to the Opposition demand for setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to go into the 2G spectrum scam, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal insisted that if and when the panel was constituted its jurisdiction would be confined to „one definite subject.'The government is expected to move a motion in the Lok Sabha, proposing the constitution of the JPC, under rule 193 (which does not warrant voting) and once approved, it would be referred to the Rajya Sabha. Indications are there would be 20 members from the Lower House and 10 from the Upper House on the JPC. • Bird flu has struck the country again. This time in the State Duck Breeding Farm in Agartala that has been ordered to cull all poultry within a radius of 3 km of the farm. The State will also impose a ban on movement of poultry and its products and order closure of all poultry egg market and outlets within a radius of 10 km.

• The Supreme Court asked Attorney-General (A-G) G.E. Vahanvati to give the status of a complaint sent to Vice President Hamid Ansari, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe, against Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), K.G. Balakrishnan. A three-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) S.H. Kapadia, was hearing a writ petition filed by an advocate that sought removal of Mr. Justice Balakrishnan from his office and a probe against him and his family members. • The Central Bureau of Investigation has moved the Supreme Court against a judgment of the Allahabad High Court upholding the dropping of conspiracy charge by a special court against BJP leaders L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and 18 others in the Babri Masjid demolition case. • Brief history - Mr. Advani and 20 others faced charges in two cases arising out of two separate first information reports. In the first FIR, conspiracy alleged against “lakhs of unknown kar sevaks” was for the offence of demolition (case 197). The second FIR, which specifically charged Mr. Advani and other leaders with making inflammatory speeches leading to the demolition (case 198), was tried in a special court in Rae Bareli. The two cases were later merged and handed over to the CBI, which filed a composite charge sheet on October 5, 1993 • In a move that could spell the end of Reliance Group's Mumbai Special Economic Zone (MSEZ), the Maharashtra government issued a notification to denotify the land acquisition process for the project that saw stiff opposition from villagers. State Revenue Minister Balasaheb Bhausaheb Thorat told The Hindu that the remark “land earmarked for acquisition” would be removed from all the land titles for the total SEZ area of 16,900 acres. • Anti-regime protesters in the volatile Yemen city of Taez were blasted with a hand grenade leaving two dead and dozens hurt, while violent clashes also erupted in Sana'a, said witnesses. The grenade attack came as hundreds of protesters took to the centre of Taez after the Friday Muslim prayers to demand the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in protests that have been raging in the city for the past week. • Clashes broke out in Jordan's capital between government supporters and opponents at a protest calling for more freedom and lower food prices, injuring eight. The Amman protest drew about 2,000 people, including hard-line leftists, Muslim conservatives and students calling for reduced power for the King and the chance to elect the Cabinet. • India adopted the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) that will reflect the actual movement of prices at the micro-level. As per the new series, the CPI has increased to 106 in January from a base of 100 in 2010 (inflation of 6 per cent), but the government has chosen not to mention the inflation figure, pointing out that the exact level could be arrived only next year. • Upendra Kumar Sinha on Friday took charge as the Securities and Exchange Board of India's Chairman from the outgoing chief, C. B. Bhave, who is said to have considerably raised the bar of the institution during his three-year tenure

FEBRUARY THE 20TH, 2011 • Sriramulu Srinivasulu, member of the Andhra Orissa Special Zonal Committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and inmate of the Malkangiri jail, applied for bail in the Additional District and Sessions Court

at Malkangiri. Twenty-four hours prior to his application, the Maoists demanded his freedom as a precondition for the release of Malkangiri Collector R.V. Krishna. • The Union Home Ministry is pushing the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2005 for consideration and passing in the budget session of Parliament, even though it was summarily rejected by the National Advisory Council, which is currently drafting an entirely new law. Expressing surprise, NAC sources said that Chairperson Sonia Gandhi had communicated to the government that the Council was drafting a new Bill, and they had assumed that until it was ready, the government would not move ahead. • There was a certain amount of anxiety Gokak taluk with Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) issuing notice to seven more youths to appear before the police in connection with the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case. Sources in district police in Belgaum said that the ATS issued notice under Section 160 of the Cr.PC, which empowers the police to require the attendance of witnesses during investigation. • The United States found itself isolated among the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council when it was the sole nation to veto a resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The 14 UNSC members other than the U.S., including Britain and France, supported the resolution, which follows Israel's consistent defiance of international pressures to halt settlement activity in the disputed territories. Palestinian authorities have refused to return to the negotiating table unless settlement activity is halted. • Pro-democracy activists in Libya, inspired by democratic transitions in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt, are facing a harsh crackdown. With brute force and a blinding media blackout, the regime is trying to put down the revolt, which has already left scores of people dead. Thirty-five protesters

were gunned down in Benghazi alone, making Friday the bloodiest day since pro-democracy demonstrations began on February 14. Human Rights Watch said the build-up to Friday's bloodbath began the day before when 20 protesters died in police firings. • For the second time in a week, an anti-terrorism court issued an arrest warrant for the former President, Pervez Musharraf, in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case. • G20 Finance Ministers in Paris reached a compromise deal to correct global economic

• India's Narain Karthikeyan finished ninth for Hispania Racing Team, clocking a best of one minute and 28.393 seconds during his 116 laps on the first day of the Formula One pre-season testing session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.

FEBRUARY THE 21ST, 2011 • Pakistani Qawwali (Sufi devotional music) singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and his manager have been slapped a penalty of Rs.15 lakh each and the foreign currency found in their possession by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at the Delhi airport a week ago has been confiscated. • The Navy is shoring up its hydrographical facilities by acquiring six new survey ships, even as the force continues to provide its services to neighbours in the Indian Ocean region. Ahead of an international seminar on hydrography starting in New Delhi on March 1, the country's Chief Hydrographer Vice Admiral B.R. Rao said these ships being built at Indian yards would be equipped with the latest maps and advanced equipment.

• Uganda's long-time president has won another term, the country's election commission said, but the top opposition leader alleged the election was fraudulent and vowed to reject the results. President Yoweri Museveni won 68 per cent of votes in Friday's poll, allowing him to extend his 25-year hold on power. • The Indian consumer's insatiable appetite for gold continued unabated in 2010 when it remained the strongest growth market for it and total annual consumer demand for gold grew 66 per cent at 963.1 tonnes over 578.5 tonnes in the previous year.

FEBRUARY THE 22ND, 2011 • Describing the 26/11 terror attack here as “indeed the rarest of rare cases involving uncommon and unprecedented crime,” the Bombay High Court upheld the death sentence awarded by the trial court to the lone surviving gunman, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab. It also upheld the acquittal of co-accused Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed for want of corroborative evidence. • The first reactor at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, the RAPS-1 at Rawatbhatta, near Kota, has been shut down permanently since October 2004. The natural uranium fuel has been taken out of the reactor, and the heavy water, which acted as both coolant and moderator, drained from it. The 100 MWe reactor has not been decommissioned though. • As Libya hurtled into further violence, India has worked out contingency plans to ensure the safety of its nationals especially in Benghazi. With no consular presence outside Tripoli, India is contacting other countries, especially from the European Union, whose citizens are trapped in cities where fighting is rampant. • Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati on Monday briefed the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on the long-standing demand by Dalit Christians and

Dalit Muslims that they be given reservation, the way Dalit Buddhists are, as per the 1950 Presidential Order. • Violent protests rocked the Andhra Pradesh capital throughout the day, as pro-Telangana students repeatedly clashed at different places with security forces who foiled their „Chalo Assembly' plan. • The jailed chairman of the outlawed United National Liberation Front (UNLF), Rajkumar Meghen alias Sanayaima, renewed the offer made to the Centre that the outfit would lay down arms before United Nations authorities if the Centre allowed a plebiscite in Manipur in the presence of UN representatives and arrange for the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in the troubled State. • Egypt's top prosecutor requested the freezing of the foreign assets of ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his family, announced state TV. The President's domestic assets were frozen soon after he stepped down, they added. The freeze applies to Mr. Mubarak, his wife, his two sons and two daughters-in-law, said the officials. • The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday questioned Videocon group chairman Venugopal Dhoot and his brother and Rajya Sabha member Rajkumar Dhoot in connection with the allocation of 2G spectrum in 2007-08. They were called to the CBI headquarters here and questioned for over seven hours and confronted with documents of their changing share capital from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 150 crore

FEBRUARY THE 23RD, 2011 • The Delhi High Court has declared illegal strikes resorted to by a section of the doctors at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences here on three occasions in 2007. They had gone on strike even after the Supreme Court in 2006 had asked the AIIMS authorities to withdraw the punitive orders

passed against those who had gone on strike in May 2006 upon their joining duty. • As a part of the second phase of ongoing vulture conservation efforts in the country, a new For the first time in the country's minting history, the Union Government will issue coins of Rs. 150 denomination, marking the number of years of taxation in India. • Reports have revealed that Raymond Davis, the United States embassy employee who has been jailed for killing two Pakistani citizens, worked for the Central Intelligence Agency.

• The just concluded Reliance Industries' $7.2-billion mega oil and gas deal with BP has come as a „breath of fresh air' for RIL, which has been struggling to maintain a stable output from its KG basin D6 field in the last few months, raising concerns over the real estimates from the find. • The Union Sports Ministry has initiated a debate in its bid to introduce a set of stringent laws to regulate National sports bodies in order to bring in more accountability and transparency in their functioning. • Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the government's decision to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to look into the 2G spectrum allocation scam. The winter session was washed out with the Opposition demanding the setting up of a JPC to probe the spectrum allocation which, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), had caused a “presumptive” loss of Rs.1.76-lakh crore to the exchequer. • Abducted Malkangiri Collector R. Vineel Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi were released in the Chitrakonda area of the district on 22nd February 2011 as soon as the Orissa government agreed to Maoists' demands. • In a historic order, the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) granted minority institution status to the Jamia Millia

Islamia University. This will allow the Jamia Millia — started in 1920 and declared a Central university by an Act of Parliament in 1988 — to reserve up to 50 per cent seats for Muslims. • Accepting the “pre-planned conspiracy” theory of the prosecution, a special fast track court — appointed by the Gujarat High Court on the orders of the Supreme Court —convicted 31 accused and acquitted 63 others in the Godhra train burning case. Coach S-6 of the Sabarmati Express, in which 59 people, mostly „kar sevaks' returning from Ayodhya were travelling, was burnt on February 27, 2002 at the Godhra station. All the 31 accused were held guilty on two major counts — Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

FEBRUARY THE 24TH, 2011 • In a bid to accommodate the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and smaller parties, the United Progressive Alliance government agreed to expand the Joint Parliamentary Committee, being set up to examine the 2G spectrum scam, to accommodate 30 members. “We've decided to have a 30-member panel to accommodate smaller parties,” government sources said. With representation of parties depending on their strength in Parliament, the AIADMK would have been excluded had the government stuck to its original plan of having a 21-member JPC. The government's concession was prompted by its concern that parties not represented in the JPC should not further embarrass it in Parliament. • Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said the Indian Ambassador in Libya was seeking permission for planes and ships to evacuate the 18,000 Indians, 13,000 around Tripoli and the remaining scattered in the east of the country. • Defying escalating rumours of his imminent exit, the embattled Vice-Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband, Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi, managed to stay on in his post. However, Mr. Vastanvi's long-term

future continues to be in suspense, with the Majlis-e-Shura (governing council of the Islamic seminary) directing a three-member committee to look into the disturbances following his appointment — on the campus as well as outside it. The Shura also nominated Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani (Banarasi) to the vacant post of karguzar mohtamim (working Vice-Chancellor), with the caveat that Mr. Nomani will take over from Mr. Vastanvi in the event the committee ruled against the latter. • A “Workers' March to Parliament” in New Delhi saw a heavy turnout of workers of various central trade unions protesting against price rise, unemployment, labour law violations and disinvestment. The participating organisations included the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, the Indian National Trade Union Congress, the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the Hind Mazdoor Sabha, the All-India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), the Trade Union Coordination Centre, the All-India Central Council of Trade Unions and the United Trade Union Congress. • A Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra passed this order, disposing of an appeal filed by Baldev Singh and two others against a Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment upholding the trial court's order of 10-year Rigorous Imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1,000 each. • Chinese officials have ruled out the likelihood of unrest after calls for a “Jasmine Revolution” circulated on the Internet, saying Chinese people had “a common aspiration” for stability and development. The call for protests in 13 Chinese cities, which originated from a United States-based website, received little response. Nevertheless, the government appeared to take the threat seriously. Over the weekend, deployment of police forces was increased in some cities, restrictions placed on the Internet and dozens of lawyers and activists detained. • Libyan President Muammar Qadhafi appeared to have tightened his grip on capital Tripoli, but the opposition continued to expand its influence in the

eastern parts, edging ever closer to the strategic oil bearing area of the country. After his furious address on state television, where he threatened retribution against Libyans involved in the revolt, Mr. Qadhafi's supporters, who had been called out by their leader to rout the protesters, poured into Tripoli's Green Square. • The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has clarified that a National Olympic Committee (NOC) was within its rights to take decisions specific to a country while meeting the mandatory requirements imposed by it regarding constitutional provisions. The question related to the recent IOC approval of the redrafted IOA constitution that was adopted by its General Assembly at Ranchi, continuing to give voting rights to State Olympic associations, as against the wishes of the IOC, as made known last July.

FEBRUARY THE 25TH, 2011 • Continuing its grilling of corporate honchos, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday questioned at least seven of them in connection with its ongoing probe into the 2G spectrum scam. • Mr. Qaddafi's loyalists in Libya have launched a counterattack, deploying heavy weapons, to dislodge the opposition at Zawiya, around 48 km west of the capital. An eyewitness told Al Jazeera television that around 30 cars full of soldiers surrounded the city's “martyrs square” where around a thousand protesters had assembled. According to this account, which could not be corroborated independently because of the media blackout imposed by the regime, the firing continued for around five hours, leading to heavy casualties. • Pakistan on Thursday cited the United States Senate report „Avoiding Water Wars in South and Central Asia' as a vindication of its stance that construction of dams by India on the western rivers in „Occupied Kashmir' was in violation of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT).

• Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden in a sex crimes inquiry, a British judge ruled, rejecting claims by the WikiLeaks founder that he would not face a fair trial there. Mr. Assange's lawyer said he would appeal. Judge Howard Riddle said the allegations of rape and sexual molestation by two women against Mr. Assange meet the definition of extraditable offences and said the Swedish warrant had been properly issued and was valid. • Israel warned militants in the Gaza Strip not to “test” the Jewish state, as fighter jets pounded targets across the coastal enclave after a Palestinian rocket attack. Slamming into a house, it was the first rocket to strike Israel's city of Beersheva since the devastating 2008-2009 Gaza war. “I don't suggest anyone test the determination of the state of Israel,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The warning came after 24 hours of tit-for-tat violence along Israel-Gaza border. Early on Thursday, Israeli jets raided sites across the coastal strip. • Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) has announced the launch of trading in Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) on its platform. A total buy bid of 125 non-solar REC and 11 solar REC was received in the first trading session, the country's leading electricity exchange said here in a statement. “This is a great milestone in the history of renewable energy in India. It will create new opportunities for renewable and co-generation power plants,” the statement added.

CLAT GYAN’S WEEKLY GK COMPENDIUM FEBRUARY THE 26TH, 2011 • Parminder Singh Saini, the Sikh extremist who was deported by a Canadian Court for leading a team of militants in the 1984 hijacking of an Indian aircraft to Pakistan with 225 passengers, recently, a Canadian Court rejected his plea for returning to India (Kanishka Bombing, remember?) • The Supreme Court has declined to entertain a writ petition for a direction to the Travancore Devaswom Board to stop lighting the Makara Jyothi at Ponnambalamedu on Makaravilakku day in January every year, as it is not a miracle but man-made fire. • A special fast track court has reserved till March 1 its order on the quantum of punishment to 31 persons convicted in the 2002 Godhra train carnage case. • Shahid Balwa is involved in the 2G spectrum scam as he was the promoter for Swan Telecom which was involved in the crime. • Interesting read: http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/26/stories/2011022667352600.htm • Major Mitali Madhumita is the first woman officer to receive a gallantry award in the Army. She was honoured for acts of bravery and distinguished service at the military station here during the South Western Command Investiture Ceremony.1

1 The list: http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/26/stories/2011022665711300.htm

• Mamata Bannerjee, leader of the Trinamool Congress and Union Minister for Indian Railways recently presented the Railway Budget. For the budget’s details, visit: http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/26/stories/rlybudget2011.pdf • Hassan Ali Khan is involved in the tax-evasion scam, and the parliament pressed Pranab Mukherjee to arrest him and make public the names of other tax-evaders that are being withheld by the government.

• Compulsory Reading: http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/26/stories/2011022651522200.htm

FEBRUARY THE 27TH, 2011 • National Advisory Council is a body set up ad-hoc to provide the government with advice on policy matters pertaining primarily to socio-economic issues. It is chaired by UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi. It has come out with a draft “Right to Food” bill which has been opposed by the civil society activists. • Sadhvi Pragyasingh Thakur, a prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, was “formally arrested” by the Madhya Pradesh police at a hospital here on Friday in connection with the murder of Sunil Joshi, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist and an accused in the Ajmer Sharif and Mecca Masjid blasts. Pragya Singh Thakur has been a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s women’s wing, and was one of the first arrested by the ATS of Maharashtra when it discovered the “saffron terror” movement. • Ex-National Aluminium Company chief Abhay Kumar Shrivastava was arrested by the CBI recently in connection with him taking bribes from bidders through a middleman, BL Bajaj. Shrivastava’s wife was also arrested. • Author-poet Zafar Ullah Poshni, who is heading a team of All Pakistan Progressive Writers Association members to India for the ongoing Faiz

Ahmed Faiz centenary celebrations, was deprived of his money by the Indian customs officials at the Attari border on Wednesday.He was carrying Indian rupees 40,000 to shop in India. • INS Mysore and INS Jalashwa, two Indian Navy ships have left for Libya to rescue Indian expatriates residing there, who’re stuck in the Arab country as a result of the “almost civil war like situation” prevailing in the there. • Russia has launched a next-generation navigation satellite for its Glonass global communication system. Glonass will be integrated with the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), as well as with the European Union's Galileo system and China's Compass network when they are deployed. Under a 2007 accord, Russia agreed to share the Glonass signal with India. India will be the only country to have access to the military segment of the Glonass system.

FEBRUARY THE 28TH, 2011 • In its first major vote after joining the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the next two years, India voted in favour of sanctions against Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi, his relatives and associates. • Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi resigned on Sunday, as security forces clashed with protesters in Tunis demanding the removal of some Ministers of his interim government • While the Arab world was embroiled in anti-government protests, the Chinese government ensured that there would be disturbance in its own territory and took measures as varied as increased internet censorship and paramilitary presence.

MARCH THE 1ST, 2011 • The Supreme Court decided to examine the Centre's plea for enhancement of the compensation of $470 million already paid to victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy. The Court issued notice to the Union Carbide Corporation, now a

wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemicals Co., U.S.; Dow Chemicals ; McLeod Russel India, Kolkata, and Eveready Industries, Kolkata.2 • Important Union Budget readings: http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/01/stories/2011030164461300.htm & http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/01/stories/2011030156231300.htm • Pro-Reform/Democracy protests reached the shores of the Sultanate of Oman, a tiny Gulf country, rich in oil, and relatively well-off.

2 We’d suggest you go through the link for better study: http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/01/stories/2011030164481400.htm MARCH THE 2ND, 2011 • Chief Election Commissioner: S.Y. Quraishi, Election Commissioners: H.S. Brahma and V.S. Sampath. • The Assembly elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will be held from April 4 to May 10. • A special fast track court on Tuesday sentenced 11 convicts to death and 20 others to life imprisonment in the 2002 Godhra train burning case. 90 days were given to the convicts to appeal their sentence in the High Court. Refer to the earlier compendium for a background reading on the Godhra riots. • INC leader and spokesperson, Abhishek Manu Singhvi (also a Lawyer) recused himself as a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee after it surfaced that he had, previously, represented Telecom companies in court. He was replaced by INC’s other spokesperson, Jayanthi Natarajan. • In the famous Rizwanur Rahman “murder” case, the Supreme Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to proceed into the investigation of the case as a case of suicide and not as murder, which was

directed by a High Court. (Compulsory reading: http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/02/stories/2011030258810100.htm & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rizwanur_Rahman)

• Gorbachev at 80: http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/02/stories/2011030255621300.htm • Muammar al Gadhafi, Libya’s dictator’s son, Saif Gadhafi found himself amidst a controversy as his alma matter, the London School of Economics ordered reinvestigation of his doctoral theisis on the question of plagiarism, “ghost-writing”, etc. • LSE Chief: Sir Howard Davies

MARCH THE 3RD, 2011 • Continuing with their “kill-all-who-disagree” policy, after Salman Taseer, minister for minority affairs of Pakistan, Shahbhaz Bhatti was assassinated for supporting the repeal/reform of the Blasphemy laws in the country.

MARCH THE 4TH, 2011 • In the ongoing 2G Scam investigation, there was another blow to the government’s image of integrity after the appointment of the tainted CVC, PJ Thomas was struck down by the SC as being “unconstitutional”. Thomas was the Chief Vigilance Commissioner despite being investigated for the Palmolein Scam. • The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared a Bill seeking to prevent sexual abuse of children, with provisions for stringent punishment for such offence. The Bill seeks to protect children from sexual assault, harassment and pornography. • Niyamat Ansari, a member of the NREGA Sahayata Kendra, was found beaten to death in Jharkhand's Latehar district, 110 km from here, on Thursday. He is said to have exposed many cases of corruption by local contractors in work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). • Private Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier who has been in detention for nine months on charges of supplying whistleblower website Wikileaks with

sensitive government data, has been slapped with 22 new charges including “aiding the enemy,” punishable by death. • The last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, was awarded Russia's top medal on his 80th birthday on Wednesday in a late and almost reluctant recognition of his services. The Order of St. Andrew conferred on Mr. Gorbachev is the first and only award he has received in the past 20 years since his resignation in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union.

© CLATGyan.com | Batch of 2015, NALSAR University of Law Page 1 MARCH THE 5TH, 2011 • The SC has quashed the Sept 2010 appointment of PJ Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). PM Manmohan Singh has respected this verdict and has owned responsibility of having appointed him. • The SC has issued notice to senior BJP leaders L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray, Uma Bharti and 17 others, seeking their response to the CBI's appeal against the dropping of the conspiracy charge against them in the Babri Masjid demolition case. The CBI has appealed against the judgment of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court upholding the dropping of the conspiracy charge by the special court against 21 accused. • The Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) led by actor Vijayakant will contest 41 seats as part of the AIADMK alliance in the Assembly elections on April 13, 2011. This is the first time that the DMDK, set up in 2005 by the veteran Tamil actor, is entering into an electoral alliance. Contesting alone, the party had polled a little over eight per cent in the 2006 Assembly elections and over 10 per cent in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. • Senior Congress leader from Kerala and four-time Lok Sabha member P.C. Chacko has been named Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the alleged scam in the grant of 2G spectrum and telecom licences from 1998 to 2009. • A major chapter in the 25-year-old Bofors saga1 was closed with a Tis Hazari court in New Delhi discharging Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi from the payoffs case after allowing the CBI to withdraw prosecution against him.

1 The Bofors scandal was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s; the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply India's 155 mm field howitzer. The scale of the corruption was far worse than any that India had seen before, and directly led to the defeat of Gandhi's ruling Indian National Congress party in the November 1989 general elections. It has been speculated that the scale of the scandal was to the tune of Rs. 400 million. The case came to light during Vishwanath Pratap Singh's tenure as defence minister, and was revealed through investigative

journalism by Chitra Subramaniam and N. Ram of the newspapers the Indian Express and The Hindu. (Source:wikipedia) The grounds stated by the CBI in 2009 for withdrawal of prosecution were: 1) more than 19 years had passed since the first case was registered in 1990; 2) all the other accused had died or proceedings against them had been quashed by the Delhi High Court; 3) attempts to extradite Mr. Quattrocchi from Malaysia and Argentina had failed; 4) and the Delhi High Court in 2004 had knocked out allegations of corruption or conspiracy with public servants. © CLATGyan.com | Batch of 2015, NALSAR University of Law Page 2

• Sonia Gandhi reconstitutes the Congress Working Committee (CWC), which is the apex body of the party, and the Secretariat. • Governor of J & K: N.N Vohra. Deputy Chief Minister: Tara Chand • Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said that his ministry is awaiting the draft of the Communal Violence Bill from the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC). • The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a charge sheet in the much talked about cash-in-bag scam case against Justice Nirmal Yadav on the day she was to retire from the Uttarakhand High Court. The scam had surfaced in 2008 when Justice Yadav was serving as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh. The matter had come to notice when a bag containing Rs. 15 lakh in cash, which was meant for Justice Yadav was ?mistakenly delivered? at the residence of another judge. This cash was supposed to be used by Justice Yadav to purchase land at Solan, Himachal Pradesh. • Rajya Sabha Chairman announces that from March 7, the Question Hour will be held every day between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. except on Friday when it would be between 2.30 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. Traditionally, the first hour of every sitting — 11 a.m. used to be the Question Hour.

What is a Question Hour? – Members of the Parliament ask questions and the ministers have the responsibility to answer them. Types of questions: 1) Starred Questions: Questions to which answers are desired to be given orally on the floor of the House during the Question Hour. These are distinguished in the printed lists by asterisks. 2) Unstarred Questions: Questions to which written answers are given by Ministers which are deemed to have been laid on the Table of the House at the end of the Question Hour. 3) Short Notice Questions: Such questions can be asked orally in the House after the Question Hour or as the first item in the agenda where there is no Question Hour at a notice shorter than that prescribed for Starred and Unstarred Questions. These must relate to a subject-matter considered by the Chairman to be of urgent public importance. 4) Supplementary Questions: These are questions which arise out of a Minister's answer to a Starred or Short Notice Question. These can be asked with the Chair's permission immediately after the Minister has answered the main question, for the purpose of further elucidating any matter of fact • The Uttarakhand Government has appointed Justice (retd.) B. C. Kandpal to probe into bureaucratic lapses that led to the much-publicised Sturdia land scam in Rishikesh.

The Sturdia land scam rocked the State after the Opposition Congress accused the BJP Government of having favoured a private builder by allowing change of land use of industrial and no-construction © CLATGyan.com | Batch of 2015, NALSAR University of Law Page 3 zone land along the Ganga in Rishikesh for construction of a massive residential and business complex. • President of Mexico: Felipe Calderon • U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees: António Guterres (He is from Portugal) • Egypt‘s interim Prime Minister: Essam Sharaf

MARCH THE 6TH, 2011 • DMK pulls out its ministers from UPA government as seat sharing talks with congress fails. The state of Tamil Nadu is going for elections on April 13th. The states of Kerala and West Bengal are also going for elections. The pull out was an effect of the failed talks between the DMK and the state Congress over seat sharing, as Congress demanded 63 seats to contest. • The All India Bar Exam held. 22, 000 took the exam. • TCS rated the best IT employer followed by HCL and iGATE global solutions. • British troops placed on stand-by to attack Libya. The Libyan crisis heads for a civil war as Col. Gaddafi‘s forces have started gaining momentum and are advancing eastwards towards the city of Benghazi which is the eye of the conflict. (Compulsory reading: http://www.clatgyan.com/clat-general-knowledge/arabs/) • Maoists join the Nepal government, Four weeks after supporting Jhalanath Khanal to become Prime Minister in Parliament, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) finally joined the government. According to the power sharing deal worked out between the two parties, Maoists will get eleven Ministries though only four have been sworn in for now.

• The former Nepal Prime Minister and founding member of the Nepali Congress, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai died. He was 87. During the peak of the 2006 People's Movement, King Gyanendra had offered the post of Prime Minister to Mr. Bhattarai, which he had rejected. • Rain spoils the match between Australia and Sri Lanka, the teams share points.

MARCH THE 7TH, 2011 • India test fires an interceptor missile, which intercepted an incoming =enemy' ballistic missile at an altitude of 16 km and pulverised it in ?a direct kill.? This is the DRDO's sixth interceptor mission, and five have been successful including a hat-trick in the first three. • K. Sreenivas Reddy has been removed as Secretary-General of the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) for his ?anti-union and disruptive activities.? • Varun Gandhi weds graphic designer Yamini Roy Chowdhury at Varanasi. © CLATGyan.com | Batch of 2015, NALSAR University of Law Page 4

• Yuvraj claimed five wickets, helping restrict Ireland to 207, before making an unbeaten 50 to guide India to victory with four overs to spare. He became the first cricketer to take five wickets and score a half-century in a World Cup match. • Everything is on course for the enriched uranium fuel bundles to be loaded into the first reactor of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP), Tamil Nadu, by the end of March and the reactor will be started up in April. • Chairman and Managing Director, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL): SK Jain. • The Supreme Court has held that Parliament has ample powers to enact legislation with respect to extra-territorial aspects in the interests of the well-being or security of inhabitants of India but it did not have powers to legislate for any territory other than the territory of India. • Pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories aims to earn $ 1 billion revenue per year from branded generics for the next three years, said K. Anji Reddy, its Founder-Chairman. The company sold generic drugs worth $ 600 million globally in the nine months of this fiscal ended December 31 • India lost the Davis Cup World Group first round tie to defending champions Serbia 1-4 after Somdev Devvarman and Karan Rastogi went down in straight sets in the two reverse singles

MARCH THE 8TH, 2011 • The Supreme Court, in the Aruna Shanbaug case, allowed passive mercy killing of a patient in a permanent vegetative state (PVS) by withdrawing the life support system with the approval of a medical board and on the directions of the High Court concerned.

The Bench, however, held illegal active mercy killing of a patient suffering acute ailment with a poisonous injection or by other means. (Further reading: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article1520640.ece) • The Samajwadi Party alleged that its president Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh were put under ?house arrest? after the party called for a three-day agitation to demand the ouster of the Mayawati government. • President Pratibha Patil launched the =Sanchar Shakti' project of the Department of Telecommunications, a suite of mobile value-added services (VAS) to provide a variety of useful information to women and women's self-help groups about government schemes and health and social issues, besides inputs related to and training in livelihood, over the mobile phone. • To mark the International Women's Day, Air India, for the second consecutive year, operated an ultra-long haul flight from Delhi to Toronto, with an all-women crew. © CLATGyan.com | Batch of 2015, NALSAR University of Law Page 5

• Even as the Centre opposed the Medical Council of India's notification for conducting a nationwide eligibility-cum-entrance test (CET) for the MBBS course from 2011-12, the Supreme Court said the MCI could take steps as was necessary to implement the notification dated December 21, 2010. • Senior journalist S.B. Patil, 68, who was correspondent of The Hindu for 15 years, passed away. He also worked as correspondent for All India Radio for more than two decades. • India batsman Gautam Gambhir has been named captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders team for the Indian Premier League season four starting next month. • Top Indian squash player Dipika Pallikal, who is in the Indian team for the WSF-World Cup, reached her career-best WISPA ranking by climbing to the 23rd spot as per the latest rankings issued by the women's body.

MARCH THE 9TH, 2011 • Northern Railway has recruited 2,116 ex-servicemen under various categories, in keeping with the Railways' decision to hire ex-servicemen without any written test for various posts across the country. • The Bangladesh High Court has upheld the dismissal of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as Managing Director of the Grameen Bank, which he founded.2

• The former NALCO (National Aluminium Company Ltd.) chairman and managing director, A.K. Srivastava, and his accomplice Bhushan Lal Bajaj, arrested for their alleged involvement in graft, were remanded in judicial custody till March 23 by a Delhi court. • The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gave its approval to a safeguards agreement for two new reactors that Pakistan said China was building for it at Chashma. The =Type-66' agreement for the two reactors approved by the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors was identical to similar agreements already in place for Chashma-1 and Chashma-2. Though this agreement was approved unanimously, the fact that not a single board member or regional grouping chose to make the usual customary reference to it in its remarks to the chair is being seen in diplomatic circles as a reflection of the disquiet that the Chinese initiative has caused internationally. • The Supreme Court has directed the Tamil Nadu Government not to allow spectators to enter the jallikattu area where bulls are tamed, by increasing the height of the barricade up to eight feet.

2 Prof Yunus fell out with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2007. He angered her by trying to set up a new party while she was under house arrest on the orders of the military government. In December, Ms Hasina accused Prof Yunus of treating Grameen Bank as his "personal property" and claimed that it was "sucking blood from the poor". Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank, said that Prof Yunus had violated the country's retirement laws by staying on as Grameen's head long past the mandatory retirement age of 60. Prof Yunus is 70. © CLATGyan.com | Batch of 2015, NALSAR University of Law Page 6

Jallikattu or Eruthazhuvuthal is a bull taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebration. This is one of the oldest living ancient sports seen in the modern era. • With the March 31 deadline approaching, the Central Bureau of Investigation is working to finalise the charge sheet in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, well-placed sources in the agency. The CBI appears set to go ahead with its plan to interrogate Kanimozhi, DMK MP and daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. She holds 20 per cent equity in Kalaignar TV, which allegedly got Rs. 214 crore in loan from the Mumbai-based Cineyug Films. • Following the intervention of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Orissa government has banned the practice of ?bartan? system under which upper caste families extract work from barbers and washermen during important family occasions in return for just 15 kg of paddy for the whole year. Thanks to the efforts of petitioner Baghambar Patnaik, since 2006, the age-old practice has ended with the Panchayat Raj Department issuing the notification abolishing it. • As mass uprisings erupts in its neighbourhood, Saudi Arabia announced that it will not allow any demonstrations in the kingdom and ordered its security forces to clamp down on any dissent. The kingdom banned all demonstrations saying they contradicted Islamic laws and society values, according to a statement issued by the Interior Ministry. The new clampdown came a day after about 100 members of the Shia minority staged a protest in the western region of the kingdom. • India and Brazil decided to forge stronger trade and economic ties and decided to work towards achieving a bilateral trade target of $10 billion in the next few years against $7.73 billion in 2010.

MARCH THE 10TH, 2011 • Somali pirates freed all crew members of a hijacked ship m.v. Rak Afrikana including 11 Indians, who have since been shifted to a Spanish naval ship. However, the fate of six Indians aboard another hijacked vessel m.v. Suez still hangs in the balance even as its owner has been persuaded by the Egyptian government to hold negotiations • In a move that would increase women's representation in politics, the Maharashtra Cabinet gave its nod to increase women's reservation in local body polls from 33 to 50 per cent. The decision comes a day after Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said a bill proposing 50 per cent women's quota in local bodies would be introduced in the coming budget session of the legislature on March 14. • The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in alliance with some regional parties, will contest all 294 seats of the West Bengal Assembly in the elections due to commence in Aril. The party does not occupy a single seat in the present Assembly. • Over 30 people were killed and 45 injured when a suicide bomber detonated himself at the funeral of a family member of an anti-Taliban peace committee leader near Peshawar. Residents of the area are © CLATGyan.com | Batch of 2015, NALSAR University of Law Page 7

now up in arms against the government saying they were caught in the crossfire and left to deal with the Taliban. • Ten people were killed and 110 wounded in religious clashes in Cairo, said the Health Ministry, as Egypt's mew military rulers struggle to steer the post-revolution country through a transition. • United States President Barack Obama found himself in a deeper hole than ever on the subject of Guantanamo Bay prison, after he issued an executive order allowing indefinite detention without trial of inmates being held at the U.S. military installation. The order, which will be applied to 47 out of the 172 prisoners being held at Guantánamo, militates against Mr. Obama's campaign promise to eventually close the Bush-era prison.

MARCH THE 11TH, 2011 • The Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Madurai, has been accorded ISO 9001:2008 certification becoming only the fourth temple in Tamil Nadu to gain this accreditation. The other three temples in the State to have obtained the accreditation so far are Triplicane Parthasarathy Temple, Vadapalani Subramaniaswamy Temple and Mylapore Kapaleeswarar Temple, all of which are in Chennai. • An earthquake toppled more than 1,000 houses and apartment buildings in China's southwest near the border with Myanmar, killing at least 24 people and injuring more than 200, said officials and state media. • Illinois became the 16th State of the United States to abolish the death penalty when its Governor, Pat Quinn, announced the decision. • The oldest and most travelled space shuttle, Discovery, returned after its final space flight. End of rich career, the shuttle cruised onto the runway at the Kennedy Space Centre at 1657 GMT, wrapping up a rich, 27-year career in spaceflight that has spanned more distance and endured longer than any of the remaining three U.S. shuttles. • Upbeat after being formally recognised by France, the Libyan opposition combating the regime of strongman Muammar Gaddafi now wants to be accorded a similar recognition by other countries, including India. • Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim remained the richest person in the world with $74 billion in assets, while NRI steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal ranked sixth and Indian industrialist Mukesh Ambani is placed ninth in the U.S. magazine Forbes annual list of world's top billionaires. • The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has reiterated that Hockey India (HI) was the sole governing body for men's and women's hockey in India, and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) had no right to claim that it was an affiliated unit of the FIH. © CLATGyan.com | Batch of 2015, NALSAR University of Law Page 8

• The police achieved a major success when Chief Commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammad Sajjad Afghani alias Qari Hamaad, a Pakistani national, was killed in an encounter in Srinagar city. • The Dalai Lama announced that he would step down as ?political head? of the so-called Tibetan government-in-exile but would remain as religious leader and continue to advocate ?meaningful autonomy? for Tibet. The Dalai Lama, 75, a Nobel Laureate, said he would hand over his ?formal authority? to a ?freely-elected? leader. He said he was committed to playing his part for the ?just cause? of Tibet. • The licences of 3,000 to 4,000 pilots are being scrutinised by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation after the arrest of a woman pilot on the charge of forging documents to procure the licence, Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi said.

MARCH THE 12TH, 2011. • A massive tsunami of 8.9 magnitude on the Richter Scale was triggered by an offshore quake in the North-western Japan. The epicentre was about 400 km (250 miles) north east of Japan. It was 23 feet in height, and was followed by 50 aftershocks for hours. Many of these aftershocks were more than a magnitude of 6.0. The Tsunami ran through the Pacific at a speed of 800 kmph or 500 mph..

Tsunami waves hit Hawaii. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said Kauai was the first of the Hawaiian Islands hit by the tsunami. • The Japanese government declared an “atomic power emergency” and evacuated thousands of residents living close to the Fukushima nuclear plant in northern Japan after the major earthquake even though there was no radiation leak from the facility and problems with its cooling system were not critical. • The Central Bureau of Investigation questioned Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal and daughter Kanimozhi in connection with the 2G spectrum scam. This is nearly a month after conducting a search at the Kalaigar TV.1 • Hataf-2 (Abdali) - Pakistan?s short range surface-to-surface ballistic missile, tested successfully. • Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, announced the setting up of a group to quantify the black money being generated. According to him, the I-T department recovered undisclosed income of Rs.25,000 crore in the last 24 months. • The Lok Sabha unanimously gave the first stage of approval to the general budget for 2011-12 by voice vote. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee vowed to achieve 9 per cent growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during 2011-12 against 8.6 per cent this year.

1 Managing Director: Sharad Kumar Also, an increase in the allocation of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Fund (MPLAD) to Rs. 5 crore from the present Rs. 2 crore was announced by him. MARCH THE 13TH, 2011 • A special court in Pune disallowed the Enforcement Directorate's plea for the custody of the Pune-based businessman, Hasan Ali Khan, citing lack of “reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is guilty under the PMLA [the Prevention of Money Laundering Act]. Hasan Ali Khan was alleged of money laundering. He is

alleged to have unaccounted wealth or black money worth billions of rupees in the Swiss bank. The Enforcement Directorate of the Income Tax department, Maharashtra began probing the illegal investments and the charges of money laundering against him. • Saldanha Report: By Justice Saldanha on violence against minorities in Karnataka. The report holds Karnataka's Bharatiya Janata Party government and the Hindutva brigade culpable for the on going anti-minority violence in the State (incidents mostly involve violence against Churches; and moral policing of inter-religious interactions in Mangalore) • A high power review committee, consisting of cabinet secretary B.K.Chaturvedi and Professor Roddam Narasimha, tasked by the government to review the controversial agreement between Antrix Corporation and Devas Multimedia Private Ltd, submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. (Compulsory reading: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article1200374.ece).

The committee was asked to go into all aspects of the satellite deal in which the private company (Devas) was given virtually exclusive rights to S-band spectrum. The Antrix-Devas deal was scrapped last month following a decision of the Cabinet Committee on Security. • The Ministry of Environment and Forests issued a show cause to M/s Nirma Limited for “permanent suspension of work and revocation of the environmental clearance'' regarding some of their plants near Padhiarka village in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat.

The show cause has been issued under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to avoid any further damage to the wetland. The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) was constituted by the Environment Ministry to inspect the plant site and to oversee the implementation of the project by M/s Nirma Limited with reference to the Environmental Impact Assessment report. • The government is framing a new law to deal with acts of piracy and other complicated issues on the high seas. There is no exclusive Indian law dealing with piracy. Various sections of UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea) define piracy.

• Gudsa Usendi is the title taken over by a high ranking member and spokesperson of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal (DKZ) Committee of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Gudsa Usendi is the shadowy figure who sent compact discs of Maoist propaganda to Raipur politicians in 2006 and was the source of a consignment of 91 country-made shotguns recovered from a busy intersection in Raipur in 2008. • Posterous – blogging site with additional features to share videos and images was started in 2008 by Sachin Agarwal and Garry Tan with the intention of making blogging as simple as emailing. • The draft proposal to amend the Indian IT Act so as to impose restrictions on intermediaries has provoked a huge outcry in the country. The proposed rules seek to control the „intermediaries' such as telecom networks, web-hosting sites and Internet service providers, search engines, online payment, cyber cafes and auction sites, it is the focus on blogs that has provoked an outburst owing to the vague reasons given by the government to block certain websites. • Global Agriculture Investors Meet to be held in June in Bengaluru.

MARCH THE 14TH, 2011. • The Government of India has proposed to nominate the name of Assam's river-island, Majuli, for inclusion in the „cultural landscape' category of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage list. Considered the largest freshwater river-island in the world, Majuli is located in the middle of the mighty Brahmaputra. Majuli was shortlisted in the World Heritage Site (WHS) „Tentative List' at the World Heritage Committee session at Suzhou in China. • The nomination of Hyderabad's three Qutb Shahi monuments for the UNESCO World Heritage award is also being considered. • The Direct Taxes Code (DTC), which is now before Parliament, is expected to bring about many salutary changes in direct taxes. One important change being, to consolidate and integrate all direct tax laws and simplify the tax provisions by using simple language. • Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC): CHAIRMAN: P.C. Chacko, Congress MP from Kerala's Thrissur

PURPOSE: To probe into the 2G spectrum allocation issue. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be called before the panel only if it was “absolutely necessary” and there was a “consensus” among members. STRENGTH: 30 How many JPCs so far? – 4 none of the four earlier JPCs had called a Prime Minister and that such a step would be taken only if it was required for the “fair conclusion” of the Committee's work. Have any of them called the PM before?: No. Even for the current JPC the chairman has explicitly mentioned that the PM will be called only if it is absolutely necessary and if there is a “consensus” among the members.

• Vinod Mehta of Outlook and Manu Joseph of Open Magazine were among the first to publish transcripts of tapped conversations between corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and others. • Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) Chairman and Managing Director: S.K. Jain. • Miyagi – a prefecture2 in north-west Japan which was severely hit by the tsunami. • Maharashtra CM: Prithvi Raj Chavan, was an MoS in the Prime Minister?s Office during the (now struck down) appointment of CVC P. J. Thomas. • Orissa's Science and Technology and Information Technology Minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi is appearing for his Higher Secondary Examination this year.

2 Japan is divided into sub-national jurisdictions called prefectures. MARCH THE 15TH, 2011. • Public Accounts Committee is also probing the 2G spectrum. Its chairman is Murli Manohar Joshi. • America based General Electronics Co. built a reactor in Japan's quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP). Major problems have arisen as it eyes a share in India?s expanding nuclear industry which is supposedly worth $150 billion. • Nuclear power plant to be built up at Jaitapur. Based on EPR technology.

• The Navy apprehended 61 pirates and rescued 13 crew members of a hijacked ship after a brief gun battle in the Arabian Sea. The pirates will be brought aboard naval warship INS Tabar to Mumbai. The hijacked ship was Vega 5. • Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal involved in alleged scam on allotment of kiosks in Chandigarh.

MARCH THE 16TH, 2011. • Koodankulam Nuclear Power plant- Tamil Nadu • Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing into the 2002 Godhra riots case is being chaired by R.K. Raghavan. • The United Progressive Alliance government has invited their leaders of Jats from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to find an amicable solution to their demand for reservation in Central Government jobs under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. • The Supreme Court reserved verdict on the plea for reinvestigating the Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter case3 by the CBI. • Foreign Ministers from the G8 (the world's seven richest nations and Russia) failed to reach any agreement on a military intervention or even the establishment of a no-fly zone against Colonel Qadhafi's forces in Libya. • France was the first country to recognise the rebel National Transition Council based in Benghazi. • A tri-nation monitoring group of diplomats has been established in Dubai to brainstorm ways of rescuing sailors on board ships that Somali pirates have hijacked. This group consists of Consul Generals of India4, Yemen and the Philippines. • Mauritius5 has conferred one of its highest honours, Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and the Key of the Indian Ocean (GCSK), on Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed.

3 Prajapati was killed in an alleged staged shootout on Dec 28, 2006 before the state CID(crime), then probing the Sohrabuddin case, could record his statement. He was the sole eye-witness in the killing of Sheikh and the elimination of his wife Kauserbi. 4 Sanjay Verma, Indian Consul-General. 5President of Mauritius Anerood Jugnauth

• The India Aviation meet, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was held in New Delhi. • Civil Aviation Secretary: Nasim Zaidi • CII National Committee on Civil Aviation Chairman and Kingfisher Airlines CMD Vijay Mallya. • Maruti Suzuki India rolled out its ten millionth car. It was a metallic breeze blue coloured WagonR VXi rolled out from the company's Gurgaon plant.

MARCH THE 17TH, 2011. • All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) General Secretary Jayalalithaa will contest from Srirangam6 in the April 13 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. • The Supreme Court has declined permission to a women's organisation, Akhila Dakshta Samiti, for seeking a review of the judgment7describing a woman as „keep' arguing that such an expression was derogatory to and discriminatory against women on the basis of marital status. • The Supreme Court observed that Article 21 of the Constitution (right to life and liberty) would apply even to a foreign national staying in India. The SC made this observation while staying the deportation until further orders of a Libyan researcher, Aiad Amar Saad Mohamed, whose visa is due to expire.8

• A high-power committee headed by Prof. Madhava Menon was constituted to „evolve a comprehensive policy for autonomy of central educational institutions.' It has called for sweeping changes in the higher education system. It recommends: ??that the office of the Visitor for central universities be done away with and the powers transferred to the Chancellor;

6She contested from Andipatti in Theni district in the last two Assembly elections. 7 A Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and T.S. Thakur said: “If a man has a „keep' whom he maintains financially and uses mainly for sexual purpose and/or as a servant it would not, in our opinion, be a „relationship in the nature of marriage' for her to claim the benefit of live-in to get maintenance under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Merely spending weekends together or a one-night stand would not make it a „domestic relationship'.” 8 Mr. Mohammed was compelled to go to Libya to get his visa extended, he pleaded that such compulsion at a time when there are no international flights operating is a violation of his human rights.

??that all legislative framework under which these universities are established be uniformly revised and brought under a common Act.

If the recommendations are accepted, all central universities will be made to undergo a comprehensive review of their functioning once every 10 years by an external agency. The President is the Visitor for all the central universities. • The book, „The Legislature and the Judiciary: Judicial Pronouncements on Parliament and State Legislatures? is a joint product of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat and the Indian Law Institute. • Arrested U.S. Embassy staffer Raymond Davis was freed after blood money was paid in accordance with Sharia law hours after he was indicted for murder by a Sessions Court in Lahore. • Emergency declared in in Baharain. Security forces in Bahrain have unleashed a massive crackdown, to crush what essentially has been a pro-democracy revolt in the Kingdom.

MARCH THE 18TH, 2011. • The Panthers Party and the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir oppose the proposal of changing the nomenclature of the Governor to „Sadr-e-Riyasat' and that of Chief Minister to „Wazir-e-Azam' alleging that “it is a plot to project to the outside world that Jammu and Kashmir is a separate sovereign country.” • The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has done away with the controversial „finger test' conducted during a medical examination to help ascertain whether a victim of sexual assault was “sexually experienced” or not. It will now be done only if necessary. • The pro forma of the medical examination report for sexual assault victims has also been simplified to make it more gender-sensitive. • The U.S. Ambassador to India, Timothy Roemer, visited Jammu and Kashmir. • The Union Cabinet extended by a year the term of the existing Board of Governors of the Medical Council of India. The amendment awaits approval from Parliament. It is a six-member Board of Governors, headed by S.K. Sarin.

• The Union Finance Ministry approved 9.5 per cent interest to about 5 crore PF subscribers by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO). • Bahraini authorities have reinforced the crackdown on the pro-democracy uprising in the country by arresting top opposition. The police specially targeted the leadership of the Haq movement, which is playing a leading role in the protests. Haq party's leader Hassan Mushaima • „Patrons of the Poor: Caste Politics and Policymaking in India?, written by Narayan Lakshman is a comparative analysis of the policy-making processes and political histories of Tamil Nadu.

MARCH THE 19TH, 2011 • A US Embassy cable released by Wikileaks reveals P. Chidambaram confiding in with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller that the NIA can supersede the State police in the investigation and trial of offences under Acts specified in its Schedule, and if it uses its complete power, it has the capability of violating the constitutionality of Centre-state relations. • Congress president and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi delivered the 14th Commonwealth Lecture on “Women as Agents of Change” at London. • Corruption, land-grab and abuse of judicial office are among the 16 charges framed against Justice P.D. Dinakaran, facing removal proceedings in Parliament.

A three-member committee comprising Supreme Court judge Justice Aftab Alam, Karnataka High Court Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and senior advocate P.P. Rao issued the charge sheet to Justice Dinakaran on March 16 seeking his response by April 9. After his reply, there will be regular hearing and the order will be sent to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari. • Withstanding last-minute U.S. pressure, India abstained from voting on a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution approving “all necessary measures,” including imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya. The resolution was passed with 10 members, including the U.S., France, the U.K. and Lebanon, voting in favour and five — Russia, China (both permanent members with veto rights), Brazil and Germany, besides India — abstaining. • Recognising the work of writer and social activist Mahasweta Devi, the Human Resource Development Ministry has appointed her as National Research Professor for a second term of five years from February 2011.

She has contributed to the study of the women, Dalit and rural tribal communities of West Bengal.

• Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has banned the manufacture, sale and distribution of Gatifloxacin and Tegaserod as they caused certain adverse side effects. The decision follows recommendations of the Drug technical Advisory Committee. • The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has done away with the controversial „finger test' conducted during a medical examination to help ascertain whether a victim of sexual assault was “sexually experienced” or not. It will now be done only if necessary.

The pro forma of the medical examination report for sexual assault victims has also been simplified to make it more gender-sensitive. • Within hours of the imposition of a no-fly zone authorised by the United Nations Security Council, the Libyan regime of Muammar Qadhafi has announced a unilateral ceasefire. • The last British Chairman of Shaw Wallace Group and former President of Assocham, Sir Anthony Hayward passes away.

MARCH THE 20TH, 2011 • The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has given its approval to a safeguards agreement for two new reactors that China is building at Chashma. The United States has indicated it will not oppose China's building of two nuclear reactors in Pakistan, and will give Beijing a pass on its non-proliferation commitments by allowing the deal to go ahead in spite of concerns that it will violate international guidelines governing nuclear trade. • Huge deposits of natural uranium, which promise to be one of the top 20 of the world's reserves, have been found in the Tummalapalle belt in the southern part of the Kadapa basin in Andhra Pradesh. • AMD: Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research.

Director, AMD: P.B. Maithani. • Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission: Srikumar Banerjee • Anil Kapoor honoured with Lalitakala Samrat title by AP CM, N Kiran Kumar Reddy at the T. Subbarami Reddy Lalithakala Parishath Mega Cultural Festival. • Bar Council of India chairman: Gopal Subramanium. • According to the Asian Rich List 2011 by Eastern Eye, a weekly publication brought out by the Asian Media and Marketing Group, Lakshmi Mittal is the richest Asian. Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul is listed sixth in the list with wealth worth £600 million.

Vedanta chief Anil Agarwal came third. Jet Airways boss Naresh Goyal is the 10th richest Asian. Kishore Lulla, the executive chairman of Eros International is 16th in the list. Kartar Lalvani, Chief of Vitabiotics multi-vitamins manufacturer, is 23rd. Lord Diljit Rana, Northern Ireland's most famous NRI, is the 44th richest. • Separate OBC Parliamentary committee to monitor several central government schemes concerning backward classes has been sought by the Parliamentary Forum of Other Backward Classes. This forum comprises MPs from across the political spectrum and the convener of this forum is V. Hanumantha Rao. • The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will organise the fifth edition of „Estate South 2011' on March 22 and 23 with the theme as „South Realty: Vision 2020,' with a road map for real estate sector in the next decade. • Bollywood actor Navin Nischol passes away. He made a successful debut with Sawan Bhadon in 1970 and went on to star in several films like Victoria No 203, Dhund, Chhalia, Parwana, Budda Mil Gaya and later as a character actor in The Burning Train, and Major Saab among others. • France launched an air strike on a target in Libya kicking off an international campaign to prevent Muammar Qadhafi's forces from crushing a month-old uprising against his rule. The Operation by the French will be known as “Operation Harmattan” • A 6.1-magnitude earthquake rattled Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture, south of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

MARCH THE 21ST, 2011 • Karnataka Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde will soon send a White Paper to Union Minister for Law and Justice M. Veerappa Moily detailing the work he has done. White Paper is an authoritative guide or report that helps solve a problem. The announcement came as a reaction to reported statements of Mr. Moily. The Minister was quoted as saying that Mr. Hegde was only making statements and had given up on many cases abruptly. • Indian Railways would launch a special Buddhist train, “Damba Diwa Vandana,” later this year from Chennai to Sri Lanka. • ICCR: Indian Council for Cultural Relations; Director General of ICCR: Suresh K. Goel • SAARC Festival of Literature to be held in New Delhi. It is being organised by the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature and Ministry of External Affairs.

• The French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle left its home port of Toulon in southern France for the Mediterranean as France claimed the coalition had successfully established a „no-fly zone' over Libya.

MARCH THE 22ND, 2011 • Indian School of Business (ISB) chairman Rajat Gupta, who faces charges of insider trading in the United States, has decided to step down from his post. Mr. Gupta asked the ISB executive board to relieve him of the responsibilities as its chairman and managing director emeritus until the matter pending with the Securities and Exchange Commission was resolved. • The Union government has decided to declare April 14, 2011 as a holiday on account of the birthday of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar for all its offices, including industrial establishments. The holiday is also being notified in exercise of powers conferred by Section 25 of Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, an official release said on Monday. • Following its exit from Hero Honda, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) on Monday said it would launch a range of motorcycles, including that in the mass segment of 100cc, to grab leadership position in the Indian two-wheeler market. HMSI also unveiled its global „road-sport' bike „CBR 250R', which will be launched next month. • Novak Djokovic won the ATP Indian Wells title on Sunday, rallying to beat World No. 1 Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and improve his record this season to 18-0. • After much muscle flexing comes the deal: after days of haggling, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have agreed on a seat-sharing arrangement for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly elections. The Congress has settled for 65 seats, down from its original demand for 90, while the TMC gets the lion's share: 229. • A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit the Kashmir Valley on Monday, prompting people to rush out of buildings. The tremor had its epicentre in the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan occurred at 3.20 p.m.

MARCH THE 23RD, 2011 • The Plan size for Karnataka for 2011-12 has been fixed at Rs. 38,070 crore. This was decided at a meeting held by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and his team, including

Ministers and officials, with the Planning Commission team comprising its Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and his officials, here on Tuesday. • The ongoing tussle between the Congress and the BJP on telecom-related issues has taken yet another turn, with Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal ordering a probe into the disinvestment in Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) during the NDA regime. Panatone Finvest Ltd, a subsidiary of Tata Sons Ltd, had acquired a controlling stake in VSNL for Rs.1,439 crore in 2002 as part of the disinvestment programme of the then BJP-led NDA government. • Laying the groundwork for fresh extradition proceedings against the former Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) chairman, Warren Anderson, to face trial in the Bhopal gas tragedy case, the CBI on Tuesday filed an affidavit in a Tis Hazari court here on Tuesday listing various charges against him. • Stung by the “misery tax” remark by the healthcare industry and in deference to widespread criticism in and outside Parliament, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday withdrew the five per cent service tax on hospitals and diagnostic centres. He also gave excise duty relief on branded garments to small-scale industries and announced marginal tax concessions for some other sectors. • The police in Australia's Victoria State on Tuesday inducted its first officer from the Sikh community, a media report said. Constable Amitoj Singh, who graduated from the Police Academy, will wear a newly designed police-issue turban, featuring the service's chequerboard pattern. • The Central government on Tuesday hiked the dearness allowance (DA) for its staff by six percentage points to 51 per cent. This will benefit more than 50 lakh serving employees and 38 lakh pensioners. • The Election Commission has prohibited the Railways from implementing the budget scheme of free monthly season tickets to girl students in the election-bound States and Union Territory. In a letter to the Railway Board,

the EC directed that the decision announced by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee be deferred until after the completion of the poll process in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry. Ms. Banerjee said free tickets would be given to all girls up to college.

• The former Israeli President, Moshe Katsav, was on Tuesday sentenced to seven years behind bars after being convicted on two counts of rape and other offences in a scandal which has rocked Israel. • Fidel Castro said on Tuesday he resigned five years ago from all his official positions, including head of Cuba's Communist Party, a position he was thought to still hold. It was the first time the 84-year-old revolutionary icon has said he no longer heads the Communist Party, which he has led since its creation in 1965. • The Centre on Tuesday introduced a Constitution Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha to facilitate implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a tax regime that would subsume levies such as excise, service tax and sales tax. The Bill, introduced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, seeks to amend the Constitution with a view to conferring simultaneous powers on the Centre and the States to levy taxes on goods and services. • Lionel Messi and Jose Mourinho are the highest paid player and manager in football, according to France Football magazine. Barcelona's two-time World Footballer-of-the-Year Messi's income from his salary and publicity deals in 2011 amounted to €31 million, while Real Madrid boss Mourinho topped the manager's rich list with an income of €13.5m.

MARCH THE 24TH, 2011 • Justice L. Narasimha Reddy of the A.P. High Court on Wednesday directed the Union government to make public the chapter eight of the Justice Srikrishna Committee report pertaining to law and order and internal security dimensions. • Swine flu is back, with Punjab reporting the season's first fatality due to the disease. Punjab reported the maximum number of eight cases this week while Delhi reported two and Rajasthan one, Health Ministry officials said. • In what could be a setback to many Indian students aspiring to study in Britain, the United Kingdom government has announced a major overhaul of the student visa system, tightening the entrance criteria and post-study work route. • Playback singer Asha Bhosle was felicitated in the House of Commons here for her outstanding achievements in music. • A 12-year-old girl suffering from thalassemia was made a pilot of the Pakistan Army's aviation wing for a day, after she wrote to the Army Chief about her dreams of serving as an aviator. Naima Gul, a fourth grade student from Mingora in the militancy-hit Swat

valley, wrote about her wish to General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who approved her induction as the first woman pilot of 9 Squadron of the aviation wing. • The country's oldest lioness, Rehana (23), has died in the government-run zoo Van Vihar here on March 21. The lioness was not well for sometime, following a digestive system failure. • The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has chosen one of the living legends of mathematics, John Willard Milnor of the Institute for Mathematical Sciences in the University of Stony Brook, U.S.A, for the award of its prestigious Abel Prize for the year 2011. • Singapore-Indian Sat Pal Khattar will receive the Padma Shri in New Delhi on Thursday, becoming the first person to be so honoured with the award from the City-State. • The relay hunger strike by women in Manipur entered the 935th day on Wednesday.The hunger strike at the office of the Save Sharmila Group here was launched to extend moral support to Irom Sharmila, who has been on a fast-unto-death since November 2, 2000 demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. • The home-grown Tata brand has been ranked as the first Indian brand to be in the top 50 club of global brands as per the latest Brand Finance's Global 500 2007 report. The group's brand value at present is pegged at $15.8 billion in 2011 ($11.21 billion in 2010 and $7.38 billion in 2007), a press release issued here said. • Wipro Technologies has received Reader's Choice Award for the third consecutive year from Consumer Goods Technology (CGT) magazine. According to a release, Wipro Technologies has won spots in the Top 5 for outsourcing/IT integration and Top 8 in the consulting categories. Wipro has moved up by 4 places (positive movement) in the outsourcing category from last year's rankings. • HDFC Bank has won The Asian Banker's „Best Retail Bank in India' award this year. Beating a host of other competitors in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa on a range of parameters, the bank has won the award for the fifth year in a row.

MARCH THE 25TH, 2011

• Orissa will hereafter be called „Odisha,' and the Oriya language will be known as „Odia,' with Parliament ratifying a constitutional amendment and passing the Orissa (the Alteration of Name) Bill. The Rajya Sabha passed the bill and adopted the Constitution

(113th) Amendment Bill after a brief debate. The Lok Sabha has already given its approval • A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the north-eastern Myanmar on Thursday night, killing one woman and shaking buildings as far away as Bangkok. No tsunami was generated. A 6.1 magnitude quake hit northern Japan, public broadcaster NHK said. • As promised by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, two bills to make amendments to legislation on local bodies to grant women 50 per cent reservation in seats were introduced in the Assembly on Thursday. One bill was introduced to amend the Bombay Village Panchayat Act 1958 and the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act 1961 to increase the reservation for women from one third of the total number of seats to one half of the total seats. The government wanted to raise the total number of seats and offices for women in all three tiers of Panchayat Raj institutions as women formed 50 per cent of the population. Another bill to amend the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act 1949, the City of Nagpur Corporation Act, 1948 and the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act 1965 was introduced to raise the reservation for women to 50 per cent. • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has presented its highest honour for Quality and Performance, the George M. Low Award, to Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA), a company based in Virginia whose CEO is Renjith Kumar hailing from the State capital.

CLATGYAN‘S WEEKLY GK COMPENDIUM MARCH THE 26TH, 2011 • Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to watch the India-Pakistan cricket World Cup semifinal to be played at Mohali in Punjab on March 30 (too bad they lost!) • Interesting reading: http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/26/stories/2011032657430100.htm • A special court, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), remanded Pune-based businessman Hasan Ali Khan in judicial custody till April 8 here on Friday after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the court it did not need his custody at present. • CEO and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc - the charismatic Warren Buffet (one of the richest men in the world) is on a visit to India. • Adviser to Prime Minister on Public Information, Infrastructure and Innovations: Sam Pitroda. Human Resources Development Minister: Kapil Sibal. • The Justice Shunglu Committee, which is looking at the CWG Scam, came out with its third report on ?City Infrastructure?. It severely indicted the Delhi Government for delays and improper planning, besides conniving with contractors. It said while Rs.254 crore in =undue gains' were provided to contractors, Rs. 900 crore could have been saved had delays in planning and execution of projects been avoided. • Reading: http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/26/stories/2011032662511100.htm • National Academy of Sciences, India, (NASI) and Scopus1 Young Scientist Award was given to 11 scientists, with two being from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (Chairman - Dr. K Kasturirangan) • Cutting across party lines, women Members of Parliament propose to set up pressure groups in both Houses to push for speedy clearance of a number of women-related Bills that are pending passage. National Council for Women chief: Girija Vyas. The Bills that are still stuck at some procedural level or the other are: Sexual Harassment at Workplaces

1 Scopus is an abstract and citation database of the peer-reviewed scientific literature of Elsevier, the Amsterdam-based publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services.

Bill, Amendments to include =irretrieveable breakdown of marriage‘ as a ground for divorce in the Hindu marriage act, Compensation for Rape Victims Bill, Prevention of Acid attacks bill, etc • With members of the Armed forces defecting to the anti-government protestors in Yemen, the movement against President Ali Abdullah Saleh got bolstered. The president is being seen on the backfoot, by first offering dialog with the protesters and now, offering a systematic transition – using vague terms. • The Japanese government vowed to prevent a Nuclear disaster from occurring at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant after an Earthquake devastated the core of the power plant. Compulsory reading:

http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/26/stories/2011032667722000.htm • 70 people were feared dead in a powerful earthquake that hit Myanmar. It measured 6.8 of the Richter scale.

MARCH THE 27TH, 2011 • UN Intervention in Libya, why:

http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/27/stories/2011032756341300.htm • The Government of India‘s policy of keeping casual labourers in the same status for long periods of time has been criticized by the SC. By giving these labourers of the Border Roads Organization ?artificial breaks?, the government prolongs the temporary status of the employees, and hence, denying them benefits of permanent employees • The Fukushima crisis changed for the worse, with fears of radiation of sea water increasing • Syrian President: Bashar Assad

MARCH THE 28TH, 2011 • Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani accepted Manmohan Singh‘s offer to watch the India-Pakistan Mohali match. In the same tone of positive overtures, Pakistan President Zardari pardoned Gopal Dass, an Indian who was languishing in Pakistani prisons, this pardon came after the Indian SC had made such a request to the Pakistani government

• About 105 persons were sentenced to the Death Penalty in India. However, not one of the 105 were executed. This data came from the Human Rights watchdog, Amnesty International. AI General Secy: Salil Shetty • Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee • A task force has been set up by the HRD Minister, Kapil Sibal that‘ll survey the Higher Education institutions in the country; it‘ll be headed by the Additional Secretary (Higher Education) in the Ministry of HRD.

MARCH THE 29TH, 2011 • Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani on Monday offered no clear-cut apology for the 2002 Gujarat riots, but said communal riots cannot be justified under any circumstances. On whether the BJP regrets the riots and is willing to apologise, he said there have been many riots in the country and the situations were often mishandled. ?There is no question of apology. Riots are a sad matter,? he said. (Quoting The Hindu, verbatim) • The State of Andhra Pradesh has moved to court against the award given by the Krishna Waters Dispute Tribunal2 • Puthenveettil Chandapilla Mathew, one of the last surviving employees of the Indian Civil Services is now dead. The ICS was the predecessor (pre-Independence) to the Indian Administrative Service, and other such civil services. • Days after his conservative government was ousted in a vote of no-confidence passed in the Canadian Parliament, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that elections would be held on May 2. • Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi attended a legal hearing on Monday for the first time in eight years, over allegations of fiscal fraud and breach of trust in his business interests.

2 http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/29/stories/2011032963751300.htm MARCH THE 30TH, 2011 • In a positive development on the eve of the meeting of the Prime Ministers, Pakistan on Tuesday agreed, in principle, to allow a Commission from India to visit that country in

connection with the investigations into the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. In the mood of reciprocity, Pakistan will be allowed to send its own commission to investigate the Samjhauta Express Blasts, that were allegedly carried out by Hindu extremists associated with the RSS and the Sangh • Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, will be presented before the judicial magistrate in Devas, Madhya Pradesh, on Wednesday. The special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Tuesday passed an order allowing Ms. Thakur to be present for investigation in the Sunil Joshi murder case. • Responding to a petition by Hasan Ali Khan, the court ordered extra protection for him. • Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented the Lifetime Achievement Award 2009 to Obaid Siddiqui under the Excellence in Science, Engineering and Technology Awards scheme

MARCH THE 31ST, 2011 • In the ongoing ICC Cricket world cup tournament, India defeated Pakistan by 29 runs in the Mohali semi finals. India will meet Sri Lanka in the finals in Mumbai‘s Wankhede stadium

APRIL THE 1ST, 2011 • Surinder Kohli, one of the main accused in the sensational Nithari killings case, on Thursday told a court here that he wanted to replace his lawyer, saying he got death sentence in one case because of the advocate's ?incompetency.?

• The lowest-ever child sex ratio of 914 overshadowed an increase in the overall sex ratio, which is now 940 — the highest nationwide since Census 1971 and a shade lower than 1961 — as it reflects a continued preference for a male child.3 • If holding of an enquiry against a government employee involved in espionage has the potential to jeopardise national security and the country's relations with a neighbour, he could be sacked by dispensing with it, the Supreme Court has held, upholding the dismissal of M.M. Sharma, then First Secretary in the Indian embassy in Beijing.

3 Compulsory Reading: http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/01/stories/2011040165401600.htm

• Rohinton Mistry, the Indian-Canadian writer is in the run for the Man Booker prize. The winner will be announced at the Sydney Writers' Festival on May 18. • Col. Muammar Qadhafi‘s problems continued to grow, with defections after defections occurring. The latest to go was his Foreign Minister, Moussa Koussa. • Umer Patek, one of Indonesia's ?most wanted'' men for his involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings, is said to have been arrested in Pakistan. However, there is still official confirmation that is being awaited. He belongs to the extremist Jamiah Islamiyah.

CLATGyan?s GK Compendium From 9th to the 15th of January • Gautam Gambhir was bought by Kolkota Knight Riders for a record $2.4 million. He was the highest bid player in the Indian Premier League – 4?s auctions • Former Bombay HC Chief Justice, JA Patil will head the commission to investigate the Adarsh Housing Society Scam It is a two member panel-The second person is the former state chief secretary P Subramanium • Congress in retaliation has started with the Jan Jadran Abhiyan to counter the attack by BJP blaming the Congress for corruption • Binayak Sen was the first Indian recipient of the Jonathan Mann award for Global Health and Human Rights in 2008 • Sudan is voting to decide on the independence of its southern regions. It has very wide implications all over Africa- It could start a domino effect, where other countries in Africa could start dividing themselves up • Army has established a training ground in Chhattisgarh?s Maoist-affect Narayanpur district. CPI (Maoist) was established in 2004 • After more than a decade of taking to the skies, light combat aircraft „Tejas? will get the Initial Operational Clearance and be formally inducted into the Indian Army • Pravashi Bharatiya Award given to Sri Lankan industrialist Mano Selvanathan on 9th Jan which is Pravasi Bhartiya divas • YS Jaganmohan Reddy took a special train to Delhi and held a fast to protest against the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal. He calls his campaign „Jala Deeksha? (The Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal Verdict: http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2802/stories/20110128280203000.htm) • SC issues notice to the center and 11 telecom firms. It refuses to consider statements made by Kapil Sibal that the CAG estimation of the loss caused was wrong. • Pakistan has demanded report on the investigation into the Samjhauta Express blasts in which 42 Pakistani?s were among those killed. • Jailed RSS leader Swami Aseemanand had admitted to his role in the 2007 blasts • Sushil Kumar Shinde – Union Minister of Power

• Pope John Paul II to be beatified on May 1 • India Meteorological Department has declared that 2010 was the warmest year since 1901. • Padmaraj Panel Probe which was set up to probe denotification of land [in and around Bangalore by Yedyuruppa Government] was stayed by the Karnataka High Court it indicated that it preferred a probe by the Lokayukta into the issue which had already begun the probe • Reaffirming his commitment to the “13-plus” (13th amendment with additional powers) formula to bring about an amicable political solution to the Tamil question, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa insisted that “the plus” be a product of the hope and aspirations of the people of Sri Lanka. • Tunisia's government has been dismissed and Parliament has been dissolved and Tunisia?s earlier President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's [ who ruled for 23 years] was ousted on 14th January [Jasmine Revolution] • Russia-India?s joint fifth-generation fighter plane to meet the challenge from the Chinese rival J-20 which is a long-range strike aircraft • The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has announced appointment of Baldev Raj, Director, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkkam, as Chairman, Board of Governors, National Institute of Technology-Puducherry at Karaikal.

• The Platinum Medal Award by the Indian Institutes of Metal, and INSA prize for Materials Science by Indian National Science Academy that he received in 2010 • The Union Government on 13-1-2011 permitted carriage of video calls on 3G mobile networks subject to an undertaking by the operators that they would provide interception capability by July 31. • The C. Rangarajan Committee on the proposed food security bill favours legal entitlement of subsidised food grains to the poor (below the poverty line), but has rejected the National Advisory Council's recommendation that above the poverty line (APL) households be partially covered. • The Rangarajan Committee suggested that 46 per cent of the rural population and 28 per cent of the urban population be entitled to 35 kg of rice at Rs. 3 a kg or wheat at Rs. 2 a kg per household a month

• A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Thursday granted permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to reinvestigate the 2006 Malegaon blast case. • The daughter of Sikh immigrants from Punjab, Indian-American Namrata “Nikki” Randhawa Haley proudly recollected her Indian heritage while being sworn in as the first woman and non-white Governor of South Carolina. • Lebanese government falls: Eleven Cabinet Ministers belonging to Hizbollah and its allies resigned on Wednesday over the international investigation on the 2005 assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri. • IndiGo will acquire 180 A-320 aircraft worth an estimated $15.6 billion from the European manufacturer Airbus and signed the deal in Toulouse in France • Russia, U.S. enact nuclear cooperation pact- It came into force after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and U.S. Ambassador John Beyrle exchanged respective diplomatic notes in Moscow. The 123 agreement was signed in May 2008 but was frozen later the same year by Washington over the Russia-Georgia war. This treaty is known as START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) • India-Bangladesh agreed to sign a 15-year interim accord on sharing the waters of common rivers Teesta and Feni in a Secretary-level meeting of the Indo-Bangladesh Joint River Commission (JRC) on 11th January. The Ganges Water Sharing Treaty signed during the erstwhile Awami League government On 12 December, 1996] • Lionel Messi and Marta -world's best football players 2010. FIFA clubbed World Player award with the Ballon d'Or trophy • Agricultural scientist K.V. Raman [Director of the B.V. Rao Centre for Sustainable Food Security at the Chennai-based M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.] has been awarded the prestigious Bharat Jyoti Award of the India International Friendship Society for his contributions to science, technology and development. • Baldev Raj, Director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam has been elected president of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE). • Chennai Open: Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi won doubles • Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka won men?s single

CLATGyan’s GK Compendium THE 15TH OF JANUARY TO THE 18TH OF JANUARY, 2011 1. The Yeddyuruppa Government, which is under fire from the Opposition for illegally denotifying land in and around Bangalore and allotting sites to a favoured few, suffered further embarrassment when the Karnataka High Court stayed the proceedings of the Justice B. Padmaraj Commission of Inquiry which was setup to look into the malpractices of yeddy. 2. India Meteorological Department has declared that 2010 was the warmest year since 1901. According to the department, the annual mean temperature averaged over the country as a whole was 25.8023 degrees Celsius last year. This translates to an increase of 0.93 degrees over the average for the 30-year period from 1961-1990. 3. The Pope (Benedict XVI) on Friday signed off on the miracle needed for the beatification of Pope John Paul II, and set May 1 as the date to honour one of the most beloved Popes of all times as a model of saintliness for the church. Pope Benedict XVI said in a decree that a French nun's recovery from the Parkinson's disease was miraculous, the last step needed for beatification. A second miracle is needed for the Polish-born John Paul II to be made a saint. 4. “Gajraj,” carrying 25 tonnes of relief materials, landed at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Sri Lanka. It took nearly five hours to clear the insides of “Gajraj,” Indian Air Force's IL 76 heavy-lift transport aircraft. 5. A six-day business fair, “Printpack India-2011”, highlighting the growth story of the country's graphic arts industry, opens at Pragati Maidan . 6. Caving under sweeping protests against spiralling food prices, Tunisia's government has been dismissed and Parliament has been dissolved. The move comes despite Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's announcement during a late night televised address on Thursday that he would step down from his post in 2014 and push for greater freedoms and reforms. 7. The Russian Parliament moved closer to endorsing the New START nuclear arms treaty with the United States on Friday, voting in second reading a ratification Bill

that counters the strings the U.S. Senate attached to its ratification of the landmark pact. 8. The Union government is working out a formula for ensuring national minority status for the Jain community, Union Law Minister M.Veerappa Moily said here on Saturday. 9. Russia's state-owned oil giant, Rosneft, has formed a strategic alliance with the British Petroleum to develop Russia's energy-rich continental shelf in the Arctic Sea. 10. France's far-right National Front named founder Jean-Marie Le Pen's daughter Marine its new leader on Sunday, looking to soften the anti-immigrant party's image before next year's presidential polls. 11. Music composer A.R. Rahman bagged the best original song trophy at the 16th Critics' Choice Awards for his number “If I Rise” in Danny Boyle's film 127 Hours. Written by Rollo Armstrong and American artiste Dido, the song was performed by Rahman and Dido. It is also expected to get Rahman his second Golden Globe this year. 12. Rajasthan crowned itself with glory on Saturday. It won the Ranji Trophy for the first time in 77 years after getting the better of Baroda on first innings lead 13. Hailing Asia as the future centre of growth of nuclear power, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Yukiya Amano on Monday said that out of the 61 nuclear reactors under construction in the world, 39 are in Asia. 14. Celebrated actor Gita De, popular for playing character roles in nearly 200 Bengali films and dramas, died in a local hospital on Sunday night after prolonged illness. She was 80.

July 1st EXERCISE MAXIMUM RESTRAINT , CRPF TOLD The Union government on Wednesday asked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his Ministers to visit the disturbed areas so as to tackle the current crisis there politically as well as through security forces.It also urged the Central Reserve Police Force to exercise the “maximum restraint” and sensitivity while assisting the police in enforcing curfew in the Kashmir Valley, and promised full protection for the Amarnath yatra. AMARANTH YATRA AMID TIGHT SECURITY The nearly two-month long Amarnath pilgrimage began from Jammu on Wednesday amid tight security. In view of the deteriorating security situation, 3,000 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel have been airlifted to Kashmir to provide foolproof cover for the pilgrimage.After the first batch was flagged off by J&K Minister for Tourism Nawang Rigzin Jora, 1,272 pilgrims left the base camp aboard around 70 vehicles at 5 a.m. They will later proceed to the cave shrine from Baltal and the Pahalgam base camp.The pilgrimage will conclude on August 24, Shravan Purnima. OBUL REDDY PASSES AWAY P. Obul Reddy, industrialist, philanthropist and patron of the arts, passed away on Wednesday after a prolonged illness. He was 85, and is survived by two sons and three daughters.Mr. Reddy, who was one of the first industrialists from the South to enter into the television business, was the proprietor of the firm that sold the popular Dyanora TV sets. He was also the former managing director and founder of Nippo Batteries, and was the managing director of Panasonic India, formerly the Indo Matsushita Company. NEPAL PM RESIGNS Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned on Wednesday after 13 months in power, in a move to break the political deadlock. The resignation was part of an agreement among the three major political parties — the opposition UCPN (Maoist) and the Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML) which are part of the ruling coalition — a month ago when they united to extend the tenure of the Constituent Assembly by a year. Nepal's Constituent Assembly had failed to deliver a Constitution by its initial deadline on May 28, 2010. The agreement called for Mr. Nepal's resignation — a key demand of the Maoists — and the formation of a consensus government. July 2nd PAWAR TAKES CHARGE AS ICC PRESIDENT Sharad Pawar on Thursday assumed office as President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) at its annual conference in singapore. The Union Agriculture Minister and former President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India succeeded David Morgan after serving as the ICC Vice-President since 2008.Mr. Pawar is only the second Indian, after Jagmohan Dalmiya, to have become the highest executive of the world cricket body. 7 YEAR JAIL TERM FOR DR. DEATH A surgeon dubbed “Dr. Death” in Australia for a string of botched operations was sentenced on Thursday to seven years in prison for killing three patients and permanently harming another.A jury had convicted Indian-born U.S. citizen Jayant Patel (60) two days ago of three counts of manslaughter and one of causing grievous bodily harm while he was a surgeon at a hospital in Queensland state from 2003 to 2005. MERKEL’S CANDIDATE SCRAPES THROUGH German Chancellor Angela Merkel had to sit through several hours of humiliating, nail-biting suspense as Christian Wulff, the candidate supported by her right-wing coalition for the largely ceremonial office of President struggled through three excruciating rounds of voting in the Federal Assembly before being named President. His main competitor Joachim Gauck, a pro-

democracy activist nominated by the opposition, won 494 votes to Wulff’s 625 votes. PERELMAN REJECTS AWARD After taking a three-month timeout, Russia's math whizz Grigori Perelman has finally turned down a $1,000,000 prize he won for having solved a century-old puzzle.The Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI) in March awarded its Millennium Prize of $1 million to the reclusive mathematician for proving the 106-year-old Poincaré conjecture, a theorem about the nature of multidimensional space. In 2006, Dr. Perelman refused to accept the Fields Medal, which is considered equal to the Nobel Prize. July 3rd ALL BHOPAL GAS CONVICTS RELEASED ON BAIL After granting Keshub Mahindra bail in the Bhopal gas tragedy case, the district and sessions judge here on Friday granted bail to the other six convicts as well.Judge Subhash Kakde released them on a bond of Rs. 1 lakh each. ANOTHER INDIAN AMERICAN IN TEAM –OBAMA The Obama government has nominated yet another Indian-American, Nisha Desai Biswal, to a senior position within its administration. Ms. Biswal has been nominated to the post of Assistant Administrator for Asia in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), according to the White House. July 4th UN FORUM ON GENDER EQUALITY The United Nations General Assembly has voted unanimously to create a new body for accelerating gender equality and women's empowerment, bringing to a close four years of “tough negotiations,” according to a U.N. statement.The body, to be known as “UN Women” (UNW), will bring the four existing U.N. bodies dealing with gender issues under a single umbrella. The resolution also called for the appointment of an Under-Secretary-General to head UNW, and the establishment of an executive board to provide intergovernmental support to and supervision of its operational activities. KYRGYZ PRESIDENT SWORN IN The first woman President in Central Asia was sworn in Kyrgyzstan on Saturday, three weeks after bloody ethnic violence in the country's southern regions claimed hundreds of lives.Speaking at an inauguration ceremony in the capital Bishkek Ms. Rosa Otunbayeva (59), promised that thousands of people whose houses had been torched during last month's riots will be provided with new housing before winter comes. July 5th NADAL RECLAIMS WIMBLEDON IN STYLE Rafael Nadal reclaimed the Wimbledon men's singles title on Sunday, putting in a classy performance to beat Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the final.In securing his eighth Grand Slam, Nadal went level with Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Fred Perry and Ken Rosewall.earlier serena Williams had won her Wimbledon title PAES AND CARA WIN MIXED DOUBLES Leander Paes and Cara Black won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title, beating South African-American pair of Wesley Moodie and Lisa Raymond in the final on Sunday PATREAUS ASSUMES CHARGE U.S. Army General David Petraeus formally assumed command of the 130,000-strong international force in Afghanistan on Sunday, declaring “we are in this to win” despite rising casualties and growing scepticism about the nearly nine-year-old war.During a ceremony at NATO headquarters, General Petraeus received two flags “one for the U.S. and the other for NATO” marking his formal assumption of command. GOLDEN JUBILEE FETE OF SEA HARRIER SQUANDRON TODAY The Navy will launch the Golden Jubilee celebrations of its frontline Sea Harrier (White Tiger) squadron INAS 300 at Goa on Monday with over 100 White Tigers in attendance. The events include a two-day seminar on carrier borne fighter operations, a get-together of the veterans of the squadron and the release of a commemorative first day cover and postage stamp. JULY 6TH KOMOROWSKI WINS POLISH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Bronislaw Komorowski won Poland's runoff presidential elections, the state election commission said on Monday, based on results with all the polling stations reporting.Mr. Komorowski, of the centre-right Civic Platform party, gained 53.01 per cent of the vote, said the commission.Opponent Jaroslaw Kaczynski, of the right-wing Law and Justice party, received 46.99 per cent of the vote.Turnout reached 55.31 per cent during the voting on Sunday to find a successor to Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash in Russia in early April. Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus launch customs union After years of discussions Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus have launched a customs union as a first step towards forming a broader EU-type economic alliance of former Soviet states.Meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan on Monday, the leaders of the three nations signed a declaration stating that the customs union comes into effect on July 6. The meeting was held on the sidelines of a summit of the Eurasian Economic Community (Eurasec). July 7th July 9th GOM TO LOOK INTO HONOR KILLINGS

United on the need to deal with the pernicious practice of “honour killings,” but facing division in the Cabinet on how to tackle the issue, the Centre on Wednesday decided to consult the States and set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to suggest changes in the law to deal with the matter. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said after a Cabinet meeting. July 12th SPAIN CROWNED FOOTBALL WORLD CHAMPION A late goal from Andres Iniesta gave Spain victory over the Netherlands at the death of a cynical and ill-tempered final.To Spain the glory of a World Cup triumph in which they prevailed over a deplorable Netherlands side that was reduced to 10 men when the English referee Howard Webb eventually dismissed the Dutch defender John Heitinga with a second caution in the 109th minute. Cesc Fabregas, on as substitute, fed Andres Iniesta to score the winner seven minutes later. July 13th PSLV LAUNCHES 5 SATELLITES The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15) on Monday put five satellites in their precise orbit, unequivocally demonstrating its reliability and robustness.It was a flawless mission all the way, with the ignition and separation of the rocket's four stages taking place on time, the heat-shield protecting the satellites falling off on schedule and the satellites flying out of the fourth stage at a velocity of 27,000 km an hour. The on-board computers worked perfectly. This was the 16th consecutive successful fight of the PSLV. The five satellites launched were: ISRO's 694-kg Cartosat-2B; 116-kg Alsat-2A of Algeria; 6.5-kg nano satellite, named NLS 6.1 AISSAT-1 of the Space Flight Laboratory of the University of Toronto, Canada; one-kg nano satellite NLS 6.2 TISAT-1, built by the University of Applied Science Sciences of Switzerland; and tiny Studsat, built by 35 students of seven engineering colleges in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. HEARING ON VALIDITY OF TAMILNADU QUOTA LAW The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday the case relating to the constitutional validity of the Tamil Nadu law providing for 69 per cent reservation for Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in jobs and educational institutions.A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice Swatanter Kumar will take up for hearing a batch of petitions, including the Tamil Nadu quota law, for adjudication.A nine-Judge Bench of the court hearing a batch of petitions in 2007 challenging the inclusion of several State legislations under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, including the Tamil Nadu Reservation Act enacted in 1993, (to keep them beyond judicial review) had held that there could not be blanket immunity for laws from judicial review. 74 DEAD IN UGANDA BLASTS An Al-Qaeda-linked Somali militant group claimed responsibility on Monday for twin bombings in Uganda that killed 74 people watching the World Cup final on TV, saying the militants would carry out attacks “against our enemy” wherever they are. POLANSKI A FREE MAN The Swiss government declared renowned film director Roman Polanski a free man on Monday after rejecting a U.S. request to extradite him on a charge of having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.The Swiss mostly blamed U.S. authorities for failing to provide confidential testimony about Mr. Polanski's sentencing procedure in 1977-1978. BASHIR CHARGED WITH GENOCIDE The International Criminal Court has charged Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with three counts of genocide in Darfur.Four months ago an appeals panel at the world's first permanent War Crimes Tribunal ruled that judges made an “error in law” when they refused last year to indict Mr. Bashir on international law's gravest charge.Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo accuses Mr. Bashir of keeping 2.5 million refugees from specific ethnic groups in Darfur in camps “under genocide conditions, like a gigantic Auschwitz. July 14th COURT ALLOWS TAMIL NADU QUOTA FOR A YEAR In a big relief to the Tamil Nadu government, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted protection for the continuance, for one more year, of the law that provides the Backward Classes, the Most Backward Classes and the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes 69 per cent reservation in jobs and education. A Bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar asked the State Backward Classes Commission to revisit the reservation issue on the basis of the quantifiable data in respect of the communities in question. If the Commission wanted to exceed the 50 per cent ceiling while re-fixing the quota, it could take into consideration the parameters laid down by the Supreme Court in the Mandal case judgment: compelling circumstances based on local conditions. The Bench was disposing of a writ petition filed by Voice, represented by senior advocate K.M. Vijayan, questioning the validity of the quota law enacted in 1973 and its subsequent introduction in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. As stipulated in the Mandal case judgment, reservation should not exceed 50 per cent, he argued. CARTOSAT 2B TO BE OPERATIONAL IN A WEEK Cartosat-2B — the remote-sensing satellite put in orbit by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15) on Monday — is in fine fettle and will become operational in a week.The rocket put four other satellites as well in orbit at an altitude of 637 km.“The health of the satellite is good. Everything has been

checked out. It will become operational in a week's time,” said P.S. Veeraraghavan, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. The images taken by Cartosat-2B's camera will be available soon after it becomes operational. The satellite's solar panels were deployed soon after it flew out of the fourth stage of the vehicle, Mr. Veeraraghavan said. July 15th 118 HOSPITALISED AFTER GAS LEAK IN MUMBAI One hundred and eighteen people, including four firemen and a police constable, were hospitalised after they inhaled chlorine gas that leaked from a cylinder in a Mumbai Port Trust godown in Sewri in the early hours of Wednesday. Seven of them are in critical condition. The site was cordoned off and people in the vicinity were evacuated. Five of the 141 cylinders lying in the hazardous goods storage facility at Haji Bunder contained liquid chlorine. The other 136 were empty. All the five cylinders have been neutralised. DECISION TO GIVE MINING LICENSE TO POSCO SET ASIDE In a setback to the Rs.51,000-crore Posco steel plant planned at Paradeep, the Orissa High Court on Wednesday set aside the State government's recommendation for granting the South Korean steel major a licence for prospecting in the Khandadhar iron ore mines in Sundargarh district.Allowing a writ petition filed by Geomin Minerals and Marketing (P) Ltd, a Bhubaneswar-based company, a Division Bench of Justices B.P. Das and B.P. Ray directed the State government to take a fresh decision on the licence giving preferential right of consideration to the petitioner. In January 2009, the government recommended that the Centre grant Posco a licence for prospecting on 2,500 hectares of the Khandadhar mines. The recommendation was based on Section 11(5) of the Mining and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act. July 16th SAINA RANKED NUMBER 2 Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal is just a step away from realising her goal of becoming the world's No.1 player as she jumped one place to a career-best second in the latest international rankings. By virtue of the consecutive title wins, Saina now has 64791.2637 points and is just behind Chinese Yihan Wang, while Xin Wang of China is in the third place. July 17th SHIV SAINIKS ATTACK ZEE OFFICE Shiv Sainiks attacked the Zee 24 hours television office in Kolhapur late night on Friday and destroyed furniture apart from injuring the correspondents during a live telecast of a debate on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. Mansoor Syed of the Karnataka-based Seema Rakshak Vedika was on the show along with Diwakar Raote, Sena leader, in Mumbai. The first segment was over when about 40 Sainiks attacked the office and beat up an associate of Mr. Mansoor Syed and attacked Deepak Shinde, bureau chief. TV CHANNEL OFFICE ATTACKED In a brazen attack on press freedom, a large number of people owing allegiance to the sangh parivar vandalised the office of the TV Today Network at Videocon Towers at Jhandewalan here on Friday.The attack came a day after the group's news channel, Headlines Today, telecast tapes of secret meetings attended by some Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders and where discussions were allegedly held on carrying out “terrorist attacks against meetings of Muslims.'' Protesting against the telecast of the tapes, an over 2000-strong mob, which included several women, barged into the lobby of Videocon Towers around 5 p.m. and resorted to vandalism. HISTORIC WALL STREET REFORMS PASSED After months of Congressional wrangling and in the face of relentless lobbying by Wall Street banks, the United States Senate finally passed an unprecedented and game-changing package of financial reforms on Thursday.The reform bill passed by a 60-39 margin, with three crucial Republican “aye” votes handing President Barack Obama his first major policy victory since the passage of the healthcare bill earlier this year FINAL HEARING IN JUSTICE SEN REMOVAL CASE The final arguments in the removal proceedings against Justice Soumitra Sen, judge of the Calcutta High Court, for his misconduct, will begin on Saturday before a three-member committee headed by Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, Supreme Court Judge. Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal and noted jurist Fali Nariman are the other members of the committee, constituted by the Rajya Sabha Chairman to probe the charges against Justice Sen. July 18th GILLARD CALLS FOR GENERAL ELECTIONS Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Saturday announced that a general election would be held on August 21 in line with her pledge to seek a governing mandate in her own right.Ms. Gillard (48), who deposed Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister in a political coup within the ruling Australian Labour Party on June 24, had promised to go to the people soon so that they could decide on her continuance at the helm.Shortly after asking Governor General Quentin Bryce to dissolve the House of Representatives for an August 21 election, Ms. Gillard, the country's first woman Prime Minister, said on Saturday she would seek a mandate to take Australia forward on a range of issues. July 20th INDIA’S FIRST RTI LIBRARY NAMED AFTER PRAKASH KARDALEY

Pune has become the first municipal corporation in India to have a Right to Information (RTI) library. Magsaysay award winner Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the library that is named after Prakash Kardaley, a journalist from the city, who had a major role in the drafting of the Right to Information Act. Calling Kardaley a guiding force in the RTI movement, Mr. Kejriwal said that it was only apt that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had named the library after him. July 22nd NEPAL TO HOLD FOR PREMIER AGAIN As the two candidates — Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) and Nepali Congress vice-president Ram Chandra Paudel — who contested the prime ministerial election on Wednesday did not get a simple majority to lead a new government, the poll would be held again on Friday.Voting was held in Parliament, where the chairman of the largest political party, Mr. Prachanda, got 242 votes, five more than the total number of seats. Mr. Paudel, who is the parliamentary party leader of the second largest party, secured 124 votes, 10 more than the number of his party seats. July 23rd MURALI’S 800 LIGHTS UP SRILANKA’S WIN Muttiah Muralitharan jumped for joy, his radiant visage and big, bold eyes lighting up the arena. The moment marked a historic occasion for Test cricket.The off-spinning wizard spun one away from the left-handed Pragyan Ojha for Mahela Jayawardene to hold a fine low catch at slip here on Thursday.This was Muralitharan's 800th wicket in Tests — he is the only bowler to achieve the feat. The Sri Lankan team provided a fitting finale to the champion cricketer. Pursuing 95 for victory, Kumar Sangakkara's men romped home by 10 wickets for a 1-0 lead in the three-match Micromax Test series. TILAK AWARD FOR SHEILA DIXIT This year's Lokmanya Tilak Award will be given to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. This was announced by president of the Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust, Deepak Tilak, here on Thursday. The award is given every year by the trust. It consists of a gold medal, a memento, a citation and Rs.1 lakh. The ceremony will take place on August 1 at the Tilak Smarak Mandir on the occasion of the 89th death anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak. The award was established in 1983. July 25th INDIA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED FIVE SATELLITES INTO ORBIT MONDAY, ONE OF THEM A mini-spacecraft built by students, space officials said. The main payload was a remote-sensing satellite - CARTOSAT-2B – which the country's space agency said would be used in infrastructure programs because of its capability to take high-resolution images of the Earth. Other smaller devices comprised satellites from a Canadian university, Algeria and STUDSAT, a light-weight rocket made by Indian engineering students, the Indian Space Research Organization said. FERNANDO ALONSO WINS GERMAN GRAND PRIX. MYANMAR'S JUNTA CHIEF SENIOR General Than Shwe departed on Sunday for a goodwill visit to India at the invitation of the Indian president, officials confirmed. Than Shwe departed Naypyitaw International Airport for a five-day official visit as guest of President Pratibha Patil, government officials in the military's capital said. Than Shwe heads the State Peace and Development Council, as Myanmar's junta styles itself. He last visited India in October 2004. India has cultivated close diplomatic ties with military-run Myanmar over the past decade to pursue economic and security interests and counterbalance China's growing clout in the country, which sits between the two Asian giants. SPAIN'S ALBERTO CONTADOR secured a third Tour de France yellow jersey Sunday after the 20th and final stage to the Champs Elysees won by Briton Mark Cavendish. Cavendish powered to the finish line alone for the second consecutive year to claim his fifth stage success of this year's race and 15th of his career. Italian Alessandro Petacchi, the winner of two stages, finished second on the stage to secure the green jersey for the race's points competition while France's Anthony Charteau won the best climber's polka dot jersey. Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong, who finished almost 40minutes adrift, managed to step up to the podium on what was his final appearance after his RadioShack team won the teams' classification. July26 In an unprecedented development, close to 92,000 classified documents pertaining to the war in Afghanistan have been leaked. SPIEGEL, the New York Times and the Guardian have analyzed the raft of mostly classified documents. The war logs expose the true scale of the Western military deployment -- and the problems beleaguering Germany's Bundeswehr in the Hindu Kush. A total of 91,731 reports from United States military databanks relating to the war in Afghanistan are to be made publicly available on the Internet. Never before has it been possible to compare the reality on the battlefield in such a detailed manner with what the US Army propaganda machinery is propagating. WikiLeaks plans to post the documents, most of which are classified, on its website. CAMBODIA'S UN-BACKED WAR CRIMES COURT HAS FOUND KAING GUEK EAV, THE chief of the S-21 prison where thousands were tortured and killed during the Khmer Rouge's rule, guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, was found guilty of murder and torture as well, and sentenced to 35 years in prison on Monday for his role in the deaths of at least 14,000 people at S-21, also known as Tuol Sleng prison. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year sentence from the court, which could have imposed a maximum sentence of life in prison. Judge Nil Nonn shaved 16 years off Duch's 35-year sentence for time already served and illegal detention in a military prison. THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 2010 EUROPEAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS takes place in Barcelona.

IN AN ACTION-PACKED DAY, THE FORMER GUJARAT MINISTER OF STATE FOR Home, Amit Shah, presented himself before the Central Bureau of Investigation, was promptly arrested, produced in the court, sent to 14-day judicial custody and lodged in the Sabarmati Central Jail. Mr. Shah claimed that the charges against him were “fabricated and politically motivated.” Everything from his dramatic appearance before the media to his being jailed happened in quick succession and were completed within four hours, with the CBI refusing either to question him or seek his remand for questioning later. As the CBI did not seek his remand, Mr. Shah, who held the Jail portfolio till he resigned on Saturday, was sent to judicial custody by the special CBI court and by 4 p.m. was inside the jail. THE TELUGU DESAM PARTY (TDP) ON SUNDAY SAID IT WOULD LEAD THE fight for the rights of the lower riparian States in sharing of river waters, and rejected the charge that its campaign against Babli project was linked to by-elections in Andhra Pradesh. Ahead of a meeting of an all-party delegation from the State with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu charged the Union government with not safeguarding the interests of the State even after the award of the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal, orders of the Central Water Commission and an agreement between the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh of not going ahead with the construction of Babli and 13 other “illegal projects.'' A £500- MILLION ARMS DEAL TO SELL 60 HAWK JETS TO NEW DELHI IS reported to be among the business contracts that British Prime Minister David Cameron hopes to clinch during his visit to India, beginning on Tuesday. The trip has been heavily trailed in the media here with commentators contrasting Britain's waning global influence with the growing importance of India. “Cameron reaches out to the power and wealth of New India as days of Raj recede,” was the heading of a long despatch from The Observer's Delhi correspondent while a full-page article in The Sunday Times called the visit an attempt to “woo a new superpower”. Mr. Cameron is leading a large and high-profile business delegation reflecting his government's decision to use British foreign policy more aggressively to promote the country's business interests. Diplomats have been told to put commerce at the heart of their dealings with foreign governments, especially the emerging global economies such as India. There is also a move to fill key diplomatic posts, including at the ambassadorial level, with businessmen. July 28, 2010 PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS WERE DISRUPTED ON TUESDAY AS A UNITED Opposition took on the government over price rise, demanding a discussion with voting. The Lok Sabha was adjourned thrice and the Rajya Sabha twice before both Houses wound up for the day. In the Lok Sabha, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal members including their leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad trooped into the well to protest against the recent de-regulation of petroleum prices which, they said, fuelled price rise. Earlier, when the House assembled in the morning, members of the National Democratic Alliance, the Left parties, the SP and the RJD were on their feet demanding adjournment of business to discuss price rise. PRESIDENT PRATIBHA PATIL ON TUESDAY APPOINTED ELECTION Commissioner (EC) Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) under Clause 2 of the Article 324 of the Constitution. A Law Ministry notification said Mr. Quraishi will assume office on July 30 as the incumbent, Navin Chawla, demits office on Thursday. EXPRESSING SERIOUS CONCERN OVER REPORTS THAT A HUGE STOCK OF foodgrains is being wasted in the absence of adequate storage, the Supreme Court has asked the Centre to consider releasing the grain to the deserving people rather than allowing it to rot. A Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma asked the Centre to respond to this suggestion on or before August 10 so that the court could pass appropriate orders. “If food is rotting, don't waste it. In a country where admittedly people are starving, it is a crime to waste even a single grain. The official statement made by the government indicates that there is wastage of foodgrains at many places. The government may consider constructing adequate warehouses or food storage facilities on a long-term basis. On a short-term basis, they can also consider hiring warehouses or putting up water-proof tents to save the grain. But all-out efforts must be made to ensure that not a single grain is wasted.” July 29, 2010 A PAKISTANI AIRCRAFT WITH 152 PEOPLE ON BOARD CRASHED INTO THE Margalla Hills skirting the capital in the north on Wednesday morning; leaving no survivors and an entire hillside charred. Though hopes of survivors were kept alive for some hours after the crash, the government announced six hours later that all on board were dead. Efforts were afoot to get the bodies till late in the evening. The Airblue flight ED 202 was flying in from Karachi to Islamabad and had been asked to await landing clearance at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport. While circling through heavy rain, it flew very low over the capital before it headed off towards the thickly wooded Margalla Hills which, according to Interior Minister Rehman Malik, is a “no fly zone”. Eye-witnesses claimed to have seen the aircraft fly very low over Blue Area — the commercial quarters of the capital — and from all accounts, the Airbus 321 had its landing gear down. According to a statement put out by Airblue, the flight crashed due to poor weather and thick fog. SPELLING TROUBLE FOR MORE THAN ONE MILLION USERS OF BLACKBERRY IN India, the Centre has warned the Canadian service provider that if it does not allow the facility to monitor email and SMS, it will have to shut down operations in the country. The government has said the makers of BlackBerry — Research in Motion (RIM) — have to address the security concerns by offering the monitoring facility. “If they don't follow our guidelines, we will have no option but to ask them to stop their operations in India,” a senior official said. The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the Department of Telecommunications to tell the company in no uncertain terms that its email and other data services must comply with formats that could be monitored by security and intelligence agencies. The Ministry

made it clear that RIM was addressing the security concerns of several other countries, including the United States. The government also wants a BlackBerry server in India to track the messages, but the company has been resisting the move. ANDHRA PRADESH HAS INFORMED TAMIL NADU THAT IT WILL START SUPPLYING Krishna water in September. As per the 1983 agreement between the States, Andhra Pradesh is to supply water from July. But, it had expressed its inability as canal repair works were under way. July 30, 2010 It is not just American suppliers, Russia too is now insisting that all liability for any accident that may occur in reactors sold to India must rest solely with the Indian operator and not with Russian companies involved in supplying components and knowhow. At the last round of commercial negotiations held in Moscow recently between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Atomstroyexport for the supply of four additional 1000 MWe reactors at Kudankulam (KK 3,4,5,6), the two countries failed to agree on the issue of liability. The Indian side wanted the contract to include a ‘right of recourse' which would allow NPCIL to claim damages from Atomstroyexport in the event of an accident resulting from negligence on the part of the Russian supplier. But Russian officials refused, citing the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) the two countries signed in 2008 to back up their stand that all liability must be channelled on to NPCIL, the operator at Kudankulam.

CLATGyan’s Compendium National: 1. India and Australia sign a major deal on education. The deal was signed in Melbourne during Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal’s visit to the city. Minister of Education of Australia- Julia Gillard(who is currently the First Woman PM of Australia). Also an India-Australia Education council comprising of experts from both countries is being set up. 2. An agreement has been made between Indian and China for the setting up of a Hotline between Beijing and New Delhi for communication to evolve between the 2 countries. Foreign Secretary of India-Nirupama Rao 3. NFSA stands for National Food Security Act. Under the NFSA the UPA government plans to give 35 kgs of foodgrains to each family BPL(below poverty line). Tendulkar Committee- Committee which studied the number of Indians BPL. 4. Railway Minister-Mamata Bannerjee, Flagged off the Aurobindo express from Howrah to Puducherry to commemorate the centenary year of Aurobindo’s travel to the French colony and establishing an ashram there. *(Remember any train started by Mamta Bannerjee will either start or end at Howrah) 5. India’s first Anti-submarine warfare Corvette was launched in Kolkata which has been named INS Kamorta. 6. The National Integration council was reconstituted under the PM- Manmohan Singh. The major work of this council is to suggest measures to combat regionalism, communalism and casteism. This committee includes 14 cabinet ministers and several prominent personalities from various fields like Journalism etc. 7. Minority Affairs Minister-Salman Khurshid defined National Level monitors as the eyes and the ears of the government. The monitors will help the government ensure the minority schemes reach the intended beneficiaries. They will carry out ground-level assessment of the schemes.

8. National Accreditation and Assessment council or National Board of education has been formed in order to Keep a check on universities’ standard of Education. Read further on http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article479576.ece 9. South African president Jacob Zuma met with the Indian PM and the two countries have signed three pacts to step up bilateral co-operation between the 2 countries and also talked about including RSA in the BRIC group. 10. Finally on June 7,2010 a court in Bhopal came out with the verdict on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. It convicted all eight accused including former chairman Keshub Mahindra of Union Carbide. They were however released on bail.*(Please refer to the CG article on the Bhopal Gas tragedy for detailed information on the issue) 11. Anti-Tank missile “Nag” was fired successfully from the army’s firing range at Shamirpet near Hyderabad( Trivia: Shamirpet is where NALSAR.) 12. A five day World Classical Tamil conference was held in Coimbatore. 13. The government has approved the establishment of a National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency(NMEEE) with the aim of building a market for energy efficient products. The mission is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. Ajay Mathur-Director-general of Bureau of energy Efficiency also the mission director for NMEEE. 14. India and Canada signed a civil Nuclear Co-operation agreement. The deal was made between the Indian PM and Canadian PM Stephen Harper during the Indian PM’s visit to Ottawa for the G-20 Summit. 15. An MoU(Memorandum of Understanding) was signed between National Small industries Corporation(NSIC) of India and Local Enterprise Authority(LEA) of Botswana for the development of small, micro industries in both countries. 16. India’s Nuclear capable ballistic missile Prithvi-II was fired successfully from the Integrated Test range(ITR) at Chandipur off the Orissa Coast.

17. Jharkhand put under Presidents Rule after Shibu Soren loses Majority in the State Assembly after BJP withdrew Support. Governor of Jharkhand- M.O.H. Farooq 18. Justice K.G.Balakrishnan took over as the new Chairman of the NHRC(National Human rights Commission) 19. The former Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, Makani Narayana Rao, assumed charged as Chairperson of the National Commission for Backward Classes

International Affairs: ? Third Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building measures in Asia(CICA) concluded in Istanbul,Turkey. ? Naoto Kan is the new Japanese Premier who succeeded Mr. Yukio Hatoyama. Japanese Parliament-Diet ? Iran and Pakistan formally signed a deal which commits the Islamic republic to supply natural gas to Pakistan from 2014. This agreement was a latest development in the multi-billion dollar gas pipeline project. ? The annual Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was held in Tashkent in Uzbekistan. ? Constitutional reforms are on the anvil in Sri Lanka. Prime Minister D.M.Jayaratna has approved a proposal for important amendments. ? G-20 nations meet at Toronto in Canada. These nations include the major industrialised powers and emerging economies of the world. ? A meeting of the G-8 nations followed the previous G-20 meet. This was held at Huntsville in Canada. ? Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned apparently under the pressure of the Maoists. ? China and Japan have considered setting up a Civilian Hotline for sensitive issues. ? German president Hoerst Kohler resigns ? $1 trillion mineral wealth has been discovered in Afghanistan.

Appointments: ? Chandra Shekhar Verma-Chairman of Steel Authority of India Ltd.(SAIL) ? Christina Figueres- Executive Secretary of UNFCCC ? O.P.Bhatt- Elected Chairman of the Indian Banks’ Association(IBA). He is also the chairman of SBI.

Persons in the News: • Nikki Haley becomes the first non-white person and the first woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina, and the second Indian-American governor in the country (after Bobby Jindal)

Deaths: • Manohar Malgaonkar died at the age of 97. He was a prolific writer. • Famous Novelist and Nobel Literature Prize winner Jose Saramago passed away at the age of 87. • Digvijay Singh- Lok Sabha Mp from Bihar passed away at the age of 55 suffering from brain haemorrhage. • Robert Byrd- The longest serving member ever of the US congress passes away at the age of 92.

Awards And honours: • Order of British Empire(OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II was conferred on Kartar Singh Lalvani, Founder of pharmaceutical Major Vitabotics. • 11th International Indian Film Academy), IIFA awards held in Colombo. • An International Math Prize has been named after Indian Mathematician Bhaskaracharya by the International Congress of Mathematicians(ICM) • Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puruskar has been given to Sadhvi jaggi

Sports: ? Soccer world cup begins in South Africa

? French Open Winners: Mens Singles-Rafael Nadal, Womens’ Singles- Francesca Shiavone ? Leander paes And Lukas Dlouhy were runners up for the Mens Doubles Section. ? Saina Nehwal-India’s Ace Badminton Player and Ranked 6th in the world clinches the Singapore and Indonesia Open titles. ? Lewis Hamilton wins Canadian grand Prix ? Renjith Maheshwari won India a gold medal in the triple Jump competition at the Asian Grand Prix mens triple Jump

Other important News: 1. India has recently been ranked among worst countries of the world in ? Human Trafficking India has been ranked as a Tier II watch List country—only one level better than worst-performing Tier III countries such as Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe in the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) compiled by United States Department.

2. Recently India had differences with Pakistan over the Nimoo Bazgoo Project India-Pakistan resolved their differences over three projects—Uri on Jhelum, Chutak on Indus and Baglihar dam on Chenab—but on the Nimoo Bazgo Project (45 Megawatt) in Leh, Pakistan raised objection on certain counts in recently held four day meeting of the Permanent Indus Water Commission.

3. Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, the global hydraulics business of Wipro, has signed an agreement with Wujin Hi-tech Industrial Zone in Changzhou, China to set up a facility for the manufacture of high-pressure precision hydraulic cylinders and tipping systems.

4. India and Pakistan have resolved at the meeting of the Permanent Indus Water Commission here the issue of water flows in the Chenab

river being affected during the initial filling of the Baglihar dam in 2008. Pakistan has decided not to raise the matter further.

5. Jharkhand on Tuesday came under Central rule with President Pratibha Patil accepting a recommendation of the Union Cabinet after the Congress and the BJP gave up efforts to form an alternative government following the resignation of Chief Minister Shibu Soren.

6. Asserting that the UPA government was committed to cleaning up the Ganga, Prime Minister Manmohan singh said no untreated waste and industrial effluents would flow into the river by 2020. Under “Mission Clean Ganga”, it would be ensured that by 2020 no untreated municipal sewage and industrial effluents flow into the ganga.

7. The eighth five yearly review conference of the Nuclear Non Proliferation treaty(NPT) was held in New York.

8. The light commercial vehicle (LCV) joint venture between Ashok Leyland of the Hinduja Group and Nissan of Japan will roll out its first product as scheduled in mid-2011.

9. Law graduates passing out from this year and intending to take up legal practice will have to pass an all-India Bar examination to be conducted by the Bar Council of India

10. The Force India Formula One team has initiated legal action in Britain against the Lotus team, Lotus technical head Michael Gascoyne and the Aerolab Windtunnel Company for an alleged breach of intellectual property.

11. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and 12 others were elected unopposed to the Legislative Council on Thursday. Only 13 candidates — eight of the BSP, three of the SP and one each of the BJP and the Congress — had filed papers for as many seats.

12. When the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced that the monsoon had set in over Kerala on May 31, it also noted the development of a depression in the Arabian Sea. By next day, the storm had intensified into a cyclone and been given a name. On June 2, cyclone Phet grew ominously, becoming a ‘very severe cyclonic storm' and even threatening to turn into a ‘super cyclone,' the most powerful sort of storm.

13. Accepting the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, McCartney used the occasion to applaud President Barack Obama. “Getting this prize would be good enough,” said McCartney. “But getting it from this President ...” He smiled.

14. World's biggest steel producer Arcelor Mittal on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Karnataka Government to establish a 6-million tonne integrated steel plant in Bellary district.

15. Fifteen persons were injured in clashes between the police and stone-throwing youths who were protesting against an alleged blasphemous depiction of the holy city of Madina on some products, which disrupted life in parts of this city and Baramulla in north Kashmir on Saturday.

16. Vice-President Hamid Ansari will sign several agreements during his six-day tour of the Czech Republic and Croatia, beginning Sunday. The visit to Croatia would be the first by a VVIP from India.

17. The government has decided to make Adviser to the Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovation Sam Pitroda the head of the “India Smart Grid Task Force.” The task force was set up to evolve a

road map for development and deployment of smart and intelligent grid technologies with the aim of making India a world leader in this sphere. The task forcewill serve as a focal point for activities related to the smart grid technology.

18. An Abu Dhabi tower has been recognised as the “furthest-leaning man-made tower” in the world by Guinness World Records, local newspapers reported on Sunday. The 160-metre Capital Gate tower, developed by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company, leans at 18 degrees — over four times the angle of Italy's famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.

19. The executive organising committee of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) has decided to name a one-time international prize of Rs.10 lakh for popularising mathematics afterLeelavati, the immortal mathematical treatise by the Indian mathematician, Bhaskaracharya.

20. Sri Lankan Parliament on Tuesday extended the Emergency Regulations by another month even as Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne warned of a possibility of the LTTE re-grouping in the northern and eastern provinces. Last month the emergency laws were scaled down by the government withdrawing some of the powers of the military and the police.

21. Becoming the world's fifth largest mobile operator, Sunil Mittal led Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced that it had completed the acquisition of Zain Telecom's Africa operations for $10.7 billion.

22. Yahoo has signed David Beckham as its first “global sports ambassador” to front an international ad campaign ahead of the World Cup and provide exclusive content including blogs.

23. A novelist, regarded as a “traitor” by the American right for her criticism of the country's foreign policy and her outspoken comments after the 9/11 attacks, is the surprise winner of this year's Orange Prize for fiction, Britain's highly-regarded literary honour for women writers . Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna, the story of an American writer who becomes a victim of anti-communist McCarthyist witch-hunt, won the £30,000 prize beating six contenders including Hilary Mantel's acclaimed Booker prize-winner Wolf Hall.

24. The five-member Empowered Committee headed by the former Chief Justice of India, Justice A.S. Anand, to go into the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam meets in New Delhi for the first time after it was constituted pursuant to the orders of the Supreme Court on February 18.

25. Indian nationals stranded in the cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad in southern Kyrgyzstan due to the civil disturbances were safely evacuated to Bishkek Refer to the link for more info: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/all-105-indians-evacuated-from-kyrgyzstan-cities-31753

26. The recent Air India Express crash in Mangalore has hastened a slew of measures to improve the safety and efficiency of Air India flights bound for Gulf destinations. Arvind Jadhav, visiting Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), said a fully equipped ground engineering set-up was now being permanently established in the United Arab Emirates to ensure timely and efficient maintenance of aircraft.

27. After waiting 25 years for a closure, families of the victims of the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history, the bombing of Air India 182, were on Thursday told by a Commission of Inquiry that the Canadian government was responsible for failing to act upon credible information indicating that the attack was imminent. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday assured family members of victims of the 1984 Air India Kanishka bombing that the government would respond “positively” to the recommendations made by an inquiry committee and said compensation would be offered to all. To Read more on the Kanishka Incident ? http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/punjab/backgrounder/Kanishka.htm

28. Poland prepared Saturday for a snap election forced by the air-crash death of President Lech Kaczynski, with his identical twin bidding to replace him but trailing the ruling liberals' candidate.

29. Iran executed Abdolmalek Rigi, leader of the Pakistan-based Jundallah group, which has taken responsibility for several violent attacks inside Iran. 30. United States President Barack Obama on Wednesday removed General Stanley McChrystal as the top NATO commander in Afghanistan over a magazine article that portrayed him as being

dismissive of senior U.S. officials for their concerns about the ongoing war effort.

31. Indian science historian Dhruv Raina will take over the professorship for the newly created Heinrich Zimmer Chair for Indian Philosophy and Intellectual History at Heidelberg University on Monday next. The Chair has been awarded by the ICCR and the Cluster of Excellence ‘Asia and Europe in a Global Context' as well as the Heildelberg University's South Asia Institute.

32. Guinea's historic election will not be perfect, analysts say, but a strong turnout is expected from among four million voters keen to put an end to half a century of dictatorship rule. The West African country is holding in its first free election since independence in 1958. Guinea's “father of independence” turned President-for-life Ahmed Sekou Toure ruled repressively for 26 years and his sudden death in 1984 was quickly followed by a coup which led to 24 years of military rule by General Lansana Conte.

33. Many Kyrgyz voters turned out for a national referendum on a new Constitution despite a recent flare-up of ethnic violence in the south. If approved, the Constitution would transform Kyrgyzstan from a presidential to a parliamentary republic, with main powers shifted from a nationally elected President to a Prime Minister chosen by Parliament. This would make Kyrgyzstan the first parliamentary democracy in former Soviet Central Asia. Parliamentary elections are planned in Kyrgyzstan in October.

34. Bangladesh experienced the first anti-government countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal enforced by the main opposition BNP partially affecting major cities including Dhaka. The former Premier, Khaleda Zia, called the shutdown to protest against the government's failure to resolve

gas, electricity and water crises. It also demanded an end to tender manipulation, extortion and politicisation of the administration and judiciary. Ms. Khaleda Zia also demanded scrapping of all treaties signed with India and resignation of the Election Commission.

35. Reliance Industries said that it had made a seventh oil discovery in the Gujarat block in the Cambay Basin and had named the new discovery ‘Dhirubhai-50'

36. Twenty-six personnel of the 39 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force were killed in a Maoist ambush in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district

37. Ending the many months of uncertainty surrounding the leadership of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), P. Satishchandra, professor, Department of Neurology, was appointed the premier institute's director.

38. Induction of the two vessels into the Navy showed India's self-reliance and that its quality in shipbuilding was on a par with the world's best, he said. With coastal security attaining new dimensions, the two ships with speed and capability would meet the requirements of protecting the shores.

THE CLATGYAN GK COMPENDIUM MAY 2010 International Current Affairs • G-15 summit was held at Tehran on 16-17 May. Sri Lanka is the new chairman of the G-15 for the next 2 years. Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, India,Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Jamaica, Kenya,Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Venezuela and Zimbabwe are member of G-15 and constitute one third of the world’s population. • Kamla Persad-B-Bissessar, a lady of Indian origin has been elected as the first woman president of Trinidad and Tobago. • Bangladesh handed over Ranjan Daimary of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland to India. The group was responsible for serial bombing in Assam in 2008. • National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Myannmar’s democracy leader Aung San Sui Kyi was abolished after deadline to re-register as a political party was over. • Pakistan successfully test fired two short range ballistic missiles, Shaheen I( range 650 Km) and Ghazani (range 290 Km) capable of carrying nuclear war heads and striking Indian cities. • Hung House in Britain after 36 years :On May 7, 2010, Britain woke up to a hung Parliament, an election outcome that this country last experienced in 1974 when the then Prime Minister Edward Heath tried and failed to persuade the Liberal Party to join him in a coalition.The Conservatives under David Cameron( prime minister) emerged as the single largest party with 306 seats in the 650-member House of Commons, while Labour bagged 258 and Lib Dems 57. Liberal democrat Nick Clegg is the deputy prime minister.

• Now Spain struggles Spain’s socialist government is seeing its political power erode as it struggles to chart a path out of deep financial trouble, failing so far to satisfy conflicting demands to cut its budget and stimulate job creation. Europe’s top job creator only two years ago, Spain now has the highest unemployment rate—just over 20 per cent—of the

16 nations that share the Euro currency. The resulting austerity package, nicknamed the “scissors action” by Spanish media. PM – Zose Zapatero. • Russia celebrated the 65th anniversary of the WW II by a parade in Moscow’s Red square. US, French and Polish troops also took part. It was attended by Angela merkel ( german chancellor), shimon perez ( Israeli President) and Chinese president Hu jintao. • Tension between Koreas escalates : On May 24, 2010, South Korea announced steps to tighten the vice on the North’s already stumbling economy in punishment for sinking one of its navy ship Cheonan Corvette killing 46 South Korean sailors. On 25th North korea announced severing of sl ties with South Korea. • Foreign ministers of the Six members of the Shanghai Member Cooperation (SCO) met in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on May 22, 2010. Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are the present members. • Wall Street valued Apple at $222.12 billion and Microsoft at $219.18 billion. The only American company valued higher is Exxon Mobil, with a market capitalisation of $278.64 billion. • Thai Government Under Abhisit Vejjajiva declared on 19th may to have suppressed the Red Shirt protestors who were protesting for dissolution of the House of representatives and snap polls.

National Current Affairs • Naxalites killed 47 people in a landmine blast between Dantewada and Sukma in Chattisgarh. • Test fire of nuclear capable Agni-II missile was successfully carried out from Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa on 17th May. Agni II has a range of 2000Km. It is 20m long two stage solid propelled ballistic missile. It was developed by Advanced System Laboratories alongwith DRDO & Bharat Dynamics Ltd. • Supreme Court in a recent judgement upheld a rule that allows the adjustment of reserved category candidate SC/ST/OBC against their quota seats even if they manage to qualify an examination for govt services on merit. • National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is the monitoring authority for the Right to Education Act which became effective from April 1, 2010.

• NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL GETS ACTIVE AGAIN o The National Advisory Council (NAC), led by Sonia Gandhi, will get down to business this week itself with the Congress leadership finalising a list of 10 members. While four members of the previous NAC—Aruna Roy, Jean Dreze, NC Saxena and AK Shiva Kumar—will be back in the panel’s new avatar, there are six additions. These include MS Swaminathan, V Krishnamurthy, Narendra Jadhav, Mirai Chatterjee, Farah Naqvi and Harsh Mander. • Pakistan raises objections over Kishenganga power project in Jammu and Kashmir, which it alleges violates the 1960 Indus Water Treaty as water would be diverted. Pakistan is also objecting to construction of two other hydel power projects —Uri-II ( 240 MW built on Jhelum in Kashmir valley) and Chutak ( 40 Mw, Laddakh on Suru river)—in Jammu and Kashmir. Under the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan has exclusive right over three of the common rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab — while India has exclusive right over Sutlej, Ravi and Beas. • Census Commissioner of India C. Chandramouli . He is the news because he is reportedly trying to make the Census data available much sooner than what it used to be earlier. The results of the 1991 census were available eight years after the survey while the release of the 2001 census data began only in 2006. He is reportedly trying to make a whole range of decision support system tools available along with the data this time. • Nuclear-capable Agni-II ballistic missile, with a strike range of 2000 kms, was on May 17, 2010 successfully test-Nuclear-capable Agni-II ballistic missile takes off from Wheelers Island, in the Bay of Bengal on May 17, 2010 fired during a user trial by the strategic forces from the Wheelers Island off the Orissa coast. • GOI banned about 100 organisations as terrorist organisations. These outfits include all the big Islamic terror outfits like Jemaah Islamiya (Bali bombing notoriety) of Indonesia, Islamic Jihad Group of Libya, the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, International Islamic Relief Organization of Philippines and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan among others. • Former Vice-President of India and three-time Chief Minister of Rajasthan in the past, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat passed away at Jaipur on May 15, 2010.

• In a major relief for legitimate travellers and visa seekers, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on May 13, 2010 approved modernisation and upgradation of immigration services as one of the Mission Mode Projects (MMP) to be undertaken by the Home Ministry under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP). The project is titled Immigration, Visa and Foreigners Registration and Tracking (IVFRT).

• In a bid to give a boost to its holding of oil and gas assets abroad, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Limited (OVL), alongwith its partners, entered into an agreement with the Venezuela government on May 13, 2010 to develop a $ 20-billion oil project in that country. • Touching upon several significant areas in the working of Centre-State relations, the Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi report submitted recently to the government has made over 200 recommendations. These include radical ones like amending Articles 355 and 356, to enable the Centre to bring trouble-torn areas under its rule for a limited period, creation of an overriding structure to maintain internal security along the lines of the US Homeland Security department, giving more teeth to the National Integration Council, and amending the COMMUNAL VIOLENCE BILL to allow deployment of Central forces without the State’s consent for a short period. Other committees on Centre- State Relationship – Setalvad Committee, Raja Mannar Committee, Sarkaria Committee. • Israni Committee which was appointed on the orders of the Rajasthan High Court to look into the demands of Gujjars for reservation in jobs has recommended that Gujjars should be accorded special backward class status and thus be provided reservation in jobs. It may be noted here that the committee is headed by former High Court Judge Justice I. S. Israni. • Ratan Kumar Sinha took over as Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay, on May 19, 2010 from Srikumar Banerjee, also Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. • India-born Scot John Shepherd-Barron, the man who invented the Automated Teller machine (ATM) passed away in Scotland on May 15, 2010. He was 84.

• Baroness Sayeeda Hussain Warsi created history by becoming the first Muslim woman to be part of the British Cabinet, when she was announced the Chairman of the Conservative Party a few days earlier. • The 63rd Cannes Film Festival which began on May12, 2010 concluded on 23, 2010 in Cannes, France. ( Check the Awards list).

Sports Current Affairs [May 2010] • England won 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating Australia. The tournament was held at South Africa. Kevin Pieterson of England has been declared as Player of the Tournament. • Australia won 2010 Women’s World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating New Zealand. • India and South Korea were declared joint winner of 2010 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, after suspension of the final match due to heavy rains.India’s Sardar Singh has been declared as Best Player of the Tournament. Australia won the Bronze medal. The tournament was held at Ipoh (Malaysia). India had won the tournament earlier in 1985, 1991, 1995 & 2009. • China won Thomas Cup ( Men’s Badminton) defeating Indonesia. • In the World Youth Boxing Championship, held at Baku, Azerbaijan, India won 1 Gold & 1 Silver. Gold medal was won by Vikas Krishan and Silver medal was won by Shiva Thapa. • India won bronze medal in the 2nd Asian Paragliding Championship held at Nishiewa, Japan. • World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand retained his title after defeating Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the World Chess Championship 2010.

Persons in News [May 2010] • Former Vice President of India, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat died. • Rima Fakih was crowned Miss USA 2010. She became the first ever muslim American Miss USA. She is of Lebanese muslim descent.

• Singer Christina Aguilera was named Ambassador against hunger by the United Nations World Food Programme. • Rushanara Ali became first person of Bangladesh origin to be elected to the British Parliament. • David Cameron elected Prime Minister of Britain. Nick Clegg became the Dy Prime Minister. Britain gets first coalition govt since World War-II. It is between Conservative and Liberal Democrats. • Justice S H Kapadia sworn as new Chief Justice of India. • Hari S Bhartia elected as President of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for 2010-11. • Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail unassisted around the world in a yatch.

Awards Current Affairs 2010 [May 2010] • Vandana Shiva has been awarded Sydney Peace Prize 2010 for her work in the field of social justice.

Misc Issues [May 2010] • International Mosaics Festival was held in Tunisia. • Aman ki Asha- the name of the Indo Pak Business Meet held at New delhi. • International Museum Day- 18 May. • ’Yours Sincerely’ written by Natwar Singh.

• ’The Duel’ written by Tariq Ali. • ’The Promise :President Obama, Year One’ written by Jonathan Alter.

DETAILED NEWS 29.05.2010 Politics & the Nation

• Maoists strike again, 71 killed in train crash o Maoists once again unleashed their bloody campaign against innocent civilians, derailing a passenger train in West Bengal early on Friday that killed at least 71 people and injured 150. They struck even as the hapless passengers slept, stealthily ensuring that the Howrah-Kurla Gyaneshwari Express passed over an undone track. The ferocity of the impact, being blamed on missing fish-plates, ensured not only the derailment of 13 coaches but also a subsequent collision with a goods train, thus maximising casualty. o Though attacks on trains are not new for the Maoists, the central motive so far was to garner high publicity and cause large-scale public inconvenience than to inflict casualty. The attack appears to be part of a new lethal strategy of the Maoists to hit at infrastructure and connectivity, even at the cost of civilian lives. They did succeed to an extent on Friday: there is talk of suspending night train services through the Maoist-infested areas, spread over five states, and ensuring stricter compliance of the speed limits prescribed for trains negotiating these stretches. o The latest attack is also timed in the middle of the ongoing tactical counteroffensive launched by the Maoists on April 15, 2010. The Naxalites undertake this tactical counter-offensive over three months every year, basically to assert their nuisance value and dominance ahead of the lull that sets in during the monsoon. Ironically, most of the high-casualty Naxalites attacks have come during this offensive, including the recent killing of 35 civilians and SPOs in an attack on a passenger bus in Dantewada.

Politics & the Nation 27.05.2010 Politics & the Nation • Ever wondered about the difference between 'rule' and 'regulation'? o Take a look at this convincing explanation given by Alok Sheel: o Regulation comprises a set of rules usually applicable to providers of specific services. Unlike laws and rules,regulations are applicable only to players

engaged in particular activities, such as banking, insurance or motor driving. A rule or law, on the other hand,such as abjuring violence,is applicable to everybody at all times. Regulation also frequently has the effect of imposing additional compliance costs on players, although they may not always be easy to measure because it also has the effect of mitigating negative externalities, and hence involves complex cost-benefit analysis. Costs incurred through penalties imposed for non-compliance are easily quantifiable. • All that we need to know about NCLT o This is an excellent ET in the Classroom column that explains the litigation about formation of National Company Law Tribunal and how the Supreme Court has viewed the whole issue. Well worth a read.

Finance & Economy • Ambani brothers patch up o Take a look at this graphic which gives some cryptic details of the agreement reportedly reached between the brothers.

International 26.05.2010 Politics & the Nation • Pak Supreme Court lets off Hafiz Sayeed, the Mumbai 26/11 plotter o Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed appeals challenging Saeed’s release from house arrest. The Lashkar founder, who is accused by India of masterminding the Mumbai terror attacks, was released by the Lahore High Court on the grounds that there was not enough evidence against the Lashkar founder. Now, Pakistan’s Supreme Court has upheld the high court order. o India has expressed disappointment with the Pakistan Supreme Court verdict allowing Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed to remain a free man and hoped that Pakistan would take meaningful action to address Indian concerns.

o The development on the Saeed front comes ahead of the latest dialogue initiative that is aimed at reducing the trust deficit between the two countries. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said on Monday that trust deficit remains the biggest problem between India and Pakistan and that the two countries could move forward towards substantive negotiations only after addressing this issue.

o But Saeed continues to be an area of disagreement between India and Pakistan. Saeed was put under house arrest in December 2008 after the Mumbai attacks. Subsequently the UN Security Council declared the JuD a front for the LeT. In spite of the UNSC order, Saeed was able to challenge his incarceration successfully. A three-judge bench of the High Court ruled on June 2 last year that the Punjab and federal governments had failed to provide sufficient evidence to keep him in custody. Due to the international pressure an appeal was filed in the Supreme Court last year. • Former Haryana DGP gets 18 month jail term o Former Haryana DGP S P S Rathore was arrested for the molestation of Ruchika Girhotra after a sessions court in Chandigarh extended his prison term from six to 18 months on Tuesday. o This is the first time that Mr Rathore has been sent to jail for the molestation of the teenager in August 1990. Though a CBI special court had sentenced him to six months of rigorous imprisonment on 21 December 2009, Mr Rathore had appealed against the decision. The 14-year old he molested had committed suicide three years after the incident. o Additional district and sessions judge Gurbir Singh dismissed the 68-year-old Rathore’s appeal and enhanced his prison term. He also directed that Mr Rathore should be taken to the local Burail jail immediately. o The late Ruchika’s father S C Girhotra said that the family was “satisfied as justice has been delivered” but added that the family would continue the battle against Mr Rathore until he is charged with abatement to Ruchika’s suicide.

25.05.2010 Politics & the Nation • Afzal Guru case o Afzal Guru was awarded death sentence by a Delhi court on December 18, 2002, after being convicted on counts of conspiracy to attack Parliament on December 13, 2001, waging war against the country and murder. o The death sentence was upheld by the Delhi High Court on October 29, 2003 and his appeal rejected by the Supreme Court two years later on August 4, 2005. o A sessions court also fixed the date of his hanging on October 20, 2006 in Tihar jail. Following this, Afzal filed a mercy petition with the President. o Questions have been raised as to whether Guru was actually treated with “due process” and “proper legal representation”. o The SC, while upholding the death penalty went on to say that, while there seems to be little evidence as to a fair process and treatment towards the appellant, the collective conscience of the public demanded that he be hanged.

International • Look at how much the oil spill in Gulf of Mexico is costing BP (British Petroleum) o The total cost to BP of the disaster to date has reached about $760 million, or $22 million a day, compared with an initial estimate of $6 million a day last month. o The longer it takes, more costs are going to be incurred. The final bill, which may not be known for more than six months and depends on litigation, could be as much as $10 billion. o About £29 billion ($42 billion) has been wiped off the company’s market value. o Hope all of you have by now been acquainted with the disaster in Gulf of Mexico.

SPORT • FIFA World Cup related stuff o The official mascot: a stuffed leopard with spiked green hair. o The official World Cup anthem: “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” was written by the Colombian pop star Shakira. o The official restaurant: McDonald’s.

Cinema • Trivia about Indian cinema o The past few months have seen many ‘firsts’ for Indian films. o Aamir Khan’s Peepli Live became the first Indian film to compete in the World Dramatic section of the Sundance Film Festival; Udaan became the first Hindi film in 16 years to compete in the Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival; and, for the first time an Indian film, 3 Idiots, grossed close to $7 million at the US box office. • Results from Cannes film festival o A surreal movie from Thailand about the reveries of a dying man was the surprise victor of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival. o As Oscar winners Javier Bardem and Juliette Binoche took the main acting honours on Sunday, little-known arthouse director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” won the best film award.

o The director has been an outspoken critic of government censorship rules but his film steered cleared of politics, telling the tale of a man suffering from acute kidney failure who decides to spend his last days in the jungle where he is met by the spirits of the dead. Among the surprises, his son appears as a giant monkey and an old-world princess has watery sex with a talking catfish. o “Uncle Boonmee” is only the sixth Asian offering to win the top prize at Cannes in seven decades of the festival, and the first for more than 10 years. o While the best movie award went to Asia, the acting awards went to some of Europe’s biggest stars. Bardem, who plays a good-hearted terminally-ill hustler in “Biutiful” by Mexico’s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, shared the best actor award with Italy’s Elio Germano, star of gritty social drama “Our Life”.

Binoche was named best actress for her role as an unhappy art dealer in “Certified Copy” by Iran’s Abbas Kiarostami. o South Korean director Lee Chang-Dong’s “Poetry” was named best screenplay while Frenchman Mathieu Amalric won the best director prize for “On Tour”, about a troupe of buxom American stripteasers touring French seaside towns.

24.05.2010 Politics & the Nation • Bharat Nirman Kendras o The government is planning to set up a huge Public Information Infrastructure. These kendras are what constitute the core of the PII. A Bharat Nirman Kendra — the computer centre at the heart of the exercise — that will act as the physical access point for exchange of information, will be set up in each of the country's 2,50,000 village panchayats. o The project is expected to change the way government programmes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), Right to Education (RTE), and others schemes are implemented on the ground. o The government is planning Wi Max or wireless broadband connections in each panchayat in the first phase of the exercise which may take up to six months and cost Rs 3,000 core. In the second phase, it will take fibre lines to each village over 18 months at the cost of Rs 9,000 crore. o The project is being executed under the guidance of Sam Pitroda, advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on infrastructure, innovation and information. o The government is reportedly considering using the corpus of Rs. 18,000 crore that is available in the USO fund (Universal Service Obligation) for this exercise.

Finance & Economy • Mukesh and Anil patch up o The family dispute that drew the attention of the whole of the country finally seems to be headed for some kind of solution. o Mukesh and Anil Ambani took a giant step towards ending their bitter feud by agreeing to scrap a set of agreements that had stirred up trouble between them. The two billionaire brothers said in a joint statement on Sunday afternoon that they had decided to end agreements preventing them from investing in industries where the other was present and pledged to work together in an atmosphere of harmony. o The two sides also said they would soon negotiate a new gas supply agreement in keeping with a May 7 ruling by the Supreme Court.

21.05.2010 Finance & Economy • ATM inventor dead o John Shepherd-Barron, the man who invented the world's first ATM in Enfield, London, in 1967, died on Saturday. o He had come up with the idea after wondering why banks couldn’t operate a system like a chocolate-vending machine. o The first product was installed at Barclays Enfield branch in London June 27, 1967. • On India's health insurance market o India’s insurance market is under-penetrated, with less than 15% of the population having a health cover in some form or other. • Maharatnas of India o State-owned blue chip companies Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), SAIL, NTPC and Indian Oil Corp (IOC) have been declared ‘maharatnas’, a status that gives them enormous financial powers and greater operational autonomy. o The new status empowers their boards make investments up to Rs 5,000 crore without the government’s approval. So far, these companies were

classified as `navratnas’ with powers to take investment decision up to Rs 1,000 crore without the government’s approval. o The decision to name the top performing PSUs as Maharatnas was taken at the meeting of the Cabinet, presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in December last year. But a formal note was issued on Wednesday. The exercise of Maharatna powers would be subject to the same conditions and guidelines as laid down by the government in respect of navratnas from time to time.

20.05.2010 Politics & the Nation • More on the issue of using 'development' to counter Maoist threat o Take a look at this op-ed penned by Mani Shankar Aiyar. He explains very clearly how PESA could clearly deal a severe blow to Maoist influence in tribal areas. An interesting read.

18.05.2010 Politics & the Nation • Dantewada-II: Reds blow up 47 in bus blast o In a shocking reminder to the governments, both at the Centre and in Chhattisgarh, about the uphill task they face in their efforts to restore order in the Naxalite-infested areas in the state, at least 47 people, including 32 civilians and 15 special police officers (SPOs) and local policemen, were killed and several others injured when the private bus in which they were travelling blew up under the impact of a landmine midway between Dantewada and Sukma late Monday afternoon. o They had, on April 6, killed 76 CRPF personnel in the Mukrana forests of Dantewada district, inviting popular outrage and all-round condemnation. o Some of the major Naxal attacks in the last two years:

• April 6, 2010: 76 security personnel, of whom 75 belonged to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), slaughtered by Maoists in the Chintalnar forested hamlet of Dantewada district. • April 4, 2010: Maoists detonate powerful landmine and blow up police bus in Koraput district, Orissa, killing around 10 Special Operations Group personnel and injuring 16. • March 23, 2010: Maoists blast a railway track in Bihar’s Gaya district, causing derailment of the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express. On the same day, a landmine attack in Orissa leaves an empty freight train derailed and hitting railway services on the Howrah-Mumbai route. • February 15, 2010: Around 100 Maoists storm a police camp in Silda, West Bengal, killing 24 policemen and looting arms. • October 8, 2009: 17 policemen were killed in an ambush by Maoists at Laheri police station in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. • July 27, 2009: Six CRPF men killed in a landmine blast by the ultras at Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh. • July 12, 2009: Three separate attacks in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh claim the lives of 30 security personnel. • June 23, 2009: A group of motorcycle-borne armed Maoists open fire on Lakhisarai district court premises in Bihar to free four of their men. • June 10, 2009: Nine security personnel, including CRPF troopers, ambushed by Maoists during a routine patrol in Saranda jungles in Jharkhand. • May 22, 2009: Maoists kill 16 policemen in the jungles of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. • April 13, 2009: Around 10 policemen are killed in eastern Orissa’s Koraput district when Maoists attack a state-run bauxite mine. • A decent editorial comment in this regard: o The home minister, the prime minister, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Congress leaders all are on record, on the need to have a two-pronged strategy to combat Maoist extremism: policing and development. Development is not just a question of better delivery of government schemes; rather, it begins with political mobilisation of the people to make them the subjects, rather than the objects of development. Once they have agency, a whole lot of problems related

to leakages, targeting, etc, would disappear. Once people are politically mobilised, and have a stake in development, eliminating the Maoist security threat would become relatively easy.

Personality • Ajit Tyagi o He is the director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Finance & Economy

• There is no case for tolerating the bankrupt politics that generates shortages and stampedes. Comment. o Made in the context of the stampede in New Delhi railway station that killed two people and left many injured, this is a truism in our country. o The stampede is the result of economics of shortage being at work. The supply of train seats is grossly inadequate to meet the demand. In a functional market, the price of whatever is in shortage would rise, leading to a fall in demand and a rise in the supply. However, in the case of trains, as with piped water supply and urban public transport, the market does not function. To say public policy intervenes to prevent the market working in these cases is to give bankrupt politics a good name. When the price of a good is kept repressed, it creates queues for the good in short supply, but also makes it affordable for a section of the population that would have been excluded by a price that cleared the market. This concern for the poor has been touted by our politicians as the reason for building a shortage economy for a variety of public services. This is the core problem. • What is the core issue in climate change negotiations? o Equitable sharing of carbon space. To put it in one sentence.