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Anniversaries, Days etc

The year 2012 has been declared by the Health Ministry of Government of India as the year of –

Intensification of Routine Immunisation

Awards

The scientist from Vietnam who was awarded the Kalinga Chair Award at the 99th Indian Science

Congress – Trinh Xuan Thuan

The Tibetan leader who has been presented with Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and

Reconciliation by the Gandhi Development Trust – Dalai Lama

The playback singer and classical vocalist who was chosen for the first Harivarasanam award of the

Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the statutory body that manages major temples in south Kerala,

including the famed Sabarimala hill temple – KJ Yesudas

The Army officer who was awarded Ashoka Chakra on 26 Jan 2012 – Lt. Navdeep Singh

The joint winners of National Communal Harmony Award 2011 in the individual category – Shri

Khamliana (Mizoram) and Shri Md. Abdul Bari (Odisha)

The Sri Lankan author who has been awarded the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2012 for his book

Chinaman – Shehan Karunatilaka

The noted Indian economist who has been presented the National Medals of Arts and Humanities award

by the US President Barack Obama – Amartya Sen

The winner of 44 Jnanpith Award, who died on 13 February 2012 – Dr. Akhlaq Mohammed Khan

'Shahryar'

The veteran music director who has been bestowed the Lata Mangeshkar Award by the Madhya Pradesh

government – Rajesh Roshan

The Bio-chemist who has been awarded the G.D. Birla Award for scientific research for 2011 by the KK

Birla foundation – Prof Tapas Kumar Kundu

The Bollywood actor who has been chosen to receive Green Globe award for outstanding efforts in

fighting climate changes by a celebrity – Abhishek Bachchan

The Tibetan leader who has been chosen for the 2012 Templeton Prize by the US-based Templeton

Foundation – Dalai Lama (original name Tenzin Gyatso)

The veteran actor who has been selected for the J C Daniel Award, Kerala Government's highest film

honour instituted in memory of the director of first Malayalam movie Vigathakumaran (the actor passed

away on Mar 24, a day after the nomination) – Jose Prakash

The Tehelka mediaperson who has been chosen for Chameli Devi Jain Award 2012 – Tusha Mittal

The Carnatic musician who has been chosen for Kerala Government' Swathi Puraskaram for 2012 – M.

Balamuralikrishna

The former Chairman of Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation, who has been chosen for this year's V

Gangadharan Memorial Trust award – Verghese Kurien

The Indian NGO which has been chosen for America's first Innovation Award for the Empowerment of

Women and Girls, for training and organizing wastepickers and eliminating child labour from recycling –

Chintan (Founder Bharati Chaturvedi)

Cars

Pixel, a new model of car has been unveiled at the 11th Auto Expo in New Delhi by – Tata Motors

The venue of 11th Auto Expo being held from 05 Jan to 11 Jan 2012 – Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

The first car of Bajaj Auto, India's leading two-wheeler manufacturer is named – RE 60

Defence

The joint exercise conducted by the Armies of India and Indonesia at the Counter Insurgency and Jungle

Warfare School (CIJWS), Vairengte in Mizoram during February 2012 was named – Exercise Garuda

Shakti

The joint military exercise of Indian and US armies held in the first week of March 2011 in Mahajan field

firing ranges in Rajasthan was code-named – Yudh Abhyas

The biennial congregation of naval forces of 13 countries in Indian Ocean near Andaman and Nicobar

islands conducted in February 2012 is named – Milan

Economy

The sector in which the Government has notified 100 percent FDI – Single Brand Retail

The category of foreign investors who have been allowed to invest directly in India Equity market by

government – Qualified Foreign Investor

India's per capita income as per the latest quick estimates released by the Central Statistical

Organisation is – Rs. 53,331/-

As per the Planning Commission, the percentage of population which was below poverty line in 2009-10

(The poor being defined as ones who spend less than Rs. 28 per day in urban area and less than Rs.

22.50 in rural areas) – 29.8%

Fairs, Festivals, Exhibitions etc.

The 7th State Level Philatelic exhibition of Delhi Circle being held from 22 Jan to 24 Jan 2012 at Delhi is

named – Dharohar-2012

The venue of India Aviation-2012, the 3rd edition of the premier international exhibition and

conference on civil aviation being held from 14 March 2012 – Hyderabad

Films

The film, directed by Zoya Akhtar, which has bagged the Best Film award at the 57th Filmfare Awards

function on 29 Jan 2012 – Zindagi Na Milegi Dubara

The first Indo-Italian co-production film based on a short story by well-known writer Mahasweta Devi

which has bagged the NETPAC Jury award at the 10th Third Eye Asian Film Festival 2011 at Mumbai.(the

film is directed by Italo Spinelli) – Gangor

The film which has been awarded 5 Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original

Score, and Best Costume Design at the Academy Awards 2012 – The Artist

The iconic Bengali actor who has been chosen for the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2011 –

Soumitra Chatterjee

The venue of eighth National Film Festival organised by Kerala State Chalchitra Academy in March 2012

– Ernakulam

Miscellaneous

The music director who has composed the signature tune of the Indian Customs Department, launched

on the occasion of golden jubilee of Indian Customs Act, 1962. (The tune is named Pragati ki Dhadkan.)

– Aadesh Srivastava

The theme of India Post Calendar 2012 is – India's Sculptural Heritage

The pilot project launched by the Union Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region to promote

adventure activities is named – Youth to the Edge

With the removal of India from the WHO list of polio-endemic countries, the number of countries in the

list has been reduced to – Three (Pakistan, Nigeria, Afghanistan)

RBI has decided to issue new Rs. 5 coins top commemorate freedom fighter and martyr – Bhagat Singh

Bhavnath Temple at which a stampede killed several people on Shivratri day is located in – Junagadh,

Gujarat

The public sector insurance company which is celebrating its platinum jubilee year of its formation in

2012 – United India Insurance

The state Assembly which has been selected for the national award for e-governance instituted by the

Union Government's Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances for 2011-12 in

recognition of its unique online answering information system – Rajasthan Assembly

The sub-glacial lake in Antarctica reaching whose surface has been confirmed by Russian scientists

recently – Lake Vostok

The shawl unique to Gujarat, which was granted the Geographical Indicator tag in March 2012 – Kutchi

Shawl

Aahar, the high shelf life dal and roti pack to cater to the needs of the Aam Aadmi, during long journeys,

nutritional feeding, catering programmes and other similar civilian applications has been developed by

– DRDO in collaboration with BASIX and FICCI (the product was launched by Shri Montek Singh

Ahluwalia, Dy Chairperson, Planning Commission in February 2012)

With effect from 10 March 2012, the advance reservation period for booking railway tickets has been

extended from 90 days to – 120 days

The sanctuary in Karnataka which has been notified as India's first vulture sanctuary – Ramadevarabetta

Vulture Sanctuary

Oceans, Ships etc

The Italian cruise ship that ran aground off the island of Giglio in the Mediterranean Sea on January 14

killing at least 5 people – Costa Concordia

On Feb 15, guards from merchant vessel Enrica Lexie shot and killed Indian fishermen off the Kerala

coast. The ship Enrica Lexie belongs to – Italy

Persons

Homai Vyarawala who passed away on 15 Jan 2011 was a well known – Photographer

The Indian Nobel laureate on whose works Raja Ram Mohan Roy Foundation has compiled a web-

bibliography, which was launched by Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee in Jan 2012 –

Rabindranath Tagore

Ms. Kamla Prasad Bissesar, the chief guest at the 10th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas being held in Jaipur with

the theme Global Indian-Inclusive Growth is the President of – Trinidad and Tobago

KJ Sarasa, the first woman nattuvanar, the guru of Ms Jayalalitha, who died on 02 Jan 2012 was

associated with – Bharat Natyam

The Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation fondly known as Metroman who relinquished

office on 31 Dec 2011 – E. Sreedharan

The renowned photographer who was awarded Padma Shri this year has subsequently been awarded

Padma Bhushan (as the same Padma Award cannot be awarded twice to the same person) – Sunil Janah

Ustad Shamim Ahmed Khan who died on 14 February 2012 was an exponent of – Sitar

The Maldivian President who announced his resignation in February 2012 following weeks of public

protests over his controversial order to arrest a senior judge – Mohamed Nasheed

The Chandigarh girl who has been crowned Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2012at a function in

Mumbai in March 2012 – Vanya Mishra

The new Union Minister for Railways, who hitherto held the charge of Minister of State for Shipping –

Mukul Roy

Places

Mana airport which has been renamed as Swami Vivekananda Airport is located in – Raipur,

Chhattisgarh

The village in Assam which in January 2012 became first village in the country to have full insurance

coverage – Rangati Misamara

The venue of India International Coffee Festival 2012 held from January 18 – New Delhi

The venue of 17th National Youth Festival - 2012, (a festival organised to commemorate the birth

anniversary of Swami Vivekananda since 1995) – Mangalore

The place in Gujarat where new National Law University was inaugurated by Vice-President Hamid

Ansari – Gandhinagar

The venue of 99th Indian Science Congress held from 02 Jan to 07 Jan 2012 – KIIT University,

Bhubaneswar

The European country which approved a ban on face-covering clothing, such as a burqa, a niqab etc. in

January 2012 – The Netherlands

The state which added nine new districts on 01 Jan 2012 thus increasing the total number of districts

from 18 to 27 – Chhattisgarh

The place at which a nearly 400-year-old temple, which was standing tilted for more than 100 years

after it was damaged in an earthquake, was rebuilt by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural

Heritage (INTACH) – Kangra, Himachal Pradesh

The tribal efforts to conserve biodiversity and develop climate resilient farm practices of this place in

Odisha have been recognised by UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation as a Globally Important

Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) – Koraput

The state which has been awarded the National Tourism Best State Award 2011 for developing tourism

related infrastructure – Madhya Pradesh

The place in Kerala where setting up of Rail Coach Manufacturing unit has been approved by Union

cabinet – Palakkad

The state which has become the first in the country to issue e-stamp papers of all denominations by

bringing non-judicial stamp papers of Rs 500 and below under the ambit of e-stamp process in February

2012 – New Delhi

The country with a per capita GDP of 88,000 dollars, which has been ranked the world's richest country

by Forbes magazine – Qatar

The country which has severed all ties with the United Nations Human Rights Council in March 2012,

following the council’s decision to launch a fact-finding mission into the country’s settlements in the

West Bank and East Jerusalem – Israel

The country which has won the Asia Cup Cricket trophy by defeating Bangladesh in the finals in

Bangladesh – Pakistan

The African nation which has witnessed a military coup in March 2012 overthrowing the government led

by President Amadou Toumani Toure – Mali

The district in Bihar, which has surpassed the Chinese record of wet paddy production of 19 tonnes per

hectare, by producing 22.4 tonnes of wet paddy per hectare – Nalanda

(The feat has been achieved at Darbespura panchayat in Katri Sarai block)

The state which has become the ninth in the country to introduce e-stamping of paying non-judicial

stamp duty to the government – Uttarakhand

Republic Day Parade 2012

The best marching contingent among the three services at the Republic Day parade 2012 – Indian Air

Force

The best marching contingent among para-military forces and other auxillary marching contingents at

the Republic Day parade 2012 – Border Security Force

The IAF Officer who for the first time in Indian history has led the IAF contingent at the Republic Day

parade on 26 Jan 2012 – Flt. Lt. Sneha Shekhawat

The Chief Guest at the 63rd Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, Mrs Yingluck Shinawatra is the

Prime Minister of – Thailand

The name of the train which has been chosen as the theme of the Railway Tableau at the Republic Day

parade 2012, for being the first train to achieve distinction of entering its 100th year on Indian Railways

broad gauge network – Punjab Mail

Space

The Russian space craft which failed on its mission to Phobos, (a moon of Mars) and crashed into the

Pacific Ocean two months after its launch in November 2011 – Phobos Grunt

The 50-kilogram micro satellite launched by Iran in February 2012 to collect data useful for weather

forecasting and natural disaster management is named – Navid

The NASA spacecraft to Mercury which has discovered ice inside the shadowed craters of Mercury –

Messenger

Sports

The Indian tennis player who became the first Indian to win a career Grand Slam by winning the

Australian Open men's doubles title with Czech player Radek Stepanek in January 2012 (a career Grand

Slam means winning all the four major tournaments during a career) – Leander Paes

The Belarusian player who won the Australian Open Women's title defeating Russia's Maria Sharapova

in the final – Victoria Azarenka

The billiards player who retained the National Billiards Championship crown at the 79th Senior National

Billiards and Snooker Championship being held at Pune – Pankaj Advani

The Serbian tennis player who won the Australian Open Men's title defeating Rafael Nadal in the longest

Australian Open Finals lasting 5 hours 53 minutes – Novak Djokovic

The badminton player who won the women's title at the 76th Senior National Badminton Championship

held in Bangalore from 17 to 25 Jan 2012 defeating Neha Pandit in the finals – P.V. Sindhu

The badminton player who won the men's title at the 76th Senior National Badminton Championship in

Bangalore defeating Sai Praneeth in the finals – Saurabh Verma

The golfer who has won the All India Amateur golf title defeating Gagan Verma at the final in Chandigarh

on 23 Jan 2012 – Angad Cheema

The team which has retained the Ranji Trophy after winning it for the first time in 2011. (The team

defeated Tamilnadu on the basis of first innings lead.) – Rajasthan

The new Swedish coach appointed to train Indian tennis players, particularly juniors and sub-juniors –

Henrik Ekersund

The Indian shooter who has won a gold medal in the Men’s 10-metre Air Rifle event at the 12th Asian

Shooting Championships in Doha in January 2012 – Abhinav Bindra

The Argentinean footballer who has been awarded the Ballon d'Or for the third consecutive year –

Lionel Messi

The Serbian player with whom Leander Paes partnered to win the Chennai Open Tennis Doubles title –

Janko Tipsarevic

The Canadian player who won the Chennai Open Tennis Tournament held in January 2012 – Milos

Raonic

The Chess player from Andhra Pradesh who in January 2012 became the 26th Indian chess player to

become a Grandmaster – M. Lalith Babu

Sailen Manna, who passed away on 27 Feb 2012, was a former – Football player

The Indian cricketer who was awarded the fifth ESPNcricinfo best batting performance award in Tests –

Sachin Tendulkar

The former Australian first-class pacer who was appointed the Indian cricket team's bowling coach after

Eric Simons' tenure comes to an end – John Dawes

The Indian badminton player who won the Swiss Open Grand Prix Trophy for the second time in a row –

Saina Nehwal

The team India defeated to win the women's World Cup Kabaddi Championship held at Patliputra Sports

Complex, Patna from 01 - 04 Mar 2012 – Iran

The Indian pair which won the ATP Dubai Open 2012 defeating Polish pair Mariusz Fyrstenberg and

Marcin Matkowski in the finals – Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna

Summits, Conferences etc.

The theme of 5th World Future Energy Summit held in Abu Dhabi in January 2012 – Sustainable Energy

for All

The venue of the 5th World Future Energy Summit held in Jan 2012, India being represented by Union

Minister for Renewable energy resources, Dr. Farooq Abdullah – Abu Dhabi

The venue of Fourth BRICS Summit held on 29 March 2012 – New Delhi

The venue of 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, India being represented by Dr. Manmohan Singh – Seoul, S.

Korea

Survey, Reports

The rank of India in 2012 Environmental Performance Index released by Yale University of Davos – 125

According to a report by Knight Frank & Citi Private Bank brought out in March 2012, the year by which

India will become the world's largest economy – 2050

As per a report released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in March 2012,

India has become the world's largest arms importer during the period 2007-11. India's share of total

global arms sales is – 10%

The rank of India as per a report released by Inter-Parliamentary Union, an international organisation,

listing countries as per participation of women in politics – 105th

The city which is the least expensive in the world to live in, according to Worldwide Cost of Living Survey

carried out by Economic Intelligence Unit of the Economist – Karachi

The city which is the most expensive in the world to live in, according to Worldwide Cost of Living Survey

carried out by Economic Intelligence Unit of the Economist – Zurich, Switzerland

The state which has recorded the highest decline in the forest cover in two years as per the latest India

State of Forest 2011 released by the Forest Survey of India – Andhra Pradesh

Technology

China's first supercomputer built with "domestically-produced" microprocessors and capable of

performing around one-thousand-trillion calculations per second which became officially operational in

January 2012 is named – Sunway Bluelight

Open Government Platform, a software platform to provide enhanced public access to government data

and documents, launched by Shri Kapil Sibal on 30 Mar 2012 has been jointly developed by India and –

United States

Universities, Institutions etc

The University in Uttar Pradesh which has been recognised as University with Potential for Excellence –

Banaras Hindu University

The university which has been awarded the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for best

performance in sports for the year 2010-11, by the Government of India's Ministry of Youth Affairs and

Sports – Punjabi University

The university whose scientists have successfully cloned world's first pashmina goat in March 2012 –

Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural and Technological Sciences