current affairs digest jun to jun 11

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www.leadthecompetition.in

CURRENT AFFAIRS DIGEST – JANUARY TO JUNE 2011

www.leadthecompetition.in Arts, Music

1. Pt Bhimsen Joshi, (death on Jan 24) who was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2008 was an exponent of Khayal Gayki of the – Kirana Gharana

2. The music director who has been given the Crystal Award for his achievements in the world of art and music at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland – AR Rahman

3. 'De Ghuma Ke' , the Cricket World Cup 2011 theme song, composed by Shankar–Ehsan–Loy has been written by – Manoj Yadav

4. Poco poco dance has been sought to be banned for the Muslims of the country to which it belongs. The country is – Malaysia

5. A painting by moghul period painter Abul Hasan sold at a record price of Rs. 10 crores at an auction in London. The painting was a potrait of – Jahangir

6. Ustad Asad Ali Khan, the renowned musician, who passed away on 14 Jun 2011 was an exponent of – Rudra Veena

Anniversaries, Centenaries, Days

1. This organisation which was established on 15 Jan 1875 keeps a watch on monsoon, cyclones, earthquakes etc. in India is celebrating 135 years of establishment – The India Meteorological Department

2. National Girl Child Day with the theme 'Adolescent Girls: Issues and Challenges' was celebrated on – 24 Jan 2011

3. 100 years of Civil Aviation – Indian Civil Aviation is completing 100 years on 18th February, 2011. The year 2011–12 will be declared as the Civil Aviation Centenary Year, starting from 18th February, 2011 and ending on the same date in 2012. The first commercial plane flew in India between Allahabad and Naini on 18 Feb 1911

4. The slogan for World Wetlands Day 2011 is 'Forests for Water and Wetlands'. The World Wetlands Day is celebrated on – Feb 2

5. The decade 2011–20 has been declared by UN General Assembly as the decade for – Road Safety

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Appointments

International

1. The country which elected its first ever woman President Ms Dilma Rousseff who assumed office in Jan 2011 –Brazil

2. The newly elected Prime Minister of Nepal – Jhalanath Khanal

3. The new President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with effect from May 29, 2011 – Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

4. The new chief of International Monetary Fund – Christine Lagarde (from France)

5. The person who has become the first Indian to be appointed the Chief Operating Officer of Global FMCG giant Unilever – Harish Manwani

National

1. The new chairman of the National Commission of Minorities – Wajahat Habibullah

2. The renowned Bharatanatyam danseuse who has been appointed the new Chairperson of Central Board of Film Censors – Leela Samson

3. The new chairperson of National Commission for Women with effect from 08 April 2011 – Smt Yasmeen Abrar

4. The new Chairperson of Central Board of Film Censors, Ms Leela Samson, is also the chairperson of this institution – Sangeet Natak Akademi

5. The new Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes – Prakash Chandra

6. The new FICCI Secretary General, replacing Amit Mitra who has joined the new West Bengal Govt – Rajiv Kumar

7. The newly–appointed Commonwealth Games Organising Committee CEO – Jarnail Singh

Chief Ministers

1. The new Chief Minister of Puducherry – N Rangaswamy

2. The new Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh who has been appointed following the death of Mr Dorji Khandu in an aircrash – Jarbom Gamlin

3. The new Chief Minister of Kerala (from Congress) – Oommen Chandy

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Aviation

1. India's 1st Seaplane Service, launched in Jan 2011 by Pawan Hans and the Administration of Andaman and Nicobar islands connecting Port Blair and Havelock Islands. is named – Jal Hans

2. India's first private firm to manufacture small civil aircraft which is likely to roll out its first machines by March 2011 – Mahindra Aerospace

3. The private airline company hitherto engaged in domestic operations has been accorded clearance by the government to launch international operations to Singapore, Bangkok etc. Earlier the company was in news for placing an order for 100 Airbus A320 aircraft – IndiGo Airlines

4. The airport which has bagged the ''Best Airport India'' award at the Skytrax World Airport Awards in Copenhagen, Denmark – Bangalore International Airport (BIAL)

Awards

International Awards

1. The Chowmohalla Palace which has been given the prestigious UNESCO Asia–Pacific Heritage Merit Award for Culture Heritage Conservation is located in – Hyderabad

2. The Indian origin doctor, who has been conferred the Order of the British Empire Award for his medical services – Dr. Satya Vrat Sharma

3. The civil rights activist who has been honoured with the 2011 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, South Korea's most prestigious award for those working on peace, democracy and justice in Asia – Binayak Sen

4. The person who has been chosen for 2011 ITU World Telecommunication and Information So ciety Award by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the leading United Nations agency for Information and Communication Technology – Mr. Sam Pitroda

5. The person who has been chosen for Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understand ing 2009. –German Chancellor Angela Merkel

6. The actor–director who has been conferred the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, France's highest cultural award for her contribution to the development of Indo–French cooperation in the field of cinema – Nandita Das

7. The founder of Super 30, (an Indian educational program to train 30 talented students from economically backward sections for IIT–JEE), who is being conferred 'Education in Excellence Award–2011 by Doha Chapter of Bihar Foundation – Anand Kumar

The Indian journalist, who has been presented with the 17th Indu Sharma Katha Samman 2011 for his novel 'MaCluskieganj' – Vikas Kumar Jha

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8. The person who has become the first Indian to be conferred Crans Montana Forum Award – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

(Note: The Crans Montana Forum is a Swiss International Organization created in Crans Montana (Switzerland) in 1986. It is formally recognised notably for its purpose to contribute to the construction of a more Humane World: "Committed to a more Humane World".)

Other Awards

1. The CPI leader who has been honoured with the "Vidarbha Bhushan" award by the newly–formed Vidarbha Foundation – AB Bardhan

2. The singer who has been conferred Kerala government's highest music award, "Swathi Puraskaram" , in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian music – KJ Yesudas

3. The National Communal Harmony Award 2010 was awarded to this writer and social worker – Acharya Lokesh Muni

4. The army officer from the Army Medical Corps who was awarded the Ashok Chakra for his act of bravery in a terrorist attack in Afghanistan – Major Laishram Jyotin Singh

5. The Indian industrialist selected for Jawarharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award by Indian Science Congress – Ratan Tata

6. The award which has been instituted in memory of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and whose first recipient is Lata Mangeshkar – Swarbhaskar

7. The person who has been awarded the 23rd Moortidevi Award (2009) by the Jnanpith Trust – Akkitham Achuthan Namboodiri.

8. Nirmal Gram Puraskars which were awarded recently, have been instituted by Ministry of Rural Development, for villages which achieve – 100% sanitation i.e they are 100% open defecation f ree (ODF)

9. The Kannada writer who has been chosen for Saraswati Samman instituted by KK Birla Foundation – S L Bhyrappa

10. The professor of IIT–Mumbai who has been selected for the prestigious G D Birla Award for Scientific Research for his contributions in the area of electronic communications – Subhasis Chaudhuri

11. The person who has been selected for the Chameli Devi Jain award 2010 for outstanding woman mediaperson – KK Shahina

12. The film actor who has been chosen for Mother Teresa Award for his humanitarian work – Prem Chopra

13. Chief Minister's Sarvottam Shramik Puraskar and Labour Minister's Uttam Shramik Puraskar for workers in various sectors such as construction, manufacturing and transportation etc. have been launched by – Delhi Government

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14. The person who has been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2010 – K Balachander

15. Meghdoot Awards which were conferred recently are given to – Postal Employees

16. The person who has been conferred the Hindi Academy Shalaka Samman – Arvind Kumar

Books, Magazines

1. The magazine of the Parliamentarians of India brought out by the Constitution Club of India is called Central Hall

2. The film 7 Khoon Maaf directed by Vishal Bhardwaj is based on a short story by this famous writer – Ruskin Bond

3. The newspaper founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, which is celebrating 100 years of its foundation this year – Hitavada

4. The controversial book "Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With I ndia" has been written by – Joseph Lelyveld

5. The book "Matters of Discretion: An Autobiography" has been written by – I K Gujral

6. Indian American cancer specialist and the author of 'The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer' who has been awarded this year's Pulitzer prize in the general non–fiction category – Siddhartha Mukherjee

7. The onboard magazine of Indian Railways which has been released recently to be distributed free on Rajdhani/Shatabdi Express trains and AC coaches of Duranto – Rail Bandhu

8. The coffee table book brought by the Indian Air Force is titled – So that Others May Live

9. The book by Jawaharlal Nehru which has been brought out in Braille edition – Letters from a Father to his Daughter

10. The Indian writer who has bagged two top literary awards for her critically-acclaimed debut novel Saraswati Park – the Betty Trask Award and the Desmond Elliot Prize – Anjali Joseph

Corporate, Commerce, Financial News

1. Antrix Corporation was in news for controversial deal with Devas Multimedia over alloting of shares S–band spectrum on ISRO satellites GSAT–6 and GSAT–6A. Antrix Corporation is the commercial of arm of this government organisation – Indian Space Research Organisation

2. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) of India has joined hands to develop state-of-the-art Concentrated Solar Power projects in India with – Abengoa, Spain

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3. India's 1st Geothermal Power Plant which is expected to come up in Maharashtra within the next three year is being set up by – Thermax

4. The Pune campus of this private sector company will be provided security Central Industrial Security Force – Infosys

5. By commissioning its UP based 600 MW Lanco Anpara Power, this company has become the largest independent power producer in the country – Lanco Infratech

6. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has tied up with Rosoboronexport to develop fifth generation aircraft. Rosoboronexport is a company from – Russia

7. Gamesa, the company which has signed an agreement with power company Caparo Energy India Ltd. to deliver wind turbines belongs to – Spain

8. Lafarge, an international cement company which is setting up a cement plant in Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh is based in – France

9. Etisalat, a major telecommunication company in the world, which was in news when its Indian unit Swan Telecom was involved in 2G Spectrum scam is based in – UAE

10. The company which joined the United Nations' Clean Development Mission (CDM) programme, which aims to reduce CO2 emissions from its operations. – Maruti Suzuki

11. The Navratna Company which has been conferred the status of a Maharatna Company recently. See also Scope Awards and Maharatna and Navratna Companies – Coal India Ltd

12. Bharti group has exited the financial services joint venture with French firm AXA. The company has sold its 74% holding to – Reliance Industries Ltd

13. Ducati, the motorcycle manufacturer which unveiled its latest model Diavel in India, is based in – Italy

14. Sebi has made it mandatory for non–retail investors to apply for shares in public and rights offers through ASBA facility. This facility allows for debiting of money from investor's account only after share allotment. What does ASBA stand for – Application Supported by Blocked Amounts

15. The new index of 50 companies out of BSE 500 companies launched by Bombay Stock Exchange in Dec 2010 – Shariah 50

16. The limit for making payments using mobile phones, known as m–wallet , has been increased by RBI from Rs 5,000 to. – Rs. 50,000

17. The new CEO and MD of Infosys Technologies – SD Shibulal

18. The new chairman of Infosys Technologies – KV Kamath

19. The new Chairman of State Bank of India replacing OP Bhatt – Pratip Chaudhuari

20. The Indian origin person who has retained his position as the richest person in the UK for the 7th year in a row in 2011 – Lakshmi Mittal

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Foreign Companies in News

Company Based in

Abengoa Spain

Rosoboronexport Russia

Gamesa Spain

Lafarge France

Etisalat UAE

AXA France

Ducati Italy

Computers, Internet

1. The social networking site which banned an online group 'I hate Gandhi' for maligning Mahatma Gandhi – Facebook

2. It is a Windows–specific computer worm. It came into news as it is said to have damaged Iran's nuclear facilities in Natanz thus delaying the start up of Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant – Stuxnet

3. The Internet Protocol version which is set to succeed version 4 of Internet Protocol currently in use – IPv6 using 128 bits

4. Facebook founder who was in news for being stalked by a person of Indian origin – Mark Zuckerberg

5. National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning, the portal which is world's most viewed higher education site is a joint venture of – IITs and Indian Institute of Science

6. India's fastest computer in terms of theoretical peak performance of 220 TeraFLOPS (220 Trillion Floating Point Operations per second) developed by Satish Dhawan Supercomputing Facility located at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) under Indian Space Research Organisation is named – SAGA-220

7. The country which has launched a Hindi website for providing better information access to families of Indian students – Australia

8. The latest version of Microsoft Office launched by Microsoft in India – Microsoft Office 365

9. The new social networking service launched by Google is named – Google Plus

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Colleges, Universities, Institutes

1. Ravenshaw University which was in news recently due to a dispute involving overseas students in situated in – Orissa

2. Loreto College, which is celebrating its centenary this year and at which Mother Teresa was once a faculty is located in – Kolkata

3. Maulana Gulam Mohammad Vastanvi, the Vice Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband stirred a controversy with his comments on Gujarat riots recently. The Islamic school is in Deoband which is in – Uttar Pradesh

4. The place at which a new Indian Institute of Management is coming up – Tiruchirapalli

5. The second National Institute of Design is to come up at – Jorhat, Assam (The first is at Ahmedabad)

6. The California based university which was in news for having duped hundreds of Indian students – Tri Valley University

7. The place in Uttarakhand where Indian Institute of Management is coming up, the foundation stone of which was laid recently – Kashipur

8. India International Institute of Democracy and Elec tion Management, which has been launched in New Delhi, is under – Election Commission of India

Committees, Commissions etc.

1. The committee which is looking into Commonwealth Games' irregularities – Shunglu Committee

2. The committee constituted to review aspects of the agreement between Antrix (Arm of ISRO) and M/s Devas Multimedia Pvt. in the S Band Spectrum allotment is headed by – B.K. Chaturvedi

3. The committee which has been appointed to look into Air India Wage issues is headed by – Justice Dharmadhikari

4. The Committee constituted by GoI to examine ways to strengthen laws to curb the generation of black money in the country, its illegal transfer abroad and its recovery will be headed by – Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes

5. The People's Tribunal on the Safety, Viability and Cost Efficiency of Nuclear Energy set up by the protesters against Jaitapur Nuclear Project is headed by – Justice (retd) A P Shah and Justice (retd) S D Pandit.

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Countries

1. The country which is the latest to join International Renewable Energy Agency – U.S.A.

2. The commonwealth country which has decided to remove the image of Queen of England from its currency notes and coins – Fiji

3. The country which has decided to shut down all its nuclear power plants by 2022, a decision that would make it the first major industrialised power to go nuclear–free in the aftermath of the atomic disaster in Japan – Germany

4. The country to which Tata Motors has first exported its small car Nano – Sri Lanka

5. The countries with which India has signed a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) in May 2011 to check tax evasion and facilitate exchange of banking information – Ethiopia, Tanzania and Mozambique

6. The country, home to Europe's largest Muslim population, which has banned women from wearing full–face veils in public places – France

7. The country which has leased land in Uganda and Tanzania to improve food–security in its own country – Bangladesh

8. The country with which India has recently signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) – Japan

9. The country in which two–month long Festival of India has been organised with effect from 26 Jun 2011 – South Africa

10. The country which has recently ratified two UN Conventions – UN Convention on Suppression of Terrorism Financing and UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crimes – Nepal

Deaths

1. The founder of Bharat Kisan Union who died on 15 May 2011 (BKU was formed on 17 Oct 1986) – Mahindra Singh Tikait

2. The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh who has died in a Pawan Hans helicopter crash – Dorji Khandu

Defence

1. The Sail Training ship built by Goa Shipyard Ltd is the latest addition to the Indian Navy – INS Sudarshini

2. The Italian built fleet tanker which was inducted into the Indian Navy in Jan 2011 – INS DEEPAK

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3. The Russian built aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, which will replace Indian Navy's aircraft carrier, INS VIRAT by 2018 is renamed INS Vikramaditya

4. R&D Centre for Defence Shipbuilding named National Institute for Research and Development in Defence Shipbuilding (NIRDESH) is to come up at – Chaliyam, near Kozhikode (Calicut)

5. Arjun, the Main Battle Tank developed by DRDO and finally inducted into the India Army in Mar 2011 is manufactured at – Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi

6. The new aircraft being acquired by the Indian Navy for deployment on its aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya – MiG 29K

7. The medium-power radar being commissioned by IAF (developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation) to be deployed on Pakistan border is named – Arudhra

8. Sea-bird Naval base, Phase I of which was completed in May 2011 is located at – Karwar, Karnataka

9. The first new generation Nerpa Akula-II class nuclear attack submarine, which will be inducted in Indian Navy by the end of this year is being procured on 10-year lease from – Russia

10. The latest warship commissioned in the Indian Navy (built by Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata and named after an island in Andaman and Nicobar archipelago) – INS Kabra

11. The new heavy lift military aircraft being procured by India from the U.S. in a biggest–ever defence deal to be entered between the two countries. – C - 17

12. India's first indigenous stealth frigate, the latest induction into the Indian Navy, (commissioned at Mazagon Docks Limited, Mumbai by the Union Defence Minister A K Antony in April last year) – INS Shivalik

13. The project launched by Indian Navy in MoU with IGNOU, for in–service training to its sailors is named –Sagardeep

Exercises

1. SALVEX (Salvage Exercises), conducted in Jan 2011 off Port Blair in the Andaman Sea, involving INS Nireekshak, the diving tender of the Indian Navy and USS Safeguard a specialised salvage ship was jointly conducted by India and – the USA

2. Bilateral Naval Exercise VARUNA 10 was conducted between the Indian Navy and this country's navy in the Arabian Sea in Jan 2011 – France

3. SIMBEX-2011, joint naval exercise being held from 18 to 25 Mar 2011 involve India and – Singapore

4. The coastal security exercise involving all the agencies looking after maritime security to be conducted on Goa's shoreline is named – Sagar Kawach

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5. The joint exercise of the Army and the Air Force being conducted in the deserts of Bikaner and Suratgarh in Rajasthan is named – Vijayee Bhava

Environment

1. The new Ambedkar Sanctuary, where migratory birds from Siberia, China and Europe have started flocking is located in – Pratapgarh in UP

2. The city in which Mata Gujri Herbal Park has come up in a total area of 2.6 acres – New Delhi

3. The Consortium which has been launched by Environment Minister, Mr Jairam Ramesh to save Asia's vultures from extinction – SAVE (Save Asia's Vultures from Extinction)

4. The anti-inflammatory drug administered to animals, which is posing a threat to vultures feeding on the carcases on such animals – Diclofenac

5. Girnar mountain, which was in news for a new ropeway project awaiting clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest is located in – Gujarat

6. As per the latest report the state which has the highest number of wild elephants in India is – Kerala (6068) followed by Assam (5281). (Note: Manipur does not have any elephants)

7. The green innovative concept, evolved at the behest of the President of India, to create eco–friendly sustainable urban habitats is named – Roshni

8. Three Gorges dam, the largest in the world, has been causing environmental problems in China is built on the river – Yangtze

9. The bird species (once found in large numbers in India), which has been uplisted by IUCN to critically endangered due to drastic reduction in numbers – Great Indian Bustard

10. The endangered species of deer found only in Kashmir (Dachigam National Park), census of which was conducted by the Wildlife Institue of India in Mar 11 – Hangul

11. Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, which has been directed by the Environment Minister to be upgraded to a tiger reserve is located in – Goa

Everest

1. The first person to conquer Mt. Everest twice (in 1963 and 1965), who died recently – Nawang Gombu

2. The city in which Mata Gujri Herbal Park has come up in a total area of 2.6 acres – New Delhi

3. The climber from Arunachal Pradesh who has become the first woman mountaineer in the world to achieve the feat of climbing Mt Everest twice in the same season (First on May 12 and second time on May 22) – Anshu Jamsenpa

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4. Oldest Indian woman and also the first woman from Jharkhand to scale Mt Everest. – Premlata Agarwal (See interactivity on Everest Achievers here )

5. The person who has bettered his own world record of climbing Mt Everest 20 times by doing it the 21st time – Apa Sherpa

Films and Actors

1. The film which won the best motion picture (drama) award at the Golden Globe Awards 2011 – The Social Network

2. The actor who won the best actor award at the Golden Globe Awards 2011 – Colin Firth

3. The actress who won the best actress award at the Golden Globe Awards 2011 – Natalie Portman

4. The yesteryears black and white film starring Devanand, Nanda and Sadhana which has recently been released in colour – Hum Dono

5. The actor, producer who has been chosen to be a part of international jury at the Berlin International Film Festival 2011 – Aamir Khan

6. I AM KALAM, directed by Nila Madhab Panda, which won the audience award at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is produced by this NGO – Smile

7. The film which has won the best feature film award at the Geneva International Film Festival – The Desire

8. The venue of 3-day film festival organised to commemorate the 150 birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore – New Delhi

9. The Hollywood action star, who alongwith Former Boxing champion Mike Tyson has been inducted into International Boxing Hall of Fame – Sylvester Stallone

10. The venue of 12th International Indian Film Academy Awards ceremony – Toronto, Canada

Government Programmes, Schemes, Missions

1. The mass contact programme launched by AP government – Rachabanda

2. A major initiative launched by the Ministry of Rural Development to bring the poorest of the poor above the poverty line by ensuring viable livelihood opportunities to them – National Rural Livelihood Mission

3. India's national initiative guaranteeing free delivery, free medicines and diet for pregnant women in government health institutes is named – Janani-Shishu Suraksha Karyakram

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Health

1. The Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, the first case of which was detected in Ahmedabad in Jan 2011 is transmitted through – Animal ticks

2. New mosquito repellants called Maxo Military and Maxo Safe and & Soft Wipes, have been developed by this organisation – DRDO

3. The new drug for Tuberculosis manufactured by Cadilla, released by the Government on World Tuberculosis Day, Mar 24 – Risorine

4. Two drugs which have been banned with effect from 18 Mar 2011. – Gatifloxacin and Tegaserod

5. The drugs which have been banned by the Government of India due to their side effects – Nimesulide, Cisapride and Phenylpropanolamine (See more on Banned Drugs)

6. Iodized salt is now proposed by the Government of India to be additionally fortified by – Iron

7. The deadly foodborne bacteria which has infected over 1600 people in 11 European nations, including Germany and Spain – Escherichia coli

Krishi Karman Awards: the first-ever awards being given to States for their effort and contribution

towards raising the country’s food grain production.

Category Winning State

States with overall food grain production of more than 10 million tonnes recorded in the last five years

Punjab and Uttar Pradesh

States with overall food grain production of between one and 10 million tonnes.

Assam and Orissa

States with overall food grain production of less than one million tonnes.

Tripura

Rice Chattisgarh

Wheat Haryana

Pulses Maharashtra and Rajasthan

Coarse cereals Karnataka

Legal Issues

1. As per Dr. Veerappa Moily , the Minister for Law and Justice, the pendency of cases in Indian Courts is to be brought down from 15 years to – 3 years

2. Pakistani Sufi singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and his manager were held by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for allegedly possessing undeclared foreign currency at Delhi Airport. The Act under the provisions of which they have been charged is – FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act)

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3. Odisha and Odia are the new names given to erstwhile names of Orissa (state) and Oriya (language) by this amendment bill – 113th Amendment Bill

4. The MPLAD fund available for Members of Parliament has been increased from Rs. 2 crores to – 5 crores

5. The state in which a case of illegal courts functioning by entertaining suits and issuing notices and summons has come to light – Tamilnadu

Meets, Summits, Conferences, Fairs, Festivals

1. India Art Summit 2011, was held from 20 – 23 Jan 2011 in – New Delhi

2. The Geospatial World Forum 2011 was held in Jan 2011 in the following city – Hyderabad

3. Asia's largest literary festival, a book show held over 5 days from 21 Jan 2011 and organised by William Dalrymple and Namita Gokhale was held in – Jaipur

4. This fair was held at Dilli Haat, New Delhi from 19 to 31 Jan 11. The fair is jointly organised by Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Techno logy (CAPART) and Min of Rural Development to facilitate theSwarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) beneficiaries, rural artisans, craftsmen, Self Help Group and NGOs to exhibit and sell their products and provide them with opportunities for additional income – Shishir SARAS Mela

5. First Indian Comic Convention to facilitate direct interaction between readers and writers for creating new projects in country's comic industry held in Feb 2011 in – New Delhi

6. The G–20 meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was recently held in – Paris

7. The 6th meeting of Environment Ministers of the four BASIC countries (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) was held in – New Delhi

8. The place at which the Third Asian Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) was held, India being represented by Ms Meira Kumar, Speaker of the Lok Sabha – Colombo

9. The city in which Aero India 2011 was held – Bengaluru

10. Surajkund, the venue of annual crafts fair where Andhra Pradesh has been made the theme state this year is located in this state – Haryana

11. The 17th Commonwealth Law Conference with the theme 'Emerging Economies – Rule of Law: Challenges and Opportunities' was held at – Hyderabad

12. The place where World Telugu Conference was held in Feb 2011 – Berhampur, Orissa

13. Baselworld Fair being held in Switzerland is premiere fair in – Watches, gems and jewellery

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14. The Exhibition of Innovations held simultaneously with the Udyanotsav is held at – Rashtrapathi Bhavan, New Delhi

15. The place where World Kannada Convention was held – Belgaum

16. Sanya the venue for BRICS (Brazil–Russia–India–China–South Africa) summit in April is in (India was represented by PM Manmohan Singh) – China

17. The venue of Second Africa – India Forum, (India was represented by Dr. Manmohan Singh) – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

18. The venue of Asian Development Bank's 44th Board of Governor's Annual Meet, (India was represented by Shri Pranab Mukherjee) – Hanoi, Vietnam

19. The city which has been chosen to be the venue of UN Conference on Bio–diversity to be held in Oct 2012 – Hyderabad

Miscellaneous

1. The 3rd Research Base at Larsemann Hills, Antartica, the foundation stone for which was laid recently at New Delhi is named – Bharati

2. The parental house of this former Prime Minister in Ramnagar is to be converted into a museum to attract tourists to the place. The house has been renovated by the UP Govt and will house things relating to his life and work – Lal Bahadur Shastri

3. The Canadian rock singer who performed at the opening ceremony of World Cup Cricket 2011 held at Dhaka –Bryan Adams

4. This 17–year–old social activist from Chennai has been selected to attend the five–day World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland starting January 26. She and her colleagues will address on the theme 'Shared Norms for the New Reality. Besides, spiritual gurus Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Amritananda Mayi and Nikhilananda Saraswati (Chinmaya Mission) have also been invited to the forum – Anjali Chandrashekhar

5. The bank which has become a signatory investor to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a global initiative for sustainable development – State Bank of India

6. The Russian equivalent of American Global Positioning System (GPS) – GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System)

7. The organisation which is adopting 5 districts of Uttar Pradesh to promote Organic Farming – Assocham

8. Rajiv Trivedi, the police officer, who became the fastest person to swin the Palk Strait on Mar 25 belongs to – Andhra Pradesh

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9. The country which switched to permanent summer–time from daylight saving time providing for different standards of time for winter and summer – Russia

10. The recruitment agency which has become the first ever ISO–9001:2008 certified recruiting agency in the Government sector – Staff Selection Commission (Northern Region)

11. The Kraal , which was once Mahatma Gandhi's house recently in news for Coal India Ltd's effort to acquire it and convert it into a memorial is in – Johannesburg, South Africa

12. The per capita availability of water in India as per the latest reports is – 1,625 cubic meters (See also Water Stressed Condition

13. Bru refugees who were in news for being repatriated from Tripura to their homeland recently, originally belong to – Mizoram

14. The new scheme launched by Dept of Telecommunications for jawans of Central Para Military Forces which would allow them to talk to their families at nominal cost – Rakshak

15. The 2006 Noble Peace prize winner and founder of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, who was removed from his position as head of microlender Grameen Bank – Muhammad Yunus

16. The world's highest tower which has overtaken Canton Tower in China is – Tokyo Sky Tree

17. The place which has been chosen to set up a National Centre for Marine Bio–Diversity – Jamnagar

18. Shramik Helpline number launched by Delhi Government to handle complaints from workers – 12789

19. The jail at which National Literacy Mission has been launched to prevent prisoners from becoming second–time prisoners – Tihar Jail

20. Arthur Road has been in news recently more than once. What is located at Arthur Road? – Mumbai Central Prison

21. With effect from 01.04.11, the National Floor Level Minimum Wage (NFLMW) has been revised on the basis of rise in All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers from Rs. 100/– per day to – Rs. 115/– per day

22. The interim headquarters of International Renewable Energy Agency which will become its permanent headquarters – UAE

23. The newly formed World Spice Organisation is to be headquartered at – Kochi, Kerala

24. The salary limit below which salaried tax–payers are exempt from filing income tax returns as per the latest government notification – Rs. 5 lakhs

25. The chemical used for artificial ripening of fruits, which has been banned by Delhi Government – Calcium Carbide

26. Dakshin Dare, a car and bike rally held in Jun 11, began in Chennai and ended at – Bengaluru

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27. The century's longest lunar eclipse which occurred on 16 Jun 2011 (past midnight of 15 Jun) lasted for – 100 minutes

28. The island ceded by India to Sri Lanka in 1974, case for retrieval of which has been filed by Ms Jayalalitha in the Supreme Court – Katchchatheevu

29. MI6, the intelligence service which hacked the website of Al–Qaeda belongs to – United Kingdom

30. The Tibetan Parliament in exile which has been recently in news is headquartered at – Dharamshala (H.P.)

31. The Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidyalaya has developed 31 varieties of hybrid Maize seeds. One variety which yields 95.47 quintals per hectare is the highest yielder. It is known as – Dekalb Double

32. The chemical used in IEDs, whose production has been sought to be restrained in Pakistan by the US – Ammonia Nitrate

33. The Tourism Ministry is planning to set up 20 parks on Sentosa model to boost tourism. Sentosa is an island in – Singapore

34. The protest by Mahatma Gandhi, which has figured in the Time magazine's list of Top 10 Most Influential Protests – Salt Satyagraha

New Age Limits

1. With effect from 01 Jun 11, women will be considered senior citizens for railway concessions at the age of – 58 years

2. The age limit for the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) has been lowered from 65 years to – 60 years

3. The new age limit for buying and drinking alcohol in Maharashtra – 25 years

Pakistan

1. The Pakistani Naval Base, which was taken over by Militants for about 18 hours on May 22-23 – Mehran

2. Pakistan's new 330–megawatt nuclear power plant built with Chinese assistance is located at – Chashma

Postal

1. The World Philatelic Exhibition held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from 12 to 18 Feb 2011 was named – INDIPEX 2011

2. A special stamp printed on 'Khadi' is being brought out by the Postal Dept on – Mahatma Gandhi

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3. The new post cards which have been introduced by the postal dept priced at 25 ps and carrying advertisements – Meghdoot Postcards

Projects in News

1. The lake on which Tulbul project, talks on which have resumed between India and Pakistan, is located – Wular Lake

2. Maheshwar Hydro Power Project which was given the go–ahead for resumption of the stalled construction is located on – River Narmada in M.P.

3. The gas–based 726 MW capacity Palatana Power Project, which is being constructed by ONGC is in – Tripura

4. India's 10,000 MW Nuclear Power Project (which will be the biggest when completed) has been given the clearance to come up at – Kovvada, Andhra Pradesh

5. Chutak Hydro–electric Power Project which is expected to be commissioned by Aug 2011 is located at – Kargil

Quotes

1. The person who said that the 'political–bureaucratic–judicial system' in India was in a 'cancer–like' situation and needed 'chemotherapy' to treat it – APJ Abdul Kalam

2. Pakistani leader who said, "The religious fanaticism behind our assassinations is a tinderbox poised to explode across Pakistan. The embers are fanned by the opportunism of those who seek advantages in domestic politics by violently polarizing society." – President Asif Ali Zardari

Religions

1. Parashuram Kund, which received a record number of devotees who took a holy dip on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. According to a Hindu legend, Parashuram had once bathed in this kund to seek atonement from his sin of matricide. The Hindus today believe that if a person takes a dip in the kund once, his sins would be wiped out forever. Parshuram Kund is located in – Arunachal Pradesh (Lohit district)

2. The Karmapa monastery which was in news recently is in – Himachal Pradesh

Republic Day Parade – 2011

1. The marching contingent which has been awarded the Best Marching Contingent Award amongst the three services for the 26 Jan, Republic Day this year – Indian Air Force

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2. The marching contingent which has been awarded the Best Marching Contingent Award amongst the Para–military for the 26 Jan, Republic Day this year – Indo–Tibetan Border Police

3. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Chief Guest at the 2011 Republic Day celebrations is the President of – Indonesia

4. This tableau made a comeback at the 2011 Republic Day celebrations after a 3 year gap – Delhi Tableau

Railways

1. India's longest railway tunnel, which is under construction in the Pir Panjal mountain range will connect Qazigund in Kashmir with – Banihal in Jammu region.

2. World’s highest railway bridge which is coming up between Katra and Laol in Jammu and Kashmir is over river – Chenab (Note: To be built at a height of 359 meters, the bridge will be 35 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower of Paris)

Seas, Ports, Ships etc.

1. The cargo ship of Cyprus which collided with INS Vindhyagiri on 30 Jan 2011 causing fire on it – MV Nordlake

2. The International Container Trans–shipment Terminal (ICTT) which was dedicated to the nation recently is located at – Vallarpadam, Kerala

3. MV Wisdom, the cargo ship which was grounded at Mumbai after it broke off from the tugboat while being towed to Alang for shipbreaking belongs to – Singapore

4. MV Suez, a cargo ship which was hijacked in Aug 2010, to be released recently after payment of a ransom belonged to (the ship had six Indians on board) – Egypt

5. India’s first cruise liner and onboard training ship is named – M.V. AMET MAJESTY

6. Tuticorin Port Trust has been named after this freedom fighter, who started the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company by procuring two ships and launching the first indigenous Indian Shipping service between Tuticorin and Colombo in the year 1906 – V.O. Chidambaranar Pillai

States

1. The state which has launched 'hut–free state' scheme to replace all huts in the state with permanent houses over a 6 year period – Tamilnadu

2. The state which has decided to ban non–biodegradable disposable plastic products like cups, plates and glasses with effect from 15 Aug 2011 – Himachal Pradesh

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3. The state which is to be provided a rail link to Akhaura in Bangladesh, MOU of which is to be signed shortly –Tripura (rail link from Agartala)

4. The state in which 34th National Games 2011 were held in Jan 2011 – Jharkhand

5. The state which has decided to undertake GPS Mapping of all primary, middle, high and senior secondary schools in the state to identify locations for opening new institutes – Haryana

6. The state which has introduced Online Answering Information System (OAIS) in its Legislative Assembly –Rajasthan

7. The state which has decided to issue multi–purpose identity cards to its fishermen to prevent infiltration – Orissa

8. The state in which thousands of lawyers went on strike protesting holding of evening courts – Bihar

9. The state where Hyderabad based Atomic Minerals Directorate has discovered uranium reserves (Nalgonda and Tummalapalle) – Andhra Pradesh

10. The states and UT in which assembly elections were held in May–Jun 2011 – Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry

11. The state which has recorded negative population growth for the decade 2001–11 as per the provisional census data – Nagaland

12. The state which has raised Koya Commandos to combat the naxalites – Chhattisgarh

13. The police of this UT have become the first police force in the country to get Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for keeping a watch on criminal activities. (The UAV has been named Golden Hawk) – Chandigarh

14. The state which has become the largest producer of bio–fertilizers as per the latest data – Tamilnadu

15. The state which has increased the minimum age limit for buying and drinking alcohol from 21 to 25 –Maharashtra

16. The state in which Mobile Number Portability was launched as a pilot project before it was finally launched at the national level – Haryana

Sports News

1. The TATA Steel Chess Tournament 2011 at which Hikaru Nakamura of the United States won the first place and Vishwanathan Anand of India, the second was held at Wijk aan Zee, The Netherlands.

2. The team which won the Ranji Trophy for the first time in 2010, by defeating Baroda in the final match at Vadodara – Rajasthan

3. The winner of Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy played in Malaysia (Runner-up : Pakistan) – Australia

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4. The venue of 2011 Arafura Games which are held once every 2 years for upcoming sportsperson of the Asia-Pacific region – Darwin, Australia

5. The National Hockey Championship, which was held in Bhopal was won by – Haryana

6. The road-map launched by Ministry of Sports to train and prepare Indian sportsmen for the London Olympics 2012 has been named – Operation Excellence or OPEX 2012

7. The sports disciplines which were a part of Beijing Olympics, but have been removed from XXX London Olympics – Baseball and Softball

Sportspersons in News

1. The Indian discuss thrower who ranked 4th at the 2010 Asian Games but was awarded the bronze medal because the original bronze medallist from Qatar tested positive for drugs – Vikas Gowda

2. The 11 year old girl who secured her Woman FIDE Master (WFM) title after winning a silver medal in under-12 girls category at World Youth Chess championship in Greece recently – Ivana Furtado

3. The sportsperson who has been awarded NDTV Sportsperson of the year – Leander Paes

4. The cricket player who refused a honorary doctorate from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences citing professional reasons – Sachin Tendulkar

5. The tennis player who won the French Open 2011 for the sixth time, defeating Roger Federer – Rafael Nadal of Spain

6. Li Na who won the French Open 2011 (the first Grand Slam for her country) by defeating Francesca Schiavone of Italy belongs to – China

7. Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina lost in the French Open Women's Doubles Finals to Czech duo of – Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka

8. The cricketeer Kevin O'Brien who scored the fastest ever century in a World Cup match off 50 balls belongs to – Ireland

9. The person who has been appointed the coach of Indian cricket team in place of Gary Kirsten – Duncan Fletcher of Zimbabwe

10. The table tennis player who has won the Joola Austria Junior and Cadet Open title at Linz, Austria beating compatriot Soumyajit Ghosh, and thus become the first Indian to win the Junior Boys singles title in the Global Junior Circuit events of the International Table Tennis Federation – Harmeet Desai

11. The Indian cricketeer who has been ranked 52nd in Time's annual list of top 100 most influential people in the world. (The others are in the list are Mukesh Ambani (61), VS Ramachandran (79), Azim Premji (88) and Aruna Roy (89). – MS Dhoni

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12. The Indian cricketer who has been named the Leading Cricketer of the World for 2010 by Wisden. (Virender Sehwag was the Leading Cricketer for 2008 and 2009) – Sachin Tendulkar

13. The Indian tennis duo which have become number one in the ATP Doubles Team rankings following their win at Miami Masters – Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi

14. The cricketeer who has been conferred Sai Ratna Award by the Sai Baba Temple Trust at Shirdi – Sachin Tendulkar

15. The sportsperson who has been chosen for the Global Diversity Award for Sports 2011 for his outstanding achievements in cricket and his recent induction into the ICC Hall of Fame 2010, by the Next Step Foundation. – Kapil Dev

16. The Indian swimmer who has won eight medals, including three gold at the 54th Malaysian Open Swimming Championship – Virdhawal Khade

17. Five-time world champion who clinched her first gold medal of the year by winning the Asian Cup Women’s Boxing tournament in Haikou, China – M C Mary Kom

18. Twelve–year old Mumbai girl nicknamed the 'Little Mermaid' , who entered the Limca Book of World Records after becoming the youngest to win the Kimberley National Lake Argyle Swim in the crocodile infested waters of Kununurra, Western Australia. – Swapnali Yadav

19. The Indian boxer who was the lone Indian Gold Medallist at the Arafura Games and was also awarded the 'Best Boxer' trophy – Pinki Jangra

20. The person who has been appointed the chief of Indian Olympic Association in the wake of the arrest of Suresh Kalmadi – VK Malhotra

21. Indian chess player who has won the Dubai International Open Chess by defeating Parimarjan Negi –Abhijeet Gupta

Surveys, Census, Reports

1. The rank of India in 2010 Global Prosperity Index, listed by the London based institute, Legatum – 88

2. As per ASER 2010, Annual Status of Education Report 2010, released by the Vice–President of India Mr Hamid Ansari on Jan 14, the percentage of children not enrolled in schools for the year 2010 is – 3.5% (4% for 2009)

3. As per the latest report the state which has the highest rate of both urban and rural youth – Tripura

4. As per the latest government release the state which has the highest area of forest land under encroachment – Assam

5. The sixth economic census is planned to be conducted by the Government of India in the year (the 5th census was held in 2005) – 2012

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6. The place from which the nationwide socio–economic and caste census to identify people living below poverty line (BPL) was flagged off – Shankhola, in Tripura West

Space News

1. The US space shuttle which has been launched on its final mission, the shuttle will be retired after return from the mission – Discovery

2. The comet–hunting spacecraft which was finally shut down after 12 years of operation – Stardust

3. Kavoshgar–4 rocket launched recently with a test capsule designed to house an animal belongs to this country – Iran

4. Bhuvan, a satellite mapping tool similar to Google Earth has been developed by – Indian Space Research Organisation

5. X–SAT which was launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)–C16 alongwith RESOURCESAT–2 is the first satellite of – Singapore

6. YOUTHSAT which was launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)–C16 alongwith RESOURCESAT–2 satellite is a joint project of India and – Russia

7. The space explorer mission launched by NASA in Dec 2009, which has recently released a trove of data from its sky-mapping mission to the world – WISE (Wide–field Infrared Survey Explorer)

8. Beidou satellite launched as a part of Global Positioning System belongs to – China

9. IIT–Kanpur's indigenously built nano satellite which is likely to be launched by the end of June this year from Sriharikota is named – Jugnu

10. The US Space Shuttle which made its last flight in May 2011. (it had first flown in 1992) – Endeavour

11. GSAT–8, aboard Ariane 5 launcher was launched on May 21 from – Guiana Space Centre, Kouru

12. The arm of ISRO, which has prepared a detailed national inventory of wetlands on the basis of satellite imagery – Space Applications Centre

Towns in News

1. The city designed by German town–planner Dr. Otto Kolenigs Berger, which is celebrating 63 years of its formation this year – Bhubhaneswar

2. The Chainsa–Sultanpur–Neemrana gas pipeline was commissioned recently. Chainsa and Neemrana are respectively in – Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan

3. Forbesganj, which was in news for police firing on unarmed villagers is located in – Bihar

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4. The place in Madhya Pradesh, where a new refinery set up by Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd has been dedicated to the nation – Bina

5. A mishap at Cuddegal iron ore mine site killed 3 people recently. Cuddegal is in – Goa

6. Konaben , ONGC's gas well which is in news for unstoppable gas leak is located in – Tripura

7. Jungle Mahal, a maoist affected area where train services were temporarily suspended for about 7 months is in – West Bengal

8. The places at which the Government is setting up underground oil storage facility to ensure availability of oil in case of abrupt disruptions – Visakhapatnam, Mangalore and Padur.

Volcanoes

1. Shinmoedake volcano which erupted in Jan 2011 is located in – Japan

2. Grimsvotn volcano, which has erupted in May 2011 effecting air-traffic in Europe is located in – Iceland

3. Puyehue–Cordon Caulle volcano, which has erupted early in June is located in the Andes range in – Chile

World Cup 2011 – Important Information

Teams and Captains

Country Captain

Australia Ricky Ponting

Bangladesh Shakib Al Hasan

Canada Ashish Bagai

England Andrew Strauss

India MS Dhoni

Ireland William Porterfield

Kenya Jimmy Kamande

Netherland Peter Borren

New Zealand Daniel Vettori

Pakistan Shahid Afridi

South Africa Graeme Smith

Sri Lanka Kumar Sangakara

West Indies Darren Sammy

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Zimbabwe Elton Chigumbura

Venues of Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals

Match Teams Stadium City

Quarterfinal C Pakistan vs West Indies

Shere Bangla National Stadium

Mirpur, Bangladesh

Quarterfinal D Sri Lanka vs England

R Premadasa Stadium Colombo

Quarterfinal E Australia vs India Sardar Patel Stadium Motera, Ahmedabad

Quarterfinal F New Zealand vs South Africa

Shere Bangla National Stadium

Mirpur, Bangladesh

1stSemifinal Sri Lanka vs New Zealand

R Premadasa Stadium Colombo

2ndSemifinal India vs Pakistan Punjab Cricket Assc. Stadium

Mohali, Chandigarh

Final India vs Sri Lanka Wankhede Stadium Mumbai

Highlights

Highest total runs in World Cup 2011 TM Dilshan of Sri Lanka (500 runs)

Highest total runs by an Indian in World Cup 2011

Sachin Tendulkar (482 runs)

Highest individual score Virendra Sehwag (175 runs)

Highest number of centuries by an Indian Sachin Tendulkar (2)

Fastest century (new all–time World Cup record)

Kevin O'Brien (63 balls)

Highest total by a team India, 370 against Bangladesh

The teams which lost all the matches they played

Kenya and Netherlands

Most wickets in the tournament Shahid Afridi, 21 wickets at an average of 12.85

Most wickets by an Indian in the tournament Zaheer Khan, 21 wickets at an average of 18.76

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34th National Games 2011, Jharkhand – Medals Tally

Rank Team Gold Silver Bronze Total

1. Services 70 50 42 162

2. Manipur 48 37 33 118

3. Haryana 42 33 40 115

4. Maharashtra 41 44 47 132

5. Jharkhand 33 26 37 96

6. Delhi 32 26 41 99

7. Kerala 30 29 28 87

8. Madhya Pradesh 25 32 46 103

9. Punjab 23 38 54 115

10. Uttar Pradesh 20 22 28 70

Highlights

The highest number of medals were won by Richa Mishra of Delhi in swimming – 11 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze totalling 16. She was adjudged the best female athlete at the games.

The best male athlete was Virdhawal Khade of Maharashtra who won 8 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals in swimming.

Raja Bhalendra Trophy for Champions team in the 34th National Games was awarded to Services Sports Control Board.

A special award of Best State was also given to Manipur which finished second at the games.

The mascot of the National Games was Chhaua, the deer

The opening ceremony of the games was held on 12 Feb 2011 at Birsa Munda Athletics Stadium in Ranchi. The games were declared open by Jharkhand Governor M O H Farook.

Most of the events athletics, aquatics, badminton, basketball, cycling, football, gymnastics, handball, hockey etc. were held in various stadiums in Ranchi.

Canoe and Kayak, Triathlon and Rowing were held at Maithon Dam in Dhanbad

Six states failed to win any medal at the games, they are Gujarat, Arunanchal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh.

The National Games were declared closed on 26 Feb 2011 by Mr Suresh Kalmadi.

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Tiger Census – 2011

1. Tiger census is being carried out every four years since 2006. 2. As per the last census the tiger population in the country was 1411. 3. There are 39 tiger reserves in the country. 4. The monitoring of tiger population was done between December 2009 and December 2010. 5. About 30% of the estimated tiger population is outside the tiger reserves. 6. Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Assam, Tamilnadu and Karnataka have registered a growth in tiger

population since the last census. 7. Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have seen a decline in tiger population during the same

period. 8. Kaziranga has a tiger population of 100, the largest in any reserve. 9. Civil society organizations such as Wildlife Trust of India, Aaranyak, and World Wildlife Fund for

Nature–India assisted in the census. 10. The present census was innovative in the following aspects:

a. Additional technical expertise was taken from Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB).

b. Local communities were involved in data collection and analysis. c. Genetic analysis was also resorted to estimate tiger populations from faecal samples. d. Satellite telemetry was used in estimating tiger population in Sunderbans Tiger Reserve. e. Tiger population was estimated for the first time in Sahyadri Tiger Reserve

(Maharashtra). 11. Evidence of new areas populated by tigers, e.g. Kuno–Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary and Shivpuri

National Park in Madhya Pradesh has been found.

The following is the list of top 11 states and areas in respect of tiger population.

# State No. of Tigers

1. Karnataka 300

2. Madhya Pradesh 257

3. Uttarakhand 227

4. Maharashtra 169

5. Tamilnadu 163

6. North–East Hills and Brahmaputra 148

7. Assam 143

8. Uttar Pradesh 118

9. Andhra Pradesh 72

10. Kerala 71

11. Sunderbans 70

Latest News : In a major step towards conservation of tigers, the government has decided to conduct a programme to monitor the tiger population annually instead of every four–years. (May 13, 2011)

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National Film Awards – 2011

# Name of the Award Name of the Film and Awardee Medal and Cash

1. Best Feature Film Adaminte Makan Abu (Malayalam) Producer : Salim Ahmed Director: Salim Ahmed

Swarna Kamal Rs. 2,50,000/– each

2. Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director

Baboo Band Baaja (Marathi) Producer: Nita Jadhav Director Rajesh Pinjani


3. Award for Best Popular Film providing wholesome entertainment

Dabangg (Hindi) Producer: Arbaaz Khan, Malaika Arora Khan and Dhilin Mehta Director: Abhinav Singh Kashyap


4. Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration

Moner Manush (Bengali) Producer: Gautam Kundu Director: Gautam Ghose

Rajat Kamal Rs. 1,50,000/– each

5. Best Film on Social Issues Champions (Marathi) Producer: Aishwarya Narkar Director: Ramesh More


6. Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation

Bettada Jeeva (Kannada) Producer: Basant Kumar Patil Director: P. Sheshadri


7. Best Children's Film Hejjegalu (Kannada) Producer: Basant Kumar Patil Director: PR Ramadas Naidu


8. Best Direction Aadukalam (Tamil) Vetrimaran

Swarna Kamal Rs. 2,50,000/–

9. Best Actor Dhanush for Aadukalam (Tamil) Salim Kumar for Adaminte Makan Abu (Malayalam)

Rajat Kamal Rs. 50,000 sharing

10. Best Actress Mitalee Jagtap Varadkar for Baboo Band Baaja (Marathi) Saranya Ponvannan for Thenmerkku Paruvakkatru

Rajat Kamal Rs. 50,000/–

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(Tamil)

11. Best Child Artist 1. Harsh Mayar for I am Kalam (Hindi) 2. Shantanu Ranganekar and 3. Machindra Gadkar for Champions (Marathi) 4. Vivek Chabukswar for Baboo Band Baaja (Marathi)

Rajat Kamal Rs. 50,000/– sharing

12. Best Music Direction Vishal Bhardwaj for Ishqiya (Hindi) Issak Thomas Kottakapally for Adaminte Makan Abu (Malayalam)

Rajat Kamal Rs 50,000/– each

SCOPE Awards

The President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil gave away the SCOPE meritorious awards in specialized fields for the year 2009–10 on the occasion of Public Sector Day Celebrations organised on 11 April 2011 jointly by the Department of Public Enterprises(DPE) and Standing Conference of Public Enterprises(SCOPE).

The SCOPE Gold Trophy was bagged as follows

• Steel Authority of India Ltd. for Environmental Excellence & Sustainable Development • Bharat Electronic Limited for Corporate Governance • Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. for Corporate Social Responsibility & Responsiveness • Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. for R&D, Technology Development & Innovation • Indian Oil Corporation Limited for best practices in Human Resource Management • Punjab National Bank for best managed bank, financial institution or insurance company • National Safai Karmacharis Finance & Development Co rporation for best managed PSE set

up under section 25.

On the occasion, the following certificate of conferment were also given

• Certificate of conferment of Maharatna status to Coal India Ltd. • Certificate of conferment of Navratna status to Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited. • Certificate of conferment of Miniratna status to Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited.

Read other current topics at the Current Affairs Se ction of http://www.leadthecompetition.in

current affairs digest jun to jun 11

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