current affairs-magazine-july-2012-13

Current Affairs PDF July 2012

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WWW.JAGRANJOSH.COM CURRENT AFFAIRS PDF JULY 2012




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Pick of the Month........................................................................................................................9

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma became the First Female Chairperson of African Union Commission ..........................................................................................................................9

Syrian Defence Minsiter, Dawoud Rajiha Killed in Suicide Bomb attack in Damascus, Syria ...9

SC banned Commercial and Tourism Activities near Jarawa Habitat ...................................10

Pranab Mukherjee won the Presidential Election 2012 .......................................................10

Indian Railways introduced new guidelines for booking of Tatkal tickets ............................12

Gagan Narang won Bronze inmen's 10 meter air rifle event at London Olympics ................12

sc Banned Tourism in Core Areas of Project Tiger Forests ...................................................13

Scientists identified First Radio Waves from Middleweight Black Hole HLX-1 ......................13

Assam’s Kokrajhar, Udalguri District Hit by Violence: Bodos & Muslims Clashed .................14

Derek O’ Brian became the First Anglo-Indian to Vote in Presidential Election ....................14

International .............................................................................................................................15

CII in Partnership with Govt of India and Afghanistan held Delhi Investment Summit .........15

PRI Leader Enrique Peña Nieto elected AS New President of Mexico ..................................16

Iran test-fired Medium Range Ballistic Missile Shahab-3 .....................................................17

Myanmar’s Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo stepped down .............................................17

UNHRC adopted Resolution to protect the Online Human Rights of Global Citizens ............17

Tokyo Conference pledged to provide 16 Billion Dollar Aid to Afghanistan .........................18

ICC sentenced Congolese Warlord Thomas Lubanga to 14-Year Imprisonment ...................19

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Laos................................................20

Derek Mitchell assumed Charge as First US Ambassador to Myanmar since 1990 ...............20

Hillary Clinton visited Israel as Final Halt of her Trip to Asia ................................................21

India & Mozambique Signed Agreement on Bilateral Security Cooperation in Maputo, Mozambique ......................................................................................................................21

MAG/Mag%20July/Mag%20July%20Final.doc#_Toc332122467




US made Visa Application Rules for Indians More Flexible ..................................................22

Maldives Ex-President, Mohamed Nasheed charged for judge's illegal arrest .....................22

US House of Representative voted to cut the US Aid to Pakistan by 650 Million Dollar .......23

China pledged 20 Billion Dollar Loan to Africa over the Next Three Years ...........................24

China, Russia Vetoed UN RESOLUTION: Situation intensified in Syria ..................................25

Hesham Kandil Appointed Egypt's New Prime Minister ......................................................25

India Called on All Nations to Cooperate and Bring End to Syria Crisis ................................26

India, Indonesia Signed Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement .........................................26

National ....................................................................................................................................27

Union Government of India unveiled New Free Drug Policy ................................................27

Delhi High Court scrapped TRAI’s Limit on the Number of Daily SMS-es .............................27

Union cabinet approved a Proposal to make Rape a Gender-Neutral Offence ....................28

SC reduced VIP quota for Haj pilgrimage from 5050 seats to 300 ........................................28

SC allowed Tamil Nadu to carry out Small Maintenance Works on the Mullaperiyar Dam...29

sc of India Modified Order on Rehabilitation of Sex Workers ..............................................29

Ministry of Women and Child Development drafted the National Policy for Children 2012 30

Government of India Launched Anti-Ragging Website ........................................................30

General Knowledge Quiz ...........................................................................................................31

Economy ...................................................................................................................................37

India’s Direct Tax Collections registered 47.16 per cent Increase in April-June 2012 ...........37

SEBI permitted MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) to operate as a Full-fledged Stock Exchange ...........................................................................................................................................38

Index of Industrial Production (IIP) recorded 2.4% growth in May 2012 as against 6.2% in May 2011............................................................................................................................39

India’s Headline Inflation slowed to 7.25 percent in June 2012 ...........................................39

India’s Retail Inflation dropped to 10.02 Percent in June 2012 ............................................40

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved 10.82 Per Cent Disinvestment in SAIL...40




EGoM on Telecommunication recommended to reduce 2G Base Price ...............................41

SEBI tightened Eligibility & Exit Criteria for Stocks in Derivatives Segment to curb Manipulation ......................................................................................................................42

India received its First Investment through Qualified Framework Investor Route worth $ 5m ...........................................................................................................................................42

EGoM recommended CDMA Airwaves in the 800 MHz band at 1.3 times the Base Price for GSM Airwaves.....................................................................................................................43

Government approved 14 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Proposals worth Rs 1584.11 crore ...........................................................................................................................................44

Petrol & Diesel Prices raised as Oil Firms recalibrated Rates to Reflect Changes in Local Levies..................................................................................................................................45

State .........................................................................................................................................45

Delhi GoVT announced subsidy of 1 Rupee per unit on electricity for domestic consumers 45

Jagdish Shettar sworn in as the 27th Chief Minister of Karnataka .......................................46

The Government of Maharashtra banned Gutka and Pan Masala .......................................46

Union HRD Ministry announced to set up Two Central Universities in Bihar .......................47

Punjab Government increased the DA by 12 per cent for Employees and Pensioners .........47

Planning Commission sanctioned 57800 Crore Rupees as Annual Plan for UP .....................48

Delhi Government decided to increase the Number of Districts in Delhi from 9 to 11 .........48

UP Government rechristened Eight Districts in the State ....................................................49

India Diary .................................................................................................................................49

Corporate ..................................................................................................................................51

Adani Kandla Bulk Terminal Pvt. Ltd Signed Agreement with Kandla Port Trust ..................51

HDFC launched Superia and Platinum Credit Cards for Doctors...........................................52

B. Surender Mohan appointed as the Chairman and MD of NLC .........................................52

Brazil Court Ordered BASF and Shell to compensate 382 million dollars .............................52

Dell Inc announced to buy Quest Software Inc for 2.4 billion dollar cash ............................53

European Aerospace Airbus Build its 1st US Assembly Plant in Alabama .............................53




Apple paid 60 million dollar to Shenzhen Proview Technology to Settle Legal Dispute ........54

Vodafone Captured 1.04 billion euro of British firm Cable and Wireless .............................54

State Bank of Patiala launched Gold Loan (Swarn Shakti) for Farmers .................................55

MTS announced Flat Rate of 30 paise/minute for Local, STD, Roaming and ISD Calls ..........55

Mahindra Launched 100 crore rupees R&D Centre for two-wheelers in Pune .....................55

Cadbury launched famous Triangular Swiss Chocolate Brand Toblerone .............................56

Serum Institute of India bought Bilthoven Biologicals for 550 crore rupees ........................56

Electronics Company Toshiba launched C, L, M, U Satellite series .......................................57

Yahoo! India Signed Agreement with IIT-Madras to set R&D ...............................................57

EIL signed Integrated Refinery Expansion Project of BPCL at Kochi......................................58

Nokia launched Window-based phone Lumia 610 at 12999 rupees ....................................58

BPO Firm Sundaram Finance Ltd. Signed Various Deals in Australia ....................................59

Facebook Extended its App Center in India and Six other Countries ....................................59

Mahindra Satyam launched Apparel & Fashion xPress for Oracle Retail ..............................60

Government appointed Nasir Ali as the new Joint Managing Director of Air India ..............60

Tata Group firm Roots Corporation Ltd. planned 5 more Ginger Hotels ..............................60

Marissa Mayer appointed as the New President and CEO of Yahoo ....................................61

Hindi news channel ITV acquired English news channel News X ..........................................61

Nestle Health Science acquired a Stake in Accera to make milkshake for Alzheimer’s patients ..............................................................................................................................62

Jet Airways introduced JetEscapes packages for corporate travellers .................................62

Godrej Properties signed MoU with Axis bank; offered Home loan scheme ........................63

Tata Power signed a long term agreement with Indonesian firm ........................................63

Philips India launched Bodygroom Gadget BG2024 for Men at 2495 rupees .......................64

Renault-Nissan alliance to invest 160 million dollar at Renault Samsung Motors Korea ......64

Percept Limited launched a Global Entertainment Company Percept Live ..........................64

ONGC was awarded Gold Trophy in Safety Management Award 2012 ................................65





GAIL and ONGC signed Swap Agreement and Gas Co-operation Agreement .......................65

Famous Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was signed as the Brand Ambassador of BMW ............65

Kavveri Telecom acquired US Firm WPCS International .......................................................66

Ravneet Gill appointed as the New CEO of Deutsche Bank India .........................................66

Apple Launched OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion System...............................................................67

Sports........................................................................................................................................67

Spain beat Italy 4-0 to win UEFA Euro Cup Football Championship 2012.............................67

Three Russian Female Athletes were Suspended ................................................................68

Ex-England Batsman Mark Ramprakash announced retirement from cricket ......................69

Sprint Star Usain Bolt Quit from Diamond League Meet in Monaco ....................................69

Roger Federer beat Andy Murray to claim Wimbledon Open Title 2012 .............................69

Serena Williams beat Agnieszka Radwanska to claim Wimbledon Women’s Singles 2012 ...70

South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher announced Retirement from International Cricket ................................................................................................................................71

England beat Australia 4-0 to claim NatWest Cricket Series ................................................71

Brett Lee announced Retirement from All Forms of International Cricket ...........................72

England’s David Howell won the 6th Leiden International Chess tournament .....................72

Bradley Wiggins won the 99th Edition of Tour de France Bicycle Race ................................73

30th Edition of Summer Olympics inaugurated in London ..................................................73

Hockey India signed a multi-year broadcast agreement with ESPN STAR ............................74

World Diary ...............................................................................................................................74

Environment & Ecology .............................................................................................................80

UNESCO inscribes Western Ghats Mountain Chain on the List of World Heritage Sites .......80

Karakoram Glaciers remained Impervious of Global Warming ............................................80

Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions increased by Three Percent in 2011 ................................81

World Bank approved 1100 Crore Rupees Loan for Himachal Pradesh ................................81

Science & Technology ...............................................................................................................82





Scientists at CERN discovered a New Sub-Atomic Particle called Higgs Boson .....................82

Russian Soyuz Spacecraft blasted-off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan ........82

Russia’s Soyuz-FG Carrier rocket set Five Satellites into Orbit .............................................83

One Liners .................................................................................................................................83

News Capsule ............................................................................................................................85

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released UN Millenium Development Goal 2012 Report ...........................................................................................................................................85

Jawahar Thakur assumed the Charge as the Controller General of Accounts ......................86

Celebrated Assamese Poet Hiren Bhattacharyya passed away ............................................87

National Crime Record Bureau released the Crime Statistics for 2011 ................................87

Anup Sankar Bhattacharya appointed as the Director of IBPS .............................................88

Yannis Stournaras took oath as the New Finance Minister of Greece ..................................88

International Conference on Afghanistan held in Japanese Capital Tokyo ...........................89

EK Bharat Bhushan dismissed as the Chief of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation .......89

DV Sadananda Gowda resigned as Karnataka Chief Minister ..............................................90

Manipal University won the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2012 .......90

International Donors Conference held in Tokyo ..................................................................90

Champion Wrestler and Bollywood Actor Dara Singh passed away in Mumbai ...................91

India successfully test-fired Nuclear Capable Agni-I Missile .................................................91

Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong visited India ....................................................92

Uttarakhand CM Vijay Bahuguna won the Assembly By-Election from Sitarganj .................92

World Population Day Observed WorldWide on 11 July 2012 .............................................93

Oscard Award Winner Ernest Borgnine passed away ..........................................................93

Former BCCI President Purushottam M Rungta passed away ..............................................94

ITC, Hungama Digital Media & Shankar Mahadevan launched Digital Talent Hunt MOBisur94

Incidents of Child Marriages fell significantly in India: Annual Health Survey Report ...........95

North Korea awarded the Title of Marshal to its Top Leader Kim Jong Un ...........................95





Yesteryear Bollywood Superstar Rajesh Khanna passed away .............................................96

Top RSS Leader and BJP Former Vice-President Bal Apte passed Away ...............................97

Cases of New HIV Infections among Children declined: UNAIDS Report ..............................97

Seventh G20 summit took place in Mexican City Los Cabos ................................................98

HDFC Banker Deepak Parekh appointed as new Chairman of Financing Infrastructure .......98

P.N Dhar, First Principal Secretary of Indira Gandhi passed away ........................................99

Time Magazine dubbed Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as Underachiever ...........99

Eminent Freedom Fighter and social activist Captain Lakshmi Sehgal passed away ........... 100

Maruti Suzuki India Limited announced to close down its Factory at Manesar .................. 100

Aleppo in Syria Became the Centre of Revolt Against the Government ............................. 101

Rupert Murdoch Resigned as the Director of the NI Group ............................................... 101

Sally Ride, First US Woman to travel into Space, passed away .......................................... 101

Kulandei Francis, Indian Social Activist Won Magsaysay Awards 2012 .............................. 101

DRDO successfully test-fired Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile ...................................... 102

Assam’s Kokrajhar, Udalguri District Hit by Violence ......................................................... 103

Practise Sets ............................................................................................................................ 103

Q n A ....................................................................................................................................... 103

Previous Year Question Papers ................................................................................................ 104

Current Affair Quizzes ............................................................................................................. 104

Success Story .......................................................................................................................... 109




PICK OF THE MONTH

NKOSAZANA DLAMINI-ZUMA BECAME THE FIRST FEMALE CHAIRPERSON OF AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION

African Union Commission (AUC) on 15 July 2012 elected South Africa's home affairs minister

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as its new Chairperson, making

her the first female head of the union. In a closely fought

contest Dlamini-Zuma beat incumbent Jean Ping of Gabon

37-17.

Dlamini-Zuma, wife of the former South African President

Jacob Zuma, was declared winner following a third round

of voting. In election held in January 2012, neither of the

two candidates got the two-thirds majority, which was

required to be elected as the organization head.

Consequently, Ping got an extension of another six months

in the office.

AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION

The African Union Commission is the Secretariat of the African Union responsible for executive

functioning. The commission is composed of 10 Officials: A Chairperson, a Deputy Chairperson;

Eight Commissioners and Staff members. The AU Commission is made up of Portfolios. They

are: Peace and Security; Political Affairs; Trade and Industry; Infrastructure and Energy; Social

Affairs; Rural Economy and Agriculture; Human Resources, Science and Technology; and

Economic Affairs. Amara Essy of Cote D'Ivoire was the first Chair of AUC.

AFRICAN UNION

African Union, the successor to Organisation of African Unity, came into existence in 2002 at

Durban summit in South Africa. The Union is headquartered at Addis Ababa Ethiopia. A pan-

African organization, AU aims at promoting unity and cooperation among African nations. The

association also strives to spread democracy and good governance in the continent. At present

the African Union has a total of 54 members. Morocco is the only African country which is not

the part of the Union. Yayi Boni of Benin is the current Chairperson of African Union.

SYRIAN DEFENCE MINSITER, DAWOUD RAJIHA KILLED IN SUICIDE BOMB ATTACK IN DAMASCUS, SYRIA

The National Security Bureau in the Rawda district of Damascus, capital of Syria suffered a

heavy blow on 18 July 2012. As per the information available, the bomb struck while the high

profile security meeting was in progress in the Syrian security establishment. The bomb killed


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the country’s Defence Minister, Dawoud Rajiha,

Deputy Defence Minister Assef Shawkat and seriously

injured Interior Minister, Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar

and Intelligence chief, Hisham Bekhtyar. The Deputy

Defence Minister who was killed was Assad’s brother

in law, in relation.

The bomb strike was carried out by a suicide bomber, who was apparently a part of the security

team that was posted to guard Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s inner group. This

incident took place after four days of violence in Damascus, which started soon after the

opposition launched a new offensive codenamed Operation Damascus Volcano, which focused

on high visibility targets. As of now, a Syrian rebel Islamist group is claiming up for the strike.

The group came up with the information via a post written on Facebook. On the other hand, the

opposition Free Syrian Army is also claiming for the attack, according to its spokesman Qassim

Saadedine.

PRANAB MUKHERJEE WON THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2012

The bomb strike was carried out by a suicide bomber, apparently a part of the security team to guard Syrian President Bashar Al Assad

SC BANNED COMMERCIAL AND TOURISM ACTIVITIES NEAR JARAWA HABITAT

The Supreme Court of India on 3 July 2012 declared the area within a five-kilometre radius around the Jarawa

Tribal Reserve in Andaman and Nicobar Islands NO GO ZONE. The Apex Court banned all commercial and

tourism activities near the Jarawa habitat. A Supreme Court bench of justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya

in its ruling prohibited entry of any person other than a member of tribe into the reserve area. The court’s verdict

came following a news report which showed some tourists throwing money, food and bananas at the tribal people.

The news report had forced the government to order an inquiry.

Jarawas are one of the oldest living indigenous people in the world. The tribe has their home in the forests of the

Andaman Islands in India. The present number of Jarawa tribe is estimated to be about 250-400. Jarawas have

been living in the forests of the Andaman Islands for past thousands of years.



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Pranab Mukherjee was elected as the 13th President (in person) of India on 22 July 2012. Pranab

Mukherjee defeated his rival PA Sangma with a huge margin as he secured nearly 69 percent of

total valid votes. In an electoral college of 10.5 lakh, Pranab

Mukherjee secured a vote value of 713763, while, PA Sangma

managed to get only a vote value 315987. The victory of Pranab

Mukherjee was announced by Returning Officer for the

Presidential election VK Agnihotri. Pranab Mukherjee will be

sworn in as the thirteenth President of India on 25 July 2012.

Out of the total 748 MPs, Pranab got the support of 527 while

his rival, PA Sangma got 206 votes in his favour. Fifteen votes

including that of Samjwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav

were invalid. Of these, nine were to be in favour of Mukherjee while six for Sangma. Each MP

had a vote value of 708 in the Presidential Election 2012. There are a total of 776 voters in both

the Houses of Parliament. The Electoral College also consisted of 4120 MLAs in the states.

The Election Commission of India had issued the notification for Presidential Election 2012 on

16 June 2012. 30 June 2012 was the last date for filing the nomination. Elections were held on 19

July 2012. Pranab Mukherjee and PA Sangma were two principle contestants of 14th Presidential

Election.

SOME IMPORTANT FACTS RELATED TO PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS-

Value of Vote of an MLA = State Population /

(1000 X Total no. of elected MLA's)

On the basis of the above formula, the value of the

vote of an MLA from UP has the highest value and

that from Sikkim the lowest. Value of Vote of an

MP = Total value of votes of MLA's of all States /

Total no. of elected MP's (LS + RS). The 1971

census is currently under consideration. The

election is held through the system of proportional

representation by means of the single - transferable

vote by secret ballot. The candidate who gets 50

percent of votes is considered elected.

Supreme Court looks into all disputes related to

Presidential election.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, was the only President who served two

tenures in the office.

VV Giri is the only person who was elected as the President of the country as an

independent candidate in 1969.

Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was the only person to be

elected to the office of President of India

unopposed, as no other candidate filed nomination

for the post of the President. He was elected

to the office of President in July 1977.



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INDIAN RAILWAYS INTRODUCED NEW GUIDELINES FOR BOOKING OF TATKAL TICKETS

Amidst the increasing number of reports of the misuse of Tatkal

scheme, the Indian Railways on 9 July 2012 introduced new guidelines

for booking of Tatkal tickets. Under the new guideline the Railways

revised the time for booking the Tatkal tickets to 10 am from earlier 8

am.

Besides, under the new scheme, agents will not be allowed to book Tatkal tickets from 10 am to

12 pm either from the ticket counter or on the internet. Some zones will be provided the facility

of separate Tatkal ticket counters while; others will issue Tatkal tickets from the same counters

between 10 am to 10:30 am.

SEVERAL OTHER MEASURES HAVE ALSO BEEN INTRODUCED UNDER THE NEW TATKAL SCHEME, WHICH INCLUDES;

• Individual users can not book more than two tickets from 10 am to 12 noon.

• Quick book option and cash card option will remain inactive between 10 am and 12 pm

• Installation of CCTVs in major booking centers,

• Booking clerks barred from carrying cell phones inside counters,

• Display of helpline numbers

• Expansion of the e-ticket handling capacity of Railways website through short-term and long-

term measures

• Server capacity to be increased from 3.5 lakh bookings to about 5 lakh bookings per day in

about four months, which will eventually be increased to about 8 lakh bookings a day.

GAGAN NARANG WON BRONZE INMEN'S 10 METER AIR RIFLE EVENT AT LONDON OLYMPICS

Ace Indian Shooter won India its first medal in the London

Olympics 2012 after he clinched the bronze medal in the men's 10

meter air rifle event on 30 July 2012. While Abhinav Bindra, who

had won a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics 2008, failed to

qualify for finals and finished sixteenth.

Romania’s shooter Alin George Moldoveanu claimed the gold medal

with a total score of 702.1 while Italy's Niccolo Campriani clinched

the silver with a score of 701.5. Narang came third with a total score



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of 701.1.

It was third time when Gagan Narang was participating

in Olympics. In previous Athens and Beijing Olympic

games he could not turn his performance into medal. This

was India’s third medal in shooting events in the history

of Olympics. Earlier Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore and

Abhinav Bondra had won India silver and gold medal

respectively in 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. Narang’s bronze also marked India’s tenth

individual medal in the history of Olympic Games.

Gagan Narang, who hails from Amritsar in Punjab, was conferred with the Padma Shree Award

in 2010. Considering his tremendous contribution to the field of sports, in year 2010, Gagan

Narang was chosen for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the highest sports award

in the country.

SC BANNED TOURISM IN CORE AREAS OF PROJECT TIGER FORESTS

The Supreme Court banned all tourism activities in the core areas of the tiger reserve forests on

24 July 2012. Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice Ibrahim passed the order on a petition filed

by conservationist Ajay Dubey. The petition sought a directive to the States to notify the buffer

and peripheral areas of the tiger reserves, under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, to prevent tourism

in the core areas.

The court was informed that except the following states - Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Arunachal

Pradesh, the other States have yet not filed affidavits and were yet to notify the core areas, this

was informed to the court on 24 July 2012.

The bench has given a final tenure of three weeks to the states that have yet not notified the core

areas, failing to do so will lead to a sum of Rs 10 thousand on them. The court will take the next

hearing on 22 August 2012.

SCIENTISTS IDENTIFIED FIRST RADIO WAVES FROM MIDDLEWEIGHT BLACK HOLE HLX-1

A team of scientists at the University

of Sydney on 10 July 2012 discovered

the first radio emissions from the

middle weight black hole HLX-1, that

lies in a galaxy about 300 million

light-years away. The research team

had used Compact Array radio

telescope from the Commonwealth

Scientific and Industrial Research

Organization (CSIRO).

Gagan Narang, who hails from

Amritsar in Punjab was conferred

with the Padma Shree Award in

2010

What is Black Hole?

Black holes are areas

where the matter is so

densely squeezed into a

small space, that it makes

gravity pull strongly

enough to stop light from

escaping.



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HLX-1 (hyper-luminous X-ray source 1), lies in a galaxy called ESO 243-49 about 300 million

light-years away. HLX-1 was discovered by chance in 2009, because it stood out as a very bright

X-ray source.

Before the discovery of HLX-1, scientists had evidence for only super massive black holes ones

a million to a billion times the mass of the Sun and stellar mass ones, three to thirty times the

mass of the Sun. As per the new study, the size of HLX-1 is around 20000 times the mass of our

sun which makes it an intermediate mass black hole.

ASSAM’S KOKRAJHAR, UDALGURI DISTRICT HIT BY VIOLENCE: BODOS & MUSLIMS CLASHED

Assam’s Kokrajhar district remained a recipient of violence since 20 July 2012. Nineteen people

have been killed so far in sporadic incidents of violence which resulted into a clamp night curfew

on 21 July 2012. The whole incident started on 6 July 2012 when the violence got triggered with

the firing on two student leaders, Mohibul Islam of All

Bodoland Minority Students' Union (ABMSU) and Abdul

Siddique Sheikh of All Assam Minority Students' Union

(AAMSU) by unidentified gunmen at Anthihara in

Kokrajhar.

The Violence continued as, on 20 July 2012, four activists of

former militant outfit Bodo Liberation Tigers were shot dead

by unidentified persons in Joypur. In reply to the act, armed

Bodos attacked Muslims, suspecting them to be behind the

killings and soon communal violence spread across the

district. The violence took to a rather serious level by 23

July 2012 with the protesters stopping the Guwahati-New

Delhi Rajdhani Express.

In Kokrajhar, the Udalguri district administration has

taken up precautionary measures to control any kind of

violence and maintain peace and harmony among people in the district. Also, Section 144 of

CrPC has been imposed in the district, more over the Army and para-military forces have also

been alerted. This is not the first time that Assam is subjugated to communal violence, In

October 2008, ethnic clashes between Bodos and Muslims killed forty nine and left one point

five lakh homeless.

DEREK O’ BRIAN BECAME THE FIRST ANGLO-INDIAN TO VOTE IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Derek o’ Brian, the Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal became the first Anglo Indian to vote in

Presidential Elections in India. Brian, a Trinamool Congress MP, cast his vote in Kolkata on 19

July 2012. As per the constitution of India an MP who has been nominated by the President to

either of the house of the Indian Parliament is not eligible for casting vote in Presidential

election.

In October 2008, ethnic clashes

between Bodos and Muslims

killed forty nine and left one point

five lakh homeless



15


In Rajya Sabha, there are twelve members, who are nominated by the

President and cannot vote in Presidential election. Under Article 331

of Indian constitution the President is also empowered to nominate

not more than two members

to the Lok Sabha from the

Anglo-Indian community, if

he is of the opinion that

Anglo-Indian community is not adequately represented

in the Lok Sabha.

Under article 80 (1) of the Indian constitution twelve

members are nominated by the President from persons

having special knowledge or practical experience in

matters like literature, science, art and social service.

Article 80 (3) of the Constitution of India provides that

the members to be nominated by the President to Rajya Sabha should have special knowledge or

practical experience in matters like literature, science, art and social service. Article 84 (b)

stipulates that a person shall be of not less than 30 (Thirty) years of age.

INTERNATIONAL

CII IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GOVT OF INDIA AND AFGHANISTAN HELD DELHI INVESTMENT SUMMIT

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with Government

of India and Afghanistan along with Afghan investment and business

organizations organised a Delhi Investment Summit on Afghanistan on 28

June, 2012. The summit took place at Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi. The

official language for the summit was English.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS (BRIEFLY)

• India and US to enhance defense cooperation through increased technology transfer,

collaborative joint research and development, and co-production of defense items in

Afghanistan.

• Eight grants awarded under the Obama-Singh Knowledge Initiative. Next call for proposals

in July 2012.

• India to establish 100 Community Colleges

• CV Raman Fellowship will place 300 Post-Doctoral fellows in US higher education

institutions

• India and USA to launch a web portal for educational and research collaboration and

exchanges

Who are Anglo-Indians?

Anglo-Indians are people with

mixed Indian and British

ancestry, or people who have

British descent born or living in

the Indian Subcontinent or

Burma, now mainly historical in

the latter sense.



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• India proposed to organize a regional South Asia Women’s Entrepreneurship Conference

that will bring key policy makers, women entrepreneurs, civil society organizations, private

sector institutions, and corporations.

• To facilitate travel between the two countries, an interview waiver pilot program is being

introduced to further streamline U.S. visa processing and facilitate legitimate travel.

The participants in the summit were investors not only from the public sectors, but also private

sectors. The summit was expected to provide an extraordinary opportunity to get information on

investment opportunities in Afghanistan.

OBJECTIVE OF THE SUMMIT

• The primary objective was to attract foreign investment into Afghanistan opening in areas

like Hydrocarbons, mining and infrastructure

• It envisioned fruitful partnerships to help invest in Afghanistan.

• The summit also included presentations in regard to Investment Climate in Afghanistan.

• To throw light on Afghanistan’s national growth strategy, long term and short term

investment opportunities.

India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh and Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai have

already met in the past year ,2011 for a tenure of two days to hold one-to-one and delegation

level talks on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues.

PRI LEADER ENRIQUE PEÑA NIETO ELECTED AS NEW PRESIDENT OF MEXICO

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) leader Enrique Peña Nieto was elected the new

President of Mexico on 2 July 2012. In the Presidential Election held on 1 July 2012, Enrique

Peña Nieto beat Party of the Democratic Revolution candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Of the total 98 percent votes counted, Pena Nieto bagged 38 percent votes, while former Mexico

City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador got 31

percent votes. Nieto succeeded Felipe Calderón on

the top most position of the country.

Enrique Peña Nieto, 45, the PRI leader, was earlier

the governor of the State of Mexico from 2005 to

2011. The Institutional Revolutionary Party had

ruled Mexico for nearly 71 years, before being voted

out of power in 2000 presidential elections.

Under the Mexican Constitution, the president is the head of both the state and the government.

He is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces. The Latin American nation

holds Presidential elections every six years since 1934 (earlier the set period was 4 years). The

president in the country is elected through direct and universal adult franchise system, where the



17


candidate who secures maximum number of votes is declared winner. The constitution of the

country does not provide any runoff election.

IRAN TEST-FIRED MEDIUM RANGE BALLISTIC MISSILE SHAHAB-3

Iran on 3 July 2012, test-fired a medium range ballistic missile Shahab-3. The Shahab-3 has a

range of up to 2000 kilometres. The Shahab-1 and

Shahab-2, the two short-range missiles, with ranges of

300 to 500 kilometres, were also launched.

The missile launch was the part of Iran’s Great Prophet

7 exercise. Great Prophet 7 exercise was announced by

Iran on 1 July 2012 in the wake of latest European

Union sanctions on Iran. The exercise, which involved

test of dozens of missiles and domestically-built

drones, came following European Union’s decision to

ban the purchase of Iranian crude oil. The EU's decision is the clear repercussion of failed

dialogue held between Iran and world powers on Iran’s ambitious nuclear programme.

The world powers including United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, the

Western powers had held three rounds of dialogues with Iran to persuade it to halt its nuclear

programme. With all the three dialogues did not meet their desired end, the world powers

including the European Union chose to impose a strict ban against the purchase of Iranian crude

oil.

Iran is the fifth largest oil producer in the world and the EU ban on Iranian oil imports will badly

hurt its already floundering economy. The sanctions, which have been imposed to make Iran

reconsider its nuclear development plan, will not only deprive Iran of European market that

makes 18 percent of its exports but also bar EU companies from transporting Iranian crude or

insuring shipments, hurting its trade worldwide.

MYANMAR’S VICE PRESIDENT TIN AUNG MYINT OO STEPPED DOWN

Myanmar’s first Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo resigned on 4 July 2012 due to health

reasons. The move, which is expected to begin a broader reshuffle in the government, could see

the appointment of some more reformers to Myanmar's cabinet.

Tin Aung Myint Oo, a former army general is widely regarded as a hard-liner. He took over as

the vice president in 2011 after being selected by a bloc of military officers in the country's

legislature. The resignation of Tin Aung Myint Oo is likely to accelerate the pace of economic

change in Myanmar after the European Union and the US began lifting their longstanding

economic sanctions against the country during the past several months.

UNHRC ADOPTED RESOLUTION TO PROTECT THE ONLINE HUMAN RIGHTS OF GLOBAL CITIZENS



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United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Geneva based human rights wing of UN,

on 5 July 2012, adopted a first ever resolution to protect

the online human rights of global citizens. The

resolution adopted by consensus, stated that citizens of

the world are as much entitled to the human rights

online as they are offline.

The resolution noted that there can be no double standard with regard to people’s right of

fundamental freedom and since internet makes a major part of present world’s communication

process, all governments must endeavour to protect the online rights of its citizens. The landmark

resolution was sponsored by Sweden and co-sponsored by over 80 countries that include United

States, Brazil, Turkey, Nigeria, and Tunisia.

TOKYO CONFERENCE PLEDGED TO PROVIDE 16 BILLION DOLLAR AID TO AFGHANISTAN

The day long International Conference on Afghanistan held in Japanese capital Tokyo on 8 July

2012. The conference, which was held to discuss the peace building process in the war-torn

nation concluded with the participants getting agreed to provide 16 billion dollar as the

development aid to the country over the next four years.

TOKYO DECLARATION

The participants adopted Tokyo Declaration towards the end of the conference, which widely

acknowledged India's concerns on the security of Afghanistan. The declaration stated that the

main threat to Afghanistan's security and stability comes from terrorism and that this threat also

endangers regional and international peace and security. The declaration also endorsed key

recommendations of a regional conclave hosted by India to promote direct investment in

Afghanistan.Confederation of Indian Industry had hosted the Delhi Investors' Summit on

Afghanistan on 28 June 2012.

INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE IN NATION BUILDING

The Tokyo conference was attended by nearly 70 countries and organizations who assured

Afghanistan of a complete support in nation building provided Afghan government curb

corruption and take measures to strengthen democracy in the country. On financial part the US is

expected to provide around 1 billion dollar every year, while Japan, Afghanistan’s second-largest

financial supporter, will contribute 3 billion dollar over the next four years. Germany will feed

the kitty annually with 536 million dollar.

The international aid to Afghanistan came against the backdrop of global concern related to

political and economic turmoil prevailing in the country over the past one decade. The country is

still under the shadow of fanatic Islamic groups like Taliban, which sees western powers as the

sole reason of all the problems that Afghanistan is confronting today. Taliban and terror group

like Al-qaida, which draws its authority from the fundamentalist Islamic factions in the country,

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)



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still poses a great threat to the future of the

country. The international aid is largely aimed at

bolstering the pace of development in the

country by instating common citizen’s faith in

democracy.

As all the US and NATO troops are scheduled to

leave the country by the mid 2014, the security

of the nation will completely be transferred in

the hand of Afghan government, which until

recently, has been quite inefficient in tackling

the terror forces in the country. The pledged aid

is intended to stabilise the fragile political and financial situation of the country.

Afghanistan has received nearly 60 billion dollar from diversified international bodies as civilian

aid over the past one decade. In addition to the 16 billion dollar aid pledged during the Tokyo

conference, NATO members in May 2012 agreed to provide 4.1 billion dollar to strengthen

country’s security forces.

INDIA -PAKISTAN BILATERAL DIALOGUE ON THE SIDELINE OF THE TOKYO CONFERENCE

India and Pakistan held a bilateral dialogue on the sideline of Tokyo conference, where the

India's External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and his Pakistani countyerpart Heena Rabbani

Khar discussed several issues like terrorism and the release of Sarabjeet Singh, Indian citizen

languishing in Pakistani prison over the past 30 years. Issue of terrorism figured out prominently

in the 30-minute long discussion between the leaders, as SM Krishna put pressure on Pakistan to

stop anti-Indian activities, which is being conducted from its territory

ICC SENTENCED CONGOLESE WARLORD THOMAS LUBANGA TO 14-YEAR IMPRISONMENT

Hague based International Criminal Court (ICC)

awarded Thomas Lubanga, a Congolese warlord,

14-year imprisonment on 10 July 2012. Judges at

the ICC found Thomas Lubanga guilty of

recruiting and using children in his Union of

Congolese Patriots militia. The court, however,

has arrangements with seven countries to jail the

war criminals which includes; Denmark, Serbia,

Mali, Austria, Finland, Britain and Belgium.

Lubanga, who had used children as the soldiers during the violent struggle in Congo's eastern

Ituri region in 2002-2003, was convicted for war crime. He is the first person to be convicted by

the International Criminal Court (ICC) since it was established in 2002. He was arrested by UN



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peacekeepers, in March 2005. Lubanga had led the

Union of Congolese Patriots, an ethnic militia in the

violent struggle in the Ituri region and its main town of

Bunia. The conflict, which began in 1999, claimed the

life of about 60000 people in the country.

UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON VISITED LAOS

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state visited Southeast Asian nation Laos (Lao People's

Democratic Republic) on 10 July 2012. The historic visit marked the first to the Laos, a

communist nation, by any US secretary of state over the past 57 years. John Foster Dulles’ visit

in 1955 marked the last visit by any top US diplomat to Laos.

During her visit she held separate dialogues with Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and

Foreign Minister Thongloun Sisoulith where the leaders discussed a range of bilateral and global

issues. The two countries had not been on best of terms after the US dropped two million tons of

bombs on Laos during the Vietnam War. The hazardous effects of unexploded bombs are still

being felt in the country.

Hillary Clinton’s visit to Laos is the part of US’ strategy to strengthen its presence in the

Southeast Asian region. US, which over the past one decade has shown a great willingness to get

its position strengthened in the entire Asian continent, is reworking over its future plans in the

region against the backdrop of growing Chinese hegemony. The visit indicates the US’ changing

foreign policy stance and priorities in the region. Earlier Clinton had visited Mongolia the other

Central-east Asian nation on 10 July 2012.

DEREK MITCHELL ASSUMED CHARGE AS FIRST US AMBASSADOR TO MYANMAR SINCE 1990

Derek Mitchell on 11 July 2012 assumed the charge as the

first US Ambassador to Myanmar in the past 22 year.

Mitchell met President Thein Sein in Myanmar’s capital

Naypyitaw before assuming the charge. Prior to his current

assignment, Mitchell served as President Barack Obama's

special envoy to Myanmar. The US Senate confirmed his

appointment as ambassador to the country in June 2012.

Earlier, charge d'affaires used to be the US’ top diplomat in

Myanmar.

In yet another gesture of amity the US government eased

sanctions on Myanmar, allowing American business houses to make investment in the Southeast

Asian nation. The decision marked a strong indication of US’ support to the political reforms

being unfolded in Myanmar.

International Criminal Court (ICC)



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Prompted by the series of political reforms in the country, the US Government in January 2012

had announced to restore diplomatic relation with Myanmar. The former Junta ruled country has

witnessed a slew of political reforms over the past few months, which witnessed pro-democracy

leader Aung San Suu Kyi released from the year-long house arrest and moving to the parliament

following a victory in by-elections.

HILLARY CLINTON VISITED ISRAEL AS FINAL HALT OF HER TRIP TO ASIA

Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, visited Israel on 16 July 2012 as the last halt of her

13-day long visit of eight Asian countries including Afghanistan, Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam,

Laos, Cambodia, Egypt and Israel. The Clinton's itinerary marked a blatant shift in US

diplomacy viz a viz Asian continent as it not only included the allies like Japan and Israel but

also included Countries like Laos and Vietnam, the countries with who US has always been on

hostile terms.

During her visit to Israel Hillary Clinton discussed a range of issues with the leaders of the

country. Issues like Iran’s nuclear programme and political transition In Egypt figured out

prominently in the bilateral dialogue. Resolution to stop violent struggle in Syria was also

discussed during the meeting. As UN observer mission's mandate in Syria coming on to an end

on 20 July 2012 and she also asked for a new resolution to renew it.

Ahead of her trip to Israel Clinton visited Egypt, where she held a meeting with the head of

Egypt's military leadership, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, whose military council is

at loggerheads with newly elected President Mohamed Morsy.

Hillary Clinton also chose to visit Mongolia and Laos in the course of her 13-day long trip,

where she was the first US secretary of state to visit in 57 years and only the second ever. From

the diplomatic perspective the trip was highly successful as the US not only redefined its future

political strategy in Asia but also endeavored to make some new friends in the region. Many

international politics experts believe that the trip is an indication of US’ serious attempt to

rebalance power equation in the continent, which seems to be tilting in China’s favor. To contain

China’s increasing strength, US are trying to gain firm ground in the continent and the Hillary’s

trip certainly proved to be a great success in this regard.

INDIA & MOZAMBIQUE SIGNED AGREEMENT ON BILATERAL SECURITY COOPERATION IN MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE

India and Mozambique signed an agreement on Bilateral Security Cooperation on 14 July 2012.

The Minister of State for Home Affairs, India Shri Mullappally Ramachandran signed the

Agreement with Jose Mandra, Minister of Interior, Govt of Mozambique at Maputo,

Mozambique.

The objective of the agreement was to discuss cooperation and both the countries decided to

develop the relationship further in various fields for mutual benefit. Amongst the key highlights

of the meet was that, Mullappally Ramachandran was on a three day visit to Mozambique.



22


There is an estimation of almost twenty five thousand people of Indian origin living in

Mozambique for generations. The relations between both the countries have remained warm and

friendly. India was amongst the first countries to extend recognition to Mozambique after the

later achieved independence in the year 1975. India and Mozambique have mutually rendered

and benefited in the fields of industry, trade, mineral resources and culture.

US MADE VISA APPLICATION RULES FOR INDIANS MORE FLEXIBLE

The United States made the visa application rules for Indians more flexible. Under the new visa

application norms Indians who aspire to travel US for business or holiday purpose would not

have to pay visa fees again in the case of reapplication. In the cases like pending application or it

had been put on hold for any reason, applicants won't be required to pay the visa fee again.

The relieved visa application norm also immunes children under seven years of age free from

any non-immigrant visa interview after completed visa form is submitted. The US consulate has

also upgraded its emergency appointment module for applicants who seek visa for unforeseeable

travel to the US.

MALDIVES EX-PRESIDENT, MOHAMED NASHEED CHARGED FOR JUDGE'S ILLEGAL ARREST

The ousted Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed is charged with illegally ordering the arrest of

criminal court Chief Justice, Abdulla Mohamed. The charge was made on 15 July 2012.

Mohamed Nasheed, was forced out of office in February 2012.

General Ahmed Muizz the Maldives prosecutor was the one to file the criminal charge against

Mohamed Nasheed and the, then defence minister, Tholhath Ibrahim. The case was filed at the

HulhuMale Magistrate Court. The move taken by the Maldives prosecutor led to widespread

protests and finally the detention.

At present, Nasheed has been charged with

violating Article 81 of the Penal Code, the article

states that the detention of a government

employee who if not found guilty of a crime is

illegal. If Nasheed and Ibrahim are found guilty they

shall face a jail sentence or banishment for

three years.

Despite pressures from both international and local parties and a direct order by the Supreme

Court for immediate release, Abdulla had been detained in a military training facility at Kaafu

Atoll Girifushi for twenty two days.

Nasheed is the second former President in country's history to be charged after late President

Ibrahim Nasir. Nasheed is a Maldivian politician and one of the founder’s members of the

Maldivian Democratic Party. He served as the fourth President of the Maldives from the year



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2008 to 2012. Maldives is a presidential republic. The President acts as the head of government

as well as the head of state. The President heads the executive branch and also appoints the

cabinet. The cabinet is approved by the People's Majlis.

US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE VOTED TO CUT THE US AID TO PAKISTAN BY 650 MILLION DOLLAR

The US House of Representative on 19 July 2012 voted unanimously to cut the US aid to

Pakistan by 650 million dollar. The amendment to cut the aid was proposed by Republican

Congressman Ted Poe. The proposal which got the approval of the house in a voice vote will

now be tabled in Senate for its approval.

Pakistan, a long time ally of US in its war on terror, has received over 20 billion dollar in

military and non-military aid since 2001. The Islamic country is one of the largest recipients of

US assistance, as in year 2012 alone it is set to receive nearly 3 billion dollar in US aid.

KERRY-LUGAR BILL

The US Senate in September 2009 had unanimously passed the Kerry-Lugar bill which tripled

non-military aid to Pakistan to 1.5 billion dollar per annum, pledging America's long term

commitment to its key ally against extremism.

PRESENT STATE OF US – PAK DIPLOMATIC RELATION

The unusual move to cut the US aid to Pakistan has come at a time when the relation between the

two countries has dipped to its lowest point since Osama Bin Laden was killed in Abottabad of

Pakistan in May 2011. Following the incident Pakistan accused US of infringing on its

sovereignty, while, the US blamed Pakistan for patronizing Osama and misleading the American

government. The diplomatic relation between the two countries deteriorated further after

Pakistan in December 2011 closed the critical NATO supply route to Afghanistan following a

US drone attack in the country in November 2011, which claimed the life of 24 Pakistani

soldiers.

Amidst the increasing war cost due to the closed supply route (it cost the US government about

100 million dollar as additional war costs as it used another route across central Asia) the US

government finally stepped ahead for reconciliation. In a move aimed at ending the 7-month long

political impasse, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent an apology letter to the Pakistani

government. The official apology from US administration subsequently opened the door for

resumed NATO supply line, and cooperation between the two countries on counterterrorism and

Afghanistan. Despite the current respite, the disagreements between the two countries continue

to remain over the issues such as Pakistan's inaction on militant sanctuaries in the country, US

drone strikes in Pakistani territory and reconciliation with the Taliban.



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CHINA PLEDGED 20 BILLION DOLLAR LOAN TO AFRICA OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS

In a move aimed at strengthening its economic ties with the African continent, China pledged to

give 20 billion dollar loan to African countries over the next three years. The announcement

about the credit line was made by the Chinese President Hu

Jin Tao at the opening session of the fifth Forum on China-

Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing on 19 July 2012.

China had pledged 10 billion dollar loans at the previous

China-Africa summit in 2009.

Chinese President while addressing the conferencea announced to increase Chinese assistance to

Africa by building agricultural technology demonstration centres, training 30000 personnel and

offering 18000 scholarships. To provide better medical amenities in the continent, China will

also send 1500 medical staffs to the continent. Heads of state and representatives from 50

African countries attended the conference.

Besides, more than 20 Chinese and African business houses inked economic cooperation

agreements worth 341 million dollar at the sideline of the conference.

China’s two-way trade with Africa stood at 166 billion dollar in 2011, three times the 2006

volume. China in 2009 became the continent’s biggest trading partner globally. According to

China custom data Angola, South Africa, Sudan, Nigeria and Egypt are the five biggest trading

partners of China in Africa. China is sponsoring numerous infrastructure projects in African

continent. It also provided the 200 million dollar fund for constructing the African Union’s new

headquarters in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

TO BOOST THE SINO-AFRICAN TIES THE CHINESE PRESIDENT PROPOSED FIVE MEASURES INCLUDING:

• Expanding cooperation in investment and financing to support sustainable development in

Africa

• Building more agricultural technology demonstration centers as necessary to help African

countries increase production capacity

• Supporting the African integration process and help Africa enhance capacity for overall

development

• Enhancing people-to-people friendship by setting up CHINA-AFRICA PEOPLE-TO-

PEOPLE FRIENDSHIP ACTION

• Promoting peace and stability in Africa and create a secure environment for Africa's

development

Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit 2012 marked the fifth edition of summit.

The summit is held every three year since 2000.

Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC)



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CHINA, RUSSIA VETOED UN RESOLUTION: SITUATION INTENSIFIED IN SYRIA

Russia and China vetoed on the UN Security Council resolution on Syria on 19 July 2012.

Though Russia and China vetoed it, India was amongst the eleven countries that voted in favour

with Pakistan and South Africa abstaining.

The resolution, against which Russia and China vetoed,

could have brought new sanctions against President Bashar

Al Assad's regime. This is the third time in tenure of nine

months that Russia and China used their powers as

permanent members of the UN Security Council to block resolutions on Syria. The resolution

also would have imposed economic sanctions on the Syrian government under Chapter seven of

the United Nations Charter.

UNITED STATES REACTION ON THE VETO

The Obama Administration was grossly against the decision of Russia and China to veto the UN

Security Council resolution on Syria, and tagged the countries stating that, they are on the wrong

side of history.

However, the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, stated that the end game of the Assad regime

has just begun. US also stated that the Security Council has failed miserably on Syria and it

would now work outside of the council to confront Assad's regime.

PRESENT SITUATION IN SYRIA

The situation in Syria is very vulnerable at the moment; post the killing of the Defence Minister

and the Deputy Defence Minister. The Syrian army has given the residents tenure of forty eight

hours to leave the areas of the capital, where clashes are taking place between security forces and

rebels. The medical and humanitarian situation in Damarcus is getting worst from worse. As per

the observatory figures, huge number of hundred and seven people were killed in violence on 19

July 2012. The Security Council vote has now left the future of a 300-member United Nations

mission in Syria to monitor the peace plan in jeopardy.

WHAT IS THE VETO POWER?

A veto is a power exercised to stop an official action, not to adopt them. The veto therefore

conveys to its holder an ability to protect the status quo. Amongst the permanent members,

China, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States of America can block any

resolution to pass.

HESHAM KANDIL APPOINTED EGYPT'S NEW PRIME MINISTER

A veto is a power exercised to stop an official action, not to adopt them.



26


Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi elected fifty year old Hisham Kandil as the country’s Prime

Minister. Morsi ordered the country’s former minister of water resources and irrigation, Kandil

to form a new government. Kandil, holds an engineering degree from Cairo University in the

year 1984 and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina in the year 1993. Kandil, will be

the first Egyptian prime minister to wear a beard,

which is a sure sign of change in the country.

A number of more experienced names were

suggested for the prestigious role, but Morsi chose

Kandil, a relatively lesser known face as the Prime

Minister of the country, this could be because he

wanted someone unlikely to threaten or overshadow

him. Kandil is an independent national figure who

has never been a member of any party before.

Mohamed Morsi, who became the fifth President of the Republic of Egypt on 24 June 2012, is

the first to have been freely elected in the country. The next government will be technocratic in

nature, and the ruling Islamist Freedom and Justice Party is expected to head eight to ten

ministries of the new cabinet

INDIA CALLED ON ALL NATIONS TO COOPERATE AND BRING END TO SYRIA CRISIS

India called on all nations within and outside Syria to fully cooperate with international envoy

Kofi Annan to bring an end to the ongoing crisis situation in Syria. Hardeep Singh Puri, India's

Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador while addressing a Security Council open

debate on the situation in the Middle East, stated that India does not see an alternative to the full

implementation of UN resolutions 2042 and 2043 for a political resolution of the crisis without

any further bloodshed. India urged all parties to fully cooperate with international envoy, Kofi

Annan and bring an end to the bloodshed and crisis in Syria.

The crisis in Syria took pace since the uprising against President Bashar Al Assad began sixteen

months ago. An approximate number of thousand people, mostly civilians, have been killed in

Syria and thousands displaced.

The UNSC failed to adopt a resolution to stop the crisis in Syria after Russia and China vetoed

on the UN Security Council resolution on Syria on 19 July 2012.

INDIA, INDONESIA SIGNED DOUBLE TAXATION AVOIDANCE AGREEMENT

India and Indonesia signed an agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent fiscal evasion with

respect to taxes on income on 27 July 2012. The agreement was signed by Indonesian Foreign

Affairs Minister Dr. R. M. Marty Natalegawa and his Indian counterpart S M Krishna at the

Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Apart from the agreement, both sides also signed the agreed

minutes of the fourth Joint Commission Meeting between India and Indonesia.



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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MEET

• Both the countries, reviewed the entire state of bilateral relationship including trade and

commerce.

• Two nations have also agreed to strengthen the bilateral relationship into a strategic

partnership

Both countries share a warm relationship on account of the solid foundation of historical and

cultural ties. Both countries are also hopeful of achieving the trade target of 25 billion US

Dollars by 2015

NATIONAL

UNION GOVERNMENT OF INDIA UNVEILED NEW FREE DRUG POLICY

In a policy aimed at benefitting country’s 120 crore population, the Union Government of India

on 4 July 2012 unveiled the 5.4 billion dollar free drug policy. Under the new policy, every

citizen of the country will be provided free medicines in all public health centers spreaded across

the country. As the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare kept branded drugs out of this policy,

the patients will be given only generic drugs. The policy which will remain effective over the

next five years will provide a much needed support to nearly 40 percent people of the country,

which spends 1.25 dollar or less a day on health.

The new free drug policy marks the first of its kind endeavour by the government of India to

address the grim health services condition in the country. India spends about 1.2 percent of its

annual GDP on health, making it a country with least spending on public health services. The

country also has a high infant mortality rate as 66 of per 1000 children die before the age of 5,

compared with 19 in China and 21 in Brazil. If the report of Organisation for Economic Co-

operation to be believed, only seven countries in the world have got their public health

expenditure less than India in terms of GDP percentage.

DELHI HIGH COURT SCRAPPED TRAI’S LIMIT ON THE NUMBER OF DAILY SMS-es

Delhi High Court on 13 July 2012 scrapped the Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) guideline to cap daily

SMS limit at 200. TRAI, the telecom watchdog of India, on

5 September 2011 had ordered the telecom companies to

restrict the number of daily SMSes per SIM at 100. The

number was however, increased to 200 subsequently.

A division bench of acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw observed that such a restriction



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on the number of SMSes per day violates the citizens’ fundamental right of freedom of speech

and thus be scrapped. The judges however, upheld the capping of unsolicited commercial

communication (UCC) SMSes.

The court's verdict came hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an NGO against the

TRAI's order, challenging its imposition of a cap of 200 SMSes per day per person. The PIL

sought to do away with such restriction on SMS number as it infringes the very idea of

constitutional right of free speech.

UNION CABINET APPROVED A PROPOSAL TO MAKE RAPE A GENDER-NEUTRAL OFFENCE

The Union cabinet on 19 July 2012 approved a proposal that seek to make rape a gender-neutral

offence. With the cabinet giving its nod to the proposal, now, the word RAPE will be replaced

with SEXUAL ASSAULT. Under the current definition of rape (Section 375 of Indian Penal

Code) a man is said to commit rape when he has sexual intercourse with a woman against her

will. The amendment will expand the definition to cover male victims of sexual assault.

The cabinet also approved a proposal which said the

IPC will have a separate section (326-A) that would

cover injury, hurt, burns and disfigurement of any

body part of a person (male or female) by acid. The

offence would draw a punishment of 10-year

imprisonment and a penalty of 10 lakh rupees.

The cabinet further decided to change the definition of a minor. At present some sections of the

IPC and the Criminal Procedure Code consider those below 16 as minor. Following the

amendment a person below 18 would be considered as minor. The age of consent has also been

raised from existing 16 years to 18 years. However, it is proposed that the sexual intercourse by a

man with own wife being under sixteen years of age will not be considered as sexual assault.

SC REDUCED VIP QUOTA FOR HAJ PILGRIMAGE FROM 5050 SEATS TO 300

The Supreme Court of India on 23 July 2012 reduced the VIP quota for Haj pilgrimage from

5050 seats to mere 300. The remaining 4750 seats will be provided to the pilgrims from general

category. A Supreme Court bench of judges Justice Aftab

Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai ruled that under the

reduced quota, the Indian president can recommend 100

pilgrims, the vice-president 75, the prime minister 75 and

the Minister for External Affairs 50 pilgrims, while, the 200

seats would be reserved for the Haj Committee of India

(HCI).

The court was informed that 11000 seats have been reserved

Under the new proposal, now, the word RAPE will be replaced with SEXUAL ASSAULT



29


under government quota to be allocated for Haj 2012. After limiting the seats under discretionary

quota and the HCI, the remaining seats would go to the Haj committees of various states and

Union territories.

The court's decision came following an affidavit filed by the government of India in compliance

with the Apex court’s 8 May 2012 order. The court in its 8 May 2012 ruling had asked the Union

government to come up with the details of the basis on which its discretionary quota seats for

Haj pilgrims are allocated to applicants on recommendation by dignitaries and eminent persons.

SC ALLOWED TAMIL NADU TO CARRY OUT SMALL MAINTENANCE WORKS ON THE MULLAPERIYAR DAM

The Supreme Court of India on 23 July 2012 allowed Tamil

Nadu government to carry out repair and maintenance works

on the Mullaperiyar dam. However, the court instructed that

the repairing and maintenance work is to be carried out in the

presence of the Superintending Engineer of Kerala and an

independent member nominated by the Chairman of the

Central Water Commission.

A five-judge Constitution Bench of Justices DK Jain, RM

Lodha, Deepak Verma, CK Prasad and Anil R Dave gave the

verdict after hearing an application filed by Tamil Nadu

government for the court’s permission to carry out certain

maintenance works.

WHAT IS THE ISSUE?

The past few years have witnessed a bitter disagreement

between the Tamil Nadu and Kerala government over the

safety of the dam. Kerala has openly expressed its

disagreement over the safety of the dam as it argues that dam

is 117 years old and has well outlived the average life span of a dam that stretches out between

50 to 60 years. In the face of a disaster, it will be extremely difficult to prevent the loss caused by

the breakage of dam. The rising concern over the safety of dam is mostly due to the insufficient

safety maintenance and monitoring of the dam.

The Kerala government argues that if the dam breaks, as it can in the event of a disaster like

earth quake, it will cause a massive loss of lives and property. On the contrary, the Tamil Nadu

government contends that if the dam cease to work it will create a severe water scarcity in five

districts of the state, leading to a draught in the region.

SC OF INDIA MODIFIED ORDER ON REHABILITATION OF SEX WORKERS

Mullaperiyar Dam

The Mullaperiyar Dam is

constructed on the Periyar River

in Kerala. The dam was

constructed by the British

government in 1895, to feed the

water need of Tamil Nadu. The

dam is located 2889 feet above

mean sea level on the

Cardamom Hills of the Western

Ghats in Thekkadi, Idukki

District in Kerala. The height of

the dam is 176 feet while, its

length is 1200 feet. The Periyar

National Park is located around

the dam's reservoir.



30


The Supreme Court of India on 26 July 2012 modified

one of its orders on welfare and rehabilitation of sex

workers. A special bench of justices Altamas Kabir and

Gyan Sudha Misra modified its earlier order, saying "the

modification shall not be construed that by this order any

encouragement is being given to prostitution." Modifying

its earlier order, the bench clarified that it would only

examine the conditions conducive for sex workers to

work with dignity in accordance with provisions of

Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

The bench added that it was keen that sex workers should be given an opportunity to avail

rehabilitation measures of the government and other agencies for them. While adjudicating a

petition for rehabilitation of former sex workers, the Supreme Court had on July 19, 2011 had

framed three terms of reference. Article 21 in the Constitution of India states that no person shall

be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.

MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT DRAFTED THE NATIONAL POLICY FOR CHILDREN 2012

The Ministry of Women and Child Development on 26 July 2012 drafted THE NATIONAL

POLICY FOR CHILDREN 2012. The revised draft policy reaffirms the government's

commitment towards children and addresses new challenges, seeking to realize the full potential

of children’s rights throughout the country. It defines a child as a person below eighteen years of

age, and acknowledges the inalienable and inherent rights of the child and aims to realize the full

range of child rights for all children in the country. The draft has stated that every child has a

right to be safeguarded against hunger, deprivation and malnutrition. According to the draft

policy, the state is bound to secure the rights and entitlement of children in difficult

circumstances such as migration, displacement, disasters and communal violence.

The first National Policy on Children was formulated in 1974. The first policy of 1974 described

children as a supremely important asset and made the state responsible for providing equal

opportunities for growth and development of all children. The policy primarily focused on health

and education of the children.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LAUNCHED ANTI-RAGGING WEBSITE

The Government of India launched an anti-ragging website. Kapil Sibal, the Union Human

Resource Minister inaugurated the ‘Anti- Ragging Web Portal’ on 26 July 2012. The portal has

been developed by The University Grants Commission (UGC) in collaboration with Ed. CIL

(India) Ltd. and Planet E-Com Solutions. Rajendra Kachroo, father of Aman who lost his life to

ragging at a medical college in Himachal Pradesh in 2009 has also contributed In the UGC

managed portal.



31


Supreme Court, in its judgment dated 8 May, 2009

ordered implementation of a ragging prevention

programme comprising, inter-alia, setting up toll-free

anti-ragging helpline /call centre, database of

institutions/students, engaging an independent non-

government agency.

All calls that would be received by the Anti-ragging

Helpline (18001805522) will be managed and

followed up in a structured software system. Moreover, students can see the progress of their

complaint any time on www.antiragging.in . Online anti ragging affidavits can be downloaded by

students from the site, www.antiragging.in .

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE QUIZ

1. The first modern Olympics were held in?

a) 1912

b) 1853

c) 1896

The correct answer is c) 1986

2. Citus Altius Fortius is the Olympic motto in Latin? What

does it mean in English?

a) Bigger, better, best

b) One World United

c) Faster, Higher, Stronger

The correct answer is c) Faster, Higher, Stronger

3. Which of these is not a sport that will feature at the 2012 Olympics?

a) Football

b) Gymnastics

c) Roller-skating

The correct answer is c) Roller-skating

4. Which country did the Olympics come from?

a) United Kingdom

http://www.antiragging.in/

http://www.antiragging.in/



32


b) France

c) Greece

The correct answer is c) Greece

5. How many towns and cities will the Olympic flame are travelling through?

a) 1385

b) 1019

c) 2012

The correct answer is b) 1019

6. Where in London will the Olympic tennis matches be played?

a) Queen's Club

b) Wimbledon

c) Stratford

The correct answer is b) Wimbledon

7. Which sport will be played on the Prime Minister's doorstep?

a) Fencing

b) Long jump

c) Beach volleyball

The correct answer is c) Beach volleyball

8. After the 2012 Games in London, where will the next Summer Olympic Games be held?

a) Brazil

b) Belize

c) Bolvia

The correct answer is a) Brazil

9. Which country held the last Summer Olympic Games?

a) Bolivia

b) China

c) Denmark



33


The correct answer is c) China

10. Which of these Olympic venues is outside London?

a) Wembley Stadium

b) Olympic Stadium

c) Millennium Stadium

The correct answer is c) Millennium Stadium

11. Who are the official London 2012 mascots?

a) Wendey and Mathew

b) William and Mary

c) Wenlock and Mandeville

The correct answer is c) Wenlock and Mandeville

12. Who is the highest Law Officer of a state?

(a) Attorney General

(b) Secretary General Law Department

(c) Solicitor General

(d) Advocate General

The correct answer is (d) Advocate General

13. What is zero hour?

(a) When a Money Bill is introduced in the Lok Sabha

(b) When matters of utmost importance are raised

(c) When the proposals of the opposition are considered

(d) Interval between the morning and afternoon sessions

The correct answer is (b) when matters of utmost importance are raised

14. The maximum strength of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively is

(a) 545 and 250

(b) 537 and 275

(c) 500 and 250



34


(d) 525 and 238

The correct answer is (a) 545 and 250

15. A Bill referred to a joint sitting of the two Houses of the Parliament is to be passed by

(a) A simple majority

(b) Absolute majority of total membership

(c) 2/3rd majorities

(d) 3/4th majorities

The correct answer is (a) A simple majority

16. As decided by the Government of India, a Member of Parliament would get what amount of

money to spend on development activities in his/her constituency?

(a) Rs 2 crore

(b) Rs 1 crore

(c) Rs 1 lakh

(d) Rs 10 lakh

The correct answer is (b) Rs 1 crore

17. In which of the following systems of Government, can the Government be removed through

no-confidence motion passed by the Parliament?

(a) Unitary

(b) Parliamentary

(c) Presidential

(d) Federal

The correct answer is (b) Parliamentary

18. If a Minister of a state wants to resign, to whom he should address the letter of resignation?

(a) Speaker of Vidhan Sabha

(b) Leader of his political party

(c) Governor of the State

(d) Chief Minister

The correct answer is (d) Chief Minister



35


19. For those Union Territories, which have no Legislative Councils of their own, laws are

passed by

(a) Union Ministry

(b) Appointed Administrator

(c) President

(d) Parliament

The correct answer is (d) Parliament

20. A party having 36 members will avoid disqualification under the provisions of the Anti

Defection Law if the number of members crossing the floor is at least

(a) 12

(b) 18

(c) 8

(d) 9

The correct answer is (a) 12

21. Collective responsibility of the Cabinet was introduced in India by the

(a) Independence Act, 1947

(b) Constitution of India

(c) Government of India Act, 1935

(d) Minto-Morley Reforms

The correct answer is (b) Constitution of India

22. The 42nd Constitution Amendment Bill was passed in the year

(a) 1979

(b) 1980

(c) 1976

(d) 1977

The correct answer is (c) 1976

23. Indian Constitution was amended for the first time in

(a) 1951



36


(b) 1953

(c) 1950

(d) 1952

The correct answer is (a) 1951

24. 44th amendment deals with

(a) Abolition of Right to Property as a Fundamental Rights--

(b) Extension of reservation of seats in Parliament

(c) Curbing the Fundamental Rights

(d) Curbing the jurisdiction of High Courts

The correct answer is (a) Abolition of Right to Property as Fundamental Rights

25. Which of the following amendments provided for the extension of reservation of SC's and

ST's for another 10 years?

(a) 42nd

(b) 45th

(c) 43rd

(d) 44th

The correct answer is (b) 45th

26. Which of the following words were added to the Indian Constitution by 42nd Amendment?

(a) Republic

(b) Socialist Secular

(c) Federal

(d) Democratic

The correct answer is (b) Socialist Secular

27. The Amendment regarding the formation of a new state by separating territory from any

other state by separating territory from any other state must be passed by

(a) Both the houses of parliament and before that the opinion of that state is to be ascertained by

the President

(b) Both the Houses of Parliament



37


(c) Only Lok Sabha

(d) Only Rajya Sabha

The correct answer is (a) Both the houses of parliament and before that the opinion of that

state is to be ascertained by the President

28. If any act or amendment is included in the Ninth schedule of the Constitution, what will be

the result?

(a) A new State or territory is created

(b) It become non-justifiable

(c) It become justifiable

(d) It relates to official languages

The correct answer is (b) It become non-justifiable

29. Who is entitled to initiate a Bill for Constitutional amendments?

(a) Lok Sabha Only

(b) Rajya Sabha only

(c) Either House of Parliament

(d) State Legislative Assemblies

The correct answer is (c) Either House of Parliament

30. The Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of India was

(a) Added by the 42nd amendment

(b) A part of the original Constitution

(c) Added by the 1st amendment

(d) Added by the 24th amendment

The correct answer is (c) Added by the 1st amendment

ECONOMY

INDIA’S DIRECT TAX COLLECTIONS REGISTERED 47.16 PER CENT INCREASE IN APRIL-JUNE 2012



38


At 84273 crore rupees India’s direct tax collections registered a 47.16 per cent increase in the

first quarter of the fiscal year 2012-13. On a cumulative basis, direct tax collections in the first

quarter (April-June) swelled 6.77 per cent at 111182 crore rupees. This growth is, however,

much lower than the 23.91 per cent growth witnessed in the same quarter of fiscal year 2011-12.

The rise in direct tax collections is vital as the country had recorded a 17 per cent decline in

direct tax collection during the corresponding period of fiscal year 2011-12. The poor show of

manufacturing sector over the past few months widely reflected in corporate tax collection, as its

growth pegged at a meagre 3.48 per cent in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012-13. Personal

taxes went up by 13 percent. Corporate and personal tax had witnessed 23.49 per cent and 24.63

per cent growth, respectively, during the corresponding period of fiscal year 2011-12.

Securities transaction tax (tax on stock exchange trades), slumped 0.52 per cent to 952 crore

rupees, while wealth tax revenues dropped 3.03 per cent in April-June to 32 crore rupees. The

sluggish economic environment in the country is making it all more difficult for the government

to meet its targets. The Union Government pegged direct tax collection target at 5.70 lakh crore

rupees this fiscal, which is 15 percent higher than its total collection in fiscal year 2011-12.

SEBI PERMITTED MCX STOCK EXCHANGE (MCX-SX) TO OPERATE AS A FULL-FLEDGED STOCK EXCHANGE

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 10 July 2012 permitted to

operate as a full-fledged stock exchange thereby ending nearly four-year-long wait of the bourse.

With the grant of the permission MCX-SX will from hereon be able to offer additional asset

classes such as equity and equity F&O (Futures and Options),

interest rate futures and wholesale debt segments.

So far the market regulator had been renewing MCX-SX’s

licence for one-year periods only. However it had not allowed

MCX-SX to operate in segments other than currency

derivatives stating that the bourse was not compliant to the shareholding and other regulations.

The promoters of MCX-SX, in their submissions and the undertakings to SEBI mentioned that

the shareholding of MCX and Financial Technologies (India)

Ltd. (FTIL) (the two promoters) would be brought within the 5

per cent limit within 18 months from 10 July 2012 itself. The

promoters also informed SEBI that the combined voting rights

of FTIL and MCX in the stock exchange would not exceed 5 per

cent at any point of time. MCX and FTIL would reduce their

rights over equity arising from instruments such as warrants to within the shareholding limit in

accordance to what was specified in the revised SEBI regulations within three years.

SEBI’S DECISION IS LIKELY TO BRING IN MORE COMPETITION IN MARKETS

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX)



39


MCX is the largest commodity exchange in the country while its promoter FTIL offers

technology and other solutions for exchange businesses. MCX-SX was first granted recognition

by SEBI in September 2008; however it was allowed to conduct trading only in the currency

derivatives segment only. SEBI granted permanent recognition to eight stock exchanges in the

country. Of the total eight only two of them — BSE and NSE are operating as active national

level bourses across the segments.

INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION (IIP) RECORDED 2.4% GROWTH IN MAY 2012 AS AGAINST 6.2% IN MAY 2011

Index of Industrial Production (IIP) recorded 2.4% growth in May 2012 as against the market

expectations of 1.7% growth. The April IIP was revised lower to -0.9% from earlier estimate of

0.1%. The slight growth in IIP was attributed to growth registered in the electricity and consumer

durables sector. Industrial growth had stood at 6.2 per cent in the corresponding month in 2011.

During the first two months of the 2012-13 fiscal, April-May, the industrial growth rate fell

sharply to 0.8 percent from 6.2 percent in the same period of 2011-12. Mining sector witnessed a

fall of -0.9% compared to 1.8 percent growth in May 2011. The output of the capital goods

sector (machinery and equipment) dipped by 7.7 percent in May 2012 as against a growth of 6.2

percent in May 2011.

However electricity sector registered a growth of 5.9%. Power generation had witnessed a slower

growth of 5.9 percent during May, compared to 10.3 percent. Manufacturing sector which

constitutes over 75 percent of the index, did not perform well and grew a mere 2.5 percent in

May 2012 as against 6.3 percent in May 2011

Consumer durables production showed a faster growth rate of 9.3 percent in May 2012 as

compared to 5.1 percent in May 2011. The consumer non-durables segment output growth

declined sharply and remained flat at 0.1 percent, as against 9 percent. Headline inflation in May

moved to 7.55 percent as both food and fuel prices increased. Consumer price inflation, which is

an indicator of retail price rises, remained unchanged at 10.36 percent in May 2012.

INDIA’S HEADLINE INFLATION SLOWED TO 7.25 PERCENT IN JUNE 2012

According to the Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI) data released by the Ministry of Commerce

and Industry on 16 June 2012, India’s headline inflation in the month of June 2012 slowed to

7.25 percent, marking the lowest in the last five months. The inflation figure stood at 7.55 per

cent in May 2012, while at 9.51 percent during the corresponding month of 2011. The

government revised the inflation figure for the month of

April 2012 to 7.50 percent from earlier 7.23 percent.

Food Inflation, however, did not show any restraint as it

stubbornly stood in double digit zone. The food inflation

Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI)



40


for the month of June 2012 stood at 10.81 percent as compared to 10.74 percent in May 2012.

The persistent high food inflation left RBI with very little room to consider any policy rate cut in

its upcoming monetary policy review.

Annual fuel inflation at 10.27 per cent in June 2012, showed a little moderation as it stood at

11.53 percent during the same period in 2011. The persistent decline in the value of Indian rupee

in the global currency market has not let the fuel prices in India come down, despite the global

fuel prices dropped significantly.

RBI is set to review its quarterly monetary policy on 31 July 2012, though any decision on

change in policy rates is unlikely unless the inflation remains above the comfort level of the

common man of the country. The Central Bank in its mid-quarterly review of monetary policy on

18 June 2012 had left various key policy rates unchanged.

INDIA’S RETAIL INFLATION DROPPED TO 10.02 PERCENT IN JUNE 2012

According to the annual Consumer price index (CPI) data

released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and Union

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on 17

July 2012, India’s retail inflation dropped marginally to 10.02

percent in the month of June 2012 from 10.36 percent in May

2012.

The inflation rates (provisional) for rural and urban areas for

June 2012 stood at 9.74 percent and 10.44 percent

respectively. Inflation rates (final) in the month of May 2012

for rural and urban areas stood at 9.57 percent and 11.52

percent respectively.

Consumer Price Index, launched in January 2012, aims at making an accurate measurement of retail prices in major food groups, fuel, clothing, housing and education across rural and urban India. To find out the actual number of retail inflation in the country the Field Operations Division of National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) collects price data from town while, data from selected villages are collected by the Department of Posts. Price data are received through web portals being maintained by the National Informatics Centre.

CABINET COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AFFAIRS APPROVED 10.82 PER CENT DISINVESTMENT IN SAIL

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 20 July 2012 approved 10.82 per cent

disinvestment in Steel Authority of India (SAIL). The divestment will help the government to

rise about 4000 crore rupees. The government holds 85.82 per cent stake in SAIL.

Earlier the government on 15 July 2012 had deferred Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited's 2500 crore

rupees initial public offering due to volatile state of market. The government plans to divest 10

National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO)

Consumer price index (CPI)



41


per cent stake in RINL through IPO. The government in annual

budget 2012-13 set the disinvestment target at 30000 crore rupees

(300 billion rupees). Though, on the issue of ownership it made

clear that at least 51 per cent ownership and management control of

Central Public Sector Enterprises will remain with the Government.

Union government is also eyeing to partially offload its share in

PSUs like Hindustan Aeronautics, BHEL, National Aluminium

Company (Nalco), Hindustan Copper and Oil India in the fiscal

year 2012-13.

EGOM ON TELECOMMUNICATION RECOMMENDED TO REDUCE 2G BASE PRICE

The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on telecommunications, headed by union home

minister P Chidambaram , recommended to reduce the base price for 2G spectrum airwaves by

4000 crore rupees. The EGoM recommended the base price for 2G spectrum at 14000-16000

crore rupees against 18000 crore rupees suggested by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

(TRAI).

The EGoM decision on spectrum price was taken during a meeting in Delhi on 20 July 2012. The

EGoM announced a cut in spectrum usage charges (which will be part of the operators’ revenues

towards spectrum fee) from 8-10 percent recommended by Trai to between 3 percent and 6

percent. The EGoM’s recommendations will now be sent to the Union Cabinet for its approval.

The EGoM also approved the department of telecommunications’ (DoT) suggestion to defer the

mode of payment for auction winners. Giving in to

demand of telecom operators the DoT had suggested

the EGoM that the auction winners should be allowed

to pay 25-30 percent of the spectrum fee upfront and

rest amount divided in 10 equal installments annually.

The fresh 2G spectrum auctions were necessitated as

Supreme Court 2 February 2012 scrapped 122 licenses

of 9 telecom companies. The Apex Court in its verdict

observed that 2G spectrum allocation held in January

2008 was crammed with irregularities thus should be

scrapped. The court also instructed Union government

to carry out a fresh 2G airwave auction. 2 June 2012 was set as the initial deadline for the

auction, which was later extended to 31 August 2012 by the court.

The EGoM on telecommunication was reconstituted after Pranab Mukherjee, the head of the

group, resigned as the Union Finance Minister in June 2012 to contest Presidential election.

Subsequently the panel was reconstituted with Home Minister P Chidambaram as its head.The

reconstituted panel includes Union Telecom and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, Information and

Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, Defence Minister AK Antony, Law Minister Salman

Khurshid, and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanasamy as members.



42


The panel held its first meeing on 12 July 2012 where it discussed the issues including reserve

price, spectrum usage charges and terms of payment.

SEBI TIGHTENED ELIGIBILITY & EXIT CRITERIA FOR STOCKS IN DERIVATIVES SEGMENT TO CURB MANIPULATION

The market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 23 July 2012 tightened

eligibility and exit criteria for stocks in the derivatives segment by increasing the benchmark

liquidity level for any scrip to be eligible for trading in the derivatives segments. By doing away

with illiquid stocks SEBI aims to check manipulation. According to the circular issued by SEBI,

scrips with a minimum trading volume value of Rs 10 lakh and market wide position limit

(MWPL) or market capitalisation of Rs 300 crore cannot be eligible for entry into the Future and

Options (F&O) segment.

Over 220 scrips trade in the F&O segment on

the National Stock Exchange (NSE) at

present. Of these 220 scrips only 100 scrips will

possibly meet the new eligibility criteria set by

the market regulator. The minimum Median

Quarter Sigma Order Size, which indicates

liquidity/order size in scrip, a requirement for

introduction in derivatives segment was

revised to Rs 10 lakh, from Rs 5 lakh at present.

The MWPL, indicating the size of the company

was also raised to Rs 300 crore, from Rs 100

crore. Scrips which fail to maintain a minimum

MWPL requirement of Rs 200 crore would cease

to be in the F&O segment. The earlier limit was set at Rs 60 crore.

SEBI also tightened the minimum conditions for a stock to continue trading in the derivatives

segment. As per the circular, a stock's MQSOS over the last six months ought to be more than

Rs 5 lakh against Rs 2 lakh earlier for the stock to continue trading. SEBI’s measures in this

respect are expected to restrain any manipulation in share prices and bring in more

meaningfulness to the F&O segment. Stock exchanges (SEs) will now have to thus follow strict

criteria for futures and option (F&O) securities.

INDIA RECEIVED ITS F IRST INVESTMENT THROUGH QUALIFIED FRAMEWORK INVESTOR ROUTE WORTH $ 5M

Following the deal struck by Kotak Mahindra Bank worth $5 million India received its first

investment through the qualified framework investor (QFI) route. The deal formally put an end

to speculation that India’s attempt to get investors to buy shares directly will go kaput.

Kotak Mahindra Bank has concluded the deal worth $5 million for a US-based client, said a

finance ministry official. The scheme to attract investment through the Qualified Framework



43


Investor route is expected to attract investment worth about $30 billion in 2012-13 period

thereby helping the country fund a chunk of the current account deficit pegged at 4.2% of GDP

in 2011-12.

The finance ministry had in the recent past conducted road shows in five countries in the Gulf

region--Riyadh, Dubai, Muscat, Kuwait and Bahrain - to project India as the incredible

investment destination for wealthy investors.

QUALIFIED FOREIGN INVESTORS (QFI):

A person or a trust resident in a country which is a member of the Financial Action Task Force

(FATF) can invest directly in India. Such a person or trust is termed as Qualified Foreign

Investors.

INVESTMENT REGIME FOR QFI (QFI):

QFIs have been permitted to invest in all the three segments of the Indian Capital Market

namely- Mutual Funds (MFs), Equity and Corporate Debt.

REASON WHY GOVERNMENT IS PROMOTING QFI ROUTE:

The wealthy investors, the finance ministry felt should be encouraged to invest directly so that

the stable in-flows could fund the current account deficits

EGOM RECOMMENDED CDMA AIRWAVES IN THE 800 MHZ BAND AT 1.3 TIMES THE BASE PRICE FOR GSM AIRWAVES

A high-powered ministerial panel responsible for finalising

rules for upcoming second generation (2G) spectrum

auctions recommended fixing of minimum price for CDMA

airwaves in the 800 MHz band at 1.3 times the base price for

GSM airwaves in the 1800 MHz band. Headed by home

minister P Chidambaram, in its meeting on 20 July 2012 had rejected the department of

telecom’s (DoT) suggestion that reserve price in the 800 MHz band for CDMA players be twice

as that of airwaves in the 1800 MHz band. In the same meeting the EGoM had recommended

that the minimum price for GSM airwaves be cut to Rs 14000 to Rs 16000 crore. The EGoM’s

proposal disappointed the mobile phone companies who were pitching for an 80% reduction

from the Rs 18111 crore proposed by the telecom regulator, TRAI.

The EGoM has recommended two specific reserve price for the 1800 MHz band at Rs 14111

crore and Rs 15111 crore for 5 units of airwaves on a pan-India basis. The group of ministers

provided two options to the Cabinet on the spectrum usage charge that forms part of the revenue

share for mobile phone companies. The first option is to (1) keep this levy at 5% of the telco’s

annual revenues, or (2) calculate this levy according to the current rules. The spectrum usage

Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM)



44


charges currently range between 2% and 7% of the telcos’ annual revenues depending on two

factors – the quantity of airwaves as well as the availability of third generation airwaves.

One unit of GSM airwave in the 1800 MHz on a pan-India basis to cost Rs 2822 crore and Rs

3022 crore, respectively, at the base price of Rs 14111 crore and Rs 15111 crore, respectively.

Airwaves will be sold in blocks of 1.25 MHz and on a circle-wise basis. India is divided into 22

circles. This thus translates to a reserve price of Rs 18344 crore to Rs 19644 crore for 5 MHz of

airwaves in the 800 MHz band for CDMA companies. For a single unit, the telecom companies

will have to pay between Rs 3668 crore and Rs 3928 crore. The mobile phone companies in the

GSM space slammed the inter-ministerial panel for suggesting that the base price for 800 MHz

be at 1.3 times that for 1800 MHz.

The EGoM also specified that new entrants and companies that lost their mobile permits on

account of the Supreme Court’s ruling can bid for a maximum 6.25 MHz of airwaves in the 1800

MHz band in the upcoming auctions, while existing operators in the GSM space can bid for a

maximum of 2 blocks or 2.5 MHz of airwaves.

DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN GSM & CDMA

It is argued that discrimination between GSM and CDMA is being widened by keeping the

auction reserve price for 800 MHz at 1.3 times of 1800 MHz on the rationale that less than 5

MHz is being put up for auction. A similar option is however not being extended to GSM

operators to retain their 900 MHz spectrum at a price of 1.3 times of 1,800 MHz in the event that

less than 5 MHz is obtained at the time of the license extension.

The requirement for 25% of upfront payment for CDMA and 35% of upfront payment for GSM

is another example of discrimination between CDMA & GSM. This discrimination will go

against the objective of creating a level playing field among the operators.

GOVERNMENT APPROVED 14 FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI) PROPOSALS WORTH RS 1584.11 CRORE

The finance ministry declared on 24 July 2012 that the government based on the

recommendation of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board approved 14 foreign direct

investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs 1584.11 crore. The FDI proposal which received

government approval included 225-crore investment in the Indian operations of Asian equity

research firm CLSA.

Maharashtrabased Abhijeet Power’s proposal to invest Rs 674 crore for induction of foreign

equity in an investing company to make downstream investment also received approval. The

government also cleared the proposal of Pune-based Bajaj Finserv, which sought a nod for issue

of equity shares to carry out NBFC activities directly and through subsidiaries. It proposed to

bring in FDI worth Rs 100 crore.



45


The government rejected seven proposals. the decision on 15 proposals including those of Tara

Aerospace Systems, Ordain Health Care Global, Sterlite Networks and Mauritius-based

Cloverdell Investments were been deferred.

PETROL & DIESEL PRICES RAISED AS OIL FIRMS RECALIBRATED RATES TO REFLECT CHANGES IN LOCAL LEVIES

Petrol and diesel prices were on raised in seven states like West Bengal and Maharasthra while

the price of domestic LPG were raised in six states. Earlier, on 23 July 2012, petrol prices were

raised by 70 paise. The state-owned oil firms recalibrated rates to reflect changes in local levies

which resulted in the second raise. The state-run fuel retailers

recalibrated surcharge calculations to align with changes made

in local levies like entry tax on crude oil, surcharge on sales

tax and CST/purchase tax on inter-company sale, by state

governments which resulted in further increase in prices in the

seven states.

However, the exercise by the state-owned oil firms resulted in

petrol and diesel prices being reduced in 11 states like

Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat and Odisha beginning 25 July 2012.

There is to be no change in price of petrol in Delhi, Kolkata however is to see an increase of Rs.

2.52 a litre to Rs. 76.13 per liter. Petrol in Mumbai is to cost Rs. 75.14 from 25 July 2012 as

against Rs. 74.23 per litre. Rates were however cut in Chennai by Rs. 0.97 per litre to Rs. 72.19.

Diesel price in Delhi would remain unchanged at Rs. 41.29 per litre. it will however be raised by

Rs. 0.92 per litre to Rs 44.66 in Kolkata and by Rs. 0.89 to Rs. 45.28 a litre in Mumbai. Diesel

rates in Chennai rates were reduced by a marginal 12 paisa to Rs. 43.83 a litre.

Domestic LPG price was raised by Rs. 19.43 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Assam, by Rs. 9.16 in Bihar

and Rs. 8.72 per bottle in Maharashtra. LPG will cost Rs. 9 more at Rs. 423 in Mumbai. There is

to be no change in rates in Delhi where it is sold at Rs 399.26 per cylinder. In Kolkata prices fell

to Rs 4 to Rs 401 and in Chennai by Rs 7 to Rs 386.50 beginning 25 July 2012. Domestic

cooking gas rates were however reduced by Rs 10.18 per cylinder in Gujarat, by Rs 7.01 in

Tamil Nadu and Rs 4.15 in Odisha.

STATE

DELHI GOVT ANNOUNCED SUBSIDY OF 1 RUPEE PER UNIT ON ELECTRICITY FOR DOMESTIC CONSUMERS

Delhi Government announced subsidy of 1 Rupee per unit on electricity for domestic consumers

on 1 July 2012. This subsidy would be relevant for those people who consume 200 units or fewer



46


units per month. Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission

(DERC) had increased the tariffs on electricity in various

categories. The new chunk of electricity tariffs announced

by DERC was that people who consumes 0 to 200 units, 0

to 400 and 401 and above have to pay Rs 3.70, 4.80 and

Rs 6.40 respectively. The subsidy of 1 Rupee was charged from consumers under the previous

tariff regime but it was discontinued by the government till 31 March 2012.

JAGDISH SHETTAR SWORN IN AS THE 27TH CHIEF MINISTER OF KARNATAKA

Jagadish Shivappa Shettar was sworn in as the 27th

Chief Minister of Karnataka on 12 July 2012. Shettar

was administered the oath of the office by Governor

HR Bharadwaj at an oath taking ceremony held at Raj

Bhawan. KS Eshwarappa and R Ashoka, two other BJP

leaders in the state, were sworn in as deputy chief

ministers of the state. A total of 34 ministers took the

oath of office.

Shettar, 56, was unanimously chosen the leader of the

BJP legislature party following the resignation of DV Sadananda Gowda on 11 July 2012. Life

has come full circle for Jagdish Shettar, another big leader from the state’s influential Lingayat

community (other one is BS Yeddyurappa, the former Karnataka CM) as he finally moved to the

office of Chief Minister. Earlier he served as the Revenue Minister in the JD(S)-BJP coalition

government headed by H DKumaraswamy in 2006. In

2008, he was elected as the Speaker of the Karnataka

legislative assembly. In 2009 he was included in to the

cabinet of BS Yeddyurappa as Rural development and

Panchayati Raj Minister. Shettar had lost the race for the

top job in the hand of DV Sadananda Gowda in 2011. In

a meeting of BJP legislature party following the resignation of BS Yeddyurappa, Sadananda

Gowda was handpicked by BS Yeddyurappa to become the Chief Minister of the state in August

2011.

Sadananda Gowda was forced to step down after he developed a rivalry with BS Yeddyurappa

who forced the BJP central leadership to ask Gowda to quit. Gowda, however, agreed to quit

only after he was given the position of state BJP president. Besides, he also got two of his

confidants as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state, the post which was created giving in to his

demand.

THE GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA BANNED GUTKA AND PAN MASALA

The Government of Maharashtra banned Gutka and Pan Masala on 11 July 2012. The State

Cabinet decided to ban the manufacturing, sale and distribution of these products. Food and Drug

Delhi Electricity Regulatory

Commission (DERC)

Shettar, 56, is the third CM of

state, within the period of 4 years



47


Administration (FDA) had initiated this proposal under the Food

Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Prevention of Food

Adulteration Act, 1954. As per the Government rule, if any

person offends this law then that person can be imprisoned for 6

months to three years.

It aims to reduce the number of

cases that are related to the oral and other forms of cancer that

are increasing day by day. In addition, the Non Government

Organization was also forcing for the ban from last few years.

60 percent of people consume gutka in Maharashtra who lies

in the age group between 14-16 years. The gutka was consumed by the resident of the state worth

Rs 360 Crore on daily basis. Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have already

banned gutka but Maharashtra is the first state to ban Pan Masala.

UNION HRD MINISTRY ANNOUNCED TO SET UP TWO CENTRAL UNIVERSITIES IN BIHAR

Conceding to the demand of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Union Human Resource

Development Ministry on 13 July 2012 agreed to set up two central universities in the state. The

union government’s nod for two central universities also put an end to the 3-year long impasse

over the location of the university.

The Ministry, however, announced that it would not provide any separate funds for the additional

university. Hence, the 240 crore rupees fund which was allocated as initial capital for the

university will have to be divided between the two varsities. The Union Government will have to

make certain amendments in the Central Universities Act, 2009, to enable the opening of two

central universities in Bihar. Under the legislation there is a provision for setting up two central

universities in Jammu and Kashmir as a special case.

The proposal to set up central university in Bihar was delayed by several months given the

differences between the state government and the human resource development ministry related

to the location of the university. While the Nitish Kumar led state government was adamant on

setting up the university in Motihari, the Union Government considered Gaya as the preferred

location for the university. There are 41 central universities functioning in India at present, with

Delhi and UP have a maximum of 4 Universities each.

PUNJAB GOVERNMENT INCREASED THE DA BY 12 PER CENT FOR EMPLOYEES AND PENSIONERS

The Government of Punjab increased the Dearness Allowance (DA) by 12 per cent for the

employees and pensioners on 17 July 2012. The governor of Punjab, Shivraj V Patil approved

the rate of dearness allowance from 127 per cent to 139 per cent. The Finance Ministry declared

that the amount will be credited from the General Provident Fund (GPF) account of employees.

The government of Punjab ordered that the allowance will be paid in cash from July 2012.

Dearness Allowance is the part of the person’s salary that is calculated as a percent of the basic

The gutka was consumed by the

resident of the state worth Rs

360 Crore on daily basis



48


salary. This amount is added to the basic salary along with the House Rent Allowance (HRA) to

get the total salary.

PLANNING COMMISSION SANCTIONED 57800 CRORE RUPEES AS ANNUAL PLAN FOR UP

Marking an increase of whopping 23 percent in annual financial allocation for UP, the Planning

Commission of India allocated 57800 crore rupees to the state for fiscal year 2012-13. Besides, it

also approved a 20000 crore rupees additional funding for centre-sponsored schemes in the state.

The Planning Commission had sanctioned 47000 crore rupees to UP during financial year 2011-

12.

The decision over the financial allocation for the

state came following the meeting held between UP

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Planning

Commission Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia

in New Delhi on 18 July 2012. The financial

package includes a special one-time grant of 800

crore rupees for the forthcoming Kumbh Mela and

an additional central allocation of 9200 crore

rupees.

The UP government is striving at attaining the 10 percent growth target by 2016-17. In addition

to that, the state is also striving to attract 1200000 crore rupees private investment over the next

five years.

DELHI GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF DISTRICTS IN DELHI FROM 9 TO 11

To facilitate the speedy justice and efficient administration, the Delhi government on 16 July

2012 decided in-principle to divide Delhi into 11 sessions and revenue districts. The existing

number of district is nine that includes, Central, North, South, East, Northeast, Southwest, New

Delhi, Northwest and West Delhi.

After reshaping the boundaries of existing districts there will be 11 districts including, Central,

East, West, North, South, Najafgarh, Saraswati Vihar, Kalkaji, Preet Vihar, Seelampur and New

Delhi. The Northeast, Northwest and Southwest districts will cease to exist while, five new

districts namely Seelampur, Gandhi Nagar, Saraswati Vihar, Najafgadh and Kalka Ji will come

into existence.

The government’s move came following law department sent a proposal to the Delhi government

to divide the capital into 11 districts so that the work of the judiciary and the revenue department

gets divided according to their respective areas. Under the present structure, the work of the trial

courts is divided into nine districts for the civil cases, while, there is only one chief metropolitan

magistrate for criminal jurisdiction. For revenue department, there are nine districts along with

27 sub-divisions.



49


UP GOVERNMENT RECHRISTENED EIGHT DISTRICTS IN THE STATE

Uttar Pradesh government on 23 July 2012 rechristened eight districts in the state, which had

been given a new name by erstwhile BSP government. The

UP government’s decision to restore the early name of the

districts, which were named after the dalit and OBC icons

by the previous Mayawati led government, was taken in a

cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Akhilesh

Yadav.

Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar was rechristened as Amethi, while Rambai Nagar was

named Kanpur Dehat. The districts namely Bheem Nagar, Prabuddha Nagar and Panchseel

Nagar will now be known as Sambhal, Shamli and Hapur respectively. Similarly, Kanshiram

Nagar, Mahamaya Nagar and JP Nagar will be known as Kasganj, Hathras and Amroha

respectively. The name of the 105-year-old King George’s Medical University (KGMU), which

was named Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University by the previous BSP government,

was also restored.

INDIA DIARY

2 July 2012 • Anup Sankar Bhattacharya was appointed as the Director of the Institute of Banking

Personnel Selection (IBPS) on 2 July 2012.

3 July 2012

• Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan to hold two-day bilateral talks in New Delhi from

tomorrow

• In Assam flood death toll mounts to 95; Relief and rescue operations are on

4 July 2012

• Air India pilots call off their 58-day long strike

5 July 2012

• In Assam, flood water submerges 315 more villages in Dhemaji district; Death toll goes up to

116.

6 July 2012

• Sensex loses 45 points in afternoon trade; rupee falls 52 paise to 55.49 against the dollar

7 July 2012 • CNG prices go up in Delhi by 2 rupees 90 paise per kilogram

King George’s Medical

University (KGMU)



50


8 July 2012 • United Progressive Alliance (UPA) decided to field Hamid Ansari in the vice-presidential

poll 2012

9 July 2012 • Amidst the increasing number of reports of the misuse of tatkal scheme, the Indian Railways

on 9 July 2012 introduced new guidelines for booking of Tatkal tickets. Under the new guideline

the Railways revised the time for booking the tatkal tickets to 10am from earlier 8am.

10 July 2012

• Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 10 July 2012 permitted

MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) to operate as a full-fledged stock exchange thereby ending

nearly four-year-long wait of the bourse.

• The Civil Aviation Ministry of India sacked EK Bharat Bhushan, the head of the Directorate

General of Civil Aviation, on 10 July 2012.

11 July 2012 • World Population Day was celebrated on 11 July 2012. It aims to make aware people about

the increasing population in the country.

• The Government of Maharashtra banned Gutka and Pan Masala on 11 July 2012.

12 July 2012

• Jagadish Shivappa Shettar was sworn in as the 27th Chief Minister of Karnataka on 12 July

2012.

• Rustam-E-Hind, Dara Singh, who won India numerous accolades globally in wrestling,

passed away on 12 July 2012 in Mumbai following a protracted illness.

13 July 2012

• India on 13 July 2012 successfully test-fired domestically built surface-to-surface single stage

Agni-I ballistic missile.

14 July 2012

• Delhi University released the sixth cut off list for 2012-13 session, the cut list saw a marginal

drop in subjects for students from the OBC category.

• A two member team of National Commission for Women reaches Guwahati to investigate the

molestation of a teenager; Assam government also orders an inquiry

15 July 2012

• UPA nominates Hamid Ansari as its Vice Presidential candidate for a second term; BJP

decides to contest; NDA meets today to finalise its strategy

• India slips to fifth place in the latest ICC Test ranking

23 July 2012

Pranab Mukherjee wins Presidential election with huge margin; Says that he will justify

the responsibility entrusted to him



51


Night curfew imposed in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts of Assam; Death toll in violence

rises to 16

24 July 2012

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh directs ministries to co-ordinate with states to deal with

deficient monsoon situation

25 July 2012

The Government tells Supreme Court it cannot restrict itself to auction route only in

allocating natural resources

More than 140 Maoists surrender before authorities in Khammam district of Andhra

Pradesh

26 July 2012

Delhi High Court bars sacked CWG Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi

from attending opening ceremony of London Olympics

DIndian activist Kulandei Francis among six winners of this year's Ramon Magsaysay

Award

27 July 2012

Various State governments and corporate bodies support Centre's stand that all natural

resources cannot be allocated through auction only

Situation remains calm in the three violence hit districts of Assam; Prime Minister to

visit Kokrajhar tomorrow to take stock of the situation

29 July 2012

India successfully conducts user trial of Brahmos supersonic cruise missile from

Chandipur, off Odisha coast

CORPORATE

ADANI KANDLA BULK TERMINAL PVT. LTD SIGNED AGREEMENT WITH KANDLA PORT TRUST

Adnani subsidiary Adani Kandla Bulk Terminal Pvt. Ltd. signed an agreement with Kandla Port

Trust on 2 July 2012 to locate a dry bulk terminal at Kandla Port on build, operate, transfer basis.

It will be a modern and mechanised cargo bulk terminal. It would likely to knob cargo like coal,



52


fertiliser, salt, minerals and agro products. Kandla Port terminal will have the capacity to manage

20 million tonnes of cargo. The project costs around 1200 crore rupees and to be completed

within 24 months. Kandla port is the only private sector port which has six ports locations in

India. The six ports are in Mundra, Dahej, Hazira and Kandla in Gujarat, Mormugao in Goa and

Visakhapatnam.

SITE

The location is near to Tuna outside the Kandla stream. The Tuna port is owned by the Kandla

Port Trust. The Adani will construct four T-shaped ports near Tuna with 14 metres depth, due to

which the giant ships can move directly at Tuna, there is no need to transfer the cargo by small

boats to the Kandla port. The sufficient space at Tuna also cuts the distance of the port behind

the coast. Adani Ports plans to handle 200 million tonnes of cargo by 2020.

HDFC LAUNCHED SUPERIA AND PLATINUM CREDIT CARDS FOR DOCTORS

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) bank on 1 July

2012 launched two credits cards Superia and Platinum for doctors. It

will furnish their special needs including lifestyle, travel and other

needs. Hdfc planned to open one million credit cards to the fiscal

year 2012.

The doctors will be able to access credit card in more than 600

airports lounges in the world despite of the class or the airlines they

are travelling. They will also get benefit from the reward point

redemption across all major airlines in India.

B. SURENDER MOHAN APPOINTED AS THE CHAIRMAN AND MD OF NLC

B. Surender Mohan was appointed as the new Chairman and

Managing Director of Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) on 1

July 2012. A R Ansari was the former Managing Director of

Neyveli Lignite Corporation. Neyveli Lignite Corporation is the

government organization and the leading company in mining,

thermal power plants and innovative researches. B. Surender

Mohan is 56 years old. He served as the Mines Director in his

earlier stage of life. He started his career from Rourkela Steel

Plant and he was the Deputy General Manager at Rashtriya Ispat

Nigam in the year 1998. In addition, he was trained in various

institutes of France and Italy. He presented many papers on the mining industry in Washington

DC, United States of America and Poland.

BRAZIL COURT ORDERED BASF AND SHELL TO COMPENSATE 382 MILLION DOLLARS



53


Brazil court on 3 July 2012 ordered Baden Aniline and Soda Factory (BASF) and Royal Dutch

Shell to pay 382 million dollar into a compensation fund. The fund would likely to be given to

the ex-employees who were suffered from working in contaminated and sickened agricultural

chemical plant. Both companies were disputed against the decision.

As per annual report of BASF, in 1995 Shell was operating the site in the Brazilian municipality

of Paulinia, after that Shell sold it to the American Cyanamid. BASF claimed that it had bought

the site in the year 2000 and at that time the site was already infected by Shell. After that in

2011, BASF SA, parent company of BASF SE had also approved that the site was extensively

infected by production of crop protection products.

DELL INC ANNOUNCED TO BUY QUEST SOFTWARE INC FOR 2.4 BILLION DOLLAR CASH

Dell Inc on 3 July 2012 announced to buy Quest Software Inc for 2.4 billion dollar to increase its

software and reduce its dependence on personal computer souk. There was a bidding war

between Dell and Insight Initial offer to buy Quest Software. In this, Insight Initial Offer bid on

23 dollar per share in March 2012 where Dell bid on 25.50

dollar per share and bough the Quest Software Inc.

Primarily, Dell awarded Quest its 1300 engineers and its

secure software designed for businesses and government

agencies. Dell is with Quest to sell more servers,

networking and storage products and computing services as it is more profitable than PCs

currently.

Dell decided to buy Quest because it founded itself a step behind its rivals Hewlett-Packard Co.

(HP) and to become one-stop shops for corporate information technology needs. Quest is Dell's

biggest purchase after Perot Systems for 3.9 billion dollar in 2009. Dell Inc. is an American

multinational computer technology corporation in US. It was founded by Michael Dell. It is one

of the largest technological corporations in the world. It is the third largest PC vendor across the

world after HP and Lenovo.

EUROPEAN AEROSPACE AIRBUS BUILD ITS 1ST US ASSEMBLY PLANT IN ALABAMA

European aerospace Airbus on 2 July 2012 announced to build its first US assembly Plant in

Alabama to compete with Boeing. The Alabama plant costs around 600 million dollar. It will

employ around 1000 people and likely to be complete till 2017.

Previously, Airbus had planned to manufacture refueling tankers for the U.S. Air Force in

Alabama. But its parent company, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. had lost the

contract to Boeing in 2011. Boeing is already present in Alabama and its employing 2700 people

in defense and rocket operations.

Airbus appears to increase its A320 production while Boeing is producing its 737. Airbus A320

directly competes with Boeing 737. Both companies are placing new, more fuel-efficient engines

International Business

Machines Corp. (IBM)



54


on the planes to extend their request as airlines try to cut fuel costs. Airbus had the facility in

Mobile to design and install the interior items like seats and cabin equipment for its big planes,

this facility would likely employ around 230 people.

VODAFONE CAPTURED 1.04 BILLION EURO OF BRITISH FIRM CABLE AND WIRELESS

Vodafone on 3 July 2012 agreed to take over 1.04 billion euro of British firm cable and Wireless

Worldwide (C & WW). The decision was taken after Tata Communications withdrew itself when

it failed to agree on a price.

Vodafone is the only remaining option for the British firm cable and Wireless. Vodafone made

the payment of 38 pence a share. There was 92 percent premium to the C&WW share price when

the offer was first made on 10 February 2012.

APPLE PAID 60 MILLION DOLLAR TO SHENZHEN PROVIEW TECHNOLOGY TO SETTLE LEGAL DISPUTE

Apple had paid 60 million dollar to Chinese computer maker Shenzhen Proview Technology on 2 July

2012 to settle legal dispute over iPad trademaker. The dispute was that Proview claimed the ownership of

iPad trademark whereas Apple contradicted that it had bought the trademaker earlier.

Proview demanded 400 billion dollar to settle the dispute, but Apple had paid 60 million dollar and 55

million dollar earlier. The total amount was not given to Proview inspite of that it had settled the dispute

because it has to pay debts. The settlement was signed by the Communist Party of China outside the court

in between Proview and Apple. The settlement was later announced in the court. The Apple transferred the

amount of 60 million dollar to the Guangdong High Court account which was requested in mediation

letter.

After US, Apple’s biggest market is in China. After the settlement, Apple is free to sell the new iPad 3 in

China. Apple Tablets are already approved by China telecommunications equipment certification agency

in May 2012. Apple's products are made in China-based factories which are run by Taiwanese firm

Foxconn.



55


C&WW will provide voice, data hosting and IP-based services and applications. This will help

Vodafone to expand its international cable network up to 425000 km to diversify its business

further beyond mobile handsets. Vodafone is the largest telecom operator after BT in Britain.

C&WW also has international assets including India. Vodafone had rejected the taxsynergy

(lower cost of debt) with the use of C&WW as it was the only reason for bid.

STATE BANK OF PATIALA LAUNCHED GOLD LOAN (SWARN SHAKTI) FOR FARMERS

State Bank of Patiala (SBOP) on 2 July 2012 launched gold loan (Swarn Shakti) for farmers

against the security of gold ornaments to provide

free loans to the farmers without taking loan on land.

It would help farmers meet their small and long term

agricultural needs with crop production, investment

and consumption.

The maximum amount of loan is 10 lakh rupees and

30 percent margin will be given by the farmers. The

loan for crop production will be charged at 7 percent

per year up to 3 lakh rupees. Further, 3 percent

interest of financial support will be given to farmers

who refund their loans in time. Therefore, the actual rate of interest charged will be 4 percent.

The total period to refund the amount will be 36 months counting with harvesting season.

MTS ANNOUNCED FLAT RATE OF 30 PAISE/MINUTE FOR LOCAL, STD, ROAMING AND ISD CALLS

Mobile Tele Systems (MTS) on 4 July 2012 launched a new scheme to enjoy all the services at a

flat rate of 30 paise per minute. The services includes local, STD, roaming, ISD calls, an SMS

including data usage at 30 paise per MB (Mega Byte). MTS is a Code Division Multiple Access

(CDMA) service provider.

MTS has about 16 million users. The scheme is available

for new as well as for the existing customers through a

recharge coupon between 50 rupees to 100 rupees. The

customer will make or receive calls at 30 paisa per minute on roaming.

This offer is valid for ISD calls made to US and Canada with a cap of 100 minutes per month.

When the limit is over, the company will charge the standard rates. It also announced free access

to Facebook for a month through MTS planet on entry level phones given to the customers.

MAHINDRA LAUNCHED 100 CRORE RUPEES R&D CENTRE FOR TWO-WHEELERS IN PUNE

Mahindra invested 100 crore rupees for Research and Development (R&D) centre for two-

wheelers on 4 July 2012 with the investment plan of 500 crore rupees till 2017. It will enable

Mobile Tele Systems (MTS)



56


Mahindra two wheelers to undertake in-house design and development of engine technology for

its motorcycles.

Pune R&D centre is the third largest two-wheeler centre in India. It has 175 engineers and

designers. The facility has an Engine Development Centre (EDC), vehicle design & development

facility, testing facilities and prototype centre. Mahindra also launched two new engines-110cc

and 300cc which was developed at the R&D centre as well as the Duro DZ which was fitted with

a fuel-efficient micro hybrid technology engine. Duro DZ would likely to be launched till

September 2012.

Mahindra and Mahindra is an Indian multinational automaker. It is headquartered in Mumbai,

India. It is one of the largest automobile manufactures in India and a subsidiary of Mahindra

Group. It was founded by K.C. Mahindra and J.C. Mahindra and Malik Ghulam Mohammed in

1945.It is a major manufacturer of commercial vehicles, two wheelers, and service vehicles.

CADBURY LAUNCHED FAMOUS TRIANGULAR SWISS CHOCOLATE BRAND TOBLERONE

The Chocolate brand Cadbury on 4 July 2012 launched its famous Triangular Swiss Chocolate

Brand Toblerone in India to enlarge its market. Cadbury decided to get Toblerone due to

tremendous success of its Italian rival Ferrero Rocher in the country. Ferrero Rocher brands are

Oreo cookies and Tang powdered drink mix.

It would be available in the India in five pack sizes

ranging between 65 rupees for 50 gm pack to 430

rupees for 400 gm pack in retail outlets. Cadbury India

gazes to position the brand as premium gifting brands

with its unique shape, different taste.

Toblerone is manufactured only at Bern Brunnen in

Switzerland and exported across world. It is the largest

selling chocolate brand in duty-free and travel retail.

Only 4 percent of Toblerone is sold in their own

country while rest 96 percent of the production is sold

in other countries. Toblerone is sold in around 122

countries. Cadbury India also sells brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Bournvita, 5 Star, Perk,

Bournville and Celebrations in India.

SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA BOUGHT BILTHOVEN BIOLOGICALS FOR 550 CRORE RUPEES

Vaccine-maker Serum Institute of India on 4 July 2012 bought polio vaccine maker Bilthoven

Biologicals for 550 crore rupees (80 million euro). The acquirement gives Serum a

manufacturing base in Europe and greater access to European and U.S. markets. Bilthoven

Biologicals was owned by the Netherlands government where as the Serum Institute of India is

owned by Cyrus Poonawalla Group.



57


The initial amount of 220 crore rupees (32 million euro) was already given for 100 percent

shares in the Bilthoven Biologicals where as the rest amount of 330 crore rupees will be paid

within three-year period with other liabilities in the company. Serum planned to invest about 70

million to 80 million euros with the acquisition amount in three years to grow polio vaccine

maker manufacturing capacity and to meet capital requirements.Due to the acquisition, Serum

Institute will get access to technology and proficiency for making Injectable Polio Vaccine

(Salk).

Serum Institute is centred in Pune, India. It is the fifth largest vaccine maker by volume across

the world. Bilthoven Biologicals is manufacturing 20 million vaccines doses per year. It sells the

vaccines to Europe and other developing countries

PAYMENT

Serum would likely to attain the fund through internal growth and a capital loan from banks. It

had attained a turnover of 1700 crore rupees in 2011-12 where 700 crore rupees was the profit.

ELECTRONICS COMPANY TOSHIBA LAUNCHED C, L, M, U SATELLITE SERIES

Toshiba launched fully-equipped C, L, M and U Satellite series on 4 July 2012. The C series

includes C840 and C850, L series with L850, M series with M840 and Ultrabook satellite U840.

The new series of laptop offers high definition entertainment, outstanding performance, higher

HD entertainment and style. The Ultrabook have 14 inch screen with 21:9 wide. It has the

1792X768 pixel display resolution. These new Satellite C, L, M and U series will be available at

Toshiba authorized stores in India.

Toshiba Corporation is Japanese multinational electronics, electrical equipment and information

Technology Corporation in Tokyo, Japan. Earlier it was named Tokyo Shibaura Electric K.K. It

was the fifth largest personal computer company after HP, Dell, Acer and Lenovo in 2010.

YAHOO! INDIA SIGNED AGREEMENT WITH IIT-MADRAS TO SET R&D

Yahoo! India on 5 July 2012 signed an agreement with Indian

Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras to support its faculty and

students in Cloud Computing Research. The project costs

around 50 lakh rupees. The lab will be available for cloud

computing courses and doctoral candidates. The students will

be able to start to work in lab from next semester.

As per Yahoo Vice-President Hari Vasudev, Indian product

offering generates over 200 terabytes of data in a week. Such

big data research performed at the R&D lab would likely to

help Yahoo in analysing data, which is later be used to improve

its various products like Yahoo Home Page, Yahoo Slides. So

the agreement is helpful for yahoo as well as for IIT-Madras.



58


Cloud Computing is the release of computing and storage capacity as a service to different

community of end-recipients. It gives services with a user data, software and computation over a

network. Recently in November 2011, Yahoo! India launched a free online video service. By

this, Yahoo! video will give the real matter across various sorts like news, entertainment,

lifestyle and movies.

EIL SIGNED INTEGRATED REFINERY EXPANSION PROJECT OF BPCL AT KOCHI

Engineers India Ltd. (EIL) on 6 June 2012 announced to secure for Integrated Refinery

Expansion Project (IREP) at Kochi. It costs around 720

crores rupees.

The project involves expanding crude oil refining

capacity from 9.5 million metric tonnes per annum

(MMTPA) to 15.5 MMTPA. EIL would likely to provide

the consultancy services for project management, process

design, residual process design, detailed engineering, procurement, inspection, expending,

tendering, construction management and supervision. With this, EIL also had 50 petroleum

refinery projects.

Besides all this, EIL also providing its services to various refineries in India like Indian Oil

Corporation Ltd (IOC), BPCL, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), KRL,

Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL )and

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL).

EIL is a Total Solutions Consultancy Company. It is the

Engineering, Procurement and Construction. (EPC) Contractor

in the field of Petroleum Refining, Petrochemicals, Pipelines,

Oil & Gas Terminal & Storages, Mining & Metallurgy and

Infrastructure projects. EIL is also expanding into nuclear, solar and thermal power, water and

solid waste management, city gas distribution and fertilizers sectors.

NOKIA LAUNCHED WINDOW-BASED PHONE LUMIA 610 AT 12999 RUPEES

Nokia launched its window-based phone Lumia 610 on 6 July 2012 in four colours-white, black,

cyan and magenta. It is the cheapest device in the series. It costs

around 12999 rupees. It had also launched Lumia 710 at 15000

rupees and Lumia 800 at about 24000 rupees.

Nokia Lumia 610 has a silky plastic cover touch screen. The

touch screen is of 3.7 inch with a resolution of 480x800 pixels.

It has many features like Radio Mix and Nokia Transport,

Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive. It runs on latest version of

Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, 8 GB internal storage and a

camera of 5MP camera. It is powered by 800 MHz processor

Consultancy Services Contract

from Bharat Petroleum

Corporation Ltd. (BPCL)

Metric tonnes per annum

(MMTPA)



59


and has 256 MB RAM. There is alternative to add a micro SD card and good browsing speed.

The customers will also get selected content, information, trailers etc from the movie in addition

to games from Lumia 610.

BPO FIRM SUNDARAM FINANCE LTD. SIGNED VARIOUS DEALS IN AUSTRALIA

Sundaram Finance Ltd., the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) arm of Sundaram Business

Services (SBS) on 9 July 2012 signed a number of deals to expand its BPO servies in

Australia.The Company is targeting to expand its

Australian business by 50 percent in 2012.

. It also offers accounting, credit processing, deposit

processing, employee administration and insurance

related processing services. The company is based

in Chennai, India. It would process around 3 lakh

mortgage documents annually. The overall BPO

business from Australia for SBS was around 15 crore rupees in the year 2011-12.

It had also signed a deal with a Sydeny- based company to undertake mortgage process work

from India. It has also signed Melbourne-based Research Company to undertake high-end equity

research back office work. As per the company, each contract will cost around 15 crore rupees.

FACEBOOK EXTENDED ITS APP CENTER IN INDIA AND SIX OTHER COUNTRIES

Facebook on 9 July 2012 extended its application centre App Center in India and six other

countries. This will help App Center users find games, music and media content easily. The other

six countries are Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United

Kingdom.

The users can access App Center tagged on the left side of its homepage on facebook.com and on

Apple and Android mobile devices. The App Center will give modified experience to the users

depending upon their as well as their friends interests. It includes games, fashion, food, fitness,

travel, other‘s lifestyle apps. Facebook expanded its plan to reach to large number of its users.

Currently, it has more than 900 active users in the world.

FACEBOOK APP DASHBOARD

Facebook also added App Dashboard tool that allows developers to translate the names and

description of their apps into other languages. It would allow developers to translate the names

and descriptions of their apps into other languages. In this, developers will choose a primary

language for their apps with the secondary language by localize tab on the App Dashboard. It

offers Six Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam in

India. .

Sundaram Business Services

(SBS) provides non-voice support

services



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MAHINDRA SATYAM LAUNCHED APPAREL & FASHION XPRESS FOR ORACLE RETAIL

A topmost IT services provider, Mahindra Satyam on 11 July 2012 launched Apparel and

Fashion xPress for Oracle Retail implementation. It will cater to the requirement of average

market fashion and apparel retailers globally. It is likely to help the traders to grow through

international market.

This will provide a new accelerated framework Apparel & Fashion xPress for Oracle retail

implementation, Global merchandise restrictions, integrations with wholesale parties and

Franchises, 3 Programming language (PL) warehouse Integration. It is also providing decision

support features for better business user productivity and a solution accelerator to improve the

internal supply chain efficiency. Mahindra Satyam is an Indian IT services company in

Hyderabad, India. It was founded by B. Ramalingua Raju in 1987. The company offers

consulting and IT services. It is included in top 10 industries in India.

GOVERNMENT APPOINTED NASIR ALI AS THE NEW JOINT MANAGING DIRECTOR OF AIR INDIA

Civil aviation Ministry on 11 July 2012 appointed Nasir Ali

as the new joint managing director. Prior to his promotion,

he was dealing with human resource issue related to the

merger of Air India and Indian Airlines. He is the second

managerial executive posted in airline by civil aviation

ministry after Rohit Nandan who was appointed as the

chairperson and managing director of the airline in 2011.

Previously, Nasir Ali worked as the director with the civil

aviation ministry. He was appointed as an officer on special

duty (OSD) in the Air India Airline. He was the head of

four-member committee to apply Dharmadhikari Committee proposal on amalgamation of Air

India and Indian Airlines in the year 2008.

TATA GROUP FIRM ROOTS CORPORATION LTD. PLANNED 5 MORE GINGER HOTELS

Tata Group firm Roots Corporation Ltd. (RCL) on 11 July 2012 planned five more Ginger

Hotels. The five hotels are likely to be inaugurated in

metro and Tier I cities. RCL functions in the field of

hospitality sector.

The decision was taken due to growing demand in

domestic travel industry. Ginger is likely to invest 50

crore rupees to open 5 Ginger hotels in the country. Currently, it works in Agartala, Ahmedabad,

Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Durg, Goa, Guwahati, Haridwar, Jamshedpur, Ludhiana, Mangalore,

Tata Group firm Roots

Corporation Ltd. (RCL)



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Mysore, Nasik, New Delhi, Pantnagar, Pondicherry, Pune-Pimpri, Pune-Wakad,

Thiruvananthapuram, Vadodara, Surat, Chennai, Manesar and Vivek Vihar.

Roots Corporation (RCL) operates the Ginger chain of hotels. It is completely owned subsidiary

of Indian Hotels Corporation (IHCL). RCL has 25 assets in the country. It was established in

2003 and runs the first-of-its-kind Smart Basics hotels across India.

MARISSA MAYER APPOINTED AS THE NEW PRESIDENT AND CEO OF YAHOO

Yahoo, world’s second largest search engine by query volume, appointed Marissa Mayer as its

new President and CEO. Mayer prior to this appointment served as the top executive at Google.

Mayer, who assumed the charge on 17 July 2012 will lead the product innovation in troubled

internet company by bringing out the new perspective.

Mayer, 37, joined Google in 1999 as its 20th employee and first female engineer. In her over a

decade long stint at Google she led a number of its businesses, and was credited for simplifying

the Google search interface, a major selling point for the company. A graduate from Stanford

University, Mayer was instrumental in several

projects at Google including Google Search, Google

News, Google Images and Gmail.

The appointment of Mayer at the top position of the

company also put an end on prolonged years of

turmoil in the company which saw 5 CEOs in 5 years.

In May 2012 Scott Thompson was forced to resign as

CEO of the company after less than 6 months on the

job. Thompson had replaced controversial Carol Bartz

who was fired in September 2011 after failing to revitalize Yahoo. Following the resignation of

Thompson, Ross Levinsohn took over as the acting CEO of the company.

Yahoo has been facing stiff competition in the market from Google and Facebook. The company

has lost its user base significantly over the past few years. As per a 2009 data, its share in global

internet business shrank to 6.42 percent while its prime competitor Google acquired 85.35

percent of the query volume on the internet. Yahoo has starkly failed to catch with the changing

needs of global users, paving the way for Google to capture the larger share of market with its

innovative and user friendly services. The appointment of Mayer as the head of the company

signals the change in its business strategy. With Mayer, an engineer with well established

credentials, taking over the control of the company, Yahoo is likely to pay additional attention on

Web technology and products rather than concentrating on online content only.

HINDI NEWS CHANNEL ITV ACQUIRED ENGLISH NEWS CHANNEL NEWS X

Information TV (ITV), which operates Hindi news channel of India News on 17 July 2012

acquired 100 percent stake of English news channel NewsX. This is likely to expand the ITV

group India News (Hindi news channel), in addition to six regional news channels in the north

and central zones of India.



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ITV is a part of Piccadilly Group of Companies, based in New

Delhi. It works in print and electronic media. Piccadilly Group

also holds Good Morning India (GMI). GMI is the print division.

It publishes daily Hindi newspaper Aaj Samaj and politically and

social affairs Hindi magazine India News on the weekly basis.

Aaj Samaj is published from Delhi, Chandigarh, Gurgaon,

Ambala, Panchkula, Mohali. ITV was launched on 19 January

2004.

NewX is the English news channel. It was India's first high-definition news channel. It is a part

of INX media which operates in music and entertainment channels. It was founded by ex-STAR

India CEO Peter Mukerjea and launched as a part of INX News on 28 March 2008.

NESTLE HEALTH SCIENCE ACQUIRED A STAKE IN ACCERA TO MAKE MILKSHAKE FOR ALZHEIMER’S PATIENTS

KitKat chocolate, Nescafe coffee and Maggi soup maker

Nestle Health Science on 19 July 2012 acquired a stake in

U.S based company Accera, that makes milkshake

prescribed to Alzheimer’s patients. Accera specializes in

the research, development and commercialization of

medical foods for neurodegenerative disorders. Nestle is

likely to invest about 500 million dollar in 10 years to

make more food and drinks products on gastrointestinal,

metabolic and brain health.

Accera’s main brand Axona sells an easy-mix vanilla flavour powder which is added to milk or

other liquid for Alzheimer’s patient. Axona is already suggested to around 30 thousand gentle

and sensible Alzheimer patient in U.S only. The product is made from a compound derived from

coconut oil. The derived product from coconut oil works as energy source for the brain and help

Alzheimer's patients, because their brains are less able to use glucose for the energy as per their

requirement.

Alzheimer affects memory and cognitive function in adults. It is a progressive neurologic disease

of the brain causes irreversible loss of neurons and thinking abilities. It is more common form of

Dementia. Dementia is a non-specific syndrome, affects memory, thinking, language, judgment,

and behaviour.

JET AIRWAYS INTRODUCED JETESCAPES PACKAGES FOR CORPORATE TRAVELLERS

Jet Airways on 19 July 2012 introduced JetEscapes packages for corporate travellers and guests

looking for a holiday break. The packages include individual overnight stay to corporate groups

stay. It also has monsoon packages and luxurious packages.

For corporate travellers, two nights group packages within India to Goa, Kochi, Hyderabad,

Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Udaipur starts from 12003 rupees.



63


The airline is also offering two and three night’s package to Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore and

Hong Kong starting from 32737 rupees.

Group packages of the airline providing conference hall facility, besides of air tickets, airport

transfers, 3-star lodging, meals and travel insurance.

Jet Airways is the largest Indian airline based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was founded by

Naresh Goyal in 1 April 1992. It operates more than 400 flights daily to 76 destinations across

the world. Its main hub is Mumbai and secondary hub at Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Cochin,

Ahmadabad and Mangalore. It has an international hub at Brussels Airport, Belgium.

GODREJ PROPERTIES SIGNED MOU WITH AXIS BANK; OFFERED HOME LOAN SCHEME

Real estate firm on 19 July 2012 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Axis bank

to offer special finance solution scheme for its customers to

make their purchasing affordable.

GPL projects customers will get home loan from Axis bank

by paying 10 percent margin money against the traditional 20

per cent margin. The customers will have the flexibility to pay the balance 10 percent during the

term of payment schedule.

Godrej Properties Ltd is a real estate company in India. It is a part of Godrej Industries Ltd. It

was founded by Adi Godrej in 1 January 1990. It is first real estate Company to have

International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

TATA POWER SIGNED A LONG TERM AGREEMENT WITH INDONESIAN FIRM

Tata Power on 20 July 2012 signed an agreement with

Indonesian firm PT Antang Gunung Meratus (AGM) to

secure fuel for its thermal power plants. AGM is the 100

percent subsidiary of the Indonesian company PT

Baramulti Sukses Sarana (BSSR).

Tata Power already has 30 percent equity stake in

Indonesian two major coal producer, PT Kaltima Prima Coal and PT Arutmin Indonesia. Apart

from this, Tata Power’s 100 percent subsidiary Khopoli Investments Limited also inked an

agreement acquired 26 percent stake in BSSR. It is likely to hold about 1 billion tonnes of coal in

South and East Kalimantan in Indonesia.

Recently, Tata Power organized the second 800 megawatt of 4000 megawatt Mundra Ultra Mega

Power Project (UMPP) in Gujarat. The company is importing coal from Indonesia for this

project. Also the company thermal power generation

capacity stands at 5247 megawatt and the generation

through clean sources like hydro, wind and solar at 852

Godrej Properties

(GPL)

Antang Gunung Meratus

(AGM)

Baramulti Sukses Sarana

(BSSR)



64


megawatt. Currently, Tata Power’s total generation capacity stays at 6099 megawatt.

PHILIPS INDIA LAUNCHED BODYGROOM GADGET BG2024 FOR MEN AT 2495 RUPEES

Philips India on 20 July 2012 launched the Philips Bodygroom gadget

BG2024 for men priced at 2495 rupees. It’s a body hair trimming and

shaving gadget for men. The gadget is likely to be imported from

Philips resources in Holland.

The Bollywood actor John Abraham is the Brand Ambassador of

Philips Male Grooming. The gadget will be available in 500-750

stores in India. Philips also decided to replace the existing product

with more modern and advanced features as per the needs of Indian

customers.

Philips decided to sell products through cosmetic channels, gadget

stores, besides modern retail outlets like Croma stores, Shoppers stop and Reliance in all major

cities of the country.

RENAULT-NISSAN ALLIANCE TO INVEST 160 MILLION DOLLAR AT RENAULT SAMSUNG MOTORS KOREA

The Renault-Nissan alliance on 20 July 2012 announced to invest 160 million dollar at in Busan,

Korea. The company is likely to add 80 thousand units of production at RSM. The production is

likely to begin in the year 2014, with an annual capacity of around 80 thousand units. The plant

plans to build 180 thousand vehicles sale in Korea and 60

other countries.

Earlier in 2012, Renault Samsung Motors launched RSM

2012 revival Plan which aims to attain efficiency and cost

competitiveness in Busan. Currently, RSM has four

models- SM3 compact, SM5 midsize sedan, SM7 large

sedan and QM5 SUV (sold outside Korea).

The partnership between Renault-Samsung was established on 27 March 1999, when Renault

acquired 70.1 percent stake in Samsung Motors. Samsung Motors is car-making unit of Samsung

Group. It was the first industrial and commercial partnership involving French and a Japanese

company.

PERCEPT LIMITED LAUNCHED A GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY PERCEPT LIVE

Percept Limited launched a global entertainment company Percept Live on 20 July 2012 to focus

on creating academics for sports, entertainment and social media. The media, entertainment and

communications are planning to invest around 200 crore rupees.

Renault Samsung Motors

(RSM)



65


Percept has appointed Balaji Telefilm’s former TV CEO

Manuj Agarwal as the Chief Executive of Percept Live.

Percept IPs includes Sunburn, Fight Night, Bollywood

Live and fans Football Championship in sports space.

Percept is planning to organize 30 events in the year 2012.

Besides, the expansion of IP property Sunburn, a music

festival plans to launch in other cities. In Delhi it is likely

to come in October 2012. Percept Live also aims to take

Sunburn in cities like Jakarta, Colombo, Dubai and

Singapore and looking to host the event in Mexico. The company is also aiming to build another

IP property in the music space Lost. For Lost, Percept Live has the partnership with Bollywood

actor Arjun Rampal.

ONGC WAS AWARDED GOLD TROPHY IN SAFETY MANAGEMENT AWARD 2012

Greentech Foundation awarded Gold Trophy in Safety Management Award 2012 on 24 July

2012 to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). The conference was held in Srinagar, Jammu

and Kashmir. The Application of the Company was

shortlisted by the award committee. ONGC was selected

in Corporate Category for the gold trophy of safety

management award. A.K.Hazarika and Anoop Kumar are

the Director and ED-Chief HSE of ONGC. The

Greentech Foundation provides an opportunity to discuss

on the issues of fire, Safety & Security and the innovative ways to overcome these challenges

faced by different Industries and corporates.

GAIL AND ONGC SIGNED SWAP AGREEMENT AND GAS CO-OPERATION AGREEMENT

GAIL gas India Ltd and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) signed Swap Agreement and

Gas Co-operation Agreement on 26 July 2012. According to the Gas Co-operation Agreement,

ONGC can sale and purchase the gas from GAIL for three years. In addition, both the

companies can supply or sale LNG by GAIL to ONGC for the reduction of C2+ Extraction at

Dahej. The components of C2+ will be supplied to ONGC Petro additions Limited (OPAL) for

manufacturing the petrochemicals at Dahej Special Economic Zone.

According to the Swap Agreement, ONGC would supply gas to customers through GAIL's

infrastructure so as to enhance the availability and the effective utilization of resources. If both

the companies (ONGC and GAIL) will find the beneficial results with the Gas Co-operation

Agreement they could extend it.

FAMOUS CRICKETER SACHIN TENDULKAR WAS SIGNED AS THE BRAND AMBASSADOR OF BMW

Oil and Natural Gas

Corporation (ONGC)



66


Famous Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was signed as the Brand Ambassador of BMW on 27 July

2012. The German Luxury brand BMW will launch New Three Series Sedan. Sachin Tendular

was the Brand Ambassador of Fiat and Parent Company of Ferrari. Sachin Tendulkar is also

known as the big fan of the Italian Sports Car Ferrari. It is the first time that BMW is connected

with the celebrity.

KAVVERI TELECOM ACQUIRED US FIRM WPCS INTERNATIONAL

Kavveri Telecom acquired US Firm WPCS International

on 26 July 2012. Kavveri Telecom and WPCS

International are a Bangalore based firm and US Based

firm respectively. WPCS International is into the

business of wireless Communications Division. They

make solutions used by the police officers, firemen and

other emergency Services.

WPCS International has their operations in Lakewood,

New Jersey and Hartford in Connecticut. This

acquisition will provide Kavveri with a range of wireless

systems solutions in addition to its existing products

portfolio.

Kavveri Telecom makes Cellphone Tower antennas, Radio Frequency (RF) components,

repeaters and other telecom products. WPCS International is the parent company of the wireless

communications division, provides infrastructure for companies in the energy and utility sector,

healthcare, educational institutions and public services organizations worldwide.

According to the Analysts, Kavveri’s telecom products can enter in the US market with this

acquisition. Kavveri Telecom wants to become global in wireless infrastructure solutions. Since,

2006 the company had acquired five American companies.

RAVNEET GILL APPOINTED AS THE NEW CEO OF DEUTSCHE BANK INDIA

Deutsche Bank, the largest German lender, appointed

Ravneet Gill as the new CEO of the bank’s Indian

operations. Gill replaced Gunit Chadha to the top position,

who was elevated as co-chief executive of Asia Pacific along

with Alan Cloete in June 2012.

Prior to his appointment as the CEO, Gill headed the capital

markets and treasury solutions, and oversaw the successful

integration of corporate treasury sales, debt capital markets

and corporate banking coverage in the country, the German

lender said in a statement. As the head of Bank’s India’s

operation, Gill will report Gunit Chaddha and Alan Cloete.



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Gill, in a banking career spanning nearly 26 years, worked on various banking projects including

capital market, corporate and treasury. H e joined the Deutsche bank in 1991 at the private

wealth management and moved to the corporate banking division in 1993.

In 2003, he was appointed the head of corporate banking coverage and held the position till

December 2008 when he took over as the head of coverage for global markets and built a

dominant flow franchise to compliment the platform's structured products' capabilities. Gill was

appointed the head of capital markets & treasury solutions of Deutsche Bank in 2011.

APPLE LAUNCHED OS X 10.8 MOUNTAIN LION SYSTEM

Apple Launched OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion System on 25 July 2012. This Application is for Mac

Range of Personal Computers. The OS X 10.8 will be fully integrated with social networks like:-

Facebook and Twitter.

OS X Mountain Lion can be downloaded from the

Mac Appstore at 19.99 Dollars (Rs.1110 approx).

It can compete with most of the iMacs and

Macbooks manufactured after the year 2007-08.

This Application also brings the iMessage platform

to iMacs and Mac Notebooks.

It can be upgraded with 200 new features as

compared to the Operating System (OS) Lion.

With the help of this Application, users can tweet or post their messages on the Facebook along

with browsing web or viewing photos. In addition, it will allow users to chat with other users

who are running the program either on their Macs or other mobile Apple devices.

SPORTS

SPAIN BEAT ITALY 4-0 TO WIN UEFA EURO CUP FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP 2012

Spain beat Italy 4-0 in the final to win UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Euro

Cup Football Championship 2012 at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine, on 1 July 2012.

Spain which had earlier defeated Germany 1-0 in 2008 Euro Cup not only defended the title but

also created a record by becoming the first team to claim two consecutive titles in tournament’s

52-year long history. Spain and Italy had defeated Portugal and Germany respectively in their

semi final matches.

Iker Casillas was the captain of Spanish side, while the Italian side was led by Gianluigi

Buffon.The four goals hit by David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata led the

Spanish side to a remarkable victory, which virtually started a debate among the football

followers whether this Spanish side is the best national side ever? Spain midfielder Andrés

Iniesta of Spain was declared the man of the match given his match winning performance, while



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Fernando Torres was given the Golden Boot as he scored three goals in the Spain’s title winning

campaign. Torres also became the first ever player in the history of the tournament to score in

two separate European Championship finals.

The Italian Soccer team is also called Azzuri, which is its popular name. Azzurri is the plural

adjective form of Azzurro which in Italian language means light blue. Since the Italian team's

costume colour is blue and white, the team is called Azzuri. The nick name of Spanish soccer

team is La Furia Roja which in Spanish language means the red fury.

Spain and Italy were placed in group C along with Croatia and Republic of Ireland.

IMPORTANT FACTS RELATED TO UEFA EURO 2012

• Poland-Ukraine jointly hosted the sporting event

• Euro Cup 2012 began on 8 June 2012 and concluded on 1 July 2012

• The winning team received the prize money 7.5 million euro, while the runner-up team got

4.5 million euro as the prize money. Teams which made to semi-finals and quarter-finals

received 3 million euros and 2 million euro respectively as prize money.

• The Euro Cup 2016 will take place in France

• A total of 16 countries namely, Poland, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Russia, Portugal,

England, Germany, Netherland, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, France, Czech Republic and

Republic of Ireland participated in Euro Cup 2012

• The sixteen teams were divided into four groups, A, B, C & D

• Eight cities were selected by UEFA as host venues

• A total of 31 matches were played during Euro 2012, with Ukraine hosting 16 of them and

Poland 15

• There were 10 global sponsors of the Euro Cup 2012. The list includes, Adidas, Canon,

Castrol, Continental, Orange and Telekomunikacja, PolskaHyundai-Kia Carlsberg, McDonald's,

SHARP

THREE RUSSIAN FEMALE ATHLETES WERE SUSPENDED

Russian Athletics Federation on 3 July 2012 decided to suspend three Russian female athletes

with the European Marathon Champion, Naiva Tulamanova. The three women are Svetlana

Klyuka, Yevgenia Zinurova, Lithuania's Zivile Balciunaite.

European Marathon Champion 2010 Naiva Tulamanova was banned for two years. While

Second winner in 800 meters European Champions in 2006 Svetlana Klyuka and 2011 European

800 indoor winner Yevgenia Zinurova, were suspended for anomalous indexes in their biometric

passports and Lithuania's Zivile Balciunaite was disqualified and banned for using steroids.



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The suspensions of Yulamanova and Klyuka have been backdated to February. The ban for

Zinurova began from September.

All the three were suspended to compete in Russian championships as well as from London

Olympics which is starting from 27 July 2012.

EX-ENGLAND BATSMAN MARK RAMPRAKASH ANNOUNCED RETIREMENT FROM CRICKET

Previous England Batsman Mark Ramprakash on 5 July 2012 announced his retirement from

cricket after being told by Surrey that he was not

figured in the selection plans. He was the most

prolific and stylish batsman in the England cricket

team.

He scored 13000 runs in limited-over cricket and

35689 runs in 461 first-class matches. He had also

played 18 one-day internationals. He topped 1000

runs in 20 separate seasons and three times made

more than 2000 in 1995, 2006 and 2007. He is one

in 25 players in the history of the sport who have

scored 100 first-class centuries. His last Test was in 2002, but he was pushed to return in the year

2009.

SPRINT STAR USAIN BOLT QUIT FROM DIAMOND LEAGUE MEET IN MONACO

Sprint star Usain Bolt on 5 July 2012 withdrew his name from the Samsung Diamond League

meet in Monaco on 20 July 2012 due to slight

problem at Jamaican Olympics trials. He was

prepared for 200 meter race at Diamond League.

He was suffered with a shock in his right

hamstring after finishing in 200 meters at Jamaican

Olympics trials which took place on 1 July 2012.

He was second to Yohan Blake in 200 meters. He

was also defeated by Blake in 100 meters in

Kingston as well. Bolt withdrew his name from

Diamond League to get enough time for treatment

and time to prepare for the Olympic Games in London. Bolt is the three-time Olympic champion

and five times world record holder. He was born on 21 August 1986. He was the record holder in

100 meters, 200 meters and 4X100 meters relay race.

ROGER FEDERER BEAT ANDY MURRAY TO CLAIM WIMBLEDON OPEN TITLE 2012



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Swiss (Switzerland) Tennis maestro Roger Federer beat British player Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-

3, 6-4 to win the Wimbledon Open Championship Gentlemen’s Singles Final 2012 in London on

8 July 2012. Federer, with this victory also reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking surpassing Pete

Sampras' record of 286 weeks at the top of the game.

Federer had defeated Djokovic in the semi-finals, while Murray had beat French Jo-Wilfreid

Tsonga to make to the final of the tournament. In quarter-finals Federer had defeated Mikhail

Youzhny of Russia and Murray overcame David Ferrer of Spain.

The Wimbledon Open marked 17th career Grand Slam for Federer, who had earlier claimed the

Wimbeldon title on 6 different occasions from 2003 to 2007 and again in 2009. Only William

Renshaw's and Pete Sampras have got the distinction of winning the coveted Wimbledon singles

title on seven occasions.

Bunny Austin was the last British man to win the Wimbledon Open Titles in 1938. No other

British player has been able to win the title since 1938.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• The 14-day sporting event which had commenced on 25 June 2012 concluded with the

Gentlemen’s Singles Final on 8 July 2012.

• Serena Williams of US beat Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland to claim Ladies’ singles title.

• The mixed pair of Mike Bryan and Lisa Raymond defeated Leander Paes and Elena Vesnina to

win the mixed doubled final.

• The men’s doubles final was won by Jonathan Marray and Frederick Nielson who defeated

Robert Lindstedt.

• In Ladies’ Doubles final the pair of Serena Williams and Venus Williams emerged victorious

as they defeated Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.

• Wimbledon, which is one of the oldest and most prestigious sporting events in the world, has

been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. Played on a grass court,

Wimbledon is one of the four major grand slam tournaments in the world. Other three grand

slams are Australian Open, French Open and US Open.

SERENA WILLIAMS BEAT AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA TO CLAIM WIMBLEDON WOMEN’S SINGLES 2012

Ace US tennis player Serena Williams beat Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 in

Wimbledon women’s singles Title at the All England Club in London on 7 July 2012. William,

the world no.6, beat the third seed, Radwanska who was playing her first grand slam final and

striving to become the first Polish to win a Grand Slam. Radwanska made a history by becoming

the first Polish tennis player to reach a grand slam final.



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Serena had defeated defending champion Petra Kvitová in

the quarter finals and second-seeded Victoria Azarenka in

semi-finals clash, while, Agnieszka Radwanska had

defeated Maria Kirilenko in the quarterfinals and Angelique

Kerber in the semifinals.

The Wimbledon victory holds a great importance for Serena

Williams who was out of the game for nearly 1 year as she

suffered a dreadful foot injury and underwent a surgery for

blood clots in her lungs. Serena, had claimed the Wimbledon

women’s singles title on four occasions in the past including

2002, 2003, 2009 and 2010. In a career marked by 18 grand

slam finals, Serena has to her credit 14 singles titles, which comprise all grand slams.

SOUTH AFRICAN WICKETKEEPER MARK BOUCHER ANNOUNCED RETIREMENT FROM INTERNATIONAL CRICKET

South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher on 10 July 2012 announced his retirement from

International Cricket due to eye injury. He suffered the eye injury on the opening day of South

Africa’s tour match against Somerset at Taunton on

9 July 2012. He was struck by a flying bail from

Imran Tahir’s delivery. After that he was operated

for 3 hours eye surgery in Taunton to repair a

laceration to the white of his eyeball. Earlier, He had

planned to retire after Somerset tour.

Mark Boucher had played 147 Test matches with a

world record of 555 dismissals which include 532

catches and 23 stumping. He scored 5515 runs with

five centuries and 35 half centuries at an average of 30.30. He also played 295 ODIs in which he

made 425 dismissals with 403 catches. He scored 4686 runs in a century and 26 half centuries.

ENGLAND BEAT AUSTRALIA 4-0 TO CLAIM NATWEST CRICKET SERIES

England beat Australia in the fifth and final one-day international cricket played at Old Trafford

on 11 July 2012 to complete a 4-0 victory in the NatWest cricket series played in England. The

English team was led by Alistair Cook while the Aussie team was led by Michael Clarke.

England all-rounder Ravi Bopara starred in England’s final victory and was given the Man of the

Match award. He claimed two wickets and made 52 not out off 56 balls. Ian Bells of England

was given the Man of the Series Award.

The victory marked the third series white wash for Australia over the last 40 years. The

Australian team is still the world no.1 ODI team. Earlier the team had suffered clean sweeps

against New Zealand (0-3) in 2006-07 and against England (0-3) in 1997.



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BRETT LEE ANNOUNCED RETIREMENT FROM ALL FORMS OF INTERNATIONAL CRICKET

Ace Australian fast bowler Brett Lee announced his retirement from all forms of international

cricket on 12 July 2012. He, however, will continue to play in the Big Bash League and Indian

Premier League. He had already announced his retirement from Test cricket in 2010.

Brett Lee, 35, made his debut in the international cricket

against India in the Melbourne Test in 1999. In a career

spanning 13 years he played 76 Tests, 221 One Day

Internationals and 25 T20 internationals. A bowler with

frightening speed and sheer accuracy, he claimed over 700

international wickets (310 in Tests, 380 in ODIs and 28 in

T20s). He has taken 10 five-wicket hauls in Tests and 9

five-wicket hauls in ODIs. He is also the first bowler to take

a hat-trick in T20 cricket.

Born in Wollogong in Australia, on 8 November 1976, Brett

Lee ended his stint with the Australian Cricket Team as one

of its most successful bowler in the history. He is the second

highest ODI wicket-taker for Australia after Glenn McGrath

(seventh all-time) and one of only four Australians to take

more than 300 Test wickets.

Lee has also been associated with the Indian Premiere League since the cricket extravaganza had

commenced in 2008. Though, he is now the part of Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight

Riders, in the previous four seasons he played for the Kings 11 Punjab.

ENGLAND’S DAVID HOWELL WON THE 6TH LEIDEN INTERNATIONAL CHESS TOURNAMENT

England’s David Howell won the 6th Leiden International Chess tournament at 7.5 points on 15

July 2012. The tournament was held at Leiden, Netherland from 7 July 2012 to 15 July 2012.

The grandmaster and Asian champion Parimarjan Negi ended the tournament with 7 points out

of nine possible points and was second in the 6th Leiden International Chess tournament. He

defeated Netherland’s Benjamin Bok in the ninth round

(final) of the tournament.

He was announced as the Indian youngest Grandmaster

at the age of 13 years on 1 July 2006 after drawing with

Russian Grandmaster Ruslan Sherbakov. He also won

the 11th Asian continental chess championship held in

from 4 May 2012 to 14 May 2012 in Vietnam.

Third place of the Leiden tournament was shared by

two Indian Grandmasters S Arun Prasad and M.R. Lalith at 6.5 points.



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BRADLEY WIGGINS WON THE 99TH EDITION OF TOUR DE FRANCE BICYCLE RACE

Bradley Wiggins of Britain became the

first cyclist of the country, to win the

coveted Tour de France Cycling race

on 22 July 2012. Team Sky rider

Wiggins is the first cyclist to have won

both the Tour and an Olympic track

cycling gold. His Sky teammate and

fellow Briton, Froom Christopher

came second. Their teammate and

fellow country man Mark Cavendish

was declared the day’s winner as he

won the final stage of the race.

Wiggins, 32, was given the yellow jersey at the end of the event. The rider with the lowest

aggregate time at the end of each day is given the yellow jersey. One of the most successful

Olympian of Britain, Wiggins won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and three

medals (1 Gold + 1 Silver + 1 Bronze) at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and two golds at the 2008

Beijing Olympics.

Wiggins is the first and only person in history to win the Paris-Nice, the Tour de Romandie,

Critérium du Dauphiné and Tour de France in one single season.

TOUR DE FRANCE

The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race event held in France and nearby countries. The first

The Tour de France was held in 1903. The race which lasts three weeks, covers around 3200

kilometres. Mauris Garin was the winner of the first edition of tour, while Lance Armstrong of

USA had won the race for 7 times, the highest individual win.

30TH EDITION OF SUMMER OLYMPICS INAUGURATED IN LONDON

Summer Olympic Games 2012 inaugurated at Olympic Stadium at the Olympic Park in East

London on 27 July 2012. Queen Elizabeth II officially declared the commencement of the 30th

Olympics Game, popularly called the London Olympics, amidst the sparkling fireworks. The

games, which will conclude on 12 August 2012, will see nearly 10500 athletes from 204

National Olympic Committees participating in as many as 26 sports events.

London was selected to host the 30th Summer Olympics on 6 July 2005 after it defeated bids

from Moscow, New The York City, Madrid and Paris during the 117th IOC Session in

Singapore. London also got a distinction to host the modern Olympic Games three times. The

city had previously hosted the games in 1908 and in 1948.



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BELOW ARE SOME OF THE MAJOR FACTS RELATED TO LONDON OLYMPICS 2012

1. 100 heads of states were present at the three and a half hour long opening ceremony

2. More than 10000 performers participated in the opening ceremony

3. The opening ceremony was directed by celebrated Hollywood director Danny Boyle

4. Motto of the London Olympics is - Inspire a Generation

5. 10500 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees participating in as many as 26 sports

events

HOCKEY INDIA SIGNED A MULTI-YEAR BROADCAST AGREEMENT WITH ESPN STAR

Hockey India on 30 July 2012 signed a multi-year broadcast agreement with ESPN STAR Sports

to exclusively broadcast all international hockey test matches under Hockey India to be played in

India for the next 5 years. Under the agreement the

ESPN STAR Sports will also exclusively cover

Hockey India League (HIL), which is expected to

be launched in January 2013.

The Hockey India is coming up with a

professional hockey league that will see the best

of Indian and international hockey players

showcase their sporting skill. The first edition of the

league is expected to be played in the month of

January 2013. At least six franchise hockey teams will

participate in the league and will feature 33 hockey matches to be played in prime time in state-

of-the-art stadia across the country. All teams will play each other on a home and away basis (30

league matches) followed by 2 semifinals and the final.

WORLD DIARY

1 July 2012

Joan Dunlop, a global leader in addressing women’s issues who helped prod the U.N. to

define a woman’s right to say no to sex as an essential human right passed away

Enrique Pena Nieto of Institutional Revolutionary Party won the Mexican Presidential

Election 2012

The meeting of world leaders including Russia and China in Geneva agreed a transition

plan that could include regime members, but the West ruled out any role for President

Bashar al-Assad in a unity government



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2 July 2012

Iran Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi urged national unity, resistance and patience in

the face of the sanctions imposed on the country by the European Union in coordination

with the U.S.

Afghanistan government accused Pakistan army of opening rocket fire on posts inside

Afghanistan while, Pakistan claimed that Afghan soldiers had entered Pakistan.

Mali’s Islamist rebels destroyed the entrance of a 15th century Timbuktu mosque.

Sri Lankan government summoned all Heads of its overseas Missions for an orientation

session on Tamil issue.

3 July 2012

Pakistan announced to reopen the NATO supply lines to Afghanistan after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apologised for the losses caused to the Pakistan military in the Salala attack of 26 November 2012.

At least 33 people were killed and score others were left wounded in a series of bomb

explosions in Iraq.

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad regretted his country’s defence forces bringing down a

Turkish fighter jet on 22 June 2012, but maintained that the jet was in Syrian airspace.

Iran initiated military intervention in the Strait of Hormuz, a move that could raise global

oil prices and pave the way for a larger armed confrontation between Iran and western

powers.

4 July 2012

India and Pakistan held Foreign Secretary level talk in New Delhi. Issues like terrorism,

especially revelations by LeT operative Zabiuddin Ansari on Pakistan’s involvement in

the Mumbai attacks, and Jammu and Kashmir prominently figured in the dialogue.

A nine-month investigation by Al Jazeera which revealed that Yasser Arafat may have

died of polonium poisoning and not of natural causes prompted Palestinians to demand

an international investigation into the circumstances of their celebrated leader’s death.

Nearly 2000 protesters gathered at the Independence Square monument at Bamako in

Mali protesting against Islamists who have enforced strict Sharia, destroyed ancient

shrines and trapped residents with landmines in their region.

5 July 2012



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The two-day foreign secretary level talk between India and Pakistan wrapped up with no

tangible outcome although both reiterated their commitment to fighting terror.

Pakistan government offered a joint probe into the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

The British government banned the Indian Mujahideen (IM) for its alleged involvement

in several terror attacks, including the Mumbai bombings.

China pledged to strike with an iron fist at separatist forces in its restive Xinjiang region,

as it deployed heavy security in the trouble-torn region on the third anniversary of

deadly ethnic riots.

China pledged financial aid to Cuba as Cuban President Raul Castro visited China and

promised to roll out economic reforms in the communist nation.

A parliamentary report said that Fukushima nuclear accident occurred in 2011, was a

manmade disaster caused by Japan’s culture of “reflexive obedience” and not just the

tsunami that hit the plant.

6 July 2012

A world meeting on Syria held in Paris urged the UN to use the threat of sanctions to force change in Syria. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also lambasted Russia and China, two veto-wielding U.N. Security Council members for blocking peace in the country.

The Pakistani government planned to frame a contempt law that will provide immunity

to senior government functionaries for their executive actions.

China made it clear that it has no plans to open a consulate in the Gilgit Baltistan region

of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

7 July 2012

Libya held first poll after the death of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, to elect a

National Assembly.

The Obama administration declared Afghanistan the United States’ newest major non-

NATO ally.

Severe flash floods killed almost 100 people and displaced about 13000 in Russia’s

southern region of Krasnodar.

Buddhist artefacts worth millions possibly dating back to the first century A.D. Gandhara

School of Art were recovered by the police in Karachi.

8 July 2012

International donors pledged to give 16 billion dollar to Afghanistan as development aid

over the next four years.



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Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsy ordered the reinstatement of his country’s

Parliament.

International Conference on Afghanistan held in Japanese capital Tokyo.

9 July 2012

Aung San Suu Kyi attended Myanmar’s Parliament as a lawmaker for the first time

South Sudan on marked its first year of independence. The country is badly trapped in

border wars with the north, internal violence and shutdown of its vital oil production

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced that the country would itself

implement the 3-billion dollar Padma bridge project through mobilising domestic

resources after the World Bank cancelled the loan deal recently

10 July 2012

The International Criminal Court sentenced a Congolese warlord, Thomas Lubanga to 14

years in prison

Ten Southeast Asian nations reached on an agreement on a code of conduct to prevent

armed clashes over the South China Sea but still sought China’s agreement

An Israeli court cleared the former Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert from corruption

charges, that forced him out of power

The Islamists forces in northern Mali destroyed two tombs at the ancient Djingareyber

mosque in Timbuktu

11 July 2012

At least 95 people were killed after a truck carrying fuel caught fire and exploded

in Nigeria

At least nine police trainees were killed by terrorists at a crowded locality of

Lahore

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, met Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi

on the sidelines of the Asean Regional Forum meeting in Phnom Penh

At least nine police trainees were killed by terrorists at a crowded locality of

Lahore

12 July 2012

US imposed a fresh wave of sanctions against Iran, ratcheting up pressure on

Tehran to stop its nuclear weapons programme

A cargo ship carrying humanitarian aid from the US to Cuba, the first expedition

of its kind in 50 years, arrived in Cuba



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A court in Ethiopia court sentenced a journalist for 18 years imprisonment for

terrorism and 23 others for between eight years and life, after a trial condemned

by rights groups

13 July 2012

Syrian troops and pro-regime militias stormed and torched a southern town in Syria, as

T=the group of UN Observers visited the sites of mass killing

A suicide bomber blew himself up in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 23 people

including a prominent warlord-turned-politician Ahmad Khan Samangani

14 July 2012

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Egypt

Japan recalled its Ambassador to China for consultations amid a simmering row

between the Asian powers over disputed territory in the East China Sea

US President Barack Obama expressed concerns over the deteriorating investment

climate in India and asked the Indian government to endorse another wave of economic

reforms

23 July 2012

At least 103 people were killed in Iraq after bombings and shootings ripped through

thirteen cities in the country

akistan ordered an investigation into a visa scam aimed at facilitating access to the

London Olympics as part of the country’s Olympic squad

Syria warned that it could use chemical weapons to combat external aggression, but

never inside the country against its own people

24 July 2012

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin warned of endless Afghan-type civil war in Syria if

President Bashar al-Assad is removed unconstitutionally

China said it is keen to expand its fast-growing indigenous helicopter industry by

reaching out to the Indian market

The Supreme Court of Pakistan turned down the government’s request for a review of

its order to open graft cases against President Zardai, saying such a petition should have

been filed earlier as per rules

25 July 2012



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Supreme Court of Pakistan extended the time for the government to comply its order

asking the government to write to the Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against

President Asif Ali Zardari

North Korean state media confirmed that its new leader Kim Jong-Un is married

A planned strike by immigration staff at Heathrow airport on the eve of the London

Olympics was called off after an agreement was made

26 July 2012

The wife of purged Chinese Politburo member Bo Xilai was charged with murder

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez unveiled a digitised 3-D image of Simon Bolivar

based on remains exhumed two years ago

A white gunman who shot student Anuj Bidve in an unprovoked racist attack in Salford,

Manchester, in December 2011 was convicted of his murder

27 July 2012

India banned U.S.-sanctioned Iranian ships from entering its waters

Immigration and customs authorities in New York City seized more than 20-million

dollar worth of antiques, stolen from Indian temples

The Russian Navy said the Russian naval flotilla, which entered the Mediterranean

earlier this week, may be there for the long haul

28 July 2012

A UN agreement aimed at regulating the multibillion-dollar global arms trade will

have to wait after member states failed to reach an agreement

A Russian-built fighter jet made the first landing on the INS Vikramaditya as part

of comprehensive sea trials

Chinese authorities acknowledged in rare frank comments that last week’s

floods had exposed many loopholes in the Beijing’s planning and infrastructure

29 July 2012

US and Pakistan accused each other of doing too little to combat Taliban sanctuaries in

Afghanistan and Pakistan

The US Senate unanimously passed a resolution urging the State Department to put the

Haqqani network, which operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the US list of terrorist

groups

Catastrophic forest fires ravaged vast areas of Siberia, and ruined the region’s

ecosystem. Fires destroyed 100000 sq km of forests across Russia



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ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY

UNESCO INSCRIBES WESTERN GHATS MOUNTAIN CHAIN ON THE LIST OF WORLD HERITAGE SITES

The science and cultural body of UN, inscribed India's 1600-km long Western Ghats mountain

chain on the list of its world heritage sites on 1 June 2012. The Western Ghats mountain chain is

globally renowned for its enormous biological diversity. The mountain’s chains, which are older

than the Himalaya, are widely responsible for the

Indian monsoon weather pattern.

The Western Ghats are also considered to be one of

the world's eight hottest hotspots of biological

diversity.

The 1600-km long ghats, begins at the border of

Gujarat and Maharashtra and passes through as many as 5 states including Maharashtra, Goa,

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu marks the ending point of the

ghats.

The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO holds its meeting once every year where it reviews

its list of World Heritage sites. The committee also looks into the implementation of the

UNESCO World Heritage Convention, which defines the kind of natural or cultural sites which

can be considered for inclusion on the World Heritage List.

KARAKORAM GLACIERS REMAINED IMPERVIOUS OF GLOBAL WARMING

According to a recent study published in the Journal Nature Geo-science on 9 July 2012, Diran

and Rakaposhi, two glaciers in the Karakoram Range of northern Pakistan, remain unaffected of

global warming and contrary to the popular belief, grew slightly in recent years. The study found

that the glacier saw an increase in ice thickness

of 0.11 (plus or minus 0.22) metres of water

equivalent per year between 1999 and 2008.

The researchers had used spaceborne data to

study a 5615 sq km section of the

Karakoram Range of northern Pakistan and

western China. The findings of the study are

of great importance given the fact that the

entire Himalayan mountain range is

estimated to lose about 0.4 to 0.8 metres ice per

year.

Karakoram mountain range, which account for 3 percent of the total ice-covered area in the

world, is located across the border of Pakistan, India and China. The mountain range is

concentrated in Gilgit–Baltistan in Pakistan, Ladakh in India, and Xinjiang region, in China. Part

of greater Himalaya it is one of the largest mountain range of the world. K2 or Godwin Austen,

United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural

Organisation (UNESCO)



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the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest, is part of the Karakoram Range. The

total elevation of K2 is 8611 m (28251 feet).

WORLD BANK APPROVED 1100 CRORE RUPEES LOAN FOR HIMACHAL PRADESH

The World Bank approved an 1100 crore rupees loan for Himachal Pradesh to promote green

initiatives and sustainable development in the state. The loan agreement was signed between the

World Bank and the state government in New Delhi on 28 July 2012.

The financial assistance consists of 90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan at interest rate of 0.7

per cent (payable in 30 years). The loan is directed towards the development of industry, tourism,

power and infrastructure projects in the state.

The planning commission of India in its environment performance report released on 26 July

2012, ranked Himachal Pradesh as top state in the country on environmental performance index.

According to the 2009 Forest Survey of India, the northern hilly state has a total of 37033 sq km

of forest area, of which 3224 sq km is very dense forest.

GLOBAL CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS INCREASED BY THREE PERCENT IN 2011

According to the findings of the report Trends in global CO2 emissions, global carbon dioxide (CO2), emission

increased by three percent in 2011. The three percent increase in CO2 took the total amount of CO2 in air at an all-

time high of 34 billion tonnes. The report was released on 19 July 2012 by the European Commission's Joint

Research Centre (JRC) and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL).

The United States with 17.3 tons per capita remains one of the top CO2 emitters, while, China, the world’s most

populous country, average CO2 emissions increased by nine percent to 7.2 tonnes per capita. The 27-nation

European Union emitted 7.5 tonnes of CO2 per person. Emissions from 34-member Organisation for Economic

Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries account for only one third of global CO2 emissions in 2011.

China (29 percent), the United States (16 percent), the European Union (11 percent), India (six percent), the

Russian Federation (five percent) and Japan (four percent) were the top CO2 emitters in 2011.



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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SCIENTISTS AT CERN DISCOVERED A NEW SUB-ATOMIC PARTICLE CALLED HIGGS BOSON

Scientists at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, on 4 July 2012, discovered

a new sub-atomic particle called Higgs Boson or God’s Particle. The new discovery is being

considered as a gateway to a new era in understanding

the universe's great mysteries including dark matter.

Scientists had predicted the existence of Higgs Boson,

which is also referred to as God’s Particle, in 1964.

The particle was named Higgs Boson after Peter Higgs

and Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose. Peter Higgs

was one of six authors who wrote the revolutionary

papers covering what is now known as the Higgs mechanism and described the related Higgs

field and boson. The term God particle was first used by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon

Lederman. The term is now a more popular term for Higgs Boson which explains how the

subatomic universe works and got started.

RUSSIAN SOYUZ SPACECRAFT BLASTED-OFF FROM THE BAIKONUR COSMODROME IN KAZAKHSTAN

A Russian Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft carrying three astronauts including Sunita Williams, the

Indian-American astronaut, took-off for the international space station on 15 July 2012 from the

Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz launch marked the 37th anniversary of the

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project that opened the door to US-Russian cooperation in space science. The

Soyuz spacecraft is likely to remain docked to the

International Space Station throughout Expedition 32 to

serve as an emergency escape vehicle.

Three astronauts on board including Sunita Williams,

Russian Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko and

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency flight engineer

Akihiko Hoshide will take two days to reach to the

International space station where they will join Russian

cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin and

NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, who have already been in

the International Space Station since 17 May 2012.

The six crew members will work together for about two months as Acaba, Padalka and Revin

are scheduled to return to Earth on 17 September 2012. Williams, Malenchenko and Hoshide

will return to the Earth in mid-November 2012.

Scientists at CERN, the European

Organization for Nuclear Research,

a new sub-atomic particle called

Higgs Boson or God’s Particle



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NASA’s space shuttle programme came to an end in July 2011, which left US astronauts

dependent on Russian Soyuz spacecrafts for ferrying to the International Space Station.

SUNITA WILLIAMS

Sunita Williams, the Indian-American astronaut, was born on 19 September 1965 in Euclid, Ohio

and was raised in Massachusetts in US. She completed her B.S in Physical Science from US

Naval Academy in 1987, while M.S in Engineering Management from Florida Institute of

Technology in 1995. She joined NASA in June 1998. Previously she served as a flight engineer

on board the International Space Station. She launched with the crew of STS-116 on 9 December

2006, docking with the station on 11 December 2006. During her trip to the space as a member

of the Expedition-14 crew, Williams created a world record for females with four spacewalks

totaling 29 hours and 17 minutes. (Astronaut Peggy Whitson subsequently broke the record in

2008 with her five total spacewalks). Williams also holds the record for being the first female to

have spent 195 days in space.

RUSSIA’S SOYUZ-FG CARRIER ROCKET SET FIVE SATELLITES INTO ORBIT

Russia's Soyuz-FG carrier rocket set off from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan on 22

July 2012. The rocket will put the Russian satellites Canopus-B and MKA-PN1, a Belarusian

BKA satellite, the Canadian ADS-1B and German TET-1 into orbit.

The Canopus-B satellite, developed by the All-Russia

Research Institute of Electromechanics, is designed

for remote sensing of the Earth. It weighs about 400

kg and will work on a circular orbit at a height of 510

km. The MKA-PN1 satellite, developed by Russia's

NPO Lavochkin aerospace company, will collect data

to help meteorologists build models of ocean

circulation - particularly in Arctic waters along

Russian shores - and climate dynamics.

The German TET-1 satellite, a part of the German

Aerospace Center's On-Orbit Verification Program, will conduct a test on new space

technologies. The ADS-1B satellite, built by the Com Dev aerospace company, will form part of

a ship-identification satellite system.

The satellites were earlier planned to be launched in the first half of 2012, but was postponed

several times as Kazakhstan kept the decision to let Russia use its territory for rocket launch on

hold. Russia got the permission to launch the rocket following a meeting between Kazakh Prime

Minister Karim Massimov and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in June 2012.

ONE LINERS Eighty one year old founder of the News Corporation, resigned third week of July 2012-

Rupert Murdoch



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India’s leading four-wheeler manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India Limited announced to

close down its factory at an industrial town in the Gurgaon district of Haryana on 21 July

2012-Manesar

Who became the first cyclist of Britain, to win the coveted Tour de France Cycling race

on 22 July 2012 - Bradley Wiggins

Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi elected fifty year old man as the country’s Prime

Minister-Hisham Kandil

President of Ghana, Passed away on 24 July 2012- John Atta Mills

Greentech Foundation awarded Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on 24 July

2012- Gold Trophy in Safety Management Award 2012

India got its fourteen President at the Central Hall of Parliament on 25 July 2012- Pranab

Mukherjee

The Government of Japan on 23 July 2012 decided to honour Indian Environmental

philosopher with Fukuoka Prize 2012.- Vandana Shiva

Following the deal struck by Kotak Mahindra Bank worth India received its first

investment through the qualified framework investor (QFI) route.- $5 million

The first US woman to travel into space died in La Jolla, California on 23 July 2012.- Sally

Ride

GAIL gas India Ltd and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) signed Agreement on 26

July 2012.- Swap Agreement and Gas Co-operation Agreement

The Ministry of Women and Child Development on 26 July 2012 drafted - NATIONAL

POLICY FOR CHILDREN 2012.

The World Bank approved an 1100 crore rupees loan for Himachal Pradesh to promote.

The loan agreement was signed between the World Bank and the state government in

New Delhi on 28 July 2012- green initiatives and sustainable development in the state

The Government of India launched an anti-ragging website. The Union Human Resource

Minister inaugurated the ‘Anti- Ragging Web Portal’ on 26 July 2012.- Kapil Sibal

India and Indonesia signed an agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent fiscal

evasion with respect to taxes on income on 27 July 2012.- Double Taxation Avoidance

Agreement

Famous Cricketer was signed as the Brand Ambassador of BMW on 27 July 2012.- Sachin

Tendulkar

Coast Guard Station Karaikal, was commissioned by Vice Admiral, Director General

Indian Coast Guard at Karaikal on 25 July 2012.- MP Muralidharan

Appointment Committee of the Cabinet(ACC) appointed the Secretary of the President

on 24 July 2012.- Omita Paul

Kulandei Francis, Indian Social Activist Won award- Magsaysay Awards 2012



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The Government of a state banned Gutka and Pan Masala on 24 July 2012. The State

Cabinet decided to ban the manufacturing, storage, distribution, sale and consumption

of these products.- Chhattisgarh

NEWS CAPSULE

UN SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI-MOON RELEASED UN MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL 2012 REPORT

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released United Nations Millenium

Development Goal 2012. Report on 2 July 2012. The report noted that three important targets on

poverty, slums and water have already been met three years ahead of 2015, the target year

On the front of poverty, the report stated that for the first time since poverty trends began to be

monitored, both the number of people living in extreme poverty and the poverty rates have fallen

in every developing regionincluding sub‐Saharan Africa, where rates are highest. Preliminary

estimates indicate that in 2010, the share of people living on less than a 1.25 dollar a day dropped

to less than half of its 1990 value.

The target of providing clean drinking water to a

substantial population of the world also saw a

considerable achievement as the proportion of

people using improved water sources rose from 76

per cent in 1990 to 89 per cent in 2010, which

means more than two billion people across the

world today have the access to sources of clean

drinking water. In developing world the share of urban population living in slums came down to

33 per cent in 2000 from 39 per cent in 2000.

The millennium development goal asserted that the developing countries have also marked

considerable achievements in education as many more of the world’s children are enrolled in

school at the primary level, especially since 2000. Girls have benefited the most. On the front of

AIDS control, the developing countries have achieved tremendous fate as at the end of 2012

nearly 6.5 million people in the developing countries were receiving the antiretroviral therapy for

HIV AIDS.

WHAT IS UN MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL?

The UN Millenium Development Goal Report presents the most comprehensive global

assessment of progress to date, based on data provided by a large number of international

organizations within and outside the United Nations system. The aggregate figures in the report

provide an overview of regional progress under the eight goals and are a convenient way to track

The report noted that three important targets on poverty, slums and water have already been met three years ahead of 2015, the target year



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advances over time. The report is coordinated and published by the Statistics Division of the

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

The Millenium Development Goal has its origin in the Millennium Declaration produced by the

United Nations following the Millennium Summit in 2000. The Declaration asserts that every

individual has the right to dignity, freedom, equality, a basic standard of living that includes

freedom from hunger and violence, and encourages tolerance and solidarity. In order to achieve

its target of providing every individual a basic standard of living along with freedom, equality,

the member nations had adopted the Eight goals which has to be achieved by 2015. The eight

areas which comprises the UN Millenium Development Goal are as follows:

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

JAWAHAR THAKUR ASSUMED THE CHARGE AS THE CONTROLLER GENERAL OF ACCOUNTS

Jawahar Thakur, a 1979-batch Indian Civil Accounts Service officer took over as the new

Controller General of Accounts (CGA) of India, the post earlier

held by C.R. Sundaramurti. Prior to his appointment as the

CGA, Thakur was the Principal Chief Controller of Accounts in

the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) under the

Department of Revenue in the Finance Ministry.

Thakur, a Post Graduate and a Law Graduate from Delhi

University, also holds a M.Sc. degree in Public Economic

Management from University of Birmingham, U.K. and

Diploma in Public Financial Management from the University of

Strathclyde, UK.

He has extensive experience in the areas of Public Financial

Management and has worked in diverse capacities in the Ministries of Earth Sciences,

Commerce, Human Resource Development, Science & Technology, Labour, Health, Home

Affairs and Finance. He is known for his initiatives in the area of development of an effective

financial management information system.

WHAT IS CGA AND WHAT ARE ITS FUNCTIONS?



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Controller General of Accounts is the principal Accounts Adviser to the Government of India

and it exercises the powers of the President under Article 150 of the constitution for prescribing

the forms of Accounts of the Union and State Governments on the advice of the Comptroller &

Auditor General of India.

The major functions of CGA includes; establishing and maintaining a technically sound

management accounting system for the government. Besides, it also prepares a critical analysis

of expenditures, revenues, borrowings and the deficit for the Finance Minister every month. The

CGA is also responsible for preparing annual Appropriation Accounts and Union Finance

Accounts for presentation to the parliament.

CELEBRATED ASSAMESE POET HIREN BHATTACHARYYA PASSED AWAY

Renowned Assamese Poet Hiren Bhattacharyya, who was

fondly called HIRU-DA by his admirers, passed away on

4 July 2012. He was 80. Hiren Bhattacharya was well

known as PREM ARU RODALIR KOBI (Poet of Love

and Sunshine) in the Assamese literature.

Born in Jorhat district at Assam in 1932, Hiren

Bhattacharyya went on to become the most celebrated

author of Assamese language. The poems penned by Hiru Da had diversified colours of emotions

such as love, patriotism, rebellion, loneliness and humanity. He also wrote several rhymes for the

children. Lora Dhemali (1991) and Akon Dhemali (1991) were two of his most famous

collections of children writing.

Some of his famous poetry works include: Roudro Kamona (1968), Kobitar Rod (1976),

Xugondhi Pokhilaa (1981), Mor Desh aru Mor Premor Kobita (1972) and Bibhinno Dinor

Kobita. Hiren Bhattacharya was the recipient of numerous literary awards including Bishnu Rava

Bota, (1958) Rajaji Puroskar ( 1984-85) awarded by Bharatiya Bidya Bhawan, Soviet Desh

Neheru Bota (1987), Sahitya Akademi Award ( 1992), and Asom Upotyoka Sahitya Bota,

(Assam Valley Literary Award) in 2000.

NATIONAL CRIME RECORD BUREAU RELEASED THE CRIME STATISTICS FOR 2011

According to the latest crime statistics, released by - the statistical arm of Indian Police under

ministry of home affairs (MHA) on 3 July 2012, rape with 24206 cases in 2011, emerged as the

biggest crime in India in India. NCRB had started recording the cases of rape in 1971, while

other cognizable offences have been recorded since 1953.

Madhya Pradesh with 3406 rape got the maximum number of

rape case registered in the country followed by West Bengal

which recorded 2363 rape cases in year 2011. Uttar Pradesh

and Rajasthan came next with 2042 and 1800 cases

National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB)



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respectively.

Kidnapping and abduction was the other major crime in the country followed by murder and

riots. Crime like feticide also witnessed a rise as there were 132 cases of feticide reported in the

country in 2011, while the number stood at 111 in year 2010. Madhya Pradesh with 38 feticide

cases topped the list of state with maximum number of feticide cases. The state was followed by

Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with 21, 15, 13 and 12 cases respectively.

Number of farmers' suicide also went up in 2011, as nearly 14027 farm suicide cases were

reported in the entire year. Adding the total number of suicide cases reported in 2011, the total

number of farm suicides since 1995 has touched 270940. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra

Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh saw the maximum number of farmers taking their

lives.

ANUP SANKAR BHATTACHARYA APPOINTED AS THE DIRECTOR OF IBPS

Anup Sankar Bhattacharya was appointed as the Director of the Institute of Banking Personnel

Selection (IBPS) on 2 July 2012. M Balachandran was the former director of Institute of Banking

Personnel Selection. After the abolition of Banking Services Recruitment Board, IBPS plays a

vital role for candidates who are interested in Bank Jobs. Approximately, 15 million applications

applied in the year 2011-12.

In 2011, all the nationalized banks authorized Institute of

Banking Personnel Selection to conduct a common written

test to get admission in the government banks. IBPS

conducts separate test for SBI (State Bank of India) and its

associate banks. Anup Sankar Bhattacharya was the part of

Advisory Board of Central Vigilance Commission for three

months. He was responsible for security issues at IBPS. Anup Sankar Bhattacharya spent thirty

seven years in United Bank of India, Kolkata. He was the executive director of Indian Bank in

the year 2004. In addition, he was the part of Bank of Maharashtra in 2010 for 16 month time.

YANNIS STOURNARAS TOOK OATH AS THE NEW FINANCE MINISTER OF GREECE

Yannis Stournaras took oath as the new finance minister of Greece on 5 July 2012. He succeeded

Vassilis Rapanos. Yannis took his oath in his office with the two deputy ministers. He was the

former Governor of European Investment Banking. He was the development Minister in the

caretaker government of Greece. He was also the part of the team that negotiates Greece's entry

to the Zone of Euro.

He was the general director of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research in Greece

(IOBE). He was the researcher and Lecturer in St. Catherine’s Collegein Oxford University from

the year 1982-1986. He was the Professor of Economics in Athens University since 1989.

Anup Sankar Bhattacharya was the part of Advisory Board of Central Vigilance Commission for three months



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He performed as Vice Chairman of the Public Gas Corporation from 1994 to 1997 and he was

the member of the Board of Directors of the Public Debt Management Office from 1998 to

2000. In addition, he was the managing Director of Kappa Securities in Athens. He was the

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Emporiki Bank and Vice-Chairman of the Association

of Greek Banks. Yannis Stournaras had completed his graduation from the Department of

Economics at Athens University. He had completed is post graduation in Economic Theory and

Policy from Oxford University.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN HELD IN JAPANESE CAPITAL TOKYO

The day long International Conference on Afghanistan was held in Tokyo on 8 July 2012. Nearly

70 countries and organizations attended the conference, pledging a 16 billion dollar development

aid to Afghanistan over the next four years. Multilateral organizations like World Bank and

Asian Development Bank also attended the conference.

At the end of the conference all the participant nations and groups adopted the Tokyo

Declaration, on the security of Afghanistan. The declaration read the main threat to Afghanistan's

security and stability comes from terrorism and that this threat also endangers regional and

international peace and security. The declaration also endorsed key recommendations of a

regional conclave hosted by India to promote direct investment in Afghanistan.

The conference, which came in the wake of US and NATO force’s decision to pull out its troop

from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, was aimed at providing monetary support to the war-torn

nation. The development aid is intended to accelerate the pace of socio-economic development

of the country.

EK BHARAT BHUSHAN DISMISSED AS THE CHIEF OF THE DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF CIVIL AVIATION

The Civil Aviation Ministry of India sacked EK Bharat Bhushan, the head of the Directorate

General of Civil Aviation, on 10 July 2012. Prashant Sukul, joint secretary, the Ministry of Civil

Aviation took over as the temporary head of DGCA.

The ministry’s move came as a big surprise as the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet in its

meeting held on 4 July 2012, had extended his tenure as the head of DGCA for another one year

with effect from 1 December 2011. A 1979 batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, Bharat

Bhushan had assumed charge as DGCA chief from Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi in December 2010.

Post removal, he is set to go back to the Ministry of Civil Aviation as Additional Secretary.

During the 20-month period at the helm of the aviation regulatory body, Bharat Bhushan took

variety of measures to ensure the safety of passengers. He also came hard on cash-strapped King

Fisher Airlines and Air India forcing them to pay the pending salary of their employees to ensure

the better functioning of the airline companies. Besides, he implemented various corrective

measures to revitalize the ailing aviation industry of the country.



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DV SADANANDA GOWDA RESIGNED AS KARNATAKA CHIEF MINISTER

Ending a month-long tussle within the state BJP, Devaragunda Venkappa Sadananda Gowda

stepped down as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on 11 July 2012. He handed over his

resignation to Karnataka Governor HR Bharadwaj at Raj Bhavan. The resignation of Gowda

paved the way for Jagdish Settar to be sworn in as the next Chief Minister of the state.

Sadananda Gowda had assumed the charge as the 26th Chief Minister of Karnataka on 4 August

2011. He was elected the CM by ruling Bhartiya Janata Party following the resignation of BS

Yeddyurappa. He was the head of the Bhartiya Janata Party in Karnataka when the party

recorded its first victory in the state assembly elections in May 2008. The BJP victory in

Karnataka paved the way for the party to form its first government in any of the Southern states.

Earlier he had also served as the member of Loksabha for two different terms.

MANIPAL UNIVERSITY WON THE GOLDEN PEACOCK ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT AWARD 2012

Manipal University won the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2012 on 8 July

2012. The main theme of this meet was DRIVING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS THROUGH

GREEN ECONOMY.The award was given by Karan Singh on the Fourteenth World Congress

Meet on Environment Management. The Ceremony was held in the Le Meridian Hotel, New

Delhi.

The meet was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit. The meet provides a

way for the sustainable business in the areas like community-led advocacy and action

programmes for environment protection, carbon neutrality, solar technologies and watershed

management programmes.

The Golden Peacock Award was introduced by the Institute of Directors in the year 1992. This

award is considered as the Holy Grail of Corporate Excellence Worldwide. In 2012, The Golden

Peacock Awards Secretariat received 1000 entries (approx) for various National and Global

awards.

In addition, Golden Peacock Environment Management Award (GPEMA) was introduced by the

World Environment Foundation (WEF) in the year 1998. It aims to promote the best strategy and

management of environmental issues. This award was presented to those organizations that attain

the significant achievements in the field of Environment Management.

INTERNATIONAL DONORS CONFERENCE HELD IN TOKYO

Tokyo: An international donor meeting was held here to discuss the peace building process in

Afghanistan.Tokyo is the capital of Japan.

International donors meeting was held in Tokyo, on 8 July 2012. The conference, was held to

discuss the peace building process in the war-torn nation, Afghanistan. The participants agreed to



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provide 16 billion dollar as the development aid to the country over the next four years. The

Tokyo conference was attended by nearly 70 countries.

INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRED NUCLEAR CAPABLE AGNI-I MISSILE

India on 13 July 2012 successfully test-fired domestically built surface-to-surface single stage

Agni-I ballistic missile. The missile was launched from a test range at Wheeler Island off Odisha

coast. The nuclear capable missile with a strike range of 700 km was first test fired on 25

January 2002.

CHAMPION WRESTLER AND BOLLYWOOD ACTOR DARA SINGH PASSED AWAY IN MUMBAI

Rustam-E-Hind, Dara Singh, who won India numerous accolades globally in wrestling, passed away on 12 July

2012 in Mumbai following a protracted illness. He was 84.He had suffered a cardiac arrest on 7 July 2012.

Born on 19 November 1928 in Dharmoochak village of Amritsar in Punjab, as Deedar Singh Randhawa, Dara

Singh travelled to different parts of the globe as a Professional Wrestler. He announced his retirement from active

wrestling in 1983. In 1996 he was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

Dara Singh, who earned a name for him worldwide in professional wrestling, also has had a long stint in Indian

film Industry. After he made his debut in Bollywood in 1967 with the film Saat Samundar Paar, he played

numerous characters in more than fifty Indian movies. He also directed and produced a number of movies. Singh,

however, got the real recognition as an actor when he fabulously portrayed the character of Lord Hanuman in the

Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan television series. Imtiaz Ali’s Jab We Met marked the last movie of his career. Dara

Singh was also the member of Rajya Sabha from August 2003 to August 2009. He was conferred the title Rustam-

E-Punjab in 1966 and Rustam-E-Hind in 1978.



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The missile was launched by the strategic force command of Indian Army as a routine users’

trial. As the missile has already been inducted into the armed forces the objective of the launch

was to train the user team to launch the missile.

With a specialised navigation system, the Agni-I hits the

target with sheer accuracy and precision. Weighing 12

tonnes, the 15-metre-long Agni-I, can carry payloads up to

1000 kg.

Agni-I was developed under the joint work of advanced

systems laboratory, the missile development laboratory of the

DRDO, Defence Research Development Laboratory and

Research Centre Imarat, while it was integrated by Bharat

Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad.

The Agni-I missile belongs to the genre of Short to Intermediate range ballistic missiles

developed by India under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. The missile was

made operational by the Indian Army in March 2010.

SINGAPORE PRIME MINISTER, LEE HSIEN LOONG VISITED INDIA

Singaporean prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong visited India on a three day trip in July 2012.

Where India and Singapore signed three key bilateral agreements and a Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU) on 11 July 2012, New Delhi. The two countries are working on

deepening economic relations even outside south-east Asia, building linkages with companies

where India and Singapore were associated.

Singapore is not only an important trading partner in ASEAN but also a major source of FDI

inflows in India. India is Singapore’s eight largest investor. India-Singapore bilateral trade

accelerated to USD 17.44 billion in 2010-11 from USD 14.04 percent in 2009-10. The holistic

agreement turned out to be fruitful and both the countries expect to achieve better milestones

together. Lee is a member of the People’s Action Party (PAP) and took to Prime Minister’s

position in the year 2004. Prior to becoming a prime minister, he served as an officer in the

Singapore Armed Forces.

UTTARAKHAND CM VIJAY BAHUGUNA WON THE ASSEMBLY BY-ELECTION FROM SITARGANJ

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna emerged victorious in a by-election that was held

for the Sitarganj assembly seat on 8 July 2012. The election result declared on 11 July 2012 saw

Bahuguna defeating his closest rival, BJP candidate Prakash Pant, by a record margin of 39954

votes. Bahuguna received 53566 votes while, BJP candidate Prakash Pant got only 13812 votes

out of the total 69695 in the by-election. The margin of victory by which Bahugua has won the

election is the highest in Uttarakhand assembly elections since 2002.



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Vijay Bahuguna had taken oath as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on 13 March 2012, after

Congress had defeated incumbent BJP in the state assembly elections held in February 2012.

With the Vijay Bahuguna joining the state assembly the number of Congress legislators has risen

from 32 to 33. The BJP's strength in the 70 seat assembly now stands at 30. Three Independent

BSP MLAs are also extending their support to the Congress in the state assembly.

Son of Hemwanti Nandan Bahuguna, the former Chief Minster of Uttar Pradesh, Vijay

Bahuguna is the first former high court judge to become a chief minister. He had also been the

member of Lok Sabha in the 14th and 15th Lok Sabha. He represented the Tehari Garhwal Lok

Sabha constituency.

IMPORTANAT INFORMATION

Article 164(4) provides that a Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a

member of the legislature of the State shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a Minister

after six months.

WORLD POPULATION DAY OBSERVED WORLDWIDE ON 11 JULY 2012

11 JULY 2012: WORLD POPULATION DAY

World Population Day was celebrated on 11 July 2012. It aims to make aware people about the

increasing population in the country. It includes the harmful effects of EARLY MARRIAGE

AND EARLY CHILD BIRTH. The main theme of the year 2012 was UNIVERSAL ACCESS

TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES.

According to the census of 2011, the population of India over the last ten years increased to 1.21

billion. Health Services is one of the major target by United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) till

2015. They had started several programmes to educate people about the different methods of

family Planning.

UNPF conducted a programme in Egypt where they had shown a documentary on the nurse-

cum-midwife who serves poor and isolated clients and contributes to saving lives every day in

Minya. Many states in India had celebrated this day so as to make aware people about harmful

effects of increasing population. Delhi celebrated World Population Day with the 20 thousand

people who had participated in walkathon. The walkathon was organized by the

JANSANKHYA STHIRATA KOSH (JSK). Kanpur celebrated this day with a rally to make

aware people about the disadvantages of bigger families. National Cadet Corps took rally from

Phool Bagh with banners and posters. This day was first celebrated in the year 1987. This day

gained popularity with support from different national organizations and common people around

the world.

OSCARD AWARD WINNER ERNEST BORGNINE PASSED AWAY



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American Actor Ernest Borgnine passed away on 8 July 2012. He was 95 years old. He took his

last breath at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He won the Oscar Award for his role in the film

named MARTY in the year 1955.

He was the part of many famous films from Hollywood like: The Dirty Dozen, Ice Station Zebra,

McHale's Navy, the Wild Bunch etc. In late 1990s, he was the part of the famous Television

series named THE SINGLE GUY. Basket Ball and Gattaca were his recent films. Ernest

Borgnine received GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATION 2007 for his role in A Grandpa for

Christmas. In addition, He achieved LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD at the 17th Annual

Screen Actors Guild Award 2011.

FORMER BCCI PRESIDENT PURUSHOTTAM M RUNGTA PASSED AWAY

Former President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Purushottam M Rungta died

on 12 July 2012 after long sickness. He was 84 years old. He was commonly known as BHAIJI

to cricketers and administrations.

He was President of BCCI for three years from 1972 to 1975 and Vice-President of BCCI from

1963 to 1972. He was also BCCI treasurer for six months in the year 1992 after the resignation

of Madhav Matri from BCCI treasurer when he lost to Manohar Joshi in Bombay Cricket

Association election. After that former BCCI President Madhavrao Scindia named P.M.Rungta

as the treasurer of the BCCI. He also managed the affairs of Rajasthan Cricket Association for

many years.

ITC, HUNGAMA DIGITAL MEDIA & SHANKAR MAHADEVAN LAUNCHED DIGITAL TALENT HUNT MOBISUR

ITC leading personal care brand Vivel Face Wash on 13

July 2012 launched Indian’s first truly digital talent hunt

MOBISUR along with Hungama Digital Media and

Indian musician Shankar Mahadevan. The aim of the hunt

to encourage remote areas participant to participate in the

hunt that were not able to participate in the auditions due

to feasibility. They require a mobile phone or an internet

connection to participate in the hunt.

Vivel Face Wash with Hungama providing a platform and

opportunity to aspiring singers to grind their skills under

the guidance of Shankar Mahadevan. The winner of the

hunt is likely to get an opportunity to record an album with Shankar Mahadevan. The album will

be released by T-Series and Hungama. Apart from this, the winner will also get cash prize of 5

lakh rupees.

The talent hunt participants have to dial 546465 to record their voice on a unique IVR or to log

onto www.mobi-sur.com to upload their video. The participants who clear the first round is



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likely to be chosen form next round on the basis of performance and votes secured for each tasks.

There are three rounds. The contestants clear all the three rounds will be the winner of the hunt.

INCIDENTS OF CHILD MARRIAGES FELL SIGNIFICANTLY IN INDIA: ANNUAL HEALTH SURVEY REPORT

According to the data released by first Annual Health Survey (AHS), conducted by the census

authorities, the incidents of child marriage fell significantly over the past few years. The data

was released on 16 April 2012.

The AHS, world’s largest demographic survey, was carried out by the Ministry of Health and

Family Welfare in collaboration with the Registrar General of India (RGI) and Ministry of Home

Affairs of India. The survey was conducted in all 284 districts of the Empowered Action Group

(EAG) states that include Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,

Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Assam. The nine states account for half of the country’s

population. The project was launched to assess the impact of National Rural Health Mission

(NRHM) in all 284 districts. Until recently the only reliable source of such health data was the

National Family Health Survey, which the health ministry has now discontinued.

THE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED BY PRIVATE AGENCIES UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF RGI. THE KEY FINDINGS OF THE LATEST REPORTS OF THE SURVEY ARE AS FOLLOWS:

• One-fifth of marriages in Bihar between 2007-09 involved women under 18.

• In Jharkhand, the proportion of child marriage went down from 60 percent to 18 percent

earlier.

• Rajasthan with 22 percent cases of child marriage has the highest proportion of women under

18 getting married.

• Contraceptive use remains low despite improvements in several regions.

• Among the 9 states, Bihar has the lowest contraceptive use with just over a third of women

aged 15-49 using any method of contraception.

• Sitapur in UP emerged as the district with the lowest contraceptive use as only 20 percent of

women found using any method of contraception.

• Condition of maternal and infant health is still the subject of worry.

• Less than 5 percent of women in UP had a full ante natal check-up.

• Chhattisgarh, with 20 percent full ante-natal check-up, emerged as the best-performing of

these states.

• Less than half of pregnant women in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have safe deliveries.

• UP, Bihar and Uttarakhand saw 40 percent of safe deliveries.

NORTH KOREA AWARDED THE TITLE OF MARSHAL TO ITS TOP LEADER KIM JONG UN



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Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) on 18 July 2012 awarded the title of

Marshal to its top leader Kim Jong Un. The decision to confer the title on Kim was taken by

nation's top military brass and government officials on 17 July 2012.

Kim Jong Un rose to helm of Communist Nation following the death of his father Kim Jong Il in

December 2011. Since then he has been serving as supreme commander of the Korean People's

Army.

Kim Jong Il was named the Marshal of North Korea following the death of his father Kim Il

Sung in July 1994. The death of Il on 17 December 2011left the position of Marshal vacant for

nearly seven months. Kim Jong Il was posthumously made grand marshal, the nation's top

military title, in February 2012.

Before formally being named the Marshal, Kim Jong Un carried out a high-profile reshuffle in

the country’s army, which saw the chief of the army, Ri Yong Ho being sacked from all posts

due to illness on 16 July 2012.Subsequently a less

renowned military general, Hyon Yong Chol took over

as the vice marshal on 17 July 2012.

YESTERYEAR BOLLYWOOD SUPERSTAR RAJESH KHANNA PASSED AWAY

Yesteryear Bollywood superstar Rajesh Khanna passed

away at his Mumbai residence ASHIRWAD on 18 July

2012. He was 69. He was severely ill over the past few

months. Rajesh Khanna, who was fondly called Kaka

by his fans, is considered to be the first superstar of Indian cinema.

Rajesh Khanna is survived by his wife Dimple Kapadia and two daughters Twinkle Khanna and

Rinkie Khanna. His elder daughter Twinkle Khanna is married to Hindi film actor Akshay

Kumar. Rajesh Khanna married Dimple Kapadia in 1973. Though, the couple parted their ways

in 1984 due to personal issues, they never separated on legal terms.

Rajesh Khanna, whose real name was Jatin Khanna, was born on 29 December 1942, in

Amritsar, Punjab. A natural actor, Khanna got his first break in bollywood after he emerged

victorious in All India Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare in 1965.

Aakhri Khat, directed by Chetan Anand, was his debut film. The film was released in 1966.

Rajesh Khanna got the first lead role of his career in 1966 with the film Raaz directed by

Ravindra Dave.

Period between 1969 and 1972 saw Rajesh Khanna, rising to the pinnacle of stardom. The period

was marked by 15 consecutive solo hits by him, the record which still remains untouched. In his

over than four-decade long career in the Indian Film Industry he worked in 163 films. An

unchallenged king of romantic roles on the screen, Khanna played the lead protagonist in 128

films. He also appeared in 17 short films.



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Aradhna, Anand, Kati Patang, Dushman, Bawarchi, Amar Prem, Hathi Mere Saathi, Hum dono

and Aag are few of his movies which earned him both the praise of critics and commercial

success at the same time. Rajesh Khanna has had a great on-screen chemistry with her fellow

actresses like Mumtaz and Sharmila Tagore. With Mumtaz he went on to give block-busters like

Aap ki Kasam, Prem Kahani and Roti.

Though, Rajesh Khanna was nominated for

the Filmfare Best Actor Award 16 times,

Saccha-Jhutha, Anand and Aaviskar

actually won him the filmfare awards in the

best actor categoy. He was conferred the

Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.

The superstar along with playback singer

Kishore Kumar gave a number of hit songs.

The actor-singer duo gave the Indian audience an entirely new perspective of melodious Indian

music. Songs such as Mere Sapnon Ki Rani from Aradhana, which had the voice of Kishore

Kumar, made Rajesh Khanna exteremely popular among the youths.

Rajesh Khanna was also the member of Lok Sabha from 1992 to 1996. He was elected to the

lower house on the Congress Party ticket from the New Delhi constituency. The magic of the

Rajesh Khanna could well be assessed by the fact that the BBC in 1974 made a film on him,

named Bombay Superstar, and while, the Bombay University prescribed a book contained an

essay, The Charisma of Rajesh Khanna.

TOP RSS LEADER AND BJP FORMER VICE-PRESIDENT BAL APTE PASSED AWAY

Top Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Ideologue and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader

Balwant Apte alias Bal Apte died in Mumbai on 17 July 2012. He was 73. He was suffering from

a chronic lung disease. Bal Apte was twice elected to the Rajya Sabha (in 2000 and 2006), where

he represented the state of Maharashtra. He was the vice president of BJP during 2002-2010 and

was also a member of the party's Central Parliamentary Board. He was the head of the review

committee which was constituted to look into the reasons of defeat of BJP in 2009 general

election.

Bal Apte has his association with Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing

of RSS, for nearly 38 years. A senior lawyer, Apte was kept under detention from December

1975 to February 1977 under the stringent Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during

Emergency.

CASES OF NEW HIV INFECTIONS AMONG CHILDREN DECLINED: UNAIDS REPORT

Khanna got his first break in bollywood after he emerged victorious in All India Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare in 1965. Aakhri Khat, directed by Chetan Anand, was his debut film



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According to UNAIDS Report released on 18 July 2012, new HIV infections among children are

declining at a steady rate. The report noted that about 330000 children were newly infected in

2011, which indicated a 24 percent drop in the new HIV case among children since 2009.

Report asserted that nearly 60 percent of the 1.5 million pregnant women living with HIV in

poor countries received effective anti-AIDS medications last year, which lowered the chances of

passing on the virus to their babies. As per the report about 34.2 million people worldwide were

living with the AIDS virus at the end of 2011, while, a record eight million people in low- and

middle-income countries received the antiretrovirals treatment in 2011.

UNAIDS (UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS)

UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, is an innovative partnership that

leads and inspires the world in achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and

support. Member of United Nations Development Group, UNAIDS came into existence in 1994

by a resolution of the UN Economic and Social Council and launched in January 1996. UNAIDS

has it’s headquarter in Geneva, Switzerland. Michel Sidibe is the Executive Chairman of

UNAIDS.

SEVENTH G20 SUMMIT TOOK PLACE IN MEXICAN CITY LOS CABOS

LOS CABOS - The seventh G20 summit took place on 18 and19 June 2012 in the Mexican

City Los Cabos. The seventh G20 summit took place in the city of Los Cabos in Mexico on 18

and 19 June 2012. The summit was attended by the leaders of 20 nations including South Africa,

Canada, India, Mexico, United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Turkey, Argentina,

Brazil, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Australia.

The G 20 Summit, one of the most important multilateral event, was held to discuss the

prominent economic issues such as eurozone crisis, poor scenario of global economic growth and

faltering international financial systems. The participant nations and world bodies also ratified

the Los Cabos Action Plan for growth and employment.

HDFC BANKER DEEPAK PAREKH APPOINTED AS NEW CHAIRMAN OF FINANCING INFRASTRUCTURE

The government on 16 July 2012 appointed HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh as the new

chairman of the High Level Committee on Financing Infrastructure. He would function in an

honorary capacity with the rank of minister of state. He was elected after the approval from

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in first week of July 2012.

The committee is authorized to re-examine existing policies and advice necessary changes to

present in the investment for the infrastructure sector. It will work under 12th Five- Year project

investments plan from 2012 to 2017 of 4099240 crore rupees. The other members of the

committee are R. Gopalan (secretary, Department of Economic Affairs), D. K. Mittal (secretary,

Department of Financial Services), J. Hari Narayan (chairman, Insurance Regulatory and



99


Development Authority), Yogesh Agarwal (chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and

Development Authority), Subir Gokarn (deputy governor, Reserve Bank of India), Pratip

Chaudhuri (chairman, State Bank of India), D. K. Mehrotra (chairman, Life Insurance

Corporation of India), Satnam Singh (chairman, Power Finance Corporation), Chanda Kochhar

(chief, ICICI Bank) and Rajiv Lall (chief, IDFC).

Parekh is a chartered accountant. He joined Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC)

in 1978 after Ernst & Young Management Consultancy Services in New York. He is a part of

sub-committee of the Prime Minister’s council on Trade and Industry for promoting Financial

Inclusion. He is also one of the members in the expert team of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd

(HAL). The committee was first set up by Rakesh Mohan, former Deputy Governor of Reserve

Bank of India (RBI) in November 2012.

P.N DHAR, FIRST PRINCIPAL SECRETARY OF INDIRA GANDHI PASSED AWAY

Professor of Economics Prithvi Nath Dhar passed away on

19 July 2012 in New Delhi. He was 94 years old. He was

the professor of Economics in the University of Delhi.

Prithvi Nath was the first Principal Secretary of Indira

Gandhi in 1970. He was the only person who had joined

Prime Minister’s Office in the year 1970.

He was the team member which was accompanied by Indira Gandhi when she had signed Simla

Agreement with Pakistan after the War of Bangladesh in the year 1971. Dhar was one of the

founders of Delhi School of Economics. He worked as the Assistant Secretary General in United

Nations, Research and Policy Analysis in New York in the year 1976-78. In addition, the

memory of Prithvi Nath Dhar with the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, The Emergency, and

Indian Democracy is considered as the authoritative documentation of important events in the

pages of the History of Modern India.

TIME MAGAZINE DUBBED INDIAN PRIME MINISTER MANMOHAN SINGH AS UNDERACHIEVER

Leading American magazine Time on the cover of its latest Asian edition dubbed Indian Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh as the Underachiever. The magazine which hit the stand on 16 July

2012 carried three stories including the cover story to describe the gloomy economic scenario in

the country. The magazine insisted that Indian Prime Minister has been starkly unable to reverse

the pessimistic economic environment in the country.

Once widely regarded as a staunch reformer, Manmohan Singh has come under severe criticism

over his failure in beefing up the economy. Earlier US President Barack Obama had urged Indian

government to introduce some much needed reforms in the country to reinvigorate the

investment sentiment among the global investors.



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Earlier Time magazine in its June 2002 edition had termed the then Indian Prime Minister Atal

Bihari Vajpeyee 'asleep on the wheel.Time sells 264000 copies in entire Asian continent, while,

the Indian subcontinent accounts for the sell of as many as 47000 copies, accounting for almost

18 percent of the sales.

EMINENT FREEDOM FIGHTER AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST CAPTAIN LAKSHMI SEHGAL PASSED AWAY

Eminent Freedom Fighter and social activist Captain Lakshmi

Sehgal passed away in Kanpur on 23 July 2012. She was 97. She

suffered a severe heart attack and was admitted to the hospital on

19 July 2012.

Born as Lakshmi Swaminadhan on 24 October 1914 in Madras,

Captain Lakshmi Sehgal completed his high school education

from Madras. Subsequently, she studied medical science in

Madras Medical College and received her MBBS degree in 1938.

A close aide of Subhash Chandra Bose during the days of freedom

movement, she was the one of the most prominent mambers of his

Indian National Army. She was the head of the women’s regiment

of Indian National Army, which was called the Rani of Jhansi

regiment.

Politically she was associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and went on to

contest the Presidential Election in 2002. She, however, received defeat in the hand of APJ

Abdul Kalam.She was the principle member of All India Democratic Women’s Association

(AIDWA). Besides, she had spearheaded several political, economic and social justice

campaigns in the country.

MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LIMITED ANNOUNCED TO CLOSE DOWN ITS FACTORY AT MANESAR

Manesar : Manesar is an industrial town in the Gurgaon district of Haryana. The town drew the

nationwide attention following the reports of scuffle at Maruti Suzuki’s plant located in the town.

India’s leading four-wheeler manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India Limited announced to close

down its factory at Manesar on 21 July 2012. The company’s move came after a scuffle between

the workers and senior management of the company broke out at the factory site on 18 July

2012.

The scuffle, which left many of the company’s executives injured, broke out after the workers'

demand of pay-parity was not accepted by the company. MSIL’s plant at Manesar had long been

stuck in functional discrepancies. The plant had witnessed 5 workers’ strike in year 2011 itself.

In October 2011 the company had witnessed a 14-day-long strike that ended on 21 October 2011,

after the company gave in to the workers' demand to register a trade union.

Lakshmi Sehgal tied

the knot with Indian

National Army Officer

Colonel Prem Kumar

Sehgal in March 1947

in Lahore. Well known

CPI (M) leader

Subhasini Ali is her

daughter.Lakshmi

Sehgal was confrred

the Padma Vibhushan

in 1998.



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ALEPPO IN SYRIA BECAME THE CENTRE OF REVOLT AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT

Aleppo– Aleppo, until recently, a relatively secure government stronghold, has now become the

latest focus of the revolt against President Bashar Al-Assad. Aleppo is the largest city in

Syriaand the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate.

The clashes in Aleppo are an ominous development for the regime. Until both Damascus and

Aleppo were relatively untouched by the uprising and remained strongholds of the regime. Syria

went through a severe crisis after the National Security Bureau in the Rawda district of

Damascus, capital of Syria suffered a heavy blow on 18 July 2012

RUPERT MURDOCH RESIGNED AS THE DIRECTOR OF THE NI GROUP

Rupert Murdoch an eighty one year old founder of the News

Corporation, resigned third week of July 2012. He resigned from

his directorship from a string of companies, namely the director of

the NI Group, the Times Newspaper Holdings, and Newscorp

Investments in Britain. He is a known name in the industry of

media and known as the ‘media mogul’.

After more than a year of scandal in his own British news paper

empire, the sustained criminality led to an influential parliamentary committee in May 2012 to

describe Murdoch as unfit to run a major company, resulting finally into his resignation.

Murdoch has now moved to the United States of America.

SALLY RIDE, FIRST US WOMAN TO TRAVEL INTO SPACE, PASSED AWAY

Sally Ride, the first US woman to travel into space died in La Jolla, California on 23 July 2012.

She was 61. She was suffering from pancreatic cancer. Ride fired the imagination of millions of

women across the world when she set off for space in the US space shuttle Challenger in June

1983. Sally Ride was, however, not the first woman to travel into space, as Valentina Tereshkova

of erstwhile USSR had visited space in June 1963.

Born on 26 May 1951 at Los Angeles, California, Ride received her Masters degree in Physics

from Stanford University. Subsequently, she joined NASA in 1978. Ride went on her first space

shuttle mission on board the Challenger in 1983. She was only 32 when she first travelled into

space, making her the youngest person in America at the time to go into space. Her second space

visit occurred in 1984, also aboard the Challenger. She spent a total of more than 343 hours in

space.

KULANDEI FRANCIS, INDIAN SOCIAL ACTIVIST WON MAGSAYSAY AWARDS 2012



102


Indian social activist Kulandei Francis, age sixty six will be felicitated with the Magsaysay

Award. In the year 1979, Francis begun with his organisation, Integrated Village Development

Project (IVDP) in Krishnagiri, wherein he initially started with small projects, amongst his

achievements, he has conducted night schools in the light of gas lamps, set up first aid centres.

Then, with the help of development organizations, he undertook a micro-watershed programme

that, over twenty-two years, built three thirty one mostly small check dams benefitting

cultivators and their families in sixty villages.

His organisation, the Integrated Village Development Project also provides training to rural

students a in enhancing their skills namely training in rural sanitation, accountancy,

management, giving educational assistance for students in high schools, scholarships and also

computer skills. The visionary Mr. Francis was also successful in pursuing the holistic economic

empowerment of thousands of women and their families.

The Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) announced the

recipients of this year, 2012 Asia's premier prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award on 25 July

2012. The six individuals chosen from around the globe are from countries, Bangladesh,

Cambodia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

The other people chosen for the prizes, announced by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation

(RMAF) in Manila, are Ms Chen Shu-Chu from Taiwan, Mr Romulo Davide from the

Phillipines, Ms Syeda Rizwana Hasan of Bangladesh, Mr Yang Saing Koma of Cambodia and

Mr Ambrosius Ruwindrijarto from Indonesia.

Kulandai Francis who has been awarded with the Magsaysay says, working with the objective of

eradicating poverty and empowering more than one lakh rural women for thirty five long years

has got him the award. Magsaysay Award winners receive a certificate, a medallion bearing the

likeness of the late President, and a cash prize. They will be formally felicitated with the

Magsaysay Award during the Presentation Ceremonies which is to be held on 31 August 2012 at

the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Manila.

In the past, many Indians have won the Magsaysay award. In the year 1958, awardee was Vinoba

Bhave, in the year 1959 C.D Deshmukh, again in the year 1994, it was awarded to Kiran Bedi, in

1996, T.N seshan , in the year 2003, James Michael Lyngdoh,in the year 1965 Jayaprakash

Narayan,In 1974 M.S. Subbulakshmi was awarded, in 1982 Manibhai Desaiwas awarded.

Ramón Del Fierro Magsaysay was the seventh President of the Republic of the Philippines; he

served from 30 December 1953 until his death in a 1957 aircraft disaster. The Ramon Magsaysay

Award known as Asia's Nobel Prize was established in April 1957 by the trustees of the

Rockefeller Brothers.

DRDO SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRED BRAHMOS SUPERSONIC CRUISE MISSILE

Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully test-fired Brahmos

supersonic cruise missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, in Balasore



103


district, Orissa on 29 July 2012. The missile was test-fired as the developmental trial as it has

already been inducted into the Indian Army and Indian Navy.

BrahMos, which has a target range of 290-km, is the

surface-to-surface cruise missile. It is capable of

carrying a conventional warhead of 200 to 300 kg.

The missile has been developed by BrahMos

Aerospace Private Limited, a joint venture between

Republic of India's Defence Research and

Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russian

Federation's NPO Mashinostroeyenia. It is the

world's fastest cruise missile in operation. It can be

launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land.

Presently scientists at the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited are working to develop the air as

well as the submarine launch version of the missile. Last time the missile was tested on 28 March

2012 from the same platform. The name BrahMos is the blend of the names of two rivers, the

Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.

ASSAM’S KOKRAJHAR, UDALGURI DISTRICT HIT BY VIOLENCE

Assam’s Kokrajhar and Udalguri district remained a recipient of violence since 20 July 2012.

Nineteen people have been killed so far in sporadic incidents of violence which resulted into a

clamp night curfew on 21 July 2012.

The whole incident started when the violence got triggered with the firing on two student leaders

Mohibul Islam of All Bodoland Minority Students' Union (ABMSU) and Abdul Siddique Sheikh

of All Assam Minority Students' Union (AAMSU) by unidentified gunmen at Anthihara in

Kokrajhar.

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CURRENT AFFAIR QUIZZES

1. Which one of the following signed as Brand Ambassador of Kalyan Jewellers? a. Kajol b. Katrina Kaif c. Amitabh Bachchan d. Diya Mirza Answer: (c) 2. Which one of the following launched first educational tablet PC? a. Alphabetics Computer

b. HP c. IBM d. Apple Answer: (a) 3. Consider the Statement: __________ is the first educational tablet PC. Which one of the following is correct? a. TabStudy b. TabSkisha c. TabTeacher d. TabGuru Answer: (d)

4. Which Hindi news channel acquired English News channel NewsX? a. Aaj Tak







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105


b. Good Morning India c. India News d. Information TV Answer: (d) Information TV 5. Consider the statement: ______ Books published India’s first eBook. Which one of the following is correct? a. Penguine b. Dollfine c. Seal d.Starfish Answer: (a)

6. Which two companies listed in top 100 of Fortune’s World magazine 2012?

a. State Bank of India & Indian Oil

b. Hindustan Petroleum & State Bank of India

c. Reliance Industries & Hindustan Petroleum

d. Indian Oil & Reliance Industries

Answer. (d)

7. Consider the statement:

FaceBook introduced _________ to allow developers to translate the names and descriptions into

other languages.

Which one of the following is correct?

a. App Center

b. App Dashboard

c. App xpress

d. App Translator

Answer. (b)

8. Which one of the following is appointed as the Joint Managing director of AirIndia?

a Arvind Jadav

b. Sunil Arora

c. Rohit Nandan

d. Nasir Ali

Answer. (d)

9. In which year Air India and Indian Airlines merged?

a. 2008

b 2007

c. 2006

d. 2005

Answer. (a)

10. Which one of the following launched Apparel and Fashion xPress for Oracle Retail?



106


a. Mahindra Satyam

b. Tech Mahindra

c. MphasiS Corporation

d. Larsen & Toubro

Answer.(a)

11. Which two of the following credit cards HDFC launched for Doctors? a. Superia & Platinum b. Platinum & Titanium c. Titanium & Gold d. Gold & Superia Answer. (a) 12. Which one of the following is correct? TATA AIG Life Insurance turned in to ___________ a. TATA AIP Life b. TATA AIA Life c. TATA AIT Life d. TATA TIA Life Answer. (b) 13. What was the following is correct? The full form of TATA AIG Life was _____________ . a. Tata Australian International Group b. Tata America International Group c. Tata American International Grouping d. Tata American International Group Answer. (d) 14. Consider the statement Apple paid 60 million dollar to Shenzhen Proview Technology to settle _______. Which one of the following is correct? a. Legal Dispute b. Business Dispute c. Personal Dispute d. Financial Dispute Answer. (a) 15. Consider the Statement: Adani Kandla Bulk Terminal Pvt. Ltd. signed an agreement with _____________. Which one of the following is correct? a. Kandla Bulk Terminal b. Adani Bulk Terminal c. Kandla Port Trust



107


d. Adani Port Trust Answer. (c) 16. Consider the Statement: _____________ launched famous Triangular Swiss Chocolate Brand Toblerone. a. Cadbury b. Nestle c. Ferrero d. Callebaut Answer. (a)

17. which one of the following is the current Nasscom President?

a. Bijoy Ghosh

b. Som Mittal

c. Anil Ambani

d. Krishnakumar Natarajan

Answer. (b)

18. Consider the following two Statements:

I. Som Mittal is the Nasscom president

II. He is assigned as Nassom president till 2014.

Which of the following answer is correct?

a) I is correct

b) II is correct

c) Both I) and II are correct

d) Both I) and II are incorrect

Answer. (c)

19. What is the full form of Nasscom?

a. National Association of services and software companies

b. National Association of Software and Service Companies

c. national Association of Safety and services

d. National Association of Services and Safety

Answer. (b)

20. Who is the owner of Kingfisher Airlines?

a. Vijay Mallay’s

b. Goyal

c. Siddhanta Sharma

d. Harsha Viji

Answer. (a)

21. Which Airlines Launched Daily Flights to Dubai from Delhi and Mumbai in 2012?

a. Indigo

b. Spice jet

c. Kingfisher Airlines



108


d. Go

Answer. (b)

22.Which one of the following is Spice jet CEO?

a. Vijay Mallay’s

b. Neil Mills

c. Kalanithi Maran

d. Neil Raymond

Answer. (b)

23. which one of the following is the second largest car seller in India?

a) BMW

b) Audi

c) Mercedes-Benz

d) TATA

Answer. (c)

24. which one of the following appointed as Brand Ambassador of Nepal Cricket Association?

a) Rahul Dravid

b) Sachin Tendulkar

c) Mahendra Singh Dhoni

d) Virat Kohli

Answer. (c)

25. Which one of the following is the maker of BlackBerry?

a) HP

b) RIM

c) AIM

d) Apple

Answer. (b)

26. Consider the following two Statements:

I. BlackBerry is a Featured phone.

II. BlackBerry was developed and designed by Apple.

Which of the following answer is correct?

a) I is correct

b) II is correct

c) Both I) and II are correct

d) Both I) and II are incorrect

Answer. (d)

27. Consider the following Statment?

a) BlackBerry- Featured Phone

b) Motorola MOTO Q8 – Featured Phone

c) BlackBerry- Smartphone

d) Motorola MOTO Q8- Smartphone



109


Which two of the following is correct?

a) A and B

b) B and C

c) C and D

d) D and A

Answer. (c)

28. Which one of the following launched Purview 808? a. Nokia b. BlackBerry c. Motorola d. Samsung Answer. (a) Nokia 29. Which of the following is correct? Nokia Pureview 808 is a ___________ a. Featured Phone b. Smart Phone c. Both A and B d. None of the above Answer. (b) Smart Phone 30. Which one of the following decided to buy London Metal Exchange? a. Tokyo Stoke Exchange b. Hong Kong Stock Exchange c. Toronto Stoke Exchange d. Korea Exchange Answer. (b) Hong Kong Stock Exchange

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