Aleppo`s Umayyad mosque UNESCO World Heritage Site destroyed

Aleppo's Umayyad mosque UNESCO
World Heritage Site destroyed in Syria
Aleppo's Umayyad mosque is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has been destroyed in the conflict in Syria.
The mosque was built between the 8th and 13th centuries.
It reputedly houses the remains of John the Baptist's father.
It is located in Aleppo's walled Old Cityin Syria.
The mosque was first constructed in the 8th Century. It was destroyed completely by the Mongols in 1260.
The courtyard and the minaret was restored as early as 2003.
The mosque had a beautiful 45 meters tall minaret. However, the centuries old minret has now been destroyed.
The minaret was the oldest part of the mosque.
The courtyards of the mosque have beautiful cross-vault system.
This is a big loss to our history. Perhaps the only loss of similar magnitude in recent history have been the Bamiyan
Buddhas.
Awards and Honours 2013
Here is the List of Awards & Honours in 2013.
1) Harshwanti Bisht - Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal
2) Vijay Singh - Lifetime Achievement Award by ASCE-EWRI
3) Prime Minister's Shram Awards for the Year 2012
4) UK Song writing Contest 2013; Indian-Origin Winners Included
5) A team of three Indian-American students defeated teams from 17 other regions to win.11th
National Geographic World Championship.
6) The Prem Bhatia Memorial award - Shalini Singh of the Hindu.
7) Delhi conferred Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 on Abdul Rashid Khan and Anjolie Ela
Menon.
8) VP Sharma won the Gujar Mal Modi Award for Science and Technology 2013.
9) Sri Lankan President felicitated tribal community, the Veddas on World Indigenous Peoples
Day.
10) US Presidential Medal of Freedom to be conferred on Bill Clinton & Oprah Winfrey.
11) Sports Ministry announced 50 Thousand Cash Prize for Each Junior Women Hockey Player.
12) Play Called the Radicalisation of Bradley Manning Won James Tait Black Prize for Drama.
13) Sugathakumari, the Malayalam Poetess won Saraswati Samman 2013 for Manalezhuthu.
14) Indian Students Grab Two Silver & Three Bronze at 54th International Mathematical
Olympiad.
15) Amjad Ali Khan to get 21st Rajiv Gandhi National Sadhbhavna Award.
16) Four Indian Americans won Simons Investigators Awards 2013
17) Paradip Port Conferred With the Major Port of the Year Award.
18) Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation announced the Ramon Magsaysay Awards for the
year 2013.
19) British Firm called Real VNC - Mac Robert Award
20) OISD Safety Awards 2011-12 - HPCL and BPCL.
Direct Cash Subsidy in India
Until now the subsidized items were priced lower and were available at a comparatively affordable price to the end
buyer. The previous system is referred as price subsidy. Under the new Direct Cash Transfer Subsidy the difference
between the market price and the subsidized price will be directly transferred to the buyer's account. Previously, the
subsidy was routed through the manufacturer. The manufacturer was then required to sell the goods at below market
prices.
The Direct Cash Transfer Subsidy to households below the poverty line (BPL) was announced in the Central
Government Budget in 2011.
Benefits of Direct Cash Transfer Subsidy:
·
Avoid Dual-pricing. There would be only one price in the market and not two as in the previous case
·
This would reduce market distortion
·
The subsidies would benefit the poor directly
·
It will reduce diversion of goods and leakages which were rampant in the previous system
The Aadhaar project would have a very significant role in the implementation of the Direct Cash Transfer Subsidy
project. It is expected that by better targeting, the government would be able to lower the cost of subsidies.
If implemented successfully, the Direct Cash Transfer Subsidy program would be an important economic and social
milestone in India.
Heads: Important Organisations World
Wide
Following are the changes in Organisations and Heads World Wide.
President, FICCI Naina Lal Kidwai
Chairman, TRAI Rahul Khullar
Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Pradeep Kumar
Director, CBI Ranjit Sinha
President, ASSOCHAM Rajkumar Dhoot
President, NASSCOM Som Mittal
Chairman, NASSCOM Krishna Kumar Natarajan
Director, BARC Dr.Shekhar Basu
Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) R K Sinha
Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) Satyanand Mishra
Chairman, National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) Ramesh Sippy
Chairman, ISRO Dr. K Radhakrishnan
Chairman, SEBI U K Sinha
Chairman, NABARD Dr.Prakash Bakshi
Director, NCERT Prof. P Sinclair
New Appointments
Xi Jinping President of China
Li Keqiang Prime Minister China
Shinzo Abe Prime Minister Japan
Nicos Anastasiades President Cyprus
Park Guen hye President South Korea
Uhuru Kenyatta President Kenya
John Kerry 68th Secretary of State of the US
Mohan Pieris 44th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka
Ved Prakash UGC chairman
Obama US President (Second Term)
Suchitra Ella Founding Chairwoman of CII’s women wing
Mo Yan (writer) and Jackie Chan (Actor) New Members of Chinese Parliament
Subra Suresh President of Carnegie Mellon University
Ratan Tata Member of “National Academy of Engineering“
Rajiv Shah Head of United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Anil Dev Singh New chief of IOA election panel
Scott Flemming India’s basketball coach
Tony Hall Director General of BBC
Ranjit Sinha CBI Director
Barbosa First non-white President of Brazil’s Supreme Court
Alok Joshi New RAW chief
Rajeev Shahare New High Commissioner to Maldives
Ajit Saran Member Secretary of National Commission for Women
Virbhadra Singh Himachal Pradesh’s Chief Minister
Narendra Modi Gujarat CM (4th time)
Cyrus Mistry Tata Group Chairman
Asif Ibrahim Chief of the Intelligence Bureau
Urjit Patel RBI deputy governor
YV Reddy Head of 14th Finance Commission
Ami Bera and Tulsi Gabbard new members of the US House of Representatives
Srinivasan Federal Judge (Re elected)
Vivek Rae MSME (Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) Secretary
Anil Kumble Chairman of ICC Cricket Committee
Jaspal Rana Junior pistol chief coach
Neiphiu Rio Chief Minister of Nagaland (3rd Term)
Mukul Manda Sangma Chief Minister of Meghalaya (2nd Term)
Ashwani Kumar Governor of Nagaland
Bobby Ghosh Editor of Time International (first non American)
Khil Raj Regmi New Prime Minister of Nepal
D K Jain Chairman of 20th Law Commission of India
Ashok Tomar India’s ambassador to Brazil
Rakesh Mohan Executive director of IMF board
VK Malhotra Archery Association President (re-elected)
S. Ramakrishnan Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)
Luiz Felipe Scolari Brazil Football team coach
Mohan Vice President of IBSF (re-elected)
Sachin Dev Pavithran (Visually Challenged) Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board member
Ajit Pawar Maharashtra Deputy CM
Chautala IOA President
Parthasarathy Shome Adviser to Finance Minister
Ziauddin Yousufzai (Malala’s Father) UN Education Adviser, Education attaché at the Pakistan consulate in
Birmingham, England
Vijay Kumar Senior Security Adviser in Home Ministry
Vinod Rai Chair of UN Auditors Panel (Re-elected)
Rita Singh Federation of Indian Associations President
John Brennan CIA director
Halimah Yacob First woman Speaker of Singapore
Kulwant Singh Gill New Commandant of NDA
R.K. Dubey Canara Bank’s new CMD
Rajkumar Goyal Central Bank of India new Executive Director Resources Department
Jack Lew New Treasury Secretary of US
Lord Dolar Popat Minister in the UK cabinet (First Gujarati in UK cabinet)
Subhash Joshi BSF Chief
John Kerry America’s Foreign Minister
Smita Singh Member of Global Development Council
Important Events in India in 2012
Important events in India in 2012
2-Jan
India-Pakistan exchanged lists of nuclear installations.
3-Jan
President Pratibha Patil inaugurated ISRO’s SHAR Mission
Control Centre at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
9-Jan
10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held Jaipur. Pravasi Bartiya
Divas is celebrated on 9th January every year.
11-Jan
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh launched the Hunger
and Malnutrition (HUNGaMA) report. Report says 42 per cent
of Indian children are malnourished.
19-Jan
Suresh Kalmadi granted bail by Delhi High Court granted bail
in Commonwealth Games scam case.
26-Jan
Thailand PM, Yingluck Shinawatra invited as Chief Guest on
the Republic Day
2-Feb
Supreme Court cancelled all 122 licenses granted by then
minister A Raja in 2G spectrum scam.
8-Feb
Three Bharatiya Janata Party ministers caught watching
objectionable video clip in Karnataka Assembly. The ministers
resigned.
11-Feb
Advanced Interceptor missile is successfully test-fired. The
advanced interceptor is also known as Advanced Air Defence
(AAD).
14-Feb
Blast in a car belonging to the Israeli Embassy in Delhi.
March
State Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Goa.
March
Election results for five state assemblies are announced.
Winners of elections as follows:
Uttar Pradesh - Samajwadi Party
Goa - Bhartiya Janata Party
Manipur & Uttrakhand - Indian National Congress
Punjab - Shiromani Akali Dal - BJP combine
14-Mar
Rail Budget 2012-13 presented by Railway Minister Dinesh
Trivedi. The budget proposed fare hikes and is opposed by
TMC despite the Railway Minister belonging to the same
party.
16-Mar
Union Budget 2012-13 presented by Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee.
18-Mar
Dinesh Trivedi stepped down as Railways Minister
21-Mar
Soumitra Chatterjee won Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2011.
22-Mar
United Nations Human Rights Council’s resolution to
investigate violations by Sri Lanka during the war on LTTE
goes to vote. India along with 23 other nations vote against
Sri Lanks.
23-Mar
Jhina Hikaka, BJD MLA abducted from Koraput district on
March 23. He was finally released on 26 April
29-Mar
India hosted 4th BRICS summit at New Delhi
8-Apr
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari visited India. The last
Pakistani leader to visit India was President Pervez Musharraf
in 2005.
12-Apr
Ode village massacre during 2002 Gujrat riots- 18 get life
term, 5 accused get seven years imprisonment.
17-Apr
RBI cut repo rate by 50 basis points. The cut came after
three years.
19-Apr
Agni-V ICBM successfully test fired from Wheeler island. It
can carry 1 ton of nuclear weapons.
21-Apr
Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon kidnapped by
Maoists in Chhattisgarh. He was finally released on 4th May.
26-Apr
Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, Actress Rekha and Industrialist
Anu Aga nominated to Rajya Sabha by the President of
India.
1-May
Overy dead after a ferry capsized in Brahmaputra, Assam.
7-May
GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rules) implementation
postponed till 2013.
8-May
Over 160 Air India fail to report on duty. 10 sacked
13-May
60th anniversary of Indian parliament
15-May
A.Raja got bail in 2G scam
27-May
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the Indian Premier League
31-May
Bikram Singh takes over as Indian Army Chief from V.K.
Singh
1-Jun
Brahmeshwar Singh, chief of banned Ranvir Sena killed by
unidentified assailants.
11-Jun
VS Sampath becomes the Chief Election Commissioner
(CEC)
19-Jun
India pledges $10 bn to IMF for Eurozone.
22-Jun
Calcutta High Court strikes down Singur Land Act of West
Bengal government led by Mamata Banerjee
26-Jun
Abu Jundal is arrested by Delhi Police.
28-Jun
Surjeet Singh returns to India after being jailed for 30 years
in Pakistan.
30-Jun
20 Maoists killed in police operation in Chhattisgarh.
4-Jul
Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan charged
in Adarsh
7-Jul
Time magazine dubs Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan
Singh as 'underachiever'.
12-Jul
Actor and former wrestler Dara Singh passed away.
12-Jul
Jagadish Shettar sworn in as new Karnataka Chief Minister
after Yeddyurappa is asked to step down
18-Jul
Actor Rajesh Khanna passed away
20-Jul
Violent break outs in Kokrajhar district and adjoining areas
of Assam
22-Jul
Pranab Mukherjee elected as 13th President of India
30-Jul
Gagan Narang wins bronze in shooting at London Olympics
4-Aug
Vijay Kumar wins silver in shooting at London Olympics
4-Aug
Saina Nehwal wins bronze in badminton at London Olympics
8-Aug
Mass exodus of North-Eastern people
from Bangalore. Rumours blamed
8-Aug
Mary Kom wins bronze in women’s boxing at London
Olympics
10-Aug
Hamid Ansari re-elected as vice-president
11-Aug
Violence in Azad Maidan in Mumbai. The mob was protesting
Assam riots
11-Aug
Yogeshwar Dutt wins bronze in wrestling at London Olympics
12-Aug
Sushil Kumar wins silver in Wrestling at London Olympics
12-Aug
London Olympics end. India won highest number of medals
than any other Olympics, 6 medels, 2 silver and 4 bronze.
14-Aug
Union Minister for Science and Technology and Ex Chief
Minister Of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh Passed Away.
17-Aug
Bulk SMS & MMS banned in India to prevent rumours against
North Eastern people.
3-Sep
Mekong–Ganga sixth Cooperation meeting held in New Delhi
19-Sep
Agni-IV successfully test fired
19-Sep
he Supreme Court of India refused to review petitions
challenging constitutional validity of Right to Education from
Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009
23-Sep
Deepika Kumari won Silver at Recurve World Cup in Tokyo
27-Sep
Assam Govt. ordered CBI probe into Rhino poaching
27-Sep
Delhi Transport Corporation started Ladies’ Special Buses
with women conductors
27-Sep
Election commission prohibits use of animals in election
campaigns
28-Sep
Minister of Water Resources released an atlas Aquifer
System of India
28-Sep
Chief Justice of India Sarosh Homi Kapadia, retired
28-Sep
GSAT-10 successfully launched
29-Sep
Justice Altamas Kabirsworn-in as the new chief justice of
India by President Pranab Mukherjee
30-Sep
Punjab Government started door-to-door cancer detection
campaign
21-Oct
Filmmaker Yash Chopra passed away. His last movie Jab Tak
hai Jaan released in November.
25-Oct
Noted satirist and comedian Jaspal Bhatti died in an
accident
29-Oct
PAnkaj Advani won seventh World Billiards Championship
title
30-Oct
RBI left interest rates unchanged but cut the cash reserve
ratio for banks by a quarter percent
14-Nov
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 came
into force
17-Nov
Founder and chief of the Shiv Sena, Bal Thackeray passed
away
20-Nov
8th meeting of the India-UK Joint Working Group (JWG) on
Counter Terrorism held in New Delhi
21-Nov
Ajmal Kasab hanged for 2008 Mumbai Attacks.
30-Nov
IK Gujral, Former Prime Minister of India passed away.
12-Dec
Agni-I successfully test fired
13-Dec
Retail inflation stood at 9.90 percent in November 2012
20-Dec
Narendra Modi (Chief Minister of Gujarat) wins third
consecutive assembly election
26-Dec
Union Government exempted Service Tax for Janashree and
Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana
27-Dec
According to Planning Commission of India, Bihar’s growth
rate was highest amongst all other states in Indiabetween
2006 and 2010. It grew at 10.9 per cent
Important International Events of 2012
Here is a list of Important International Events of 2012
January 14
Ma Ying-jeou re-elected as President of the Republic of
China
European Union puts sanctions on Iran in protest against
January 23
its nuclear weapons program
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow re-elected as President of
February 12
Turkmenistan
February 12 Zambia defeated Ivory Coast to lift Africa Cup of Nations
February 15
United Kingdom unemployment rate reached 17 year high
of 8.4%
February 17
President of Germany, Christian Wulff, resigned over a
corruption scandal
February 17
70 ancient Olympic artifacts stolen from the Archaeological
Museum of Greece
February 21
Yemen presidential elections vice-President Abd Rabbuh
Mansur al-Hadi was the only candidate
February 25
WHO removed India from the list of polio endemic
countries
February 26
‘The Artist’ won five Academy Awards; the first silent film
to win since 1927
February 28 Largest prehistoric penguin, Kairuku grebneffi discovered
March
1
Euro zone unemployment reached 10.7%
2
the Red Cross is denied access to provide relief by the
Syrian army
March
2
“European Fiscal Compact” signed to prevent excessive
debt. all but two members of European Union members
sign it.
March
6
Francisco Xavier do Amaral, President of East Timorese
died
March
8 Greece secured debt-restructuring deal with private lenders
March
March
12
China recorded its highest trade deficit in over a decade
13
Encyclopedia Britannica announced discontinuation is
printed versions of its encyclopedia
March
16
Sachin Tendulkar became first cricketer to score 100
international centuries
March
Joachim Gauck elected President of the Federal republic of
18
Germany
March
Greek Parliament voted in favour of an international bailout
21
deal
March
Five former Guatemalan paramilitaries sentenced to 7,710
21
years in jail for Plan de Sanchez massacre in 1982
March
March
23 African Union suspends Mali's membership following a coup
March
26
March
30 Spanish Government cut 27 Billion Euros from its budget
March
Mastercard and Visa announced a security breach with over
30
ten million credit card numbers compromised
Macky Sall elected as President of Senegal
April
3
Spanish unemployment reached a record high, youth
unemployment at 50%
April
7
Joyce Banda became President of Malawi
7
130 Pakistani Army soldiers buried in an avalanche near
the Siachen Glacier
11
8.6 magnitude earth quacke and 8.2 aftershock off the
coast of Indonesia
13
North Korean long range rocket testing filed after the
rocket broke up after launch
April
15
China loosened monetary policy, allowed the Yuan to
fluctuate up to 1% against the US dollar
April
No Pulitzer Prize is awarded for fiction. It has not happened
16
since 1977.
April
April
April
May
5
Japan shuts down its nuclear reactors
May
6
Francois Hollande elected President of France
Greece parliamentary election 60% support for parties
opposed to austerity measures
May
6
May
Vladimir Putin sworn in for third six year term as President
7
of Russia
May
9
United States President, Barack Obama, officially supported
sex marriage
May
The Red Cross suspended all humanitarian work in Pakistan
10
after one of its workers was kidnapped and killed
May
11
May
Stanford University scientists developed prototype bionic
14
eye
May
15
Greece's fifth attempt to a form a coalition government
failed. New elections scheduled for June.
May
20
Tomislav Nikolić elected president of Serbia
May
SpaceX Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to
25
dock at the International Space Station
Chinese scientists transferred photons over 97 kilometers
using quantum teleportation, a world record
May
30
Vishwanathan Anand won his fifth World Chess
Championship
May
31
Egypt formally ended 31 year state of emergency
June
4
Japan's stock market reached its lowest level since 1983
June
6
Transit of Venus (between Earth & Sun)
June
11
Nobel Prize reduced by 20%
June
12
World Health Organization concluded that diesel exhaust
causes cancer
14
The world's first stem-cell assisted vein transplant
undertaken by Swedish doctors
June
17
Greek Elections. Previous elections in May had failed to
create a Government
June
19 Antonis Samaras formed a coalition Government in Greece
June
24
Soudi Ariabian female athletes allowed to compete at the
Olympics for the first time
June
30
Mohamed Morsi became President of Egypt
July
5
Enrique Pena Nieto elected President of Mexico
July
11
S/2012 P 1, the fifth moon of Pluto discovered
July
Kim Jong-un officially appointed Supreme Leader of North
Korea; given the rank of Marshal in the Korean People's
18
Army
July
22
Pranab Mukherjee elected President of India
July
24
John Dramani became President of Ghana
July
25
Ivica Dačić became Prime Minister of Serbia
July
27
Opening of the London 2012 Olympics
June
28
Ye Shiwen of China set world record in the women's 400m
individual medley
July
30
Indian power grid failure left over 300 million without
power
July
31
A second power grid failure in India left 670 million people
without power
July
August
8 Women's badminton doubles players disqualified from the
21012 summer Olympics for "not using one's best efforts to
1
win a match"
August
4
South African Oscar Pistorius became first amputee to
compete at the Olympics
August
9
Usain Bolt became the first athlete to win 100m and 200m
sprint in consecutive Olympics
August
12
2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
August
Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus stripped of Olympic shot-put
13
gold medal after failing a doping test
August
16
August
South Africa reached Rank-1 in test cricket after defeating
20
England
August
Russia and Vanuatu became members of the World Trade
22
Organization
August
27
Julian Assange, Wikileaks founder granted political asylum
by Ecuador
First interplanetary human voice recording is broadcast
from the Mars Rover Curiosity
August
29
Lance Armstrong stripped of his seven Tour de France titles
by USADA
September 9
Armenia won the 40th FIDE Chess Olympiad
September 13
Dr Mustafa Abushagur elected Prime Minister of Libya
September 18
World's first mother-to-daughter uterus transplant
undertaken at the University of Gothenburg
September 23 Four genetically distinct types of breast cancer discovered
September 25
Anouchka van Miltenburg elected President of the
Netherlands
September 27
Mars Curiosity rover discovered evidence of a fast-moving
streambed-in Mars
Japanese discovery of the 133th element confirmed. The
September 27
discovery was made in 2004
October
4
Jordan’s King Abdullah dissolved Parliament in preparation
for new elections
October
4
Michael Schumacher, former Formula-1 champion retired
October
Sébastien Loeb won the World Rally Championship for the
7
ninth consecutive year
October
October
8
Hugo Chávez re-elected as President of Venezuela for a
fourth term
8
Mustafa A.G. Abushagur, first elected Prime Minister of
Libya, voted out of office by Parliament
October
John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka won the 2012 Nobel
Prize for Medicine for their work on reprogramming end
8
stage cells to become pluripotent
October
9
Serge Haroche and David Wineland won the 2012 Nobel
Prize in Physics for work on quantum optics
Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka won the 2012 Nobel
October 10 Prize in Chemistry for work on G protein-coupled receptors
October 11
Mo Yan won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature
October 12
The European Union won the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize
October 15
China sent warships close to Japan
Hilary Mantel won the 2012 Man Booker Prize for her novel
October 15
‘Bring up the Bodies’
October 17
An exoplanet Alpha Centauri Bb discovered orbiting Alpha
Centauri
Sebastian Vettel won the 2012 Formula One Indian Grand
October 28
Prix
Publishing companies Penguin and Random House merged.
October 29 The merged company is now the world's largest publisher
November 6
US territory Puerto Rico voted to become a US State
November 10
Barack Obama re-elected as President of USA
CFBDSIR 2149-0403 the closest rogue planet to earth (100
November 14
light-years away) is discovered
November 27 Eurozone announced loans of 43.7 billion Euros to Greece
November 29
The UN voted to approve Palestine’s status change from an
observer to an observer state
December 1
Enrique Peña Nieto became President of Mexico
December 1
Ukranian Anna Ushenina won the Women's World Chess
Championship 2012
Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977, reached the end of
December 3
solar system and entered interstellar space
December 8
UN climate conference agreed to extend the Kyoto Protocol
to 2020
Magnus Carlsen of Norway broke Garry Kasparov’s record
December 10
Elo rating
December 11
Stephen Hawking, won the $3 million Fundamental Physics
Prize
Important Summits 2013
General Questions can be asked in Competitive Exams like Civil Services, Staff Selection Commission, Bank Exams
and other State Level Competitive Exams.
Here are some Important Summits of Year 2013 which can appear in any of the Exam.
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5thBRICS Summit - South Africa
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ASEAN Summit
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G 8 Summit
§ Countries Participated - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South-Africa
th
§ 5 Summit 2013 (Next) -South Africa
§ 21st - Phnom Penh (Cambodia)
§ 22nd - Brunei – 24th to 25th April 2013
§ 38th Summit 2012 -David camp, USA

§ 39th Summit 2013 -Lough Erne, Fermanagh, Northern Ireland in June
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G 20 Summit
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NAM(Non-Aligned Movement ) Summit
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SCO Summit
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Nuclear security Summit
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45th ADB 2013 at India
§ 7th Summit 2012 – Los Cabos, Mexico
§ 8th Summit 2013-St. Petersburg, Russia
§ 16th Summit- Tehran(Iran)
§ 26-31 August at Attended By(India)-Prime Minister
§ Theme- Lasting Peace through Joint Global Governance.
§ Country-120,New-Fiji, Azerbaijan
§ 17th Summit - In 2015- Venezuela
§ 12th Summit 2012-Beijing Attended by-SM Krishna(Foreign Minister)
§ 13th Summit 2013-Kyrgyzstan
United Nation conference on Sustainable Development- Rio de Janeiro
World Economic Forum – Davos (Switzerland)
World Polio Summit 2012 - New Delhi
FM Trilateral Talks(China& India & Russia)-Moscow
11th Energy Efficiency Summit organized by (CII – Confederation of Indian Industries) –Hyderabad
Emerging Kerala investments meet – Kochi
NATO Summit-Chicago
Arab Summit 2012 - Baghdad (Iraq)
World Economic Forum Summit 2012 Nov-Gurgaon(Haryana)
20th ASEAN Meeting 2012 – Phnom Penh, Cambodia
10th BASIC Summit - New Delhi
Earth Summit - -Rio de Janeiro
5th OPEC at Vienna, Austria
9th World Hindi Conference - Johannesburg
The international biodiversity meet – Hyderabad
Asia Co-operation Dialogue Summit – Kuwait
23rdAPEC Russia 2012 Summit - Russky Island (Russia)
5th IBSA 2013-India
§ 2nd Summit 2012 – Seoul (South Korea),
§ 3rd Summit 2014 – Netherlands
UN biodiversity meet in 2014 - South Korea
Nuclear Summit 2012 at Seoul, South Korea, 2014 at Netherlands
Third Worldwide Cyber security Summit - New Delhi
Indian National Science Academy Summit – New Delhi
First ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on cooperation in Renewable Energy– New Delhi
7th East Asia Summit - Phnom Penh (Cambodia)

7th SAARC 2012 at Kathmandu, Nepal.
Indian Satellites
India has achieved several milestones in Space Research and Satellite Technology. Here is a list of Indian Satelites
and their key achievement.
Satellite
Aryabhata
Bhaskara-I
Rohini Technology Payload
Rohini RS-1
Rohini RS-D1
Ariane Passenger Payload
Experiment
Launch
Note
First Indian Satellite. It
19-Apr- gave valuable
75 technological know
how about satellites
Carried TV cameras
7-Jun-79 and microwave
radiometers.
10-AugDid no achieve orbit.
79
Provided information
18-Julabout fourth stage of
80
SLV.
Carried a solid state
31-May- camera. Did not
81 achieve intended
height.
First experimental
19-Juncommunication
81
satellite.
Bhaskara-II
Second experimental
20-Novremote sensing
81
satellite.
INSAT-1A
First operational
multipurpose
communication and
10-Aprmeteorology satellite.
82
Procured from USA.
Worked for only six
months.
Rohini RS-D2
17-Apr- Carried a smart sensor
83 camera.
INSAT-1B
Very successful.
30-Aug- Revolutionized TV,
83 radio, and
telecommunications.
Stretched Rohini Satellite
Series(SROSS-1)
24-MarDid not achieve orbit.
87
IRS-1A
First operational
17-Marremote sensing
88
satellite.
Stretched Rohini Satellite
Series(SROSS-2)
13-JulDid not achieve orbit.
88
INSAT-1C
21-Jul- Lasted only one-and-a88 half years.
INSAT-1D
12-JunStill operational.
90
IRS-1B
29-Aug- Earth observation
91 satellite.
Stretched Rohini Satellite
Series(SROSS-C)
Carried gamma ray
20-Mayastronomy and
92
aeronomy payload.
INSAT-2DT
Launched as Arabsat
26-Feb1C. Procured in orbit
92
from Arabsat in 1998.
INSAT-2A
10-JulStill in operation.
92
INSAT-2B
23-JulStill in operation.
93
IRS-1E
Stretched Rohini Satellite
Series(SROSS-C2)
IRS-P2
INSAT-2C
Earth observation
20-Sepsatellite. Did not
93
achieve orbit.
4-MayStill in operation.
94
Earth observation
15-Oct- satellite. Launched by
94 second developmental
flight of PSLV.
7-Dec-95
Still in operation. Has
television outreach
beyond Indian
boundaries.
IRS-1C
29-Dec- Earth observation
95 satellite.
IRS-P3
Remote sensing and X21-Mar- ray astronomy
96 capability. Launched by
PSLV.
INSAT-2D
IRS-1D
INSAT-2E
4-Jun-97
29-Sep97
Multipurpose
communication and
3-Apr-99
meteorological
satellite.
IRS-P4OCEANSAT
Has Ocean Colour
Monitor (OCM) and a
26-MayMultifrequency
99
Scanning Microwave
Radiometer (MSMR).
INSAT-3B
22-Mar- Multipurpose
00 communication
GSAT-1
18-Apr- Experimental satellite
01 for the first
developmental flight of
GSLV-D1
Technology Experiment
Satellite (TES)
Experimental satellite
22-Octto test new
01
technologies
INSAT-3C
24-Jan02
Kalpana-1
First meteorological
12-Sep- satellite built by ISRO.
02 Originally named
METSAT.
INSAT-3A
Multipurpose satellite
for communication,
10-Apr- broadcasting, and
03 meteorological services
along with INSAT-2E
and Kalpana-1.
GSAT-2
Experimental satellite
8-May- for the second
03 developmental test
flight of GSLV
INSAT-3E
28-Sep03
RESOURCESAT-1 (IRS-P6)
17-Oct03
EDUSAT
20-OctAlso called GSAT-3.
04
India’s first exclusive
educational satellite.
HAMSAT
5-May- Microsatellite for
05 amateur radio services
CARTOSAT-1
5-May- Provides stereographic
05 images
INSAT-4A
22-Dec- Direct-to-home TV
05 broadcasting
INSAT-4C
Geosynchronous
10-Jul- communications
06 satellite. Did not
achieve orbit.
CARTOSAT-2
10-Janpanchromatic camera
07
Space Capsule Recovery
Experiment(SRE-1)
Experimental satellite
to demonstrate an
orbiting platform for
10-Jan- performing
07 experiments in
microgravity. Deorbited and recovered
successfully.
INSAT-4B
12-MarSimilar to INSAT-4A
07
INSAT-4CR
2-Sep-07 Identical to INSAT-4C
CARTOSAT-2A
28-Apr- Similar to CARTOSAT08 2.
IMS-1 (Third World Satellite –
TWsat)
28-AprLow-cost microsatellite
08
Chandrayaan-1
Unmanned lunar
22-Octprobe. Detected water
08
on moon
RISAT-2
Radar imaging for
20-Aprmonitoring India's
09
borders
ANUSAT
20-Apr- microsatellite designed
09 at Anna University
Oceansat-2 (IRS-P4)
Collects oceanographic,
23-Sepcoastal and
09
atmospheric data
GSAT-4
15-Apr- Launched by GSLV.
10 Mission failed
CARTOSAT-2B
12-Jul10
GSAT-5P /INSAT-4D
25-Dec- Launched by GSLV.
10 Mission failed
RESOURCESAT-2
20-Apr11
21-May11
GSAT-8 / INSAT-4G
15-Jul- Replacement for
11 INSAT-3B
GSAT-12
Megha-Tropiques
An Indo-French
12-Oct- collaborative effort.
11 Studies water cycle in
atmosphere
RISAT-1
First indigenous allweather Radar Imaging
26-AprSatellite. Focus on
12
agriculture and
disaster management
Information about SAARC Summits
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was founded in 1985. SAARC summits are organized at
different intervals. This page talks about some of the key events and outcomes in these summits.
Summit
Venue
Date
Key Outcomes
* signed the SAARC
Charter on 8
December 1985
* established study
groups on the
problems of
terrorism and drug
trafficking
* planned a
Dec 7-8
ministerial-level
First summit Dhaka, Bangladesh 1985 meeting about GATT
Second
summit
Third
summit
Fourth
summit
Bangalore, India
* SAARC secretariat
as established at
Kathmandu
*Abul Ahsan of
Bangladesh
appointed the first
Nov 16- Secretary-General
17 1986
of SAARC
Nepal, Kathmandu
* Foreign ministers
of the member
states signed the
SAARC Regional
Convention on
Suppression of
Terrorism
* Agreement to
Nov 2-4
establish a South
1987
Asian Food Reserve
Pakistan,
Islamabad
* Declared 1989 as
the "SAARC Year
Against Drug Abuse"
* Declared 1990 as
the "SAARC Year of
the Girl Child"
* Set up a technical
committee on
education
* Launched a
regional plan called
"SAARC-2000-A
Basic Needs
Perspective" to
meet specific
targets in areas
such as food,
shelter, education
Dec 29- and environmental
31 1988 protection by 2000
* Signed the SAARC
Convention on
Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic
Substances
* Launched the
Special SAARC
Travel Document
* launched a
Scheme for the
Promotion of
Organised Tourism
* Declared:
1991-2000 as the
"SAARC Decade of
the Girl Child"
1991 as the "SAARC
Year of Shelter"
1992 as the "SAARC
Year of the
Environment"
1993 as the "SAARC
Nov 21Year of Disabled
23 1990
Persons"
Fifth
summit
Maldives, Malé
Sixth
summit
Sri Lanka,
Colombo
Dec
21 , 1991
Seventh
summit
Bangladesh,
Dhaka
April 1011 1993
Eighth
summit
India, New Delhi
* establishment of a
three-window South
Asian Development
Fund with the
merger of SAARC
Fund for Regional
Projects and the
SAARC Regional
May 2-4
Fund and a third
1995
window for social
development and
infrastructure
development
Ninth
summit
Maldives, Malé
May 1214 1997
Tenth
summit
Sri Lanka,
Colombo
July 2931 1998
Eleventh
summit
Nepal, Kathmandu
Jan 4-6
2002
Twelfth
summit
Pakistan,
Islamabad
Jan 2-6
2004
Thirteenth
summit
Bangladesh,
Dhaka
Nov 1213 2005
Fourteenth
summit
India, New Delhi
Fifteenth
summit
Sixteenth
summit
Seventeenth
Sri Lanka,
Colombo
Maldives, Male
Bhutan, Timphu
April 3-4
2007
Aug 1-3
2008
* admission of
Australia and
Myanamar as
observers.
* an Extra-ordinary
Meeting of the
Agriculture Ministers
of the SAARC
Member States be
convened in New
April 28–
Delhi, India in
29 2010
November 2008
Nov 10-
* Climate change
was the central
Summit
11 2011 issue of the summit
with summit's
theme "Towards a
Green and Happy
South Asia"
* SAARC leaders
signed a SAARC
Convention on
Cooperation on
Environment to
tackle the problem
of climate change
* The SAARC
nations also pledged
to plant 10 million
trees over the next
5 years.
* India proposed
setting up of climate
innovation centres
in South Asia to
develop sustainable
energy technologies.
* ‘Thimphu Silver
Jubilee DeclarationTowards a Green
and Happy South
Asia’
nternational Observance Days
Here is a list of International Days of Observance. These are commonly asked in Competitive Exams.
January
January 1 - Global Family Day - formerly One Day of Peace and Sharing,
recognized by the UN
January 1 - World Day of Peace - established by pope Paul VI in his letter
dated on 8.12.1967
January 27 - International Holocaust Remembrance Day, recognized by
the UN
January 28 - Data Protection Day - recognized by the Council of Europe
February
February 4 - World Cancer Day
February 6 - International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital
Mutilation
February 11 - World Day of the Sick, an observance day instituted by
pope John Paul II
February 20 - World Day of Social Justice, recognized by the UN
February 21 - International Mother Language Day, recognized by the UN
February 22 - International Scouts Day
February 22 - World Thinking Day
February 28 - International Pashtun Jirga Day
March
March 1 - International Cat Day
March 8 - United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace,
recognized by the UN
March 8 - International Women's Day , recognized by the UN
March 14 - International Day of Action for Rivers
March 14 - Pi Day
March 15 - World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and Film
March 15 - World Consumer Rights Day
March 20 - International Day of the Francophonie
March 20 - World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People
March 20 - World House Sparrow Day()
March 21 - World Down Syndrome Day
March 21 - International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,
recognized by the UN
March 21 - World Poetry Day, recognized by the UNESCO (Masood)
March 22 - World Day for Water, recognized by the UN
March 23 - World Meteorological Day, recognized by the UN
March 24 - International Day for Achievers, World Tuberculosis Day,
recognized by the UN
March 25 - International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and
the Transatlantic Slave Trade, recognized by the UN
March 27 - World Theatre Day
April
April 2 - World Autism Awareness Day, recognized by the UN
April 4 - International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine
Action, recognized by the UN
April 7 - World Health Day, recognized by the UN
April 7 - International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda,
recognized by the UN
April 8 - International Day of the Roma
April 12 - International Day of Human Space Flight - an official United
Nations day
April 12 - International Day for Street Children
April 14 - Cultural Unity Day, recognized by India, Sri Lanka, Maldives,
Bangladesh and Nepal.
April 16 - World Entrepreneurship Day (WED) site
April 17 - World Hemophilia Day, recognized by the UN
April 21 - World Creativity and Innovation Day. Celebrations begin April 15 Leonardo da Vinci's Birthday
April 22 - Earth Day
April 23 - World Book and Copyright Day, recognized by the UN
April 24 - World Day for Laboratory Animals, recognized by the UN
April 25 - World Malaria Day, recognized by the WHO
April 26 - World Intellectual Property Day, recognized by the UN
April 28 - International Workers' Memorial Day
April 29 - World Dance Day
May
May 1 - May Day - Labour Day
May 3 - World Press Freedom Day, recognized by the UN
May 4 - International Firefighters' Day, Star Wars Day
May 5 - International Midwives Day
May 6 - International Awareness Day for Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle
Bones)
May 7 - Rabindranath Tagore's Anniversary Day
May 8 - World Red Cross & Red Crescent Day
May 8-May 9 - Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost
Their Lives during the Second World War, recognized by the UN
May 12 - International Nurses Day
May 15 - International Day of Families, recognized by the UN
May 17 - World Information Society Day, recognized by the UN
May 17 - Vesak Day Birth of Siddhartha ,Buddhism found and Death of
Siddhartha Gautama Buddha
May 17 - Vesak Day 2600 Sri Sambuddha Jayanthiya found of Buddhism
May 17 - International AIDS Vaccine Day
May 17 - International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia
May 18 - International AIDS Candlelight Memorial
May 18 - International Museum Day
May 19 - World Hepatitis Day
May 21 - World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development,
recognized by the UN
May 22 - International Day for Biological Diversity, recognized by the UN
May 23 - World Turtle Day
May 25 - Towel day Tribute to Author Douglas Adams
May 29 - International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, recognized by
the UN
May 29 - Redhead Day in Walibi Belgium
May 31 - World No Tobacco Day, recognized by the UN
1st Tuesday of May - World Asthma Day
2nd Saturday of May - World Fair Trade Day
2nd Sunday of May - International Mothers' Day
June
June 1 - International Children's Day
June 4 - International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression,
recognized by the UN
June 4 - International Hug A Cat Day
June 5 - World Environment Day, recognized by the UN
June 8 - World Brain Tumour Day
June 8 - World Ocean Day
June 10 - Ballpoint Pen Day
June 12 - World Day Against Child Labour
June 14 - World Blood Donor Day, recognized by the UN
June 17 - World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, recognized by
the UN
June 19 - World Sickle Cell Day, by UN Resolution
June 20 - World Refugee Day, recognized by the UN
June 21 - World Music Day
June 23 - United Nations Public Service Day, recognized by the UN
June 26 - International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking,
recognized by the UN
June 26 - International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, recognized by
the UN
3rd Sunday of June - International Fathers' Day
July
July 1 - Doctor's Day,Bidhan Chandra Roy Birth Day
1st Saturday of July - International Day of Cooperatives, recognized by the
UN
July 7 - International Cooperative Day
July 8 - Writer's Day
July 11 - World Population Day, recognized by the UN
July 18 - Mandela Day, recognized by the UN
Last Friday of July - System Administrator Appreciation Day
August
August 9 - International Day of the World's Indigenous People, recognized
by the UN
August 12 - International Youth Day, recognized by the UN
August 13 - International Lefthanders Day
August 16-Black day
August 19 - World Humanitarian Day
August 23 - International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and
its Abolition, recognized by the UN
September
September 8 - International Literacy Day, recognized by the UN
September 10 - World Suicide Prevention Day
September 11 - 9/11 anniversary
September 11 - World First Aid Day
September 15 - International Day of Democracy, recognized by the UN
September 16 - International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer,
recognized by the UN
September 19 - International Talk Like a Pirate Day
September 21 - International Day of Peace, recognized by the UN
September 21 - World Alzheimer's Day
September 22 - (World) Car Free Day(s)
September 26 - European Day of Languages
September 27 - World Tourism Day
September 28 - Right to Know Day (RightToKnowDay.net)
September 28 - World Rabies Day
During last week of September - World Maritime Day, recognized by the UN
October
First Monday of October - World Habitat Day, recognized by the UN
October 1 - International Day of Older Persons, recognized by the UN
October 1 - World Vegetarian Day
October 2 - International Day of Non-Violence, recognized by the UN,
observed on M.K. Gandhi's birthday
October 3 - World Smile Day
October 4 - World Animal Day
October 5 - World Teachers' Day
Second Wednesday of October - International Day for Natural Disaster
Reduction, recognized by the UN
October 9 - World Hospice and Palliative Care Day
October 8 - World Humanitarian Action Day
October 8 - World Egg Day - 2nd Friday of October every year
October 9 - World Post Day, recognized by the UN
October 9 - Global Jamie Day, recognized by the UN
October 10 - World Mental Health Day, recognized by the UN
October 10 - World Day Against Death Penalty, recognized by the WCADP
October 13 - International Suit Up Day,
October 14 - World Standards Day
October 15 - World Blind Day / World Sight Day
October 15 - International Day of Rural Women, recognized by the UN
October 15 - Global Handwashing Day
October 16 - National Boss Day (Boss's Day)
October 16 - World Food Day, recognized by the UN
October 17 - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, recognized by
the UN
October 20 - World Osteoporosis Day ,
October 20 - International Day of the Air Traffic Controller,
October 20 - World Statistics Day
October 24 - United Nations Day, recognized by the UN
October 24 - World Development Information Day, recognized by the UN
October 27 - World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, recognized by the UN
October 25–31 - International Epidermolysis Bullosa Awareness Week,
November
Third Sunday of November - World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic
Victims, recognized by the UN
November 1 - World Vegan Day
November 6 - International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the
Environment in War and Armed Conflict, recognized by the UN
November 9 - World Freedom Day
November 10 - World Immunization Day
November 13 - World Kindness Day
November 14 - World Diabetes Day, recognized by the UN
November 16 - International Day for Tolerance, recognized by the UN
November 17 - International Students Day
November 19 - International Men's Day (Trinidad and
Tobago, Jamaica, Australia, India, United States, Singapore, Malta, United
Kingdom, South
Africa, Hungary, Ireland, Ghana, Canada, Denmark,Austria, England, France,
Scotland, Pakistan, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis and Grenada)
November 19 - World Toilet Day
November 20 - Africa Industrialization Day, recognized by the UN
November 20 - Universal Children's Day, recognized by the UN
November 20 - Transgender Day of Remembrance
November 21 - World Hello Day
November 21 - World Television Day, recognized by the UN
November 25 - International Day for the Elimination of Violence against
Women, recognized by the UN
November 29 - International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People,
recognized by the UN
November 30 - Computer Security Day
December
December 1 - World Aids Day, recognized by the UN
December 2 - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, recognized by
the UN
December 3 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities, recognized by
the UN
December 5 - International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social
Development, recognized by the UN
December 7 - International Civil Aviation Day, recognized by the UN
December 9 - The International Day against Corruption, recognized by the
UN
December 10 - Human Rights Day, recognized by the UN
December 11 - International Mountain Day, recognized by the UN
December 18 - International Migrants Day, recognized by the UN
December 19 - United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, recognized
by the UN
December 20 - International Human Solidarity Day, recognized by the UN
anuary 2013 Current Affairs for
Competitive Exams



Australian Open: Men's: Novak Djokovic of Serbia defeated Andy Murray of UK and became the winner
Australian Open: Women's: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus won by defeating Li Na of China
January 1: Scientist Venkatesh Mannar honoured with the Order of Canada




January 1: India and Pakistan exchanged their nuclear units’ lists
January 2: Union Government constituted the 14th Finance Commission under Y V Reddy
January 3: South Korea became first country in Asia to hand Chemical Castration as a punishment
January 4: Centre’s allocation for the science and technology and earth sciences ministry doubled for the 12th Plan
period

January 4: India and Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for building capacity, developing
institutional framework and identifying thrust areas and opportunities for micro, small and medium enterprises in
Vietnam.


January 6: Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands won the Ladies Doubles final at the Brisbane International
January 7: Chief Minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda laid the foundation stone of the National Data Centre
of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) at Manesar, Gurgaon in Haryana

January 7: News Broadcasting Standards Association (NBSA) issued guidelines for the television channels while
reporting the sexual assault cases


January 8: Aadesh, the first fast patrol vessel for coast guard launched
January 10: Chief Justice of India, Altamas Kabir set up a Special Bench of Justices of A.K. Patnaik and Gyan Sudha
Misra to hear cases of crime against women

January 13: Chief Justice of Sri Lanka impeached. Shirani Bandarnayake was the first woman Chief Justice of Sri
Lanka






January 15: Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered arrest of Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf
January 16: (Start Date) Vulture Population Estimation-2013 was conducted in Panna Tiger Reserve
January 18: President’s Rule imposed in Jharkhand.
January 21: Import duty on Gold and Platinum increased by 2%. Raised to 6% from previous 4%
January 21: The Supreme Court banned the tourists from passing through Jarwa Tribe Habitats in the Andamans
January 23: Justice Verma panel, a 3-member commission created to review the laws for sexual crimes submitted
the report to the Union Government

January 23: International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected the Glbal Economic Growth to be 3.5% in World Economic
Outlook (WEO)

January 24: David Coleman Headley, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack 2008 sentenced to 35 years
in Prison by a US court

January 25: Milos Zeman won the Czech Republic Presidential election. He became the country’s first elected
President through direct elections.

January 26: India celebrated its 64th Republic Day. King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk was the Chief
Guest

January 28: India and Bangladesh signed two landmark agreements on extradition of criminals and terrorists and
liberalising the visa regime


January 29: Repo Rate and CRR reduced to 7.75% and 4% respectively.
Janaury 30: India announced an assistance of 2.5 million US dollars to Syria
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission
(JNNSM): Important Points
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM)

Launched on 11th January, 2010

It was launched by the Prime Minister

The mission has a target of 20,000 MW grid connected solar power

The target is to be achieved by 2022

Main aim of the project is to reduce the cost of solar power generation. This is to be achieved
by:
o
long term policy
o
large scale deployment goals
o
aggressive R&D
o
domestic production of critical raw materials, components and products

The mission extends over 11th, 12th, and 13th 5 year plan

Investors pumped in Rs 5,000 crore for developing solar power projects worth 750 mw under
the second phase of the Mission

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), is the executing body for JNNSM phase -2 under the
aegis of ministry of new and renewable energy

SECI had invited project developers to set up solar power projects under Public-PrivatePartnership (PPP) mode

The government would support through viability gap funding (vgf)

The solar tariff is at Rs 5.50 per unit

USA filed two cases against India at the WTO regarding the second phase of JNNSM

USA claimed that compulsory domestic content requirements “discriminate against US exports”

Under this requirement, the developers are required to use Indian made equipment

This requirement prevents developers from using US made equipment

On the contrary, leading Indian solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturers allege that there
are difficulties in penetrating the US market due to the support provided to US manufacturers
by the US government

In February, the largest solar plant in India was launched in Bhagwanpur, Neemuch in Madhya
Pradesh

The capacity of this plant in 130 Mega Watt
Noble Prize 2013
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE
Alice Munro, Canada
Known as the "master of the contemporary short story." She is often compared to Anton Chekhov. She has authored
a series of story collections based on lives of women. Some of her better known works are: "The Moons of Jupiter,"
'The Progress of Love" and "Runaway."
NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
Martin Karplus, University of Strasbourg, France, and Harvard University
Michael Levitt, Stanford University School of Medicine
Arieh Warshel of the University of Southern California
They have been awarded for their work on computer models that predict complex chemical reactions. The models
can be used for creation and development of new drugs. Their approach uses a combination of classical and
quantum physics.
NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS
Peter Higgs, Britain
Francois Englert, Belgium.
They have been awarded for their theory about how subatomic particles get their mass. The theory was confirmed by
discovery of Higgs Boson at CERN in Geneva last year. It is also known as God Particle.
NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSIOLOGY OR MEDICINE
James E. Rothman, Yale University
Randy W. Schekman, University of California, Berkeley
Dr. Thomas C. Sudhof, Stanford University School of Medicine.
They have been awarded for their work on how key substances move within a cell.
Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and
Padma Vibhushan awards 2013
Padma awards were started in 1954. Typically, they are awarded on the Republic Day 26th January. These awards
are given for a variety of disciplines. In 2013, the awards were given out to the achievers listed below.
Padma Vibhushan Award Winners - 2013
Raghunath Mohapatra
Art
Orissa
S Haider Raza
Art
Delhi
Prof Yash Pal
Science and
Engineering
Uttar Pradesh
Prof Roddam Narasimha
Science and
Engineering
Karnataka
Padma Bhushan Award Winners - 2013
Dr Ramanaidu Daggubati
Art
Andhra Pradesh
Sreeramamurthy Janaki
Art
Tamil Nadu
Dr (Smt) Kanak Rele
Art
Maharashtra
Sharmila Tagore
Art
Delhi
Dr (Smt) Saroja Vaidyanathan
Art
Delhi
Abdul Rashid Khan
Art
West Bengal
Rajesh Khanna
Art
Maharashtra
Jaspal Singh Bhatti
Art
Punjab
Shivajirao Girdhar Patil
Public Affairs
Maharashtra
Dr Apathukatha Sivathanu Pillai
Science
Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat
Science and Engineering Delhi
Dr Ashoke Sen
Engineering
Delhi
Science and Engineering Uttar Pradesh
B N Suresh
Science and Engineering Karnataka
Prof Satya N Atluri
Science and Engineering USA
Prof Jogesh Chandra Pati
Science and Engineering USA
Ramamurthy Thyagarajan
Trade and Industry
Tamil Nadu
Adi Burjor Godrej
Trade and Industry
Maharashtra
Dr Nandkishore Shamrao Laud
Medicine
Maharashtra
Mangesh Padgaonkar
Literature and Education Maharashtra
Prof Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
Literature & Education
USA
Hemendra Singh Panwar
Civil Service
Madhya Pradesh
Maharaj Kishan Bhan
Civil Service
Delhi
Rahul Dravid
Sports
Karnataka
H Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom
Sports
Manipur
Padma Shri Award Winners
Gajam Anjaiah
Art
Andhra Pradesh
Swami G C D Bharti alias Bharati
Bandhu
Art
Chhattisgarh
B Jayashree
Art
Karnataka
Sridevi Kapoor
Art
Maharashtra
Kailash Chandra Meher
Art
Orissa
Brahmdeo Ram Pandit
Art
Maharashtra
Vishwanath D Patekar alias Nana
Patekar
Art
Maharashtra
R Nageswara Rao alias Surabhi Babji
Art
Andhra Pradesh
Lakshmi Narayana Sathiraju
Art
Tamil Nadu
Jaymala Shiledar
Art
Maharashtra
Suresh Dattatray Talwalkar
Art
Maharashtra
P Madhavan Nair alias Madhu
Art
Kerala
Apurba Kishore Bir
Art
Maharashtra
Ghanakanta Bora Borbayan
Art
Assam
Hilda Mit Lepcha
Art
Sikkim
Sudha Malhotra
Art
Maharashtra
Ghulam Mohammad Saznawaz
Art
Ramesh Gopaldas Sippy
Art
Maharashtra
Mahrukh Tarapor
Art
Maharashtra
Balwant Thakur
Art
Puran Das Baul
Art
Rajendra Tikku
Art
Pablo Bartholomew
Art
Jammu and
Kashmir
Jammu and
Kashmir
West Bengal
Jammu and
Kashmir
Delhi
Shri S Shakir Ali
Art
Rajasthan
S K M Maeilanandhan
Social Work
Tamil Nadu
Nileema Mishra
Social Work
Maharashtra
Reema Nanavati
Social Work
Gujarat
Jharna Dhara Chowdhury
Social Work
Bangladesh
Dr Ram Krishan
Social Work
Uttar Pradesh
Manju Bharat Ram
Social Work
Delhi
Prof Mustansir Barma
Science and
Engineering
Maharashtra
Avinash Chander
Science and
Engineering
Delhi
Sanjay Govind Dhande
Science and
Engineering
Uttar Pradesh
Prof (Dr) Sankar Kumar Pal
Science
and Engineering
West Bengal
Deepak B Phatak
Science and
Engineering
Maharashtra
Dr Mudundi Ramakrishna Raju
Prof Ajay K Sood
Science and Engg
Science and
Andhra Pradesh
Karnataka
Engineering
Prof Krishnaswamy Vijayraghavan
Science & Engg
Karnataka
Dr Manindra Agrawal
Science and
Engineering
Uttar Pradesh
Dr Jayaraman Gowrishankar
Science &
Engineering
Andhra Pradesh
Prof Sharad Pandurang Kale
Science &
Engineering
Maharashtra
Vandana Luthra
Trade and Industry
Delhi
Rajshree Pathy
Trade and Industry
Tamil Nadu
Hemendra Prasad Barooah
Trade and Industry
Assam
Milind Kamble
Trade and Industry
Maharashtra
Kalpana Saroj
Trade and Industry
Maharashtra
Dr Sudarshan K Aggarwal
Medicine
Delhi
Dr C Venkata S Ram alias Chitta
Venkata Sundara Ram
Medicine
Andhra Pradesh
Dr Rajendra Achyut Badwe
Medicine
Maharashtra
Dr Taraprasad Das
Medicine
Orissa
Prof (Dr) T V Devarajan
Medicine
Tamil Nadu
Prof (Dr) Saroj Chooramani Gopal
Medicine
Uttar Pradesh
Dr Pramod Kumar Julka
Medicine
Delhi
Dr Gulshan Rai Khatri
Medicine
Delhi
Dr Ganesh Kumar Mani
Medicine
Delhi
Dr Amit Prabhakar Maydeo
Medicine
Maharashtra
Dr Sundaram Natarajan
Medicine
Maharashtra
Prof Krishna Chandra Chunekar
Medicine
Uttar Pradesh
Dr Vishwa Kumar Gupta
Medicine
Delhi
Prof (Capt) Dr M Sharaf-eAlam
Literature &
Education
Bihar
Dr Radhika Herzberger
Literature &
Education
Andhra Pradesh
J Malsawma
Literature and
Education
Mizoram
Devendra Patel
Literature &
Education
Gujarat
Dr Rama Kant Shukla
Literature &
Education
Delhi
Prof Akhtarul Wasey
Literature &
Education
Delhi
Prof Anvita Abbi
Literature &
Education
Delhi
Nida Fazli
Literature &
Education
Madhya Pradesh
Surender Kumar Sharma
Literature &
Education
Delhi
Dr Jagdish Prasad Singh
Literature &
Education
Bihar
Shaukat Riaz Kapoor Alias Salik
Lakhnawi
Literature &
Education
WB
Prof Noboru Karashima
Literature &
Education
Japan
Christopher Pinney
Literature &
Education
UK
Premlata Agrawal
Sports
Jharkhand
Yogeshwar Dutt
Sports
Haryana
Hosanagara Nagarajegowda Girisha
Sports
Karnataka
Subedar Major Vijay Kumar
Sports
Himachal
Pradesh
Ngangom Dingko Singh
Sports
Maharashtra
Naib Subedar Bajrang Lal Takhar
Sports
Rajasthan
Ritu Kumar
Fashion Designing
Delhi
Dr Ravindra Singh Bisht
Archaeology
Uttar Pradesh
Specialized Agencies of the UN
Abbreviation
Full name
Location Established
FAO
Food and
Agriculture
Organization
Italy, Rome
1945
ICAO
International Civil
Aviation
Organization
Canada,
Montreal
1947
IFAD
International Fund
for Agricultural
Development
Italy, Rome
1977
ILO
International
Labour
Organization
Switzerland,
Geneva
1919
IMO
International
Maritime
Organization
UK, London
1959
International
Monetary Fund
USA,
Washington
D.C.
1945
IMF
ITU
International
Telecommunication Switzerland,
Union
Geneva
1865
UNESCO
United Nations
Educational,
Scientific and
Cultural
Organization
France,
Paris
1945
UNIDO
United Nations
Industrial
Development
Organization
Austria,
Vienna
1985
UPU
Universal Postal
Union
Switzerland,
Bern
1874
USA,
Washington
World Bank Group
D.C.
1945
WBG
WHO
WIPO
World Health
Organization
Switzerland,
Geneva
1948
World Intellectual
Property
Switzerland,
Organization
Geneva
1967
WMO
World
Meteorological
Organization
Switzerland,
Geneva
1950
UNWTO
World Tourism
Organization
Spain,
Madrid
1974
IAEA
International
Atomic Energy
Agency
Austria,
Vienna
1957
UN
United Nations
Organization
USA, New
York
1945
WTO
World Trade
Organization
Switzerland,
Geneva
1995
What are the provisions under MGNREGA?
MGNREGA stands for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. It is
essentially a job-guarantee scheme. It was enacted by the government in August 2005.
Enrollment Process:






All adult members of a rural household, willing to do unskilled manual work can register for
MGNREGA.
The registration can be done at the local Gram Panchayat
The application would be verified by Gram Panchayat.
The Gram Panchayat will issue a Job Card.
The job is free of cost.
The Job Card should be issued within 15 days of application.
After a job card has been issued the registered household may apply for work.
Job Application






To apply for a job, the card holder must give an application on a plain paper in writing to the
Gram Panchayat or Programme Officer (at block level). The applicant will get a dated receipt for
the application.
The minimum days for which employment is sought is fourteen.
The Gram Panchayat will guarantee of providing employment within 15 days
If the employment is not provided within 15 days of application for work, daily unemployment
allowance would be paid to the applicant.
The liability of paying unemployment allowance is with the States.
Work should be provided within 5 km radius of the village. In case work is provided beyond
5 km, extra 10% wages must be paid
Facilities to be provided to workers


Wages are to be paid on a weekly basis.
Safe Drinking water, shades for children, periods of rest and first-aid box




A person preferably a woman to tend to children if there are more than five children on a work
site. This person will be paid wages in the same way as the other workers on site.
In case of accidents during the course of employment at work site, the person is entitled for free
medical treatment from the State Government.
In case of hospitalisation of the injured labourer, the injured person will get daily allowance at
50% of wage rate
In case of death or permanent disability Rs.25, 000 shall be paid to the legal heir of the deceased
or to the disabled
Permissible works under MGNREGA









water conservation and water harvesting
drought proofing, afforestation and tree plantation
irrigation canals
irrigation facility to land owned by households of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes or to
land beneficiaries of land reforms or land of the beneficiaries under the Indira Awas Yojana
renovation of traditional water bodies such as desilting of tanks
land development
flood control and protection such as drainage
rural connectivity to provide all-weather access.
What is Mercosur?
Mercosur stands for Mercado Común del Sur in Spanish. In English, it translates to 'Southern Common Market'.
Mercsur was established in 1991.
The Treaty of Asunción was the starting point for this agreement. The agreement was further amended and updated
in 1994 by the Treaty of Ouro Preto.
This is an economic and political agreement between Argentina,Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela; and
Bolivia. Bolivia is the latest entrant into this agreement.
Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname are associate members of Mercosur.
The purpose of this agreement is to promote free trade between these countries. It also extends to free movement of
people, goods, and currency.
The headquarters of Mercosur is in Montevideo, Uruguay.
The executive body of Mercosur is known as 'The Group' and is coordinated by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the
member countries.
The court of Mercosur is in Asunción, Paraguay
In a lot of ways, Mercosur is similar to other international agreements such as SAARC
Who's Who in India: Updated Dec 2012
Here is a list of key office bearers in India.
Position
Name
Chairman, Planning
Commission
Dr. Manmohan Singh
Speaker, Lok Sabha
Ms. Meira Kumar
Chairman, Rajya Sabha
Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Deputy Chairman, Rajya
Sabha
P. J. Kurien
Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha
Karia Munda
Leader of Opposition (Lok
Sabha)
Mrs. Sushma Swaraj
Leader of Opposition (Rajya
Sabha)
Arun Jaitley
Deputy Chairman, Planning
Commission
Dr. Montek Singh
Ahluwalia
Chief Election Commissioner
V. S. Sampath
Election Commissioner
Harishankar Brahma
Election Commissioner
Nasim Zaidi
Comptroller and AuditorGeneral of India
Vinod Rai
Chairperson, National Human
Justice K. G. Balakrishnan
Right Commission (NHRC)
Cabinet Secretary
Ajit Seth
Principal Secretary to Prime
Minister
Pulok Chatterji
Chairman, National
Commission for Backward
Classes
Justice M. N. Rao
Chairperson, National
Commission for Protection of
Child Rights
Ms. Shanta Sinha
Chairman, National
Commission for Scheduled
Castes
Dr. P.L.Punia,
Chairman, National
Commission for Scheduled
Tribes
Ms. Urmila Singh
Chairman, UPSC
Prof. D. P. Agrawal
Chairman, National
Commission on Farmers (NCF)
Dr. M. S. Swaminathan
National Security Adviser and
Special Adviser to PM (Internal
Security)
Shiv Shankar Menon
Director-General, National
Investigation Agency (NIA)
S. C. Sinha
Chairman, Railway Board
Vinay Mittal
Secretary-General, Rajya
Sabha
Shumsher K Sheriff
Secretary-General, Lok Sabha
T. K. Viswanathan
Director, IB
Nehchal Sandhu
Director, CBI
Ranjit Sinha
Director, Research and
Analysis Wing
Sanjeev Tripathi
Director-General, NSG
R. K. Medhekar
Director-General, CRPF
Vijay Kumar
Director-General, Border
Security Force (BSF)
U. K. Bansal
Director-General, Central
Industrial Security Force
(CISF)
Rajiv
Director-General, Railway
Protection Force
P.K. Mehta
Director-General, IndoTibetan Border Police
Ranjit Sinha
Director-General, Sashastra
Seema Bal
Pranay Sahay
Director-General, Indian
Coast Guard
Vice-Admiral M. P.
Muralidharan
Director-General, Defence
Intelligence Agency
Lt. Gen. Avtar Singh
Chairman, UGC
Prof. Ved Prakash
Scientific Adviser to Defence
Minister and Secretary,
Defence Research &
Development Organisation
V. K. Saraswat
Principal Scientific Adviser to
the Government
Dr. R. Chidambaram
Chairman, Space Commission
and ISRO
K. Radhakrishnan
Chairman, Atomic Energy
Commission and Secretary,
Dept of Atomic Energy
Srikumar Banerjee
Chairperson, National
Commission for Minorities
Wajahat Habibullah
Chief Information
Commissioner
Satyanand Mishra
Chairman, SSC
N. K. Raghupathy
Director-General, Indian
Dr. Vishwa Mohan Katoch
Council of Medical Research
Registrar-General of India and
Census Commissioner
C. Chandramouli
Chairman, Law Commission
P. V. Reddy
President, Indian National
Academy of Engineering
(INAE)
Baldev Raj
Chairman, National Forest
Commission
Justice (Retd.) B. N. Kirpal
Chairperson, National Dairy
Development Board (NDDB)
Dr. Amrita Patel
Director-General, Border
Roads Organisation
Lt. Gen. M. C. Badhani
Governor, RBI
Duvvuri Subbarao
Chairman, Press Council of
India
Justice G. N. Ray
Chairman, Audit Bureau of
Circulations (ABC)
Shailesh Gupta
Chairperson, Central Board of
Direct Taxes (CBDT)
Dr. Poonam Kishore
Saxena
Chairman, Central Board of
Excise & Customs
A. K. Singh
Chairperson, Competition
Justice Arijit Pasayat
Appellate Tribunal
Chairman, Central
Administrative Tribunal
Justice Syed Rafat Alam
CMD, NHPC
S. K. Garg
CMD, ONGC
R. S. Sharma
CMD, GAIL
U. D. Choubey
Chairman, IOC
S. Behuria
CMD, Oil India Ltd
N. M. Borah
Chairman, CBSE
Ashok Ganguly
Chairman, Securities &
Exchange Board of India
U. K. Sinha
Chairman, National Bank for
Agriculture and Rural
Development (NABARD)
Prakash Bakshi
Chairman, SBI
Pratip Chaudhuri
Chairman, IDBI
V. P. Shetty
Chairman, Company Law
Board
S. Balasubramanian
India's Permanent
Representative to UN
Hardeep Singh Puri
Chairman, LIC
T. S. Vijayan
Chairman, Central Water
Commission
A. K. Bajaj
Chairperson, National
Commission for Women
Ms. Mamta Sharma
Chairman, 13th Finance
Commission
Dr. Vijay L. Kelkar
Chairman, National Statistical
Prof. Suresh D. Tendulkar
Commission
Chairperson, Central Board of
Film Certification
Ms. Shafmila Tagore
Director-General,
Archaeological Survey of India
Dr. Gautam Sengupta
President, FICCI
R. V. Kanoria
Chairman, TRAI
J. S. Sarma
Director, Enforcement
Directorate
R. N. Das
Chairman, Pension Fund
Regulatory & Development
Authority
Yogesh Agarwal
Central Vigilance
Commissioner (CVC)
Pradeep Kumar
Director, Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre
Dr. Ratan Kumar Sinha
President, Indian Olympic
Association
Suresh Kalmadi
Director, NCERT
Prof. Krishan Kumar
President, CII
Hari S. Bharti
Chairman, National
Knowledge Commission
Sam Pitroda
CEO, Prasar Bharti Board
Rajiv Takru
Chairman, Investment
Commission
Ratan Tata
President, Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI)
N. Srinivasan
Chairman, NASSCOM
Rajendra Pawar
President, ASSOCHAM
Dilip Modi
Chairman, National Film
Development Corporation
(NFDC)
Ramesh Sippy
Chairman, United News of
India
Ravindra Kumar
Chairman, PTI
N. Ravi
President, Indian Newspaper
Society (INS)
K. N. Tilak Kumar
President, The Associated
Chambers of Commerce and
Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)
Dilip Modi
Chairman, Asian Organization
of Supreme Audit Institutions
(ASOSAI)
Vinod Rai
CAMELS rating system
The CAMELS ratings or Camels rating is a supervisory rating system originally developed in
the U.S. to classify a bank's overall condition. It's applied to every bank and credit union in the
U.S. (approximately 8,000 institutions) and is also implemented outside the U.S. by various
banking supervisory regulators.

(C)apital adequacy

(A)ssets

(M)anagement Capability

(E)arnings

(L)iquidity (also called asset liability management)

(S)ensitivity (sensitivity to market risk, especially interest rate risk