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1. West Bengal announces 17 % quota for OBC students The West Bengal
government has decided to reserve 17 per cent seats in all government and
government-aided colleges for students belonging to the other backward classes
(OBCs), with effect from the coming academic session.It will be implemented in two
phases. Of the 53 communities listed as most backward among the OBCs and
categorised as OBC-A, 49 are Muslim. Ten percent seats will be reserved for OBC-A,
starting with five per cent in the 2011-12 and additional five per cent the next academic
year.

2. K. Karunakaran passes away The former Chief Minister of Kerala and veteran
Congress leader K. Karunakaran died at a private hospital. He was 93 and is survived
by daughter Padmaja Venugopal and son K Muraleedharan.

3. Australia apologises to Mohamed Haneef Australia apologised to Indian doctor
Mohamed Haneef for wrongly detaining him on terror charges three years ago.

4. Hemochandra new Manipur Speaker The ninth session of the Manipur Assembly had
a two-day sitting starting from December 22. Later, Congress MLA Irengbam
Hemochandra was elected Speaker of Manipur Assembly.

5. Blasts at two embassies in Rome Package bombs exploded at the Swiss and Chilean
embassies in Rome, injuring the two people who opened them, said officials. Police
ordered checks at all embassies after a false alarm was also reported at the Ukrainian
embassy. No one immediately claimed responsibility, but authorities appeared to
discount domestic anarchists or protesters.

6. U.K. reimposes cap on non-EU migrants Within a week of a British court striking
down the interim cap on professionals from India and other non-EU countries working
in the United Kingdom, the Home Office said the cap until April 2011 is legal and up
and running.

7. U.S. Senate approves New START with Russia The United States Senate handed
President Barack Obama his second major bipartisan victory during its ongoing lame-
duck session when it passed the New START treaty, an arms reduction agreement with
Russia. The treaty was passed by a majority of 71 Senators, with 26 Senators opposing
it.

8. U.N. norms on disappearances The International Convention for the Protection of All
Persons from Enforced Disappearance enters into force on December 23, marking the
end of a long struggle to get enough number of countries to ratify the convention to
make it a legal instrument. Almost four years after its adoption by the General
Assembly of the United Nations, the Convention eventually reached the 20th
ratification, which was necessary for it to come into effect. As many as 88 countries
have signed the convention but only 21 have ratified it. India and Maldives signed the
convention on February 6, 2007.

9. Lifetime Grammys for Julie Andrews, Dolly Parton
Sound of Music star Julie Andrews, country singer Dolly Parton and jazz drummer Roy
Haynes will be honoured with lifetime achievement Grammy awards next year for their
artistic contribution to the recording medium. The Recording Academy has also selected
punk pioneers The Ramones, Juilliard String Quartet, the Kingston Trio and 101-year-
old gospel legend George Beverly Shea for the lifetime Grammys.

10. Most expensive rail line in China becomes operational
A new railway project in China considered to be the most difficult and expensive to build
costing about USD 3.41 billion has become operational. The Yichang-Wanzhou railway
will cut trips between Chongqing and Wuhan, capital of Hubei, from 22 hours to just
five hours. It took seven years to complete the 377 km route. The length of track that


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December 2010
runs through bridges and tunnels accounted for about 74 per cent of the line's total
track.

11. CCI orders inquiry into airfare hike by airlines
Taking suo moto action, competition watchdog CCI asked its investigation wing to
inquire into the possible cartel-like behaviour in fare hike by airlines. "The Director
General-Investigation has been given 60 days time to complete the probe into fare hike
by airlines," an official of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) told. The Section
26 empowers the Commission to order an inquiryby the Director General into a matter
if it feels that a prime facie case exists for violation of the Competition Law.

12. Sensor technology
Boeing received a key sensor technology for the Indian Navys P-8I long-range maritime
reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft from Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).
BEL delivered the Indian-designed Identification Friend or Foe Interrogator, a battle
management system that will enable P-8I aircraft to distinguish friendly aircraft and
forces. Boeing will install the system during P-8I final assembly at its facility in Renton,
Washington. Other indigenous P-8I deliveries to date also include BELs Data Link II
communications system, Avantels mobile satellite system and the Electronic
Corporation of India Limiteds speech secrecy system.

13. Siberian birds flock Loktak lake in Imphal Migratory birds, including those from
Siberia, have started flocking the Loktak lake and its surrounding smaller lakes and
marshy lands. Several migratory birds and a variety of waterfowl have arrived at the
lake. It is also the breeding ground of a number of migratory birds. More than 30 rare
migratory birds such as brahmani duck/ruddy duck, red-legged falcon, geese, snipe,
shiri, etc from Siberia, mainland Russia and the Himalayan range visit Loktak, the only
fresh water lake in the Northeastern region, particularly in the winter months of
November, December and January.

14. US Congress okays H-1B, L-1 visa fee hike extension till 2016 While details of
the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 legislation finally
passed by the two chambers were not immediately available, the expectation is that the
hike on H-1B and L-1 visa fees will now go on till September 2016, instead of
September 2021. The modified legislation would offer the first responders and other
survivors $2.8 billion in compensation and $1.5 billion in health benefits over five years.

15. Bangladesh to investigate Grameen Bank operations Bangladesh Government will
form a high-powered committee to investigate the alleged irregularities in the
operations of Grameen Bank pioneered by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. A high-
powered committee will investigate the matter, chairman of the standing committee on
Finance Ministry A NH Mostafa Kamal told. He said the committee would be formed
within a few days. Kamal said the parliamentary watchdog has sought explanation from
the Government why Grameen Bank is not being operated under the Microcredit
Regulatory Act 2006.