GsCurrent Affairs Quick Revision Notes

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One liner at a Glance
Current Affairs For Your Exam

1. Isha Foundation, founded by Sadhguru J Vasudev, is getting the Indira Gandhi Pariavaran Puraskar for the year 2008 in
recognition of Isha Foundations massive ecological initiative, called Project Green Hands. 2. India will host the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) at Hyderabad from August 19 27, 2010. 3. National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), celebrate its 32nd Foundation Day along with the celebration of the World Environment Day, i.e. on 5th June 2010. 4. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana is a 100 % centrally sponsored scheme to provide road connectivity in the rural areas of the country.
5.
List of Biosphere Reserves in India
Sixteen Biosphere Reserves have been designated in the country. They are : Nilgiri (Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka), Nanda Devi (Uttrakhand), Nokrek (Meghalaya), Manas and Dibru-Saikhowa (Assam), Sundarban (West Bengal), Gulf of Mannar (Tamil Nadu),
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Great Nicobar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands), Similipal (Orissa), Dehang-Debang (Arunachal Pradesh), Khangchendzonga (Sikkim), Pachmarhi (Madhya Pradesh), Achanakmar-Amarkantak (Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh), Agasthyamalai (Tamil Nadu and Kerala), Katchchh (Gujarat) and Cold Desert (Himachal Pradesh). 6. Ishita Vishnoi won the Young Environmentalist of the Year Award 2010 for showing best performance in the National Level Written Quiz Contest conducted by National Museum of Natural History, New Delhi. 7. After nearly a five-year wait, India has finally become a fullfledged member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 8. The Centre has started work on installing over 550 new mobile towers to boost communication facilities in the Naxal-affected districts in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. 9. India has become the 9th largest aviation market in the world. We now have 10 scheduled airlines operating in our country, compared to 2 in 1990. 10. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the short-term indicative interest rates (repo and reverse repo rates) on 2nd July, 2010, by 25 basis points to mitigate rising inflation and inflationary pressures.
11.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which had in 2007 taken over ABN Amro Bank, has 31 branches, 11 lakh customers and 1800 employees in India
12.
In FIFA World Cup 2010
In FIFA World Cup 2010, the five-time champion Brazil got a stunned defeat by Netherland. The Netherland has won Brazil and entered into semifinal. This is the first time since 1998, where Netherland entering into semifinal. Wesley Sneijder has helped Netherland team to make this historic victory. 13. Rosa Otunbayeva was sworn as President of Kyrgyzstan for the first time on 3rd July, 2010. 14. The income of Americas first couple, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, in 2009, is about $5.5 Million. Most of it came from Baracks book sales. 15. Agriculture Ministry is promoting organic farming in the country by implementing various schemes such as National Project on Organic Farming, National Horticulture Mission, Technology
Mission for North East and Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. 16. On 12th July,2010, the ISRO has put the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15) into orbit.
17.
Spain bags the Football World champion title of 2010 (FIFA World Cup) by defeating the Netherland 1-0 in the final at the soccer city stadium in Johannesburg on 11th July, 2010.
18.
The projections made by the Government show that while Indias population grew by 1.4 per cent over the last five years, China saw only a 0.6 per cent population growth for the corresponding period.
19. 20.
India is the single largest recipient of British overseas aid. Eight Indian companies, including the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), have placed on the list of the worlds 500 largest companies compiled by Fortune magazine.
21.
Indian Rupee
The Indian rupee will soon have a unique symbol, a blend of the Devanagri Ra and Roman R. It is to join the elite currencies like the US dollar, euro, British pound and Japanese yen inorder to have a distinct identity. India is to become the fifth currency in the world to have a distinct identity. The Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni has shown the new Indian Rupee symbol to the public through the media. Brazils 2010 growth forecast was raised by 1.6 percentage points to 7.1 per cent; Chinas to 10.5 per cent from 10 per cent and Indias to 9.4 per cent from 8.8 per cent.
India ranks 7th in the Global Car Production with 2,166,238 units for the year of 2009. Maruthi Suzuki leads with the installed capacity of 1,000,000 units in 2010, in the Indian Car Industry.
22. Income Tax Act broadly recognizes five heads of Income
Income from Salary. Income from House Property Income from Business or Profession Income from Capital Gains Income from other sources
23.
Asia, with its large migrant population, promises a huge growth market for U.S. payment service firms.
24.
Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is grand winner of the voters choice for most popular Asian destinations.
25.
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) start its commercial operations of its second coal-based 490 MW power plant at Uttar Pradeshs Dadri to provide electricity for the Commonwealth Games.
26.
Mukesh Ambani has been named by the UN to a key advocacy group on millennium development goals.
27.
As Power is the major problem in India, it is poised to displace Europe as the largest buyer of coal from South Africa as the country adds new thermal capacities to meet its growing energy demand.
28.
Nelson
Mandela,
the
former
South
African
President
has
celebrated his 92nd Birthday along with his people on July 18. 29. Pune has become the first municipal corporation in India to have a Right to Information (RTI) library. 30. The Patna-born Saikat Guha has been selected for NASA award for his contribution to the National Space Programme and to the mission of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, US. 31. Saina Nehwal is worlds No.1 player as she jumped one place to a career-best second in the latest international rankings. 32. An estimated 20,000 participants from over 185 countries are taking part in the 18th International AIDS Conference that began in Vienna Sunday. 33. Gita Gopinath has been named professor of economics at the prestigious Harvard University, becoming the first Indian-origin woman professor in the institutions history 34. Akshaya Patra, USA, has appointed as Co-Chairman of the U.S. National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), by the Obama administration in USA. 35. Harish Damodaran, Senior Assistant Editor, The Hindu Business Line, has bagged the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, in the Books (Non-Fiction) category. 36. India and the U.S. signed the Counter Terrorism Initiative (CCI) to forge close and effective cooperation in counter-terrorism, information-sharing and capacity-building.
37.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said recently in its World Investment Report that India would emerge as the third largest direct investment (FDI) for the three-year period ending 2012.
38.
Human capital firm Aspire has been shortlisted for the prestigious John McNulty Award. It has become the first Indian company to be among final contenders of the prize conferred by the Aspen Institute of the US.
39.
P. T. Usha has been appointed the chairperson to head the committee that has been constituted to select the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dhyanchand awards apart from Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar for 2010.
40.
Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal unveils the low cost computing-cum-access device for learners and teachers, which would be made available through educational institutions by 2011.
41.
Goolge is worth one billion page views a day as the new image searches can show upto 1,000 images per page. This represents the largest image search engine by far, BBC quoted Marissa Mayer, vice president of search.
42.
India is languishing down in the Index of Economic Freedom 2010. India is ranked 124th among 183 countries in the index prepared by The Heritage Foundation along with the Wall Street Journal.
43.
Prasanna Sree, senior professor in the Department of English in Andhra University, has designed script for tribal languages. The professor has been working on the project for 19 years.
44.
India-born head of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi and author Arundhati Roy have been named by Forbes among the worlds 30 most inspiring women, a list that also features Mother Teresa, Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton.
45.
The world is on course for the hottest year since records began in 1880 after record-breaking temperatures in four of the first six months of the year, according to meteorologists.
46.
An astronaut during a spacewalk. For the first time, NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson has sent a message in American Sign Language (ASL) from the International Space Station to the deaf community.
47.
A group of Indian scientists is all set to try out a major physics experiment aiming to recreate on the earth the core of two of the planets distant neighbours Neptune and Jupiter.
48.
The Income Tax Department has celebrated its 150th Anniversary on July 24. The function was presided by the Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi.
49.
The ISO certificate from the Bureau Veritas India (BVI) that was presented to the Presidents Secretary, Christy Fernandez.
50.
India will be connected to a very high-speed Science and Education Internet through an international networking by next month (August).
51.
Dr. Patel, 60, is today one of the richest men in Britain and ranks 141st in the Sunday Times Rich List. He was awarded an honorary degree in business administration by the De Montfort University, Leicester.
52.
President Pratibha Patil, appointed Election Commissioner (EC) Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi as the next Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC) under Clause 2 of the Article 324 of the Constitution. 53. Googles services in China were fully or partially blocked on 29th July, 2010, with the exception of its email service, Gmail. 54. Sunil Kumar, an Indian American management guru, has been named the new head of the University of Chicagos prestigious Booth School of Business. 55. A region of mountainous forests in Sri Lanka and an isolated archipelago off Hawaii have been added to UNESCOs World Heritage list. 56. Saina Nehwal, who climbed to No. 2 in world rankings recently following three major title wins in Chennai, Singapore and Indonesia, was the popular choice for the Khel Ratna Award. 57. Eminent Indian American physician and philanthropist Dr Sudhir Parikh, who was awarded with the prestigious Padam Shri this
year,
has
been
recognized
in
the
US
Congress
for
his
extraordinary contribution. 58. A white version of the new Apple iPhone 4. Global technology major Apple tops the Forbes list of the Worlds Most Valuable Brands, ahead of giants Microsoft and Coca Cola. 59. India and Nepal have agreed to strengthen their respective National Action Plans under the Global Tiger Forum for tiger conservation in a time-bound implementation 60. An Australian scientist has found what could be the worlds rarest coral in the remote North Pacific Ocean. 61. India has developed worlds cheapest laptop worth of $35 Designed by experts at IIT, Kanpur, Kharagpur,Madras and Indian Institute of Science,Bangalore. 62. National Commission for Agriculture and Reserve Bank of India have considered sericulture up to the stage of cocoon production as an agriculture activity 63. The number of train accidents due to sabotage by Maoists reported during the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 (January to June) are six train accidents in the year 2008, three in 2009 and eight train accident in 2010 (January to June) in which Maoists are involved.
64.
Wind mill power plants are generally selected on the basis of power density map issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, technical feasibility of connecting it to the grid and availability of fund.
www.GsCurrentAffairs.com 65.
The Government has decided to disinvest 10% of its shareholding in Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) and for raising of 10% of additional equity by SAIL
66.
A new Catering Policy 2010 of Indian Railways has been introduced w.e.f. 21st July, 2010 which has revised policy guidelines regarding catering units management of mobile as well as static
67.
The Government has proposed a review of the India-Mauritius double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) to prevent treaty shopping and strengthen the mechanism for exchange of information on tax matters between the two countries.
68.
A total of 8 million jobs were lost in the US due to the global economic crisis.
69.
In keeping with the worlds growing inclination towards paperless transactions, the travellers cheque too seems to be gradually making way for its electronic counterpart pre-paid forex travel cards.
70.
States on 4th August, 2010 opposed a draft bill to amend the Constitution, a measure proposed by the Centre for rolling out GST (Goods and Sales Tax), in its present form as it provides veto power to the Union Finance Minister in matters relating to state subjects.
71.
The UKs biggest bank HSBC has reported pre-tax profits of $11.1bn (7bn) for the first six months of 2010 more than double its profits for the same time last year.
72.
Polands new president, Bronislaw Komorowski, has been sworn in for a five-year term.
73.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Air Force (IAF) signed an agreement for production of computerized pilot selection system (CPSS) on August 5.
74.
Well-known physicist-turned author, journalist and television producer of Indian origin Simon Lehna Singh has been selected by the International Mathematical Union for the Leelavathi Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to public outreach in mathematics.
75.
A totally new missile, called Agni II is to be tested in September from the Wheeler Island, off the Orissa coast. Developed by the Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO). 76. The Haitian-born singer and song writer, Wyclef Jean has registered as a candidate for the Presidency of Haiti. 77. Indian-American Raj Goyle has won a primary from Kansas State to bag Democratic Partys nomination for the November
Congressional elections, becoming the latest candidate from the community to join the race for the House of Representatives. 78. The United States attended for the first time a ceremony commemorating the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, 65 years after the Japanese citys destruction rang in the nuclear age.
79.
The Government officially withdrew the provisional recognition granted to Hockey India, on the grounds that the reasons given by the sports body for continued recognition were not acceptable.
80.
Textile minister Dayanidhi Maran on 5th August, 2010 announced the launch of an integrated skill development scheme to help the textile industry.
81.
AETN and Network18 have reached an agreement to form a joint venture, AETN-18 India on August 4 which will now launch History, BIO and other popular AETN channels in the Indian market.
82.
The UNESCO has added 21 new sites to its World Heritage List, bringing the total to 911.
83.
Virender Sehwag became the sixth Indian batsman to score 7000 Test runs during his unbeaten knock of 97 on third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
84.
"NCPA Pratibimb: Marathi Natya Utsav", a first of its kind festival of contemporary Marathi theatre will kickstart in Mumbai from August 7.
85.
A Tribunal upheld the Centres decision to extend the ban on Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) for indulging in unlawful activities.
86.
India will sign an agreement to provide one billion US dollars line of credit to Bangladesh during the visit of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Dhaka.
87.
Malaysia is planning to introduce a Visa Facilitation System (VFS) for tourists from India and China.
88.
The British Museum here and the Thiruvananthapuram-based Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) have been jointly awarded this years international partnership award by the British Academy.
89.
Indian-American finance expert Ranji H Nagaswami has been appointed New York Citys first-ever chief investment adviser by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
90. 91.
The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is now a World Heritage Monument. The government plans to sell 5 per cent of its stake in Oil and Natural Gas Corp and 10 per cent in Indian Oil Corp (IOC) to raise about Rs 21,000 crore in this fiscal.
92.
Private equity firms have invested over $5 billion in Indian companies so far this year, more than what entire 2009 saw.
93.
Patna-based Super30 is an initiative which helps poor children prepare for IIT-JEE, the entrance test for the elite technology institutes in the country.
94.
China has surpassed Japan to become the worlds number two economy.
95.
Ratan Tata, Chairman of the TATA group was bestowed with the title of Businessman of the Decade during a ceremony held in Mumbai.
96.
The famous Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra has been appointed as National Ambassador of UNICEF.
97.
A National Emergency Telephone Number -2611 has been mooted by a Pune-based Telecom engineer as a versatile communication platform during emergency and disaster
management in the country. 98. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has been made part of high-level U.N. panel on global sustainability set up by SecretaryGeneral Ban Kimoon.
99.
Information Comm A N Tiwari has been appointed as the new Chief Information Comm to succeed incumbent Wajahat
Habibullah
100.
Vice-Chancellors of Central Universities approved in principle to base admission to undergraduate courses on a combination of marks obtained in class XII examination and marks obtained in a national-level aptitude test
101. D V Sundar was elected the vice-President of the international chess organisation FIDE at Russia. 102. The US Congress has approved NASAs 2011 budget, which provides funds for the development of commercial spaceflights and an additional space shuttle flight.
103.
Ranjana Sonawne. 782474317884. With this number, Ranjana became the first Indian to get the UID (Unique Identification).
104. Veteran actor Shriram Lagoo, danseuse Yamini Krishnamurti and classical music exponent Kishori Amonkar were among a host of artistes honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowships and awards for the year 2009 by President Pratibha Patil.
105. The worlds first ID project where biometric data is used to provide unique identification numbers forIndias billion-plus
citizens rolled out with PM Manmohan Singh and UPA chief Sonia Gandhi handing over the first set of 12-digit numbers to 10 tribals. 106. In a bid to check erosion of its 480-km long coastline, Orissa govt has formally launched the World Bank funded Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan (ICZMP). 107. India got its first ever dedicated Sports Injury Centre as it braces to host the 19th Commonwealth Games at New Delhi. 108. Madame Tussauds, Londons world famous wax museum, will launch its first ever Diwali weekend on 16th and 17th October. 109. Explosive Indian batsman Virender Sehwag is one of the four current leading cricketers, who have been chosen by the International Cricket Council as its ambassadors for year 20102011. 110. Sporting power houses Australia and England will have their second batch of athletes and officials checking in among the 1150 who are set to land in New Delhi for the October 3 to 14 Commonwealth Games. 111. The International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn has said the Indian economy is recovering well and New Delhi would get higher quota in the IMF board, review of which is currently underway, reflecting its enhanced economic standing.
112.
The story of the rich Indian continues, with India adding around 50 per cent more High Net worth Individuals (HNIs) to its population in year 2009.
113.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) 28th September, 2010 raised Indias growth forecast for the current fiscal to 8.5 per cent from 8.2 per cent.
114.
India is looking at investing about USD 20.8 billion in 276 projects which are part of the governments endeavour to expand 13 major ports in the country, Shipping Minister G K Vasan said here on 28th September, 2010.
115.
Reliance Capital plans to enter the banking sector once the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is ready with its final guidelines for new banking licence.
116.
The members of Australias 43rd parliament have been sworn-in in Canberra by Chief Justice of the High Court Robert French on 28th September, 2010. China on 28th September, 2010, backed Indias ability to conduct the Commonwealth Games successfully saying that the Indian government has made great efforts to host them.
117.
118.
Countrys largest lender State Bank of India has over 2 lakh employees but when it comes to bringing business, the staff is ranked bottom among the public sector banks, according to the RBI data on profile of banks 2009-10.
119.
India bribed 72 Commonwealth countries $100,000 each to get the hosting rights for the scandal-hit 19th edition of the Games
which will start in Delhi from October 3-14, a media report claimed. 120. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee launched the Swavalamban Scheme of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on 26th September, 2010, which seeks to provide pension scheme to the unorganised sector, at Murshidabad in West Bengal. 121. Four Indian-Americans are among Forbes 400 Richest People in America, a list topped by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The Indians who made the cut include Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla, outsourcing firm Syntels founder Bharat Desai, venture capitalist Kavitark Ram Shriram and software king Romesh Wadhwani. 122. Aamir Khans Peepli Live, a satire on medias trivialisation of farmers suicide, has been selected as Indias official entry at the next years Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category. 123. Fewer children are dying before they reach their fifth birthday with the total number of under-five deaths falling by one third in the past two decades, the UNICEF has said. 124. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been honoured with the 2010 World Statesman Award by a US-based interfaith coalition for his commitment to democracy, freedom, human rights and peace in the service of humanity. 125. Eminent Malayalam litterateur O N V Kurup and noted Urdu poet Akhlaq Khan Shahryar have been chosen for the Jnanpith Award
for the year 2007 and 2008 respectively for their contribution to literature.
126.
The ambitious scheme of providing unique identity number to the citizens of the country will get off on 29th September.
127. A 3-lightyear tall pillar of gas and dust within the tempestuous stellar nursery called the Carina Nebula. An image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. 128. Government has appointed R Chandrasekhar, Secretary,
Department of Information and Technology, as the Telecom Secretary with effect from 24th September, 2010. 129. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has banned all sales of S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran. 130. Switzerlands Parliament gave women a majority of Cabinet posts for the first time in the history of one of Europes most conservative countries, in a vote hailed as a triumph for women. 131. The 12th convention of the Nepali Congress (NC) has elected veteran leader Sushil Koirala, a member of the influential Koirala family, as its new president.
132.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has been named as the wealthiest person in America for the 17th year in a row.
133. India has been elected for the post of Secretary in the Wildlife Crime Working Group of the Interpol for the first time. 134. The Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls Sabla is likely to be launched in 200 select districts on November 14, celebrated as Childrens Day in the country.
135.
The Ministry of Agriculture has finally included Assam in the list of eastern States to be covered by the second Green Revolution.
136.
Sir Mota Singh, the United Kingdoms first Sikh and Asian judge, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year, received the Pride of India Award 2009, instituted by the India International Foundation (IIF).
137.
India has slipped 10 places to the 88th spot, in the World Prosperity Index due to poor healthcare and education systems coupled with weak entrepreneurial infrastructure
138.
The Planning Commission has said investments in key sectors like roads, railways and ports will be significantly lower in the 11th Five year Plan.
139.
Six sectors, including healthcare and realty, are expected to create a whopping 2.3 lakh jobs in India in the last three months of 2010(July, Aug, Sep), according to global consultancy Ernst & Young.
140.
Pitching for greater integration between India and South East Asian countries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pressed for early free trade agreement in services and investment and announced visa-on-arrival facility to nationals of Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines and Laos.
141.
Indias first air-conditioned double-decker train is expected to be launched on the Howrah-Dhanbad sector before the Diwali celebrations of 2010.
142.
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)formerly known as the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) is all set to become the apex institute for communicable diseases on a par with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, U.S.
143.
BlackBerry smartphone makers assured the Govt that it would provide final solution to legal interception to its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) services by January 31 next year but chose to remain silent on its enterprise email facility.
144.
The
Right
to
Information
Act
which
is
synonymous
with
empowerment and transparency will now have its own logo and a dedicated web portal that will not only act as a knowledge bank for information seekers and providers but will also provide them a platform to network. 145. China has overtaken the U.S. as home of the worlds fastest supercomputer. Tianhe-1A, named in honour of the Milky Way, is capable of sustained computing of 2.507 petaflops equivalent to 2,507 trillion calculations each second. 146. India and South Korea have reached an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, marking the ninth such pact that New Delhi has finalised since getting the NSG waiver in 2008. 147. FIH Mens Player of the Year
Jamie Dwyer (AUS) Moritz Frste (GER) Barry Middleton (ENG) Teun de Nooijer (NED) Jong Ho Seo (KOR)
148.
FIH Womens Player of the Year
Luciana Aymar (ARG) Fu Baorong (CHN) Soledad Garcia (ARG) Natascha Keller (GER) Maartje Paumen (NED) 149. FIH Young Mens Player of the Year
Florian Fuchs (GER) Tobias Hauke (GER) Ashley Jackson (ENG) Robert Kemperman (NED) Nick Wilson (NZL) 150. FIH Young Womens Player of the Year:
Casey Eastham (AUS) Eva de Goede (NED) Rani Rampal (IND) Daniela Sruoga (ARG) Zhao Yudiao (CHN). 151. Fifteen year old striker Rani Rampal is the only Indian has been nominated in the FIH Young Womens Player of the Year award along with Australias Casey Eastham who has been re-nominated in the category after having won the award in 2009. 152. The United States and Russia will be the new members of the East Asia Summit (EAS), a forum of native states of the region and their dialogue partners among major powers of the world. 153. Lieutenant General S. Ravi Shankar has taken over as DirectorGeneral Border Roads. 154. All schoolchildren will soon have unique identification numbers (UID), which will help in tracking their movement in educational institutions and academic records.
155.
India and Malaysia signed six pacts, with the accord for implementing the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation
Agreement (CECA) from July 1, 2011 being the centerpiece. 156. After 18 years, India will serve as non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for two years starting January 1, 2011. 157. Wikimedia, the owners of online encyclopedia Wikipedia, plans to open its first non-US office in India as it seeks to take advantage of the countrys open Internet culture, the group told on 29th October, 2010. 158. The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has decided to allow doctors with a Diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examinations (DNB) degree, to teach medicine. 159. Air India has managed to post cash profit at the operational level in its domestic business after almost two years. 160. Recently Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has conducted a quarterly survey on Inflation Expectations at the household level in 12 cities across the country. 161. Amid the ongoing polls in the state, the Centre on 28th October, 2010 placed Bihar amongst the least performers on twenty-point programme while naming Gujarat as the best in the development schemes that were first initiated in 1975 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. 162. Australia has finally paid up Rs 10,000 for damage to property by its athletes before the Commonwealth Games ended in New Delhi earlier this October.
163.
Microsoft has announced a 51% rise in first-quarter profit, thanks to higher sales of its flagship Windows and Office software.
164.
Multi-Sectoral Development Prog.[ MsDP] aims at improving the socio-economic parameters of basic amenities for improving the quality of life of the people during the Eleventh Five Year Plan period.
165.
Foreign banks and financial institutions lent over USD 27 billion to their Indian counterparts in the first six months this year, following the financial crisis in euro area countries, the Bank for International Settlements data showed 27th October, 2010.
166.
The government asked SEZs to adopt environment friendly approach, including use of solar power, a move that will go a long way in making the countrys export oriented enclaves green.
167. Last minute tips for IAS Mains Exam The moment you have been waiting for has arrived. The Civil Services Mains exam is the culmination of your long effort. It is the time when the rubber-meets-the-road. What you do now or you dont do can determine your success or failure. Here are some quick tips to take care of the loose ends. Revise, Revise and Revise We tend to forget much of what we read very soon. The memory circuits in the brain needs to strengthened. This is possible only though revision. Dont keep measuring what you remember. JUST REVISE
Dont study anything new It better not to study anything new. But you can note down some new point or example which will supplement you exixting information dataset in you memory. Time Management Writing all answers above average is better than writing few answers very good. UPSC wants people who can optimise resources. Not someone who focuses on one thing and neglect others. There are 300 marks in each paper and the time allotted is 180 minutes. That is 6 minutes for ten marks. So for a sixty mark question you typically have 36 minutes. But to set aside some time for revision and contingency we can take it as 30 minutes. Q.No. Marks allotted 1 2 3 4 5 60 Marks 60 Marks 60 Marks 60 Marks 60 Marks Time to answer Cumulative time taken 30 mins 30 mins 30 mins 30 mins 30 mins 30 mins 60 mins 90 mins 120 mins 150 mins 180 mins
Review and cover up 30 mins
Some Subjects may have a different pattern, but the ratio of 6 minutes for ten marks can be easily applied.
Admit Card and Exam kit Keep you Admit card (i.e. Hall Ticket) ready. Prepare a exam kit containing pen with enough spare pens, pencil, eraser, sharpener,scale, protractor, felt pen for underlining key points, electronic watch to monitor time. It is advisable to carry an exam pad as some the desks may be broken or inconvenient to write. Mobile is banned Keep you mobile phones at home as UPSC has banned them in the exam premises. You may find it difficult to keep them in safe custody at the exam venue. Study Materials for revision Keep minimal study materials to revise when you have time for afternoon paper. It will only make you tense. If you had made any revision notes, take them. What to carry inside the hall? Admit card, your exam kit and water bottle. You may be tense despite working very hard. Dont worry. Psychological research has proven that some amount of tension actually enhances performance. If you have worked diligently and sincerely, SUCCESS will surely be YOURS.
168.
Paul the octopus, who shot to fame during this years football World Cup in South Africa for his flawless record in predicting game outcomes, has died in his aquarium in Germany.
169.
The family of algorithms, developed by Professor Palash Sarkar, for the encryption and authentication of data can be customised according to the users needs and, not governed by any patents, can easily be adopted as a standard.
170.
Writer and academic Amit Chaudhuris novel The Immortals is among the six books shortlisted for a new major $50,000 literary prize the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature announced at the end of a 10-day festival of south Asian writing.
171.
India
has
fallen
three
places
to
87th
in
Transparency
Internationals latest Corruption Perceptions Index, in which 178 countries were surveyed. 172. India and Malaysia formally announced firming up of
Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) to boost trade and decided on a range of other engagements in various sectors, including defence. 173. The Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus exuded confidence that its commerce with India has potential to grow manifold, especially with co-operation in evolving sectors like renewable energy, IT and tourism. 174. Mobile number portability (MNP), which allows subscribers to change operators without having to give up their phone numbers, will be rolled out in phases starting with Haryana on November 1.
175.
Somdev Devvarman gained two positions to career best 94 in the latest ATP ranking chart.
176.
SKS Microfinance which got listed recently and has figured in the media prominently after the company sacked its CEO, turned out to be the fastest growing company in this years ET 500.
177.
Shopping online through foreign websites can come a cropper with the Reserve Bank insisting on an additional password for all kinds of online transactions.
178.
Michael Jackson has come top of the annual Forbes magazine list of top-earning dead celebrities.
179.
The UKs economy grew at 0.8% between July and September, official figures show, suggesting the economy is recovering faster than expected.
180.
War-torn states are still seen as being the most corrupt in the world, according to a new report from Transparency
International. The worst country is Somalia, followed by Burma, Afghanistan and Iraq. 181. Infosys Prize 2010 winners announced
Prof. Sandip Trivedi, Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Prof. Chandrashekhar Khare, Prof. Amita Baviskar, Prof. Nandini Sundar, Dr.Chetan Chitnis. Dr Chetan Chitnis of New Delhi- based International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) is among the six scientists chosen for the coveted Infosys Prize 2010 awards, instituted by the software majors Infosys Science Foundation. 182. India and Japan agreed to simplify visa procedures for each others businessmen, workers and students to facilitate more contacts between their citizens and give a boost to business exchanges. 183. Chinas latest new high-speed passenger rail line, reducing travel time to 45 minutes between Shanghai and the eastern lake city of Hangzhou. 184. October will become the longest month of the year when several countries across the globe will adjust their clocks one hour backward a week from now. Sandford Fleming, a Scottish-born Canadian engineer and inventor had proposed worldwide
standard time zones. 185. Indias exports shot up by an annualised 23.2 per cent in September, 2010, to a two-year high of $18.02 billion, but even faster import growth increased concerns over the countrys widening trade gap. 186. India is likely to harvest another bumper cane crop in 2011/12 favoured by recent rains and a cyclical rise in output, a senior
industry official said on 24th October, 2010, after a recovery in the countrys output this season. 187. Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata is among the eight world business leaders shortlisted by Fortune magazine for its Business Person of the Year award. The winner will be named on November 18. 188. Rekha Kashinath Samant from Mumbai and Regina Obeng from Kumasi in Ghana were selected from nominations sent from all over the world to receive the award at the opening ceremony of the 7th International Conference of the Neonatal Nurses at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban. 189. In a positive sign for the fight against polio, India has recorded a significant drop in the number of cases of the debilitating disease this year. 190. Indias rank in the IMF will improve to the eighth position from the current eleventh in terms of quota, after the G-20 grouping reached agreement on 23rd October, 2010 on proposals to reform the IMFs quota and governance system. 191. Lady Gaga took to Twitter to announce that her YouTube videos have hit the lofty milestone of 1 billion total views. The musician is the first to reach such a goal, but Justin Bieber is trailing close behind with 962,726,797 total video views. 192. The Centre declared elephant a national heritage animal to step up measures for their protection.
193.
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said on 23rd October, 2010 that India would start supplying electricity to the neighbouring country Bangladesh from 2012.
194.
The National Advisory Council, headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, on 23rd October, 2010 settled for a much less ambitious National Food Security Act than it had previously agreed to.
195.
With India and China leading the way with projected 2010 growth rates of 9.7 per cent and 10.5 per cent, respectively, Asia remains firmly in the lead of the global economic recovery, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
196.
Indian tax authorities have given Vodafone 30 days to pay a 112bn rupee ($2.5bn, 1.6bn) tax bill, as part of an ongoing tax dispute.
197.
Indian fashion diva Ritu Beri joined the elite club comprising the likes of Lata Mangeshkar, Satyajit Ray, George Clooney and Bob Dylan after she was conferred the Chevalier dans lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres, one of the highest civilian awards by the French govt, for her contribution to the fashion industry.
198.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave away the coveted Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for 2009 and 2010 to 20 scientists for their achievement in the field of science and technology.
199.
Indian Olympic Association Vice President Sardar Tarlochan Singh has been conferred with The Jewel of Punjab award a life-time achievement award for his services to the Punjabi community.
200.
A Ayyappan, noted Malayalam modernist poet whose poems were celebrated for their intensity, meditative beauty and pungent romance, died.
201.
A year after announcing the discovery of water molecules on the moon, NASA scientists have now said the earths satellite is not only rich in useful materials, it has a water cycle of its own.
202.
Seismologists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre have found that the earthquake counts go up steadily as the moon comes closer to the Earth (perigee) and also when it is Full Moon.
203.
San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, a leading civil liberties group, has chosen to confer the 2010 Pioneer Award on Hari Prasad, who was recently released on bail after being jailed for his security work on Electronic Voting Machines.
204.
India has the worlds third largest merchandise trade deficit after the US and the UK, according to data from the World Trade Organisations just-released International Trade Statistics 2010.
205.
The Union Cabinet approved the proposal to declare the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, as an institute of national importance.
206.
Rustom 1, a medium-altitude and long-endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), developed by the Bangalore-based
Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), was successfully test-flown here.
207.
Pakistan is closely collaborating with China to launch a joint space communications satellite next year in 2011 that will be a milestone in their friendship.
208.
Oxford University is to launch a new centre to study the archaeological and cultural heritage of Asia.
209.
Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari, Pakistans eighth President, died in a Rawalpindi hospital after a prolonged illness. He was 70.
210.
Benoit
Mandelbrot,
French-American
mathematician
who
explored a new class of mathematical shapes known as fractals, has died at age 85 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, The New York Times reported. 211. Search engine Yahoo has reported lacklustre sales growth in the third quarter which disappointed analysts. 212. The Interbank Mobile Payment Service (IMPS), was launched for the first time in India allowed seamless and real-time fund transfer from one persons bank account to another. 213. A sea level rise by even one metre in 2050 will have a serious impact on infrastructure, wetlands and lands along the Tamil Nadu coast line, says a study by the Centre for Development Finance. 214. UAE has emerged as Indias largest trading partner in terms of total trade exchange in the first half of 2010, with $ 43 billion bilateral trade, and oil imports by India accounting for $ five billion.
215.
Telephone calls of about 5,000 people are being recorded by central security agencies daily as part of security and preventive measures.
216.
Four Indian-American students have been selected for the Rhodes Scholarships for 2011 for studying at the University of Oxford, the award which is widely considered the worlds most prestigious scholarship.
217.
A record 15 million people around the world this year entered Americas green-card lottery, an immigration scheme offering a quick path to legal and permanent US residency for 50,000 people annually, a media report said on 22nd November, 2010.
218.
Indira Gandhi, worlds longest serving woman Prime Minister, has been ranked by the Time magazine as the 9th most powerful woman of the past century, a list that also includes Mother Teresa.
219.
State-run Coal India has become the third most powerful Indian company with a total market capitalisation (m-cap) of Rs 2,09,671.57 crore and is only lagging behind RIL and ONGC.
220.
The infrastructure sector remained the largest contributor to Indias GDP among the key sectors reviewed, according to PMIFICCI Market Survey released here 20th November, 2010.
221.
Indian economy will grow by 9.1 per cent in the current fiscal on the back of a strong rebound in the agricultural sector, OECD, the grouping of mostly developed economies, forecast on 18th November, 2010.
222.
The Indian economy apparently has a back problem: the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, which employs 60 million-odd people, is struggling to stay upright.
223.
Chinas central bank has raised the amount of money that lenders must keep in reserve, as it moves again to try to control the countrys high inflation.
224.
India will provide nearly Rs 700 crores to Nepal for road projects in the Terai region, close to its border, to help improve transport infrastructure.
225.
The Chinese government mounted a defence of its dams on the Brahmaputra and Mekong rivers, assuring its seven neighbours, including India, who have voiced concerns about the projects that downstream flows will remain unaffected.
226.
Eleven years after the Kargil war, the Pakistan Army has quietly included the names of 453 soldiers and officers who were killed during the conflict on its website.
227.
The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) inscribes three Indian performing-art forms, the Mudiyettu, a ritual theatre of Kerala; the Chhau dance, a tradition from eastern India; and the Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
228.
Weekly magazine Tehelka has been selected for the IPI India Award for Excellence in Journalism, 2010, for outstanding journalistic work.
229.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on 18th November suggested to the Government to cancel 69 of the 127 licences given to six companies including Etisalat DB (earlier known as Swan Telecom), Uninor (Unitech), Videocon (Datacom), Loop Telecom and Aircel.
230.
Billionaire businessman and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has received the Global Vision Award instituted by the Asia Society for helping to promote understanding between Asians and Americans.
231.
Gold demand is being lifted this year by a recovery in jewellery buying in the key Indian market, and robust growth in Chinese gold consumption, the World Gold Council said on 17th
November, 2010. 232. A report says global warming could make India 2 degrees Celsius (3.8 F) warmer on average within 20 years, though some coastal regions could see much higher temperatures. 233. No members of jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobos immediate family can come to Oslo to receive his Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Institute director Geir Lundestad said on 17th November, 2010. 234. The number of people unemployed in the UK fell by 9,000 in the three months to September, leaving total unemployment almost unchanged at 2.45 million. 235. Jammu and Kashmir has been removed from the UN list of unresolved disputes, giving a setback to Pakistan which has been asking the world body to intervene on the issue.
236.
Virginia Senator Mark R Warner, a Democrat considered close to New Delhi, would co-chair the Senate-India Caucus in the new US Congress, replacing his veteran party colleague Chris Dodd who did not seek re-election in the recent mid-term polls.
237.
The countrys exports registered a 21.3 per cent growth at $18 billion during October this year as compared to same month last year, while imports grew by 6.8 per cent to touch $27.7 billion.
238.
HRD Minister Kapil Sibal was given the additional charge of the Telecom Ministry by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a development that takes the portfolio away from DMK at least for the time being.
239.
Physically challenged people can now obtain a disability certificate within seven days as the process has been simplified and decentralised, the Government said.
240.
Well-known Gandhian and Magsaysay Award winner L.C. Jain passed away, He was 85.
241.
Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull became the youngest Formula One champion in history with victory in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
242.
India is aiming to achieve double-digit economic growth within two years, as the countrys recovery from the global downturn picks up pace.
243.
After seven years as the country sending the largest number of international students to American colleges, India now takes second place to China.
244.
Renowned Indian-origin academician Raghuram Rajan has been named alongside US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman among the seven most powerful economists in the world, according to a compilation in Forbes magazine by economist Nouriel Roubini.
245.
Social networking site Facebook may announce its e-mail service as early as on 15th November, 2010, if online buzz is to be believed.
246.
Akshay Raj, 14, the winner of the Doodle4Google competition with Nikhil Rungta, Google Indias Country Marketing Manager, in Mumbai.
247.
All the committees and working groups forming part of the IPv6 Task Force that will oversee the countrys transition to a new global web-address protocol are expected to be in place by this month-end.
248.
Swimmer Zhu Qianwei wrote her name in the history books by winning Chinas 1,000th Asian Games gold medal, a feat no other nation has achieved.
249.
India has been elected to the board of a new U.N. agency to promote equality for women .
250.
Myanmars military government freed its archrival, democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, on 13th November, 2010 after her latest term of detention expired.
251.
The Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, is to inaugurate the three-day 26th India Economic Summit (IES), which opens here
on
November 14,
the
summit
will
see
participation
from
representatives of 50 countries and 784 CEOs from around the world. 252. Nissan Motor Company announced a voluntary safety recall of 604,500 units of three vehicle models sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico due to glitches in their power steering systems and batteries. 253. India and Canada on 12th November, 2010 announced that they will formally launch negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement 254. Chinese President Hu Jintao proposed a four-point proposal at the G-20 summit for realising strong, sustainable and balanced growth of world economy even as he and his US counterpart Barrack Obama struck a positive note to narrow the growing differences between the two countries. 255. The US joined hands with India to set up a Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership for research and development of secure and proliferation resistant reactor systems. 256. India has been elected to a key committee that controls the purse strings of the United Nations, which has an annual budget of nearly USD 22 billion. 257. Namgya Khampa, serving in the Indian mission to the UN, was elected to the 16-member Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) for a three-year term.
258.
India owns over 18,000 tonnes of above ground gold stocks worth approximately $ 800 billion and representing at least 11 per cent of global stock, according to estimates of World Gold Council.
259.
The ICC on 11th November, 2010 announced the appointment of Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar as the official event ambassador for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
260.
Internet search titan Google Inc is planning to give a 10 per cent salary hike to all of its 23,000 employees across the world starting next year says a media report.
261.
The Union Cabinet approved the establishment of a national centre for molecular materials in Thiruvananthapuram at a cost of Rs. 76.7 crore.
262. India and the United States signed an agreement to establish a virtual centre to promote research, development and
deployment in the area of clean energy technologies. 263. Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov has been appointed to head the Russian part of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental
Commission (IRIGC) for trade, economic, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation. 264. Prithviraj Chavan will be sworn in as the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 11th November, 2010 ending 10 days of political uncertainty in the StateChina is trying to hold the yuans value down.
It is Chinas policy of managing its currency and limiting its movement against the US dollar. 265. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has been ranked the worlds top oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) firm by global energy research agency Platts, the company said in a statement. 266. Indian students represent the second largest group of
international students numbering over 50,000 currently pursuing higher education in the UK. 267. Industry body CII on 7th November, 2010 said sourcing of infrastructure equipment, nuclear hardware and military aircraft from the US by India could create over seven lakh jobs in America in the next ten years. 268. Burma has banned international journalists from reporting from inside Burma. 269. The people of Burma are voting in the countrys first national elections for 20 years. About 3,000 candidates are contesting the polls. 270. India and China received long-sought recognition on 5th
November, 2010 as global economic heavyweights as the International Monetary Fund gave them and other emerging powers a significantly larger role in stabilising the world economy. 271. Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Power and low cost airline SpiceJet on 6th November, 2010 inked deals worth USD 5 billion
with US firms, including GE and Boeing, in the presence of US President Barack Obama. 272. Rapid economic growth of the past decade has ensured India a place among the top 10 movers on GDP growth, but the country ranks a low 119 among 169 countries on the 2010 Human Development Index. China has been ranked much higher at 89 on the index published annually by the United Nations Development Programme. 273. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been ranked ninth in the list of worlds most powerful people by the Forbes magazine, which put Chinese President Hu Jintao on the top. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh occupied the 18th place. 274. India is among the 40 most- improved economies since 2005 which made significant changes in improving business regulations at a steady pace, the International Finance Corporation, a wing of the World Bank, has said. 275. State-run BSNL 4th November, 2010, said it has managed to add a whopping 2.5 million mobile subscribers in October. 276. Coal India, which made a big-bang debut on stock exchanges 4th November, 2010, became the countrys fifth most valuable company with a market capitalisation of Rs 2.03 lakh crore within the first hour of trade. 277. Let us just say that Tendulkar is the Bradman of today less hypnotic but scarcely less phenomenal, according to cricket
writer John Woodcock , who reckons the Indian icon has every chance of making his 50th Test century this week. 278. The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has approved the proposal for inclusion of bio-technology as an eligible subject for the common pre-medical entrance test. The subject is expected to be included in the entrance examination from the next academic year. 279. After replacing the killer blueline fleet, Delhi Govt approved the ambitious cluster bus service, modelled on the lines of those in London and Paris, under which corporate entities would run nearly 700 swanky buses on specific routes. 280. Lee Westwood was officially confirmed as the new world number one, ending Tiger Woodss five-year long reign at the top. 281. Indian-American researcher Amit Goyal has been named the 2010 Innovator of the Year by leading technology publication R&D Magazine, whose awards are touted as the Oscars of Innovation. 282. Indian-American Nikki Haley created history by becoming the first woman governor of South Carolina, with her Republican party trouncing the Democratic party of US President Barack Obama in the nationwide mid-term elections. 283. Indias Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has beaten Chinese rival Cnooc to become Asias top oil and gas Exploration and Production Company.
284.
The Reserve Bank of India on 2nd November, 2010 announced a host of prudential measures that could put an end to the ubiquitous teaser loans, turn home loans dearer, and curb big ticket home loans.
285.
The Think Tank Initiative (TTI), a partnership of major donors, has awarded $21 million in grants to 16 independent policy research institutions in South Asia, nine of them from India.
286.
Abhishek Kumar from Delhi and Nabil Rasheed from Chennai won the Singapore edition of the Tata Crucible Campus Quiz and will participate in the international final to be held in India early next year.
287.
A former Marxist guerrilla who was tortured and imprisoned during Brazils long dictatorship was elected as president of Latin Americas biggest nation, a country in the midst of an economic and political rise.
288.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as the countrys largest trading partner in term of total trade exchange in the first half of 2010, says a media report.
289.
Russia
and
Iran
have
agreed
to
step
up
civil
nuclear
cooperation despite the international sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear programme. 290. Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram launched a special scheme for the well-being and overall empowerment of adolescent girls. The scheme has been launched as a pilot project in 200 most backward districts.
291. Outgoing Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva has been selected for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2010, according to a news release from the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. 292. India on 25th November, 2010 ushered in Mobile Number Portability that will allow cellphone users to switch operators without changing numbers, with Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal launching the service in Haryana. 293. An 80-year-old woman has become the first Indian to be honoured with the Shilling Wall Tribute award by the multicultural commission of the Australian state ofVictoria for her outstanding contribution to the community through her "tele-cooking"
services and an association helping senior citizens. 294. India too figured in this years list of nominees for the 11th cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture which were given out at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. 295. The longstanding wish of millions of non-resident Indians (NRIs) to be able to exercise their franchise in India has come true, with the Centre issuing a notification to this effect. 296. NATO and Afghanistan agreed to the goal of a phased transfer of security responsibility to the Afghan government by the end of 2014. 297. General Motors Cos underwriters exercised their full
overallotment option, making the initial public offering of the US automaker the biggest in the world, at $23.1 billion.
298.
Advanced communication satellite HYLAS, built by ISRO on a commercial basis in partnership with Europes space leader EADSAstrium, was successfully launched from French Guyana.
299.
For the first time since the last Apollo landings of 1968s, scientists are planning to explore the dark side of the Moon using a manned spacecraft.
300.
Stop War Start Tennis fetched Indian Davis Cupper Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Of The Year award during the ATP World Tour Finals in London.
301. Iran said its first atomic power plant built by Russia in Bushehr has begun operations, ahead of a new round of talks with Western powers over the countrys controversial nuclear drive. 302. Government launched a national programme for promotion of organ transplantation under which a country-wide system of organ procurement is proposed to be established. 303. Top Indian policy planner Montek Singh Ahluwalia figures among the probables to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the next chief of International Monetary Fund. 304. Himachal Pradesh-born actor Preity Zinta is all set to be the State tourisms brand ambassador. 305. Nehchal Sandhu, Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau, was named its new Director. He will succeed Rajiv Mathur, who retires on December 31.
306.
Flush with the successful flight of surface-to-surface missile Agni1, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is preparing to launch Agni-II +, a totally new missile, before December 10.
307.
Indian and other non-European migrants wishing to join their partner or spouse in Britain will have to pass a new English language test.
308.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has been ranked globally at the 20th position on the ICIS Top 100 Chemicals Companies list. German major BASF topped the list.
309.
Top Indian policy planner Montek Singh Ahluwalia figures among the probables to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the next chief of International Monetary Fund, a report has said.
310.
India is the top country of origin of migrant doctors in OECD countries with over 56,000 Indian doctors in these countries, which include the UK, the US, Canada, and Australia.
311.
Former Union Minister and former Chief Minister of Kerala K. Karunakaran passed away at 5.30 pm. on 23rd December, 2010. He was 92.
312.
President Pratibha Patil on 22nd December, 2010 released commemorative postage stamps on Maharashtras first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan and freedom fighter and social reformer Bhausaheb Hire.
313.
India and Russia on 20th December, 2010 signed a protocol agreeing to increase bilateral trade to USD 20 billion by 2015 for strengthening strategic partnership.
314.
The amount of new public sector borrowing hit a fresh record high in November, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
315.
Apple has removed a WikiLeaks app from its store on the grounds that it violated the companys developer guidelines for
applications for use on its iPhones and iPads, the company said on 21st December, 2010 316. All passenger trains have now begun moving with a five-digit numbering system from Monday in place of the existing four-digit system, giving each train a unique identifiable number. 317. Indian batting maestro Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar on Sunday became the first batsman to score a monumental 50 centuries in Test cricket history. 318. Unfurling of the tricolor, impressive march past and colorful cultural programmes today marked the 50th liberation day celebration of Daman and Diu here. 319. Senior Indian batsman Rahul Dravid today became only the third player in history to score 12,000 Test runs when he reach 43 during the first match against South Africa here. 320. Super30 founder and mathematician Anand Kumar will be awarded the Pradhyapak Yashwant Rao Kelkar Yuva Shiksha
Puruskar for his outstanding contribution in the field of education in Bihar. 321. China will provide India with real time flood data of Sutlejriver during monsoon, according to an agreement signed between the two countries. 322. Japan would shift its defence focus from the Soviet Cold War threat to southern islands nearerChina, labelling the military build-up of its giant neighbour a global "concern". 323. Indian and China have agreed a new $100bn (66bn) bilateral trade target by 2015, up from $60bn in 2010. 324. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a three-year loan of 22.5bn euros ($30.1bn; 14.4bn) for the Republic of Ireland. 325. Beijing Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra has been included in the Athletes Committee of the International Shooting Sport Federation. 326. Indian scientists have indigenously developed an aerostat which could be deployed for surveillance of Naxal-hit areas, but is currently lying in a hangar at Bangalore for want of a flight range to test it. 327. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on 15th December, 2010, China may give greater access to Indias IT, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. 328. Controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is in custody in London on rape charges, has won an online vote to be Time
magazines Person of the Year, amid continuous leak of thousands of confidential US diplomatic cables by his whistleblower website. 329. Richard Holbrooke (69), President Barack Obamas Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, died. Role in Vietnam war. 330. Home to thousands of migratory birds during winter season, Gharana Wetland located close to Indo-Pak border in Jammu district has been notified as a protected waterbody and declared Important Bird Area (IBA). 331. Haryana has bagged the first prize in the Best States category for its performance in the Energy Conservation Programmes in 2009-10. 332. Samy Vellu (74), until recently president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), will be Malaysias Special Envoy to India and South Asia for Infrastructure with effect from New Years Day 2011. 333. India and Russia are likely to sign half-a-dozen agreements, including a long-pending one on co-developing and producing a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA). 334. The Indian Statistical Institute has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for co-operation in research with the London School of Economics, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced.
335.
France will introduce its so-called Google tax on online advertisements Jan 1, parliament decided on 14th December, 2010.
336.
Indias Saina Nehwal has done it again. The champion shuttler picked her fourthSuper Series title in all when she came back strongly from a first-game deficit to down the Chinese Wang Shixian of China 15-21, 21-16, 21-17 in the final of the Hong Kong Super Series womens singles final on 12th December, 2010.
337.
Sri Lanka has scrapped the Tamil version of its national anthem at official and state functions, a move likely to further alienate the ethnic Tamils in the country.
338.
China played host to railway authorities and railway experts from around the world in Beijing , and used the opportunity to showcase a high-speed train that clocked the fastest ever speed in a test run last week.
339.
India has decided to attend the ceremony where the Nobel Peace Prize will be presented to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in Oslo on 10th December, 2010, notwithstanding Chinas call for a boycott of the function.
340.
The World Bank has approved a $45 million technical assistance loan for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to help improve its operational efficiency.
341.
Indian steel magnet Lakshmi Mittal remains the richest business tycoon in South Africa for the sixth consecutive year despite hit hard by the global financial crisis.
342.
India continued to be the largest recipient of remittances in 2010, with the figure rising from $49.6 billion in 2009 to $55 billion. It was also the country with the second largest number of emigrants (those migrating abroad) after Mexico, according to the World Banks just-released Migration and Remittances
Factbook 2011. 343. Indias Nicole Faria has been crowned Miss Earth Talent 2010 after beating 17 other contestants at a talent competition in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. 344. Automaker Tata Motors Limited, Lucknow unit, has bagged the Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award for 2009 in the Best of All category. 345. IPS officer Amar Pratap Singh has been appointed the new Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation for two years succeeding Ashwani Kumar. 346. India and China concluded their 14th round of Special
Representatives border talks, with both sides agreeing to seek a fair deal as they made steady progress on a framework to resolve the long-running boundary dispute. 347. India and Bangladesh have signed a crucial deal to allow Indian heavy equipment to be transshipped to its landlocked
northeastern Tripura state for a proposed power plant through Bangladeshi territory, officials said. 348. Keltron has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Moscow-based NIS GLONASS, one of the largest public sector companies promoted by the Russian government. 349. The worlds largest solar-powered boat the 31-meter-long
Turanor PlanetSolar, whose deck is covered with solar panels, is driven by solar-generated electricity alone and can cruise at maximum speeds of between 8 and 9 knots, according to its 64year-old German owner, Immo Stroeher. 350. WikiLeaks has stormed its way into the English lexicon after meeting every depth and breadth of recorded usage of the language. 351. The Chairman and Editorial Director of Business Standard, T.N. Ninan, has been elected president of the Editors Guild of India which, in the wake of the Radia tapes, called upon editors to place integrity above all other considerations. 352. Veteran agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan has been conferred the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding leadership in the field of agriculture that has contributed to ensuring food security for millions of Indians.
353.
A 10-year-old whizkid has been given permission to pursue an under-graduate course in Science from the Lucknow University, an official revealed.
354.
Estonia has become the 17th member of the eurozone the first ex-Soviet state to adopt the EU single currency.
355.
The
German
economy
grew
by
0.7%
between
July
and
September compared with a eurozone average of 0.4%. 356. Skype could be dealt a major setback in the Chinese government because it was collecting evidence for legal cases against them. 357. The Chinese aimed at protecting three government-controlled phone carriers China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile 358. Singapores economy grew 12.5 % in the fourth quarter of 2010 and for the whole year gross domestic product (GDP) growth was 14.7 % 359. The first oil pipeline linking the worlds biggest oil producer, Russia, and the worlds biggest consumer of energy, China, has begun operating. 360. The pipeline, running between Siberia and the northeastern Chinese city of Daqing. 361. Russia overtook Saudi Arabia as the worlds largest oil producer in 2009 362. China surpassed the US as the worlds largest consumer of energy last year. 363. India has joined the United Nations Security Council as its nonpermanent member for a two-year term after a gap of 19 years. 364. Facebook has claimed the Internets top spot from Google as the most visited website in the United States in 2010, according to a new study from online measurement service Experian Hitwise.
365.
The worlds Internet search leader Google ranked second with about 7.2 % of all visits.
366.
Facebook, a site launched only six short years ago by Mark Zuckerberg, has quickly ascended to number one position with over 500 million users.
367.
The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) of Chinas manufacturing sector dropped to 53.9 per cent in December, down 1.3 percentage points from November.
368.
Motorola breaks into two entities Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on 4th January
369.
The World Bank has issued its first bond denominated in the Chinese currency, joining a small but fast-growing market.
370.
In September last year, the Chinese government itself started issuing bonds in its currency, also known as the renminbi.
371.
Deltaic Bangladesh is criss-crossed by 230 major rivers, 54 of them are common with India, including the Brahmaputra that flows from China.
372.
Bangladesh and India are set to ink an interim agreement on sharing of common river-waters
373.
China, the worlds biggest car producer and market for the second year, as its auto sales hit 18.06 million last year, registering a 32.37 per cent increase.
374.
Russia and the United States have enacted a historic nuclear cooperation pact on 11th January, 2011.
375.
The German economy rebounded strongly in 2010, growing by 3.6%, according to provisional figures from the national statistics office.
376.
Russia is one of the worlds riskiest locations for business to invest in, according to a survey of 196 nations by UK riskassessment company Maplecroft.
377.
Switzerland on 12th January was bidding for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2023-2024.
378.
Switzerland joined the United Nations only in 2002, becoming the 190th member of the world body.
379.
Nearly half of H-1B work visa holders in the US were from India, who were mostly hired for technology-related positions.
380.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated 2000 and 2009, 46.9 per cent of the total approved H-1B visa holders had India as their country of birth.
381.
Pakistan decided to ban its onion export to India through the Wagah border.
382.
Swiss police have re-arrested a former Swiss banker on fresh charges of breaching bank secrecy laws by passing data to whistleblowers website WikiLeaks.
383.
The number of new homes being built in the US has fallen faster than expected, underlining concerns about the strength of Americas economic recovery.
384.
December marked the second lowest build rate since records began in 1959, from the US Department of Commerce
385.
The warmest year on record is a three-way tie- 2010, 2005 and 1998. The planet is slowly but surely heating up.
386.
The average worldwide temperature for the 20th century was 13.88 degrees Celsius.
387.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a two-year, $30bn (19bn) credit facility with Poland, replacing a one-year arrangement agreed in July.
388.
Google co-founder Larry Page is to become chief executive of the US internet search giant in April.
389.
Bank of America has reported a second straight quarterly loss, driven by a $2bn (1.25bn) write-down of its mortgage business.
390.
Tourists from the US, the UK and Bangladesh occupied the top three positions among foreign visitors coming to India during 2009
391.
Portuguese voters have re-elected President Anibal Cavaco Silva as Portugal President.
392.
In the second quarter, Indias trade deficit (i.e. imports exceeded exports) widened to $35.4 billion despite higher growth in exports relative to imports.
393.
The Department of Posts would collaborate with leading private sector banks the IDBI, HSBC and ICICI Bank to provide White Label Pre-paid Cards to rural people to facilitate non-cash based transactions for purchase of products and services.
394.
After a gap of seven years, Indias foreign exchange reserve slipped below its total external debt during the quarter ending September 2010.
395.
India will generate 15,000 MW power this year and add 45,000 MW power within the 12th plan with the commissioning of power projects in the country
396.
The retirement fund manager EPFO plans to replace PF account number with unique identification number, in case of job change and allow them to track their accounts online.
397.
According to a survey by Regus, stress levels of Indian entrepreneurs have risen markedly in the last two years.
398.
In order to check misuse of ATM cards by unauthorised people, RBI has asked banks to allow only one transaction at ATM machines for one entry of PIN.
399.
ATMs have become a preferred mode of banking transactions for both customers and banks, due to the convenience and costsaving factors.
400.
In a New Year bonanza for its grade-four employees, the Railways have extended them the facility of traveling with their families in AC-3 once a year.
401.
India was in the global top 10 in article output and it was growing at an impressive 8 per cent. It, however, lagged behind China and Brazil.
402.
India was ranked in the top 20 in quality of articles. The most productive institutions in the country were the IITs, the IISc,
and the CSIR institutions. The only university among the top 10 was the University of Delhi. 403. The Coastal Regulation Zone notification of 2011, which comes into effect from January 7, replacing the earlier CRZ notification of 1991. 404. The 98th Indian Science Congress concluded at the SRM University, near Chennai. 405. The 99th Indian Science Congress will be held in Bhubaneswar from January 3 to 7, 2012. 406. The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet on the sidelines of SAARC Council of Ministers meeting in Bhutan to explore ways to take forward the stalled peace process. 407. The IAF has plans to deploy the aircraft at one of its bases in Bangalore to do away with the teething problems in
association with its designers and manufacturers. 408. Indias first homegrown supersonic fighter jet, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, was handed over to the IAF by Defence minister, A K Antony. 409. Nicknamed Tejas in 2004, the LCA designing had been launched in 1985 by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the DRDO with HAL as the nodal manufacturing agency. 410. India maintains its Second Place after China in automobile Sales Growth.
411.
The Indian Government has extended the ban on milk and milk products from China for another one year, according to the foreign trade office.
412.
India opened its trade in goods with the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in January 2010.
413.
The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement(CECA) with Malaysia is over-and-above the free trade pact between India and ASEAN countries.
414.
Motor, travel and health insurance policies are increasingly being sold online. Customers are increasingly buying and renewing nonlife insurance policies merely by the click of a mouse, bypassing agents.
415.
16th National Youth Festival has begun in Udaipur in Rajasthan on 12th January.
416.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on 12th January allowed traders to export onion to India for orders contracted before January 4.
417.
In the single largest aircraft deal in global aviation history, no-frill carrier IndiGo will acquire 180 A-320s worth an estimated USD 15.6 billion from European plane manufacturer Airbus.
418.
India has been the second-fastest growing major economy in the world.
419.
The commemorative event to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda is being planned to be held in Chicago.
420.
Private sector lender HDFC Bank has emerged as the countrys most popular bank for the year 2010 in terms of online visits, while Indias largest bank State Bank of India bagged the fourth position.
421.
According to the Accidental Deaths and Suicides 2009 released recently, 68.7 per cent of a total of 1,27,151 people who committed suicide across the country in 2009 were in the age group of 15-44 years.
422.
The World Bank has approved an International Development Association (IDA) credit of $162.7 million to help improve livelihood opportunities for some 400,000 village households in 17 districts of Rajasthan.
423.
China on 18th January officially launched its state-run mapping website that rivals Google Earth, showing Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin in Jammu and Kashmir two key areas of dispute with India as part of its territory.
424.
The map called Map World displayed on the Internet in Chinese language is already being used in I phone and other mobile and Internet user applications in China.
425.
The Union Ministry of Shipping has launched the Maritime Agenda for the decade 2010-2020.
426.
The Union Cabinet approved declaration of 25th January every year as the National Voters Day.
427.
And to provide voters a badge with its logo and the slogan Proud to be a voter Ready to vote.
428.
Anand Sinha has taken charge as the fourth deputy governor at the Reserve Bank of India on 19th January.
429.
The Earth will be 2.4 degree Celsius warmer by 2020 if the world continues with the business-as-usual approach to climate change.
430.
The Indian Navy is all set to add a brand new tanker INS Deepak to its fleet tomorrow enhancing its capabilities as a bluewater navy.
431.
Embattled Suresh Kalmadi on 24th January sacked as the Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.
432.
President Pratibha Patil gave away a national prize to former Ajmer Collector Rajesh Yadav in recognition of his innovative electoral practices at the diamond jubilee ceremony of the Election Commission in New Delhi.
433.
Tuticorin Port Trust is now named as V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust.
434.
India is poised to become the fastest growing market in the world for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services.
435.
Shri S. Ramadorai has been appointed as Advisor to the Prime Minister in the Prime Ministers National Skill Development Council in the rank of Cabinet Minister.
436.
The National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) plans to introduce demat trading in small lots of agri-commodities from July.
437.
Tata Group chief Ratan Tata has been selected for the Jawarharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award.
438.
Oscar winning Indian musician A.R. Rahman lost out the Golden Globe in the Original Score category to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who won for their music in The Social Network.
439.
Indias champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar on 15th January, 2011 achieved another milestone when he equalled Sanath Jayasuriyas record of being the most capped player in one-day international cricket.
440.
Tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games will go on sale on 15 March, organisers have announced.
441.
Government is expected to collect more than Rs 300 crore in taxes from the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament which will begin in April this year.
442.
In Jordan, King Abdullah has dismissed his cabinet and appointed a new Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit.
443.
Egypt is the No. 1 user of Facebook in the Arab world, and many Egyptian have been using it to co-ordinate protests against the government.
444.
The 2nd February marks the date of adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Capsian Sea. This years slogan is Forests for Water and Wetlands.
445.
India is the largest foreign investor in Ethiopia with approved investment of US $ 4.4 billion, out of which 40 per cent investment is in the field of commercial agriculture.
446.
India
and
Italy
discussed
bilateral
relation
and
economic
cooperation. Two major points of discussion 1) Bilateral trade between two countries 2) Visa Procedure for Skilled Professionals. 447. Shri Ajay Maken, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports, released the National Sports Development Code, 2011 compiled by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. 448. Indias infrastructure output registered a smart recovery in December, raising expectations of a revival in industrial
production growth. 449. The study, voluntary compliance which will be conducted by economic and tax experts is to improve, for stopping
commoditisation of tax avoidance schemes. 450. The eurozones inflation rate rose to 2.4% in January, which was higher than analysts had expected and up from Decembers figure of 2.2%. 451. Consumer spending in the US grew at its fastest pace in three years during 2010. 452. Bharti Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises, which runs a chain of 50 elementary schools called Satya Bharti schools in rural areas of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh has received a sum of $5million from search engine giant Google to support these school. 453. South Korean steel company Posco has gotten a conditional approval from Indian Environment Ministry to set up a plant worth $12billions in the port city of Paradip in the state of Orissa.
454.
The Supreme Court on 1st February, 2011 declined a plea to suspend immediately 2G spectrum licences of telecom companies found to be ineligible and/or not fulfilled their mandatory rollout obligations.
455.
The number of complaints received by the Banking Ombudsmen increased by 15 per cent in FY2009-10 to 79,266.
456.
With the Government of India deciding to withdraw coins of denomination of 25 paise and below from circulation with effect from June 30, 2011, the Reserve Bank of India.
457.
CPN (UML) Chairman Jhalanath Khanal has been elected the new Prime Minister of Nepal.
458.
India has decided to pay for Iranian crude oil in Euros through a German bank called Europisch-Iranische Handelsbank AG ( EIH Bank ) based in Hamburg.
459.
The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure approved setting up of a nonlapsable fund called North East Region Rail Development Fund (NERRDF) for National Projects in the North Eastern Region On Feb 3 2011.
460.
Shri U.K. Sinha, (IAS: 1976: Bihar, voluntarily retired in 2008) presently Chairman and Managing Director, UTI AMC, has been appointed as the Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
461. Australian Open 2011
TITLE WINNER RUNNER UP REMARKS MENS SINGLE Novak Djokovic (Serbia) Andy Mare(Britain) Novaks second Australian title, after also triumphing in 2008. WOMENS SINGLE Kim Clijstersm(BELGIUM) Li Na (china) Kims 4th grand slam, and 1st aus open.Li Na is first Asian in the final of Grand Slam Mens double Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (USA) Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes (india) Bob and Mikes fifth Australian open title. Womens double Gisela Dulko(arg) and Flavina Plennetta(Ita) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) and Maria Kirilenko (RUS) - Mixed double Katarina Srebotnik (SLO), Daniel Nestor (CAN) Yung-Jan Chan (TPE), Paul Hanley (AUS)
462.
Carlos Slims Mexican holdings from mining to communications helped him beat Bill Gates and Warren Buffett on the stock market for the second straight year, and gains in 2011 may widen his lead atop the global wealth list.
463.
Mr S. Karuppasamy has assumed charge as an Executive Director at the Reserve Bank of India.
464.
The Micro Finance Institutions Network (MFIN), which represents 44 microfinance institutions registered with the RBI, has launched a helpline for MFI customers.
465.
Indias first security and strategic analyst K Subrahmanyam, passed away in New Delhi on February 2 morning after a prolonged illness. He was 82.
466.
India and Norway Sign an Agreement on Double Taxation Avoidance and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion on February 2.
467.
Shri Wajahat Habibullah has been nominated by the Central Government as the Chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities.
468.
Thein Sein, a military general-turned-civilian leader, was on Friday elected Myanmars first President under its 2008
Constitution. 469. World food prices rose to a record high in January, according to the UNs Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). 470. 471. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), responsible for creating and distributing first of its kind unique identification numbers to Indian residents, signed an agreement with department of posts to this effect on 4th February. 472. The postal department signed its first agreement with the UIDAI on April 30 last year to print and post letters carrying the unique identification numbers. 473. After four decades, the Indian Air Force (IAF) inducted an American origin aircraft, the -130J Super Hercules transport
plane, augmenting its special operational capability. 474. "C-130J will help the IAF to maintain its qualitative edge and enhance its war fighting capabilities."
475.
Four species of birds open billed storks, night herons, little egrets and little cormorants are regular visitors to the Sanctuary (popularly known as the Kulik Bird Sanctuary).
476.
SAARC will get its first woman Secretary-General in its silver jubilee year the former Maldivian Attorney-General, Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed, is all set to succeed Indian diplomat Sheel Kant Sharma, who will complete his tenure of three years by the end of this month.
477.
The Comptroller and Auditor General has started inquiries into a 2005 agreement between ISRO arm Antrix and private company Devas Multimedia.
478.
The government may allow post offices to set up automated teller machines, or ATMs, at rural areas, in an attempt to further strengthen the role of India Post in financial inclusion.
479.
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, inaugurated the 17th Commonwealth Law Conference at Hyderabad on Feb 5.
480.
Government
launched
set
of
new
initiatives
to
reduce
transaction cost to boost exports on February 8. 481. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh granted "in-principle"
approval for a ropeway project in Girnar wildlife sanctuary, famous for its lions. 482. Somdev Devvarman jumped 30 places to reach career best singles ranking of 80 in the ATP charts following his stupendous show at the SA Tennis Open.
483.
India has raised the issue of visa fee hike by the US, emphasising the Obama administration not take any step detrimental to the interest of Indian IT professionals.
484.
Indian operators dished out more than 262 million cellphone connections in 2010, taking the total number of mobile
subscriptions to more than 752 million 485. Former England all-rounder and BBC Test Match Special
commentator, Trevor Bailey, has died in a fire accident in Essex, the England on February 10. 486. A new index called Social Protection Index (SPI) has been developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The SPI calculated for 31 Asian Countries has placed India at the 10th place. Cricket World Cup 2011 Stadiums 1. Eden Gardens Kolkata 2. Feroz Shah Kotla Delhi 3. Wankhede Stadium Mumbai 4. M. A.Chidambaram Stadium Chennai 5. Punjab Cricket Association Stadium Mohali 6. Vidharba Cricket Association Stadium Nagpur 7. Sardar Patel Stadium Ahmedabad 8. M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Bangalore 9. R. Premadasa Stadium Colombo 10. Pallekele Cricket Stadium Kandy
11. Mahinda
Rajapaksa
International
Cricket
Stadiumn
Sooriyawewa, Hambantota 12. Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium Chittagong 13. Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium Dhaka
487.
IUCN ( International Union for Conservation of Nature ) Red List 2008 which lists the endangered animals has been released. Brazil tops the list with 141 while India is ranked seventh with 88 species.
488.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 mascot is called Stumpy. The mascot, an elephant, has been named Stumpy.
489.
The current trophy was created for the 1999 event and is the first permanent prize in the tournament's history. A team of craftsmen from Garrard & Co, the British Crown jewelers , designed and produced the trophy within two months in London.
490. 491.
The Tamilnadu Government plans to issue Smart Cards to mothers who use PHC s. London beat Tokyo, New York and Paris to be the highest grossing city for retail sales in 2010, according to a study of 22 major worldwide shopping destinations by Britains Centre for Retail Research.
492.
Japanese Gen Corporation employee Yasutoshi Yokoyama takes a demonstration flight on the GEN H-4 helicopter, the worlds smallest one-man helicopter, in Vinci, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci, near Florence, Italy on February 20.
493.
India signed a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) with Malaysia, which will come into effect on 1st July 2011.
494.
The Government has launched the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service on 25.11.2010 in Haryana and on 20.1.2011 in the rest of the country.
495.
The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on 22nd February, 2011 announced that the Government has agreed to set up a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe into the alleged abuse in the allocation of 2G spectrum.
496.
Akshay Rajagopal took top honours at the 2008 National Geographic Bee in the United States.
497.
The Group of Eight (G8), is also known as Group of Seven and Russia, is an international forum for the governments of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
498.
World No Tobacco Day- May 30 - World Health Organisation (WHO) has called upon its member-countries to ban tobacco advertising to protect youth from taking to smoking.
499.
HIGHLIGHTS OF BUDGET 2011-12
The Union Budget 2011-12 has laid a special emphasis on reducing the compliance burden of small tax payers by introducing simplified return form called Sugam. I-T exemption limit raised to Rs 1.80 lakh from Rs 1.60 lakh. Exemption for senior citizens raised to Rs 2.5 lakh
Tax under women slab unchanged. Tax exemption raised to Rs 5 lakh for senior citizens of 80 years. Excise and customs duty proposals to result in the net gain of Rs 7,300 crore. Export duty rates on iron ore unified and kept at 20% ad valorem. Basic customs duty on agricultural machinery reduced to 4.5% from 5% Basic customs duty on raw silk reduced from 30 to 5 per cent Excise and customs duty proposals to result in the net gain of Rs 7,300 crore Nominal one per cent central excise duty on 130 items entering the tax net. Basic food and fuel and precious stones, gold and silver jewellery will be exempted. Standard rate of central exercise duty maintained at 10%. Central government debt in proportion to GDP will be 44.2% in 201112. 20% export duty on all grades of iron ore. No change in service tax rate of 10%. No change in central excise duty. Plan to levy 1% on 130 consumer items. Revenue deficit fixed at 2.3 per cent in revised estimates of 201011 and 1.8 per cent in 201112, Total plan expenditure will go up 100 per cent in nominal terms in the next year 15% tax on dividend for Indian cos from foreign unit.
Direct Tax proposals result in expenditure of Rs 11,500 cr. To reduce surcharge on domestic companies to 5% from 7.5% MAT rate hiked to 18.5% from 18%. MAT on developers in SEZs to be levied. Fiscal deficit revised to 5.1% from 5.5% for FY11 Total expenditure raised by 13.4% at Rs 12.57 lakh cr over budget estimates Gross tax receipts estimated at 9.32 lakh cr for FY 2011-12 Bill to amend India Stamp Act soon. Budget allocation of Rs 100 cr for Ladakh and Rs 150 cr for Jammu for implementation of projects identified by taskforce Old age pension to persons of over the age of 80 raised from Rs 200 to Rs 500 Health allocation up by 20% to R 27,600 cr. Rs 9- lakh ex-gratia for defence personnel for 100% disability fighting Left-wing extremism. To set up 15 more mega food parks. Remuneration of anganwadi workers raised from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000 per month. Helpers to get Rs 1,500 from Rs 750 Tax free bonds of Rs 30,000 cr to be issued for infrastructure development. This will cover Warehousing Corporation, NHAI, IRFC and Hudco. Allocation under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to be raised from Rs 6,755 crore in the current year to Rs 7,860 crore.
Rs 50 cr grant to Aligarh Muslim University centres in Murshidabad in West Bengal and Malappuram in Kerala. Rs 200 cr for environmental remediation programme. Age for pension eligibility reduced from 65 years to 60 years under Indira Gandhi Yojana scheme To move insurance, pension and banking bills in Parliament Rs 500-cr for National Development Fund. Rs 400-cr as one-time grant for IIT-Kharagpur. Allocation to education sector raised to Rs 52,000 cr Increase in remuneration for Anganwadi workers from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000 per month. Plan 17% increase in social sector spending. To introduce Food Security Bill Tax free bonds of Rs 30,000 cr to be issued for infrastructure development. This will cover Warehousing Corporation, NHAI, IRFC and Hudco. Fertiliser industry to be included under infrastructure category. GoM to be set up to deal with corruption 500. Highlights of Budget 2011-12 for the Banking Sector
The Government is to infuse Rs.6,000 Crore in Andhra Bank, Dena Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Bank of Baroda & Union Bank of India. More Equity issues by PSUs (Public Sector Unit) on the way as the government aims to raise Rs.40,000 Crore Interest subsidy of 1%
extended to Home loans up to Rs.15 Lakh & Property Worth up to Rs.25 Lakh The government & Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to float Rs.100 Crore fund to capitalize Small Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) Banks told to lend more to Minority Community Borrowers at the target of 6% of total PSU Bank loans Banks will have to lend Rs.1 Lakh Crore more to Farmers, where the total loans to touch Rs.4.75 Lakh Crore New company will guarantee Home Loans taken by Poor Borrowers Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to sell stakes in National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), National Housing Bank (NHB) to Government for Rs.1,430 Crore & Rs.450 Crore 501. Five-fold strategy to deal with black money
Existing interest subvention scheme on short term farm loans at 7 % interest to continue. Self-assessment in customs to be introduced. Credit flows to farmers raised from Rs 3.75 lakh crore to Rs 4.75 lakh crore. Constitution Amendment Bill for introduction of GST in this session. Goods and Services Tax Bill this year. Direct Taxes Code Bill likely to be passed by Parliament next financial year after getting Standing Committee report. Public Debt Management Agency Bill in the next fiscal.
Indian mutual funds to get direct access to foreign markets; FIIs to be allowed to invest in MFs. To extend infra tax breaks to fertiliser sector. To set up microfinance equity fund. Government to move towards direct cash transfer of cash subsidy as regards kerosene, LPG and fertilisers from March 2012 for BPL in view of large diversion 3% interest subvention to farmers who repay in time. NABARD capital base to be increased by infusing Rs 10,000 cr Rural housing fund increased to Rs 3,000 cr Banks asked to step up lending to agriculture. Allocation under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to be raised from Rs 6,755 crore in the current year to Rs 7,860 crore. Budget proposes to raise housing loan limit from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh for priority sector lending. Allocation for farm development hiked to Rs 7,860 cr. Rs 300 cr proposed to promote production of cereals. Indian micro-finance equity with SIDBI to be formed at Rs 100 crore. Rs 6,000 cr to be given to public sector banks to maintain capital-torisk assets ratio norms RBI to bring in new guidelines for banking licences. Aiming Fiscal deficit of 3% by fiscal 2014 FII investment limit for infra corporate bonds hiked to $40 billion. Microfinance equity fund of Rs 100 cr proposed. Govt committed to hold 51% in PSUs.
Rs 3,000 cr to Nabard for handloom societies. Women self-help group development fund to be set up. Goods and Services Tax Bill to be introduced in Parliament this year. Direct Tax Code Bill likely to be passed by Parliament next financial year after getting Standing Committee report. Disinvestment target at Rs 40,000 cr. Direct Tax Code from April 2012. SEBI-registered MFs to be allowed direct access to foreign funds. Public Debt Management Agency Bill to be introduced next financial year. Current account deficit and average inflation in 2011-12 likely to be less than current year. Economic growth in 2011-12 likely to be 9 per cent. Debt management bill to be introduced. Constitutional Amendment Bill on GST to be introduced. Expect agri sector to grow at 5.4% in 2011. GDP estimated growth at 8.6% in real terms. 502. Railway budget at a glance
Railway to raise Rs 10,000 crore via bonds Railway earnings set to cross Rs 1 lakh crore 16,000 ex defence personnel to be inducted by March 2011 Kolkata metro to expand its network. Railways to do with all unmanned crossings by next financial year To install anti-collision devices in 8 railway zones
Rail Yatri Sewa Assistance for senior citizens at major stations Railway to set up a sports cadre to encourage sports Multi-purpose smart card started as a pilot project Work on Western freight corridor to start soon A metro coach factory will be set up near Singur Online ticket booking to be cheaper. Booking of AC and Non-AC to be reduced by 50 percent First coach from the Rae Bareli Rail coach factory to roll out in the next 3 months Twice a year railway concession for journalists with family Two additional services on Delhi-Ghaziabad sections New suburban services in Mumbai and Hyderabad Nine new Duronto trains, 15 suburban trains in Kolkata. Three Shatabdi trains and 56 express trains To fill up 13,000 RPF jobs in the coming year Railways to give 10,000 shelters to shelterless people A 700 MW gas based power plant is to be set up at Thakurli in Maharashtra Double-decker air-conditioned trains between Jaipur-Delhi and
Ahmedabad-Mumbai 503. Oscar 2011: List of winners
Best Picture: The Kings Speech Best Actor in a Leading Role: Colin Firth for The Kings Speech Best Actress in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman for Black Swan
Best Director: Tom Hooper for The Kings Speech Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale for The Fighter Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo for The Fighter Best Art Direction: Alice Best Cinematography: Inception Best Animated Short: The Lost Thing Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3 Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network. Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler The Kings Speech. Best Foreign Film: In a Better World from Denmark Best Documentary Feature: Inside Job Best Documentary Short: Strangers No More Best Live Action Short: God of Love Best Original Score: The Social Network Best Original Song: Randy Newman We Belong Together for Toy Story 3 Best Sound Mixing: Inception Best Sound Editing: Richard King Inception Best Film Editing: The Social Network Best Costume: Alice Best Make-up: The Wolfman 504. Grand Slam French Open Tennis
The four Grand Slam tournaments are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, and public attention. They are: Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open Defence Scientist Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Young
Award for 2010.
The recipients of the award are: V. Bhanu Naidu, MTRDC, Bangalore Venkatesh Prabhu, LRDE, Bangalore Md Shahid, ADE, Bangalore and Ajay Pal, DFRL, Mysore. The Best Performance Award for 2010 was also conferred on
M. Prakash, DARE, Bangalore Srinivasa, LRDE, Bangalore Girija S., ADE, Bangalore K. Uma, TTC Centre, Bangalore and
Padmashree, DFRL, MysoreAir India has been adjudged the best airline MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) and best engine MRO in the country. 505. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has presented its highest honour for Quality and Performance, the George M. Low Award, to Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA), a company based in Virginia whose CEO is Renjith Kumar. 506. Bollywood actor John Abraham and 14 others received the Ecowarrior Awards from Vice-President Hamid Ansari for their
contribution to the environment and wildlife. 507. Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA)
received an award for National Water Conservation from the Ministry of Water Resources. 508. Wipro Technologies has received Reader's Choice Award for the third consecutive year from Consumer Goods Technology (CGT) magazine. 509. HDFC Bank has won The Asian Banker's Best Retail Bank in India' award this year. 510. Apollo Health City, Hyderabad has been awarded the Best Medical Tourism Facility' national award for 2009-10 by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. 511. New Delhi railway station was conferred the National Tourism Award in the category of Best Tourist Friendly Railway Station. 512. Development Commissioner Sushil Kumar Chaudhary has been appointed new Chief Secretary of Jharkhand government.
513.
Bharatanatyam dancer Leela Samson as the new chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)
514.
Software giant Microsoft said it had appointed Bhaskar Pramanik as Chairman for its India operations.
515.
T. T. Ashok, Managing Director, Taylor Rubber Pvt. Ltd, Chennai, has been elected Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry, Southern Region, for the year 2011-12
516.
Bank of Baroda Chairman and Managing Director M. D. Mallya will take over as Chairman of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) from April 1.
517.
India has become the largest borrower from the International Development Association (IDA), a component of World Bank Group which helps the poorest countries of the world.
518.
NRI steel magnate, Mr Mittal is ranked sixth with $31.1 billion of wealth. Mr Mukesh Ambani, with net asset of value $27 billion, lost five places and was placed at the ninth position in this years list.
519.
The Northern Regional office of the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has become the first ever ISO-9001:2008 certified
recruiting agency in the Government sector in the country. 520. Shanti Sethi, an American of Indian descent, became the first female commander of a US naval vessel to visit the country. 521. The worlds first artificial leaf for Alternative Energy has been created by scientists .It can convert sunlight and water into energy to produce power for low. It is made of silicon, electronics
and various catalysts which spur chemical reactions within the device. 522. Bangalore-based Shishir Hatwar, an electronics engineer in BHEL, clinched the world record this week for the "fastest backwards spelling of 50 words" in one minute 22.53 seconds. 523. Real income of an average Indian salary-earner declined for the first time in last five years during fiscal ended March10. 524. National Safety Day (NSD) was being observed in india on Friday March 4 to promote the safety of employees in work places. This years National Safety Day 2011 theme was Establish and maintain Preventive Safety and Health Culture. 525. 526. Nation World Forestry Day is celebrated On March 18 The Government has decided to declare 14th April 2011
(Thursday) as a Closed Holiday on account of the birthday of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar for all central Government offices. 527. 528. Nation Celebrates World Meteorological Day on March 23. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is celebrating its Silver Jubilee. A function is being organized in the Vigyan Bhawan on March 17 to commemorate the journey of the organization. 529. The Ministry of Water Resources celebrated World Water Day2011 0n March 22. 530. A three-day international conference on Utilization of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) as a Model for the Protection of Traditional Knowledge held on March 23.
531.
The government on 28th February, 2011 said low-cost housing loans of Rs 15 lakh will be eligible for one per cent interest subsidy.
532.
A new agro-meteorological advisory service, promises to offer more precise advice to farmers. So far, the agro-met advisory service was operating at the level of agro-climatic zones.
533.
SEBI has permitted the launch of futures contracts on 91-day treasury bills (T-Bills) with immediate effect.
534.
In Chennai, Primary Health Centres go in for e-administration. The plan is to make birth and death certificates available online.
535. The Ministry of External Affairs has introduced additional checks for issuing passports under tatkal scheme and issued certain new guidelines with respect to verification certificates to be submitted for getting passports under the scheme. 536. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has finally decided to implement the Performance Related Incentive Scheme (PRIS) recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission for all Central government employees. 537. State Bank of India (SBI) on 19th March, 2011 reported a 13.45 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,806.49 crore for the quarter ended December, 2010, helped by an impressive jump in net interest income. 538. The Centre on 24th March, 2011 issued the resolution notifying the constitution of the 11-member Financial Sector Legislative
Reforms Commission (FSLRC), headed by Mr Justice (retired) B.N. Srikrishna. 539. Swavalamban Scheme was announced in the Union Budget 201011 to address the longevity risk of poorer sections of the country. 540. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and the Public Service Commission of Canada in New Delhi on March 15 regarding cooperation to promote best practices. 541. The steps taken by the Government to prevent travel by persons on forged/fake documents. These steps include: Use of Ultra-violet Lamps Installation of Passport Reading Machines (PRMs) and Questionable Document Examiner (QDX) Machines Installation of Immigration Control System (ICS) Software 542. After Independence of India, since August, 1948 to February, 2011 total 815 Commemorative Postage Stamps on prominent personalities / dignitaries have been issued.
543.
India plans to open income tax offices in eight countries,they will come up at France, Germany, the Netherlands, Cyprus, US, Britain, United Arab Emirates, and year. Japan in the next financial
544.
The Union cabinet had approved in November 2009 a target to set up 1,100 MW grid-connected solar plants for the first phase of the mission till March 2013.
545.
Tata Consultancy Services, a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions firm, on March 15 launched cloud computing solution iON for small and medium businesses (SMBs) in Andhra Pradesh.
546.
The Union Government has rejected the proposal of the Himachal government to replace traditional khaki uniform with a blue uniform for IPS officers.
547.
Draft Rules in Respect of Sections 6a, 43a and 79 of the Information Technology Act Hosted on the Website of Department of IT.
548.
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has convened a National Consultation to discuss the proposed Mental Health Care Bill, 2010 on the 22nd March, 2011.
549.
The Government of India has banned the drugs Gatifloxacin and Tegaserod with immediate effect, saying that the use of the drugs is likely to involve risk to human beings.
550.
Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment and Forests launched the Real time Ambient Noise Monitoring Network on March 23.
551.
The President of India Smt Pratibha Devisingh Patil released a commemorative postage stamp on freedom fighter Smt Subhadra Joshi on March 23.
552.
The government has conferred the Mini-ratna II status to National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), providing it greater financial autonomy.
553.
The Lok Sabha the Bill making melting or destruction of currency coins punishable by a maximum jail term of seven years on March 25.
554.
The Government is considering to amend the Apprentices Act, 1961 in consultation with all concerned Ministries.
555.
With the World Bank loosening its purse strings to the tune of $0.5 million, India launched its first pollution cap and trade scheme.
556.
P.C. Mathew, one of the last surviving members of the Indian Civil Service, in which he had a distinguished career, passed away on March 28.
557.
The country's oldest lioness, Rehana (23), has died in the government-run zoo Van Vihar on March 21.
558.
The tiger population in the country has risen to 1706 compared to 1411 in 2006 -- a 12 pc increase that excludes the big cats of Sundarbans, the latest Tiger Census
559. The Chinese government suspended the approval process for all new nuclear power plants until safety standards were revised, amid concerns triggered by safety fears in Japans nuclear facilities. 560. The 2011 Thoku earthquake, also known as the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 (Mw) undersea
megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on Friday, 11 March 2011. 561. The Sankei Shimbun Japanese newspaper called the police team Kesshitai meaning a unit that expects to die. 562. Australian born Bob Christo, who essayed villain roles in several films, the man who played "gora" henchman in films of the eighties and nineties passed away. 563. Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina beat eighth seeds Mattek-Sands and Shaughnessy 6-0 7-5 wins doubles title in Indian Wells 564. NASA launched a telescope to scout out elusive, super highenergy gamma rays lurking in the universe. 565. Climate change is defined as any significant variation in climate measuresprecipitation, temperature, windfor an extended period, usually decades or longer. 566. The Expedition 26 was the twenty-sixth long-duration mission to the International Space Station. The mission launched with one US astronaut and two Russian osmonauts on November 26, 2010. 567. The Department of Science and Technology under this Ministry has initiated two inter-related schemes namely `Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) and the
`Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE). 568. The science plan of the Black Carbon Research Initiative National carbonaceous Aerosols Programme (NCAP) under the aegis of the
Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment, INCCA will be launched on March 28. 569. The 400- odd private business schools contend that the new rules will affect the quality of their students and will also encroach upon their autonomy. 570. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) offers
Business Process Outsourcing Skills as a subject under the vocational course Financial Market Management in the higher secondary stage. 571. Total food inflation down from 20.2 per cent last year to 9.3 per cent in Jan. 572. Income tax exemption limit for individuals has been raised from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 1.8 lakh, giving a relief of Rs 2,000 to every tax payer, in the Budget for 2011-12 573. QR code is a code written in a small picture. It can be read by any QR Code reader. The acronym QR is derived from the term Quick Response. 574. The Centre has raised the minimum support price (MSP) for the common variety of paddy to Rs. 850 a quintal from Rs. 745. 575. India occupies the 9th position among the global leading manufacturing countries. 576. The Myanmar's military handed power to a nominally civilian government after almost 50 years in power, U. Thein Sein has been sworn-in as President
577.
Bank of Baroda Chairman and Managing Director M. D. Mallya will take over as Chairman of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) from April 1.
578.
The ICC has lifted the ban on news television channels covering the world cup finals following intervention by Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
579.
Panchayati
Raj
Institutions
(PRIs)
as
units
of
local
self
government, are the constitutionally mandated third tier of governance and as per Article 243G of Indian Constitution. 580. A Braille version of the Right to Information Act and its rules was released by the Gujarat Information Commission for the benefit of the visually challenged. 581. The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to set up a National Mission for Electric Mobility (NCEM) to promote electric mobility and manufacturing of electric vehicles in India. 582. Kapil Sibal Inaugurates Electronics & Information Technology Exposition E-Governance: Public Services Closer Home to be the Theme of Deliberations 583. The seven Indian languages which have earned this distinction include Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. 584. The Minister of State for Finance Shri Namo Narain Meena launched facility of Income Tax payment through ATMs by Union Bank of India from March 31. 585. Arunachal Pradesh has succeeded in networkingvertically and horizontally various offices in 15 district headquarters and 46
blocks in the state with the setting up the State Wide Area Network (SWAN) project on March 30. 586. SWAN project will improve functioning of the government by faster electronic transfer of information in the form of voice, video and data. 587. The Gujarat government has launched a new rehabilitation scheme for minor delinquents following a court's suggestion to refine the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. 588. GAIL has launched Asia's first integrated gas management system to track all information on transmission and distribution of natural gas in the country.
589. Population and Education Census 2011
India's population has jumped to 1.21 billion, an increase of more than 181 million during 2001-11, according to provisional data of Census 2011
Males stood at 623.7 million and Females at 586.5 million. The percentage growth in 2001-11 was 17.64 males 17.19 and females 18.12.
India's population accounts for 17.5 per cent of the world's.
Uttar Pradesh is the most populous State with 199 million people, followed by Maharashtra with 112 million people.
Lakshadweep is the least populated at 64,429 people. The overall sex ratio nationwide has increased by seven percentage points to 940 against 933 in Census 2001.
Kerala with 1,084 has the highest sex ratio followed by Puducherry with 1,038.
With 618, Daman and Diu has the lowest ratio. India's effective literacy rate has recorded a 9.2 per cent rise to reach 74.04 per cent.
Kerala has the highest literacy rate at 93.91 per cent followed by Lakshadweep at 92.28 per cent.
Bihar is at the bottom of the ladder with literacy rate of 63.82 followed by Arunachal Pradesh at 66.95.
590.
The Rajasthan Government has selected the Forest Protection and Management Committee (Van Suraksha Evum Prabandhan
Samiti for the conservation award, Amrita Devi Vishnoi Smriti Puraskar, for 2010.
591.
Gopinath Muthukad has been selected by the International Magicians Society (IMS) of the US for the International Merlin Award.
592.
April 5 is National Maritime Day. The theme for this year is Indian Coast Line-A New Opportunity.
593.
Lawyer Lalit Bhasin has been appointed Chairperson of the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal.
594.
New Delhi railway station was conferred the National Tourism Award in the category of Best Tourist Friendly Railway Station.
595.
Smt. Vijayalakshmy K Gupta has taken as the Secretary (Defence Finance) from April 1.
596.
Bharatanatyam dancer Leela Samson was chosen to head the Central Board of Film Certification.
597.
Satish Chandra has taken additional charge as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Fertilizers Limited (NFL).
598.
The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) has nominated Sukhadeo Thorat as its chairperson for three years.
599.
Banks
in
Bangladesh
have
begun
their
first
ever
online
operations, allowing their clients cash deposit and withdrawal facilities, services. foreign exchange remittances and fund transfer
600.
The 4th South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN) of SAARC countries started in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 4th April.
601.
An inspired India on April 2 night regained the coveted World Cup after 28 years as they suppressed Sri Lanka with a six-wicket.
602.
India on March 6 launched a long-term concessional credit scheme to help build export infrastructure in developing nations, especially in Africa, the Gulf and neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
603.
National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign-2011 was held on 6th-7th, April,2011 which was inaugurated by Shri Sharad Pawar.
604.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development organized a Roundtable on Higher Education, on April 6, in preparation for the forthcoming India-US Higher Education Summit.
605.
On March 6 approved a comprehensive charter for the National Water Mission one of the eight missions in the National Action Plan for Climate Change.
606.
India has moved closer to eradication of polio, recording only 42 cases in 2010 compared to 741 in the previous year.
607.
The growth was led by Vodafone, which added 3.56 million users to take its subscriber base to 130.92 million users.
608.
The number of mobile subscribers in India rose to 791.38 million in February with the addition of 20.2 million connections, official data shows..
609.
Government launched a Scheme of Visa on Arrival (VoA) from January 2010 for citizens of five countries, viz. Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore, visiting India for tourism purposes.
610.
India would continue to pursue its "Go-No Go" concept of forest area classification to prevent illegal and arbitrary coal mining.
611.
China summit BRICS ( Brazil, Russia, India, China andSouth Africa), on April 14.
612.
Vijayawada Hoteliers here created a new Guinness record, dishing out a 38.2-foot-long dosa, the longest ever made.
613.
The launch of remote-sensing satellite the ResourceSat-2 has been tentatively scheduled for 10.12 a.m., April 20.
614.
C. Bhaskaran, first all-India president of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and editor of the Chintha Publishers of the CPI(M) in Kerala, died. He was 65.
615.
Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina clinched their second WTA title together. World Health Day observed on April 7th
616.
617.
NASA has released the first picture taken of Mercurys surface by the US space agencys orbiting Messenger craft on 17 March.
618.
Assam Rifles, the oldest Para-Military force in the country, celebrated its 176th anniversary on April 9.
619.
India has offered expertise and latest technology in sugar industry to Ethiopia
620.
Yuri Gagarin, 50th anniversary of First human space flight is on April 12th
621.
Haryana has introduced a unique SMS alert service for the farmers in the state to keep them abreast of new innovations in farming sector.
622.
India will launch an advanced remote sensing satellite on April 20 to study and manage natural resources.
623.
Charlie Chaplin 122nd Birthday is celebrated on 16 April.
624.
President Goodluck Jonathan has won Nigerias presidential election by securing 60.02 percent of the vote
625.
A diplomatic row has erupted between China and Nepal asBeijing expressed dissatisfaction over the appointment of a minister of Tibetan ethnic origin
626.
India signed the TKDL (Traditional Knowledge Digital Library) Access Agreement with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) on April 20.
627.
The government has decided to issue biometric PAN cards to taxpayers across the country to weed out the problem of duplicate and fake ones.
628.
The last titular Maharaja of Jaipur, Sawai Bhawani Singh, died after prolonged illness.He was 80.
629.
Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited was conferred the Mini Ratna Category-I status by President Pratibha Patil.
630.
India has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of stillbirths in the world.
631.
India will be one of the 94 countries in this world famous art event that saw its inception in 1895.
632.
The G-20 announced that International Monetary Fund (IMF) would review policies of the worlds seven largest economies, including India and China, with the objective of rectifying flaws before they imperil growth.
633.
Indias GDP is projected to grow at a brisk pace of 8.8 percent in 2011-12 (FY 12).
634.
Vice-Admiral D.K. Joshi is the new Chief of the Western Naval Command from April 30.
635.
India's 12th Five Year Plan (2012-13 to 2017-18) will focus on infrastructure to achieve the target
636.
Shane Watson , Australia player scored 185 runs from 96 balls, including a record 15 sixes,
637.
Wisden, regarded as the Bible of cricket, has named Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar as the leading cricketer in the world for the year 2010.
638.
Indian novelist Vikas Kumar Jha has been chosen for the 2011 International Indu Sharma Katha Samman, for his novel
McCluskieganj ' .
639.
The NMDC has won a commendation certificate of SCOPE meritorious award for corporate social responsibility and
responsiveness for 2009-10. G.B.
640.
Sunitha Krishnan, an anti-human trafficking pioneer and cofounder of the NGO Prajwala, was honoured with the Human Rights award of the prestigious Vital Voices Global Leadership Award.
641.
Tata Steel Vice-Chairman B. Muthuraman has been elected new President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 201112.
642.
Celebrations are being held to mark the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight -- a 108-minute orbit of earth by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
643.
Worlds biggest greeting card
1283.1 sq ft, conceptualized by
Elite Communication,which is located at Minal Garden, Bhopal. 644. Wipro Technologies, the global IT, Consulting and Outsourcing business of Wipro Limited, announced it has been ranked second in the list of Top 25 US diversity councils, by The Association of Diversity Councils.
645.
Girls Corner more Post-Matric Scholarships than boys under the Post- Matric Scholarship Scheme of The Ministry of Minority Affairs during 2010-11
646.
On April 21 One Day Conference on ICT-IPR Trends and Challenges in Globalised World held.
647. 648.
India-Bangladesh Border Haats to be inaugurated in June US$ 3.5 Billion Indian Investment in Pipeline for Bangladesh
649.
Tariff-Free Quota for Apparel Exports Enhanced to 10 Million Pieces.
650.
T.V. Gnanavelu, a long time Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Aquatics Association and a former Vice-President of the Swimming Federation of India, passed away.
651.
India is the main source of Black Money says Julian Asaange on April 26th 2011.
652.
Nawang Gombu, the first man to scale Mt. Everest twice, died at his home in Darjeeling after a brief illness.
653.
Freedom House puts India 14th on a list that ranks 37 countries on the basis of free and unrestricted access to the web. The list was topped by Estonia.
654.
From Next Year World Water Day Celebrations to be Extended as World Water Week Salman Khurshid
655.
Annual
Conference
of
Principal
Secretaries/Secretaries
of
States/UTs Dealing with Water Resources Management Concludes
656.
The Gateway Hotel here has been chosen by the Union Ministry of Tourism as the Best Five Star Hotel' for 2009-10.
657.
The Mangalore City Corporation recently won the Green Leaf Award held at the Centre for Economics & Social studies on April 23, Hyderabad,
658.
Director K. Balachander, one of the influential filmmakers and trendsetters in Indian cinema, will receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2010
659.
KISS Humanitarian Award 2011 will be conferred on legal luminary Nicholas Addison Phillips, President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
660.
NHPC, the country's premier hydro-power company, has been conferred the Gentle Giants Award under the Non-
Manufacturing Mini Ratna category by Dalal Street Investment Journal.
661.
G. C. Chaturvedi, a 1977 batch IAS officer from the U.P. cadre is new Petroleum Secretary.
662.
Vice-Admiral Sunil Lanba took over as the Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, from Rear Admiral Karambir Singh.
663.
S.C. Chetal took over as Director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) at Kalpakkam.
664.
The government appointed Rakesh Kumar Upadhyay as the Chairman and Managing Director of telecom giant BSNL.
665.
Amway India vice-president (legal and corporate affairs) Yoginder Singh has been re-elected chairman of the Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) for 2011-12.
666.
Bombay' will now be replaced by Gujarat in the nomenclature of all the acts and rules in force in Gujarat
667.
Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) 2010 has been notified and it has come into force with effect from May 1.
668.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh granted final approval to Orissa for diversion of 1,253 hectares of forest land for Poscos steel project
669.
The 5th Joint Commission meeting follows the recent signing of the ambitious Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement
between India and Malaysia.
670.
The Indian government has decided to institute a Rs. 1 crore award in the name of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his birth.
671.
The 20th meeting of the National Welfare Board of Seafarers held on May 4.
672.
Delhi has recorded 30 per cent reduction in new HIV infections since 2007.
673.
Abu Dhabi is now the first capital city in the world to be entirely covered with a fibre optic network, UAE telecom giant Etisalat has announced.
674.
Osama bin Laden, leader of terror outfit al-Qaeda and alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, was killed in Pakistan in a Special Forces operation by the United States, U.S.
675.
Former British and European heavyweight boxing champion Henry Cooper has died two days short of his 77th birthday.
676.
Japans parliament passed a 4 trillion yen ($48 billion) tsunami recovery budget on May 2.
677.
The Saudi government has established a national commission to battle corruption.
678.
The world population is set to touch the 10-billion mark at the dawn of the next century, with the bulk of this increase coming from high fertility countries like India, China and Nigeria.
679.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has built India's fastest supercomputer in terms of theoretical peak performance 220 trillion floating point operations per second (FLOPS).
680.
Indian men's recurve team settled for silver after going down to the US in the final of the Archery World Cup Stage I in Porec, Croatia.
681.
Indian photographer Amit Madheshiya has been named 'Arts and Culture Photographer of the Year' at the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards 2011.
682.
The Gateway Hotel here has been chosen by the Union Ministry of Tourism as the Best Five Star Hotel' for 2009-10.
683.
Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi has been reappointed as chairperson of Parliaments Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
684.
G. C. Chaturvedi, a 1977 batch IAS officer from the U.P. cadre is new Petroleum Secretary.
685.
Vice-Admiral Sunil Lanba took over as the Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, from Rear Admiral Karambir Singh.
686.
Adobe Systems has appointed Umang Bedi as Managing Director, Sales and Marketing, for South Asia.
687.
Subhinder Singh Prem, currently Managing Director of Reebok India, has been appointed Managing Director of adidas group India.
688.
The government appointed Rakesh Kumar Upadhyay as the Chairman and Managing Director of telecom giant BSNL.
689.
S Sundareshan has taken over as new Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries.
690.
Jarbom Gamlin was sworn-in as the sixth Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on May 5.
691.
The Former President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam gave away National Awards on Technology to the industrial/individual concern for developing indigenous technology on May 11.
692.
Twenty-five-year-old Tine Mena has become the first Indian woman to successfully scale Mount Everest this season.
693.
India and Australia have launched negotiations to conclude a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
694.
M S Gurupadaswamy Passed Away on May 10, 2011 in a private hospital. M S Gurupadaswamy, who is the Former Union Minister.
695.
A promotional film of Kerala Tourism, has bagged the Bronze World Medal for cinematography at the New York Festivals.
696.
The Gujarat government has launched a unique identity (UID) project for residents of the state, which will be separate from the Union governments project under the chairmanship of Nandan Nilekani.
697.
An official says a Nepalese Sherpa guide has broken his own record for most climbs of Mount Everest by scaling the worlds tallest peak for the 21st time.
698.
The Indian Hotels (Taj group) announced the opening of the first international gateway hotel, with the rebranding of the Taj Airport Garden Hotel on May 10.
699.
Burt Reinhardt, one of CNNs first presidents and a television pioneer who is credited with helping to build the global news network in its formative years, died at his home near Atlanta on May 10.
700.
Facebook has 7.5 million users who are underage and are not supposed to be using the social networking site, according to a new report.
701.
Fire ants can create a life raft out of their own bodies to survive a flood and save the colony
702.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was on May 10 awarded the Sydney Peace Foundation's top honour for exceptional courage in pursuit of human rights.
703.
Barcelona was crowned Spanish champion for the third successive season with a 1-1 draw at Levante, thus clinching a 21st domestic title with two games to spare.
704.
Air Chief Marshal P. V. Naik on May 10 disfavoured the creation of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in the present format and said it will only obstruct the system.
705.
The Samajwadi Party has won the by-election to the Pipraich Assembly constituency in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
706.
The first on-board magazine of the Railways ,Rail Bandhu, was launched by Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee.
707.
Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Iqbal Singh administering the oath of office and secrecy to N. Rangasamy as Chief Minister at a function held in Raj Nivas on May 16.
708.
Calling for zero tolerance for human rights violations, a senior Army commander said power does not flow from the barrel of the gun, but by upholding the dignity of people.
709.
An Action plan on Tourism cooperation between India and Uzbekistan was signed in New Delhi May 16 in the presence of the First Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Mr. Rustom Azimov and Union Tourism Minister Sh. Subodh Kant Sahai.
710.
Former Director of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, KK Talwar has been made the Chairman of the new board
711.
Round-the-clock health services will be provided by Haryana's Health Department at all Primary Health Centres and Community Health Centres in the state.
712.
Of the 920 candidates who cleared the 2010 Civil Services examination, the number of Muslims on the list is 31 or just 3% of the total number of candidates.
713.
AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for a third time along with 33 Ministers at a glittering function at the Madras University centenary auditorium in Chennai.
714.
The Ministry of Culture introduced in November, 2009, a new scheme by the name of Visiting Fellows in Art, Culture & Heritage.
715.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the launch of GSAT-8 is scheduled on May 21 from the spaceport in South America.
716.
The body and organ donation movement in Assam, initiated by the Ellora Vigyan Mancha (EVM), Nizamuddin Khan, donated his body to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on May 15.
717.
Oommen Chandy assumes office as Kerala Chief Minister at the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on May 18.
718.
Tarun Gogoi was sworn in Assam Chief Minister for the third consecutive term on May 18.
719.
The Union Ministry of Culture Day on May 18.
celebrated International Museum
720. 721.
Bihar Co-operative Minister Ramadhar Singh resigned on May 19. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee resigned as Railway Minister on May 19. She is to be sworn in as West Bengal Chief Minister on May 20
722.
As per the latest firm data available on use of bio-fertilizers, Tamil Nadu has overtaken Karnataka.
723.
India and 14 other countries have been elected to the 47-nation U.N. Human Rights Council based in Geneva.
724.
The first ever river patrolling police station (RPPS) in Bihar was made operational on May 19.
725.
Pacnet announced the launch of its international gateway in Chennai, enabling the delivery of its full suite of robust, highspeed international connectivity solutions to meet India's growing demand for bandwidth.
726.
Giant panda Ming Ming eats bamboo leaves at the Xiangjiang Safari Park in Panyu in Guangzhou in southern China's
Guangdong province.
727.
India has been placed at the 32nd position, on the list of 59, in terms of world competitiveness by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the second best performer after China among the BRIC economies.
728.
Joseph (Joe) Galibardy, the oldest living Olympic hockey player who had donned the India colours at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in 1936, passed away in Walthamstow (England).
729.
Noted litterateur S.J. Narayana Shetty, popularly known as Sujana, passed away. He was 81.
730.
Space shuttle Endeavour leaves a smoke trail as it flies off the launch pad at Cape Canaveral on May 16.
731.
The launch of GSAT-8 communication satellite, scheduled for the early hours of May 20 from French Guiana, Kourou Island, has been postponed to May 21.
732.
American scientists have developed what they claim is the worlds first satellite nano-satellite, called the ExoPlanetSat with the size
of a loaf of bread which is designed specifically to look for extra terrestrial life. 733. Google Maps will soon be focusing on map making for planning and disaster management. 734. ISRO GSAT-8 at the ISRO Satellite Integration and Test
Establishment in Bangalore.
735.
A successful flight-test of Rustom 1 UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) was conducted (ADE), a by lab the of Aeronautical Defence Development and
Establishment
Research
Development Organisation (DRDO), near Hosur. 736. Philip Roth, one of Americas most prolific and controversial novelists, was on May 17 named winner of the 60,000 Man Booker International Prize award
737. 58th National Film Awards 2011 Winners List has been announced on 19 May 2011 .
Following are the 58th National Film Awards 2011 Winners List:
Best Hindi Film Award for Do Dooni Chaar Best English Film Award for Memories in March Best Assamese Film Award for Jetuka Patar Dare Best Marathi Film Award for Mana Ayi Vacha
Best Kannada Film Award for Putukarna Highway Best Actor Award for Dhanush (Aadukalam Tamil) and Salim Kumar (Adaminte Makan Abu Malaylam) Best Actress Award for Mitalee Jagtaap (Baboo Band Baaja Marathi) and Saranya (Thenmerku Paruvakatru Tamil) Best supporting Actor Award for J Thambi Ramaih (Mynaa Tamil) Best Supporting Actress Award for Sukumari (Malayalam) Best Feature film Award for Adaminte Makan Abu (Malayalam) Best Wholesome Entertainer Award for Dabangg Best Debut Film Award for Baboo Band Baaja (Marathi) Best Childrens Film Award for Hejjegalu (Kannada) Best Director Award for Vetrimaran, Aadukalam (Tamil) Best Screenplay Award for Vetrimaran, Aadukalam Best Art & Culture Film Award for Leaving Home Best Debut Non-feature Film Award for Tistulia Nargis Dutt Award Award for Moner Manush Best Film On social Issues Award for Champions Best Film on Environment Award for Beetari Jeeva Best Production Design Award for Robot
Special Jury Award Award for Mi Sindhutai Satka Best dialogues Award for Sanjay Pawar Best Make Up Artist Award for Vikram Gaikwad, Moner Maanush Best special effects Award for Enthiran Robot. Best Choreographer Award for Dinesh (Aadukalam) Best Audiography Award for Kamod Karade (Ishqiya) Best Science & Technical Film Award for Heart to Heart Best Sports Film Award for Boxing Ladies Special Jury Award Award for Kabira Khada Baazar Mein Best educational Film Award for Advaitham (Telugu) Best Child Artist Award for Shantanu Ranglekar, Vivek, Harsh Myal Best Music Award for Vishal Bhardwaj (Ishqiya) Best Singer Female Award for Rekha Bhardwaj (Ishqiya) Best Singer Male Award for Suresh Wadekar Best Lyricist Award for Vairamuthu 738. Two teams of medical professionals from India were awarded top honours at the British Medical Journal Group Awards distributed on May 18.
739.
British-born Sierra Leonean novelist Aminatta Forna has won the 2011 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for her novel, The Memory of Love.
740.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and skipper Nemanja Vidic landed the English Premier League manager and player-ofthe-season awards respectively.
741.
The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari presented the 22nd Moortidevi Award for the year 2008 to the eminent Hindi writer and thinker Dr. Raghuvansh for his outstanding work Paschimi Bhautik Samskriti Ka Utthan Aur Patan at a function held on May 16.
742.
A former Director General of Police Neyaz will head the recruiting agency responsible for recruitment of subordinate services employees in the state
743.
Air Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne will be the new Chief of the Air Staff.
744.
The Chennai region has secured the highest pass percentage of 91.32 in the Central Board of Secondary Education Class XII examination.
745.
Indian students can now use their TOEFL scores for both visa and admission purposes.
746.
The reclusive one-eyed chief of the Afghan Taliban Mullah Mohammed Omar has been killed in Pakistan
747.
In Jharkhand pre-schooling facility will be introduced in 500 schools covered under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan on pilot project
748.
Under the pact, the World Bank would allow Himachal to secure carbon credits through carbon sequestration under the Clean Developmentmechanism.
749.
The initiative would be launched in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat and a wildlife sanctuary in Himachal Pradesh.
750.
Researchers at the Central Salt Marine and Chemical Research Institute have standardised a new, cheaper and eco-friendly process to deal with toxic marine algae which can be fatal to fish as well as humans who eat sea-food
751.
The government transferred 42 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officials includingseveral Principal Secretary rank officers.
752.
Yahoo Inc. is giving its popular email service a long-promised facelift in an attempt to make it more appealing to people who are increasingly using Facebook, Twitter, Google and other online alternatives to communicate.
753.
The worlds biggest feat in data transfer by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Germany, beats its own global record of sending 10 terabits (10,000 billion bits per second) in 2010
754.
Renowned film critic, historian and a pioneer of the film society movement in India, Chidananda Dasgupta, died at his residence here late on May 22 night.
755.
State Environment Minister Mariyam Pichai was killed in an accident on the Tiruchi-Chennai national highway at
Thiruvalakurichi in Perambalur district on May 23. 756. Senior IAS officer Ajit Kumar Seth was on May 24 appointed the next Cabinet Secretary succeeding K.M. Chandrashekhar who retires next month. 757. Senior IAS officer Ajit Kumar Seth was on May 24 appointed the next Cabinet Secretary succeeding K.M. Chandrashekhar who retires next month. 758. Basic computer training for more than 1,000 trainee men and women Sub Inspectors began on May 23. 759. Sqn Ldr Nirupama Pandey and Flt Lt Rajika Sharma of the IAF May 25 reached the summit of the Mt. Everest at 1015 hrs, forming the first three women IAF officers.
760. A 1976-batch IAS officer he is presently the Chairman of the Jharkhand State Electricity Board 761. Emergency Medical Response Service-108 would be
extended to all the 50 districts of the state by the end of the year 762. The Department of Posts (DoP) has launched i-code cards in Bihar to help the unemployed find better job avenues. 763. Prudhvi Tej who secured the first place in Indian Institute of Technology open category 2011, is being greeted by his mother and sister. 764. United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi will launch the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) in Rajasthan's tribal district of Banswara on June 3 765. India announced $180 million in a new line of credit to Tanzania and signed a pact to avoid double taxation, as the two countries agreed to intensify cooperation to combat terrorism and piracy and work closely for comprehensive United Nations reforms. 766. Network Systems and Technologies Private Ltd. (NeST), a part of the NeST Group of Companies, has added another achievement to its repertoire of quality standard certificates by winning the ISO 13485:2003 certification for its healthcare division. 767. K. Ampady has won the Doordarshan National Award for heading the Regional News Division (RND) of Doordarshan,
Thiruvananthapuram, which has been adjudged the Best RND of the country by the national broadcaster.
768.
Salim Durrani became the 18th cricketer to be named for the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award by the BCCI.
769.
Senior High Court lawyer K.P. Dandapani whose name has been recommended for the post of Advocate-General by the Cabinet has a standing of 42 years in the legal profession.
770.
Economist Rajiv Kumar took over as Secretary General of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) filling the void created by the resignation of Amit Mitra who has since taken over as Finance Minister of West Bengal.
771.
Renowned film critic, historian and a pioneer of the film society movement in India, Chidananda Dasgupta, died.
772.
The country's most acclaimed harmonium player Mehmood Dholpuri passed away. He is 58.
773.
Chennai Super Kings defended its IPL title, overpowering Royal Challengers Bangalore in final at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium
774.
Eyeball Media Pvt. Ltd., a leading organiser of lifestyle events in the South, is organising a three-day property fair, Budget Home 2011, in Chennai.The event would be the Tamil Nadu's largest budget home exhibition and would be held between May 27 and 29 at the Chennai Trade Centre.
775.
The global economy is projected to expand by 4.2 per cent this year, but rising oil and commodity prices and European debt crisis could hurt the overall recovery, according to Paris-based thinktank Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
776.
The National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) that aims to reach out to below poverty line (BPL) households through self-help groups was formally launched on Friday in Banswaraa
predominantly tribal district of Rajasthan. 777. The chancellor of the University of Oxford, Lord Chris Patten, wants Indias Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia to be the next Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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