September 1-23, 2010

Awards Telugu film maker, D.Ramanaidu has been honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke award.
Eco-friendly Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bags 'Earth Care Award for Excellence 2010 in Climate
Change Mitigation and Adaptation'.
Mani Ratnam was awarded 'Jaeger-Le Coultre Glory to the Fimlmaker Award' at the 67th Venice Film Festival.
Air India to operate daily Mumbai-Abu Dhabi flights from November 1st 2010
Bharti enters mobile phone business, as group firm beetle launches 8 triple SIM phonespriced between
Rs.1,750 to Rs.7,000 Nokia Siemens, Ericsson and Huawei has been awarded the contracts of 3G network
infrastructure by Bharti Airtel
Sensex ends above 20,000 points, the last before today was on January 15th 2008
India's first Super Hercules plane C-130J, considered to be world's most advanced transport aircraft is being
prepared for its maiden flight early October 2010
STAR India PLUS has been launched on America's Verizon FiOS TV
MTS partners with Reebok, to offer a pair of sports shoes on purchase of its data card
Akai enters Indian mobile market with 10 mobile phone models
China-based ZTE bags $64 million WiMax deal from BSNL Entertainment
Hollywood studio Warner Bros picks up distribution right of animated feature film
'Ramayana - The Epic', slated for a Dasara release in 3 languages(Hindi, Tamil and Telugu) simultaneously
across India
2011 edition of the International Indian Film Academy Awards(IIFA) would be held in the North American city of
Toronto
Chennai-girl Divya Ajith becomes first woman to raise 'Sword of Honour' winning the Best All-Round Cadet
award, beats 244 fellow gentlemen and women cadets
South Indian playback singer and National award winner Swarnalatha is dead, following lung infection
Internet inventor Breners-Lee has urged that everyone across the world should have access to the web for free
Former Argentina footballer Francisco Varallo, last surviving player from the 1st football World Cup dies at 100
Rishad, Premji's son is Wipro's Chief Strategy Officer of its IT business
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal slips to No.3 in world ranking
M.S.Swaminathan, one for the pioneers of the Green Revolution in India, will receive an honorary doctorate
from Canadian University of Alberta for his contribution to food security in the world
Indian Broadcasting Foundation, the apex of television channels has appointed Star India CEO Uday Shankar as
President
M.C.Mary Kom claims a historic 5th successive World Championship title, beating Steluta Duta of Romania 16-6
Anysha Panesar, a 16-year-old Indian-origin teenager has been crowned USA's Perfect Teen Nilsson has been
appointed as Executive Director, International Operations by Ashok Leyland Actor Manoj Kumar to get lifetime
achievement honour at the Mumbai Academy of Moving IMage(MAMI), to be held between 21st to 28th of
October 2010
Legendary Singer, Asha Bhosle turns 77
Tamil actor Murali dies of heart attack
Vettori named New Zealand player of the year
Microsoft's Stephen Elop is Nokia's new CEO
Science India test fired BrahMos cruise missile from the Integrated Test Range(ITR) at Chandipur off Orissa
coast BrahMos was developed in collaboration with Russia and is named after the two rivers of Brahmaputra
and Mosovo.
Sports Kim Clijsters wins 3rd U.S Open title Wrestler Sushil Kumar wins gold in World Wrestling Championship
Nadal wins U.S.Open, completes grand slam collection England's Andrew Flintoff retires from international
cricket (all forms of the game) England and Wales Cricket Board has handed a 2-week ban, to all-rounder
Dmitri Mascarenhas for his Twitter outburst against national selector Geoff Miller
Indian teams, including Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran, P.Harikrishna and Surya Shekar Ganguly secure 3rd
round victory of the 29th Chess Olympiad held at Khanty Mansiysk in Russia
India wins gold in Archery World cup Japanese rider Shpya Tomizawa dies at the San Marino Grand Prix (Moto2
race) which was held in Italy Technology Samsung launches iPad named, Tab Gramateller, a low-cost ATM
priced at Rs.1,75,000 which consumes less than 100 watts of power, functions during power cuts with a back-
up power supply and has the option of running on solar power has been launched by Vortex
Engineering
Vortex Engineering: L.Kannan a mechanical engineer from IIT Madras. The founder, started the company in the
year 2001 to develop innovative technologies to transform rural India
Samsung unveils Galaxy to challenge Apple's iPad Symbian 3 run Nokia N8 with 3.5 inch AMOLED capacitive
touchscreen with scratch resistant Gorilla glass to reach India by mid-September
Google to play live interpreter (conversations between 2 people who do not speak the same language) using
smartphones SanDisk launches world's smallest stamp sized 64-bit solid-state drive
,
AGENCIES,
ORGANS HEADQUARTERS HEAD
United Nations Security Council1 New York, USA The Presidency of the Security Council is held in turn
by the members of the Security Council in the English alphabetical order of their names. Each President holds
office for one calendar month2.
United Nations General Assembly New York, USA President: Joseph Deiss (As on Sept 2010)
United Nations Secretariat3 New York, USA Secretary General: Ban Ki-Moon (S. Korea)
International Court of Justice4 Peace Palace, The Hague, Netherlands President: Hisashi Owada (Japan)
International Criminal Court5 The Hague, Netherlands President: Song Sang-Hyun (S. Korea)
United Nations Economic and Social Council6 Ney York, USA President: His Excellency Hamidon Ali
(Malaysia)
Food and Agriculture Organisation7 Rome, Italy Dir-Gen: Jacques Dioff (Senegal)
International Civil Aviation Organisation Montreal, Canada Secy-Gen: Raymond Benjamin (France)
(An Indian was once the Secy-Gen of ICAO. Who? When?)
International Labour Organisation8 Geneva, Switzerland Dir-Gen: Juan Somavia (Chile)

International Maritime Organisation9 London, UK Secy-Gen: Efthimios E. Mitropoulos (Greece)

International Fund for Agricultural Development10 Rome, Italy President: Kanayo F. Nwanze (Nigeria)
International Monetary Fund11 Washington DC, USA MD: Dominique Strauss Kahn (France)
United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation12 Paris, France Dir-Gen: Irina Bokova (Bulgaria)
[First woman DG of UNESCO
World Bank Group (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development-IBRD, International Development
Association-IDA, International Financial Corporation-IFC, Multi-lateral Investment Guarantee Agency-MIGA and
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes-ICSID)13 Washington DC, USA Robert B
Zoellick (German origins, but from USA)
World Health Organisation14 Geneva, Switzerland Dir-Gen: Dr. Margaret Chan (Hong Kong, China)
World Intellectual Property Organisation15 Geneva, Switzerland Dir-Gen: Francis Gurry (Australia)
International Atomic Energy Agency16 Vienna, Austria Dir-Gen: Yukio Amano (Japan)
World Trade Organisation17 Geneva, Switzerland Dir-Gen: Pascal Lamy (France)

CLAT GYAN¶S GK COMPENDIUM

SEPTEMBER THE 25th, 2010
‡ Commonwealth Games Federation President ± Mike Fennel
‡ Commonwealth Organizing Committee ± Suresh Kalmadi
‡ Jnanpith Award for O. N. V. Kurup(Malyalam) and Akhlaq Khan Shahryar (Urdu) for the years 2007 and 2008
respectively. [Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jnanpith_Award]
‡ Peepli Live ± Depicting Urban ± Rural Divide is India¶s official entry for the Best Foreign Film Category at the
prestigious Oscars.
‡ Judge Yesu Ratnam of Nellore District is now the new record holder for the most number of cases
disposed(270) ± beats the MP court recod of 152 cases
‡ Indian Hockey team captain ± Rajpal Singh
‡ Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman ± C. B. Bhave
‡ Nuclear weapons capable, surface to surface missile ± Prithvi
‡ Teresa Lewis ± executed by Virginia court ± first woman in about 100 years ± created uproar p as she was a
person with diminished capabilities

SEPTEMBER THE 26th, 2010

‡ September 26 is known as the ³World Heart Day´ [as frivolous as it may seem, such innocuous questions
have the ugly tendency to turn up in the past years¶ papers, and even Mock tests]
‡ Manipuri woman boxer M. C. Mary Kom is a five-time boxing champion
‡ Manipur CM ± Okram Ibobi
‡ Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig is the key accused in the German Bakery blast case.
‡ Assam Chief Minister: Tarun Gogoi
‡ ULFA Chief: Arabinda Rajkhowa
‡ Under Article 136 of the Constitution of India any person aggrieved by any judgment, decree, determination
or order in any cause or matter passed or made by any Court or Tribunal in the territory of India may appeal to
the Supreme Court of India. Accordingly a person aggrieved by any order or judgment of High Court or of
Tribunal may appeal to the Supreme Court by filing Special Leave Petition.
‡ Union Urban Development Minister: Jaipal Reddy
 CLAT GYAN¶S GK COMPENDIUM
OCTOBER THE 2nd , 2010
‡ Bill Gates of Microsoft and Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway are the second and the third richest people in
the world. The first is the Mexican Carlos Slim of Telmex, Telcel and América Móvil
‡ Hollywood actor Tony Cutis is dead. He is famous for movies like Some Like it Hot and The Sweet Smell of
Success. Was nominated for the Academy Award in ¶58 for The Defiant Ones
‡ Union Minister for Agriculture and Civil supplies ± Sharad Pawar
‡ Chirayu Amin is the new chief of the Indian Premier League and N. Srinivasan is the new BCCI president.
(Homework: Find out the respective office-bearers who¶ll be making way for the new ones)
‡ Nirmohi Akhara Chief ± Mahant Bhaskar Das; Babri Masjid Action Committee ± Hashim Ansari; Zufar Ahmed
Farooqui is the Sunni Waqf Board head
‡ Zafaryab Jilani was the counsel for the Muslim parties in the Civil Suit of the contentious Babri Masjid.
‡ The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academia and Management
was given to social activist Aruna Roy, who campaigned for the people¶s right to information and right to
work(the latter, through the greatly successful Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghathan which has been keeping
checks on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Employment Scheme¶s implementation)
‡ Minister of State for Environment and Forests ± Jairam Ramesh; Union Minister for Railways ± Mamata
Banerjee; Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare ± Ghulam Nabi Azad (Homework: Find out the political
parties that they belong to)

OCTOBER THE 3RD, 2010

‡ The new Director General of the Central Reserve Police Forces is going to be K. Vijay Kumar
‡ Indian Overseas Minister: Vayalar Ravi
‡ Ukraine¶s President: Viktor Yanukovych

OCTOBER THE 4TH, 2010

‡ International Olympic Committee is headed by Jacques Rogge

‡ The Asia Europe Summit (ASEM) is being held in Brussels. It is basically a forum for frank and open
discussion on issues ranging from economic and trade policy to climate change
‡ Reading: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article811317.ece?homepage=true

OCTOBER THE 5TH, 2010

‡ Ng. Soniya Chanu and A. Sandhya Rani Devi won silver and bronze in the 48kg division in the women¶s
weightlifting event.
‡ The Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has been given to Professor Robert Edwards, the British pioneer of
In-Vitro Fertilization treatment.
‡ Air Chief Marshall ± P. V. Naik

OCTOBER THE 6TH, 2010

‡ Olympic shooting champion Abhinav Bindra and world record holder Gagan Narang won the first gold for
india.
‡ Gagan Narang holds the record for a score of 703.5. Bindra also won India¶s first Gold at the Olympics in
Beijing.
‡ Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistan born US citizen who was chaged with the Times Square bomb plot (which was a
failed attempt at detonating a car-bomb in the tourist area of Times Square) has been sentenced to life without
the possibility of parole.
‡ Chinese Premier/Prime Minister: Wen Jiabao
‡ Bhutan¶s King: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, Bhutan¶s PM: Lyonpo Jigmi Y. Thinley
‡ Prof. Andre Geim and Prof. Konstantin Novoselov have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Both
scientists are British citizens

OCTOBER THE 7TH, 2010

‡ Anisa Sayed and Omkar Singh won one gold each in the shooting event. Taking the total golds in the shooting
event to 5. With Gagan Narang setting a world record score while winning the Gold in 10m air rifle gold. Bindra
won a silver in the same event
‡ In the wrestling events, Manoj Kumar won a silver for India, while Sunil Kumar and Dharmendra Dalal bagged
as bronze each. India now has 4 gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals in the Wrestling category
‡ The Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to three scientists for inventing new ways to bind atoms with uses that
range from fighting cancer to producing computer screens. Richard Heck(USA), Ei-Ichi Negishi and Akira
Suzuki(Japan, obviously) are the awardees.

‡ Yumnam Renu Bala Chanu gave India its first weightlifting gold by winning the Women¶s 58 KG category.
‡ The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research is located in Kalpakkam. Its Fast Breeder Test Reactor will
celebrate 25 years on Oct 18. The FBTR has been at the forefront of the second stagew nuclear energy
generation of the country.
‡ Sachin Tendulka won the Sir Garfield Sobers Award
‡ The NCW chief is Girija Vyas
‡ The SC reduced the Death sentence that had been awarded Santosh Kumar Singh for the rape and murder of
a college girl in 1996.
‡ The Ramakrishna Mission working in Chhatisgarh and Oscar winning, acclaimed music director AR Rahman
have jointly been awarded the 25th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration.

‡ CitiGroup Chief Executive is Indian-American ± Vikram Pandit (during the recession that hit USA this company
was going through a difficult time, many blamed its chief exec, hence earning him the name ³Vikram Bandit´)
‡ The Food and Agriculture Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations Organization. It is
situated in Rome, Italy and headed by Jacques Diouf

SEPTEMBER THE 27th 2010

‡ Union Finance Minister: Pranab Mukherjee
‡ Swavalamban is a pension scheme for the workers employed in the unorganized sector.
‡ For the first time, three women have been chosen for the prestigious ³Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Prize for
Scientific Excellence´. It is awarded by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, at present it is headed
by Samir Brahmachari. It was founded by Shanti Swaroop.
‡ Economist Arjun Sengupta, also member of the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal was cremated. He was an
expert on developmental economics. He headed the Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector,
which culminated in the government¶s policies of special attention towards the same sector.
‡ Supreme Court Judge Aftab Alam will replace Justice V. S. Sirpukar as head of the three member committee
investigating corruption and land grab charges against Justice P. D. Dinakaran.

SEPTEMBER THE 29TH 2010

‡ Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Chairman ± J. Hari Narayan
‡ Asian Development Bank is located in Manila, Philippines and is headed by Haruhiko Karuda
‡ Tembhli in Maharashtra is the first village to get Unique Identification Numbers under the Aadhar scheme, it
shall be then declared an ³Aadhar village´.
‡ North Korea¶s dictator-ruler Kim Jong Il made his son, Kim Jong Un a General. Sending a message across that
his son would be the eventual successor.

SEPTEMBER THE 30TH 2010

‡ Ranbir Singh Butola will head the Indian Oil Corporation, which is the nation¶s largest refining and fuel
marketing firm.
‡ Mahindra Satyam Chairman: Vineet Nayar, CEO: CP Gurnani
‡ SBI Chairman: OP Bhatt. SBI was established as the Imperial Bank of India by the British in 1806, making it
the oldest commercial bank in the subcontinent. In 1959 the Government passed the State Bank of India
(Subsidiary Banks) Act, enabling the State Bank of India to take over eight former State-associated banks as its
subsidiaries. On 13 September 2008, State Bank of Saurashtra, one of its Associate Banks, merged with State
Bank of India.

‡ The National Association of Software and Service Companies is headed by Harsh Manglik
‡ Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry is headed Rajan Bharati Mittal and its Sec-Gen is
Amit Mitra
‡ A. N. Tiwari is the new Chief Information Commissioner, succeeding Wajahat Habibullah. Tiwari will be the
second CIC.

OCTOBER THE 1ST 2010

‡ Delhi¶s Lt. Governor ± Tejendra Kumar, Delhi¶s CM ± Sheila Dixit and Organizing Committee for CWG
chairman ± Suresh Kalmadi
‡ Aung Suu Kyi ± Non-Violent Burmese Nobel Laureate who has been under house arrest for most of the last
two decades will be freed after her house arrest period ends.
‡ NATO Chairman ± Anders Fogh Rasmussen

CLAT GYAN¶S GK COMPENDIUM

[LENGTHY, COMPREHENSIVE AND NOW, WITH FOOTNOTES!]
OCTOBER THE 8TH, 2010
‡?The BJP govt in Karnataka is still in crisis, although the leadership has confidence
that they will win the trust vote. More and more rebel party legislators are returning to
the fold and are trying to show their allegiance to Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurrappa.
When the rebel legislators dissented, the party strength had reduced to 103 in a 225-
member assembly. [Homework: What is the minimum percentage of member-support
required for government to be in confidence of the legislature? If the
assembly/parliament is the legislature what is the government? What is so significant
about the BJP forming a government in Karnataka?]
‡?Senior Income Tax Department official, PK Das (till recently he was Commissioner
Investigations with the Central Board of Direct Taxes), will head the poll
expenditure monitoring wing of the Election Commission of India to check the
practice of µpaid news' and other abuses of money power in elections. He has a full
division to support him in checking such malpractices in the overall context of money
power in elections. (Press Council of India has defined µpaid news¶ as ³any news or
analysis appearing in the media (Print and Electronic) for a price in cash or kind as
consideration.´)
‡?India's Geeta won the gold in the 55kg freestyle category in the newly introduced
women's wrestling discipline in the Commonwealth Games.
‡?Interpol has issued red corner notices against five Pakistani nationals, including two
serving Army officers, for their alleged role in plotting terror attacks in India
including the 26/11 Mumbai strike.
The notices have been issued against Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives Sajid Majid and
Syed Abdur Rehman Hashim, Major Iqbal, Major Sameer Ali, and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-
Islami chief Ilyas Kashmiri.
‡?The Enforcement Directorate has issued a Blue Notice against the former Indian
Premier League chairman, Lalit Modi, in its probe into the finances of the T20 cricket
tournament. (ok, good, one more Notice. Go Google!)
‡?Omar Abdulla remarked that Kashmir ³had not merged with India but only acceded to
it.´ When asked for a solution to the Kashmir dispute. This created a furore in the
J&K Assembly1
‡?A newly developed town on the North-Eastern fringe of Kolkata has been renamed
after veteran Communist leader Jyoti Basu2
‡?The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is likely to become an
intervener in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title suits case now that the
Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board has decided to move the Supreme
Court against the September 30 verdict of the Allahabad High Court.
‡?Mario Vargas Llosa (74), a celebrated Peruvian-Spanish author and one of the most
renowned novelists of his generation, has won the Nobel Prize for Literature ³for his
cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's
resistance, revolt, and defeat´.

2 Longest serving Chief Minister of any Indian state, 23 years

The Feast of the Goat (2000)
Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1977)
The War of the End of the World (1981)
Death in the Andes (1993)
‡?Diamantine: a new stone launched by Goldplus, a jewellery brand from Titan
Industries, ³behaves´ like a diamond. The new stone has been created by utilising
nano-diamond coating technology.
OCTOBER THE 9TH, 2010
‡?Stalemate continues in the BJP-led Karnataka govt as 10 dissenters stick to their
stand.
‡?Jailed Chinese political activist Liu Xiaobo, 54, has been awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize for 2010.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the award went to Mr. Liu, who is in prison for
his calls for political reform, ³for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental
human rights in China.´3
‡?The Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) - Vinod Rai.
‡?The Special CBI Court on Friday rejected the bail application of the former Gujarat
Minister of State for Home, Amit Shah, holding that there was substantial evidence
against him in the Sohrabuddin-Kausar Bi murder case.
‡?Adding to the ever-growing list of Indians appointed to influential positions in the
United States, Rahul Mehrotra, an architect from Mumbai, has been recruited by
Harvard University as Professor of Urban Design and Planning
‡?A $1-billion fund to facilitate innovations for inclusive economic growth in India has
been proposed.
3 Nobel Prize in Physics,Chemistry & Economics is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Peace:
Norwegian Nobel Committee. Physiology: Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet. Literature: The Swedish
Academy
The proposal, yet to be approved by the Centre, was agreed to at a recent meeting of
the National Innovation Council, according to Sam Pitroda, Adviser to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh on Information Infrastructure and Innovations.
‡?An SC Bench of Justices JM Panchal and Gyan Sudha Mishra4 stayed a Kerala High
Court judgment upholding a directive of the Medical Council of India (MCI) to five
self-financing medical college managements to dismiss 88 management-quota
students admitted in 2007 as they could not score the minimum 50 per cent marks
required for admission in the entrance test conducted during 2007-08.
‡?The empowered committee of state finance ministers was set up to lay out a road map
for introducing the landmark reform in the indirect tax system(i.e., introduction of
Goods and Services Tax²GST) in India. The launch date was April 1, 2010.
‡?Chairman of the empowered committee: Asim Dasgupta. He is also the Finance
minister of West Bengal
‡?CIL: Coal India Ltd. CIL Chairman: Partha S Bhattacharya
‡?SCOPE: Standing Conference of Public Sector Enterprises.
‡?CIL Chairman bags the SCOPE ³Special Award of the Jury´
SCOPE Excellence Awards are conceptualised and instituted to recognise the
contribution of public enterprises and to encourage outstanding persons for their hard
work and leadership qualities.
‡?SIAM: Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers [President: Pawan Goenka]
OCTOBER THE 10TH, 2010
‡?Show-cause notice issued to 10 rebel legislators in the trouble torn BJP govt in
Karnataka.
‡?Ace shooter, Gagan Narang bags his 4th Gold at the CWG.
‡?Harminder Singh wins the first-ever medal (bronze) by an Indian walker in the
20-km walk race in the CWG. It is India's first-ever medal in the walks in the
4 The only woman SC Judge as of now. And only the fourth since independence. The Other three are: Fatima
Beevi, Sujata Manohar and Ruma Pal.
history of CWG. This medal brought the Indian athletics team's tally to two
medals. Kavita Raut had won a bronze in 10000m running race.
‡?Australian High Commissioner to India: Peter Varghese.
‡?Four Indian naval ships ² INS ³Tir´, INS ³Shardul´, INS ³Tarangini´ and
ICGS ³Varuna´ ² arrive in Sri Lanka for training and exercises with the Sri Lankan
Navy.
‡?Maritime security measures moves up a notch as the Coast Guard gets a state-of-the
art Pollution Control Vessel (PCV), touted to be ³the first of its kind in South Asia´ in
terms of sophistication of technology. It is called µSamudra Prahari' or µGuardian of
the Sea'.
‡?The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has dropped the
references to Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as ³independent entities´ in
its 2010 report and has initiated a review of system for designating countries and
territories. FAO is HQ¶d in Rome and its chief is Jacques Diouf. It also awards the
³Agriculture Nobel´ known as the World Food Prize, its first winner was M. S.
Swaminathan and in 2010 it was bagged by David Beckmann and Jo Luck
‡?Venue of 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference: Cancun, Mexico. From
29 November to 10 December 2010. The 2010 UNFCCC is a.k.a COP 16 as this is the
16th session of the meetings. COP-Conference of Parties.
‡?Telangana Praja Front (TPF): A new outfit to fight for the cause of separate
Telangana
? President of TPF: ballad singer Gadar.
? It is an 85-member strong front.
‡?Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi appeals to Indian citizens
living abroad to register their names with the embassies as it is important for the
implementation of the recent amendment to the Representation of People Act seeking
to give Non-Resident Indians voting rights.
‡?Eminent writer, historian and columnist Khushwant Singh was conferred the
Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, an honour reserved for the ³immortals of
literature´.
‡?Sahitya Akademi secretary Agrahara Krishna Murthy
‡?General Jones to step down as the National Security Advisor of the US. To be
replaced by Thomas Donilon.
‡?Kyrgyzstan goes to polls. This marks the transformation of Kyrgyzstan from a
presidential to a parliamentary republic. [Haha! WHERE is Kyrgyzstan? Find out,
find out!]
OCTOBER THE 11TH, 2010
‡?Crucial confidence vote in the Karnataka Legislative assembly.
‡?Sushil Kumar (wrestling) and Somdev Devvarman (single¶s tennis) win gold at the
CWG.
‡?The Medical Council of India suspends the licence of its former chief Ketan Desai to
practise medicine. He was arrested in May after he allegedly took a bribe of Rs. 2
crore for granting recognition to a medical college in Punjab.
‡?South Asian Cinema Foundation's life-time achievement award: Gulzar
‡?The µcold desert' of Leh enters the Guinness Book of World Records after 50,300
saplings were planted at a village there in less than an hour by 9,000 volunteers under
a drive supported by Buddhist monks to mark the µgreen' Commonwealth Games in
Delhi.
Previous record: Peru-40,000 saplings-60 minutes-8,000 volunteers.
‡?Talal Bugti, president of Jamhoori Watan Party (a Baloch based party) has announced
a prize money of Rs.1 billion ($1.1 million) to anyone who kills Pervez Musharraf.
OCTOBER THE 12TH, 2010
‡?Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj recommend to President Pratibha Patil to
impose President's rule in the State.
‡?BJP wins the confidence motion.
‡?Karnataka Assembly Speaker K.G. Bopaiah, disqualifies 11 BJP MLAs and five
independents from the membership of the Legislative Assembly under the antidefection
law [Also the 10th Schedule of the Indian Consti]
‡?Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha President: Swami Chakrapani.
? General secretary: Indira Tiwari.
‡?AOSIS: Association of Small Island States
? Chair of AOSIS: Grenada (an island on the Caribbean Sea)
‡?³Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Portrait in Letter of an American Visionary´ is a
book which is a collection of personal letters and journal entries of the former U.S.
Senator and Ambassador to India, the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan. It has been
edited by Steven R Weisman. This book alleges that the Congress party took
money from the United States during the Indira Gandhi era.
‡?India is all set to get a seat in the United Nations Security Council as a nonpermanent
member after a gap of 19 years, through the elections in the General
Assembly. India is expecting an easy win as Kazakhstan pulled out from the race
earlier this year and there is no other challenger from the region5
‡?The SC of Pakistan rejected the govt¶s plea of deferring the implementation of the
SC¶s order of nullifying the NRO. (The National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)
was an ordinance issued by the former President of Pakistan, General Pervez
Musharraf, on October 5, 2007. It granted amnesty to politicians, political workers
and bureaucrats who were accused of corruption, embezzlement, money
laundering, murder, and terrorism between January 1, 1986, and October 12, 1999,
the time between two states of martial law in Pakistan. It was declared
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on December 16, 2009,
throwing the country into a political crisis.)
5 [Each region has a representation in the UNSC]
‡?The parliamentary election in Kyrgyzstan produced no clear winner, setting the
stage for a fractured legislature, as there were 5 winning parties; 2 of the 5
winning parties vowed to restore presidential form of govt in the country
OCTOBER THE 13TH, 2010
‡?After the disqualification of the rebel MLAs, BJP becomes helpless and goes on trust
vote once again.
‡?India voted as the non-permanent member of the UNSC. It was the sole candidate
from Asia. It received the highest number of votes ² 187 out of 192.
‡?Guest of honour at the closing ceremony of the CWG- Mahinda Rajapaksa.
‡?While most of the governments represented at the Stockholm Convention are taking
stands in favour of a global ban on Endosulfan, India is opposing it as the Mayee
committee found no link between the use of this chemical in plantations and health
problems.Mayee committee was set up by the Kerala govt to review the safety of
Endosulfan.Endosulfan is an organochlorine compound that is used as an insecticide
and pesticide.
‡?U.S. doctors began the first tests of human embryonic stem cells in patients, by
treating a man with spinal cord injuries. The stem cells were provided by biotech
company Geron Corporation.
‡?Australian opera legend Dame Joan Sutherland passes away. She was hailed as ³La
Stupenda´ and ³voice of the century´.

CLAT GYAN¶S GK COMPENDIUM

OCTOBER THE 14TH, 2010
MINERS IN CHILE
Miners rescued in chile after two months of being stuck inside. Chilean president Sebastian
Pinera was there along with world media to greet the rescued miners. The 33 miners were
caught in a collapse on August 5 and spent 17 days in isolation.
PRACHANDA ON NEPAL CONSTITUTION PANEL
Amidst political deadlocks Maoist leader Prachanda was appointed as co-ordinator of a panel
entrusted with task of sorting out contentious issues hindering the drafting of the constitution.
Prachanda earlier pulled out of the Prime Ministers race after failing to get elected to the top
post.
KARNATAKA NATAKA
A second trust vote was won by the bjp government in Karnataka.but is validity depends on
the high court verdict which is awaited. As of now the BJP enjoys a majority of 105 in a
house consisting of 209 members with 16 members disqualified.
The independents earlier in the day failed to secure an interim order which would have
allowed them to vote in the trust vote.
The bjp sought recall of governor hr bharadwaj as he was deemed to be biased.
INTERLOCUTORS FOR KASHMIR TALKS
Three interlocutors, Dilip Padgaonkar, a journalist, Information Commissioner MM Ansari
and Academic Radha Kumar were appointed by the Union Government. They are expected to
hold talks with all sections in J&K. Home minister P Chidambaram called the interlocutors
³very credible people´.
Special task forces were constituted on Jammu and Ladakh. Planning Commission members
Abhijit Sen and Narendra Jadhav will head STF¶s on Jammu and Ladakh respectively
AWARD FOR MATH
The 2010 SASTRA Ramanujan prize was awarded to Wei Zhang of Harvard University
INDIA WINS BORDER-GAVASKAR
MS Dhoni was all smiles at second press conference as his team won the border-gavaskar
trophy against austrailia after beating them 2-0 in the series.
GOLDS GALORE
Sharath kamal and Subhajit Saha won the doubles gold in table tennis for India.india also
bagged golds in boxing with Suranjoy,Manoj and Samota winning their final bouts.
AIYAR GIVEN FELLOWSHIP
Mani Shankar aiyar, congressman, was awarded the honorary fellowship of the Cambridge
trinity hall.
MANBOOKER GOES TO«
Howard Jacobson¶s novel ³The Finkler Question´ trumped the bookies favorites to win the
Man Booker Prize 2010. His other novels include ³Kalooki Nights´ and ³Who¶s Sorry
Now?´.
BHARAT RATNA FOR MS SWAMINATHAN
Kerala recommended eminent agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan for the bharat ratna next
year.
OCTOBER THE 15TH, 2010 [International White Cane Day :O]
CWG ENDS
CWG ended with great pomp and show. India bagged the second position in the medals tally.
Saina Nehwal snatched a three game victory over the Malaysian player to push India to
second place,one medal ahead of England. India had 101 medlas including 38 golds. The
country had finished fourth in 2002 and 2006. Austrailia was far ahead with a total of 177
medals and 74 golds.
LALIT MODI CHARGED
Central crime branch registered a case against former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit
Modi and others on charges of criminal conspiracy and theft.
RBI DIVESTS STAKE
The reserve bank of India divested its stake in National Bank of Agriculture and Rural
Development (NABARAD).with this the RBI¶s stake has come down to one percent. And the
central government owns 99% this move is in line with the Narasimham Committee II report
on banking reforms
NADAL OUT
Tennis world number one Rafael Nadal was dumped out of Shanghai Masters in third round
by austrailian third seed Jurgen Melzer. It was the ninth defeat of the season for the Spaniard
who had previously won the Japan open.Andy Murray qualified for the seasons final event.
ANAND DRAWS
Chess world champion Vishwanathan Anand missed out on his chances and had to settle for a
draw with Alexei Shirov of Spain in the Fourth round of bilbao final masters chess
tournament.
HOCKEY
Austrailia continued its domination in hockey by defeating India in the CWG finals. This was
their fourth medal in a row.New Zealand defeated England to win the bronze.
OCTOBER THE 16TH, 2010
MANMOHAN AND MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA MEET
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa discussed the
issue of rehabilitation of Tamils in Sri Lanka and other bilateral issues. Mr. Rajapaksa
detailed the steps being taken for rehabilitation, India wanted Sri Lanka to act ³decisively´ on
arriving at a political settlement to bridge the ethnic divide.
COMMON WEALTH GAMES PROBE
The Centre appointed a high-level committee headed by the former Comptroller and Auditor-
General, V.K. Shungloo, to look into ³all aspects of organising and conducting´ the
Commonwealth Games,
YUDHYONO TO BE R DAY CHIEF GUEST
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will be the chief guest at next year's
Republic Day parade in Delhi, official sources said . Both countries will seek to build on the
joint declaration on a new strategic partnership signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and Mr. Yudhoyono during his previous visit here in 2005. The two sides will also attempt to
expand economic relations bilaterally and under the aegis of the Association of South East
Nations (ASEAN) of which Indonesia is a founder-member.
DON¶T ASK DON¶T TELL
The Obama administration has said it would appeal a decision by federal judge in California
that struck down the infamous ³don't ask, don't tell law,´ banning gays from serving in the
military if they revealed their sexual orientation. Under the law the military cannot, however,
ask its recruits about their sexual orientation.
BERLUSCONI FACES TAX EVASION INQUIRY
Italian prosecutors have launched an investigation against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
for tax evasion linked to his Mediaset media empire,
INFLATION INCHES UP
Overall inflation inched up a tad to 8.62 per cent in September from 8.51 per cent in August
owing to higher prices of essentials, especially vegetables and milk. [Inflation is essentially
that economic phenomenon wherein there is too much money, but scarcity of goods, resulting
in an increase of the prices of goods]
MURRAY IN SEMI FINALS
Tennis British World No. 4 Andy Murray hammered 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 6-2
on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters.
ANAND DRAWS..AGAIN.
World champion Viswanathan Anand split the point with leader Vladimir Kramnik of Russia
to remain second after the end of the fifth and penultimate round of the Bilbao Final Masters
chess tournament
OCTOBER THE 17TH, 2010
BANGALORE BLASTS PROBE
The Rajasthan police and Karnataka anti-terrorist squad (ATS) on Friday arrested two alleged
LeT members from Kasargod (Kerala) and Ajmer for their role in the 2008 blasts in
Bangalore in which one person was killed and over a dozen people were injured.The suspects
were identified as Umar Farooq and Ibrahim Moulvi.
HIGH COURT CRACKS WHIP ON CAR IMPORTS
In a landmark order that would prevent illegal imports of all-terrain vehicles, MUVs and
superbikes into India, the Bombay high court has said that "if the importer is a person who
has lived abroad continuously for two years, then he or she must necessarily be the owner of
the vehicle".
AYODHYA-STAGE SET FOR ACT 2 IN SC
Efforts to get an out of court settlement of the Ayodhya dispute took a severe knock on
Saturday with the Nirmohi Akhara, a key party in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title
suit, announcing it would challenge the Allahabad High Court's verdict in the Supreme Court.
Akhara chief Mahant Bhaskar Das' change of heart came around the same time that the All
India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) decided to appeal against the ruling to divide
the disputed site into three parts -- between the Akhara, Ram Lalla and the Sunni Waqf board.
INDIA RUSSIA TO BEGIN JOINT COMBAT
Crack infantry troops from India and Russia kicked off their joint `Indra' counter-terrorism
exercise on Saturday, which will involve combat drills in a semi-urban and mountainous
environment.
The 10-day "battalion-level'' exercise, being held at Chaubattia near Ranikhet in Uttarakhand,
involves a large Russian contingent of 257 personnel from its Southern Command, as also IL-
76 transport aircraft.
This exercise is the third in the Indra series. While the first was held at the Mahajan ranges in
Rajasthan in 2005, the second was conducted at Pskov in Russia in 2007.Though India has
had long-standing defence ties with Russia, strangely enough, the armed forces of the two
countries have hardly exercised together. In contrast, Indian and US forces have held over 50
combat exercises in the last seven years.
India¶s Defence minister A K Antony and his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov.
OCTOBER THE 18TH, 2010
WAR OF WORDS OVER CWG
Suresh Kalmadi [Who is he?] and Sheila Dixit seemed to be engaged in a war of words with
the latter saying that most of the corruption came from the organizing committee and the
former replying that there was corruption in the government that Ms Dixit ran.
The central vigilance commission is looking into 22 more cases of CWG related corruption
issues. [And the CVC Chief is?]
FATHER OF FRACTAL GEOMETRY DEAD
Benoit Mandelbrot father of fractal geometry who wrote the book ³the fractal geometry of
nature´ in 1982, aged died 85 in Cambridge Massachusetts.
SOUNDARA KAILASAM PASSES AWAY
Eminent tamil poet and writer, mother of union home minister P Chidambaram Soundara
Kailasam passes away at her home in Chennai.she was 83.
MURRAY BEATS FEREDERER TO WIN SHANGHAI MASTERS
Murray beat roger federer 6-3 6-2 to win shanghai masters,this is his second victory over the
swiss world number three in two months.
First India austrailia one dayer in the series was abandoned dude to rain
ANAND FINISHED SECOND
Anand came a close second to magnus carlsen of Norway to finish second in the bilbao final
masters.he was able to keep his world number one ranking.
RUSTOM 1 TEST FLOWN
Rustom 1 , a medium altitude and long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle by the Bangalore
based aeronautical development establishment was successfully test flown.
MUMBAI GETS WORLDS LARGEST DIAMOND BOURSE
The worlds largest diamond bourse the Bharat Diamond Bourse was inaugurated by union
minister for commerce and industry Anand Sharma.
OCTOBER THE 19TH, 2010
KARNATAKA..HIGH COURT BENCH SPLIT. GOES TO THE THIRD JUDGE.
The uncertainity over the fate of 11 disqualified members of Karnataka legislative assembly
continued when a two judge bench of the high court was split on the matter. The case is
slated to come up before a third judge on November 2
MOST WANTED SEPARATIST HELD
The J & K police achieved a major success by arresting massarat alam bhat the most wanted
separatist in Kashmir.
AMENDMENT TO CHILD LABOUR ACT
In a major step toward meeting the guidelines set by ILO,the union government proposes to
amend the child labour (prohibition and regulation) act 1986,and introduce changes in the
national policy in child labour 1987 by nringing all children below 18 years of age under the
purview of the act.
SPECIES FACING MASS EXTINCTION:U.N
193 members of the united nations convention on biological diversity met in central city of
Nagoya ,japan to work out strategies to head off a manmade mass extinction.the convention
held that immediate action was necessary to stop the rapid loss of animal and plant species in
the habitat they live.executive secretary of the CBD is ahmed djoghlaf.jim leape chief of
world wide fund for nature (wwf) was also present.
NEXT CHINESE PRESIDENT
Vice president Xi Jinping [Zee Kingpin :P] was appointed the vice chairman of the countriy¶s
central military commission which is seen as a move of confirmation that he is on track to
succeed Hu Jintao [Who Jintao? :D] in 2012 when his term expires.
Neutrino project approved at bodi west hills in theni
An India based neutrino observatory will be set up in theni district of tamil nadu .subatomic
particles will be studied at the observatory
ENVIRO PANEL SPLIT ON POSCO
A 3:1 split opinion came out of the environment panel on whether to scrap all environment
and forest clearances given to the Korean giant posco¶s fiftyonethousand crore integrated
steel project in Orissa.
FOOD WASTAGE
Supreme court hauled up the central government and asked for an assaurance saying that
there would be no further wastage of food grains and there would be proper distribution to
targeted beneficiaries
PROPERTY A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT?
The supreme court dismissed a PIL seeking a direction to make right to property a
fundamental right under the constitution.the 44th amendment to constitution had deleted this
right from article 19(1) (f) of the constitution.
OCTOBER THE 20TH, 2010
NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL OPENED
India launched the national green tribunal becoming the third nation to have a special court
for environmental issues.former judge of the supreme court lokeshwar singh will be its chair
person.this tribunal will have four regional benches.
INDIAN IN OBAMA ADMINISTRATION
Subra suresh ,school of dean of engineering, MIT , and an alumni of IIT madras has been
confirmed directorate of national science foundation under the obama administration.
JK ROWLING WINS DANISH AWARD.
Harry potter author j k rowling won the hans chirstian Anderson literature prize she is the
first reciepient of the award.
OCTOBER THE 21ST, 2010
ENEMY PROPERTY BILL
Union cabinet approved the controversial version of the enemy property bill to replace the
ordinance that lapsed on September 6th.this bill will be introduced in the winter session of the
parliament.
BIHAR GOES TO POLLS
First phase of the bihar assembly polls .one crore voters in the region.
PAKISTANS EX PREZ DIES
Farooq ahmed khan leghari pakistans eighth president died in Rawalpindi. He was 70.he was
president from 1993 to 1997.
SEEDS BILL GETS CABINET NOD
Union cabinet approved the amendments to the seeds bill 2004. This amendment seeks to
regulate the quality of seeds and planting material, to curb sale of spurious and poor quality
seeds and to increase private participation in seed productionand distribution and liberalise
import of seeds and planting materials.
DHEERAJ HINDUJA TO HEAD ASHOK LEYLAND
Dheeraj g hinduja has become the chairman of ashok Leyland.he takes over from r j shahney
who was the chairman since 1977.
NIMHANS TO BE DECLARED INSTITUTE OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE.
The union cabinet approved the proposal to declare National
Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, as an institute of
national importance.

CLAT GYAN¶S GK COMPENDIUM

OCTOBER THE 21st , 2010
‡?The controversial Enemy Property Bill, 2010 has got the Cabinet nod and will be
introduced in the Winter Session of the Parliament.
‡?The Bill bars bars Indian legal heirs from inheriting the properties of relatives who
migrated to Pakistan after Partition. The Custodian of Enemy Property for India, a
government department, is empowered to appropriate the property.
‡?Oxford University is to launch a new centre to study the archaeological and cultural
heritage of Asia.
‡?POSCO paid for a report favouring itself-
The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) published a report on
µSocial Cost Benefit Analysis of the POSCO Steel Project in Orissa,' which claimed
that the project would result in 8.7 lakh jobs in Orissa. This report was funded by
POSCO. And a group of NRI researchers claim that the information is flawed.
POSCO [Pohang Iron and Steel Comapany] is a Korean Company and the second
largest steel producer in the world. [CEO- Chung Joon-Yang.]
‡?Suddahnshu Mittal - alleged to have been involved in the Commonwealth-related
irregularities. He is closely associated with Rajnath Singh [President, BJP] and was
close to late Pramod Mahajan.He owns Delhi Tents and Decorators, which supples
furniture for the Commonwealth Games. His business and other premises were
thoroughly searched and he called it "witch-hunt".
‡?Comptroller and Auditor General- Vinod Rai
‡?Three interlocutors were appointed by the Central Government to formulate a political
solution to the problem in J&K. Thei job is to gather the opinion of a vast number of
people from different sections of the society. The three interlocutors are- noted
journalist Dilip Padgaonkar, Prof. M. M. Ansari, Information Commissioner and Prof.
(Mrs) Radha Kumar, trustee of Delhi Policy Group.
‡?The Karnataka High Court rejected the plea of the BJP legislators, to summon the
records of the disqualification proceedings from the Speaker K.G.Bopiah. Tensions
regarding defections increases.
‡?The Home Ministry, by an order, has made it clear that foreigners will be given job
visas only for highly skilled jobs and not for non-technical jobs, and if only that they
draw a salary of not less than $25,000 a year.
‡?William Harris and Tamika Raymond- appointed by National Football Assosiation, to
give a firm push to basketball in India. They are currently training the teams for the
Asian Games.
‡?The Bombay High Court is hearing arguments confirming Ajmal Kasab's death
sentence. He refused to appear before the court via video-link and insisted on
physical appearance.
‡?Leander Peas pulled out of the 16th Asian Games to be held in Guanzhou,China.
Reason- He is busy with the Barclay's World Tour Finals at London.He is teamed
with Lukas Dloughy of the Czech Republic.
‡?Paes is a 12 time grand slam champion. He won gold in men's doubles with Mahesh
Bhupati and mixed doubles with Sania Mirza in earlier editions of the Game.
‡?15th Asian Games- Doha, Qatar (2006)
17th Asian Games- Incheon, South Korea(2014)
1st Asian Games- New Delhi, India (1951)
OCTOBER THE 22ND , 2010
‡?"Natural Allies: A Blueprint for the Future of U.S.-India Relations"- report by Center
for a New American Security (CNAS), argued that Indo- US relations should grow
and focussed on counter-terrorism and defence cooperation. It also urged US to
support India in its bid for the United Nations Security Council deal.
‡?The Nuclear Liability Law - Section 17 (b)- gives Indian operators a µright of
recourse' against nuclear suppliers in the event of an accident caused by defective
equipment. The Government has refused to make any further changes in the Law.
There are allegations by the US that it has not conformed to Convention on
Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC).
‡?Three senior peers,all of them Asian, Labour's Lord Swraj Paul and Baroness Manzila
Pola Uddin and independent Lord Amir Bhatia, were on Thursday formally
suspended from the House of Lords for claiming excess expenses.
‡?The Environment Ministry has directed the Orissa Government to initialte legal action
against Vedanta Aluminium's illegal expansion of its Lanjigarh refinery.
‡?The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to pass any order on the special leave
petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government, challenging the Madras High Court
judgment quashing the appointment of Letika Saran as the State Director-General of
Police. Background: Ms Saran was appointed as the first woman DGP of Tamil
Nadu. IPS officer R. Nataraj challenged her appointment. Madras High Court struck
down the appointment holding that it was not made in accordance with the guidelines
laid down by the Supreme Court directed that a new DGP should be in place by
December first week.
‡?Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) - a monetary scheme for pregnant
women and lactating mothers. It will be implemented on a pilot basis in 52 districts in
this Five-Year Plan.
‡?World Anti Doping Agency intervenes: Weightlifter Pradeep Sharma and Kavita
Chaudhary, a wrestler, were given a clean chit by the anti-doping disciplinary panel in
August this year. But World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has decided to appeal
against the decision made by the disciplinary panel. This is the first time that WADA
ihas intervened in a decision of an Indian Disciplinary Panel. Head Quarters-
Laussane, Switzerland. President: John Fahey
‡?Live- in relationships: If a man keeps a woman, this relationship will not be in the
nature of marriage for her to claim the benefit of live-in to get maintenance under the
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (PWDV) Act, 2005, the Supreme
Court has held. The Supreme Court held that not all live-in affairs amount to
"relationships in the nature of marriage" which is a pre-requisite of establishing a livein
relationship. Accordint to Justice Markandey Katju and Justice T.S. Thakur,
relationship akin to marraige means- "although not formally married, they must hold
themselves out to society as being akin to spouses. They must be of legal age to
marry. They must be otherwise qualified to enter into a legal marriage, including
being unmarried. They must have voluntarily cohabited and held themselves out to
the world as being akin to spouses for a significant period of time.´
‡?Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) - aim to eradicate manual scavenging. It consists of
men and women who have voluntarily given up manual scavenging.
OCTOBER THE 23RD , 2010
‡?The United States announced that it would provide a whopping $2.29 billion as
military aid to Pakistan to bolster its army's anti-terror capabilities, while India has
been crying to it that part of these funds will be used against it!
‡?CWG Scam- A UK based broadcasting firm, SIS Live has been alleged by the Central
Vigilance Commission for tax evasion. The Income Tax Department has invoked
provisions of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and
the U.K. Central Vigilance Commissioner: P.J. Thomas
‡?Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case- A supplementary charge sheet was filed by the
CBI. Background - He was killed 5 years ago by the Gujarat police. His wife, Kauser
Bi, was also killed. The evidences and witnesses were tampered with in this case. IPS
officer Abhay Chudasama was the prime conspirator in this case and he was later
arrested. He ran an extortion racket, and Sohrabuddin worked for him. Former Gujarat
minister of state for home, Amit Shah has also been arrested in this case. Central
Bureau of Investigation, Director: Ashwani Kumar
‡?The International Cricket Council named Castrol, the world's leading lubricant
company as its official performance partner for the next five years. ICCheadquarters:
Dubai, UAE
‡?President: Sharad Pawar. CEO: Haroon Lorgat
‡?Malarial deaths, how many?- The WHO has mentioned around 21000 malarial
deaths whereas The Lancet has mentioned around 2,00,000 of them. One alleges that
the others figures are wrong.
‡?Medical Exam: New Scheme- An application filed by the Medical Council of India
in the Supreme Court to introduce a common nationwide eligibility-cum-entrance test
for MBBS and postgraduate medical courses from 2011-12. The Court sent notices to
all the states in this regard and it gave time of four weeks for their response.
‡?The Centre declared Elephant a national heritage animal in order to improve
measures for their protection.
OCTOBER THE 24TH, 2010
‡?The National Advisory Committee's [President: Madame Sonia Gandhi] universal
food framework has been accepted by the Planning Commission. Main Points:
? The concept of Below Poverty Line has been expanded and it covers 75% of the
population (which is 90% of the rural population) which is divided into 'priority
households.' and 'general households.'
? They will will get subsidized foodgrains.
? Legal guarantees also envisaged which will be included in the draft of the Food
Security Bill.
‡?WikiLeaks released around 4,00,000 American documents which provide details of
the Iraq War. The civilian killings, the torture, abuse by the Iraqi police and army and
the role of Iran supporting Iraqi militants mentioned. WikiLeaks was founded by
Julian Assange who lives in discreet locations away from the public eye. The
website¶s aim is transparency and government accountability all over the world, in
furtherance of this aim, they publish all sorts of ³secret documents´ that have
resounding consequences for the world order.
‡?Nowcast- used to predict weather a few hours ahead, in specific localities. Was used
in the Commonwealth Games 2010 too.
‡?India- Russia joint exercise called 'Indra' was held in Kumaon Hills in Uttarakhand.
‡?A fresh case was filed in a Delhi Court against Sajjan Singh, senior Congress Leader
regarding another case relating to the 1984 Sikh riots. Background: CBI has accused
Kumar of provoking people against members of a particular community during the
carnage that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, leading to
the killing of five persons in Delhi Cantonment area.
OCTOBER THE 25TH, 2010
‡?India and China to resume high- level defence exchanges . There was a pause due to
Mr. S.S.Jaswal,who was leading a military delegation to China was offered a stapled
visa. Stapled visa is when a visa is issued on a separate paper instead of stamping it on
the passport. India asked China to adopt a uniform policy and not to issue staple visas
to people of Jammu and Kashmir.
‡?Subansiri Dam- under construction in Assam. Some environmentalists say that it may
cause environmental problems is its height is not reduced.
‡?Kannur , Kerala- experienced poll related violence. BJP imposed district wide
hartal.
‡?Manmohan Singh visited Japan to conclude negotiations regarding Comprehensive
Economic partnership Agreement (CEPA) and also sign a Memorandum of
Understanding to ease the visa procedures.
‡?ICICI Bank and American Express have lauched Prepaid Travel Card, a smart
alternative to cash while travelling.
‡?Kalpasar Dam Alignment- Gujarat
Narendra Modi [remember the name, will help you] plans to build a over-the-sea dam
worth 50,00 crores in the northern portion of Gulf of Khambat.
‡?Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors is planning to venture into China.
‡?Arundati Roy's controversial statement,'Kashmir was never an integral part of India',
drew criticism. Arundati Roy is the first Indian citizen to win the Booker Prize for her
book, 'The God of Small Things' in 1997.
OCTOBER THE 26TH, 2010
‡?Shunglu Panel- To look into the conduct of the Commonmwealth GAmes.
‡?Headed by V.K. Shunglu, former Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
‡?Microsoft entered the Limca Book Of World records for the first Display of dominoes
in India.
‡?The European Union is planning to ink a deal with India to offer jobs to Indians. This
deal aims at allowing unlimited number of Indian immigrants and foreign specialists
to work in European countries, including Britain.
‡?The Supreme Court has cancelled bails granted to B.Ramalinga Raju and his brother
B.Rama Raju by the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
‡?Jayalaitha's land row: The Tamil Nadu Government pleaded in the Supreme Court to
allow the Government to acquire Jayalalitha's Kodanadu estate in Ooty as it was
causing public inconvenience. Background: Jayalalitha had purchased the Estate in
1995 and allegedly put up a gate on the road in 2007 and collected toll tax from those
using the road, besides restricting their movement despite it being the only lifeline of
the local population.
‡?Sharad Yadav's controversial statement that Rahul Gandhi should drown in the
Ganges sparked demands of his arrest by Congress.
‡?A prestigious college of the Cambridge University, the St John College, announced
three 'Dr. Manmohan Singh Scholarships.'
‡?In the Corruption Perception Index 2010, India with 3.3 points is ranked 87th out of
178 countries. Denmark ranks No.1 with 9.3 points.
‡?The Corruption Perception index is published by Transparency International, a nongovernmental
organization, headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
‡?Largest solar energy project to come up in United States.
‡?Saddam Hussein's foreign minister Tariq Aziz was sentenced to death by hanging by
Iraq¶s high criminal court for persecuting members of Shiite religious parties under
the former regime.
‡?Paul the octopus died in his aquarium in Germany. He shot into fame during the
South Africa World Cup for correctly predicting the game outcomes.
‡?µLittle India¶ a shopping street in Malaysia whch sells Indian goods is to be launched
by PM manmohan Singh.
‡?Amensty International has called on Pakistan to probe into the killings and torture of
political leaders and activists in violence struck Baluchistan province.
‡?Amnesty International, an international NGO founded by Peter beneson in 1961.
Headquarters- London.
‡?Union Ministry of Law has told the Ministry of Home Affairs that the power of the
President to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment, which is
granted under Article 72 of the Constitution, is ³absolute and cannot be fettered by
any statutory provisions´ under the Code of Criminal Procedure or the prison rules.
‡?Fishing trawler, Kuber was used by Ajmal Kasab and other terrorists.
‡?Raavan and Sholay were featured in the Tokyo International Film Festival.
OCTOBER THE 27TH, 2010
‡?Common Wealth Games Federation put up a distorted map of India on its website, for
which it apologized later.
‡?Mahatma Gandhi District in Houston!- the south west part of Houston ahs been
renamed as mahatma Gandhi District in the honor of Gandhi¶s 141st bit\rth
anniversary.
‡?Viveka Bajpayee case- DNA sample shave been detected under her nails.She was a
model and former Miss Mauratius, alleged to have committed suicide by hanging
herself.
‡?India has secured a score of 67 per cent in a global survey about the quantity and type
of budget information that governments make available to the public during the
course of budget year.
‡?Open Budget Survey 2010 was conducted in 94 countries by Delhi-based Centre for
Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) in collaboration with the US agency
International Budget Partnership (IBP).
‡?Honda and Toyota leased Consumer Reports Survey. Toyota's Scion had the fewest
problems of any brand in the survey. Consumer Reports rankings are widely used by
car buyers in the US.
‡?Chinese military has conducted its first-ever live military exercises involving air
force, artillery and electronic warfare divisions on the Tibetan plateau, close to the
Indian border.
‡?This Country had lost communication with nearly 50 intercontinental ballistic nuclear
missiles [ICBM], one-ninth of its arsenal for 45 minutes ± USA
‡?Indonesia¶s most volatile volcano Mount Merapi had erupted again claiming 25
lives. It has erupted many times in the past 200 years, in 1930 it claimed 1,20 lives
and in 1994 60 lives
‡?A 10-foot high tsunami in Indonesia claimed around 272 lives.
‡?Fossil found Gujarat: A trove of insects were found embedded in amber deposits in a
geological zone called Cambay Shell.
‡?MFI¶s- Micro Finance Institutions

CLAT GYAN?S GK COMPENDIUM

OCTOBER THE 28th, 2010
‡ India signed the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) at the International
Atomic Energy Agency. The signing of the Convention was part of the commitment that India had undertaken
when it signed the Civil Nuclear Agreement with the United States of America in 2005. CSC deals with
³channelling liability and providing speedy compensation in the event of a nuclear accident´. Only fourteen
countries have signed it, and only 4 have ratified it (one of the latter being, USA)
‡ Union Commerce and Industry Minister: Anand Sharma. Malaysia?s Prime Minister: Najib Tun Abdul Razak
‡ 19th Law Commission will be headed by P. V. Reddi. It has a term of 3 years from the date of constitution.
‡ Capital of the North Eastern State Manipur: Imphal
‡ V. K. Shunglu is heading a two member panel to investigate into the irregularities coming out from the
Common Wealth Games. He has been given the status of an SC judge, meaning that he has wider powers and
better secretarial support. The other member is Shantanu Consul. This panel has been appointed by the Prime
Minister?s Office.
‡ All schoolchildren will soon have unique identification numbers (UID), which will help in tracking their
movement in educational institutions and academic records.
‡ Union Law Minister: Veerappa Moily
‡ Lt. General Ravi Shankar has taken over as the Director General of the Border Roads Organization
‡ Extremist Right Wing Hindutva group, Bajrang Dal threatened famous writer-activist Arundhati Roy for her
statements advocating independence of Kashmir from India.1
‡ Commonwealth Organizing Committee Chairman: V. K. Sharma
‡ Argentina?s former President Nestor Kirchner is dead. He was the husband of the present President of the
country, Cristina Kirchner (first woman president of the country). Capital of Argentina: Buenos Aires
‡ BCCI Chief ± Shashank Manohar

OCTOBER THE 29TH, 2010

‡ South Africa beat Pakistan to clinch Twenty20 series held in Abu Dhabi
‡ The Jamnalal Bajaj award is given to people with outstanding contributions in social development
‡ Home Secretary: G. K. Pillai
‡ China?s Prime Minister: Wen Jiabao; President: Hu Jintao.
‡ Foreign Secretary: Nirupama Rao (only woman apart from Chokilla Iyer to hold the post)
‡ South Korea?s President: Lee Myung-bak. Vietnam PM: Nguyen Tan Dung2
‡ The Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society Scam: http://www.mid-day.com/opinion/2010/nov/051110-Adarsh-
Cooperative-Housing-Society-scam-Opinion.htm 3
‡ Bihar Chief Minister: Nitish Kumar.
‡ World?s oldest ruling monarch, Saqr-bin-Muhammad-al-Qasmi of Ras-al-Khaimah is now dead. He was 92,
and ruled for more than 60 years. Ras-al-Khaimah is one of the 7 Emirates that together form the United Arab
Emirates

OCTOBER THE 30TH, 2010

‡ Two people belonging to the National Democratic Front for Bodoland (NDFB) have been arrested for their
alleged involvement in bomb attacks in Assam in 2008
‡ Protests against the proposed Nuclear Reactor at Jaitapur, Maharashtra continued near the town of Madban
‡ 1 Lakh per person is the compensation that the West Bengal government has decided to pay to each of the
159 victims of the Nandigram violence of 2007.
‡ Russian and U.S. special forces have carried out their first joint anti-narcotics operation in Afghanistan that
marked the first time Russian security personnel set foot in that country in more than 20 years.
‡ China?s supercomputer, Tianhe-1A is now the fastest in the world. It is 1.4 times faster than the second
fastest, which is the American Cray XT5 Jaguar.
‡ India to get its own first Double Decker AC Train that?ll run from Howrah (surprise, surprise!) to Dhanbad.
‡ Judge Stephen M. Schwebel, former President of the International Court of Justice, will head the Court of
Arbitration being constituted to resolve the Kishanganga hydroelectric project dispute between India and
Pakistan.
‡ The extremist Hindutva right-wing conglomerate of ³Sangh´ activists plan to hold nationwide ³protests´
against the connection of its activists with ³Saffron Terror´ plots across India. One of its high-ranking leaders,
Indresh Kumar has his name figured in the charge-sheet of the Ajmer Blast case. It should be recalled that the
establishment has started investigating various cases of terror attacks all over the country. These cases were
so far being investigated one the assumption that these were acts of Islamist terror, and in fact, a lot of these
were even claimed to have been ³solved´. However, in recent times, investigations have resulted in Hindutva?s
henchmen being caught. Starting from Malegaon, Modasa, Ajmer, Mecca Masjid, etc cases.

NOVEMBER THE 1ST, 2010

‡ The Supreme Court has held that Dowry killings deserve death penalty. According to the doctrine evolved in
the famous Bachan Singh case, death penalty can be awarded only in the rarest of the rare instances.
‡ Run-off elections: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-round_system
‡ Vandals belonging the BJP?s Mahila Morcha (Woman?s wing) vandalized author Arundhati Roy?s place of
residence in Kautilya Marg, Delhi. For the same old statement on Kashmir?s azaadi. (yawn!)

NOVEMBER THE 2ND, 2010

‡ India is in the process of manufacturing its own indigenous Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). It
intends to procure nine home-grown ones. India already has one that was acquired from Israel and were
mounted on Russian Illyushin jet.
‡ The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) will set up an office in the country within six months. The office will support
the existing Bangalore-based India chapter of the free online resource website Wikipedia.
‡ The scientific establishment is all set to add one more feather to its cap with the Union Science and
Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan launching the first Indian scientific expedition to the magical South Pole
on Monday evening. An eight-member team led by the Director of National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean
Research, Rasik Ravindra, is to leave ÄMaitri,' the Indian station on the Antarctica, for the South Pole on
November 8 and return by the middle of December.
‡ The high voter turnout trend continued in the Bihar Assembly elections as the fourth phase recorded a poll
percentage of 51 on Monday despite an incident in the Naxal-plagued Jamui district
‡ Russian President Dmitry Medvedev?s visit to the Kuril islands has angered the Japanese government.
‡ The popular and prominent President Lula Inacio Di Silva will be succeeded by Dilma Rousseff, she is the first
woman president of Brazil and has promised to push forward Lula?s successful policies ± both, domestic and
foreign.
‡ Saudi Arabia?s ultra-conservative clerics have issued a fatwa (opinion/advice) opposing the government?s
policy of expanding and encouraging the participation of women in the work force in areas where there might
be a chance of both the genders interacting, such as cashiers in supermarkets.5

NOVEMBER THE 3RD, 2010

‡ The tribunal looking into the notification banning the LTTE reserved its verdict on whether the notification
should stay or not. It is chaired solely by Justice Vikramjit Sen.
‡ National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) is headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It has the job of
cleaning up the Ganges, rejunevation and protection of the river and the adjoining areas. For this, the state
governments have been asked to scrap Hydel power projects that were planned.
‡ Yemen has charged American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki with incitement and plotting to murder foreigners
during a trial in absentia [I am hoping you¶ve figured the meaning, have you?] that began on Tuesday in
Sana'a. He has been associated with the ³underwear bomber´ Umar Farooq Abdulmutallab. However, there
remains considerable doubt about both ± his whereabouts and actual credentials of an extremist.
‡ Setting aside their historic rivalry, Britain and France on Tuesday signed an unprecedented 50-year nuclear
deal that would see them share nuclear facilities and jointly develop technology.
‡ Labour peer Swraj Paul on Tuesday resigned as Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords following his
suspension from the House over his expenses claims. [If you have read the earlier compendiums, you¶ll
understand the context]
‡ Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik
‡ Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Chief ± J. S. Sarma.
‡ A giant statue, sited at an altitude of 8,500 feet on the Jakhu Hills in Shimla will be unveiled by Himachal
Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

CLAT GYANµS GK COMPENDIUM

NOVEMBER THE 5th, 2010
‡ Manmohan Singh holds talks with J&K CM Omar Abdulla (which party does he belong to?) and Home Minister
P. Chidambaram to discuss the prospects of putting a group of interlocutors (Do you know what this means?) in
place to begin a sustained dialogue with all the people of J&K. The issue of appointing a group of interlocutors,
under the chairmanship of an eminent person also figured in the discussions. A senior Congress leader may be
picked to head the group which may have two or three members. The chairman of the group is likely to enjoy
the rank of a Cabinet Minister. Most of the interlocutors would be from outside the State but they would have a
fairly good idea about the issues in Jammu and Kashmir. The government is also said to be considering having
a Muslim, a Hindu and a woman in the group of interlocutors.
‡ Four security men (2 Police Sub-Inspectors, 2 CRPF personnel) killed in naxal ambush near Perimili village in
southern Gadchiroli, Maharashtra.
‡ Robert Edwards, the British scientist whose pioneering research with his late colleague Patrick Steptoe led to
the birth of the world's first ?test-tube baby'' in 19781, has won this year's Nobel Prize for medicine.
‡ Canadian-firm Research In Motion has urged the Centre to set up a joint consultative forum to help evolve
procedures to intercept its encrypted BlackBerry email and messenger services. The Centre has asked RIM to
either provide a solution enabling its secured services to be monitored by the Indian law enforcement agencies
by October 31, 2010 or face ban.
‡ Brazil faces presidential elections. Similar to its neighbours Chile and Argentina, it may soon make history by
electing its first ever woman President, Dilma Rousseff
(62). She is a candidate of the Workers Party and an economist. She was associated with militant groups
fighting against the 1960s dictatorship2.
‡ Ng. Soniya Chanu and A. Sandhya Rani Devi opened India's campaign in the weightlifting campaign with a
silver and bronze medal in the 48 kg. division of the women's section on the opening day of the nine-day
programme at the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex in New Delhi.
‡ Eighty-one-year-old Professor V. Radhakrishnan, eminent radio astronomer and Trustee of the Raman
Research Institute, Bangalore, might be among the few Indians who have been criss-crossing the oceans in a
yacht, that too designed by him. The son of Sir C.V. Raman, he is on a mission to learn more on his chosen
field on his yacht =Eldemer.'
‡ Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu to simplify tourist permit procedure.
‡ Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has ordered an inquiry into the scuffle that saw a top sports official
snatch the national flag from a sportsperson during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games3.
‡ For the first time in its history of formulating five-year plans4, the Planning Commission on Monday launched
a website to elicit suggestions from the general public on the =Approach Paper' to the XII Plan (2012-17) so as
to make the final document more inclusive and effective.

2 The Brazilian military government was the authoritarian regime which ruled Brazil from March 31, 1964 to
March 15, 1985, when civilian José Sarney took office as President. It began after the 1964 coup d'état led by
the Armed Forces against the democratically elected government of left-wing President João Goulart. The
military revolt was fomented by Magalhães Pinto, Adhemar de Barros, and Carlos Lacerda, Governors of Minas
Gerais, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, respectively. (source: www.Wikipedia.org)
3 Pakistan's flag bearer was scheduled to be weightlifter Shujha-ud-din Malik. However, chef de mission
Muhammad Ali Shah announced that he would carry the flag and took it from the designated flag-bearer.
(http://www.thenews.com.pk/latest-news/2295.htm)
4 Learn the time periods of the 5-year plans, and when the rolling plans were introduced.
MORE ON THE BABRI JUDGMENT
‡ Post Ayodhya verdict, BJP hints at 'recociliation' between Hindus and Muslims. BJP president Nitin Gadkari
spoke of the national mood for ?reconciliation,? suggesting that Muslims could build a mosque ?on the banks of
the Sarayu river? that flows through Ayodhya.
‡ The Congress' official line on the Allahabad High Court verdict in the Ayodhya case has undergone a subtle
change since September 30. Party media spokesperson urged
the citizens to wholeheartedly accept the verdict. The party was partly endorsing Manmohan Singh's stand that
status quo should be maintained until the SC takes up the case.
‡ Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader leader L.K. Advani feels ?vindicated? about his Ayodhya rath yatra' in
the wake of the Allahabad High Court verdict and prefers a negotiated settlement for building a Ram temple at
the place where the makeshift now stands.

Mr. Advani, the mascot of the temple campaign who launched the =rath yatra' in 1989, also rejects criticism
that the judgment of the Lucknow Bench ?puts faith above law,? saying it was only a case of ?faith upheld by
law.?
He strongly endorses his party president Nitin Gadkari's suggestion that Muslims could build a mosque ?outside
the complex? in Faizabad on the banks of river Saryu.
‡ Following Babri litigant, Mohammed Hashim Ansari's initiative to resolve the Ayodhya issue through talks and
opt for an out-of-court settlement, the Forum for Peace and Unity has appealed to all parties to work for finding
an amicable solution.

President of Forum for Peace and Unity: Maulana Zahur Ahmed Siddiqui
November THE 07TH, 2010
‡ US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama visit India.
‡ Severe cyclonic storm =Jalµ hits North Chennai and South Andhra Pradesh.
‡ Pakistan hands over 13th dossier on the Mumbai terror attacks case and details of the commission Islamabad
wants to send to India for pursuing the case. A Foreign Office statement said Pakistan also requested the Indian
government to facilitate the visit of the proposed commission. The dossier and details of the proposed
commission were handed over to Indian Deputy High Commissioner Rahul Kulshreshth.
‡ The Obama administrationµs decision to support India's membership in the NSG5, the Missile Technology
Control Regime6, the Australian Group7 and the Wassenaar Arrangement8 was made public by Deputy National
Security Adviser9
10 The concept of Asian Network of Major Cities, popularly known as ANMC-21, was evolved in the first meeting
of the four cities -- Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Seoul and Delhi -- in 2000. The idea was to provide an opportunity to
Asia to establish a new identity and to develop independently as a world leader.
‡ The Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) of Mumbai protest against Mr.
Obama and demand that Warren Anderson, former chairperson of Union Carbide, be handed over to India.
‡ The Union Government of India has ensured considerable progress in rehabilitating internally displaced Tamils
in Sri Lanka.
‡ The non-profit Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), which recently formalized its presence in the country by
opening an office in New Delhi, has set up a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) defence centre. Founded in
2005 in the United States, the SFLC provides legal representation and other services to protect FOSS in the
legal domain.

In India, the SFLC would be focusing on serving the FOSS community in the areas of licensing, litigation
support, trademark counselling, patent defence, non-profit organisational assistance, public education and
lawyer training, protection of digital civil liberties and supporting the FOSS initiatives in education.
‡ India has been elected to a key committee that controls the purse strings of the United Nations, which has an
annual budget of nearly $ 22 billion.
‡ Asian Citiesµ Summit to be held in Tokyo

Delhi is a part of the Summit, and will be represented by its CM Sheila Dikshit. She will be will be attending the
ninth plenary meeting of Asian Network of Major Cities (ANMC)10 along with Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh
Mehta, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister P.K. Tripathi and her political secretary Pawan Khera.
‡ Military-ruled Myanmar goes to the polls, with the junta pledging to stay the course of a self-proclaimed
?roadmap? for the restoration of democracy.
The main dissident camp ² the recently-derecognized National League for Democracy (NLD) led by the long-
imprisoned Nobel Peace Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi ² is boycotting the poll.
‡ Indonesia's most volatile mountain Mt. Merapi erupts. It has been touted as the most powerful eruption of the
century. Merapi's latest round of eruptions began on October 26, followed by more than a dozen other powerful
blasts and thousands of tremors.
‡ All 68 people aboard AeroCaribbean Flight 883 were killed when the Cuban plane crashed near the village of
Guasimal in Sancti Spiritus province in Cuba.
‡ U.S. President Barack Obama announces that deals worth $10 billion (nearly Rs.44,000 crore) have been
reached between India and the U.S. for creating more than 50,000 jobs back in the U.S.

NOVEMBER THE 8TH, 2010

‡ Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)11
can be withdrawn from some areas in the State with a rider that the Army can step in again if the situation so
warrants. He said he has set up two small committees for Srinagar and Jammu to review the issue.
‡ Union Minister of State for Communications and IT: Sachin Pilot.
‡ A team from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science claim to have uncovered an entire Ice Age ecosystem
after unearthing wealth of bones from an excavation site in western Colorado in the U.S.
‡ Iraqµs incumbent Prime Minster, Nouri al-Maliki, who belongs to the main Islamic Dawa Party of the Shia bloc
(similar to an alliance or a coalition), is expected to continue for a second term, as there has been a power
sharing agreement in principle

11 Itµs too long-winded, but read it if you want details about AFSPA in depth
http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/armed_forces_special_powers_act1958.pdf
Otherwise, this much will suffice- The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), was passed on September
11, 1958 by the Parliament of India. It conferred special powers upon armed forces in what the language of the
act calls "disturbed areas" in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland
and Tripura. It was later extended to Jammu and Kashmir as the The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir)
Special Powers Act, 1990 in July 1990. (Source: www.wikipedia.org)
with the rival sunni-secular (unlike India, ?secular? in general means an attitude towards religion that is either
antipathetic, apathetic or supports limiting it to the private spaces. While Allawiµs bloc is dominated by Sunnis,
it doesnµt have a religious/Islamist agenda) Iraqiya formation, led by the former interim Prime Minister, Iyad
Allawi, over the composition of the new government.
‡ Britain to introduce a new category of visa ² Entrepreneur Visa ² to encourage foreign nationals from India
and elsewhere to catalyse economic recovery in the country.

NOVEMBER THE 9TH, 2010

‡ U.S. President Barack Obama in support of a permanent seat for India in a reformed U.N. Security Council (So
far support for a permanent seat to the UNSC has been given to India by the USA, China, Britain, France and
Russia ± basically all 5 members. Reading: ‡ Until now, the U.S. has remained firmly adherent to the NPT
framework, but, U.S. assures India that NPT criteria is not required for NSG membership.
‡ NDFB: National Democratic Front of Boroland12. Founder of NFDB: Ranjan Daimary.
‡ The Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee was set up by the Centre to go into the demands for a ?separate
Telanagana? and a ?united Andhra Pradesh?. It will make its recommendations to the Centre before December
31. Committee Member-Secretary: Kumar Duggal.
‡ The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) has succeeded in
creating a miniature version of the Big Bang by smashing stripped-down lead atoms together.
‡ Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC): This eight-member Commission was constituted in
May to report on the lessons to be learnt from the events between February 2002 and May 2009 (rejecting
International calls for International probe into the killing of thousands of Tamils in the final stages of the Sri
Lankan Civil War and refusing to allow United Nations panel of experts entry into Sri Lanka), their attendant
concerns and to recommend measures to ensure that there will be no recurrence of such a situation.

NOVEMBER THE 10TH, 2010

‡ Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan resigns from his post over the Adarsh Housing Society scam, pending inquiry.
He will, however, continue as caretaker Chief Minister until the party appoints a new candidate for the post.
‡ Defence Minister A.K. Antony asks CBI to probe the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam and look into
the circumstances under which the No Objection Certificate was issued and the possession of the land in
question was relinquished, even though there was shortage of land for the Army in Mumbai. The CBI would also
probe how far the housing society had met the commitments to the welfare of wives of dead war heroes/service
personnel, as reports emerged that it was to have allocated flats for the families of the Kargil war martyrs.
‡ General Secretary of CPI (Maoist): Muppalla Laxman Rao alias Ganapathy.
‡ B. Sudershan Reddy Committee:
??The Centre to table in the Lok Sabha the report of Justice B. Sudershan Reddy Committee, which probed
?misappropriation? charges against Calcutta High Court judge Soumitra Sen in the removal proceedings
initiated by Parliament.
??Justice Sudershan Reddy presented the report to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari.
??The committee included Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and jurist Fali Nariman.
??It was constituted under Section 3 (2) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
??The purpose of setting up the committee: For investigating the grounds on which the removal of Justice Sen
has been brought about through a motion by Shri Sitaram Yechury13 and 56 other members of the Rajya
Sabha.
??The charge against Justice Sen was that when he was lawyer, he collected Rs.33,22,800 from a purchaser of
goods and kept it in a savings bank account and misrepresented facts to the High Court.
??The case is the second in the history of the country in which Parliament has initiated proceedings for removal
of a judge (the first one involved Justice V. Ramaswami).
‡ Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to attend the G-20 Summit in Seoul14 that will review the global economic
situation and the status of recovery.
‡ Ronald Noble, who has been Secretary-General of Interpol for the past 10 years, has been re-elected to the
post for a third five-year term at the global police agency's general assembly in Doha.
‡ Venue of the 79th Interpol General Assembly: Qatar, Doha.15
‡ ILO claims that the unemployment figure, post the economic slowdown, globally is at an all time high of 210
million.
‡ Union Commerce and Industry Minister: Anand Sharma.
‡ U.S. Commerce Secretary: Gary Locke.
‡ Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor16 Usha Thorat retires. The portfolios held by her will temporarily be
looked after by deputy governor, Shyamala Gopinath until further orders.
‡ India and Japan to sign CEPA for enhancing trade ties and reduce/eliminate tariffs on over 90 per cent of the
goods traded between the two countries.
‡ CEPA: Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

14 Seoul, capital of?

15 Qatar is the capital of Doha.
16 Other Dy Governors: Subir Gokaran, KC Chakrabarty and Shyamala Gopinath.
17 Chagan Bhujbal held this post twice earlier.
NOVEMBER THE 11TH, 2010
‡ Prithviraj Chauhan to be sworn in as the CM of Maharashtra.
‡ Deputy CM of Maharashtra, Chagan Bhujbal soon to be replaced by Sharad Pawarµs nephew Ajit Pawar. He
was also unanimously elected the leader of the NCP legislature party17.
‡ Union Civil Aviation Minister: Praful Patel.
‡ A Parliamentary Inquiry Committee has held Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court guilty of
=misconduct' tantamount to =misbehaviour,' warranting his removal as a judge. The allegations made against
justice Sen stood proved.
‡ The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Vinod Rai has submitted the report related to the 2G spectrum
allocation to the Centre.
‡ Deputy Chief Minster of Tamil Nadu: M.K.Stalin.
‡ The Supreme Court indicated that the petitions filed by Amar Singh, former general secretary of the
Samajwadi Party, and actor Jayaprada challenging the provisions of the anti-defection law on disqualification of
expelled MPs would be heard by a larger Bench.

Mr. Singh and Ms. Jayaprada were expelled from the SP for indulging in anti-party activities.
‡ Newly-appointed Police Commissioner of Delhi: Brijesh Kumar Gupta.
‡ Justice K.T. Thomas Committee was set up to monitor implementation of the direction passed by the SC in
September 2006 on police reforms.

Taking a serious view of non-compliance of its directions on police reforms by most of the States, the Supreme
Court has ordered personal appearance of the Chief Secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra
and Karnataka to personally explain why the directions were not implemented.
‡ T. Chatterjee, an IAS officer, will take over as Union Environment Secretary after incumbent Vijai Sharma
retires at the end of the year. Currently, he is serving as the Special Chief Secretary in the Andhra Pradesh
government's Planning Department.
‡ Senior IPS officer and former Chief of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) Anil K. Pandey passes away.
‡ What is August Maneuver? A Chinese space flight manoeuvring one of its satellites to within about 300 metres
of another while they were orbiting Earth is August Manoeuvre.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE COMPENDIUM ± 9

NOVEMBER THE 12TH, 2010
‡?PARLIAMENT-ADJOURNED
Both houses of the parliament were adjourned over the spectrum scam with the Opposition
sticking to its demand for removal of Telecommunications Minister A. Raja and Congress
members protesting the remarks of the former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief, K.S.
Sudershan, against party president Sonia Gandhi. The opposition raised hell by shouting slogans
against Mr. Raja on the basis of the Comptroller and Auditor-General's report, which is believed
to have passed strictures against the 2G spectrum allocation. This policy, approved by Mr. Raja,
caused a loss of about Rs 1.76 lakh crore, the CAG report is understood to have pointed out.
‡?DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESPONDS
The Department of Telecom informed the Supreme Court that no guidelines were flouted in the
allotment of the 2G spectrum. That it was the government¶s conscious decision to increase teledensity
rather than maximising revenue and hence to not go in for auction. This was in response
to a PIL filed by the Centre for seeking action on the basis of the draft audit report of the
Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) that the scam involving Communications Minister A.
Raja caused the exchequer a loss of Rs.1,39,652 crore, and helped a few private persons and
companies make a corresponding gain.
The matter will come up before a Bench of Justices G. S. Singhvi and A. K. Ganguly for further
hearing on November 15.
‡?JAYALALITHAA¶S OFFER TO MANMOHAN
AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to dismiss
Union Communications Minister A. Raja, and offered his government the ³unconditional´
support of 18 MPs, if the DMK withdrew support.
But the Congress dismissed the offer.
‡?CHAVAN, PAWAR SWORN IN
With the promise of delivering a clean government, Maharashtra's new Chief Minister Prithviraj
Chavan was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor K. Sankaranarayanan. New
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also took the oath along with nine others from the Nationalist
Congress Party (NCP)
‡?Bodo National Convention to be held on November 18-19.
‡?KACHROO JUSTICE
All the four accused senior medical students in the Aman Kachroo ragging case were sentenced
to four years rigorous imprisonment by a fast track court in Dharamsala after they were held
guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for ragging a junior student Aman
Kachroo, leading to his death. Additional District and Sessions Judge Purinder Vaidya also
imposed a fine of Rs.10,000 each on the students of the Rajendra Prasad Medical College and
Hospital in Tanda in Kangra district of the hill State. Ajay Verma, Navin Verma, Abhinav
Verma and Mukul Sharma have been held guilty under Sections 304 II (culpable homicide not
amounting to murder), 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful
restraint), 34 (common intention) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the IPC
‡?RUCHIKA CASE
Taking into consideration the closure reports filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in fresh
cases registered against the former Haryana Director-General of Police, S.P.S. Rathore, the
Supreme Court has ordered his release on bail in the molestation case in which he was convicted
to undergo 18 months imprisonment.
‡?IRAQ GETTING A PRO IRAN GOVERNMENT
Iraq is set to acquire a new government following a power sharing deal, which underscores
Iran's growing influence in Baghdad. Incumbent Prime Minister, Nouri Al Maliki, whose State
of Law bloc won 89 seats will continue for a second term in office. With the 70-seat support
coming recently from the former rival±turned-ally, Moqtada Al Sadr, Mr. Maliki had already
edged close to the mark of 163 seats required to form a new government. Mr. Maliki's tenure for
a second term was secured when the Kurdish alliance of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)
and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) decided to pool in its 43 seats in favour of the Shia
combine.
‡?TENDULKAR WORLD CUP AMBASSADOR
Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar will be the event ambassador for the ICC World Cup
2011.
NOVEMBER THE 13TH, 2010
‡?RAJA REFUSES TO GO
Reiterating that the entire 2G spectrum allocation process was carried out as per rules and
regulations, Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja has said there was
no question of his resigning from the Cabinet as he had done nothing wrong.
‡?WORLD LEADERS REACH AGREEMENT-TO CURB IMBALANCES
Leaders of the world's biggest economies have agreed to curb ³persistently large imbalances´ in
saving and spending but deferred until next year tough decisions on how to identify and fix them.
The agreement, the culmination of a two-day summit meeting of leaders of the Group of 20
industrialised and emerging powers, fell short of initial U.S. demands for numerical targets on
trade surpluses and deficits. But it reflected a consensus that longstanding economic patterns in
particular, the United States consuming too much, and China too little were no longer
sustainable.
‡?BAN ON LTTE UPHELD
Observing that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) still remains a threat to the
country's security, Justice Vikramajit Sen of the Delhi High Court, constituting the one-man
Tribunal upheld the May 14, 2010 notification of the Centre extending the ban on the outfit for
two years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
‡?16TH ASIAN GAMES STARTS
Massive fireworks, impressive stunts on speed boats mark the opening ceremony of the Asian
Games at Guangzhou, China.
‡?CHAVAN AND PAID NEWS
The former Maharashtra Chief Minister, Ashok Chavan, elected from Bhokar Assembly
constituency in Nanded district, had paid money to various newspapers to get publicity, and not
submitted proper accounts for the expenditure made in this regard, claimed Advocate Uday Lalit
before the Election Commission.
‡?SUSPEND ANTI OBESITY DRUG-DGCI
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has ordered the ³suspension´ of the manufacture
and import of anti-obesity drug Sibutramine after the medicine showed serious side effects,
including heart attack, among some users. The DCGI also recommended to the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare a total ban on the sale of the drug. The suspension order was issued
under Section 26 (A) of Drugs and Cosmetic Act, with immediate effect, with the DCGI also
seeking a total prohibition on its manufacture and sale in the open market. The ban has to be
formally notified by the Health Ministry on the recommendation of the DCGI.
‡?AIDWA ELECTIONS
Ninth National Conference of the All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) came to
a close with the election of 101 Central Executive Committee members from among the
delegates. In keeping with the three-term policy for office-bearers, Subhashini Ali was relieved
from the post of president and Shyamoli Gupta from West Bengal was elected in her place.
Sudha Sundararaman will continue as general secretary for another three-year term.
‡?INDIA ON UN WOMEN PANEL
India has been elected to the board of a new U.N. agency to promote equality for women .U.N.
Women is the amalgamation of different United Nations bodies focused on women. It was
created this year to look exclusively at gender equality and empowerment of women. The 41-
member executive board also includes the U.S. and Britain, which won seats in the donor nations
category.
‡?8 MORE TIGER RESERVES LIKELY IN THE COUNTRY
The new reserves would include one in the Satyamangalam forests in Tamil Nadu, besides
Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.
‡?International Tiger Forum, hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at St.
Petersburg from November 21 to 24. The Forum will commit conservation and
rehabilitation of tigers to global action.
‡?The Youth Summit will take place from November 19 to 24 at Vladivostok, home to the
Amur Tiger. The involvement of youth at this important meeting is aimed at drawing
attention to the importance of tiger conservation. WWF-India has selected students
Anusha Shankar and Devanshu Sood to represent India at the summit.
NOVEMBER THE 14TH, 2010
‡?SUU KYI WALKS FREE
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's celebrated pro-democracy leader and a political prisoner of
global stature, has been set free from house arrest in Yangon.
‡?AFTER OBAMA VISIT, INDIA PLAYS BALL WITH US ALLIES
If Barack Obama's triumphant visit here gave the world the impression that the Manmohan Singh
government was drawing too close to the United States, the Russia-India-China (RIC) Foreign
Ministers meeting in Wuhan this week will serve as a reminder that India is still willing to play
ball with powers that see themselves as rivals to America.
‡?US CHINA ROW RUMBLES ON AT APEC SUMMIT
U.S. President Barack Obama will be using the Pacific Rim Summit (To be held in Honolulu,
Hawaii, USA, from December 11-14, 2010. Visit http://www.bio.org/pacrim/ to know more
about the Summit) to press China on its flood of exports aided by a cheap Yuan, but President
Hu Jintao said Beijing would make reforms at its own pace. The competing visions of the two
economic giants were laid out a day after the G20 knocked back U.S. proposals for binding
targets to address global trade imbalances and curbs on currency manipulation ² proposals
effectively aimed at China
‡?US- INDIA PACT TO BETTER MONSOONS
India's monsoon forecasting is expected to improve with its entering into a new agreement with
the United States. The agreement between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) and India's Ministry of Earth Sciences is part of a series of food security agreements
formalised during President Barack Obama's visit.
NOAA administrator: Jane Lubchenco.
‡?VOLCANO DEATH TOLL UP TO 240
Indonesia's most volatile volcano, Mt. Merapi, unleashed another cloud of searing gas. Raises
death toll to 240
NOVEMBER THE 15TH, 2010
‡?RAJA QUITS
A. Raja, Telecom Minister in the Central Government quit the Union Cabinet in the eye of the
2G spectrum allocation scam. A. Raja is the face of DMK party at the center, the party strongly
supports him and claims his innocence, his resignation is on moral grounds according to the
minister.
‡?ADVANI WINS GOLD
Pankaj Advani wins the first gold for India at the 16th Asiad 2010 taking place in Guangzhou,
China. He won the Billiards singles event.
‡?VETTEL WINS CHAMPIONSHIP
Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull racing team, won the Formula One World Championship for 2010 ,
by clinching the victory in the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He became F1¶s youngest
champion at 23 years beating Lewis Hamilton¶s record. Ferrari¶s Fernando Alonso finished 2nd in
the season , while the constructors title was taken By Red Bull, with a handsome margin as Mark
Webber, the 2nd team driver finished 3rd.
‡?FACEBOOK MAIL
Facebook in order to compete with Google and Yahoo, has announced to launch its e-mail
service shortly.
‡?RUSSIA- BULGARIA AGREEMENT
Russian PM Vladimir Putin and Bulgarian PM Boiko Borisov signed agreements on South
Stream Gas Transit Pipeline in Sofia, Bulgaria. (FYI, Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria.)
‡?NEW LITERACY PROGRAMME IN KERALA
Education and Cultural Affairs Minister M.A. Baby (Kerala) has launched a new informal
literacy programme which he claimed would gather momentum to become a mass movement in
line with the highly successful µLiteracy Movement' of the past.
‡?J&K NO LONGER ON UN LIST
Jammu and Kashmir has been removed from the United Nations list of unresolved disputes, in a
setback to Pakistan which has been asking the world body to intervene on the issue. The
omission of Jammu and Kashmir from the list of disputes under the observation of the Security
Council was noticed by Pakistan, whose envoy has filed a protest.
‡?LC JAIN NO MORE
Well-known Gandhian L.C. Jain, 85, passes away.
‡?PRESIDENT OF MAURITIUS IN INDIA
Mauritius President Anerood Jugnauth is in India for a two-day-long visit to the State of Orissa.
NOVEMBER THE 16TH, 2010
‡?CWG PROBE
After registering two cases related to the Queen's Baton Relay held at London prior to the
Commonwealth Games 2010, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two sacked
senior officials of the CWG Organising Committee (OC).The agency arrested the former Joint
Director-General, T.S. Darbari, and the former Deputy Director-General of the OC, Sanjay
Mohindroo. The first case was registered under Sections 120-B, 420, 468 and 471 of the Indian
Penal Code and Section 13 (2) read with Section 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act
against Mr. Darbari and Dr. Mohindroo and a director of the OC, a London-based transport firm;
its Director and others.
‡?REPORT SUBMITTED
The U.R. Ananthamurthy Committee on State Policy on Higher Education has submitted its
final report to the Kerala State Higher Education Council.
‡?TRILATERAL MEET
Russia, India and China hold their 10th trilateral ministerial meeting in Wuhan, China.
‡?CPI SEEKS ENDOSULFAN BAN
The Communist Party of India State Council (Kerela) has asked the Centre to ban Endosulfan,
which led to deadly diseases and death in several areas in Kasaragod. A resolution adopted by it
said the ill effects of spraying the pesticide on cashew plantations were hounding an entire
population. It was included in the deadly pesticides list and banned in many countries. (Similar
news was reported in one of the compendiums earlier. Do you remember what it was about?)
‡?SIBAL PUT IN CHARGE
A day after A. Raja resigned as Communications and Information Technology Minister over the
alleged scam in the 2G spectrum allocation, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal
was given the additional charge of the Ministry.
‡?AYODHYA VERDICT CHALLENGED
The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JuH) has challenged in the Supreme Court the Allahabad High Court's
verdict in the Babri Masjid title suits.
‡?SUPREME COURT SUGGESTS AN ARMED FORCES GRIEVANCES REDRESSAL COMMISSION
The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to constitute the Armed Forces Grievances Redressal
Commission to look into the grievances of serving or former members of the armed forces (the
Army, the Navy and the Air Force) or their widows or family members for pension or other
issues and make suitable recommendations expeditiously to the Central government in this
regard.
‡?MINISTER SOUGHT RS. 15 CRORE BRIBE TO START AIRLINE: TATA
TATA Group chairman, Ratan Tata, says that he did not enter airline business as he did not want
to bribe a minister with Rs. 15 Crores. (In 2001, when the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power,
the Tatas and Singapore Airlines withdrew as sole bidders their joint bid for Air India, citing
political opposition to the sale. Earlier in 1995 and subsequently in 2000, the consortium made
concerted efforts to obtain a stake in Air India, but controversies that engulfed disinvestment
through a strategic sale in a public sector undertaking and the unions' agitation prevented
materialization of the bids.)
NOVEMBER THE 17TH, 2010
LIBRARY FOR PRISONERS
Part-time library opened at women's prison in Tiruchi
PRINCE IS ENGAGED
After eight years of an on-off relationship, Prince William and his girl friend Kate
Middleton, who has no royal or aristocratic family links, are to marry.
INDIAN ARTS ON UNESCO LIST
The UNESCO 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. This annual list, unlike the World Heritage list that focuses on
monuments and natural sites, spotlights performing art forms of outstanding value and
are vulnerable due to lack of support.
RITA SONI CEO OF NASSCOM FOUNDATION
NASSCOM Foundation (NF), the social development arm of NASSCOM, has announced
the appointment of Rita Soni as its (CEO).
NOVEMBER THE 18TH, 2010
‡?PM ASKED TO EXPLAIN
A day after the Supreme Court referred to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's alleged silence on
a complaint that sought sanction for prosecution of the former Minister, A. Raja, the Bharatiya
Janata Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) stepped up the pressure on him,
demanding that he explain the entire 2G spectrum allocation issue. Both the parties The
Opposition has been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JAC) probe into the alleged
corruption in spectrum allocation, the Commonwealth Games and the Adarsh Cooperative
Housing Society.
‡?YEDDY CHARGED WITH LAND SCAM
The Janata Dal (Secular) has released a fresh set of documents in support of its case and
demanded the Chief Minister Yeddyurappa's resignation. With this, the campaign by the
Opposition, ahead of the crucial elections to Taluk and Zilla panchayats, seeking the resignation
of Mr. Yeddyurappa has gained momentum. The Pradesh Congress Committee president G.
Parameshwara has demanded Mr. Yeddyurappa's resignation over his alleged involvement in the
land denotification and allotment scam. Mr. Yeddyurappa has defended the allotment of land to
his sons, saying he has abided by the rules. The Chief Minister has announced a judicial probe
into the allegations by a retired Supreme Court judge.
‡?CAG REPORTS
The report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India on the 2G spectrum allocation
indicates that it was the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) that benefited the most from the
arbitrary and unfair manner in which licences were given in 2008. The CAG has found that Mr.
Ambani's companies were given undue advantage over other players in at least three ways:
1. The fact that Swan Telecom (now Etisalat DB Telecom), one of the 2G
beneficiaries, appeared to have been acting as a front company for ADAG's
Reliance Telecom was ignored by the Department of Telecom;
2. It got the spectrum before others in the queue;
3. Reliance Communications was favoured in the spectrum allocation while getting
access to a dual technology licence for offering both CDMA and GSM services.
‡?SUPREME COURT SPEAKS FOR CHILDREN
Kidnapping for ransom and murder of children are heinous crimes against society and should be
firmly dealt with, the Supreme Court has said. It upheld the life sentence awarded by the trial
court, and confirmed by the Delhi High Court, to an accused for killing a nine-year-old
schoolboy in the capital as his parents could not meet the demand for a Rs. 20-lakh ransom
‡?TEHELKA AWARDED
Weekly magazine Tehelka has been selected for the IPI (International Press Institute) India
Award for Excellence in Journalism, 2010, for outstanding journalistic work. The award,
comprising a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh, a trophy and a citation, will be presented here next month.
The IPI is an active forum of editors, publishers and senior executives of newspapers, magazines
and news agencies committed to promotion of free exchange of accurate and balanced news
among nations.
‡?KRISHNA TO VISIT SRILANKA
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna is scheduled to make an official visit to Sri Lanka from
November 25 to 27 for bilateral talks. According to diplomatic sources, the focus of the would be
rehabilitation of the nearly three lakh Tamil civilians displaced during the war between the LTTE
and Sri Lankan forces and the need to move beyond resettlement and towards a political solution
to the ethnic conflict.
NOVEMBER THE 19TH, 2010
TRAI RECOMMENDS 69 CANCELLATIONS
Two days after the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) report on 2G spectrum
allocation highlighted the non-fulfilment of rollout obligations by new telecom
operators, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended
cancellation of 69 licences of six operators, including five new ones, who were sitting on
spectrum and failed to provide services in the circles allotted to them.
ARE SIKHS A MINORITY IN PUNJAB?
The Supreme Court has indicated that it would refer for adjudication by a Constitution Bench the
issue whether Sikhs, who form a majority population in Punjab, can claim µminority' status
in that State. A Bench of Justices B. Sudershan Reddy and S.S. Nijjar gave this indication
during the course of arguments on a batch of appeals from the State of Punjab and the
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) against a judgment of the Punjab and
Haryana High Court, which held that Sikhs were not ³minorities´ in Punjab and could not
claim minority rights. In May 2009, the court stayed the operation of the judgment.
Ramakrishna Order President: Swami Atmasthanandaji; Secretary: Swami Prabhanandaji
More relief for Bhopal victims
The Cabinet has approved an additional payment of Rs. 71.28 crore as ex gratia to 3,486
more victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas leak disaster. This is in addition to the Rs. 669
crore of compensation payments which have already been approved by the government
in June.
LG LAUNCHES OPTIMUS ONE
LG launches its latest smartphone µOptimus One'
BHARTI AIRTEL LAUNCHES NEW BRAND IDENTITY
Bharti Airtel unveils its new brand identity and announces that its 3G services will be
launched by the end of next month.
PASCAL LAMY COMING TO INDIA
In a bid to expedite the much delayed multilateral trade opening agreement, World Trade
Organization (WTO) chief Pascal Lamy is arriving here to hold consultations with the
Centre.

CLAT GYANµS GK COMPENDIUM

NOVEMBER THE 20TH, 2010
‡ For effective representation,Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvatiwould replace Solicitor-General Gopal
Subramaniamto appear for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inthe case filed by Janata Party president
Subramanian Swamyin the Supreme Court over the 2G spectrum scam.

The Court willhear the petition filed by advocate Prashant Bhushanto examine the Comptroller and Auditor-
General's report on the spectrum allocation.
‡ India summoned the Iranian Ambassador to protest Tehran's observations on Kashmir even as it abstained
from voting on a U.N. resolution(80 countries voted in favour of the resolution, 44 voted against it and 57
countries abstained.), which alleged human rights violations in Iran, for the first time.India issued a demarche
(demarche means line of action) to Iran, the third since June, after Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei mentioned Kashmir in his message to Haj pilgrims. On all the three occasions, Iran called on the
global Muslim community(Ummah)to support the ³struggle´ in Kashmir and mentioned it with Gaza and
Afghanistan (connecting it to the global oppression that Muslims face in these communities)
‡ Chief Minister Yeddyurappa of Karnataka has ordered a judicial probe into the land de-notification issue and
the land acquired by his son and daughter hasbeen surrendered. He has refused to resign.
‡ Mahinda Rajapaksa sworn in as the presidentof Sri Lankafor second term. He was re-elected in the January
presidential election with a huge margin over the opposition candidate and former Army Chief, Sarath Fonseka.
‡ Concerned over ³blatant vulgarity´ on prime time television, the National Commission for Women
(Chairperson: Girija Vyas) has demanded that the Prohibition of Indecent Representation of Women and
Children Bill, 2008 ²the amended Indecent Representation of Women(Prohibition) Act, 1986 ²be passed
immediately to ensure monitoring of the content on the electronic media. Amendment demanded: broaden the
definition of ³indecent representation´ and expand the scope of the Act to include electronic and digital media,
and make punishments stringent.
‡ Indian Medical Association chief G. Samaram and secretary Dharam Prakash cannot practice for six months or
until their names are once again added to the medical register. Reason: violation of code of ethics; they
endorsed a food product in 2009, which was deemed to be a violation of code of ethics.
‡ Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has rejected the proposal to clear forests for Posco's(MNC from South
Korea)Rs. 54,000-crore integrated steel plant in Orissafor it was violative of the Forest Rights Act (FRA).

The Meena Gupta Committee (It's a 4-member committee with Meena Gupta, ex Environment Secretary, as the
head) has been set up to look into how compliant the Posco Integrated Steel Project is with the FRA and Forest
Conservation Act. TheCommittee has also been asked to investigate the compliance of the state government
and the project developers with the Environment Protection Act and the Coastal Zone Regulatory norms.
Earlier, the committee was set up to investigate claims of infringement of the Forest Rights Act and the Forest
Conservation Act in the acquisition of land by the Orissa government for the Korean steel giant.
In an overlap of sorts, another committee of the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), set up with
NAC member N C Saxena as head, to review the overall implementation of the Forest Rights Act in the country
had made an interim report to the ministry recommending stoppage of all work at the project site pointing to
violation of the FRA.
Visit the GK Doses page, more links regarding the background of this imbroglio has been put up.
‡ Outgoing Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been selected for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace,
Disarmament and Development for 2010 for promoting strong ties among the developing countries, promoting
inclusive growth and for his contribution to the cause of India-Brazil partnership.Dilma Rousseff is the new
President-elect for Brazil.The recent winners of the prize include Sheikh Hasina (President, Bangladesh, for
giving her country the 10 point program, 2009), Mohammed ElBaradei(2008, Egypt, for his work as the former
president of IAEA)and Bill and Melinda Gates (2007, the foundation that funds research initiatives)
‡ µSabla' or the µRajiv Gandhi Scheme for Adolescent Girls' was launched by Union Home Minister P.
Chidambaram. It is a special scheme for the well-being and overall
empowerment of adolescent girls
‡ The fifth limited series production Tejas Light Combat Aircraftsuccessfullycompleted its first flight near
Bangalore.(Further reading ‡ V.K. Saraswat --Scientific Adviser to Defence Ministeralso Director Generalof
Defence Research Defence Organization.
‡ The Government is firmon not allowing a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum
allocation but appealed to the Opposition to agree to an investigation by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC),
which is ³almost a permanent JPC.´(Read about the difference between a JPC and a PAC in the GK Doses page
³What are we losing to a stubborn opposition?´)
‡ The Gujarat government gave an assurance to the High Court that itwould initiate steps to issue a notification
within the next couple of days for the formation of a Special Investigation Team to investigate the encounter
killing of Ishrat Jahan and three others on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in June, 2004.
‡ FICCI Secretary-General Amit Mitra.
‡ Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister-T.K.A. Nair.
‡ As reported by The Hindu on 17thAugust that London-listed Anil Aggarwal-led mining group Vedanta
Resources announced its decision to acquire a majority of up to 60 per cent stake in Cairn India for $9.6 billion,
the Petroleum Ministry on 19thNov indicated that the $8.48-billion Cairn-Vedanta deal would only be considered
for approval if Cairn Energy sought government consent for all the properties and not selective ones.Petroleum
Minister: Murli Deora(http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/17/stories/2010081753641800.htm).
‡ Commerce Secretary-Rahul Khullar.

NOVEMBER THE 21ST, 2010

‡ Mr. Yeddyurappa, told journalists his µmission' from now would be to annihilate the Janata Dal (Secular) in
Karnataka. He would reveal the ³true colours´ of that party's leader Deve Gowda and his sons.[Quite an
ambitious 'mission', don't you think?]

‡Punishment imposed for two cases of the 2008 communal riots in Kandhamal district.
14 persons get three-year rigorous imprisonment and imposed a penalty of Rs. 4,500 on each.
6acquitted for lack of evidence.Seven persons sentenced to three-year RigorousImprisonment (RI) and fined
each Rs.4,500 for burning down houses belonging to the minority community at Sindigaon in Baliguda, and for
rioting.
In another case of house burning at Budamaha in Raikia, it found all seven accused guilty of the crime.
(Background: Goons belonging to the right-wing-extremeist-unreasonably nationalist Bajrang Dal and Vishwa
Hindu Parishad ±associates belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
went on a rampage, killing Tribals who had converted to Christianity for social and economic benefits. This orgy
of murder, rape and torture to a whole community was justified as it had followed the murder of a Swami
belonging to the VHP who was evidently ³fighting´conversions by Maoists in the same area. However, unlike
Gujarat and other places, the victims here had some closure as they were allowed to go back to their homes
and the suspects were soon rounded off, charged and now, convicted. BJP MLAs have also been involved in the
whole imbroglio. The Biju Janata Dal under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik stormed back to power in the
2009 elections after breaking its ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Yes, this narration is biased, just like the
riots were)
‡In an attempt to defend the Govt. in the 2G Spectrum Scam, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari has claimed
that the CAG has used the case of a ³defaulter´ company ²S Tel ²as a benchmark for computing the Rs.1.76-
lakh crore loss, but the govt auditor's figure is based on the prices achieved by the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT) from the 3G spectrum auction.
But the CAG has defended its claim by stating that its criterion for working out potential loss to the exchequer
is based on three scenarios ²on the basis of the 3G spectrum auction; on the basis of sale of equity by two
new licensees [Unitech (brand Uninor) and Swan (now Etisalat DB)], and on the higher rates of spectrum S Tel
offered to pay in 2007.
‡Head of PAC-Senior Opposition Leader, Murli Manohar Joshi.
‡The World Bank-funded Rs.745-crore Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP), covering 104 dams
in the Tamil Nadu, will be launched in the next financial year (2011-2012).
‡India beat Pakistan in Hockey at the Asian Games.
‡India has embarked upon an ambitious project to indigenously design and develop a fifth generation Advanced
Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) by 2017.
‡Swami Asimanand, who was arrested by the CBI in connection with the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast case,
has been remanded to judicial custody till November 30.These proceedings came 3 years late until which time
the police fed thewhole public a story of Muslim suspects belonging to Bangladesh and even arrested and
detained innocent Muslim youth belonging to Hyderabad. These arrests come in the back drop of the rise of
Saffron Terror ±terror carried out by Hindu outfits.
‡Kerala's Forest Minister Benoy Viswom said the government would seek a country-wide ban on Endosulfan at a
meeting convened by the Centre to discuss India's stand at the Geneva Convention (comprise four treaties and
three additional protocols that set the standards in international law for humanitarian treatment of the victims
of war. ) and Rotterdam Convention (this convention came into existence for prior informed consent procedure
for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade. (Further reading:
http://www.pic.int/home.php?type=t&id=5&sid=16).
‡Head of the moderate faction of the HurriyatConference: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Hardline Faction: Syed Shah
Ali Geelani
‡The Central government has notified a National Policy for Open Standards in e-governance. The policy, which
lays down a framework for selection of technological standards, mandates that all government e-processes
adopt a ³single and royalty-free open standard´ in each technological domain. This implies that the
specifications of the standards ²including associated patents and extensions ²must be accessible and royalty-
free, in perpetuity.
ITS SIGNIFICANCE
1.It will promote standards that are inter-operable (say, among various government departments),
2.Avoids any form of vendor lock-in
3.Cost-effective.
4.It can also fuel technological innovation by offering domestic and home-grown companies a level playing
field.
What is an example of something that was built on Open Standards?The Internet.
‡A high-level committee of top bureaucrats has shortlisted a panel of three names for selecting the next
Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, they are:
A. P. Singh, Special Director in the CBI,
S. C. Sinha, Director of the National Investigation Agency,
N. R. Das, postedas Director-General of the Central Industrial Security Force.
The names will be sent by the Department of Personnel and Training to the Appointments Committee of the
Cabinet. The appointment will be made well before month-end as the tenure of Ashwani Kumar as CBI chief
ends on November 30.
‡Chief Vigilance Commissioner: P. J. Thomas.
‡Home Secretary: G. K. Pillai
‡Department of Personnel Secretary: Alka Sirohi.
Additional Solicitor-General and Delhi High Court Bar Association president A. S. Chandhiok has been honoured
with the µSikh of the Year 2010' award for his ³outstanding achievements in the legal field and working for
betterment of society´.Last year it was MoS of External Affairs, Preneet Kaur who¶d received the Award.
NOVEMBER THE 22ND, 2010
‡ Under mounting pressure to quit over alleged land scams, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa claimed that he
had the support of all party MLAs and that there was no successor to him. ³The only successor is B.S.
Yeddyurappa.´[Congratulations, India has successfully mastered human cloning]±STUD statement, if you ask
us.
‡ Ronjan Sodhi wins Gold in Shooting at the Asian Games.He is currentlyRank no. 3
‡ The 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2010 is being held in Panaji. It was inaugurated by
Railways Minister, Mamata Banerjee

Chief Guest at IFFI: Yash Chopra

Guest of Honour at IFFI: Ajay Devg(a)n
Director of Film Festivals: S.M. Khan
‡ The CBI arrests the sacked treasurer of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, M. Jayachandran,
forthe alleged bungling in the Queen's Baton Relay in London last year.
‡ UNESCO has decided to dissociate itself from the World Philosophy Day events scheduled to be held in Iran.
As the Secretariat was not fully consulted on all aspects, the Director-General, Irina Bokova, considers that the
conditions necessary to guarantee the effective organisation of a U.N. international conference have not been
met.

FACT: This Day has been celebrated by the UN body every year since 2002, on the third Thursday of
November, both at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris and in other cities around the world. The General
Conference of Unesco established the World Philosophy Day in 2005.
‡ Union Secretary for Health and Family Welfare: Sujatha Rao.
‡ NATO and Afghanistan have agreed tothe goal of a phased transfer of security responsibility to the Afghan
government by the end of 2014, but acknowledged that allied forces would remain in Afghanistan at least in a
support role well beyond that date.
‡ Pope Benedict XVI changes his stance on condoms, steps back from Vatican's blanketban on contraceptives

NOVEMBER THE 23RD, 2010

‡ In a major embarrassment to the Union government, the Supreme Court asked Attorney-General G.E.
Vahanvati to take instructions on whether P.J. Thomas could continue in the sensitive post of Central Vigilance
Commissioner (CVC) as a charge sheet is pending against him for his alleged involvement in the palmolein
import case. (In this case, the accused, one of whom is PJ Thomas, caused the exchequer a loss of Rs.232
million, importing palmolein at exorbitant rates.) But the AGI maintained that there was no case pending
against the CVC chief.
‡ CBI says that the report on the 2G scam will be ready by March 2011.
‡ Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh clinch the men's doubles gold medal in tennis in the Asian Games.
‡ Polish Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa (NPP-1983. Further reading:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1983/walesa-bio.html) has offeredto accept this year's
award on behalf of the jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.
‡ The Gujarat government has issued a notification constituting a three-member Special Investigation Team for
a fresh probe into the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case (http://theviewspaper.net/justice-probe-finds-
ishrat-jahan-encounter-fake/). This is to be headed by Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police, Karnail Singh.
‡ An eight-member Indian scientific team reached the South Pole and hoisted the tricolour.Head of the team,
also the Director of the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research: Rasik Ravindran.
‡ Chairperson of Vaishnavi Corporate Communications (VCC): Nira Radia.
‡ The U.S. Senate passed a bill seeking $4.55 billion in compensation to the two minority communities, namely
the African-American and American-Indian communities in the US.From the funds, $1.15 billion has been set
aside for claimants from the African-American farming community. The money will specifically address the
needs of ³late petitioners´ or farmers who missed the filing deadline in a long-standing class-action suit that
was settled in 1999. The bill is still awaiting ratification by the House of Representatives and a Presidential
signature.
‡ President of UAE:Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

NOVEMBER THE 24TH, 2010

‡ Capital of S. Korea: Seoul
‡ Capital of N. Korea: Pyongyang
‡ Somdev Devvarman won his second gold medal of the Asian Games, demolishing top seed Denis Istomin of
Uzbekistan 6-1, 6-2 in the men's singles final.
‡ PM of Cambodia (capital: Phnom Pehn): Hun Sen
‡ G4 countries: India, Brazil, Japan and Germany[Primary Aim: Permanent seat at the UNSC, opposed by the
coffee table ±http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniting_for_Consensus]
‡ Finance Secretary: Ashok Chawla.
‡ The Government of India will release a postage stamp on film legend Ashok Kumar. This was announced at
the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Panaji.
‡ Palestiniansand Iran have slammed Israel's new law which will make it harder for Tel Aviv to withdraw from
the annexed territories of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The Israeli Parliament passed a law under
which withdrawal from East Jerusalem or Golan Heights would be possible only on the basis of a two-thirds
approval from Parliament. In case a super-majority in Parliament fails to approve the withdrawal, a referendum
will be held on the proposal.
‡ Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, freed by the junta from house arrest reunites with her
son, Kim Aris, after he was granted visa by the Junta.
‡ Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ; President: Dmitry Medvedev
‡ In a move that could make it difficult for corporate entities to set up stock exchanges, a SEBI committee has
recommended that only banks and public financial institutions could be anchor investors in bourses (means a
stock exchange) and stopping them from listing or making huge profits.
‡ India's oldest stock exchange: Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), India has a total number of 23 small and big
Stock Exchanges.
NOVEMBER THE 25TH, 2010
‡ The ruling Janata Dal (United)-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance smashed through the
barriers of region,caste and gender to post the biggest-ever victory in an Assembly election in Bihar.The
Opposition stood demolished; leader of the Opposition Rabri Devi lost both Raghopur and Sonepur seats.The
JD(U) won 115 of the 141 seats it contested, while the BJP made a near clean sweep, bagging 91 of the 102
seats it contested.This is being touted as a ³victory for development´±as they always say ³let¶s wait and watch´.
‡ Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Konijeti Rosaiah stepped down after14-and-a-half months in office citing
³advanced age and work pressure´ and Speaker of the Assembly Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddywas chosen by the
AICC leadership to succeed him. He will bethe 16thCM of AP to be sworn in.
‡ The EconomicOffences Wing (EOW) of the Central Bureau of Investigation has unearthed a multimillion-rupee
bribery scam and arrested top officials of public sector banks and financial institutions, including the Chief
Executive Officer of the Life Insurance Corporation Housing Finance Limited, Ramchandran Nair.
‡ Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who was been in the news for allegedly allotting plots to his kin,
has been asked by the Bharatiya Janata Party's central leadership to continue in office.
‡ In the monsoon session, Parliament had passed the Representation of People (Amendment) Bill, 2010, to
allow NRIs to vote in Indian elections. The Centre has issued a notification to this effect to allow them to
exercise their franchise.However, they would still have to be present in their constituency on election day.
‡ .The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an established by Aga Khan IVin 1977. It aims to identify and
reward architecturalconcepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Islamic societiesin the fields
of contemporary design, social housing, community developmentand improvement, restoration, reuseand area
conservation, as well as landscape designand improvement of the environment.It is presented in three-year
cycles to multiple projects and has a monetary award, with prizes totalling up to USD500,000.Uniquely among
architectural awards, it recognizes projects, teams, and stakeholders in addition to buildings and people.
‡ A 24-member delegation comprising climate campaigners, development practitioners, social activists, former
judges and State Ministers left for Cancun, Mexico, to take part in the 16thU.N. Climate Summit. It is being led
by Jaipur-based Centre for Community Economics and Development Consultants' Society.
‡ European Union Commissioner for Climate Change: Connie Hedegaard
NOVEMBER THE 26TH,2010
‡ India ushered in Mobile Number Portability that will allow cell phone users to switch operators without
changing numbers. Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal launched the service in Haryana.
‡ What is Areva? A french nuclear companythat will be setting up shop in India after theCivil Nuclearagreement
between France and India.Company's CEO: Anne Lauvergeon
‡ Dy CM of Bihar: Sushil Kumar Modi(BJP); Governor: Debanand Konwar
‡ The Strategic Forces Command of the Army fired Agni-1, the surface-to-surface missile, from the Integrated
Test Range (ITR) on Wheeler Island, off Damra village on the Orissa coast. Agni-1, which can carry nuclear
warheads, is a product of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The Advanced
Systems Laboratory (ASL), a DRDO facility at Hyderabad, developed it. The Strategic Forces Command is in
charge of the nuclear delivery systems.

ASL Director (also the ProgrammeDirector for the Agni series of missiles): Avinash Chander
‡ National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman: K.G. Balakrishnan
‡ Huang Hua, a veteran Chinese statesman and former Vice-Premier who played a key role in helping normalise
relations between China and India in the 1980s, passes away .
‡ Iraqi Prime Minister: Nouri al-Maliki; President: Jalal Talabani
‡ The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's composition:six full members ²Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.Four observer-states ²India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan.
‡ LIC Chairman: T. S. Vijayan

NOVEMBER THE 27TH, 2010

‡ With the aim of giving a fillip to development schemes in tribal and backward regions, mostly affected by
Naxal violence, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved thecommencement of an
Integrated Action Plan (IAP) in 60 selected districts. It is aimed at quick resolution of problems concerning
healthcare, drinking water, education and roads.
‡ Vijender Singh's 7-0 win over Uzbekistan's Abbos Atoev for the men's 75-kg boxing title earned a Gold for
India at the Asian Games
‡ The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is preparing to launch Agni-II + before
December 10. The launch will take place from the Wheeler Island, off the

Orissa coast, and preparationsfor it will begin in a few days.

The Agni-II + is a surface-to-surface missile that can carry nuclear warheads. It can strike targets 2,500 km to
3,000 km away. It is an intermediary between Agni-II and Agni-III. While Agni-II has a range of 2,500 km,
Agni-III can home in on targets 3,500 km way. Agni-II + will add teeth to the country's nuclear deterrence.
‡ Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has formed an experts group chaired by the chief of Prime Minister's
Economic Advisory Council, C. Rangarajan, to examinethe recommendations of the Sonia Gandhi-headed
National Advisory Council on the proposed food security Bill.
‡ BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited (BATL) caters to the product requirements of the country's
defence, aerospace and nuclear industries.
‡ Nehchal Sandhu, Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau, has been named its new Director. He will
succeed Rajiv Mathur, who retires on December 31.Tenure: 2 years
‡ Booker winner V.S. Naipaul has been forced to pull out of a major literary conference in Turkey after protests
over his views on Islam.
‡ President Pratibha Patil's visit to Syria is the first ever visit by an Indian President to this country. President of
Syria ±Bashar al Assad.

CLAT GYANµS GK COMPENDIUM

NOVEMBER THE 28TH, 2010
‡ The Geelani-Roy sedition saga continued, with a Delhi court ordering a First Information Report to be filed
against Syed Shah Geelani, a hardline advocate for Kashmirµs independence and Arundhati Roy for saying that
Kashmir was never a part of the Indian Union. [Refer to GK Doses page and previous compendiums for
background]
‡ Jaffna, an important town in the Tamil region of Sri Lanka now has its own Indian consulate.
‡ Karnatakaµs Lokayukta Justice Hegde, who has been at loggerheads with CM Yeddyurappaµs government, is
now looking at another roadblock erected by the latter. (Not important, just remember the name)
‡ 16th Asian Games were held in Guangzhou, China.
‡ Assam Chief Minister: Tarun Gogoi.
‡ Key-accused in the Sohrabuddin false encounter case, Amit Shah, a BJP leader and former member of the
Narendra Modi government denied that it was a false encounter, despite the government accepting it on the
contrary. (Compulsory Reading: http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/28/stories/2010112862651200.htm)
‡ Contending that the use of the expression ?keep? in a recent judgment to describe a woman was highly
derogatory and a discrimination against women on grounds of marital status, Mahila Dakshta Samiti, a women's
organisation, has moved the Supreme Court for its recall. On October 21, a Bench of Justice Markandey Katju
and Justice Gyan Sudha Misra in a judgment had said, ?Not all live-in relationships will amount to a relationship
in the nature of marriage to get the benefit of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005. If
a man has a =keep', whom he maintains financially and uses mainly for sexual purpose and/or as a servant, it
would not, in our opinion, be a relationship in the nature of marriage. Merely spending weekends together or a
one-night stand would not make it a domestic relationship.?
‡ The Gujarat High Court has disposed of a petition, with costs of Rs. 1 lakh, filed by an organisation that
sought a new law for protection of ?harassed husbands? against atrocities by wives and an amendment to the
existing law. A Division Bench of Chief Justice S.J. Mukhopadhyaya and Justice K.M. Thaker fined the Akhil
Bhartiya Patni Atyachar Virodhi Sangh (the All India Wives Cruelty Opposition Union) for filing a
frivolous petition. (Refer: Section 498A of the IPC and the provisions in Domestic Violence Act, 2005,
www.498a.org )
‡ Bushehr is one of the more prominent Nuclear Reactors of Iran, it is set to join the National Grid (of
electricity) in two months.
‡ Compulsory Reading: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2010/12/12/stories/2010121250130300.htm
‡ The Gujarat High Court on Friday rejected the bail application of the former Banaskantha Superintendent of
Police, Vipul Agrawal, arrested in the case of alleged fake encounter death of Tulsiram Prajapati, a close
associate of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, who was also murdered.
‡ The fourth unit of the Kaiga Generating Station (KGS) ² the country's 20th nuclear power reactor ² achieved
criticality on Saturday. With this unit becoming operational, India now ranks sixth in terms of production of
nuclear energy, behind the United States, France, Japan, Russia and South Korea. Nuclear Power Corporation of
India Limited (NPCIL) Chairman ± S. K. Jain. Kaiga is located in Karnataka. (Read:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/28/stories/2010112862781300.htm)

NOVEMBER THE 29TH, 2010

‡ Union Minister of State for Environmental Affairs (Independent Charge) Jairam Ramesh. The Jaitapur Nuclear
Project, which will be furthered in collaboration with French nuclear company Areva will be the worldµs largest
and is currently the countryµs largest engineering project. Jaitapur is in Maharashtra and has recently seen
protests against the project by locals.
‡ United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change conference starts in Cancun, Mexico.
‡ Renowned Sufi singer Abida Parveen underwent emergency heart surgery on Sunday in this eastern Pakistani
city.
‡ Sanjeev Tripathi likely to be next RAW chief. Current Chief: K. C. Verma
‡ Criminal lawyer and special government counsel in the 26/11 attack case, Ujjwal Nikam, will represent India
at a global convention on terrorism to be held at the United Nations in New York. He successfully prosecuted
Ajmal Amir Kasab ± the lone terrorist caught during the gory incidents of 26th November, 2008.
‡ The Ministry for Environment and Forests issued notices to Lavasa, an urban project that claims to be the first
planned city in India, for environment norms violations.

NOVEMBER THE 30TH, 2010

‡ The special court judge, B. U. Joshi, hearing the Gulberg Society massacre case of the 2002 Gujarat riots, has
sought the views of the civil society, the voluntary organisations and the media on various aspects to ?arrive at
the truth.? (Gulberg society massacre occurred during the pogrom that occurred in Gujarat in the year of 2002.
Sixty-nine persons, including the former Congress member of the Lok Sabha, Ehsan Jaffri, were killed in the
Gulberg Society massacre. The massacre was conducted on the behest of Hindu nationalistic goons belonging to
the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal.)
‡ Son of the late Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy, Jaganmohan Reddy quit the Indian National Congress Party, and
also the Kadapa parliamentary constituency seat of which he was the representative.
‡ Following a court order, the Delhi Police on Monday registered a case of sedition against writer Arundhati Roy,
hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and revolutionary poet Varavara Rao.
‡ Twin blasts in Iran's capital killed top nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari and wounded another
‡ The Competition Commission of India took over the responsibility from the out dated MRTP Commission. Its
primary mandate is to keep in check unfair business practices and monopolistic manipulation. Chairman:
Dharendra Kumar
‡ RPG Group company CEAT on Monday acquired the =CEAT' brand from Pirelli & C. SpA for euro 9 million
‡ India won seven medals (two gold, three silver and two bronze) in the 16th Asian Games held in Guangzhou.
It is its second best performance after the 1986 Seoul games held in, well, Seoul.
‡ Minister of State for Communications, Sachin Pilot.

DECEMBER THE 1ST, 2010

‡ The Supreme Court on issued notice to Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and Speaker K.G. Bopaiah on special
leave petitions filed by seven of the 11 disqualified Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs challenging the Karnataka High
Court order upholding the Speaker's decision. The BJP MLAs were disqualified after they had made a
representation to the Governor HR Bharadwaj seeking to derecognize the Yeddy-lead
government.
‡ The long-awaited Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan- India (TAPI) gas pipeline project is heading for a
breakthrough during a proposed four nation summit at Ashgabat in Turkmenistan next month.
‡ Goa CM: Digambar Kamat. Short films on environmental issues =Niyamgiri You Are Still Alive,' directed by
Suma Josson, and =Kaippad,' directed by Babu Kambrath, were declared joint winners of µThe Vasudha Award,'
the country's only government award for an environmental film. The award instituted by the Short Film Centre
(SFC) at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) carried a cash prize of Rs. 3 lakh.
‡ All-Party Hurriyat Conference leader, moderate Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was attacked my BJP goons. The
Hurriyat Conferenceµs main aim is to achieve Kashmirµs independence through peaceful means.
‡ The Light Combat Aircraft, =Tejas,' on Tuesday conducted its last phase of flight trials by successfully test
firing air-to-air close combat missile at Goa.
‡ Politician and MDMK leader Vaiko, has written ?Yes; We Can? which talks about the history of emancipation of
blacks in the United States. Vaiko is otherwise known for his support for the LTTE and separate Tamil Eelam.
‡ Amar Pratap Singh, senior-most Special Director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Tuesday
took over as the new Director of the CBI. He succeeds Ashwani Kumar
‡ The Army has decided to grant permanent commission to 12 women officers in the Education and Judge
Advocate-General branches. Women in the Army have so far been denied permanent service.

DECEMBER THE 2ND, 2010

‡ Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro, and the Azim Premji Foundation, announced on Wednesday that he would
soon transfer 213 million equity shares of the company, valued currently at about Rs.8,846 crore, which are
held by entities ?controlled? by him to ?an irrevocable trust.? The trust will use the money for non-profit
ventures alone
‡ Union Finance Minister: Pranab Mukherjee. International Monetary Fund Head: Dominique Strass Kahn
‡ From January 1, 2011, mobile subscribers will get relief from unsolicited telemarketing calls and SMS as the
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on
Wednesday recommended stiff fines and blacklisting of firms that fail to comply with the new guidelines. TRAI
Chief: J. S. Sarma
‡ India brings the ICA proposal at Cancun. ICA stands for International Consultation and Analysis. The proposal
essentially emphasises that the developed economies fund the developing and least-developing countries in
carbon-free and environmentally friendly technologies.
‡ India denied visas to ex-dictator of Pakistan, Gen. Pervez Musharraf; he was to attend a seminar. The denial
came in the light of his recent anti-India statements.
‡ PJ Thomas, Chief Vigilance Commissioner recused himself from the 2G spectrum scam as he was involved in
the palmolein oil scam.
‡ Pakistani Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani; Inter-Services-Intelligence (ISI) chief: Shuja Pasha
‡ A high level committee headed by former Reserve Bank Governor Bimal Jalan, which looked into governance
and ownership issues relating to market infrastructure institutions
‡ Football World Cup 2018 will be held in Russia and Football World Cup 2022 will be held in Qatar.

DECEMBER THE 3RD, 2010

‡ President of France: Nicolas Sarkozy; First Lady (wife of the Stateµs Head): Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. The couple
was on a visit to the country.
‡ World Meteorological Organization says that 2010 is top-3 of the hottest years of the world. WMO chief:
Alexander Bedritsky
DECEMBER THE 4TH, 2010
‡ Indian Bank Association and SBI Chairman: O. P. Mathur; Reserve Bank of India (Is the apex bank, regulates
banking of the country, decides various banking norms, is the banker of all banks, meaning all banks have to
have a certain amount parked with the RBI, it is also the banker of the government, it has the sole right to
issue currency) chief Duvvuri Subbarao.
‡ A meeting among the representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Manipur government and the United
Naga Council (UNC), a Naga tribal body, was held.
‡ Arrested chairman of the outlawed United National Liberation Front (UNLF): Rajkumar Meghen.

CLAT GYAN?S GK COMPENDIUM

DECEMBER THE 5TH, 2010
‡ French President Nicolas Sarkozy voiced his support for a permanent seat for India in the United Nations
Security Council on his four day visit to India. He said that it would help India to fulfil its role in the G20. He
feels that it is high time countries like Brazil, Japan, Germany and countries from the Middle- East got
representation in the UNSC.
‡ A charge sheet was filed against Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig and six others accused by the Maharashtra ATS
(Anti Terrorism Squad) in connection with the German Bakery Blast which occurred in Pune on the 13th of
February, 2010. The blast had killed 17 people and injured more than 60 people. Baig was arrested on 7th
September and is in judicial custody but the other six are still absconding. The accused include
??Mohsin Choudhary
??Yasin Bhatkal
??Riyaz Bhatkal
??Iqbal Bhatkal
??Faiyaz Kagzi
??Zabiuddin Ansari

Baig is believed to be Lashkar-e-Tayabba?s(LeT?s) Maharashtra unit?s chief. He has been charged under
Section 302 (murder), and 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 325
(Voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 324(Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 427, 466,
468, 472, 474, 153(A) (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth,
residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.), 109 (Punishment of
abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its
punishment.), 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 120(B) (punishment
for criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, which pertain to murder, attempt to murder, assault, using
equipment to make forged document, trespassing, waging war against India, and Criminal conspiracy. He is
also charged under certain sections of the Explosive Substance Act and certain sections of the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act, which pertain to penalty for being a member of an unlawful organisation, for
conspiracy and punishment for undertaking a terrorist act.
Under Section 44 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act the name of the witness is being kept secret.
‡ Eight IAS officers have been asked to assess the damage caused by the rains in Tamil Nadu with the death
toll mounting to 142. They will assess the solatium to be given to the people affected and assess the crops lost
along with arranging for distribution of food. ( Solatium means compensation)
‡ The centre agreed to the demands of the truckers and reduced the toll tax by 30% for commercial vehicles
and this ended their strike. The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) had earlier decided to go on a
strike form the 5th of December to protest against the high toll taxes.
‡ The 3G services which are already provided by BSNL, may take a little while to be rolled out by private
operators. China has had problems while creating the required infrastructure for 3G. Korea has rolled out the
facility quite well but the usage is not very high. (3G services or the 3rd Generation Technology succeeds the
earlier 1G and 2G cellular technologies. 1G Technology began in the 1980¶s and made use of Frequency Division
Multiplexing Access (FDMA). 2G technology started in the 1990¶s and makes use of Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA) or the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA). 3G technology offers telephone services, mobile
internet, mobile TV and video calling)
‡ BlackBerry mobile devices are made by the Canadian firm, Research in Motion (RIM). RIM said that the Indian
government will soon get lawful access to BlackBerry Messenger Services. Sachin Pilot, (Minister of State for
Communication) said that as of now security agencies are unable to intercept communication made through this
messenger service.
‡ INS Rajput, an Indian warship apprehended 19 foreigners while patrolling the Arabian Sea near Bitra Island in
the Lakshwadeep chain. There is also an Exclusive Economic Zone near the island.
‡ Japan said that it does not want to commit to a second phase of the Kyoto Protocol at the Cancun Climate
Change. The Kyoto Protocol was created in 1997. The Protocol can be enforced only when the countries which
together accounted for 55% of the world?s greenhouse gas emissions in 1990 ratify it. This is why it was
enforced only in 2005 when Russia finally ratified it. If Japan pulls out, the Kyoto Protocol would in all
probability cease to be effective.

India?s central strategy while dealing with climate change includes

1. Using climate change as a tool of diplomacy
2. Protecting India?s economic interests
3. Consolidating its position in world forums
‡ India?s Nicole Faria was crowned Miss Earth Talent in a competition held in Hi Chi Minh city in Vietnam. The
event helped raise 100 million dong. Dong is the currency of Vietnam. 400 Vietnamese Dongs = 1 Indian
National Rupee.
‡ The Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) has taken up the repair of the Charminar after an ornamental stucco
work fell in August. Lime and mortar were used in the original constructon of the monument 410 years ago and
the same will be used for repairing it.
‡ Honda, the Japanese auto giant has come to an agreement to dissolve its 26 year venture with the Hero
group. It is selling its entire stake in Hero, India?s largest two-wheeler maker. The pact which is existent will
expire in 2015. Hero Honda has three plants in India at Haridwar ( Uttarakhand) , and at Gurgaon and
Dharuhera( Haryana).
‡ Asma Jahangir, Pakistan?s human rights activist has won the Bilbao Prize for the promotion of a culture of
human rights. Asma is one of the founder members of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission and is the
President of the Supreme Court Bar Association. The Bilbao Prize is an award given by the United Nations and is
given on the 10th of December ( World Human Rights day) in Bilbao, Spain.
‡ Spain?s military took control of the nation?s airspace after the air-traffic controllers staged a massive protest
which left more than 3,00,000 passengers stranded.
‡ As part of the Asian Peoples Solidarity for Palestine, Indian Satyagrahis are on a peace mission to take
humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Ghaza Strip. It is the first such mission from India.
‡ The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has declared the area within 5 km of the Sultanpur National
Park in Haryana as an eco-sensitive zone. The Park is known for aquatic avifauna.
‡ Suresh Sathya, a sprinter who represented India in the Guangzhou Asian Games tested positive for the
steroid nandrolone in a test conducted by the Athletics Federation of
India (AFI). He was a player of the sprint-relay team which won a bronze medal and set a record of 38.89
seconds in the final.
‡ The 34th National games will be held in Jharkhand from February 12th to 26th. The National Games
Organizing Committee (NGOC) is in charge of these games which were initially slated to be held in 2007.

DECEMBER THE 6TH, 2010

‡ Domestic airlines lowered the fare by 20 ± 25% after the Director General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) and the
Civil Aviation Ministry pressurized them to reduce the exorbitant rates which had risen boundlessly even though
it was the non-peak season. He directed the airlines to put up all rates on their websites so that the passengers
do not feel cheated.

DGCA- EK Bharat Bhushan

‡ The Indian Statistical Institute (Kolkatta) and the London School of Economics have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding for co-operation in research.
‡ India?s freshwater biodiversity is being assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
after 13 years. IUCN?s Red List is a comprehensive list of the conservation status of plant and animal species
worldwide. It includes nine categories
a)extinct n the wild
b) critically endangered
c) endangered
d) vulnerable
e) near threatened
f) least concern
g) data deficient
h) not evaluated
i) extinct
‡ The Supreme Court has said that arresting a person should always be the last option since there is great
humiliation attached to it. . Arrest violates a person?s fundamental right to liberty and should be used only
when it is absolutely imperative.
‡ The plan for setting up a Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership near Bahadurgarh ( Haryana) has been
finalized. USA, France, Russia and a few other
countries are providing their assistance for this. The name of the village is Kheri Jassaur village. The centre will
become a place for the exchange of knowledge and ideas related to nuclear energy and will bring India on the
global map in terms of nuclear technology.
‡ According to the latest documents released by WikiLeaks, United States? officials believed that China?s
Communist Party Officials planned the hacking attacks on Google last year and told Chinese telecom companies
to stop dealing with Google. The US Government has not publically blamed the Chinese Government but told
them to investigate into the hacking incidents. The Chinese government denied its role in any such incident.
The Google version (Google.cn) which works in China started in 2006 and complied with the restrictions posed
by the Chinese Government. Google pulled out of China after its relations became very strained with the
Chinese Government after it was accused of providing pornographic links.
‡ According to a secret cable released by WikiLeaks, Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were planning an attack on
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi assumedly involving a car.
‡ Secretary of Defence Research and Development, V. K. Saraswat (also scientific advisor to the Defence
Minister) said that the websites of defence establishments are completely safe. He said that there is a
possibility of hardware being bugged (like the switches for example). An operating system called the Indian
Operating System is being designed which will be used exclusively for security applications. Recently, the
³Pakistani Cyber Army´ claimed responsibility for hacking the Central Bureau of Investigation?s website. The
CBI registered a case against this group under various sections of the Information Technology act
‡ An alternative Global Forum for Life, Environmental and Social Justice started in Cancun, Mexico on the
sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Summit (which is being held in Arctic temperatures in the Moon
Palace). Lead by the International Peasant Movement (Via Campesina), the forum aims to reject all false and
market based solutions to climate change. It is meant to be a direct antagonist of the United Nation?s Summit.
‡ After the Preseidential election in Ivory Coast on Novemebr 28th, both Laurent Gbagbo and his opponent
Alassane Ouattara have taken Presidential oaths. This has triggered
unrest in the nation. (Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. The capital is Yamoussoukro. Ivory Coast got
independence from France in 1960)
‡ Permanent Account Number (PAN) details will have to be furnished form next year by all mutual fund
investors, regardless of the amount they are investing in.
‡ Viktor Troicki won Serbia its first ever Davis Cup win. Serbia defeated France 3-2 in the finals. (The Davis Cup
is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF)
and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The women's
equivalent of the Davis Cup is the Fed Cup. )
‡ Sweden?s Rikard Karlberg won the Hero Honda Indian Open. (golf)

DECEMBER THE 7TH, 2010

‡ The Supreme Court is looking into the validity of the appointment of P.J. Thomas as the Central Vigilance
Commissioner. A notice was issued to him and to the Centre by the Supreme Court. The final hearing will be on
27th January, 2011. A charge sheet is pending against him in the Kerala palmolein import case.
‡ The Supreme Court acquitted Kaza Nizamuddin, Hyder Ali and Abubucker Siddique. They had been earlier
given life imprisonment by a TADA court in Chennai for being involved in the blast on 6th August, 1993 at the
RSS office in Chennai.
‡ The Parliament was adjourned for the 17th consecutive day on the 6th of December. Eleven parties
(excluding the Bhartiya Janata Party and the Congress party) continued to raise their demand for a Joint
Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the 2G scam. Mr. Sitaram Yechury, the leader of the Communist Party
of India (Marxist), said that this scam was beyond the ambit of a Public Accounts Committee and a JPC is the
only solution.
‡ India and France signed a ¼7-billion agreement for the construction of two European Pressurised Reactors
(EPRs -each 1650 MW?s) in Jaitapur, Maharashtra. The agreement between the Nuclear Power Corporation of
India Ltd. (NPCIL) and the French nuclear vendor, Areva also includes the supply of uranium fuel to India for
the next 25 years. Areva is concerned about the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Bill 2010 and wants a little
more clarity on the issue. The first nuclear plant in Jaitapur is expected to come up in 2018. There is a while for
the agreement to become operational. The reactor vessel needed for the EPR is manufactured by Japan Steel
Works but India has no nuclear-cooperation agreement with Japan. This may be an impediment in the
construction.

In all, India and France signed seven agreements, five of which pertain to nuclear energy. There is a deal to
double the bilateral trade to an amount of ¼12 billion.
Areva Global CEO - Anne Lauvergeon
‡ Scientists from the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Delhi have discovered the
way tuberculosis bacteria can remain dormant in a person for a number of years and manifest themselves when
the immune system of the person weakens.
‡ T.E. Srinivasan, a famous cricketer, passed away. He had scored a century and helped the South Zone win
the Duleep Trophy against the North Zone. His team(South) had won the Deodhar Trophy after which he
entered test cricket. He played in the national team for the Australia and England tours. He was awarded one of
the Five Cricketers of the Year Award in 1978.

DECEMBER THE 8TH, 2010

‡ The Indian Ambassador to Norway is going to attend the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony for Chinese
dissident Liu Xiaobo. He had authored a manifesto called the Charter 08, which asked for an end to one-party
rule and greater political freedom. He was imprisoned for this by the Chinese Government for eleven years
starting last December. He is being given the prize for his non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in
China. China, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam,
Afghanistan, Venezuela, the Philippines, Egypt, Sudan, Ukraine, Cuba and Morocco had declined invitations to
the ceremony.
‡ The Al Jazeera English channel has finally come to India with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
giving a green signal. Initially, the Home Ministry had not given it a license because of Äsecurity reasons?.
‡ The Supreme Court admitted that it made a mistake in upholding the death sentence which had been
awarded to Ram Deo Chauhan (for murdering his family) by the trial court and had been confirmed by the
Gauhati High Court. It was later upheld by the Supreme Court too. A review petition was also rejected by the
Supreme Court but the death sentence was later commuted by the Governor on the basis of an article
regarding the doubt whether the accused was a major at the time of the offence. This article was
written by a member of NHRC. According to a writ petition, the NHRC should have had no say in the matter.
The Governor?s commutation was set aside. The Bench finally restored the Governor?s order and commuted
the death sentence.
‡ A terror attack in Varanasi killed one person and injured more than 20 people. The banned terror organization
Indian Mujahideen sent mails claiming responsibility for the attacks. The mails were located to the suburbs of
Mumbai.
‡ The Supreme Court has banned the sale of Ägutka?, tobacco and pan masala in plastic sachets from March
1st.
‡ A Select Committe of the Rajya Sabha has suggested a few amendments to the Prevention of Torture Bill,
2010. The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill on the 6th of May without a debate. The Rajya Sabha had blocked the
Bill after which it was referred to a 13 member committee.

The suggestions include

1. The definition of torture has to be enlarged to include physical harm, mental agony, sexual assault, threat of
rape, offences on the body listed under the IPC.
2. The complaint can be filed within 2 years.
3. The onus to prove the intention of torture is not on the victim.
4. The accused must prove his/her innocence.
5. The definition of public servants has been enlarged to include officials of the Central and State Government
companies as well as educational institutions.
6. Guidelines for compensating the victim ( or the family have been suggested)
7. If a person dies in custody because of torture, the punishment will be death or life sentence with a minimum
punishment of three years.

Once the law is passed, it will enable India to ratify the UN Convention against Torture which was adopted 13
years ago.
‡ The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Äs chairman Yogesh Agarwal said that the
National Pension Sytem (NPS) will now be accessible online.
‡ The Supreme Court has said that all resolutions passed by Bar Associations which advise lawyers not to
accept cases from terrorists are null and void.
‡ Arabinda Rajhakhowa, the chairman of the United Liberation Front of Assom ( ULFA) moved a bail petition in
the TADA court. Earlier five top leaders of the organization had been released on bail.
‡ The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs)
under the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Act, 2000.
‡ The French Prezident Nicholas Sarkozy honoured two Indians, M. Devendra Bharma, executive vice-president
of Hotel Oberoi-Trident and M. Karambir Kang, former director-general of Hotel Taj Mahal for their exemplary
bravery and efficiency during the 26/11 attack which helped save a number of lives. They were given the
Äd'Officier de l'Ordre national du Merite' award.
‡ Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, was arrested by the British Police after an arrest warrant was issued
by the Swedish Authorities for a number of sexual offences. He was denied bail.

DECEMBER THE 9TH, 2010

‡ THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searched the Delhi and Chennai residences of A Raja, the former
Communications and Information Technology Minister. This comes more than a year after a case was registered
regarding the 2G spectrum scam. There had been a number of discrepancies in the allotment of the 2G
spectrum to private players. These licenses are called Unified Access Service licenses. According to the CBI, the
recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) were not followed and the licenses were
given on a first-cum-first serve basis in 2001 without any competitive bidding. A case had been registered by
the CBI in October 2009 against certain Department of Telecommunications? (DoT?s) officials under sections
120-B (criminal conspiracy) and Section 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Comptroller and
Auditor General?s (CAG?s) report estimates a loss of Rs. 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer. A Raja resigned
after this report was published last month. The Opposition is demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe
into the matter.
‡ Prasar Bharati's Chief Executive Officer(CEO) B.S. Lalli was indicted by the Central Vigilance Commission
(CVC) for allegedly misusing parliamentary privileges, mismanaging finances and showing undue favour to
certain broadcasting companies. According to the Prasar Bharati Act, the CEO can be removed after a
Presidential reference to the Supreme Court, followed by an enquiry. The CEO of Prasar Bharati is appointed by
a panel which includes the Prime Minister, the Rajya Sabha Chairman and the Leader of the Opposition of the
Lok Sabha.
‡ The first period of commitment to the Kyoto Protocol expires in December 2012 and there is a lot of
contention over the second period of commitment. Japan had earlier refused to commit to the second period
whereas the European Union with its 27 member states has voiced its favour for a second commitment period.
The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and some African countries are insisting on a binding agreement for
a second period of commitment. The Least Developed Countries? group of 49 members said that there should
be no gap between the first and the second period.

Chairperson of AOSIS - Tillman J. Thomas (also the Prime Minister of Granada). AOSIS has 43 members
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) - Christiana
Figueres
‡ The 11th India ± EU (European Union) summit is being held in Brussels with a number of Indian officials
attending along with the Prime Minister. An agreement for the movement of professionals from India to the EU
states is expected to be signed. A Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) is expected to be
signed between India and the EU (its largest trading partner) next year. The financial worries for Spain and
Portugal have slowed down the pace of things regarding signing of the agreement.
‡ P.J Thomas, the Central Vigilance Commissioner had been accused of causing the exchequer a loss of Rs.232
million by importing palmolein at exorbitant rates.

DECEMBER THE 10TH, 2010

‡ Tata Nano will now come with a four year or 60/000 km warranty ( whichever is earlier). It is also being
extended to existing owners of the car.
‡ The Indian Navy decommissioned INS Vagli, one of the oldest units. INS Vagli is a submarine of the class
Foxtrot. It had completed 36 years of service.
‡ The President assented to the probe against Prasar Bharati CEO B S Lalli who will now face a Supreme Court
inquiry into charges of financial irregularities against him
‡ Khardungla is the world?s highest motorable road.
‡ Two blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) were spotted off the coast near Mangalore. These are the worlds
largest mammals.
‡ Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg has joined the league of warren Buffet and Bill Gates by giving a way a
major sum for charitable purposes.
‡ Turanor Planet Solar is the world?s largest solar power boat.
‡ Justice Soumitra Sen filed his reply to the Rajya Sabha Chairman on the findings of the Inquiry Committee
which had recommended his impeachment. He had been accussed of misappropriation of large sums of money.
‡ An Indian scientist and his team at MIT have discovered the first carbon-rich exoplanet, WASP- 12b. An
exoplanet ( or an extra solar planet) is a planet outside the solar system.

DECEMBER THE 11TH, 2010

‡ Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in absentia. It is the first time that a resident Chinese citizen
has got a Nobel Prize. However, the telecast was blacked out throughout out the country. The Chinese
Government considers him to be a Äcriminal? after he released his Charter-08 (a document which supports
democracy) and had hence highly criticized the decision of the Nobel Committee.

The chairman of the Nobel committee, Thorbjoern Jagland placed the award on a chair. In 1936, Carl von
Ossietzky, a German, was stopped by Nazi authorities from travelling to Oslo and the prize was given in the
same way. The prize has been received by family members for these awardees
1. Andrei Sakharov in 1975
2. Lech Walesa in 1983
3. Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991
‡ Agni-II Prime?s launch failed as it deviated from its trajectory and plunged into the Bay of Bengal. It was
launched from the Wheeler Island which is located near Orissa?s coastline. Agni-II Prime is a surface-to-surface
missile with a range of 2500km. It is capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Agni- II Prime is a middle version of Agni-II ( range = 2000 km) and Agni-III ( range = 3000 km)
‡ The Calcutta High Court directed Air India to re-employ forty-four-year-old Nipa Dhar, a airhostess who had
been fired because of being overweight. This happened nine years ago. She had filed a writ petition but that
had been dismissed.
‡ For the first time in 27 years, he Himachal Pradesh Government has given a license to kill wild animals like
monkeys, boars, neelgai, porcupines and hares. The Central Government had earlier refused to allow the export
of monkeys for medical study.
‡ India won the ODI series against New Zealand with a victory of 5-0. Gautam Gambhir was declared the Player
of the Series.
‡ The Olympic Council of Asia has announced that cricket and kabbadi will be retained for the 17th Asiad in
Incheon.
‡ Jalan Committee Report deals with the Indian capital Market.
‡ China has raised its Central Bank?s reserve ratio yet again. This ratio is the money which moneylenders must
keep on reserve. By increasing the ratio, the excess cash flow will be curbed and inflation can be bridled to a
certain extent.
‡ US lawmakers have introduced an anti- WikiLeaks legislation in the Congress
‡ Liu Xiaobo has dedicated the Nobel Peace Prize to those who died in the Tiananmen Square Protest.
‡ Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), SY Quraishi.

As of now, a person who is convicted of a crime for which the minimum punishment is two years is disqualified
from the date of his conviction to six years after his release. ( Section 8 of the Representation of People Act,
1951) The suggestions put forward by the CEC say that even if a person is accused of a crime ( note, not
convicted but accused) for which the minimum imprisonment is five years he would face disqualification.
‡ The next climate change conference will be held in Durban, South Africa in December, 2011.

CLAT GYANµS GK COMPENDIUM

DECEMBER THE 13TH, 2010
‡ Indian National Congress General Secretary, Digvijay Singh found himself in the midst of a controversy on his
claim that former Anti-Terror Squad chief Hemant Karkare had called him hours before the terror attacks on the
26th of December, 2008 to confide in him the fears that he felt threatened by Hindu right-wing extremists due
to his investigation and successful arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Singh and Lt. Col. Purohit in the Malegaon blasts. He
was later killed during the 26/11 attacks by alleged Pakistani terrorists
‡ Indiaµs badminton sensation, Saina Nehwal inched towards World Ranking # 1 with her winning the Hong
Kong Open held in Wanchai. Saina won back-to-back titles ² Indian Open Grand Prix, Singapore Open Super
Series and defended the Indonesian Super Series ² before clinching the gold medal in the Commonwealth
Games in October.
‡ Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has been praised for his role as a bridge-builder
on contentious issues at the United Nations climate conference here, which ended with a deal to curb global
warming, including a $100 billion fund to help developing countries.
‡ Minister of Road Transport and Highways: Kamal Nath; Minister of Commerce and Trade: Anand Sharma.
‡ Kosovo voted on Sunday in its first elections since declaring independence in 2008, which look set to weaken
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's grip on power.
‡ Chief Minister: Bhupinder Singh Hooda
‡ Vijay Diwas is celebrated on the 16th of December by both, Bangladesh and India for the formerµs
independence from Pakistan and the latterµs victory in its war in 1971.
‡ India has a visa on arrival scheme for Luxembourg, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan and Finland; the
government has decided to extend the scheme to five other countries: Cambodia, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos
and Myanmar. For other countries, you require your Visa to be issued before travelling to India, otherwise you
are denied passage.
‡ ASEAN: Association of South East Asian Nations. Secretary General: Surin Pitsuwan. Head Quartered in
Jakarta, Indonesia.
‡ The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline is expected to get a decisive push with
Ashgabat stepping up efforts for a summit meeting next month. The initiative by Turkmenistan President
Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has led to his diplomats attempting to find a window that will ensure a
summit meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, and Afghanistan
President Hamid Karzai, in Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat.
‡ Chief Election Commissioner: S.Y. Qureshi; Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan (belongs to the Hindu-
nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party); Union Law and Justice Minister: Veerappa Moily (Indian National Congress)
‡ Rajasthan Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot was accused of inaction on the recent communal riots that occurred in
Sarada and Manoharthana
‡ Ivory Coast in crisis

DECEMBER THE 14TH, 2010

‡ Ratan Tata filed a petition in the SC against the Open and the Outlook magazines for publishing conversations
between him and corporate lobbyist Nira Radia (?Radiagate? has been covered extensively in an article on CG,
already).
‡ India has lodged a strong protest with the U.S. for the humiliation meted out to its Ambassador to the United
Nations Hardeep Puri at an airport. One of India's topmost diplomats, Mr. Puri was asked by officials to remove
his turban during a security check at the Houston Airport two weeks ago.
‡ Shivraj V. Patil, ex-SC Judge is going to investigate the 2G Scam. He was appointed as the member of a one-
member committee (basically, he IS the committee) that was appointed by acting Communication minister,
Kapil Sibal.
‡ Uttarakhand Chief Minister: Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
‡ Satyanand Mishra, one of six Information Commissioners has been selected to be the next Chief Information
Commissioner. The selection was finalised here on Monday by a panel comprising Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, Law Minister Veerappa Moily and Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj. Mr. Mishra will replace A.N.
Tiwari, who has held the post since October 1 this year.
‡ In the recent failed suicide attack attempt to blow up innocent civilians in Stockholm, Sweden, the name of
the accused terrorist: Taimour Abdelwahab al-Abdaly come up. He was arrested.

DECEMBER THE 15TH, 2010

‡ The former Chief Justice of India, K.G. Balakrishnan, was aware of the incident involving advocate R.K.
Chandramohan who used the name of the former Union Minister, A. Raja, in an alleged attempt to influence
Justice R. Regupathi, former Judge of the Madras High Court, in a criminal case, asserted Supreme Court
Justice H.L. Gokhale
‡ The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Wakf Board moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday, challenging the
Allahabad High Court's judgment in the Ayodhya title dispute, which it said was based on the belief/faith of a
section of the Hindu community for which there was no admissible evidence.
‡ Richard Holbrooke (69), President Barack Obama's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, died
on Monday evening after undergoing two surgical procedures for repairing a tear in his aorta.
‡ Taking serious view of the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh (currently the Union
Industries Minister), interfering in a criminal investigation against a family of a Congress MLA, the Supreme
Court on Tuesday imposed an exemplary cost of Rs.10 lakh on the Maharashtra government.
‡ The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to all States seeking their response to the Tandon committee
report recommending de-recognition of 44 deemed universities (DUs) for not meeting the prescribed standards
and that these institutions be affiliated to the respective State universities.
‡ Bihar has decided to do away with the MLA Local Area Development scheme (MLALAD).
‡ Chairman Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council: C. Rangarajan
‡ Oscar winning Indian musician A.R. Rahman is in the race to win his second Golden Globe after being
nominated in the Best Original Score category for his music in the Danny Boyle directed film ?127 Hours?. His
first Golden Globe was for his music in the famous Slumdog Millionaire.
‡ From next year the heavily contaminated area around the Chernobyl power plant will be officially open to
tourists
‡ Italy President: Silvio Berlusconi.
‡ WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was on Tuesday granted bail for £240,000, exactly a week after he was
arrested on a European arrest warrant seeking his extradition to Sweden to face allegations of sexual offences,
including rape.

DECEMBER THE 16TH, 2010

‡ Premises of A. Raja and Nira Radia were searched by CBI in connection with the 2G spectrum scam.
‡ Chinaµs Prime Minister: Wen Jiabao visited India recently. President: Hu Jintao. (Remember, PM asks ?When?;
President asks ?Who??)
‡ The Supreme Court today stayed the Madras High Court order directing suspension of advocate R K
Chandramohan from chairmanship of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for allegedly attempting to
influence a judge by taking former Telecom Minister A Raja''s name.
‡ India and China took a giant leap in trade ties on Wednesday, first day of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit
here, with the signing of 50 memoranda of understanding (MoU). The MoUs are worth $16 billion, surpassing
the
$10-billion worth of agreements inked during the recent visit of U.S. President Barak Obama.
‡ A suspected suicide bomber has killed at least 39 pilgrims participating in a mourning ceremony at the Imam
Hussein mosque in the south-eastern Iranian city of Chabahar.
‡ At least 27 refugees, including children, died on Wednesday after their wooden boat shattered in violent seas
off Australia before horrified witnesses, with fears as many as 50 could have died.
‡ World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan
‡ Frank Ruggiero, has been made the Acting U.S. Special Representative to the Af-Pak region.
‡ The SCOPE (Standing Conference of Public Enterprises) excellence award in the individual category was
conferred on NTPC Chairman & Managing Director Arup Roy Choudhury as outstanding chief executive while
Coal India Limited (CIL) Chairman P. S. Bhattacharyya was presented the =Special Award of the Jury'.

DECEMBER THE 17TH, 2010

‡ Taking a serious view of irregularities and lapses in the National Telecom Policy over the past decade, the
Supreme Court on Thursday took charge of the 2G spectrum scam probe being conducted by the Central
Bureau of Investigation and widened its scope. It asked the CBI to register an FIR and investigate the grant of
licences from 2001 to 2006-07, with particular emphasis on the loss caused to the public exchequer and
corresponding gain made by the licensees and service providers.
‡ Famous television personality, Larry King, after a 25 year-old stint with the CNN will finally have his
broadcast. (He is the guy with an indecipherable voice and suspenders)

DECEMBER THE 18TH, 2010

‡ It was India-time in the latest batch of WikiLeaksµ cables, with one cable suggesting that Congress-party MP
and Gen-Sec had told American Ambassador Timothy Roemer that he believed that Hindu extremism was a
bigger threat to India than Muslim terror. The BJP felt offended, the INC offered explanations.
‡ The Government of India ?condoned? the ?widespread severe torture? of prisoners in Jammu and Kashmir,
North-East and other parts of the country during 2002-2004, the then Ambassador of the United States in New
Delhi, David Mulford, told Washington in a confidential cable. The cable couldnµt be confidential anymore,
thanks to Wikileaks.
‡ Dr. Mohammad Haneef, who was wrongly implicated by Australian police in a botched up terror attack that
attempted to blow-up the Heathrow Airport, UK has returned to Australia after the ?traumatic experience? of
detention that he was put through by the police there. He is seeking a compensation for the detention from the
government. Dr. Haneef is an Indian citizen and was implicated in the attack after his SIM card was found to be
owned (before the attack) by his cousin ± who was the actual accused in the attack.
‡ Ex-Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Telugu Desam Party president, Chandra Babu Naidu garu started an
indefinite fast for the cause of farmers who had suffered unprecedented crop damage due to the recent rains.
‡ Hyderabad will hold the World Wide Web conference for the year 2011.

DECEMBER THE 19TH, 2010

‡ Japan Prime Minister: Naoto Kan
‡ Three American missile attacks killed 54 alleged militants on Friday close to the Afghan border, an unusually
high number of victims that included commanders of a Taliban-allied group that were holding a meeting,
Pakistani officials said.
‡ The Islamabad station chief, Johanathan Banks of the Central Intelligence Agency hastily departed from
Pakistan on Thursday after his cover was blown through a suspected deliberate leak by Pakistan's Inter-
Services Intelligence. The name came out after a lawsuit was filed against the Central Intelligence Agency by a
North Waziristan resident against the drone attacks on civilians.
‡

CLAT GYANµS GK COMPENDIUM

DECEMBER THE 20TH, 2010
CONGRESS TALKS ABOUT HINDUTVA TERRORISM
At its 83rd plenary session which coincided with the 125th anniversary of the party the congress in Burari
launched a string attack on the BJP alleging that the idea of India ² that is democracy ² faces its most serious
challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party and it was intent not just on shredding the secular fabric of the
nation, but also on destroying the democratic institutions. Stung by the onslaught against it through the
recently concluded winter session of Parliament, the Congress unleashed its fury on the BJP.
Indeed, the political resolution moved by Pranab Mukherjee, passed after discussion, asked the government to
tackle the communal menace in the strongest possible manner and investigate links between terrorists and the
RSS and its sister organisations that were uncovered in some recent cases. ?The role of religious
fundamentalist organisations in challenging the security of the nation can no longer be ignored,? it said.
DEFIANT STAND BY TENDULKAR AND DHONI
Sachin Tendulkar, with his 50th Test century, and M.S. Dhoni, with an audacious 90, helped India resist South
Africa's push for victory on the fourth day of the first Test here at centurion. Tendulkar (107 batting) kept India
from defeat before the thunderstorm that had been forecast blew into SuperSport Park, scattering the players
and ending play. India finished on 454 for eight, 30 short of making South Africa bat again. South Africa had
just the first session it would have wanted, removing Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman, two of India's best at
batting time, before lunch.
OFFICIALS DISMISS CHINA?S KASHMIR BORDER CLAIMS
Indian officials on Sunday were dismissive of Chinese claims that their position on the length of the disputed
border with India ± which China has recently described as 2,000 km and not 3,488 km as India does ±
remained consistent and unchanged. Chinese analysts on Sunday refuted media reports which said China had
recently disregarded a 1,500 km stretch of the border, between Jammu and Kashmir in India and Xinjiang and
Tibet in China, in its references of the disputed border, suggesting new Chinese claims over Kashmir. Hu
Shisheng, a strategic analyst at the China Institutes for Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), told The
Hindu it had always been China's position that the length of the border was 2,000 km. It did not include the
disputed western section and Indian claims on the entire region of Kashmir, including Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir (PoK). China's position was that the region is disputed and for India and Pakistan to settle, and hence
could not be considered as part of the dispute with India.
AL QAEDA RECRUITING WHITE ISLAMISTS FOR MUMBAI STYLE ATTACKS
The reported deaths of two British militants in a drone attack in Pakistan's tribal region last week have raised
fears that western Muslim converts are being targeted by Al-Qaeda in its search for ?white jihadis? to mount
Mumbai-style attacks in Europe, according to The Sunday Times. The newspaper quoted western intelligence
agencies as saying that Ilyas Kashmiri, recently named as Al-Qaeda's chief military strategist in Pakistan and
Afghanistan and dubbed the ³new Bin Laden,´ had been ³assigned to bring western recruits´ into the
organisation.
GSAT 5P LAUNCH PUT OFF
The launch of India's latest communication satellite GSAT-5P scheduled for Monday was deferred after a leak in
the Russian cryogenic engine in the launch vehicle GSLV-FO6. (GSLV ± Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle)
TALIBAN ATTACKS AFGHAN ARMY BASES
A day after the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Kunduz, the Afghan Taliban have attacked a major
military recruitment base in the northern Afghan city. Ms. Merkel was said to be on a ?morale boosting? visit to
the city, where German troops have been deployed.?The purpose of her trip was to give morale to her soldiers.
But today the successful attack is shaking the hearts of the occupation soldiers,? Taliban spokesman Zaibullah
Mujahid was quoted as saying.
DECEMBER THE 21ST, 2010
I HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE: MANMOHAN SINGH
In a dramatic new twist to the telecom controversy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday offered to
appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is examining the Comptroller and Auditor-General
(CAG)'s report on the 2G spectrum scam. Speaking on the concluding day of the 83rd plenary session of the
Congress in Burari, Dr. Singh, in an emotional passage, accused the BJP ?of falsely propagating? that the
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was opposed to setting up a joint parliamentary committee (JPC)
to probe the scam as it did not want the Prime Minister questioned by it.?I wish to state categorically,? the
Prime Minister said, ?that I have nothing to hide from the public at large and as proof of my bona fides, I intend
to write to the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee that I shall be happy to appear before the PAC if it
chooses to ask me to do so«even though there is no precedent to that effect.?
CBI SUMMONS RAJA FOR QUESTIONING
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday served notice on the former Union Telecom Minister, A.
Raja, asking him to appear before it for questioning, even as the agency went ahead with its ongoing probe into
the 2G spectrum scam.The agency quizzed the former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chief,
Pradip Baijal.
AICC: INDIA NO FLAG BEARER OF THE THIRD WORLD The draft foreign policy resolution of the All-India
Congress Committee (AICC) noted that India has moved away from leading the non-aligned movement.
?Beyond the past we want to look to the future,? it noted at the far end of a 12-page resolution that was issued
along with three other resolutions ² 125 years of the Indian National Congress, economic and political. The
Indian foreign policy had evolved from ?leading from the front? the Third World and movements for
emancipation of Asia and Africa. It was now committed to seeking a leadership role for an equitable global
order, the resolution said.
RSS DENIES TERROR LINKS
Stung by the focus on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's terror links, at the Congress plenary session that
ended at burari on Monday, the organisation dismissed it as an attempt by the ruling party to divert attention
from other issues it was facing. One suspect charged by the CBI for his involvement in the Mecca Masjid bomb
blasts was a prominent RSS leader, he went with the name, Indresh Kumar.
TELANGANA REPORT BY DECEMBER 31
The committee headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice B.N. Srikrishna ² set up to go into the
demands of a ?separate Telangana? State and ?united Andhra Pradesh? ² will present its report to the Centre
on December 31, the last day of its term. Justice Srikrishna told The Hindu from Mumbai on Monday that since
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram would not be available in Delhi on December 30, it had been decided to
present the report on December 31.He added that the report was almost through, and that it would discuss in
detail every aspect of the terms of reference (ToR).
GUJJARS ON RAILTRACKS
Gujjars, led by Kirori Singh Bainsla, on Monday occupied rail tracks near Bayana in Bharatpur district to press
for their reservation demand, even as the Gehlot government said that it would try to solve the issue through
talks. The Gujjars are a prominent caste in the state; previously, they were awarded an Other Backward Classµ
status after they went on a similar ?struggle?. Now, they are demanding a separate reservation of 5%
INDIA DISSEMINATING 26/11 INFORMATION PREMATURE: US
The U.S. had reservations about India sharing information with all countries that had lost their citizens in the
26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, saying it was ?premature? and feared that it would undermine essential law
enforcement efforts and forestall further India-Pakistan cooperation.?We believe it is premature for the Indians
to be considering a broad dissemination of information on the attack until the investigation has been completed,
In this regard, we note that the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] has just presented a long list of
information it is still seeking from the Indians to advance its own investigation,? the then U.S. Ambassador in
Islamabad, Anne W. Patterson, said in a secret cable sent early last year and made public by WikiLeaks.
ONION EXPORTS SUSPENDED TO CHECK PRICE RISE
The government on Monday announced suspension of onion exports till January 15 in a last-minute effort to
cool prices of the poor man's essential vegetable from the prevailing high of Rs. 60-70 a kg.In a twin strategy,
while the farm cooperative major and regulating agency Nafed (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing
Federation) and 12 other agencies have been directed to halt issuance of export clearance, the MEP (minimum
export price) for onions has also been raised more than double from $ 525 a tonne to $1,200 with immediate
effect.
DON?T ASK DON?T TELL LAW REPEALED
The United States Senate took a historic step forward over the weekend as Congress passed a bill to repeal the
controversial ?Don't Ask, Don't Tell? (DADT) law, a ban on openly gay persons serving in the U.S. military.In a
statement following Senate vote, President Barack Obama said: ?As Commander-in-Chief, I am also absolutely
convinced that making this change will only underscore the professionalism of our troops as the best led and
best trained fighting force the world has ever known.?
TATA CHEMICALS TO BUY BRITISH SALT
Brunner Mond U.K., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Chemicals Ltd. (TCL), signed a binding agreement to
acquire a 100 per cent stake in British Salt. The deal has been structured through a holding company, Tata
Chemicals Europe Holdings, for a consideration of around Rs.650 crore (93 million pound sterling).British Salt is
U.K.'s leading manufacturer of pure dried vacuum salt products with a 50 per cent share of the U.K. market. It
owns brine wells in the U.K. with residual life of 50 years. It has the capacity to produce in excess of 7.20 lakh
tonnes annually and the acquisition provides Brunner Mond an opportunity to secure long-term brine supplies
for its operations.
SOUTH AFRICA COMPLETES FORMALITIES
South Africa needed just 26 minutes on the fifth morning to complete the formalities of the first Test; indeed so
certain of the swift finish were the authorities of SuperSport Park that the buffet lunch was laid out even as play
began. The defeat, by an innings and 25 runs, leaves India 0-1 down in the three-match series. The second
Test begins in Durban on Sunday.
DECEMBER THE 22ND, 2010
RUSSIA IS A SPECIAL PARTNER SAYS MANMOHAN SINGH
Belying predictions of diplomatic fatigue, the last visit to India by the head of a P-5 country in 2010 turned out
to be one of the most significant, with 30 agreements and a meeting of minds on key political issues emerging
from talks in delhi on Tuesday between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev.After 90 minutes of restricted talks between the two leaders and 40 minutes among the delegations,
Dr. Singh emerged to tell journalists that India's relationship with Russia was ?special and privileged? and
would develop independent of its ties with other countries. The highlight of the 30 agreements was the
consolidation and extension of strategic cooperation in the civil nuclear, hydrocarbons and space sectors.
ANDHRA PRADESH GETS RS 400 CR Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday released Rs.400 crore for the
Andhra Pradesh government as advance from the National Calamity Contingency Fund to take up immediate
relief and rehabilitation measures in the State that were affected by unprecedented rains and cyclonic storms in
the last few months.Dr. Singh told a delegation of over 20 Congress MPs that the Centre would take speedy
action on the reports of the Central team that toured the State last week to assess the damage caused to the
crops and other properties. Additional relief could be provided based on the Central team's assessment.The
delegation was led by Union Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.
Kiran Kumar Reddy had met Dr. Singh a few days ago and sought assistance.The announcement on the release
of Rs.400 crore comes, even as Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu and Y.S. Jagan Mohan
Reddy are undertaking fasts separately to highlight the plight of the farmers.
MULLAPERIYAR COMMITTEE VISITS NEW DAM SITE
The Empowered Committee on the Mullaperiyar reservoir, led by its chairman A.S. Anand, visited the site of the
Kerala Periyar Dam, the new one proposed by the Kerala government on Tuesday.The team of officials led by K.
Jayakumar, Additional Chief Secretary of the Kerala government, explained to the visiting team that the
proposed dam was a technically feasible proposition and the State government had prepared a technical report
for the same. The government was also preparing a detailed project report, the committee members were
told.The five-member committee has K.T. Thomas and A.R. Lakshmanan, former judges of the Supreme Court;
C.D. Thatte, former secretary to the Ministry of Water Resources; and D.K. Mehta, former Chief Engineer,
Central Water Commission, as members.
B.S. LALLI SUSPENDED
President Pratibha Patil late on Tuesday night ordered the suspension of B.S. Lalli, 63, Chief Executive Officer of
Prasar Bharati, on charges of irregularities in the country's largest public broadcaster.The action came after
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought a Presidential reference earlier this month, setting in motion the
process for Mr. Lalli's removal.
INDIA RUSSIA SIGN AIRCRAFT PACT
The biggest defence programme in India's history ² the contract for the preliminary design of the Fifth
Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) ² was signed on Tuesday between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and
Russia's Rosoboronexport and Sukhoi. It will involve the production of 200-250 aircraft.The FGFA will have
advanced features such as stealth, super-cruise, ultra-manoeuvrability, highly integrated avionics suite,
enhanced situational awareness, internal carriage of weapons and network centric warfare capabilities.The
aircraft would be called Perspective Multi-role Fighter (PMF). It draws upon the basic structural and system
design of the Russian FGFA Technology Demonstrator with modifications to meet the Indian Air Force's
specifications, which are much more stringent. The contract was signed by A. Isaykin, general director of
Rosoboronexport and M. Pogosyan, general director RAC MiG & Sukhoi from the Russian side and HAL chairman
Ashok Nayak, and N.C. Agarwal, Director (D&D), HAL from the Indian side here.
BRING DOWN ONION PRICES: MANMOHAN SINGH
With the Union government refusing to play Santa Claus and regulate market forces, the merciless rise in onion
prices threatens to mar Christmas, New Year and Makar Sankrantri festivities.With several markets reporting a
further rise in prices to about Rs.85 a kg, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened, by directing the
Ministries of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs to take steps to bring its prices to affordable levels.
HANEEF GETS COMPENSATION
Indian doctor Mohammad Haneef has struck a deal with the Australian government for receiving a ?substantial?
compensation for his wrongful detention in connection with the Glasgow bombing attempt in 2007.
ISRO TO LAUNCH SINGAPORE SATELLITE
The Indian Space Research Organisation is set to place Singapore's first satellite in orbit within a month or so.
Announcing this, India's High Commissioner to Singapore, T. C. A. Raghavan, said in singapore on Tuesday that
the experimental satellite was made by a university in the City-State itself.Briefing journalists on =The India
Show' to be held here next month, Dr. Raghavan said ?there is already a science and technology platform? of
cooperation between the universities and research institutes of the two countries. ?One of the very good things
in the India-Singapore bilateral relationship is that research institutions and universities have direct links with
each other.? And, the governments of the two countries also inked, a Memorandum of Understanding a few
years ago.
IRAQ GETS NEW GOVERNMENT
Iraq's Parliament, after a delay of nine months, has confirmed Nouri al-Maliki as Prime Minister for a second
term.The formation of Mr. Maliki's national unity government has been an exercise in balancing the competing
interests of Iraq's Sunni, Shia and Kurdish power blocs.Ayad Allawi, the leader of the Iraqiya party that won 91
seats ² two more than the Mr. Maliki's State of the Law coalition but was unable to form a government ² has
been appointed as the head of the national council for strategic studies, a newly created post.
GHAURI TEST FIRED
Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test fired Hatf V (Ghauri) ² a Medium Range Ballistic Missile ² capable of
carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads over 1,300 km. Lauding the 11-year-old Army Strategic Force
Command (ASFC) for the successful launch, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said the test was a signal to
the world that Pakistan's defence capability was impregnable and should never be challenged.
DECEMBER THE 23RD, 2010
GOVERNMENT OFFERS SPECIAL SESSION TO DISCUSS A JPC
The Central government on Wednesday offered a special session of Parliament to discuss the Opposition
demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the 2G spectrum allocation scandal.It was a direct
response to the call for the Prime Minister's resignation made at the National Democratic Alliance rally in New
Delhi. And it was dramatically made by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in an exchange of words with BJP
president Nitin Gadkari before a live audience at a CNN-IBN awards function later in the night.
PRITHVI II FLIGHT TESTED SUCCESSFULLY
Two nuclear weapons-capable Prithvi-II missiles were successfully flight-tested within an hour of each other
from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Orissa, on Wednesday.Taken from the production lot, the short-
range ballistic missiles were tested for the full range (350 km) and fired at 8.15 a.m. and 9.15 a.m.
respectively by personnel of the Strategic Force Command (SFC) as part of a regular exercise. After a flight of
about eight minutes, the missiles zeroed in on pre-designated targets with a high degree of accuracy.This was
the second mission in which two Prithvi-II missiles were successfully flight-tested. Earlier, they were fired in
salvo mode on October 12, 2009. However, the launch of a single missile failed in September this year when it
did not take off.Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister V.K. Saraswat
congratulated the scientists and the armed forces for the success.
NO RESERVATION FOR GUJJARS
The Rajasthan high court ruled that Gujjars could not be given any special reservation in government jobs.
GSLV FO6 launch on Saturday
The Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV ± F06) is getting ready to lift off from Sriharikota (situated
in AP, prominent launchpad for ISRO) at 4:01 p.m. on Saturday, December 25.It was originally scheduled to be
launched on December 20 but a leak of helium gas from a valve in the upper Russian cryogenic stage on
December 18 led to the postponement. The leak of helium gas was more than the acceptable limits.
DECEMBER THE 24TH, 2010
KARUNAKARAN DIES
The former Chief Minister of Kerala and veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran died at a private hospital in
tiruvananthapuram on Thursday evening. He was 93 and is survived by daughter Padmaja Venugopal and son K
Muraleedharan.
WEST BENGAL BEGINS RESERVATIONS FOR OBC?S
The West Bengal government has decided to reserve 17 per cent seats in all government and government-
aided colleges for students belonging to the other backward classes (OBCs), with effect from the coming
academic session. Sudarshan Roy Chowdhury, State Higher Education Minister announced in the State
Assembly here on Thursday.
BLASTS AT TWO EMBASSIES IN ROME
Package bombs exploded at the Swiss and Chilean embassies in Rome on Thursday, injuring the two people
who opened them, said officials. Police ordered checks at all embassies after a false alarm was also reported at
the Ukrainian embassy. A group called Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire claimed responsibility.
LIFETIME GRAMMY AWARDS FOR JULIE ANDREWS AND PARTON
Sound of Music star Julie Andrews, country singer Dolly Parton and jazz drummer Roy Haynes will be honoured
with lifetime achievement Grammy awards next year for their artistic contribution to the recording medium.The
Recording Academy has also selected punk pioneers The Ramones, Juilliard String Quartet, the Kingston Trio
and 101-year-old gospel legend George Beverly Shea for the lifetime Grammys.
DECEMBER THE 25TH, 2010
LIFE TERM FOR BINAYAK SEN
Celebrated human rights activist binayak sen was sentenced to life term in the Raipur sessions court in
chattisgarh By late afternoon, Justice Verma emerged from his chamber to pronounce the three men guilty of
criminal conspiracy to commit sedition, under Section 124(a) read with 20 (b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),
and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Dr. Sen, Mr. Guha and Mr. Sanyal were also convicted under Section
39(2) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, and Sections 8 (1), (2), (3) and (5) of the Chhattisgarh
Special Public Security Act 2005 which charged them with supporting, aiding and abetting in the activities of a
criminal organisation, in this instance the CPI (Maoist), which carry sentences of up to 5 years.
CBI QUESTIONS RAJA FOR OVER 8 HOURS
As part of its investigations into the 2G spectrum allocation scam, the CBI on Friday questioned the former
Communications Minister, A. Raja, for over eight hours.Mr. Raja appeared at the CBI headquarters at 10.30
a.m. after he was summoned under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code. He had flown in from Chennai
on Wednesday.
CHANDRABABU NAIDU CALLS OFF FAST
Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu called off his eight-day-old hunger strike, demanding
higher compensation for farmers hit by rains and floods, here on Friday evening, following persuasion by
leaders of 10 parties. The TDP leader, who began his fast on December 17, was forcibly administered
intravenous fluids on Thursday.
GUJJAR AGITATION AFFECTS 42 TRAINS
Gujjars on Friday blocked rail track at Bandikui, between Delhi and Jaipur, in Dausa, affecting the operation of
42 trains.
RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES NEW START
The Russian-American New START treaty won preliminary approval of the Russian Parliament, even as Moscow
rejected as ?unacceptable? the U.S. Senate ratification resolution. The State Duma, Lower House of Parliament,
supported the treaty by a 350-56 majority in a first of three votes on Friday, but postponed its final approval till
next year. In Russia, international treaties must be approved by both Houses of Parliament in contrast to the
U.S. Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev hailed the pact as ?a cornerstone of stability in the world and Europe
for decades to come?.
TRADE PACTS WITH JAPAN MALAYSIA AND EU
India will open its trade in goods and services with Malaysia, Japan and the European Union in the first half of
2011, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said in New Delhi. Mr. Sharma said the first half of
next year would witness signing of comprehensive market and investment promotion agreements with Japan,
Malaysia and the EU. India has already signed a framework agreement for the Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with Malaysia and concluded negotiations for a similar pact with Japan. Mr.
Sharma informed that India had launched negotiations for comprehensive economic partnership agreement
with New Zealand and Canada. India had already entered into comprehensive market opening pacts with
Singapore, South Korea and 10-nation economic bloc ASEAN.
DECEMBER THE 26TH, 2010
GSLV ERUPTS INTO A BALL OF FLAME
The launch of the Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F06) from shriharikota on Saturday ended
in a failure, with the vehicle losing control 47 seconds after its flight, breaking up into pieces and erupting into a
ball of flame.As the vehicle veered off the safety corridor and the flaming debris could have fallen on the
residential areas around Sriharikota, Range Safety Officer (RSO) V.K. Srivastava pressed the ?destruct? button
and the explosives around the vehicle ignited and destroyed it.
SWAMINATHAN CONFERRED LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD BY CNN IBN
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.?Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the award to
Dr. Swaminathan
RAW?S NEW CHIEF
Sanjeev Tripathi, who heads the Aviation Research Centre (ARC), will be the new chief of the country's external
intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). The ARC is a part of RAW. He will take over on
December 30 for a two-year term from the present chief, K. C. Verma, who has expressed his desire to quit a
month ahead of his tenure ending on January 31, 2011.
42 KILLED IN PAKISTAN BLAST
At least 42 people were killed and nearly double the number injured when a suicide bomber detonated himself
at a World Food Programme distribution centre in the Bajaur tribal agency along the Pakistan-Afghanistan
border on Saturday when people were queuing up to collect emergency food rations.
38 DEAD IN NIGERIA DUE TO CHURCH ATTACKS
Unprecedented Christmas Eve bomb blasts and attacks on churches left at least 38 people dead in Nigeria as
authorities worked on Saturday to keep the violence from spreading.
DECEMBER THE 27TH, 2010
CAG TO APPEAR BEFORE PAC TODAY
Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India Vinod Rai will appear before Parliament's Public Accounts
Committee (PAC) on Monday in connection with the 2G telecom controversy.
13 KILLED AS BOAT CAPSIZES IN RAMANATHAPURAM
In a major boat tragedy, at least 13 persons, many of them women and children, were killed and around eight
others feared drowned when a country boat capsized in the sea near Vaala Theevu, one of the 21 islands of the
Gulf of Mannar, in Ramanathapuram district on Sunday.
ÄRAJASTHAN GUJJARS SHOULD GET ST STATUS?
Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir have thrown their weight behind the Rajasthan Gujjars in their ongoing struggle
for grant of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.in an appeal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson
Sonia Gandhi through the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, the J&K Gujjars wanted the Rajasthan
Gujjars treated on a par with them and those in Himachal Pradesh.
DECEMBER THE 28TH, 2010
17,368 FARM SUICIDES IN 2009
At least 17,368 Indian farmers killed themselves in 2009, the worst figure for farm suicides in six years,
according to data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). This is an increase of 1,172 over the 2008
count of 16,196. It brings the total farm suicides since 1997 to 2,16,500. The share of the Big 5 States, or
=suicide belt' ² Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh ² in 2009
remained very high at 10,765, or around 62 per cent of the total, though falling nearly five percentage points
from 2008. Maharashtra remained the worst State for farm suicides for the tenth successive year, reporting
2,872. Though that is a fall of 930, it is still 590 more than in Karnataka, second worst, which logged 2,282
farm suicides
MENTAL ILLNESS CAN BE INCLUDED UNDER DISABILITY
Mental illness or retardation can be brought within the term =disability' under sections of the Persons with
Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 (PWD Act), the Madras
High Court has said T.N. NINAN PRESIDENT OF EDITORS GUILD
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. Commi Kapoor of Indian Express was retained as general secretary at the annual general body
meeting held here on Friday. Suresh Bafna of Nai Duniya was elected treasurer.Mr. Ninan succeeds Rajdeep
Sardesai of CNN-IBN, while Mr. Bafna takes over from senior editor Rohit Bansal. Veteran journalist Kuldip
Nayar thanked the outgoing team on behalf of the guild members.
KHODORKOVSKY FOUND GUILTY IN SECOND TRIAL
The former oil tycoon, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who is serving an eight-year prison term, was found guilty in his
second trial, which would keep him behind bars for several more years.A judge who started reading his verdict
on Monday said Mr. Khodorkovsky (47) was guilty of stealing oil from his own company and laundering the
proceeds. In the second trial, Mr. Khodorkovsky stands accused of stealing 218 million tonnes of oil worth $27
billion from Yukos, the company he owned before it was taken over by the government in 2004
DECEMBER THE 29TH, 2010
SRIKRISHNA COMMITTEE: WE WILL GIVE AN IMPARTIAL REPORT
The Srikrishna Committee, which held wide-ranging consultations over the past 11 months on the demand for a
state of Telangana as well as to maintain the present status of a united Andhra Pradesh, on Tuesday said it
would give an ?impartial and professional? report that would seek to achieve the ?highest satisfaction of the
maximum number of people.?The five-member panel, headed by the former Supreme Court judge, Justice B. N.
Srikrishna, will submit a report by December 31 to Home Minister P. Chidambaram. It was appointed on
February 3.
DECEMBER THE 30TH, 2010
TECHNICAL TEAM TO DO SPOT STUDY AT LAVASA
After giving the Lavasa Corporation Limited a patient hearing last week, the Environment and Forests Ministry
has decided to send a =technical team' shortly for a spot study of the township near Pune, whose construction
has been held up due to alleged environmental violations.The Ministry will also submit its reply in the Mumbai
High Court on January 10 in connection with a petition filed by Lavasa challenging the stay on construction
ordered by the Ministry. ?A technical team of the Ministry will visit Lavasa soon,? Environment and Forests
Minister Jairam Ramesh told journalists here on Wednesday.
PALESTINE STATE GAINING RECOGNITION
Taking a cue from its European neighbours, Britain was on Wednesday reported to be considering upgrading
the status of the Palestinian representative's office in London to that of a diplomatic ?mission? to put pressure
on Israel to allow resumption of peace talks stalled because of its refusal to halt illegal construction of Jewish
settlements on occupied Palestinian lands.France, Spain, Portugal and Norway have already taken similar
initiatives and more European countries are expected to follow suit. a string of other Latin American countries,
including Bolivia, Argentina and Ecuador, have followed suit, and Uruguay has said it will recognise a Palestinian
state on the same basis in 2011.Other Latin American countries, including Cuba, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and
Venezuela, already recognised Palestinian statehood several years ago.
BOWLERS GIVE INDIA A FAMOUS WIN
India concluded another famous win overseas ² only its second in South Africa ² in glorious sunshine on
Wednesday afternoon when it dismissed the home side for 215 in its second innings here at Kingsmead.The
victory, by 87 runs and with more than a day to spare, was a fitting riposte by the world's best Test team after
the beat-down it suffered in the first match in Centurion and after another lost toss that allowed South Africa
the best of the conditions.With the win, India levelled the series 1-1. The third Test will be played in Cape Town
from Sunday, and if M.S. Dhoni's side can call upon the intensity it began Wednesday with, a historic series win
in South Africa will be within reach.
ENGLAND KEEPS THE ASHES
England retained the Ashes with a crushing innings and 157-run win in the fourth Test on Wednesday, breaking
a 24-year away drought in the series and leaving Australian captain Ricky Ponting's future in doubt.England's
biggest win over Australia since 1956 put it an unbeatable 2-1 up with one to play, almost a quarter of a
century after Mike Gatting's team claimed the series 2-1 in 1986-87 in England's last triumph in Australia.
ON US ³REQUEST´ INDIA SHUTS IRAN OIL IMPORTS
In a move that is being seen worldwide as an example of India succumbing to American pressure, the Reserve
Bank of India has barred companies from using the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) to process current account
transactions for oil and gas imports ² a decision that directly hits at Indian energy imports from Iran.With
American and European clearing houses unwilling to process payments involving the Iranian hydrocarbon
sector, an urgent solution will now have to be found for the $11 billion worth of oil India imports annually from
the Islamic Republic. Diplomatic sources told The Hindu that a senior official from the Central Bank of Iran will
hold emergency talks with the RBI on Friday.The ACU has nine members today: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Iran.
DECEMBER THE 31ST, 2010
KRISHNA TRIBUNAL GRANTS LION?S SHARE OF WATER TO AP
The Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II on Thursday allocated the highest share of Krishna river waters to
Andhra Pradesh but distributed the surplus waters, which was hitherto flowing into the State.The shares of
other basin States ² Karnataka and Maharashtra ² were also raised.The three-member tribunal, headed by
Justice Brijesh Kumar, permitted Karnataka to raise the storage level in the Almatti dam to 524.256 metres
from 519.6 metres, a measure seen by Andhra Pradesh as depriving its lower Krishna delta region of water
supply. The tribunal, however, directed Karnataka to make regulated releases of 8 to 10 thousand million cubic
feet (tmcft) from the dam to Andhra Pradesh in June and July. The tribunal asked the Centre to set up a
`Krishna Water Decision-Implementation Board' with representation from all the three States.
DRDO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES TRIAL OF AEROSTAT SYSTEM
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully completed the trials of a big
aerostat system developed by it.During the trials, which comprised surveillance over Agra and interception of a
variety of communications, the aerostat carried electro-optic and communication intelligence payloads. The
trials were completed on December 25.The DRDO has also developed electronic intelligence and radar payloads
that will be put to use in the aerostat.The entire system was designed, developed and integrated by the Aerial
Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), Agra Cantonment.The ADRDE, a premier
laboratory of the DRDO, specialises in developing parachutes, lighter-than-air systems, flotation systems and
aircraft arrester barriers.
CORPORATE ALLOWED TO START TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS
The Centre on Thursday permitted companies registered as non-profit entities to establish technical institutions
and reduced the land requirement for non-rural areas to 2.5 acres from the existing 3.5 acres, in addition to
allowing vertical expansion barring engineering colleges.In a move that could enhance the intake of students in
technical colleges, including engineering, substantially, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has
allowed an increase in the number of seats from 40-60 to provide for larger number of seats and optimisation
of resources without having to set up new institutions in the area. Up to now, different programmes ± one each
± were allowed to be integrated into a single campus so that resources could be shared. Now, this facility has
been extended to accommodate more than one college in same stream on a single campus.All companies or
corporate houses registered as non-profit entities under section 25 of the Company's Act, 1956 can set up
technical institutions but no joint ventures would be allowed in such cases. As of now, only registered trusts and
societies could set up educational institutions.
BONEY M?S BOBBY FERREL DEAD
Singer Bobby Farrell of the 1970s European chart-topping group Boney M was found dead in his hotel bed on
Thursday while on tour in Russia, his agent said. He was 61.

THE CLATGYAN GENERAL KNOWLEDGE COMPENDIUM

JANUARY THE 3RD 2011
1. The MuttahidaQaumi Movement on Sunday withdrew its support to the federal government in Pakistan.
2. The website of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee was found hacked on Sunday evening, with pro-
Pakistan slogans appearing on it.
3. After 19 years, India joined the U.N. Security Council as a non-permanent member for a two-year
term.Colombia,germany,Portugal and South Africa are the other members to join .
4. The government of Andhra Pradesh is veering round to the view that the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal
has made wrong calculations based on ³certain mathematical errors´ while evolving the formula for distribution
of Krishna waters among Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
5. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the 98 {+t} {+h} Indian Science Congress on Monday.Over
9,000 delegates are expected to take part in the annual five-day event, to be held at SRM University at
Kattankulathur, about 40 km from Chennai.K.C. Pandey, general president of the Indian Science Congress
Association, said V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and Director-General of the Defence
Research and Development Organisation, would receive the Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award for his
contribution to missile science and technology.
6. Dalits from the Vellakoil block, who have been fighting for their rights to enter the new
UthamapalayamMariamman temple, have decided to perform µsamathuvapongal' on the adjoining original
Mariamman temple premises on January 15.
7. A dictionary of contemporary Tamil will shortly be available in Braille form.The work, based on the 2008
Tamil-Tamil-English dictionary brought out by Chennai-based Crea-A,
has been published by 25-year-old Indian Association for the Blind (IAB), which is Madurai based.
8. Big Bazaar presented µThe Great Indian Awards' to emerging Indians at a function held in the city on Sunday.
The store presented the awards to 10 persons from Coimbatore ³in recognition of their significant contribution
made in education, social service and sports,´ according to S. Dharmendra, Senior Operations Manager, Big
Bazaar.
9. Brazilian President DilmaRousseff began her first full day in office on Sunday after pledging to build on the
policies of her hugely popular predecessor, LuizInacio Lula da Silva. She is the 36th president and the 1st
women to hold office.

JANUARY THE 4TH, 2011

1. The Bharti Electoral Trust, a subsidiary of the BhartiAirtel Group headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal, made the
single largest donation to any political party in the financial year 2008-2009. The party was the Congress,
which received Rs.10 crore by cheque. The party, which reported the highest overall income of Rs. 496 crore
for the year, showed Rs. 48 crore as having come from donations.
2. The PrasarBharati Board gained more control of the public broadcaster on Monday by setting up five
committees - each including a Board representative - to supervise the functioning and help the institution
formulate a future vision for itself.At its first meeting in 2011, the Board also appointed Rajiv Takru, additional
secretary in the Information and Broadcasting, as PrasarBharati's chief executive for an interim period, as a
replacement for the suspended CEO B.S. Lalli, who is facing an inquiry by the Supreme Court on the orders of
the President of India.
3. Taken aback by the Medical Council of India's notifications for holding common entrance tests to graduate
and post- graduate courses, the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Monday declared the two
notifications ³invalid´ and directed the MCI to withdraw these with immediate effect
4. SuchitraMitra, legendary exponent of RabindraSangeet (Rabindranath Tagore's songs), died in her South
Kolkata residence on Monday after protracted illness. She was 86.
5. National Aerospace Laboratories Director A.R. Upadhya on Monday said a private partner will shortly be
selected for a joint venture to manufacture the regional transport aircraft.
6. Regional Passport Office, Chennai, will hold a passport adalat on January 8 between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on
ShastriBhavan premises
7. The Gondia police have arrested SudhirDhawle (42), Editor of Vidrohi magazine and freelance journalist
based in Mumbai, on charges of waging war against the state. He was booked under the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act.
8. Public sector carrier Air India has posted cash profit of Rs.21.66 crore in November 2010, a record in recent
times for the cash-strapped national carrier.
9. Tata Power on Monday said it had terminated agreement to raise $300 million (about Rs.1,350crore) through
selling 14-15 per cent stake in its two coal special purpose vehicles to the private equity firm Olympus Capital
Holdings Asia.
10. Citi Bank CEO vikrampandit was issued notice by SEBI for an alleged 300 corers scam in the gurgaon
branch office of the bank.

JANUARY THE 5TH, 2011

1. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has decided to set up a research and
innovation centre in the Research Park of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras, V.K. Saraswat, DRDO
Director-General and Defence Research and Development Department Secretary, said on Tuesday.
2. India and Iran on Tuesday agreed on a ³formula´ for making payments for oil through a Hamburg-based
German bank.Officials in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry said Iran's national oil company National
Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has a Euro account in Europäisch-IranischeHandelsbank AG (EIH Bank) in
Hamburg, which will process the payments made for Iranian crude by Indian companies.
3. India on Tuesday announced an extension of the ban on milk and milk products from China for another year
4. Bahri Estates, promoters of µBahri Beautiful Country', a project on retirement and second home has
announced its association with Globosport / Play Sports Surfaces (companies promoted by leading tennis player
Mahesh Bhupathi).

JANUARY THE 6TH, 2011

1. The Justice Srikrishna Committee, which held wide consultations in the last 11 months on demands for a
separate State of Telangana as well as for keeping Andhra Pradesh united, has offered half-a-dozen
options(read the article on telengana) on which the government may take a call in about six weeks.
2. The right of minority institutions under Article 30 is an absolute right being the basic structure of the
Constitution. Therefore, any regulation interfering with the right of administration would not be applicable to
minority institutions, being violative of the Constitution, the Madras High Court has said.
3. A new railway station building has been proposed for Ariyalur as part of the 273-km Villupuram - Tiruchi -
Dindigul doubling project to be executed by the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a Government of India
enterprise.
4. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to implement the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite
System (IRNSS) to provide India and neighbouring countries with the Position Navigation and Timing (PNT)
service, S.V. Kibe, Brahmprakash Professor in the ISRO Headquarters, Bangalore, said on Wednesday.
5. Panjab University's Department of Geography is launching ³Geography Help Services´ for students preparing
for the Class X Board examinations of CBSE, ICSE and any other board to be held in March 2011, University
chairman Prof. Krishna Mohan said here on Wednesday.
6. Anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who led several Shia uprisings against American forces in Iraq before
travelling to neighbouring Iran at least three years ago, has returned to Iraq, officials said Wednesday.
7. U.S. cellular technology giant Qualcomm announced that it will acquire wireless networking firm Atheros
Communications for $3.1 billion as it seeks to expand operations, Qualcomm said in a statement.
8. The World Bank has issued its first yuan-denominated bond to raise 500 million yuan ($76 million) from the
two-year bond issue on the Hong Kong's yuan-denominated bond market.
9. The 52nd National Cost Convention, organised by The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India
(ICWAI), will be held in Chennai at Hotel Le Royal Meridian between January 6 and 8. Every year, the
convention aims at looking at the challenges thrown by the industry and is coming up with innovative and new
methods to tackle the issues. Keeping in line with the thought process this year the theme centres around µNew
enterprise challenges ² sustainability and value creation.

JANUARY THE 7TH, 2011

1. A two-day national seminar titled µDalit households in village economies' began in Kolkata . Organised by the
Sociological Research Unit at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, it will focus on the extent and forms
of economic discrimination that rural dalits across the country face.
2. Projecting India's economy to grow by 8.75 per cent in 2010-11 with a moderation to about 8 per cent
during the next fiscal, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has highlighted elevated inflation and
complications in macroeconomic management as the near-term challenges confronting the authorities and
called for further monetary action by the Reserve Bank of India to contain the price spiral.
3. NTPC is drawing up plans to increase its footprints overseas. Seeking to expand its presence in the clean
energy sector, it is eyeing Maldives for establishing solar power projects.
4. Narain Karthikeyan is back on the Formula One grid. The 33-year-old Coimbatore-born driver has signed up
with the Hispania Racing Team, thanks to the sponsorship offered by the Tatas.
JANUARY 8TH, 2011
1. Three international accreditation certificates ± Quality Management System (ISO 9001), Environment
Management System (ISO 14001) and Occupational Health and Safety Management (ISO 18001) ± were
awarded to the Theni District Collectorate in recognition of its integrated management system by the Dubai
Accreditation Centre after evaluating the services of district administration to public in three areas.
2. Leading Australian and Indian researchers, funded by the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, are
teaming up to pursue ground-breaking ideas, from new non-invasive tools for detecting cancer to better
techniques to monitor the health of our oceans.
3. The Experts Group chaired by the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman, C. Rangarajan,
favours mandatory entitlement of subsidised foodgrains to the µpriority' category (Below the Poverty Line) as
recommended by the National Advisory Council (NAC). But the Group does not think that it is feasible to extend
to the µgeneral' category (Above the Poverty Line) legal entitlement of subsidised foodgrains under the Public
Distribution System (PDS).
4. The MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM), which had withdrawn support to the Pakistan People's Party-led
federal government on Sunday, has decided to return to the ruling coalition without joining the Cabinet. This
was decided on Friday after Prime Minister Syed Yusuf RazaGilani visited MQM's headquarters in Karachi for a
meeting with party leaders.
5. MMTC is all set to open its office in Johannesburg on January 10 to step up its business with South Africa and
other countries in the African continent.The office will be inaugurated by Commerce and Industry Minister
Anand Sharma.
6. Dominant England claimed its first Ashes series in Australia for 24 years with its third innings victory over
the home team in the final Sydney Test on Friday.It was England's first series victory Down Under since Mike
Gatting's team beat Australia 2-1 in 1986-87. Player of the series was Alistair cook.

JANUARY 9TH, 2011

1. IPL auctions took place today , knight riders got in gambhir and yusufpathan in their kitty , pune warriors got
robin uthapa and yuvrajsingh , while many players like souravganguly and brianlara were not picked by any
team.
2. With the signing of a memorandum of understanding, one more formality has been completed towards
resuming the passenger ship liner service from Tuticorin to Colombo, the route of the KappalottiyaTamizhan
(the Tamil helmsman), V.O. Chidambaram Pillai.
3. K.G. SankaraPillai's µK.G.S. Kavithakal 1997-2007' has been selected for this year's Kerala Varma poetry
award, instituted by the MahakaviPandalam Kerala VarmaSmarakaSamithi.
4. Voting starts in Southern Sudan for a referendum to free themselves from the muslim dominated northern
sudan . President of present sudan ± omar al bashir
5. A federal court in the United States has issued a subpoena to micro-blogging website Twitter to obtain
information on several individuals linked to WikiLeaks, the whistleblower website, including its founder Julian
Assange, said an Icelandic Member of Parliament also named in the case.

CLAT GYAN¶S GK COMPENDIUM

JANUARY THE 19TH, 2011
1. With the recent uproar on rising food and vegetables prices providing a handy trigger, the Manmohan Singh
Government is all set to give its approval to 51 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the multi-brand
retail sector with the Commerce and Industry Ministry likely to move a Cabinet note next week.
2. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will reshuffle his Council of Ministers, with the swearing-in of the new
incumbents scheduled at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. This comes almost precisely one month after the conclusion
of the Congress' 83rd plenary session at Burari, and after weeks of feverish speculation. It also signals the fact
that changes in the party organisation, including the reconstitution of the apex decision-making body ² the
Congress Working Committee ² will follow shortly.
3. Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan made a reference to the Supreme Court for the removal of
State Information Commissioner Ramanand Tiwari, who is embroiled in the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society
scam. Mr. Sankaranarayanan made the reference under Section 17 (1) of the Right to Information Act.

The section pertains to the removal of State Chief Information Commissioner or State Information
Commissioner.
4. Lavasa Corporation Ltd. HQ ± Pune, Maharashtra
Founder ± Ajit Gulabchand
President ± Rajgopal Nogja
5. No Australian man has won the Australian Open since Mark Edmondson in 1976.
6. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will soon submit fresh recommendations on 2G spectrum
pricing to the government. It is also planning to come out with a consultation paper on fourth-generation
mobile (4G) service by mid-2011. 4G or Long-term Evolution (LTE) will provide a wide range of data rates up to
ultra-broadband (gigabit-speed) Internet access to mobile as well as stationary users. The TRAI would look into
various aspects, including the spectrum band to be allotted for the 4G service and quantum and modes of
allotment to operators.
7. TRAI chairman: J.S. Sarma
8. The Punjab government has announced the setting up of a high-power cell headed by an Inspector-General
of Police to provide assistance to brides deserted by non-resident Indian husbands. The cell would also assist,
rescue and seek to provide justice to youths trapped in other countries after being sent fraudulently by
unscrupulous travel agents.
9. A bill to establish a National Geospatial Data Authority would be introduced in the budget session of
Parliament, Union Minister of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal told reporters after inaugurating a four-day
meet of Geospatial World Forum, 2011 in Hyderabad.
10. Lifetime Achievement award of the Forum: Dr. Kasturirangan. (space scientist at ISRO)
11. Nepal's Foreign Secretary: Madan Kumar Bhattarai.
12. China to provide 10 million RMB ($1.52 million) in emergency humanitarian relief to flood-hit Sri Lanka.
Flooding has left at least 40 people dead and more than one million people displaced in the north, east and
central parts of the country.
13. Three opposition Ministers inducted in the day-old national unity government have resigned, escalating
further Tunisia's deep political crisis which began on Friday with the collapse of 23-year old dictatorship of the
former President, Zine El Abidne Ben Ali.

The three who resigned on Tuesday ² Anouar Ben Gueddour, Abdeljelil Bedoui and Houssine Dimassi ² belong
to the General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT).
14. Indian Oil Corporation Chairman: B. M. Bansal

JANUARY THE 20TH, 2011

1. In a minor expansion of his Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh introduced three new faces,
upgraded five Ministers and shuffled the rest of the pack.

Urban Development Minister, Jaipal Reddy - Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora - Corporate Affairs minister.
Salman Khursheed - Water Resources and Minority Affairs Minister (earlier he was MoS for Minority Affairs).
Sriprakash Jaiswal - Coal Minister
Beni Prasad Verma - independent charge of the Ministry of Steel.
K.V. Thomas - Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Ministry;
E. Ahmed - MoS in the External Affairs Ministry;
K.C. Venugopal - MoS for Power.
M.S. Gill - Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Vilasrao Deshmukh - Ministries of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj
Valayar Ravi - Civil Aviation Ministry.
Kumari Selja - Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry and Ministry of Culture
Ajey Maken - MoS with independent charge of the Youth and Sports Ministry
2. What is Third alternative?

11-party non-UPA and non-NDA alliance, which has informally come together
3. 1st case of Crimean±Congo Hemorrhagic Fever ± Ahmedabad
4. Groups of Kashmiri Pandits came together to stage demonstrations to highlight the plight of the community
on the 21st anniversary of the µHolocaust Day', when thousands of them were forced to flee the Valley following
the outbreak of militancy.
5. A Swiss Parliamentary Committee has given the go-ahead to the revised tax treaty between India and
Switzerland that would eventually allow the Centre to access secret Swiss bank accounts of Indian tax evaders.

JANUARY THE 21ST, 2011

1. Mobile number portability has been launched
2. Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan on Thursday suspended State Information Commissioner
Ramanand Tiwari for his involvement in the Adarsh housing society scam.
3. Swiss police have arrested banker, Rudolf Elmer, who claims to have handed details of rich tax cheats to
WikiLeaks
JANUARY THE 22ND, 2011
1. Public Accounts Committee Chairman: Murli Manohar Joshi
2. Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj accorded sanction to prosecute Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa over
allegations of denotification of land acquired by the government, apart from other charges. The prosecution
request was made by two advocates.

Mr. Yeddyurappa is the first Chief Minister of the State against whom a Governor has accorded sanction for
prosecution.
Karnataka will thus join Tamil Nadu and Bihar, where two Chief Ministers were prosecuted after people obtained
the permission of Governors M. Channa Reddy and A.R. Kidwai.
3. Charged with suggesting ways and means of tackling corruption, the recently constituted Group of Ministers
decided to firm up the Lokpal Bill at the earliest.

Under the bill, even the Prime Minister will be open to scrutiny.
Meeting for the first time since it was set up on January 6, the Pranab Mukherjee-led GoM directed the Cabinet
Secretary to form two committees to examine various reports dealing with anti-corruption mechanisms.
4. The European Union and some of its member-States will send representatives as ³observers´ during the
January 24 hearing of human rights activist Binayak Sen's bail application in the Chhattisgarh High Court at
Bilaspur.

Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) to India: Daniele Smadja
5. The Supreme Court is to hold the final hearing on petitions seeking to examine the validity of Paragraph 3 of
the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, which deprives Scheduled Castes of reservation benefits on
their conversion to Christianity, on February 24.
6. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) chairperson: Bhupinder Prasad
7. Wipro Chairman Azim Premji has announced the appointment of T. K. Kurien as the Chief Executive Officer of
the company's Information Technology business, replacing joint chief executives Girish Paranjpe and Suresh
Vaswani.

JANUARY THE 23RD, 2011

1. International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), 2011 is being held at Las Vegas.
2. The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited's target to roll out 3G services in 760 cities will be achieved by this fiscal,
according to its Chairman and Managing Director Gopal Das.
3. A small but ³vocal´ section of opinion in Kashmir is for implementation of the United Nations resolutions
seeking a plebiscite (A plebiscite or referendum is when a country (or a smaller type of government like a city
or state) asks the people a certain question on political issues that will affect the country. The people can then
either accept the proposal or they can reject it. Sometimes, the results of a referendum are binding for the
government, at other times they are not.) and right of self-determination as a permanent solution to the
Kashmir issue.
4. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Rajasthan police has taken Swami Aseemanand, a key figure in the
Hindutva terror network, into custody in connection with the 2007 Ajmer dargah blast case.

The first DSC Prize for South Asian Literature has gone to H. N. Naqvi's book µHome Boy¶.
DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is a literary prize awarded annually to writers of any ethnicity or nationality
writing about South Asia themes such as culture, politics, history, or people.
5. Bollywood actor Aamir Khan has made it to the international jury of the 61st Berlin film festival to be held
next month.
6. President Pratibha Patil wound up the diamond-jubilee celebrations of the Election Commission and launched
the ³National Voters Day´ in New Delhi.
7. National Voters¶ Day: January 25th.
8. EC Director-General: Akshay Rout.

JANUARY THE 24TH, 2011

1. India may have to wait till at least next year for information from Switzerland on the possible black money
trail to Swiss banks, as a treaty for the same might come into force only by the end of 2011.
2. The Planning Commission has decided to disown the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Selected Tribal and
Backward Districts that it authored and was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) ²
in a vastly amended form ² in November last.
3. In an attempt to make bilateral ties comprehensive, India and Indonesia will sign nearly three dozen
memoranda of understanding or agreements during President Susilo Bamgbang Yudhoyono's visit. India will
focus on forging closer ties in energy, defence and investment during the visit of Mr. Yudhoyono, who will be
the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.
4. Hundreds of rural Tunisians reinforced protests led by industrial workers and professionals in the capital
Tunis, adding more pressure on the remnants of the regime of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
5. An Israeli probe ruled that a May 2010 raid on a flotilla of Gaza-bound aid ships, which killed nine Turkish
activists, did not violate international law.
6. The Tikrel Commission was set up to inquire and investigate the Flotilla incident.
7. Israel's Foreign Minister is putting together an interim peace plan that would grant the Palestinians limited
independence in an attempt to blunt their efforts to win international recognition of an independent state.

The Palestinians rejected the notion of a provisional state as a ³publicity stunt´ and urged Foreign Minister
Avigdor Lieberman to work instead to achieve a final peace deal.
JANUARY THE 25TH, 2011
1. At least 35 people were killed and about 60 injured in a suicide attack at Moscow's largest, and Russia's
busiest airport. Russia's Investigative Committee confirmed that it was a terrorist attack that was probably
linked to Russia's troubled North Caucasus.
2. Taking a tough stand, the Centre sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh
Kalmadi and his close aide Lalit Bhanot for trying to ³intimidate witnesses and hamper investigations´ being
undertaken by the CBI into the multicrore CWG scam.
3. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, the doyen of Hindustani classical music, breathed his last at a private hospital in Pune.
4. Bharti Airtel, which has the biggest revenue share among mobile phone companies in India.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPIONS:

Singles¶ men: Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
Singles¶ women: Kim Clijsters (Belgium)
Doubles¶ men: Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan (USA)
Doubles¶ women: Gisela Dulko (Argentina) & Flavia Pennetta (Italy)
Mixed Doubles: Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia) & Daniel Nestor (Canada)

JANUARY THE 26TH, 2011

1. Oscar Nominations:

=The King's Speechµ tops field with 12 Oscar nominations ± British historical drama- Directed by Tom Hooper.
=The Social Networkµ had been tipped to earn the most Oscar nominations after winning four awards at the
Golden Globes
A R Rahman bagged two nomination: one for the original score of Danny Boyleµs =127 Hoursµ and for the song
=If I Riseµ (in collaboration with Dido and Rolo Armstrong), from the same movie.
2. A powerful bomb planted by unidentified militants on a rail bridge in Haflong in Assam exploded derailing a
goods train, which was on its way from Lumding to Silchar, on the eve of Republic Day. There was no report of
any casualty or injuries.
3. In a brazen act, Additional Collector of Nashik district Yashwant Sonawane was burnt alive by kerosene mafia
in Manmad, Nashik, on 25th January, 2011.
4. BJP Leaders arrested in J & K: As soon as the BJP workers, led by Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Ananth
Kumar and Anurag Thakur, holding the tricolour and shouting slogans, crossed the Punjab-J&K border, heavy
contingents of police arrested them. The police booked all leaders under Section 188 of the Ranbir Penal Code.1
5. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has reiterated the Government's stand that information received on black
money stashed by Indians in foreign banks and other tax havens cannot be disclosed in the absence of a legal
framework. Mr. Mukherjee noted that to tackle the menace of illicit funds, the government has adopted a five-
pronged strategy. It comprises joining the global crusade against =black money'; creating an appropriate
legislative framework; setting up institutions for dealing with illicit funds; developing systems for
implementation; and imparting skills to the manpower for effective action.

1 The IPC is called the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) in J&K.

JANUARY THE 27TH, 2011
1. As part of its continuing efforts to cut cost, the BBC London announced that its Hindi radio service on
shortwave will be closed from March, besides five language services. The raft of measures will lead to the loss
of 650 jobs.
2. The BJP leaders arrested in J&K were released after night long detention. They ended their =Ekta Yatraµ by
hoisting the Tricolour at Kathua. Sushma Swaraj said that getting arrested for hoisting Tricolour on Republic
Day was the ?worst scenario after Emergency?.
3. Disturbance all over Egypt where people are clamouring for an end to the 30-year-old dictatorship of
President Hosni Mubarak. The crowds called for the resignations of Mr. Mubarak and Prime Minister Ahmed
Nazif, dissolution of Parliament and the formation of a new national unity government.
4. Chief Guest for R-Day Parade- Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
5. Ashok Chakra conferred posthumously on Army doctor Major Laishram Jyotin Singh.
6. Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani (36), a Guantanamo Bay detenu and alleged Al-Qaeda member involved in the 1998
bombings of the United States' embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, was sentenced to life in prison despite being
acquitted on all 276 murder and attempted murder charges and four conspiracy charges that U.S. Attorney-
General Eric Holder brought against him.
7. President Hamid Karzai swore in Afghanistanµs new Parliament in a ceremony that marked the end of a
drawn-out battle over whether the lawmakers would be able to start work despite ongoing investigations into
electoral fraud.

JANUARY THE 28TH, 2011

1. Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister: Jaipal Reddy.
2. An exclusive research station for grapes will be set up on 25 acres in Cumbum valley to impart latest
cultivation techniques, and help farmers get hands-on experience in the field itself, said K.P.T. Ganesan,
Chairman, Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Marketing Board.
3. Senior advocate, Anil Divan, appearing for petitioner and former Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani,
accused the government of not being serious on the black money issue, alleging that Pune-based businessman
Hasan Ali had fled the country.
4. Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh stirred up a hornet's nest once again, when he said that Veer
Savarkar, the man who coined the word ?Hindutva? and who was a source of inspiration for the Sangh Parivar,
had been the first to float the two-nation theory that led to the partition of India. ?It was Veer Savarkar who
first mooted the idea of a two-nation theory which was later adopted by Muhammad Ali Jinnah,? he said.
5. Nepal President Ram Baran Yadav arrived in Kolkata on a 10-day official visit to India. He is accompanied by
Minister for Federal Affairs and Constituent Assembly Minendra Rijal and
senior officials. Mr. Rijal is expected to brief New Delhi about the new initiative to end the political logjam that
has led to Nepal being unable to elect a new Prime Minister after 16 rounds of voting. A fresh round of voting
with altered rules is scheduled for February 3.
6. The Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) has written to the government, suggesting some
major amendments to the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010, ahead of a
conference of State Ministers for women and child development, to be chaired by Union Minister Krishna Tirath
in New Delhi. Later, an NAC member explained that if the Bill was really intended ?to promote gender equality
and justice and the universally recognised human right to work with dignity,? it was of paramount importance
to widen the scope of the Bill to include domestic workers.
7. Food inflation inched up marginally to 15.57 per cent for the week ended January 15 from 15.52 per cent a
week ago as vegetable prices continued to rule firm at higher levels. The primary concern of the government
and the RBI is the spill-over effect of high food inflation on the manufacturing sector which in turn is certain to
impede overall economic growth.
8. The International Cricket Council and Yahoo!India announced the launch of the official website of the ICC
World Cup 2011 ² iccevents.yahoo.com, the online destination to follow the happenings of the sporting
extravaganza, starting from February 19.

JANUARY THE 29TH, 2011

1. The Justice B.K. Somasekhara Commission of Inquiry, in its final report on the attacks on churches and
prayer halls in several places in Karnataka in 2008, has absolved the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ?mainstream?
sangh parivar and the State government from having been ?directly or indirectly? involved in the violence.
2. The Supreme Court on 28th January dismissed a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Haj
Committee Act, which provides for grant of a government subsidy for pilgrimage every year. A Bench of
Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra rejected the contention by Prafull Goradia, former BJP Rajya
Sabha member, who said such a grant violated Articles 14 and 15 and in particular Article 27 (freedom as to
payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion).
3. Pakistan Foreign Minister: Shah Mehmood Qureshi
4. Pakistan Foreign Secretary: Salman Basheer.
5. Fifty-five civil society groups from the U.S., the U.K. and Canada have come together to demand the
immediate release of jailed human rights activist Binayak Sen, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a
Chhattisgarh court. The groups have planned demonstrations, vigils and panel discussions on January 30 to
voice opposition to the ?brutal suppression of peaceful democratic dissent currently under way? in India.
6. Backed by the strong endorsement from the Ministries of Finance and Home, the Commerce and Industry
Ministry is preparing to move a Cabinet note on allowing 49 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in defence
sector. Sources said Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who recently held a meeting on the issue,
strongly batted for enhancing the FDI limit from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. His view was backed by Home
Minister P. Chidambaram and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
7. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed into law the ratification of a landmark nuclear arms cut pact with
the United States, a day after the Upper House of the Russian Parliament unanimously endorsed the pact.
8. U.S. President Barack Obama has named two Indian-Americans ² Vivek Murthy and Islam Siddiqui ² for
key posts in his administration. Mr. Murthy has been appointed to the advisory group on Prevention, Health,
Promotion and Integrative and Public Health, while Mr. Siddiqui would be the President's Chief Agricultural
Negotiator.
9. Apple's much-awaited gadget ² iPad ² has made its official debut in India.
10. Mallika Srinivasan will be the new Chairman of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE) and TAFE
Motors and Tractors Limited.

JANUARY THE 30TH, 2011

1. A confessional statement given by an accused under Section 15 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities
(Prevention) Act (TADA) should not be discarded merely for the reason it has been retracted during trial, the
Supreme Court has held. The Bench gave this ruling, upholding the life sentence awarded by a Kanpur TADA
court to Om Prakash Shrivastava alias Babloo, K.K. Saini and Manjit Singh alias Mange for the murder of
Additional Collector of Customs L.D. Arora.
2. The Delhi High Court has rejected the anticipatory bail application of R. Dhanapal Raj, Vice-Chairman of the
Bar Council of India and member of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu, cited as an accused in a CBI first
information report registered in December 2010.
3. In a joint operation, the Navy and the Coast Guard destroyed a pirate mother ship, Prantalay14, about 300
nautical miles off the Lakshadweep group of islands and apprehended 15 pirates. They also rescued 20 Thai and
Myanmarese fishermen, who had been held hostage after a Thai fishing vessel Prantalay14 was hijacked along
with Prantalay 11 and Prantalay 12 on April 18 last year.
4. The scarce spectrum will not be offered free of cost, and all operators will have to obtain radio waves
through a market-driven process, Union Communications Minister Kapil Sibal said. But he clarified that the new
operators who got licence in 2008 would be asked to pay beyond the 4.4 MHz start-up spectrum, while the
incumbent service providers would have to pay beyond 6.2 MHz.
5. Russian investigators have traced the deadly Moscow airport bombing earlier this week to the country's
restive southern region that includes Chechnya. The Investigative Committee has identified the suicide bomber
as a 20-year-old man from Northern Caucasus, said the committee's spokesman on 29th January. The bomb
killed 35 people and wounded 180 at Domodedovo airport on 24th January, 2011.
6. Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA): J. Harinarayan
7. The insurance industry registered 23 per cent growth in 2009-10.
8. Young Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave made World champion Viswanathan Anand force a draw through
perpetual checks before USA's Hikaru Nakamura outthought Russian youngster Ian Nepomniachtchi to take sole
possession of the lead after the 11th round of the Tata Steel chess tournament at Wijk ann Zee, in the
Netherlands.
9. Indian entrepreneur Ahsan Ali Syed officially took over as owner of Spanish First Division side Racing
Santander. Syed ² who made an unsuccessful £300m bid to buy English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers
earlier this season ² promised that he would bring in new blood to the squad starting with Serbian
international striker Nikola Zigic from Premier League side Birmingham City.

JANUARY THE 31ST, 2011

1. The former International Atomic Energy Agency chief-turned-reformist leader, Mohamed ElBaradei, appeared
to be fast emerging as the new political face of the Egyptian uprising, as the regime of President Hosni Mubarak
seemed fractured despite its desperate attempt to project a united front.
2. External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna is maintaining a close contact with Indian Ambassador in Egypt R.
Swaminathan in connection with the developments in that country and to provide assistance to the Indians
there.
3. Minister for External Affairs S.M. Krishna has taken strong exception to the radio-tagging of Indian students
in San Francisco, and has directed the Consuls General at California and New York to provide assistance to
them. He said the students were not criminals and that the radio tags should be removed immediately. The
tags were placed around the students' ankles to apparently keep a tab on their movements.
4. London-based Kashmiri novelist Mirza Waheed has lauded the women of Kashmir for their resilience during
the 20-year-long conflict, saying: ?They are the bravest in the world.? The novel, 'The Collaboratorµ published
by Penguin Books, U.K., has already been listed among the top 10 novels of 2011 and is the first such piece of
fiction by someone who was born and brought up in the haze of the conflict in the 1990s.
5. Two of the world's richest people, Warren Buffett and software czar Bill Gates, will visit India this year to
seek support of wealthy Indians for philanthropic activities. Legendary investor Buffett along with Bill Gates and
his wife Melinda Gates are leading the =Giving Pledge' campaign that urges rich people to pledge at least half of
their wealth to charity.
6. On a day marked by rallies across the country and in some cities in North America and the United Kingdom
to protest the life sentence awarded to paediatrician and rights activist Binayak Sen, about 700 people gathered
in his home town, Raipur, to demand his release. Nearly five weeks after human rights activist and medical
practitioner Binayak Sen was convicted on charges of sedition and awarded life sentence by the Raipur Sessions
Court, protests demanding his immediate release continued here on Sunday with his 84-year-old mother
Anasuya Sen taking to the streets demanding justice for her son.
7. The original crew of Prantalay14, a hijacked Thai fishing trawler-turned-pirate ship, which was sunk west of
the Lakshadweep in a joint anti-piracy action by the Navy and the Coast Guard on Friday, were sent to Mumbai
on Sunday by INS Cankarso, which spearheaded the operation.
8. Union Law and Justice Minister M. Veerappa Moily said that all subordinate courts in the country would be
converted into fast track courts (FTC) within three months.
9. Urgent and sustained efforts needed to curb female foeticide were discussed at a two-day workshop on
?female foeticide: rights of the girl child, problems and solutions,? held at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences
(TISS) in Mumbai. The workshop was organised to mark the National Girl Child Week from January 24 to 31.
10. Thousands turned out to welcome Tunisian Islamist leader Rached Ghannouchi's return after more than 20
years in exile, as political Islam prepares a comeback following the fall of Tunisia's regime.
FEBRUARY THE 1ST, 2011
1. Laying down 60 more conditions, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has granted conditional
clearance to Posco's $12-billion steel mill-cum-captive port project in Orissa. Union Minister Jairam Ramesh has
also sought an assurance from the Orissa government that there was no violation of the Forest Rights Act in the
land acquisition. The project comprises a steel mill, a captive power plant and a minor port.
2. The Chinese government has denied suggestions that it had links with the 17th Karmapa, whose monastery
was recently raided in Dharamsala, saying the accusation reflected the Indian government's mistrust towards
China. Nearly $ 1.6 million in foreign currencies was found following a raid in a monastery in Dharamsala.
3. The former Telecom Minister, A. Raja, was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation as the agency
moved ahead with its ongoing probe into the allegations of financial irregularities and undue favours to some
telecom companies in granting 2G spectrum between October 2007 and 2008. According to the sources, Mr.
Raja was asked about his conversations with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and the reasons for advancing the
cut-off date for allocation of spectrum in 2007.
4. Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat urged the United Progressive Alliance
government not to stand in the way of a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam to
ensure smooth functioning of Parliament in its budget session.
5. A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionary, accused in the Ajmer blast case, moved a Delhi court seeking
registration of a first information report against the Central Bureau of Investigation and Tehelka magazine for
making public the confessional statement of Right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand.
6. Australia's Queensland State is facing one of the worst cyclones in its history, bringing wild winds and
potentially devastating rainfall to areas still awash with floods. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said Severe
Tropical Cyclone Yasi, a monster storm brewing on the Coral Sea, ?may well be one of the largest and most
significant cyclones that we've ever had to deal with?.
7. India's GDP (gross domestic product) growth stands revised upwards to 8 per cent for 2009-10 from the 7.4
per cent expansion estimated earlier for the fiscal, mainly on the strength of better showing by sectors such as
manufacturing and services. The country's GDP at factor cost at constant (2004-05) prices in 2009-10 is
estimated at Rs.44.94 lakh crore as against Rs.41.63 lakh crore in 2008-09, which works out to an overall
economic growth of 8 per cent during the year.
8. The Aditya Birla Group has moved a step closer to its stated intention of being a significant global player in
its major businesses of cement, aluminium and carbon black when it announced that it entered into a definitive
agreement to acquire Atlanta-based Columbian Chemicals Company (CCC) from One Equity Partners, the
merchant banking arm of J. P. Morgan Chase & Co for a consideration of $875 million.

CLAT GYAN¶S GK COMPENDIUM

FEBRUARY 2ND 2011
SHOW OF PEOPLE¶S POWER AT TAHRIR SQUARE
The Egyptian army kept up its promise of not firing on protestors and facilitated the entry of an unprecedented
number of people protesting the rule of president Hosni Mubarak in Cairo.the number of people is expected to
be around 2.5 lakh. The newly appointed vice president omar Suleiman has invited the opposition for talks
which has signaled its readiness based on two conditions, first that Mubarak has to go and second that vice
president should make way for democracy.
SUPREME COURT AND 2G REGULARIZATIONS
The supreme court says that any policy that the government may adopt as to regularization of 2G spectrum
licenses for not fulfilling conditions etc would be subject to the scrutiny of the court. And that the court would
have the final say on it. A Bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice A.K. Ganguly refused to pass any interim
order on the application filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) to stop the Centre from
regularizing the licenses after levying a penalty.
SHUNGLU PANEL ASKS FOR STRICT ACTION AGAINST LALLI
The panel headed by former CAG VK Shunglu strongly indicted CEO of Prasar Bharati , BS Lalli,and the the
director general of Doordarshan Aruna Sharma of causing loss amounting to Rs. 135 crore by conspiring with
UK based broadcast firm SIS live during the commonwealth games. The 236 page report asked the government
to charge them with the prevention of corruption act and the Indian penal code.
MINORITIES COMMISSION HEADED BY WAJAHAT HABIBULLAH
The first chief information commissioner of India ,Wajahat Habibullah is now the head of the national
commission on minorities. He will be replacing Mohammad Shafi Quereshi who was once a governor and union
minister.
FEBRUARY 3RD
CBI ARRESTS A RAJA
The CBI arrested the former union minister for communication and information technology A Raja and two
officers who had worked under him for violating established guidelines and procedures during the allotment of
the 2 G spectrum in 2008.
CLASHES IN TAHRIR SQUARE
With thousands of Mubarak supporters bidding to take control of tahrir square chaos broke out and people were
seen blood flowing down their faces after the stone throwing that ensued. Mohammad el baradei called it a
crime against Egypt.the military was deployed in full strength.but it took no measures to separate the warring
camps. Union minister for external affairs SM Krishna in the mean while supported the anti-mubarak wave in
Egypt saying that he should step down and make way for democracy.
CENSUS TO BEGIN ON FEBRUARY 9TH
The national census is to take place between February 9th and 28th. Registrar-General and Census
Commissioner C. Chandramouli called this the biggest ever census attempted in the history of mankind.a colum
on sc/ st would be included. but a separate caste based enumeration would take place in june.
SALEH SAYS HE WILL QUIT IN 2013
Yemeni leader ali Abdullah Saleh , under pressure from the opposition, says he will freeze constitutional
changes that would enable him to remain president for life. Stating that he was against hereditary rule the
leader of the arab worlds poorest country said that he would step down in 2013 and not groom his son for
ruling after him.
CYCLONE IN AUSTRAILIA
Austrailias north eastern coast got hit by cyclone yasi which wrecked tens of thousands of homes.this further
causes problems for the queensland area which has already lost many people due to floods this year.
NEPAL ELECTIONS
Nominations were filed for the nepal elections by the four major parties. Unified Communist Party of Nepal
(Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ÄPrachanda', Nepali Congress parliamentary party leader Ram Chandra
Poudel, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) chairman Jhalanath Khanal, and a leader of the
United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) Bijay Kumar Gachhedar are the candidates. The voting would take
place on Thursday.
TAX TREATY WITH NORWAY
India signed a revised tax treaty, the double taxation avoidance agreement ,with Norway which facilitates
exchange of information and helps catch tax evasion and flow of black money. This treaty will replace the
double taxation avoidance convention signed between the countries in 1986
WORLD TRADE CENTRE AT KOCHI
Kofi. A. Boateng chief operating officer of world trade centres association announced that a world trade centre
at Kochi was being conceptualized. it would be the third in India after Mumbai and one that is supposed to
come up in Bangalore this year. he described world trade centres as engines of economic growth through
international trade and recalled the WTCA catch phrase -ÄProsperity Through Trade.'There are seven approved
licenses for WTCs in India ² Mumbai, launched in 1970; Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa, Gurgaon and
Kochi.

FEBRUARY 4TH
JHALANATH KHANAL ±NEPAL¶S PRIME MINISTER Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist
Leninist), Jhalanath Khanal, secured the support of 368 MPs in the House of 601 to become the 34th Prime
Minister, he takes over after 7 months under a care taker prime minister. He was supported by the Unified
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), whose chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ÄPrachanda' decided to withdraw
from the contest right before the voting.
IIM ±A RANKED 11TH BEST GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL
The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, has been placed 11th in The Financial Times Global MBA
Ranking of the world's top 100 business schools in 2011.london business schoo, Wharton school of the
university of pensylvania and Harvard business school are the best business schools in that order.
JUSTICE RAVEENDRAN OPTS OUT OF PINARAYI CASE
Pinarayi vijayan is a CPI(m) leader who was accused of offences amounting to rs. 300 crore in the SNC lavalin
case by the CBI. Here Mr. Vijayan was accused of wrongfully allowing a Canadian company to renovate power
plants when he was the power minister in 1997 . a writ petition filed by him against the governors orders
allowing the CBI to prosecute was to come up before the supreme court bench of judges raveendran and A.K .
Patnaik. Justice raveeendran said he was not inclined to hear it and without any reason asked the case to be
assigned to a bench which excluded him.
COURT WARDS FIVE DAYS CUSTODY OF RAJA
In newdelhi a court awarded the CBI five days custody of former union minister A Raja and two others arrested
along in in the 2 G spectrum allocation case.the public prosecutor told the special judge O.P . Saini that swan
telecom and united wireless were two beneficiaries of Mr. Raja's largesse towards certain telecom companies
that caused a total loss of Rs.22,000 crore to the exchequer calculated on a pro-rata basis.
SIT REPORT BLASTS MODI
The R.K Raghavan headed Special investigation team in a report to the supreme court has held the chief
minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi guilty of watering down the seriousness of the situation by making
statements that said ³every action has an equal and opposite reaction´. The report leaked by Tehelka magazine
in its latest issue says that the government over looked the ghastly and violent attacks and that Modi?s strong
condemnation of the Godhra incident coupled with justification of the Gujarat pogrom implied a partial
stance.the move of placement of ministers in the police control rooms was also severely criticized and also
criticized the transferring of police officers who tried to stop the rioting.
FEBRUARY 5TH
COMMONWEALTH LAW CONFERENCE IN INDIA AFTER 40 YEARS
Inaugurated by PM Manmohan Singh, at Hyderabad.
NILEKANI SUBMITS TAGUP REPORT TO PRANAB MUKHERJEE
UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani submitted the technology advisory group for unique projects (TAGUP) report
to union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee which among other things talks about IT intensive projects
pertaining to the finance ministry. The report is supposed to help in IT projects such as Tax Information
Network (TIN), New Pension Scheme (NPS), National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), Expenditure
Information Network (EIN) and Goods and Service Tax (GST)
TEHELKA LISTS 15 ACCOUNT HOLDERS IN LIECHTENSTIEN
Tehelka news magazine released a list of 15 account holders and trusts having secret accounts in the tax haven
of liechtenstien. This list was given to the Indian government in march 2009 and the government had refused
to make the names public due to a confidentiality agreement with the government of germany
MYANMAR GETS A NEW PRESIDENT
Thein Sein a military general turned civilian is myanmars new president . he was elected under the country?s
2008 constitution. he was chosen by the Presidential Electoral College in Myanmar's administrative capital of
Nay Pyi Taw. This College was constituted on the basis of results of a controversial ³democracy-restoring´
general election, which was held in November last. New civilian representatives and the junta's military
nominees formed the Electoral College. Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy (NLD), which was de-registered before the 2010 general election, did not take part in the
election.The future role of the junta leader, Senior General Than Shwe is still unsettled.
February 6th
Egypt- ruling party leaders quit, rocks US- Israel relationships,gas pipeline attacked
Marking another step toward democracy the entire top leadership of the ruling party including Hosni mubarak?s
son Gamal Mubarak resigned. The pro- democracy movement is now preparing for transition which , it hopes,
will lead to national elections.along with leader of the opposing national council for change coalition el baradei
the arab league head and former foreign minister Amr Moussa is also seen to be in the running for the next
president.meanwhile at tahrir square crowds continued to hold ground where as the military was fully deployed
and movement in and out was monitored. A bureau office of the Al- Jazeera was attacked by a pro- Mubarak
mob.
In United States a white house spokesperson said that they were engaged in calming Israel. President Obama
has spoken to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and the white house west asia media advisor Daniel
Shapiro has met ameircan jewish leaders.
Saboteurs have attacked a gas pipeline to Jordan using explosive in a town in the northern part of Sinai in the
Gaza strip forcing authorities to switch off gas supplies.it is not clear who was responsible for the attack and
whether it is related to the pro- democracy movement and violent protests against Mubarak which has been
going on for 12 days now.
FEBRUARY 7TH
CAG GOES AFTER ANOTHER SPECTRUM SCAM
the comptroller and auditer general of India , after the 2G spectrum scam , is going after another spectrum
scam, the S band spectrum scam. This looks into a 2005 agreement between the commercial arm of ISRO
Antrix Corporation Ltd. and Devas Multimedia private Ltd. the agreement was about ISRO launcing two
satellites for Devas but this led to huge hidden benefits of unbridled use of 70 mega hertz of the scarce S band
Spectrum over 20 years. ISRO is under department of space which is directly under the prime
minister.according to the CAG this could have resulted in a loss in excess of around 2 lakh crore PRP MERGES
WITH THE CONGRESS
The praja rajyam party which was headed by actor turned politican chiranjeevi has merged with the congress
without any pre condition.the party had supported the congress during rajya sabha elections last year.
FIRST WOMAN SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR SAARC
In its silver jubilee year the former attorney general of Maldives Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed will become the first
woman secretary general of SAARC. She will succeed Indian diplomant Sheel Kant Sharma.SAARC summit will
be hosted in Maldives in November this year.
ATP SOUTH AFRICA OPEN GOES TO KEVIN ANDERSON
With somadev devvarman losing in the finals the ATP south African open went to local favorite Kevin Anderson.
In the ATP Zagreb indoor tournament Ivan Dodig has beaten Michael Berrer.
FEBRUARY 8TH
MUSHARAFF ACCUSED IN BENAZIR CASE
Former president Parvez Musharaff is named as one of the accused in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
GOVERNMENT REACTS TO ISRO SPECTRUM DEAL SCAM Reacting to the expose by business line and the hindu
the union government said that it was in the process of reviewing the deal between ISRO commercial arm
Antrix corporation Ltd. and Bangalore based Devas multimedia which allows an unpaid for access to S band
Spectrum to Devas at a loss of Rs. 2 Lakh Crore to the government.
The CAG on the other hand said that the inquiries were still in the preliminary stage and that by no stretch of
imagination is it possible that the findings given in the papers are those of the CAG.
The BJP and the left have asked for a probe into the deal. Meanwhile Devas multimedia has responded to the
media reports saying that there are factual inaccuracies in the media reports and that they do not own any
unpaid for spectrum.

CLAT GYANµS GK COMPENDIUM ± JULY 2010

FEBRUARY THE 8TH, 2011
‡ Saarc Council of Ministers meet was held in Thimpu. Foreign Secretary of Pakistan: Salman Beshir
‡ Dr V M Katoch, Secretary (Health Research) headed the investigation on the death of four girls in AP after
they were administered the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine used to prevent cervical cancer by the NGO
PATH.
‡ The Madhya Pradesh government has to deal with protests over it allotting a whopping 250 crores to the
right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)µs huge gathering for the promotion of reconversion of ex-
Hindus.
‡ (Ex-) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak came under fresh pressure on Monday to step down as opponents
said concessions offered in landmark talks were not enough to halt a revolt against his 30-year rule as
thousands of demonstrators spent a 14th day in central Cairo's Tahrir Square.

FEBRUARY THE 9TH, 2011

‡ American employee of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Pakistan, arrested after the killing of two locals in ?self-
defence? in a crowded intersection of Lahore on January 27: Raymond Davis.
‡ Two Indian-Americans ² Ganpat Mani and Vijay Sazawal ² were appointed on Tuesday by U.S. Secretary of
Commerce Gary Locke to serve on the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee
‡ Justice Shivraj Patil was appointed to investigate the allocation of telecom licences and bandwidth
‡ In an arrangement, the Praja Rajyam Party of actor-turned politician Chiranjeevi is to merge with the
Congress in Andhra Pradesh. FEBRUARY THE 10TH, 2011
‡ In the high-profile Aarushi Talwar murder case, a designated court in Ghaziabad rejected the CBIµs plea for
closure and charged Aarushiµs parents for the murder of their daughter. CBI had pleaded for closure of the case
as there was no substantial evidence to prosecute the suspected.
‡ CBI, as part of the on-going investigation into the 2G spectrum scam, arrested Swan Telecomµs promoter,
Shahid Balwa.
‡ Aero India 2011 started off in the capital of Karnataka, Bangalore
‡ Tension gripped the Darjeeling hills and parts of the Dooars in north Bengal on Wednesday, the first day of an
indefinite bandh the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha called to protest the death of two of its supporters. The GJM has
been demanding a separate =Gorkhalandµ that should be carved out of West Bengal
‡ Defence Minister: AK Antony
‡ Dakshin Prahar: a military exercise conducted annually to gauge and sharpen the IAF's preparedness to
combat a range of threats.
‡ Cambodia and Thailand had tensions building over the hotly contested Preah Vihear temple that exists
between the countriesµ borders
‡ Facebook founder: Mark Zuckerberg
FEBRUARY THE 11TH, 2011
‡ Bowing to 17 days of ceaseless pro-democracy protests, Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's President for 30 years,
appears set to step down, handing over the reins of power to the military, which asserted itself on Thursday.
Interim power would be given to an ?Armed Forces Supreme Council?.
‡ Shivraj Patil Committee looked into the spectrum allocation policies of both UPA and NDA governments
‡ Nepal's Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal belongs to the Unified Marxist Leninist Party (Ex PM: Madhav Kumar
Nepal)
‡ A two-man committee ² comprising Planning Commission member and former Cabinet Secretary B.K.
Chaturvedi, and Space Commission member Professor Roddam Narasimha ² will review ?the technical,
commercial, procedural and financial aspects of the Agreement between Antrix (the commercial arm of ISRO)
and (Bangalore-based private firm) Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd
FEBRUARY THE 12TH, 2011
‡ 43rd Jnanpith Award was recently awarded to ONV Kurup (refer earlier compendiums for details on the
award)
‡ The International Labour Organisation's Decent Work Research Prize has been awarded to economist Jayati
Ghosh and Professor Eve Landau

FEBRUARY THE 13TH, 2011

‡ Amidst a sense of accomplishment about Mubarak stepping down the Egyptian army said that it would fill the
void left behind and that it would steer the country toward democracy. The army reportedly said that it would
abide by all international treaties including the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
‡ Additional sessions judge B.J.Dhandha has been appointed to the gulber society case as a judge of a special
court by the Gujarat high court. He replaces B.U. Joshi. This comes after allegations of B.U. Joshi being biased
from citizens for justice and peace an organisation headed by Teesta Setalvad. Mr. Dhandha had been hearing
the Naroda Patiya case before but now the Judge Yagnik has been reinstated to that case.
‡ An ajmer court remanded the ajmer dargah blast accused swami Aseemanand in judicial custody till February
15th. He will be kept in central jail.

FEBRUARY THE 14TH, 2011

‡ Hashim ansari the oldest litigant in the ayodhya land title suit said that he would move the supreme court as
all his attempts at an out of court settlement had failed.
‡ Proclaiming itself to be the custodian of steering Egypt into democracy, the Egyptian army suspended the
constitution, dissolved the parliament and announced a 6 month deadline for holding fresh parliamentary
elections.
‡ Russian president Dmitry Medvedev awarded the pushkin medal to JNU professor Arun Mohanty for his
contribution to studies on Russia and promotion of bilateral cultural ties.more than 10 indians have been
awarded the medal since its institution in 1977. It is the highest honorary award given in recognition of
outstanding contribution to Russian language and culture.
‡ The national e governance award has been given to the tribal research and training institute for a project on
use of geoinformatics for implementation of forest rights act, 2006 in Maharashtra.

FEBRUARY THE 15TH, 2011

‡ A full bench of the Karnataka high court upheld the disqualification of the five MLAµs by speaker K.G. Bopaiah.
The reason given was that the candidates by their actions formed a part of the BJP and hence their withdrawal
of support could attract disqualification under the anti-defection act. the five legislators have decided to move
the Supreme Court.
‡ The kings speech won the BAFTA awards for best film as the lead actor colin firth picked up the best actor
award for the same movie. Helena Carter won best supporting actress for her role as the kings wife and
Geoffrey Rush picked up best supporting actor for his role as the kings speech therapist.
Actress Natalie portman has won the best actress award for her part in Black Swan.Christopher lee was
presented the fellowship award by Tim Burton.
‡ Ajay Parida, executive director of the M.S. Swaminathan Reseach foundation, has been awarded the
prestigious TATA Innovation Fellowship of department of biotechnology, Government of India.

FEBRUARY THE 16TH, 2011

‡ The Japanese navy will for the second time take part in the India-US military exercises this time to be held in
the Okinawa coast which has a high concentration of US marines. This Malabar series of excercises will be held
between april 2nd to 10th .
‡ The Supreme Court upheld the death sentence given to Surinder Koli for killing a fourteen year old girl, one of
his first in a series of killings in Nithari village on the outskirts of delhi. The bench consisted of Markandey Katju
and Gyan Sudha Mishra.

CLAT GYAN?S WEEKLY GK COMPENDIUM

FEBRUARY THE 19TH, 2011
‡ Even after the 48-hour deadline set by the Maoists ended on 18th February 2011 evening, the Orissa
government was not able to establish contact with District Collector R. Vineel Krishna, who was kidnapped by
the extremists, along with a junior engineer on Wednesday. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik appealed to the
abductors to extend the deadline and urged the Maoists not to cause any physical harm to Mr. Krishna and
junior engineer Pabitra Majhi.
‡ Following a court order, 136 Indian fishermen were sent back to India from Jaffna. After their arrest on the
charge of fishing in Sri Lankan waters, two local courts in Jaffna remanded the fishermen in 14 days judicial
custody and sent them to jail.
‡ With the government agreeing to the Opposition demand for setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to go
into the 2G spectrum scam, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal insisted that if and when the
panel was constituted its jurisdiction would be confined to Äone definite subject.'The government is expected to
move a motion in the Lok Sabha, proposing the constitution of the JPC, under rule 193 (which does not warrant
voting) and once approved, it would be referred to the Rajya Sabha. Indications are there would be 20
members from the Lower House and 10 from the Upper House on the JPC.
‡ Bird flu has struck the country again. This time in the State Duck Breeding Farm in Agartala that has been
ordered to cull all poultry within a radius of 3 km of the farm. The State will also impose a ban on movement of
poultry and its products and order closure of all poultry egg market and outlets within a radius of 10 km.
‡ The Supreme Court asked Attorney-General (A-G) G.E. Vahanvati to give the status of a complaint sent to
Vice President Hamid Ansari, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe, against Chairperson of National
Human Rights Commission (NHRC), K.G. Balakrishnan. A three-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India
(CJI) S.H. Kapadia, was hearing a writ petition filed by an advocate that sought removal of Mr. Justice
Balakrishnan from his office and a probe against him and his family members.
‡ The Central Bureau of Investigation has moved the Supreme Court against a judgment of the Allahabad High
Court upholding the dropping of conspiracy charge by a special court against BJP leaders L.K. Advani, Murli
Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and 18 others in the Babri Masjid demolition case. ‡ Brief history - Mr. Advani and
20 others faced charges in two cases arising out of two separate first information reports. In the first FIR,
conspiracy alleged against ³lakhs of unknown kar sevaks´ was for the offence of demolition (case 197). The
second FIR, which specifically charged Mr. Advani and other leaders with making inflammatory speeches
leading to the demolition (case 198), was tried in a special court in Rae Bareli. The two cases were later
merged and handed over to the CBI, which filed a composite charge sheet on October 5, 1993 ‡ In a move that
could spell the end of Reliance Group's Mumbai Special Economic Zone (MSEZ), the Maharashtra government
issued a notification to denotify the land acquisition process for the project that saw stiff opposition from
villagers. State Revenue Minister Balasaheb Bhausaheb Thorat told The Hindu that the remark ³land earmarked
for acquisition´ would be removed from all the land titles for the total SEZ area of 16,900 acres. ‡ Anti-regime
protesters in the volatile Yemen city of Taez were blasted with a hand grenade leaving two dead and dozens
hurt, while violent clashes also erupted in Sana'a, said witnesses. The grenade attack came as hundreds of
protesters took to the centre of Taez after the Friday Muslim prayers to demand the ouster of President Ali
Abdullah Saleh, in protests that have been raging in the city for the past week. ‡ Clashes broke out in Jordan's
capital between government supporters and opponents at a protest calling for more freedom and lower food
prices, injuring eight. The Amman protest drew about 2,000 people, including hard-line leftists, Muslim
conservatives and students calling for reduced power for the King and the chance to elect the Cabinet. ‡ India
adopted the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) that will reflect the actual movement of prices at the micro-level.
As per the new series, the CPI has increased to 106 in January from a base of 100 in 2010 (inflation of 6 per
cent), but the government has chosen not to mention the inflation figure, pointing out that the exact level could
be arrived only next year. ‡ Upendra Kumar Sinha on Friday took charge as the Securities and Exchange Board
of India's Chairman from the outgoing chief, C. B. Bhave, who is said to have considerably raised the bar of the
institution during his three-year tenure

FEBRUARY THE 20TH, 2011

‡ Sriramulu Srinivasulu, member of the Andhra Orissa Special Zonal Committee of the Communist Party of
India (Maoist) and inmate of the Malkangiri jail, applied for bail in the Additional District and Sessions Court

at Malkangiri. Twenty-four hours prior to his application, the Maoists demanded his freedom as a precondition
for the release of Malkangiri Collector R.V. Krishna.
‡ The Union Home Ministry is pushing the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation) Bill,
2005 for consideration and passing in the budget session of Parliament, even though it was summarily rejected
by the National Advisory Council, which is currently drafting an entirely new law. Expressing surprise, NAC
sources said that Chairperson Sonia Gandhi had communicated to the government that the Council was drafting
a new Bill, and they had assumed that until it was ready, the government would not move ahead.
‡ There was a certain amount of anxiety Gokak taluk with Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) issuing
notice to seven more youths to appear before the police in connection with the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case.
Sources in district police in Belgaum said that the ATS issued notice under Section 160 of the Cr.PC, which
empowers the police to require the attendance of witnesses during investigation.
‡ The United States found itself isolated among the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council when it
was the sole nation to veto a resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East
Jerusalem. The 14 UNSC members other than the U.S., including Britain and France, supported the resolution,
which follows Israel's consistent defiance of international pressures to halt settlement activity in the disputed
territories. Palestinian authorities have refused to return to the negotiating table unless settlement activity is
halted.
‡ Pro-democracy activists in Libya, inspired by democratic transitions in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt, are
facing a harsh crackdown. With brute force and a blinding media blackout, the regime is trying to put down the
revolt, which has already left scores of people dead. Thirty-five protesters

were gunned down in Benghazi alone, making Friday the bloodiest day since pro-democracy demonstrations
began on February 14. Human Rights Watch said the build-up to Friday's bloodbath began the day before when
20 protesters died in police firings.
‡ For the second time in a week, an anti-terrorism court issued an arrest warrant for the former President,
Pervez Musharraf, in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.
‡ G20 Finance Ministers in Paris reached a compromise deal to correct global economic
‡ India's Narain Karthikeyan finished ninth for Hispania Racing Team, clocking a best of one minute and 28.393
seconds during his 116 laps on the first day of the Formula One pre-season testing session at the Circuit de
Catalunya in Barcelona.

FEBRUARY THE 21ST, 2011

‡ Pakistani Qawwali (Sufi devotional music) singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and his manager have been slapped a
penalty of Rs.15 lakh each and the foreign currency found in their possession by the Directorate of Revenue
Intelligence (DRI) at the Delhi airport a week ago has been confiscated.
‡ The Navy is shoring up its hydrographical facilities by acquiring six new survey ships, even as the force
continues to provide its services to neighbours in the Indian Ocean region. Ahead of an international seminar on
hydrography starting in New Delhi on March 1, the country's Chief Hydrographer Vice Admiral B.R. Rao said
these ships being built at Indian yards would be equipped with the latest maps and advanced equipment.

‡ Uganda's long-time president has won another term, the country's election commission said, but the top
opposition leader alleged the election was fraudulent and vowed to reject the results. President Yoweri
Museveni won 68 per cent of votes in Friday's poll, allowing him to extend his 25-year hold on power.
‡ The Indian consumer's insatiable appetite for gold continued unabated in 2010 when it remained the
strongest growth market for it and total annual consumer demand for gold grew 66 per cent at 963.1 tonnes
over 578.5 tonnes in the previous year.

FEBRUARY THE 22ND, 2011

‡ Describing the 26/11 terror attack here as ³indeed the rarest of rare cases involving uncommon and
unprecedented crime,´ the Bombay High Court upheld the death sentence awarded by the trial court to the lone
surviving gunman, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab. It also upheld the acquittal of co-accused Fahim Ansari and
Sabahuddin Ahmed for want of corroborative evidence.
‡ The first reactor at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, the RAPS-1 at Rawatbhatta, near Kota, has been
shut down permanently since October 2004. The natural uranium fuel has been taken out of the reactor, and
the heavy water, which acted as both coolant and moderator, drained from it. The 100 MWe reactor has not
been decommissioned though.
‡ As Libya hurtled into further violence, India has worked out contingency plans to ensure the safety of its
nationals especially in Benghazi. With no consular presence outside Tripoli, India is contacting other countries,
especially from the European Union, whose citizens are trapped in cities where fighting is rampant.
‡ Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati on Monday briefed the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on the long-
standing demand by Dalit Christians and

Dalit Muslims that they be given reservation, the way Dalit Buddhists are, as per the 1950 Presidential Order.
‡ Violent protests rocked the Andhra Pradesh capital throughout the day, as pro-Telangana students repeatedly
clashed at different places with security forces who foiled their ÄChalo Assembly' plan.
‡ The jailed chairman of the outlawed United National Liberation Front (UNLF), Rajkumar Meghen alias
Sanayaima, renewed the offer made to the Centre that the outfit would lay down arms before United Nations
authorities if the Centre allowed a plebiscite in Manipur in the presence of UN representatives and arrange for
the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in the troubled State.
‡ Egypt's top prosecutor requested the freezing of the foreign assets of ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his
family, announced state TV. The President's domestic assets were frozen soon after he stepped down, they
added. The freeze applies to Mr. Mubarak, his wife, his two sons and two daughters-in-law, said the officials.
‡ The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday questioned Videocon group chairman Venugopal Dhoot and
his brother and Rajya Sabha member Rajkumar Dhoot in connection with the allocation of 2G spectrum in
2007-08. They were called to the CBI headquarters here and questioned for over seven hours and confronted
with documents of their changing share capital from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 150 crore

FEBRUARY THE 23RD, 2011

‡ The Delhi High Court has declared illegal strikes resorted to by a section of the doctors at the All-India
Institute of Medical Sciences here on three occasions in 2007. They had gone on strike even after the Supreme
Court in 2006 had asked the AIIMS authorities to withdraw the punitive orders

passed against those who had gone on strike in May 2006 upon their joining duty.
‡ As a part of the second phase of ongoing vulture conservation efforts in the country, a new For the first time
in the country's minting history, the Union Government will issue coins of Rs. 150 denomination, marking the
number of years of taxation in India.
‡ Reports have revealed that Raymond Davis, the United States embassy employee who has been jailed for
killing two Pakistani citizens, worked for the Central Intelligence Agency.
‡ The just concluded Reliance Industries' $7.2-billion mega oil and gas deal with BP has come as a Äbreath of
fresh air' for RIL, which has been struggling to maintain a stable output from its KG basin D6 field in the last
few months, raising concerns over the real estimates from the find.
‡ The Union Sports Ministry has initiated a debate in its bid to introduce a set of stringent laws to regulate
National sports bodies in order to bring in more accountability and transparency in their functioning.
‡ Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the government's decision to set up a Joint Parliamentary
Committee (JPC) to look into the 2G spectrum allocation scam. The winter session was washed out with the
Opposition demanding the setting up of a JPC to probe the spectrum allocation which, according to the
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), had caused a ³presumptive´ loss of Rs.1.76-lakh crore to the
exchequer.
‡ Abducted Malkangiri Collector R. Vineel Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi were released in the
Chitrakonda area of the district on 22nd February 2011 as soon as the Orissa government agreed to Maoists'
demands.
‡ In a historic order, the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) granted minority
institution status to the Jamia Millia

Islamia University. This will allow the Jamia Millia ² started in 1920 and declared a Central university by an Act
of Parliament in 1988 ² to reserve up to 50 per cent seats for Muslims.
‡ Accepting the ³pre-planned conspiracy´ theory of the prosecution, a special fast track court ² appointed by
the Gujarat High Court on the orders of the Supreme Court ²convicted 31 accused and acquitted 63 others in
the Godhra train burning case. Coach S-6 of the Sabarmati Express, in which 59 people, mostly Äkar sevaks'
returning from Ayodhya were travelling, was burnt on February 27, 2002 at the Godhra station. All the 31
accused were held guilty on two major counts ² Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder) of the
Indian Penal Code.

FEBRUARY THE 24TH, 2011

‡ In a bid to accommodate the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and smaller parties, the United
Progressive Alliance government agreed to expand the Joint Parliamentary Committee, being set up to examine
the 2G spectrum scam, to accommodate 30 members. ³We've decided to have a 30-member panel to
accommodate smaller parties,´ government sources said. With representation of parties depending on their
strength in Parliament, the AIADMK would have been excluded had the government stuck to its original plan of
having a 21-member JPC. The government's concession was prompted by its concern that parties not
represented in the JPC should not further embarrass it in Parliament.
‡ Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said the Indian Ambassador in Libya was seeking permission for planes and
ships to evacuate the 18,000 Indians, 13,000 around Tripoli and the remaining scattered in the east of the
country.
‡ Defying escalating rumours of his imminent exit, the embattled Vice-Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband,
Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi, managed to stay on in his post. However, Mr. Vastanvi's long-term

future continues to be in suspense, with the Majlis-e-Shura (governing council of the Islamic seminary)
directing a three-member committee to look into the disturbances following his appointment ² on the campus
as well as outside it. The Shura also nominated Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani (Banarasi) to the vacant post of
karguzar mohtamim (working Vice-Chancellor), with the caveat that Mr. Nomani will take over from Mr.
Vastanvi in the event the committee ruled against the latter.
‡ A ³Workers' March to Parliament´ in New Delhi saw a heavy turnout of workers of various central trade unions
protesting against price rise, unemployment, labour law violations and disinvestment. The participating
organisations included the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, the Indian National Trade Union Congress, the All-
India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the Hind Mazdoor Sabha, the All-India United Trade Union Centre
(AIUTUC), the Trade Union Coordination Centre, the All-India Central Council of Trade Unions and the United
Trade Union Congress.
‡ A Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra passed this order, disposing of an appeal filed by
Baldev Singh and two others against a Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment upholding the trial court's
order of 10-year Rigorous Imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1,000 each.
‡ Chinese officials have ruled out the likelihood of unrest after calls for a ³Jasmine Revolution´ circulated on the
Internet, saying Chinese people had ³a common aspiration´ for stability and development. The call for protests
in 13 Chinese cities, which originated from a United States-based website, received little response.
Nevertheless, the government appeared to take the threat seriously. Over the weekend, deployment of police
forces was increased in some cities, restrictions placed on the Internet and dozens of lawyers and activists
detained.
‡ Libyan President Muammar Qadhafi appeared to have tightened his grip on capital Tripoli, but the opposition
continued to expand its influence in the

eastern parts, edging ever closer to the strategic oil bearing area of the country. After his furious address on
state television, where he threatened retribution against Libyans involved in the revolt, Mr. Qadhafi's
supporters, who had been called out by their leader to rout the protesters, poured into Tripoli's Green Square.
‡ The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has clarified that a National Olympic Committee (NOC) was within
its rights to take decisions specific to a country while meeting the mandatory requirements imposed by it
regarding constitutional provisions. The question related to the recent IOC approval of the redrafted IOA
constitution that was adopted by its General Assembly at Ranchi, continuing to give voting rights to State
Olympic associations, as against the wishes of the IOC, as made known last July.

FEBRUARY THE 25TH, 2011

‡ Continuing its grilling of corporate honchos, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday questioned
at least seven of them in connection with its ongoing probe into the 2G spectrum scam.
‡ Mr. Qaddafi's loyalists in Libya have launched a counterattack, deploying heavy weapons, to dislodge the
opposition at Zawiya, around 48 km west of the capital. An eyewitness told Al Jazeera television that around 30
cars full of soldiers surrounded the city's ³martyrs square´ where around a thousand protesters had assembled.
According to this account, which could not be corroborated independently because of the media blackout
imposed by the regime, the firing continued for around five hours, leading to heavy casualties.
‡ Pakistan on Thursday cited the United States Senate report ÄAvoiding Water Wars in South and Central Asia'
as a vindication of its stance that construction of dams by India on the western rivers in ÄOccupied Kashmir'
was in violation of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT).

‡ Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden in a sex crimes inquiry, a British judge ruled, rejecting claims by
the WikiLeaks founder that he would not face a fair trial there. Mr. Assange's lawyer said he would appeal.
Judge Howard Riddle said the allegations of rape and sexual molestation by two women against Mr. Assange
meet the definition of extraditable offences and said the Swedish warrant had been properly issued and was
valid.
‡ Israel warned militants in the Gaza Strip not to ³test´ the Jewish state, as fighter jets pounded targets across
the coastal enclave after a Palestinian rocket attack. Slamming into a house, it was the first rocket to strike
Israel's city of Beersheva since the devastating 2008-2009 Gaza war. ³I don't suggest anyone test the
determination of the state of Israel,´ said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The warning came after 24
hours of tit-for-tat violence along Israel-Gaza border. Early on Thursday, Israeli jets raided sites across the
coastal strip.
‡ Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) has announced the launch of trading in Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) on
its platform. A total buy bid of 125 non-solar REC and 11 solar REC was received in the first trading session, the
country's leading electricity exchange said here in a statement. ³This is a great milestone in the history of
renewable energy in India. It will create new opportunities for renewable and co-generation power plants,´ the
statement added.

CLAT GYAN¶S WEEKLY GK COMPENDIUM

FEBRUARY THE 26TH, 2011
‡ Parminder Singh Saini, the Sikh extremist who was deported by a Canadian Court for leading a team of
militants in the 1984 hijacking of an Indian aircraft to Pakistan with 225 passengers, recently, a Canadian Court
rejected his plea for returning to India (Kanishka Bombing, remember?)
‡ The Supreme Court has declined to entertain a writ petition for a direction to the Travancore Devaswom
Board to stop lighting the Makara Jyothi at Ponnambalamedu on Makaravilakku day in January every year, as it
is not a miracle but man-made fire.
‡ A special fast track court has reserved till March 1 its order on the quantum of punishment to 31 persons
convicted in the 2002 Godhra train carnage case.
‡ Shahid Balwa is involved in the 2G spectrum scam as he was the promoter for Swan Telecom which was
involved in the crime.
‡ Interesting read: http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/26/stories/2011022667352600.htm
‡ Major Mitali Madhumita is the first woman officer to receive a gallantry award in the Army. She was honoured
for acts of bravery and distinguished service at the military station here during the South Western Command
Investiture Ceremony.1

1 The list: http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/26/stories/2011022665711300.htm

‡ Mamata Bannerjee, leader of the Trinamool Congress and Union Minister for Indian Railways recently
presented the Railway Budget. For the budget¶s details, visit:
http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/26/stories/rlybudget2011.pdf
‡ Hassan Ali Khan is involved in the tax-evasion scam, and the parliament pressed Pranab Mukherjee to arrest
him and make public the names of other tax-evaders that are being withheld by the government.
‡ Compulsory Reading: http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/26/stories/2011022651522200.htm

FEBRUARY THE 27TH, 2011

‡ National Advisory Council is a body set up ad-hoc to provide the government with advice on policy matters
pertaining primarily to socio-economic issues. It is chaired by UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi. It has come out
with a draft ³Right to Food´ bill which has been opposed by the civil society activists.
‡ Sadhvi Pragyasingh Thakur, a prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, was ³formally arrested´ by the
Madhya Pradesh police at a hospital here on Friday in connection with the murder of Sunil Joshi, a Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh activist and an accused in the Ajmer Sharif and Mecca Masjid blasts. Pragya Singh Thakur
has been a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad¶s women¶s wing, and was one of the first arrested by the ATS
of Maharashtra when it discovered the ³saffron terror´ movement.
‡ Ex-National Aluminium Company chief Abhay Kumar Shrivastava was arrested by the CBI recently in
connection with him taking bribes from bidders through a middleman, BL Bajaj. Shrivastava¶s wife was also
arrested.
‡ Author-poet Zafar Ullah Poshni, who is heading a team of All Pakistan Progressive Writers Association
members to India for the ongoing Faiz

Ahmed Faiz centenary celebrations, was deprived of his money by the Indian customs officials at the Attari
border on Wednesday.He was carrying Indian rupees 40,000 to shop in India.
‡ INS Mysore and INS Jalashwa, two Indian Navy ships have left for Libya to rescue Indian expatriates residing
there, who¶re stuck in the Arab country as a result of the ³almost civil war like situation´ prevailing in the there.
‡ Russia has launched a next-generation navigation satellite for its Glonass global communication system.
Glonass will be integrated with the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), as well as with the European Union's
Galileo system and China's Compass network when they are deployed. Under a 2007 accord, Russia agreed to
share the Glonass signal with India. India will be the only country to have access to the military segment of the
Glonass system.

FEBRUARY THE 28TH, 2011

‡ In its first major vote after joining the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the next two years, India
voted in favour of sanctions against Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi, his relatives and associates.
‡ Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi resigned on Sunday, as security forces clashed with protesters in
Tunis demanding the removal of some Ministers of his interim government
‡ While the Arab world was embroiled in anti-government protests, the Chinese government ensured that there
would be disturbance in its own territory and took measures as varied as increased internet censorship and
paramilitary presence.

MARCH THE 1ST, 2011

‡ The Supreme Court decided to examine the Centre's plea for enhancement of the compensation of $470
million already paid to victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy. The Court issued notice to the Union Carbide
Corporation, now a

wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemicals Co., U.S.; Dow Chemicals ; McLeod Russel India, Kolkata, and
Eveready Industries, Kolkata.2
‡ Important Union Budget readings: http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/01/stories/2011030164461300.htm &
http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/01/stories/2011030156231300.htm
‡ Pro-Reform/Democracy protests reached the shores of the Sultanate of Oman, a tiny Gulf country, rich in oil,
and relatively well-off.

2 We¶d suggest you go through the link for better study:

http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/01/stories/2011030164481400.htm
MARCH THE 2ND, 2011
‡ Chief Election Commissioner: S.Y. Quraishi, Election Commissioners: H.S. Brahma and V.S. Sampath.
‡ The Assembly elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will be held from April 4
to May 10.
‡ A special fast track court on Tuesday sentenced 11 convicts to death and 20 others to life imprisonment in the
2002 Godhra train burning case. 90 days were given to the convicts to appeal their sentence in the High Court.
Refer to the earlier compendium for a background reading on the Godhra riots.
‡ INC leader and spokesperson, Abhishek Manu Singhvi (also a Lawyer) recused himself as a member of the
Joint Parliamentary Committee after it surfaced that he had, previously, represented Telecom companies in
court. He was replaced by INC¶s other spokesperson, Jayanthi Natarajan.
‡ In the famous Rizwanur Rahman ³murder´ case, the Supreme Court directed the Central Bureau of
Investigation to proceed into the investigation of the case as a case of suicide and not as murder, which was
directed by a High Court. (Compulsory reading:
http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/02/stories/2011030258810100.htm &
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rizwanur_Rahman)

‡ Gorbachev at 80: http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/02/stories/2011030255621300.htm

‡ Muammar al Gadhafi, Libya¶s dictator¶s son, Saif Gadhafi found himself amidst a controversy as his alma
matter, the London School of Economics ordered reinvestigation of his doctoral theisis on the question of
plagiarism, ³ghost-writing´, etc.
‡ LSE Chief: Sir Howard Davies

MARCH THE 3RD, 2011

‡ Continuing with their ³kill-all-who-disagree´ policy, after Salman Taseer, minister for minority affairs of
Pakistan, Shahbhaz Bhatti was assassinated for supporting the repeal/reform of the Blasphemy laws in the
country.

MARCH THE 4TH, 2011

‡ In the ongoing 2G Scam investigation, there was another blow to the government¶s image of integrity after
the appointment of the tainted CVC, PJ Thomas was struck down by the SC as being ³unconstitutional´. Thomas
was the Chief Vigilance Commissioner despite being investigated for the Palmolein Scam.
‡ The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared a Bill seeking to prevent sexual abuse of children, with provisions for
stringent punishment for such offence. The Bill seeks to protect children from sexual assault, harassment and
pornography.
‡ Niyamat Ansari, a member of the NREGA Sahayata Kendra, was found beaten to death in Jharkhand's Latehar
district, 110 km from here, on Thursday. He is said to have exposed many cases of corruption by local
contractors in work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
‡ Private Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier who has been in detention for nine months on charges of supplying
whistleblower website Wikileaks with

sensitive government data, has been slapped with 22 new charges including ³aiding the enemy,´ punishable by
death.
‡ The last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, was awarded Russia's top medal on his 80th birthday on
Wednesday in a late and almost reluctant recognition of his services. The Order of St. Andrew conferred on Mr.
Gorbachev is the first and only award he has received in the past 20 years since his resignation in 1991
following the breakup of the Soviet Union.
© CLATGyan.com | Batch of 2015, NALSAR University of Law Page 1
MARCH THE 5TH, 2011
‡ The SC has quashed the Sept 2010 appointment of PJ Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC).
PM Manmohan Singh has respected this verdict and has owned responsibility of having appointed him.
‡ The SC has issued notice to senior BJP leaders L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, Shiv Sena leader Bal
Thackeray, Uma Bharti and 17 others, seeking their response to the CBI's appeal against the dropping of the
conspiracy charge against them in the Babri Masjid demolition case. The CBI has appealed against the
judgment of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court upholding the dropping of the conspiracy charge
by the special court against 21 accused.
‡ The Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) led by actor Vijayakant will contest 41 seats as part of the
AIADMK alliance in the Assembly elections on April 13, 2011. This is the first time that the DMDK, set up in
2005 by the veteran Tamil actor, is entering into an electoral alliance. Contesting alone, the party had polled a
little over eight per cent in the 2006 Assembly elections and over 10 per cent in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
‡ Senior Congress leader from Kerala and four-time Lok Sabha member P.C. Chacko has been named Chairman
of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the alleged scam in the grant of 2G spectrum and telecom
licences from 1998 to 2009.
‡ A major chapter in the 25-year-old Bofors saga1 was closed with a Tis Hazari court in New Delhi discharging
Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi from the payoffs case after allowing the CBI to withdraw prosecution
against him.

1 The Bofors scandal was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s; the then Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi and several others were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply
India's 155 mm field howitzer. The scale of the corruption was far worse than any that India had seen before,
and directly led to the defeat of Gandhi's ruling Indian National Congress party in the November 1989 general
elections. It has been speculated that the scale of the scandal was to the tune of Rs. 400 million. The case
came to light during Vishwanath Pratap Singh's tenure as defence minister, and was revealed through
investigative journalism by Chitra Subramaniam and N. Ram of the newspapers the Indian Express and The
Hindu. (Source:wikipedia)
The grounds stated by the CBI in 2009 for withdrawal of prosecution were:
1) more than 19 years had passed since the first case was registered in 1990;
2) all the other accused had died or proceedings against them had been quashed by the Delhi High Court;
3) attempts to extradite Mr. Quattrocchi from Malaysia and Argentina had failed;
4) and the Delhi High Court in 2004 had knocked out allegations of corruption or conspiracy with public
servants.
© CLATGyan.com | Batch of 2015, NALSAR University of Law Page 2

‡ Sonia Gandhi reconstitutes the Congress Working Committee (CWC), which is the apex body of the party, and
the Secretariat.
‡ Governor of J & K: N.N Vohra. Deputy Chief Minister: Tara Chand
‡ Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said that his ministry is awaiting the draft of the Communal Violence Bill
from the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC).
‡ The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a charge sheet in the much talked about cash-in-bag scam case
against Justice Nirmal Yadav on the day she was to retire from the Uttarakhand High Court. The scam had
surfaced in 2008 when Justice Yadav was serving as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in
Chandigarh. The matter had come to notice when a bag containing Rs. 15 lakh in cash, which was meant for
Justice Yadav was ?mistakenly delivered? at the residence of another judge. This cash was supposed to be used
by Justice Yadav to purchase land at Solan, Himachal Pradesh.
‡ Rajya Sabha Chairman announces that from March 7, the Question Hour will be held every day between 2
p.m. and 3 p.m. except on Friday when it would be between 2.30 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. Traditionally, the first
hour of every sitting ² 11 a.m. used to be the Question Hour.

What is a Question Hour? ± Members of the Parliament ask questions and the ministers have the responsibility
to answer them. Types of questions:
1) Starred Questions: Questions to which answers are desired to be given orally on the floor of the House
during the Question Hour. These are distinguished in the printed lists by asterisks.
2) Unstarred Questions: Questions to which written answers are given by Ministers which are deemed to have
been laid on the Table of the House at the end of the Question Hour.
3) Short Notice Questions: Such questions can be asked orally in the House after the Question Hour or as the
first item in the agenda where there is no Question Hour at a notice shorter than that prescribed for Starred
and Unstarred Questions. These must relate to a subject-matter considered by the Chairman to be of urgent
public importance.
4) Supplementary Questions: These are questions which arise out of a Minister's answer to a Starred or Short
Notice Question. These can be asked with the Chair's permission immediately after the Minister has answered
the main question, for the purpose of further elucidating any matter of fact
‡ The Uttarakhand Government has appointed Justice (retd.) B. C. Kandpal to probe into bureaucratic lapses
that led to the much-publicised Sturdia land scam in Rishikesh.

The Sturdia land scam rocked the State after the Opposition Congress accused the BJP Government of having
favoured a private builder by allowing change of land use of industrial and no-construction © CLATGyan.com |
Batch of 2015, NALSAR University of Law Page 3
zone land along the Ganga in Rishikesh for construction of a massive residential and business complex.
‡ President of Mexico: Felipe Calderon
‡ U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees: António Guterres (He is from Portugal)
‡ Egyptµs interim Prime Minister: Essam Sharaf

MARCH THE 6TH, 2011

‡ DMK pulls out its ministers from UPA government as seat sharing talks with congress fails. The state of Tamil
Nadu is going for elections on April 13th. The states of Kerala and West Bengal are also going for elections. The
pull out was an effect of the failed talks between the DMK and the state Congress over seat sharing, as
Congress demanded 63 seats to contest.
‡ The All India Bar Exam held. 22, 000 took the exam.
‡ TCS rated the best IT employer followed by HCL and iGATE global solutions.
‡ British troops placed on stand-by to attack Libya. The Libyan crisis heads for a civil war as Col. Gaddafiµs
forces have started gaining momentum and are advancing eastwards towards the city of Benghazi which is the
eye of the conflict. (Compulsory reading: http://www.clatgyan.com/clat-general-knowledge/arabs/)
‡ Maoists join the Nepal government, Four weeks after supporting Jhalanath Khanal to become Prime Minister in
Parliament, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) finally joined the government. According to the
power sharing deal worked out between the two parties, Maoists will get eleven Ministries though only four
have been sworn in for now.
‡ The former Nepal Prime Minister and founding member of the Nepali Congress, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai died.
He was 87. During the peak of the 2006 People's Movement, King Gyanendra had offered the post of Prime
Minister to Mr. Bhattarai, which he had rejected.
‡ Rain spoils the match between Australia and Sri Lanka, the teams share points.

MARCH THE 7TH, 2011

‡ India test fires an interceptor missile, which intercepted an incoming =enemy' ballistic missile at an altitude of
16 km and pulverised it in ?a direct kill.? This is the DRDO's sixth interceptor mission, and five have been
successful including a hat-trick in the first three.
‡ K. Sreenivas Reddy has been removed as Secretary-General of the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) for his
?anti-union and disruptive activities.?
‡ Varun Gandhi weds graphic designer Yamini Roy Chowdhury at Varanasi.
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‡ Yuvraj claimed five wickets, helping restrict Ireland to 207, before making an unbeaten 50 to guide India to
victory with four overs to spare. He became the first cricketer to take five wickets and score a half-century in a
World Cup match.
‡ Everything is on course for the enriched uranium fuel bundles to be loaded into the first reactor of the
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP), Tamil Nadu, by the end of March and the reactor will be started up
in April.
‡ Chairman and Managing Director, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL): SK Jain.
‡ The Supreme Court has held that Parliament has ample powers to enact legislation with respect to extra-
territorial aspects in the interests of the well-being or security of inhabitants of India but it did not have powers
to legislate for any territory other than the territory of India.
‡ Pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories aims to earn $ 1 billion revenue per year from branded generics for
the next three years, said K. Anji Reddy, its Founder-Chairman. The company sold generic drugs worth $ 600
million globally in the nine months of this fiscal ended December 31
‡ India lost the Davis Cup World Group first round tie to defending champions Serbia 1-4 after Somdev
Devvarman and Karan Rastogi went down in straight sets in the two reverse singles

MARCH THE 8TH, 2011

‡ The Supreme Court, in the Aruna Shanbaug case, allowed passive mercy killing of a patient in a permanent
vegetative state (PVS) by withdrawing the life support system with the approval of a medical board and on the
directions of the High Court concerned.
The Bench, however, held illegal active mercy killing of a patient suffering acute ailment with a poisonous
injection or by other means. (Further reading: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article1520640.ece)
‡ The Samajwadi Party alleged that its president Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh were put under
?house arrest? after the party called for a three-day agitation to demand the ouster of the Mayawati
government.
‡ President Pratibha Patil launched the =Sanchar Shakti' project of the Department of Telecommunications, a
suite of mobile value-added services (VAS) to provide a variety of useful information to women and women's
self-help groups about government schemes and health and social issues, besides inputs related to and training
in livelihood, over the mobile phone.
‡ To mark the International Women's Day, Air India, for the second consecutive year, operated an ultra-long
haul flight from Delhi to Toronto, with an all-women crew.
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‡ Even as the Centre opposed the Medical Council of India's notification for conducting a nationwide eligibility-
cum-entrance test (CET) for the MBBS course from 2011-12, the Supreme Court said the MCI could take steps
as was necessary to implement the notification dated December 21, 2010.
‡ Senior journalist S.B. Patil, 68, who was correspondent of The Hindu for 15 years, passed away. He also
worked as correspondent for All India Radio for more than two decades.
‡ India batsman Gautam Gambhir has been named captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders team for the Indian
Premier League season four starting next month.
‡ Top Indian squash player Dipika Pallikal, who is in the Indian team for the WSF-World Cup, reached her
career-best WISPA ranking by climbing to the 23rd spot as per the latest rankings issued by the women's body.

MARCH THE 9TH, 2011

‡ Northern Railway has recruited 2,116 ex-servicemen under various categories, in keeping with the Railways'
decision to hire ex-servicemen without any written test for various posts across the country.
‡ The Bangladesh High Court has upheld the dismissal of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as Managing
Director of the Grameen Bank, which he founded.2
‡ The former NALCO (National Aluminium Company Ltd.) chairman and managing director, A.K. Srivastava, and
his accomplice Bhushan Lal Bajaj, arrested for their alleged involvement in graft, were remanded in judicial
custody till March 23 by a Delhi court.
‡ The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gave its approval to a safeguards agreement for two new
reactors that Pakistan said China was building for it at Chashma. The =Type-66' agreement for the two reactors
approved by the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors was identical to similar agreements already in place for
Chashma-1 and Chashma-2. Though this agreement was approved unanimously, the fact that not a single
board member or regional grouping chose to make the usual customary reference to it in its remarks to the
chair is being seen in diplomatic circles as a reflection of the disquiet that the Chinese initiative has caused
internationally.
‡ The Supreme Court has directed the Tamil Nadu Government not to allow spectators to enter the jallikattu
area where bulls are tamed, by increasing the height of the barricade up to eight feet.

2 Prof Yunus fell out with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2007. He angered her by trying to set up
a new party while she was under house arrest on the orders of the military government. In December, Ms
Hasina accused Prof Yunus of treating Grameen Bank as his "personal property" and claimed that it was
"sucking blood from the poor". Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank, said that Prof Yunus had violated
the country's retirement laws by staying on as Grameen's head long past the mandatory retirement age of 60.
Prof Yunus is 70. © CLATGyan.com | Batch of 2015, NALSAR University of Law Page 6

Jallikattu or Eruthazhuvuthal is a bull taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebration. This is
one of the oldest living ancient sports seen in the modern era.
‡ With the March 31 deadline approaching, the Central Bureau of Investigation is working to finalise the charge
sheet in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, well-placed sources in the agency. The CBI appears set to go
ahead with its plan to interrogate Kanimozhi, DMK MP and daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.
Karunanidhi. She holds 20 per cent equity in Kalaignar TV, which allegedly got Rs. 214 crore in loan from the
Mumbai-based Cineyug Films.
‡ Following the intervention of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Orissa government has
banned the practice of ?bartan? system under which upper caste families extract work from barbers and
washermen during important family occasions in return for just 15 kg of paddy for the whole year. Thanks to
the efforts of petitioner Baghambar Patnaik, since 2006, the age-old practice has ended with the Panchayat Raj
Department issuing the notification abolishing it.
‡ As mass uprisings erupts in its neighbourhood, Saudi Arabia announced that it will not allow any
demonstrations in the kingdom and ordered its security forces to clamp down on any dissent. The kingdom
banned all demonstrations saying they contradicted Islamic laws and society values, according to a statement
issued by the Interior Ministry. The new clampdown came a day after about 100 members of the Shia minority
staged a protest in the western region of the kingdom.
‡ India and Brazil decided to forge stronger trade and economic ties and decided to work towards achieving a
bilateral trade target of $10 billion in the next few years against $7.73 billion in 2010.

MARCH THE 10TH, 2011

‡ Somali pirates freed all crew members of a hijacked ship m.v. Rak Afrikana including 11 Indians, who have
since been shifted to a Spanish naval ship. However, the fate of six Indians aboard another hijacked vessel
m.v. Suez still hangs in the balance even as its owner has been persuaded by the Egyptian government to hold
negotiations
‡ In a move that would increase women's representation in politics, the Maharashtra Cabinet gave its nod to
increase women's reservation in local body polls from 33 to 50 per cent. The decision comes a day after Chief
Minister Prithviraj Chavan said a bill proposing 50 per cent women's quota in local bodies would be introduced
in the coming budget session of the legislature on March 14.
‡ The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in alliance with some regional parties, will contest all 294 seats of the West
Bengal Assembly in the elections due to commence in Aril. The party does not occupy a single seat in the
present Assembly.
‡ Over 30 people were killed and 45 injured when a suicide bomber detonated himself at the funeral of a family
member of an anti-Taliban peace committee leader near Peshawar. Residents of the area are
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now up in arms against the government saying they were caught in the crossfire and left to deal with the
Taliban.
‡ Ten people were killed and 110 wounded in religious clashes in Cairo, said the Health Ministry, as Egypt's
mew military rulers struggle to steer the post-revolution country through a transition.
‡ United States President Barack Obama found himself in a deeper hole than ever on the subject of
Guantanamo Bay prison, after he issued an executive order allowing indefinite detention without trial of inmates
being held at the U.S. military installation. The order, which will be applied to 47 out of the 172 prisoners being
held at Guantánamo, militates against Mr. Obama's campaign promise to eventually close the Bush-era prison.

MARCH THE 11TH, 2011

‡ The Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Madurai, has been accorded ISO 9001:2008 certification becoming
only the fourth temple in Tamil Nadu to gain this accreditation. The other three temples in the State to have
obtained the accreditation so far are Triplicane Parthasarathy Temple, Vadapalani Subramaniaswamy Temple
and Mylapore Kapaleeswarar Temple, all of which are in Chennai.
‡ An earthquake toppled more than 1,000 houses and apartment buildings in China's southwest near the border
with Myanmar, killing at least 24 people and injuring more than 200, said officials and state media.
‡ Illinois became the 16th State of the United States to abolish the death penalty when its Governor, Pat Quinn,
announced the decision.
‡ The oldest and most travelled space shuttle, Discovery, returned after its final space flight. End of rich career,
the shuttle cruised onto the runway at the Kennedy Space Centre at 1657 GMT, wrapping up a rich, 27-year
career in spaceflight that has spanned more distance and endured longer than any of the remaining three U.S.
shuttles.
‡ Upbeat after being formally recognised by France, the Libyan opposition combating the regime of strongman
Muammar Gaddafi now wants to be accorded a similar recognition by other countries, including India.
‡ Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim remained the richest person in the world with $74 billion in assets, while NRI
steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal ranked sixth and Indian industrialist Mukesh Ambani is placed ninth in the U.S.
magazine Forbes annual list of world's top billionaires.
‡ The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has reiterated that Hockey India (HI) was the sole governing body
for men's and women's hockey in India, and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) had no right to claim that it
was an affiliated unit of the FIH.
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‡ The police achieved a major success when Chief Commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammad Sajjad Afghani alias
Qari Hamaad, a Pakistani national, was killed in an encounter in Srinagar city.
‡ The Dalai Lama announced that he would step down as ?political head? of the so-called Tibetan government-
in-exile but would remain as religious leader and continue to advocate ?meaningful autonomy? for Tibet. The
Dalai Lama, 75, a Nobel Laureate, said he would hand over his ?formal authority? to a ?freely-elected? leader.
He said he was committed to playing his part for the ?just cause? of Tibet.
‡ The licences of 3,000 to 4,000 pilots are being scrutinised by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation after
the arrest of a woman pilot on the charge of forging documents to procure the licence, Civil Aviation Secretary
Nasim Zaidi said.

MARCH THE 12TH, 2011.

‡ A massive tsunami of 8.9 magnitude on the Richter Scale was triggered by an offshore quake in the North-
western Japan. The epicentre was about 400 km (250 miles) north east of Japan. It was 23 feet in height, and
was followed by 50 aftershocks for hours. Many of these aftershocks were more than a magnitude of 6.0. The
Tsunami ran through the Pacific at a speed of 800 kmph or 500 mph..

Tsunami waves hit Hawaii. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said Kauai was the first of the Hawaiian Islands
hit by the tsunami.
‡ The Japanese government declared an ³atomic power emergency´ and evacuated thousands of residents
living close to the Fukushima nuclear plant in northern Japan after the major earthquake even though there
was no radiation leak from the facility and problems with its cooling system were not critical.
‡ The Central Bureau of Investigation questioned Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu
Ammal and daughter Kanimozhi in connection with the 2G spectrum scam. This is nearly a month after
conducting a search at the Kalaigar TV.1
‡ Hataf-2 (Abdali) - Pakistan?s short range surface-to-surface ballistic missile, tested successfully.
‡ Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, announced the setting up of a group to quantify the black money being
generated. According to him, the I-T department recovered undisclosed income of Rs.25,000 crore in the last
24 months.
‡ The Lok Sabha unanimously gave the first stage of approval to the general budget for 2011-12 by voice vote.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee vowed to achieve 9 per cent growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
during 2011-12 against 8.6 per cent this year.

1 Managing Director: Sharad Kumar

Also, an increase in the allocation of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Fund (MPLAD) to Rs. 5
crore from the present Rs. 2 crore was announced by him.
MARCH THE 13TH, 2011
‡ A special court in Pune disallowed the Enforcement Directorate's plea for the custody of the Pune-based
businessman, Hasan Ali Khan, citing lack of ³reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is guilty under
the PMLA [the Prevention of Money Laundering Act]. Hasan Ali Khan was alleged of money laundering. He is
alleged to have unaccounted wealth or black money worth billions of rupees in the Swiss bank. The
Enforcement Directorate of the Income Tax department, Maharashtra began probing the illegal investments and
the charges of money laundering against him.
‡ Saldanha Report: By Justice Saldanha on violence against minorities in Karnataka. The report holds
Karnataka's Bharatiya Janata Party government and the Hindutva brigade culpable for the on going anti-
minority violence in the State (incidents mostly involve violence against Churches; and moral policing of inter-
religious interactions in Mangalore)
‡ A high power review committee, consisting of cabinet secretary B.K.Chaturvedi and Professor Roddam
Narasimha, tasked by the government to review the controversial agreement between Antrix Corporation and
Devas Multimedia Private Ltd, submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. (Compulsory reading:
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article1200374.ece).

The committee was asked to go into all aspects of the satellite deal in which the private company (Devas) was
given virtually exclusive rights to S-band spectrum. The Antrix-Devas deal was scrapped last month following a
decision of the Cabinet Committee on Security.
‡ The Ministry of Environment and Forests issued a show cause to M/s Nirma Limited for ³permanent
suspension of work and revocation of the environmental clearance'' regarding some of their plants near
Padhiarka village in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat.

The show cause has been issued under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to avoid any further
damage to the wetland. The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) was constituted by the Environment Ministry to
inspect the plant site and to oversee the implementation of the project by M/s Nirma Limited with reference to
the Environmental Impact Assessment report.
‡ The government is framing a new law to deal with acts of piracy and other complicated issues on the high
seas. There is no exclusive Indian law dealing with piracy. Various sections of UNCLOS (United Nations
Convention on the Law of Sea) define piracy.
‡ Gudsa Usendi is the title taken over by a high ranking member and spokesperson of the Dandakaranya
Special Zonal (DKZ) Committee of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Gudsa Usendi is the shadowy figure who sent compact discs of Maoist propaganda to Raipur politicians in 2006
and was the source of a consignment of 91 country-made shotguns recovered from a busy intersection in
Raipur in 2008.
‡ Posterous ± blogging site with additional features to share videos and images was started in 2008 by Sachin
Agarwal and Garry Tan with the intention of making blogging as simple as emailing.
‡ The draft proposal to amend the Indian IT Act so as to impose restrictions on intermediaries has provoked a
huge outcry in the country. The proposed rules seek to control the Äintermediaries' such as telecom networks,
web-hosting sites and Internet service providers, search engines, online payment, cyber cafes and auction
sites, it is the focus on blogs that has provoked an outburst owing to the vague reasons given by the
government to block certain websites.
‡ Global Agriculture Investors Meet to be held in June in Bengaluru.

MARCH THE 14TH, 2011.

‡ The Government of India has proposed to nominate the name of Assam's river-island, Majuli, for inclusion in
the Äcultural landscape' category of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO) World Heritage list. Considered the largest freshwater river-island in the world, Majuli is located in
the middle of the mighty Brahmaputra. Majuli was shortlisted in the World Heritage Site (WHS) ÄTentative List'
at the World Heritage Committee session at Suzhou in China.
‡ The nomination of Hyderabad's three Qutb Shahi monuments for the UNESCO World Heritage award is also
being considered.
‡ The Direct Taxes Code (DTC), which is now before Parliament, is expected to bring about many salutary
changes in direct taxes. One important change being, to consolidate and integrate all direct tax laws and
simplify the tax provisions by using simple language.
‡ Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC): CHAIRMAN: P.C. Chacko, Congress MP from Kerala's Thrissur

PURPOSE: To probe into the 2G spectrum allocation issue. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be called
before the panel only if it was ³absolutely necessary´ and there was a ³consensus´ among members.
STRENGTH: 30
How many JPCs so far? ± 4 none of the four earlier JPCs had called a Prime Minister and that such a step would
be taken only if it was required for the ³fair conclusion´ of the Committee's work.
Have any of them called the PM before?: No. Even for the current JPC the chairman has explicitly mentioned
that the PM will be called only if it is absolutely necessary and if there is a ³consensus´ among the members.
‡ Vinod Mehta of Outlook and Manu Joseph of Open Magazine were among the first to publish transcripts of
tapped conversations between corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and others.
‡ Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) Chairman and Managing Director: S.K. Jain.
‡ Miyagi ± a prefecture2 in north-west Japan which was severely hit by the tsunami.
‡ Maharashtra CM: Prithvi Raj Chavan, was an MoS in the Prime Minister?s Office during the (now struck down)
appointment of CVC P. J. Thomas.
‡ Orissa's Science and Technology and Information Technology Minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi is appearing for
his Higher Secondary Examination this year.

2 Japan is divided into sub-national jurisdictions called prefectures.

MARCH THE 15TH, 2011.
‡ Public Accounts Committee is also probing the 2G spectrum. Its chairman is Murli Manohar Joshi.
‡ America based General Electronics Co. built a reactor in Japan's quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant
(NPP). Major problems have arisen as it eyes a share in India?s expanding nuclear industry which is supposedly
worth $150 billion.
‡ Nuclear power plant to be built up at Jaitapur. Based on EPR technology.

‡ The Navy apprehended 61 pirates and rescued 13 crew members of a hijacked ship after a brief gun battle in
the Arabian Sea. The pirates will be brought aboard naval warship INS Tabar to Mumbai. The hijacked ship was
Vega 5.
‡ Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal involved in alleged scam on allotment of kiosks in
Chandigarh.

MARCH THE 16TH, 2011.

‡ Koodankulam Nuclear Power plant- Tamil Nadu
‡ Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing into the 2002 Godhra riots case is being chaired by R.K. Raghavan.
‡ The United Progressive Alliance government has invited their leaders of Jats from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana
to find an amicable solution to their demand for reservation in Central Government jobs under the Other
Backward Classes (OBC) category.
‡ The Supreme Court reserved verdict on the plea for reinvestigating the Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter
case3 by the CBI.
‡ Foreign Ministers from the G8 (the world's seven richest nations and Russia) failed to reach any agreement on
a military intervention or even the establishment of a no-fly zone against Colonel Qadhafi's forces in Libya.
‡ France was the first country to recognise the rebel National Transition Council based in Benghazi.
‡ A tri-nation monitoring group of diplomats has been established in Dubai to brainstorm ways of rescuing
sailors on board ships that Somali pirates have hijacked. This group consists of Consul Generals of India4,
Yemen and the Philippines.
‡ Mauritius5 has conferred one of its highest honours, Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and the Key
of the Indian Ocean (GCSK), on Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed.

3 Prajapati was killed in an alleged staged shootout on Dec 28, 2006 before the state CID(crime), then probing
the Sohrabuddin case, could record his statement. He was the sole eye-witness in the killing of Sheikh and the
elimination of his wife Kauserbi.
4 Sanjay Verma, Indian Consul-General.
5President of Mauritius Anerood Jugnauth

‡ The India Aviation meet, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was held in New Delhi.
‡ Civil Aviation Secretary: Nasim Zaidi
‡ CII National Committee on Civil Aviation Chairman and Kingfisher Airlines CMD Vijay Mallya.
‡ Maruti Suzuki India rolled out its ten millionth car. It was a metallic breeze blue coloured WagonR VXi rolled
out from the company's Gurgaon plant.

MARCH THE 17TH, 2011.

‡ All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) General Secretary Jayalalithaa will contest from
Srirangam6 in the April 13 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
‡ The Supreme Court has declined permission to a women's organisation, Akhila Dakshta Samiti, for seeking a
review of the judgment7describing a woman as Äkeep' arguing that such an expression was derogatory to and
discriminatory against women on the basis of marital status.
‡ The Supreme Court observed that Article 21 of the Constitution (right to life and liberty) would apply even to
a foreign national staying in India. The SC made this observation while staying the deportation until further
orders of a Libyan researcher, Aiad Amar Saad Mohamed, whose visa is due to expire.8
‡ A high-power committee headed by Prof. Madhava Menon was constituted to Äevolve a comprehensive policy
for autonomy of central educational institutions.' It has called for sweeping changes in the higher education
system. It recommends:
??that the office of the Visitor for central universities be done away with and the powers transferred to the
Chancellor;

6She contested from Andipatti in Theni district in the last two Assembly elections.
7 A Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and T.S. Thakur said: ³If a man has a Äkeep' whom he maintains
financially and uses mainly for sexual purpose and/or as a servant it would not, in our opinion, be a
Ärelationship in the nature of marriage' for her to claim the benefit of live-in to get maintenance under the
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Merely spending weekends together or a one-night
stand would not make it a Ädomestic relationship'.´
8 Mr. Mohammed was compelled to go to Libya to get his visa extended, he pleaded that such compulsion at a
time when there are no international flights operating is a violation of his human rights.

??that all legislative framework under which these universities are established be uniformly revised and brought
under a common Act.

If the recommendations are accepted, all central universities will be made to undergo a comprehensive review
of their functioning once every 10 years by an external agency. The President is the Visitor for all the central
universities.
‡ The book, ÄThe Legislature and the Judiciary: Judicial Pronouncements on Parliament and State Legislatures?
is a joint product of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat and the Indian Law Institute.
‡ Arrested U.S. Embassy staffer Raymond Davis was freed after blood money was paid in accordance with
Sharia law hours after he was indicted for murder by a Sessions Court in Lahore.
‡ Emergency declared in in Baharain. Security forces in Bahrain have unleashed a massive crackdown, to crush
what essentially has been a pro-democracy revolt in the Kingdom.
MARCH THE 18TH, 2011.
‡ The Panthers Party and the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir oppose the proposal of changing the nomenclature of
the Governor to ÄSadr-e-Riyasat' and that of Chief Minister to ÄWazir-e-Azam' alleging that ³it is a plot to
project to the outside world that Jammu and Kashmir is a separate sovereign country.´
‡ The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has done away with the controversial Äfinger test' conducted
during a medical examination to help ascertain whether a victim of sexual assault was ³sexually experienced´ or
not. It will now be done only if necessary.
‡ The pro forma of the medical examination report for sexual assault victims has also been simplified to make it
more gender-sensitive.
‡ The U.S. Ambassador to India, Timothy Roemer, visited Jammu and Kashmir.
‡ The Union Cabinet extended by a year the term of the existing Board of Governors of the Medical Council of
India. The amendment awaits approval from Parliament. It is a six-member Board of Governors, headed by
S.K. Sarin.

‡ The Union Finance Ministry approved 9.5 per cent interest to about 5 crore PF subscribers by the Employees'
Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO).
‡ Bahraini authorities have reinforced the crackdown on the pro-democracy uprising in the country by arresting
top opposition. The police specially targeted the leadership of the Haq movement, which is playing a leading
role in the protests. Haq party's leader Hassan Mushaima
‡ ÄPatrons of the Poor: Caste Politics and Policymaking in India?, written by Narayan Lakshman is a
comparative analysis of the policy-making processes and political histories of Tamil Nadu.

MARCH THE 19TH, 2011

‡ A US Embassy cable released by Wikileaks reveals P. Chidambaram confiding in with Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller that the NIA can supersede the State police in the investigation and
trial of offences under Acts specified in its Schedule, and if it uses its complete power, it has the capability of
violating the constitutionality of Centre-state relations.
‡ Congress president and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi delivered the 14th
Commonwealth Lecture on ³Women as Agents of Change´ at London.
‡ Corruption, land-grab and abuse of judicial office are among the 16 charges framed against Justice P.D.
Dinakaran, facing removal proceedings in Parliament.

A three-member committee comprising Supreme Court judge Justice Aftab Alam, Karnataka High Court Chief
Justice J.S. Khehar and senior advocate P.P. Rao issued the charge sheet to Justice Dinakaran on March 16
seeking his response by April 9. After his reply, there will be regular hearing and the order will be sent to Rajya
Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari.
‡ Withstanding last-minute U.S. pressure, India abstained from voting on a United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) resolution approving ³all necessary measures,´ including imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya. The
resolution was passed with 10 members, including the U.S., France, the U.K. and Lebanon, voting in favour and
five ² Russia, China (both permanent members with veto rights), Brazil and Germany, besides India ²
abstaining.
‡ Recognising the work of writer and social activist Mahasweta Devi, the Human Resource Development Ministry
has appointed her as National Research Professor for a second term of five years from February 2011.

She has contributed to the study of the women, Dalit and rural tribal communities of West Bengal.

‡ Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has banned the manufacture, sale and distribution of Gatifloxacin
and Tegaserod as they caused certain adverse side effects. The decision follows recommendations of the Drug
technical Advisory Committee.
‡ The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has done away with the controversial Äfinger test' conducted
during a medical examination to help ascertain whether a victim of sexual assault was ³sexually experienced´ or
not. It will now be done only if necessary.

The pro forma of the medical examination report for sexual assault victims has also been simplified to make it
more gender-sensitive.
‡ Within hours of the imposition of a no-fly zone authorised by the United Nations Security Council, the Libyan
regime of Muammar Qadhafi has announced a unilateral ceasefire.
‡ The last British Chairman of Shaw Wallace Group and former President of Assocham, Sir Anthony Hayward
passes away.

MARCH THE 20TH, 2011

‡ The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has given its approval to a safeguards agreement for two new
reactors that China is building at Chashma. The United States has indicated it will not oppose China's building of
two nuclear reactors in Pakistan, and will give Beijing a pass on its non-proliferation commitments by allowing
the deal to go ahead in spite of concerns that it will violate international guidelines governing nuclear trade.
‡ Huge deposits of natural uranium, which promise to be one of the top 20 of the world's reserves, have been
found in the Tummalapalle belt in the southern part of the Kadapa basin in Andhra Pradesh.
‡ AMD: Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research.

Director, AMD: P.B. Maithani.

‡ Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission: Srikumar Banerjee
‡ Anil Kapoor honoured with Lalitakala Samrat title by AP CM, N Kiran Kumar Reddy at the T. Subbarami Reddy
Lalithakala Parishath Mega Cultural Festival.
‡ Bar Council of India chairman: Gopal Subramanium.
‡ According to the Asian Rich List 2011 by Eastern Eye, a weekly publication brought out by the Asian Media
and Marketing Group, Lakshmi Mittal is the richest Asian. Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul is listed
sixth in the list with wealth worth £600 million.

Vedanta chief Anil Agarwal came third.

Jet Airways boss Naresh Goyal is the 10th richest Asian.
Kishore Lulla, the executive chairman of Eros International is 16th in the list.
Kartar Lalvani, Chief of Vitabiotics multi-vitamins manufacturer, is 23rd.
Lord Diljit Rana, Northern Ireland's most famous NRI, is the 44th richest.
‡ Separate OBC Parliamentary committee to monitor several central government schemes concerning backward
classes has been sought by the Parliamentary Forum of Other Backward Classes. This forum comprises MPs
from across the political spectrum and the convener of this forum is V. Hanumantha Rao.
‡ The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will organise the fifth edition of ÄEstate South 2011' on March 22
and 23 with the theme as ÄSouth Realty: Vision 2020,' with a road map for real estate sector in the next
decade.
‡ Bollywood actor Navin Nischol passes away. He made a successful debut with Sawan Bhadon in 1970 and
went on to star in several films like Victoria No 203, Dhund, Chhalia, Parwana, Budda Mil Gaya and later as a
character actor in The Burning Train, and Major Saab among others.
‡ France launched an air strike on a target in Libya kicking off an international campaign to prevent Muammar
Qadhafi's forces from crushing a month-old uprising against his rule. The Operation by the French will be known
as ³Operation Harmattan´
‡ A 6.1-magnitude earthquake rattled Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture, south of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear
plant.

MARCH THE 21ST, 2011

‡ Karnataka Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde will soon send a White Paper to Union Minister for Law and Justice M.
Veerappa Moily detailing the work he has done. White Paper is an authoritative guide or report that helps solve
a problem. The announcement came as a reaction to reported statements of Mr. Moily. The Minister was quoted
as saying that Mr. Hegde was only making statements and had given up on many cases abruptly.
‡ Indian Railways would launch a special Buddhist train, ³Damba Diwa Vandana,´ later this year from Chennai
to Sri Lanka.
‡ ICCR: Indian Council for Cultural Relations; Director General of ICCR: Suresh K. Goel
‡ SAARC Festival of Literature to be held in New Delhi. It is being organised by the Foundation of SAARC
Writers and Literature and Ministry of External Affairs.

‡ The French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle left its home port of Toulon in southern France
for the Mediterranean as France claimed the coalition had successfully established a Äno-fly zone' over Libya.

MARCH THE 22ND, 2011

‡ Indian School of Business (ISB) chairman Rajat Gupta, who faces charges of insider trading in the United
States, has decided to step down from his post. Mr. Gupta asked the ISB executive board to relieve him of the
responsibilities as its chairman and managing director emeritus until the matter pending with the Securities and
Exchange Commission was resolved.
‡ The Union government has decided to declare April 14, 2011 as a holiday on account of the birthday of Dr.
B.R. Ambedkar for all its offices, including industrial establishments. The holiday is also being notified in
exercise of powers conferred by Section 25 of Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, an official release said on
Monday.
‡ Following its exit from Hero Honda, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) on Monday said it
would launch a range of motorcycles, including that in the mass segment of 100cc, to grab leadership position
in the Indian two-wheeler market. HMSI also unveiled its global Äroad-sport' bike ÄCBR 250R', which will be
launched next month.
‡ Novak Djokovic won the ATP Indian Wells title on Sunday, rallying to beat World No. 1 Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3,
6-2 and improve his record this season to 18-0.
‡ After much muscle flexing comes the deal: after days of haggling, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress
(TMC) have agreed on a seat-sharing arrangement for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly elections. The
Congress has settled for 65 seats, down from its original demand for 90, while the TMC gets the lion's share:
229.
‡ A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit the Kashmir Valley on Monday, prompting people to rush out of buildings.
The tremor had its epicentre in the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan occurred at 3.20 p.m.

MARCH THE 23RD, 2011

‡ The Plan size for Karnataka for 2011-12 has been fixed at Rs. 38,070 crore. This was decided at a meeting
held by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and his team, including

Ministers and officials, with the Planning Commission team comprising its Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh
Ahluwalia, and his officials, here on Tuesday.
‡ The ongoing tussle between the Congress and the BJP on telecom-related issues has taken yet another turn,
with Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal ordering a probe into the disinvestment in Videsh Sanchar
Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) during the NDA regime. Panatone Finvest Ltd, a subsidiary of Tata Sons Ltd, had acquired a
controlling stake in VSNL for Rs.1,439 crore in 2002 as part of the disinvestment programme of the then BJP-
led NDA government.
‡ Laying the groundwork for fresh extradition proceedings against the former Union Carbide Corporation (UCC)
chairman, Warren Anderson, to face trial in the Bhopal gas tragedy case, the CBI on Tuesday filed an affidavit
in a Tis Hazari court here on Tuesday listing various charges against him.
‡ Stung by the ³misery tax´ remark by the healthcare industry and in deference to widespread criticism in and
outside Parliament, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday withdrew the five per cent service tax
on hospitals and diagnostic centres. He also gave excise duty relief on branded garments to small-scale
industries and announced marginal tax concessions for some other sectors.
‡ The police in Australia's Victoria State on Tuesday inducted its first officer from the Sikh community, a media
report said. Constable Amitoj Singh, who graduated from the Police Academy, will wear a newly designed
police-issue turban, featuring the service's chequerboard pattern.
‡ The Central government on Tuesday hiked the dearness allowance (DA) for its staff by six percentage points
to 51 per cent. This will benefit more than 50 lakh serving employees and 38 lakh pensioners.
‡ The Election Commission has prohibited the Railways from implementing the budget scheme of free monthly
season tickets to girl students in the election-bound States and Union Territory. In a letter to the Railway
Board, the EC directed that the decision announced by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee be deferred until after
the completion of the poll process in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the Union Territory of
Puducherry. Ms. Banerjee said free tickets would be given to all girls up to college.

‡ The former Israeli President, Moshe Katsav, was on Tuesday sentenced to seven years behind bars after being
convicted on two counts of rape and other offences in a scandal which has rocked Israel.
‡ Fidel Castro said on Tuesday he resigned five years ago from all his official positions, including head of Cuba's
Communist Party, a position he was thought to still hold. It was the first time the 84-year-old revolutionary icon
has said he no longer heads the Communist Party, which he has led since its creation in 1965.
‡ The Centre on Tuesday introduced a Constitution Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha to facilitate
implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a tax regime that would subsume levies such as excise,
service tax and sales tax. The Bill, introduced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, seeks to amend the
Constitution with a view to conferring simultaneous powers on the Centre and the States to levy taxes on goods
and services.
‡ Lionel Messi and Jose Mourinho are the highest paid player and manager in football, according to France
Football magazine. Barcelona's two-time World Footballer-of-the-Year Messi's income from his salary and
publicity deals in 2011 amounted to ¼31 million, while Real Madrid boss Mourinho topped the manager's rich list
with an income of ¼13.5m.
MARCH THE 24TH, 2011
‡ Justice L. Narasimha Reddy of the A.P. High Court on Wednesday directed the Union government to make
public the chapter eight of the Justice Srikrishna Committee report pertaining to law and order and internal
security dimensions.
‡ Swine flu is back, with Punjab reporting the season's first fatality due to the disease. Punjab reported the
maximum number of eight cases this week while Delhi reported two and Rajasthan one, Health Ministry officials
said.
‡ In what could be a setback to many Indian students aspiring to study in Britain, the United Kingdom
government has announced a major overhaul of the student visa system, tightening the entrance criteria and
post-study work route.
‡ Playback singer Asha Bhosle was felicitated in the House of Commons here for her outstanding achievements
in music.
‡ A 12-year-old girl suffering from thalassemia was made a pilot of the Pakistan Army's aviation wing for a day,
after she wrote to the Army Chief about her dreams of serving as an aviator. Naima Gul, a fourth grade student
from Mingora in the militancy-hit Swat

valley, wrote about her wish to General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who approved her induction as the first woman
pilot of 9 Squadron of the aviation wing.
‡ The country's oldest lioness, Rehana (23), has died in the government-run zoo Van Vihar here on March 21.
The lioness was not well for sometime, following a digestive system failure.
‡ The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has chosen one of the living legends of mathematics, John
Willard Milnor of the Institute for Mathematical Sciences in the University of Stony Brook, U.S.A, for the award
of its prestigious Abel Prize for the year 2011.
‡ Singapore-Indian Sat Pal Khattar will receive the Padma Shri in New Delhi on Thursday, becoming the first
person to be so honoured with the award from the City-State.
‡ The relay hunger strike by women in Manipur entered the 935th day on Wednesday.The hunger strike at the
office of the Save Sharmila Group here was launched to extend moral support to Irom Sharmila, who has been
on a fast-unto-death since November 2, 2000 demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act,
1958.
‡ The home-grown Tata brand has been ranked as the first Indian brand to be in the top 50 club of global
brands as per the latest Brand Finance's Global 500 2007 report. The group's brand value at present is pegged
at $15.8 billion in 2011 ($11.21 billion in 2010 and $7.38 billion in 2007), a press release issued here said.
‡ Wipro Technologies has received Reader's Choice Award for the third consecutive year from Consumer Goods
Technology (CGT) magazine. According to a release, Wipro Technologies has won spots in the Top 5 for
outsourcing/IT integration and Top 8 in the consulting categories. Wipro has moved up by 4 places (positive
movement) in the outsourcing category from last year's rankings.
‡ HDFC Bank has won The Asian Banker's ÄBest Retail Bank in India' award this year. Beating a host of other
competitors in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa on a range of parameters, the bank has won
the award for the fifth year in a row.

MARCH THE 25TH, 2011

‡ Orissa will hereafter be called ÄOdisha,' and the Oriya language will be known as ÄOdia,' with Parliament
ratifying a constitutional amendment and passing the Orissa (the Alteration of Name) Bill. The Rajya Sabha
passed the bill and adopted the Constitution

(113th) Amendment Bill after a brief debate. The Lok Sabha has already given its approval
‡ A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the north-eastern Myanmar on Thursday night, killing one woman and
shaking buildings as far away as Bangkok. No tsunami was generated. A 6.1 magnitude quake hit northern
Japan, public broadcaster NHK said.
‡ As promised by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, two bills to make amendments to legislation on
local bodies to grant women 50 per cent reservation in seats were introduced in the Assembly on Thursday.
One bill was introduced to amend the Bombay Village Panchayat Act 1958 and the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads
and Panchayat Samitis Act 1961 to increase the reservation for women from one third of the total number of
seats to one half of the total seats. The government wanted to raise the total number of seats and offices for
women in all three tiers of Panchayat Raj institutions as women formed 50 per cent of the population. Another
bill to amend the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act 1949,
the City of Nagpur Corporation Act, 1948 and the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and
Industrial Townships Act 1965 was introduced to raise the reservation for women to 50 per cent.
‡ 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 hailing from the State capital.

CLATGYANµS WEEKLY GK COMPENDIUM

MARCH THE 26TH, 2011
‡ Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza
Gilani to watch the India-Pakistan cricket World Cup semifinal to be played at Mohali in Punjab on March 30
(too bad they lost!)
‡ Interesting reading: http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/26/stories/2011032657430100.htm
‡ A special court, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), remanded Pune-based businessman
Hasan Ali Khan in judicial custody till April 8 here on Friday after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the
court it did not need his custody at present.
‡ CEO and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc - the charismatic Warren Buffet (one of the richest men in the
world) is on a visit to India.
‡ Adviser to Prime Minister on Public Information, Infrastructure and Innovations: Sam Pitroda. Human
Resources Development Minister: Kapil Sibal.
‡ The Justice Shunglu Committee, which is looking at the CWG Scam, came out with its third report on ?City
Infrastructure?. It severely indicted the Delhi Government for delays and improper planning, besides conniving
with contractors. It said while Rs.254 crore in =undue gains' were provided to contractors, Rs. 900 crore could
have been saved had delays in planning and execution of projects been avoided.
‡ Reading: http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/26/stories/2011032662511100.htm
‡ National Academy of Sciences, India, (NASI) and Scopus1 Young Scientist Award was given to 11 scientists,
with two being from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (Chairman - Dr. K Kasturirangan)
‡ Cutting across party lines, women Members of Parliament propose to set up pressure groups in both Houses
to push for speedy clearance of a number of women-related Bills that are pending passage. National Council for
Women chief: Girija Vyas. The Bills that are still stuck at some procedural level or the other are: Sexual
Harassment at Workplaces

1 Scopus is an abstract and citation database of the peer-reviewed scientific literature of Elsevier, the
Amsterdam-based publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services.

Bill, Amendments to include =irretrieveable breakdown of marriageµ as a ground for divorce in the Hindu
marriage act, Compensation for Rape Victims Bill, Prevention of Acid attacks bill, etc
‡ With members of the Armed forces defecting to the anti-government protestors in Yemen, the movement
against President Ali Abdullah Saleh got bolstered. The president is being seen on the backfoot, by first offering
dialog with the protesters and now, offering a systematic transition ± using vague terms.
‡ The Japanese government vowed to prevent a Nuclear disaster from occurring at the Fukushima Daichi
nuclear power plant after an Earthquake devastated the core of the power plant. Compulsory reading:

http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/26/stories/2011032667722000.htm
‡ 70 people were feared dead in a powerful earthquake that hit Myanmar. It measured 6.8 of the Richter scale.

MARCH THE 27TH, 2011

‡ UN Intervention in Libya, why:

http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/27/stories/2011032756341300.htm
‡ The Government of Indiaµs policy of keeping casual labourers in the same status for long periods of time has
been criticized by the SC. By giving these labourers of the Border Roads Organization ?artificial breaks?, the
government prolongs the temporary status of the employees, and hence, denying them benefits of permanent
employees
‡ The Fukushima crisis changed for the worse, with fears of radiation of sea water increasing
‡ Syrian President: Bashar Assad

MARCH THE 28TH, 2011

‡ Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani accepted Manmohan Singhµs offer to watch the India-Pakistan Mohali match.
In the same tone of positive overtures, Pakistan President Zardari pardoned Gopal Dass, an Indian who was
languishing in Pakistani prisons, this pardon came after the Indian SC had made such a request to the Pakistani
government
‡ About 105 persons were sentenced to the Death Penalty in India. However, not one of the 105 were
executed. This data came from the Human Rights watchdog, Amnesty International. AI General Secy: Salil
Shetty
‡ Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee
‡ A task force has been set up by the HRD Minister, Kapil Sibal thatµll survey the Higher Education institutions in
the country; itµll be headed by the Additional Secretary (Higher Education) in the Ministry of HRD.

MARCH THE 29TH, 2011

‡ Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani on Monday offered no clear-cut apology for the 2002 Gujarat riots,
but said communal riots cannot be justified under any circumstances. On whether the BJP regrets the riots and
is willing to apologise, he said there have been many riots in the country and the situations were often
mishandled. ?There is no question of apology. Riots are a sad matter,? he said. (Quoting The Hindu, verbatim)
‡ The State of Andhra Pradesh has moved to court against the award given by the Krishna Waters Dispute
Tribunal2
‡ Puthenveettil Chandapilla Mathew, one of the last surviving employees of the Indian Civil Services is now
dead. The ICS was the predecessor (pre-Independence) to the Indian Administrative Service, and other such
civil services.
‡ Days after his conservative government was ousted in a vote of no-confidence passed in the Canadian
Parliament, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that elections would be held on May 2.
‡ Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi attended a legal hearing on Monday for the first time in eight years,
over allegations of fiscal fraud and breach of trust in his business interests.

2 http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/29/stories/2011032963751300.htm
MARCH THE 30TH, 2011
‡ In a positive development on the eve of the meeting of the Prime Ministers, Pakistan on Tuesday agreed, in
principle, to allow a Commission from India to visit that country in

connection with the investigations into the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. In the mood of
reciprocity, Pakistan will be allowed to send its own commission to investigate the Samjhauta Express Blasts,
that were allegedly carried out by Hindu extremists associated with the RSS and the Sangh
‡ Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, will be presented before
the judicial magistrate in Devas, Madhya Pradesh, on Wednesday. The special Maharashtra Control of Organised
Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Tuesday passed an order allowing Ms. Thakur to be present for investigation in the
Sunil Joshi murder case.
‡ Responding to a petition by Hasan Ali Khan, the court ordered extra protection for him.
‡ Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented the Lifetime Achievement Award 2009 to Obaid Siddiqui under the
Excellence in Science, Engineering and Technology Awards scheme

MARCH THE 31ST, 2011

‡ In the ongoing ICC Cricket world cup tournament, India defeated Pakistan by 29 runs in the Mohali semi
finals. India will meet Sri Lanka in the finals in Mumbaiµs Wankhede stadium

APRIL THE 1ST, 2011

‡ Surinder Kohli, one of the main accused in the sensational Nithari killings case, on Thursday told a court here
that he wanted to replace his lawyer, saying he got death sentence in one case because of the advocate's
?incompetency.?
‡ The lowest-ever child sex ratio of 914 overshadowed an increase in the overall sex ratio, which is now 940 ²
the highest nationwide since Census 1971 and a shade lower than 1961 ² as it reflects a continued preference
for a male child.3
‡ If holding of an enquiry against a government employee involved in espionage has the potential to jeopardise
national security and the country's relations with a neighbour, he could be sacked by dispensing with it, the
Supreme Court has held, upholding the dismissal of M.M. Sharma, then First Secretary in the Indian embassy in
Beijing.

3 Compulsory Reading: http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/01/stories/2011040165401600.htm

‡ Rohinton Mistry, the Indian-Canadian writer is in the run for the Man Booker prize. The winner will be
announced at the Sydney Writers' Festival on May 18.
‡ Col. Muammar Qadhafiµs problems continued to grow, with defections after defections occurring. The latest to
go was his Foreign Minister, Moussa Koussa.
‡ Umer Patek, one of Indonesia's ?most wanted'' men for his involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings, is said to
have been arrested in Pakistan. However, there is still official confirmation that is being awaited. He belongs to
the extremist Jamiah Islamiyah.

CLATGyan?s GK Compendium
From 9th to the 15th of January
‡ Gautam Gambhir was bought by Kolkota Knight Riders for a record $2.4 million. He was the highest bid player
in the Indian Premier League ± 4?s auctions
‡ Former Bombay HC Chief Justice, JA Patil will head the commission to investigate the Adarsh Housing Society
Scam It is a two member panel-The second person is the former state chief secretary P Subramanium
‡ Congress in retaliation has started with the Jan Jadran Abhiyan to counter the attack by BJP blaming the
Congress for corruption
‡ Binayak Sen was the first Indian recipient of the Jonathan Mann award for Global Health and Human Rights in
2008
‡ Sudan is voting to decide on the independence of its southern regions. It has very wide implications all over
Africa- It could start a domino effect, where other countries in Africa could start dividing themselves up
‡ Army has established a training ground in Chhattisgarh?s Maoist-affect Narayanpur district. CPI (Maoist) was
established in 2004
‡ After more than a decade of taking to the skies, light combat aircraft ÄTejas? will get the Initial Operational
Clearance and be formally inducted into the Indian Army
‡ Pravashi Bharatiya Award given to Sri Lankan industrialist Mano Selvanathan on 9th Jan which is Pravasi
Bhartiya divas
‡ YS Jaganmohan Reddy took a special train to Delhi and held a fast to protest against the Krishna Water
Disputes Tribunal. He calls his campaign ÄJala Deeksha? (The Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal Verdict:
http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2802/stories/20110128280203000.htm)
‡ SC issues notice to the center and 11 telecom firms. It refuses to consider statements made by Kapil Sibal
that the CAG estimation of the loss caused was wrong.
‡ Pakistan has demanded report on the investigation into the Samjhauta Express blasts in which 42 Pakistani?s
were among those killed.
‡ Jailed RSS leader Swami Aseemanand had admitted to his role in the 2007 blasts
‡ Sushil Kumar Shinde ± Union Minister of Power

‡ Pope John Paul II to be beatified on May 1

‡ India Meteorological Department has declared that 2010 was the warmest year since 1901.
‡ Padmaraj Panel Probe which was set up to probe denotification of land [in and around Bangalore by
Yedyuruppa Government] was stayed by the Karnataka High Court it indicated that it preferred a probe by the
Lokayukta into the issue which had already begun the probe
‡ Reaffirming his commitment to the ³13-plus´ (13th amendment with additional powers) formula to bring
about an amicable political solution to the Tamil question, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa insisted that
³the plus´ be a product of the hope and aspirations of the people of Sri Lanka.
‡ Tunisia's government has been dismissed and Parliament has been dissolved and Tunisia?s earlier President
Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's [ who ruled for 23 years] was ousted on 14th January [Jasmine Revolution]
‡ Russia-India?s joint fifth-generation fighter plane to meet the challenge from the Chinese rival J-20 which is a
long-range strike aircraft
‡ The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has announced appointment of Baldev Raj, Director,
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkkam, as Chairman, Board of Governors, National Institute of
Technology-Puducherry at Karaikal.
‡ The Platinum Medal Award by the Indian Institutes of Metal, and INSA prize for Materials Science by Indian
National Science Academy that he received in 2010
‡ The Union Government on 13-1-2011 permitted carriage of video calls on 3G mobile networks subject to an
undertaking by the operators that they would provide interception capability by July 31.
‡ The C. Rangarajan Committee on the proposed food security bill favours legal entitlement of subsidised food
grains to the poor (below the poverty line), but has rejected the National Advisory Council's recommendation
that above the poverty line (APL) households be partially covered.
‡ The Rangarajan Committee suggested that 46 per cent of the rural population and 28 per cent of the urban
population be entitled to 35 kg of rice at Rs. 3 a kg or wheat at Rs. 2 a kg per household a month
‡ A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court on Thursday granted permission to the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to reinvestigate the 2006 Malegaon blast case.
‡ The daughter of Sikh immigrants from Punjab, Indian-American Namrata ³Nikki´ Randhawa Haley proudly
recollected her Indian heritage while being sworn in as the first woman and non-white Governor of South
Carolina.
‡ Lebanese government falls: Eleven Cabinet Ministers belonging to Hizbollah and its allies resigned on
Wednesday over the international investigation on the 2005 assassination of the former Lebanese Prime
Minister, Rafik Hariri.
‡ IndiGo will acquire 180 A-320 aircraft worth an estimated $15.6 billion from the European manufacturer
Airbus and signed the deal in Toulouse in France
‡ Russia, U.S. enact nuclear cooperation pact- It came into force after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei
Ryabkov and U.S. Ambassador John Beyrle exchanged respective diplomatic notes in Moscow. The 123
agreement was signed in May 2008 but was frozen later the same year by Washington over the Russia-Georgia
war. This treaty is known as START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty)
‡ India-Bangladesh agreed to sign a 15-year interim accord on sharing the waters of common rivers Teesta and
Feni in a Secretary-level meeting of the Indo-Bangladesh Joint River Commission (JRC) on 11th January. The
Ganges Water Sharing Treaty signed during the erstwhile Awami League government On 12 December, 1996]
‡ Lionel Messi and Marta -world's best football players 2010. FIFA clubbed World Player award with the Ballon
d'Or trophy
‡ Agricultural scientist K.V. Raman [Director of the B.V. Rao Centre for Sustainable Food Security at the
Chennai-based M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.] has been awarded the prestigious Bharat Jyoti Award
of the India International Friendship Society for his contributions to science, technology and development.
‡ Baldev Raj, Director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam has been elected
president of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE).
‡ Chennai Open: Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi won doubles
‡ Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka won men?s single

CLATGyan¶s GK Compendium
THE 15TH OF JANUARY TO THE 18TH OF JANUARY, 2011
1. The Yeddyuruppa Government, which is under fire from the Opposition for illegally denotifying land in and
around Bangalore and allotting sites to a favoured few, suffered further embarrassment when the Karnataka
High Court stayed the proceedings of the Justice B. Padmaraj Commission of Inquiry which was setup to look
into the malpractices of yeddy.
2. India Meteorological Department has declared that 2010 was the warmest year since 1901. According to the
department, the annual mean temperature averaged over the country as a whole was 25.8023 degrees Celsius
last year. This translates to an increase of 0.93 degrees over the average for the 30-year period from 1961-
1990.
3. The Pope (Benedict XVI) on Friday signed off on the miracle needed for the beatification of Pope John Paul II,
and set May 1 as the date to honour one of the most beloved Popes of all times as a model of saintliness for the
church. Pope Benedict XVI said in a decree that a French nun's recovery from the Parkinson's disease was
miraculous, the last step needed for beatification. A second miracle is needed for the Polish-born John Paul II to
be made a saint.
4. ³Gajraj,´ carrying 25 tonnes of relief materials, landed at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Sri Lanka.
It took nearly five hours to clear the insides of ³Gajraj,´ Indian Air Force's IL 76 heavy-lift transport aircraft.
5. A six-day business fair, ³Printpack India-2011´, highlighting the growth story of the country's graphic arts
industry, opens at Pragati Maidan .
6. Caving under sweeping protests against spiralling food prices, Tunisia's government has been dismissed and
Parliament has been dissolved. The move comes despite Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's
announcement during a late night televised address on Thursday that he would step down from his post in 2014
and push for greater freedoms and reforms.
7. The Russian Parliament moved closer to endorsing the New START nuclear arms treaty with the United
States on Friday, voting in second reading a ratification Bill

that counters the strings the U.S. Senate attached to its ratification of the landmark pact.
8. The Union government is working out a formula for ensuring national minority status for the Jain community,
Union Law Minister M.Veerappa Moily said here on Saturday.
9. Russia's state-owned oil giant, Rosneft, has formed a strategic alliance with the British Petroleum to develop
Russia's energy-rich continental shelf in the Arctic Sea.
10. France's far-right National Front named founder Jean-Marie Le Pen's daughter Marine its new leader on
Sunday, looking to soften the anti-immigrant party's image before next year's presidential polls.
11. Music composer A.R. Rahman bagged the best original song trophy at the 16th Critics' Choice Awards for
his number ³If I Rise´ in Danny Boyle's film 127 Hours. Written by Rollo Armstrong and American artiste Dido,
the song was performed by Rahman and Dido. It is also expected to get Rahman his second Golden Globe this
year.
12. Rajasthan crowned itself with glory on Saturday. It won the Ranji Trophy for the first time in 77 years after
getting the better of Baroda on first innings lead
13. Hailing Asia as the future centre of growth of nuclear power, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Director-General Yukiya Amano on Monday said that out of the 61 nuclear reactors under construction in the
world, 39 are in Asia.
14. Celebrated actor Gita De, popular for playing character roles in nearly 200 Bengali films and dramas, died in
a local hospital on Sunday night after prolonged illness. She was 80.

July 1st
EXERCISE MAXIMUM RESTRAINT , CRPF TOLD
The Union government on Wednesday asked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his
Ministers to visit the disturbed areas so as to tackle the current crisis there politically as well as through
security forces.It also urged the Central Reserve Police Force to exercise the ³maximum restraint´ and
sensitivity while assisting the police in enforcing curfew in the Kashmir Valley, and promised full protection for
the Amarnath yatra.
AMARANTH YATRA AMID TIGHT SECURITY
The nearly two-month long Amarnath pilgrimage began from Jammu on Wednesday amid tight security. In view
of the deteriorating security situation, 3,000 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel have been airlifted to
Kashmir to provide foolproof cover for the pilgrimage.After the first batch was flagged off by J&K Minister for
Tourism Nawang Rigzin Jora, 1,272 pilgrims left the base camp aboard around 70 vehicles at 5 a.m. They will
later proceed to the cave shrine from Baltal and the Pahalgam base camp.The pilgrimage will conclude on
August 24, Shravan Purnima.
OBUL REDDY PASSES AWAY
P. Obul Reddy, industrialist, philanthropist and patron of the arts, passed away on Wednesday after a prolonged
illness. He was 85, and is survived by two sons and three daughters.Mr. Reddy, who was one of the first
industrialists from the South to enter into the television business, was the proprietor of the firm that sold the
popular Dyanora TV sets. He was also the former managing director and founder of Nippo Batteries, and was
the managing director of Panasonic India, formerly the Indo Matsushita Company.
NEPAL PM RESIGNS
Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned on Wednesday after 13 months in power, in a move to
break the political deadlock. The resignation
was part of an agreement among the three major political parties ² the opposition UCPN (Maoist) and the
Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML) which are part of the ruling coalition ² a month ago when they united to
extend the tenure of the Constituent Assembly by a year. Nepal's Constituent Assembly had failed to deliver a
Constitution by its initial deadline on May 28, 2010. The agreement called for Mr. Nepal's resignation ² a key
demand of the Maoists ² and the formation of a consensus government.
July 2nd
PAWAR TAKES CHARGE AS ICC PRESIDENT
Sharad Pawar on Thursday assumed office as President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) at its annual
conference in singapore. The Union Agriculture Minister and former President of the Board of Control for Cricket
in India succeeded David Morgan after serving as the ICC Vice-President since 2008.Mr. Pawar is only the
second Indian, after Jagmohan Dalmiya, to have become the highest executive of the world cricket body.
7 YEAR JAIL TERM FOR DR. DEATH
A surgeon dubbed ³Dr. Death´ in Australia for a string of botched operations was sentenced on Thursday to
seven years in prison for killing three patients and permanently harming another.A jury had convicted Indian-
born U.S. citizen Jayant Patel (60) two days ago of three counts of manslaughter and one of causing grievous
bodily harm while he was a surgeon at a hospital in Queensland state from 2003 to 2005.
MERKEL¶S CANDIDATE SCRAPES THROUGH
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had to sit through several hours of humiliating, nail-biting suspense as
Christian Wulff, the candidate supported by her right-wing coalition for the largely ceremonial office of President
struggled through three excruciating rounds of voting in the Federal Assembly before being named President.
His main competitor Joachim Gauck, a pro-
democracy activist nominated by the opposition, won 494 votes to Wulff¶s 625 votes.
PERELMAN REJECTS AWARD
After taking a three-month timeout, Russia's math whizz Grigori Perelman has finally turned down a $1,000,000
prize he won for having solved a century-old puzzle.The Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI) in March awarded its
Millennium Prize of $1 million to the reclusive mathematician for proving the 106-year-old Poincaré conjecture,
a theorem about the nature of multidimensional space. In 2006, Dr. Perelman refused to accept the Fields
Medal, which is considered equal to the Nobel Prize.
July 3rd
ALL BHOPAL GAS CONVICTS RELEASED ON BAIL
After granting Keshub Mahindra bail in the Bhopal gas tragedy case, the district and sessions judge here on
Friday granted bail to the other six convicts as well.Judge Subhash Kakde released them on a bond of Rs. 1
lakh each.
ANOTHER INDIAN AMERICAN IN TEAM ±OBAMA
The Obama government has nominated yet another Indian-American, Nisha Desai Biswal, to a senior position
within its administration. Ms. Biswal has been nominated to the post of Assistant Administrator for Asia in the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), according to the White House.
July 4th
UN FORUM ON GENDER EQUALITY
The United Nations General Assembly has voted unanimously to create a new body for accelerating gender
equality and women's empowerment, bringing to a close four years of ³tough negotiations,´ according to a U.N.
statement.The
body, to be known as ³UN Women´ (UNW), will bring the four existing U.N. bodies dealing with gender issues
under a single umbrella. The resolution also called for the appointment of an Under-Secretary-General to head
UNW, and the establishment of an executive board to provide intergovernmental support to and supervision of
its operational activities.
KYRGYZ PRESIDENT SWORN IN
The first woman President in Central Asia was sworn in Kyrgyzstan on Saturday, three weeks after bloody
ethnic violence in the country's southern regions claimed hundreds of lives.Speaking at an inauguration
ceremony in the capital Bishkek Ms. Rosa Otunbayeva (59), promised that thousands of people whose houses
had been torched during last month's riots will be provided with new housing before winter comes.
July 5th
NADAL RECLAIMS WIMBLEDON IN STYLE
Rafael Nadal reclaimed the Wimbledon men's singles title on Sunday, putting in a classy performance to beat
Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the final.In securing his eighth Grand Slam, Nadal went level with Andre
Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Fred Perry and Ken Rosewall.earlier serena Williams had won her
Wimbledon title
PAES AND CARA WIN MIXED DOUBLES
Leander Paes and Cara Black won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title, beating South African-American pair of
Wesley Moodie and Lisa Raymond in the final on Sunday
PATREAUS ASSUMES CHARGE
U.S. Army General David Petraeus formally assumed command of the 130,000-strong international force in
Afghanistan on Sunday, declaring ³we are in this to win´ despite rising casualties and growing scepticism about
the nearly
nine-year-old war.During a ceremony at NATO headquarters, General Petraeus received two flags ³one for the
U.S. and the other for NATO´ marking his formal assumption of command.
GOLDEN JUBILEE FETE OF SEA HARRIER SQUANDRON TODAY
The Navy will launch the Golden Jubilee celebrations of its frontline Sea Harrier (White Tiger) squadron INAS
300 at Goa on Monday with over 100 White Tigers in attendance. The events include a two-day seminar on
carrier borne fighter operations, a get-together of the veterans of the squadron and the release of a
commemorative first day cover and postage stamp.
JULY 6TH
KOMOROWSKI WINS POLISH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Bronislaw Komorowski won Poland's runoff presidential elections, the state election commission said on
Monday, based on results with all the polling stations reporting.Mr. Komorowski, of the centre-right Civic
Platform party, gained 53.01 per cent of the vote, said the commission.Opponent Jaroslaw Kaczynski, of the
right-wing Law and Justice party, received 46.99 per cent of the vote.Turnout reached 55.31 per cent during
the voting on Sunday to find a successor to Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash in Russia in early April.
Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus launch customs union
After years of discussions Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus have launched a customs union as a first step
towards forming a broader EU-type economic alliance of former Soviet states.Meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan on
Monday, the leaders of the three nations signed a declaration stating that the customs union comes into effect
on July 6. The meeting was held on the sidelines of a summit of the Eurasian Economic Community (Eurasec).
July 7th
July 9th
GOM TO LOOK INTO HONOR KILLINGS
United on the need to deal with the pernicious practice of ³honour killings,´ but facing division in the Cabinet on
how to tackle the issue, the Centre on Wednesday decided to consult the States and set up a Group of Ministers
(GoM) to suggest changes in the law to deal with the matter. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika
Soni said after a Cabinet meeting.
July 12th
SPAIN CROWNED FOOTBALL WORLD CHAMPION
A late goal from Andres Iniesta gave Spain victory over the Netherlands at the death of a cynical and ill-
tempered final.To Spain the glory of a World Cup triumph in which they prevailed over a deplorable Netherlands
side that was reduced to 10 men when the English referee Howard Webb eventually dismissed the Dutch
defender John Heitinga with a second caution in the 109th minute. Cesc Fabregas, on as substitute, fed Andres
Iniesta to score the winner seven minutes later.
July 13th
PSLV LAUNCHES 5 SATELLITES
The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15) on Monday put five
satellites in their precise orbit, unequivocally demonstrating its reliability and robustness.It was a flawless
mission all the way, with the ignition and separation of the rocket's four stages taking place on time, the heat-
shield protecting the satellites falling off on schedule and the satellites flying out of the fourth stage at a
velocity of 27,000 km an hour. The on-board computers worked perfectly. This was the 16th consecutive
successful fight of the PSLV.
The five satellites launched were: ISRO's 694-kg Cartosat-2B; 116-kg Alsat-2A of Algeria; 6.5-kg nano satellite,
named NLS 6.1 AISSAT-1 of the Space Flight Laboratory of the University of Toronto, Canada; one-kg nano
satellite NLS 6.2 TISAT-1, built by the University of Applied Science Sciences of Switzerland; and tiny Studsat,
built by 35 students of seven engineering colleges in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
HEARING ON VALIDITY OF TAMILNADU QUOTA LAW
The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday the case relating to the constitutional validity of the Tamil Nadu law
providing for 69 per cent reservation for Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes in jobs and educational institutions.A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and
Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice Swatanter Kumar will take up for hearing a batch of petitions, including
the Tamil Nadu quota law, for adjudication.A nine-Judge Bench of the court hearing a batch of petitions in 2007
challenging the inclusion of several State legislations under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, including the
Tamil Nadu Reservation Act enacted in 1993, (to keep them beyond judicial review) had held that there could
not be blanket immunity for laws from judicial review.
74 DEAD IN UGANDA BLASTS
An Al-Qaeda-linked Somali militant group claimed responsibility on Monday for twin bombings in Uganda that
killed 74 people watching the World Cup final on TV, saying the militants would carry out attacks ³against our
enemy´ wherever they are.
POLANSKI A FREE MAN
The Swiss government declared renowned film director Roman Polanski a free man on Monday after rejecting a
U.S. request to extradite him on a charge of having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.The Swiss mostly
blamed U.S. authorities for failing to provide confidential testimony about Mr. Polanski's sentencing procedure
in 1977-1978.
BASHIR CHARGED WITH GENOCIDE
The International Criminal Court has charged Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with three counts of genocide
in Darfur.Four months ago an appeals panel at the world's first permanent War Crimes Tribunal ruled that
judges made an ³error in law´ when they refused last year to indict Mr. Bashir on international law's gravest
charge.Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo accuses Mr. Bashir of keeping 2.5 million refugees from specific
ethnic groups in Darfur in camps ³under genocide conditions, like a gigantic Auschwitz.
July 14th
COURT ALLOWS TAMIL NADU QUOTA FOR A YEAR
In a big relief to the Tamil Nadu government, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted protection for the
continuance, for one more year, of the law that provides the Backward Classes, the Most Backward Classes and
the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes 69 per cent reservation in jobs and education. A Bench of Chief Justice
S.H. Kapadia and Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar asked the State Backward Classes
Commission to revisit the reservation issue on the basis of the quantifiable data in respect of the communities
in question. If the Commission wanted to exceed the 50 per cent ceiling while re-fixing the quota, it could take
into consideration the parameters laid down by the Supreme Court in the Mandal case judgment: compelling
circumstances based on local conditions. The Bench was disposing of a writ petition filed by Voice, represented
by senior advocate K.M. Vijayan, questioning the validity of the quota law enacted in 1973 and its subsequent
introduction in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. As stipulated in the Mandal case judgment, reservation
should not exceed 50 per cent, he argued.
CARTOSAT 2B TO BE OPERATIONAL IN A WEEK
Cartosat-2B ² the remote-sensing satellite put in orbit by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15) on
Monday ² is in fine fettle and will become operational in a week.The rocket put four other satellites as well in
orbit at an altitude of 637 km.³The health of the satellite is good. Everything has been
checked out. It will become operational in a week's time,´ said P.S. Veeraraghavan, Director, Vikram Sarabhai
Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. The images taken by Cartosat-2B's camera will be available soon after it
becomes operational. The satellite's solar panels were deployed soon after it flew out of the fourth stage of the
vehicle, Mr. Veeraraghavan said.
July 15th
118 HOSPITALISED AFTER GAS LEAK IN MUMBAI
One hundred and eighteen people, including four firemen and a police constable, were hospitalised after they
inhaled chlorine gas that leaked from a cylinder in a Mumbai Port Trust godown in Sewri in the early hours of
Wednesday. Seven of them are in critical condition.
The site was cordoned off and people in the vicinity were evacuated. Five of the 141 cylinders lying in the
hazardous goods storage facility at Haji Bunder contained liquid chlorine. The other 136 were empty. All the
five cylinders have been neutralised.
DECISION TO GIVE MINING LICENSE TO POSCO SET ASIDE
In a setback to the Rs.51,000-crore Posco steel plant planned at Paradeep, the Orissa High Court on
Wednesday set aside the State government's recommendation for granting the South Korean steel major a
licence for prospecting in the Khandadhar iron ore mines in Sundargarh district.Allowing a writ petition filed by
Geomin Minerals and Marketing (P) Ltd, a Bhubaneswar-based company, a Division Bench of Justices B.P. Das
and B.P. Ray directed the State government to take a fresh decision on the licence giving preferential right of
consideration to the petitioner. In January 2009, the government recommended that the Centre grant Posco a
licence for prospecting on 2,500 hectares of the Khandadhar mines. The recommendation was based on Section
11(5) of the Mining and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act.
July 16th
SAINA RANKED NUMBER 2
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal is just a step away from realising her goal of becoming the world's No.1
player as she jumped one place to a career-best second in the latest international rankings. By virtue of the
consecutive title wins, Saina now has 64791.2637 points and is just behind Chinese Yihan Wang, while Xin
Wang of China is in the third place.
July 17th
SHIV SAINIKS ATTACK ZEE OFFICE
Shiv Sainiks attacked the Zee 24 hours television office in Kolhapur late night on Friday and destroyed furniture
apart from injuring the correspondents during a live telecast of a debate on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border
dispute. Mansoor Syed of the Karnataka-based Seema Rakshak Vedika was on the show along with Diwakar
Raote, Sena leader, in Mumbai. The first segment was over when about 40 Sainiks attacked the office and beat
up an associate of Mr. Mansoor Syed and attacked Deepak Shinde, bureau chief.
TV CHANNEL OFFICE ATTACKED
In a brazen attack on press freedom, a large number of people owing allegiance to the sangh parivar vandalised
the office of the TV Today Network at Videocon Towers at Jhandewalan here on Friday.The attack came a day
after the group's news channel, Headlines Today, telecast tapes of secret meetings attended by some Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh leaders and where discussions were allegedly held on carrying out ³terrorist attacks
against meetings of Muslims.'' Protesting against the telecast of the tapes, an over 2000-strong mob, which
included several women, barged into the lobby of Videocon Towers around 5 p.m. and resorted to vandalism.
HISTORIC WALL STREET REFORMS PASSED
After months of Congressional wrangling and in the face of relentless lobbying by Wall Street banks, the United
States Senate finally passed an unprecedented and game-changing package of financial reforms on
Thursday.The reform bill passed by a 60-39 margin, with three crucial Republican ³aye´ votes handing
President Barack Obama his first major policy victory since the passage of the healthcare bill earlier this year
FINAL HEARING IN JUSTICE SEN REMOVAL CASE
The final arguments in the removal proceedings against Justice Soumitra Sen, judge of the Calcutta High Court,
for his misconduct, will begin on Saturday before a three-member committee headed by Justice B. Sudershan
Reddy, Supreme Court Judge.
Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal and noted jurist Fali Nariman are the other
members of the committee, constituted by the Rajya Sabha Chairman to probe the charges against Justice Sen.
July 18th
GILLARD CALLS FOR GENERAL ELECTIONS
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Saturday announced that a general election would be held on August
21 in line with her pledge to seek a governing mandate in her own right.Ms. Gillard (48), who deposed Kevin
Rudd as Prime Minister in a political coup within the ruling Australian Labour Party on June 24, had promised to
go to the people soon so that they could decide on her continuance at the helm.Shortly after asking Governor
General Quentin Bryce to dissolve the House of Representatives for an August 21 election, Ms. Gillard, the
country's first woman Prime Minister, said on Saturday she would seek a mandate to take Australia forward on
a range of issues.
July 20th
INDIA¶S FIRST RTI LIBRARY NAMED AFTER PRAKASH KARDALEY
Pune has become the first municipal corporation in India to have a Right to Information (RTI) library.
Magsaysay award winner Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the library that is named after Prakash Kardaley, a
journalist from the city, who had a major role in the drafting of the Right to Information Act. Calling Kardaley a
guiding force in the RTI movement, Mr. Kejriwal said that it was only apt that the Pune Municipal Corporation
(PMC) had named the library after him.
July 22nd
NEPAL TO HOLD FOR PREMIER AGAIN
As the two candidates ² Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) and Nepali Congress vice-president
Ram Chandra Paudel ² who contested the prime ministerial election on Wednesday did not get a simple
majority to lead a new government, the poll would be held again on Friday.Voting was held in Parliament,
where the chairman of the largest political party, Mr. Prachanda, got 242 votes, five more than the total
number of seats. Mr. Paudel, who is the parliamentary party leader of the second largest party, secured 124
votes, 10 more than the number of his party seats.
July 23rd
MURALI¶S 800 LIGHTS UP SRILANKA¶S WIN
Muttiah Muralitharan jumped for joy, his radiant visage and big, bold eyes lighting up the arena. The moment
marked a historic occasion for Test cricket.The off-spinning wizard spun one away from the left-handed Pragyan
Ojha for Mahela Jayawardene to hold a fine low catch at slip here on Thursday.This was Muralitharan's 800th
wicket in Tests ² he is the only bowler to achieve the feat. The Sri Lankan team provided a fitting finale to the
champion cricketer. Pursuing 95 for victory, Kumar Sangakkara's men
romped home by 10 wickets for a 1-0 lead in the three-match Micromax Test series.
TILAK AWARD FOR SHEILA DIXIT
This year's Lokmanya Tilak Award will be given to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. This was announced by
president of the Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust, Deepak Tilak, here on Thursday. The award is given
every year by the trust. It consists of a gold medal, a memento, a citation and Rs.1 lakh. The ceremony will
take place on August 1 at the Tilak Smarak Mandir on the occasion of the 89th death anniversary of Lokmanya
Tilak. The award was established in 1983.
July 25th
INDIA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED FIVE SATELLITES INTO ORBIT MONDAY, ONE OF THEM A mini-spacecraft
built by students, space officials said. The main payload was a remote-sensing satellite - CARTOSAT-2B ± which
the country's space agency said would be used in infrastructure programs because of its capability to take high-
resolution images of the Earth. Other smaller devices comprised satellites from a Canadian university, Algeria
and STUDSAT, a light-weight rocket made by Indian engineering students, the Indian Space Research
Organization said. FERNANDO ALONSO WINS GERMAN GRAND PRIX.
MYANMAR'S JUNTA CHIEF SENIOR General Than Shwe departed on Sunday for a goodwill visit to India at the
invitation of the Indian president, officials confirmed. Than Shwe departed Naypyitaw International Airport for a
five-day official visit as guest of President Pratibha Patil, government officials in the military's capital said. Than
Shwe heads the State Peace and Development Council, as Myanmar's junta styles itself. He last visited India in
October 2004. India has cultivated close diplomatic ties with military-run Myanmar over the past decade to
pursue economic and security interests and counterbalance China's growing clout in the country, which sits
between the two Asian giants.
SPAIN'S ALBERTO CONTADOR secured a third Tour de France yellow jersey Sunday after the 20th and final
stage to the Champs Elysees won by Briton Mark Cavendish. Cavendish powered to the finish line alone for the
second consecutive year to claim his fifth stage success of this year's race and 15th of his career. Italian
Alessandro Petacchi, the winner of two stages, finished second on the stage to secure the green jersey for the
race's points competition while France's Anthony Charteau won the best climber's polka dot jersey. Seven-time
champion Lance Armstrong, who finished almost 40minutes adrift, managed to step up to the podium on what
was his final appearance after his RadioShack team won the teams' classification. July26 In an unprecedented
development, close to 92,000 classified documents pertaining to the war in Afghanistan have been leaked.
SPIEGEL, the New York Times and the Guardian have analyzed the raft of mostly classified documents. The war
logs expose the true scale of the Western military deployment -- and the problems beleaguering Germany's
Bundeswehr in the Hindu Kush. A total of 91,731 reports from United States military databanks relating to the
war in Afghanistan are to be made publicly available on the Internet. Never before has it been possible to
compare the reality on the battlefield in such a detailed manner with what the US Army propaganda machinery
is propagating. WikiLeaks plans to post the documents, most of which are classified, on its website.
CAMBODIA'S UN-BACKED WAR CRIMES COURT HAS FOUND KAING GUEK EAV, THE chief of the S-21 prison
where thousands were tortured and killed during the Khmer Rouge's rule, guilty of war crimes and crimes
against humanity. Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, was found guilty of murder and torture as well, and
sentenced to 35 years in prison on Monday for his role in the deaths of at least 14,000 people at S-21, also
known as Tuol Sleng prison. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year
sentence from the court, which could have imposed a maximum sentence of life in prison. Judge Nil Nonn
shaved 16 years off Duch's 35-year sentence for time already served and illegal detention in a military prison.
THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 2010 EUROPEAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS takes place in Barcelona.
IN AN ACTION-PACKED DAY, THE FORMER GUJARAT MINISTER OF STATE FOR Home, Amit Shah, presented
himself before the Central Bureau of Investigation, was promptly arrested, produced in the court, sent to 14-
day judicial custody and lodged in the Sabarmati Central Jail. Mr. Shah claimed that the charges against him
were ³fabricated and politically motivated.´ Everything from his dramatic appearance before the media to his
being jailed happened in quick succession and were completed within four hours, with the CBI refusing either to
question him or seek his remand for questioning later. As the CBI did not seek his remand, Mr. Shah, who held
the Jail portfolio till he resigned on Saturday, was sent to judicial custody by the special CBI court and by 4
p.m. was inside the jail. THE TELUGU DESAM PARTY (TDP) ON SUNDAY SAID IT WOULD LEAD THE fight for the
rights of the lower riparian States in sharing of river waters, and rejected the charge that its campaign against
Babli project was linked to by-elections in Andhra Pradesh. Ahead of a meeting of an all-party delegation from
the State with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu charged the Union
government with not safeguarding the interests of the State even after the award of the Godavari Water
Disputes Tribunal, orders of the Central Water Commission and an agreement between the Chief Ministers of
Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh of not going ahead with the construction of Babli and 13 other ³illegal
projects.''
A £500- MILLION ARMS DEAL TO SELL 60 HAWK JETS TO NEW DELHI IS reported to be among the business
contracts that British Prime Minister David Cameron hopes to clinch during his visit to India, beginning on
Tuesday. The trip has been heavily trailed in the media here with commentators contrasting Britain's waning
global influence with the growing importance of India. ³Cameron reaches out to the power and wealth of New
India as days of Raj recede,´ was the heading of a long despatch from The Observer's Delhi correspondent
while a full-page article in The Sunday Times called the visit an attempt to ³woo a new superpower´. Mr.
Cameron is leading a large and high-profile business delegation reflecting his government's decision to use
British foreign policy more aggressively to promote the country's business interests. Diplomats have been told
to put commerce at the heart of their dealings with foreign governments, especially the emerging global
economies such as India. There is also a move to fill key diplomatic posts, including at the ambassadorial level,
with businessmen. July 28, 2010
PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS WERE DISRUPTED ON TUESDAY AS A UNITED Opposition took on the
government over price rise, demanding a discussion with voting. The Lok Sabha was adjourned thrice and the
Rajya Sabha twice before both Houses wound up for the day. In the Lok Sabha, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya
Janata Dal members including their leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad trooped into the well to
protest against the recent de-regulation of petroleum prices which, they said, fuelled price rise. Earlier, when
the House assembled in the morning, members of the National Democratic Alliance, the Left parties, the SP and
the RJD were on their feet demanding adjournment of business to discuss price rise.
PRESIDENT PRATIBHA PATIL ON TUESDAY APPOINTED ELECTION Commissioner (EC) Shahabuddin Yaqoob
Quraishi as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) under Clause 2 of the Article 324 of the Constitution. A
Law Ministry notification said Mr. Quraishi will
assume office on July 30 as the incumbent, Navin Chawla, demits office on Thursday.
EXPRESSING SERIOUS CONCERN OVER REPORTS THAT A HUGE STOCK OF foodgrains is being wasted in the
absence of adequate storage, the Supreme Court has asked the Centre to consider releasing the grain to the
deserving people rather than allowing it to rot. A Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma asked
the Centre to respond to this suggestion on or before August 10 so that the court could pass appropriate
orders. ³If food is rotting, don't waste it. In a country where admittedly people are starving, it is a crime to
waste even a single grain. The official statement made by the government indicates that there is wastage of
foodgrains at many places. The government may consider constructing adequate warehouses or food storage
facilities on a long-term basis. On a short-term basis, they can also consider hiring warehouses or putting up
water-proof tents to save the grain. But all-out efforts must be made to ensure that not a single grain is
wasted.´
July 29, 2010
A PAKISTANI AIRCRAFT WITH 152 PEOPLE ON BOARD CRASHED INTO THE Margalla Hills skirting the capital in
the north on Wednesday morning; leaving no survivors and an entire hillside charred. Though hopes of
survivors were kept alive for some hours after the crash, the government announced six hours later that all on
board were dead. Efforts were afoot to get the bodies till late in the evening. The Airblue flight ED 202 was
flying in from Karachi to Islamabad and had been asked to await landing clearance at the Benazir Bhutto
International Airport. While circling through heavy rain, it flew very low over the capital before it headed off
towards the thickly wooded Margalla Hills which, according to Interior Minister Rehman Malik, is a ³no fly zone´.
Eye-witnesses claimed to have seen the aircraft fly very low over Blue Area ² the commercial quarters of the
capital ² and from all accounts, the Airbus 321 had its landing gear down. According
to a statement put out by Airblue, the flight crashed due to poor weather and thick fog. SPELLING TROUBLE
FOR MORE THAN ONE MILLION USERS OF BLACKBERRY IN India, the Centre has warned the Canadian service
provider that if it does not allow the facility to monitor email and SMS, it will have to shut down operations in
the country. The government has said the makers of BlackBerry ² Research in Motion (RIM) ² have to address
the security concerns by offering the monitoring facility. ³If they don't follow our guidelines, we will have no
option but to ask them to stop their operations in India,´ a senior official said. The Ministry of Home Affairs has
asked the Department of Telecommunications to tell the company in no uncertain terms that its email and other
data services must comply with formats that could be monitored by security and intelligence agencies. The
Ministry made it clear that RIM was addressing the security concerns of several other countries, including the
United States. The government also wants a BlackBerry server in India to track the messages, but the company
has been resisting the move. ANDHRA PRADESH HAS INFORMED TAMIL NADU THAT IT WILL START SUPPLYING
Krishna water in September. As per the 1983 agreement between the States, Andhra Pradesh is to supply
water from July. But, it had expressed its inability as canal repair works were under way. July 30, 2010
It is not just American suppliers, Russia too is now insisting that all liability for any accident that may occur in
reactors sold to India must rest solely with the Indian operator and not with Russian companies involved in
supplying components and knowhow. At the last round of commercial negotiations held in Moscow recently
between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Atomstroyexport for the supply of four
additional 1000 MWe reactors at Kudankulam (KK 3,4,5,6), the two countries failed to agree on the issue of
liability.
The Indian side wanted the contract to include a µright of recourse' which would allow NPCIL to claim damages
from Atomstroyexport in the event of an accident resulting from negligence on the part of the Russian supplier.
But Russian officials refused, citing the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) the two countries signed in 2008
to back up their stand that all liability must be channelled on to NPCIL, the operator at Kudankulam.

CLATGyan¶s Compendium
National:
1. India and Australia sign a major deal on education. The deal was signed in Melbourne during Union HRD
Minister Kapil Sibal¶s visit to the city. Minister of Education of Australia- Julia Gillard(who is currently the First
Woman PM of Australia). Also an India-Australia Education council comprising of experts from both countries is
being set up.
2. An agreement has been made between Indian and China for the setting up of a Hotline between Beijing and
New Delhi for communication to evolve between the 2 countries. Foreign Secretary of India-Nirupama Rao
3. NFSA stands for National Food Security Act. Under the NFSA the UPA government plans to give 35 kgs of
foodgrains to each family BPL(below poverty line). Tendulkar Committee- Committee which studied the number
of Indians BPL.
4. Railway Minister-Mamata Bannerjee, Flagged off the Aurobindo express from Howrah to Puducherry to
commemorate the centenary year of Aurobindo¶s travel to the French colony and establishing an ashram there.
*(Remember any train started by Mamta Bannerjee will either start or end at Howrah)
5. India¶s first Anti-submarine warfare Corvette was launched in Kolkata which has been named INS Kamorta.
6. The National Integration council was reconstituted under the PM- Manmohan Singh. The major work of this
council is to suggest measures to combat regionalism, communalism and casteism. This committee includes 14
cabinet ministers and several prominent personalities from various fields like Journalism etc.
7. Minority Affairs Minister-Salman Khurshid defined National Level monitors as the eyes and the ears of the
government. The monitors will help the government ensure the minority schemes reach the intended
beneficiaries. They will carry out ground-level assessment of the schemes.

8. National Accreditation and Assessment council or National Board of education has been formed in order to
Keep a check on universities¶ standard of Education. Read further on http://www.thehindu.com/todays-
paper/tp-national/article479576.ece
9. South African president Jacob Zuma met with the Indian PM and the two countries have signed three pacts
to step up bilateral co-operation between the 2 countries and also talked about including RSA in the BRIC
group.
10. Finally on June 7,2010 a court in Bhopal came out with the verdict on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. It convicted
all eight accused including former chairman Keshub Mahindra of Union Carbide. They were however released on
bail.*(Please refer to the CG article on the Bhopal Gas tragedy for detailed information on the issue)
11. Anti-Tank missile ³Nag´ was fired successfully from the army¶s firing range at Shamirpet near Hyderabad(
Trivia: Shamirpet is where NALSAR.)
12. A five day World Classical Tamil conference was held in Coimbatore.
13. The government has approved the establishment of a National Mission on Enhanced Energy
Efficiency(NMEEE) with the aim of building a market for energy efficient products. The mission is one of the
eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. Ajay Mathur-Director-general of Bureau of
energy Efficiency also the mission director for NMEEE.
14. India and Canada signed a civil Nuclear Co-operation agreement. The deal was made between the Indian
PM and Canadian PM Stephen Harper during the Indian PM¶s visit to Ottawa for the G-20 Summit.
15. An MoU(Memorandum of Understanding) was signed between National Small industries Corporation(NSIC)
of India and Local Enterprise Authority(LEA) of Botswana for the development of small, micro industries in both
countries.
16. India¶s Nuclear capable ballistic missile Prithvi-II was fired successfully from the Integrated Test range(ITR)
at Chandipur off the Orissa Coast.

17. Jharkhand put under Presidents Rule after Shibu Soren loses Majority in the State Assembly after BJP
withdrew Support. Governor of Jharkhand- M.O.H. Farooq
18. Justice K.G.Balakrishnan took over as the new Chairman of the NHRC(National Human rights Commission)
19. The former Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, Makani Narayana Rao, assumed charged as
Chairperson of the National Commission for Backward Classes

International Affairs:
? Third Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building measures in Asia(CICA) concluded in
Istanbul,Turkey.
? Naoto Kan is the new Japanese Premier who succeeded Mr. Yukio Hatoyama. Japanese Parliament-Diet
? Iran and Pakistan formally signed a deal which commits the Islamic republic to supply natural gas to Pakistan
from 2014. This agreement was a latest development in the multi-billion dollar gas pipeline project.
? The annual Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was held in Tashkent in Uzbekistan.
? Constitutional reforms are on the anvil in Sri Lanka. Prime Minister D.M.Jayaratna has approved a proposal for
important amendments.
? G-20 nations meet at Toronto in Canada. These nations include the major industrialised powers and emerging
economies of the world.
? A meeting of the G-8 nations followed the previous G-20 meet. This was held at Huntsville in Canada.
? Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned apparently under the pressure of the Maoists.
? China and Japan have considered setting up a Civilian Hotline for sensitive issues.
? German president Hoerst Kohler resigns
? $1 trillion mineral wealth has been discovered in Afghanistan.

Appointments:
? Chandra Shekhar Verma-Chairman of Steel Authority of India Ltd.(SAIL)
? Christina Figueres- Executive Secretary of UNFCCC
? O.P.Bhatt- Elected Chairman of the Indian Banks¶ Association(IBA). He is also the chairman of SBI.

Persons in the News:

‡ Nikki Haley becomes the first non-white person and the first woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina,
and the second Indian-American governor in the country (after Bobby Jindal)

Deaths:
‡ Manohar Malgaonkar died at the age of 97. He was a prolific writer.
‡ Famous Novelist and Nobel Literature Prize winner Jose Saramago passed away at the age of 87.
‡ Digvijay Singh- Lok Sabha Mp from Bihar passed away at the age of 55 suffering from brain haemorrhage.
‡ Robert Byrd- The longest serving member ever of the US congress passes away at the age of 92.

Awards And honours:

‡ Order of British Empire(OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II was conferred on Kartar Singh Lalvani, Founder of
pharmaceutical Major Vitabotics.
‡ 11th International Indian Film Academy), IIFA awards held in Colombo.
‡ An International Math Prize has been named after Indian Mathematician Bhaskaracharya by the International
Congress of Mathematicians(ICM)
‡ Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puruskar has been given to Sadhvi jaggi

Sports:
? Soccer world cup begins in South Africa

? French Open Winners: Mens Singles-Rafael Nadal, Womens¶ Singles- Francesca Shiavone
? Leander paes And Lukas Dlouhy were runners up for the Mens Doubles Section.
? Saina Nehwal-India¶s Ace Badminton Player and Ranked 6th in the world clinches the Singapore and
Indonesia Open titles.
? Lewis Hamilton wins Canadian grand Prix
? Renjith Maheshwari won India a gold medal in the triple Jump competition at the Asian Grand Prix mens triple
Jump

Other important News:

1. India has recently been ranked among worst countries of the world in ? Human Trafficking India has been
ranked as a Tier II watch List country²only one level better than worst-performing Tier III countries such as
Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe in the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) compiled by United States
Department.

2. Recently India had differences with Pakistan over the Nimoo Bazgoo Project India-Pakistan resolved their
differences over three projects²Uri on Jhelum, Chutak on Indus and Baglihar dam on Chenab²but on the
Nimoo Bazgo Project (45 Megawatt) in Leh, Pakistan raised objection on certain counts in recently held four day
meeting of the Permanent Indus Water Commission.

3. Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, the global hydraulics business of Wipro, has signed an agreement with
Wujin Hi-tech Industrial Zone in Changzhou, China to set up a facility for the manufacture of high-pressure
precision hydraulic cylinders and tipping systems.

4. India and Pakistan have resolved at the meeting of the Permanent Indus Water Commission here the issue of
water flows in the Chenab

river being affected during the initial filling of the Baglihar dam in 2008. Pakistan has decided not to raise the
matter further.

5. Jharkhand on Tuesday came under Central rule with President Pratibha Patil accepting a recommendation of
the Union Cabinet after the Congress and the BJP gave up efforts to form an alternative government following
the resignation of Chief Minister Shibu Soren.

6. Asserting that the UPA government was committed to cleaning up the Ganga, Prime Minister Manmohan
singh said no untreated waste and industrial effluents would flow into the river by 2020. Under ³Mission Clean
Ganga´, it would be ensured that by 2020 no untreated municipal sewage and industrial effluents flow into the
ganga.

7. The eighth five yearly review conference of the Nuclear Non Proliferation treaty(NPT) was held in New York.

8. The light commercial vehicle (LCV) joint venture between Ashok Leyland of the Hinduja Group and Nissan of
Japan will roll out its first product as scheduled in mid-2011.

9. Law graduates passing out from this year and intending to take up legal practice will have to pass an all-
India Bar examination to be conducted by the Bar Council of India

10. The Force India Formula One team has initiated legal action in Britain against the Lotus team, Lotus
technical head Michael Gascoyne and the Aerolab Windtunnel Company for an alleged breach of intellectual
property.

11. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and 12 others were elected unopposed to the Legislative Council on
Thursday. Only 13 candidates ² eight of the BSP, three of the SP and one each of the BJP and the Congress ²
had filed papers for as many seats.

12. When the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced that the monsoon had set in over Kerala on
May 31, it also noted the development of a depression in the Arabian Sea. By next day, the storm had
intensified into a cyclone and been given a name. On June 2, cyclone Phet grew ominously, becoming a µvery
severe cyclonic storm' and even threatening to turn into a µsuper cyclone,' the most powerful sort of storm.

13. Accepting the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, McCartney used the occasion to applaud
President Barack Obama. ³Getting this prize would be good enough,´ said McCartney. ³But getting it from this
President ...´ He smiled.
14. World's biggest steel producer Arcelor Mittal on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with the
Karnataka Government to establish a 6-million tonne integrated steel plant in Bellary district.

15. Fifteen persons were injured in clashes between the police and stone-throwing youths who were protesting
against an alleged blasphemous depiction of the holy city of Madina on some products, which disrupted life in
parts of this city and Baramulla in north Kashmir on Saturday.

16. Vice-President Hamid Ansari will sign several agreements during his six-day tour of the Czech Republic and
Croatia, beginning Sunday. The visit to Croatia would be the first by a VVIP from India.

17. The government has decided to make Adviser to the Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and
Innovation Sam Pitroda the head of the ³India Smart Grid Task Force.´ The task force was set up to evolve a
road map for development and deployment of smart and intelligent grid technologies with the aim of making
India a world leader in this sphere. The task forcewill serve as a focal point for activities related to the smart
grid technology.

18. An Abu Dhabi tower has been recognised as the ³furthest-leaning man-made tower´ in the world by
Guinness World Records, local newspapers reported on Sunday. The 160-metre Capital Gate tower, developed
by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company, leans at 18 degrees ² over four times the angle of Italy's
famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.

19. The executive organising committee of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) has decided to
name a one-time international prize of Rs.10 lakh for popularising mathematics afterLeelavati, the immortal
mathematical treatise by the Indian mathematician, Bhaskaracharya.

20. Sri Lankan Parliament on Tuesday extended the Emergency Regulations by another month even as Prime
Minister D.M. Jayaratne warned of a possibility of the LTTE re-grouping in the northern and eastern provinces.
Last month the emergency laws were scaled down by the government withdrawing some of the powers of the
military and the police.

21. Becoming the world's fifth largest mobile operator, Sunil Mittal led Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced that
it had completed the acquisition of Zain Telecom's Africa operations for $10.7 billion.

22. Yahoo has signed David Beckham as its first ³global sports ambassador´ to front an international ad
campaign ahead of the World Cup and provide exclusive content including blogs.

23. A novelist, regarded as a ³traitor´ by the American right for her criticism of the country's foreign policy and
her outspoken comments after the 9/11 attacks, is the surprise winner of this year's Orange Prize for fiction,
Britain's highly-regarded literary honour for women writers . Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna, the story of an
American writer who becomes a victim of anti-communist McCarthyist witch-hunt, won the £30,000 prize
beating six contenders including Hilary Mantel's acclaimed Booker prize-winner Wolf Hall.

24. The five-member Empowered Committee headed by the former Chief Justice of India, Justice A.S. Anand, to
go into the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam meets in New Delhi for the first time after it was constituted
pursuant to the orders of the Supreme Court on February 18.

25. Indian nationals stranded in the cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad in southern Kyrgyzstan due to the civil
disturbances were safely evacuated to Bishkek Refer to the link for more info:
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/all-105-indians-evacuated-from-kyrgyzstan-cities-31753

26. The recent Air India Express crash in Mangalore has hastened a slew of measures to improve the safety and
efficiency of Air India flights bound for Gulf destinations. Arvind Jadhav, visiting Chairman and Managing
Director (CMD) of the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), said a fully equipped ground
engineering set-up was now being permanently established in the United Arab Emirates to ensure timely and
efficient maintenance of aircraft.

27. After waiting 25 years for a closure, families of the victims of the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history,
the bombing of Air India 182, were on Thursday told by a Commission of Inquiry that the Canadian government
was responsible for failing to act upon credible information indicating that the attack was imminent. Canadian
Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday assured family members of victims of the 1984 Air India Kanishka
bombing that the government would respond ³positively´ to the recommendations made by an inquiry
committee and said compensation would be offered to all. To Read more on the Kanishka Incident ?
http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/punjab/backgrounder/Kanishka.htm

28. Poland prepared Saturday for a snap election forced by the air-crash death of President Lech Kaczynski,
with his identical twin bidding to replace him but trailing the ruling liberals' candidate.

29. Iran executed Abdolmalek Rigi, leader of the Pakistan-based Jundallah group, which has taken responsibility
for several violent attacks inside Iran.
30. United States President Barack Obama on Wednesday removed General Stanley McChrystal as the top
NATO commander in Afghanistan over a magazine article that portrayed him as being

dismissive of senior U.S. officials for their concerns about the ongoing war effort.

31. Indian science historian Dhruv Raina will take over the professorship for the newly created Heinrich Zimmer
Chair for Indian Philosophy and Intellectual History at Heidelberg University on Monday next. The Chair has
been awarded by the ICCR and the Cluster of Excellence µAsia and Europe in a Global Context' as well as the
Heildelberg University's South Asia Institute.

32. Guinea's historic election will not be perfect, analysts say, but a strong turnout is expected from among
four million voters keen to put an end to half a century of dictatorship rule. The West African country is holding
in its first free election since independence in 1958. Guinea's ³father of independence´ turned President-for-life
Ahmed Sekou Toure ruled repressively for 26 years and his sudden death in 1984 was quickly followed by a
coup which led to 24 years of military rule by General Lansana Conte.

33. Many Kyrgyz voters turned out for a national referendum on a new Constitution despite a recent flare-up of
ethnic violence in the south. If approved, the Constitution would transform Kyrgyzstan from a presidential to a
parliamentary republic, with main powers shifted from a nationally elected President to a Prime Minister chosen
by Parliament. This would make Kyrgyzstan the first parliamentary democracy in former Soviet Central Asia.
Parliamentary elections are planned in Kyrgyzstan in October.

34. Bangladesh experienced the first anti-government countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal enforced by the main
opposition BNP partially affecting major cities including Dhaka. The former Premier, Khaleda Zia, called the
shutdown to protest against the government's failure to resolve

gas, electricity and water crises. It also demanded an end to tender manipulation, extortion and politicisation of
the administration and judiciary. Ms. Khaleda Zia also demanded scrapping of all treaties signed with India and
resignation of the Election Commission.

35. Reliance Industries said that it had made a seventh oil discovery in the Gujarat block in the Cambay Basin
and had named the new discovery µDhirubhai-50'

36. Twenty-six personnel of the 39 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force were killed in a Maoist ambush
in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district

37. Ending the many months of uncertainty surrounding the leadership of the National Institute of Mental
Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), P. Satishchandra, professor, Department of Neurology, was appointed
the premier institute's director.

38. Induction of the two vessels into the Navy showed India's self-reliance and that its quality in shipbuilding
was on a par with the world's best, he said. With coastal security attaining new dimensions, the two ships with
speed and capability would meet the requirements of protecting the shores.

THE CLATGYAN GK COMPENDIUM

MAY 2010
International Current Affairs
‡ G-15 summit was held at Tehran on 16-17 May. Sri Lanka is the new chairman of the G-15 for the next 2
years. Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, India,Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Jamaica,
Kenya,Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Venezuela and Zimbabwe are member of G-15 and
constitute one third of the world¶s population.
‡ Kamla Persad-B-Bissessar, a lady of Indian origin has been elected as the first woman president of Trinidad
and Tobago.
‡ Bangladesh handed over Ranjan Daimary of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland to India. The group
was responsible for serial bombing in Assam in 2008.
‡ National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Myannmar¶s democracy leader Aung San Sui Kyi was abolished
after deadline to re-register as a political party was over.
‡ Pakistan successfully test fired two short range ballistic missiles, Shaheen I( range 650 Km) and Ghazani
(range 290 Km) capable of carrying nuclear war heads and striking Indian cities.
‡ Hung House in Britain after 36 years :On May 7, 2010, Britain woke up to a hung Parliament, an election
outcome that this country last experienced in 1974 when the then Prime Minister Edward Heath tried and failed
to persuade the Liberal Party to join him in a coalition.The Conservatives under David Cameron( prime
minister) emerged as the single largest party with 306 seats in the 650-member House of Commons, while
Labour bagged 258 and Lib Dems 57. Liberal democrat Nick Clegg is the deputy prime minister.
‡ Now Spain struggles Spain¶s socialist government is seeing its political power erode as it struggles to chart a
path out of deep financial trouble, failing so far to satisfy conflicting demands to cut its budget and stimulate
job creation. Europe¶s top job creator only two years ago, Spain now has the highest unemployment rate²just
over 20 per cent²of the

16 nations that share the Euro currency. The resulting austerity package, nicknamed the ³scissors action´ by
Spanish media. PM ± Zose Zapatero.
‡ Russia celebrated the 65th anniversary of the WW II by a parade in Moscow¶s Red square. US, French and
Polish troops also took part. It was attended by Angela merkel ( german chancellor), shimon perez ( Israeli
President) and Chinese president Hu jintao.
‡ Tension between Koreas escalates : On May 24, 2010, South Korea announced steps to tighten the vice on
the North¶s already stumbling economy in punishment for sinking one of its navy ship Cheonan Corvette killing
46 South Korean sailors. On 25th North korea announced severing of sl ties with South Korea.
‡ Foreign ministers of the Six members of the Shanghai Member Cooperation (SCO) met in Tashkent,
Uzbekistan on May 22, 2010. Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are the present
members.
‡ Wall Street valued Apple at $222.12 billion and Microsoft at $219.18 billion. The only American company
valued higher is Exxon Mobil, with a market capitalisation of $278.64 billion.
‡ Thai Government Under Abhisit Vejjajiva declared on 19th may to have suppressed the Red Shirt protestors
who were protesting for dissolution of the House of representatives and snap polls.

National Current Affairs

‡ Naxalites killed 47 people in a landmine blast between Dantewada and Sukma in Chattisgarh.
‡ Test fire of nuclear capable Agni-II missile was successfully carried out from Wheeler Island off the coast of
Orissa on 17th May. Agni II has a range of 2000Km. It is 20m long two stage solid propelled ballistic missile. It
was developed by Advanced System Laboratories alongwith DRDO & Bharat Dynamics Ltd.
‡ Supreme Court in a recent judgement upheld a rule that allows the adjustment of reserved category
candidate SC/ST/OBC against their quota seats even if they manage to qualify an examination for govt services
on merit.
‡ National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is the monitoring authority for the Right to
Education Act which became effective from April 1, 2010.

‡ NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL GETS ACTIVE AGAIN

o The National Advisory Council (NAC), led by Sonia Gandhi, will get down to business this week itself with the
Congress leadership finalising a list of 10 members. While four members of the previous NAC²Aruna Roy, Jean
Dreze, NC Saxena and AK Shiva Kumar²will be back in the panel¶s new avatar, there are six additions. These
include MS Swaminathan, V Krishnamurthy, Narendra Jadhav, Mirai Chatterjee, Farah Naqvi and Harsh Mander.
‡ Pakistan raises objections over Kishenganga power project in Jammu and Kashmir, which it alleges violates
the 1960 Indus Water Treaty as water would be diverted. Pakistan is also objecting to construction of two other
hydel power projects ²Uri-II ( 240 MW built on Jhelum in Kashmir valley) and Chutak ( 40 Mw, Laddakh on
Suru river)²in Jammu and Kashmir. Under the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan has exclusive right over three of
the common rivers ² Indus, Jhelum and Chenab ² while India has exclusive right over Sutlej, Ravi and Beas.
‡ Census Commissioner of India C. Chandramouli . He is the news because he is reportedly trying to make the
Census data available much sooner than what it used to be earlier. The results of the 1991 census were
available eight years after the survey while the release of the 2001 census data began only in 2006. He is
reportedly trying to make a whole range of decision support system tools available along with the data this
time.
‡ Nuclear-capable Agni-II ballistic missile, with a strike range of 2000 kms, was on May 17, 2010 successfully
test-Nuclear-capable Agni-II ballistic missile takes off from Wheelers Island, in the Bay of Bengal on May 17,
2010 fired during a user trial by the strategic forces from the Wheelers Island off the Orissa coast.
‡ GOI banned about 100 organisations as terrorist organisations. These outfits include all the big Islamic terror
outfits like Jemaah Islamiya (Bali bombing notoriety) of Indonesia, Islamic Jihad Group of Libya, the Moroccan
Islamic Combatant Group, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, International Islamic Relief Organization of Philippines
and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan among others.
‡ Former Vice-President of India and three-time Chief Minister of Rajasthan in the past, Bhairon Singh
Shekhawat passed away at Jaipur on May 15, 2010.

‡ In a major relief for legitimate travellers and visa seekers, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
on May 13, 2010 approved modernisation and upgradation of immigration services as one of the Mission Mode
Projects (MMP) to be undertaken by the Home Ministry under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP). The
project is titled Immigration, Visa and Foreigners Registration and Tracking (IVFRT).
‡ In a bid to give a boost to its holding of oil and gas assets abroad, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh
Limited (OVL), alongwith its partners, entered into an agreement with the Venezuela government on May 13,
2010 to develop a $ 20-billion oil project in that country.
‡ Touching upon several significant areas in the working of Centre-State relations, the Justice Madan Mohan
Punchhi report submitted recently to the government has made over 200 recommendations. These include
radical ones like amending Articles 355 and 356, to enable the Centre to bring trouble-torn areas under its rule
for a limited period, creation of an overriding structure to maintain internal security along the lines of the US
Homeland Security department, giving more teeth to the National Integration Council, and amending the
COMMUNAL VIOLENCE BILL to allow deployment of Central forces without the State¶s consent for a short
period. Other committees on Centre- State Relationship ± Setalvad Committee, Raja Mannar Committee,
Sarkaria Committee.
‡ Israni Committee which was appointed on the orders of the Rajasthan High Court to look into the demands of
Gujjars for reservation in jobs has recommended that Gujjars should be accorded special backward class status
and thus be provided reservation in jobs. It may be noted here that the committee is headed by former High
Court Judge Justice I. S. Israni.
‡ Ratan Kumar Sinha took over as Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay, on May
19, 2010 from Srikumar Banerjee, also Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.
‡ India-born Scot John Shepherd-Barron, the man who invented the Automated Teller machine (ATM) passed
away in Scotland on May 15, 2010. He was 84.

‡ Baroness Sayeeda Hussain Warsi created history by becoming the first Muslim woman to be part of the British
Cabinet, when she was announced the Chairman of the Conservative Party a few days earlier.
‡ The 63rd Cannes Film Festival which began on May12, 2010 concluded on 23, 2010 in Cannes, France. (
Check the Awards list).

Sports Current Affairs [May 2010]

‡ England won 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating Australia. The tournament was held at
South Africa. Kevin Pieterson of England has been declared as Player of the Tournament.
‡ Australia won 2010 Women¶s World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating New Zealand.
‡ India and South Korea were declared joint winner of 2010 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, after suspension of
the final match due to heavy rains.India¶s Sardar Singh has been declared as Best Player of the Tournament.
Australia won the Bronze medal. The tournament was held at Ipoh (Malaysia). India had won the tournament
earlier in 1985, 1991, 1995 & 2009.
‡ China won Thomas Cup ( Men¶s Badminton) defeating Indonesia.
‡ In the World Youth Boxing Championship, held at Baku, Azerbaijan, India won 1 Gold & 1 Silver. Gold medal
was won by Vikas Krishan and Silver medal was won by Shiva Thapa.
‡ India won bronze medal in the 2nd Asian Paragliding Championship held at Nishiewa, Japan.
‡ World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand retained his title after defeating Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the
World Chess Championship 2010.

Persons in News [May 2010]

‡ Former Vice President of India, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat died.
‡ Rima Fakih was crowned Miss USA 2010. She became the first ever muslim American Miss USA. She is of
Lebanese muslim descent.

‡ Singer Christina Aguilera was named Ambassador against hunger by the United Nations World Food
Programme.
‡ Rushanara Ali became first person of Bangladesh origin to be elected to the British Parliament.
‡ David Cameron elected Prime Minister of Britain. Nick Clegg became the Dy Prime Minister. Britain gets first
coalition govt since World War-II. It is between Conservative and Liberal Democrats.
‡ Justice S H Kapadia sworn as new Chief Justice of India.
‡ Hari S Bhartia elected as President of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for 2010-11.
‡ Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail unassisted around the world in a yatch.

Awards Current Affairs 2010 [May 2010]

‡ Vandana Shiva has been awarded Sydney Peace Prize 2010 for her work in the field of social justice.

Misc Issues [May 2010]

‡ International Mosaics Festival was held in Tunisia.
‡ Aman ki Asha- the name of the Indo Pak Business Meet held at New delhi.
‡ International Museum Day- 18 May.
‡ ¶Yours Sincerely¶ written by Natwar Singh.
‡ ¶The Duel¶ written by Tariq Ali.
‡ ¶The Promise :President Obama, Year One¶ written by Jonathan Alter.

DETAILED NEWS
29.05.2010
Politics & the Nation

‡ Maoists strike again, 71 killed in train crash

o Maoists once again unleashed their bloody campaign against innocent civilians, derailing a passenger train in
West Bengal early on Friday that killed at least 71 people and injured 150. They struck even as the hapless
passengers slept, stealthily ensuring that the Howrah-Kurla Gyaneshwari Express passed over an undone track.
The ferocity of the impact, being blamed on missing fish-plates, ensured not only the derailment of 13 coaches
but also a subsequent collision with a goods train, thus maximising casualty.
o Though attacks on trains are not new for the Maoists, the central motive so far was to garner high publicity
and cause large-scale public inconvenience than to inflict casualty. The attack appears to be part of a new lethal
strategy of the Maoists to hit at infrastructure and connectivity, even at the cost of civilian lives. They did
succeed to an extent on Friday: there is talk of suspending night train services through the Maoist-infested
areas, spread over five states, and ensuring stricter compliance of the speed limits prescribed for trains
negotiating these stretches.
o The latest attack is also timed in the middle of the ongoing tactical counteroffensive launched by the Maoists
on April 15, 2010. The Naxalites undertake this tactical counter-offensive over three months every year,
basically to assert their nuisance value and dominance ahead of the lull that sets in during the monsoon.
Ironically, most of the high-casualty Naxalites attacks have come during this offensive, including the recent
killing of 35 civilians and SPOs in an attack on a passenger bus in Dantewada.

Politics & the Nation

27.05.2010
Politics & the Nation
‡ Ever wondered about the difference between 'rule' and 'regulation'?
o Take a look at this convincing explanation given by Alok Sheel:
o Regulation comprises a set of rules usually applicable to providers of specific services. Unlike laws and
rules,regulations are applicable only to players

engaged in particular activities, such as banking, insurance or motor driving. A rule or law, on the other
hand,such as abjuring violence,is applicable to everybody at all times. Regulation also frequently has the effect
of imposing additional compliance costs on players, although they may not always be easy to measure because
it also has the effect of mitigating negative externalities, and hence involves complex cost-benefit analysis.
Costs incurred through penalties imposed for non-compliance are easily quantifiable.
‡ All that we need to know about NCLT
o This is an excellent ET in the Classroom column that explains the litigation about formation of National
Company Law Tribunal and how the Supreme Court has viewed the whole issue. Well worth a read.

Finance & Economy

‡ Ambani brothers patch up
o Take a look at this graphic which gives some cryptic details of the agreement reportedly reached between the
brothers.

International
26.05.2010
Politics & the Nation
‡ Pak Supreme Court lets off Hafiz Sayeed, the Mumbai 26/11 plotter
o Pakistan¶s Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed appeals challenging Saeed¶s release from house arrest. The
Lashkar founder, who is accused by India of masterminding the Mumbai terror attacks, was released by the
Lahore High Court on the grounds that there was not enough evidence against the Lashkar founder. Now,
Pakistan¶s Supreme Court has upheld the high court order.
o India has expressed disappointment with the Pakistan Supreme Court verdict allowing Lashkar founder Hafiz
Saeed to remain a free man and hoped that Pakistan would take meaningful action to address Indian concerns.

o The development on the Saeed front comes ahead of the latest dialogue initiative that is aimed at reducing
the trust deficit between the two countries. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said on Monday that trust
deficit remains the biggest problem between India and Pakistan and that the two countries could move forward
towards substantive negotiations only after addressing this issue.
o But Saeed continues to be an area of disagreement between India and Pakistan. Saeed was put under house
arrest in December 2008 after the Mumbai attacks. Subsequently the UN Security Council declared the JuD a
front for the LeT. In spite of the UNSC order, Saeed was able to challenge his incarceration successfully. A
three-judge bench of the High Court ruled on June 2 last year that the Punjab and federal governments had
failed to provide sufficient evidence to keep him in custody. Due to the international pressure an appeal was
filed in the Supreme Court last year.
‡ Former Haryana DGP gets 18 month jail term
o Former Haryana DGP S P S Rathore was arrested for the molestation of Ruchika Girhotra after a sessions
court in Chandigarh extended his prison term from six to 18 months on Tuesday.
o This is the first time that Mr Rathore has been sent to jail for the molestation of the teenager in August 1990.
Though a CBI special court had sentenced him to six months of rigorous imprisonment on 21 December 2009,
Mr Rathore had appealed against the decision. The 14-year old he molested had committed suicide three years
after the incident.
o Additional district and sessions judge Gurbir Singh dismissed the 68-year-old Rathore¶s appeal and enhanced
his prison term. He also directed that Mr Rathore should be taken to the local Burail jail immediately.
o The late Ruchika¶s father S C Girhotra said that the family was ³satisfied as justice has been delivered´ but
added that the family would continue the battle against Mr Rathore until he is charged with abatement to
Ruchika¶s suicide.

25.05.2010
Politics & the Nation
‡ Afzal Guru case
o Afzal Guru was awarded death sentence by a Delhi court on December 18, 2002, after being convicted on
counts of conspiracy to attack Parliament on December 13, 2001, waging war against the country and murder.
o The death sentence was upheld by the Delhi High Court on October 29, 2003 and his appeal rejected by the
Supreme Court two years later on August 4, 2005.
o A sessions court also fixed the date of his hanging on October 20, 2006 in Tihar jail. Following this, Afzal filed
a mercy petition with the President.
o Questions have been raised as to whether Guru was actually treated with ³due process´ and ³proper legal
representation´.
o The SC, while upholding the death penalty went on to say that, while there seems to be little evidence as to a
fair process and treatment towards the appellant, the collective conscience of the public demanded that he be
hanged.

International
‡ Look at how much the oil spill in Gulf of Mexico is costing BP (British Petroleum)
o The total cost to BP of the disaster to date has reached about $760 million, or $22 million a day, compared
with an initial estimate of $6 million a day last month.
o The longer it takes, more costs are going to be incurred. The final bill, which may not be known for more than
six months and depends on litigation, could be as much as $10 billion.
o About £29 billion ($42 billion) has been wiped off the company¶s market value.
o Hope all of you have by now been acquainted with the disaster in Gulf of Mexico.

SPORT
‡ FIFA World Cup related stuff
o The official mascot: a stuffed leopard with spiked green hair.
o The official World Cup anthem: ³Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),´ was written by the Colombian pop star
Shakira.
o The official restaurant: McDonald¶s.

Cinema
‡ Trivia about Indian cinema
o The past few months have seen many µfirsts¶ for Indian films.
o Aamir Khan¶s Peepli Live became the first Indian film to compete in the World Dramatic section of the
Sundance Film Festival; Udaan became the first Hindi film in 16 years to compete in the Official Selection at the
Cannes Film Festival; and, for the first time an Indian film, 3 Idiots, grossed close to $7 million at the US box
office.
‡ Results from Cannes film festival
o A surreal movie from Thailand about the reveries of a dying man was the surprise victor of the Palme d¶Or at
the Cannes film festival.
o As Oscar winners Javier Bardem and Juliette Binoche took the main acting honours on Sunday, little-known
arthouse director Apichatpong Weerasethakul¶s ³Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives´ won the best
film award.
o The director has been an outspoken critic of government censorship rules but his film steered cleared of
politics, telling the tale of a man suffering from acute kidney failure who decides to spend his last days in the
jungle where he is met by the spirits of the dead. Among the surprises, his son appears as a giant monkey and
an old-world princess has watery sex with a talking catfish.
o ³Uncle Boonmee´ is only the sixth Asian offering to win the top prize at Cannes in seven decades of the
festival, and the first for more than 10 years.
o While the best movie award went to Asia, the acting awards went to some of Europe¶s biggest stars. Bardem,
who plays a good-hearted terminally-ill hustler in ³Biutiful´ by Mexico¶s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, shared the
best actor award with Italy¶s Elio Germano, star of gritty social drama ³Our Life´.

Binoche was named best actress for her role as an unhappy art dealer in ³Certified Copy´ by Iran¶s Abbas
Kiarostami.
o South Korean director Lee Chang-Dong¶s ³Poetry´ was named best screenplay while Frenchman Mathieu
Amalric won the best director prize for ³On Tour´, about a troupe of buxom American stripteasers touring
French seaside towns.

24.05.2010
Politics & the Nation
‡ Bharat Nirman Kendras
o The government is planning to set up a huge Public Information Infrastructure. These kendras are what
constitute the core of the PII. A Bharat Nirman Kendra ² the computer centre at the heart of the exercise ²
that will act as the physical access point for exchange of information, will be set up in each of the country's
2,50,000 village panchayats.
o The project is expected to change the way government programmes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), Right to Education (RTE), and others schemes are
implemented on the ground.
o The government is planning Wi Max or wireless broadband connections in each panchayat in the first phase of
the exercise which may take up to six months and cost Rs 3,000 core. In the second phase, it will take fibre
lines to each village over 18 months at the cost of Rs 9,000 crore.
o The project is being executed under the guidance of Sam Pitroda, advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
on infrastructure, innovation and information.
o The government is reportedly considering using the corpus of Rs. 18,000 crore that is available in the USO
fund (Universal Service Obligation) for this exercise.

Finance & Economy

‡ Mukesh and Anil patch up
o The family dispute that drew the attention of the whole of the country finally seems to be headed for some
kind of solution.
o Mukesh and Anil Ambani took a giant step towards ending their bitter feud by agreeing to scrap a set of
agreements that had stirred up trouble between them. The two billionaire brothers said in a joint statement on
Sunday afternoon that they had decided to end agreements preventing them from investing in industries where
the other was present and pledged to work together in an atmosphere of harmony.
o The two sides also said they would soon negotiate a new gas supply agreement in keeping with a May 7 ruling
by the Supreme Court.

21.05.2010
Finance & Economy
‡ ATM inventor dead
o John Shepherd-Barron, the man who invented the world's first ATM in Enfield, London, in 1967, died on
Saturday.
o He had come up with the idea after wondering why banks couldn¶t operate a system like a chocolate-vending
machine.
o The first product was installed at Barclays Enfield branch in London June 27, 1967.
‡ On India's health insurance market
o India¶s insurance market is under-penetrated, with less than 15% of the population having a health cover in
some form or other.
‡ Maharatnas of India
o State-owned blue chip companies Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), SAIL, NTPC and Indian Oil Corp (IOC) have
been declared µmaharatnas¶, a status that gives them enormous financial powers and greater operational
autonomy.
o The new status empowers their boards make investments up to Rs 5,000 crore without the government¶s
approval. So far, these companies were

classified as `navratnas¶ with powers to take investment decision up to Rs 1,000 crore without the
government¶s approval.
o The decision to name the top performing PSUs as Maharatnas was taken at the meeting of the Cabinet,
presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in December last year. But a formal note was issued on
Wednesday. The exercise of Maharatna powers would be subject to the same conditions and guidelines as laid
down by the government in respect of navratnas from time to time.

20.05.2010
Politics & the Nation
‡ More on the issue of using 'development' to counter Maoist threat
o Take a look at this op-ed penned by Mani Shankar Aiyar. He explains very clearly how PESA could clearly deal
a severe blow to Maoist influence in tribal areas. An interesting read.

18.05.2010
Politics & the Nation
‡ Dantewada-II: Reds blow up 47 in bus blast
o In a shocking reminder to the governments, both at the Centre and in Chhattisgarh, about the uphill task
they face in their efforts to restore order in the Naxalite-infested areas in the state, at least 47 people,
including 32 civilians and 15 special police officers (SPOs) and local policemen, were killed and several others
injured when the private bus in which they were travelling blew up under the impact of a landmine midway
between Dantewada and Sukma late Monday afternoon.
o They had, on April 6, killed 76 CRPF personnel in the Mukrana forests of Dantewada district, inviting popular
outrage and all-round condemnation.
o Some of the major Naxal attacks in the last two years:

‡ April 6, 2010: 76 security personnel, of whom 75 belonged to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF),
slaughtered by Maoists in the Chintalnar forested hamlet of Dantewada district.
‡ April 4, 2010: Maoists detonate powerful landmine and blow up police bus in Koraput district, Orissa, killing
around 10 Special Operations Group personnel and injuring 16.
‡ March 23, 2010: Maoists blast a railway track in Bihar¶s Gaya district, causing derailment of the
Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express. On the same day, a landmine attack in Orissa leaves an empty
freight train derailed and hitting railway services on the Howrah-Mumbai route.
‡ February 15, 2010: Around 100 Maoists storm a police camp in Silda, West Bengal, killing 24 policemen and
looting arms.
‡ October 8, 2009: 17 policemen were killed in an ambush by Maoists at Laheri police station in Gadchiroli
district of Maharashtra.
‡ July 27, 2009: Six CRPF men killed in a landmine blast by the ultras at Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh.
‡ July 12, 2009: Three separate attacks in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh claim the lives of 30 security
personnel.
‡ June 23, 2009: A group of motorcycle-borne armed Maoists open fire on Lakhisarai district court premises in
Bihar to free four of their men.
‡ June 10, 2009: Nine security personnel, including CRPF troopers, ambushed by Maoists during a routine
patrol in Saranda jungles in Jharkhand.
‡ May 22, 2009: Maoists kill 16 policemen in the jungles of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra.
‡ April 13, 2009: Around 10 policemen are killed in eastern Orissa¶s Koraput district when Maoists attack a
state-run bauxite mine.
‡ A decent editorial comment in this regard:
o The home minister, the prime minister, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Congress leaders all are on
record, on the need to have a two-pronged strategy to combat Maoist extremism: policing and development.
Development is not just a question of better delivery of government schemes; rather, it begins with political
mobilisation of the people to make them the subjects, rather than the objects of development. Once they have
agency, a whole lot of problems related

to leakages, targeting, etc, would disappear. Once people are politically mobilised, and have a stake in
development, eliminating the Maoist security threat would become relatively easy.

Personality
‡ Ajit Tyagi
o He is the director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Finance & Economy

‡ There is no case for tolerating the bankrupt politics that generates shortages and stampedes. Comment.
o Made in the context of the stampede in New Delhi railway station that killed two people and left many injured,
this is a truism in our country.
o The stampede is the result of economics of shortage being at work. The supply of train seats is grossly
inadequate to meet the demand. In a functional market, the price of whatever is in shortage would rise, leading
to a fall in demand and a rise in the supply. However, in the case of trains, as with piped water supply and
urban public transport, the market does not function. To say public policy intervenes to prevent the market
working in these cases is to give bankrupt politics a good name. When the price of a good is kept repressed, it
creates queues for the good in short supply, but also makes it affordable for a section of the population that
would have been excluded by a price that cleared the market. This concern for the poor has been touted by our
politicians as the reason for building a shortage economy for a variety of public services. This is the core
problem.
‡ What is the core issue in climate change negotiations?
o Equitable sharing of carbon space. To put it in one sentence.