April 2013

Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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Table of Contents
Preface .......................................................................................................................................... 18 Pick of the Month ......................................................................................................................... 19 Prime Minister of India Visited Germany ............................................................................. 19 Number of Judges in next 5 years to be Doubled................................................................. 21 IMF slashed Growth Rate of India to 5.7% 2013 .................................................................. 21 PMEAC Presented Economic Review 2012-13...................................................................... 22 High Seas Conference Concluded with Paris Appeal ............................................................ 23 Archeologists Discovered Gate to Hell from Ruins in Turkey ............................................... 24 Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Died ...................................................... 25 Chris Gayle: The Fastest Century Maker in Cricket History .................................................. 27 International ................................................................................................................................. 28 President of India Visited Mauritius ..................................................................................... 28 India signed Enhanced Air Services Agreement with Singapore .......................................... 29 China, Russia & Pakistan held Talk on Afghanistan Situation ............................................... 29 Treaty on Legal & Judicial Cooperation Signed With Azerbaijan.......................................... 30 Connecticut signed Gun Control Legislation ......................................................................... 31 India and Singapore Signed MoU on Air Services ................................................................. 31 UN ordered US to close Guantanamo Prison Camp ............................................................. 31 VoA for Pakistan initiated at Attari/Wagah Check-Post ....................................................... 32 Talks on Irans Nuclear Programme Ended without Agreement .......................................... 33 India Strengthened Ties in Steel and Mining with Tanzania ................................................ 33 Sheikh Hasina Rejected New Anti-Blasphemy Law Demands .............................................. 33 China announced Sightseeing Cruises to Paracel Islands ..................................................... 34 Pakistan Supreme Court: Musharraf cannot Leave Country ................................................ 35 Wikileaks published 1.7 Million US Diplomatic Records ...................................................... 35 www.jagranjosh.com
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Syria rejected UN Proposal on Chemical Weapon Use......................................................... 36 World's Largest Private Yacht named Azzam Launched ....................................................... 36 Iran began Production at Uranium Mines & Yellow Cake Plant ........................................... 37 USA Government approved Military Assistance to Somalia ................................................ 37 Elections in Malaysia scheduled to be held on 5 May 2013 ................................................. 37 India & Russia signed Regulation of Co-operation Agreement ............................................ 38 India-Mongolia Joint Committee on Cooperation Held ....................................................... 38 India, Bangladesh discussed on Mega-Film on Liberation War ............................................ 39 WBs Plan for Poverty Alleviation in Indian States ............................................................... 40 India, Mauritius Signed a MoU on Electoral Cooperation .................................................... 40 Amended Marriage Equality Bill 2013 Passed in Uruguay ................................................... 41 Indian Parliamentary delegation Visited Sri Lanka ............................................................... 41 India-China Counter-Terrorism Dialogue on Afghanistan .................................................... 41 IMF recognized Somalias New Government after 22-Year ................................................. 42 25th Joint Meeting of UNWTO Commissions Inaugurated .................................................. 42 India and Malta signed the New DTAA at Valetta ................................................................ 43 India & Finland to Explore Solar Energy Applications........................................................... 43 EU tightened up Bank Lending Rules and Bonuses .............................................................. 44 IMF Slashed World Growth Forecast to 3.3 percent for 2013 ............................................. 44 Nicolas Maduro won the Venezuelas Presidential Election ................................................ 45 Vice President of India visited Tajikistan .............................................................................. 45 Falkland Islands Voted to Stay under British Rule ................................................................ 46 China hiked its Defence Budget by 10.7 Percent .................................................................. 47 Cyber Information Sharing and Protection Act passed in US ............................................... 47 NTPC and PDB signed Three Pacts ........................................................................................ 48 India and UAE signed an MoU on Air Services...................................................................... 49
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Largest Biogas Plant of the World Inaugurated in Finland ................................................... 49 Explosive Materials Background Check Act of US................................................................. 50 International Quizzes ............................................................................................................ 50 World Dairy ................................................................................................................................... 55 National ......................................................................................................................................... 59 SOI filed compliant against Google for Mapathon ............................................................... 59 CCI amended the Combination Regulations ......................................................................... 59 National Policy for Children-2012 approved by Union Cabinet ........................................... 60 SC Rejected Novartis Patent Plea for Cancer Drug .............................................................. 61 India Post to Establish 3rd Automated Mail Processing Centre ........................................... 62 SC expressed Concern over Sale of Gutka despite of Ban .................................................... 63 SC: Make Punishment for Traffic Rules Violation Harsher ................................................... 63 I&B Ministry reconstituted CPAC .......................................................................................... 63 DBT Scheme to be expanded to 78 more Districts ............................................................... 64 CBI given the Charge to Probe into Rhino Killing in Assam .................................................. 65 Army to launch Scheme of Old Age Homes for ex-Servicemen ........................................... 65 Constitute Regulatory Body to Control Electronic Media: HC .............................................. 65 President appointed two Judges to the Supreme Court ...................................................... 66 SC dismissed Plea to Dismiss Bhullars Death Commutation ............................................... 66 Project for NOFN Creation in Gram Panchayats approved .................................................. 67 SC Sought Response from Government on Anti-Porn Laws ................................................. 68 New Plastic Voter Identity Cards to be Issued ...................................................................... 68 20th Meeting of Eastern Zonal Council was held at Kolkata ................................................ 68 Rs. 12000 Crore Special Plan for Bihar Approved ................................................................. 69 DA hiked to 80% for Central Govt. Employees ..................................................................... 69 DAC approved Changes in Defence Procurement Procedure .............................................. 70
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NUHM Formulated as a Sub-Mission under NHM ................................................................ 72 Medi Claim Facility for the Farmers Holding KCC Launched ................................................ 73 IBIN for Effective Implementation of its Core Programme .................................................. 73 Govt. Proposed Launch of National Urban Livelihoods Mission .......................................... 74 HC on Social Media Accounts ............................................................................................... 74 Indian Railways Reduced Advanced Booking Period to 60 Days .......................................... 74 Supreme Court on Police Reforms ........................................................................................ 75 Government set up Committee to Enhance MSME Exports ................................................ 75 National Quizzes ................................................................................................................... 76 India Dairy ..................................................................................................................................... 80 Economy........................................................................................................................................ 89 CCEA approved de-control of Sugar ..................................................................................... 89 Government achieved FY13 Revised Tax Collection Target ................................................. 89 4065.81 Crore sanctioned for Water Pollution Control ....................................................... 90 Core Sector Growth Slumped by 2.5% in February 2013 ..................................................... 90 Special Infra. Scheme in LWE affected States approved ...................................................... 91 4 Laning of Jorhat to Demow section of NH-37 Approved ................................................... 91 Workshop on Green National Accounting for India Concluded ........................................... 92 Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India Increased by Three Percent ............................................... 92 National Workshop on Grid Integration Inaugurated .......................................................... 93 India Trade Promotion Organisation Signed a MoU with Govt. ........................................... 94 Fiscal 2012-13: Railways Carried 1009.73 Million Tonnes of Freight ................................... 94 FCI Raised 5000 Crore Rupees by Issuing Taxable Bonds ..................................................... 95 Retail Inflation declined to 10.39 Percent in March 2013 .................................................... 95 NEEPCO granted MiniratnaCategory1 Status ................................................................... 95 Gold Prices Decreased to 15-Month Low ............................................................................. 96
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RBI to Start Plastic Money Project on Trial Basis .................................................................. 97 IMF slashed Economic Growth Rate of India to 5.7% 2013.................................................. 97 Indias Exports in March 2013 valued at $30849.65 Million ................................................ 98 To Revive Interest in SEZs of Investors FTP Changed ........................................................... 98 Changes in FTP 2009-14 to Enhance Trade and SEZs implemented................................... 100 Government approved 1083 crore Rupees Revival Plan for HMT ..................................... 103 Govt. permitted Railways to use its Land for Metro Networks .......................................... 103 Union Government approved 13 Power Projects............................................................... 103 CCI slapped fine of 8000 Crore Rupees in 19 Cases............................................................ 104 Union Government Launched 21 New Textile Parks .......................................................... 104 Economy Quizzes ................................................................................................................ 105 Corporate .................................................................................................................................... 108 Samsung is Most Popular Brand in Emerging Markets: Survey .......................................... 108 IVRCL Signed Agreement with TRIL to Sell Highway Projects ............................................. 108 L&T Bagged Order Worth 5689 Crore from RVUNL............................................................ 109 GAIL Signed deal with US firm for LNG Liquefaction Terminal ........................................... 109 G.V. Prasad Appointed as CEO of Dr Reddys Laboratories ................................................ 110 Nasdaq to Buy ESpeed Platform From BGC for 750 Million $ ............................................ 110 Infosys signed Five year agreement with RWEST ............................................................... 111 NTPC Signed Loan Agreements Worth 1870 Crore with Banks .......................................... 111 Reliance Jio and Reliance Communications Signed Agreement ......................................... 112 Raymond Lane Resigned as HPs Chairman ........................................................................ 113 China Mobile & Vodafone to Bid for Mobile Licenses in Burma ........................................ 113 SBI to discontinue Free Accident Insurance Cover from July ............................................. 113 Volvo signed Jeev Milkha Singh as Brand Ambassador ...................................................... 114 AISECT launched Job Portal called Rojgar Mantra.com ...................................................... 114
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TVS Motor and BMW Motorrad tied up to Develop Bikes ................................................. 114 Yamaha established 5th Global R&D Centre in India ......................................................... 115 Mobile Visual Search Platform Ocutag launched by Ricoh ................................................. 115 Yamaha to Develop Cheapest Bike of the World in India ................................................... 116 TCS Signed Definitive Agreements for Acquisition of Alti SA ............................................. 116 Airtel restrained to provide Services in Non-licensed Circles............................................. 117 Mahindra & Mahindra launched e20 car Priced 5.96 Lakh ................................................ 117 Global Sales of Computers Dropped by 14 % ..................................................................... 118 Honda Motor Co launched Sedan Amaze ........................................................................... 118 AAI & MITRE Partnered for Setting up R&D Centre ........................................................... 119 GAIL to sell Part of its 4.6 percent stake in China Gas Holdings ......................................... 119 Sahara Q Shop Entered into the Guinness World Records ................................................. 119 Twitter launched a New Music Service called #Music........................................................ 120 Muthoot Fincorp to Launch 100 Crore NCB Issue .............................................................. 120 Grove Limited Launched Product to Manage Cost of Utilities ........................................... 121 Microsoft most attractive employer in India: Survey ......................................................... 121 Universal Commodity Exchange went Live ......................................................................... 122 FAA approved Resumption of Dreamliner flights ............................................................... 123 Air Asia Appointed the CEO for India Venture .................................................................... 123 Indian Mobile Services Will Reach 1.2 Trillion Rupees in 2013 .......................................... 123 Narendra Kumar appointed Managing Director of IGL ...................................................... 124 Fourth Huge Natural Gas Reserve in Mozambique Block ................................................... 124 Reliance signed Pact with Airtel for International Bandwidth ........................................... 125 Nokia Launched the Cheapest Handset, Nokia 105 in India ............................................... 125 Etihad Airways took over 24 pc Stake in Jet Airways ......................................................... 126 Google Inc Acquired Wavii for 30 Million US Dollar ........................................................... 127
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SSTL Appointment Dmitry Shukov as its New CEO ............................................................. 127 Facebook Bought Parse to Build Apps for Mobile Platforms ............................................. 127 Aurobindo Pharma Received Approval from USFDA .......................................................... 128 Airtel Introduced Flat Roaming Rates for African Customers ............................................ 128 Corporate Current Affair Quizzes ....................................................................................... 129 State ............................................................................................................................................ 131 Government approved Tourism Project from Maharashtra .............................................. 131 AP Government launched Online Services named Parishkaram ........................................ 132 Odisha celebrated Utkal Divas on its 77th Foundation Day ............................................... 133 Gujarat Government Introduced Lokayukta Bill in Assembly............................................. 133 Justice AM Khanwilkar appointed Chief Justice in HC of HP .............................................. 134 Sikkim State Annual Plan for 2013-14 Finalized at 2060 Crore .......................................... 135 TWIC is the Project Management Agency for Water Treatment ....................................... 135 Odisha Assembly adopted Resolution for Special Category ............................................... 136 MoU Signed for setting up a Titanium Project in Kerela .................................................... 136 Rajasthan Govt. launched Free Essential Diagnostic Tests Scheme ................................... 137 PCI allocated 17000 Crore Rupees for Kerala Plan 2013-14 ............................................... 137 Odisha decided to set up First Public Health University in India ........................................ 138 MP decided to declare Malkhamb as the State Sport ........................................................ 138 PCI Allocated 30314 crore rupees for West Bengal Plan 2013-14 ..................................... 138 Andhra Pradesh launched Amma Hastham ........................................................................ 139 AP Government launched Emergency Response System Dial 100 ..................................... 139 VOR Equipment Commissioned at Ludhiana Airport by AAI .............................................. 140 285.75 Crore approved for Himachal Pradesh under PMGSY ............................................ 140 Goa to impose Entry Tax on Vehicles registered outside ................................................... 140 66th Himachal Day celebrated at Dhalpur Ground, Kullu .................................................. 141
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Bihar Cabinet gave its nod on Quota for Women in Police ................................................ 141 Supreme Court of India cancelled 49 Mine Leases in Karnataka ....................................... 141 Meghalaya Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill 2013 was passed ............................................... 142 Assam Implemented Assam Right to Public Service Act 2012 ........................................... 142 Rajasthan: 5170 BNRGSK became Operational .................................................................. 142 Ahmedabad launched first-of-its-kind Heat Action Plan .................................................... 143 Goa Banned Drinking on the Beaches to Prevent Eve Teasing........................................... 144 West Bengal set up Commission to look into Deposits Scam ............................................ 144 NABARD started Farmers Club Scheme in Kargil, J&K ....................................................... 144 HC: Maharashtra directed to release Water in Jayakwadi Dam......................................... 145 Government of Goa launched Digital Krishi Card for Farmers ........................................... 145 Haryana Govt. Raised Cooking Cost of Mid Day Meal Scheme .......................................... 146 Sports .......................................................................................................................................... 146 Gujarat won Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Championship Title .......................................... 146 Andy Murray won the ATP Miami Masters 2013 Title ....................................................... 146 Houston Open 2013: American DA Points won the Tournament ...................................... 147 Sarnobat Clinched Gold at ISSF World Cup in 25-M Pistol Event ....................................... 147 India Won the Twenty20 International Women Series ...................................................... 148 Raninder Singh re-elected as the President of NRAI .......................................................... 148 Rupesh Shah Won ONGC 12th Asian Billiards championship............................................. 149 India completed a 5-0 Whitewash of Indonesia in Davis Cup ............................................ 149 Serena Williams Won Family Circle Cup 2013 .................................................................... 149 Hockey India formed a HPDC for 2013-14 .......................................................................... 149 Pavlyuchenkova won Monterrey Open Tennis Tournament.............................................. 150 Deru Won Silver in World Youth Weightlifting Championships ......................................... 150 Serena Williams Topped the Womens Tennis Ranking ..................................................... 151
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Manipur Claimed Overall Team Champion Title of NE Games ........................................... 151 Indian Women won ODI Series against Bangladesh Women 3-0 ....................................... 152 Gregg Clark is the Coach of the Junior Mens National Team ............................................ 152 Sania Mirza Became One of the Four Vice-Presidents of ITPA ........................................... 152 Adam Scott won Augusta Masters Golf Tournament ......................................................... 153 Chandigarh won North-Zone Sub-Junior Nat. Championship ............................................ 153 Olympian Sita Sahu Honoured ............................................................................................ 153 Navjot Singh is Youngest Athlete to win Sher-i-Kashmir Award ........................................ 153 Chris Hoy, Olympic Gold Medalist announced Retirement ................................................ 154 FIDE, AICF & Tamil Nadu State Chess Association Signed an MoU .................................... 156 Assam Topped Medal Tally of National Archery Championship ........................................ 156 Djokovic won Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tournament .................................................... 156 Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand Prix 2013 ........................................................... 157 Watson Stepped Down as Vice-Captain of Australia Test Team ........................................ 157 ICC Test Cricket Rankings .................................................................................................... 158 Prayag Won Gold Medal at ASBC Boxing Championships .................................................. 158 Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals to be hosted in Delhi .................................................... 158 Sabine Lisicki & Barthel won Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2013........................................... 159 Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka emerged Volleyball Champions .......................................... 159 Sports Current Affairs Quizzes ............................................................................................ 160 Environment & Ecology .............................................................................................................. 162 Prehistoric Fossil Called Ichthyosaurs after Vladimir Lenin ................................................ 162 Sea Ice of Antarctica Increasing Despite Warming ............................................................. 163 Climate Change Benefiting Beaufort Island Adlie Penguin ............................................... 163 Cooling System Power restored to Japans Nuclear Plant .................................................. 164 Red Woods Ants Sense Earthquake Before It Hits: Research ............................................. 164
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SC Ordered Relocation of Endangered Asiatic Lions .......................................................... 165 HLWG Presented Report on Western Ghats to MoEF ........................................................ 165 Desertification affects Over Large Indian Geographical Area ............................................ 167 Science & Technology ................................................................................................................. 167 AMS detected Scope for Dark Matter in the Space ............................................................ 167 US Government launched a Research Initiative Called BRAIN ........................................... 168 Facebook Released Software Called Home for Android Phones ........................................ 168 Exhaled Breath can be as Unique as a Fingerprint: Study .................................................. 169 US Scientists identified Genetic Markers of Alzheimers Risk ............................................ 170 Camera that can Capture Objects at Long Distances Developed ....................................... 170 Nuclear Capable Agni-II Missile was Successfully Test-Fired.............................................. 170 Aerosols from Burning Fossil Fuels Affecting Coral Growth ............................................... 171 Gene Mutation is Associated With Fatal Prostate Cancer.................................................. 171 Scientists designed Adaptive Material inspired by Human Tear ........................................ 172 Rings of Saturn produce their own Rain on the Planet ...................................................... 172 Plan to Build Worlds largest Telescope approved by US Govt .......................................... 173 Device to detect Gastro-Intestinal Cancers developed ...................................................... 173 Taste of Beer Can Excite Male Brain: Research .................................................................. 174 Bio-Engineered Kidney Successfully Transplanted in Rat ................................................... 174 Hobbit Humans Had Larger Brains Than Estimated: Research ........................................... 175 UK Scientists produced a Disease-Resistant Piglet called Pig-26 ....................................... 175 Giant Galaxy called HFLS3 Discovered ................................................................................ 176 NASA Kepler Mission Discovered Planets Kepler-62f & Kepler-62e ................................... 176 Researchers Developed Keyboard Called KALQ to Beat QWERTY...................................... 176 Urgent Need to Clear Debris in Earths Orbit: ESA ............................................................. 177 European Space Telescope Herschel completed its Journey ............................................. 178
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Science and Technology Quizzes ........................................................................................ 179 One Liners ................................................................................................................................... 182 News Capsule .............................................................................................................................. 184 Appointments of the Month ................................................................................................... 184 M F Farooqui is the new Secretary of Department of Telecom ......................................... 184 NK Verma appointed Director for Exploration of ONGC .................................................... 184 S Gopalakrishnan elected President of CII .......................................................................... 185 Krishna Kumar Natrajan is the New Chief of NASSCOM..................................................... 186 Uhuru Kenyatta Sworn-In as the President of Kenya ......................................................... 186 PJ Kurien elected Chairman of AFPPD ................................................................................ 187 Sunil Kumar Took Over as the Managing Director of CRIS ................................................. 187 C Briggs appointed as Sec. General of Ramsar Convention ................................................ 188 Awards in the Month of April .................................................................................................. 189 Olive Crown Awards 2013 ................................................................................................... 189 ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance ......................................... 189 National Award for Excellence 2011-12 ............................................................................. 190 2013 TOIFA: Barfi! Bagged Best Film Award ....................................................................... 190 NTPC Won NDTV Business Leadership Awards 2013 ......................................................... 191 President of India Presented AIMA Managing India Awards ............................................. 192 Pran awarded Dada Saheb Phalke Award .......................................................................... 193 Rossano Ercolini won the 2013 Goldman Prize .................................................................. 193 Raj Chetty Won John Bates Clark Medal For 2013 ............................................................. 194 New York Times won Four Pulitzer Prizes .......................................................................... 194 Ravuri Bharadwaja selected for Jnanpith Award 2012 ....................................................... 195 Belgian Mathematician Pieree Deligne won the Abel Prize 2013 ...................................... 196 Pranab Mukherjee Gave Away Padma Awards 2013 in New Delhi .................................... 196
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Jai Chandiram Felicitated with Lifetime Achievement Award ............................................ 197 Gallantry & Distinguished Service Awards Conferred ........................................................ 197 Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award 2013 .......................................................................... 200 Personality in News ................................................................................................................. 201 NIA filed a Charge Sheet against 26/11 Mastermind Abu Jundal....................................... 201 Website launched on Babu Jagjivan Ram ........................................................................... 201 Nomination Papers Parvez Musharraf Rejected................................................................. 202 Abhilash Tomy Circumnavigated Globe Solo and Non-Stop............................................... 202 Pablo Nerudas body to be exhume to investigate ............................................................ 203 Sharad Yadav Re-Elected As President of Janata Dal (United) ........................................... 204 Nicolas Maduro won of Venezuelas Presidential Election ................................................ 204 Pak Court ordered Arrest of Parvez Musharraf .................................................................. 204 Mirza Himayat Baig Sentenced to Death ............................................................................ 205 Sarabjit Singh dead after inmates attack in Kot Lakhpat Jail .............................................. 205 Lifetime ban on Pervez Musharraf for Contesting Elections .............................................. 206 Person Died.............................................................................................................................. 206 Oscar Winner Author Ruth Prawer Jhabvala died in New York .......................................... 206 Roger Ebert, the Critic for Chicago Sun-Times Died ........................................................... 207 Renowned Historian Professor B.Nath Mukherjee Died .................................................... 208 British Scientist Robert Edwards Died ................................................................................ 208 Binod Bihari Chowdhury the anti-British Revolutionary Died ............................................ 208 Industrialist RP Goenka Passed away at the Age of 83....................................................... 209 Dr Hilary Koprowski, Developer of Polio vaccine Died at 96 .............................................. 209 Ramadevi: First Chief Election Commissioner of India Died............................................... 210 KP Bhaskar, the Indian Classical Dance Maestro Died ........................................................ 210 Mike Denness, the Former England Captain Died at 72 ..................................................... 211
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Alfredo Guevara, Cuban Filmmaker and Arts Leader Died at 87........................................ 212 Mathematician Shakuntala Devi Died due to Heart Failure ............................................... 212 Sivanthi Adithan Died at 76 ................................................................................................ 213 Former Chief Justice of India, JS Verma Died ..................................................................... 213 Renowned Violinist and Composer Lalgudi Jayaraman Died ............................................. 214 Legendary Singer Shamshad Begum Died at 94 ................................................................. 215 Woodstock Singer, Richie Havens Died at 72 ..................................................................... 216 Trinamool Congress MP Ambica Banerjee Passed Away at 86 .......................................... 216 Sailendra Nath Roy Died ..................................................................................................... 216 Books/Author........................................................................................................................... 217 Book Released: Religion, Law & Society-Across the Globe ................................................ 217 Orphan Masters Son won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction .................................................... 217 Book titled A Leaf Turns Yellow: the Sufis of Awadh Released .......................................... 218 Book Titled an Ardent Patriot by Dinesh Goswami Released ............................................. 218 Important Dates....................................................................................................................... 218 World Autism Awareness Day Observed Across the World ............................................... 218 World Health Day observed: Focus on High Blood Pressure .............................................. 219 National Safe Motherhood Day Observed across the Country .......................................... 219 World Hemophilia Day was observed on 17 April 2013 ..................................................... 220 World Heritage Day was observed on 18 April 2013 .......................................................... 221 World Amateur Radio Day observed on 18 April 2013 ...................................................... 221 Civil Services Day was observed across India on 21 April 2013 .......................................... 222 International Mother Earth Day observed ......................................................................... 222 World Book and Copyright Day was Celebrated on 23 April .............................................. 222 20th Womens Political Empowerment Day Celebrated .................................................... 223 Miscellaneous .......................................................................................................................... 224
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Tagore Centre Inaugurated in London ................................................................................ 224 Tagore Centre for Global Thought inaugurated ................................................................. 225 Int. Conference on Dedicated Freight Corridor Inaugurated ............................................. 225 CGHS Facilities enhanced for PIB Accredited Media Persons............................................. 226 Ministry of Health & Family Welfare launched National Programme for Elderly .............. 226 SAARC Ministerial Level Meet on Poverty concluded in Nepal .......................................... 227 International Workshop on Green National Accounting for India Concluded in New Delhi ............................................................................................................................................. 228 Minister of I&B an Indoor Shooting Range in Narangwal, Ludhiana .................................. 228 Science Express Biodiversity Special Train to be Re-launched ........................................... 229 Official Online Portal of INTRA-IPS Launched in New Delhi ............................................... 229 South Africa hosted the Fifth BRICS Summit at Durban International Convention Centre 229 Deadly Earthquake of Magnitude 6.3 Struck Iran; killed 37 ............................................... 230 Pakistan Test-Fired Nuclear-Capable Hatf-IV Ballistic Missile ............................................ 231 60th Anniversary of Everest Ascent to be marked by India-Nepal Army Joint-Expedition 231 Salman Khurshid visited Japan............................................................................................ 232 Indian Coast Guard Ship H-191 Commissioned at Mumbai ............................................... 232 Government Inaugurated Leadership Training Programme II......................................... 232 Execution on Rise even after World Abolished Death Penalty ........................................... 233 Korea & US Forces Raise Alert ............................................................................................ 233 Open Letter on Global Leaders for Tourism Campaign ...................................................... 234 G8 Nations Condemned N.Korea Nuclear Weapons Programme ...................................... 234 AVM VS Bharti YSM VM VSM Took Over as the SAASO ..................................................... 234 Blue Super Giant Star was discovered in Constellation Virgo ............................................ 235 Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad Resigned ........................................................... 235 Committee to Promote India as Film Destination constituted........................................... 235 Chief Ministers Conference held ........................................................................................ 236 www.jagranjosh.com
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British Scientist Francis Cricks Nobel Prize Sold ................................................................ 236 Allahabad High Court Nullified the District Status of Amethi ............................................. 237 Mahatma Gandhi figured among Top Three Leaders of World ......................................... 237 Two-Day Biannual Conference of the NCC Concluded ....................................................... 238 Indian Coast Guard Ship C-402 Commissioned in Mumbai ................................................ 238 H.R. Mohan elected as New Vice President of Computer Society ..................................... 239 Aruna Bahuguna became First Women Special DG of CRPF .............................................. 239 Giorgio Napolitano Re-elected as the President of Italy .................................................... 240 Sunil Bharti Mittal appointed Vice Chairman of ICC ........................................................... 240 N. Ravi Elected As President of Editors Guild of India ........................................................ 241 Anil Goswami appointed as New Union Home Secretary .................................................. 241 Takehiko Nakao elected as the President ADB Board ........................................................ 242 Abdul Hamid was sworn in as Bangladesh President ......................................................... 242 President dedicated Siddheshwar Dham Temple to the Nation ........................................ 243 Pervez Musharraf barred from running for Election .......................................................... 243 Vice-President of India, Hamid Ansari visited Tajikistan .................................................... 244 The India Show in Panama Inaugurated ............................................................................. 244 First Test of Nirbhay Cruise Missile Achieved Partial Success ............................................ 244 World Bank: India is the Largest Recipient of Remittances ................................................ 245 E. Ahamed visited Algeria ................................................................................................... 246 Russia launched Worlds only Returnable Satellite Bion-M1 ............................................. 246 Earthquake of Magnitude 7 Struck Sichuan Province of China .......................................... 247 Oldest Known European Medieval Cookbook Discovered ................................................. 247 Oldest Harbour of the World Discovered in Egypt ............................................................. 247 New Wild Banana Species discovered in Arunachal Pradesh ............................................. 248 Russia Launched BION-M Called Orbital Noah's Ark into Space ........................................ 248
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Top 10 Weird Museums of the World ................................................................................ 249 Seljuk Minaret Destroyed by the Protestors ...................................................................... 249 Pervez Musharraf arrested in Bhutto-Murder Case ........................................................... 250 Lucknow Zardozi Became a Brand ...................................................................................... 250 Ministerial Conference of Istanbul Process held in Almaty ................................................ 251 Foreign Investment in services sector dips 3.5% ................................................................ 251 Dutch Queen Beatrix abdicated; W Alexander is the new King ......................................... 252 Questions of the Month.............................................................................................................. 253
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PREFACE
The Current Affairs PDF Magazine April 2013 includes the happenings of April Month. The PDF magazine available on jagranjosh.com plays an important role in making people aware of the happenings of the world and it also acts as a guide for candidates engaged in preparations of different level of competitive exams. The magazine being provide is drafted to meet the requirements of different level of exams including IAS|PCS, SSC, Banking, LIC, Railway and all other competitive exams. The events happening across the world following the series of their occurrence and importance has been compiled with fineness by the team of experts. The events before being included for the final packaging are evaluated on different standards to make sure that it helps the candidates and keep them on right track to clear the upcoming exams, especially IAS Prelims 2013 in the best way. The presentation of the events is planned to stay for a longer period in the memories of the reader to ease their way of preparation for the exams they will appear in. Fine perception of the stories allows a candidate to apply the theories behind the making of the event and face the challenges during the exams everywhere. Within the magazine one can find the events and happenings of National and International importance, daily affairs of Corporate world and Economy, advancements on the frontiers of Science and Technology as well as Environment And Ecology, Sports happenings and Issues of different States of the country, launch of New Books & Authors, Important Appointments, Important Awards, Personalities who made news, Important Dates and more.
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PICK OF THE MONTH

PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA VISITED GERMANY
Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh visited Germany from 10 April 2013 to 12 April 2013 for participating in second round of Inter Governmental Consultations with Germany. He was accompanied by delegation including Ministers and senior officials. During his visit, certain documents were signed.
JOINT DECLARATION OF INTENT FOR PROMOTION OF GERMAN

The Joint Declaration of Intent regarding promotion of German as a foreign language in India was signed between M. Mangapati Pallam Raju, Minister for Human Resource Development from India and Cornelia Pieper, Minister of State in the German Foreign Office. Under the Joint Declaration, India would cooperate in introducing B.Ed programmes for German language. Also scholarships would be awarded for Masters degree programs and for short stays in Germany with the goal of improving mutual trust and intercultural relations.
MOU ON COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF HIGHER EDUCATION

This MoU was signed between M. Mangapati Pallam Raju, Minister for Human Resource Development from India and Johanna Wanka, Federal Minister of Education and Research from Germany. This MoU intends to facilitate people-to-people exchanges. This includes students, academics, and project collaborators.
JOINT DECLARATION OF INTENT ON COOPERATION IN AREA OF CIVIL SECURITY RESEARCH

This Joint Declaration was signed between Minister for Science & Technology, Jaipal Reddy from India and Federal Minister of Education and Research, Johanna Wanka from Germany. The Indo-German research cooperation in this new area intends to fund 5 pilot projects in 2013 with the identified priorities being natural disaster management, biological risk situations, urban security, protection & rescue of people and social aspects of civil security research.
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Joint Declaration for the bilateral "Kooperations Program of the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection and the National Seeds Association of India and the German Association of Plant Breeders This was signed between Ambassador of India and Gerd Muller, Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Germany.
JOINT DECLARATION AIMS AT STRENGTHENING COOPERATION

Plant variety protection Conservation of plant genetic resources Cooperation between Indian and German agricultural research institutions and seed companies
Joint Declaration of Intent on the Establishment of an Indo-German Working Group on Quality Infrastructure for Cooperation in Standardisation, Conformity Assessment and Product Safety This was signed between Foreign Secretary of India and Anne Ruth Herkes, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology of Germany. This aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation in standardization, conformity assessment and product safety through advancing bilateral economic and technical cooperation, intensifying dialogue and promoting coordinated activities in international organizations. It also provides for establishing and Indo-German Working Group Quality Infrastructure.
JOINT DECLARATION OF INTENT ON INDO-GERMAN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION REGARDING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF GREEN ENERGY CORRIDORS
This was signed between Farooq Abdullah, Minister for New and Renewable Energy, India and Gudrun Kopp, Parliamentary State Secretary, Germany. This joint declaration aims at fostering increased use of renewable energy in India through technical and fanatical cooperation by way of integrating additional renewable energy generation capacity with the national grid. The Technical cooperation would be implemented through the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and KFW intends to provide concessional loans of up to Euro one billion over the next six years.
LIST OF DOCUMENTS SIGNED ON THE SIDELINES OF 2ND ROUND OF INDIAGERMANY INTERGOVERNMENTAL CONSULTATIONS
MoU between Solar Energy Centre and Fraunhofer Institute for cooperation and exchanges in various areas including solar photovoltaic; solar thermals systems; hydrogen and fuel cells.
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Programme of Cooperation between Dept. of Biotechnology of India and Helmholtz Association in the area of development of future natural drugs. Supplementary MoU on Research Framework of the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability at IIT, Madras under the National Climate Action Plan. MoU between Deutsche Bahn and Indian Railways for cooperation in the field of freight, passenger operations, infrastructure building and management; development of modern competitive railway organization. MoU between DB Systel and Centre for Railway Information Systems for cooperation in the field of information systems related to railways. MOU between Hof University of Applied Sciences & Integrated Association of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises of India (SPV formed by Faridabad Small Industries Association) to develop specialized vocational training course. MOU between Manipal University, Manipal, India & Bavarian Universities Consortium represented by Hof University of Applied Sciences of Germany to establish the IndoBavarian Integrated Bachelors and Masters Programme in August 2013. MoU between Infosys Ltd and Bertelsmann Stiftung to support Vocational Education and Training in India. MOU between PSG Institute of Advanced Studies & Professional Training Centres of the Bavarian Employers Association (BFZ). Contract agreement between Cairn India and TUV Rheinland to set up a state-of-the-art vocational education training facility in Rajasthan.
NUMBER OF JUDGES IN NEXT 5 YEARS TO BE DOUBLED

The Union Government decided to double the number of sanctioned judges in India in next five years to ensure speedy disposal of cases. With this increase in the number of judges is expected to reach to a mark of 37000 in next five years. The Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir and Law Minister Ashwani Kumar on 7 April 2013 during the release of comprehensive agenda for legal and judicial reforms announced that the Union Government of India approved the decision of increasing the judge population ratio from 15.47 per million to 30 per million. The comprehensive agenda was released at the conference of Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief Ministers. Increase in the number of fast track courts for trial of heinous crimes like offences against elderly, women and children is also under the plan of the central government. The funds for development of the infrastructure would be released under a centrally sponsored scheme on 75:25 basis. At present there are 906 judges in the High Courts of India and is to be increased by 25 percent in next three years and 50 percent over a period of five years. To deal with small and petty crimes a committee will be constituted by the Government.
IMF SLASHED GROWTH RATE OF INDIA TO 5.7% 2013

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International Monetary Fund in its latest release on 16 April 2013 of the World Economic Outlook (WEO) slashed the growth projection of India from its earlier prediction of 5.9 percent to 5.7 percent for the calendar year 2013. The IMF slashed its projection for India based on the significant structural challenges faced by India, which would lower down the potential output keeping inflation elevated by regional reasons. It also predicted that the bottomed out India economy could recover following the policy reforms introduced by the Union Government and the improvement in external demands. All these depend upon a better monsoon season, solid consumption, external demand and improvement in policy making. IMF also slashed the global outlook to 3.3 percent from 3.5 percent predicted in January 2013 and for 17-nation Euro Zone, the forecast was 0.3 percent. It has advocated to the policymakers of European nations to come up with aggressive monetary policies to pull out Eurozone from the crisis situation.
GROWTH PROJECTION BY UNION GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

The Union Government projected its growth for the fiscal year 2013-14 to be 6.2-6.7 percent. Indian Government uses the factor of cost method for making growth projections related to economy. Whereas IMF calculates the growth rate based on the estimates of Growth Domestic Product using market prices. The Current Account Deficit would be elevated at 4.9 percent against 5.1 percent in 2013, and the Consumer Price Inflation can move up to 10.8 percent from 9.3 percent. The latest data released in context of Indias retail inflation showed moderated impact of retail inflation in March 2013. IMF projected that India would grow at the rate of 6.2% in 2014. It projects the global economy to expand 4.1% in the 2014.
PMEAC PRESENTED ECONOMIC REVIEW 2012-13

The Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) under the Chairmanship of C Rangarajan on 23 April 2013 presented the Economic review 2012-13.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ECONOMIC POLICY REVIEW

Indias economy is expected to grow 6.4 percent in the new financial year that began on 1 April 2013.
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PMEAC pegged the WPI inflation at around 6 percent and food inflation, at 8 percent. FY13 bank credit growth at 14.1% vs 17% in the year-ago period. Bank credit growth lower due to weak credit demand & tight liquidity.
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Net FDI at 18 billion dollars in FY13. FII inflows at 24 billion dollar in FY13 expect net FDI inflow at 24 billion dollars and FII at 18 billion dollars for FY14 The fiscal deficit of the Centre for 2012-13 is estimated to be 5.2% of GDP. It was 520924 crores Rupees in 2012-13 as per revised estimates, and is expected to be 542499 crores Rupees in 2013-14 as per budget estimates. Current Account Deficit is estimated to be 94 billion dollars (5.1% of GDP) in 2012-13 and is projected to be 100 billion dollars (4.7% of GDP) in 2013-14. Merchandise trade deficit is estimated to be 200 billion dollars (10.9% of the GDP) in 2012-13 and is projected to be 213 billion dollars (9.9% of GDP) in 2013-14. Net invisibles earnings are estimated to be 105.8 billion dollars (5.7 % of GDP) in 201213 and are projected to be 113 billion dollars (5.3 % of GDP) in 2013-14. It is estimated that for 2012-13 the net inflow of FDI was 18 billion dollars (26 billion inbound and 8 billion dollars outbound). For 2013-14 EAC has projected higher inbound flows of the order of 36 billion dollars. Outbound FDI is also expected to increase, resulting in net FDI inflow of 24 billion dollars. FII inflows were weak in the first quarter of 2012-13, but picked up in the second and third quarters. For the year as a whole, portfolio inflows are estimated to be close to $24 billion. Portfolio capital flows are projected to be 18 billion dollars in 2013-14. The total inflows under the head of loans are estimated to be about 30 billion dollars in 2012-13. This comprises mostly of external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and shortterm loans. The projected figure for 2013-14 is $36 billion. The total banking capital inflows for 2012-13 are estimated to be $24 billion and are projected to be at 22 billion dollars for 2013-14.
HIGH SEAS CONFERENCE CONCLUDED WITH PARIS APPEAL

The High Seas, Our Future Conference concluded on 11 April 2013 in Paris, France with the launch of Paris Appeal for the High Seas. The conference stressed upon the importance of governance of the high seas, in context of the negotiations on the topic in 2014.
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The world leaders were appealed by the UN to take strong actions towards protection of worlds oceans from the economic and environmental impacts of pollution, unsustainable exploitation, acidification and climate change. During the conference stress on furthering the scientific research by underlining the potential value of biodiversity of high areas was made. To ensure protection stress on transferring the technology and strengthening the capacities of the developing economies along with sustainable use of resources was made. To enhance understanding of the ocean and informed governance, the participants of the conference reached to a consensus to increase funding for fundamental research.
UNDERLINED FACTS BY UNESCO

Inadequate Governance: this will affect the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources Need to address to the outcome document on Sustainable Development recognized during UN Conference (UNCSD, or Rio+20) on urgent basis. i.e. the issu8e related to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity of marine in the areas that lies beyond its jurisdiction
Paris Appeal for High Seas was launched by the steering committee and this is open for being signed by the general public and will be presented to different institution of relevance that includes UN General Assembly. The appeal was for shared, transparent, democratic and international governance. This conference on High Seas was organised by the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE, France) and Tara Expeditions under the patronage of UNESCO.
ARCHEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED GATE TO HELL FROM RUINS IN TURKEY

Italian archeologists in the first week of April 2013 discovered the gate to hell from ruins in Turkey. The research conducted by the team led by Francesco D'Andria, professor of classic archaeology at the University of Salento found out that there existed a gate to hell, also called Pluto's Gate-Ploutonion in Greek and Plutonium in Latin. The gate to hell was known to be the gateway to underworld in Greco-Roman mythology as well as tradition. Historically, this site was situated in ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, which is now called Pamukkale. It was described by the historians that the opening of this gate to hell was filled with lethal mephitic vapors. Greek geographer Strabo (64/63 BC-about 24 AD) described that this place was filled with dense and misty vapours and the animals which passed through it, died instantly. The results of the findings were described at the conference on Italian archaeology in Istanbul, Turkey.
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Francesco D'Andria, the lead archaeologist described that the gate to hell was discovered by reconstruction of the route of thermal spring. Pamukkale' springs, which are said to produce white travertine terraces originated from this cave only. The site had even more ruins than earlier. The archaeologists found out Ionic semi columns. On their top, was the inscription with dedication to deities of the underworld-Pluto and Kore. The ruins of the temple, a pool as well as certain steps placed above the cave were also found and they all matched the descriptions of the site described in ancient sources. Francesco D'Andria also described that this site was a renowned destination for performing the rites of incubation. The pilgrims used to take the waters in pool near the temple and slept close to the cave to receive prophecies and visions, in a kind of Delphi effect. The team of archeologists is now in the process of digital reconstruction of this site.
FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER MARGARET THATCHER DIED

Margaret Thatcher, the Former Prime Minister of Britain died due to a stroke on 8 April 2013 at the age of 87. Thatcher was the Prime Minister of Britain from 1979 to 1990 from Conservative party of Britain and was the first lady to hold the post of Prime Minister. She succeeded as a Prime Minister James Callaghan of Labour Party. She resigned from her office in 1990 after she returned from the Euro Summit in Rome, as her policies and her style of government led to the growth of rebellion inside her party. John Major of Conservative Party succeeded her in the office of the Prime Minister.
ABOUT MARGARET THATCHER

Margaret Thatcher was also known as the Iron Lady of Britain and was born on 13 October 1925 in Grantham, Lincolnshire She got married to Denis Thatcher, a divorced businessman In 1953, she qualified as a barrister and in the same year gave birth twins named Mark and Carol During her reign in the Prime Ministers Office, many of the state -owned industries of the country were privatized the initial two companies were British Gas and BT At Somerville College, Oxford, she graduated in chemistry and was the only third female President of the Oxford University Conservative Association
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She got involved with the Conservative Party organization in Colchester; while working for a plastic company
POLITICAL CAREER OF MARGARET THATCHER

In 1959, she became the Member of Parliament for Finchley, North London for Conservative Party and was elected as a junior minister and soon promoted to the shadow cabinet in 1964 after the conservative party was defeated in the general elections She was chosen as the Conservative candidate for Dartford seat in Kent but she lost the 1950 and 1951 general elections from the same seat; at that time she was the youngest ever conservative candidate In 1970 she became the education secretary, when Ted Heath was the Prime Minister of Britain She was termed as the Milk Snatcher, after she ordered withdrawal of the free milk for children in the age group of seven to eleven She was given the title of the Iron Lady by a Russian newspaper after she criticized the repressive policies of Soviet Union in her speech in 1976 She won general elections in 1979, 1983 and 1987 after making a successful challenge to the former Prime Minister Edward Heath in 1975 She was in power, when the UK went to war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1982 She retired from the House of Commons in 1992
MONETARY POLICIES AS THE PRIME MINISTER

To curb the inflation and control the finances of the country, she privatized the state owned industries. She also allowed the owners of houses in the councils to buy their houses. As a result of which, people with zero or negligible stake in the economy of the nation got a chance to own houses and invest in the shares of the business houses those were owned by the state.
SHE WROTE TWO MEMOIRS

Campaigning against the Maastricht Treaty Condemning the Serbian policy of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia
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CHRIS GAYLE: THE FASTEST CENTURY MAKER IN CRICKET HISTORY

Chris Gayle, the West Indies opener, hit the fastest ever century in the history of cricket by reaching 100 in merely 30 balls during Royal Challengers Bangalore-Pune Warriors IPL match on 23 April 2013. Gayle scored a total run of 175 runs in merely 66 balls, which included 17 sixes and 13 boundaries. It is important to note that this is the most number of runs scored in any T20 innings. This was also his fourth century in the IPL career. With Gayles performance, the total score Royal Challengers Bangalore was 263 for five, which is one of the highest total in this format of the game. Previously, the highest total in this format was 260 by Sri Lanka. Jamaican Chris Gayle also became the highest-ever individual scorer in a T20 game, beating Kolkata Knight Riders' Brendon McCullum who had hit 158 off 73 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Pakistans Shahid Afridi holds the record of fastest century in ODI (37 balls) and Viv Richards is the record-holders for fastest century (56 balls) in the Test cricket history.
PREVIOUS RECORD HOLDERS OF FASTEST CENTURIES ARE

30 balls: Chris Gayle, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Pune Warriors, IPL, 23 April 2013 34 balls: Andrew Symonds, Kent vs. Middlesex, Twenty20 Cup, 2 July 2004 35 balls: Louis van der Westhuizen, Namibia v Kenya, unofficial T20 international, 7 November 2011 37 balls: Shahid Afridi, Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka, ODI, 4 October 1996 37 balls: Scott Styris, Sussex vs. Gloucs, Twenty20 Cup, 24 July 2012 37 balls: Yusuf Pathan, Rajasthan Royals vs. Mumbai Indians, IPL, 13 March 2010
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INTERNATIONAL
PRESIDENT OF INDIA VISITED MAURITIUS
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee visited Mauritius from 11 March 2013 to 13 March 2013. Pranab Mukherjee was the chief guest at the 45th Independence Day celebrations of Mauritius, which took place on 12 March 2013. He also visited the World Heritage Site, the Aapravasi Ghat, where Indian labourers first landed. During the visit of the Pranab Mukherjee, certain deals were signed which are as follows:
MOU IN THE FIELD OF PERSONS DISABILITIES AND SENIOR CITIZENS
WITH
The Memorandum of Understanding in the field of persons with disabilities and senior citizens was signed between Minister of State for Home Affairs from India and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade from Mauritius.
MOU WAS SIGNED FOR COLLABORATION IN CERTAIN AREAS LIKE

Empowerment of persons with disabilities and senior citizens Exchange of resource persons in the identified fields Strengthening capacity-building of personnel and NGOs in the identified fields Exchange programmes for the benefit of senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and NGO leaders/ volunteers in these fields Conducting joint research and exchange of research outcomes
MOU ON COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE

The Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of health and medicine was signed between Minister of State for Home Affairs from India and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade from Mauritius. The major points of the MoU were as follows:
MOU WAS SIGNED FOR COLLABORATION & COOPERATION IN AREAS LIKE

Medical Research Health Service Planning Lab and Diagnostics Drugs and Pharmaceutical products: Traditional Medicine
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Health Tourism Telemedicine
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MOU ON COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF TOURISM

The Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of tourism was signed between Minister of State for Home Affairs from India and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade from Mauritius.
MOU WAS SIGNED FOR COLLABORATION IN CERTAIN AREAS AND THESE WERE
Expansion of bilateral cooperation in tourism sector Exchange of information and data related to tourism Encouraging cooperation between tourism stakeholders including Hotels and Tour Operators Investment in the Tourism and Hospitality sectors Exchanging visits of Tour Operators/Media/ Opinion Makers for promotion of two way tourism Promoting safe, honourable and sustainable tourism
INDIA SIGNED ENHANCED AIR SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH SINGAPORE

India and Singapore on 2 April 2013 signed an enhanced air services agreement to build on the existing 216 weekly flights and meet the growing demand for air connectivity between both the countries. It is evident that the demand for air services between both countries is growing continuously so the bilateral air services agreement in this context is basically enhanced to include more capacity entitlements. It is also entitled as per the enhancement agreement that both countries would meet regularly to review air services matters. It is important here to note that Singapore is linked by air services to 12 Indian cities, having the most frequent flights to India out of Southeast Asia. The agreement was signed by Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh and Singapore Transport Minister Liu Tuck Yew. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh was present in Singapore from 2 April 2013 to 4 April 2013. He had also discussed the importance of air connectivity in enhancing bilateral trade ties between India and Singapore, with S Iswaran, Singapores Minister, Prime Ministers Office and Second Minister for Trade & Industry and Home Affairs.
CHINA, RUSSIA & PAKISTAN HELD TALK ON AFGHANISTAN SITUATION
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The Diplomats from Russia, China and Pakistan on 3 April 2013 in Beijing held talks on the issue of coordination between their positions on Afghanistan. The diplomats from the three nations backed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that is grouping to play a great role in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO Forces in 2014. These talks were held to enhance coordination. The talk of the three nations in Beijing was a follow up of the India, China and Russia meet that was held in Moscow in the recent past. These talks aimed towards, balancing the act for enhancement of complicated regional dynamics. The talks between the nations is a process to make concerted efforts for maintenance of Peace, Stability and Security of the country and support the reconciliation process of the country that will be run by Afghans themselves. China and Russia from the SCO Grouping will play a bigger role in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO Forces, whereas, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan along with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will play of role of observer countries in the group. China, Russia and India have developed a trilateral mechanism for coordination among themselves and their positions in context of the engagement of the three nations in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO.
TREATY ON LEGAL & JUDICIAL COOPERATION SIGNED WITH AZERBAIJAN

Union Minister of Law & Justice of India, Ashwani Kumar and Minister of Justice of Republic of Azerbaijan, Fikrat Mammadov signed a Treaty on Legal and Judicial Cooperation in Civil and Commercial Matters on 4 April 2013. Apart from signing of the treaty, there were delegationlevel discussions between India and Azerbaijan. Major points of the Treaty on Legal and Judicial Cooperation in Civil and Commercial Matters The treaty between India and Azerbaijan in civil matters is a comprehensive agreement for reciprocal agreement with the foreign countries for different purposes such as service of summons, issuing Letters of Request, taking of evidence, execution of civil decrees as well as enforcement of arbitral awards. According to the provisions of the treaty, requests for legal assistance will be made through the Central Authorities of the Contracting Parties. The Central Authority of the Contracting Party in India is Ministry of Law and Justice, while the same in Azerbaijan is Ministry of Justice. The aim of the treaty is to provide benefit to the citizens of these two countries for seeking Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters in their respective countries, irrespective of income, class or gender bias. The treaty will allow opening of new ventures of cooperation between India and Azerbaijan.
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It is important to note that the treaties like this were also signed with other countries such as Mongolia, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, France, U.A.E., Bahrain, Kuwait and Russia.
CONNECTICUT SIGNED GUN CONTROL LEGISLATION

Connecticut's state legislature passed the measures on 4 April 2013, which include America's first registry of gun offenders. Approximately, 20 young children were shot dead at school in December 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. The state assembly approved the legislation by 105 to 44 after a series of debates. Besides, Maryland's House of Delegates also passed a bill requiring fingerprints for gun buyers. However, in the US Congress, efforts to pass firearms restrictions are in the process. In addition to a gun offender registry, the restrictions introduce background checks on all firearms buyers and a ban on new magazines holding more than 10 rounds.
INDIA AND SINGAPORE SIGNED MOU ON AIR SERVICES

India and Singapore on 2 April 2013 signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on bilateral air services arrangement during the visit of Civil Aviation Minister, Ajit Singh to Singapore. It rationalizes the capacity entitlements of both countries in terms of seats per week in each direction with a route specific cap for Singapore on each route. The MoU also enhances, by 10%, the capacity entitlement with India now entitled to operate 29,400 weekly passenger seats from India to Singapore and the designated airlines of Singapore entitled to operate 28,700 weekly passenger seats from Singapore to India. No additional point of call has been given to Singapore. India also did not agree to the demand of Singapore for additional point of calls from Pune and Madurai. The common pool rights to the extent of 5160 seats earlier available to Singapore, which provided greater operational flexibility to Singapore carriers at major metro centers viz Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, have now been withdrawn. The designated airlines of Singapore can operate with any aircraft type except A-380. The delegation level talks were held between Prabhat Kumar, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Yap Ong Heng, DirectorGeneral Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. Both the sides have agreed to review and update the air services agreement and meet every two years to discuss various air services matters.
UN ORDERED US TO CLOSE GUANTANAMO PRISON CAMP

The UN Human Rights Chief, Navi Pillay on 5 April 2013 ordered United States to shut down its Guantanamo Prison Camp with immediate effect. As per the International Laws, the indefinite imprisonment of the detainees by US without any charge or trial was a violation of International laws.
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The Human Rights Chief of UN also claimed that the hunger strike by the inmates of the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in southeastern Cuba was a desperate act as well as an element of Surprise. As per United Nations Human Rights claim, the act of US was just not a breach of its own commitments but also of the international laws and standards.
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GUANTANAMO PRISON CAMP

Guantanamo prison camp was started in January 2002 during bush administration and is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States military that is located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base of Cuba - It is used for holding men who are captured in counter-terrorism operations. It generally started after the 9/11 WTC attack. Barack Obama pledged four years ago to close down the controversial facility but yet it is under operation.
VOA FOR PAKISTAN INITIATED AT ATTARI/WAGAH CHECK-POST

Indian on 1 April 2013 started Visa on Arrival (VoA) facility for the Senior Citizens of Pakistan. The Pakistani Senior Citizens in the age group of 65+ years would be allowed to take the Visa at Attari/Wagah Check-Post. This is going to be a single entry Visa and will allow a Pakistani resident in India for a maximum period of 45 days. The services of granting the Visa on arrival started from 1 April 2013 based on mutual agreements. The Visa on Arrival initially was scheduled to start from 15 January 2013 but was delayed citing technical problem in wake up of the killing of the two Indian Soldiers on the LoC by the Pakistani Army on 8 January 2013. Decision on group tourist visa facility has yet not been taken. Initially the two countries agreed to operationalize the group tourist visa facility to be offered to each others citizens and were supposed to start from 15 March 2013. The facility of providing the one time Visa for the citizens of both countries was decided following the guidelines of the Liberalised Visa Pact that was signed between the two nations in September 2013. The pact was signed for easing the cross-border travel as part of a confidence building measure between the two countries.
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TALKS ON IRANS NUCL EAR PROGRAMME ENDED WITHOUT AGREEMENT

The latest talks on Iran's nuclear programme ended without agreement on 6 April 2013. After a two-day meeting in Kazakhstan, the major powers failed to break the deadlock. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, Russia, China, the UK and France plus Germany had asked Iran to stop enriching uranium up to 20 percent in exchange for some relief from sanctions. Iran stated that it would not compromise on its right to enrich uranium. Given the fact that the Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Iran in June 2013, it is unlikely that there would be a breakthrough in the talks.
INDIA STRENGTHENED TIES IN STEEL AND MINING WITH TANZANIA

Government of India and the Government of Tanzania signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) on 6 April 2013 at De res Salaam during the visit of Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma to the latter. The LoI aims to promote and expand bilateral relations between the two countries in the mineral sector with focus on strengthening supply chain for growth of the steel industry in both the countries. The LoI aims to encourage investment opportunities in India and Tanzania in the iron & steel related businesses, facilitates exchange of technical know-how in developing iron and steel production and other steel related raw materials, including pelletisation plants and other associated industries. LoI aims that both the Governments jointly work for developing the steel industry and exchange technically qualified manpower for sustainable growth of iron & steel industry. The LoI will not only strengthen relations between India and Tanzania. It will also give added thrust to the possibility of exploration and development of mineral assets in the country.
SHEIKH HASINA REJECTED NEW ANTI-BLASPHEMY LAW DEMANDS

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina rejected the demands of Islamists for new antiblasphemy law, according to which the people who defame Islam or Prophet Muhammad would be punished. Sheikh Hasina declared that the laws which existed earlier were sufficient for punishing people, who insulted the religion. It is important to note that a lot of Islamists in Bangladesh rallied in Dhaka for demanding the death penalty for people who were guilty of blasphemy. The Islamists gave three-week ultimatum to Bangladeshi Government for meeting the demands which included tough punishments to the atheist bloggers too.
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WHAT IS BLASPHEMY?
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Blasphemy is an act by someone to insult or disrespect religious deity or show irreverence to holy persons or religion or things.
BLASPHEMY LAW IN BANGLADESH UNDER PENAL CODE 1980

Bangladesh was a secular state in 1971 and became the Islamist state in 1988. However, the secular penal code is used in Bangladesh since 1980. Under Chapter XV (Offences Relating to Religion) of the Bangladesh Penal Code 1980, Section 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class), Section 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and Section 298 (Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) are related to blasphemy and describe punishments as well.
CHINA ANNOUNCED SIGHTSEEING CRUISES TO PARACEL ISLANDS

Chinese officials on 7 April 2013 announced that sightseeing cruises to Sansha, the newest city of China located on the disputed Paracel Islands in South China Sea will begin later in April 2013. The act to start the sightseeing cruises to Sansha will increase the dispute over sovereignty claims to disputed Paracel Islands. The Islands are called Xisha in China and Paracels everywhere else in the world. The Paracel Islands are disputed over sovereignty claims by China, Taiwan and Vietnam. It is important to note that China claimed sovereignty over around complete South China Sea. These claims were strongly countered by Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam. The announcement of sightseeing cruises to Sansha was done from Hainan, the headquarters of China's South China Sea naval fleet. The tourists going for Sansha sightseeing through cruises will eat as well as sleep on the cruise itself because of inadequacy of accommodation facilities. The shipbuilder Haihang Group Corp Ltd declared that the cruise ship was prepared for taking around 2000 passengers on this tour to Islands. Second cruise ship is under construction by Hainan Harbor and Shipping Holdings Co.
ABOUT SANSHA CITY

Sansha is the newest Chinese city which was established in July 2012. Sansha was established for administering over 200 islands, reefs as well as sandbanks in South China Sea. The territory within 800000 square miles of waters under the control of Sansha is disputed. South China Sea also houses crucial shipping lanes along with substantial oil and gas deposits.
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The Government of Sansha is situated on Yongxing (Woody) Island in the Paracels.
PARACEL ISLANDS DISPUTE

The Paracel Islands are also known as Xisha in China and Hong Sa Islands in Vietnamese. These are the group of islands where sovereignty is disputed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam. All the islands at present are under Chinese administration, which in July 2012 also established the new Sansha City. It is important to note that the forces of China and Vietnam occupied the parts of these Islands before 1974. In 1974, Battle of the Paracel Islands took place, after which China took the control of the Paracel Islands.
PAKISTAN SUPREME COURT: MUSHARRAF CANNOT LEAVE COUNTRY

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on 8 April 2013 directed the authorities of the nation to not allow the former President, Pervez Musharraf to leave the country. The Court is hearing petitions against the former military ruler and President Pervez Musharraf for challenging the Constitution and declaring an emergency in 2007. The petitions against the ex-military ruler by a two-judge bench led by Justice Jawad S Khwaja and the petitioners have challenged Musharrafs decision of obstructing access to Justice and detention of the Judges during the Emergency. The petitions have also targeted the decision of substituting the judges, who were appointed unconstitutionally. Before the hearing was scheduled to begin, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikar Chaudhary withdrew his name from the bench of three-judge bench that was constituted for hearing up the petitions. Musharraf, returned back to Pakistan on 24 March 2013 after completing a self-declared exile of four years to lead his All Pakistan Muslim League Party for the elections set to be held on 11 May 2013.
WIKILEAKS PUBLISHED 1.7 MILLION US DIPLOMATIC RECORDS

Wikileaks published more than 1.7 million US diplomatic and intelligence reports from the 1970s. Wikileaks stated that it was releasing the documents in searchable form. Most of the work has been done by the website's founder Julian Assange while he has been taking shelter at the Ecuadorean embassy in London. Assange took refuge in the embassy in June 2012
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to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted in his involvement for sexually assaulting two female ex-Wikileaks supporters in 2010. He denied the allegations and stated that they are politically motivated and done with the objective of depopularising him and his whistle-blowing website. Wikileaks became famous around the world in 2010 following its release of more than 250000 leaked US cables.
SYRIA REJECTED UN PROPOSAL ON CHEMICAL WEAPON USE

Syria on 8 April 2013 rejected the proposal of United Nations to probe the reports of possible use of Chemical Weapons in the country. Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General announced on 7 April 2013 to look into the allegations of both sides of the conflict. Syria in March 2013 asked UN to investigate the use of chemical weapons by the rebels in the village of al-Assal. Whereas, United Nations declared that it wanted to investigate all the reports related to the use of chemical weapons in Syria not only the one that the government claimed to be used by the rebels. Syria rejected the proposal of UN because as per the rules of the country granting an access to the investigators from UN to the whole country meant violation of Syrian sovereignty but was ready to grant access to Khan al-Assal where it had reported the possible use of chemical weapons.
WORLD'S LARGEST PRIVATE YACHT NAMED AZZAM LAUNCHED

A German shipyard on 5 April 2013 launched Azzam, the worlds largest private yacht, overshadowing the previous record holder, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovichs 533-foot Eclipse. The yacht is designed by Nauta Yachts in Italy and is constructed by German company Lurssen Yachts. Azzam is almost two football fields long and rivals the size of some cruise ships. It took four years to complete the superyacht from concept to construction. Specifications of the Yacht The yacht was constructed under the supervision of Length: 180 meters, or 590.55 Mubarak Saad al Ahbabi, Superyachts, and has a feet. relatively shallow, 14-foot draft. That will allow it to anchor in some of the quieter harbors of the Beam: 20.8 meters, or 68 feet. Mediterranean, assuming her 591-foot mass will fit. With 94000 horsepower generated from two gas turbines ad two diesel engines, the Azzam can reach speeds of over 55.5kph, which makes it one of the Speed: 30 knots.
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fastest yachts in the world. The super yacht will require a 50-person crew to maintain and its further specifications are not known yet.
IRAN BEGAN PRODUCTION AT URANIUM MINES & YELLOW CAKE PLANT

Iran announced on 9 April 2013 that it has begun production at two uranium mines and a yellow cake plant. The announcement marked the National Nuclear Technology Day. The Saghand 1 and 2 uranium mines in the central city of Yazd will extract uranium from a depth of about 350 yards while the Shahid Rezaeinejad plant at Ardakan can produce 60 tonnes of yellow cake or the raw uranium. Iran declared the plants open for production despite western powers opposing Irans nuclear program. The latest two-day talks on Iran's nuclear programme held in Kazakhstan ended without agreement in Tehran on 6 April 2013. Iran stated in the talks that it would not compromise on its right to enrich uranium.
USA GOVERNMENT APPROVED MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO SOMALIA

US government in the second week of April 2013 approved the proposal to provide military assistance to Somalia for rebuilding itself following years of conflict. In March 2013, the UN Security Council agreed to partially lift its ban on selling arms to Somalia for a year. The ban was imposed in 1992 which is in fact the worlds oldest. The decision helps Somal ia's new government to purchase light arms to help it in its fight against the al-Qaeda-aligned al-Shabab Islamist militant group. USA never formally cut diplomatic ties with Somalia, but the Black Hawk Down incident in 1993, during which 18 American servicemen were killed after militia fighters in Somalia shot two US military helicopters out of the sky led to anarchy in the country. President Mohamud came to power in 2012 after the first election of its kind following the fall of President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
ELECTIONS IN MALAYSIA SCHEDULED TO BE HELD ON 5 MAY 2013

The Malaysian Election Commission in Kuala Lumpur on 10 April 2013 announced that the general election in Malaysia is to be held on 5 May 2013. The election chairman of Malaysia, Abdul Aziz Yusof declared 20 April 2013 as the day to start former campaign for the general elections. The scheduled election will decide the fate of the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Najib Razak (National Front), as the governing party has enjoyed a tenure of 56 years (since independence) uninterrupted governance in the country. For the first time, the National Front lost two-third majority in the parliament in 2008 general elections.
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The coalition government of Malaysia is composed of three parties and they define themselves on three different racial lines namely, one is the Malays, the other one is of the Indians and the third is of the Chinese. The ruling coalition Government led by Najib Razak will be challenged by the leader of opposition on the former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim from the Peoples Alliance. In 2008 elections his party won 5 of 13 states of Malaysia.
INDIA & RUSSIA SIGNED REGULATION OF CO-OPERATION AGREEMENT

The Union Government of India and Government of Russian Federation on 10 April 2013 at Moscow signed a Regulation defining the structure, functions and procedure of the Joint Commission. The regulation was established by an Agreement, which was signed on 21 December 2010 in New Delhi in the field of Emergency Management. The agreement was signed by Vladimir Puchkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters and Sushil kumar Shinde, the Union Minister of Home Affairs.
IMPORTANCE OF THE AGREEMENT SIGNED

This will set an environment between the two countries to help each other at times of emergency in prevention and elimination of consequences It will strengthen the Indo-Russian co-operation as well as the bond of friendship between the two nations
The Agreement will enhance cooperation in the field of emergency management and contribute in ensuring the safety and well-being of the people of both countries at times of disasters. Both the countries will also exchange the technical and scientific information in areas of emergency management that is mutually beneficial for both sides. Indo-Russian Commission is the body that will look forward for proper implementation of the agreement to catalyze the cooperation between the two nations. The joint-commissions meets will be held alternatively in Indian and Russia.
INDIA-MONGOLIA JOINT COMMITTEE ON COOPERATION HELD

The 4th Meeting of the India-Mongolia Joint Committee on Cooperation was held in New Delhi on 21 March 2013. It was jointly chaired by E. Ahamed, Minister of State for External Affairs of India, and Luvsannyam Gantumur, Minister for Education and Science of Mongolia. The Joint Committee reviewed the entire range of issues in India-Mongolia relations. The Indian side conveyed that Indian companies were interested in playing a larger role in the Mongolian mineral processing and mining industry, and expressed the hope that a favourable environment for their operations could be created. www.jagranjosh.com
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The Indian side reiterated its support for Mongolias development processes and reaffirmed that it is modernizing the Rajiv Gandhi Polytechnic College of Production and Art in Ulaanbaatar. The Indian side is also considering setting up a milk processing plant in Mongolia. Implementation of the Line of Credit of US $20 million extended by India to Mongolia for setting up an India-Mongolia Joint Information Technology Education and Outsourcing Center in Ulaanbaatar was discussed.
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Discussions during the Joint Committee Meeting also focused on continuation of joint military exercises, the proposed visit of an Indian business delegation to Mongolia this summer, the possibility of launching air services between India and Mongolia and the establishment of an India-Mongolia Joint School. The 5th Meeting of the Joint Committee on Cooperation will be held in Mongolia in 2014.
INDIA, BANGLADESH DISCUSSED ON MEGA-FILM ON LIBERATION WAR

Manish Tewari, Minister of Information and Broadcasting of India on 11 April 2013 met Hasanul Haq Inu, Bangladesh Minister for Information & Broadcasting and discussed on different issues including issues related to Information and Broadcasting sector of the two countries. Both the countries agreed on the issue of exploring setting up of a Joint Working Group in the Information and Broadcasting Sector.
ISSUES DISCUSSED AND CONCLUSIONS REACHED

Ministers from both the nations discussed upon joint collaboration for production of a mega film that depicts the War of Liberation. The two ministers agreed to work on finalization of a road map in context of the film proposal. The Bangladesh minister asked for the names of the soldiers, who laid down their lives during the war to recognize them. Ministers also agreed to explore the possibility of setting up of a Joint Working Group on the critical sectors of the Information and Broadcasting domain. The Working Group would provide a roadmap for future collaborations between the two countries. A formal request to downlink the TV channels of Bangladesh through the Private distribution network was made by the Bangladesh Information Minister. Agreement was reached between the two ministers to collaborate between the Prasar Bharti and Bangladesh State Television in view of the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed between the two entities in 2011. The MoU had focused on mutual cooperation in the broadcast of television programmes between the two broadcasters. It was also mentioned that both countries could consider exchange of programmes and also explore the possibility of executive TV co-production. Discussions on identifying the ways for strengthening collaboration as far as training and capacity building was concerned between institutions of mutual interests. Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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Agreement on exchange of archival material between the two countries was reached between the two ministers, like major policy initiatives undertaken by the Government for exponential growth of the sector.
WBS PLAN FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN INDIAN STATES

The World Bank (WB) in the second week of April 2013 announced a multi-million dollar fouryear plan that is to be initiated in seven low-income states of India to bring down the poverty levels. The World Banks Country Partnership Strategy for India proposed to lend 3 billion to 5 billion US dollars every year for a period of next four years. The recognized states are Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The states have been identified depending upon the number of poors that live in these states.
INDIA, MAURITIUS SIGNED A MOU ON ELECTORAL COOPERATION

India and Mauritius on 12 April 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi on cooperation in the field of Election Management and Administration. The MoU was signed by Chief Election Commissioner of India, V.S. Sampath and the Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius, Mohammad Irfan Abdool Rahman.
AIMS OF MOU SIGNED

Promotion of exchanges of knowledge and experience in electoral processes Exchange of information, materials, expertise and training of personnel Production and distribution of materials pertaining to electoral systems, voting technology, voters education as well as awareness and participation of women and minorities in electoral process
The MoU is a great landmark that will help in strengthening and deepening of the mutual collaboration between the Election Commission of India and Electoral Commissioners Office of Mauritius. Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius appreciated Indian Model Code of Conduct by Election Commission of India and acknowledged that Model Electoral Code of Mauritius drew inspirations with it. So far, Election Commission of India has successfully signed seventeen MoUs with Election Monitoring bodies of different nations across the world. Latest MoUs signed by ECI are with UNDP, Venezuela, Republic of Korea and Egypt.
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Current Affairs Ebook April 2013 AMENDED MARRIAGE EQUALITY BILL 2013 PASSED IN URUGUAY
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The Lower House of Uruguay, the Chamber of Deputies voted on 10 April 2013 in Montevideo, Uruguay to legalise the same-sex marriage bill called Amended Marriage Equality Bill, thus making Uruguay the third in America to have done that after Argentina and Canada. 71 lawmakers out of 92 in the Chamber of Deputies voted in favour of the Amended Marriage Equality Bill. Now the Bill will finally become a law after the President of Uruguay, Jos Mujica signs it into law. Under this law, the gay couples will be allowed to marry, with equal legal rights like those of opposite sex couples. It is worth noticing that earlier, the gay couples had some legal recognition in the form of adoption of the children. Some of the Uruguayan gay couples married in Argentina where gay marriages were legalised since 2010. The Amended Marriage Equality Bill increased the minimum age of marriage for Uruguayans to 16 years. With the passing of this bill, Uruguay will become the 12th country of the world to approve same-sex marriage.
INDIAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITED SRI LANKA

The three-day visit of five-member FICCI-sponsored Indian Parliamentary delegation concluded on 12 April 2013. The delegation met a cross section of political opinion in a bid to understand the political situation in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, during its three day meet. The multi-party delegation spent two days in Jaffna, where they met opposition and ruling Party Tamil Leaders and members of Civil Society. They also met beneficiaries of Indian Housing Projects at two different sites as well as Fishnet Factory in Jaffna. The delegation identified the condition of Northern Sri Lanka four years after the Civil War ended. The delegation comprised of two BJP leaders namely Praksah Javadekar and Anurag Thakur and one leader from each Congress, Trinamool Congress and BSP namely Sandeep Dikshit, Saugata Roy and Dhananjay Singh respectively.
INDIA-CHINA COUNTER-TERRORISM DIALOGUE ON AFGHANISTAN

The two-day India-China counter-terrorism dialogue ended on 12 April 2013 in Beijing China. The two nations discussed upon the ways to step up cooperation to counter terror in Afghanistan as a follow up plan after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2014.
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ISSUES DISCUSSED AND AGREED

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The two sides exchanged views and opinions on regional and international counter terrorism situation and bilateral cooperation in the field Discussions were made on the fragile condition of Afghanistan and increased attacks from Taliban that would emerge after withdrawal of US forces from the country, they also discussed upon the initiatives planned to be taken by India, China and Russia to deal with the situation
IMF RECOGNIZED SOMAL IAS NEW GOVERNMENT AFTER 22-YEAR

The International Monetary Fund announced on 12 April 2013 that it recognised Somalia's new government after a 22-year gap in relations with the country. This step is a part of a general push by the United States, United Nations and the West toward encouraging rehabilitation there. It will allow the IMF to offer Somalia technical assistance and policy advice. However, Somalia will not be able to borrow IMF funds until it repays its 352 million US dollars in arrears that it owes the agency. The U.S. formally recognized Somalias new government in January 2013, the first time the U.S. had recognized a Somali government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator, Siad Barre. The U.N. Security Council in March 2013 voted unanimously to partially suspend an arms embargo on Somalia for 12 months for military equipment. This was done with the objective of developing Somalias security forces and providing security for its people. Earlier this month, President Barack Obama cleared the way for the U.S. to arm and train Somali forces. The Somali government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, came into power in September 2012.
25TH JOINT MEETING OF UNWTO COMMISSIONS INAUGURATED

25th Joint Meeting of UNWTO Commissions for South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific was inaugurated by Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevion on 13 April 2013 at Hyderabad. The event will enable India to showcase the rich heritage to world. In the year 2012, Asia and the Pacific region saw the highest growth with a rate of over 7 percent. The sub-region of South East Asia recorded the maximum number of arrivals within these regions with a growth of 9 percent. The Indian tourism growth of 5.4 percent in terms of foreign tourist arrivals was higher than the world average of 4 percent. During the joint meeting, the delegates shared the market trends of the region in the year 2012 and tourism prospects for the year 2013. Various bilateral meetings took place for developing intra-regional and inter-regional strategies. Apart from this, the issue of development of
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UNWTO Convention for the protection of tourists and tourism service providers and implementation of Global code of ethics for Tourism was also discussed. The meeting identified Visa, Taxation and Connectivity as three important determinants for the growth of tourism. The 25th Joint Meeting of UNWTO Commissions for South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific was attended by delegates from 21 countries, eight UNWTO affiliate members, two regional organizations as well as industry organizations. The next Joint Meeting would be held in Philippines and the 21st Session of General Assembly of UNWTO will be held in Cambodia.
INDIA AND MALTA SIGNED THE NEW DTAA AT VALETTA

On 8 April 2013, India and Malta signed the new DTAA (The Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement) at Valetta, Malta during the visit of Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs of India. Once the DTAA enters into force, it will stimulate the flow of capital, technology and personnel between both the countries and will further strengthen the economic relationship. It also provides tax stability and reduces any obstacles in providing mutual cooperation between India and Malta. DTAA and the Protocol between the Republic of India and Malta for the avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income is in force since 8th February, 1995. Both India and Malta have renegotiated the Agreement to bring in line with international standards, change in domestic laws and changed economic scenario.
INDIA & FINLAND TO EXPLORE SOLAR ENERGY APPLICATIONS

A fourteen member Delegation from Finland led by Marja Rislakki, State Secretary Ministry of Employment & Economy of Finland met with an Indian delegation led by Lakshmi Panabaka, Minister of State, MoPNG Government of India on 15 April 2013. The delegation from both countries during their meet identified several ideas of collaboration in sustainable development between the two countries for mutual benefits in the Oil and Gas Sector.
THE BASIC AREAS IDENTIFIED INCLUDE

Projects on Solar Energy applications for Oil & Gas Projects Projects on Solar Energy applications for bio fuels & Algae based bio fuels research and water and waste water management Carbon capture & reformation Finland`s Green Growth & Groove programme for suitable application to Indian Scenario and Academic Institutions/Universities for collaborative R&D projects in areas of low carbon growth technologies and sustainable development.
Following the conclusions reached after the meet of the delegations its likely that a Memorandum of Understanding can be taken up between the Governments of the two
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countries in the near future. The collaboration between the two MoPNG and Finland Government can be in the areas of sustainable development for mutual benefits in accordance to the agreement, respective laws and regulation of the two nations.
EU TIGHTENED UP BANK LENDING RULES AND BONUSES

European Parliament approved new EU Rules on bankers bonuses and the amount of capital that banks must hold as a buffer by a big majority. The new rules called CRD 4 (Capital Requirements Directive) will be effective from 1 January 2014. The EU (European Union) plans to cap bonuses at 100% of a banker's annual salary, or 200% if shareholders approve. The objective behind the planning is to curb the sort of high-risk lending that contributed to the financial crash in 2008. CRD 4 brings the EU into line with Basel III rules on banking standards, which set new capital requirements for banks.
UNDER CRD 4
Banks will have to provide more data about their profits and taxes, on a country-bycountry basis. CRD4 will oblige banks to increase the portion of best-quality core capital to 4.5 percent, from the present 2 percent. They have to hold a minimum total capital of 8% of risk-weighted assets - that is, capital held to back the loans that they make. The credit crunch was a liquidity crisis, so in future; banks will have to be able to meet their liabilities for a period of at least 30 days during financial stress.
IMF SLASHED WORLD GROWTH FORECAST TO 3.3 PERCENT FOR 2013

International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest assessment of the global economy released on 16 April 2013 revised its world growth forecast for 2013 and slashed it to 3.3 percent from previous forecast of 3.5 percent predicted in January 2013. IMF revised its forecast because of the continued recession in the Eurozone. The IMF also forecasted that the economic growth will be on its pick by the second half of the year. The slow growth rate of the United States region is also a region behind the downgrade of the forecast.
IMF LOWERED THE FORECAST

China's growth by 0.1% point to 8.0% Brazil by 0.5% points to 3.0%.
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The Chief Economist of IMF, Olivier Blanchard warned that the fresh bailout of Cyprus and weakness of Italy could spark setbacks for the international economy. IMF in its assessment also expressed concerns over the global fragmentation of IMF Suggestion the dynamism of the emerging economies and the United States. Slow growth in countries like Russia, IMF in its WEO Report Brazil, China and India is also a reason for economic suggested that the Global weakness. prospects have improved again but the road to recovery in the The global economy survived from the crash after advanced economies will defuse of the two largest short term threats to the remain bumpy recovery and they were disintegration of the eurozone and extreme budget cuts and tax hikes in United States. The U.S growth forecasted for the year 2013 is 1.9 percent and for Eurozone it is 0.3 percent. The measures adopted by the world to get out of the financial crisis have been failing due to the bad debt and weak capital hobbled by the banks. Due to Bank of Japans ambitious plan launched to reflate the economy, the IMF upped its forecast for the country to 1.6 percent from initial 1.2 percent.
NICOLAS MADURO WON THE VENEZUELAS PRESIDEN TIAL ELECTION

As per the Venezuelas Presidential election result declared on 14 April 2013, Nicolas Maduro emerged as the winner. However, the opposition refused to accept the result. It alleged that elections were rigged. Maduro won 50.7 percent votes while his main opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski managed 49.1 percent votes with more than 99 percent of the ballots counted. The voters turnout was more than 78 percent of eligible voters. Maduro was named as Hugo Chavezs successor in his last speech to the nation before dying from cancer in March 2013. Maduro had been serving as acting president since Chavezs death. Nicolas Maduro was a candidate for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela wheras Radonski represented a coalition of opposition parties. Venezuela holds the worlds largest oil reserves. Since Maduro is the handpicked successor the International and economical policies of Venezuela can be the same even after Chavezs death.
VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA VISITED TAJIKISTAN

The Vice-President of India, Hamid Ansari was on an official visit to Tajikistan from 14 April to 18 April 2013 and was accompanied by a high-level delegation that included Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries and four Members of Parliament. www.jagranjosh.com
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During this visit of the Vice-President, the two nations discussed on several issues and agreed on working together towards strengthening the ties between the two countries, like, human resource development, academic exchange and promote joint research and project work between both the Tajik Technical University and IIT, Delhi and more.
SOME OF THE IMPORTANT ISSUES ON WHICH DISCUSSIONS

Regional Security Issues: Exchange of views on maintenance of regional peace and security by strengthening cooperation with each other. Discussions on strengthening Afghanistans capacity towards maintenance of peace and prosperity were also made. As well as cooperation on security issues as well as in countering cross-border terrorism were also discussed. Strengthen the Strategic Partnership: Leaders of both the nations agreed to focus on the welfare of the people of both the nations, with a common approach. Strategic Partnership in strengthening the relations in energy sector, health, IT, education as well as establishing the small and micro industries in the country
AGREEMENTS REACHED
Increasing Trade: The leaders of both the nation identified the areas, in which trade can be further extended. They also identified the issue of fine-tuned connectivity between the two countries as the barrier. Trans-Afghan Corridor: Leaders of both the countries agreed on opening the transAfghan corridor for to facilitate easy access of trade to and from the land-locked country. This proposed route will come via Afghanistan and Pakistan Agreement was also reached over strengthening relations in mining, information technology enabled services and medical sectors.
Hamid Ansari is the first Vice-President of Indian Union to visit Tajikistan. Before this visit of Hamid Ansari to Tajikistan, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon visited India in 2012 and during the same visit the bilateral relationship between the two countries was elevated to the strategic partnership level.
FALKLAND ISLANDS VOTED TO STAY UNDER BRITISH RULE

Residents of the Falkland Islands voted almost unanimously to stay under British rule in a referendum held on 10-11 March 2013. The official figure showed that 99.8 percent of islanders voted in favor of remaining a British Overseas Territory in the two-day poll. The referendum was rejected by Argentina. The voters turnout was 92 percent among the 1694 Fal klands-born and long term resident. The islands lie off the tip of Patagonia, at the southern end of South America. Argentina had mounted pressure on Britain to negotiate the sovereignty of the islands. It has increased its pressure since UK companies started drilling for oil and natural gas off the
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Falklands coastline. Many Latin American nations support Argentina. Argentina has claimed the Falkland Islands since 1833. Argentina and Britain had fought a war in 1982 for rights over the islands.
CHINA HIKED ITS DEFENCE BUDGET BY 10.7 PERCENT

China hiked its Defence Budget by 10.7 percent on 5 March 2013. As per the hiked defence budget, the spending on the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) will increase to 111 billion US dollars. The domestic security budget will increase by 8.7 percent to 769.1 billion yuan. Chinas defense expenditure is about 5.4 percent of total expenditure in 2013. It was 5.3 percent in 2012. China is making rapid progress in the defence sector. It recently launched a stealth fighter jet in early 2011. Beijing is also building new submarines, surface ships and anti-ship ballistic to upgrade its naval army. China also tested emerging technology aimed at destroying missiles in mid-air.
CYBER INFORMATION SHARING AND PROTECTION ACT PASSED IN US

The US House of Representatives passed the Cyber Information Sharing and Protection Act , also called CISPA on 18 April 2013. The aim of CISPA is to fight with the cyber threats, by enabling the law enforcers to get access to the web data. The CISPA was passed by 288-127 vote out of which 92 were the Democrats. It will now move to the Senate and then to Obamas desk. The bill will enable the private entities to share the personal information of the customers with any government body, which also includes National Security Agency. It is important to note that this was the second time that the US House of Representatives passed the CISPA. Senators had earlier rejected the first draft of this bill on the grounds that it wasnt providing enough for protecting the privacy. The American federal agencies had warned that hackers motivated by the money or acting as the part of foreign governments were causing a major threat to China. In the meanwhile, CISPA is also supported by the technology firms such as TechNet computer industry lobby group and CTIA wireless industry group. The ones that oppose the bill are Reddit and Facebook. The CISPA could fail once again in the Senate in case veto power of Obama is used. The White House actually wants certain amendments in the bill so that just a little amount of data is handed in the investigations.
BACKGROUND OF CISPA
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is basically a proposed law in US, according to which the Internet traffic information can be shared between certain
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technology and manufacturing companies as well as the US government. The purpose of this bill is to enable US Government in investigating the cyber threats as well as making sure about the security of networks against the cyber stacks. CISPA was first introduced in the Senate on 30 November 2011 by the U.S. Representative Michael Rogers along with 111 co-sponsors. It was passed by the US House of Representatives on 26 April 2012 but the US Senate did not pass this bill. The advisers of Obama advised him to use his veto power against the bill on the grounds that it lacked confidentiality as well as civil liberties safeguards. CISPA was then re-introduced in the House in February 2013. It was passed again by the US House of Representatives on 18 April 2013.
NTPC AND PDB SIGNED THREE PACTS

India and Bangladesh on 20 April 2013 signed three agreements for a joint coal-based power company project. National Thermal Power Corporation of India (NTPC) and Power Development Bangladesh (PDB) signed three agreements on 20 April 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The agreements were a part of setting up of the biggest ever joint venture project of 1320 Megawatt Coal based power plant. This project is to be developed at an expense of 1.6 billion US dollars. P. Umashankar, Union Power Secretary of India led the Indian delegation at the signing ceremony of the mega project. The MoU for Indias cooperation in Power Sector were identified as exchange of power, grid connectivity, energy efficiency and electricity generation with Bangladesh, during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in January Three pacts inked include 2011. In January 2013, NTPC and Bangladeshs Power Purchase Power Development Board (PDB) signed a Joint Agreement (PPA) Venture Agreement (JVA) with equal equity Implementation participation (50:50) for development of power Agreement (IA) projects in Bangladesh. Supplementary Joint This project is proposed to be developed over an Venture Agreement area of 1834 acres of land near Mongla Seaport in (SJVA) Rampal Upazila. It is the largest ever foreign investment in the power Sector in Bangladesh as well as the first power plant that is being developed by NTPC outside India. The power plant will be developed with a super critical technology. As per the environmentalists, the joint-power project will be disastrous to the environment and vegetation of the Sunderbans the worlds largest mangrove forest. The country has also seen many projects for the cancellation of the project by the Government.
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Current Affairs Ebook April 2013 INDIA AND UAE SIGNED AN MOU ON AIR SERVICES
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The Union Government of India and the Government of UAE on 24 April 2013 signed an MoU on Air Services as a follow up of the two day bilateral negotiation at Abu Dhabi. A bilateral agreement was signed by both sides to increase the number of weekly airline seats by four times that is available at present, between India and Abu Dhabi. With this agreement the number of seats between India and Abu Dhabi has been increased to 50000 passengers per week from existing capacity of 13300 + 2% flexibility (total 13,600) Seats per week with eleven points of call available to UAE. The arrangements in the agreement will extend over a period of three years.
FEW IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THE AGREEMENT SIGNED

UAE made a demand from India to allocate additional 40000 seats every week grant for Goa, Amritsar, Pune and Lucknow as additional points of calls and removal of maximum cap that is prescribed from each point of call in terms of seats/frequency per week. It also demanded for allowing third country/domestic code share facility. India made a request to UAE to grant the change of gauge facility at Abu Dhabi for Indian Carriers with an assurance of fifth freedom rights from the UAE. Both sides have also agreed to extend 3rd country and domestic code share facility of designated airlines of either side. The UAE have agreed to Indian request of change of gauge facility. While both sides have agreed Increase in Seat Distribution to allow designated airlines of each side to have the option to change the aircraft in the 11000 seats per week territory of the other party. in year 2013
12800 seats per week The agreement on availability of seats came up with up to winter schedule the exhaustion of the entire capacity of 13300 and 2014 following the demands of the Indian carriers like Jet 12870 seats per week Airways, Air India, Spice Jet and Indigo for increase up to winter schedule in the number of seats. Following the results of the 2015 agreements signed, the air carriers of both the countries will be able to plan their future course of operations in next three years. Whereas the change of gauge facility signed between the two nations will also ensure operational and commercial flexibility to the Indian carriers to deploy equipment following the market demand. The agreement will also play a major role by increasing the international connectivity of the Indian passengers by facilitating local and international route networking. The agreement after two days negotiations was signed between Civil Aviation Ministers of India and UAE
LARGEST BIOGAS PLANT OF THE WORLD INAUGURATED IN FINLAND
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The largest biogas plant of the world was inaugurated on 12 March 2013 in Finland. The biogas plant was inaugurated on the western coast of Finland. The plant is built near the alreadypresent coal-fired power plant in Vaasa in Central Finland. The 140 MW biomass gasification factories would help the country in cutting down the use of coal by up to 40 percent. The largest biogas plant of the world is fuelled primarily with the help of wood residue from the large forestry sector of Finland. This plant, apart from reducing the use of coal, will also help in reducing the emission of carbon dioxide by 230000 tonnes per year. It will also help in facilitating electricity as well as heating for the Vaasa to approximately 61000 residents. The operator of the plant is Vaskiluodon Voima. Vaskiluodon Voima declared that this plant will help in creating various jobs in this region.
EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS BACKGROUND CHECK ACT OF US

An American Senator in month of April 2013 introduced legislation in the US Congress which requires the sales of explosive powder be subject to a background check. The legislation was introduced in the wake of the Boston terror attack. As per the Bill there should be a background check to purchase black powder, black powder substitute, or smokeless powder, in any quantity. It provides the Attorney General with the authority to stop the sale of explosives when a background check reveals that the applicant is a known or suspected terrorist and the Attorney General reasonably believes that the person may use the explosives in connection with terrorism. It has been made illegal by the legislation to manufacture homemade explosives without a permit; and directs ATF to conduct a study on the tagging of explosives, particularly black powder, black powder substitute, and smokeless powder, which could enable law enforcement to detect, identify, and trace explosives used in crimes. It is important here to note that the US Senator Lautenberg had introduced a similar proposal in 2003 as part of his Homeland Security Gun Safety Act of 2003. As per the current law it is allowed for an individual to purchase as much as 50 pounds of explosive black powder without a background check, and also permits an individual to purchase unlimited amounts of dangerous smokeless powder and black powder substitute without a background check. The powders can be used as the explosive material in assembling pipe bombs, used in the Columbine school shooting, and pressure cooker bombs, which were used in the recent Boston attack that left three persons dead and nearly 200 wounded.
INTERNATIONAL QUIZZES
1. US President Barack Obama Signed Short-Term Budget Bill to Avert Government Shutdown in Washington. What is/are the benefits of the signing of the bill? a) The Bill removes the alarming threat of a Government shutdown by funding the US government through the end of the year.
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b) The Bill was passed even though the upper Senate disapproved the mandate moved on by the lower chamber of the congress c) The budget provides three trillion dollars to end the fiscal deficit of US d) Short term funding is the blue-print of US Government to reduce the external debts of the country that it gained due to the recession through which the country passed in 2009. Answer. (a) The Bill removes the alarming threat of a Government shutdown by funding the US government through the end of the year. 2. Name the two tribal women of Pakistan, who will contest polls in the upcoming election for the first time in Pakistan? a) Farida Zakiri and Nusrat Fatima b) Badam Zari and Nusrat Begam c) Begam Fatima and Badam Khar d) Khatoon Rasooli and Mirza Sheikh Answer. (b) Badam Zari and Nusrat Begam 3. During Pranab Mukherjees Mauritius Visit, several agreements were signed between the two nations. Which of the following statements about the MoUs signed are true? I. II. III. IV. Empowerment of persons with disabilities and senior citizens Exchange of resource persons in the identified fields The Government of Mauritius signed a deal to provide Government Jobs (if eligible) to Indians in the Country, who make a visit to the country for few years of stay. Conducting joint research and exchange of research outcomes
a) Statements I, and III are true b) Statements I, II and IV are true c) Statements I, II and III are true d) All the four statements are true Answer. (b) Statements I, II and IV are true 4. Areas in which the MoUs were signed between, India and Mauritius include? a) Medical Research
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b) Telemedicine c) Health Tourism d) Construction of Roads and development of new cities in Mauritius Answer. (d) Construction of Roads and development of new cities in Mauritius
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5. India and Singapore on 2 April 2013 signed an enhanced air services agreement. Which of the statements in context of the agreements signed are true? I. II. III. IV. To build on the existing 216 weekly flights and meet the growing demand for air connectivity between both the countries. Bilateral air services agreement in this context was enhanced to include more capacity entitlements. Singapore is linked by air services to 12 Indian cities, having the most frequent flights to India out of Southeast Asia. Both countries decided to meet once in two years to review the matters of the air services
a) Statements I, and III are true b) Statements I, II and IV are true c) Statements I, II and III are true d) All the four statements are true Answer. (c) Statements I, II and III are true
6. Treaty on Legal and Judicial Cooperation Signed Between India and Azerbaijan. Which of the following statements in context of the treaty are true? I. The treaty between India and Azerbaijan in civil matters is a comprehensive agreement for reciprocal agreement with the foreign countries for different purposes such as service of summons, issuing Letters of Request, taking of evidence, execution of civil decrees as well as enforcement of arbitral awards. According to the provisions of the treaty, requests for legal assistance will be made through the Central Authorities of the Contracting Parties. The Central Authority of the Contracting Party in India is Ministry of Law and Justice, while the same in Azerbaijan is Ministry of Justice.
II.
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III.
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The aim of the treaty is to provide benefit to the citizens of these two countries for seeking Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters in their respective countries, irrespective of income, class or gender bias. The treaty will allow opening of new ventures of cooperation between India and Azerbaijan. The treaty was also signed for joint army practices between the two countries
IV.
a) Statements I, and III are true b) Statements I, II and III are true c) Statements I, III and IV are true d) All the four statements are true Answer. (b) Statements I, II and III are true 7. Indian on 1 April 2013 started Visa on Arrival (VoA) facility for the Senior Citizens of Pakistan. Which of the following statement mentioned below about the VoA scheme are true? I. II. The Pakistani Senior Citizens in the age group of 65+ years would be allowed to take the Visa at Attari/Wagah Check-Post. The facility of providing the one time Visa for the citizens of both countries was decided following the guidelines of the Liberalised Visa Pact that was signed between the two nations in September 2013. This is going to be a single entry Visa and will allow a Pakistani resident in India for a maximum period of 90 days. The Liberalised Visa Pact was signed for easing the cross0-border travel as part of a confidence building measure between the two countries.
III. IV.
a) Statements I, and III are true b) Statements I, II and III are true c) Statements I, II and IV are true d) All the four statements are true Answer. (b) Statements I, II and IV are true 8. Chinese officials on 7 April 2013 announced that sightseeing cruises to Sansha, the newest city of China located on the disputed Paracel Islands in South China Sea will begin later in April 2013. Which of the following statements in context of Sansha are true?
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I. II. III.
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The Islands are called Paracels in China and Xisha everywhere else in the world. The Paracel Islands are disputed over sovereignty claims by China, Taiwan and Vietnam. The act to start the sightseeing cruises to Sansha will increase the dispute over sovereignty claims to disputed Paracel Islands. Sansha is the newest Chinese city which was established in July 2012. Sansha was established for administering over 200 islands, reefs as well as sandbanks in South China Sea. The Government of Sansha is situated on Yongxing (Woody) Island in the Paracels.
IV.
a) Statements I, and III are true b) Statements II, III and IV are true c) Statements I, II and IV are true d) All the four statements are true Answer. (b) Statements II, III and IV are true 9. The German shipyard on 5 April 2013 launched Azzam, the worlds largest private yacht, overshadowing the previous record holder. Name the country and the Yacht that holded the name before Azzam? a) Russian Eclipse b) Saudi Arabian Prince Abdulaziz c) Omans Al Said d) Egypts El Horria Answer. (a) Russian Eclipse 10. Iran announced on 9 April 2013 that it has begun production at two uranium mines. The announcement marked the National Nuclear Technology Day. Name the two Uranium mines. a) Don Otto 1 and 2 b) Caetite 1 and 2 c) Beverley 1 and 2 d) Saghand 1 and 2 Answer. (d) Saghand 1 and 2
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WORLD DAIRY
1 April 2013 President of Egypt Mohamed Morsy was on three days visit to India in March 2013.
2 April 2013 Two tribal women to contest polls for the first time in Pakistan.
3 April 2013 President of India was on two-day visit to Mauritius: major deals signed.
4 April 2013 India signed enhanced Air Services Agreement with Singapore. China, Russia and Pakistan held talk on Afghanistan situation.
5 April 2013 Treaty on Legal and Judicial Cooperation signed between India and Azerbaijan. Connecticut signed Gun Control Legislation after Newtown Massacre. India and Singapore signed Memorandum of Understanding on Air Services.
6 April 2013 UN Human Rights Chief asked US to close Guantanamo prison camp with immediate effect. Visa on Arrival facility for senior citizens of Pakistan initiated at Attari/Wagah CheckPost.
7 April 2013 The Latest Talks on Irans nuclear programme ended without agreement. India strengthened ties in steel and mining with Tanzania.
8 April 2013 Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina rejected new anti-blasphemy law demands of Islamists. China announced sightseeing cruises to disputed Paracel Islands. Pakistan Supreme Court announced that Musharraf cannot leave country. Wikileaks published more than 1.7 million US diplomatic records.
9 April 2013
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Syria rejected UN proposal to probe reports of possible chemical weapon use in country. World's largest private yacht named Azzam launched by German shipyard. Iran began production at two uranium mines and a Yellow Cake Plant. USA Government approved military assistance to Somalia.
10 April 2013 General elections in Malaysia scheduled to be held on 5 May 2013.
11 April 2013 India and Russia signed Regulation of Co-operation Agreement at Moscow. Fourth meeting of INDIA-MONGOLIA Joint Committee on Cooperation.
12 April 2013 India and Bangladesh discussed for a Joint Collaboration on Mega-Film on Liberation War. World Bank announced a multi-billion dollar plan for poverty alleviation in Indian states. India and Mauritius signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Electoral Cooperation. Chamber of Deputies of Uruguay passed Amended Marriage Equality Bill 2013. FICCI sponsored Indian parliamentary delegation to Lanka concluded its visit. Prime Minister of India Visited Germany and important documents were signed.
13 April 2013 Two Day India-China counter-terrorism dialogue on Afghanistan ended.
14 April 2013 IMF recognized Somalias new government after a 22-year break.
15 April 2013 25th joint meeting of UNWTO Commissions inaugurated by Union Tourism Minister. India and Malta signed the New DTAA at Valetta, Malta.
16 April 2013 India and Finland to explore solar energy applications for oil and gas projects.
17 April 2013 European Union tightened up bank lending rules and bonuses. IMF slashed world growth forecast to 3.3 percent for the year 2013. Result of Venezuelas Presidential election declared Nicolas Maduro as winner. Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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18 April 2013
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Vice-President of India visited Tajikistan, agreed on strengthening strategic partnership.
19 April 2013 India and China held their first dialogue on Afghanistan in Beijing. Falkland Islands voted unanimously to stay under British rule. China hiked its defence budget by 10.7 Percent to 119 billion US Dollars.
20 April 2013 US House of Representatives passed the Cyber Information Sharing and Protection Act.
21 April 2013 National Thermal Power Corporation and Power Development Bangladesh signed three pacts. 22 April 2013 French-Egyptian Archaeologists Discovered the Oldest Harbour of the World in Egypt Researchers Discovered Oldest Known European Medieval Cookbook Giorgio Napolitano Re-elected as the President of Italy to serve a Second Term 23 April 2013 World Book and Copyright Day was Celebrated on 23 April 2013 Russia Launched Bio-Satellite (BION-M) Called Orbital Noah's Ark into Space Delhis Sulabh International Museum of Toilets Listed on Top 10 Weird Museums of the World
24 April 2013 The Woodstock Singer, Richie Havens Died at 72 Due to Cardiac Arrest India and UAE signed an MoU on Air Services to Enhance Weekly Seat Capacity
25 April 2013 Seljuk Minaret in the Historic Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo Destroyed by the Protestors US Congress introduced Explosive Materials Background Check Act Unemployment Rate in Spain Reached Record High
26 April 2013 Federal Investigation Agency in Pakistan Arrested Pervez Musharraf in Bhutto-Murder Case India Cut down Oil Import from Iran by 26.5% in Financial Year 2012-13 Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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The 3rd Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process was held in Almaty
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27 April 2013 Turkey signed MoU with Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO as its Dialogue Partner 52-year-long Indebter Turkey to End its Debt to IMF on 14 May
28 April 2013 Italy got a New Coalition Government with Enrico Letta as its Prime Minister Takehiko Nakao elected as the President Asian Development Bank Board
29 April 2013 India and Saudi Arabia decided to set up a Joint Working Group to address Nitaqat Law
30 April 2013 Serbia and Kosovo Reached Agreement on Power-Sharing
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NATIONAL
SOI FILED COMPLIANT AGAINST GOOGLE FOR MAPATHON
Delhi Police on 4 April 2013 launched an inquiry against the Internet Giant Google over its contest Mapathon 2013, following a complaint received by the Survey of India. The Mapathon contest was conducted by Google in February-March 2013. As per the compliant from Survey of India (SOI), the activity of Mapathon 2013 violated the National Map Policy and likely jeopardizes the national security interest. The participants of the contest, being unaware of the law of the land would have violated the law. A letter was also written to Google Indias Office by the Additional Surveyor-General of India R.C. Padhi asking the internet giant to stop its activity of map uploading, as the activity is against the Indian Policy Guidelines. Survey of India is the only body that has been provided, the power of mapping and surveying the nation. The Preamble of the National Map Policy, 2005 states that, the responsibility for producing, maintaining and disseminating the topographic map database of the whole country, which is the foundation of all spatial data vests with the Survey of India.
Mapathon 2013 Contest Mapathon 2013 was a contest created by Google in which it asked the Indian Citizens to map their neighbourhood and send the same to Google for being uploaded on the search engines. Rewards to the 1000 best entries were also announced by Google. The contest was conducted from 12 February to 25 March 2013.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS MENTIONED IN THE MAPATHON 2013 CONTEST

The Mapathon 2013 clearly mentioned in its terms and conditions that the individuals themselves were responsible for their submissions and consequences that may arise after the maps and content provided by them were posted on the search engines. This exercise of the individuals directly lands the individuals into trouble for violating the law of the land, unknowingly if they map some restricted areas that may hamper the security of the nation.
CCI AMENDED THE COMBINATION REGULATIONS

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) amended the Combination Regulations with a view to further simplify the filing requirements and bring about greater certainty in the application of the Act and the Regulations. The provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 relating to regulation of combinations have been in force with effect from 1 June 2011.
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These were subsequently amended on 23 February 2013 with a view to relax certain requirements in regard to filings by corporate entities for combinations that are unlikely to raise adverse competition concerns.
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HIGHLIGHTS OF REGULATIONS
CHANGES
IN
COMBINATION
The Regulations now do not require a notice to be filed for acquisition of shares or voting rights of companies if the acquisition is less than five percent of the shares or voting rights of the company in a financial year, where the acquirer already holds more than twenty five percent but less than fifty percent of the shares or voting rights of the company. In a step which would significantly reduce compliance requirements, the provision for giving notice is now dispensed for mergers/amalgamations involving two enterprises where one of the enterprises has more than fifty per cent (50%) shares or voting rights of the other enterprise. Similarly, the requirement of giving notice is also dispensed for merger or amalgamation of enterprises in which more than fifty per cent (50%) shares or voting rights in each of such enterprises are held by enterprise(s) within the same group. To provide clarification on the nature of intra-group acquisitions for which notice has to be given, Item 8 of Schedule I is amended to state that the relaxation would not apply where the acquired enterprise is jointly controlled. To avoid repetition and to have one category of exemption for acquisition of certain current assets like stock-in-trade, raw materials etc., Item 5 and Item 9 of Schedule I are clubbed and provided as one category under Item 5.
NATIONAL POLICY FOR CHILDREN-2012 APPROVED BY UNION CABINET

The Union Cabinet of India on 18 April 2013 approved the National Policy for Children, 2012. The policy was approved to reaffirm the commitment of the Government towards the realization of the rights of the Children in the Country as it recognized that every person below 18 years in age as a child.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES LAID DOWN BY THE POLICY INCLUDES

The right of every child to life, survival, development, education, protection and participation; Equal rights for all children without discrimination; The best interest of the child as a primary concern in all actions and decisions affecting children
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Family environment as the most conducive for all-round development of children
The set principles makes it mandatory for Governments at all levels, National, State and Local to respect the children in all their actions and initiatives that affects them. The policy has identified survival, nutrition, health, development, education, protection and participation as undeniable rights of every child, and these have been recognized as the key priority areas. For development of a child multi-sectoral, interconnected and collective effort is required to be put forward.
THE POLICY AIMS AT

Purposeful convergence and strong coordination across different sectors and levels of governance Active engagement and partnerships with all stakeholders Setting up of a comprehensive and reliable knowledge base Provision of adequate resources Sensitization and capacity development of all those who work for and with children
To give effect to the Policy the Union Government has decided to develop a National Plan of Action and constitute a National Coordination and Action Group (NCAG) for fine monitoring of the progress of implementation of the plan. For monitoring and implementation of the policy at state and district level, same type of action groups will be constituted by the Government.
RESPONSIBILITIES GIVEN TO
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights are made responsible to ensure that the principles of the policy are respected in all sectors at all levels. The Government has also created a provision of reviewing the Policy after every five years. The Ministry of Women and Child Development will be the nodal ministry for overseeing and coordinating the implementation of the policy and will lead the review process.
SC REJECTED NOVARTIS PATENT PLEA FOR CA NCER DRUG

The Supreme Court of India on 1 April 2013 rejected the plea of Novartis, the Swiss drug maker, to patent the updated version of cancer drug called Glivec. A bench of justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai dismissed the patent plea to Novartis on the basis that there was no inventiveness or novelty in the new version of the drug.
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In its ruling, the Supreme Court of India declared that because the application for patent on beta-crystalline salt did not meet any inventiveness or novelty standard, therefore the companys plea for patent was dismissed. The judgement implied that patents in India would only be granted to companies that were involved in genuine inventions. Litigative patenting would be dismissed. Glivec is used for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia along with certain other kinds of cancers. The cost of this drug is around 2600 US dollar per month. The generic of Glivec is equivalent to 175 US dollar in India.
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Background Novartis had filed a patent application for the new version of this drug in 2006. Comptroller General of Patent and Design denied the patent on the grounds that only certain changes were made to its existing drugs under sections 3(d) and 3(b) of the Indian Patent Law. Novartis then challenged this rejection of patent application for Glivec. Subsequently, the patent application was also rejected by Intellectual Property Appellate Board. In 2009, Novartis took its fight to the Supreme Court of India.
SECTION 3 (D) AND 3 (B) OF INDIAN PATENT LAW EXPLAINED

Section 3 (d) of Indian Patent Law restricts the patents for already-known drugs unless and until there is superiority in invention in terms of efficacy. Section 3 (b) of Indian Patent Law restricts patents for those products which are against the public interest, and also do not show advanced value over the products which already exist.
EVERGREENING OF PATENT RIGHTS- AN ISSUE

Evergreening of the patent rights refers to the strategy adopted by certain innovators for having renewed their patent rights on the products by incorporating only minor changes. These minor changes may include adding new formulations or mixtures. Evergreening is done by the innovators when the patent is on the verge of expiry. A victory in this patent fight would have given monopoly of Glivec to Novartis for 20 years.
INDIA POST TO ESTABLISH 3RD AUTOMATED MAIL PROCESSING CENTRE

India Post in the last week of March 2013 decided to establish third Automated Mail Processing Centre in Hyderabad by April 2013. The Automated Mail Processing Centre is the 60 crore Rupees centre which will come up near international airport at Shamshabad. The centre will have the capability to sort 30000 mails per hour. This will bring down the delivery time of the mails. The department will deliver 1.75 crore www.jagranjosh.com
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letters, 2.7 lakhs of parcels as well as 1.9 crore money orders per day. Earlier, India Post had established two Automated Mail Processing Centres in Kolkata and Delhi.
SC EXPRESSED CONCERN OVER SALE OF GUTKA DESPITE OF BAN

The Supreme Court of India in its order asked the Principal Health Secretaries of 23 states and five union territories that framed rules for enforcement of ban on gutka and tobacco-based pan masala products as well as plastic bags less than 40 microns thick to file compliance reports for the same within four weeks. The Supreme Court Bench that comprised Justice GS Singhvi and Justice Kurian Joseph expressed its concerns over the continuity of sale of tobacco-laced gutka and pan masala across the country even after the ban that was imposed by the central government on its sale.
SC: MAKE PUNISHMENT FOR TRAFFIC RULES VIOLATION HARSHER

The Supreme Court of India on 4 April 2013 ordered the Union and the State Governments to make punishments for violation of traffic rules mainly misuse of red beacons by VIPs harsher. The Supreme Court asked the governments at both levels to introduce the provision of confiscation of vehicles and increase the fine amount to 10000 rupees. The Court have granted a union and states government to amend the rules by second week of July 2013 and failing to abide by the orders of the court would be make the court pass its orders in this regard. The Apex Court in its orders ordered the Governments to restrict use of the red beacons by the VIPs allowing it to be used just by the heads of political executive, legislature, judiciary and persons, who holds the constitutional posts.
I&B MINISTRY RECONSTITUTED CPAC

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting reconstituted the Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC) on 4 April 2013. The function of CPAC is to approve the applications for accreditation from the media, which is India as well as foreign.
MEMBERS OF CENTRAL PRESS ACCREDITATION COMMITTEE INCLUDE

Himanshu Chatterjee (Indian Federation of Working Journalists) B.M.Sharma (All India Small and Medium Newspapers Federation) Pramod Mathur (Working News Cameramens Association) Surinder Kapoor (News Cameramens Association) Coomi Kapoor (Editors Guild of India)
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Shazi Zaman(Indian Broadcasting Foundation) Swaraj Thapa (Press Association) Manoranjan Bharati (News Broadcasters Association) Supriya Prasad (Broadcast Editors Association) Mangipudi Aruna (Association of Small and Medium Newspapers of India) Thyagaraja (Indian Federation of Small and Medium Newspapers) Geetartha Pathak (Indian Journalists Union) Jagdish Yadav (Association of Accredited News Cameraman) Padmadhar Pati Tripathi (All India Journalists Welfare Association) Radhey Sham Sharma (All India Newspaper Editors Conference) Subhash Nigam (National Union of Journalists)
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The tenure of Central Press Accreditation Committee will be two years from the first meeting onwards.
DBT SCHEME TO BE EXPANDED TO 78 MORE DISTRICTS

The National Committee on DBT chaired by the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh met on 5 April 2013 and approved expansion of the Direct Benefits Transfers (DBT) to 78 more districts and have introduced 3 more Pension Schemes under DBT. With this approval DBT will now cover 1/5th of the Country. The next phase of the scheme will begin from 1 July 2013 and take the number of districts covered under the scheme to 121. States like Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, which were not covered in the first phase of the scheme, are also covered under phase II. In the same meeting the committee took a decision to rollout direct benefit transfer of LPG subsidy in a phased manner beginning it with one district and expanding to 20 districts by 15 May 2013. Old age, disability and widows Pension Schemes that is managed by the Ministry or Rural Development was also added to the 26 Welfare Schemes under the DBT and will come into force from 1 July 2013. Creation of a DBT Mission Directorate for enabling smooth rollout of schemes, identification of bottlenecks and handholding of the departments and ministries was also announced in the meet. The Prime Minister has approved creation of a post of Mission Director for DBT.
MORE DECISIONS MADE IN THE MEETING

Additional Schemes proposed and Approved: DBT now covers 26 schemes. The three Pension Schemes managed by MoRD (old age, disability and widows) will now be covered under DBT in all the covered districts. DBT for pension schemes would be introduced from 1 July 2013 along with the rollout of Phase-II.
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Expansion to Post Offices: The Scheme would be expanded to Post Offices as well as the schemes run through their accounts from 1 October 2013 by which the plan of introducing the core banking system to the post offices will be completed in 51 districts. Nationwide Database digitisation: The process of digitisation in all districts will be started
CBI GIVEN THE CHARGE TO PROBE INTO RHINO KILLING IN ASSAM

The State Environment and Forest Minister of Assam, Rockybul Hussain on 7 April 2013 announced that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was given the charge of probing into the killing of Rhinos in the State. The decision was taken following a communication passed by the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions to the state. The decision of initiating a CBI probe into the killings of the rhinos from the centre came up following the repeated incidences of poaching and rhino killings in the Kaziranga National Park and other wildlife parks of the state. The details of the number of cases undertaken by CBI for probing into and the time-period of investigation were not cleared. Apart from this to protect rhinos from poaching activity, the National Tiger Conservation Authority of the Union Environment and Forests Ministry will undertake test flights of unmanned aerial vehicles over the sanctuary from today. As per the latest reports, Kaziranga National Park witnessed killing of 25 rhinos in 2012 and in 2013, 20 rhinos were poached by the first week of April.
ARMY TO LAUNCH SCHEME OF OLD AGE HOMES FOR EX-SERVICEMEN

Bikram Singh, the Chief of Army Staff on 7 April 2013 announced that the Army had prepared a new scheme, under which an old-age home will be opened in every command. The scheme is designed for providing a home to elderly ex-servicemen, who have no one to look after them during their old age. At present, the army is running an old age home on experiment basis near Chandigarh in Panchkula.
ABOUT THE SCHEME

Under the proposed scheme, the ex-servicemen willing to avail the services of the oldage homes will have to pay for the same from their pensions, as the services offered under the scheme are not free.
CONSTITUTE REGULATORY BODY TO CONTROL ELECTRONIC MEDIA: HC
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The High Court of Delhi on 9 April 2013 recommended the Union Government of India to constitute a Statutory Regulatory Body to control Electronic Media. The High Court Bench of Delhi led by Justice Pradeep Nandarajog rejected the idea of self-regulation of the broadcasters. The Court in its judgment ruled that state intervention is necessary to promote the media environment that is characterized by pluralism and diversity. The High Court bench added that a regulatory body was required for ensuring compliance of the provisions mentioned under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 and the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994 by the media organizations. The court in its recommendation said that a statutory regulatory body that consists of men and women of eminence from field of law, science, art and culture, literature, history and social sciences to be constituted. Security of tenure needs to be brought into practice for the members of the regulatory body to ensure non-interference from the government. The Court appointed self-regulatory body of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation Broadcasting Consumers Complaint Committee as the regulatory body to look into the complaints of violation of program and advertising codes and other provisions by the media and give its ruling, until as statutory body is constituted by the Union Government. The court also ruled that the decisions of the Broadcasting Consumers Complaint Committee shall be treated as the foundation stone for taking appropriate action against the offenders.
PRESIDENT APPOINTED TWO JUDGES TO THE SUPREME COURT

Chief Justices of High Courts of Punjab and Haryana as well as Madhya Pradesh, Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde respectively on 10 April 2013 were elevated as Judges of Supreme Court, in order of their seniority by the Article 124: Establishment and President of India. constitution of Supreme Court The appointment of judges will come into effect from the date they assume charge of their respective office. The President of India exercised powers conferred to him by Clause 2 of Article 124 of the Constitution of India for appointment of the judges. Clause 2: Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President may deem necessary for the purpose and shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-five years.
SC DISMISSED PLEA TO DISMISS BHULLARS DEATH COMM UTATION

The Supreme Court of India on 12 April 2013 dismissed the plea of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar the terrorist of Khalistan Liberation Force to dismiss the death penalty and shift it to life imprisonment. Bhullar faced the sentence of Death from the Supreme Court for www.jagranjosh.com
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triggering a bomb blast in Delhi in 1993, in which 9 people were killed leaving behind 17 injured. The Supreme Court was hearing the petition submitted by the Bhullar in which he demanded commutation of the death penalty due to long delay in the decision of the President on his mercy petition. His mercy petition was in row in the Presidents office for eight years, before the President rejected it in the year 2011. The Supreme Court Bench of two Judges that comprised Justice G.S. Singhvi and S.J. Mukhopadhya in its rule declared that the long delay by the President or Governor in disposing the mercy petition of person convicted under anti-terror laws or similar statutes cannot be a ground for commutation of death sentence. The Supreme Courts decision has cleared the way for execution of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar.
PROJECT FOR NOFN CREATION IN GRAM PANCHAYATS APPROVED

The Government of India approved the project for creation of National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) connecting all the 250000 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country through Optical Cable (OFC). The Union Government decided to fund the project through Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). The State Government on the other hand, will have the role of providing free Right of Way (RoW) for laying OFC. The project envisaged signing a tripartite MoU for free Right of Way (RoW) among the Union Government, State Government and Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL). 16 States/UTs signed the MoUs on 26 October 2012. These states and UTs were Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Manipur, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and 3 Union Territories viz. Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Puducherry. Under the MoUs, 140727 GPs will be facilitated with Optical Fibre Network in these States and UTs. Tripartite MoU were signed in the presence of Union Minister of Communications & IT with other 10 states and UTs on 12 April 2013. These states and UTs were Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. In these states and UTs, overall 85731 GPs will get covered by Optical Fibre Network. BBNL will start the work in these states and UTs taking OFC to Gram Panchayats. With the availability of NOFN at 250000 Gram Panchayats a minimum bandwidth of 100 Mbps will be available at each of GP and will lead to proliferation of broadband services. NOFN project will take the technology to grass root level and open new opportunity for the benefit of masses. www.jagranjosh.com
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SC SOUGHT RESPONSE FROM GOVERNMENT ON ANTI-PORN LAWS

A bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir on 15 April 2013 sought response from the Union Government on plea to block and ban porn sites on the Internet, mainly those which show child pornography. The Apex Court described these sites as the major cause of crime against women. The Apex Court issued notices to the ministries of Information and Broadcasting, Home Affairs, Information and Technology as well as Internet Service Providers Association of India. The notices were issued on the petition seeking to bring an anti-pornography law. The petition was filed by the Indore-based advocate, in which he explained that it was not an offence to watch obscene videos but it was a major cause for crimes being committed against women.
NEW PLASTIC VOTER IDENTITY CARDS TO BE ISSUED

Election Commission of India on 17 April 2013 announced that it is planning to come up with a driving license like-hard plastic voter ID cards and replace the long existing laminated voter identity cards. The Deputy Election Commissioner, Alok Shukla made that announcement at New Delhi that new voter cards with colour photos would be first issued in North-Eastern States, Assam and Nagaland. The Election commission will charge a fee of 50 Rupees from the people who want their ID Cards to be converted into the Plastic Cards. The choice of getting the Voter Cards converted into the hard plastic cards will completely depend upon the voters will.
20TH MEETING OF EASTERN ZONAL COUNCIL WAS HELD AT KOLKATA

The 20th meeting of Eastern Zonal Council, comprising of the States of West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand, was held on 17 April 2013 at Kolkata. The meeting was chaired by the Union home Minister Sushil Kumar Sinde.The meeting highlighted the strategic location of the States of the Eastern region and emphasised the need for enhanced cooperation and coordination among the member States on various issues of common importance. Various issues were raised, such as, sharing of information and intelligence, use of national resources like, water, minerals etc, common border check posts, and suggested various mechanisms for strengthening cooperation among the States of the region. The meeting discussed various important issues, such as, internal security, problems of naxalism, communal harmony, safety on the national highways, use and distribution of coal and other natural resources, allotment of land for CRPF to establish battalion camping sites, matters related to police administration, border area development programme, strengthening of vigilance establishment in the states to deal with corruption, issues relating to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, etc.
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It was decided during the meeting that the Standing Committee of Chief Secretaries under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary, West Bengal shall meet to finalise the agenda for the next meeting of the Council later in 2013 in Odisha.
RS. 12000 CRORE SPECIAL PLAN FOR BIHAR APPROVED

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 18 April 2013 approved to continue the special plan for Bihar in the remaining four years of the 12th Five Year Plan. The CCEA approved a total allocation of 12000 crore rupees for the entire plan period. The Package was approved for Bihar under Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) State Component. On the same occasion the CCEA also gave its approval to continue the special plan in Odisha and Uttar Pradesh respectively.
REGIONS FOR WHICH APPROVAL WAS MADE FOR TWO STATES ARE
The Plans were approved for the KBK districts (Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput) of Odisha. The CCEA made an allocation of 250 crore rupees per annum in the remaining four years 2013-14 to 2016-17 of the Twelfth Five Year Plan For implementation of the drought mitigation strategies in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for the remaining four years 2013-14 to 2016-17 of the Twelfth Five Year Plan the special package was approved by the CCEA. A total allocation of 4400 crore rupees for the entire Twelfth Five Year Plan period was approved by the CCEA.
BACKGROUND OF BACKWARD REGION GRANT FUND (BRGF)

The BRGF, aims towards catalyzing the development programs in the backward areas. It was approved by the CCEA in August 2006. In its present form, the BRGF has two components, namely district component covering 272 backward districts in 27 states (including 22 additional districts covered in 2012-13) and state component, which includes the special plan for Bihar, the special plan for the KBK districts of Odisha and the special plan for West Bengal (covered in 2011-12) and Bundelkhand Package (covered in 2009-10).
DA HIKED TO 80% FOR CENTRAL GOVT. EMPLOYEES

The Union Cabinet of India on 18 April 2013 cleared the proposal to increase Dearness Allowance (DA) for the Central government employees from 72 percent to 80 percent. The hike in the DA was made effective 1 January 2013 and will benefit about 50 lakh central Government employees and more than 30 lakh pensioners.
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The impact of this decision on the exchequer on account of an additional installment of DA to the employees of Central Government and Dearness Relief to the pensioners would cost nearly 8629.20 crore rupees per annum with effect from 1 January 2013. During the financial year 2013-14 the same will account to 10067.36 crore rupees it includes the period of 14 months from January 2013 to February 2014.
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Earlier the DA was increased to 72 percent by the Cabinet Committee in September 2012 which was brought into effect from 1 July 2012.
DAC APPROVED CHANGES IN DEFENCE PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the apex decision making body of the MoD, took a series of decisions on 20 April 2013, including amendments to Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) with the objective of infusing greater efficiency in the procurement process and strengthening the defence manufacturing base in India. HIGHLIGHT S OF THE AMENDMENTS TO DPP-2011 1. Prioritisation of Various Categories for Capital Acquisitions under Defence Procurement Procedure Preference for indigenous procurement in the Defence Production Policy 2011 has now been made a part of DPP through an amendment that provides for a preferred order of categorisation, with global cases being a choice of last resort. 2. Release of Public Version of Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP) The DAC has approved the release of a public version of its 15-year perspective document (LTIPP), outlining the Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap (TPCR) against LTIPP 2012-2027. The TPCR will provide useful guidance to the Indian Defence Industry for boosting its infrastructural capabilities and directing its R&D and technology investments. 3. Maintenance ToT (MToT) no longer through Nomination MToT has been hitherto reserved largely for OFB and DPSUs through the nomination process. A DPP amendment has been approved that does away with nomination by Department of Defence Production and facilitates selection of MToT partners by Indian bidders. This measure is expected to have a positive impact on private sector participation in maintenance, repairs and overhaul work. 4. Simplification of Buy & Make (Indian) Procedure
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The DAC has approved an amendment further simplifying this complex category. Its procedures have been brought on par with other categorisations, resulting in faster processing of cases under this category. 5. Clear Definition of Indigenous Content Increased indigenisation is important for our Armed Forces, in order that they have access to reliable supply chains in times of urgent need. Indigenous content has now been defined in an unambiguous manner, providing requisite clarity and a common understanding. 6. Ensuring faster progress in Make and Buy & Make (Indian) cases The Ministry has a limited number of acquisition cases under Make and Buy & Make (Indian) categories, with an estimated value of 120000 crore rupees. Instructions have been issued for speedier conclusion of these cases. 7. Defence Items List Indian defence industry was opened up in May 2001 for 100 percent private sector participation subject to licensing. The Defence Items List has been finalised by the Ministry and sent to DIPP for notification, which will bring required clarity in the licensing process. 8. Licensing for Dual Use Items The Ministry has categorically clarified to DIPP that dual-use items will not require licensing, thereby bringing added clarity to the licensing process. 9. Consultations on Security Guidelines for Indian Defence Industry Draft Security Guidelines that will apply to all licensed defence industries have been circulated for consultations with various stakeholders. It is expected that a complete security framework for Indian private industries participating in defence cases will be in place in the near future. 10. Resolution of Tax-related Issues Resolution of deemed exports status for certain defence projects and rationalisation of tax and duty structures impinging on the Indian defence industry has been taken up by the MoD with the Ministry of Finance. 11. Funds for MSMEs in the Defence Sector The Defence Production Policy 2011 requires the setting-up of a fund to provide necessary resources for development of defence equipment. In order to ensure regular supply of funds to MSMEs involved in manufacturing of defence products, SIDBI has decided to earmark an amount of 500 crore rupees for providing loans, and further, a fund of 50 crore rupees for
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equity support out of India Opportunities Fund managed by its subsidiary, namely, SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd. 12. Efficiency and Transparency in Defence Procurement A stipulation to freeze the SQRs before the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) stage has been accorded, and the validity of AoN has also been reduced from two years to one year. These measures are expected to expedite the acquisition process and increase transparency. 13. Enhanced Delegation of Financial Powers The financial powers of Service Chiefs/ DG Coast Guard have been enhanced from 50 crore rupees to 150 crore rupees for capital acquisition cases. 14. Powers to DAC Approval for all deviations from the Defence Procurement Procedure will henceforth be sought from the Defence Acquisition Council instead of the Defence Minister.
NUHM FORMULATED AS A SUB-MISSION UNDER NHM

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in April 2013 formulated National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) as a Sub-Mission under National Health Mission (NHM) which is supposed to be launched during the 12th Five Year Plan. The basic purpose to launch National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) is to address healthcare needs of urban population, particularly urban poor. It is important here to note that launch National Urban Health Mission was a listed scheme under 11th Five Year Plan with an approved outlay of 4500 crores Rupees and Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) also approved the scheme in its meeting held on 12 September2008. Conversely the scheme could not be launched.
AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE NATIONAL URBAN HEALTH MISSION

National Urban Health Mission is directed towards improving the health status of the urban population particularly slum dwellers and other vulnerable sections by facilitating equitable access to quality healthcare with the active involvement of the urban local bodies (ULBs). The National Urban Health Mission is intended to cover 779 cities and town including 7 metros with population of fifty thousand and above. An amount of15143 crores rupees has been approved for the 12th Five Year Plan 201217by the Planning Commission whereas the Ministry proposed 16955 crore rupees for
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NUHM during 12th FYP. However for the year 2013-14 approved outlay for NUHM is 1.00 crore only.
MEDI CLAIM FACILITY FOR THE FARMERS HOLDING KCC LAUNCHED

The Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 24 April 2013 launched medi claim facility for the farmers holding Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) issued by Dena Bank. The medi claim policies along with ID cards were handed over to six farmers of different States holding KCC of Dena Bank. The medi claim facility was introduced by Dena Bank and United India Insurance Company (UIIC) for benefiting the farmers. The scheme will enable hassle free cashless medi claim facility to the farmers. Once successful on the small scale, the scheme would be considered to be implemented on the large scale as well. It is important to note that this is the first time that the initiative like this was taken over by any bank in India. This facility will be available only to the KCC holder of Dena Bank and his/her spouse and two children under tie up with UIIC under Group Health insurance cover. This cashless facility will be available at around 4200 hospitals all over the country. Dena Bank launched this Nobel scheme for the 225000 KCC holder farmer customers which also cover their family members under the Mediclaim with maximum cover up to Rupees Thirty Thousand.
IBIN FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS CORE PROGRAMME

The Planning Commission of India on 19 April 2013 launched IBIN (India Backbone Implementation Network) for effective implantation of its core programmes and policies. IBIN will help resolve the issues by systematically converting - Confusion to coordination, contention to collaboration and intentions to implementation across India. In fact, Planning Commission of India has introduced several innovations in the 12th Plan including the use of techniques of 'scenario planning' for the first time, use of social media for communications with youth, and the concept of IBIN. The IBIN movement will also disseminate techniques and skills for collaboration, coordination, and better planning through a network of agencies in the country.
IBIN will address the need to improve implementation of policies and programmes chartered out in the 12th Five Year Plan as critical necessity for accelerating more inclusive and faster growth.
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GOVT. PROPOSED LAUNCH OF NATIONAL URBAN LIVELIHOODS MISSION

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation proposed to launch the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) in its 12th Five-Year Plan. The NULM will replace the existing Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY).
FEATURES OF NULM
NULM will focus on primary issues which relate to the urban poverty such as providing wage employment, self-employment opportunities to the urban poor, imparting skill training and enabling entrepreneurship development. Proposal of NULM is at the approval stage. The annual targets under NULM will be fixed after final approval.
HC ON SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

The High Court of Delhi on 24 April 2013 directed the Union Government of India to respond on a plea that questioned how children below the age of 18 were allowed to open an account on social networking sites like Facebook and others. The response was sought by the High Court because Indian Majority Act, the Indian Contract Act and the Information and Technology Act dont permit a child below 18 years to open an account on the social networking sites. The High Court bench of Justices BD Ahmed and Vibhu Bakhru ordered the Union Government to file an affidavit on the issue making its stand clear within 10 days. The Court posted the matter for further hearing to 13 May 2013. The Court also ordered Facebook Inc and Google Inc, the US based firms to respond to how is the recovery of taxes from the websites on their income from operations in India is done.
INDIAN RAILWAYS REDUCED ADVANCED BOOKING PERIOD TO 60 DAYS

The Indian Railways reduced the advanced booking period of the tickets from four months duration to two months, with effect from 1 May 2013. This has been done to prevent the enormous amount of cancellations after the booking process. The Railway notification issued on 25 April 2013 declared that the Advance Reservation Period (ARP) in order to book the reserved train tickets was being reduced from 120 days to 60 days from 1 May 2013. It was also declared that the bookings which were done up to 30 April 2013 under already-existing ARP of 120 days will not be changed.
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Railway officials believed that this action would help the genuine travelers and reduced touts that booked bulk tickets in advance. No change was introduced to ARP limit of 360 days for foreign tourists. Cancellation of booking which was made beyond the time duration of 60 days shall be permitted. At present, tatkal tickets are being issued when a person produces self-attested photocopy of a valid identity proof. In order to monitor the tout, Railways conduct raids on the railway stations as well.
SUPREME COURT ON POLICE REFORMS

The Supreme Court of India on 25 April 2013 directed the Chief Secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Goa to file affidavits on compliance of its directions on Police Reforms and constitution of the State Security Commission (SSC). The Supreme Court Bench that was headed by Justice GS Singhvi directed the Chief Secretaries of all the six states to respond about the date of constitution of the State Security Commission along with the number sittings and minutes of meeting. The bench ordered the Chief Secretaries to file the affidavits by 3 May 2013 and scheduled the next hearing for the same on 6 May 2013.
GOVERNMENT SET UP COMMITTEE TO ENHANCE MSME EXPORTS

The Union government keeping into consideration the widening trade gap, had set up a sixmember inter-ministerial committee in third week of April 2013 under the chairmanship of Finance Secretary R S Gujral to suggest measures for enhancing MSME exports. It is important here to note that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector contributes about 40 per cent in the countrys total exports and over 8 per cent to Indias Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE

The committee will suggest short and long term measures to enhance exports from MSME sector. It will submit its recommendations by mid-May 2013. The other members of the committee include Commerce Secretary S R Rao, Revenue Secretary Sumit Bose, MSME Secretary Madhav Lal, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Takru and Chief Economic Adviser Raghuram Rajan.
SOME IMPORTANT FACTS TO BE REMEMBERED

The export of India is declining drastically due to which its trade deficit has touched an all-time high of 190.1 billion dollars in 2012-13. Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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Indias exports declined by about 2 per cent to 300.5 billion Dollars in 2012-13, which is far below than the 360 billion dollars targeted at the beginning of the year, due to the global demand slowdown. CAD crossed 6.7 per cent of the GDP in the third quarter of last fiscal which is emerging as a tough policy challenge for the government. According to the estimates, the share of MSME exports has fallen from 40 per cent to 36 per cent to the countrys total exports. The MSME sector accounts for around 45 per cent of the manufacturing output and provides employment to about 60 million persons through 26 million enterprises.
NATIONAL QUIZZES
1. Name the person, who was appointed as the secretary of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in India. a) M F Farooqui b) R Chandrashekhar c) Kartikeya Sarabhai d) Sonal Dabra Answer. (a) M F Farooqui 2. FE Indias Best Banks Award-2012-13 was announced in last week of March, name the bank that won the recognition of its strong fundamentals and dynamic growth model. a) Nainital Bank b) J&K Bank c) HDFC Bank d) Andhra Bank Answer. (b) J&K Bank 3. World Autism Awareness Day is celebrated on? a) 1 April b) 2 April c) 3 April d) 4 April Answer. (b) 2 April
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4. Olive Crown Awards 2013 were announced on 1 April 2013, which of the following statements related to the award ceremony are true in context of the award. I. II. III. IV. The award ceremony was held at Shangri-La Hotel, New Delhi Grey Worldwide, the New York-based advertising and marketing company was awarded with Agency of the year title The Olive Crown Awards celebrate the creative excellence in the area of green advertising. Kewal Kiran Clothing grabbed the Advertiser of the Year Award for Green Turn Water Saver Jeans
a) Statements I, II and III are true b) Statements I, III and IV are true c) Statements II, III and IV are true d) All the four statements are true Answer. (c) Statements II, III and IV are true 5. Name the person who was appointed as the Director of the industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2013-14. a) Nandan Nilekani b) Sumit Mazumder c) S Gopalakrishnan d) Adi Godrej Answer. (c) S Gopalakrishnan 6. The Supreme Court of India rejected a patent plea for Cancer Drug Called Glivec. Which of the statements related to the patent issue true? I. II. III. The patent plea was filed by Novartis, the Swiss drug maker, to patent the updated version of cancer drug called Glivec The plea was dismissed by the court on the basis that there was no inventiveness or novelty in the new version of the drug. The Supreme Court ruled that the application for patent on beta-crystalline salt did not meet any inventiveness or novelty standard, therefore the companys plea for patent was dismissed.
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IV.
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Comptroller General of Patent and Design denied the patent on the grounds that only certain changes were made to its existing drugs under sections 3(d) and 3(b) of the Indian Patent Law.
a) Statements I, II and III are true b) Statements I, III and IV are true c) Statements II, III and IV are true d) All the four statements are true Answer. (d) All the four Statements are true 7. India Post in the last week of March 2013 decided to establish third Automated Mail Processing Centre in which city by April 2013. a) Delhi b) Mumbai c) Ahmadabad d) Hyderabad Answer. (d) Hyderabad 8. Survey of India (SOI) filed a complaint against Google on their activity of Mapathon 2013. Which of the following statements in context of the event and SOIs claim true? I. II. The Mapathon contest was conducted by Google in February-March 2013. As per the compliant from Survey of India (SOI), the activity of Mapathon 2013 violated the National Map Policy and likely jeopardizes the national security interest. The participants of the contest, being unaware of the law of the land would have violated the law. Preamble of the National Map Policy, 2005 states that, the responsibility for producing, maintaining and disseminating the topographic map database of the whole country, which is the foundation of all spatial data vests with the Survey of India. Mapathon 2013 was a contest created by Google and Facebook in which it asked the Indian Citizens to map their neighbourhood and send the same to Google for being uploaded on the search engines. Rewards to the 1000 best entries were also announced by Google. The contest was conducted from 12 February to 25 March 2013.
III.
IV.
a) Statements I, II and III are true b) Statements I, III and IV are true
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c) Statements II, III and IV are true d) All the four statements are true Answer. (a) Statements I, II and III are true
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9. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) amended the Combination Regulations with a view to further simplify the filing requirements and bring about greater certainty in the application of the Act and the Regulations. Which of the following statements in relation to the regulations are true? I. The Regulations now require a notice to be filed for acquisition of shares or voting rights of companies if the acquisition is less than five percent of the shares or voting rights of the company in a financial year, where the acquirer already holds more than twenty five percent but less than fifty percent of the shares or voting rights of the company. In a step which would significantly reduce compliance requirements, the provision for giving notice is now dispensed for mergers/amalgamations involving two enterprises where one of the enterprises has more than fifty per cent (50%) shares or voting rights of the other enterprise. Similarly, the requirement of giving notice is also dispensed for merger or amalgamation of enterprises in which more than fifty per cent (50%) shares or voting rights in each of such enterprises are held by enterprise(s) within the same group. To provide clarification on the nature of intra-group acquisitions for which notice has to be given, Item 8 of Schedule I is amended to state that the relaxation would not apply where the acquired enterprise is jointly controlled. To avoid repetition and to have one category of exemption for acquisition of certain current assets like stock-in-trade, raw materials etc., Item 5 and Item 9 of Schedule I are clubbed and provided as one category under Item
II.
III.
IV.
a) Statements I, II and III are true b) Statements I, III and IV are true c) Statements II, III and IV are true d) All the four statements are true Answer. (c) Statements II, III and IV are true 10. Bikram Singh, the Chief of Army Staff on 7 April 2013 announced that the Army had prepared a new scheme, under which an old-age home will be opened in every command. The Pilot project of the scheme on an experimental basis is being run by the Army at ______________?
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a) Shimla b) Delhi c) Panchkula d) Kolkata Answer. (c) Panchkula
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INDIA DAIRY
1 April 2013 State-run GAIL (India) Ltd signed a deal of 2.3-million-tonne (mt) capacity in the Cove Point LNG liquefaction terminal project at Lusby in Maryland, US. Dr Reddys Laboratories appointed G.V. Prasad, the son-in-law of founder Anji Reddy, as the Chief Executive Officer of the company. Olive Crown Awards 2013 took place in Mumbai. Grey Worldwide was awarded with Agency of the year title.
2 April 2013 The United Nations General Assembly had declared 2 April as the World Autism Awareness Day. Infosys signed a five-year agreement with a European Energy Trading House, RWE Supply & Trading (RWEST). The state government of Gujarat introduced a bill in the Gujarat assembly which Places restrictions on the primacy of the chief justice. The National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd signed three loan agreements worth 1870 crore Rupees to part finance its capital expenditure. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for continuation of the Scheme for Special Infrastructure (SIS)
3 April 2013 President appointed Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar as the Chief Justice of HP High Court in exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (1) of Article 217. SC issued notice to the Principal Health Secretaries of States and Union Territories on compliance of rules banning gutka sale and manufacture.
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The Annual Plan for the year 2013-14 for the state of Sikkim was finalized. The plan size was agreed at 2060 crore rupees.
4 April 2013 NTPC and Ministry of Power signed MOU 2013-14. As per the MOU, NTPC shall strive to generate 242 BU during the year. The Tamil Nadu Water Investment Company made the project management agency on behalf of the Government for water treatment and recycling for industry. Narendra Kumar Verma was appointed as the new director of the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corps (ONGC) Exploration. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for the four laning of the Jorhat-Demow section of National Highway-37 in the state of Assam. Union Minister of Law & Justice of India and Minister of Justice of Azerbaijan signed a Treaty on Legal and Judicial Cooperation The Odisha Legislative Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution requesting the Centre to award special category status to the state. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting reconstituted the Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC)
5 April 2013 CCEA decided to de-control sugar by doing away the levy-sugar mechanism on it. Govt. decision also dismantled the regulated release mechanism. SC ordered Central and State Governments to restrict use of red beacons by VIPs and to make harsh laws by amendments to punish the violators of traffic rules. NIA filed a chargesheet against Abu Jundal in the Patiala House Court of New Delhi and accused him for recruiting people to join LeT, the terror outfit. S Gopalakrishnan, the co-founder and Executive Co-Chairman of Infosys, on 5 April 2013 was elected as the President of the industry body (CII) for the year 2013-14.
6 April 2013 The facilities provided to the PIB accredited journalists under CGHS was liberalized by the Government of India National Rifle Association of India elected Raninder Singh as President and D.V.S. Rao as the new Secretary General.
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A 2 day International Workshop on Green National Accounting for India Concluded in New Delhi
7 April 2013 The medium range nuclear capable Agni-II missile was successfully test-fired with a strike range of more than 2000 km from the Wheeler Island. On the occasion of World Health Day, State Government of Rajasthan introduced a scheme of free essential diagnostic tests in government hospitals. Rupesh Shah, the world champion won the 12th Asian Billiards championship at Indore Tennis Club, Indore.
8 April 2013 The official online portal of INTRA-IPS was launched by S. Jayaraman (Special SecretaryInternal Security), MHA at New Delhi. Planning Commission finalized a plan of 17000 crore rupees for Kerala Plan 2013-14. The allocation made is 21 percent more than the previous allocation. The Minister for New & Renewable Energy inaugurated the National Workshop on Grid Integration of Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency.
9 April 2013 Yamaha Motor, announced setting up of its fifth global research and development (R & D) headquarter in Surajpur, Uttar Pradesh. The High Court of Delhi in its judgment asked the Union Government of India to Constitute Regulatory Body to Control Electronic Media. NTPC Ltd was conferred with the Business Leader in the Power Sector at the NDTV Business Leadership Awards in New Delhi. The Madhya Pradesh government decided to declare Malkhamb as the State Sport.
10 April 2013 Tata Consultancy Services, the leading IT Company announced that it signed definitive agreements for the acquisition of Alti SA. Planning Commission of India finalized a plan of 30314 crore rupees for West Bengal Plan 2013-14. State reported positive growth in 2012-13 plan. Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde were appointed as the Judges of the Supreme Court of India by the President
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11 April 2013
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DG Indian Coast Guard Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal commissioned Indian Coast Guard Ship H-191 that is capable of surveillance and other multi-furious tasks. Supreme Court restrained Bharti Airtel from providing 3G roaming services to new customers in non-licensed seven circles. Planning Commission finalized a plan of 4100 crore rupees for Himachal Pradesh Plan 2013-14. Social service sector is the first priority in 12th Plan. National Safe Motherhood day was observed across India
12 April 2013 The Food Corporation of India (FCI) raised 5000 crore Rupees by issuing taxable bonds backed by Government of India Guarantee. A scheme named Amma Hastham was launched by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh to offer essential food items to poor at subsidized rates. Vice President Hamid Ansari was handed over an open letter on Global Leaders for Tourism Campaign by Sec. General of UNWTO. Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2012 was given to the veteran Bollywood actor and villain of the millennium, Pran
13 April 2013 GPS-GIS based Central Emergency Response System, Dial 100 was launched by Kiran Kumar Reddy, the Chief Minister of AP in the State. In the 27th edition of North-East Games played at Imphal, the host state- Manipur claimed the title of overall team champion. Indian women won the Bangladesh Women Tour to India 2012/13 ODI cricket series against Bangladesh Women by 3-0.
14 April 2013 Industrialist R.P. Goenka passed away at his residence at the age of 83. The Government approved the project for creation of National Optical Fibre Network connecting all the 250000 Gram Panchayats. Sharad Yadav was unanimously re-elected as the national President of Janata Dal (United) for third time in a row.
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The Airports Authority of India partnered with MITRE Corporation, for setting up the high-tech research, development and training facility in Hyderabad. The Union Government accorded approval of 285.75 crore rupees to Himachal Pradesh under PMGSY. The Goa Government decided to impose entry tax on vehicles registered outside the state and entering Goa. I & B Ministry constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee for Promotion and Facilitation of Film Production in India. Union Home Minister chaired the conference of Chief Ministers on the 5th report on Public Order submitted by 2nd ARC.
16 April 2013 Chandigarh won third North Zone Sub-Junior National Championship after defeating Punjab in the final. Haryana won the Women Title of the Championship. 66th Himachal Day Celebrate at Dhalpur Ground, Kullu. State Government announced different schemes to uplift living standards of people of state. Delhi-born Raj Chetty won John Bates Clark medal for 2013, also called Baby Nobel. Sunil Kumar took over as the Managing Director of Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) President Pranab Mukherjee dedicated Siddheshwar Dham Temple to the Nation
17 April 2013 RBI decided to launch Plastic notes in the denomination of 10 Rupees in five selected cities of India on trial basis. The Indian Coast Guard Ship C-402 was commissioned in Mumbai by Sanjeev Dayal, Director General Police, Maharashtra. The retail business of Sahara India Pariwar called Sahara Q Shop entered into the Guinness World Records by opening 315 outlets in 10 states. Navjot Singh became the youngest athlete of Jammu and Kashmir to be conferred with the Sher-i-Kashmir Sports Award.
18 April 2013 The lone women Chief Election Commissioner of India, V.S. Ramadevi died due to Cardiac Arrest. She also was the governor of Karnataka & HP.
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The Bihar Cabinet passed the proposal of 35 percent seat reservation for women in recruitment of constables and sub-inspectors in the state. Telgu Writer, Ravuri Bharadwaja was selected for the Jnanpith Award 2012 by the Jnanpith Award Committee for his contribution to Telgu Literature. SC cancelled 49 mine leases in Karnataka based on the recommendations of the Central Empowered Committee.
19 April 2013 The 10-member High Level Working Group headed by K Kasturirangan presented report on Western Ghats to Ministry of Environment and Forests. 12000 crore rupees allocated to Bihar under Special Plan for remaining four years of the 12th five year plan by CCEA. Aruna Bahuguna appointed as the first women Special Director General of CRPF. She is an IPS from a 1979-batch Andhra Pradesh cadre.
20 April 2013 Union Government of India approved the National Policy for Children, 2012. The policy recognizes every person below 18 years in age as a child. The Dearness Allowance for the central government employees was hiked by 8 percent and raised to 80 percent from 72 percent. Muthoot Fincorp, which is actually a part of Muthoot Pappachan Group, announced launching 100 crore Rupees non-convertible debenture (NCB) issue.
21 April 2013 Microsoft was declared as the most attractive employer of India, followed by HP and Google India, according to the survey by HR Company, Randstad. Government launched IBIN (India Backbone Implementation Network) for effective implantation of its core programmes and policies. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) amended Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP).
22 April 2013 Union Cabinet of India gave its approval to the proposal of the Indian Railways for permitting use of its land for metro networks.
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Assam Right to Public Service Act 2012 was implemented by Assam to bring in transparency and accountability in the key areas of governance. Rajasthan Govt. launched 5170 Bharat Nirman Rajeev Gandhi Seva Kendras to provide facilities like land record & mini bank to people across state.
23 April 2013 27th CJI, JS Verma died due to multiple organ failure at New Delhi. He was Chairman of JS Verma Committee that recommended anti-rape law to the government. Narendra Kumar took over as the Managing Director of Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL).IGL is the supplier of PNG and CNG in Delhi and NCR. CCI approved 13 power projects that include hydro, thermal & transmission projects. Legendary singer Shamshad Begum died in Mumbai due to illness. She was 94 years of age. Narasimhan Ravi, the former Editor of The Hindu was unanimously elected as the president of Editors Guild of India in New Delhi.
24 April 2013 Competition Commission of India (CCI) penalised 19 business entities for anticompetitive practices collectively for around 8000 crore Rupees. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocom signed an agreement for International Bandwidth. The Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) under the Chairmanship of C Rangarajan presented the Economic review 2012-13. The Union Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles, Anand Sharma launched 21 New Textile Parks approved under SITP.
25 April 2013 Union Finance Minister P.Chidambaram launched medi claim facility for the farmers holding Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) issued by Dena Bank. Supreme Court demanded affidavits on police reforms from the Chief Secretaries of six states and constitution of State Security Commissions. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation proposed to launch the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) in its 12th Five-Year Plan. Trinamool Congress MP Ambica Banerjee passed away in Kolkata. He was 86 years of age.
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High Court of Delhi sought Union Governments response on how Children below age of 18 years had their accounts on Social Networking Sites. The Indian Railways reduced the advanced booking period of the tickets from four months duration to two months, with effect from 1 May 2013. Aurobindo Pharma announced that it received an approval from USFDA for generic Cefadroxil oral suspension.
27 April 2013 Sarabjit Singh assaulted and brutally beaten up in Kot Lakhpat Jail of Pakistan. He went under Coma and is put on Ventilator support. IAWRT conferred lifetime achievement award on Jai Chandiram, the first Asian President of Association and former deputy director of Doordarshan. Madhya Pradeshs Tikamgarh district was connected with rail under Lalitpur-Singrauli Rail Project announced in 2012-13, Rail Budget. Gallantry and Distinguished Service Awards conferred by the President of India to Armed Forces of India at Rastrapati Bhawan
28 April 2013 Book entitled Leaf Turns Yellow: the Sufis of Awadh was released by the Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari at New Delhi. A proposal of opening an International School of Music in the Kerela was approved by the state Government. Yash Chopra and Rajesh Khanna selected for 13th Dada Saheb Phalke Academy Awards to be conferred on 30 April 2013. Sailendra Nath Roy, an Indian Guinness World Record holder died during the stunt.
29 April 2013 The Union government had set up a six-member inter-ministerial committee to suggest measures for enhancing MSME exports. Goa Government launched a digital Krishi Card to help farmers in making use of benefits such as subsidies and loans given by the State Government. Haryana government raised the cooking cost given under Mid Day Meal Scheme to all primary and upper primary schools in Haryana by 7.5 per cent.
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Bharti Airtel Introduced Flat Roaming Rates for its African Customers in order to strengthen its One Airtel, service. The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 14 mega watt Solar Power project at Deoghar in Jharkhand. Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India released a book titled An Ardent Patriot Dinesh Goswami, compiled by Kumar Deepak Das.
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ECONOMY
CCEA APPROVED DE-CONTROL OF SUGAR
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 4 April 2013 decided to de-control sugar and did away the levy on sugar mills and regulated release mechanism. This de-control will raise the subsidy burden to 5300 crore rupees from previous 2700 crore rupees. De-control on sugar will not have an impact on the sugar made available in the Public Distribution System. The decontrol of sugar will abolish the rule for sugar mills that makes it mandatory for sugar millers to sell sugar to the Government at a discounted price as well as the limitation on the amount they choose to sell in the open market .
GOVERNMENT ACHIEVED FY13 REVISED TAX COLLECTION TARGET

Union government in the Month of March 2013 announced that it has met its revised tax collection target for 2012-13. With this there is also possibility that the tax collection may even exceed the estimates because of better-than-expected indirect tax collections. Combining (direct and indirect tax collections) the government met the revised estimates. From the revenue side a bit for fiscal consolidation was done. However the final numbers for direct taxes will be known only after 20 April 2013. For the year 2012-13, the Union government had revised its direct tax collections target to 5.65 lakh crore Rupees from budget estimates of 5.70 lakh crore Rupees. The target for indirect taxes was revised to 4.69 lakh crore rupees from budget estimates of 5.05 lakh crore Rupees.
What is Direct tax? Direct tax is a tax paid directly to the government by the persons on whom it is imposed. Direct taxes mainly comprise of corporate tax and income tax. It is imposed upon an individual person (juristic or natural) or on property, as distinct from a tax imposed upon a transaction.
It is also important here to note that the fiscal deficit target for 2012-13 of 5.2% of the gross domestic product (GDP) has also been achieved. For 2013-14, budget estimates for direct taxes and indirect taxes are 6.68 lakh crore Rupees and 5.65 lakh crore Rupees, respectively. The number of tax returns filed in 2012-13 was estimated around 2.15 crore compared to 1.64 crore a year ago. On 31March 2013 as many as 7.5 lakh tax returns were filed. www.jagranjosh.com
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The government was trying its best to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as early as possible.
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4065.81 CRORE SANCTIONED FOR WATER POLLUTION CONTROL

The Union Government of India on 5 April 2013 sanctioned 4065.81 crore rupees for pollution abatement schemes of rivers and lakes in different states. Of all the states, Uttar Pradesh received 1385.95 crore rupees. The sanction cost of projects and expenditure includes the State Governments share under the National River Conservation Programme (NRCP) and the National Lake Conservation Programme (NLCP).
What is Indirect tax? An indirect tax can be referred to taxes such as sales tax, a specific tax, value added tax (VAT), or goods and services tax (GST). It is a tax collected by an intermediary (such as a retail store) from the person who bears the ultimate economic burden of the tax (such as the consumer).
NATIONAL LAKE CONSERVATION PLAN (NLCP)

National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) started in June 2001 with a funding scheme of 70:30 fund sharing between centre and state. The main objective of the scheme is to restore and conserve the urban and semi-urban lakes of the country degraded due to waste water discharge into the lake and other unique freshwater eco systems, through an integrated ecosystem approach.
NATIONAL RIVER CONSERVATION PROGRAMME (NRCP)

National River Conservation Programme (NRCP) is the centrally sponsored Scheme implemented by the central Government jointly with the State Government on a cost-sharing basis. The pollution abatement works under NRCP presently cover identified polluted stretches of 39 major rivers in 185 towns spread over 20 States in the country.
CORE SECTOR GROWTH SLUMPED BY 2.5% IN FEBRUARY 2013

The production of eight core sector industries decreased by 2.5 percent in the month of February 2013, for the first time in 2012-13 financial year. This happened because of a decrease in the output of natural gas. The biggest decline happened in the natural gas sector with more than 20 percent in February. This was followed by coal (-8 percent), electricity generation (-4.1 percent) and crude oil (-4 percent). The overall output growth of the core sector industries was witnessed at 7.7 percent in February 2012.
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Negative performance in February 2013 diminished cumulative growth in 11 months of 2012-13 FY ending February to 2.6 percent in comparison to 5.2 percent during same period in 2011-12 FY. Eight core industries include electricity, cement, crude oil, finished steel, petroleum refinery products, fertiliser, coal and electricity. These industries have weight of 37.9 percent in Index of Industrial Production (IIP). During February 2013, fertiliser output decreased by 4 percent in comparison to 4.1 percent growth in February 2012. Cement output increased by 3.9 percent in comparison to 9.8 percent in February 2012. Petroleum refinery output increased by 4.3 percent in comparison to 6 percent in February 2012. Steel production increased by 0.5 percent in comparison to 8.7 percent in February 2012. In January 2013, these core industries increased by 3.1 percent.
SPECIAL INFRA. SCHEME IN LWE AFFECTED STATES APPROVED

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 2 April 2013 approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for continuation of the Scheme for Special Infrastructure (SIS) in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected states during the 12th Plan period. The proposal includes an added objective of upgradation and critical gap filling of training infrastructure, residential infrastructure, weaponry, vehicles and any other related items pertaining to Special Forces of LWE affected states. The total cost would be 373 crore rupees comprising 280 crore rupees as central government share and 93 crore rupees as state government share on a 75 (central): 25 (state) funding pattern. The scheme will enhance the security in the region which would provide an enabling environment for development. The scheme was being implemented from the year 2008-09 with the broad objective to adequately provide for critical infrastructure requirements that are critical to the policing and security needs in the field, but are not adequately or otherwise provided for in any other scheme. During the 11th Plan period 100 percent funding was provided by the Central Government to the 9 LWE affected states for implementing various projects under the scheme. The total funds were released under the scheme by the central government to the 9 LWE affected states during the 11th Plan period is 445.82 crore rupees.
4 LANING OF JORHAT TO DEMOW SECTION OF NH-37 APPROVED

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for the four laning of the JorhatDemow section of National Highway-37 in the state of Assam under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in North Eastern Region (SARDP-NE) Phase A on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis in Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) (Annuity) mode of delivery. The cost is estimated to be 874.69 crore rupees excluding land acquisition and other
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pre-construction activities. The total length of road will be 80 kilometres approximately. The project will expedite the improvement of infrastructure in the state of Assam and also reduce the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying between Guwahati to Dibrugarh and Nagaon to Dibrugarh. It will also increase employment potential for local labourers for project activities. The projects is covered in the districts of Golaghat, Jorhat, Sivsagar and Dibrugarh and passes through the towns of Numaligarh, Dergaon, Jorhat, Jhanji, Gorisagar, Sivsagar, Demow, Sapan, Maran and Dibrugarh.
WORKSHOP ON GREEN NATIONAL ACCOUNTING FOR INDIA CONCLUDED

Two-day International Workshop on Green National Accounting for India finished in New Delhi on 6 April 2013. The Government of India established the expert group under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) in August 2011. The aim of this expert group was development of framework for green national accounts, identification of data gaps and preparation of a road map to implement the framework. The expert group conducted in-depth deliberations on these issues over past one and half years. The report was submitted in the international workshop. The report called, Green National Accounts in India A Framework was released by the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh on 5 April 2013. The Green National Accounts in India A Framework report reflected the state of economy. It also formed the raw material for assessment and policy formulation. This report consisted of six chapters and includes conceptual foundations of economic evaluation. The report also deals with not only the conceptual building up of the system of Green National Accounts, but also deals with the implementation ability aspects based on the conceptual framework of Green Accounting Framework.
FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS IN INDIA INCREASED BY THREE PERCENT

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) showed a growth of 2.8 percent in March 2013 over March 2012. The growth rate in Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism in Rupee terms in March 2013 over March 2012 was 21percent. The following are the important highlights regarding FTAs and FEEs from tourism during the month of March, 2013.
FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS (FTAS)
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FTAs during the Month of March 2013 were 6.40 lakh as compared to FTAs of 6.23 lakh during the month of March 2012 and 5.36 lakh in March 2011. There has been a growth of 2.8 percent in March 2013 over March 2012 as compared to a growth of 16.3 percent registered in March 2012 over March 2011. FTAs during the period January-March 2013 were 20.27 lakh with a growth of 2.3 percent, as compared to the FTAs of 19.81 lakh with a growth of 10.9percent during January-March 2012 over the corresponding period of 2011.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS (FEES) FROM TOURISM IN RUPEE TERMS AND US DOLLAR TERM
FEEs during the month of March 2013 were Rs. 9,491 crore as compared to 7843 crore rupees in March 2012 and 5522 crore rupees in March 2011. The growth rate in FEEs in rupee terms in March 2013 over March 2012 was 21.0 percent as compared to 42.0 percent in March 2012 over March 2011. FEEs from tourism in rupee terms during January-March 2013 were 30075 crore rupees with a growth of 20.5 percent, as compared to the FEE of 24968 crore rupees with a growth of 31.7 percent during January-March 2012 over the corresponding period of 2011. FEEs in US dollar terms during the month of March 2013 were 1.75 billion US dollars as compared to FEEs of 1.56 billion US dollars during the month of March 2012 and 1.23 billion US dollars in March 2011. The growth rate in FEEs in US dollar terms in March 2013 over March 2012 was 11.9 percent as compared to the growth of 27.1 percent in March 2012 over March 2011. FEE from tourism in terms of US dollar during January-March 2013 were 5.55 billion US dollar with a growth of 11.6 percent, as compared to 4.97 billion US dollar with a growth of 18.9 percent during January-March 2012 over the corresponding period of 2011.
Ministry of Tourism compiles monthly estimates of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) on the basis of data received from major ports and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism on the basis of data received from Reserve Bank of India.
NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON GRID INTEGRATION INAUGURATED

The Minister for New & Renewable Energy, Farooq Abdullah inaugurated the National Workshop on Grid Integration of Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency on 8 April 2013. The workshop discussed the important areas of clean energy development which are grid integration of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
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The National Workshop on Grid Integration of Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency was organised in collaboration with United State Department of Energy under the United States 21st Century Power Partnership initiative. Grid planning in the high-renewable energy penetration scenario is of strategic importance. Also, development of smart grids for enabling more efficient, resilient, and safe distribution of power is another area of action.
H IGHLIGHTS OF THE 21ST CENTUR Y POWER PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE

Developing & sharing knowledge on topic relating to expansion of electricity sector Strengthening and disseminating these tools to accelerate this transformation Improving the capacity of experts and building expertise Leveraging all three-knowledge tools and expertise to improve our policies
INDIA TRADE PROMOTION ORGANISATION SIGNED A MOU WITH GOVT.

India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Government of India for the year 2013-14 on 20 March 2013. The MoU was signed between Rita Menon, Chairperson and Managing Director of ITPO and S R Rao, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MOU

Major highlight of the MoU is the projected surplus of Rs. 100 Crore by ITPO during 2013-14. The MoU laid down target for investment proposal to be submitted for the redevelopment of Pragati Maidan into a modern and state-of-the-art integrated Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre, to the Union Cabinet for approval. Certain other targets were also included in the MoU and these included 850 man-days of training to its both senior and other employees during 2013-14 and reduction of electricity water consumption by 5 percent and 10 percent respectively.
FISCAL 2012-13: RAILWAYS CARRIED 1009.73 MILLION TONNES OF FREIGHT

Indian Railways carried 1009.73 million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during the financial year 2012-13 as per the data released by Ministry of Railways. The freight carried shows an increase of 39.95 million tonnes over the freight traffic of 969.78 million tonnes actually carried during the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 4.12 per cent.
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During the month of March 2013, the revenue earning freight traffic carried by Indian Railways was 98.20 million tonnes. There is an increase of 4.35 million tonnes over the actual freight traffic of 93.85 million tonnes carried by the Indian Railways during the same period last year, showing an increase of 4.64 per cent.
FCI RAISED 5000 CRORE RUPEES BY ISSUING TAXABLE BONDS

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) raised 5000 crore Rupees by issuing taxable bonds backed by Government of India Guarantee in order to meet the additional working capital requirement. The issue of bonds was opened on 21 March 2013 and closed on 22 March 2013. These bonds are of two tenures- 10 years (300 crore Rupees) and 15 years (4700 crore Rupees). The coupon rate for 10 years was 8.62 percent per annum and 8.80 percent per annum for 15 years. Food Corporation of India (FCI) has the Cash Credit Limit with Consortium of 62 banks. At present, the Cash Credit Limit is 54495 crore Rupees which is secured by mortgaging entire stock of FCI and guaranteed by Government of India. At present, the interest rate on Cash Credit Limit is 10.79 percent monthly which eventually translates into 11.34 on annual basis. Annual interest saving through issue of this bond will be 127.54 crore Rupees.
RETAIL INFLATION DECLINED TO 10.39 PERCENT IN MARCH 2013

According to a data released on 12 April 2013 Retail Inflation declined to 10.39 percent in March 2013. The decline snapped five months trends of rising with the easing of the vegetables and the protein based items. The inflation recorded in February 2013 based on the Consumer Price Index was 10.91 percent. The prices of the vegetable basket eased from 21.29 percent in February 2013 to 12.16 percent in March 2013. Whereas; the inflation in context of protein based items like meat, egg and fish remained stagnant at 14.36 percent in March 2013. The inflation in oil and fat segment remained at 11.72 percent and the inflation in cereal segment was recorded to be the highest of 17.55 percent in March 2013. Inflation in Pulses stood at 11.38 percent and in sugar it was 11.65 percent on annual basis. The retail inflation in urban areas declined from 10.84 percent recorded in February to 10.38 percent in March 2013. Whereas the consumer price index (CPI) of rural population went down to 10.33 percent in March 2013 from 11.01 percent recorded in February 2013.
NEEPCO GRANTED MINIRATNA CATEGORY 1 STATUS
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North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) was conferred with the Miniratna Category 1 status by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 8 April 2013. NEEPCO was earlier the schedule A Corporation.
STATUS OF CATEGORY-I MINIRATNA FIRMS

Category-I Miniratna firms can incur the capital expenditure on modernization, new projects as well as equipment purchase without the approval of the Government, up to 500 crore Rupees. The Category-II Miniratna firms, on the other hand, have the financial freedom of spending up to 300 crore Rupees or 50 percent of total net worth, whichever out of these is lower.
NEEPCOS STATUS AFTE R BEING CONFERRED WITH MINIRATNA CATEGORY 1

NEEPCO was initially the schedule A Corporation. After being elevated to Miniratna Category 1 status, NEEPCO will have autonomy to take the investment decisions freely without the consent of Ministry of Power.
ABOUT NEEPCO
NEEPCO plays a crucial role in the power sector of North East region. it serves around 50 percent power requirement of this region. By 2018, NEEPCO has plans to add 2300 MW of power through the thermal and hydro projects. At present, NEEPCO executes 5 projects in North East region with total installed capacity of 917 MW.
GOLD PRICES DECREASED TO 15-MONTH LOW

The prices of wide range of commodities decreased considerably in the second week of April 2013, marking the cooling down of inflation to just a little below 6 percent. While the oil companies had deducted the petrol prices by over 1 Rupee, the price of gold, on the other hand, fell to 15month low at 26500 Rupees per 10 gm. Gold dropped to biggest two-day in 30 days. Silver dropped 10 percent; Aluminium fell down 7 percent and metals as well as palm oil showed weakest prices in several months. Market observers explained that the prices of gold will fall further to 25000 Rupees per 10 gm because the investors would prefer equities than www.jagranjosh.com
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gold. Decrease in the prices of gold is important because it will lower the import bill of UPA government on account of the gold.
RBI TO START PLASTIC MONEY PROJECT ON TRIAL BASIS

The Reserve Bank of India on 16 April 2013 announced that it would start the introduction of Plastic Notes in the market on trial basis. The announcement was made by the Deputy Governor of RBI, K.C. Chakrabarty in Magalore. The Deputy Governor in his announcement informed that the Central Bank would launch the plastic notes the denomination of 10 rupees and will continue with other small denominations depending upon the success of these notes. The introduction of the scheme would start on a trial basis following the mandate of the Union Government to introduce plastic/polymer currency notes of 10 rupees on a field trial in five cities of India. The date for launch of the Plastic Notes was not cleared by the Bank.
IMF SLASHED ECONOMIC GROWTH RATE OF INDIA TO 5.7% 2013

International Monetary Fund in its latest release on 16 April 2013 of the World Economic Outlook (WEO) slashed the growth projection of India from its earlier prediction of 5.9 percent to 5.7 percent for the calendar year 2013. The IMF slashed its projection for India based on the significant structural challenges faced by India, which would lower down the potential output keeping inflation elevated by regional reasons. It also predicted that the bottomed out India economy could recover following the policy reforms introduced by the Union Government and the improvement in external demands. All these depend upon a better monsoon season, solid consumption, external demand and improvement in policy making. IMF also slashed the global outlook to 3.3 percent from 3.5 percent predicted in January 2013 and for 17-nation Euro Zone, the forecast was 0.3 percent. It has advocated to the policymakers of European nations to come up with aggressive monetary policies to pull out Eurozone from the crisis situation.
GROWTH PROJECTION BY UNION GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

The Union Government projected its growth for the fiscal year 2013-14 to be 6.2-6.7 percent. Indian Government uses the factor of cost method for making growth projections related to economy. Whereas IMF calculates the growth rate based on the estimates of Growth Domestic Product using market prices. The Current Account Deficit would be elevated at 4.9 percent against 5.1 percent in 2013, and the Consumer Price Inflation can move up to 10.8 percent from 9.3 percent. The latest data
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released in context of Indias retail inflation showed moderated impact of retail inflation in March 2013. IMF projected that India would grow at the rate of 6.2% in 2014. It projects the global economy to expand 4.1% in the 2014.
INDIAS EXPORTS IN M ARCH 2013 VALUED AT $30849.65 MILLION

Indias Exports during March 2013 were valued at 30849.65 million US dollars (167836.31 crore rupees) which was 6.97 per cent higher in Dollar terms (15.65 per cent higher in Rupee terms) than the level of 28839.36 million US dollars (145123.41 crore rupees) during March, 2012. Cumulative value of exports for the period April-March 2012 -13 was 300570.58 million US dollars (Rs 1635261.02 crore) as against 305963.92 million US dollars (1465959.40 crore rupees) registering a negative growth of 1.76 per cent in Dollar terms and growth of 11.55 per cent in Rupee terms over the same period 2011-12. Imports during March, 2013 were valued at 41164.71 million US dollars (223954.98 crore rupees) representing a negative growth of 2.87 per cent in Dollar terms and a growth of 5.01 per cent in Rupee terms over the level of imports valued at 42380.68 million US dollars ( R. 213265.08 crore rupees) in March, 2012. Cumulative value of imports for the period AprilMarch, 2012-13 was 491487.22 million US Dollars (2673113.08 crore rupees) as against 489319.50 million US dollars ( 2345463.25 crore rupees) registering a growth of 0.44 per cent in Dollar terms and growth of 13.97 per cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year.
CRUDE OIL AND NON-OIL IMPORTS

Oil imports during March, 2013 were valued at 13327.1 million US dollars which was 16.56 per cent lower than oil imports valued at 15972.4 million US dollars in the corresponding period last year. Oil imports during April-March, 2012-13 were valued at 169253.0 million US dollars which was 9.22 per cent higher than the oil imports of 154967.5 million US dollars in the corresponding period last year. Non-oil imports during March, 2013 were estimated at 27837.6 million US dollars which was 5.41 per cent higher than non-oil imports of 26408.3 million US dollars in March, 2012. Non-oil imports during April - March, 2012-13 were valued at 322234.2 million US dollars which was 3.62 per cent lower than the level of such imports valued at 334352.0 million US dollars in April - March, 2011-12
TRADE BALANCE
The trade deficit for April - March, 2012-13 was estimated at 190916.64 million US dollars which was higher than the deficit of 183355.58 million US dollars during April -March, 2011-12.
TO REVIVE INTEREST IN SEZS OF INVESTORS FTP CHANGED

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The Annual Supplement 2013-14 to Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2009-14 was announced on 18 April 2013 by the Union Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles, Anand Sharma at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. In the latest Annual Supplement 2013-14 the Union Government has tried to implement measures to revive the interest of the investors in Social Economic Zones (SEZs) as well as to boost exports.
IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE PACKAGE ARE

The Government has reduced the size of total land area required for development of SEZs to its half from its initial requirement of minimum Land Area of 100 hectares for allowing the development of SEZs. Now an investor needs to have 50 hectares of land to develop a SEZ. This has been done in response to end the difficulties being faced by the investors in gaining collective large area of uncultivable land for setting up of the SEZ. Graded Scale for Minimum Land Criteria has been introduced to permit the SEZ an additional sector for each contiguous 50 hectare parcel of land. This has been done to ensure flexibility in utilization of the land tracts that falls between the 50 to 450 hectares. Flexibility is granted for setting-up additional units in a sector specific SEZ. This will be done by introducing sectoral broad-banding to encompass similar/related areas under the same sector. In context of Vacancy of Land: the government has revised the policy in existence that allowed a parcel of land with pre-existing structures but not in commercial use to be considered as a vacant land and this was used with the purpose of notifying it for a SEZ. The new policy being introduced is that pre-existing structures and activities being undertaken after notification would be eligible for duty benefits similar to any other activity in the SEZ.
IT Exports constitute a very significant part of Indias exports and IT SEZs have a major contribution in it. Exports from IT SEZs during financial year 2012-13 have exceeded 1.40 lakh crore rupees and it registered a growth of over 70 percent, over the previous years exports. The Government has brought in new changes to boost growth in the IT SEZ sector and to encourage the employment opportunities in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
CHANGES IMPLEMENTED IN IT EXPORTS

For development of IT SEZs, the Government has done away the criterion on minimum land area of 10 hectares, making it to no minimum land requirement for setting up an IT/ITES SEZ. The SEZ developers will have to meet up with the minimum built in area requirement. The criteria of requiring a minimum build-up land area has also been relaxed to a greater extent. The requirement of one lakh square meters is applicable in 7 major cities namely Mumbai, Delhi (NCR), Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Kolkata. For the Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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other Category B cities 50000 square meters and for remaining cities only 25000 square meters built up area norm will be applicable. The SEZ policy Framework in existence at present doesnt include a policy of exit but now the Government permits, the transfer of ownership of SEZ units, including sale. The Government has also introduced several schemes and modified different policies as per the requirements.
CHANGES IN FTP 2009-14 TO ENHANCE TRADE AND SEZS IMPLEMENTED

Union Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles, Anand Sharma released the Annual Supplement 2013-14 to Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2009-14 18 April 2013 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. During the fiscal year 2012-13, the export of India grew to 300.60 US Billion Dollar from 300 US Billion Dollar, but it fell by 1.76 percent previous year. The trade deficit which was 183.4 US Billion Dollar last year has increased to 190.91 US Billion Dollar. On this occasion of releasing the Annual Supplement 2013-14 to Foreign Trade Policy 2009-14 the government introduced many strategic Changes to policies to revive the interest of the investors in Social Economic Zones (SEZs) as well as to boost exports.
CHANGES IN SEZS
Size of total area of land required for development of SEZs have been reduced Graded Scale for Minimum Land Criteria has been introduced Flexibilities are introduced to set up additional units sector specific SEZs Policy to provide duty benefits to pre-existing structures and activities being undertaken after notification have been introduced In IT SEZs, the criterion of minimum land area of 10 hectares has been done away
ZERO DUTY EXPORT PROMOTION CAPITAL GOODS (EPCG) SCHEME

Foreign Trade Policy has two variants under this scheme, Zero Duty EPCG for few sectors and 3% Duty EPCG for all sectors. On 5 June 2012, a new Post Export EPCG Scheme was also announced which was notified on 18 February 2013 by the CBEC. Now the Union Government has decided to merge the Zero Duty EPCG and 3% EPCG Scheme into one scheme and make it a Zero Duty EPCG Scheme covering all sectors.
SALIENT FEATURES OF THE ZERO DUTY EPCG INCLUDES

Authorization holders will have export obligation of 6 times the duty saved amount. The export obligation has to be completed in a period of 6 years The period for import under the Scheme would be 18 months The discharge of Export Obligation by export of alternate products and the accounting of group companies has been barred
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The benefits of the Zero Duty EPCG Scheme can be availed by the exporters who have availed benefits under Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) administered by Ministry of Textiles Under the new Zero Duty EPCG Scheme, import of motor cars, SUVs, all purpose vehicles for hotels, travel agents, or tour transport operators and companies owning/operating golf resorts will not allowed
REDUCED EXPORT OBLIGATION FOR DOMESTIC SOURCING OF CAPITAL GOODS

The quantum of specific Export Obligation (EO) in the case of domestic sourcing of capital goods under EPCG authorizations has been reduced by 10%. This would promote domestic manufacturing of capital goods.
REDUCED EO FOR UNITS IN THE STATE OF JAMMU & KASHMIR

To encourage manufacturing activity in the State of Jammu & Kashmir the specific export obligation (EO) is reduced to 25% of the normal export obligation. Earlier, this benefit was announced on 5 June 2012 in respect of units located in North Eastern Region and Sikkim and the same provision is now being extended to J&K.
WIDENING OF INTEREST SUBVENTION SCHEME

Presently there exists availability of 2% interest subvention scheme to certain specific sectors like Handicrafts, Handlooms, Carpets, Readymade Garments, Processed Agricultural Products, Sports Goods and Toys. The scheme had been further widened to include 134 sub-sectors of engineering sector. Government had also announced that the benefit of this scheme of 2% interest subvention could be available up to 31 March 2014 Items covered under the Chapter 63 of ITC (HS) (other made up textile articles, sets, rags) and additional specified tariff lines of engineering sector items under the scheme have also been included in the scheme by widening its provisions
WIDENING THE SCOPE OF UTILIZATION OF DUTY CREDIT SCRIP

Duty Credit Scrips issued under Focus Market Schemes, Focus Product Scheme and Vishesh Krishi Gramin Udyog Yojana (VKGUY) can be used for payment of service tax on procurement of services within the legal framework of service tax exemption notifications under the Finance Act, 1994. Holder of the scrip shall be entitled to avail drawback or CENVAT credit of the service tax debited in the scrips as per Department of Revenue rules. All duty credit scrips issued under Chapter 3 can be utilized for payment of application fee to DGFT for obtaining any authorization under Foreign Trade Policy. This benefit shall be available only to the original duty credit scrip holders. Duty credit scrip can also
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be paid for payment of composition fee and for payment of value shortfalls in EO under para 4.28 (b) of Hand Book of Procedure Vol. 1. Market and Product Diversification Norway has been added under Focus Market Scheme and Venezuela has been added under Special Focus Market Scheme. The total number of countries under Focus Market Scheme and Special Focus Market Scheme becomes 125 and 50 respectively. Approximately, 126 new products have been added under Focus Product Scheme. These products include items from engineering and electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and textiles sector. About 47 new products have been added under Market Linked Focus Product Scheme (MLFPS). These products are from engineering, auto components and textiles sector. 2 new countries i.e., Brunei and Yemen have been added as new markets under MLFPS. MLFPS is being extended from 01.04.2013 to 31.03.2014 for exports to USA and EU in respect of items falling in Chapter 61 and Chapter 62 of ITC (HS). Exports of High Tech products would be incentived and it would be separately notified by 30th June, 2013. The towns of Morbi (Gujarat) and Gurgaon (Haryana) have been added to the existing list of towns of export excellence for ceramic tiles and apparel exports respectively. These towns shall be eligible to get benefit under ASIDE Scheme.
INCREMENTAL EXPORTS INCENTIVISATION SCHEME

Government has announced Incremental Export Incentivisation Scheme on 26 December 2012 for the exports made during January 2013 to March 2013. This scheme is available for exports made to USA, EU and Asia. It has been agreed to extend this scheme for the year 2013-14. The calculation of the benefit shall be on annual basis under the extended scheme. The Government has also agreed to include additional countries under Incremental Exports Incentivisation Scheme. 53 countries of Latin America and Africa have been added with the objective to increase Indias share in these markets. The present exports to each of these markets are less than US $ 100 million.
CHANGES HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED IN MANY OTHER SCHEMES ARE

Facility to close cases of default in Export Obligation Served from India Scheme (SFIS) VKGUY Scheme Status Holder Incentive Scheme (SHIS) Re-credit of 4% SAD Duty Free Import Authorization Scheme (DFIA) Import of Cars Improvement in quality and timeliness of Foreign Trade Data Second Task Force on Transaction Cost in International Trade Electronic Data Interchange Initiatives Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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Ease of Documentation and procedural simplification Widening of items eligible for import for Handloom/Made ups and Sports Goods
GOVERNMENT APPROVED 1083 CRORE RUPEES REVIVAL PLAN FOR HMT

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) under Union Government on 18 April 2013 approved a 1083-crore Rupees renewal package for watch and tractor maker company HMT. The approval of the revival Plan Directly aims to modernise the company and help it turn around in five years. The package approved basically includes a cash infusion of 450 crore rupees and a non-cash assistance of 630 crore Rupees.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PACKAGE APPROVED

The package is aimed at turning the loss making company to profit-making one over five years by increasing production. The cash component of the package will be used for modernization, working capital needs and wage revision. The company also aims to hike production to 30000 units from the current 4500 units over five years.
GOVT. PERMITTED RAILWAYS TO USE ITS LAND FOR METRO NETWORKS

The Union Cabinet of India on 18 April 2013 gave its approval to the proposal of the Indian Railways for permitting the use of its land for crossing metro networks under ground, on the surface as well as elevated/over ground. The Indian Railways will also allow opening of Kendriya Vidyalayas on its land in order to provide adequate educational facilities to children of railway staff/officials placed in remote areas, and where educational institutions are not adequate. Exchange of railway land with central/state governments, department/local bodies for setting up public utilities shall also be entered into by the Indian Railways, wherever considered mutually beneficial.
UNION GOVERNMENT APPROVED 13 POWER PROJECTS

The Cabinet Committee on Investment on 22 April 2013 cleared 13 power projects that involves investment of 33000 crore rupees. The projects on which the investments will be made include one hydro and two thermal project as well as ten transmission projects. 25 oil and gas blocks with investment commitment of about seven billion US dollars also got approval during the same meet. Of these 16 blocks were given conditional clearances, while nine blocks were approved without any condition. Approval of these projects was pending due to the objections raised by the Ministry of Defence over national security.
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During the meet of Cabinet Committee on Investment in New Delhi twenty different power projects that await clearances from the Union Environment and Forest Ministry were also reviewed. The meet was headed by the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh.
CCI SLAPPED FINE OF 8000 CRORE RUPEES IN 19 CASES

Competition Commission of India (CCI) penalised 19 business entities for anti-competitive practices collectively for around 8000 crore Rupees by the end of financial year 2012-13. It was figured out as on 31 March 2013 that CCCI had received 347 cases regarding violations of anticompetitive practices. Out of the 347 registered cases , the Commission had closed 262 cases, while in 28 cases cease and desist orders have been passed, also in other 19 cases, total penalties of 8013 crore rupees was imposed along with cease and desist orders. In view of the Competition Act, the CCI has got the authority to issue cease and desist order to abstain the company from pursuing any anti-competitive practices. Also in another major upshot a total of 55.67 crore rupees of undisbursed funds in the last fiscal have been credited to Consolidated Fund of India. It was calculated that during the 2001-2012, a sum of 637.17 crore rupees had been credited to the Consolidated Fund of India. To deal with the issue of credit in an effective way, the Union government has established Investor Education and Protection Funds (IEPF) by which unclaimed funds on account of dividends, matured deposits, matured debentures and share application money are transferred to the government by the company on completion of seven years.
UNION GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED 21 NEW TEXTILE PARKS

The Union Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles, Anand Sharma on 23 April 2013, launched 21 New Textile Parks approved under Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP). With the launch of these new textile parks, the total number of parks reaches 61 because 40 parks were already sanctioned.
SCHEME FOR INTEGRATED TEXTILES PARKS (SITP)

The Scheme for Integrated Textiles Parks (SITP) plays a vital and instrumental role in the development of wide range of models for green field clusters from a 1000 acre FDI driven integrated cluster, to a 100 acre powerloom cluster and a 20 acre handloom cluster. Under this scheme, a total number of 61 parks have been sanctioned. 40 projects out of these began in 11th Five Year Plan and another 21 projects are scheduled to be implemented in 12th Five Year Plan.
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Out of these 21 parks, six are in Maharashtra, four in Rajasthan, two each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and one each in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tripura, Karnataka, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Out of 40 parks which were sanctioned earlier under this scheme, 25 Textile Parks are operational already. Most of the parks under this will be completed during 2013-14 financial year. The estimated employment generation is more than 10 lakh people with total estimated investment of 27562 crore Rupees. It is important to note that in 2013-14 Union Budget, the Union Finance Minister had announced an additional amount of up to 10 crore Rupees per park for establishment of the apparel manufacturing units for the projects under the SITP scheme.
On the occasion of launch, Anand Sharma also released a coffee table book on SITPs. This coffee table book encapsulates the broad features of various ITPs set up all over India. The book gives an insight into the physical and pictorial status of each ongoing Park approved under SITP.
ECONOMY QUIZZES
1. By what percent the production of eight core sector industries decreased in the month of February 2013, for the first time in 2012-13 financial year? a) 3.5 Percent b) 2 Percent c) 2.5 Percent d) 4 Percent Answer (c) 2.5 Percent 2. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 2 April 2013 approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for continuation of the Scheme for Special Infrastructure (SIS) during the 12th Plan period in which extremism affected states ? a) Left Wing Extremism (LWE) b) Right Wing Extremism c) Centre wing Extremism d) None of the Above Answer (a) Left Wing Extremism (LWE) 3. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for the four laning of the Jorhat-Demow section of which National Highway- in the state of Assam?
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a) National Highway- 37 b) National Highway- 24 c) National Highway- 19 d) National Highway- 17 Answer (a) National Highway- 37
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4. What amount was sanctioned by the Union Government of India on 5 April 2013 for pollution abatement schemes of rivers and lakes in different states? a) 4065.81 crore rupees b) 4063.65 crore rupees c) 4036.81 crore rupees d) 4029.54 crore rupees Answer (a) 4065.81 crore rupees 5. Name the city where the Two-day International Workshop on Green National Accounting for India was finished on 6 April 2013. a) Kolkata b) Mumbai c) New Delhi d) Hyderabad Answer (c) New Delhi 6. What is the escalation in the growth percentage of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in March 2013 over March 2012? a) 2.8 Percent b) 3.5 Percent c) 5.3 Percent d) 6.2 Percent Answer (a) 2.8 Percent 7. As per the data released by Ministry of Railways Indian Railways, what was the revenue earning freight traffic of Indian Railways during the financial year 2012-13 ?
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a) 1009.73 million tones b) 2009.71 million tones c) 3009.74 million tones d) 4009.74 million tones Answer (a) 1009.73 million tones
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8. What amount was raised by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) by issuing taxable bonds backed by Government of India Guarantee in order to meet the additional working capital requirement? a) 5000 crore Rupees b) 4000 crore Rupees c) 3000 crore Rupees d) 2500 crore Rupees Answer (a) 5000 Crore Rupees 9. As per the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) with what percent the auto Sales in India was dropped, hitting a 10 year lowest sales percentage? a) 4.6 Percent b) 6.7 Percent c) 3.5 Percent d) 2.5 Percent Answer (b) 6.7 10. What is the slashed percentage in World Trade Growth Forecast by World Trade Organization in year 2013? a) 3.6 Percent b) 3.2 Percent c) 2.6 Percent d) 3.3 Percent Answer (d) 3.3 Percent
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CORPORATE
SAMSUNG IS MOST POPULAR BRAND IN EMERGING MARKETS: SURVEY
An online survey conducted recently by Upstream, the mobile marketing firm, revealed that in developing markets such as Saudi Arabia, India, Nigeria and Brazil, 32 percent people would prefer Samsung over Nokia (22 percent), Apple (21 percent) and Blackberry (10 percent). In the online survey, Upstream samples more than 1000 adults in these four countries to find out that Samsung was a leading brand in comparison to Nokia, Apple and Blackberry. However, only in Nigeria, Nokia was the most popular brand with 37 percent preference. As far as the developed market of US is concerned, Apple is still a popular smart phone. In developing countries nevertheless, Samsung is a preferred choice. In developed countries such as US and UK, 32 percent of prospective buyers selected iPhone in comparison to 22 percent for Samsung. In context with the results of the survey, the founder and CEO and Upstream described that there was a relation between income and the brand affinity. In developing countries, a mobile phone is more of a necessity and therefore the choice of brand does not play an important role. In Nigeria, two-third of the surveyed people relied on phone. In India, one-third people preferred laptops over other gadgets. Nokia and Blackberry achieved preference more in the African nations. It is worth noticing that Samsung has an increased demand across the world because of the rising popularity of Galaxy S III. Upstream, the mobile marketing company conducted this survey independently, outside the firms like Vanson Bourne and YouGov.
IVRCL SIGNED AGREEMENT WITH TRIL TO SELL HIGHWAY PROJECTS

IVRCL Limited, the Hyderabad-based infrastructure company on 29 March 2013 announced that it signed definite agreements with TRIL Roads Private Limited, the TATA Group Company as a part of its strategic business plan for monetizing its BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) assets. IVRCL divested the stakes in three road projects namely- IVRCL Chengapally Tollways Limited (ICTL), Salem Tollways Limited (STL) and Kumarapalayam Tollways Limited (KTL), in Tamil Nadu to TRIL Roads Private Limited. Though the value of this deal was not disclosed, but it is estimated to be around 2200 crore Rupees. IVRCL Limited on 1 April 2013 announced that the overall deal consideration would be realised once some agreement-related conditions were agreed upon and approvals from NHAI and lenders were granted. The Salem Tollways Limited (STL) is operating 53-km of NH-47 which extends from Salem to Kumarapalayam in Tamil Nadu, under the concession agreement which was signed with the
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Current Affairs PDF April 2013
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National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). This project kicked off its commercial operations in June 2010. Kumarapalayam Tollways Limited (KTL) is operating 47 km of NH-47 from Kumarapalayam to Chengapalli in Tamil Nadu. The project started its commercial operations in August 2009. IVRCL Chengapally Tollways Limited (ICTL) is operating 54.83 km of NH-47 from ChengapalliCoimbatore-Walayar highway in Tamil Nadu. The project would kick off the commercial operations in first six months of 2014 financial year. IVRCL announced that it planned to divest other three highways as well as water projects out of a total of nine BOT projects. IVRCL operates in areas of power transmission, transportation, industrial structures, environment and water as well as buildings.
L&T BAGGED ORDER WORTH 5689 CRORE FROM RVUNL

Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T), the engineering and construction company, on 1 April 2013 announced that it bagged the order worth 5689 crore Rupees from Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd in order to set up super critical thermal power project in Rajasthan. The order includes engineering, design, supply, manufacturing, erection as well as commissioning of two coal-fired thermal units of 660 MW each with super critical parameters at Chhabra in Baran district, Rajasthan. L&T won the contract after the international competitive bidding in which several bidders took part. The project comes with a deadline of 42 months for Unit 1 and 45 months for Unit 2. It is worth noticing that L&T also entered the advanced execution phase of various super critical thermal power projects. With this project in hand, L&T now has a total of supply and installation of 26 super critical steam generators along with steam turbine generators of 660MW, 700MW and 800MW. The overall power order book of L&T is approximately 26000 crore Rupees now and this includes equipment orders and civil works.
GAIL SIGNED DEAL WITH US FIRM FOR LNG LIQUEFACTION TERMINAL

State-run GAIL (India) Ltd on 1 April 2013 signed a deal of 2.3-million-tonne (mt) capacity in the Cove Point LNG liquefaction terminal project at Lusby in Maryland, US. The US-based firm is marketing 4.6 mmtpa, out of which GAIL has booked 50% of such capacity for the period of 20 years. As per the agreement GAIL will secure its own natural gas and deliver it to the Cove Point pipeline for liquefaction at the terminal and loading into ships brought to the facility on the Chesapeake Bay. Earlier, GAIL had signed an agreement with Sabine Pass Liquefaction, a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy Partners of the US, for a supply of 3.5 mt a year LNG. www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DEAL SIGNED

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The deal would enhance GAILs scale of operations in the US where the company already have presence through their participation in a shale gas asset in the Eagle Ford basin. This deal would also provide GAIL with an opportunity to trade part of the volume in the international market apart from organizing the ships required to transport rest of the volume to India. The deal would provide GAIL with an outlet for the gas assets it holds in the US as LNG from Cove point could be exported to nearby markets and also brought to India with necessary permissions.
G.V. PRASAD APPOINTED AS CEO OF DR R EDDYS LABORATORIES

Dr Reddys Laboratories on 1 April 2013 appointed G.V. Prasad, the son -in-law of founder Anji Reddy, as the Chief Executive Officer of the company. The son of Anji Reddy, Satish Reddy would be the Vice-Chairman of the company, while also playing the role of Managing Director as well as the Chief Operating Officer (COO). Restructuring of top management of DRL came after demise of Kallam Anji Reddy, the founder of DRL, on 15 March 2013. The appointment of the top management was done by board of directors after recommendations of nomination, governance and compensation committee of DRL. It is important to note that G.V. Prasad has remained instrumental in the strategic planning of DRL. Satish Reddy, on the other hand, remained crucial for executing the plans of the company. G.V. Prasad is also the board of member of Acumen Fund, Indian School of Business, Infotech Enterprises and Institute of Life Sciences. Satish Reddy in the meanwhile joined DRL in 1993 and is the head of Global Generics and Pharmaceutical Services and Active Ingredients (PSAI).
NASDAQ TO BUY ESPEED PLATFORM FROM BGC FOR 750 MILLION $

Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) in the month of March 2013 announced that it will buy eSpeed, the electronic trading system for U.S. Treasuries, from BGC Partners Inc. (BGCP) for about 750 million dollars in cash. The deal is supposed to give the second-largest U.S. stock market a grip in fixed income. In exchange for eSpeed, which operates a fully executable central limit order book for electronic trading of U.S. Treasuries, Nasdaq apart from paying BGC 750 million dollars in cash also agreed for certain contingent issuances of stock that BGC values at up to 484 million dollars over 15 years. BGC shares rose 37 percent in trading after the market closed.
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Nasdaq will also issue about 15 million common shares over 15 years as part of the acquisition, pushing the potential value of the transaction to 1.23 billion Dollars.
ABOUT NASDAQ
NASDAQ is an American stock market which originally stood for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. It is the second-largest stock market comparing to official stock exchanges by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. The NASDAQ exchange platform is owned by NASDAQ OMX Group, which also owns the OMX stock market network.
INFOSYS SIGNED FIVE YEAR AGREEMENT WITH RWEST

Infosys on 2 April 2013 signed a five-year agreement with a European Energy Trading House, RWE Supply & Trading (RWEST). RWE Supply & Trading (RWEST) is a leading, Energy Trading House which provides technology services to transform its trading operations to create business efficiencies and drive growth from new markets and commodities.
ABOUT THE AGREEMENT

The agreement is an innovation and gain-share model supported by a joint investment framework to identify and implement innovative business and technology projects that will deliver measurable benefits to RWEST. The agreement highlights include consulting and technology services for applications transformation and business platforms, and transition to a managed services model for application management.
Infosys, which is the multinational provider of business consulting, technology, engineering, and outsourcing services, is basically associating with RWEST to enable a strategic growth through the transformation of their trading platform.
NTPC SIGNED LOAN AGREEMENTS WORTH 1870 CRORE WITH BANKS

The National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd signed three loan agreements worth 1870 crore Rupees on 2 April 2013. The loan agreements were signed with Canara Bank (worth 1000 crore Rupees), Punjab and Sindh Bank (570 crore Rupees) and Andhra Bank (300 crore Rupees). All these loan agreements were extended at the respective base rates of the bank. Base rate of the bank is the bare minimum rate at which the bank can lend. All these loans have the door to door tenure of 15 years. The aim of these loan agreements is to part finance the capital expenditure of NTPC.
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MOU SIGNED BETWEEN NTPC AND MINISTRY OF POWER FOR 2013-14 FINANCIAL YEAR
The National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) and Ministry of Power (MOP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) 2013-14 on 2 April 2013. The MoU was signed between CMD of NTPC, Arup Roy Choudhury and Secretary Power of MOP, P. Uma Shankar.
MAIN POINTS OF THE MOU

According to the MoU signed, NTPC will work towards generation of 242 BU during 2013-14. In 2013-14, NTPC will also strive to produce 4 MMTPA coal from its own captive mines. NTPC envisaged fresh capacity addition of 1875 MW in 2013-14. Milestones related to other ongoing projects and Mines of NTPC are also part of MOU. Other sections associated with CSR & Sustainability, Financial Performance, Human Resource and R&D in line with guidelines of Department of Public Enterprises also formed a part of this MoU. Ministry of Power will assist NTPC in the areas related to Commercial, Fuel Security and Ash Utilisation and land acquisition.
It is important to note that during 2012-13 financial year, NTPC added 4170 MW which is the highest ever capacity addition by NTPC in any financial year. The overall commercial capacity of NTPC is 34820 MW and total commissioned capacity of NTPC became 41184 MW.
RELIANCE JIO AND RELIANCE COMMUNICATIONS SIGNED AGREEMENT

Infocomm Ltd and Reliance Communications on 2 April 2013 signed a 1200 crore Rupees definitive agreement. As per the deal, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries' telecom arm will make use of the optical fibre network of Reliance Communications in order to roll out the 4G services. Under various terms of agreement, the Reliance Jio Infocomm will make use of multiple fibre pairs across the 120000 km inter-city fibre optic network of Reliance Communications for bringing out the 4G services. Reliance Communications, in the meanwhile, will get reciprocal access to optic fibre infrastructure to be constructed by Reliance Jio Infocomm in near future. Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani, known as the richest brothers of the world, have been under dispute over the natural gas interests. The relations between the two strained after the death of their father, Dhirubhai Ambani in 2002. Reliance Empire broke between the two in 2005. In 2010, Anil Ambani and Mukesh Ambani abandoned the non-competition agreement which curtailed them from entering into same businesses.
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While Mukesh Ambani is the Chairman and MD of Reliance Industries as well as the owner of IPL team- Mumbai Indians, Anil Ambani on the other hand has his businesses in finance, infrastructure and power.
RAYMOND LANE RESIGNED AS HP S CHAIRMAN

Hewlett-Packard or HP announced on 4 April 2013 that its chairman Raymond Lane was resigning from the office. Raymond Lane was re-elected in March 2013 with only 58.8 percent votes of shareholders at the annual meeting of the company. Raymond Lane resigned on the grounds of criticism by the shareholders for paying 11 billion US dollar for Autonomy. Though Raymond Lane would continue to remain in the board, but two other directors namely, John Hammergren and G Kennedy Thompson will leave the board. Ralph Whitworth will as of now, play the role of interim chairman. It is also important to note that HP decided to slash certain jobs because of the declining printer and PC business.
CHINA MOBILE & VODAFONE TO BID FOR MOBILE LICENSES IN BURMA

China Mobile and Vodafone, the two biggest telecommunication companies of the world, on 4 April 2013 announced that they formed a consortium in order to bid for the mobile licenses in Burma. The license will be awarded in June 2013 and it will be operating a nationwide network for next 15 years. It is important to note that as of now there is just 10 percent mobile penetration in Burma. The population of Burma is over 60 million. The Government therefore decided to boost the coverage to 80 percent by 2016. In yet another consortium, Denis O'Brien's Digicel formed alliance with George Soros' Quantum Strategic Partners and Serge Pun. This consortium will look forward to initial project investment between 1.5 billion US dollar and 2 billion US dollar. Certain other companies will also bid for the licenses and these include Norway's Telenor, Qatar Telecom and Singapore's SingTel.
SBI TO DISCONTINUE FREE ACCIDENT INSURANCE COVER FROM JULY

India's largest bank SBI will discontinue a free accident insurance cover given to its home and car loan customers from July 2013.In a notification to its customers, the State Bank of India (SBI) said the complimentary group personal accident insurance cover (death only) for home and car loan customers will be discontinued on the expiry of current Master Policy on 1 July 2013. The bank, however, did not mention the reasons for
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scrapping the complimentary cover. SBI said that its home and car loan borrowers, who do not have any insurance cover for their loan liabilities, may opt for the policies being offered by SBI's insurance venture. Currently, SBI General Insurance Company Limited is offering an Accident Insurance cover of Rs 4 lakh for SBI's savings bank account holders for an annual premium of Rs 100. Earlier this year, SBI had said it provided personal accident cover to over 7 million of its account holders across the country in association with SBI General Insurance. SBI General Insurance Company is a joint venture between the State Bank of India and Australia's leading general insurance provider Insurance Australia Group (IAG).
VOLVO SIGNED JEEV MILKHA SINGH AS BRAND AMBASSADOR

Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo on 7 April 2013 signed golfer Jeev Milkha Singh as its Brand Ambassador in order to push sales. In 2012 the company sold 800 units and the target for 2013 is around 1100 to 1200 units. In the first quarter of 2013, Volvo has sold 276 units which is an increase of 140 percent from the year 2012. Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo is looking to increase sales in India by around 50 per cent in 2013 to about 1200 units and will launch its new model V40 Cross Country by June 2013.The new model will compete directly with BMWs X1. At present, Volvo Auto India sells fo ur models, XC60 (SUVs), XC90, and S80 and S60 (sedans) in India.
AISECT LAUNCHED JOB PORTAL CALLED ROJGAR MANTRA.COM

Vocational education, services and e-governance network, AISECT launched a job portal called RojgarMantra.com which will cater mainly to people in rural and semi urban India. Rojgar Mantra will put emphasis on filling local, entry level job requirements of private and public enterprises at the town, district and block levels. It has over 2 lakh applicants already registered with the website. AIS ECT is planning to have over 10 lakh job seekers and an equal number of jobs registered with Rojgar Mantra in the next 5 years.
TVS MOTOR AND BMW MOTORRAD TIED UP TO DEVELOP BIKES

The TVS Motor Co. Ltd. and BMW Motorrad on 8 April 2013 announced a deal to jointly develop Made in India Bikes in below 500 CC segment. BMW signed a long term joint technical cooperation and manufacturing agreement with TVS. At present, BMW operates in the 600 to 1600 cc category of Bikes, while TVS operates in sub250 cc category of bikes. The bikes developed in a joint collaboration of the two companies will be launched in the market in two distinct variants of which one variant will be badged with BMW and sold in India and international market and the second variant will be badged with TVS
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and is to be sold in India and the global market as per the desire of TVS Motors. Products developed in the joint-collaboration of the two giants will be rolled-out in the market in 2015 and the initial stage development of these products will take place in TVS current facilities located at Hosur or Mysore.
YAMAHA ESTABLISHED 5TH GLOBAL R&D CENTRE IN INDIA

Yamaha Motor, Japanese two-wheeler Manufacturer Company on 9 April 2013 announced setting up of its fifth global research and development (R & D) headquarter in Surajpur, Uttar Pradesh. The research and development (R & D) centre is supposed to help in developing low-cost models in future. The other four overseas Research & Development Unit of Yamaha are located in China, Italy, Taiwan and Thailand. The company is basically working on to turn out a motorcycle priced at around 500 Dollars from India. In 2012 Yamaha Established Procurement centre in India, which now has been transferred and incorporated into the new company Yamaha Motor R & D India (YMRI). The Company will now operate as the India integrated development centre. It is important here to note that the company has invested 2 crore rupees for this new centre. The new centre plans to contribute to Indias operations by change drawings, tailoring reforms to design, maintenance and production standards, optimising them to fit the Indian market. This new unit will not help in developing models and parts for India market, but also to develop models and parts for export markets as well. Yamaha will continue to launch products in the scooter category, while expanding the sales network, and launching the second factory in Chennai by 2014. The company targets to sell 5 lakh units of two-wheelers by end of the year2013 and aims to reach 1.8 million units by 2016.The Company will stick to variants of 150cc motorcycles and 125cc scooters for next few years for masses.
MOBILE VISUAL SEARCH PLATFORM OCUTAG LAUNCHED BY RICOH

Ricoh Innovations Corporation (RIC), a subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd on 9 April 2013 launched a mobile visual search platform called Ocutag. It connects users with a variety of digital media by capturing an image. The first implementation for this technology was done with Disney UTV Digitals new smartphone app in India. In fact, the UTV Stars app is the first entertainment app for smartphones in India that offers Bollywood news, Movies, gossip and live TV all in one app.
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Ocutag platform allows app developer to incorporate Ricohs visual search technology into their mobile apps by using the application programming interface. Snap Search connects users to their favourite Bollywood stars and allows them to click a picture of a movie poster and providing features like tweets, movie trailers, behind the scenes videos, pictures etc. RIC is headquartered in Californias Silicon Valley with a subsidiary in Bangalore.
YAMAHA TO DEVELOP CHEAPEST BIKE OF THE WORLD IN INDIA

Yamaha, the Japanese two-wheeler company on 9 April 2013 announced that it will soon roll out the cheapest motorcycle of the world in India. The price of this bike would be around 500 US dollar or 27000 Rupees approximately. The fifth global research and development centre for this will be established in Greater Noida, India. Yamaha announced that India would be the global hub for low-cost bikes development. The bike will then be exported to different countries in Latin America and Africa. The new entity of Yamaha, Yamaha Motor Research and Development India Pvt. Ltd. (YMRI) has started working for the development of this bike, which will first be launched in India. YMRI was established in February 2013 at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh. Yamaha also announced that the company would launch new scooter model every year till 2016 in order to strengthen the position in Indian markets. The second R&D centre will also be established by 2015 at upcoming Chennai facility. The bike will have the engine capacity of 100 cc or more. The first step of the plan is to develop the cheapest bike of the world followed by the India-specific model. Later, it will be followed by global model. The company planned to sell 7.1 lakh units of scooters as well as motorcycles in 2013, which will include 2.1 lakh exports. In 2012, Yamaha sold 4.9 lakh scooters and motorcycles.
TCS SIGNED DEFINITIVE AGREEMENTS FOR ACQUISITION OF ALTI SA

Tata Consultancy Services, the leading IT Company announced on 9 April 2013 that it signed definitive agreements for the acquisition of 100 percent equity shares in Alti SA, an IT services company in France, for a value of 75 million Euros in an all-cash transaction. The acquisition will help TCS in strengthening the ability of the company and establish its footprints in France as well as other regions of Europe. Alti SA is a leading French technology services firm with strong expertise in IT services including enterprise solutions, assurance and CRM solutions. It is a privately-held company owned by its management and two private equity funds, CM-CIC LBO Partners and IDI. Assessed at more than 30 billion Euros, the France IT services market is the largest in Europe, after the UK and Germany. TCS has been operational in France since 1992 and has more than 50 clients in the country. The acquisition will help TCS in getting into the list of top IT services
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firms in the country. It is important to note that TCS was rated as the BIG 4 brand in global IT services industry in 2013. TCS has more than 263000 best-trained consultants of the world in 44 countries.
AIRTEL RESTRAINED TO PROVIDE SERVICES IN NON-LICENSED CIRCLES

Supreme Court on 11 April 2013 restrained Bharti Airtel from providing 3G roaming services to new customers in non-licensed seven circles. The seven circles where Airtel does not have license to provide 3G services are Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana , Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh East and Kolkata. A Supreme Court bench including Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Vikramajit Sen issued notices to the Union government and Reliance Communications Ltd and sought their response within two weeks on the petition filed by Bharti Airtel which challenged a Delhi High Court order. The order had approved DoTs decision to hold the 3G roaming pact of the applicant as illegal. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had issued a notification on 15 March 2013 which restrained Bharti from providing 3G intra-circle roaming facilities in seven circles where it did not have the spectrum. It also imposed penalty of 350 crore rupees for the alleged violation of the licence terms and conditions. A single-judge bench of the high court on 18 March 2013 had put stay order on the operation of the notification. However, later on a division bench of the high court on 4 April 2013 had set aside the single judges order. The Bharti Airtel challenged the decision of the division bench of the high court.
MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA LAUNCHED E20 CAR PRICED 5.96 LAKH

Utility and tractor manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. on 18 March 2013 launched the allelectric four-seater passenger car e20 in Delhi priced at 5.96 lakh rupees. The e2o will replace the existing REVAi and will be the most cost efficient car in India. It has been developed by Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles. The car is also India's only all-electric car. It will use generation lithium ion batteries and have a minimum range 100 km per charge which is considered adequate for most daily journeys within a city. The Mahindra e2o can use the futuristic ecosystem of Sun2Car to derive energy from the sun to charge the vehicle and at the same time helping to protect and preserve the environment. The car will be manufactured at the Bangalore plant. It has the capacity of produce 30000 cars per annum. Initially the car will be charged using solar power.
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Current Affairs PDF April 2013 GLOBAL SALES OF COMPUTERS DROPPED BY 14 %
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The global sales of computers dropped by 14 percent from January to March 2013, the biggest decrease since 1994; according to the data revealed by research firm,
INTERNATIONAL DATA CORPORATION (IDC)

IDC described that 76.3 million units of PCs were shipped. While this showed that there was a decrease in the demand of PCs, it also indicated, on the other hand, that there was an increase in the appeal for smartphones and tablets, which are alternatives to the PCs. IDC, also explained that the industry failed to revitalize despite the latest version of Microsoft WindowsWindows 8. Apart from this, recession also forced the companies to put back the renewal of PCs. Traditionally, the computer companies used to replace the PCs after every three years, but because of economic meltdown, this started happening after every five years. The largest PCs maker of the world, Hewlett-Packard (HP), witnessed a decrease of 24 percent in shipment in first quarter of 2013, in comparison to same period in 2012. On the other hand, Lenovo of China had steady sales during this quarter of 2013.
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL DATA CORPORATION (IDC)

IDC is the global provider of market intelligence, consumer technology markets, telecommunications, advisory services and events for information technology. IDC helps the IT professionals, investment community and business executives in making fact-based decisions, by facilitating them with the right data and reports. There are more than 1000 IDC analysts who facilitate local, regional and global expertise on trends, industry opportunities and technology in more than 110 countries across the world. For over 48 years, IDC provided strategic insights to the clients.
HONDA MOTOR CO LAUNCHED SEDAN AMAZE

Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co on 11 April 2013 launched its sedan Amaze at a price range of 4.99 lakh to 7.60 lakh rupees. The car will run on diesel. Its wholly-owned arm Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) has offered the car in petrol option as well. The petrol version will be available at a price range of Rs 4.99 lakh to Rs 7.50 lakh. The Sedan Amaze will compete directly with Maruti Suzuki's Swift Dzire, which has a price between 4.92 lakh and 6.74 lakh rupees for the petrol option and between 5.99 lakh rupees and Rs 7.5 lakh rupees for the www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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diesel variant. The Amaze diesel option is powered by a 1.5 litre engine and it will give a mileage of 25.8 km per litre. The petrol option has a 1.2 litre engine.
AAI & MITRE PARTNERED FOR SETTING UP R&D CENTRE

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) partnered with MITRE Corporation, the US-based technology provider for setting up the high-tech research, development and training facility in Hyderabad. This merger was done for development of in-house capabilities in the air navigation services. In the second week of April 2013, AAI and the MITRE Corporation signed two agreements for establishing this Hyderabad centre as well as for transferring the knowledge and technology. The proposed Hyderabad-based R&D and technical centre would be providing the comprehensive laboratory capabilities in order to assist the daily air traffic management operations as well as maintenance of AAI. The centre would also carry out the performance analysis. As far as the transfer of knowledge and technology is concerned, there would be the sophisticated technology for providing training to air traffic controllers (ATC). This technology would be called Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) computer simulation capability. HITL is actually the virtual and real-time ATC simulation which needs human interaction with the ground and airborne automation for managing the air traffic in operational scenario. HITL also identifies the ATC issues and develops the solutions for dealing with these issues. MITRE Corporation is additionally offering portable ATC simulation system which can be utilised for training the personnel at any location while making use of just a few laptops. It is important to note that AAI also partnered with MITRE Corporation since 2006 for various purposes such as Air Traffic Management (CNS-ATM) activities, Navigation, Surveillance and Communications. AAI is the first sponsor of MITRE for HITL Technology. With this, AAI became one of the very rare advanced aviation research organisations in entire world to possess a capability like this.
GAIL TO SELL PART OF ITS 4.6 PERCENT STAKE IN CHINA GAS HOLDINGS
GAIL India ltd. decided to sell part of its 4.6 percent stake in China Gas Holdings which is Hong Kong-listed city gas distribution firm. GAIL had made a strategic investment of Rs 137 crore by acquiring 210 million shares of China Gas in 2005. The gas utility however plans to keep a small strategic interest in the company that will help it retain its board position in China Gas. GAIL has earned only Rs 16.29 crore as dividend on its investment in China Gas over seven years. China Gas enjoys exclusive rights to set up gas distribution projects in 42 cities in China. China Gas has a 30 years exclusivity period for its city gas operations in 172 Chinese cities cities and it has a network of a 35000 kms long gas pipeline serving 7.8 million households and 49000 factories and business.
SAHARA Q SHOP ENTERED INTO THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS

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The retail business of Sahara India Pariwar called Sahara Q Shop entered into the Guinness World Records when it opened record 315 outlets in 10 states of India, just at one time on 1 April 2013. The commencement of these retail outlets was closely monitored by the Guinness World Records officials in order to verify as well as register new world reco rd of Sahara Q Shop. The certificate of the record was presented to Subrata Roy, the group chairman. The Sahara Q Shop stands against adulteration and quality consumer merchandise products at the fair prices. At present, Sahara has 550 operational stores. By the end of 2013-14, Sahara expects to open 10000 stores across India. The Sahara Q Shops are opened in company-owned formats as well as under the franchisees. The sizes of these shops are between 300 sq ft and 500 sq ft. The executive director of Sahara Q Shop explained that in just eight months, the consumers found quality and purity of the products, which led to an increase in the demand of Sahara Q Shops.
TWITTER LAUNCHED A NEW MUSIC SERVICE CALLED #MUSIC

Twitter on 18 April 2013 unveiled a new music app called #Music which will recommend tracks on the basis of who you follow on the social network. Songs will be played directly in the app via services such as Spotify, Radio and iTunes. The new software displays songs which users friends are at present listening to and also suggestions from artists. It follows moves by other social networks like Facebook to include music recommendations into their services. In 2012, Spotify announced its own follow system, but the functionality is not rolled out to users on mobile yet. #Music will be available initially in the UK and Ireland, Canada, US, Australia and New Zealand but later on more countries will be added in the list.
MUTHOOT FINCORP TO LAUNCH 100 CRORE NCB ISSUE

Muthoot Fincorp, which is actually a part of Muthoot Pappachan Group, announced launching 100 crore Rupees non-convertible debenture (NCB) issue in order to fund the expansion of microfinance as well as small and medium enterprise (SME) business. With the launch of this non-convertible debenture (NCB) issue, Muthoot Fincorp will hit the bond market. Microfinance as well as SME business of Muthoot Fincorp is grown as the part of diversification from the gold loans. Muthoot Fincorp, at present, has 300 crore Rupees microfinance portfolio, which the company planned to double by end of 2013-14 fiscal year. Muthoot Fincorp also planned to built the SME as well as micro SME business in alliance by approximately 300 crore Rupees.
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Muthoot Fincorp is one of the top most gold loan companies in India. Its rivals include Muthoot Finance and Mannapuram Finance. It is important to note that Muthoot also acquired Panchratna Securities, the finance company in order to focus on the microfinance business. Muthoot, apart from this, has also applied to the Reserve Bank of India for NBFC-MFI registration as well as name change of the new subsidiary.
GROVE LIMITED LAUNCHED PRODUCT TO MANAGE COST OF UTILITIES

Grove Limited, the IT service solution provider launched the enterprise solution product called Ultima UMS (utility management system) in the third week of April 2013. Ultima UMS enables managing the complete lifecycles as well as related costs of the utilities at a single place with the help of one tool only.
FEATURES OF ULTIMA UMS

Ultima UMS is basically meant for the manufacturing companies. Ultima UMS helps in managing as well as optimising the utilities such as compressed air, water, fuels, piped natural gas, electricity, refrigeration and steam. Ultima helps in optimisation of utility by continuous monitoring of key parameters in the real time. The product also analyses the high cost impact attributes of this utility line.
Management of the energy resources is important especially because of an increase in cost of utilities as well as the impact of this increasing cost on operational performance of these manufacturing companies.
ABOUT GROVE LIMITED

Grove Limited is the part of Merchem Limited. Merchem Limited in turn is the company which has its operation in manufacturing specialty chemicals such as rubber chemical. Grove also has snack division which produces products such as hazelnuts, cassava chips, banana chips, almonds, ground nuts, walnuts, pistachios, mixed nuts and cashew nuts.
MICROSOFT MOST ATTRACTIVE EMPLOYER IN INDIA: SURVEY

Microsoft, the IT and software company was declared as the most attractive employer of India for 2013 for the third time in a row, as per the latest survey conducted by the HR service company, Randstad. Microsoft was followed by Hewlett Packard (HP) and Google India at second and third ranks respectively. In the list of top 10 most attractive employers, there were IBM (4th), ONGC (5th), Sony (6th), Larsen & Toubro (7th), Steel Authority of India (8th), SBI (9th) and Tata Consultancy Services (10th).
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Apart from this, special recognition awards were given away to Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) in the manufacturing sector, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in the energy sector and Larsen & Toubro in the infrastructure sector.
FEATURES OF SURVEY
The survey conducted by Randstad observed that in Indian markets there is higher level of attrition, which is why it is important for the company to go for employer branding because it helps in attracting as well as retaining the top talents. The survey covered 7000 respondents. It was found that Indian workforce preferred job security along with competitive salary. In comparison to 2012, this year there is a considerable increase in salary as well as employee benefit importance, which is followed by job security. Apart from competitive salary as well as job security, there were other factors which appeared in top five list and these factors included pleasant working ambience, worklife balance as well as career progression opportunities.
UNIVERSAL COMMODITY EXCHANGE WENT LIVE

Universal Commodity Exchange, the sixth commodity platform, went live on 19 April 2013 with 100 members on board. UCX received the Ministry approval and Government certification on 30 August 2012. It is promoted by Commex Technology in joint venture with IDBI Bank, IFFCO, NABARD and REC. It has started trading in 11 contracts across nine commodities - gold, silver, crude oil, chana, RSS4 rubber, mustard, soyabean, refined soya oil and turmeric. The Commodity exchange, In order to attract volumes, will charge a fee of 1 Rupee for every transaction totalling 1 lakh Rupees for the first three months. On the other hand, it has fixed a four-slab fee structure based on the turnover. As an inaugural offer, trading and clearing member are charged a concession membership fee of 2.5 lakh against 5 lakh Rupees while a trading member have to shell out 1 lakh Rupees against regular charge of 1.5 lakh. The exchange will also be available on the commonly used ODIN trading platform. It has already got ready delivery centres for metals and agriculture commodities in major markets. The key benefits which are given to members consist of multi segment product offering, optimal fees and deposits, zero blockage of excess risk capital, simplified and quick on-boarding of members, independent and professional management with a strong promoter consortium and customer centric approach.
WHAT IS UNIVERSAL COMMODITY EXCHANGE?

Universal Commodity Exchange limited is the next generation national level commodity exchange for derivatives market across all commodity segments.
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It aims to be one of the largest commodity derivatives exchange ensuring price transparency and a robust risk management & surveillance system for facilitating online trading, clearing & settlement operations for the market across the country. UCX is headquartered in the financial capital of India, Mumbai.
FAA APPROVED RESUMPTION OF DREAMLINER FLIGHTS

The US aviation regulator FAA on 20 April 2013 approved resumption of normal air service of Air India's Dreamliner aircraft, operations by mid-May 2013. It is important here to note that Air India's Dreamliner was grounded since January 2013 after battery fire incidents; The US Aviation regulator FAA had approved Boeing's revamped battery system for these new generation long-haul aircraft. It was decided that a team of engineers from Boeing will be coming into India and they are likely to start work by 22 April 2013 to reset the new batteries on the six Dreamliners of Air India. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) permitted the new battery design made by the Japanese battery manufacturer and Boeing. It was only after the battery fire incidents, that the entire global fleet of 50 Boeing-787s, owned by eight airlines, including Air India, was grounded.
AIR ASIA APPOINTED THE CEO FOR INDIA VENTURE

Air Asia, the low cost carrier on 21 April 2013 announced that AirAsia India approved and appointed the Chief Executive Officer, whose name will be a revelation. The AirAsia Group chief Tony Fernandes declared that the appointment of AirAsia CEO was done but his name would be revealed later. AirAsia is said to be the largest low-cost carrier in Asia which created a joint venture with Telestra Tradeplace and Tata Sons. The venture was approved by Foreign Investment Promotion Board on 4 April 2013. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on 6 March 2013 cleared the investment proposal of AirAsia, the Malaysian budget carrier to launch the new airline along with Tata Group and Arun Bhatia's Telestra Tradeplace in India. AirAsia plans to start the operations from June 2013.
INDIAN MOBILE SERVICES WILL REACH 1.2 TRILLION RUPEES IN 2013

The mobile services market in India would grow 8 percent to 1.2 trillion Rupees in 2013, according to the revelations of research firm Gartner. However, this would account for just 2 percent of the mobile services revenue of the world because the operators are struggling for increasing the profit margins.
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The revenues from the mobile services were 1.1 trillion Rupees in 2012. Gartner revealed that the mobile connections in India would grow to 770 million in 2013, an increase of 11 percent from, 712 million connections in the year 2012. However, the mobile market would keep facing the challenges in case the average revenue per unit (ARPU) does not grow. Gartner Principal Research Analyst Shalini Verma explained that in case the present conditions in Indian telecom market did not change, the country would account for 12 percent of overall mobile connections, but merely 2 percent of overall mobile services revenue. There are two main challenges which Indian telecom operators face and this are - growth of the profit margin as well as successful competition with service providers such as WatsApp and Facebook. It is important to note that India has an increased demand for local mobile apps as well as mobile broadband. However, the rural expansion of these mobile services will add to the loss to the mobile service providers. The key, in such a case, for the operators is to insert themselves in value chain of video and social apps.
NARENDRA KUMAR APPOINTED MANAGING DIRECTOR OF IGL

Narendra Kumar took over as the Managing Director of Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) on 22 April 2013. IGL is the only supplier of the Piped Natural Gas (PNG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in Delhi. Narendra Kumar replaced M Ravindran, who in turn was appointed as the Director (HR) of GAIL India Ltd, the state gas utility. IGL is the joint venture of Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and GAIL along with the Government of Delhi, which holds 5 percent equity stake.
ABOUT NARENDRA KUMAR

Narendra Kumar is the Electrical Engineering Graduate who has 32 years of experience in the hydrocarbon and fertilisers industry. He was also the Executive Director (Operations & Maintenance) as well as the Officer-incharge of GAILs central region, based in Madhya Pradesh. Before he became the part of GAIL in 1990, he served at the IFFCO for 10 years at Aonla and Phulpur Fertiliser plants.
IGL offers Piped Natural Gas (PNG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in not just Delhi, but also in the National Capital Region. At present, there are 286 CNG stations in operation in greater Noida, Noida, Ghaziabad and Delhi. PNG, on the other hand, is being supplied to 386000 hoses in Delhi and NCR.
FOURTH HUGE NATURAL GAS RESERVE IN MOZAMBIQUE BLOCK
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Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Videocon Industries on 22 April 2013 declared that they discovered the fourth huge natural gas reserve in the offshore Mozambique block in Africa . It is the same block where the two companies hold 10 percent share each. The discovery of this natural gas reserve is said to be very important because it would help the private sector consumer durables in getting higher stake than earlier. The two companies announced that Videocon Hydrocarbon Holdings (subsidiary of Videocon Industries) and Bharat Petro Resources Ltd (a BPCL unit) made the discovery in offshore Area 1 of the Rovuma basin. ONGC Videsh Ltd which is the international-level arm of ONGC with Oil India Ltd (OIL) was negotiating for the stake of Videocon in this block. Anadarko Petroleum Corp, the US energy firm is the operator of this block with 36.5 percent stake in block. Mitsui & Co Ltd of Japan is the second-biggest stakeholder in this block that holds 20 percent stake. The companies announced that drilling took place in the Orca-1 exploration well, which was digged in till 16391 feet approximately and in water depths of 3481 feet.
RELIANCE SIGNED PACT WITH AIRTEL FOR INTERNATIONAL BANDWIDTH

Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocom on 23 April 2013 had signed an agreement for International Bandwidth. As per the agreement Reliance Jio will be provided with data capacity on its i2i submarine cable by Bharti Airtel. The i2i Sub marine cable connects India to Singapore and is entirely owned by Bharti Airtel. The cable whose landing points are at Chennai in India and Tuas in Singapore consists of eight fibre pairs capable of supporting multiple terabits of capacity per fibre pair.
USE OF THE HIGH-SPEED LINK

The high-speed link will facilitate Reliance Jio to widen its network and service reach to customers across Asia-Pacific region. It will also connect Reliance Jio directly to the worlds major business hubs and ISPs, thus, helping the operator to meet the bandwidth demand and provide ultra-fast data experience to its customers.
The deal is being considered as the second major deal signed by Reliance Jio after it had signed an agreement to lease capacity from Reliance Communications optical fibre cable network.
NOKIA LAUNCHED THE CHEAPEST HANDSET, NOKIA 105 IN INDIA

Nokia on 9 April 2013 launched the most affordable mobile Nokia 105 at the price of 1249 Rupees in order to rope in low income group customers and also the first-time buyers.
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Nokia 105 is the colourful mobile in the Nokia family and is also the cheapest colour screen entry-level mobile in the Indian markets. This mobile is said to be the successor of Nokia 1280. Nokia 1280 sold over 100 million units during its life. Nokia 105, on the other hand, comes with all the essential features that are required by the user.
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FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS OF NOKIA 105

Dust-proof key may Splash-proof key mat Excellent battery life (Standby time of up to 35 days and talk time of up to 12.5 hours) Single SIM 1.45-inch true color screen User-friendly interface FM radio Up to five pre-loaded games Speaking clock Flashlight Multiple alarm clock capabilities
It is important to note that Nokia, which ones reigned over the Indian markets, has started losing its market hold in India.
ETIHAD AIRWAYS TOOK OVER 24 PC STAKE IN JET AIRWAYS

Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways on 24 April 2013 confirmed taking over of 24 per cent minority stake in Jet Airways for 379 million dollars (2058 Crore). With the take over Etihad Airways will be subscribing to 27.3 million new shares at 754.74 rupees per share. It will be the first time that a foreign airline will be picking up a stake in an Indian airline. Etihad Airways is on an aggressive expansion drive and is also going to make a 150 million Dollars equity investment in Jet's frequent flyer programme and spend 70 million Dollars to buy Jet's three pairs of Heathrow slots through the sale and leaseback . Including the 379 million dollars equity investment, Etihad will drive in all around 600 million dollars into Jet Airways. It is important here to note that Jet's majority ownership will remain with Indian nationals and Jet's founder and non-executive chairman Naresh Goyal will hold 51 per cent of the airline after the deal, which is subject to shareholder approval. Also, as a part of the deal Jet will establish a hub in Abu Dhabi and expand its reach through Etihad Airways' global network. The partnership is supposed to bring in significant benefits and
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opportunities for global growth to both airlines. The deal will allow Etihad Airways to compete more effectively in one of the largest and fastest-growing markets in the world.
GOOGLE INC ACQUIRED WAVII FOR 30 MILLION US DOLLAR

Google Inc acquired Wavii; the news summarization app based in Seattle, for around 30 million US dollar cash. The successful bid of Google came after the Apple Inc expressed its interest to buy Wavii. Apple wanted to acquire the company for the Siri division. It is important to note that Googles acquisition came a few weeks after Yahoo Inc made an equal payment for acquiring Summly, the news reader. Summly is the competitor of Wavii. The deals took place in order to enhance the customer experience for news. Both Google and Yahoo, maintain very high traffic news sites. The semantic search knowledge of Wavii is a great addition to google Knowledge because this would further help in contextualizing the information which is used by Google to show on sidebar of most of the searches.
ABOUT WAVII
Wavii helps the users in getting instant news updates on almost all the topics. Wavii creates the updates for the users favourite gadgets, politicians, celebrities or more. It basically allows you to get personalised news feed. It allows you to follow the topics of your choice and thus facilitate you with the news feeds on those topics of interest.
SSTL APPOINTMENT DMITRY SHUKOV AS ITS NEW CEO

Sistema Shyam Tele Services (SSTL) on 24 April 2013 announced that Dmitry Shukov will take over as its CEO. Dmitry Shukov will resume the office from 1 June 2013. Sistema Shyam Tele Services (SSTL) operates under the MTS brand in India. Vsevolod Rozanov is the present President as well as CEO of the company and will now move to Sistema JSFC headquarters in Moscow. Vsevolod Rozanov is said to be the wheel of SSTL since October 2008. Dmitry Shukov comes with 20 years of experience. Earlier, he was the CEO of MTS Turkmenistan and MTS Uzbekistan.
FACEBOOK BOUGHT PARSE TO BUILD APPS FOR MOBILE PLATFORMS

Facebook on 26 April 2013 announced that it bought the San Francisco-based Parse, a startup which specialises in powering the mobile applications. This has been done in order to make this social networking site friendlier for tablet computers as well as the smartphones. Though the amount for the deal was not announced but it is estimated to be somewhere around 85 million US dollar. Buying Parse for Facebook would help the developers in building the apps rapidly for the span devices as well as mobile platforms. www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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Parse facilitates software developers tools in order to build the applications as well as handling the behind-the-scenes tasks like data storage as well as servers in order to handle the services for app users, respective of mobile devices involved. This in turn would help in getting rid of the need for managing the servers as well as complex infrastructures, thereby allowing for greater concentration on building the excellent user experience. Parse laid its foundation in June 2011. It was looking for new round of funding when Facebook approached it for the deal. Facebook now has the priority of following over one billion members on smartphones as well as tablets, which are becoming much-used gadgets in todays times.
AUROBINDO PHARMA RECEIVED APPROVAL FROM USFDA

Aurobindo Pharma, the drug firm on 26 April 2013 announced that it received an approval from US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA), the US health regulator for manufacturing as well as marketing the generic Cefadroxil oral suspension. Generic Cefadroxil is used for the treatment of bacterial infections in US market. Aurobindo Pharma got an approval from US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for manufacturing and marketing Cefadroxil in strengths of 250mg/5mL and 500mg/5mL. Cefadroxil is generic equivalent of Duricef of Warner Chilcott Company Inc. Duricef is also used for oral suspension in similar strength. Cefadroxil oral suspension got approval out of cephalosporin formulations manufacturing facility of the company in Hyderabad. With this, Aurobindo Pharma got a total of 187 abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) approvals from the US health regulator. This includes 4 from Aurolife Pharma LLC and 27 tentative approvals.
AIRTEL INTRODUCED FLAT ROAMING RATES FOR AFRICAN CUSTOMERS

Bharti Airtel on 29 April 2013 Introduced Flat Roaming Rates for its African Customers in order to strengthen its One Airtel, service. With the Introduction of Flat roaming rates the customers can now access data and SMS at a flat rate in addition to receiving free incoming calls while roaming across Africa and South Asia.
BENEFITS OF THE FLAT ROAMING RATES

The newly introduced service will further enhance communication for travellers from Africa by enabling them to access data and SMS, in addition to the currently available voice roaming, at a flat attractive rate whilst travelling within Africa and South Asia. Airtels African customers need not pay roaming charges on incoming calls while travelling in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and 17 African countries.
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With the introduction of a flat and attractive roaming rate for data and SMS use, Airtel will help lower the communication cost for millions of frequent business and leisure travellers across the countries where it operates.
Now, the Airtel customers will not need to register or buy new SIM cards, as they are automatically enrolled in the One Airtel service. The another major benefit is that Airtel customers will also receive calls for free and have the opportunity to recharge their phone credit by using the host countrys top up vouchers. There is a nominal mark up on the local rate to cover for exchange rate differences and currency fluctuations.
CORPORATE CURRENT AFFAIR QUIZZES

1. Which mobile company emerged as the most popular brand in emerging markets, according to an online survey conducted recently by Upstream? a) Samsung b) Blackberry c) Apple d) Nokia Answer: (a) Samsung 2. Which engineering and construction company, on 1 April 2013 announced that it bagged the order worth 5689 crore Rupees from Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd in order to set up super critical thermal power project in Rajasthan? a) Punj Lloyd Group b) Lanco Infratech Limited c) Larsen and Toubro Ltd d) IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects Ltd Answer: (c) Larsen and Toubro Ltd 3. Which government company on 1 April 2013 signed a deal of 2.3-million-tonne (mt) capacity in the Cove Point LNG liquefaction terminal project at Lusby in Maryland, US? a) Akaltara Power Ltd. b) GAIL (India) Ltd c) Antrix Corporation Ltd. d) BEL Optoelectronic Devices Ltd. www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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Answer: (b) GAIL (India) Ltd 4. Who on 1 April 2013 was appointed as CEO of Dr Reddys Laboratories? a) Satish Reddy b) Anji Reddy c) Kallam Reddy d) G.V. Prasad Answer: (d) G.V. Prasad
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5. Who was signed as the Brand Ambassador of Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo on 7 April 2013? a) Jeev Milkha Singh b) Tiger Woods c) Sania Mirza d) Leander Peas Answer: (a) Jeev Milkha Singh 6. Honda Motor Co on 11 April 2013 launched which one and only diesel sedan at a price range of 4.99 lakh to 7.60 lakh rupees? a) Alure b) Attract c) Amaze d) Aspire Answer: (c) Amaze 7. Supreme Court on 11 April 2013 restrained which service provider from providing 3G roaming services to new customers in non-licensed seven circles? a) Vodafone b) Bharti Airtel c) Tata Indicom d) Reliance Communication
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Answer: (b) Bharti Airtel
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8. Tata Consultancy Services, the leading IT Company announced on 9 April 2013 that it signed definitive agreements for the acquisition of 100 percent equity shares in which IT services company in France? a) Arkane Studios b) Diptyque c) Hutchinson SA d) Alti SA Answer: (d) Alti SA 9. Which two-wheeler company on 9 April 2013 announced that it will soon roll out the cheapest motorcycle of the world in India? a) Yamaha b) Bajaj c) Honda d) Hero Moto Corp Answer: (a) Yamaha 10. BMW Motorrad on 8 April 2013 announced a deal to jointly develop Made in India Bikes in below 500 CC segment with which company? a) Bajaj b) Honda c) TVS Motor Co. Ltd. d) Hero Moto Corp Answer: (c) TVS Motor Co. Ltd.
STATE
GOVERNMENT APPROVED TOURISM PROJECT FROM MAHARASHTRA
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Union Tourism Minister K. Chiranjeevi on 1 April 2013 approved a tourism Project that was received from the State Government of Maharashtra. The Central Finance Assistance (CFA) on the project was granted to the tune of 43.87 crore rupees for the development of Solapur Mega Circuit in Maharashtra. Details about the Project The Project will involve development of tourism facilities at Pandharpur, Akkalkot, Solapur and Tuljapur. An amount 4.38 crore Rupees has been released as first installment of the CFA as an advance for starting the work. The State Government of Maharashtra shall make land for the project available free of cost and also render all possible assistance for completion of the project in time. No portion of the sanctioned project should be executed or implemented in land/property owned by private individual or trust.
The State Government of Maharashtra is also supposed to set up a Monitoring Committee which would be headed by the Principal Secretary (Tourism) with a Member from the Ministry of Tourism and the Implementing agency who will monitor physical and financial progress of the sanctioned project and put forward the progress report to Ministry of Tourism on quarterly basis. The work herewith mentioned will be executed by Maharashtra Tourism Development cooperation Limited and it is going to be started on immediate basis to ensure timely utilization of funds and to avoid escalation of the cost. It should be commissioned within 36 months.
AP GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED ONLINE SERVICES NAMED PARISHKARAM

Andhra Pradesh Government on 1 April 2013 launched the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporations online services for entrepreneurs and grievance redressal system named Parishkaram. The platform is proposed to be a link between the APIIC and entrepreneurs which would make the process of application and registration of land for setting up industries a paperless one.
USE OF THE ONLINE SERVICE

The online services for entrepreneurs will enable them to file their request for sale endeavor, change in line of activity or change in the name of firm. Information about the status of their application will be sent through Email and SMS. The online grievance redressal system, Parishkaram, is a 24x7 service, facilitating entrepreneurs in tracking grievances, including infrastructure issues and maintenance of industrial parks.
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With this, the Minister also launched a Citizen Charter of APIIC, which is meant to provide a stipulated period of response for 13 different requests.
THE RESPONSE INCLUDE

Finalisation of action on valid applications for allotment of lands (within 45 days), Issue of provision allotment letter (seven days), Execution and registration of Agreement of Sale (21 days) and execution Registration of sale deed on receipt of documents (45 days)
The corporation was in the process of setting up industrial parks in the 14 revenue divisions in the State that do not have this infrastructure.
ODISHA CELEBRATED UTKAL DIVAS ON ITS 77TH FOUNDATION DAY

The 77th foundation day of Odisha was celebrated across the State on 1 April 2013 with a number of government and non-government organisations organising various programmes to mark the occasion. Utkal Divas celebrated on 1 April each year to mark the formation of Odisha state, whh w carved out of the combined Bengal-Bihar-Orissa province in 1936. The people from different walks of life paid tributes to the late leaders such as Madhusudan Das, Gopabandhu Das, Maharaja Krusha Chandra Gajapati, Fakir Mohan Senapati, and Gouri Shankar Ray who played a key role in the formation of a separate Odisha State on linguistic basis under British rule on 1 April 1936. The Chief Minister of Orissa Naveen Patnaik addressed the State-level Odisha Divas celebrations at the Exhibition Ground of Bhubhaneshwar where he talked about the contributions made by the late leaders of the State that led to the creation of the State in 1936. The Chief Minister also highlighted the achievements of his government and reiterated that the government was striving to ensure all-round development of the State. The Dhamra Port authorities of Orissa organised a special programme titled Tare Zameen Par for the hearing and speech impaired and visually challenged children of Bhadrak district on the port premises.
GUJARAT GOVERNMENT INTRODUCED LOKAYUKTA BILL IN ASSEMBLY

The state government of Gujarat on 2 April 2013 introduced a bill in the Gujarat assembly which Places restrictions on the primacy of the chief justice of the state high court and the Governor in the matter of appointment of the Lokayukta.
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The Lokayukta Aayog Bill, 2013 is put forward to give all the powers of the appointment to a selection committee headed by Chief Minister and wants state Governor to act on the recommendations of this committee. It is important here to note that the Gujarat government on the one hand filed curative petition against the Supreme Court order and on the other, has brought this Bill in the Assembly. Also, for the purpose of conducting investigations and inquiries in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the Governor shall, by warrant under his hand and seal and, on the recommendations of a Selection Committee appoint a person to be known as the Lokayukta and not more than four other persons each to be known as Up-Lokayuktas," reads the proposed section 3 of the Bill. Whereas in the existing Gujarat Lokayukta Act, 1986, power of selection and consequent appointment of new Lokayukta has been vested with the High Court Chief Justice and the Governor. Section 3(1) of the 1986 Act says, For the purpose of conducting investigation in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the Governor shall, by warrant under his hand and seal appoint a person to be known as Lokayukta. As per the Bill there is also a special provision which gives pivotal power to the state government in excluding any 'public functionaries' from the jurisdiction of the Lokayukta. As per another significant provision (Sec 12(8)), whoever discloses to the public or to the press any information or publishes such information in contravention of the provisions of this section should invite two years' imprisonment and also a fine of two lakhs Rupees. ABOUT LOKAYUKTA The Lokayukta is an anti-corruption ombudsman organization in the Indian states. The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) headed by Morarji Desai submitted a special interim report on "Problems of Redressal of Citizen's Grievances' in 1966. In this report, the ARC recommended the setting up of two special authorities designated as 'Lokpal' and 'Lokayukta' for the redressal of citizens' grievances. The LokAyukta, along with the Income Tax Department and the Anti Corruption Bureau, mainly helps people bring corruption amongst the politicians and officers in the government service to public attention. Many acts of the LokAyukta have not resulted in criminal or other consequences for those charged.
JUSTICE AM KHANWILKAR APPOINTED CHIEF JUSTICE IN HC OF HP
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Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar, Judge of the High Court of Bombay was appointed as the Chief Justice of High Court of Himachal Pradesh on 3 April 2013. His appointment to the office as the Chief Justice was undertaken by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee. Constitutional Provision for Appointment of Chief Justice in the State High Court is mentioned under clause 1 of Article 217 of the Constitution of India. Article 217: Clause 1- Every Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the Governor of the State, and, in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of the High Court, and [shall hold office, in the case of an additional or acting Judge, as provided in article 224, and in any other case, until he attains the age of sixty-two years.
SIKKIM STATE ANNUAL PLAN FOR 2013-14 FINALIZED AT 2060 CRORE

The Annual Plan for the year 2013-14 for the state of Sikkim was finalized on 3 April 2013. The plan size was agreed at 2060 crore rupees at a meeting between Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister of Sikkim, Pawan Chamling. The per capita NSDP of Sikkim has increased by 159.28% from 2004-05 to 2011-12 which is higher than the increase in national per capita NNI of 62.13% for the same period. Poverty ratio in Sikkim has declined by about 10 percentage points. The number of persons below poverty line in Sikkim has fallen to a great extent. The State needs to match up with the National Average to perk up its ranking. Monthly per capita income of people of Sikkim, both urban and rural, has been well above the National average. Sikkim has managed to leverage its natural advantages and central resources to bring the growth rate of its economy and per capita income at successful level. State is striving towards higher achievements within the framework of 12th Five Year Plan of the Government of India. The industrial base comprises of fruit processing, brewing & distilling and pharma companies. Tourism accounts for almost 8 per cent of the GSDP. Sikkim is dependent on central transfers & has relatively high level of capital expenditure which has sometimes resulted in very large fiscal deficits.
TWIC IS THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AGENCY FOR WATER TREATMENT

The Tamil Nadu Water Investment Company (TWIC) which is a joint venture of IL&FS and the State Government, in month of April 2013 made the project management agency on behalf of the Government for water treatment and recycling for industry. As per the policy note which was tabled in the Assembly on 4 April 2012, the State Government decided to make use of the companys expertise in water supply and waste water management. According to the project management agency, the company will be the devoted for
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development, operation and maintenance of common effluent treatment plants and recycling of sewerage water and desalination for industrial supply.
ABOUT TWIC (TAMIL NADU WATER INVESTMENT COMPANY)

The Water Investment Company is the promoter of the New Tiruppur Area Development Corporation, considered a pioneering public private partnership in the water sector. The corporation was promoted to set a 185 million litre a day water supply project for the knitwear industry and residences in Tiruppur. The company has handled the consultancy for water supply for a number of local bodies.
ODISHA ASSEMBLY ADOPTED RESOLUTION FOR SPECIAL CATEGORY

The Odisha Legislative Assembly on 4 April 2013 unanimously adopted a resolution requesting the Centre to award special category status to the state. It has also urged the Centre to provide additional grants and fiscal incentives for Odisha's development. Odisha Assembly for the second time adopted unanimous resolution seeking special category status. The first such resolution was passed on 18 November 1997. The special-category states get significant excise duty concessions and it helps these states attract large number of industrial units to set up manufacturing facilities within their territory. States like Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland etc. have been given special category status so far.
MOU SIGNED FOR SETTING UP A TITANIUM PROJECT IN KERELA

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Government of Kerala PSEs, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML), on 4 April 2013 at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala for setting up of a Titanium Project in Joint Venture in Kerala.
ABOUT THE MOU AND ITS BENEFITS

It will explore the possibilities of setting up of the Titanium Project in Joint Venture in Kerala will be explored by SAIL and KSIDC& KMML, in a phased manner The projects success will enhance the economy of Kerala and put forward the overall development of the area Titanium Tetrachloride for Titanium Sponge and Metal Plant will be supplied by the KMML, during the Phase 1 of the project The parties, would look forward for long term viability of the project by backward and forward integration
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This is the second titanium project at such a large scale in Kerala after the Nations first titanium sponge plant was put up at KMMLs Chavara complex in Kerala between KMML, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory in the year 2011. People who represented their organization during the signing of the MoU were Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy and the Minister for Industries & IT, Kerala, PK Kunhalikutty and Special Secretary & Financial Advisor of Ministry of Steel, E.K. Bharat Bhushan, and SAIL Chairman, C.S. Verma.
RAJASTHAN GOVT. LAUNCHED FREE ESSENTIAL DIAGNOSTIC TESTS SCHEME

Rajasthan Government on the occasion of World Health Day on 7 April 2013 introduced the scheme of free essential diagnostic tests in government hospitals across the state. Under the launched scheme the medical investigations include 14 different tests of ECG, X-ray, clinical pathology, blood sugar, blood urea, Hb, complete urine test and others. The scheme is planned to be executed in three different phases and the second phase of the same scheme will be introduced on 1 July 2013, Doctors Day. The scheme in its second phase will also cover the community health centers and will offer facilities of free services for 28 different types of tests. The third phase is planned to be implemented from Independence Day, 15 August 2013 under the third phase 15 types of tests will be made free at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and dispensaries.
PCI ALLOCATED 17000 CRORE RUPEES FOR KERALA PLAN 2013-14

The Annual Plan of 17000 crore rupees for the year 2013-14 for Kerala State was finalized by the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission of India (PCI), Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy on 8 April 2013. The new plan size is 21 percent more than the previous year plan. Keralas performance in the 11th Plan was commendable in almost all sectors including the social sector. The state took innovative steps towards implementation of the plans. In the 11th plan period the state grew at the rate of 8 percent and in the financial year 2011-2012 the rate of growth was 11.5 percent. For the running financial year 2012-13, the target growth rate fixed by the state is 9.58%. In the latest budget plan the state is aimed towards encouraging the Students Entrepreneurship in the state and have made an allocation of 75 crore rupees under various heads to encourage the same. The implemented educational loan scheme of the state was designed to improve the employability skills of students. In context of agricultural development, the state government
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has demanded adequate loans at 7 percent interest through banks via NABARD to genuine farmers.
ODISHA DECIDED TO SET UP FIRST PUBLIC HEALTH UNIVERSITY IN INDIA

Odisha on 8 April 2013 decided to set up the first public health university in India. This university will be set up under Public-Private Partnership mode at Gramadiha village in Jatni tehsil on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. An MoU has been signed in this regard by State Health Department and Asian Institute of Public Health in Bhubaneshwar. In the first phase, 100 crore rupees will be invested in this University. The University will offer master and postdoctoral degree, diplomas and certificates courses in public health and public health management to both medical and non-medical professionals.
MP DECIDED TO DECLARE MALKHAMB AS THE STATE SPORT

The Madhya Pradesh government on 9 April 2013 decided to declare Malkhamb as the State Sport. It has also decided to start a new scheme called Mission Olympics 2020 for special coaching to selected sports persons so that they could represent the country in 2020 Olympics. Malkhamb is one of the most ancient sports of India. It ensures exercise of every part of body in minimum time. In view of this the Madhya Pradesh government decided to declare it as State Sport. Under Mission Olympics-2020 scheme, talented players selected at minimum 9 years of age will be coached. Services of players of international repute will be availed for each sport. Final selection of 4 male and 4 female players will be made in each sport. A total of 76 players will be imparted coaching. The selected players will be sent for two months in selected foreign coaching institutions. They will also be sent to select coaching institutions in the country for one month for high-level coaching.
PCI ALLOCATED 30314 CRORE RUPEES FOR WEST BENGAL PLAN 2013-14
An annual plan of 30314 crore rupees for the year 2013-14 for West Bengal was finalized by the Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee on 9 April 2013. The states performance in the 2012-13 plan was commendable in terms of utilization of funds from the centre for flagship schemes. In the previous year plan period, the state grew at the rate of 7.6 percent that was better than the national average of growth. The internal revenue growth of the state was satisfactory. The states GSDP growth rate increased from 6.29 percent in 2005-06 to 7.67 percent in 2012-13 and was higher than the all Indian GSDP growth rate of 4.96 percent in 201213
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The per capita Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) increased from Rs. 22649 in 2004-05 to Rs. 36505 in the year 2012-13 Agricluture and allied sectors grew at the rate of 2.56 percent in 2012-13 against the national growth rate of 1.76b percent The states revenue grew by 30 percent due to the reforms introduced in the tax administration
In the 12 plan the state has identified more inclusive and sustainable growth as the basic objective for 12th Plan period. It aimed at major allocations were made in Social Service Sector, Energy, Irrigation and Transport and Rural Development. The budget allocation was also made for special area programmes to bring the state out from the economically and removing regional disparities. For betterment of educational opportunities and employable skill development for girls in the state funds have been allocated. For bringing up the regional imbalances, areas like Sunderbans, Jangal Mahal and North Bengal were given special attention
Agriculture The agricultural conditions in the previous year plan improved at a great pace and the state made a procurement if 20.5 lakh metric tonnes of rice in the Kharif Season. In the nect plan, the state government has emphasized on development of godown capacity to 7.68 lakh metric tonnes from 48000 metric tonnes.
ANDHRA PRADESH LAUNCHED AMMA HASTHAM

The State Government of Andhra Pradesh on 11 April 2013 on occasion of Ugadi Festival launched a new scheme named Amma Hastham (mother's hand) to supply nine essential food items to poor at subsidized rates. The Amma Hstam scheme was named after the name of Late Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. Chief Minister of the state Kiran Kumar Reddy has formally launched the scheme at Hyderabad. About 2 crore 20 lakh poor families will be benefitted with the launch of the scheme that is to be run on an additional annual burden of 660 crore rupees on the state exchequer. The nine essential item mentioned in the scheme includes a kilo of Wheat, Wheat Flour, Palm Oil, Salt Red Gram, half a kilo of Sugar and Tamerind, quarter kilo of Red Mirchi powder and 100 grams Termaric Powder.
AP GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM DIAL 100

State Government of Andhra Pradesh on 11 April 2013 launched a GPS-GIS based Central Emergency Response System Dial 100 in Hyderabad. The emergency response system is designed to enable police reach the area of complaint within minutes of receiving the
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complaint. The project with state-wide network was launched by the states Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy. The project is jointly being exercised by State Police and a Private Firm that will operate the GPS-GIS based state of the art emergency response system that will operate on a single command and control centre for complete state. The same centre of Dial 100 will coordinate in cases of other emergencies like fire, medical as well as the disaster related response. This facility will enable citizens of the state to Dial 100 and register the complaints via mobile or landline phone.
VOR EQUIPMENT COMMISSIONED AT LUDHIANA AIRPORT BY AAI

The Airport Authority of India on 12 April 2013 commissioned the VOR (VHF Omni Directional Range) equipment at Ludhiana Airport. The technology is used to increase the visibility at the time of landing and take-off by the planes at the airport. Commissioning of the VOR technology will increase the visibility while landing and take-offs from previous 2.4 kilometers to 5 kilometers.
VOR (VHF OMNI DIRECTIONAL RANGE)

VOR (VHF Omni Directional Range) is a short-range radio navigation system designed for aircraft that enables the pilot to determine their position and stay on course via radio signals transmitted by a network of fixed ground radio signal, with a receiver unit.
285.75 CRORE APPROVED FOR HIMACHAL PRADESH UNDER PMGSY

The Union Government accorded approval of 285.75 crore rupees to Himachal Pradesh under PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana). This amount would be provided under World Banks Rural Road Project to the state. As per an estimate, 19 new roads and three bridges would be constructed besides mettaling and tarring of 122 roads. The state government was giving top priority to the construction of roads under various schemes especially in the rural areas and about 80 villages would be provided road connectivity during financial year 2013-14.
GOA TO IMPOSE ENTRY TAX ON VEHICLES REGISTERED OUTSIDE

The Goa Government decided to impose entry tax on vehicles registered outside the state and entering Goa from outside. It will be effective from 15 April 2013. As per the notification issued by the government, private two wheelers and Government and VIP vehicles will however be exempted from entry tax.
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The Government is expected to earn 50 crore rupees annually with the implementation of this new tax. Besides Goa, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh also imposes entry tax on vehicles registered outside the states.
66TH HIMACHAL DAY CELEBRATED AT DHALPUR GROUND, KULLU

Himachal Pradesh celebrated 66th Himachal Day on 15 April 2013 with great enthusiasm across the state. Himachal Pradesh came into existence on 15 April 1948 with the merger of 30 princely states. The celebration for the 66th Himachal Day was held at the historic Dhalpur Ground at Kullu. The Chief Minister of the state, Virbhadra Singh presided over the state-level function organised. During the function, the Chief Minister announced many schemes for the state which are under development phase like Mukhyamantri Adarsh Krishi Gaon Yojana, Skill Development Allowance and others. Under the scheme Mukhyamantri Adarsh Krishi Gaon Yojana that state is planning to initiate Agricultural Development Plans that will be prepared for one Panchayat in all the 68 assembly constituencies. In the skill development Allowance, the government would provide 1000 rupees per month to educated unemployed youths and 1500 rupees to persons with disabilities of the state. Announcement for increasing the grant under Rajiv Awas Yojna from initial 48000 rupees to 75000 rupees was made on the occasion. The Chief Minister also made different types of announcements for enhancing the drinking water facilities across the state.
BIHAR CABINET GAVE ITS NOD ON QUOTA FOR WOMEN IN POLICE

The State Cabinet of Bihar on 16 April 2013 gave its nod to the Home Departments proposal to grant 35 percent reservation for women in the recruitment of constables and sub-inspectors in reserved and unreserved categories of the state. The state cabinet meeting was presided over by the Chief Minister of the State, Nitish Kumar. The reservation for women would be in addition to the three per cent already existing for women belonging to backward class. The decision is the follow up of the states recent women centric policies to uplift women in the state. Before this, the state cabinet approved quota of 50 percent in cooperatives for women in the state.
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CANCELLED 49 MINE LEASES IN KARNATAKA

The Supreme Court cancelled 49 mine leases in Karnataka. The court accepted most of the recommendations of the Central Empowered Committee on mining issues in Karnataka. The Supreme Court ruled that illegal iron ore mining on the Andhra-Karnataka border would remain suspended till demarcation of the boundary between these two states is completed.
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The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) set up by the Supreme Court to investigate illegal mining in Karnataka submitted its final report on 4 February 2012. The committee recommended the cancellation of leases of 49 mines that have violated the terms of their licence. It also recommended the auction of these leases.
MEGHALAYA LOKAYUKTA (AMENDMENT) BILL 2013 WAS PASSED

The Meghalaya Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill 2013 was on 18 April 2013 passed in the state Assembly. The bill was passed by the state assembly in December 2012, but Governor Ranjeet Shekhar Mooshahary had sent it back without giving his assent and instead suggested some amendments. The Lokayukta (also Lok Ayukta) is an anti-corruption ombudsman organization in the Indian states. Maharashtra was the first state to introduce the institution of Lokayukta through The Maharashtra Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act in 1971.
ASSAM IMPLEMENTED ASSAM RIGHT TO PUBLIC SERVICE ACT 2012

The State Government of Assam on 20 April 2013 implemented the Assam Right to Public Service Act 2012 in the state. The Act was implemented to bring in more transparency in the Public Delivery System. In its first phase, the Act will be implemented in 21 districts and will cover 55 services of 14 departments into it. The implementation of the Act in full order will help in establishment of an interface with the public and bring about accountability and transparency which are keys for good governance. The Assam Right to Public Service Act 2012 will help in delivery of services to citizens by elimination of delays in availing the important services.
RAJASTHAN: 5170 BNRGSK BECAME OPERATIONAL

Government of Rajasthan made 5170 Bharat Nirman Rajeev Gandhi Seva Kendras (BNRGSK) operational across 9100 Village Panchayats of Rajasthan from 20 April 2013. The facilities included in the Seva Kendras include MG NREGA Payments, depositing of various utility bills. These kendras will also facilitate Agricultural Consultation to people as per their requirements. The Seva Kendras were made operational at an expense of 1000 crore rupees and will be functional as Knowledge centres. The rural people and farmers can avail facilities of getting land record, mini bank, post office as well as advice for water and irrigation techniques at these kendras. Public Hearing helping centres were also created at all these Kendras. These centers will register the complaints of the common people against Government Departments and the hearing on the same will be conducted on every Friday by the concerned department.
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The State Government also started a special social pension campaign in the state from 20 April 2013. Under this campaign, camps will be established for identifying and sanctioning pension to senior citizens, BPL, divorcee, widows and persons of Saharia, Kathodi and Khairwa tribes.
AHMEDABAD LAUNCHED FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND HEAT ACTION PLAN

The Indian city of Ahmedabad launched a first-of-its-kind Heat Action Plan on 16 April 2013. With this it became the first city in South Asia to launch a Heat Action Plan (HAP). The launch of this Heat Action Plan is part of a broader collaboration dating back to early 2011 between AMC and public health and policy experts at the Indian Institute of Public Health. The Heat Action plan is meant to inform citizens about extreme climates in the near future and with the necessary steps to tackle it. The idea behind approaching towards Heat action plan came after seeing soaring of Temperatures in the city during summers in Gujarat which has risen up to as high as 47 degrees resulting in deaths due to intense heat wave conditions and strokes. The Heat Action Plan was introduced in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and directly aims to provide a framework for the implementation, coordination, and evaluation of extreme heat response activities in the city to reduce the negative health impact of extreme heat. The major objective of the plan is to make aware the population who are mostly at the risk of heat-related illness when extreme heat conditions either exist or are imminent. The civic body has tied up with Georgia Institute of Technology in United States of America (USA), Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH) and Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC), a US-based international advocacy group, for this project. Ahmedabads Heat Action Plan depicts both immediate and longer-term actions to increase vigilance, information-sharing, and response coordination to reduce the health effects of heat on vulnerable populations.
HIGH POINTS OF THE HEAT ACTION PLAN ARE

Preventative training and awareness building for medical professionals and slum community outreach workers. Heat-health protection trainings for school children, outdoor workers, and other vulnerable groups. Communications outreach, such as an early warning system that will immediately alert the public of impending heat waves, the distribution of multilingual pamphlets, and long-term awareness-building ad campaigns. Coordinated action by government agencies at the municipal, state, and national levels to ensure successful implementation of the preparedness plan and warning system.
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GOA BANNED DRINKING ON THE BEACHES TO PREVENT EVE TEASING

The Goa tourism department in April 2013 directed the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) to ban people from carrying glass bottles or alcohol on the beaches. In the fortnightly meeting that took place between IRB and tourism department, the decision was taken to ban the bottles and liquor on the Goa beaches. Implementation of the decision can be seen in a way that IRB has already been deployed on beaches of Goa in order to facilitate the 24*7 security.
REASON FOR THE BAN

The ban is a result of the lobbying done by Calangute legislator Michael Lobo. Lobo had been campaigning against issues caused by glasses scattered on beaches of the state. The issue was taken by Michael Lobo to tourism department as well as the police. Tourists complained regarding injuries because of the broken glass pieces of liquor and beer bottles. Goa officials also explained that rising crimes against women in India was another reason of the ban on carrying glass bottles or alcohol on the beaches of Goa. The decision was taken to prevent eve teasing on the beaches.
REPERCUSSIONS OF THE BAN

The decision would be a blow to local Goans who went on beaches for picnic and carried alcoholic drinks along with them. In case the tourists do not follow the orders, the alcoholic bottles would be confiscated. However, the tourists would be allowed to drink only at the licensed shops that serve liquor.
WEST BENGAL SET UP COMMISSION TO LOOK INTO DEPOSITS SCAM

The West Bengal Government on 23 April 2013 cleared the setting up of an inquiry commission to look into money collecting schemes and organisations in the State. The commission is going to be headed by retired Justice Shyamal Sen and is supposed to have three to four other members assisting him. The commission will function in investigating the activities of the Saradha group which went bankrupt in second week of April 2013 leading to several thousands of depositors and agents asking for intervention by the State Government. The commission will also come out with newspaper advertisements. Any aggrieved person can approach the commission with complaints in case they feel cheated. Tikamgarh of Madhya Pradesh connected with Rail Services
NABARD STARTED FARME RS CLUB SCHEME IN K ARGIL, J&K
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NABARD on 27 April 2013 started its Farmers Club Scheme in Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir. Deputy General Manager of NABARD, Jammu region, SS Bhatoa inaugurated the first club - Trespone Farmers Club at Trespone TSG Block. The Club will play a major role in uplifting the Sheep and Goat Rearing Sector and Pashmina Rearing.
HC: MAHARASHTRA DIRECTED TO RELEASE WATER IN JAYAKWADI DAM

Maharashtra government was directed by the Bombay High Court on 24 April 2013 to release water into the Jayakwadi Dam from the reservoirs upstream. The dam is built to address the irrigation and drinking water woes of Marathwada. The court gave the direction on a writ petition filed by the Marathwada Janata Vikas Parishad in 2012. In the petition, the citizens of Jalna and Aurangabad districts had demanded the immediate release of 27. 5 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) into the Jayakwadi dam to fulfill the agriculture, drinking and industrial needs of Jalna and Aurangabad townships and more than 400 villages in the districts. However, the quantum of water and the number of days the water will take to reach the Jayakwadi dam remain unclear.
GOVERNMENT OF GOA LAUNCHED DIGITAL KRISHI CARD FOR FARMERS

Goa Government on 29 April 2013 launched a digital Krishi Card which is supposed to help farmers in making use of benefits such as subsidies and loans given by the State Government. The Digiltal Krishi card was officially launched by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar which is based on the database created by the State Agriculture Department at Porvorim. The introduction of the digitally coded card is a landmark and is going to spare farmers from the need of repeatedly producing documents to gain subsidies. It is important here to note that around 10000-15000 farmers with clear land holdings would benefit from the card during the first phase, followed by landless agriculturists. The next major initiative of the Government of Goa will be introduction of similar cards for fishermen and dairy farmers; the cards have been conceptualized by the State-run Goa Electronic Ltd.
BENEFITS OF THE DIGITAL KRISHI CARD

Earlier framers had to go through the confusion of submitting documents such as affidavits every time they applied for agro subsidies. With the launch of Digital Krishi Card they will have to quote the Unique Identity Number to get access to the subsidy. The card would also make farmers eligible for loans depending on their land holding. A loan of up to 30000 rupees per annum for farmers owning a minimum of one hectare would be made available through various financial institutions to be empanelled by the Government.
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The card would not be a legal document if the farmer or tenant wants to stake his claim over the land.
HARYANA GOVT. RAISED COOKING COST OF MID DAY MEAL SCHEME

The Haryana government on 29 April 2013 raised the cooking cost given under Mid Day Meal Scheme to all primary and upper primary schools in Haryana by 7.5 per cent. Now the cooking gas cost would now be 3.34 rupees per day per student in all primary schools and 5rupees per day per student in all upper primary schools. If we compare it with earlier cooking cost it was 3.11 per day per student in all primary schools and 4.65 Rupees per day per student in all upper primary schools. It is important here to note that over 20.88 lakh students were being covered under the Scheme in the state which includes over 13.72 lakh of primary schools, over 7.08 lakh of upper primary schools and 7453 students under National Child Labour Project. Also, a sum of 352 crore rupees has been allotted for Mid Day Meal Scheme for the current financial year 2013-14. Cooking cost basically include cost of items like fuel, vegetables and ghee being used for cooking Mid Day Meal.
SPORTS
GUJARAT WON SYED MUSHTAQ ALI TWENTY20 CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
Gujarat clinched the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Championship title after defeating Punjab in the six-wicket victory on 31 March 2013 at Holkar Stadium, Indore. Punjab won the toss and elected to bat first. The team scored 122 runs in 20 overs with a loss of 8 wickets. Gujarat accomplished the score with 13 balls remaining.
ABOUT SYED MUSHTAQ ALI TWENTY20 CHAMPIONSHIP

Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Championship is the domestic cricket championship of India. It is organised by Board of Control for Cricket in India. The inaugural season of Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Championship was 2008-09 season. Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Championship is named after the Indian cricketer, Syed Mushtaq Ali.
ANDY MURRAY WON THE ATP MIAMI MASTERS 2013 TITLE
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British second seed Andy Murray on 31 March 2013 won the ATP Miami Masters by defeating Spanish third seed David Ferrer by 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) in Miami, Florida. It was Andy Murrays 26th career tour title, and second of the year after having wining the Brisbane International in a tough two hours and 45 minutes. David Ferrer collapsed with a cramp two points from the finish and Murray took a stagger earlier in the final set.
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SOME FACTS ABOUT ANDY MURRAY

It was his second Miami title. He had also won the same title in 2009. Andy Murray will rise to World No. 2, ahead of Roger Federer, while Ferrer will move past Rafael Nadal to become fourth in the rankings. Andy Murray defeated David Ferrer for the seventh time in 12 career meetings. Ferrer's only win over Murray off clay was at the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals. The victory was Andy Murray's ninth victory in a Masters 1000 series event.
HOUSTON OPEN 2013: AMERICAN DA POINTS WON THE TOURNAMENT

American DA Points won the Houston Open 2013 on 1 April 2013. He had won earlier the Pebble Beach National ProAm in 2011. He was in contention for winning the Houston open all week. He added six birdies on the final day of tournament to ensure his victory. Stewart Cink, Stenson and Bill Haas also participated in the tournament. Stenson bogeyed the 13th but birdies at four of the final five holes saw him finish runner-up with Horschel, who earned his second-place finish with five birdies on the front nine. England's Brian Davis scored 67 on the final day to finish in a tie for sixth, one shot behind Dustin Johnson and Ben Crane.
SARNOBAT CLINCHED GOLD AT ISSF WORLD CUP IN 25-M PISTOL EVENT

Rahi Sarnobat clinched the first gold for India in International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Korea on 5 April 2013. She defeated Kyeongae Kim 8-6 in 25m pistol final. She is the first pistol shooter from India who won the Gold in World Cup.
ABOUT RAHI SARNOBAT

Rahi Sarnobat is the first Indian to win Gold in World Cup in pistol event.
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She joined the league of some of the eminent shooters such as Gagan Narang, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Anjali Bhagwat, Ronjan Singh Sodhi, Sanjeev Rajput and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. Rahi Sarnobat was also the youngest Indian shooter at London Olympics 2012. In 2011, she won a bronze after qualifying for the Olympics.
INDIA WON THE TWENTY20 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN SERIES

The Indian women's cricket team finished the Twenty20 International series against Bangladesh Women with 3-0 clean sweep in Vadodara in the final match on 5 April 2013. India won the final match by 10 runs against Bangladesh. The second game was won by India by seven wickets, thereby winning the series already. The T20 International series against Bangladesh began on 2 April 2013. India and Bangladesh womens cricket team will now play three One-Day Internationals. The first ODI will be played on 8 April 2013 in Ahmadabad.
FACTS ABOUT INDIA AND BANGLADESH TWENTY20 INTERNATIONAL SERIES

The first match was played on 2 April 2013 at Vadodra. The score was- India Women 143/3 (20/20 ov); Bangladesh Women 94/7 (20/20 ov). The second match was played on 4 April 2013 at Vadodra. The score was- Bangladesh Women 88/4 (20/20 ov); India Women 91/3 (18/20 ov). The third match was played on 5 April 2013 at Vadodra. The score was- India Women 123/9 (20/20 ov); Bangladesh Women 113/7 (20/20 ov).
RANINDER SINGH RE-ELECTED AS THE PRESIDENT OF NRAI

Raninder Singh on 6 April 2013 was re-elected as the President of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). The announcement of his re-election was made at Hotel Raj Hans, Suraj Kund, by Justice (retd) Mehtab Singh Gill during the NRAIs General Body Meeting. Raninder Singh has been holding the Post of the President since 29 December 2010.
APPOINTMENTS MADE FOR OTHER POSITION DURING THE MEET INCLUDE

The Joint-Secretary General D.V.S. Rao was elected as the new Secretary General of NRAI Avtar Singh, the senior-most member of the governing body, was also elected unopposed as senior vice president
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Baljit Singh Sethi will continue as Advisor
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RUPESH SHAH WON ONGC 12TH ASIAN BILLIARDS CHAMPIONSHIP

Rupesh Shah, the world champion won the 12th Asian Billiards championship at Indore Tennis Club, Indore on 7 April 2013. He defeated Alok Kumar 6-4 in the fierce match. Rupesh Shah finished at 101, 95 and 100 to defeat Alok Kumar. It is important to note that this is the 10th Asian Billiards title. Rupesh Shah is the new entry into the club of elites such as Ashok Shandilya, Alok Kumar, Geet Sethi, Pankaj Advani and Devendra Joshi. Rupesh Shah already qualified for 2013 World Championship as the defending champion.
INDIA COMPLETED A 5-0 WHITEWASH OF INDONESIA IN DAVIS CUP

India completed a 5-0 whitewash of Indonesia in the Asia-Oceania Group I Davis Cup relegation play-off tie in Bangalore on 7 April 2013 as Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri posted straight-set wins in their respective reverse singles. Somdev outplayed David Agung Susant 6-3 6-1 in little over an hour while Yuki Bhambari registered a thumping 6-0 6-1 victory over Wisnu Adi Nugroho. India stay in Asia Oceania Group-I and will strive to qualify for the World Group in 2014. India had already retained their place in the group, after they took a lead of 3-0 on 6 April 2013.
SERENA WILLIAMS WON FAMILY CIRCLE CUP 2013

Current women's world No. 1 Serena Williams won the Family Circle Cup, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 in Charleston, S.C. on 7 April 2013. She defeated Jelena Jankovic in three sets of the final match. This is the second straight title of Serena Williams at WTA event and third overall. Serena Williams, 31, won her two straight singles tournament after defeating Maria Sharapova at the Sony Tennis Open in Miami. In all, she has three single titles in 2013 along with 49 of her career. In January 2013, she won WTA Brisbane International and Sony Tennis Open in Miami for sixth time in March 2013. She is a 15-time Grand Slam champion. She will play for European clay-court season as well as the years second Slam event, the 2013 French Open that will commence in late May 2013.
HOCKEY INDIA FORMED A HPDC FOR 2013-14

Hockey India on 9 April 2013 announced its High Performance and Development Committee (HPDC) for 2013-14. The 15 member committee will be headed by Dr Narinder Batra Secretary www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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General of Hockey India and High Performance Director; Hockey India Roelant Oltmans will be the Vice-Chairman. The committee has Ajit Pal Singh (former Captain of 1975 World Cup winning team), Col. Balbir Singh (former Olympian and National Selector), Dilip Tirkey (former Captain and Member Rajya Sabha), Sukhvir Singh Grewal, Thoiba Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Dr RP Singh, Surinder Kaur, Saba Anjum, Michael Nobbs (Chief Coach, National Senior Men Hockey Team), Neil Hawgood (Chief Coach, National Senior Women Hockey Team) and Gregg Clark (Coach, National Junior Men Hockey Team) as its members. Ms Elena Norman, CEO, Hockey India will be the Convenor of this Committee. The Sports Authority of India will be the Invitee Members of this Committee. This committee will work on the high performance and development of hockey at grassroot level in the country. Committee will prepare blueprints and ensures that same pattern of coaching will be followed in the country at all levels. Since the appointment of Roelant Oltmans as Director, High Performance by Hockey India it was a necessary step to form this Committee so as to ensure that the game of hockey progresses in the country at all levels. Dr Narinder Batra, Chairman, High Performance and Development Committee and Secretary General, Hockey India said that the idea of involving former Olympians, International players and Chief Coaches in this Committee is to get more and more ideas for proper planning in the development of the game. The Committee will meet quarterly to discuss the progress and share new ideas.
PAVLYUCHENKOVA WON MONTERREY OPEN TENNIS TOURNAMENT

Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won final of the Monterrey Open Tennis Tournament after defeating Germanys top-seeded Angelique Kerber 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 on 7 April 2013. With this, her International-level tournament record remained intact with 15-0. She won the Monterrey Open Tennis Tournament all the three times she played it. She played the Monterrey Open in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has overall four WTA titles of her career. The doubles title of Monterrey Open Tennis Tournament was won by Kimiko Date-Krumm and Timea Babos, who defeated Tamarine Tanasugarn and Eva Birnarova 6-1 6-4. After the victory, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won a cheque of 40000 US dollar as well as 280 ranking points. Angelique Kerber on the other hand got a cheque of 20000 US dollar and 200 ranking points. Monterrey Open Tennis Tournament is one among the main tennis tournaments of Mexico. Other important Mexican tennis tournament is Acapulco Open which was won by Italy's Sara Errani and Spain's Rafael Nadal in March 2013.
DERU WON SILVER IN WORLD YOUTH WEIGHTLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
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Jamjang Deru won silver in the 50 kg boys category at Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 8 April 2013 in the world youth weightlifting championships 2013 . With the victory of Jamjang Deru, this was also the first medal for India in the world youth weightlifting championships. Jamjang Deru won silver in the clean and jerk and lifted 110 kg. He finished at the fourth position with a total lift of 195 kg. In snatch, he lifted 85 kg. In same 50 kg boys category, Deepak Lather lifted 174 kg to finish at the 12th position. In the girls 44 kg category, Chandrika Tarafdar finished at the seventh position with 135 kg. Poonam Dalal lifted 122 kg to finish at the 15th position. It is worth noticing that World Youth Championships is the qualifying event for 2014 Youth Olympic Games.
SERENA WILLIAMS TOPP ED THE WOMENS TENNI S RANKING

American Serena Williams was ranked number one in an unchanged top 10 issued on 8 April 2013 by the WTA (Women Tennis Association). Williams has 11,115 points to her credit while Russias Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus got 10240 and 9325 points respectively. WTA top 10 women tennis players are as following: (1) Serena Williams, United States, 11115 points (2) Maria Sharapova, Russia, 10240 (3) Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, 9325 (4) Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland, 6845 (5) Li Na, China, 5880 (6) Angelique Kerber, Germany, 5500 (7) Sara Errani, Italy, 5405 (8) Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic, 5225 (9) Samantha Stosur, Australia, 3790 (10) Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark, 3760.
MANIPUR CLAIMED OVERALL TEAM CHAMPION TITLE OF NE GAMES

In the 27th edition of North-East Games played at Imphal, the host state- Manipur claimed the title of overall team champion on 11 April 2013. The North-East (NE) Games were played from 8 April 2013 to 11 April 2013. The North-East games included eight states. These games also include Sikkim. Manipur emerged as overall champion with the medal tally of 127. This included 74 gold, 31 silver and 22 bronze. Assam came at the second place with 101 medals which included 31 gold, 30 silver and 40 bronze. Mizoram was at the third place with 72 medals including 20 gold, 19 silver and 33 bronze. Nagaland finished at fourth position with 49 medals and Arunachal Pradesh got 45 medals. At the lowest rank were Meghalaya with 37 medals, Tripura with 36 medals and Sikkim 11 medals.
ABOUT 27TH NORTH EAST GAMES 2013
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The 27th North East Games 2013 were opened by Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh. North East Games were earlier known as North East Sports Festival. The North East Games were started with an aim of promoting the sports and games in the North East region. First edition of North East Games was held in Imphal in 1986-87.
INDIAN WOMEN WON ODI SERIES AGAINST BANGLADESH WOMEN 3-0

Indian Women made a clean sweep in the three-match Bangladesh Women in India One Day International Cricket Series, 2012/13 against Bangladesh on 12 April 2013 after winning the third and the final match at Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. India defeated Bangladesh by 58 runs in the third match. SCORES OF THE THIRD MATCH India Women: 154 all out in 48.3 overs Highest run getters from India were Swagatika Rath scored 30 runs and Harmanpreet Kaur scored 29 runs Bangladesh Women: 96 all out in 41.1 overs Highest Run getter from Bangladesh was Salma Khatun scored 22 runs
Before the ODI series, the Indian women also made a clean sweep T20 international series against Bangladesh Women with 3-0 on 5 April 2013.
GREGG CLARK IS THE COACH OF THE JUN IOR MENS NATIONAL T EAM
Hockey India on 7 April 2013 named South African Gregg Clark as the chief coach of the junior mens national team. He had coached the South African senior mens team for seven years including the 2008 and 2012 Olympics earlier. He also coached the title-winning Ranchi Rhinos in the inaugural edition of the Hockey India League (HIL) in 2013. Clark was appointed for a period of one year but the contract can be renewed. The junior Hockey World Cup will be held in India in December 2013.
SANIA MIRZA BECAME ONE OF THE FOUR VICE-PRESIDENTS OF ITPA

The Indian Tennis Players Association (ITPA) Secretary, Karti P Chidambaram on 14 April 2013 announced that the tennis star player, Sania Mirza became one of the Vice-Presidents of ITPA. Sania Mirza now became one of the four Vice-Presidents of Indian Tennis Players Association, which is a newly-formed body. Other three Vice-Presidents of the body are Somdev Devvarman, Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes. Former Davis
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Cup captain Jaideep Mukherjea is the President of the Association. Sania Mirza is the first female player from India who won a Grand Slam. She now plays in doubles only.
ADAM SCOTT WON AUGUSTA MASTERS GOLF TOURNAMENT

Adam Scott won the Augusta Masters Golf championship on 14 April 2013. He beat Angel Cabrera in the play-off for the title. It was his maiden major title. He became the first Australian to win Augusta Masters. Australian Jason Day, runner up with Scott in 2011, was third at seven under with Tiger Woods (70) and another Australian Marc Leishman (72) tied for fourth at five under. Adam Scott is 32 years old. He turned professional in 2000. His ranking at present is 7. He has 9 US PGA tour wins and an equal number of European PGA tour wins to his credit.
CHANDIGARH WON NORTH-ZONE SUB-JUNIOR NAT. CHAMPIONSHIP

Chandigarh on 15 April 2013 defeated Punjab by 2-1 to lift the third Hockey India Sub-Junior Men National Championship (North Zone) title in the final match held at Sonepat. Harmeet Singh and Manjinder Singh scored one goal each for Chandigarh, whereas Kawaljit Singh scored one goal for Punjab. Meanwhile, Haryana women won the 3rd Hockey India Sub-Junior Women National Championship (North Zone) title. The Women team of Haryana defeated Chandigarh by 3-1 in the final to capture the title. Udita scored two goals and Navpreet Kaur scored one for Haryana to win the title. Navneet Kaur of Haryana scored maximum 9 goals in the complete tournament to stay at the top in the list.
OLYMPIAN SITA SAHU HONOURED

Minister of State (I/C) Independent Charge for Power, Jyotiraditya Scindia, honoured the winner of two medals in 2011 at Special Olympics World Summer Games at Athens, Sita Sahu in New Delhi on 16 April 2013. She was honoured with a cheque of 5 lakh Rupees. The cheque was presented on behalf of NTPC Ltd. Sita Sahu had won Bronze Medals in 200 M and 1600 M relay race and secured 4th place in 100 M (female) race at Special Olympics World Summer Games at Athens in 2011. She is a 15 year old Olympian from Rewa district in Madhya Pradesh. In the meanwhile, Jyotiraditya Scindia also declared a reward of 5 lakh Rupees to Sita Sahu and also promised improvement in her one room house under the Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme of NTPC.
NAVJOT SINGH IS YOUNGEST ATHLETE TO WIN SHER-I-KASHMIR AWARD
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Navjot Singh on 17 April 2013 became the youngest athlete of Jammu and Kashmir to be conferred with the Sher-i-Kashmir Sports Award. He is 16 years old. He was adjudged best sportsperson for 2008-09, got the award in recognition of his impressive outing at the 9th Sub Junior National Aerobic Gymnastics at Rajkot in 2007 where he won a silver medal. In 2008, Navjot Singh bagged a couple of gold medals at the same venue during the Sub Junior Nationals. Navjot is one of the 13 gymnasts of the state, who were awarded for their efforts. Sonia Sharma, Harleen Singh, Sonal Gupta, Kamal Singh, Seema Mehra, Palak Kour, Tejpal Kour, Manvinder Singh, Manpreet Kour, Mitali, Mayank Jain and Jaskaran Singh were the other gymnasts who were awarded on the occasion. Athletes from other disciplines who got the award include Tashi Thinle, Arif Mohammad Khan, Sakina Bashir, Amandeep Singh, Raahil Farooq Shah, Mehjabeena Akhtar and Shoiab Zahoor Mir, all for skiing. Footballers Mehraj-ud-Din Wadoo, Ishfaq Ahmad, Arun Malhotra, Jonny Kumar, fencers Rashid Ahmad Choudhary and Ujjwal Gupta, apart from Judokas Bhanu Pratap and Nippu Jamwal also bagged the Sher-i-Kashmir prestigious Award. Kuldeep Handoo (Vushu), Rita Devi (Handball), Younus Nazi Kochey (Snooker), Bilquis Mir (Kayaking), Mohammad Ali (Taekwondo) and Kuldip Kumar Gupta (Tug-of-War) were among others, who were awarded on the occasion. Sher-i-Kashmir Sports Awards were instituted in 1978. However, after 1991 when militancy began in the state, the awards were not given. The awards were then presented in 2002 to be continued since then.
CHRIS HOY, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST ANNOUNCED RETIREMENT

Sir Chris Hoy, the Six-time Olympic Gold Medalist from Britain on 18 April 2013 decided to retire from cycling after using every last ounce of energy and effort at London 2012. He announced his retirement at Murrayfield in Edinburgh. The 37 year old cycling champion decided to retire before the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
ABOUT CHRIS HOY

Chris Hoy has six-Olympic Gold Medals by his name; he secured the last two during the London Olympics-2012 He won his first Olympic gold medal by securing a victory in the one kilometre time-trial at Athens in 2004
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In Sydney Olympics 2000, he won a silver medal in the team sprint During the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he won 3 gold medals by his name in the in the team sprint, keirin and sprint In 2008 he was voted as the 2008 BBC Sports Personality of the year He is the first Briton, who claimed six Olympic Gold medal by his name, before him Sir Steve Redgrave recorded his name as a person to win maximum gold medals with five Olympic Gold medals
Medals won by him in Different Format of Game Games/Championships Olympic Games Year and Type of Race

2004: 1km track time trial 2008: Team sprint, keirin and sprint 2012: Team sprint and keirin
World Championships
2002: 1km time trial and team sprint 2004: 1km time trial 2005: Team sprint 2006: 1km time trial 2007: Keirin and 1km time trial 2008: Sprint and keirin 2010: Keirin 2012: Keirin 2002: 1km time trial 2006: Team sprint
Commonwealth Games
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FIDE, AICF & TAMIL NADU STATE CHESS ASSOCIATION SIGNED AN MOU
All India Chess Federation (AICF), the Tamil Nadu State Chess Association and the World Chess Federation (FIDE) signed an MoU on 19 April 2013 for the World Chess Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen, which is scheduled to be held from 6 November 2013 to 26 November 2013 in Chennai. This is for the first time that the World Chess Championship match will be held in India and it came to Chennai without bidding. FIDE Chief Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, in 2012, met Jayalalithaa for hosting the match in India, but its bid was lesser than Russias. However, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, despite this, offered the event to Chennai without the bid. This happened for the first time in the history of World Chess Championship. The organising rights of the event were given by FIDE to the private firm called AGON. AGON will be responsible for securing the sponsors of the event.
ASSAM TOPPED MEDAL TALLY OF NATIONAL ARCHERY CHAMPIONSHIP

Assam on 21 April 2013 topped in the medal tally of the 20th National Archery Championship that was held at Raipur in Chhattisgarh. Assam topped in the chart of states, by claiming four gold medals. Assam won the team event in womens category, while services Sports Control Board won the Mens team event. The event was organised from 17 April to 21 April 2013 and was conducted at Agrasen Dham. The National Championship was organised by the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Archery Association and was the Olympic Qualifying Event. In this mega event, more than 500 archers, coach, technical team and officials of Archery bodies from across 28 States and seven Union Territories participated in the event.
DJOKOVIC WON MONTE-CARLO ROLEX MASTERS TOURNAMENT

Novak Djokovic on 21 April 2013 defeated Rafekl Nadal in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tournament at Monte-Carlo, Monaco. With this win in the Monte-Carlo Tournament, Djokovic ended Nadals eight-year reign in the tournament as well as 46 match winning streak in the Monte-Carlo Clay Court Masters tournament. Djokovic defeated Nadal with 6-2, 7-6 (1) in the game that lasted for 1 hour and 52 minutes and for Djokovic. He lost to Nadal in Monte Carlo 2009 and 2012 tournament and became the first player to defeat the king of clay court Nadal in three
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different finals on clay; previously he defeated Nadal in Madrid and Rome in 2011. Nadals eight straight titles in the row is the record for the tournament in ATP. Djokovic also ended the 81 match winning streak of Nadal on the clay court in April 2013, before this Nadal last lost a match on clay court on 8 April 2005 in the Valencia quarter finals to Igor Andreev. This is the first Monte-Carlo title and 14th ATP world Masters 1000 titles with overall 37 trophies for Djokovic. With this win, he has won every ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title except the Western and Southern Open Cincinnati.
MONTE-CARLO ROLEX MASTERS

The Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters is also known as the Gem of the Mediterranean. The event celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2006 and is first among all the three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments that are played on the clay court. The tournament is a player and fan favourite due to its magnificent location and long tradition of champions. Rafael Nadal of Spain won an Open Era record eight successive title from 2005-2012 and has a staggering event record of 48-2.
SEBASTIAN VETTEL WON THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 2013

Sebastian Vettel, the three times World Formulae One champion from Germany won the Bahrain Grand Prix 2013 on 21 April 2013 by defeating Lotus drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean. The Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel started the race from second position but successfully grabbed the first position in the 17th Lap to beat the two Kimi Raikkonen by 9 seconds and Grosjean by 20 seconds. He crossed Paul di Resta of Force India for third with five laps. Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes took fifth position and Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, who suffered a rear wing failure, was successful in grabbing the eighth position in the listings.
WATSON STEPPED DOWN AS VICE-CAPTAIN OF AUSTRALIA TEST TEAM

The Australian Cricketer and all-rounder player, Shane Watson on 20 April 2013 stepped down from the position of Vice-Captain of the Australian International test Cricket team. His decision came up before the Champions League and the Ashes Series that is scheduled to be organized in England in July 2013.
ABOUT SHANE WATSON

Shane Watson is a right-handed batsman and a right-handed fast medium bowler of Australia
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He made his debut to the Australian cricket team in 2002, and played his first One Day International match against South Africa He made his debut in test cricket against Pakistan in January 2005 at Sydney Cricket Ground In 2010 and 2011, he won the Allan Border Medal and became the second cricketer to win back to back two Allan Border medals after Ricky Pointing
ICC TEST CRICKET RANKINGS

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin are the only two Indian Cricketers to figure out among the top-10 in the latest ICC Test Rankings in batting and bowling respectively released on 21 April 2013. Pujara with 777 ranking points retained his position at number seven in the batting chart of the ICC rankings released. Ashwin was static at the sixth position in the list of top ten bowlers with 757 points. Hashim Amla, the South African batsman was listed as the top ranking batsman in the list and is followed by Shivnarine Chanderpaul of West Indies and A B de Villiers of South Africa. While in the rankings of bowlers, Dale Steyn, the South African pace spearhead was ranked as the best bowler with 905 ranking points. Dale Steyn is followed by his teammate Vernon Philander and Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath. In context of the test-playing all-rounders there was no change in the ranking. Jacques Kallis of South Africa remained at first position and is followed by Shakib. The gap between the points of these two increased by 35 points. The Captain of Zimbabwe, Brendan Taylor earned his career best 29th position in the rankings with his undefeated feat of 171 and 102 not out against Bangladesh. He jumped 49 positions to grab this position.
PRAYAG WON GOLD MEDAL AT ASBC BOXING CHAMPIONSHIPS

At the final round of ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships in Kazakhstan, Prayag Chauhan defeated Azat Ilyubayev in the lightweight category (60kg) on 22 April 2013 to grab a gold medal. In an overall performance, India stood at the third position in team rankings. The Indian boxers completed Asian meet with three bronze and one gold medal. Prayag Chauhan, 16, won the match in 60 kg category. On the other hand, the sub-junior national champion Aditya Maan (66kg) grabbed bronze medal at the Asian Championships. He lost to Uzbek boxer, Merjanev Eldar. Pradeep (63 kg) finished the tournament with third position. He lost to Kazakhstans Stolbovskiy Vladislav in semi-finals.
THOMAS CUP AND UBER CUP FINALS TO BE HOSTED IN DELHI

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The Finals of the Uber Cup 2014 and Thomas Cup 2014 is to be held at New Delhi from 18 May 2014 to 25 May 2014. The announcement of the dates and venue of the finals of the two major badminton tournaments was done by the President of Badminton Association of India Akhilesh Das Gupta after an official signing ceremony between Badminton World Federation's (BWF) and Badminton Association of India at present is hosting the India Open Super Series.
ABOUT THOMAS CUP

Thomas Cup is the Badminton World Federation's first international tournament and was first staged in 1948-49. It is also known as the Mens World Team Championships. It is organised at an interval of three years. First President of the World body, Sir George Thomas and legendary player with 21 All England titles and administrator of the Sport came up with the idea of the competition and donation of the trophy.
ABOUT UBER CUP

Uber Cup is also known was the Womens World Team Championships and was organised for the first time in 1956-57. Since 1984, the Final of the Uber Cup is held alongside the Mens Competition i.e. the Thomas Cup. The Uber Cup, or the idea of organizing Women Championship was a brainchild of Betty Uber. Betty Uber in 1956-57 made a draw in the inaugural tournament of the Cup that took place at Lytham St Annes in Lancashire, England. Both Thomas and Uber Cups are held biennially now.
SABINE LISICKI & BARTHEL WON PORSCHE TENNIS GRAND PRIX 2013
German duo Sabine Lisicki and Mona Barthel won the womens doubles title at the WTA Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart on 28 April 2013. The Germans defeated the in-form pair of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sania Mirza 6-4, 7-5 in one and half hours to claim their first title as a team. Mirza and Mattek-Sands have already won 2 titles in 2013 but couldnt repeat the winning performance against the Germans who were playing in front of the home crowd.
ANDHRA PRADESH & KARNATAKA EMERGED VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONS

Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka emerged volleyball champions at the 18th National Games for the Deaf at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore on 28 April 2013. Andhra Pradesh defeated Tamil Nadu 25-22, 25-19, 25-19 in the mens final while in womens category Karnataka defeated Andhra Pradesh 25-10, 19-25, 15-7 to win the title. The 18th National Games for the deaf took place after a 17-year gap. It was participated by 21 Indian states.
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Current Affairs PDF April 2013 SPORTS CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZZES
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1. Name the British Tennis player who on 31 March 2013 won the ATP Miami Masters by defeating Spanish third seed David Ferrer by 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) in Miami, Florida. a) Roger Taylor b) Mark Hilton c) Andy Murray d) James Ward Answer (c) Andy Murray 2. Which American Golfer won the Houston Open 2013 on 1 April 2013? a) Darren Andrew Points b) Mike Brannan c) Mike Austin d) Karl Zoller Answer (a) Darren Andrew Points 3. Name the Indian shooting champion who clinched the first gold for India in International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Korea on 5 April 2013.
a) Rahi Sarnobat b) S.K Uthappa c) Manoj Kumar d) Jai Bhagwan
Answer (a) Rahi Sarnobat 4. Name the member of NRAI who was re-elected as the President of National Rifle Association of India. a) Jaswant Singh b) Sunny Thomas c) T.S Dhillon d) Raninder Singh
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Answer (d) Raninder Singh
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5. Name the world Billiard Champion, who won the 12th Asian Billiards championship at Indore Tennis Club, Indore on 7 April 2013. a) Rupesh Shah b) Alok Kumar c) Ashok Shandaliya d) Pankaj Advani Answer (a) Rupesh Shah 6. Name the top seeded female Tennis Player who won the Family Circle Cup 2013; by defeating Jelena Jankovic. a) Venus Williams b) Serena Williams c) Anna Kournikova d) Maria Sharapova Answer (b) Serena Williams 7. Name the female tennis player of Russia's who won final of the Monterrey Open Tennis Tournament after defeating Germanys top-seeded Angelique Kerber 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 on 7 April 2013. a) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova b) Elina Bovina c) Yana Buchina d) Vesna Dolonc Answer (a) 8. In the 27th edition of North-East Games played at Imphal, which Indian state claimed the title of overall team champion? a) Arunachal Pradesh b) Meghalaya c) Manipur
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d) Sikkim Answer (c) Manipur
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9. Which famous South African sports personality on 7 April 2013was named as the chief coach of the junior mens national team? a) Gregg Clark b) Michael Nobbs c) Greg Chappell d) Peter Fernandes Answer (a) Gregg Clark 10. Which International golf player won the Augusta Masters Golf championship on 14 April 2013? a) Adam Scott b) Vijay Singh c) Tiger Woods d) Robert Allen Answer (a) Adam Scott
ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY

PREHISTORIC FOSSIL CALLED ICHTHYOSAURS AFTER VLADIMIR LENIN
Russian Scientists, in the last week of March 2013, announced that a prehistoric fossil was named after the Russia's Communist revolution hero- Vladimir Lenin. The prehistoric fossil is named Leninia Stellans. In a similar affair in the past, the U.S. paleontologists had named ancient toothy lizard after the name of President Barack Obama. Leninia Stellans was the name that was agreed upon collegially. The ichthyosaur fossil was dug out several years ago near Ulyanovsks village. Leninia Stellans name suggested that it was a unique species of ichthyosaurs. Ichthyosaurs are the marine lizard which was found in sea in Mesozoic era between 251 million and 65 million years ago. The skull of Ichthyosaurs was more than one meter or 3.3 feet long. On looking at its exterior, it appeared like the dolphin of modern era. It fed on mollusks and fish.
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Current Affairs PDF April 2013 SEA ICE OF ANTARCTICA INCREASING DESPITE WARMING
A team of scientists from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) in De Bilt explained in their recent study that the reason for expansion of sea ice of Antarctica is climate change. This phenomenon may be caused because of cold plumes of fresh water which is derived because of melting that happens beneath the Antarctic ice shelves.
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The melted water has comparatively low density which is why it accumulates in top layer of ocean. Cool surface water thereafter re-freezes easily during the winter and the autumn. This phenomenon explains why there is an increase in the level of sea ice of Antarctica during these particular seasons. Climate scientists observed that Antarctic sea ice displayed a slight but statistically crucial increase of around 1.9 percent per decade ever since 1985. On the contrary, level of sea ice in Arctic has been continuously shrinking over past few decades. These observed changes were tried to be reproduced in the computer-based climate model. The lead author of the study, Richard Bintanja explained that sea ice around the Antarctica has been increasing inspite of an increase in the global temperature.
CLIMATE CHANGE BENEFITING BEAUFORT ISLAND ADLIE PENGUIN

Scientists from the University of Minnesota unveiled that climate change can be a cause of benefit for the Penguins. It was found that steep cliffs as well as glaciers can limit the Beaufort Island Adlie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colonys nesting grounds expansion. Earlier too, the scientists had documented how because of these glaciers, the young penguins slowed their migration from Beaufort Island and remained in the new ice-free areas, primarily after 2005. Beaufort Island is situated in the Ross Sea, which is said to be the most isolated area of Earth. The ice shelf of Ross Sea covers 487000 square kilometers or approximately the area of France. Even though the Beaufort Islands glaciers are receding, but the sea ice is expanding in certain areas of Antarctica because of the warming of region. As a result, expansion of sea ice led to creation of holes called polynyas. These polynyas, enable the penguins to get access to birds prey like silverfish (Pleuragramma antarctica) and crystal krill (Euphausia crystallorophias). Lead author of the study, Michelle Larue of the University of Minnesota explained that an increase in penguin population can also be a cause of increase in the population of silverfish. www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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And an increase in the population of silverfish occurred because of reduction in predation of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) over silverfish. As a result, it was analysed that Ross Sea Adlie penguins would have benefited from climate change and industrial fishing which led to more room for them to hatch babies and get abundant food. It is also important to note that industrial fishing as well as climate change, in turn have affected various other species. In the 52-year study period, it was noticed that nesting area and density of Beaufort Island Adlie penguins increased and there was also an opening of new sub-colony on north shore of this Island. There are three more penguin colonies which nest in Ross Sea area. Over the recent years, the population of these penguin colonies also increased.
COOLING SYSTEM POWER RESTORED TO JAPANS NUCLEAR PLANT

Power was restored to part of the cooling system at Japan's tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant. The ponds cool the fuel (which generates intense heat) and provide shielding from radiation. The spent fuel remains in the ponds for a year or more. The temperature of water inside the cooling pool at reactor 3 was 15.1C, well below the safety limit of 65C. This suggested that the spent fuel remained stable and did not pose an immediate danger to the environment. The power cut in March 2013 shut down cooling systems for four spent fuel ponds at reactors 1, 3 and 4, although cooling for the reactors themselves was not affected. Possibly, a rat had damaged the electrics which caused a short circuit in a switchboard and triggering the power cut. On 11 March 2011, an earthquake and tsunami severely damaged the plant. The mighty waves severely crippled cooling systems for the reactors, resulting to meltdowns at three of them. Since then Engineers have tried to stabilise the plant but years of work are still remaining to fully contain the disaster and tackle its effects.
RED WOODS ANTS SENSE EARTHQUAKE BEFORE IT HITS: RESEARCH

Researchers from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, discovered that the red wood ants can sense earthquakes even before they strike. Researchers discovered that red wood ants preferred building the colonies along the active faults and fractures where the Earth ruptured. Lead author of the research, Gabriele Berberich described that the behaviour of red wood ants changed considerably before the earthquake above magnitude 2.0 struck the area. The behaviour of these ants remained like that and did not come back to normal till a day after the earthquake. The research of Gabriele Berberich was presented at European Geosciences Union annual meeting in Vienna.
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A team of researchers counted 15000 ant mounds lining the active faults. These ants were tracked continuously for three years between 2009 and 2012. It was discovered that the ants underwent the usual activities on the day just before the earthquake. Then they went back to their moulds. But before an earthquake strikes, the ants remain awake and outside the moulds during night. It was found that the insects can predict earthquakes by knowing about the changing gas emissions or shifts in magnetic fields of the Earth. In case of red wood ants, there are chemo receptors for carbon dioxide gradients along with magneto receptors for electromagnetic fields.
SC ORDERED RELOCATION OF ENDANGERED ASIATIC LIONS

A bench led by Justice K S Radhakrishnan of the Supreme Court of India on 15 April 2013 ordered Gujarat to share the endangered Asiatic lions with its neighbouring stateMadhya Pradesh. The population of these Asiatic lions has almost become negligible but because of certain conservation efforts in the state of Gujarat in past 50 years, these endangered lions have been saved from extinction. At present, the population of these lions in Gir forests of Gujarat is 400. The political leaders in Gujarat resisted relocation of these lions, but Supreme Court ordered that they should be relocated in order to save them from elimination because of fire or epidemic. Conversationalists too had recommended establishment of second sanctuary outside Gujarat in order to make sure about genetic diversification. Back in 1986, the Union Government decided to relocate some of the Asiatic lions from Gir forest in Gujarat to Kuno game sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh in order to prevent extinction of these species. Gujarat had earlier opposed Madhya Pradeshs appeal for relocation of these lions on the grounds of poor record of protection of tiger population in Panna reserve forest. What number of Asiatic lions should be moved to Kuno game sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh is yet to be determined. Gujarat has now been given a deadline of six months to successfully complete this lion relocation.
HLWG PRESENTED REPORT ON WESTERN GHATS TO MOEF

The 10-member High Level Working Group (HLWG) headed by K Kasturirangan presented report on Western Ghats to Ministry of Environment and Forests on 17 April 2013. It proposed to protect 90 percent of the regions Natural Landscape as Ecological Sensitive Area. The HLWG report draws upon the basic framework suggested by WGEEP to use remote sensing technologies to demarcate the ecologically sensitive areas of the Western Ghats but with two key differences. www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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First it used satellite data, down to 24 m resolution, as against 9 km used by WGEEP. This finer resolution was possible because of the collaboration with NRSC/ISRO, which used datasets to distinguish vegetation types over the landscape of the entire Western Ghats. Second it distinguishes between the cultural and the natural landscape of the region. Using remote sensing technology, it has found that the cultural landscape which includes human settlements, agricultural fields and plantations -- covers 58.44 per cent of the region. The natural landscape ranges over the remaining 41.56 per cent. The methodology adopted by NRSC/ISRO has then combined spatial information generated on vegetation types with species level information; biological richness and disturbance regimes to identify the biologically diverse and contiguous regions of the Western Ghats. Its conclusion, based on this methodology, is that roughly 37 per cent of the total area defined as the boundary of the Western Ghats is ecologically sensitive. Over this area of some 60000 sq km, spread over the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the HLWG has recommended a prohibitory regime on those activities with maximum interventionist and destructive impact on the environment. The Working Group makes a range of recommendations to incentivize green growth in the Western Ghats. These include managing forests and improving their productivity to ensure inclusive growth and economic benefits for local communities; integrating forest accounts into state and national economic assessments; initiating an ecosystem service fund to help villages around the forests; promoting sustainable agriculture and; encouraging ecotourism for local benefits. As part of the governance of ecologically sensitive areas, the Working Group has proposed to set up a Decision Support and Monitoring Centre for Geospatial Analysis and Policy Support in the Western Ghats, which will monitor changes and advise state government on policy reform. But it has made it clear that all these reports must be in the public domain. It has also recommended that the high-resolution map, which demarcates ecologically sensitive areas, down to each village settlement, must be put in the public domain so that people can be involved in taking decisions about environment, which is first and foremost their concern. The report notes that environmentally sound development cannot preclude livelihood and economic options for this region the answer (to the question of how to manage and conserve the Ghats) will not lie in removing these economic options, but in providing better incentives to move them towards greener and more sustainable practices. In doing this, the Working Group has moved away from the suggestions of the Expert Panel, which had recommended a blanket approach consisting of guidelines for sector-wise activities, which would be permitted in the ecologically sensitive zones. The Working Group was constituted by the ministry to advise the Government on the recommendations of an earlier report that of the eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil-led Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP). The WGEEP had recommended that the entire Western Ghats should be declared as an ecologically sensitive area; had suggested three levels of categorization where regulatory measures for protection would be imposed and had www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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recommended the establishment of the Western Ghats Ecology Authority for management. In August 2012, MoEF constituted the High Level Working Group (HLWG) to examine the large numbers of public responses received to the recommendations of the Gadgil Report and to suggest the way ahead.
DESERTIFICATION AFFECTS OVER LARGE INDIAN GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

A report submitted to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification by the Environment Ministry in fourth week of April 2013 described that one fourth of Indias geographical area is undergoing the process of desertification despite of the efforts made by it to combat the problem. India has a total geographical area of 328 million hectares and the problem of land degradation and drought continues in the country. As per the findings of the report submitted to United Nation, desertification, land degradation and drought has hit about 8 lakh square kilometer of Indian Territory and covers almost all states and union territories of the country. The total area of India that is undergoing the process of degradation is about 105.48 million hectares that constitutes of about 32.07 percent of total land area of India. The basic reason for such a major challenge lies in the area of land use planning, management of waste and degraded land and efficient use of water resources.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

AMS DETECTED SCOPE FOR DARK MATTER IN THE SPACE
A group of Scientists on 3 March 2013 announced that the 2 billion dollar, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) placed on the International Space Station (ISS) may have detected the elusive dark matter. Thse scientists made the announcement after they observed an excess of positrons in the Cosmic Ray Flux, which can be the reason of the presence of elusive dark matter. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer over a period of one and a half year have detected billions of particles and recorded a signal that may be a dark matter. Before this in the year 2008 using the space-based detector named PAMELA (Payload for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics) Satellite. PAMELA was launched into the space in 2006 and is a multinational collaboration of Russia, Italy, Germany and Sweden. The evidences collected by the AMS supports the existence of Dark Matter in the Universe but it doesnt rules out the presence of pulsars. Since May 2011, the AMS has identified more than 400000positrons, which is the largest number of
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positrons measured from the space directly.
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ALPHA MAGNETIC SPECTROMETER

It is the most powerful and sensitive Spectrometer installed in the space It is an antimatter detector placed on the International Space Station and it is basically a giant magnet The AMS is designed for studying the cosmic ray particles that floods the space before they get in touch with the earth and its atmosphere
DARK MATTER
Dark matter accounts to more than a quarter of Universe mass energy balance. It is believed that the Dark matter holds the universe together. Dark matters dont emit any light and hence cant be seen but it communicates with the rest of the universe by its gravity. Few examples of its gravitational power includes, bending of lights around invisible objects and speed of stars orbiting their galaxies that is faster than what it actually should be or can be.
US GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED A RESEARCH INITIATIVE CALLED BRAIN

US government on 3 April 2013 announced a new research initiative called Brain (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) which is designed to revolutionise the understanding of the human brain. Launched with approximately 100 million US dollars in the President's Fiscal Year 2014 Budget, the BRAIN initiative ultimately aims to help researchers find new ways to treat, cure, and even prevent brain disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury. The BRAIN Initiative will accelerate the development and application of new technologies that will enable researchers to produce dynamic pictures of the brain that show how individual brain cells and complex neural circuits interact at the speed of thought. The scientists possess the capability to study individual neurons and figure out the main functions of certain areas of the brain, but a human brain contains almost a hundred billion neurons making trillions of connections.
FACEBOOK RELEASED SOFTWARE CALLED HOME FOR ANDROID PHONES

Facebook on 4 April 2013 released the software called Home, which puts the feeds from Facebook on Android phones home screen. Software would become the wrapper for Android operating system. It will become the primary way of handling the phone. The images, messages as well as the notifications will be visible on the main screen of Android phones. Earlier, these were accessible through the downloadable application.
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The Home software of Facebook will conceal all other applications and will pipe the entire content as well as the chat performed through Facebook, on the home screen. The software will also alter the technique in which the messages and content is being swapped. By making use of the HomeSoftware, the users will be able to respond to these messages or content by tapping the pop-up images (called chat heads), instead of opening the apps and searching through the menus. Home software will be available through Google's Play Store. It can be downloaded easily and will only be operational on the phones which run on Android 4.0 or higher versions. Facebooks Home will be accessible from 12 April 2013 onwards on six devices, three of which are from HTC and three from Samsung. But as of now, only four devices are available. Rest of the two will be launched along with Facebook Home software. Initially, Home will only be available for the phones, but later it will also be developed for the tablets. Facebook figures suggested that the users spent around 25 percent time on handsets for looking at the feeds or chatting with their friends on Facebook. The fourth quarter earnings of Facebook also showcased that around 23 percent of revenue which came from advertising was available through the advertisements shown to the mobile users.
EXHALED BREATH CAN BE AS UNIQUE AS A FINGERPRINT: STUDY

A recent study conducted by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich found out that the compounds (metabolites) which are found in the exhaled breath are as unique as the fingerprints of an individual. The metabolites have always been seen as the waste products of the chemistry of someones body, but the uniqueness of these metabolites was never shown. The study suggested that these metabolites could be very useful for the purpose of medical diagnosis, just like that found in the blood or urine. The breath test is said to be non-invasive and their results are also available instantly, which is why a breath test can be convenient, especially for doping tests or anaesthesia. The lead author of the study, Renato Zenobi explained that in Chinese medicine in the traditional times, tongue, pulse and also the breath are used for diagnosis of ailments. Earlier researches have also depicted that particular kind of bacteria responsible for lung infections or stomach cancers can be detected using the exhaled breath. During the study, the team took breath samples of 11 volunteers over four time slots of nine working days. The samples were then run through the mass spectrometer, a device which is used to effectively measure the masses of the chemical compounds in breath. Uniqueness of the exhaled breath was thus detected. Breath test is non-invasive as well as immediate in nature, which makes it very promising. For example, it could be used for determination of appropriate dosage in anaesthesia.
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Now, the team is also working along with the pulmonologists for detection of signs of lungrelated ailments such as breath cancer, sarcoidosis and asthma.
US SCIENTISTS IDENTIFIED GENETIC MARKERS OF ALZHEIMERS RISK

US Scientists in the first week of April 2013 identified Genetic markers that could help in detecting Alzheimers disease. The research in Neuron detects mutations which impacts the building up of certain proteins in the brain. High levels of these phosphorylated tau (ptau) proteins increase the chance of Alzheimers disease in humans. The recent scientific finding could help understand the changes that occur in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. This study helps scientists to better understand the way the brain changes when dementia develops. One of the new gene variants was also shown to be linked to a small increased risk of developing Alzheimer's and a greater risk of cognitive decline. The scientists used genetic information from several people to carry out their experiment.UK experts said the study adds to the number of genetic markers that have been linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease.
CAMERA THAT CAN CAPTURE OBJECTS AT LONG DISTANCES DEVELOPED

Researchers in the first week of April developed a New Laser powered Camera System that can take image of any object from a distance of about one kilometer by creating high-resolution 3D images. The technique on which the camera is based is called Time-of-Flight (ToF) navigation systems for autonomous vehicles. In this principle of photography, to capture the image of the far away object, a laser beam is bounced on the object and measure the time that is taken by the beam of light to be back to the detector. The research on the time-of-flight technology of imaging was conducted by the team of researchers from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland that was led by Professor Gerald Buller.
NUCLEAR CAPABLE AGNI-II MISSILE WAS SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRED

The medium range nuclear capable Agni-II missile was on 7 April 2013 successfully test-fired with a strike range of more than 2000 km from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. The two-stage missile equipped with advanced high accuracy navigation system, guided by a novel scheme of state of the earth command and control system was propelled by solid rocket propellant system.
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The 20-metre long Agni-II is a two-stage, solid-propelled ballistic missile. It has a launch weight of 17 tonnes and can carry a payload of 1000 kg over a distance of 2000 km. The state-of-theart Agni-II missile was developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) and integrated by the Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad. Agni-II is part of the Agni series of missiles developed by DRDO which includes Agni-I with a 700 km range, Agni-III with a 3000 km range, Agni-IV with 4000 km range and Agni-V more than 5000 km range. The last trial of Agni-II conducted on 9 August 2012 from the same base, was a total success.
AEROSOLS FROM BURNING FOSSIL FUELS AFFECTING CORAL GROWTH

Scientists found very strong evidence that aerosols from burning fossil fuels were affecting coral growth. In fact, these sooty particles can cool sea surface temperatures and limit the size of reefs. However scientists suggested that this chilling effect could stop the corals from bleaching in warmer waters. Coral reefs across the world are under pressure from a range of human impacts. This does not kill them but makes them much more likely to die. The recent discovery found that as well as the warming waters, fine particulates of different types are affecting reefs near Belize and Panama. These aerosols consist of soot from burning coal, elements from volcanic eruptions and sulphates from fossil fuels. They circulate in the atmosphere and can block solar radiation and make clouds more reflective. In their study, the scientists examined records from coral skeletons, ship observations and climate models to compare coral growth rates from 1880 to 2000. They discovered that there was a correlation between increases in atmospheric aerosols and decreases in the growth rates of coral. There was so much intense effect on the reefs that the researchers believe it usurps other factors.
GENE MUTATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH FATAL PROSTATE CANCER

Researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust revealed that men suffering from prostate cancer and the inherited gene mutation have worst kinds of ailments. The gene called BRCA2 is associated with hereditary breast cancer and also the ovarian and prostate cancer. Researchers revealed that men having BRCA2 gene are more prone to prostate cancer and it was also revealed that they are likely to have an aggressive form of tumour with poor survival rates. Men like these needed immediate treatment for survival. It was also revealed that one out of 100 men suffering from prostate cancer might have BRCA2 mutation. For men like these, immediate radiotherapy or surgery can work, even in the cases where the disease is in its infancy.
ABOUT PROSTATE CANCER
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Prostate Cancer is a men-typical ailment which is very difficult to predict at the early stage. The disease grows at a very slow or very fast pace. It is difficult to detect Prostate Cancer because a lot of men can live with the disease without showing any signs of this disease. Over 40000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer on a yearly basis.
For a lot of men suffering from Prostate Cancer, treatment is not required immediately. However, researchers revealed that men, who have BRCA2 gene along with prostate cancer, should be treated immediately because in their case tumour spreads at a faster pace. Prof Ros Eeles and his colleagues at The Institute of Cancer Research in London and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust revealed that men with BRCA2 gene should be treated faster because of the greater degree of fatality. In the research, records of these prostate cancer patients were studied. 61 men having BRCA2 gene and 18 men having BRCA1 gene mutation along with 1940 men with none of these mutations were studied. It was clear after the study that men with BRCA2-mutations had less survival chances. These men lived an average of 6.5 years after the diagnosis in comparison to 12.9 years for the non-carriers of this mutation. It is worth noticing that people who have a family history of ovarian or breast cancer along with prostate cancer can go for BRCA1/2 testing at diagnosis. Nevertheless, this testing is not offered to all the patients diagnosed with prostate cancer in UK.
SCIENTISTS DESIGNED ADAPTIVE MATERIAL INSPIRED BY HUMAN TEAR

A team of US scientists on 8 April 2013 designed a new adaptive material inspired by human tears. The new material was inspired by dynamic, self-restoring systems in Nature, such as the liquid film that coats our eyes. Individual tears join up to form a dynamic liquid film with an obviously significant optical function that maintains clarity, while keeping the eye moist, protecting it against dust and bacteria, and helping to transport away any wastes -- doing all of this and more in literally the blink of an eye. The bio-inspired material is a continuous liquid film that coats, and is infused in, an elastic porous substrate, which is what makes it so versatile. With this design architecture in place, the team has thus far demonstrated the ability to dynamically control, with great precision, two key functions: transparency and wet ability.
RINGS OF SATURN PRODUCE THEIR OWN RAIN ON THE PLANET
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Astronomers discovered that the rings of Saturn produce their own rain that falls onto the planet which has a major impact on its atmosphere. The Astronomers revealed that the rain influences the composition and temperature structure of parts of Saturn's upper atmosphere. In fact, Saturn is the first planet to exhibit significant interaction between its atmosphere and ring system. The discovery also helps scientists better understand the origin and evolution of Saturn's ring system and changes in the planet's atmosphere. Those bands were not seen again until the astronomers observed the planet in near-infrared wavelengths with the W M Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The ring rain's effect takes place in Saturn's ionosphere, where charged particles are produced when the otherwise neutral atmosphere is exposed to a flow of energetic particles or solar radiation.
PLAN TO BUILD WORLD S LARGEST TELESCOPE APPROVED BY US GOVT

The US government approved the plan to build the worlds largest telescope at the summit of Hawaiis Mauna Kea Volcano. The telescope could observe planets that orbit stars other than the sun and enable astronomers to observe new planets and stars being formed. It will also help scientists understand the early years of the universe. The primary mirror used in the telescope is nearly 100 feet tall. It will enable nine times the collecting area of the largest optical telescopes functioning at present. Its images will also be three times brighter. There are protests against the plan arguing it would defile the mountains sacred summit. Native Hawaiian tradition considers high altitudes as sacred and a gateway to heaven. Environmentalists are also protesting on the grounds that would harm India, China and Japan have habitat for the rare wekiu bug. joined the project as partners. The University of California system, the Association of Canadian Universities and the California Institute of Technology for Research in Astronomy are leading the telescope project. India, China and Japan have joined the project as partners.
DEVICE TO DETECT GASTRO-INTESTINAL CANCERS DEVELOPED

Scientists developed a prototype of an advanced multi-bending cholangioscope to detect and cure Gastro-Intestinal Cancers. Earlier, most patients used to visit a physician when the disease was in an advanced stage. This new equipment has a video camera and can bend easily. It could detect cancers of bile duct, liver and pancreas. It will help in detecting the disease in early stage.
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The multi-bending Peroral Direct Cholangioscope (PDCS) cannot be inserted free-hand into the bile duct. But a high success rate of direct insertion will be achieved if the endoscope is passed over a guide-wire and an anchoring balloon. In fact, pancreatic cancer is the third most prevalent gastro-intestinal cancer in India whereas liver cancer is the most common.
TASTE OF BEER CAN EXCITE MALE BRAIN: RESEARCH

Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine, US found out that just a little bit of cocktail can excite brain and also enhance the urge of drinking, even if the alcohols effect is not shown. In the study, it was found that 49 men experienced such effect. Actually, the taste of a cocktail can trigger the reward chemical of the brain- called dopamine. In the study, it was also found out that people who had family history of alcoholism, showed greater effect. In the study, men were kept under the brain scanner. Smaller amounts of different drinks were sprayed in their mouths. The effects of sports drinks, water and favourite beer of the participant were studied. Every participant was given 15 ml of the fluid for over 15 minutes. The results depicted that there was a release of more dopamine in brain after beer. Eventually, men would demand for more alcoholic drink. Pronounced effects were observed in the men who had family history because this led to an increase in the risk factor of alcoholism. Taste, can therefore impact the functions of brain.
BIO-ENGINEERED KIDNEY SUCCESSFULLY TRANSPLANTED IN RAT

The researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, United States on 14 April 2013 announced that they had bio-engineered a kidney that can be marked a step-ahead in the quest to help patients suffering from Kidney Failure. The researchers as an experiment transplanted the bio-engineered kidney into rats and discovered that the experiment was successful. The success of the experiment has laid a way for building replacement structures of lungs, livers and hearts. The process of kidney transplant into the rat involved taking out a rat kidney and stripping out its living cells by using a solution made of detergent and leave behind a shell made of collagen. Further, the rats empty structure with living cells was repopulated that comprised human endothelial cells that lined the walls of kidney blood vessels and kidney cells taken from newborn rat. Then the cells were seeded in the correct part of the kidney with the help of a muscle duct that is called ureter as a tube and then transplanted the organ into the living rat from which the kidney was removed. The result of the experiment was that the new kidney started filtering the blood and produced urine as soon as the blood supply was restored. The results of the experiment had brought human being a step-closer to create lab grown organs for humans. The team of researchers was led by Harald Ott.
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HOBBIT HUMANS HAD LARGER BRAINS THAN ESTIMATED: RESEARCH

Hobbit Humans, who are said to be the tiny creatures living on remote Indonesian island of Flores till around 12000 years ago, had larger brains than thought, as per the recent research conducted by National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo. This research also strengthened the fact that hobbits evolved from the ancestors Homo erectus. Homo erectus, are said to have evolved into our species in Africa. The study revealed that environment as well as location could have created the difference between the individual who looked similar to us, and someone who looked familiar to hobbit. The Hobbit Humans were extremely short in height (36) and they had relatively shorter legs in comparison to their feet and arms. Kaifu, a senior researcher at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo who conducted the study along with lead author Daisuke Kubo and Reiko Kono, made use of highresolution micro-CT scanning in order to study about the brain regions of hobbit human skulls. In the scans, it was found out that the brains measured 426 cc in comparison to estimated 400 cc. 426 cc is just around the same size like the brain of a chimpanzee. However, this study indicated that the difference meant it was possible for the Homo erectus to have evolved from the brains like these. The researchers indicated towards the fact that Homo erectus who lived on the mainland, moved to the isolated islands of Flores. The unique evolution of the Hobbits suggested that once they got on the island, they did not move out. The researchers explained that according to the theory, big mammals decrease and small mammals increase in their body sizes on the isolated island due to energetic demands. Dean Falk, the team of whom estimated that Hobbits brain were smaller, explained that the new measurements were the most precise ones available till date. This is so because these measurements were done with great care and improved and advanced methods.
UK SCIENTISTS PRODUCED A DISEASE-RESISTANT PIGLET CALLED PIG-26

Scientists produced a disease-resistant piglet called Pig-26 using a new technique which is simpler than cloning, paving way for genetically modified meat. The new technique is called gene editing and Pig 26 is the first animal to be created through gene editing. It was born in December 2012 at Edinburghs Roslin Institute, where the cloned sheep Dolly was created in the year 1996.
SPECIAL FEATURES OF NEW TECHNIQUE ARE AS FOLLOWING

Pig 26 was created through a process called gene editing. It is faster and more efficient than other methods.
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It is immune to African swine fever which can kill within 24 hours. The new scientific development could bring GM meat a step closer.
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GIANT GALAXY CALLED HFLS3 DISCOVERED

Scientists in the third week of April 2013 discovered a giant galaxy called HFLS3 in the Universe which is 12.8 Billion light years away from Earth. The newly found galaxy is believed to produce 3000 Suns every year. It has stars having a total mass nearly 40 billion times the mass of our Sun. The galaxy is shrouded in a dust cloud which is 100 billion times the mass of Sun. The age of the galaxy has been estimated around 800 million years old which makes it as one of the youngest galaxies in the Universe. The astronomers used 12 orbiting and ground-based telescopes to discover HFLS3. The galaxy was described as a maximum star-burst galaxy due to its prodigious star formation rate.
NASA KEPLER MISSION DISCOVERED PLANETS KEPLER-62F & KEPLER-62E

Around 1200 light years away from Earth, there are five planets which are circling around the sun-like star called Kepler-62 in Lyra constellation, according to the latest discovery made by the scientists by making use of Kepler space telescope of NASA. Two of these planets, named Kepler-62f and Kepler-62e are said to be in such a position that they might have water on their surface, a condition which is necessary to support life. Kepler scientist William Borucki, with NASAs Ames Research Center in California explained that this is strongest evidence of the existence of Earth-sized planets in the stars habitable zone. These two new Earth-like planets are outermost pair which is circling the Kepler-62 star. The most distant planet is Kepler-62f, which is around 1.4 times as huge as that of Earths size. It can orbit its parent star in 267 days. Other Earth-like planet called Kepler-62e is 1.6 times as big as the size of Earth and it orbits around the star in 122 days. However, whether one of these or both these plants have water on their surface or not is beyond the Keplers technical capabilities or the capabilities of an y other telescope. This is so because Kepler actually works by checking the slight dips in light which come from the star that is caused by the planet passing by. Checking the information is very cumbersome process. Every downloaded data from Kepler has 18000 events of interests to the scientists. It is important to note that the scientists are still studying the Kepler-62, which means that there might be chances of existence of other planets that have longer orbital periods. Earlier, the Kepler team discovered a star that had six planets in its orbit. European researchers on the other hand had made use of various telescopes to discover seven-planet system.
RESEARCHERS DEVELOPED KEYBOARD CALLED KALQ TO BEAT QWERTY

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Researchers at St. Andrews, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Germany and Montana Tech in the US created a keyboard layout, said to be great for the touch screen devices like smartphones and tablets. The new keyboard, researchers claimed, can make thumb-typing faster and easier. Dr. Per Ola Kristensson of the St Andrews University explained that the typical QWERTY keyboard trapped its users in suboptimal text entry interfaces. New design of the keyboard is called KALQ, in order of its keys on one line. The creators of this keyboard made use of the computational optimisation techniques in order to identify the best performance. The virtual keyboard was created in alliance. This keyboard would be accessible to the users free of cost for the Android-based devices. The research team explained that two-thumb typing becomes very different ergonomically in comparison to the typing on physical QWERTY keyboards. QWERTY keyboards in turn were developed in late 19th century by the typewriters. The researchers claimed that any normal user making use of the QWERTY keyboard on any touch screen device could type just 20 words per minute, which is way too low than the normal physical keyboards available with the computers. Researchers explained that a process by which optimization of a keyboard for two thumbs could be done, was by minimizing the long typing sequences which involved the use of single thumb only. It was additionally imperative that the letter keys which were used frequently should be placed alongside in order to reduce the typing time. Optimal layout involved reducing the moving time of thumbs as well as enabling the typing on alternating sides of touch screen device. In the new keyboard, all vowels were placed in area which was assigned to right thumb, while the left thumb had more keys. With error-correction algorithm, the users who were trained could reach 37 words in a minute. KALQ provided better performance to users. The new keyword work of the researchers will now be presented at CHI 2013 Conference (the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems) in Paris on 1 May 2013.
URGENT NEED TO CLEAR DEBRIS IN EARTHS ORBIT: ESA

The European Space Agency (ESA) on 25 April 2013 during the 6th European Conference on Space Debris in Darmstadt, Germany announced that the Space Junk such as the debris of rockets should be removed from the orbit of the Earth. The announcement was made to avoid potential catastrophic collisions with operational spacecrafts and satellites that would cost a loss of millions of Euros for satellite operators as well as knock out GPS and Mobile network. The agency said that the quantity of debris in the space environment is close to a situation of collision, which will make space hazardous. The agency made it clear that there is an urgent need of pulling out the redundant objects out from the sky.
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As per the present estimates from scientists, there exist nearly 30000 items of size more than 10 cm that circles the Earth at average speeds of 25000 kp0068. Many of the circling particles are complete rocket bodies and satellites and many are fragments. The debris in the orbit is the result of the explosion of the fuel tanks and batteries as well as from the impact of highvelocities between the objects. Debris with size 10 cm and above are traceable by the radars but the one smaller than it move unseen in the orbit, which would result in catastrophic collision among these materials. The researchers agreed to the point that the debris-environment in the orbit would become unstable within few decades and this phenomenon is called Kessler Syndrome. Removal of five to ten large debris, every year can be the solution to reverse the process of debris growth in the orbit. European Space Agency in 2012 launched Clean Space initiative that aims at developing the technology to capture and remove space debris safely. Prof Heiner Klinkrad was the chairman for the 6th European Conference on Space Debris in Darmstadt, Germany.
EUROPEAN SPACE TELESCOPE HERSCHEL COMPLETED ITS JOURNEY

The Herschel observatory, a European space telescope for which NASA helped build instruments and process data, stopped making observations after running out of liquid coolant as expected. Herschel launched aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in May 2009. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., built components for two of Herschel's three science instruments. NASA also supports the U.S. astronomical community through the agency's Herschel Science Center, located at the California Institute of Technology's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center in Pasadena. Herschel's detectors were designed to pick up the glow from celestial objects with infrared wavelengths as long as 625 micrometers, which is 1,000 times longer than what we can see with our eyes. Because heat interferes with these devices, they were chilled to temperatures as low as 2 kelvins (minus 271 degrees Celsius, or 456 Fahrenheit) using liquid helium. The detectors also were kept cold by the spacecraft's orbit, which is around a stable point called the second Lagrange point about 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth. This location gave Herschel a better view of the universe. The mission will not be making any more observations, but discoveries will continue. Astronomers still are looking over the data, much of which already is public and available through NASA's Herschel Science Center. The final batch of data will be public in about six months.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MISSION INCLUDED

Discovering long, filamentary structures in space, dotted with dense star-making knots of material.
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Detecting definitively, for the first time, oxygen molecules in space, in addition to other never-before-seen molecules. By mapping the molecules in different regions, researchers are learning more about the life cycles of stars and planets and the origins of life. Discovering high-speed outflows around central black holes in active galaxies, which may be clearing out surrounding regions and suppressing future star formation. Opening new views on extremely distant galaxies that could be seen only with Herschel, and providing new information about their high rates of star formation. Following the trail of water molecules from distant galaxies to the clouds of gas between stars to planet-forming solar systems. Examining a comet in our own solar system and finding evidence comets could have brought a substantial fraction of water to Earth. Together with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, discovering a large asteroid belt around the bright star Vega.
Other findings from the mission include the discovery of some of the youngest stars ever seen in the nearby Orion cradle, and a peculiar planet-forming disk of material surrounding the star TW Hydra, indicating planet formation may happen over longer periods of time than expected. Herschel also has shown stars interact with their environment in many surprising ways, including leaving trails as they move through clouds of gas and dust.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY QUIZZES

1. Researchers in the first week of April developed a New Laser powered Camera System that can take image of any object by creating high-resolution 3D images. The technique on which the camera is based is called _____________. Fill in the blank with an appropriate option: a) Capture the Image b) Autonomous Navigation Systems c) Time-of-Flight d) Laser Beam Technology Answer: (c) Time-of-Flight 2. What, according to Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), is as unique as the fingerprints of an individual? a) Exhaled Breath b) Mouth Spit c) Hair d) Tears from Eyes Answer: (a) Exhaled Breath 3. Name the software that was released by Facebook on 4 April 2013 for Android phones.
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a) b) c) d) Notice Home Profile Like
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Answer: (b) Home 4. Italian archeologists in the first week of April 2013 discovered the gate to hell. From where was this gate to hell discovered? a) Salento b) Turkey c) Rome d) Istanbul Answer: (b) Turkey 5. According to the scientists from the University of Minnesota, which species benefited from climate change and industrial fishing in Antarctica? a) Pleuragramma Antarctica b) Euphausia Crystallorophias c) Antarctic toothfish d) Beaufort Island Adlie Penguin Answer: (d) Beaufort Island Adlie Penguin 6. Scientists developed a new device to detect gastro-intestinal cancers. What is the name of this new device? a) Bile Duct Video Camera b) Multi-Bending Camera c) Advanced Multi-Bending Cholangioscope d) Multi-Bending Peroral Direct Cholangioscope (PDCS) Answer: (d) Multi-Bending Peroral Direct Cholangioscope (PDCS) 7. Which Government approved the plan to build the worlds largest telescope at the summit of Hawaiis Mauna Kea volcano? a) UK Government b) US Government c) Hawaii Government d) Canadian Government Answer: (b) US Government
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8. Rings of which planet produce their own rain that falls onto the planet and cause major impact on its atmosphere? a) Mercury b) Earth c) Pluto d) Saturn Answer: (d) Saturn 9. Researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust revealed that men having BRCA2 gene are more prone to __________ cancer. Fill in the blank with an appropriate option. a) Prostate cancer b) Ovarian cancer c) Breast cancer d) Uterus cancer Answer: (a) Prostate cancer 10. Scientists found very strong evidence that aerosols from burning fossil fuels were affecting growth of _______. Fill in the blank with an appropriate option. a) Reefs b) Coral c) Rainforests d) Trees Answer: (b) Coral
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ONE LINERS
The Person who on 1 April 2013 took over charge as the secretary of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)- M F Farooqui The bank which had won the prestigious FE Indias Best Banks Award -2012-13 in recognition of its strong fundamentals and dynamic growth model- J&K Bank The Day declared by United Nations General Assembly as the World Autism Awareness Day- 2 April The Place where Olive Crown Awards 2013 took place on 1 April 2013- Mumbai The Minister of Culture, who on 2 April 2013 inaugurated the Tagore Centre for Global Thought at India Institute of Kings College, London - Chandresh Kumari Katoch Oscar Winning Screenplay Writer, who died in New York on 3 April 2013- Ruth Prawer Jhabvala The person who on 4 April 2013 was appointed as the new director of the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corps (ONGC) Exploration- Narendra Kumar Verma The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Critic for Chicago Sun-Times who died at the age of 70 years on 4 April 2013 at Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago- Roger Ebert Padma Shree Awardee and a renowned epigraphist and numismatist who died at his residence in Kolkata on 4 April 2013- Bratindra Nath Mukherjee The co-founder and Executive Co-Chairman of Infosys, who on 5 April 2013 was elected as the President of the industry body (CII) for the year 2013-14- S Gopalakrishnan The Country where SAARC Ministerial Level Meet on Poverty concluded on 5 April 2013Nepal The city where 2 day International Workshop on Green National Accounting for India Concluded on 6 April 2013- New Delhi The Hospitality Group which was conferred with the National Award for Excellence in Hospitality Education 2011-12 on 5 April 2013- Lalit Suri Hospitality Group The person who became the first Indian to Circumnavigate Globe Solo and Non-Stop on a sail boat- Lt Cdr Abhilash Tomy The Former British Prime Minister and Iron Lady of Britain who died at the age of 87 following a stroke on 8 April 2013- Margaret Thatcher
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The Person who was appointed as the new chairman of the NASSCOM for its the Executive Council for 2013-14- Krishnakumar Natarajan The place where the 2013 Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA) ceremony took place on 6 April 2013- BC Place, Vancouver The Person who was sworn-in as the Fourth President of Kenya on 9 April 2013- Uhuru Kenyatta The Electric utilities company which was conferred with the Business Leader in the Power Sector at the NDTV Business Leadership Awards in New Delhi on 9 April 2013NTPC Ltd The nuclear-capable Missile which was successfully test-fired by Pakistan on 10 April 2013. - Hatf-IV ballistic missile The day which was observed as National Safe Motherhood day across India -11 April 2013 The Person who was appointed as the Chairman of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on population and Development on 11 April 2013 at Bangkok- PJ Kurien The Legendary Actor who was awarded with Bollywoods Highest Honour Dada Saheb Phalke Award on 12 April 2013- Pran The anti-British revolutionary, considered to be the last remaining link to sub-continent decessive past died at Kolkata at the age of 104 years - Binod Bihari Chowdhary The Palestinian Prime Minister who resigned on 13 April 2013 after falling out with president Mahmud Abbas- Salam Fayyad The Indian Politician who was unanimously re-elected as the national President of Janata Dal (United) for third time in a row, on 14 April 2013- Sharad Yadav The Person who was declared the winner of Venezuela's presidential election on 14 April 2013- Nicolas Maduro The Indian-Origin Economist who Won John Bates Clark Medal For 2013- Raj Chetty The Person who as per the 16th Annual Global CEO survey, was figured among the top three most admired leaders of the world- Mahatma Gandhi The International Newspaper which had won four Pulitzer Prizes on 15 April 2013, including the award for investigative reporting for stories- New York Times The Person who took over as the Managing Director of Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) on 16 April 2013- Sunil Kumar
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NEWS CAPSULE
APPOINTMENTS OF THE MONTH
M F FAROOQUI IS THE NEW SECRETARY OF DEPARTMENT OF TELECOM
M F Farooqui on 1 April 2013 took over charge as the secretary of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). He replaced R Chandrashekhar who retired in the month of March 2013. Prior to his appointment, Farooqui was the secretary for the Department of Heavy Industries. He worked in ministry only once many decades ago as a deputy secretary in between 1990-91 as a private secretary to the minister.
A BRIEF INSIGHT INTO MF FAROOQUIS C AREER

He is a post-graduate in Physics as well as a post-graduate in Business Administration. He has also worked as Chief Executive and Member Secretary of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority MF Farooqui is a 1978 Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer, from the Tamil Nadu Cadre He also had served as the special Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forests. His earlier postings include that as Principal Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu in the Industries Department. He has worked as Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Union Ministry of Finance. In the mid-nineties he worked as Consul General of India in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
NK VERMA APPOINTED DIRECTOR FOR EXPLORATION OF ONGC

Narendra Kumar Verma on 4 April 2013 was appointed as the new director of the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corps (ONGC) Exploration. 54 year old Narendra Kumar Verma would be replacing S.V. Rao, who term super-annuated on 31 March 2013. As Director-Exploration at OVL, Responsibility of N.K. Verma is to look for development and implementation of exploration strategy and Business Development for past 15 months. ABOUT NARENDRA KUMAR VERMA
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Narendra Kumar Verma is an M. Sc in Geology and an M. Tech Gold Medalist in Petroleum Exploration. Narendra Kumar Verma will be the 11th Director (Exploration) in the worlds number 3 exploration and Production Company. He also holds an MBA (Finance) degree and has 30 years of experience in oil and gas industry. Prior to becoming Director (Exploration) in ONGC, Verma was Director (Exploration) in the firms overseas arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL). He has published more than 20 technical papers and 40 technical reports.
S GOPALAKRISHNAN ELECTED PRESIDENT OF CII

S Gopalakrishnan, the co-founder and Executive Co-Chairman of Infosys, on 5 April 2013 was elected as the President of the industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2013-14. He is succeeding Adi Godrej, Chairman of the Godrej Group. S Gopalakrishnan, who is also a Padma Bhushan recipient, Gopalakrishnan was in recent times was voted as the top CEO (IT services category) in Institutional Investor's inaugural ranking of Asia's Top Executives, and was selected as one of the winners of the second Asian Corporate Director Recognition Awards by Corporate Governance Asia. Ajay S Shriram, Chairman of DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd, is President Designate of CII for the year 2013-2014. Sumit Mazumder Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Tractors India Pvt Ltd have been elected as the Vice-President of the business chamber for the year.
ABOUT S GOPALAKRISHNAN
He is an alumnus of IIT, and is also on the Board of Governors at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). In 1981, Gopalakrishnan co-founded Infosys with six other entrepreneurs. From 1987-1994, Gopalakrishnan headed the technical operations of KSA/Infosys (a joint venture between Infosys and KSA in Atlanta, GA). In 2007, Kris took over as CEO and Managing Director of Infosys Technologies Limited from Nandan Nilekani. Kris previously served as Chief Operating Officer (since April 2002), and as the President and Joint Managing Director (since August 2006). His responsibilities included Customer Services, Technology, Investments and Acquisitions. He is also the Chairman of the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, and Vice Chairman of the Board for Information Technology Education Standards (BITES) set up by the Government of Karnataka.
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He is also a member of ACM, IEEE and IEEE Computer Society.
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KRISHNA KUMAR NATRAJAN IS THE NEW CHIEF OF NASSCOM

Krishnakumar Natarajan, CEO and Director of Mindtree on 8 April 2013 was appointed as the Chairman of Nasscom for the year 2013-14. He succeeded N Chandrasekaran, MD and CEO of TCS, who was the Chairman for the year 2012-13. R Chandrasekaran, Cognizant Group Chief Executive (Technology & Operations) was appointed as the Vice Chairman of the Executive Council.
NASSCOM
NASSCOM Foundation is a non-profit organization that represents the Indian IT BPO industry and it played a leading role in developing the Indian IT-BPO industry to reach mark of 100 billion dollar industry.
UHURU KENYATTA SWORN-IN AS THE PRESIDENT OF KENYA

Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn-in as the new President of Kenya on 9 April 2013. He is the fourth President of Kenya. Kenyatta clinched victory in a tightly fought race for Kenya's presidency on 9 March 2013 against Raila Odinga. He won with 50.07 percent votes in the election. It is very important to note that Uhuru Kenyatta along with William Ruto are wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity from alleged role in the country's 2007-2008 election.
ABOUT UHURU KENYATTA

Uhuru Kenyatta is Jomo Kenyattas son. Jomo Kenyatta was the first President of Kenya. He also served as the Deputy Prime Minister (2008 to 2013), Finance Minister (2009 to 2012) under President Mwai Kibaki as well as Minister for Trade (in April 2008). Uhuru Kenyatta, at the age of 51 years is the youngest President of Kenya. He also served as Member of Parliament for Gatundu South Constituency starting from 2002. He was the Chairman of Kenya African National Union (KANU). KANU is the part of Party of National Unity (PNU).
KENYA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2013
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Jubilee Alliance coalition nominated Uhuru for presidential race against Raila Odinga. Uhuru Kenyatta needed over 50 percent of the national vote to avoid a run-off. He received 50.07 percent in the election and became the President of Kenya. Uhuru Kenyatta's party, the National Alliance (Kenya) (TNA) formed alliance with United Republican Party (URP) of William Ruto, National Rainbow Coalition party of Charity Ngilu and Republican Congress Party (RCP) of Najib Balala. This coalition was called Jubilee Alliance coalition.
PJ KURIEN ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF AFPPD

Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, PJ Kurien on 11 April 2013 was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the prestigious Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) during the during the 73rd Executive Committee Meeting of AFPPD at Bangkok. He replaced Yasuo Fukuda, former Prime Minister of Japan as the Chairman of AFPPD. PJ Kurien at present is also the Chairman of the Indian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development.
ABOUT AFPPD
AFPPD was established in 1981 as a regional non-governmental organization to serve as a coordinating body of twenty five National Committees of Parliamentarians on Population and Development. It seeks to generate cooperation and support among the Asian Parliamentarians in different areas like population and Development. It is committed towards educating, motivating, involving and mobilizing the parliamentarians on linkages between the increase in population and different issues that includes sustainable development, reproductive health, family planning, food security, water resources, HIV/AIDS, migration, environment, urbanization, ageing and gender equality.
SUNIL KUMAR TOOK OVER AS THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CRIS

Sunil Kumar took over as the Managing Director of Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) on 16 April 2013. He will remain at the post of Advisor Safety in Railway Board as well as his present designation till notified further.
ABOUT SUNIL KUMAR

Sunil Kumar is the 1976 batch officer of Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS). He completed his MBA and MA (Political Science) from the University of Allabhabad. Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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He worked as Adviser (PG), CPM (IT) in Northern Railways. He has also remained Member (Traffic) Running Allowance Committee Railway Board. He was the Chief Commercial Manager (G) Northern Railway as well. During his career, he held positions such as Director Traffic Commercial (Claims) Railway board, Director (Moverment) in Ministry of Food, Deputy Chief Commercial Supdt. Passenger Reservation System, Southern Railway in Madras as well as Area Officer, Madras. The most notable contribution of Sunil Kumar was his contribution towards concept of Internet Ticketing and UTS. His specialisation is in the fields of usage of computer for various management applications by developing software and humanware in-house and bringing in novel concepts in the field of multi-modalism. The first PSCT in India was established by him at Madras in the year 1990. He was also the author of the paper IT vision 2025 for Indian Railways which was written in 2002. He was conferred with Railway Ministers medal, the highest honour of the Railway, in the year 1984 for his outstanding contribution as Sr. DCS Palghat Division in improving the earning of Railways by over 1.5 crore Rupees.
ABOUT CENTRE FOR RAILWAY INFORMATION SYSTEMS (CRIS)

Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) was established in 1986 by Ministry of Railways. The aim of CRIS was to provide consulting and IT services to Indian Railways. At present, CRIS works with Indian Railways to build new products or services and to implement prudent business and technology strategies.
C BRIGGS APPOINTED AS SEC. GENERAL OF RAMSAR CONVENTION

Dr. Christopher Briggs was announced the Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention in third week of April 2013. His appointment to the post was declared by the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands during 46th meeting held in Gland, Switzerland from 8-12 April 2013. He is the successor of Tiga Anada, who served the convention for six years.
ABOUT DR. CHRISTOPHER BRIGGS

He has served UN Development Programme (UNDP) He has also served the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) He has also served the UNEP-Global Environment Facility (UNEP-GEF) Bio safety Unit He served GEF Secretariat, and the UNDP for the Latin American and Caribbean region based in Panama
ABOUT THE RAMSAR CONVENTION

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The Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) -- called the Ramsar Convention -- is an intergovernmental treaty that embodies the commitments of its member countries to maintain the ecological character of their Wetlands of International Importance and to plan for the wise use, or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their territories.
AWARDS IN THE MONTH OF APRIL

OLIVE CROWN AWARDS 2013
Olive Crown Awards 2013 took place in Shangri-La Hotel, Mumbai on 1 April 2013. Grey Worldwide, the New York-based advertising and marketing company was awarded with Agency of the year title. The Olive Crown Awards celebrate the creative excellence in the area of green advertising. Overall 35 awards were given away in the ceremony of the Olive Crown Awards 2013. A total of 18 categories were there which included 31 nominees. Cheil Worldwide for Samsung Printers won the Campaign of the year award. Kewal Kiran Clothing grabbed the Advertiser of the Year Award for Green Turn Water Saver Jeans. Padmashri Kartikeya Sarabhai won Olive Crown Green Crusader Award. This is a special award which is conferred upon the individual who continuously fights for the idea of going green. The jury of the awards included Vinod Rao, Charles Victor, Sonal Dabral, Ramki, Chax and Pops Sridhar.
ABOUT THE OLIVE CROWN AWARDS

Olive Crown Awards were inaugurated in 2011 and the first event was held at GoaFest 2011. Olive Crown Awards 2013 was the third edition of these awards. The Olive Crown Awards are instituted by the India chapter of the International Advertising Association. These awards aim towards celebrating the concept of green advertising.
ICSI NATIONAL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The Chairman of the Awards Jury of Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) along with former Chief Justice of India, Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah on 5 April 2013 presented the ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance -2012 to two Best Governed Companies. These two companies were Indian Oil Corporation Limited and HCL Technologies Limited.
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These awards were presented during the ongoing 2nd CSIA International Corporate Governance Conference. The Company Secretaries of the awardee companies, Raju Ranganathan- the Company Secretary of Indian Oil Corporation Limited as well as Manish Anand- the Company Secretary of HCL Technologies Limited were honoured for the contribution in adhering to good corporate governance practices. ICSI Life Time Achievement Award for the year 2012 was conferred upon Deepak S. Parekh, Chairman, Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd. He was given the award for translating excellence in Corporate Governance into reality.
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION PRESENTED TO THE TOP FIVE COMPANIES

CMC Limited Engineers India Limited ONGC Limited Persistent Systems Limited Powergrid Corporation of India Limited
NATIONAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE 2011-12

The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group was conferred with the National Award for Excellence in Hospitality Education 2011-12 for the category Hotel undertaking skill development in the hospitality sector, on 5 April 2013. The award was given away by Minister of State for Tourism, Dr K Chiranjeevi. Chairman and Managing Director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, Jyotsna Suri received the award.
ABOUT LALIT SURI HOSPITALITY GROUP: PROJECT DISHA

Lalit Suri Hospitality Group has the Project called Disha, which is actually a part of the Corporate Social Responsibility policy. Disha offers local youth as well as the school students, an access to quality education which in turn would turn into employment. There are 3500 students at present that passed out of various Disha centres. Project Disha also includes the employment oriented vocational training in various sectors such as spoken English courses, life skills training, computer literacy and hospitality sector.
2013 TOIFA: BARFI! BAGGED BEST FILM AWARD

The 2013 Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA) ceremony took place in BC Place, Vancouver on 6 April 2013. The top winner of the awards was Barfi! which bagged the best film, best director, best actor and best actress trophies.
LIST OF THE AWARDS IS AS FOLLOWS
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TOIFA Best film - Barfi! TOIFA Best Actor - Ranbir Kapoor (for Barfi!) TOIFA Best Actress - Priyanka Chopra (for Barfi!) TOIFA Best Supporting Actor Male - Annu Kapoor (for Vicky Donor) TOIFA Best Supporting Actor Female - Dolly Ahluwalia (for Vicky Donor) TOIFA Best Actor in Negative Role - Rishi Kapoor (for Agneepath) TOIFA Best Actor in a Comic Role - Abhishek Bachchan (for Bol Bachchan) TOIFA Best Debut Actor Male - Ayushman Khurana (for Vicky Donor) TOIFA Best Debut Actor Female - Ileana D'Cruz (for Barfi!) TOIFA Best Director - Anurag Basu (for Barfi!) TOIFA Best Music Director - Ajay Atul (for Agneepath) TOIFA Best Lyricist - Gulzar (for Jab Tak Hai Jaan) TOIFA Best Playback Singer Male - Sonu Nigam (for Agneepath song Abhi Mujhme Kahi) TOIFA Best Playback Singer Female - Shalmali Kholgade (for Ishaqzaade song Shalmali Kholgade) TOIFA 2013 Best Actor Male (Critics) - Irfaan Khan (for Paan Singh Tomar) TOIFA 2013 Best Actor Female (Critics) - Deepika Padukone (for Cocktail) TOIFA 2013 Best Debut Director (Critics) - Gauri Schinde (for English Vinglish)
NTPC WON NDTV BUSINESS LEADERSHIP AWARDS 2013

The National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd was conferred with the Business Leader in the Power Sector at the NDTV Business Leadership Awards in New Delhi on 9 April 2013. The award was given by Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India, Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Other top business leaders of India were also awarded on the occasion.
ABOUT NTPC
National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) is the largest power company of India. It was established in 1975 for accelerating the power development in India. In the 2012 Forbes Global 2000 ranking of Worlds biggest companies, NTPC was ranked at 337th position. By 2032, NTPC has an aim of becoming 128000 MW Company from the present capacity of 40674 MW.
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PRESIDENT OF INDIA PRESENTED AIMA MANAGING INDIA AWARDS

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee presented the AIMA Managing India Awards 2013 at a function in New Delhi on 11 April 2013. The awards were given away to people who contributed towards the progress of the country. The aim of the AIMA Managing India Awards 2013 was promotion of management in all spheres of life. The AIMA Managing India Awards 2013 are given to the people who proved excellence in their fields. The jury of these awards was chaired by Sanjiv Goenka, Past President, AIMA as well as the Chairman, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group.
LIST OF AWARDEES OF AIMA MANAGING INDIA AWARDS 2013

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & Managing Director, Reliance Industries Ltd Pawan Munjal, MD and CEO, Hero MotoCorp Ltd Keshub Mahindra, Chairman Emeritus, Mahindra & Mahindra Shyam S Bhartia, Chairman & Co-Founder, Jubilant Bhartia Group and Hari S Bhartia, CoChairman & Founder, Jubilant Bhartia Group Prannoy Roy, Executive Co-Chairperson, NDTV Bhaskar Bhat, Managing Director, Titan Industries Ltd Vivek Kumar Jain, Managing Director, Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Mr BP Rao, Chairman & Managing Director, BHEL received the award) Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (Mr Nitin Paranjpe,CEO & Managing Director, HUL received the award) Tata Motors (Karl Slym, Managing Director, Tata Motors received the award)
ABOUT ALL INDIA MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (AIMA)

All India Management Association was formed as apex body of professional management along with the assistance of the Government of India and Industry in 1957. AIMA is the federation of Local Management Associations (LMAs). At present, it affiliates 64 LMAs in India and 2 co-operating management associationsMauritius Management Association and Qatar Indian Management Association.
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Current Affairs PDF April 2013 PRAN AWARDED DADA SAHEB PHALKE AWARD
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Legendary actor, Pran Krishan Sikand, 93, on 12 April 2013 was awarded with Bollywoods highest honour in Indian Cinema Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2012. The award is instituted on the name of the Dada Saheb Phalke, the man who made first feature film in India. He is the 44th Dada Saheb Phalke Award Winner. He gave a different and unique frame to the negative and character roles of Indian Cinema with his impressive performances. His contribution to the film industry makes him a celebrated actor of the industry. He brought new mannerism and style, in the arena of acting. Pran got his first break in a Punjabi Film Yamla Jat in 1940 in undivided India. But his debut in Bollywood happened in the film Ziddi, in which he acted alongwith the evergreen hero of bollywood Dev Anand in 1948. Pran served Bollywood for a career span of more than six decades in more than 350 films and is known for his brilliant performances in films like Ram Aur Shyam, Purab aur Paschim, Karz, Zanjeer and Amar Akbar Anthony and many more.
ABOUT PRAN KRISHAN SIKAND

He was born in Old Delhi on 12 February 1920 In 2001 he was awarded with Indias third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan In his career span, he received four film fare awards He was awarded the title of Villain of the millennium by Stardust in 2000 In 2010 he was named among the Top 25 Asian Actors of All times by CNN
ABOUT THE AWARD

The award is conferred by the Government of India for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema. The award consists of a Swarn Kamal, a cash prize of Rs.10 lakhs and a shawl. The award is given on the basis of recommendations of a Committee of eminent persons.
ROSSANO ERCOLINI WON THE 2013 GOLDMAN PRIZE

An environmental campaigner Rossano Ercolini was chosen as one of the winners for the 2013 Goldman Prize. He is considered to be the driving force behind Italy's zero-waste movement. Rossano Ercolini convinced Naples to adopt zero-waste goals. Naples is a city gripped by long running waste crisis. Other winners include an anti-fracking campaigner from Africa and a person from Iraq leading a marsh restoration project. The Goldman prize is also termed as the www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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Oscars of the environment movement. The awards will be presented at a ceremony in San Francisco. Rossano is an organising member of the Zero Waste International Alliance. His campaign to encourage recycling and waste reduction has resulted into 117 municipalities across Italy closing incinerators and committing to zero-waste strategies.
RAJ CHETTY WON JOHN BATES CLARK MEDAL FOR 2013

Delhi-born Raj Chetty, the professor in the Department of Economy at the Harvard University won John Bates Clark medal for 2013, also called Baby Nobel. Raj Chettys work was al so cited by the US President Barack Obama in State of the Union Address. John Bates Clark medal is conferred upon the American economist whose age is below 40 years and the one who has made crucial contribution to economic knowledge and thought. Baby Nobel is one of the most prestigious awards of economy. Infact, it is second only after Nobel Prize in economic science. Raj Chetty, 33, is the first Indian-origin person to win this high honour. His areas of work include social insurance, tax policy as well as education policy. American Economic Association Honors and Awards Committee described that Raj Chettys contributions assimilate evidence by making use of various methodological perspectives in order to find out answers of public policy questions. Raj Chetty graduated from Harvard University in 2000. He completed the PhD from Harvard University in 2003.
ABOUT THE JOHN BATES CLARK MEDAL

John Bates Clark medal used to be conferred upon the economists biennially from 19472009. From 2010 onwards, the medal started being given annually. Notable winners from the past include Paul Samuelson, Joseph Stiglitz, Paul Krugman and Milton Friedman. All these are also the Nobel laureates. This award is also known as Baby Nobel because a lot of winners of John Bates Clark medal have also won the Nobel awards.
NEW YORK TIMES WON FOUR PULITZER PRIZES

The New York Times won four Pulitzer Prizes on 15 April 2013, including the award for investigative reporting for stories that detailed how Wal-Mart used bribery to expand in Mexico. The other awards included two awards for its reporting on the actions of companies like Apple and Wal-Mart overseas, and another for an examination of the hidden wealth of the
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Chinese premiers family. The fourth award for The New York Time s went to John Branch for his feature Snow Fall, on a fatal avalanche in the Cascade Mountains in Washington State.The Pulitzer Prize for fiction was won by author Adam Johnson for his novel based in North Korea, The Orphan Master's Son.
OTHER AWARDEES ARE AS FOLLOWING

The Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was awarded the public service Pulitzer for its reporting of reckless driving by off-duty police officers. The Associated Press won Pulitzer in breaking news photography for its coverage of the civil war in Syria. Inside Climate News won the prize for national reporting for its coverage of dangers posed by oil pipelines. The fiction prize was given to Adam Johnson for The Orphan Masters Son. The Star Tribune in Minneapolis won two Pulitzers, one for local reporting on the rise in infant deaths at badly regulated day care centers and another for editorial cartooning by Steve Sack. The Wall Street Journal won one Pulitzer Prize for Bret Stephenss commentary on politics and American foreign policy. The Washington Post won a Pulitzer Prize for Philip Kennicotts criticism of art and the social forces that underlie it. The Denver Post won in the award for breaking news for its coverage of the theater shootings last summer in Aurora, Colo. The Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., received its first Pulitzer, winning in the public service category for its sreporting on how off-duty police officers were often speeders who endangered the lives of residents. Ayad Akhtar won the drama award for Disgraced, a play about a corporate lawyer who long disguises his Pakistani Muslim heritage, and Sharon Olds won the poetry award for Stags Leap.
RAVURI BHARADWAJA SELECTED FOR JNANPITH AWARD 2012

Ravuri Bharadwaja, 86, the Telgu writer on 17 April 2013 was selected for the prestigious Jnanpith Award 2012. He got the award for his contributions to Telgu Literature for over a period of six decades. Ravuri on his credit has written 37 Volumes of Short Stories and 17 Novels. He was selected for the award by the Jnanpith Award Committee chaired by the noted poet Sitakant Mahapatra. Ravuri is the third recipient of the highest literary award from Andhra Pradesh. Before him Dr. Viswanatha Satyanarayana in 1970 for his Srimad Ramayana Kalpavriksham and Dr. C. Narayana Reddy in 1988 for his
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book Viswambhara received the award.
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ABOUT RAVURI BHARADWAJA

Ravuri Bharadwaja studied till class eight, but his works and write-ups turned up to be a basis for many research works and are prescribed as text books in Universities He is a poet, a playwright, a novelist of distinction and a popular science writer He has written six short novels for children namely Kadambari, Pakudurallu, Jeevana Samaram, Inupu Tera Venuka and Koumudi these novels have been translated into several Indian languages as well as English Earlier he has been awarded with awards like Sahitya Akademi Award, Soviet Land Nehru Award, Balsahitya Parishad Award, Telugu Akademi Award, He was also awarded with a honarary doctorate from Nagarjuna University
JNANPITH AWARD
It is the highest literary award of India that was instituted to recognize the works of Indian Citizens in official Indian languages. It carries a cheque for 7 lakh, a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Saraswati, the Indian goddess of knowledge, music, and the arts.
BELGIAN MATHEMATICIAN PIEREE DELIGNE WON THE ABEL PRIZE 2013

Belgian Mathematician Pierre Deligne won the Abel prize 2013. The Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters announced the award at the academy in Oslo on 20 March 2013.The prize will be given by His Majesty King Harald V of Norway at an award ceremony in Oslo on 21 May 2013. Delignes most famous contributions was his spectacular proof of the last and the deepest of the (Andr) Weil conjectures in 1973, for which he got the Fields Medal award in 1978. He also got the Crafoord Prize in 1988 jointly with Alexander Grothendieck. He also provided the solution of the Weil conjectures which made him famous in the world of mathematics at a very young age. The Abel Prize is considered equivalent to the Nobel Prize. It recognises contributions of extraordinary depth and influence in mathematical sciences. It carries a cash award of 6 million Norwegian krone (1 million US Dollars).The academy instituted this award in 2002. The Abel prize was given for the first time in 2003.
PRANAB MUKHERJEE GAVE AWAY PADMA AWARDS 2013 IN NEW DELHI

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee gave 54 Padma Awards at the function in Darbar hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on 20 April 2013.
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Among those who were conferred with the awards were cricketer Rahul Dravid and actors Sridevi and Sharmila Tagore. While Rahul Dravid and Sharmila Tagore were conferred with the Padma Bhushan, Sridevi received Padma Shri, which is the fourth highest civilian award of India. Prof Yashpal, the scientist and sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra received the second highest civilian award of India, Padma Vibhushan. Padma Bhushan, on the other hand was conferred upon Defence Research and Development Organisation chief V K Saraswat. Other Padma Bhushan awards recipients included S G Patil (public affairs), Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (literature and education) and Hemandra Singh Panwar (civil service). No one received the Bharat Ratna for 2013. The last awardee for Bharat Ratna was late Bhimsen Joshi who had won in 2008. Out of the total of 54 Padma award, 2 were the Padma Vibhushan awards, 10 were the Padma Bhushan awards and 42 were the Padma Shree awards. See the list of Awardees
JAI CHANDIRAM FELICITATED WITH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Jai Chandiram, the former Deputy Director-General of Doordarshan and renowned media person on 26 April 2013 was awarded with the lifetime achievement award by the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT). Chandiram was presented with the award at her brothers residence in New Delhi as she is ailing from cancer.
ABOUT JAI CHANDIRAM

She is known for the contributions that she made towards Womens Right She was the first Asian President of the IAWRT She was the Head of Department for television studies at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune She was the Head of Department of media studies at the Central Institute of Education (CIET-NCERT) She also was the Head of Department at Educational Media Production Center of Indira Gandhi National Open University (EMPC-IGNOU)
GALLANTRY & DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS CONFERRED

President of India and the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces of India Pranab Mukherjee on 27 April 2013 conferred one Kirti Chakra and twelve Shaurya Chakras to Forces Personnel for displaying conspicuous gallantry, indomitable courage and extreme devotion to duty at a solemn ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Two of the Shaurya Chakra was given posthumously.
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The President also conferred ten Param Vishisht Seva Medal, one Uttam Yudh Seva Medal four Bar to Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and twenty seven Ati Vishisht Seva Medals to senior officers of the Armed Forces for distinguished service of an exceptional order
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PARAM VISHISHT SEVA MEDAL

1. IC-30016A Lieutenant General Anil Chandra Chait, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal Armoured Corps / Headquarters Central Command 2. Vice Admiral Satish Soni, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Nao Sena Medal, (01683-Z) 3. Air Marshal Arup Raha, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vayu Sena Medal (13910) Flying (Pilot) 4. IC-30516X Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Army Air Defence 5. IC-30687K Lieutenant General Sanjiv Langer, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Armoured Corps 6. IC-27994W Lieutenant General Palvinder Singh Bhalla, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Armoured Corps/ Headquarters National Cadet Corps 7. IC-30722F Lieutenant General Vijai Sharma, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Corps of Engineers 8. IC-25839W Lieutenant General Baljeet Singh, Vishisht Seva Medal, Regiment of Artillery (Retired) 9. IC-27265N Lieutenant General Balakrishnan Venugopal Nair, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Regiment of Artillery / Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (Retired) 10. Air Marshal Anil Chopra, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vayu Sena Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal (13368) Flying (Pilot) (Retired)
KIRTI CHAKRA
1. IC-67270F MAJOR Anup Joseph Manjali, Bihar Regiment / 24th Battalion the Rashtriya Rifles
UTTAM YUDDH SEVA MEDAL

1. IC-31052X Lieutenant General Shakti Gurung, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal Infantry / Headquarters 4th Corps
BAR TO ATI VISHISHT SEVA MEDAL

1. IC-30708P Lieutenant General Ashok Kumar Choudhary, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, Infantry / Headquarters Bengal Area 2. IC-27325X Lieutenant General Rajesh Kochhar, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (Retired) 3. IC-27967M Lieutenant General Surinder Pal Singh, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, Regiment of Artillery (Retired) 4. Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal (01610-H) www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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ATI VISHISHT SEVA MEDAL
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1. IC-30462F Lieutenant General Amarjeet Singh Chabbewal, Yuddh Seva Medal, Armoured Corps / Headquarters 2nd Corps 2. IC-30702N Lieutenant General Philip Campose, Vishisht Seva Medal, Mechanised Infantry / Headquarters 12th Corps 3. IC-31341M Lieutenant General Sanjeev Anand, Vishisht Seva Medal, Mechanised Infantry / Headquarters 10TH Corps 4. IC-31521P Lieutenant general Surendra Hari Kulkarni, Vishisht Seva Medal and Bar, Armoured Corps / Headquarters 21st Corps 5. IC-31505X Lieutenant General Subroto Mitra, Sena Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, Infantry/Headquarters Atnk & K Area 6. MR-04125P Lieutenant General Surendra Singh Panwar, Sena Medal, Army Medical Corps/Command Hospital Headquarters Southern Command 7. IC-27269K Lieutenant General Sisir Subhra Sengupta, Vishisht Seva Medal, Corps Of Engineers (Retired) 8. Air Marshal Herikudru Babu Rajaram, Vishisht Seva Medal (14939) Administration/Air Traffic Controller 9. IC-34350Y Major General (now Lt Gen) Kamal Jit Singh, Armoured Corps 10. IC-34385P Major General Anil Kumar Ahuja, Sena Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal and Bar, Regiment of Artillery 11. IC-34396F Major General Ravindran Narayan Nair, Sena Medal, Infantry/Headquarters 21st Mountain Division 12. IC-34829N Major General Sanjiv Talwar, Corps of Engineers 13. IC-37022W Major General Sanjay Kulkarni, Shaurya Chakra, Sena Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, Infantry / Headquarters 56th Infantry Division 14. IC-35173W Major General Raymond Joseph Noronha, Sena Medal, Infantry/Headquarters, 8th Mountain Division 15. IC-35626W Major General Umesh Kumar Gurung, Yudh Seva Medal, Infantry/ headquarters Inspector General Assam Rifles (South) 16. IC-30817F Major General Ajay Kumar Chaturvedi, Vishisht Seva Medal, Corps of Engineers (Retired) 17. Rear Admiral Abhay Raghunath Karve (02118-N) 18. Rear Admiral Karambir Singh (02151-N) 19. Air Vice Marshal (Now Air Marshal) Bipin Bihari Prasad Sinha (15748) Administration 20. Air Vice Marshal Dattatray Keshao Pande, Vishisht Seva Medal (15081), Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) 21. Air Vice Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, Vayu Sena Medal (16026) Flying (Pilot) 22. Air Vice Marshal Sardar Harpal Singh, Vayu Sena Medal (16071) Flying (Pilot) 23. Air Commodore Manavendra Singh, VRC, Vishisht Seva Medal (16983) Flying (Pilot) 24. Air Commodore Ashwani Kumar Nabh, Vayu Sena Medal (16608) Flying (Pilot) 25. Air Commodore Rajendra Nalsinghrao Gaekwad, Vishisht Seva Medal (17845) Flying (Pilot) 26. Air Commodore Radhakrishnan Radhish, Vayu Sena Medal (17853) Flying (Pilot) www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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27. JC-520361A Subedar Major Vijay Kumar, Sena Medal, Dogra Regiment / Infantry School, Mhow
SHAURYA CHAKRA
1. IC-56887X Lieutenant Colonel Dhruvjyoti Chanda, 13th Battalion the Sikh Regiment 2. IC-72377A Lieutenant (Now Captain) Satya Jeet Ahlawat, Army Ordnance Corps/ 9th Battalion the Sikh Light Infantry 3. SS-40921H Major Pradeep Mishra, JAT regiment / 5th Battalion the Rashtriya Rifles 4. IC-60369P MAJOR HIMANSHU PANWAR, 26th Maratha Light Infantry Battalion 5. IC-65554M Major Sandeep Kumar, 13th battalion the Sikh Regiment 6. 15126119H Havildar Charanjit Singh, regiment of artillery/ 30th battalion the Rashtriya Rifles 7. IC-58687A Major (Now Lieutenant Colonel) Amit Mohindra, 666 Army Aviation Squadron (Reconnaissance and Observation) 8. 13698975M Naik Krishan Kumar, Brigade of the Guards/13TH Sikh Light Infantry Battalion Group (posthumous) 9. JC-559638M Subedar Pradeep Beck, Bihar Regiment/24th Battalion the Rashtriya Rifles 10. IC-68806Y Captain A Rahul Ramesh, Corps of Engineers/72nd Road Construction Company (posthumous) 11. Lieutenant Commander Inderjeet Singh (05871-T) 12. IC-74882F Lieutenant (Now Captain) Manish Singh, 9th Battalion the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces)
DADASAHEB PHALKE ACADEMY AWARD 2013

Yash Chopra, Rajesh Khanna and Asha Bhosale are to be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards 2013 to be given on 30 April 2013 at Bhaidas Auditorium in suburban Vile Parle in Mumbai. Asha Bhosle will be honoured with the Phalke Ratna Award for the contributions made by her in the field of music for over a period of five decades. Late Yash Chopra for his contributions to Indian Film Industry will be posthumously awarded with the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award. Pamela the wife of the iconic filmmaker Yash Chopra will receive the Saraswatibai Phalke Award.
FEW MORE RECIPIENTS FOR THE 13TH DADA SAHEB PHALKE ACADEMY AWARDS
Prem Chopra will be honoured with the Phalke Senior Actor (Negative Role) Award Mala Sinha will be honoured with the Phalke Icon Cine Artiste Award Rajesh Khanna will be honoured with the first superstar of Indian Cinema Award. Akshay Kumar will be hounoured with Best Actor Award for Rowdy Rathore Dimple Kapadia will get the Phalke Ever Memorable actor award
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Manoj Bajapi will get the Phalke Excellent Performance award for the film Gangs of Wasseyur Irrfan Khan will receive the Phalke Memorable Performance Award for Paan Singh Tomar Phalke Versatile Actor award will be presented to Govinda Phalke Debut Actor Award will be presented to the newcomer of bollywood, Arjun Kapoor Phalke Best Supporting Actor Award for Khiladi 786 will be given to Himesh Reshamiya Disha Vakani and Dilip Joshi will be honoured with the best TV actor and actress in small screen category, for their performances in the popular show, Tarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chashma
Dada Saheb Phalke is known as the Father of Indian Cinema and was the first producer, director and screen-writer of India for the silver screen. His first film was Raja Harishchandra in 1913. The Dada Saheb Phalke Academy Awards are presented annually to celebrate the jayanti of Dada Saheb Phalke. On this occasion different people from Bollywood are honoured with trophies for their outstanding contribution to the Indian Film Industry
PERSONALITY IN NEWS
NIA FILED A CHARGE SHEET AGAINST 26/11 MASTERMIND ABU JUNDAL
National Investigation Agency (NIA) on 4 April 2013 charge sheet against Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, the suspected terrorist of the banned Lashker-e-taiba (Let) and the mastermind of Mumbai Terror Attacks in the designated court in Patiala house in New Delhi. Abu Jundal is accused of making recruitments for Pakistan for LeT, the Pakistan based terror outfit. Jundal made many deliberated efforts to recruit people through internet to join LeT for the cause of carrying out terror activities in India, in 2011 and 2012. The NIA has alleged that Jundal, during 2011 and 2012, had made deliberate attempts for recruiting different persons through internet for joining LeT and carrying out terror activities in India.
WEBSITE LAUNCHED ON BABU JAGJIVAN RAM

Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment, Kumari Selja on 5 April 2013 launched a Website on Babu Jagjivan Ram on the occasion of his 106th Birth Anniversary. The Government has dedicated this website (http://www.jagjivanram.nic.in/) to Babu Jagjivan Ram National Foundation an autonomous organization that is functional under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. Babu Jagjivan Ram National Foundation was established on www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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14th March, 2008 as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, with the main aim of propagating the ideals of the late Babu Jagjivan Ram, on social reform as well as his ideology, philosophy of life, mission and vision to create a casteless and classless society. It works for uplifting the unprivileged class and scheduled castes and bring attitudinal change in the society to abolish caste based prejudice and untouchability.
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BABU JAGJIVAN RAM

He is popular as Babuji and was a national leader and a veteran parliamentarian He was a freedom fighter and a crusader of social justice He was one of the important members in the formation of the All-India Depressed Classes League
NOMINATION PAPERS PARVEZ MUSHARRAF REJECTED

Nomination papers of former Pakistan President Gen. (retd) Pervez Musharraf were rejected by the Pakistani Election Commission in Kasur's NA-139 constituency for general elections to be held on 11 May 2013. Pervez Musharraf had filed the nomination papers from four seats- Karachi, Islamabad, Chitral and Kasur. Rejection of his nomination papers was anticipated because of charges that have been cited against him. These charges also include assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
ARTICLE 62 AND 63 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF PAKISTAN

Under the Article 62 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the qualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) include that he has not, after the establishment of Pakistan, worked against the integrity of the country or opposed the ideology of Pakistan. Also, under the Article 63 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the disqualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) include that he has been, on conviction for any offence involving moral turpitude, senteced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release or he has been removed or compulsorily retired from the service of Pakistan or service of a corporation or office set up or controlled by the Federal Government, Provincial Government or a Local Government on the ground of misconduct, unless a period of three years has elapsed since his removal or compulsory retirement.
ABHILASH TOMY CIRCUMNAVIGATED GLOBE SOLO AND NON-STOP
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President of India, Pranab Mukherjee welcomed Lt Cdr Abhilash Tomy of Indian Navy, who on 6 April 2013 became the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe, solo and non-stop, in a sail boat over a 150-day voyage. This voyage of Lt Cdr Tony placed India in the list of few selected nations, whose citizens were successful in completion of such an arduous voyage. The voyage of Lt Cdr Abhilash Tomy ended at the Gateway of India. He started his voyage across the oceans of the world from the same place from in his boat INSV Mhadei on 1 November 2012. The Voyage was conducted under the Sagar Parikrama Project, which was sanctioned by Pranab Mukherjee, when he was the Defence Minister of India. With this achievement Tony turned up to be the first Indian and second Asian to complete such a voyage. At present there are less than 80 people across the world in the list of people who have completed such a voyage.
THE VOYAGE
Lt Cdr Abhilash Tomy during the voyage crossed three capes of the world namely Cape Leeuwin, Cape Horn and Cape of Good Hope. During the voyage, total distance covered is around 23100 nautical miles and crossed Indian, Southern, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. During the journey from West to East, Tony crossed south of the continents of Australia, South America and Africa, thus rounding the three Great Capes Cape Leeuwin in Australia, Cape Horn in South America and Cape of Good Hope in Africa. INSV Mhadei is a custom-built boat of Indian Navy that was designed in the year 2009 and in a period of four years, the boat undertook its second solo circumnavigation trip.
PABLO NERUDAS BODY TO BE EXHUME TO INVESTIGATE

A team of forensic specialists in Chile on 8 April 2013 began work of exhuming poet Pablo Nerudas body to find out whether he was murdered or died of prostate cancer. Nobel prize winning poet Pablo Neruda died just 12 days after military coup of 1973. The 1973 military coup had ousted Chiles socialist president Salvador Allende, thus bringing General Augusto Pinochet in power. It was believed that Pablo Neruda died because of prostate cancer but in 2011, the possibility of poisoning of the poet by agents of Pinochet regime also came in limelight. He died on 23 September 1973 in Santiago. The remains of Pablo Neruda were in a tomb at his home in Isla Negra. The poet had won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was renowned for his love poems. Apart from being the poet, he was also a Communist Party politician. The Chilean justice system ordered probe in June 2011 after filing of complaint by the Chilean Communist Party.
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SHARAD YADAV RE-ELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF JANATA DAL (UNITED)

Sharad Yadav was unanimously re-elected as the national President of Janata Dal (United) for third time in a row, on 14 April 2013. Sharad Yadav, 65, announced keeping the NDA alliance intact. It is important to note that Sharad Yadavs election came after the amendment to party constitution. Earlier, the party did not enable the incumbent person for getting more than two terms as the party chief. Sharad Yadavs name was proposed by 20 state units of the party which included Bihar. He became the JD(U) president in 2006. He succeeded George Fernandes, who was elected as JD(U)s president in 2003. Even though the term of party president of JD(U) is for two years, but he remained the chief till 2009 and was re-elected to this post. Sharad Yadav is the four-time MP from Madhepura Lok Sabha seat in Bihar. He has remained active in politics for past 4 decades. He first became the MP from Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur constituency in 1977. He also won the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for 2012.
NICOLAS MADURO WON OF VENEZUELAS PRESI DENTIAL ELECTION

Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of Venezuela's presidential election on 14 April 2013. However, the opposition refused to accept the result and demanded a recount of all the votes. Maduro won 50.7 percent votes while his main opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski managed 49.1 percent votes with more than 99 percent of the ballots counted. The voters turnout was more than 78 percent of eligible voters. Maduro was named as Hugo Chavezs successor in his last speech to the nation before dying from cancer in March 2013. Maduro had been serving as acting president since Chavezs death. Nicolas Maduro was a candidate for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela wheras Radonski represented a coalition of opposition parties.
PAK COURT ORDERED ARREST OF PARVEZ MUSHARRAF

The High Court of Islamabad, Pakistan on 18 April 2013 dismissed the interim bail extension plea of former President, Parvez Musharraf and ordered his arrest in the Judges confinement case. The decision of the high court came up when Parvez Musharraf appeared before the Court to seek extension of his bail in the Judges Confinement case. Musharraf managed to flee away from the courtroom and its premises with the help of his private security guards. Earlier the
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interim bail term of the former President was extended by the Islamabad High Court till 18 April 2013. Earlier in the third week of April 2013, the election officers of Pakistan barred Parvez Musharraf from standing in the general elections that is to be held on 11 May 2013 due to various legal challenges being faced by him. With this court order and his escape from the court room, the chances of Musharraf, the leader of All Pakistan Muslim League party has faded the hopes of the revival of his political action to the Pakistans next month election.
MIRZA HIMAYAT BAIG SENTENCED TO DEATH

Mirza Himayat Baig, the lone convict in the Pune German Bakery blast case, was on 18 April 2013 sentenced to death by a Pune Sessions Court. Additional Sessions Judge N P Dhote handed down the capital punishment to Baig for murder and criminal conspiracy, besides under provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Explosive Substances Act. The court had accepted the prosecution's contention that it was a carefully planned attack to terrorise the public in general by causing extensive damage to life and property. All the accused have links to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba or home-grown terror outfit Indian Mujahideen. German Bakery located in posh Koregoan Park area was a popular food joint of youngsters in the city. Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad investigated this gruesome attack. They arrested Himayat Baig and sized explosives from his residence. They also indentified other accused which includes Mohsin Choudhary, Yasin Bhatkal, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal and Faiyaz Kagzi. However all other accused are absconding. Baig is the only accused in this case who has been arrested, tried and convicted for the terror attack. The blast had left 17 people dead, including five foreigners, and 64 wounded at the popular eatery on 13 February 2010.
SARABJIT SINGH DEAD AFTER INMATES ATTACK IN KOT LAKHPAT JAIL

Sarabjit Singh died in the Jinnah Hospital in Lahore on 2 May 2013 due to injuries. Earlier, Sarabjit Singh, the Indian national and a death row prisoner in the Lahores Kot Lakhpat Jail went in a deep coma and was put into ventilator support after being assaulted by the group of prisoners on 26 April 2013. Sarabjit, 49, was admitted in an Intensive Care Unit of the state-run Jinnah Hospital in Lahore, after he was brutally beaten up by at least six other prisoners within his barrack at the Kot Lakhpat Jail. He was hit on the head with bricks and his face, neck and stomach were cut with blades and sharp pieces of a tin. An inquiry was ordered into the incident by the authorities of the Kot Lakhpat Jail.
SARABJIT SINGH
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He is an Indian national in Pakistan since 1990. Pakistani authorities have convicted him of his involvement in the serial bomb blasts of 1990 in Lahore and Faisalabad.
SARABJITS HISTORY B EHIND THE BARS

Year August 1990 October 1991 Changes implemented in the sentence He was arrested from Kasur Border for illegal crossing the border in Pakistan He was sentenced with death for his alleged involvement in the Bomb Blasts of 1990, in which 14 people were killed
December 2001 Supreme Court of Pakistan confirmed his death sentence. In the same year, the Prime Ministers intervention deferred his execution for an indefinite period May 2012 His fifth mercy petition was dismissed In June 2012, there was news that the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari commuted the death sentence of Sarabjit to life term imprisonment. But Pakistani Government later released an 80 year old prisoner, Surjeet Singh claiming that surjeet Singhs release orders were passed by the President. As per the prevailing laws in Pakistan, a life term means 14 years of imprisonment and by now, Sarabjit has already spent 23 years in jail.
LIFETIME BAN ON PERVEZ MUSHARRAF FOR CONTESTING ELECTIONS

The High Court in the northwestern city of Peshawar on 30 April 2013 imposed a lifetime ban on former President Pervez Musharraf from contesting elections. It was the first time a court in Pakistan had declared a citizen ineligible from contesting elections for life. Musharraf returned in March 2013 after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest May 11 general election. The court observed that Musharraf abrogated the Constitution twice. The first was when he carried out a coup to oust a democratically elected government. The second time when he declared emergency in 2007 and detained 60 judges. Musharraf had filed nominations from four constituencies namely Chitral, Karachi, Kasur and Islamabad.
PERSON DIED
OSCAR WINNER AUTHOR RUTH PRAWER JHABVALA DIED IN NEW YORK
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Oscar and Booker Prize winner writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala died on 3 April 2013 in Manhattan, New York after a long illness. She died at the age of 85 and is survived by her three daughters, her husband Cyrus Jhabvala and six grandchildren.
ABOUT RUTH PRAWER JHABVALA

She was a long time member of Merchant Ivory Productions and wrote 22 films for it over a period of four decades Her long association with Merchant Ivory Productions won her two Academy Awards (Oscars) for her work on the films A Room with a View and Howards End, an adaptation of the E.M. Forster novels. She won her booker in 1975 for her fiction Heat and Dust She wrote 19 novels and short stories during her carrier span of more than five decades She lived in India for a period of about two-decades
Her last story was published in the New Yorker Magazine in its March 2013 issue with the title The Judges Will.
ROGER EBERT, THE CRITIC FOR CHICAGO SUN-TIMES DIED

Roger Ebert, the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for the Chicago Sun-Times as well as the film critic, died at the age of 70 years on 4 April 2013 at Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Roger Ebert remained the film critic for Chicago Sun-Times for 45 long years and was also given the title of most powerful critic in America by the Forbes in 2007.
ABOUT ROGER EBERT

Roger Ebert graduated from University of Illinois in journalism and later started selling book reviews as well as freelance stories to Chicago Daily News and Sun-Times. In 1966, he became the movie critic for the SunTimes. In 1975, he was conferred with the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. It is worth noticing that he was the first film critic to win this title. During his career, he interviewed notable directors and actors such as Robert Mitchum, Alfred Hitchcock and John Wayne. Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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Current Affairs PDF April 2013 RENOWNED HISTORIAN PROFESSOR B.NATH MUKHERJEE DIED
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Padma Shri Awardee Professor, Bratindra Nath Mukherjee, the renowned historian and an epigraphy expert died at his residence in Kolkata on 4 April 2013. The 79 year old who deciphered several ancient scripts, is now survived by his wife and son.
ABOUT BRATINDRA NATH MUKHERJEE

He authored more than 50 books and wrote about 700 articles in different national and international journals. Few of his famous books were Greek and Aramaic Edicts of Ashoka, Rise of Kushan Empire and a book on coins of the country named Indian Gold He was among few of the scholars from India, who knew Central Asian Lanuages like Sogdian (an Eastern-Iranian language at present Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), Brahmi, Shell and Kharoshti He was a numismatist and wrote two volumes on it named Coins of Bengal and Numismatic Art of India He served as the Professor in the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta
BRITISH SCIENTIST ROBERT EDWARDS DIED

British Scientist and Pioneer of in Vitro Fertilization (test-tube baby) Robert Edwards died at the age of 87 on 10 April 2013. In late 1970s, he along with his colleague Dr. Patrick Steptoe became famous for development of the vitro fertilization technique that resulted in the birth of worlds first test-tube baby Louise Brown in 1978. He was awarded the awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in medicine for discovery of the first testtube baby and providing the basis for genetic screening and stem cell research.
ABOUT ROBERT EDWARD

He received his Ph.D. in developmental biology in mice from the University of Edinburgh In 1963, he joined Cambridge University He teamed up with Dr. Steptoe for studying fertilization and to develop a method through which the sperm and egg can survive outside the womb He received the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research in 2001. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for services to human reproductive biology in 2011
BINOD BIHARI CHOWDHURY THE ANTI-BRITISH REVOLUTIONARY DIED
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Binod Bihari Chowdhury, 104, the anti-British revolutionary and a close associate of great Bengal revolutionary Masterda, Surya Sen died on 11 April 2013 in a hospital, at Kolkata. He was born in Chittagong on 10 January 1911 and died while being treated. Binod Bihari Chowdhury was a part of the Masterdas Jugantor a pre-independence revolutionary group that influenced the Chittagong Armoury raid by taking part into it. The group is known for announcing a revolutionary government after making a raid over the armoury of the Police as well as Auxiliary forces of British Government on 18 April 1930.
MORE ABOUT BINOD BIHARI CHOUDHARY

In 1939, he joined Indian National Congress and was appointed as the Assistant Secretary of Chittagong District Committee. And in 1946 was appointed as the General Secretary of Chittagong branch From 1940 to 1946 he was the member of Bengal Provincial Congress Executive Committee He was the last remaining link to the sub-continental decisive past After division, he remained active in the politics of East Pakistan till 1954 In the year 2000, he received the Independence Award, the highest civilian award in Bangladesh, in 2000
INDUSTRIALIST RP GOENKA PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 83

Industrialist R.P. Goenka passed away on 14 April 2013 at his residence at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife Sushila and his sons Harsha Vardhan and Sanjiv. RP Goenka established RPG Enterprises in the year 1979. It included Phillips Carbon Black, Asian Cables, Agarpara Jute Mill and Murphy India. Other major companies in his group are CESC, CEAT, Spencer's and Saregama. In post-independence India his contribution to industry was considered among the highest.
DR HILARY KOPROWSKI, DEVELOPER OF POLIO VACCINE DIED AT 96

Dr Hilary Koprowski, a Polish researcher who developed the first successful oral vaccination for polio died on 11 April 2013 in Philadelphia. He was 96 years of age.
ABOUT DR HILARY KOPROWSKI

Dr Hilary Koprowski was born on 5 December 1916. He was a Polish virologist and immunologist and was known for developing the first effective polio vaccine. Hilary Koprowski remained the President of Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories, Inc. as well as the Head of the Center for Neurovirology at Thomas Jefferson University.
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In 2006, he was conferred with the record 50th grant from the National Institutes of Health. He remained the author or co-author of more than 875 scientific papers. He also served as the consultant to the World Health Organization and also Pan American Health Organization. He received Philadelphia Cancer Research Award and the John Scott Award in Philadelphia. In May 1990, he received the Philadelphia Award, which is the most prestigious honour of Philadelphia. In 1959, he was conferred with the Alvarenga Prize by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. In 1995, Hilary Koprowski was given the title of Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland by the President of Finland. In 1997, he won the Legion d'Honneur from the French government. In 1998, he won the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Poland. In 2007, he was conferred with the Albert Sabin Gold Medal by the Sabin Vaccine Institute in Baltimore.
RAMADEVI: FIRST CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER OF INDIA DIED

Former Governor of Karnataka, V.S. Ramadevi died in Bangalore on 17 April following a massive Cardiac Arrest. She was 79. Rama Devi also served as the Chief Election Commissioner of India. She is now survived by her son V S Rakesh, daughters V S Rekha, V S Radhika Choudhary.
ABOUT V.S. RAMADEVI

Born on 15 March 1934, she served the Election Commission of India as its only women Chief Election Commissioner from 26 November 1990 to 11 December 1990, she succeeded R. V. S. Peri Sastri and was succeeded by TN Sheshan She served as the governor of Himachal Pradesh 26 July 1997 to 1 December 1999 She served as the governor of Karnataka from 2 December 1999 to 20 August 2002
Karnataka government declared a three-day state mourning as a mark of respect to the departed leader from 17 April to 19 April 2013. During this period, the National flag will fly at half mast atop all government buildings.
KP BHASKAR, THE INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE MAESTRO DIED

KP Bhaskar, the Indian classical dance maestro died on 17 April 2013 due to heart-related ailment. He was 88 years of age.
ABOUT KP BHASKAR
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KP Bhaskar was born in Kerala in the year 1925. He went to Singapore in 1952 and there he became one among first few Indian dance instructors. He started his academy with the Bharathanatyam for the beginners. Later, his academy taught various forms of the classical dances. KP Bhaskar founded Nrityalaya Aesthetics Society in 1987. He was also the member of various arts and cultural institutions in Singapore. In 1962, KP Bhaskar was also appointed as the head of three-month-long cultural mission to India. During his lifetime, he wrote three books on the subject of Indian dance. He also authored various magazine articles. Apart from this, he wrote television scripts, which included 13-part series titled Bharatha Natyam as well as 26-part series titled Aspects of Indian Dance. KP Bhaskar remained the President of Singapore Kathakali Yogam for 20 years. He was conferred with various awards during his career and these included Singapore's Meritorious Service Medal, Kala Vipanchee title from MBK Trust in Chennai (1999), Nritya Shiromani doctorate from the Pracheen Kala Kendra in Chandigarh (2003) and Natya Kalanidhi from Indian poet Sudhananda Bharathiar. He also won Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Meritorious Service Medal).
MIKE DENNESS, THE FORMER ENGLAND CAPTAIN DIED AT 72

Michael Henry Denness, popularly known as Mike Denness, the former England captain died on 19 April 2013 in London because of cancer. He was 72 years of age.
ABOUT MIKE DENNESS

Mike Denness was born on 1 December 1940 in Scotland. Mike Denness was an only Scotsman who was the captain of England cricket team. He led the England team in 19 tests out of 28 between 1969 and 1975. He played 12 one-day internationals (ODIs) and later became the ICC match referee. As the ICC match referee, he sanctioned six Indian players during 2001-2002 in Port Elizabeth. This caused Indian and South African boards putting Mike Denness on ban from officiating next match. ICC withdrew the Test status from the game. Mike Denness played county cricket for Essex and Kent. He scored over 25000 runs in the first-class career. He was the captain of Kent to six domestic trophies between 1972 and 1976. He was among first few inductees into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame. Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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He was also named as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1975.
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CAREER FACTS OF MIKE DENNESS

Tests: 28 Test innings: 45 Test runs: 1667 (average 39.69) Test hundreds: 4 Test fifties: 7 One-day internationals: 12 ODI runs: 264 (average 29.33) First-class matches: 501 First-class runs: 25886 (average 33.48)
ALFREDO GUEVARA, CUBAN FILMMAKER AND ARTS LEADER DIED AT 87

Renowned filmmaker of Cuba, cultural and intellectual leader Alfredo Guevara died on 19 April 2013 due to heart failure. He was 87 years of age. He became the leading cultural official as well as the defender of arts for over 5 decades, after the 1959 Cuban Revolution.
ABOUT ALFREDO GUEVARA

Alfredo Guevara was the founder of Cuban Art and Cinematography Institute, which was founded in 1959. He was also the founder of Festival of New Latin American Cinema. This is among the oldest ones in this region. He was named as the Vice Minister of the Government in 1970. In 1983, he was named as the Ambassador of UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
MATHEMATICIAN SHAKUNTALA DEVI DIED DUE TO HEART FAILURE

Shakuntala Devi, the Indian Mathematician also known as mental calculator and human computer died on 21 April 2013.She was of 80 years. Among her distinctions was her ability to mentally ascertain the day, when given a date in the last century. She was in the hospital from 3 April 2013 over a period of two weeks, due to respiratory problems and later she developed kidney and heart complications. She died due to heart failure and renal problem.
ABOUT SHAKUNTALA DEVI
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Her name was recorded in Guinness Book of World Records for her ability of making calculations at lightning-speed. One of her major distinction was that when given a date in the last century, she could have mentally ascertained the day for it. In the year 1977, she calculated the 23rd root of digit number 201 in just 50 seconds In 1980, she successfully multiplied the two 13-digit numbers (7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779) given to her by the computer department of Imperial College London. She was successful in making this calculation within 28 seconds Some of her books were Puzzles to Puzzle You, Mathablit, Astrology for You, Fun with Numbers and Awaken the Genius in Your Child. Her father was a circus performer, who did trapeze, tightrope and cannonball shows
SIVANTHI ADITHAN DIED AT 76

Sivanthi Adithan, the former sports administrator as well as media magnate died in Chennai on 19 April 2013 because of illness. He was 76 years of age. He is survived by his wife, daughter and a son.
ABOUT SIVANTHI ADITHAN

Sivanthi Adithan was the owner of Tamil daily Dina Thanthi. Thanthi Group in turn owns different media sectors such as Thanthi TV and Dina Thanthi. He received Padma Shri award for contributions to Education and Literature in the year 2008. He was an industrialist, educationist as well as a philanthropist. He also served as the President of Indian Olympic Association. Popularly he was also known as Chinna Ayya. He was conferred by the International Olympic Committee with the Olympic Order of Merit for development in Education and Sports in the year 1995.
FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA, JS VERMA DIED

Justice JS Verma, the former Chief Justice of India died on 22 April 2013 in New Delhi after multiple organ failure. He was of 80 years.
ABOUT JUSTICE JAGDISH SHARAN VERMA

He was born on 18 January 1933 and completed his early education in Satna, Madhya Pradesh He was the 27th Chief Justice of India on 25 March 1997 and retired on 18 January 1998 Justice Verma chaired the committee that was constituted by the Government of India to frame a tougher law to combat crimes against women, in the wake of the 16 December 2012 Delhi gang rape incident in the moving bus He served as the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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He served as the first Chairperson of the News Broadcasters Standards Authority In 1955, he started his legal career and became judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in June 1973. In 1986 he became the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court and was the Chief Justice of Rajasthan high court from September, 1986 to 1989. In June 1989, he was appointed as a Judge in the Supreme Court of India.
HISTORICAL CASES THAT HE HEARD AS A JUDGE AND CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA

In 1994, he was the part of the nine-judge bench that dealt with the S R Bommai case related to proclamation of President's Rule under Article 356 of the Constitution in Karnataka. The Judgment of the Supreme Case after hearing the case was that Presidents proclamation can be imposed only after approval from Parliament. He heard, Jain Hawala Case as the Chief Justice of India in his decision to the case, he held that dairy notings that contain the initials of some persons doesnt amount to a piece of evidence He was the head of the bench that heard Vishakha Case this bench laid guidelines for prevention of woman against harassment at the workplace. The Bench in its judgment enhanced the scope of Article 21 Right to life and personal liberty He authored the Collegium of the appointment of judges that he later said that it needed to be revisited He wrote to the Prime Minister of India to convert the self-assessment of Judges Code of Conduct into law to give it statutory teeth In the Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi he set aside the Bombay High Court verdict holding the election Manohar Joshi to Maharashtra Assembly as void in 1996 In this case, the Supreme Court held that Hindutva is the way of Life.
RENOWNED VIOLINIST AND COMPOSER LALGUDI JAYARAMAN DIED

Renowned violinist and composer Lalgudi Jayaraman died in Chennai on 22 April 2013 at 82 because of illness. He is said to be equivalent to Pandit Ravi Shankar, in the violin. He is survived by his son and daughter, both of whom are the renowned violinists as well.
ABOUT LALGUDI JAYARAMAN

He was born on 17 September 1930 in the musical family. He started his musical career at the age of just 12 years. He was trained in Carnatic classical style. He is known for introduction of new concepts of musical ensembles using veena, flute and violin in 1960s. He was also a Padma Bhushan awardee in 2001. In 1963, he earned the title of Nada Vidya Tilaka by the Music Lovers Association of Lalgudi. He won the Padma Shri in 1972. Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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He received the first Chowdaiah Memorial National-Level award by the Chief Minister of Karnataka. In 1994, he received the honorary citizenship of Maryland, US. He won National Film Award for Best Music Direction for film titled Sringaram in 2006. In the year 2010, he became the fellow of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
LEGENDARY SINGER SHAMSHAD BEGUM DIED AT 94

Legendary singer Shamshad Begum died on 23 April 2013 in Mumbai due to illness. She was 94 years of age. She was one of the first few playback singers of the Hindi film industry. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law.
ABOUT SHAMSHAD BEGUM

Shamshad Begum was born on 14 April 1919 in Amritsar, Punjab. Her debut was in Lahore on the Peshawar Radio on 16 December 1947. Some of her popular Hindi songs include Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar, Kajra Mohabbat Wala and Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon. Her hit tracks included Saiyan Dil Mein Aana Re, Chod Babul Ka Ghar, Leke Pehla Pehla Pyar, Kahin Pe Nigahen Kahin Pe Nishana and Boojh Mera Kya Naam Re. Shamshad Begum started her singing career in early thirties. She sang under the contract with Jenophone Record Company, for which she received 12.50 Rupees per song in 30s. She recorded around 200 songs for this company under baton of Ghulam Haider. Her songs were broadcasted on radio but not on gramophone. Before she made her debut in Hindi films, she sang in Punjabi film of Dalsukh Pancholi called Yamla Jat with the music given by Ghulam Haider. The first Hindi film of Dalsukh Pancholi was Khazanchi in which there were nine songs, all of which were recorded in Shamshad Begums voice. She was among the most sought-after female playback singers of 40s. She sang in various languages such as Tamil, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi and Bengali apart from Hindi in multi-lingual song Ye Duniya Roop Ki Chor. Shamshad Begum also sang for All India Radio (AIR) through the musical group called The Crown Imperial Theatrical Company of Performing Arts. She was conferred with the O P Nayyar award for contribution to Hindi film music, in the year 2009. In 2009 again, she was conferred with the third-highest civilian honour of India, Padma Bhushan.
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Current Affairs PDF April 2013 WOODSTOCK SINGER, RICHIE HAVENS DIED AT 72
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Richie Havens, the folk musician who commenced the 1969 Woodstock musical festival died because of cardiac arrest on 22 April 2013 in Jersey City. He was 72 years of age. He is survived by 3 children, 5 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.
ABOUT RICHIE HAVENS

He came from New York folk scenes in 1960s. He also sang for President Bill Clinton and Dalai Lama. He sang at the 1993 inauguration of Clinton. He was known for the acoustic guitar as well as covers of the songs by The Who, Bob Dylan and The Beatles. His final album was Nobody Left to Crown and it was released in 2008. His improvised version of the song Motherless Child was evolved into Freedom at Woodstock. It later became the anthem for 1960s Hippie generation. In 1970s, he made an acting appearance in 1972 version of The Whos rock opera Tommy. In 1974, he took lead roles in Catch My Soul, the Othello-inspired movie. In 1992, he performed on Just like a Woman at Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert. Other hits of Haven include Beatles classics Here Comes the Sun and Strawberry Fields Forever. Other work includes The Whos Wont Get Fooled Again.
TRINAMOOL CONGRESS MP AMBICA BANERJEE PASSED AWAY AT 86

Trinamool Congress MP Ambica Banerjee passed away in Kolkata on 25 April 2013. He was 86 years of age. About Ambica Banerjee Ambica Banerjee represented the Howrah Lok Sabha constituency. He remained a member of Bengal Legislative Assembly from 1982 to 2006. Ambica Banerjee was a known and respected member among all the sections as the social activist as well as the politician. He was a mechanical engineer and started the political career with Congress. He later became a part of the Trinamool. He contested for Lok Sabha elections from Howrah seat in 2006 as well as 2009. He remained associated with sports organisations as well, such as Cricket Association of Bengal as well as Indian Football Association.
SAILENDRA NATH ROY DIED
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Sailendra Nath Roy, an Indian Guinness World Record holder who on 28 April 2013 attempted to cross a river called Teesta suspended from a zip wire attached to his ponytail has died during the stunt. He was trying to cross the Coronation Bridge over the Teesta River near Siliguri town suspended from a zip wire 600ft (180m) long at a height of 70ft (20m).
SAILENDRA NATH ROYS ACHIEVEMENTS

In March 2011, Sailendra was named a Guinness World Record holder for travelling the farthest distance on a zip wire using hair. In 2008, Sailendra pulled the Darjeeling toy train with his ponytail. And in 2007, his ponytail tied to a rope, he flew from one building to another in front of television cameras.
BOOKS/AUTHOR
BOOK RELEASED: RELIGION, LAW & SOCIETY-ACROSS THE GLOBE
Book: Religion, Law & Society Across the Globe authored by Prof. Tahir Mahmood The Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari on 12 April 2013 released a book titled Religion, Law & Society Across the Globe. The book is authored by Prof. Tahir Mahmood. The book contains descriptions of foreign and Indian Conference addresses and commissioned papers, a section on Minority Rights in Indian as well as Global Context and more. The book also offers insights into a variety of intricate and inter-connected issues of constitutional and sociolegal significance.
ORPHAN MASTERS SON WON THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION

Adam Johnsons novel The Orphan Masters son won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2013. Last year, judges had failed to select a winner of the award for fiction for the first time in 35 years. The book carries the reader on an adventuresome journey into the depths of totalitarian North Korea and into the most intimate spaces of the human heart. Johnson teaches creative writing at Stanford University. He spent time in North Korea to research his book. Other books in contention were, What We Talk about When We Talk about Anne Frank, by Nathan Englander and The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey.
OTHER AWARDEES ARE AS FOLLOWING

Sharon Old's Stag's Leap won the poetry award. Tom Reiss' biography of French aristocrat Alex Dumas, The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, won the Pulitzer Prize for biography.
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The prize for general non-fiction was given to Gilbert King for Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys and the Dawn of a New America, which details racial injustice in Florida in 1949. Caroline Shaw, 30-year-old violinist and vocalist, won the Pulitzer Prize for music.
BOOK TITLED A LEAF TURNS YELLOW: THE SUFIS OF AWADH RELEASED

Book: A Leaf turns Yellow: the Sufis of Awadh edited by Muzaffar Ali Hamid Ansari, the Vice-President of India on 26 April 2013 released a book entitled A Leaf turns Yellow: the Sufis of Awadh edited by filmmaker and social worker Muzaffar Ali in New Delhi. The book depicts the cultural history of the Awadh in totality and highlights the rural culture of Noth India especially the Awadh in its composite form. The book is researched well and is a thorough account of the Sufism in (erstwhile) Awadh. It has introduced the history, traditions, sub-cultures, poetry and institutions of Awadh. Every Chapter of the Book is in the form of essay and revolves round the expressive traditions and socials backgrounds that are responsible for the way of living and unique thinking in the people of the region.
BOOK TITLED AN ARDENT PATRIOT BY DINESH GOSWAMI RELEASED

An Ardent Patriot Dinesh Goswami: Compiled and Edited by Kumar Deepak Das Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India on 30 April 2013 released a book titled An Ardent Patriot Dinesh Goswami, compiled and edited by Kumar Deepak Das, Member of Parliament. The book is compilation of Parliamentary Speeches of veteran parliamentarian from AssamDinesh Goswami. The book comprises of the Parliamentary speeches made by him in the Parliament during his tenure of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha from 1971 to 1990. Dinesh Goswami was an eminent political leader from Assam who was a distinguished parliamentarian. Apart from this, he was also a reputed legal luminary, a skilled orator and an ardent champion of public service. His work includes that as the Chairman of the Committee on Electoral reforms in 1990, popularly called the Dinesh Goswami Committee. The Dinesh Goswami Committee played a key role in relevant recommendations on reforms of our electoral system which remain valid even today.
IMPORTANT DATES
WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY OBSERVED ACROSS THE WORLD
2 April- World Autism Awareness Day
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World Autism Awareness Day is observed across the world on 2 April. The United Nations General Assembly had declared 2 April as the World Autism Awareness Day unanimously. World Autism Awareness Day was first observed in 2008. The day is observed to highlight the needs of autistic children as well as adults so that they get a better quality of life. The aim of World Autism Awareness Day is increasing the awareness of people about autistic people, especially children. On this day, a lot of events are being organised across the world and these include Panel discussions with the autism experts as well as NGOs Informational events aimed at parents of autistic children Artistic workshops for the autistics Display of the banners and posters for increasing public awareness Special clinics organised for families that deal with autistic people
WHAT IS AUTISM?
Autism is the developmental disability which remains with a person for the lifetime. Autism affects the functioning of the brain. First signs of autism are observed when the child is three years old. People suffering from autism: Find difficulty in social interaction Have issues with verbal or non-verbal communication Demonstrate the repetitive or restrictive behavior Have restricted activities and interests
WORLD HEALTH DAY OBSERVED: FOCUS ON HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

7 April: World Health Day World health day was celebrated on 7 April 2013. The theme for 2013 was High Blood Pressure. This day marks the anniversary of the founding of WHO (World Health Organisation) in 1948. Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of public health concern in the world. High blood pressure also known as raised blood pressure or hypertension increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. The ultimate goal of World Health Day 2013 is to reduce heart attacks and strokes. According to the World Health Organisation, High Blood Pressure affects one in three adults worldwide and leads to more than nine million deaths globally every year.
NATIONAL SAFE MOTHERHOOD DAY OBSERVED ACROSS THE COUNTRY

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11 April: Safe Motherhood Day
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National Safe Motherhood day was observed across India on 11 April 2013 to create awareness on proper healthcare and maternity facilities to pregnant and lactating women. Our correspondent reports the Centre has written to the states to strengthen implementation of Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojna maternity benefit scheme. The review of the progress of the IGMSY will be conducted from the 15th to 25th of this month. Surviving childbirth is a basic right of every woman and a social responsibility. Ensuring institutional delivery, reducing anemia among women by providing Iron-Folic Acid supplements and better pre and postnatal health care are necessary for mothers. Prevention of child marriages which are indirect causes of maternal deaths is also an important factor. Right to good quality nutrition and health services during and after pregnancy and childbirth and the removal of barriers that contribute to maternal mortality would go a long way towards safe motherhood. In India, the national average of maternal mortality has come down by 17 per cent according to the 2011 census data and efforts are on to achieve the millennium development goal of reducing maternal mortality rate to 139 per one lakh live births by 2015.
WORLD HEMOPHILIA DAY WAS OBSERVED ON 17 APRIL 2013

17 April 2013: World Hemophilia Day World Hemophilia Day was observed on 17 April 2013 across the world. The day is observed to advocate for the global efforts to ensure appropriate care and treatment of diseases, which are the oldest known genetic bleeding disorders Reality of the Hemophilia caused by Genetic Deficiency. 50 Years of Advancing Treatment for All has been decided as the theme for the year 2013. The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) and the global community have worked together, for over a period of past 50 years, to improve care and treatment for inherited bleeding disorders. 75 percent of the people suffering from the disease across the world receive inadequate treatment or no treatment at all. The percentage of the people suffering from the disorder is higher than the Von Willebrand disorder and rare factor deficiencies.
17 April is observed as the World Hemophilia Day every year across the world. Hemophilia generally is a blood disorder that effects a huge population across the world. The disease is generally transmitted to the daughter from his father at the time of birth, who further becomes the carrier of hemophilia cells of the defected gene to her children. This is a non-curable disease but can be handled, if treated finely. World Hemophilia Day aims to increase awareness of this disease and other bleeding disorders as well as where we have www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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been, where we want to go, and that together, we can close the gap in care. Hemophilia B is the second most common kind of bleeding disorder, also termed as factor IX deficiency.
WORLD HERITAGE DAY WAS OBSERVED ON 18 APRIL 2013

18 April: World Heritage Day World Heritage Day was observed across the world on 18 April 2013. The day is observed with an aim to create awareness among the people to conserve and protect the valuable assets and cultural heritage across the world.
ABOUT THE WORLD HERITAGE DAY

The first world Heritage Day was celebrated on 18 April 1982 by the International Council of Monuments and Sites in Tunisia and was approved in 1983 by UNESCO. The day marks the necessity of protecting the historical monuments and sites located in every part of the world by making collective efforts at international level
To mark the importance of the day and to make people aware about the aim of the observing this day, various awareness camps and functions were organised across the world.
WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY OBSERVED ON 18 APRIL 2013

18 April: World Amateur Radio Day, theme for 2013 is Entering Its Second Century of Disaster Communications. World Amateur Radio Day was observed across the World on 18 April 2013. This day is observed to celebrate the beginning of the IARU-the International Amateur Radio Union - back in 1925. The theme for 2013 is Amateur Radio: Entering Its Second Century of Disaster Communications. The theme commemorates to the first known use of Amateur Radio in a disaster situation by Herbert V. Akerberg -- a 15-year-old from Hilltop, Ohio, USA. He is believed to be the first person to use an Amateur Radio to call for help during a disaster. International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) was founded on 18 April 1925 and is also known as the Ham Radio. In making this Ham Radio operational licensed participants operate the communication equipment in form of a service and a hobby. Hams get involved in the Amateur radio because of their basic knowledge of radio technology and principles of operation. They need to pass an examination for getting a license to operate on radio frequencies known as Amateur Bands. Amateur is a term that is used for specifying persons interested in radio technique with a personal aim and without direct financial interest, and to differentiate it from commercial
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broadcasting. These are generally recognized for the contributions that they make at times of disaster to the relief workers, where communication is minimal or not at all. Amateur Radio played a major role in India during the Tsunami that struck India in 2004 and during the earthquake that struck Gujarat in 2001, when all the major means of communication failed out. Amateur radio was the only means of communication at such a time of disaster in India.
CIVIL SERVICES DAY WAS OBSERVED ACROSS INDIA ON 21 APRIL 2013

21 April: Civil Services Day National Civil Services Day was observed on 21 April 2013 across India. The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh inaugurated the function organized to give away the Prime Ministers Awards for Excellence in Public Administration for the year 2011-12. This is a say that is observed by Civil Services to rededicate and recommit themselves to the cause of the people. It provides a unique opportunity for introspection as also working out future strategies to deal with the challenges being posed by the changing times. Eighth in a row, the day is being celebrated since 2006.
INTERNATIONAL MOTHER EARTH DAY OBSERVED

22 April: International Mother Earth Day The world on 22 April 2013 observed the International Mother Earth Day. This day is observed with an aim of spreading awareness to protect earths environment. The theme selected for 2013 is the Face of Climate Change. 22 April is proclaimed as the International Mother Earth Day to acknowledge that Earth and its ecosystem has provided its inhabitants with sustenance and life. The day is observed to recognize a collective responsibility of human being as called for the 1992 Rio Declaration of promoting Harmony with nature and the Earth for achieving balance among the social, environmental, economic needs of the generation in existence and the one that will come in future. Recognition of this Day reflects the interdependence of human being with other living creatures of earth in existence. The General Assembly of UN on 22 April 2009 for highlighting the need to help improve the lives of adults as well as children, who suffer from the disorder to ensure meaningful lives for them.
WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY WAS CELEBRATED ON 23 APRIL

23 April 2013: World Book and Copyright Day
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UN (The United Nations) highlighted the diversity of books and the protection of plots and protagonists and other content on the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day celebrations on 23 April 2013. As part of UNESCOs effort to support li teracy, for the year 2013, Bangkok was designated as a World Book Capital. The Paris-based agency UNESCO chose the Thai capital in recognition of its programme to promote reading among young people and underprivileged sections of the population. Bangkoks theme is Bangkok, Read for Life. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) emphasised the importance of bibliodiversity and declared it as common wealth. According to UNESCO press release, the diversity of books and editorial content is a source of enrichment that must be supported through appropriate public policies and protection from uniformity. World Book and Copyright Day or World Book Day is marked annually on 23 April, a symbolic date for World Literature. World Book Day was celebrated for the first time on 23 April 1995, at Paris. In 1995, UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright Day would be celebrated on 23 April. On this day in 1611, Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, Haldor K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Meja Vallejo. The connection between 23 April and books was first made in 1923 by booksellers in Spain as a way to honour the author Miguel de Cervantes, who died on that day. UNESCO has also marked this day for UNESCO Prize for Children's and Young People's Literature in the Service of Tolerance. This day was done by UNESCO in its General Conference, held in Paris in 1995 for paying world-wide tribute to authors and books on 23 April and to encourage everyone (particularly the young people) to discover the pleasure of reading to gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.
BACKGROUND OF WORLD BOOK CAPITAL CITY

World Book Capital City is an initiative that is inspired from the World Book and Copyright Day and is being observed since 2000. This is an initiative of professional organizations that receives UNESCO assistance and is backed by the States. Under this initiative, every year a city is chosen to undertake the maintenance of the impetus of the Days Celebration until 23 April of the following year through its own initiatives.
20TH WOMENS POLITIC AL EMPOWERMENT DAY CELEBRATED

22 April 2013- Womens Political Empowerment Day 20th Womens Political Empowerment Day was celebrated in New Delhi on 22 April 2013. The 20th Womens Political Empowerment Day Celebrations were organised jointly by the Institute of Social Sciences (ISS) along with National Mission for Empowerment of Women, UNICEF and Action Aid on the theme: Panchayats, Rights and Survival of the Girl Child.
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On the occasion of celebration of Womens Political Emp owerment Day, Krishna Tirath, the Minister of Women and Child Development conferred three women panchayat leaders with the awards. The three women panchayat leaders who received the awards were- Nayana Patra (Ward Member, Baruan Gram Panchayat, Odisha), Shuhma Bhadu (Sarpanch, Dhani Miyan Khan Gram Panchayat, Haryana) and V. Sudha Manirathinem (President, Nattarmangalam Gram Panchayat, Tamil Nadu). The guest of honour at the occasion was Louis Georges Arsenault.
MISCELLANEOUS
TAGORE CENTRE INAUGURATED IN LONDON
Chandresh Kumari Katoch, the Minister of Culture, on 2 April 2013 inaugurated the Tagore Centre for Global Thought at India Institute of Kings College, London. Tagore Centre was established as the part of Tagore Commemoration where 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore was celebrated. The centre will aim at enhancing the Tagore-related, academic intellectual and philosophic work globally. The basic concept of establishing the centre was promotion of study of liberal arts and support programmes which are associated with the works of Tagore. The centre will display the impact of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on Indian thought and intellectual capability. Tagore Centre was established in partnership with the India Institute of Kings Co llege, London. The centre was set up after signing of an agreement.
PURPOSE OF SETTING UP TAGORE CENTRE

The aim of the centre will be to take up five core activities promoting global implications and connections of Indian thought apart from the promotion of Tagores cultural legacy and literacy. This centre will also promote the research in Tagores literature and artistic works in different areas such as art, films and music. The centre will also support and promote research students working on the Global Intellectual history of Indian Thought. The activities taking place at the centre will include Lecture series on Tagore; Tagore distinguished lectures in Global Thought as well as Doctoral Scholarships and film series based on Tagore Stories and writings. In order to assist the Tagore Centre, Ministry of Culture in India designated strong administrative architecture which comprises of New Delhi - based Steering Committee headed by the Union Culture Secretary along with the London - based Implementation and Monitoring Committee.
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The London - based Implementation and Monitoring Committee is empowered to take decisions in context with centre and its programmes.
TAGORE CENTRE FOR GLOBAL THOUGHT INAUGURATED

Union Ministry of Culture, Government of India inaugurated the Tagore Centre for Global Thought at India Institute, Kings College, London on 2nd April, 2013. Tagore Centre was set up as part of the Tagore Commemoration celebrating 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The Tagore Centre will enhance Tagore-related, academic intellectual and philosophic work globally. The underlying concept is to promote the study of liberal arts and support programmes connected with all aspects of Tagores works and showcase how the Indian thought and intellectual capability was influenced by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The Tagore Centre has been established in partnership with the India Institute of Kings College, London by signing an agreement. The Centre will take up five core activities promoting global implications and connections of Indian thought besides promoting Tagores literary and cultural legacy. The Centre is also expected to promote research in Tagores literature and artistic works in all the areas of music, art and films. Besides promoting Ta gores philosophy it is also expected to promote and support research students working on the Global Intellectual history of Indian Thought. The activities will include Tagore distinguished lectures in Global Thought, Lecture series on Tagore, Doctoral Scholarships and film series based on Tagore Stories and writings. To facilitate the Tagore Centre, Ministry of Culture has designed a lean but strong administrative architecture comprising the New Delhi - based Steering Committee headed by the Union Culture Secretary and the London - based Implementation and Monitoring Committee. The latter has been empowered to take decisions regarding the Centre and its programmes. Over 100000 euros out of a total of over 300000 euros committed for 3 years has already been released. The Tagore Centre is expected to become a vibrant Centre of excellence and an intellectual hub in the field of art and culture. It will not only promote and support research studies on Tagores thought and work in art, music, education and traditional literature but also studies in Indian Philosophy and cultural tradition, for which India is known worldwide.
INT. CONFERENCE ON DEDICATED FREIGHT CORRIDOR INAUGURATED

Railways Pawan Kumar Bansal inaugurated International Conference on Dedicated Freight Corridor Challenges and Opportunities on 4 April 2013 at Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi. The Conference on Dedicated Freight Corridor Challenges and Opportunities was organised by ASSOCHAM India. In the conference, Pawan Kumar Bansal also released ASSOCHAM-YES BANK knowledge Report called Corridors for Indias Economic Development. www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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In the conference, there were three main technical sessions called DFCs Current Scenario and Operational Challenges, Financing options and Investment Opportunities and Technological Innovations & Opportunities in Heavy Haul Rolling Stock. The conference was attended by various national as well as international stakeholders. In the conference, discussions about the achievements and development in the railway took place.
CGHS FACILITIES ENHANCED FOR PIB ACCREDITED MEDIA PERSONS

The Union Government of India in the first week of February liberalized the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) facilities for media persons accredited Press Information Bureau (PIB). The facilities, which were available to the PIB accredited journalists, will now be provided to the eligible dependent family members too. The procedure for making an easier access to the services by the media persons, was streamlined the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in empanelled Private and Government Hospitals.
FACILITIES PROVIDED
The accredited media persons can now get OPD consultation from any Government hospital and procure the medicines through the concerned CGHS Wellness Centers. On the basis of the CGHS card issued to the media persons, they can now avail the treatments at empanelled hospitals. They will just have to pay the CGHS charges to the hospitals. He can also go to any of the empanelled hospital at times of emergency The journalists will have to pay for the investigations at the CGHS rates and no reimbursement is permitted for it
The orders were initially issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 1 January 2013.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE LAUNCHED NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR ELDERLY
The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare launched National Programme for the Health Care of Elderly (NPHCE) during its 11th Plan period in order to address the health-related issues of the elderly. The programme was launched on the basis of recommendations made in the National Policy on Older Persons and States obligation under the Maintenance & Welfare of Parents & Senior Citizens Act 2007.
AIM OF NPHCE PROGRAMME
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The primary aim of NPHCE programme is providing separate and specialised comprehensive healthcare to the senior citizens at different State healthcare delivery systems including the outreach services.
MAIN COMPONENTS OF NPHCE

Main components of NPHCE during 11th Five Year Plan were- establishing 30 bedded Department of Geriatric in 8 identified Regional Medical Institutions (Regional Geriatric Centres) in different parts of the country. Another component was providing dedicated health care facilities in District Hospitals, CHCs, PHCs and Sub Centres in 100 identified districts of 21 States. Initially, 100 districts were selected from 21 states for this programme in 11th Five Year Plan.
PLAN FOR 2013-14

Establishment of National Institute of Aging at AIIMS, New Delhi and Madras Medical College, Chennai Continuation of programme activities in the existing 100 districts and 8 Regional Geriatric Centres Add four new Regional Geriatric Centres Add more districts in a phased manner
SAARC MINISTERIAL LEVEL MEET ON POVERTY CONCLUDED IN NEPAL

The third SAARC Ministerial Level Meet on Povertyconcluded in Nepal on 5 April 2013. The representatives from all the eight members of SAARC attended the meet and pledged to reduce regional poverty through strategic cooperation with each other.
DECISIONS MADE
Formulation of a Common Poverty Reduction Strategy following the end of UN Millennium Development Goals in 2015 The meet that started on 5 April 2013 was inaugurated by the chairman of the Interim Election Government of Nepal Khil Raj Regmi
Before the Ministerial level meet, fifth SAARC secretary-level meet was held on 4 April 2013. The Indian delegation that consisted of four members led by Vandana Kumari Jena, the Principal Advisor to Planning Commission of India attended the meeting.
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INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON GREEN NATIONAL ACCOUNTING FOR INDIA CONCLUDED IN NEW DELHI
A 2 day International Workshop on Green National Accounting for India Concluded in New Delhi on 6 April 2013. During their deliberations, the experts and academicians discussed different aspects of the subject in the context of a report prepared and submitted by an expert group. The Government of India, in recognition of the emerging need, had set up an expert group under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) in August 2011, Chaired by Partha Das Gupta with the mandate of developing a frame-work for green national accounts, identification of data gaps and preparation of a road map to implement the frame-work. The Group held in depth deliberations on the mandate over the past one and half years, and has submitted the Report. The Prime Minister Dr Man Mohan Singh released the report in the inaugural session of the workshop here on 5April 2013. The National accounts reflect the state of an economy and form the raw material for both performance assessment and policy formulation. Although National accounts are meant to contain the kind of information that are essential for evaluation of economic performance, the System of National Accounts (SNA) currently in use throughout the world suffers from extreme narrowness in the sense that vast quantities of information relevant for economic evaluation do not appear in them. Some dont because the appropriate data are hard, even impossible to collect, but others dont because until recently the theory and practice of economic evaluation didnt ask for them. The demand for green national accounts has arisen because of a growing recognition that contemporary national accounts are an unsatisfactory basis for economic evaluation. The report GREEN NATIONAL ACCOUNTS IN INDIA A FRAMEWORK consists of six chapters and dives extensively into the conceptual foundations of economic evaluation providing an outline of what would ideally be needed for a comprehensive set of national accounts. The Report deals extensively with not only the conceptual building up of the system of Green National Accounts , but also deals with the implement ability aspects based on the conceptual framework of Green Accounting Framework using the existing data sets and studies to discuss the framework methodology, valuation techniques, and feasibility of compilation of various sectoral accounting tables.
MINISTER OF I&B AN INDOOR SHOOTING RANGE IN NARANGWAL, LUDHIANA

The Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Manish Tiwari on 6 April 2013 inaugurated an Indoor Shooting Range in Govind National College, Narangwal in District Ludhiana. The Indoor Shooting Range was built with the grant of 50 lakh Rupees from University Grants Commission. The Indoor Shooting Range was inaugurated on the occasion of convocation of Govind National College. During the convocation, Manish Tiwari awarded degrees to 260 students. Apart from the degrees, stipends and scholarships were also awarded. Grant of 5 lakh Rupees for development of college was also announced by Manish Tiwari. www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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SCIENCE EXPRESS BIODIVERSITY SPECIAL TRAIN TO BE RE-LAUNCHED

The Ministry of Environment & Forests decided to re-launch SEBS (Science Express Biodiversity Special) train in the 2nd phase of the programme on 9 April 2013 from Delhi Safdarjung. The present run of the train is the 2nd Phase in the two phase programme envisaged to cover a minimum of 100 locations on Broad Gauge network of Indian Railway across the entire length & breadth of the country. Of the 16 coaches of Science Express- Biodiversity Special, 8 are solely dedicated to showcasing the myriad biodiversity spread across all the bio-geographical zones of India through a variety of interactive exhibits, short films & videos that are shown on Plasma & LED TV screens, large format displays, kiosks, backlit panels, and so on. The rest of coaches have interesting & informative exhibits on Climate Change, Energy and Water conservation and topical issues in science. The popular Joy of Science Lab is mounted in an exclusive coach in whom students are guided to perform various experiments & activities to understand concepts of various themes projected in the train. In addition, on the railway platform where the train is halted, young visitors are encouraged to play several exciting games as well as participate in quizzes, painting competitions, elocutions, just-a-minute, etc. The window panes of the entire train have also been judiciously used to put up posters on the numerous species of flora & fauna found in India which keep the visitors engaged while waiting for their turn. SEBS was launched on 5 June 2012 (World Environment Day) with a view to create awareness amongst masses in general and youth in particular about the exceptional biodiversity of India.
OFFICIAL ONLINE PORTAL OF INTRA-IPS LAUNCHED IN NEW DELHI

The official online portal of INTRA-IPS was launched by S. Jayaraman (Special Secretary-Internal Security), Ministry of Home Affairs at New Delhi on 8 April 2013. The address of the INTRA-IPS online portal is http://intraips.gov.in.
FEATURES OF THIS NEW ONLINE PORTAL ARE AS FOLLOWS:

The online portal will facilitate information about the Indian Police Service Civil List, Immovable Property Returns, Latest notifications/circulars, Rules, Police Medal Awardees list etc. related to all IPS officers all over India. The Ministry of Home Affairs will issue new e-mail addresses to All Indian Police Service (IPS) officers. Knowledge Management System (KMS) will also be a part of the online portal. In this KMS, the IPS officers will be facilitated to upload as well as share the knowledge resources, which according to them are fruitful for the IPS community.
SOUTH AFRICA HOSTED THE FIFTH BRICS SUMMIT AT DURBAN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE
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The fifth BRICS Summit from 26 to 28 March 2013 was held at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC), South Africa. The theme of the 5th BRICS Summit was: Partnership for Development, Integration and Industrialisation. The participant nations in the summit were Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SUMMIT ARE AS FOLLOWING:

The BRICS Nations fully support the efforts of their respective governments at the G20 that has emerged as the premiere forum to address critical global economic and financial issues. We shall work collectively to carry forward the work agenda set by the G20 leaders for promoting stronger, sustainable and more equitable growth. They reiterate that the world economic order is changing and that the process of developing economic policy agenda at the global level should reflect this. While there is a realization even amongst the developed countries about the increasing economic weight of emerging economies, this is not fully reflected in the governance model of global institutions such as the IMF and World Bank. We shall continue to work alongside our governments to gradually usher in governance reforms at multi-lateral institutions. The BRICS nation urges their respective governments to deepen their consultative engagements on economic policies to bring about stability and certainty in global financial markets. The BRICS nations encourage their respective governments to take steps to deepen economic engagement amongst the BRICS countries. The establishment of the BRICS Business Council is, therefore, supported as a practical measure that will deepen economic engagement amongst BRICS countries. Trade and investment are the two pillars of economic engagement amongst BRICS countries. We should look to continue enhancing intra-BRICS trade to achieve at least US$ 500 billion by 2015 as per agreement from previous Business Forum in India. It is essential to improve the quality of trade by focusing on more value added trade in all the three sectors namely manufacturing, services and agriculture. Likewise, we should capitalise on opportunities in sectors such as but not limited to agriculture and agro-processing, energy, sustainable development, infrastructure, mining beneficiation, pharmaceutical and information and communication technology. There is agreement that support for industrialisation projects on the African continent will contribute to the expansion of trade and investment links between BRICS and Africa. The Countries are encouraged by the discussions that are taking place amongst our respective governments towards greater cooperation in the financial sector. The possibility of setting up of a development bank and investment fund and promoting trade within this group in local currencies are particularly encouraging and progress in finalising these.
DEADLY EARTHQUAKE OF MAGNITUDE 6.3 STRUCK IRAN; KILLED 37
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An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 killed 37 leaving behind 850 people injured in Bushehr Province of south-west Iran on 9 April 2013 at 4:22 pm (local time). The quake struck 90 kilometers away from the countrys only 1000 Megawatt Bushehr Nuclear Plant but was not able to have an impact on the plant. Seismologists measured that the quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers near the town of Kaki a Gulf Port City. Several aftershocks of intensity more than five on the Ritcher Scale were felt. The effects of the quake were felt across Gulf in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, UAE and Bahrain. A total of about 700 houses were damaged and more than 200 families felt the effect of the quake. Rescue operations are being conducted by the rescue team sent in the affected area. Iran lies in an area of major geological fault-line and thus is prone to seismic activity. A major earthquake in the City of Bam that stuck Iran on 26 December 2003 left 25000 people dead.
PAKISTAN TEST-FIRED NUCLEAR-CAPABLE HATF-IV BALLISTIC MISSILE

Pakistan successfully test-fired the nuclear-capable Hatf-IV ballistic missile on 10 April 2013. The missile has a range of 900 km and it can also hit targets in India. Main features related to Hatf- IV ballistic missile Hatf- IV ballistic missile is also called Shaheen-1. The missile incorporated various improvements in the technical parameters as well as range of the existing missile. Hatf-IV has the capability of carrying the conventional and nuclear warheads upto 900 km range. Impact point of launch of Hatf-IV was at the sea. Strategic Plans Division chief Lt Gen (retired) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai witnessed the launch of Hatf-IV missile. Since 2012, Pakistan has successfully test-fired various missiles including Hatf-IX tactical missile that has a range of 60 km, along with Hatf-V ballistic missile that has 1300 km reach.
60TH ANNIVERSARY OF EVEREST ASCENT TO BE MARKED BY INDIANEPAL ARMY JOINT-EXPEDITION

Army Chief of Nepal, General Gaurav Shumsher Rana on 9 April 2013 flagged off a Joint Mountaineering expedition of Indian and Nepalese Army from Kathmandu to mark the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of the worlds highest peak. The joint expedition team of 34 members includes 13 Nepal Army Men and 20 Climbers from Indian Army and a support group and will expedite the tallest peak of the world for 70 days. The
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70 days expedition will involve cleaning of different slopes of the peak and a 64 kilometer high altitude marathon race. The team of Indian army taking part in the joint-expedition activity was flagged off from India by the Chief of Indian Army General Bikram Singh at New Delhi on 3 April 2013. This exercise will help in strengthening the relationship between the Indian and Nepalese Army and test their abilities of cooperation while serving the environment purposes and cleaning it.
SALMAN KHURSHID VISITED JAPAN

External Affairs Minister of India, Salman Khurshid visited Japan on 26-27 March, 2013 to cochair the 7th annual IndiaJapan Strategic Dialogue with the Japanese Foreign Minister. Both nations reviewed all aspects of the India-Japan Strategic & Global Partnership including bilateral, regional and international issues. India and Japan also discussed the possibility of convening the Annual Summit between the Prime Ministers of India and Japan in the coming months. India and Japan also agreed to expand our cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. It was agreed during this visit that India and Japan will coordinate their actions more closely within the East Asia Summit process.
INDIAN COAST GUARD SHIP H-191 COMMISSIONED AT MUMBAI

Director General Indian Coast Guard Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal was commissioned at Mumbai on 10 April 2013 by the Director General Indian Coast Guard Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal. This is the fifth of the series of twelve Air Cushion Vehicles (ACVs) to be commissioned so far. This ship will be based in Okha under the Administrative and Operational Control of the Commander Coast Guard Region (North-West). Indian Coast Guard Ship H-191 It is a 21 meter long Air Cushion Vehicle with 31 tonnes displacement It can achieve maximum speed of 45 knots It is capable of undertaking multi-farious tasks such as surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue and rendering assistance to small boats/craft in distress at sea
GOVERNMENT INAUGURATED LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAMME II

The Union Minister of Culture Chandresh Kumari Katoch inaugurated Leadership Training Programme II for Indian museum professionals on 10 April 2013. The Leadership Training Programme II for Indian museum professionals was inaugurated in the presence of Neil MacGregor, Director British Museum, London as well as Sangita Gairola, Secretary Culture. www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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The syllabus for the Leadership Training Programme was developed by the British Museum and the National Culture Fund. The Leadership Training programme (LTP) - II which has specially been created for the Indian museum professionals by the British Museum comprises of 3 modules of 2 weeks each spread over a period of 5 months. First module was held in New Delhi and second and the third modules would be held in London and Allahabad respectively. In between the Taught Modules, participants will be given Museums assignments to complete in their own museums. The syllabus was carefully designed after keeping in mind the Indian scenario. The Leadership Training Programme aims at developing leadership and executing skills for museum personnel.
EXECUTION ON RISE EVEN AFTER WORLD ABOLISHED DEATH PENALTY

Amnesty International Report released in 2nd week of April states that the number of countries that carried executions a decade ago has gone down, but the trend of resuming death penalties has seen a rise in India and other nations like Gambia, Japan and Pakistan. In the report released in 2003, there were 28 countries that executed the convicts but the latest report identified 21 countries in the list. The report has displayed its major concern towards the recent decisions of Indian Courts that meted at least 78 death sentences, with an estimated number of 400 people to be on the death row. With all these (78) death sentences pronounced India was placed at second position after Pakistan with 242 cases in the list of Asia-Pacific region. In 19 countries of the region, the report has recorded at least 679 new death sentences in 2012. The 2012 figures prove that the trend of death penalty when seen as a global trend is being abolished. However as per the report, resumption of executions in countries like India, Japan, Gambia and Pakistan as well as Iraq is a matter of concern. As per the findings of the report, 1722 people across 58 countries were sentenced for death in 2012, whereas in 2011 1923 people were sentenced for death in 63 countries and in 2010 2024 people were sentenced in 67 countries; this means in an years time the death penalties across the world has moved towards a decline.
KOREA & US FORCES RAISE ALERT

US and South Korean Forces on 10 April 2013 raised an alert status of vital threat before an expected North Korean missile test. The alert status was raised by the forces of two nations as the follow up of the announcement made by the North Korea to the foreign diplomats in Pyongyang to consider evacuation that fueled a speculation of a launch between 11 to 15 April 2013. As per the intelligence reports of South Korea, North Korea is prepared for imminent launch of two mid-range missiles from its eastern-coast. As per the reports, North Korea has been
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warned by its ally China to avoid all such kind of provocative efforts at the time of soaring military tensions.
OPEN LETTER ON GLOBAL LEADERS FOR TOURISM CAMPAIGN

Secretary General of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Taleb Rifai handed over an open letter on Global Leaders for Tourism Campaign to Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India on 10 April 2013. The letter was given to him to explain about the campaign.
ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN

At present 47 countries have joined the campaign from the day it was launched in 2011. The campaign was initiated by the joint efforts of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) to acknowledge the instrumental role of Tourism in global economy The campaign aims at pushing efforts of the nation on priority basis towards development of the tourism sector and being in economic development by promoting opportunities of employment
G8 NATIONS CONDEMNED N.KOREA NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAMME

Foreign ministers from the G8 group of nations in a meeting held in London in the second week of April 2013 condemned North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.G8 nations also expressed their deep concern over the conflict in Syria. Moreover, they took historic pledge on preventing sexual violence in conflict. The Group of Eight nations includes the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia. Britain at present holds the rotating chairmanship of the G8 and the talks are a prelude to the annual G8 summit later in 2013 in Northern Ireland.
AVM VS BHARTI YSM VM VSM TOOK OVER AS THE SAASO

Air Vice Marshal VS Bharti YSM VM VSM took over as the Senior Air & Administrative Staff Officer (SAASO), Maintenance Command, Indian Air Force on 11 April 2013. He replaced AVM JS Kler. AVM JS Kler, took over as the head of Air Wing of Border Security Force.
ABOUT VS BHARTI YSM VM VSM

VS Bharti YSM VM VSM was commissioned into helicopter stream of Indian Air Force on 11 December 1981.
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He joined National Defence Academy (NDA) in 1978. He has logged more than 5400 hours in every role.
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He played an active role in IPKF Operations at Sri Lanka and was awarded Yudha Seva Medal for the same.
Before being the SAASO Maintenance Command, IAF, he served as the Air Attache at KYIV Ukraine, Director IDC at Air Headquaters, SASO at Air Officer Commanding J & K, Air Officer Commanding Air Force Station Yelahanka and Deputy Commandant Air Force Academy.
BLUE SUPER GIANT STAR WAS DISCOVERED IN CONSTELLATION VIRGO

An Indian scientist and his colleague from Taiwan discovered a blue super-giant star located in the constellation Virgo. Scientists used the Subaru Telescope, the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations (NASA) Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) and the Canada -FranceHawaii-Telescope (CFHT) to locate the star. The Virgo cluster is located about 55 million light years from Earth. The Blue giant star is estimated to emerge over 55 million years ago. The details revealed by the Subaru could help in knowing more facts related to star formation.
PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER SALAM FAYYAD RESIGNED

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad resigned on 13 April 2013 after falling out with president Mahmud Abbas. Salam Fayyad was tasked with the role of caretaker for the current government until a new prime minister is appointed. Fayyad held the finance portfolio as well as the premiership before Qassis's appointment in May 2012. His economic policies were being crticised by Abbass ruling Fatah movement. The world community gives credit to Fayyad with building a sound institutional framework for the Palestinian Authority ruling over West Bank area. His resignation could hinder implementation of an agreement with Israel.
COMMITTEE TO PROMOTE INDIA AS FILM DESTINATION CONSTITUTED

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee for Promotion and Facilitation of Film Production in India. The Committee shall act as single window for filmmakers seeking permission from different agencies in the Government of India for filming of feature films, short films and TV programmes. The constitution of the committee is expected to mainstream a proactive mechanism and coordination process of granting permissions through a single window provision.
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Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will be the chairman of the committee. Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting will be its Member secretary. Joint Secretary level officer of any other Ministry may be co-opted as Member depending on the case under consideration. The Committee shall also co-opt the empowered officer of the State Government on a case to case basis and as per the recommendation of the State Governments.
THE MANDATE OF THE COMMITTEE IS AS FOLLOWING

The Committee shall facilitate granting of permission for both foreign as well as domestic producers from relevant authorities of Central and State governments. The Committee shall meet regularly to monitor the progress of facilitation process and from time to time, issue directions to the concerned authorities to fast track clearances. The Secretariat of the Committee will be provided by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The Secretariat will also be responsible for all the documentation and paperwork on behalf of the Committee and will liaise with different Ministries/States/ local authorities on behalf of the Committee.
CHIEF MINISTERS CONFERENCE HELD

A conference of Chief Ministers on the fifth Report on Public Order of the second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) was held on 15 April 2013. The conference was chaired by the Union Home Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde and attended by the Chief Ministers, Home Ministers of States and Lt. Governors & Administrators of Union Territories as well as the members of Group of Ministers constituted by the Government to consider the recommendations of the 2nd ARC. During the conference discussions on 153 recommendations contained in the firth Report of the ARC was conducted. Few of the major issues under discussion were police reforms, management of public order, reforms in criminal justice system, federal crimes and special laws & the role of civil society and media in the management of public order. Further the recommendations will be discussed following the views of the participants of the Conference.
BRITISH SCIENTIST FR ANCIS CRICKS NOBEL PRIZE SOLD

British scientist Francis Cricks Nobel Prize was sold for 2.27m US dollar at the auction in New York. Francis Crick won the Nobel Prize for discovery of DNA. The Nobel Prize was bought by CEO of a Shanghai-based biomedical firm, Jack Wang. Francis Crick won the Nobel Prize for discovery of DNA in 1962. His discovery of structure of DNA molecule made it possible to analyse the functioning of the human beings. In yet another auction, the letter written by Francis Crick was sold for 5.3m US dollar. In this letter, Crick described his discovery of double helix shape of DNA to his 12-year old son. www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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The sales will be beneficial from scientific research point of view. Some part of the proceeds of auction will help in funding the medical research institute in London which is named in the honour of Crick. Crick had discovered structure of DNA with two more scientists, Maurice Wilkins and James Watson. All these scientists had won the Nobel Prize for this discovery. This is just the second time that any Nobel medal was sold in a public auction.
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT NULLIFIED THE DISTRICT STATUS OF AMETHI

Amethi, Uttar Pradesh: The Allahabad high court on 15 April 2013 nullified the district status of Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Nagar, which at present is called Amethi. While nullifying the district status of Amethi, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court described it as illegal. It is important to note that Amethi is Congress Vice-President, Rahul Gandhis constituency. In 2010, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati had carved this district by taking out Tiloi and Salon regions from Rae Bareli and also adding Amethi, Musafirkhana and Gauriganj tehsils. The district was renamed as Amethi after the Samajwadi Party came into power.
MAHATMA GANDHI FIGURED AMONG TOP THREE LEADERS OF WORLD

As per the 16th Annual Global CEO survey, Mahatma Gandhi figured among the top three most admired leaders of the world. An accountancy firm, PwC surveyed 1400 CEOs around the world.Winston Churchill topped the list of 10 most admired leaders, while Mahatma Gandhi figured in the third position after Steve Jobs.
OTHER LEADERS INCLUDED

Warriors: Napoleon and Alexander the Great Reformers: Jack Welch Leaders though adversity: Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln Leaders who caught the imagination of the masses: Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela Consensus builders: Bill Clinton.
Winston Churchill was the most popular choice of all CEOs while Steve Jobs admired in the most number of nations, 37. Churchill got wide appeal and popularity across Western Europe. He came top in France ahead of Charles de Gaulle and beat Niccolo Machiavelli to get the same position in Italy. Winston Churchill served as British Prime Minister twice; in 1940-45 and 195155. As per the PwC survey, Nelson Mandela, Jack Welch and Abraham Lincoln, were at the 4th, 5th
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and 6th positions, respectively. Among women Margaret Thatcher was the only woman to make it to the top ten (7th position). Former US Presidents Ronald Reagan, John F Kennedy and Bill Clinton were at 8th, 9th and 10th positions. French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte was at the 10th position along with Clinton.
TWO-DAY BIANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE NCC CONCLUDED

The two-day Biannual Conference of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) concluded in New Delhi on 16 April 2013. In the final conclusion event, Minister of State for Defence and Youth Affairs & Sports emphasised on the need for spreading the reach of the NCC to a larger number of Schools and Colleges. The role of NCC is to develop of leadership skills amongst the cadets which in turn help the nation. The NCC State Heads were asked to maintain close liaison with their State Governments so that initiatives of the NCC are implemented in an effective manner. The latest progress on various issues related to the improved training of cadets through the new Training Philosophy was shared in the event by the Director General of NCC. The conference of regional heads focused on implementation of new training programme and implementation methodology for NCC as an elective subject in 30 autonomous Universities in India. The two-day Biannual Conference of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) was attended by heads of NCC of all directorates. During the conference, plans and implementation procedures of this premier youth organisation were formulated.
INDIAN COAST GUARD SHIP C-402 COMMISSIONED IN MUMBAI

The Indian Coast Guard Ship C-402 was commissioned in Mumbai by Sanjeev Dayal, Director General Police, Maharashtra, in the third week of April 2013. This is the second ship of series of thirty-six Interceptor Boats which were built and designed by Larsen and Toubro, Surat.
ABOUT THE INDIAN COAST GUARD SHIP C-402

C-402 is 30-metre long interceptor boat which has 90 tonnes displacement. It can reach a maximum speed of 45 knots. C-402 is furnished with technologically-advanced navigation as well as communication equipment. It is also furnished with medium-range armament. Indian Coast Guard Ship C-402 is designed for close-coast patrol, search and rescue, high speed interception, low-intensity maritime operations and maritime surveillance.
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With commissioning of Indian Coast Guard Ship C-402, force level of the Indian Coast Guard has increased to 82 ships as well as boats. By 2018, the target is to double this force. Ship C-402 will be Ratnagiri-based under the Administrative and Operational Control of the Commander Coast Guard District Headquarters No 2. The boat will be commanded by Deputy Commandant G. Mani Kumar. It also has a crew of eleven personnel and one officer.
H.R. MOHAN ELECTED AS NEW VICE PRESIDENT OF COMPUTER SOCIETY

H.R. Mohan on 16 April 2013 was elected as the Vice-President-Cum-President Elect of Computer Society of India (CSI). H.R. Mohan is the Assistant Vice-President (Systems), The Hindu.
ABOUT H.R. MOHAN

Mr. Mohan is a graduate in Engineering from IIT, Madras Currently, he is working with India's National Newspaper, The Hindu as Associate Vice President (Systems)
ABOUT CSI
Computer Society of India (CSI) was formed in 1965, and has been instrumental in guiding the Indian IT industry down the right path since its formative years. At present, the CSI has 70 chapters all over India with 418 student branches, and more than 90000 members including India's most famous IT industry leaders, brilliant scientists and dedicated academicians.
ARUNA BAHUGUNA BECAME FIRST WOMEN SPECIAL DG OF CRPF

Aruna Bahuguna, Senior IPS Officer on 18 April 2013 was appointed as the new Special Director General of CRPF, Indias largest paramilitary force. With her appointment to the office of the special DG, Aruna Bahuguna (a 1979-batch Andhra Pradesh Cadre Officer) became the first women officer to be appointed to the top position in the hierarchy of the Force. At present, Bahuguna is serving as the chairperson of AP Police Housing Corporation. With this appointment in the office, Bahuguna will assume charge as number two in the largest central police force and will be in-charge of operations.
ABOUT ARUNA BAHUGUNA

She is an IAS from the 1979-batch Andhra Pradesh cadre officer She served as the additional DG in the AP Special Police and before that in-charge of the fire services
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She is married S Jayaraman, who is an IPS officer of the 1977 batch of West Bengal cadre and is presently special secretary in the Union home ministry handling internal security
Her appointment to the office of the Special DG will be in effect from the day, when she takes the charge.
GIORGIO NAPOLITANO RE-ELECTED AS THE PRESIDENT OF ITALY

Italy's Parliament on 20 April 2013 re-elected Giorgio Napolitano to an unparalleled second term as president. Giorgio Napolitano will be the first Italian president to be re-elected to serve a second term. The party leaders convinced the 87-year-old Giorgio Napolitano to serve again in hopes of easing the hostility that has let down the formation of a new government. Napolitano received 738 votes, out of 1007 votes which are far more than the 504 needed for victory easily surpassing the simple majority needed in the sixth round of an election. As per the Article 84 of the Italian Constitution, any citizen who is fifty or older on Day of Election and enjoys civil and political rights can be elected President.
SOME FACTS ABOUT GIO RGIO NAPOLITANOS PO LITICAL CAREER

Giorgio Napolitano was appointed as a Senator for life in 2005, and was subsequently elected as President of Italy on 10 May 2006; He is the first President of Italy to have been a member of the Italian Communist Party and the first to be elected to a second term as President. He is 11th President of the Italian Republic since 2006.
ELECTION OF PRESIDENT ITALY

The President of the Italy is elected by Parliament in a joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. As per the Constitution of Italy, the election must be held in the form of secret ballot, with the 315 Senators, the 630 Deputies and the 58 regional representatives all voting. A two-thirds vote is obligatory to elect on any of the first three rounds of balloting; subsequent to that, a majority suffices. The election is presided over by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, who calls for the public counting of the votes. The President assumes office after having taken an oath before Parliament and delivering a presidential address.
SUNIL BHARTI MITTAL APPOINTED VICE CHAIRMAN OF ICC

Sunil Bharti Mittal, the Chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises in the month of April 2013 appointed as the Vice-Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which is one of the world's oldest global business organisations. www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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With the appointment as the Vice Chairman of ICC, Mittal became the third business person from India in the history of ICC to be appointed on the ICC Executive Board. Earlier it was Bharat Ram (1969-1971), and Hari Shankar Singhania (1993-1994) who were appointed to ICC.Bharat Ram is also counted as the first Indian to be appointed as the Chairman of the ICC Executive Board. The role of ICC is to help in driving global economic growth by reducing barriers to trade and economic opportunity. The ICC World Council elected the new ICC leaders at a meeting held in Doha, Qatar. ICC which was founded in 1919 represents private-sector views to national governments and inter-governmental bodies around the world.
N. RAVI ELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF EDITORS GUILD OF INDIA

Narasimhan Ravi, the director of Kasturi and Sons Limited as well as the former Editor of The Hindu was unanimously elected as the president of Editors Guild of India on 23 April 2013 at the annual general meeting of the Guild in New Delhi. He succeeded T.N. Ninan, the chairman and editorial director of Business Standard. He will be serving two-year term as the President of the Guild. Editors Guild of India is the organisation of the editors of various magazines and newspapers of India. Apart from the election of the President of the Guild, the annual general meeting took certain issues such as consultation paper on the cross-media ownership which was issued by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Another issue that was discussed at the general meeting was media regulation.
ABOUT NARASIMHAN RAVI

Narasimhan Ravi was born on 1 January 1948. He is a veteran Indian journalist. He served as Editor-in-chief of The Hindu from 1991 to 2003. He joined The Hindu in 1972. He also served as Washington correspondent of The Hindu from 1977 to 1980. In 1980, he became the Deputy Editor of The Hindu and later, he became the Associate Editor. In 1991, he became the Editor-in-chief of The Hindu, succeeding his uncle G. Kasturi. In 2003, he was taken over by N. Ram, the Managing Director.
ANIL GOSWAMI APPOINTED AS NEW UNION HOME SECRETARY

Union Ministry of Home Affairs on 26 April 2013 appointed Anil Goswami, a Jammu and Kashmir cadre IAS officer as Union Home Secretary. Government on 26 April 20134 appointed him as the officer on special duty in the ministry with immediate effect till 30 June 2013. He will take charge from incumbent R.K Singh. www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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ABOUT ANIL GOSWAMI

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Anil Goswami (58) is an IAS officer of 1978 batch, Jammu and Kashmir cadre He is the first bureaucrat from Jammu and Kashmir to be appointed as Home Secretary At present, he is the Secretary in Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment was cleared by the Appointments Committee. He has served the J&K and Central Government is different capacities that include Special Secretary in the Home Ministry He served as the divisional commissioner of Jammu He was the first chief executive of the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board after it was taken over by the government in the early 1990s
His appointment to the office was made by Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. His tenure is fixed for a period of two years, till June 2015. This is the first time in the history that announcement of the name of the next Home Secretary was made two months earlier from the actual date of assuming the office. Generally, the successor of the post is appointed a month in advance.
TAKEHIKO NAKAO ELECTED AS THE PRESIDENT ADB BOARD

Takehiko Nakao on 27 April 2013 was appointed as the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by the Board of Governors at New Delhi. His appointment to the post was unanimously accepted ahead of the annual meet of the bank. He succeeded Haruhiko Kuroda, who resigned from his office in March 2013 to take up an assignment as the Governor of the Bank of Japan. The 57 years old Nakao is the former Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs of Japan. He will be the ninth President and will assume the charge of his office on 28 April 2013. He is appointed to complete the unexpired term of his predecessor that is supposed to end in November 2016.
ABDUL HAMID WAS SWORN IN AS BANGLADESH PRESIDENT

Parliamentary Speaker Abdul Hamid was on 24 April 2013 sworn in as Bangladesh President to replace Zillur Rahman, who died in March 2013. Abdul Hamid is the 20th President of Bangladesh. He will hold the ceremonial position for a five-year term. Hamid was the acting President since 14 March 2013 when Rahman went for medical treatment to Singapore. He is a former lawyer. He was elected to Parliament seven times from the Kishoreganj Constituency. He is a member of the Awami League.
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PRESIDENT DEDICATED SIDDHESHWAR DHAM TEMPLE TO THE NATION

President Pranab Mukherjee on 16 April 2013 dedicated Siddheshwar Dham Temple to the Nation at Solophok in south Sikkim. The temple is built by the state government in form of replica of all four religious pilgrims in India to promote religious tourism. The four most revered Dhaam of the Hindu's - Jagannaath Puree (Udeesaa), Dwaarakaa Puree (Gujaraat), Raameshawaram (Tamilnaadu), Badreenaath (Garhvaal) have been replicated in this fantastic complex to benefit the devotees who will visit this place. Siddheshwar Dhaam was consecrated by Shri Jagadguru Shankaraachaarya Swami Swarupananda Saraswati on November 8, 2011 and is now open to public. It is situated amidst the breadth taking surroundings of Solophok Hill, 5 km from Namchi, befitting the mythological setting behind the establishment of the original Dhaam. It has a 108 ft tall statue of Shiv, replicas of 12 Jyotirling, models of sacred Chaar Dhaam Hindu Temples of Jagannaath, Badreenath, Dwaarakaa and Raameshwaram and 18-feet statue of Kiraateshwar - the hunter incarnation of Shiv. It is believed that Lord Shiv, after losing Satee in Agni Kund of Daksh's Yagya, had gone into seclusion and became a hunter in the forests of Sikkim. It has been created over 29.9 hectares at a cost of Rs 56.51 crore. The giant statue of Lord Shiv in sitting posture has been erected at the highest point of the hilltop.The temple implements this unique concept of bringing all four Dhams under one roof in Sikkim.
SIDDHESHWAR TEMPLE MAY REFER TO VARIOUS TEMPLES IN INDIA

Siddheshwar & Ratneshwar Temple; temple of Shiva located near Latur in Maharashtra Siddheshwar temple, Solapur; temple of Siddheshwar located in the Solapur city of Maharashtra Siddheshwar temple, Toka; temple of Shiva located in the village of Toka, of Nevasa taluka of Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state. Siddhesvara Temple; temple located in the town of Haveri in Haveri district of Karnataka state
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF BARRED FROM RUNNING FOR ELECTION

A Pakistani election tribunal on 16 April 2013 barred former military dictator Pervez Musharraf from running for Parliament in the only constituency where his nomination papers for the general elections had been accepted. The Parliamentary election will be held on 11 May 2013. The court was persuaded by arguments that the former president had violated the constitution while trying to extend his rule. Musharraf, 69, had plans to contest polls in four Parliamentary seats in Chitral, Karachi, Kasur and Islamabad. Earlier in the day, two other election tribunals barred Musharraf from contesting polls from constituencies in Islamabad and Kasur in Punjab province. Pervez Musharraf belongs to the All Pakistan Muslim League party.
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Current Affairs PDF April 2013 VICE-PRESIDENT OF INDIA, HAMID ANSARI VISITED TAJIKISTAN
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The Vice-President of India, Hamid Ansari visited Tajikistan from 14 April to 17 April 2013. He was accompanied by a high-level delegation that included Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries and four Members of Parliament. Vice-Presidents visit was conducted with the idea of strengthening the bilateral ties and strategic partnership in countering cross-border militancy. During his stay in the country the Vice-President met President Emomali Rahmon and Prime Minister Tajikistan Oqil Oqilov of Tajikistan. He also visited the Khatlon Province of Tajikistan and meet with the Governor. He also visited Tajik Technical University. The Vice-President also inaugurated India-Tajikistan modern engineering workshop in Tajik Technical University for creation of a center of IT excellence that will also have a super computer. This centre will soon become a focal point for pan central Asia e-network that India would implement soon in the near future. This network is being planned to enable teleeducation that would be delivered from India. The visit of the Vice-President to Tajikistan will enhance the relationship between the two countries and elevate the level of strategic partnership between the two nations. Earlier in 2012, the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon paid a state visit to India. The two countries have been conducting the high-level exchanges in different areas of significance and worked towards security, peace and prosperity of the region. Tajikistan is one of Indias closest partners in the international arena.
THE INDIA SHOW IN PANAMA INAUGURATED

The India Show, Panama was inaugurated on 18 April 2013 by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, D Purandeswari. Enhanced cooperation and engagements between India and Panama were the objectives during the inaugration of the India Show. Apart from this, the discussion on the liberalization of the visa regime between two countries was held. Discussions on signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for trade and economic cooperation between India and Panama were also held. It is important to note that before India Show, Expocomer fair was also held in Panama.
FIRST TEST OF NIRBHAY CRUISE MISSILE ACHIEVED PARTIAL SUCCESS

The first test of Nirbhay cruise missile achieved partial success at Chandipur, Odisha on 12 March 2013. Nirbhay cruise missile was developed by Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) and is one of the most challenging technology projects of India.
ABOUT NIRBHAY CRUISE MISSILE

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Nirbhay cruise missile is the Indian edition of Tomahawk cruise missile if the US military. The Tomahawk cruise missile is the symbol of high-tech warfare. Nirbhay cruise missile is the long-range missile which has the 1000-2000 km range. It is the subsonic cruise missile, which means that it is the below the speed of sound, 1236 kmph. Nirbhay cruise missile is a very important system which flies in heavily-defended enemy airspace.
Nirbhay cruise missile was launched from the Interim Test Range at Chandipur, where most of the military missiles are tested. The missile flew for over 200 km along Odisha coast, but after 15 minutes, it deviated from the path. Though the test was not successful, but it was verified that missile was able to take off with precision.
WHAT IS THE HURDLE IN DEVELOPING LONG-RANGE CRUISE MISSILE?

The major obstacle in development of long-range cruise missile is Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). MTCR forbids the signatories to assist or provide technology to other country that is developing the cruise missile with 300 km or more range. It is important to note that Pakistan is leading in terms of cruise missile. It has successfully
WORLD BANK: INDIA IS THE LARGEST RECIPIENT OF REMITTANCES

India is the largest recipient of remittances in the world, receiving 69 billion US Dollars in 2012, according to the latest edition of the World Banks Migration and Development Brief released on 20 April 2013. India is followed by China (60 billion US dollars), the Philippines (24 billion US dollars), Mexico (23 billion US dollars) and Nigeria and Egypt (21 billion US dollars each). Other large recipients include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Lebanon. World Bank recorded that remittance flows to developing countries grew by 5.3 per cent to reach an estimated 401 billion dollar in 2012.
OTHER MAJOR POINTS OF THE REPORT ARE AS FOLLOWING

Remittances to developing countries are likely to grow by an annual average of 8.8 per cent for the next three years and are expected to reach 515 billion US dollars in 2015. Remittance flows to South Asia have been predicted to increase by 12.8 per cent to 109 billion US dollars in 2012. As a percentage of GDP, the top recipient nations of remittances, in 2011, were Liberia (31 percent), Kyrgyz Republic (29 percent), Nepal (22 percent), Lesotho (27 percent), Tajikistan (47 percent), Moldova (23 percent), and Samoa (21 per cent). Remittance flows to developing nations have more than quadrupled since 2000.
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Global remittances, including those to developed countries, are estimated to have reached USD 514 billion in 2012, in comparison to USD 132 billion in 2000.
E. AHAMED VISITED ALGERIA

Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed officially visited Algeria from 17-18 April, 2013. The main purpose of the visit was to revive and renew the bilateral relations on the occasion of the 50thAnniversary of Algerias Independence and 50 Years of Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between India and Algeria. Algeria is the largest country in Africa and second largest economy with considerable trade existing between India and Algeria to the extent of 2.2 billion of US Dollars. The exports to Algeria have increased manifold to reach 1.1 billion US Dollar in 2012.
MAJOR AREA OF DISCUSSION

The Minister of State also discussed the possibility of signing term contracts for supply of oil and natural gas to India, Algeria being the 4thlargest producer of oil in Africa. Possibility of joint venture in manufacture of gas-based nitrogenous fertilizers for captive export to India was also discussed. A Road Map for further strengthening of areas of bilateral cooperation including political, commercial & economic, human resource development, science & technology etc. were discussed while presenting to the Algerian side.
The Indian side also expressed interest in participating in the Presidential programme for development of infrastructure including social housing, roads & highways, railways and airports. Both the side agreed that a large potential exists for further development of these relations for which the two sides would work together under the Road Map drawn for it.
RUSSIA LAUNCHED WORL DS ONLY RETURNABLE SATELLITE BION-M1

Federal Space Agency Roscosmos, Russia launched the worlds only ret urnable satellite called Bion-M1 on 20 April 2013. The satellite is aimed at biological research in space and for interplanetary flights in future. The Bion-1M satellite was separated from the Soyuz carrier rocket and entered an elliptic orbit at 575 kilometers above the Earth. The satellite carries 45 mice, 15 geckos, eight Mongolian gerbils, snails, and containers with various microorganisms and plants. The satellite will conduct more than 70 physiological, genetic, morphological and molecularbiological experiments during its 30-day flight. Besides, Bion-1M carries a number of Russian
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and foreign microsatellites which will slowly be separated from the spacecraft in the next two days and carry on their individual missions.
EARTHQUAKE OF MAGNITUDE 7 STRUCK SICHUAN PROVINCE OF CHINA

Earthquake that measured 7 on Ritcher Scale killed more than 167 and injured at least 5000 people in Chinas western Sichuan Province on 20 April 2013. The earthquake struck at 8.02 am from Chinese local time. The incident occurred at a distance of less than 100 miles from Chengdu, the Provincial Capital of the region. Seismologists measured that the epicenter of the quake was at a depth of 12 Kilometers below the surface in Yaan City, which is a home to about 1.5 million people . The earthquake left behind a devastating look in form of destroyed and broken houses. More than 700 aftershocks followed the devastating earthquake.
OLDEST KNOWN EUROPEAN MEDIEVAL COOKBOOK DISCOVERED

Researchers in the third week of April 2013 discovered the oldest known European cookbook which dates back to the 12th century. The European cookbook comprises of medical ointments as well as foods. The recipes of the cookbook are written as well as compiled in Latin. These were penned down in the year 1140 at Durham Cathedral's monastery. It is basically a health book and therefore the recipes of the meals were intended to improve the health of a person or to cure the afflictions. Other similar recipes dated back to 1290. Giles Gasper from Durham University's Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies explained that one of the recipes mentioned in the cookbook come from Poitou region, which is now the modern central western France. This indicated towards the fact that international traveling and exchange of the ideas was apparent even in the medieval period. Researchers have decided to compile the translation of this discovered cookbook under title Zinziber, which means ginger.
OLDEST HARBOUR OF THE WORLD DISCOVERED IN EGYPT

The French-Egyptian archaeological mission from French Institute for Archaeological Studies (IFAO) discovered the oldest harbour of the world in Egypt. It is believed that it dates back to 4500 years. The harbour was discovered on Red Sea coast, which is said to be that of Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) in the Fourth Dynasty. This oldest known commercial harbour was discovered at Wadi Al-Jarf area, which is 180 km south of Sueze, Egypt. The team in the meanwhile also discovered the oldest papyri in Egypt. Pierre Tallet, Egyptologist at the University of Paris-Sorbonne and director of the archaeological
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mission explained that the evidences from the site indicate towards the fact that it dates back to over 1000 years any other harbour was known in the world. The harbour is said to be most important commercial ports. From this port, trading trips to export important minerals as well as copper from Sinai were launched. Apart from this port, the archeologists also discovered the collection of vessel anchors which were carved in the stone. Various docks were also discovered. During the excavation, the Minister of State for Antiquities of Egypt, Mohamed Ibrahim announced that overall a collection of 40 papyri which displayed the details of the daily life of Egyptians during 27th year of King Khufu's reign were unearthed. These papyri were extremely important because they shed light on the daily life of ancient Egyptians.
NEW WILD BANANA SPECIES DISCOVERED IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH

The researchers from University of Calicut in the fourth week of April 2013 reported that they have discovered a new subspecies of wild banana, named Musa velutina subsp. markkuana. This subspecies can be developed as an ornamental plant for tropical gardens. This new species of wild banana was discovered in the forests of Arunachal Pradesh, it is characterized by smooth skinned fruits, purple pseudostems, erect maroon-coloured inflorescence and pink fruit. This plant grows under the marshy areas of forests. M Sahu, Head of Department of Botany of University of Claicut led the team of researchers that comprised Alfred Joe and P.E. Sreejith. The sub-species discovered is a part of the project that is funded by the Union Department of Science and Technology. The discovered subspecies can be used as an ornamental variety of plant and carries its commercial value for the cut flower industry. USP of this plant includes freshness that continues to be with it for more than a weeks time and the continuous inflorescence for more than a month. These plants also bear pink and maroon fruits during its fruiting stage. Many fruiting plants from the Balukpong Area, West Kameng district as well as Tezu and Hayulyang region were found by the researchers.
RUSSIA LAUNCHED BION-M CALLED ORBITAL NOAH'S ARK INTO SPACE

Russia on 19 April 2013 launched the bio-satellite (BION-M) called orbital Noah's Ark into space with various living organisms such as 45 mice, 15 geckos, micro-organisms, plants, snails and eight Mongolian gerbils. These living organisms were included in the flight in order to comprehend the effects of such long flights on the living organisms. The latest bio-satellite blasted off aboard Soyuz 2 rocket from Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan. The bio-satellite is on the 30-day mission. During its 30-day mission, the biosatellite will participate in over 70 genetic, biological and physiological experiments, which in turn, will help in preparation for the flights to Mars as well as other planets.
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The results of this satellite will be studied on 18 May 2013 when this satellite will return back to Earth. Among various experiments on the list, one of it includes studying the extra-terrestrial origin theory on Earth. On the outer skin of this satellite, there is an attachment of meteorite-type heat-resistant material that has tiny holes which carry various fungi and bacteria. These microbes will face exposure to freezing temperatures, re-entry heat as well as space vacuum. This is done in order to see whether these microbes can survive their travel through the space. It is worth noticing that Russia resumed the launches of biological satellites after almost 15 years. This BION-M satellite comprises of state-of-the-art sophisticated life-supporting systems along with huge fuel tanks and powerful solar cell panels, which will enable it to fly for up to 3 months.
TOP 10 WEIRD MUSEUMS OF THE WORLD

The Sulabh International Museum of Toilets, Delhi: The Sulabh International Museum of Toilets in the Palam area of Delhi entered the list of top 10 Weird and Unusual museums of the world. The list is compiled by a travel portal, journeymart.com and it also includes the Salems Witch Museum and Washington DCs International Spy Museum.
ABOUT THE SULABH INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF TOILETS

Sulabh International Museum of Toilets was inaugurated in 1992. It has the collection of various toilet seats from different eras. The major highlight of this museum is facsimile of the King Louis the XIVs throne. It is believed that the King used it to defecate when he used to conduct the court sessions. Journeymart.com explained that there are other nine unique museums from all over the world. The list has been compiled by travelling across the museums of the world from past 13 years. Every museum on the list is very unique and different from one other. Ironically, while the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets is housed in Delhi, it is also the state where ratio of one person to the toilet is extremely low.
OTHER MUSEUMS ON THE LIST OF TOP 10 WEIRD AND UNUSUAL MUSEUMS

The International Spy Museum, Washington DC Celebrity Hair Museum, Missouri The Witch Museum, Salem The Chocolate Museum, Cologne, Germany Celebrity Lingerie Hall of Fame, Los Angeles
SELJUK MINARET DESTROYED BY THE PROTESTORS
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Seljuk minaret in The Great Mosque of Aleppo, Syria: Seljuk minaret in The Great Mosque of Aleppo, which was constructed in 1090, was destroyed in Syrian protests on 24 April 2013. The Great Mosque of Aleppo, also known as Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo is largest and also one of the oldest mosques of Aleppo, Syria. This mosque is located in al-Jalloum district of Ancient Aleppo and has also been declared as the World Heritage Site. This mosque was constructed in 8th century but the present building dates back to 13th century apart from the destroyed minaret that was constructed in 1090. It is believed that the mosque is home of remains of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. The activists of President Bashar al-Assad regime and the anti-government activists blamed each other for the destruction of the minaret. It is important to note that this was the second in one week that historic mosque has been damaged seriously. In the protests ongoing in Syria, five out of six World Heritage sites of Syria have already been damaged, according to the UNESCO. Earlier, the protestors broke into the best-preserved Crac des Chevaliers, ruins in the ancient city of Palmyra and Crusader castles of the world. Antique furnishings as well as intricate sculpted colonnades were burnt. Apart from this, the Islamic relics were also ransacked. Also, the looters took away the box that is said to encompass the strand of Prophet Muhammad's hair. The cultural agency of the United Nations- UNESCO warned Syria that civil war was posing threat to rich cultural heritage of the country.
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF ARRESTED IN BHUTTO-MURDER CASE

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Pakistan arrested former President, Pervez Musharraf in relation to the Benazir Bhutto murder case. He was arrested formally by the FIA Deputy Director from his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad. It is important to note that Chak Shahzad has been declared a sub-jail and he would remain there. On 26 April 2013, he would be produced in the Anti Terrorism court in Rawalpindi. Musharraf is under the two-week house arrest because of his decision to sack the judges when in November 2007, he imposed emergency rule. The second case in which he has been facing allegations is in Bhutto murder case. Overall, there are three cases for which he is facing allegations, all of which date back to 1999-2008 rule of Musharraf as the Pakistani President. On 26 April 2013, the FIA will seek physical remand of the former President in the Anti Terrorism court.
LUCKNOW ZARDOZI BECAME A BRAND

The world famous textile embroidery handicraft of Lucknow, Lucknow Zardozi became a fullfledged brand after being accorded with the Geographical Indication (GI) registration by Chennai-based Geographical Indication Registry. www.jagranjosh.com Current Affairs Ebook April 2013
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Lucknow Zardozi is primarily a very intricate needle handicraft work. Lucknow Zardozi has now been registered under the brand of Lucknow Zardozi and its registration has been secured by Kalatmak Handicrafts Self Help Group Foundation, Lucknow. This handicraft has remained traditionally important and prevalent in Lucknow and the six surrounding districts of Barabanki, Sitapur, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Hardoi and Amethi. After the registration of the handicraft, individual stakeholders including the manufacturers, artisans, retailers, exporters etc. in these districts, can now become the authorised user of the brand after paying the requisite fee and getting themselves registered with the Registry. With the GI Registration, the craft now is accredited with the official recognition. This would in turn help the stakeholders in checking imitation, product differentiation as well as derivation of more economic benefits from its trade.
WHAT IS GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION (GI)?

Geographical Indication of any good is defined as aspect of the industrial property that refers to geographical indication referring to any country or a particular place situated therein. It is basically a sign or a name which is used on certain products which relate specifically to a geographical location or the origin, which can be a town, region or the country. Using GI can act as the certification of the product and that it holds certain qualities and enjoys certain reputation because of its geographical origin. India, which is also a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 and it came into force from 15 September 2003.
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE OF ISTANBUL PROCESS HELD IN ALMATY

Almaty: The 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Istanbul Process was held here. Alamty is in Kazakhstan. The 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Istanbul Process was held in Almaty on 26 April 2013. Foreign Affairs Ministers of India, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Russia, UAE and top officials from the other countries as well as representatives of international and regional organizations took part in the conference. The Istanbul Process on Regional Security and Cooperation for Secure and Stable Afghanistan was launched on 2 November 2011 at the foreign ministers meeting in Istanbul. The first ministerial conference on the Istanbul Process was held in Kabul on 14 June 2012.
FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN SERVICES SECTOR DIPS 3.5%
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As per the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) the Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the services sector declined by 3.5 per cent to 4.66 billion US Dollars during the April-January period of fiscal year 2012-13. The financial and non-financial services sector had attracted FDI worth 4.83 billion US Dollars during the same period in the Fiscal year 2012-13. Talking about the FDI, during the AprilJanuary period of 2012-13 financial year, it slumped by 39 per cent to USD 19.10 billion.
IMPORTANT FACTS AND FIGURES TO BE REMEMBERED

In 2011-12, foreign investment in the services rose to 5.21 billion US Dollars from 3.29 billion US Dollars in 2010-11. Service sector contributes over 60 per cent to Indias GDP. The other sectors which have received FDI during April-January 2012-13 include hotel and tourism (3.19 billion US Dollars), metallurgy (1.38 billion US Dollars), construction (1.2 billion USD ) and drugs (1 billion USD) India received maximum FDI from Mauritius (8.17 billion US Dollars), followed by Japan (US1.69 billion Dollars) Singapore (UD 1.82 billion Dollars), the Netherlands (US 1.51 billion Dollars) and the UK (1.04 billion US Dollars).
DUTCH QUEEN BEATRIX ABDICATED; W ALEXANDER IS THE NEW KING

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands abdicated the throne in favour of her son Prince WillemAlexander. She was the queen for the last 33 years. At present, she is 75 years old. Willem-Alexander has now become Netherlands first king, since 1890. Queen Beatrix had announced her decision in January 2013 to step down stating that her son was ready to reign.
EVENTS DURING THE ABDICATION CEREMONY

Queen Beatrix signs the act of abdication at the Royal Palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam King Willem-Alexander is sworn in at the Nieuwe Kerk Performance of the Song for the King was followed by a water pageant
ABOUT WILLEM ALEXANDER

Willem Alexander is the seventh Monarch from the house of the Orange-Nassau. House of Orange-Nassau has ruled the Netherlands, since the 19th Century Along with Nederland, Willem Alexander has become the monarch of Dutch Caribbean territories that include Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten. Before accession to the post he discharged all the military titles that he had by his name. He is the fourth king in the history of Netherlands and first after 1890
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Queen Maxima is the wife of the King Willem Alexander
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Abdication has become the tradition of the monarch in past few decades. Before Willem Alexander, Queen Beatrix took over the thrown after her mother Juliana abdicated the throne in 1980. Before Juliana, her mother Wilhelmina abdicated the thrown in 1948.
QUESTIONS OF THE MONTH

Q.1) India and Saudi Arabia decided to set up a Joint Working Group to address Nitaqat Law. What is Nitaqat law? What will be the other major functions of India and Saudi Arabia? Do you agree that Nitaqat law is against the process of globalization? Q.2) Falkland Islands Voted Unanimously to Stay under British Rule. Where are Falkland Islands located? Describe and discuss the issues of Falkland Islands. Q.3) The Union Finance Ministry on 24 April 2013 launched medi claim facility for the farmers holding Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) issued by Dena Bank. Mention the main features of medi claim facility. How it will benefit the rural economy of India? Q.4) The High Seas, Our Future Conference concluded on 11 April 2013 in Paris. What were the major highlights of the conference? Discuss. Q.5) Write short notes on the following: a) New Keyboard called KAL Q to beat QWERTY b) Kepler-62 f and Kepler-62e c) HFLS3 d) Pig-26 Q.6) The Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) under the Chairmanship of C Rangarajan on 23 January 2013 presented the Economic review 2012-13. Mention the highlights of the Economic review 2012-13.
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PICK OF THE MONTH

JOINT DECLARATION OF INTENT FOR PROMOTION OF GERMAN

MOU ON COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF HIGHER EDUCATION

JOINT DECLARATION OF INTENT ON COOPERATION IN AREA OF CIVIL SECURITY RESEARCH

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JOINT DECLARATION AIMS AT STRENGTHENING COOPERATION

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NUMBER OF JUDGES IN NEXT 5 YEARS TO BE DOUBLED

IMF SLASHED GROWTH RATE OF INDIA TO 5.7% 2013

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GROWTH PROJECTION BY UNION GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

PMEAC PRESENTED ECONOMIC REVIEW 2012-13

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ECONOMIC POLICY REVIEW

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HIGH SEAS CONFERENCE CONCLUDED WITH PARIS APPEAL

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UNDERLINED FACTS BY UNESCO

ARCHEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED GATE TO HELL FROM RUINS IN TURKEY

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FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER MARGARET THATCHER DIED

ABOUT MARGARET THATCHER

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