bruary South African test cricket team captain Graeme Smith has created a unique

record by leading the side in 100th test.As the South African captain Graeme Sm
ith stepped on the field against Pakistan, he became the only captain in the wor
ld to have led the team in 100 test matches.Earlier, the record for captaining i
n most number of test matches was held by former Australian skipper Allan Border
. Allan Border led the Australian test cricket team in 93 test matches. Sourav G
anguly holds the record of captaining Indian test team in most number of test ma
tches. Sourav played as skipper in 49 test matches. Now, Graeme Smith is the onl
y cricketer to play as captain in 100 test matches.
India Won Record 46 Medals in Special Olympics
On 6 February India s differently-abled athletes returned with the largest haul of
medals in the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games at Pyeong Chang, South K
orea.The Indians won 46 medals
13 gold, 17 silver and 16 bronze
from among menta
lly-challenged 2200 athletes from over 120 nations in the Games .India doubled i
ts medal tally from the World Winter Games 2009.The Games are being competed in
eight sports .
Sachin Equaled Sunil Gavaskar s First Class Cricket Record
On 8 February Sachin Tendulkar equaled the record of Sunil Gavaskar of 81 first
class hundreds in first class cricket at Mumbai. He managed to equal Gavaskar s re
cord after scoring an unbeaten 140 runs in Irani Trophy against Rest of India in
the first innings of the tournament of Mumbai team.When he reached 106, Tendulk
ar also completed 25,000 runs in first class cricket.
Wrestling Dropped From 2020 Olympic Games List
On 12 February the International Olympic Committee (IOC) leaders dropped wrestli
ng from the 2020 Olympic Games.Wrestling will be included at the 2016 Olympics i
n Rio de Janeiro.The IOC board acted after reviewing the 26 sports on the curren
t Olympic program. Eliminating one sport allows the IOC to add a new sport to th
e program later this year.Wrestling will now join seven other sports in applying
for inclusion in 2020. The others are a combined bid from baseball and softball
, karate, squash, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu. They wi
ll be vying for a single opening in 2020.The last sports removed from the Olympi
cs were baseball and softball, voted out by the IOC in 2005 and off the program
since the 2008 Beijing Games. Golf and Rugby will be joining the program at the
2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Victoria Azarenka won Qatar Open Tennis Title
On 18 February Defending champion Victoria Azarenka from Belarus defeated Serena
Williams (America) to won the Qatar Open tennis title in the final at Doha.
Sania Mirza won Dubai Tennis Championship Title
On 23 February India s Sania Mirza and her American partner Bethanie-Mattek Sands
won the Dubai Tennis Championship title. The Indo-American duo defeated the seco
nd seeded Russian-Slovenian combination of Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik.
Sania bagged her second Doubles title of the season.
________________________________________
ECONOMY
BHEL and GAIL Granted Maharatna Status
On 1 February The Union Government of India granted Maharatna status to BHEL (Bh
arat Heavy Electricals Ltd ) and GAIL (Gas Authority of India Limited), a develo
pment which will provide them greater financial and functional autonomy and also
ensure better valuation for shares of the two public sector undertakings.Ideall
y any Maharatna firm has a capacity to take investment decision of around 5000 c
rore Rupees without taking assistance from the government. On the other hand, fo
rms with Navratna status have the capability of 1000 crore Rupees.For any compan
y to qualify for Maharatna status, the annual turnover should be over 25000 cror
e Rupees in past three years, as per the guidelines issued by Department of Publ
ic Enterprises.
Per capita Monthly Income Growth Eases to 14% in 2011-12
On 1 February According to the the revised data of national accounts the per cap
ita monthly income, a measure to assess standard of living, grew at a slower rat
e of 13.7 per cent to Rs 5,130 in 2011-12 at current prices compared to Rs 4,513
in 2010-11.On the Gross Domestic Saving (GDS) front, the data revealed that the

growth at current prices in 2011-12 slowed to 30.8 per cent of GDP at market pr
ices against 34 per cent in the previous year.The gross domestic capital formati
on has increased from Rs 28,71,649 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 31,41,465 crore in 2011
- 12 at current prices.It further revealed that the per capita private final con
sumption expenditure (PFCE) at current prices in 2011-12 is estimated at Rs 42,0
65 as against Rs 36,677 in the year 2010-11, showing an increase of 14.7 per cen
t against an increase of 15.7 per cent in the previous year.
Argentina Censured by the IMF for Economic Data
On 3 February The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has censured A