Current Affairs 2/12/12 to 14/12/12
Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 8:27 am
1.US extends Iran sanction waivers to India, others
The US announced the extension of its waiver exempting nine countries including India, China from the American sanctions regime directed against the Iranian oil trade. India got the waiver as it had significantly reduced the crude export from Iran. Previous such waiver was granted in June 2012 which is due to expire in December, 2012.
India has a stated policy of following only UN sanctions and not those imposed unilaterally by countries or block of countries. However, the ramifications of the US sanctions on global financial institutions have forced India to rework its trade equations with Iran which is not just critical to India’s crude oil needs, but is also an important strategic ally.
2.Lok Sabha approves Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011
Lok Sabha approved Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011 which seeks to change the system of debt recovery. The Bill seeks to convert any part of debt of a defaulting company into shares by the asset reconstruction company.
3.European Union receives 2012 Nobel Peace Prize
The 27- nation bloc, the European Union, received 2012Nobel Peace Prize for turning Europe "from a continent of war to a continent of peace" in the wake of two world wars. The award was conferred by Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland to EU President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Martin Schulz in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
4.Wipro’s Sunflower Vanaspati brand sold to Cargill India
Cargill India, US-based food producer and marketer, acquired the Sunflower Vanaspati brand from Bangalore based IT major Wipro. Wipro wanted to get out of its traditional edible oil business. The acquisition is expected to make Cargill, (that processes 4,000 tonne per day) the largest vanaspati player, with Rath, Gemini and Nature Fresh Purita brands in its portfolio.Sunflower Vanaspati is made out of edible vegetable oil and soya oil. The consumption of vanaspati oil is declining as people are choosing refined oil over it because of health concerns.
5.Bhatinda-Srinagar Gas Pipeline project to be accomplished by July 2014
The Bhatinda-Jammu-Srinagar Gas Pipeline Project, which has been recently approved, is scheduled to be completed by July 2014. It will enable J&K to draw gas from Gujarat.
6.WHO instructs India to keep lens on tourist for SARS-like virus
As instructed by the WHO, India is keeping a closewatch on incoming tourists, fearing transmission of a new respiratory virus that belongs to the same family as the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).What is SARS?Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
A serious form of pneumonia caused by a member of the coronavirus family of viruses (the same family that can cause the common cold), so it is also called SARS-CoV.
It infects both humans and animals (livestock, birds, etc.). It had spread like a pandemic in Hong Kong in March 2003, and from there it transmitted to several other countries.
7.Walmart spent $25 million in lobbying to enter Indian retail market.
Global retail major Walmart has reported in its disclosure that it has spent close to USD 25 million (aboutRs.125 crore) since 2008 on its various lobbying activities, including on the issues related to "enhanced market access for investment in India".
The disclosure has come at a time when India has just opened up its multi-brand retail sector for foreign companies after the government won the vote over the FDI policy in retail, in both houses of parliament.
Walmart stores has been waiting for a long time to enter the expanding retail sector in India which is currently of the size of about USD 500 billion and is pegged to cross USD one trillion mark by 2020. The sector is also lucrative as it promises growth of 15-20%over the next 5 years.
In US, the companies are allowed to lobby for their cases in various departments and agencies in the country, but they are required to file their lobbying disclosure reports every quarter with the US Senate.
8.‘Life of Pi’ receives National Tourism Awards
Recently released feature film ‘Life of Pi’, directed by Ang Lee based on Yann Martel book titled the same, has been given two National Tourism Awards by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India recognizing the impact it has had in promoting India as a tourism destination, especially Puducherry and Munnar (Kerala).
These Awards would be given to Mr. Ang Lee, Director of the film ‘Life of Pi’ and Mr. Yann Martel. The award has been given to encourage more and more Film producers from abroad to shoot their films in India.
9.DRDO develops depth detector “Tarangini”
Scientists from the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), a Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) Lab, have developed a device named “Tarangini” which can fathom underwater depth and can also measure the hardness of the bottom surface.
Application: Tarangini can be a handy tool to rescuers as well as paramilitary forces who come across unfamiliar water bodies.
10.Yeddyurappa unveils “Karnataka Janata Party”.
The former Chief Minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa, formally launched his Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) at a convention which gathered huge crowd.
11.Apple joins hands with Google to bid for over $500 million Kodak patents.
Apple Inc. and Google Inc. came together to offer more than $500 million to buy Eastman Kodak Co. (EKDKQ)’s patents out of bankruptcy.
Why Apple and Google came together despite being competitors?
Despite being competitors in the smartphone market, the two companies have joined hands in order to reduce the individual cost of purchasing the Kodak patents, while fulfilling their business requirements.
These kinds of partnerships in patent sales are very typical because they allow competitors to neutralize potential infringement litigation.
12.India plans to ink MLAT with four nations.
India plans to ink Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with four countries namelyOman, Azerbaijan, Israel and Nepal to pursue criminal investigation and confiscation of money or property involved therein.
What is Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT)?
MLAT is an agreement b/w two nations for the aim of collecting and exchanging information in an attempt to implement public laws or criminal laws.
Useful in tax matters (in particular as part of international DTAA. This assistance may take the form of examining and identifying people, places and things, custodial transfers, and providing assistance with the immobilization of the instruments of criminal activity.
13.Lionel Messi creates record for most goals in a year.
Argentinean footballer Lionel Messi, popularly known as "The Flea", broke German great Gerd Mueller’s 40-year-old record for most goals in a year by scoring for the 86thgoal in 2012.
14.Geophysicist Devendra Lal passed away.
Devendra Lal (83), who was a geophysicist and visiting professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) of the University of California, San Diego, has passed away.
15.“IPv6” available in India
The new version internet address “IPv6” is now available in India. This version will provide advantage over previous IPv4 version as it will accommodate larger number of users each assigned with specific address. IPv4 provides limited space and service providers often assign single IP address to many users, making it difficult to identify the end user. But with IPv6, enormous number of distinct IP addresses will be made available making it easier for the security agencies to identify the user.
Who will be responsible for issuing these addresses?
In India these addresses will be assigned by Indian Registry for Internet Names and Numbers (IRINN). These addresses will be many times cheaper than that of IPv4.
16.ISRO to skip December launch for SARAL
ISRO which had slated to launch Indo-French spacecraft "SARAL" on 12-12-12 may skip the launch due to technical issues and additional tests proposed to improve reliability. The launch is now expected in January-February, 2013.
17.The first unit of 2,000-MW Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu was given clearance by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board for the second heat-up. It is expected that the plant could go critical (start the fission process) around December 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to arrive here for the 13th annual India-Russia summit.Achievement of criticality is the major next-to-last step before a nuclear power plant goes on stream. After it is achieved, some more tests would be conducted and then the plant would be ready to generate power. Generation would be scaled up in phases interspersed with tests.
The Kudankulam Plant:Built with Russian collaboration Consists of two units of 1,000 MW each
Russia provided all equipment including the reactor pressure vessel, steam generators and turbines, and will supply the fuel for the entire life of the reactors.
Uses light water both as coolant and moderator.
18.UAE approves extradition pact with India
The UAE cabinet approved an extradition treaty with India which will facilitate the transfer of convicts to spend the remaining jail term in their home country. The agreement is expected to help around 1,200 Indian prisoners who have been languishing in UAE prisons.
As per the extradition agreement, Indian prisoners in the UAE jails, those who have been sentenced, will have a choice to spend the remaining prison term in India.
19.“Cyber Monday”: Google India collaborates with e-Commerce companies to bring in Cyber MondayDecember 11th, 2012
India will celebrate ‘Great Online Shopping Festival’ where shoppers, via online shopping, will be offered best deals from e-Commerce, local & classified, online travel sites and BFSI industry. The concept, which is being brought here by Google India with other e-Commerce companies, is similar to “Cyber Monday” which is observed in majorly in the US and several other countries including Canada, UK, Portugal, Germany, Chile, Colombia, and Japan.
20.Nokia to sell its Finland head office building.
Nokia will sell its headquarter building in Espoo, Finland for $222 million as part of a drive to sell assets. Finnish real estate company Exilion will buy the building located by Baltic Sea. Nokia will lease it back on a "long-term basis".
The company is also in trouble as it recently recorded its sixth consecutive quarterly loss as it proceeds with a vast restructuring programme.
21.FDI in retail passed in the Rajya Sabha also.
The UPA government secured a second victory as FDI in retail was passed in the Rajya Sabha. It had already won vote in Lok Sabha.
As seen by the government, this win will give fillip to implement economic reform agenda seen as crucial to revitalizing growth and slashing a swollen fiscal deficit.
The policy will open paths for foreign supermarkets to come into the country. It will facilitate global retailers such as Wal-Mart to establish shops in the country’s $450 billion retail sector, and is targeted at attracting more overseas investment and controlling inflation.
Why BJP is opposing it?
BJP wants a 26 percent cap set on investment, which was recommended by the standing committee on finance, against the government’s proposed 49 %.
22.SC orders Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs.
The apex court directed Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu and asked the Centre to indicate the time frame within which it would notify the final decision of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal given on February 5, 2007.What was the award given in the final decision of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal?
Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in its final award ruled:Tamil Nadu’s share to be released by Karnataka at the Billigundulu gauging station is 192 tmcft.
From this 192 tmcft, Tamil Nadu will release 7 tmcft to Puducherry.Why the award has not yet been implemented?
To implement the award it is required to be notified in Gazette of India which has not yet been done.
Once this is done, it will come into effect within 90 days of its notification by the Centre.
23.SC dismisses Sangma’s petition against Pranab’s election as President.
The apex court dismissed a petition filed by former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma challenging the election of senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee as President. Chief Justice Altmas Kabir held that Sangma’s petition was not maintainable for regular hearing.
24.ndia reacts to Maldives on GMR issue.
India has conveyed to Maldives that it expected no arbitrary and coercive action should be taken pending the outcome of legal proceedings over the issue and warned that any such action would have serious consequences for bilateral relations.
What is GMR issue?
GMR is an Indian infrastructure major which was given an over $ 500 million contract by Maldivian government ruled by Mohamed Nasheed to upgrade its Male airport and build a new airport terminal. However, the current govt under Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik scrapped the contract. Following the termination, GMR had approached the Singapore High Court which had stayed the scrapping of contract. However, the Maldives government remained defiant and asserted that it would take over the airport from GMR.
25.Australia wins Hockey Champions Trophy, India loses Bronze to Pakistan
Australia won Champions Trophy 2012 by defeating the Netherlands in the finals held in Melbourne, Australia. India lost the chance to capture bronze as it was defeated by Pakistan.
Final Result:
1. Australia: Champions
2. The Netherlands: Silver
3. Pakistan: Bronze
Australia has won Champions trophy for a maximum 13 times.
26.Govt appoints Parthasarathy Shome as adviser to FM
Government of India appointed tax expert Parthasarathy Shome as adviser to Finance Minister P Chidambaram with the rank of Minister of State.
Earlier, he was also appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the Chairman of Committee on General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) which is popular as Shome panel. The committee in its draft report had recommended deferring implementation of GAAR by three years to April 2016. The govt had also sought Committee’s view on the retrospective tax laws amendment which created a controversy as it sought to undo the Supreme Court judgment in the Vodafone case.
27.Voyager 1 enters into “Magnetic Highway”December 10th, 2012
NASA’s spacecraft Voyager 1, which was launched in 1977, has entered into unknown area, which is said to be the edge of the solar system. NASA calls the region a "magnetic highway" where particles from inside the sun’s magnetic sphere zoom out and higher-energy particles (galactic cosmic ray particles) from outside stream in.
Voyager 1 may be very close to entering interstellar space and becoming the first manmade object to leave the Solar System. It is predicted to enter the interstellar medium b/w 2012–15. However, it will take another 40,000 years for it to fly by within 1.6 light years star Gliese 445, which is at present in the constellation Camelopardalis.
But its battery, nuclear powered with plutonium-238, is running out due to which scientists will have to start shutting down its five still functioning devices to let it survive longer. It will be able to send data till 2025.
28.ndia ranked 4th on Global Terrorism Index
As per a newly released index prepared by the Australia-based Institute for Economics & Peace, India stands among one of the top 5 nations most- hit by terrorism in 2011. As per the index the rankings are:
Iraq
Pakistan
Afghanistan
India
Yemen
Only 31 of the 159 countries ranked have not experienced a terrorist attack since 2001.
29.Hyderabad firm develops TCAS for Railways.
A Hyderabad based firm, Hyderabad Batteries Limited (HBL), have developed a new safety device to prevent train collision. The device called Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) was recently tested for its viability.
What is special about this device?
The device puts into use a combination of railway signaling data with radio communications, global position, radio frequency identification devices, software and logic. The system will automatically bring trains to a halt when collision-like situations arise or when the red signal is violated. It can prevent head-on collisions, rear-end collisions, over-speeding of trains and disregard for red signal.
30.Typhoon Bopha hits Philippines severely
Philippines was hit by Typhoon Bopha which caused severe damage to life and property. It killed at least 325 people and damaged electricity supply, roads and bridges. The eastern Mindanao was most severely impacted province.
31.SC gives Sahara more time to repay bond investors
The Supreme Court gave temporary relief to Sahara group when it gave the company more time to repay the money it had raised from investors through bond sales that were later ruled to be illegal.
The court has ordered Sahara to initially deposit Rs.5,120 crore with the capital market regulator (SEBI) and pay the remainder in two installments in January and February.
In its August ruling, the court had given Sahara 90 days time to repay as much as Rs.24,000 crore collected from nearly 30 million mostly small investors, plus interest of 15% a year, to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
The company has also been ordered to furnish detailed documents with the regulator if it had refunded any money collected through the sale of Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures (OFCDs) to investors.
32.India ranked 94th in corruption perception list
Transparency International has ranked India at 94th place in its Corruption Perception Index 2012 (CPI) which enlisted 176 countries.
India scored 36 on a scale from 0 (most corrupt) to 100 (least corrupt). The low score of India is attributed to the recent scams and incidents of corruption in the public sector involving government officials, private officials and private companies.
Denmark, Finland and Switzerland topped the index with a score of 90 followed by Sweden with a score of 88.
Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia scored just 8 to be ranked lowest on the index.
India stood below Sri Lanka and China, while it ranked better than Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
From 2012, the CPI methodology has been updated to provide for year-over-year comparisons.
33.Manmohan, Sonia Gandhi in the list of top 20 ‘most powerful persons’
Forbes magazine has enlisted the name of Indian Premier Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi in list of the top 20 most powerful persons in the world. As per the rankings main positions are as follows:
1: US President Barack Obama
2: German chancellor Angela Merkel
3: Russian President Vladimir Putin
4: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
9: General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping
12: Sonia Gandhi
19: Manmohan Singh
20: Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin
21: Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei
28: Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Kayani
30: UN chief Ban Ki-moon
37: Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani
47: Arcelor Mittal CEO Lakshmi Mittal
44: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
50: Former US President Bill Clinton
34.RBI sets up supervisory colleges for SBI, ICICI
The RBI has for the first time established the ‘Supervisory College’ for cross border supervision of State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank.
What is the role of “Supervisory College”?
The main role of the supervisory college, comprising local and international regulators, is to keep lenders aware of the latest global regulations and to evaluate their worthiness for global operations. This concept was suggested by Basel Committee for Banking Supervision (BCBS) October 2010.
Supervisory college will help in reducing supervisory overlap and filling in supervisory voids for better supervisory co-operation articulated in Basel-2 framework.
35.No curb in Internet freedom: UN telecom head Hamadoun Toure.
UN telecom body (International Telecommunication Union, ITU) head Hamadoun Toure held that internet freedom will not be regulated or curbed. He clarified this in the recently held World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in Dubai.
The objective behind WCIT-12 was to review telecom regulations reached in 1988.
36.India-Japan sign currency swap accord to enhance bilateral trade.
Central banks of India and Japan (The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) respectively) signed a 3-year Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA).
How agreement will help?
Help in addressing short-term liquidity problems
Supplementing the existing international financial arrangements
Strengthening bilateral trade b/w Japan and India
Aid in ensuring financial market stability
This agreement will enable both the countries to swap their local currencies (i.e., either Japanese yen or Indian rupee) against US dollar for an amount up to $15 billion. Previously, the agreement b/w the two nations was limited to $3 billion for a period of three years from June 2008 to June 2011.
37.Government to pour in Rs 4,000-cr capital into SBI.
In order to boost the strength of country’s largest bank, SBI, government is expected to infuse Rs 4,000 in the bank. This will enhance bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) to over 13%.
What is CAR?
CAR is a key indicator of a bank’s financial strength expressed as a ratio of capital to risk-weighted assets.
What is the need for capital infusion in banks?
The capital infusion is necessary to boost up the core capital base of the state-run lenders hit by bad loans and poor asset growth.
38.World’s oldest woman dies at 116
The oldest person on this earth Besse Cooper passed away at the age of 116. She was from Georgia. In 2011, she was chosen as the world’s oldest woman by the Guinness World Records.After her death, the title now belongs to 115-year-old “Dina Manfredini”, of Johnston, Iowa.“Jeanne Calment” of France is the oldest known person of all time who lived to be 122 years old and died in 1997.
39.IOC suspends Indian membership
International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended India’s membership from Olympics. IOC has taken this strict step to stop tainted individual from contesting for top positions of Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
40.Bifurcation of News Corp, Indian to be the CFO.
News Corp would undergo a restructure of the top management of the company. The company has decided that the top management would split into the two publically traded firms. The bifurcation would separate newspapers like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and The Times of London from the fast-growing entertainment unit. Thus there would be one publishing company whose CEO would be Dow Jones editor-in-chief as well as the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, Robert Thomson. The other, named as Fox Group, will be the entertainment and media company. An Indian, Bedi Ajay Singh, who had recently also been at the designation of President, Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer for MGM Studios would be given the role of Chief Financial Officer at the new publishing company.
41.‘Genetic accident’ behind evolution of human intelligence.
As per scientists, a ‘genetic accident’ which occurred around 500 million years ago was the origin of intelligence when the genes that enabled humans to think and reason evolved.
As per new findings, intelligence in humans developed as the result of an increase in the number of brain genes in our evolutionary ancestors.
Scientists also believe that the same genes that improved our mental capacity are also responsible for a number of brain disorders.
The findings say that a simple invertebrate animal living in the sea 500 million years ago went through a ‘genetic accident’, which led to formation of extra copies of these genes. These extra genes benefited the descendents of this animal which gave rise to behaviorally sophisticated vertebrates – including humans.
42.Ponting declares retirement from Test cricket
Ricky Thomas Ponting
Former captain of Australian cricket team, Ricky Ponting has announced retirement from Test cricket. His retirement has come after South Africa defeated Australia in the third test match in Perth to win the series.
Test Matches:
Matches: 168 (equaled Steve Waugh’s mark of 168 Test matches – the most in the history of Australian cricket.)
Runs: 13,366
Centuries: 41 (Second highest after Sachin Tendulkar)
Batting Avg: 51.85
ODIs
Matches: 375
Runs: 13,704
Centuries: 30
Batting Avg: 42.03
43.Ravindra Jadeja becomes first Indian to hit 3 first-class triple centuries
Left-handed batsman Ravidra Jadeja who plays for Saurashtra (first class cricket), created history as he scored 320 not out against Railways at Rajkot and became the first Indian to smash three first-class triple hundreds.
With this Jadeja has also joined the club of Don Bradman, Brian Lara, Bill Ponsford, Wally Hammond, WG Grace, Graeme Hick and Mike Hussey as he became only the eighth man in history to have three 300-plus scores in first-class cricket.
44.Ranjit Sinha becomes CBI Director
Ranjit Sinha, senior IPS officer from 1974-batch Bihar cadre, has taken the charge as the new CBI Director.
45.Lok Sabha clears FDI in retail
Lok Sabha gave the approval to FDI in multi-brand as the opposition motion seeking immediate back down of the decision was rejected convincingly as BSP and SP walked out.The House also rejected the motion seeking amendment to the rules notified by the Reserve Bank under Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) to enable FDI in multi-brand retail.Members of SP and BSP, strength 22 and 21 respectively, did not participate in the voting as they walked out alleging that interests of farmers and small retailers had been ignored.
46.Menon first to visits China after changes in Communist Party of China
India’s National Security Advisor and negotiator in border talks with China, Shiv Shankar Menon, was the first top ranking Indian official to visit China after changes announced in the Communist Party of China.
47.Apple launches iTunes in India.
Apple launched its software-based online digital media store iTunes in India apart from Russia, Turkey, South Africa and 52 additional countries.
48.Rs. 2,490 cr: Tax-exempted income of parties in 5 years
In the last 5 years the tax-exempted income of the 10 main political parties has reached Rs. 2,490 crore.
Section 13A of IT Act 1961 exempts political parties from tax on their income. However, they have to maintain a book of account for donations or income above Rs. 20,000.
49.Researcher solves Sandy Island mystery (A Phantom Island)
Phantom Islands mystery resolved.
The mystery behind the missing of the Sandy Island in the South Pacific, displayed on the world maps as well as Google Earth but did not really exist, has been claimed to be solved by a researcher. A researcher at Auckland Museum after his investigations claimed that the island had never existed.
Origin of the error: The error first crept in 1879, when Australian maritime directory showed the island. These were reported by the masters of a whaling ship from the year 1876.
50.India to safeguard its interest in South China Sea: Navy Chief
India indicated that it will protect its economic interest in the disputed waters of South China Sea and if the need arises India would even send its forces.
China is speedily upgrading its Navy in the region.
India has clearly laid its intentions, that it is not a direct claimant in the South China Sea, but its major concern is the “freedom of navigation in international waters”.
India also has economic interests in the region. For eg: ONGC Videsh has three offshore deepwater blocks, on the southern Vietnamese coast, and invested $600 million in oil and gas exploration in these blocks in the past few years.
51.Anna Ushenina claims world Women’s Chess Championship.
Anna Ushenina of Ukraine defeated Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria to claim the women’s World Championship in Chess.
52.United Nations not to control Internet Freedom
World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from December 3-14, 2012.
UN telecommunications body has clarified that the freedom of the Internet will not be controlled. It was declared in the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in Dubai in order to review the regulations which were introduced in 1988.
The conference also included issue about permission of censorship on legal content.
53.Criminal proceedings in case of Cheque signature mismatch: SC
As per the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, a person may be liable to criminal proceedings if a cheque issued by him gets dishonored mismatch with the specimen signature available with the bank.
54.“CHAMP”: A Missile which can shut down electronics
US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has developed and tested a new missile which uses electromagnetic pulses to target buildings can permanently knock out a country’s electronics without causing any harm to life.
During its test when it zapped over the Utah Test and Training Range, discharging electromagnetic pulses on to targets, it permanently shut down their electronics.
The missile project has been code named Counter-Electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP).
What makes this missile so capable?
The missile carries an electromagnetic pulse cannon, which uses a super-powerful microwave oven to produce a concentrated beam of energy which causes voltage surges in electronic equipment, leaving them useless before surge protectors react.
55.Etheostoma Obama: Freshwater Fish named after Barack Obama
Etheostoma obama, or the spangled darter, is a newly discovered species of relatively skinny orange and blue speckled freshwater fish that has been named after US President Barack Obama due to Barack Obama’s "global vision of environmental protection and conservation".
56.Andhra Pradesh Assembly adopts India’s first legislation on Sub-plans for SCs/STs.
Andhra Pradesh Assembly adopted a Bill to provide legislative support to the Sub-Plans for SCs and STs with a mandatory provision for allocation of nearly a fourth of the State’s annual plan of the budget for them.
With this, AP has become the first State in the country to adopt the law according legal status to the Sub-Plans for SCs and STs as insisted for a long time on States by the Planning Commission and National Development Council (NDC). The legislation will be effective from the State’s 2013-14 budget.
What would this legislation do?
The legislation would convert the Sub-Plans a right of the SCs and STs, mandatory to successive Chief Ministers.
There was no constitutional provision to prevent lapsing of SC/ST funds, as the Assembly was empowered to adopt annual budget merely for one year.
57.Shreya Singhal is a 21-year-old girl from Delhi who came into news as:
she filed public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court calling Section 66(A) of the Information Technology (IT) Act unconstitutional.
She filed the petition after the two girls were arrested in Palghar, Maharashtra for posting on Facebook remarks about Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray’s funeral bringing Mumbai to a halt. The girls were arrested under the IT Act.
58.Visually impaired Indian-American Sachin Dev Pavithran to head US agency for the disabled.
Obama named a visually impaired Indian-American Sachin Dev Pavithran to head an independent US agency devoted to people with disabilities.
Sachin Dev Pavithran will soon become a member of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, the agency which is also known as the Access Board.
The Access Board was established in 1973 to ensure design standards across the US to enable access to the physically impaired.
59.Dr. Joseph Murray who performed first kidney transplant passed away.
American plastic surgeon Dr Joseph Murray (93), the surgeon who operated the first successful kidney transplant and later won a Nobel Prize for his work.
Murray along with his team carried out the first human organ transplant in 1954, taking a kidney from one identical twin and giving it to his twin brother.
Later, Murray also did research to find ways of suppressing a patient’s immune response to prevent it from rejecting foreign tissue. He became a co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1990.
60.Sri Lanka’s first satellite launched by China.
China launched Sri Lanka’s first satellite from western Sichuan province, China.
This shows China’s deepening strategic and economic engagements with Srilanka.
Launch carried out by SupremeSAT, a private company which has an agreement with the Chinese government-run Great Wall Industry Corporation (GWIC).
As per Sri Lankan government there was no state involvement in the launch as it was carried out by a private company.
China is expanding its satellite programme overseas.
The GWIC has launched satellites for a number of countries, including Pakistan, Nigeria, Bolivia and Venezuela.
In 2012, the GWIC launched Pakistan’s first communications satellite PAKSAT-1R satellite.
61.Egyptian parliament passes draft constitution
Parliament of Egypt passed the draft of country’s constitution amid protest. The document with more than 230 articles was voted article by article. The draft is being criticized for its vague language on human rights, minority rights and freedom of expression, as well as its concentration on enshrining sharia law as the basis for legislature. It also safeguards army privileges that revolutionary forces want annulled, including the ability to try civilians in military courts.
The US announced the extension of its waiver exempting nine countries including India, China from the American sanctions regime directed against the Iranian oil trade. India got the waiver as it had significantly reduced the crude export from Iran. Previous such waiver was granted in June 2012 which is due to expire in December, 2012.
India has a stated policy of following only UN sanctions and not those imposed unilaterally by countries or block of countries. However, the ramifications of the US sanctions on global financial institutions have forced India to rework its trade equations with Iran which is not just critical to India’s crude oil needs, but is also an important strategic ally.
2.Lok Sabha approves Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011
Lok Sabha approved Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011 which seeks to change the system of debt recovery. The Bill seeks to convert any part of debt of a defaulting company into shares by the asset reconstruction company.
3.European Union receives 2012 Nobel Peace Prize
The 27- nation bloc, the European Union, received 2012Nobel Peace Prize for turning Europe "from a continent of war to a continent of peace" in the wake of two world wars. The award was conferred by Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland to EU President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Martin Schulz in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
4.Wipro’s Sunflower Vanaspati brand sold to Cargill India
Cargill India, US-based food producer and marketer, acquired the Sunflower Vanaspati brand from Bangalore based IT major Wipro. Wipro wanted to get out of its traditional edible oil business. The acquisition is expected to make Cargill, (that processes 4,000 tonne per day) the largest vanaspati player, with Rath, Gemini and Nature Fresh Purita brands in its portfolio.Sunflower Vanaspati is made out of edible vegetable oil and soya oil. The consumption of vanaspati oil is declining as people are choosing refined oil over it because of health concerns.
5.Bhatinda-Srinagar Gas Pipeline project to be accomplished by July 2014
The Bhatinda-Jammu-Srinagar Gas Pipeline Project, which has been recently approved, is scheduled to be completed by July 2014. It will enable J&K to draw gas from Gujarat.
6.WHO instructs India to keep lens on tourist for SARS-like virus
As instructed by the WHO, India is keeping a closewatch on incoming tourists, fearing transmission of a new respiratory virus that belongs to the same family as the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).What is SARS?Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
A serious form of pneumonia caused by a member of the coronavirus family of viruses (the same family that can cause the common cold), so it is also called SARS-CoV.
It infects both humans and animals (livestock, birds, etc.). It had spread like a pandemic in Hong Kong in March 2003, and from there it transmitted to several other countries.
7.Walmart spent $25 million in lobbying to enter Indian retail market.
Global retail major Walmart has reported in its disclosure that it has spent close to USD 25 million (aboutRs.125 crore) since 2008 on its various lobbying activities, including on the issues related to "enhanced market access for investment in India".
The disclosure has come at a time when India has just opened up its multi-brand retail sector for foreign companies after the government won the vote over the FDI policy in retail, in both houses of parliament.
Walmart stores has been waiting for a long time to enter the expanding retail sector in India which is currently of the size of about USD 500 billion and is pegged to cross USD one trillion mark by 2020. The sector is also lucrative as it promises growth of 15-20%over the next 5 years.
In US, the companies are allowed to lobby for their cases in various departments and agencies in the country, but they are required to file their lobbying disclosure reports every quarter with the US Senate.
8.‘Life of Pi’ receives National Tourism Awards
Recently released feature film ‘Life of Pi’, directed by Ang Lee based on Yann Martel book titled the same, has been given two National Tourism Awards by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India recognizing the impact it has had in promoting India as a tourism destination, especially Puducherry and Munnar (Kerala).
These Awards would be given to Mr. Ang Lee, Director of the film ‘Life of Pi’ and Mr. Yann Martel. The award has been given to encourage more and more Film producers from abroad to shoot their films in India.
9.DRDO develops depth detector “Tarangini”
Scientists from the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), a Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) Lab, have developed a device named “Tarangini” which can fathom underwater depth and can also measure the hardness of the bottom surface.
Application: Tarangini can be a handy tool to rescuers as well as paramilitary forces who come across unfamiliar water bodies.
10.Yeddyurappa unveils “Karnataka Janata Party”.
The former Chief Minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa, formally launched his Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) at a convention which gathered huge crowd.
11.Apple joins hands with Google to bid for over $500 million Kodak patents.
Apple Inc. and Google Inc. came together to offer more than $500 million to buy Eastman Kodak Co. (EKDKQ)’s patents out of bankruptcy.
Why Apple and Google came together despite being competitors?
Despite being competitors in the smartphone market, the two companies have joined hands in order to reduce the individual cost of purchasing the Kodak patents, while fulfilling their business requirements.
These kinds of partnerships in patent sales are very typical because they allow competitors to neutralize potential infringement litigation.
12.India plans to ink MLAT with four nations.
India plans to ink Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with four countries namelyOman, Azerbaijan, Israel and Nepal to pursue criminal investigation and confiscation of money or property involved therein.
What is Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT)?
MLAT is an agreement b/w two nations for the aim of collecting and exchanging information in an attempt to implement public laws or criminal laws.
Useful in tax matters (in particular as part of international DTAA. This assistance may take the form of examining and identifying people, places and things, custodial transfers, and providing assistance with the immobilization of the instruments of criminal activity.
13.Lionel Messi creates record for most goals in a year.
Argentinean footballer Lionel Messi, popularly known as "The Flea", broke German great Gerd Mueller’s 40-year-old record for most goals in a year by scoring for the 86thgoal in 2012.
14.Geophysicist Devendra Lal passed away.
Devendra Lal (83), who was a geophysicist and visiting professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) of the University of California, San Diego, has passed away.
15.“IPv6” available in India
The new version internet address “IPv6” is now available in India. This version will provide advantage over previous IPv4 version as it will accommodate larger number of users each assigned with specific address. IPv4 provides limited space and service providers often assign single IP address to many users, making it difficult to identify the end user. But with IPv6, enormous number of distinct IP addresses will be made available making it easier for the security agencies to identify the user.
Who will be responsible for issuing these addresses?
In India these addresses will be assigned by Indian Registry for Internet Names and Numbers (IRINN). These addresses will be many times cheaper than that of IPv4.
16.ISRO to skip December launch for SARAL
ISRO which had slated to launch Indo-French spacecraft "SARAL" on 12-12-12 may skip the launch due to technical issues and additional tests proposed to improve reliability. The launch is now expected in January-February, 2013.
17.The first unit of 2,000-MW Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu was given clearance by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board for the second heat-up. It is expected that the plant could go critical (start the fission process) around December 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to arrive here for the 13th annual India-Russia summit.Achievement of criticality is the major next-to-last step before a nuclear power plant goes on stream. After it is achieved, some more tests would be conducted and then the plant would be ready to generate power. Generation would be scaled up in phases interspersed with tests.
The Kudankulam Plant:Built with Russian collaboration Consists of two units of 1,000 MW each
Russia provided all equipment including the reactor pressure vessel, steam generators and turbines, and will supply the fuel for the entire life of the reactors.
Uses light water both as coolant and moderator.
18.UAE approves extradition pact with India
The UAE cabinet approved an extradition treaty with India which will facilitate the transfer of convicts to spend the remaining jail term in their home country. The agreement is expected to help around 1,200 Indian prisoners who have been languishing in UAE prisons.
As per the extradition agreement, Indian prisoners in the UAE jails, those who have been sentenced, will have a choice to spend the remaining prison term in India.
19.“Cyber Monday”: Google India collaborates with e-Commerce companies to bring in Cyber MondayDecember 11th, 2012
India will celebrate ‘Great Online Shopping Festival’ where shoppers, via online shopping, will be offered best deals from e-Commerce, local & classified, online travel sites and BFSI industry. The concept, which is being brought here by Google India with other e-Commerce companies, is similar to “Cyber Monday” which is observed in majorly in the US and several other countries including Canada, UK, Portugal, Germany, Chile, Colombia, and Japan.
20.Nokia to sell its Finland head office building.
Nokia will sell its headquarter building in Espoo, Finland for $222 million as part of a drive to sell assets. Finnish real estate company Exilion will buy the building located by Baltic Sea. Nokia will lease it back on a "long-term basis".
The company is also in trouble as it recently recorded its sixth consecutive quarterly loss as it proceeds with a vast restructuring programme.
21.FDI in retail passed in the Rajya Sabha also.
The UPA government secured a second victory as FDI in retail was passed in the Rajya Sabha. It had already won vote in Lok Sabha.
As seen by the government, this win will give fillip to implement economic reform agenda seen as crucial to revitalizing growth and slashing a swollen fiscal deficit.
The policy will open paths for foreign supermarkets to come into the country. It will facilitate global retailers such as Wal-Mart to establish shops in the country’s $450 billion retail sector, and is targeted at attracting more overseas investment and controlling inflation.
Why BJP is opposing it?
BJP wants a 26 percent cap set on investment, which was recommended by the standing committee on finance, against the government’s proposed 49 %.
22.SC orders Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs.
The apex court directed Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu and asked the Centre to indicate the time frame within which it would notify the final decision of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal given on February 5, 2007.What was the award given in the final decision of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal?
Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in its final award ruled:Tamil Nadu’s share to be released by Karnataka at the Billigundulu gauging station is 192 tmcft.
From this 192 tmcft, Tamil Nadu will release 7 tmcft to Puducherry.Why the award has not yet been implemented?
To implement the award it is required to be notified in Gazette of India which has not yet been done.
Once this is done, it will come into effect within 90 days of its notification by the Centre.
23.SC dismisses Sangma’s petition against Pranab’s election as President.
The apex court dismissed a petition filed by former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma challenging the election of senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee as President. Chief Justice Altmas Kabir held that Sangma’s petition was not maintainable for regular hearing.
24.ndia reacts to Maldives on GMR issue.
India has conveyed to Maldives that it expected no arbitrary and coercive action should be taken pending the outcome of legal proceedings over the issue and warned that any such action would have serious consequences for bilateral relations.
What is GMR issue?
GMR is an Indian infrastructure major which was given an over $ 500 million contract by Maldivian government ruled by Mohamed Nasheed to upgrade its Male airport and build a new airport terminal. However, the current govt under Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik scrapped the contract. Following the termination, GMR had approached the Singapore High Court which had stayed the scrapping of contract. However, the Maldives government remained defiant and asserted that it would take over the airport from GMR.
25.Australia wins Hockey Champions Trophy, India loses Bronze to Pakistan
Australia won Champions Trophy 2012 by defeating the Netherlands in the finals held in Melbourne, Australia. India lost the chance to capture bronze as it was defeated by Pakistan.
Final Result:
1. Australia: Champions
2. The Netherlands: Silver
3. Pakistan: Bronze
Australia has won Champions trophy for a maximum 13 times.
26.Govt appoints Parthasarathy Shome as adviser to FM
Government of India appointed tax expert Parthasarathy Shome as adviser to Finance Minister P Chidambaram with the rank of Minister of State.
Earlier, he was also appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the Chairman of Committee on General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) which is popular as Shome panel. The committee in its draft report had recommended deferring implementation of GAAR by three years to April 2016. The govt had also sought Committee’s view on the retrospective tax laws amendment which created a controversy as it sought to undo the Supreme Court judgment in the Vodafone case.
27.Voyager 1 enters into “Magnetic Highway”December 10th, 2012
NASA’s spacecraft Voyager 1, which was launched in 1977, has entered into unknown area, which is said to be the edge of the solar system. NASA calls the region a "magnetic highway" where particles from inside the sun’s magnetic sphere zoom out and higher-energy particles (galactic cosmic ray particles) from outside stream in.
Voyager 1 may be very close to entering interstellar space and becoming the first manmade object to leave the Solar System. It is predicted to enter the interstellar medium b/w 2012–15. However, it will take another 40,000 years for it to fly by within 1.6 light years star Gliese 445, which is at present in the constellation Camelopardalis.
But its battery, nuclear powered with plutonium-238, is running out due to which scientists will have to start shutting down its five still functioning devices to let it survive longer. It will be able to send data till 2025.
28.ndia ranked 4th on Global Terrorism Index
As per a newly released index prepared by the Australia-based Institute for Economics & Peace, India stands among one of the top 5 nations most- hit by terrorism in 2011. As per the index the rankings are:
Iraq
Pakistan
Afghanistan
India
Yemen
Only 31 of the 159 countries ranked have not experienced a terrorist attack since 2001.
29.Hyderabad firm develops TCAS for Railways.
A Hyderabad based firm, Hyderabad Batteries Limited (HBL), have developed a new safety device to prevent train collision. The device called Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) was recently tested for its viability.
What is special about this device?
The device puts into use a combination of railway signaling data with radio communications, global position, radio frequency identification devices, software and logic. The system will automatically bring trains to a halt when collision-like situations arise or when the red signal is violated. It can prevent head-on collisions, rear-end collisions, over-speeding of trains and disregard for red signal.
30.Typhoon Bopha hits Philippines severely
Philippines was hit by Typhoon Bopha which caused severe damage to life and property. It killed at least 325 people and damaged electricity supply, roads and bridges. The eastern Mindanao was most severely impacted province.
31.SC gives Sahara more time to repay bond investors
The Supreme Court gave temporary relief to Sahara group when it gave the company more time to repay the money it had raised from investors through bond sales that were later ruled to be illegal.
The court has ordered Sahara to initially deposit Rs.5,120 crore with the capital market regulator (SEBI) and pay the remainder in two installments in January and February.
In its August ruling, the court had given Sahara 90 days time to repay as much as Rs.24,000 crore collected from nearly 30 million mostly small investors, plus interest of 15% a year, to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
The company has also been ordered to furnish detailed documents with the regulator if it had refunded any money collected through the sale of Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures (OFCDs) to investors.
32.India ranked 94th in corruption perception list
Transparency International has ranked India at 94th place in its Corruption Perception Index 2012 (CPI) which enlisted 176 countries.
India scored 36 on a scale from 0 (most corrupt) to 100 (least corrupt). The low score of India is attributed to the recent scams and incidents of corruption in the public sector involving government officials, private officials and private companies.
Denmark, Finland and Switzerland topped the index with a score of 90 followed by Sweden with a score of 88.
Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia scored just 8 to be ranked lowest on the index.
India stood below Sri Lanka and China, while it ranked better than Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
From 2012, the CPI methodology has been updated to provide for year-over-year comparisons.
33.Manmohan, Sonia Gandhi in the list of top 20 ‘most powerful persons’
Forbes magazine has enlisted the name of Indian Premier Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi in list of the top 20 most powerful persons in the world. As per the rankings main positions are as follows:
1: US President Barack Obama
2: German chancellor Angela Merkel
3: Russian President Vladimir Putin
4: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
9: General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping
12: Sonia Gandhi
19: Manmohan Singh
20: Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin
21: Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei
28: Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Kayani
30: UN chief Ban Ki-moon
37: Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani
47: Arcelor Mittal CEO Lakshmi Mittal
44: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
50: Former US President Bill Clinton
34.RBI sets up supervisory colleges for SBI, ICICI
The RBI has for the first time established the ‘Supervisory College’ for cross border supervision of State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank.
What is the role of “Supervisory College”?
The main role of the supervisory college, comprising local and international regulators, is to keep lenders aware of the latest global regulations and to evaluate their worthiness for global operations. This concept was suggested by Basel Committee for Banking Supervision (BCBS) October 2010.
Supervisory college will help in reducing supervisory overlap and filling in supervisory voids for better supervisory co-operation articulated in Basel-2 framework.
35.No curb in Internet freedom: UN telecom head Hamadoun Toure.
UN telecom body (International Telecommunication Union, ITU) head Hamadoun Toure held that internet freedom will not be regulated or curbed. He clarified this in the recently held World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in Dubai.
The objective behind WCIT-12 was to review telecom regulations reached in 1988.
36.India-Japan sign currency swap accord to enhance bilateral trade.
Central banks of India and Japan (The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) respectively) signed a 3-year Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA).
How agreement will help?
Help in addressing short-term liquidity problems
Supplementing the existing international financial arrangements
Strengthening bilateral trade b/w Japan and India
Aid in ensuring financial market stability
This agreement will enable both the countries to swap their local currencies (i.e., either Japanese yen or Indian rupee) against US dollar for an amount up to $15 billion. Previously, the agreement b/w the two nations was limited to $3 billion for a period of three years from June 2008 to June 2011.
37.Government to pour in Rs 4,000-cr capital into SBI.
In order to boost the strength of country’s largest bank, SBI, government is expected to infuse Rs 4,000 in the bank. This will enhance bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) to over 13%.
What is CAR?
CAR is a key indicator of a bank’s financial strength expressed as a ratio of capital to risk-weighted assets.
What is the need for capital infusion in banks?
The capital infusion is necessary to boost up the core capital base of the state-run lenders hit by bad loans and poor asset growth.
38.World’s oldest woman dies at 116
The oldest person on this earth Besse Cooper passed away at the age of 116. She was from Georgia. In 2011, she was chosen as the world’s oldest woman by the Guinness World Records.After her death, the title now belongs to 115-year-old “Dina Manfredini”, of Johnston, Iowa.“Jeanne Calment” of France is the oldest known person of all time who lived to be 122 years old and died in 1997.
39.IOC suspends Indian membership
International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended India’s membership from Olympics. IOC has taken this strict step to stop tainted individual from contesting for top positions of Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
40.Bifurcation of News Corp, Indian to be the CFO.
News Corp would undergo a restructure of the top management of the company. The company has decided that the top management would split into the two publically traded firms. The bifurcation would separate newspapers like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and The Times of London from the fast-growing entertainment unit. Thus there would be one publishing company whose CEO would be Dow Jones editor-in-chief as well as the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, Robert Thomson. The other, named as Fox Group, will be the entertainment and media company. An Indian, Bedi Ajay Singh, who had recently also been at the designation of President, Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer for MGM Studios would be given the role of Chief Financial Officer at the new publishing company.
41.‘Genetic accident’ behind evolution of human intelligence.
As per scientists, a ‘genetic accident’ which occurred around 500 million years ago was the origin of intelligence when the genes that enabled humans to think and reason evolved.
As per new findings, intelligence in humans developed as the result of an increase in the number of brain genes in our evolutionary ancestors.
Scientists also believe that the same genes that improved our mental capacity are also responsible for a number of brain disorders.
The findings say that a simple invertebrate animal living in the sea 500 million years ago went through a ‘genetic accident’, which led to formation of extra copies of these genes. These extra genes benefited the descendents of this animal which gave rise to behaviorally sophisticated vertebrates – including humans.
42.Ponting declares retirement from Test cricket
Ricky Thomas Ponting
Former captain of Australian cricket team, Ricky Ponting has announced retirement from Test cricket. His retirement has come after South Africa defeated Australia in the third test match in Perth to win the series.
Test Matches:
Matches: 168 (equaled Steve Waugh’s mark of 168 Test matches – the most in the history of Australian cricket.)
Runs: 13,366
Centuries: 41 (Second highest after Sachin Tendulkar)
Batting Avg: 51.85
ODIs
Matches: 375
Runs: 13,704
Centuries: 30
Batting Avg: 42.03
43.Ravindra Jadeja becomes first Indian to hit 3 first-class triple centuries
Left-handed batsman Ravidra Jadeja who plays for Saurashtra (first class cricket), created history as he scored 320 not out against Railways at Rajkot and became the first Indian to smash three first-class triple hundreds.
With this Jadeja has also joined the club of Don Bradman, Brian Lara, Bill Ponsford, Wally Hammond, WG Grace, Graeme Hick and Mike Hussey as he became only the eighth man in history to have three 300-plus scores in first-class cricket.
44.Ranjit Sinha becomes CBI Director
Ranjit Sinha, senior IPS officer from 1974-batch Bihar cadre, has taken the charge as the new CBI Director.
45.Lok Sabha clears FDI in retail
Lok Sabha gave the approval to FDI in multi-brand as the opposition motion seeking immediate back down of the decision was rejected convincingly as BSP and SP walked out.The House also rejected the motion seeking amendment to the rules notified by the Reserve Bank under Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) to enable FDI in multi-brand retail.Members of SP and BSP, strength 22 and 21 respectively, did not participate in the voting as they walked out alleging that interests of farmers and small retailers had been ignored.
46.Menon first to visits China after changes in Communist Party of China
India’s National Security Advisor and negotiator in border talks with China, Shiv Shankar Menon, was the first top ranking Indian official to visit China after changes announced in the Communist Party of China.
47.Apple launches iTunes in India.
Apple launched its software-based online digital media store iTunes in India apart from Russia, Turkey, South Africa and 52 additional countries.
48.Rs. 2,490 cr: Tax-exempted income of parties in 5 years
In the last 5 years the tax-exempted income of the 10 main political parties has reached Rs. 2,490 crore.
Section 13A of IT Act 1961 exempts political parties from tax on their income. However, they have to maintain a book of account for donations or income above Rs. 20,000.
49.Researcher solves Sandy Island mystery (A Phantom Island)
Phantom Islands mystery resolved.
The mystery behind the missing of the Sandy Island in the South Pacific, displayed on the world maps as well as Google Earth but did not really exist, has been claimed to be solved by a researcher. A researcher at Auckland Museum after his investigations claimed that the island had never existed.
Origin of the error: The error first crept in 1879, when Australian maritime directory showed the island. These were reported by the masters of a whaling ship from the year 1876.
50.India to safeguard its interest in South China Sea: Navy Chief
India indicated that it will protect its economic interest in the disputed waters of South China Sea and if the need arises India would even send its forces.
China is speedily upgrading its Navy in the region.
India has clearly laid its intentions, that it is not a direct claimant in the South China Sea, but its major concern is the “freedom of navigation in international waters”.
India also has economic interests in the region. For eg: ONGC Videsh has three offshore deepwater blocks, on the southern Vietnamese coast, and invested $600 million in oil and gas exploration in these blocks in the past few years.
51.Anna Ushenina claims world Women’s Chess Championship.
Anna Ushenina of Ukraine defeated Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria to claim the women’s World Championship in Chess.
52.United Nations not to control Internet Freedom
World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from December 3-14, 2012.
UN telecommunications body has clarified that the freedom of the Internet will not be controlled. It was declared in the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in Dubai in order to review the regulations which were introduced in 1988.
The conference also included issue about permission of censorship on legal content.
53.Criminal proceedings in case of Cheque signature mismatch: SC
As per the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, a person may be liable to criminal proceedings if a cheque issued by him gets dishonored mismatch with the specimen signature available with the bank.
54.“CHAMP”: A Missile which can shut down electronics
US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has developed and tested a new missile which uses electromagnetic pulses to target buildings can permanently knock out a country’s electronics without causing any harm to life.
During its test when it zapped over the Utah Test and Training Range, discharging electromagnetic pulses on to targets, it permanently shut down their electronics.
The missile project has been code named Counter-Electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP).
What makes this missile so capable?
The missile carries an electromagnetic pulse cannon, which uses a super-powerful microwave oven to produce a concentrated beam of energy which causes voltage surges in electronic equipment, leaving them useless before surge protectors react.
55.Etheostoma Obama: Freshwater Fish named after Barack Obama
Etheostoma obama, or the spangled darter, is a newly discovered species of relatively skinny orange and blue speckled freshwater fish that has been named after US President Barack Obama due to Barack Obama’s "global vision of environmental protection and conservation".
56.Andhra Pradesh Assembly adopts India’s first legislation on Sub-plans for SCs/STs.
Andhra Pradesh Assembly adopted a Bill to provide legislative support to the Sub-Plans for SCs and STs with a mandatory provision for allocation of nearly a fourth of the State’s annual plan of the budget for them.
With this, AP has become the first State in the country to adopt the law according legal status to the Sub-Plans for SCs and STs as insisted for a long time on States by the Planning Commission and National Development Council (NDC). The legislation will be effective from the State’s 2013-14 budget.
What would this legislation do?
The legislation would convert the Sub-Plans a right of the SCs and STs, mandatory to successive Chief Ministers.
There was no constitutional provision to prevent lapsing of SC/ST funds, as the Assembly was empowered to adopt annual budget merely for one year.
57.Shreya Singhal is a 21-year-old girl from Delhi who came into news as:
she filed public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court calling Section 66(A) of the Information Technology (IT) Act unconstitutional.
She filed the petition after the two girls were arrested in Palghar, Maharashtra for posting on Facebook remarks about Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray’s funeral bringing Mumbai to a halt. The girls were arrested under the IT Act.
58.Visually impaired Indian-American Sachin Dev Pavithran to head US agency for the disabled.
Obama named a visually impaired Indian-American Sachin Dev Pavithran to head an independent US agency devoted to people with disabilities.
Sachin Dev Pavithran will soon become a member of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, the agency which is also known as the Access Board.
The Access Board was established in 1973 to ensure design standards across the US to enable access to the physically impaired.
59.Dr. Joseph Murray who performed first kidney transplant passed away.
American plastic surgeon Dr Joseph Murray (93), the surgeon who operated the first successful kidney transplant and later won a Nobel Prize for his work.
Murray along with his team carried out the first human organ transplant in 1954, taking a kidney from one identical twin and giving it to his twin brother.
Later, Murray also did research to find ways of suppressing a patient’s immune response to prevent it from rejecting foreign tissue. He became a co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1990.
60.Sri Lanka’s first satellite launched by China.
China launched Sri Lanka’s first satellite from western Sichuan province, China.
This shows China’s deepening strategic and economic engagements with Srilanka.
Launch carried out by SupremeSAT, a private company which has an agreement with the Chinese government-run Great Wall Industry Corporation (GWIC).
As per Sri Lankan government there was no state involvement in the launch as it was carried out by a private company.
China is expanding its satellite programme overseas.
The GWIC has launched satellites for a number of countries, including Pakistan, Nigeria, Bolivia and Venezuela.
In 2012, the GWIC launched Pakistan’s first communications satellite PAKSAT-1R satellite.
61.Egyptian parliament passes draft constitution
Parliament of Egypt passed the draft of country’s constitution amid protest. The document with more than 230 articles was voted article by article. The draft is being criticized for its vague language on human rights, minority rights and freedom of expression, as well as its concentration on enshrining sharia law as the basis for legislature. It also safeguards army privileges that revolutionary forces want annulled, including the ability to try civilians in military courts.