WBCSMadeEasy

1.Promoting the National e-Governance Plan, the Govt the launch of an eBiz portal which will offer Government-to-Business (G2B) services for India’s investor and business communities.Developed by: Infosys in a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) mode.

2.Hindustani vocalist Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan (105) has become the oldest person to be chosen for this year’s Padma Shri award.
Previously, in 2011, India’s first woman photo-journalist Homai Vyarawala was honoured with the Padma Vibushan at the age of 97. She passed away in 2012.

3.South-India playback singer Sreeramamurthy Janaki refused to accept Padma Bhushan award announced for her on the eve of 64thRepublic Day. She did this showing her dissatisfaction over the number of people from South India chosen for Padma awards list for 2013.

4.India and Bangladesh inked a liberalized visa agreement and a significant extradition pact that would pave the way for the deportation of jailed ULFA ‘general secretary’ Anup Chetia and other wanted criminals.

5.Mumbai won its 40th Ranji trophy after beating Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy finals at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

6.Iran has claimed that it has successfully sent a monkey into space, boasting the launch as another step toward Tehran’s aspirations of a manned space flight.
As per reports, the rocket dubbed Pishgam (Farsi for ‘pioneer’), reached a height of 120 km. The monkey is learnt to have returned to earth safely.

7.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) eased its tight monetary policy by slashing its key interest rates by 0.25% and released Rs 18,000 crore additional liquidity into the system to stimulate growth through reduced cost of borrowing.
RBI cut the Repo Rate by 0.25% to 7.75% and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by similar margin to 4%.
The cut in repo rate is expected to bring down the borrowing rates individuals and corporate. The slash in CRR, which is the portion of deposits that banks have to keep with RBI, would enhance the availability of funds.
The RBI, however, has cut down the growth projections for the current financial year to 5.5% from its earlier estimate of 5.8%.

8.World’s oldest marathon runner, 101-year-old Fauja Singh, from Ilford, east London, has announced retirement from the sport after taking part in the after Hong Kong marathon which will be held in February 2013. Singh is fondly known as ‘Turbaned Tornado’ among his fans.

9.Dutch banking and insurance group ING has decided to sell its 26% stake in an Indian insurance venture to local partner Exide Industries.
ING is in the process of selling all its Asian insurance and investment management operations. Exide would acquire ING’s 26 % percent in ING Vysya. It would also buy 24% from two other private Indian investors – Enam Group and Hemendra Kothari Group – for a total of about 5.5 billion rupees ($102 million).

10.The Union Cabinet gave its nod to the appointment of a one-man Committee into the media reports alleging Wal-Mart of lobbying activities

11.India’s capital New Delhi has got rid of Leprosy as a public health problem, as the incidence rate of leprosy has declined from 4.5 cases per 10,000 of population in 2001 to 0.8 cases at present.

12.As per the projections of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India’s economy is expected to expand at the rate of 5.9% in 2013 and a higher growth of 6.4% in 2014 in line with the modest strengthening of global economic outlook.

13.India and Rawanda inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on bilateral co-operation in Water Resources Development and Management. The pact targets various areas of co-operation with focus on planning, design and implementation of marshland and hillside irrigation, watershed management, water governance, and training and capacity building of farmers and functionaries in the water sector.

14.Major Abup J Manjali of the Rashtriya Rifles has been awarded the Kirti Chakra on this Republic Day for the exhibition of exceptional valor in counter- terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
Manjali is the only soldier to be awarded the second- highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra on this Republic Day.

15.Wild card entrants Jarmila Gajdosova and Matthew Ebden combined to won the Australian Open mixed doubles title with a win over Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak in the finals.

16.The Serbian professional tennis player Novak Djokovic became the first man to win three successive Australian Open titles in the professional era when he beat Andy Murray in the finals of men’s singles at Australian Open 2013.

17.American siblings Bob and Mike Bryan clinched the men’s doubles title in Australian Open 2013. The pair defeated the Dutch team of Robin Haase and Igor Sijsling to win their record 13th Grand Slam doubles title.

18.Belarus’ tennis star Victoria Azarenka vanquished Chinese opponent Li Na to clinch the 2013 title of Australian Open for the second successive time.

19.Garima II which is world’s first cloned buffalo has delivered a healthy and normal calf at the Karnal-based National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI).
The calf, named Mahima, was born through ‘hand-guided cloning technique’. It is the first calf born from a cloned buffalo in the world. Garima II was inseminated with frozen-thawed semen of a progeny tested bull of NDRI.

20.Minister for Labour and Employment, Planning and Development, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra has said that Sher-e-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for Youth (SKEWPY) is a right initiative to address the unemployment problem in Jammu and Kashmir.

21.Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan stood at the pinnacle of inaugural Forbes India Celebrity 100 list.
The 2nd spot was held by Salman Khan, while Indian cricket skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni stood at the 3rd place in the list.
Top 3 earners during October 2011 to September 2012:
Shah Rukh Khan- Rs 202.8 crore.
Salman Khan – Rs 144.2 crore
Dhoni – Rs 135.16 crore

22.As per Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India would test fire sub-sonic, medium range cruise missile Nirbhay in Feb 2013. The missile is being developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a DRDO lab.
Nirbhay:
All-weather low-cost medium-range cruise missile with stealth and high accuracy.
Range of 1,000 km.

23.The Co-Chairman of Astonfield Renewable Resources Ltd, Ameet Shah, has been appointed to the US Department of Commerce’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee (RE&EEAC).

24.India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has just taken up development of the Rs 6,000 crore Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS).

25.As part of government’s plan to infuse Rs 12,517 crore in around 10 state-owned banks by March, 2013, UCO Bank will be infused with Rs 681 crore.

26.India has said that it is fully committed to implementing the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Project by August 2017. It was reiterated by President Pranab Mukherjee when he was interacting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

26.Indian scientists will render significant contribution in developing key components of the world’s largest optical telescope to be set up by a 5-nation consortium including India.
The Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT), also known as the world’s most advanced ground-based observatory, will be built at the summit of Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii at a cost of $1.2 billion.

27.Bhutan king igme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck to be Republic Day parade chief guest.
Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will be the chief guest at India’s 64th Republic Day parade on Jan 26, 2013.

28.The Delhi government has decided to raise the number of subsidized LPG cylinders from 9 to 12 for BPL families and other marginalized sections. The move is expected to benefit 4 lakh families. A few days before, Centre had increased the number of subsidized cylinders from 6 to 9.

29.Indian cricket star Virat Kohli became the fastest Indian to score 4000 runs in One Day Internationals (ODIs). Virat Kohli played 96 ODI matches and 93 innings to reach this milestone. Before Sourav Ganguly was the fastest Indian to score 4000 runs in ODI who had played 105 inning.

30.Mukesh Ambani- led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has terminated all its lobbying activities among US lawmakers after having spent nearly 2 million dollars (over Rs 10 crore) to its lobbyist firm, Barbour Griffith & Rogers LLC (BGR), in the past 4 years. BGR has lobbied for RIL in the areas of ‘domestic and foreign trade’ and has provided "strategic counsel on issues related to trade”.

31.The BJP unanimously elected Rajnath Singh as its president. Singh replaced Nitin Gadkari who had been on the post since 2009.

32.The grand Annual 58th Idea Filmfare Awards event was organized in Mumbai. The following are the winners under various categories:
POPULAR AWARDS:
Best Actor (Male): Ranbir Kapoor (Barfi!)
Best Actor (Female): Vidya Balan (Kahaani)
Best Film: Barfi!
Best Director: Sujoy Ghosh (Kahaani)
Best Supporting Actor (Male): Annu Kapoor (Vicky Donor)
Best Supporting Actor (Female): Anushka Sharma (Jab Tak Hai Jaan)

33.Restructuring of RRBs by merging geographically contiguous RRBs sponsored by different banks within a state is in progress in order to consolidate RRBs segment. During the first 9 months of the current fiscal 25 such banks have been merged into 10. Now the number of RRBs stands at 67 till the first week of Jan 2013. RRBs have a network of about 16,000 branches spread across the rural and semi-urban centres of the country.
What is the aim of consolidation?
The consolidation of RRBs has been progressing since 2005 following the recommendation of a committee chaired by RBI Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty which decided to recapitalize 40 selected RRBs in 21 states.
These mergers will boost the capital base of RRBs and improving efficiencies as well as optimizing the use of modern technology.

34.PM Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the Ghat Ki Guni tunnel project.
About Ghat Ki Guni:
Ghat Ki Guni is a 2.8km long tunnel located at east Jaipur and connects MI Road and NH-11 passing through Jhalana Hills. The passage, built at the cost of Rs 150 crore, will alleviate the congestion due to traffic by providing alternative route to Jaipur-Agra Road.

35.India celebrated ”National Girl Child Day” on January 24 with the objective of raising consciousness of the society towards the girl child so that she can be valued and respected.

36.As per the latest ruling of the apex court, not only an MLA but any interested person has the right to inform the Speaker of the fact that a member has incurred disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law) and the presiding officer is bound to take action on the complaint.

37.The International Olympics association has requested the discredited cyclist Lance Armstrong to return the Olympic bronze medal he won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics Games. The cyclist was stripped off all the seven Tour de France medals he had won after a report from the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) accused him of leading a massive doping programme on his teams.

38.The Central Govt will infuse a capital of Rs. Rs 3,004 crore in State Bank of India (SBI) as a part of capital infusion plan for the current fiscal.

39.The Central Government will to infuse Rs 1,248 crore in Punjab National Bank (PNB) through preferential allotment of shares. The decision is part of recently approved capital infusion plan of Rs 12,517 crore in around 10 state-owned banks by March, 2013.

40.S S Mundra has been appointed by the Government of India as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of India’s second largest lender- Bank of Baroda. He is the former Executive Director of Union bank of India.

41.The former ISRO chairman, Prof. U.R. Rao, will be inducted the prestigious international Satellite Hall of Fame. The US based Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) is honoring him for his contribution to the field of satellite-related aerospace scientific research.

42.Congress has selected Rahul Gandhi as its Vice-President. The decision was finalized in the Congress Chintan Shivir held at Jaipur. It was organized to discuss Congress’ strategy for elections in 2014.
Rahul is only the third vice-president in Congress history after Arjun Singh who held the post under Rajiv Gandhi in 1986, and Jitendra Prasada under Sitaram Kesari in 1997.

43.Barack Obama has been officially sworn in for a second consecutive term as US President. Obama delivered the oath in the Blue Room of the White House with First Lady Michelle.

44.Online shopping portal Snapdeal.com has tied with Mahindra & Mahindra to sell its two-wheelers. It will happen for the first time that vehicles will be sold and home delivered through website.

45.Scientists from the European Space agency have discovered a river like structure on Mars by analyzing the 3D images of the Mars Express stereo camera. As per them, the region Reull Vallis bears a river-like structure which is believed to be formed when running water flowed in the distant martian past, cutting a steep-sided channel through the Promethei Terra Highlands before running on towards the floor of the vast Hellas basin.

46.Union Government gave nod to Reliance Industries’ plans of de-notifying more than 40 % of its multi-product Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Jamnagar subject to refund of all tax benefits it got for developing the area. However, the multi-product status of SEZ will remain intact as the total area would remain higher than the minimum required area of 1,000 hectares. The Govt has asked the company to get a no-objection-certificate from the Government of Gujarat.

47.Legendry Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans has been appointed as High Performance Director by Hockey India to oversee the affairs of its senior and junior national teams.

48.Mahaveer Golechha, a London-based Indian researcher will be honored with Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s ‘Young Investigator Scholarship Award’ at the 7th Annual Drug Discovery for Neurodegeneration Conference San Francisco.

49.The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) has been given approval by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to continue to sanction new projects and capacity building activities till March 31, 2014 under Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) components of JNNURM.

50.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its nod to a 10% stake sale of the Centre’s equity holding in NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation) through the ‘offer for sale’ route. The sale is expected to fetch about Rs.7,000 crore.
The selling will be through ‘Offer for the sale through stock exchange’ (OFS) method, as per SEBI Rules and Regulations. The step is in line with government’s aim to achieve disinvestment Govt target of Rs.30,000 crore for 2012-13.

51.BRICS identify areas of tax policy and administration for mutual cooperationJanuary 22nd, 2013
The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) substantiated their commitment to encourage closer coordination and identified seven areas of tax policy and administration for broadening mutual cooperation.

52.The Union Cabinet has given nod to 50 % reduction in the 800 MHz band (reserve) price which was fixed earlier at Rs 18,200 crore for 5 MHz. Auction for the CDMA radio-waves is expected to begin in March 2013.

53.Iran gave only partial access to IAEA delegation which visited country’s military facility in Parchin.

54.President Pranab Mukherjee imposed President’s rule in Jharkhand following its approval by the Union Cabinet. The imposition of President’s Rule in Jharkhand draws its power from Article 356(1) of the Constitution.

55.The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has planned to launch SARAL (Satellite with Argos and Altika) on February 14, 2013. The launch, which was planned for 12-12-12, was deferred due to some technical issues and to carry out additional to improve reliability. Along with Indo-French SARAL, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will put into orbit six small experimental satellites built by western universities for a fee. SARAL would be similar to ISRO’s Oceansat-2, but with an altimeter to measure heights. In October 2012, NASA depended upon Oceansat-2 to get details of Hurricane ‘Sandy’ that brought huge devastation on the eastern U.S.

56.Wei Wei is new Chinese Ambassador to India.China has appointed Wei Wei (57) as new ambassador to India, succeeding Zhang Yan. The appointment was made by President Hu Jintao in accordance with a decision made by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature.

57.India’s largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI), along with its associates, plans to set up ‘by-invitation-only’ branches under the ‘Kohinoor’ brand in 20 cities to serve uber-rich customers and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).

58.Market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has brought changes in its Employee Stock Option Scheme (ESOS) and Employee Stock Purchase Scheme (ESPS) Guidelines, 1999, prohibiting companies from dealing in their own shares in the secondary market under these schemes, with immediate effect.

59.The National Green Tribunal has ordered an interim injunction on all the construction activities running in Noida and Greater Noida.

60.A yellow alert was issued by Chinese meteorological authority indicating dangerous levels of smog in China’s northern and western regions, including major cities like Beijing and Chengdu.
The density of PM2.5 particulates had surpassed 700 micrograms per cubic meter in many parts of the city, much above than the daily safety level of 25 micrograms per cubic meter as considered by the World Health Organization.As per WHO standards, PM less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5), are more closely linked to adverse health effects than other metrics such as PM10 (particles with a diameter less than 10 μm).

61.The supreme court of Pakistan has ordered the arrest of the PM, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, on the charges of corruption. The sudden announcement was made as Islamic scholar Tahir-ul-Qadri who led “million-man march” in protest to alleged corruption in the government.

62.Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal once again attained world no.2 position in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings. Previously, she had achieved this feat in 2010.

63.last 13 years. Its growth was 9.3% and 10.4% in 2011 and 2010 respectively. However the current growth rate has managed to marginally surpass the 7.5% target fixed by the government by generating a gross domestic product of 51.93 trillion yuan ($8.28 trillion) in 2012.

64.In a move aimed at protecting domestic oilseed farmers, the government imposed 2.5% import duty on crude edible oils without any hike in duties on refined cooking oil fearing rise in retail prices.

65.Air India has grounded its entire six Boeing 787 Dreamliners aircrafts. The move came following the decision of Europe, the U.S. and Japan to put Boeing 787 Dreamliners out of action. The aircraft will not be allowed to fly until a formal clearance is given by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the air-worthiness of the Dreamliner.

66.RBI has introduced a dollar-rupee swap facility.
Objective: To increase the flow of credit to the export sector to support incremental Pre-shipment export Credit in Foreign Currency (PCFC) by banks.

67.With an aim to raise Rs.8,886 crore, Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd (IRFC) will launch a tax-free bond issue. This would enhance IRFC resources for buying rolling stock for the Indian railways.

68.As per the suggestions made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food and Consumer Affairs headed by Vilas Muttemwar:
Food entitlements under the National Food Security Act should be made available to 67 % of the population, excluding the 33% who pay taxes, have a pucca house etc.
The ‘priority’ (Below Poverty Line) and ‘general’ (Above Poverty Line) categories should be done away with and should be replaced with “inclusion” and “exclusion” categories.

69.Former attorney general of Sri Lanka, Mohan Peiris, has been appointed as the new Chief Justice of Sri Lanka after the dismissal of former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake following her impeachment.

70.PM Manmohan Singh has selected urban development and parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath to lead the Indian team in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual summit in Davos, Switzerland.

71.India and Vietnam inked an MoU targeted at building capacity for developing institutional framework and identifying key areas and opportunities for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India.

72.President Pranab Mukherjee honored 8 states with ‘Krishi Karman Awards’ in recognition to their special achievements in foodgrain production in 2011-12.
The Awardees with their respective achievement category:
Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Manipur and Nagaland awarded for their special contribution to total foodgrains production.
Bihar received the award for contribution to production and productivity of rice.
Haryana awarded for wheat.
Jharkhand for pulses.
Uttar Pradesh for coarse cereals.

73.Halimah Yacob, a politician of Indian-origin, will be the first woman Speaker of Singapore’s Parliament when she replaces Michael Palmer, who was forced to resign over his extra-marital affair.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong would nominate Halimah as the next Speaker.
Halimah (58) is an Indian-origin Muslim, is a former labour lawyer and a Member of Parliament from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).

74.Retired umpire Simon Taufel of Australia will become the first umpire to deliver the esteemed MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture.
The lecture was introduced in 2001 in remembrance to former Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) president Colin Cowdrey, who played a major role in the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ being enshrined in the preamble of the Code of the Laws of Cricket in 2000.

75.On March 15, 2013, Microsoft’s Windows Messenger service will be switched of by the company. Microsoft has decided this as it wants the users to switch to Skype which the company had acquired in October 2011 for $8.5bn (£5.3bn).

76.The government assuaged the concerns of investors at home and abroad who were worried about the impending implementation of the controversial GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rules) by deferring it by two years till April 1, 2016.
The deferment and other modifications in GAAR provisions shows the acceptance of the suggestions of the Parthasarathi Shome Committee, which was set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to address concerns of investors on the Budget provision in this regard and the subsequent withdrawal of portfolio investment by foreign investors.

77.As per an Evaluation Study of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) done by the Institute of Economic Growth of the University of Delhi, Tamil Nadu stands at top for implementation outcomes of the NRHM and can be a benchmark for other States. The seven States surveyed are: Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Jammu and Kashmir.

78.India has decided to put negotiations to finalize a trade liberalization pact with Mauritius on hold. It has said that the talks will not be resumed till the island nation amends its Double-Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with India.

79.R.K. Dubey has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Canara Bank.

80.Raj Kumar Goyal has been appointed as the new Executive Director of Central Bank of India. Goyal comes in place of Rajeev Kishore Dubey, who has taken over the control of Canara Bank as its Chairman & Managing Director.

81.Corporation Bank has launched Corp RuPay Aadhaar card which has a primary aim to provide easy and smooth banking services to the financially excluded and underprivileged sections of the society having Aadhaar number.

82.On Makar Sankrnti, Maha Kumbh Mela festival, one of the largest congregations on earth, began in Prayag (Sangam), Allahabad at the confluence of Rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati. The gathering is expected to attract around 100 million visitors throughout the festival. The highest number of pilgrims is expected on Mauni Amavasya which is on February 10, estimated to draw a massive crowd of 4 crore pilgrims.

83.Astronomers from the University of Central Lancashire have discovered the largest known structure in the Universe called Large Quasar Group (LQG) that is powered by cluster of super massive black holes spanning across 4 billion light years.

84.It was the 70th Golden Globe Awards organized at Beverly Hills. The winners of various awards are as follows:
Best Motion Picture Drama: Argo
Best Motion Picture Musical/Comedy: Les Miserables
Best Director in Motion Picture-Drama: Ben Affleck for Argo
Best Actor in Motion Picture-Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln
Best Actress in Motion Picture-Drama: Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actor in Motion Picture or Musical or Comedy: Hugh Jackman for Les Miserables
Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy: Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook
Best Actor in a Supporting role in Motion Picture: Christoph Waltz for Dzango Unchained
Best Actress in a Supporting role in Motion Picture: Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables
Best Original Score Motion Picture: Life of Pi

85.President Pranab Mukherjee gave assent to the three financial sectors reforms laws namely,
Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill, Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012.

86.Playback singer Bombay Jayashri Ramnath, along with composer Mychael Danna, has been nominated in the Original Song category for the lullaby song she sung in film “Life of Pi” directed by Ang Lee. It is for the first time a Tamil song has been nominated for Oscars.

87.1979-batch IAS officer Rajiv Takru has been appointed as Financial Services Secretary in the Finance Ministry.

90.President Pranab Mukherjee honored 15 NRIs with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards.
Mauritius President Rajkeswur Purryag, who was the chief guest at the inaugural of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, was also one among the awardees.

91.France honored Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban for campaigning for girls’ education, withSimone de Beauvoir Prize for Women’s Freedom. Malala Yousafzai was undergoing treatment at a British hospital and is awaiting reconstructive surgery on her skull.

92.LinkedIn appointed Nishant K Rao as the new Country Manager for its India operations.

93.Air Marshal Kulwant Singh Gill took charge as the new commandant of the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla, Pune.

94.Chief Minister of Jharkhand Arjun Munda submitted his resignation to Governor Syed Ahmed. He resigned after the BJP-led government lost the support from Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). Mr. Munda recommended that the Governor dissolve the Assembly to facilitate fresh elections

95.Justice D K Jain, who is about to retire from Supreme Court, has been appointed as the chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India.

96.Virat Kohli has won the ‘CEAT international cricketer of the year’ 2011-12 award.
Other Awards:
‘CEAT Indian youngster of the year’ : Unmukt Chand (captained Indian team to victory in the under-19 World Cup)
Team of the year: Pakistan
‘Lifetime achievement award’: Zaheer Abbas
Under India-Pakistan special awards:
Best batsman-ODI: Inzamam-ul-Haq
Best batsman-Test: Sunil Gavaskar
Best bowler-Test: Kapil Dev
Best bowler-ODI: Wasim Akram
‘CEAT audience choice awards’: Virender Sehwag and Saeed Anwar

97.India and Myanmar organized the 18th National Level Meeting in New Delhi.

98.Although India won the last match of 3-match ODI series, Pakistan clinched the series trophy defeating India 2-1 in India.

99.Government owned company National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) has commissioned its first 50 MW wind power project at Gandikota in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh built with the cooperation of Suzlon at the cost of Rs 275 crore. The company will come up with its second 50 MW wind power project in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan.

100.In a move directed towards achieving the target of Rs.30,000 through disinvestment, the government has decided divest 10 % stake in Oil India and will also dispose of 9.5 % holding in NTPC in January and February 2013.

101.World’s largest solar telescope is likely to be established in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir by the end of 2013. The project costing Rs. 300 crore would come up either at Hanle or Merak village near Pangong Lake in Ladakh.

102.ulsi Gabbard- American politician and the Congresswoman for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district
She has become the first Hindu American ever to be sworn in as a member of the US House of Representatives.

103.Indian origin scientist Venkatesh Mannar who is President of Micronutrient Initiative, Canada, has been conferred with Canada’s ‘highest’ civilian award – the Order of Canada.

104.Gerda Lerner (92), a groundbreaker in the field of women’s history and founding member of the National Organization for Woman, passed away.

105.As per Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Chairman & MD of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani has been ranked as the 18th richest person in the world with a personal wealth of $24.7 billion in 2012.

106.Social activist Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan who was shot at by a Taliban gunman in 2012, will be awarded with Ireland’s esteemedTipperary International Peace Prize for 2012 in recognition to her courage and determination to speak out in support of equal access to education for every child.

107.All India Football Federation (AIFF) has imposed a ban on famous football club Mohun Bagan for two years from the I- League for abandoning the violence-marred derby match against East Bengal on December 9, 2012. The ban was decided by I-League Core Committee, which also declared all of club’s matches in the I-League Competition 2012-2013 cancelled and considered null and void.

108.Justice Amitava Roy was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court.

109.The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) refused to renew its Air Operator Permit (AOP) of Kingfisher Airlines which was suspended in October 2012 after a workers’ strike.

110.The United Nations General Assembly cleared the $5.4 billion budget for 2012-13 which is 5% more than the previous budget.

111.Syed Asif Ibrahim
A 1977 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS officer.
Took charge as director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Ibrahim is the first Muslim to hold the top post in IB.

112.Y.V. Reddy to be the chairman of 14th Finance Commission.
The constitution of the 14th Finance Commission has been announced by the government. The Commission will have 5 members which will be headed by former RBI Governor Y.V. Reddy. The panel is to submit its report by October 31, 2014.

113.Urjit Patel succeeded Subir Gokarn to become new deputy governor at the Reserve Bank of India.
Patel is PhD in economics from the Yale University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a US-based think-tank. He will have a 2-year term at the regulator.

114.Vanitha Narayanan has been appointed as managing director of IBM India by the company. She replaced Shanker Annaswamy.

115.PM Manmohan Singh inaugurated a new science policy, the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STI) 2013that lays greater emphasis on innovation, setting up research institutes and encouraging women scientists with an aspiration to place itself among the top five scientific powers in the world by 2020.

116.From January 1, 2013, Uttarakhand government enforced the ban on sale, purchase and storage of gutka and tobacco-based pan masala. The decision was taken by the Cabinet nearly two-and-a-half-month back. Traders were given time to exhaust the stock by December 31, 2012.

117.On January 1, 2013 Internet turned 30. It was on this day in 1983 when Internet Protocol was launched which replaced vulnerable Network Control Program (NCP) used previously, thereby making sure the network was not susceptible to a single point of failure. This meant a single attack could not bring it down, making it safer and more reliable.
On this day, it was the first time the US Department of Defence (DoD) commissioned Arpanet network fully switched to use of the Internet protocol suite (IPS) communications system.
Later, British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee used it to host the system of interlinked hypertext documents he invented in 1989, known as the World Wide Web.

118.Suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt honored with the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice for 2012. The Harmony foundation who recognized Bhatt as one who stood against communal forces to ensure protection of the vulnerable and insecure minorities.

119.22-year old Bhakti Sharma from India is the youngest in the world to have crossed seven seas, including four oceans. Besides, she is only the third person in the world to have swum across the Arctic Ocean, and is now targeting the Antarctic Ocean to become the youngest to swim in all five oceans.

120. State Bank of India (SBI) has unveiled its mobile wallet named State Bank MobiCash Easy which provides facilities such as fund transfer, bill payment, balance inquiry, mini statement, mobile top-ups and DTH recharge etc.

121.China launched Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), a kind of global positioning system, in the Asia-Pacific from its Beidou satellite network with an aim to gain up to 20 % of global market share by 2015.

122.Pakistan became another country to officially recognize Kosovo as an independent state.
Kosovo had declared its independence from Serbia in 2008.
With this Pakistan became the 98th sovereign state among 193 UN-member states to recognize Kosovo.
In September 2012, Kosovo declared full independence after the western powers supervising Kosovo declared the end of their supervision.

123.Prime Minister’s office has re-constituted the Planning Commission by appointing parliamentary affairs and urban development minister Kamal Nath as the new ex-officio member of the Plan panel in place of rural development minister Jairam Ramesh.National Development Council (NDC) will be headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Council is the supreme policy-making body in the country. Besides central ministers, the Commission’s members include all Chief Ministers and regular members.

124.As per latest figures of Commerce and Industry Ministry, Germany, with around $23.8 billion or 18.3 billion euro turnover is India’s top trading partner within European Union (EU) during 2011-12.

125.The Planning Commission has opined to cut the growth rate target for the 12th Five Year Plan to 8%, from 8.2% at the meeting of the National Development Council (NDC).
It is for the second time that the Plan panel has slashed the growth projection for the 12th plan (2012-17).

126.As per Planning Commission data, Bihar has left Gujarat behind in terms of growth as it emerged as the fastest growing state in the country with figure of 10.9%. Gujarat was overtaken by 5 states Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Orissa.

127.Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament following the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Monti.
Monti resigned early after former premier Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right People of Freedom party (PdL) withdrew support from the emergency cabinet.

128.US President Barack Obama nominated John Kerry to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.

129.Former England captain and cricket commentator Anthony William "Tony" Greig (66) passed away.
Greig played 58 tests for England and scored 3,599 runs at an average of 40.43 and took 141 wickets at 32.20.
Tony Greig was an England Test cricket captain turned commentator.

130.Pratibha Ray who is a famous Oriya novelist has been chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for the year 2011 in recognition to her contribution to the field of Indian literature. She will be the fourth Oriya author to get the award. Previously, the honor was conferred on Gopinath Mohanty (1973), Sachidananda Routray (1986) and Sitakant Mohapatra (1993).

131.Following are the highlights of Economic Survey 2011-12 :

Rate of growth estimated to be 6.9%. Outlook for growth and stability is promising with real GDP growth expected to pick up to 7.6% in 2012-13 and 8.6% in 2013-14.
Agriculture and Services sectors continue to perform well. 2.5 % growth in Agro sector forecast. Services sector grows by 9.4 %, its share in GDP goes up to 59%.
Industrial growth pegged at 4-5 percent, expected to improve as economic recovery resumes.
Inflation on WPI was high but showed clear slow down by the year-end; this is likely to spur investment activities leading to positive impact on growth.
WPI food inflation dropped from 20.2% in February 2010 to 1.6% in January 2012; calibrated steps initiated to rein-in inflation on top priority.
India remains among the fastest growing economies of the world. Country’s sovereign credit rating rose by a substantial 2.98 percent in 2007-12.
Fiscal consolidation on track - savings & capital formation expected to rise.
Exports grew @ 40.5% in the first half of this fiscal and imports grew by 30.4%. Foreign trade performance to remain a key driver of growth. Forex reserves enhanced - covering nearly the entire external debt stock.
Central spending on social services goes up to 18.5% this fiscal from 13.4% in 2006-07.
MNREGA coverage increases to 5.49 crore households in 2010-11.
Sustainable development and climate change concerns on high priority.