GK For Sbi Po Exam 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013
Page 1
WWW.JAGRANJOSH.COM
GENERAL AWARENESS FOR SBI PO RECRUITMENT 2013
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 1
Page 2
PREFACE
SBI PO General Awareness, Marketing and Computers PDF Package is the second part of State Bank of India Probationary Officers Recruitment Preparation Package. SBI PO PDF Package from jagranjosh.com is a perfect study material for those candidates, who are willing to achieve a good score in the SBI Probationary Officers Recruitment Exam. The exam is going to be held on 28 April 2013. The SBI PO General Awareness, Marketing and Computers PDF Package are prepared by the experts of jagranjosh.com with precision. Our team of experts has put in their best efforts to bring out a perfect preparation package that is an amalgamation of relevant ingredients like General Awareness about Banking and Economy, Current Affairs (from 1st August 2012 to 15th March 2013), Marketing Concepts and Computer Knowledge essential for the bank recruitment examination. The terms and concepts included in the package are planned to suit the specific needs of the examination, thereby helping the candidates in brushing up their skills and expertise in every part of this section. It is advisable for the candidates appearing in the examination to go through the PDF Package with utmost seriousness and exercise themselves for proper time management. This will allow the candidates to cut short their valuable time and use in the difficult sections like data analysis and interpretation and reasoning. Jagranjosh SBI PO Exam PDF Package 2013 The SBI PO Preparation PDF Package includes: Part I Part II General Awareness, Marketing and Computers Reasoning Data Analysis and Interpretation General English Practice Set Previous Years Exam Papers
Jagranjosh.com wishes all the best to every candidate for the upcoming examination. Keep your spirits high and do well in the examination. All the Best
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 2
Page 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface ............................................................................................................................................ 2 Money & Banking.......................................................................................................................... 49 Money, Banking and Finance .................................................................................................... 49 Definition of Money .............................................................................................................. 49 Functions of Money .............................................................................................................. 49 Kinds of Money ..................................................................................................................... 49 Measures of Money Supply .................................................................................................. 50 Credit and the Financial System ........................................................................................... 50 Financial System.................................................................................................................... 52 Reserve Bank of India............................................................................................................ 52 Functions of rbi ..................................................................................................................... 52 Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) .............................................................................................. 53 Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) ......................................................................................... 53 Bank Rate .............................................................................................................................. 54 Selective Credit Control ........................................................................................................ 54 Banking Regulation Act 1949 ................................................................................................ 54 Commercial Banks................................................................................................................. 56 Nationalisation of Banks ....................................................................................................... 56 Functions of Banks ................................................................................................................ 57 Classification ......................................................................................................................... 58 Basel-II Norms ....................................................................................................................... 58 Basel-II Accord....................................................................................................................... 58 What is an NPA?.................................................................................................................... 59 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) ................................................................................................. 59
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 3
Page 4
Main features of RRBs........................................................................................................... 60 Co-operative Banks ............................................................................................................... 60 Features of Co-operative Banks ............................................................................................ 60 State Cooperative Banks ....................................................................................................... 60 Central Co-operative Banks .................................................................................................. 61 Primary Co-operative Banks (PCBs) ...................................................................................... 61 NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development)....................................... 62 Development Banks .............................................................................................................. 62 Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) ........................................................................ 62 Basic Functions of IDBI .......................................................................................................... 63 State Financial Corporations (SFCs) ..................................................................................... 63 Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) ............................................................ 64 International Finance Corporation (IFC) ............................................................................... 64 International Development Association (IDA) ...................................................................... 65 International Monetary Fund (IMF) ...................................................................................... 65 Asian Development Bank ...................................................................................................... 66 Functions and Objectives of ADB .......................................................................................... 66 World Trade Organization (WTO) ......................................................................................... 67 South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) ............................................... 67 Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) ................................................................ 67 Group of Seven Developed Countries G-7 (Now known as G-8) .......................................... 68 G-15 ....................................................................................................................................... 68 G-24 ....................................................................................................................................... 68 Group of Twenty (G-20) ........................................................................................................ 68 Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) .......................................................................... 69 G-77 ....................................................................................................................................... 69
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 4
Page 5
Banking Terminology ................................................................................................................ 71 Bank....................................................................................................................................... 71 Universal Banking.................................................................................................................. 71 Types of Banking ................................................................................................................... 72 Accounts................................................................................................................................ 74 Loan Account or Advances of Bank ...................................................................................... 74 Priority Sector Lending *PSLS+ .............................................................................................. 75 Key Interest Rates (as ON 15TH March 2013) ........................................................................ 75 Deficit Financing.................................................................................................................... 76 The Banking Market Terminology............................................................................................. 77 Self Help Group ..................................................................................................................... 77 Kisan Credit Card ................................................................................................................... 77 Kisan Gold Card ..................................................................................................................... 77 Microcredit Or Microfinance ................................................................................................ 77 Mutual Fund .......................................................................................................................... 78 Bullion Market ...................................................................................................................... 78 Stock Market ......................................................................................................................... 78 Bull ........................................................................................................................................ 78 Bear ....................................................................................................................................... 78 Stag........................................................................................................................................ 79 ADR (American Depository Receipts) ................................................................................... 79 GDR (Global Depository Receipt) .......................................................................................... 79 SDR (Special Drawing Rights) ................................................................................................ 79 Money Market ...................................................................................................................... 79 Capital Market ...................................................................................................................... 79 Call Money ............................................................................................................................ 79
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 5
Page 6
ICOR (Incremental Capital Output Ratio).............................................................................. 80 Debit Card ............................................................................................................................. 80 Credit Card ............................................................................................................................ 80 Smart Card ............................................................................................................................ 80 Master Card .......................................................................................................................... 80 KYC (Know Your Customers) ................................................................................................. 80 RTGS ...................................................................................................................................... 81 NEFT ...................................................................................................................................... 81 CBS ........................................................................................................................................ 81 Financial Inclusion ................................................................................................................. 81 LIBOR ..................................................................................................................................... 81 MIBOR ................................................................................................................................... 81 MIBID .................................................................................................................................... 81 Sarfaesi Act............................................................................................................................ 82 Bond ...................................................................................................................................... 82 Debentures ........................................................................................................................... 82 Camels ................................................................................................................................... 82 Recent Development On Financial Inclusion ........................................................................ 82 Financial Inclusion Technology Fund .................................................................................... 82 EFT- Electronic Fund Transfer ............................................................................................... 83 Sub Prime Crisis..................................................................................................................... 83 Mortgage............................................................................................................................... 83 Reverse Mortgage ................................................................................................................. 83 ECONOMY ..................................................................................................................................... 85 Economic Terms ........................................................................................................................ 85 Absolute Poverty ................................................................................................................... 85
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 6
Page 7
Accelerator, Investment ....................................................................................................... 85 Allocative Efficiency .............................................................................................................. 85 Automatic Stabilizers ............................................................................................................ 85 Balanced Budget ................................................................................................................... 85 Balanced Budget Amendment .............................................................................................. 85 Banking Cycle ........................................................................................................................ 86 Bank....................................................................................................................................... 86 Barter Exchange .................................................................................................................... 86 Bond ...................................................................................................................................... 86 Capital ................................................................................................................................... 86 Capital Adequacy .................................................................................................................. 86 Capital Flight ......................................................................................................................... 87 Capital Gain ........................................................................................................................... 87 Capitalism.............................................................................................................................. 87 Capitalist Class ...................................................................................................................... 87 Central Bank .......................................................................................................................... 87 Centrally Planned Economic System..................................................................................... 87 Commodity............................................................................................................................ 87 Competition .......................................................................................................................... 88 Consumer Price Index ........................................................................................................... 88 Consumption ......................................................................................................................... 88 Corporation: .......................................................................................................................... 88 Credit..................................................................................................................................... 88 Credit Squeeze ...................................................................................................................... 88 Debt....................................................................................................................................... 88 Deficit .................................................................................................................................... 89
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 7
Page 8
Deflation................................................................................................................................ 89 Depreciation.......................................................................................................................... 89 Depression ............................................................................................................................ 89 Derivatives ............................................................................................................................ 89 Development......................................................................................................................... 89 Dividend ................................................................................................................................ 89 Economies of Scale ............................................................................................................... 89 Employment .......................................................................................................................... 90 Equilibrium Price ................................................................................................................... 90 Equity .................................................................................................................................... 90 Exchange Rate ....................................................................................................................... 90 Explicit Cost ........................................................................................................................... 90 Factors Cost........................................................................................................................... 90 Financial Market ................................................................................................................... 90 Final Products........................................................................................................................ 90 Fiscal Policy ........................................................................................................................... 91 Fixed Cost .............................................................................................................................. 91 Foreign Direct Investment .................................................................................................... 91 Fractional Reserve System .................................................................................................... 91 Free Trade Agreements ........................................................................................................ 91 Full Employment ................................................................................................................... 91 Goods .................................................................................................................................... 91 Giffen Goods ......................................................................................................................... 91 Gross Domestic Product ....................................................................................................... 92 Hedge .................................................................................................................................... 92 Human Capital....................................................................................................................... 92
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 8
Page 9
Hyper-Inflation ...................................................................................................................... 92 Industrial Policy ..................................................................................................................... 92 Inflation ................................................................................................................................. 92 Intermediate Products .......................................................................................................... 92 International Monetary Fund ............................................................................................... 92 Investment ............................................................................................................................ 92 Joint Stock Company ............................................................................................................. 93 Labor Force ........................................................................................................................... 93 Loan Capital........................................................................................................................... 93 Liquidity Trap ........................................................................................................................ 93 Marginal Cost ........................................................................................................................ 93 Macroeconomics................................................................................................................... 93 Microeconomics.................................................................................................................... 93 Monetary Policy .................................................................................................................... 93 Money ................................................................................................................................... 94 Mortgage............................................................................................................................... 94 Multiplier .............................................................................................................................. 94 Monopoly .............................................................................................................................. 94 National Income .................................................................................................................... 94 Near Money .......................................................................................................................... 94 Nominal Value ....................................................................................................................... 95 Oligopoly ............................................................................................................................... 95 Payroll Tax ............................................................................................................................. 95 Perfect Competition .............................................................................................................. 95 Poverty Line .......................................................................................................................... 95 Preference Share................................................................................................................... 95
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 9
Page 10
Private Company ................................................................................................................... 95 Producer Goods .................................................................................................................... 95 Profit ..................................................................................................................................... 95 Progressive Tax ..................................................................................................................... 96 Public Investment ................................................................................................................. 96 Rate of Interest ..................................................................................................................... 96 Rate of Return ....................................................................................................................... 96 Recession .............................................................................................................................. 96 Return on Equity ................................................................................................................... 96 Risk Capital ............................................................................................................................ 96 Sales Tax ................................................................................................................................ 96 Shares .................................................................................................................................... 97 Speculation ........................................................................................................................... 97 Subsidy .................................................................................................................................. 97 Surtax .................................................................................................................................... 97 Supply.................................................................................................................................... 97 Surplus .................................................................................................................................. 97 Tariff ...................................................................................................................................... 97 Tax Burden ............................................................................................................................ 97 Terms of Trade ...................................................................................................................... 97 Transfer Payments ................................................................................................................ 98 Unemployment ..................................................................................................................... 98 Utility ..................................................................................................................................... 98 Value Added Tax ................................................................................................................... 98 Variable Cost ......................................................................................................................... 98 Wholesale Banking................................................................................................................ 98
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 10
Page 11
Wealth Tax ............................................................................................................................ 98 Classification of Taxes in Union Budget-............................................................................... 98 There are 5 types of direct taxes in these year union budget. ............................................. 99 NASDAQ ................................................................................................................................ 99 NCDEX ................................................................................................................................... 99 GST ........................................................................................................................................ 99 INDIRECT TAXES .................................................................................................................... 99 Fiscal Deficit .......................................................................................................................... 99 Inflation ................................................................................................................................. 99 Economic Scenario in Current Perspective ............................................................................. 102 HPCL and Government of Rajasthan Signed a MoU for Setting up Refinery ..................... 102 Economic Survey of India 2012-13: .................................................................................... 102 Socio-Economic Profile of States and Inter-State Comparisons ......................................... 102 Union Government granted an aid of 41 Crore Rupees to protect Pashmina Goats ......... 104 Coal India signed Fuel Supply Pacts with 56 Power Plants ................................................. 104 Union Government to launch 10 Rupees Plastic Notes in 5 Cities ..................................... 105 World Bank estimated a growth of over 6 percent for the Indian Economy during 2013-14 ............................................................................................................................................. 105 Indian Financial Regulators signed pact to Monitor Conglomerates ................................. 105 Union Budget 2013-14 ........................................................................................................ 106 Allocation of Funds to the Defence Sector ......................................................................... 107 Tax Proposals at a Glance ................................................................................................... 107 Allocation of Funds to the Social Sector ............................................................................. 108 MOU signed for Setting up of Memu Coaches Manufacturing Facility at Bhilwara ........... 108 New Plans and Schemes rolled out in the Union Budget 2013-14 ..................................... 108 RBI announced Guidelines for Licensing of New Banks in Private Sector .......................... 110 The Union Government Cancelled Bond Auction Worth 12000 Crore Rupees.................. 110 www.jagranjosh.com
Page 11
Page 12
SEBI ordered freezing of accounts and attachment of properties of two companies of Sahara ................................................................................................................................. 111 Exports of India Increased By 0.8 Per Cent in January 2013 .............................................. 111 Comfort Letter issued by Finance Ministry for sanction of 25000 crore Subsidy .............. 111 TRAI: Teledensity declined by 25.97 Million to 895.51 Million in December 2012 ........... 111 CCEA approved increase of MSP of Copra for 2013 season by 150 Rupees per Quintal ... 112 Economic Growth of India Estimated to Fall To 5 Percent in 2012-2013 FY ...................... 112 Authorized Capital of NABARD raised from 5000 crore rupees to 20000 crore rupees .... 112 Net Direct Tax Collection Grew 12 Percent in April-January in FY 2012-2013 ................... 113 CCEA gave its nod to Price Pooling Mechanism on Coal to Control Prices of Coal ............ 113 ED Slapped 98.5 Crore Rupees Penalty Notice on Rajasthan Royals ................................. 113 BHEL and GAIL Granted Maharatna Status by the Union Government of India ................ 114 Union Ministry for Commerce launched e Biz Portal to Provide one Stop Shop for all Investment .......................................................................................................................... 114 Reserve Bank of India slashed Repo Rate to 7.75 Percent and CRR to 4 Percent .............. 114 Securities and Exchange Board of India revised the Mechanism of Offer for Sale ............ 115 Union Commerce Ministry claimed that India has crossed One Billion Mark in Tea Production........................................................................................................................... 115 FDI Inflow Decreased to Two-Year Low in November 2012 ............................................... 115 IMF forecasted Indian Economic Growth Rate to be 5.9 percent in 2013 ......................... 115 Union Cabinet Approved 50 Percent Reduction in the Reserve Prices for CDMA Spectrum ............................................................................................................................................. 116 Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the Continuation of JNNURM ........... 116 CCEA approved Defreeze in the Tariff Value of Edible Oils as per International Market .. 116 Union Government Approved Open Policy and lifted ban on Export of Processed Food.. 117 Union Government raised LPG Cap to Nine Subsidised Cylinders per Year ....................... 117 Union Government Imposed 2.5 Percent Import Duty on Crude Edible Oil ...................... 117 World Bank slashed the Global Growth Forecast to 2.4 Percent ....................................... 118
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 12
Page 13
The Implementation of GAAR deferred by 2 Years, to Come into Force from 1April 2016 118 Krishi Karman Awards for the year 2011-2012 presented by the President of India ........ 118 Union Government approved Ten Percent Stake Sale in Engineers India Ltd (EIL) ........... 119 RBI set up Working Group to review Banking Ombudsman Scheme ................................. 119 Manufacturing Sector Displayed Six-Month Highest Growth in December 2012: Survey . 119 Rollout of Direct Benefits Transfers started on 1 January 2013 ......................................... 120 FII Investment in the Indian stock market surpassed more than 24000 crore Rupees in December 2012 ................................................................................................................... 120 Union Government Announced More Incentives to Exporters Hit By Global Meltdown .. 121 Indirect Tax Collection Increased at 16.8 Percent to 2.92 Lakh Crore Rupees in AprilNovember 2012 .................................................................................................................. 121 UN Slashed World Growth Forecast to 2.4 Percent for year 2013 ..................................... 121 Foreign Investments through P-Notes Increased to 8-Month Highest .............................. 121 Union Government of India lowered the Growth Projection for Current Fiscal to 5.7 Percent ................................................................................................................................ 122 Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the Setting up of CCI ......................... 122 Retail Inflation Increased to 9.90 Percent in November 2012 ........................................... 122 Indian Economy Would Dominate the Economy of the World by 2030: US Intelligence Community Report.............................................................................................................. 123 Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allowed 12 more Alternative Investment Funds ............................................................................................................................................. 124 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed Currency Swap Agreement with Bank of Japan .......... 124 Core Sectors of Indian Economy Grew By 6.5 Percent in October 2012 ............................ 124 Economic Growth Declined in July-September Quarter of Fiscal Year 2012-2013 ............ 124 National Cancer Institute and a National Cardio Care Centre to be developed at Jhajjar . 125 India signed 70 million US Dollar loan agreement with World Bank ................................. 125 Reserve Bank of India asked Banks not to Provide Loans for Purchase of Gold ................ 125 Income Ceiling for LIG raised by Union Government of India ............................................ 126
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 13
Page 14
Union Cabinet of India cleared Proposal for Spectrum Sharing ......................................... 126 Civil Aviation Ministry approved New Traffic Rights to Indian Carriers ............................. 126 South African Government Rolled Out Nelson Mandela Bank Notes ................................ 126 Government decided to digitize Cable TV Network in Thirty Eight Cities .......................... 127 GAIL and RSPCL signed an Agreement of Joint Venture on Gas Supply Pipeline Project... 127 Northern Railways introduced Pink Coloured Tatkal Forms .............................................. 127 RBI Expanded the Lending Norms on Priority Sectors ........................................................ 127 Civil Aviation Ministry announced omission of Airport Development Fee from January 2013 ............................................................................................................................................. 128 Pilot Projects for development of People Friendly Roads approved ................................. 128 U.S. Treasury Secretary Discussed Economy and Trade Barriers with India ...................... 128 Security Deposit on New connection of LPG Cylinder increased ....................................... 128 IMF Slashed Indias growth forecast for 2012 to 4.9 Percent ............................................ 128 To enhance surveillance 400 CCTV cameras installed at 10 railway stations in Delhi, NCR ............................................................................................................................................. 129 Union Government approved 14 FDI proposals worth 113.35 crore Rupees .................... 129 Website for SMS alerts and Rail passenger enquiry launched by Railways ....................... 130 12th five-year plan focused on improvement of health, education and sanitation .......... 130 CCEA approved 1.90 crore lakh package on debt restructuring for the SEBs .................... 130 Foreign Investment cap hiked to 74 percent for Broadcasting Services ............................ 130 GAAR Report submitted by the Shome Committee to the Finance Ministry ..................... 131 Finance Ministry demanded the Bank details of Coal Mining Firms .................................. 132 RBIs data related to sectoral deployment of credit states ................................................ 132 Trial to make Maharaja Express affordable for domestic tourists ..................................... 133 Shimla Municipal Corporation introduced Green Tax on vehicles entering Shimla ........... 133 Chidambaram pitched for Prime Minister led National Investment Board ....................... 133 IRCTC introduced Interbank Mobile Payment System ....................................................... 133
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 14
Page 15
Proposal for 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail and 49 percent in Aviation passed ....... 134 EGOM cut down the loan interest rate to 7 percent in the drought affected areas ......... 135 Report: Indian external debts are within manageable limits ............................................. 136 Cabinet gave a nod to two subsidiaries of Air India: AIESL and AITSL ................................ 136 Government cleared Rs 808 crore FDI proposal by Cloverdell ........................................... 136 Government approved 14000 Crore Rupees Fund to spur Production of Hybrid and Electrical Vehicl ................................................................................................................... 136 SEBI allowed Partial Flexibility in IDRs for Investors ........................................................... 137 Public Accounts Committee (PAC) called for Deterrent Penal Provisions against Units in SEZs ..................................................................................................................................... 137 India eased External Overseas Borrowing Rules to enable Easier Access to Cheap Dollar Funds ................................................................................................................................... 137 Union Finance Ministry approved 49 Percent FDI in Insurance and Pension Sector ......... 138 Air India losses pegged at 28046 Crore Rupees.................................................................. 138 RBI stipulated the Norms for Securitisation of Loans by NBFCs ......................................... 138 India's Marine Exports to Grow by over 28% to USD 4.5 billion in 2012-13 Fiscal ............ 138 Regulator SEBI permitted seven Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) to start Operation in India .................................................................................................................................... 139 CAG pegged Public Exchequers Loss at 1.86 Lakh Crore in Coal Blocks Allocation Scam . 139 PMEAC pegged Indias Growth at 6.7 Percent in the Fiscal Year 2012 -13 ......................... 140 Inter-ministerial group recommended Linking Patented Drug Prices to Per-capita Income ............................................................................................................................................. 140 Indias Exports declined to 22.4 Billion Dollar in July 2012 ................................................ 140 Moodys cut Indias Growth Forecast to 5.5 Percent ......................................................... 140 Indias Industrial Output declined to 1.8 Percent in June 2012 ......................................... 141 Fitch Ratings revised the Indian Retail Sector Outlook for the second half 2012-13 to Negative .............................................................................................................................. 141 RBI permitted Banks to lend to Telecom Companies for the Upcoming Auction for Spectrum ............................................................................................................................. 141
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 15
Page 16
Indias NSE became the Worlds Largest Bourse in Equity Segment as per WFEs Global Ranking................................................................................................................................ 142 Union Cabinet sets Base Price for Auction of 2G Spectrum at 14000 Crore Rupees ......... 142 RBI directed NBFCs to maintain Net-owned Funds (NOF) at Rs 3 crore by 31 March 2013 ............................................................................................................................................. 142 Indias Fiscal Deficit reached 37 Percent of the Budget Estimate ...................................... 143 RBI signed MOU with Financial Regulators of 9 Countries to promote Sharing of Information ......................................................................................................................... 143 Indias Exports slipped by 5.45 Percent in June 2012 ......................................................... 143 Corporate Affairs in Current Scenario .................................................................................... 145 Bharat Heavy Plate & Vessels Ltd. (BHPV) Merged With BHEL .......................................... 145 NTPC Signed 250 Million US Dollars Loan Agreement with Banks ..................................... 145 TRAI Released Pre-Consultation Paper on Country-Wide Mobile Number Portability ...... 145 Dabur India roped in Irrfan Khan to Endorse Babool Salt Toothpaste ............................... 146 NTPL Signed Agreement with a Group of Banks for 1000-MW Power Project .................. 146 Telecom Operator Uninor closed its Operations in Mumbai following SC Order .............. 146 AMR Sealed 11 Billion US Dollars Merger with US Airways ............................................... 146 Reckitt Benckiser signed a Global Partnership Deal with Save the Children ...................... 146 Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Acquired Stake of Navistar International Corporation ..... 147 Parle-G Became the First Indian FMCG Brand to Cross 5000 Crore Rupees Mark ............. 147 MCX-SX, the Third National Stock Exchange Made its Debut in India ................................ 147 Thomas Cook India acquired Ikya, the Human Resource Staffing Solutions Company ...... 147 Mukund Govind Rajan Appointed As Group Spokesperson and Brand Custodian of Tata 148 Times Television Network Tied Up With MSM Discovery Pvt Ltd. ..................................... 148 Flight safety International Entered India through Agreement with Aviators India ............ 148 ICICI Partnered With Aircel to Launch Mobile Banking Service, Mobile Money ................ 148 Thirty Software Companies Separated From NASSCOM, Formed a New Association ....... 149
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 16
Page 17
Bharti Airtel Launched Emergency Alert Service for Women Subscribers ......................... 149 Zovi, the Online Fashion Retailer Acquired Rival Inkfruit ................................................... 149 RIM Changed to Blackberry; Launched New Blackberry 10 Operating System ................. 149 Spice Jet to Launch Flights to Guangzhou in South China .................................................. 149 Aircel launched Free Roaming Service for Voice, SMS and Data........................................ 150 Philips Electronics Sold Audio and Video Business to Funai Electric .................................. 150 Deutsche Bank Appointed As the Depository Bank for GDR of IIPL ................................... 150 Toyota Regained the Title of Top Selling Automaker of the World.................................... 150 ING Left Insurance Business in India; Sold 26 Percent Stake to Exide ................................ 150 Spice Global Entered Healthcare Sector in India; Announced Investing Over 1400 Crore Rupees................................................................................................................................. 150 Reliance Industries Shut 8th Well in KG-D6; Gas Output Fell to All-Time Low .................. 151 Volkswagen launched its new ad Campaign, Fast Start ..................................................... 151 Google-GETIT Entered into Partnership to Roll Out Digital Marketing for SMEs ............... 151 Hindalco finalized Arrangements to acquire Bauxite Mines and Alumina Refirnery from Novelis................................................................................................................................. 151 IBM signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UPES Dehradun ....................... 151 Union Government approved the Partial De-notification of RIL SEZ ................................. 152 Snapdeal.com tied up with Mahindra for selling of Two-Wheelers ................................... 152 Jet Airways Partnered with CentrumDirect for Forex Services .......................................... 152 Air India directed by DGCA to Ground All Six Boeing 787 Dreamliners on Safety Concerns ............................................................................................................................................. 152 Mahindra Satyam Tied up with Japanese Firm TechMatrix for Healthcare Services ......... 152 TCS Net Profit Climbs to Unexpected 26.7 Percent in Q3 .................................................. 153 Microsoft to shut down Windows Live Messenger Service from 15 March 2013 ............. 153 GAIL India Commissioned Dabhol Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal ................................... 153 PR Fonroche inaugurated First Solar Plant under National Solar Mission Batch II ............ 153
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 17
Page 18
Supreme Court rejected Sahara Petition on Refund of 24000 crore Rupees ..................... 153 Allahabad Bank Signed MoU with Chamber of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises ............................................................................................................................................. 154 Sodexo Announced Acquiring Chennai-Based MacLellan India ......................................... 154 Income Tax Surveyed Nokias Chennai Plant to Check Tax Evasion ................................... 154 I-T and Vodafone Dispute ................................................................................................... 154 Versace 19.69 Tied Up With Majgenta Fashions for India Ventures .................................. 154 Union Government Decided to disinvest Stakes in Oil India, NTPC ................................... 154 National Aluminium Co Ltd (Nalco) Commissioned its First Wind Power Project ............. 155 Nasscom signed Pact with NIIT to Train One Lakh Students in next Three years .............. 155 Nestle won its Trademark Battle over KitKat Bar from Cadbury ........................................ 155 Godrej UK-Based Subsidiary Acquired Colgate-Palmolive Brand, Soft and Gentle in UK .. 155 Suven Life Sciences won Patents on three Products for CNS Molecules ........................... 155 Instagram Faced First Class Action Lawsuit over Its Terms of Service ............................... 156 JLR Chinese Subsidiary Decided to Recall Cars for Fixing Steering Boxes and Brakes ........ 156 Japanese Multinational Bought Marginal Stake in Guardian Lifecare ............................... 156 Blackberry Smartphone maker Research-In-Motion (RIM) signed in Ranbir Kapoor as its Brand Ambassador .............................................................................................................. 156 NYSE Agreed Selling Itself as a Part of 8.2 Billion Dollar Takeover by IntercontinentalExchange Inc. ............................................................................................ 156 China named Infosys in Key Service outsourcing Company list ......................................... 157 DLF Sold Luxury Hotel Chain Aman Resorts for 300 Million Dollar .................................... 157 Board Members of Tata Sons conferred the Title of Chairman Emeritus on Ratan Tata... 157 Cyrus Pallonji Mistry Appointed as Chairman of Tata Sons ................................................ 157 Samsung Defeated Nokia to become the worlds leading top mobile brand for the year 2012 .................................................................................................................................... 158 Tata Steel Developed a New Kind of Anti-Ballistic Steel Super Bainite .............................. 158 KG-D6, Gas Producing Fields Reached Lowest Gas Output Level Since Inception ............. 158
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 18
Page 19
HCL Infosystems announced Distribution of Latest Models of Toshiba e-STUDIO ............ 158 Fortis Healthcare Announced to Divest Stake to Bupa ...................................................... 158 REpower Systems SE won a Contract of supplying Wind Turbines in Canada ................... 159 PetroChina agreed to buy Stake in Encana Natural Gas Project ........................................ 159 Levi Strauss & Co Appointed Harmit Singh as the New Chief Financial Officer ................. 159 Marks & Spencer Added Anti-Bribery Clause in All Indian Contracts................................. 159 ICICI Bank Opened 101 Gramin Branches across Villages in Six States .............................. 159 Reliance Group signed an agreement with Chinas Dalian Wanda Group ......................... 159 Telecom Commission approved 1500 crore Rupees subsidy for BSNL .............................. 160 Sutherland Global Services Signed Agreements for Acquisition of Apollo Health Street .. 160 Lodha Developer Acquired the Mumbais Washington House for 342 Crore Rupees ....... 160 US based Food Producer Cargill India acquired Wipro's Sunflower Vanaspati brand ....... 160 Bharti Infratel Raised 652 Crore Rupees from 18 Anchor Investors before Public Offer ... 160 Yahoo and NBC Sports came Together to Provide Sports Content .................................... 161 Car Sales Dipped by 8.25 Percent in November 2012 ........................................................ 161 Google and Apple Partnered for Kodak Patents ................................................................. 161 Lobby Bill of Wal-Mart Hit Around 125 Crore Rupees to Seek Entry into India ................. 161 Tata Motors Slashed Car Price upto 1.5 Lakh rupees by Offering Discounts and Cash Benefits ............................................................................................................................... 162 Wipro Bought Singapore Based FMCG Company LD Waxson ............................................ 162 Suresh Vaswani, the Former Co-CEO of Wipro Appointed As the Dell Services President 162 Adani Group completed Australias Largest Coal Mining Project in a Record Time .......... 163 Citigroup Planned Cutting Down 11000 Jobs to Save Over 1 Billion Dollar Annual Expenses ............................................................................................................................................. 163 SBI Announced Expectation of 4000 crore Rupees Equity From the Government ............ 163 Google India Partnered With E-Commerce Sites to Bring Cyber Monday to India ............ 164 Nokia Agreed Selling Headquarter Building for 222 Million US Dollar ............................... 164
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 19
Page 20
News Corp Decided to Split Into Two, Indian to be the CFO of the Proposed Publishing Company ............................................................................................................................. 164 Corporate Frauds Rising in India: KPMG Survey ................................................................. 164 Kingfisher Airlines Sent Eviction Notice by Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd ............ 165 Infosys Decided Shifting Its American Shares From Nasdaq to NYSE ................................. 165 PVR announced acquiring 69 percent stake in Cinemax to expand its presence .............. 165 AstraZenecas petition plea on cancer drug dismissed by IPAB ......................................... 166 IOC to Upgrade its Refineries and Increase Production Capacity to 100 million tonnes ... 166 Rating Agency Fitch downgraded the Debt Rating of Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. .... 166 PepsiCo Coughed Up Double Amount than DLF to Be Next 5 Years IPL Sponsor .............. 167 Nokia India Introduced Rebranded Map Service named HERE .......................................... 167 Dr. Reddys Laboratories launched Sildenafil Tablets in the U.S. Market .......................... 167 Airtel Completed Largest Network Transformation in Africa ............................................. 167 Maldivian Airlines Signed Pact with Apollo Hospital .......................................................... 168 Disa Holdings a part of Disa A/S Group to sell its Shares in Indian Arm ............................. 168 Goldman Named 16 Indians as MDs and 3 as Partners ...................................................... 168 Micro Blogging Site Twitter Launched New Email sharing Feature for Tweets ................. 168 Volvo Group to Invest Two Thousand Crore Rupees in India ............................................. 169 Lacoste Acquired by Swiss Company Maus Freres ............................................................. 169 Himalaya Drug Company won its Trademark Battle against Homeopathic Pharma SBL Limited ................................................................................................................................ 169 Karishma Kapoor Appointed Brand Ambassador of McCain Food ..................................... 170 Barista Lavazza and Penguin Books Tied up for Book Releases.......................................... 170 Vodafone India tied up with ICICI Bank for Mobile Money Services .................................. 170 BAE Systems inked an Agreement with Smile Foundation for Health Care and Primary Education ............................................................................................................................ 170 Online Travel Agency MakeMyTrip Acquired Hotel Travel Group ..................................... 171
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 20
Page 21
Gov. of Odisha Slapped 6000 crore Rupees fine on Tata Steel for Illegal Mining .............. 171 ONGC sold 26 percent Stakes to Japans Inpex Corp .......................................................... 171 Master card and Thomas Cook Came up Together for Travel Prepaid Cards .................... 171 Discovery Communication launched kids Channel in State of Andhra Pradesh ................ 172 World Space Radio Re launched and Brought BacK on Airtel Digital TV ............................ 172 Indira Gandhi International Airport got International Certification ................................... 172 Microsoft Unveiled Windows 8 in India.............................................................................. 172 Rescue Package of 7 Billion to the Struggling Car Firm Peugeot Citrogen ....................... 172 Dow Chemical Co. Announced Closure of 20 Plants........................................................... 173 IBS Software Services Acquired US Hotel Booking Solution ............................................... 173 SEBI Asked Government to set up Special Court for Speedy Trial...................................... 173 BHEL Deployed Solar Panel on GSAT 10 Satellite ............................................................... 173 Nokia India signed deal with FC Barcelona ......................................................................... 174 Bharti Airtel Became Worlds Fourth Largest Mobile Operator ......................................... 174 DGCA suspended the license of Kingfisher Airlines ............................................................ 174 Tata Starbuck Opened its First Store in India ..................................................................... 174 Tea Board of India Joined hand with European Tea Committee to Protect Darjeeling Tea ............................................................................................................................................. 175 IOC signed MoU with Korea Gas Corporation to Jointly explore and produce Gas ........... 175 Antiplatelet Drug Brilinta launched by Astrazeneca Pharma ............................................. 175 Polaris Signed a Pact for Strengthening Market Solutions with Pyxis ................................ 175 Petroleum Ministrys Non Approval to RILs Investment Plans .......................................... 175 Vikram Pandit, the CEO of Citigroup resigned .................................................................... 176 Mahindra Satyam Tied up with University of Petroleum and Energy Studies ................... 176 ZEE Launched Edutaintment Channel Zee Q for Children .................................................. 176 ICICI Bank Signed an Agreement with Eco Bank of Africa .................................................. 176 L&T Finance Acquired Indo-Pacific Housing ....................................................................... 177 www.jagranjosh.com
Page 21
Page 22
Google launched Free SMS on Gmail in India ..................................................................... 177 Toyota Moto Corps recalled 7.4 million on road vehicles for rectification ........................ 177 GVK Power Secured Green Nod for Port Development in Australia .................................. 178 Kingfisher Airlines was asked to stop booking the tickets by DGCA .................................. 178 HDFC Bank and Indian Oil came Together to Provide Banking Services in Rural Areas ..... 178 Oil India and Indian Oil, together Bought 30% stake in Carrizo Shale Assets .................... 178 Dalmia Cement Bharat acquired Meghalaya based Adhunik Cement ............................... 179 Tata Group got an extension to manage the Taj Mansingh for another year .................... 179 Cairn Energy sold 8 percent stake in Cairn India ................................................................ 179 Delhi Metro Rail Corporation won work in Jakarta Metro Rail Project .............................. 179 Naveen Jindal, placed at the top in Executives Pay Chart .................................................. 179 HCL Tech signed Multi-million dollar deal with Freescale .................................................. 180 Ex-COO and MD of Reebok India held for Rs 870 Crore Fraud ........................................... 180 Tata Steel won a high-speed Rail Contract of Value Rs 315.15 Crore in France ................ 180 Indigo Airlines emerged to be the top ranked carrier for consecutive second month ...... 180 Schroder Singapore acquired 25 percent stake of Axis Asset Management Company ..... 181 Top-level appointments announced by Tata Motors ......................................................... 181 HDFC Bank announced the Launch of Credit Card for Teachers ........................................ 181 HDFC Bank Commissioned its 10001st ATM at Kovalam .................................................... 181 ITC launched Grand Chola a luxury five Star hotel in Chennai ........................................... 182 Tech Mahindra acquired 51% stake in Comviva Technologies ........................................... 182 DMRC started its 17-week training program to train the recruits of Rapid Metrorail ....... 182 Larsen and Turbo restructured its Engineering and InfoTech services .............................. 182 Supreme Court asked Essar Oil to pay the sales tax dues in phases .................................. 183 NIIT and Microsoft came together for Cloud Training........................................................ 183 Production Sharing Contract inked in between BHP Billiton and BG Group ...................... 183
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 22
Page 23
Welspun finds the lenders for its 50 MW solar Project in Rajasthan ................................. 183 Infosys acquired Switzerland based firm Lodestone .......................................................... 183 TCS signed in an agreement of 103 crore to provide ICT Solution for MGNREGS in West Bengal.................................................................................................................................. 184 Partnership in between Alstom Grid and Toshiba Corp ..................................................... 184 ICICI Bank to extend its net banking services through social media platform Facebook . 184 Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Thales entered into a joint venture ......................... 184 Cargotec tied up with Tata Communication to improve productivity and operational efficiency ............................................................................................................................. 185 Jindal Steel & Power acquired Canadian firm CIC for Rs 650 cr ......................................... 185 Tech Mahindra Acquired Hutchinson Global Services ........................................................ 185 Industry Leader Deepak Parekh Nominated to Competition Commission of India ........... 185 The Bhilai Steel Plant won the Prime Ministers Trophy for the 10th Time ....................... 186 IDBI Bank Ltd entered into a MoU with SMERA to evaluate its MSME .............................. 186 Antony Jenkins appointed as the New Group Chief Executive of Barclays ........................ 186 McNally Bharat won 122 crore Rupees Contract from SAIL ............................................... 186 HSBC sold its Entire Stake in Federal Bank for 341 Crore Rupees ...................................... 186 Jammu and Kashmir Bank was Awarded Best Banker Prize ............................................... 187 GAIL signed pact with French Energy Giant GDF Suez to import LNG................................ 187 Apple won Patent Infringement Case against Samsung ..................................................... 187 SpiceJet announced launch of Two Daily Flights to Jabalpur from Delhi and Mumbai ..... 187 Bharti Group sold its Stake in Centum Learning to Everonn Education ............................. 188 Relaxo Footwear signed Bollywood Actor Katrina Kaif as its Brand Ambassador .............. 188 Arvind Saxena appointed the Managing Director of Volkswagen India ............................. 188 Philippe Divry appointed as the Managing Director of Volvo India ................................... 188 M&M signed MoU with Oriental Bank for Personal and Commercial Vehicle Financing .. 188 Hoppr launched its Service in Chennai to allow Users explore Rewards and Offers ......... 188
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 23
Page 24
Keshub Mahindra stepped down as the Chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra ................... 189 Jet Airways Tied Up With HDFC Bank and Launched Credit Cards ..................................... 189 Siemens India Bagged 290 Million Euro NMDC Deal .......................................................... 189 KNR Constructions bagged the Tollway Road Project ........................................................ 189 German logistics Deutsche Bahn tied up with Moser Baer for Clean Energy Project ........ 189 Geojit BNP launched Android OS Flip Me; first mobile trading solution on NSE & BSE ..... 190 Micro Technologies India introduced Micro Call Blocker for unsolicited Calls & SMS....... 190 National Housing Bank cut Interest Rate by up to 1 percent for Urban Low Income Group ............................................................................................................................................. 190 High Court of AP approved Conditional bail to Koneru Prasad: EMMAR Properties Case 190 Gilead Sciences signed with 3 Indian companies for low-cost HIV drugs .......................... 191 Hero MotoCorp invested 20 million dollar in US based Erik Buell for R&D ....................... 191 Karnataka Bank signed MoU with NABCONS for Bank customers consultancy services .. 191 Star Health launched Star Comprehensive and Star Family Delite Insurance Policy ......... 192 The Sahara Group acquired landmark Plaza Hotel of New York ........................................ 192 NDTV filed Lawsuit against Audience Measurement Company TAM India ........................ 192 Current Affairs (1st Aug 12 15th March 13)............................................................................... 194 National Current Affairs (1st Aug 12 15th March 13) ............................................................ 194 Union Cabinet cleared Bill to Tackle Crimes against Women............................................. 194 Indias First All Women Post Office Inaugurated by Kapil Sibal ......................................... 194 Cabinet Committee on Security approved Flexible Use of Airspace .................................. 194 Patiala House Court framed Charges against Irom Sharmila for Attempting Suicide ........ 194 Electronics Project Proposal System e-PPS launched by Kapil Sibal................................... 195 Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sanctioned Remote Village Electrification for 6033 Villages ................................................................................................................................ 195 President of India Pranab Mukherjee Gave Assent to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013.................................................................................................................. 196
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 24
Page 25
Panel to Examine issues of Certification under Cinematograph Act 1952 Constituted ..... 196 SC directed Government to notify Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal Award .................... 196 I&B Ministry Constituted Expert Committee to Review Functioning of Prasar Bharti ....... 196 Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram launched in Thane, Maharashtra ............................... 196 Union Cabinet of India gave its nod to decrease head counts in areas covered under PMGSY ................................................................................................................................. 197 I&B Ministry launched My India Initiative-A Digital Volunteer Programme to reach Citizens ............................................................................................................................................. 197 The Union Government directed all States to Review Cases of Under-Trial...................... 198 Priority Sector Lending (PSL) to Minorities Crossed 15 Percent Mark in 2012-2013 ......... 198 SC ordered Seizure of operations of Unsuccessful Bidders of Auction of 2G Spectrum .... 198 NACO signed MoU with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to Highlight Issues related to AIDS................................................................................................................................. 198 CBI Registered Case against Airtel and Tata Communications for Violating DoT Norms ... 199 The Centre resolved the Issue of CST Compensation with the States ............................... 199 Special Consultative Status with UN Accorded to Six Indian NGOs.................................... 199 India celebrated its 64th Republic Day; Showcased Military Prowess and Cultural Heritage ............................................................................................................................................. 199 Broadcasting Content Complaints Council Sought Reviewing Rules for TV Licensing ....... 200 Justice JS Verma Panel Report Submitted to the Government: Recommendations on the Sexual Crimes ...................................................................................................................... 200 India and Sri Lanka signed two agreements on Terrorism and Drug Trafficking ............... 200 Supreme Court Banned Tourists Entry in Jarawa Tribe Habitat of Andamans .................. 200 Government of India declared use of MGNREGA linked Post Office Accounts for Direct Cash Transfer ...................................................................................................................... 201 Supreme Court of India Banned Construction of Religious Structures and Statues on Public Land ..................................................................................................................................... 201 Pranab Mukherjee imposed Presidents rule on Jharkhand .............................................. 201 Union Home Ministry Issued Strict Guidelines for Regulating Surrogacy in India ............. 201
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 25
Page 26
Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended Entitlement of Food for 67 percent Population ........................................................................................................................... 202 First Space Weather Reading Centre of India Scheduled to be opened by mid 2013 ....... 202 India for the Second Year reported No Fresh Polio Cases .................................................. 202 Election Commission announced Date of Election and By-Elections in 10 States ............. 202 Money Laundering and Banking Bills 2012 turned into Law with Presidents Assent ........ 202 Cochin Shipyard launched Aadesh, the First Fast Patrol Vessel for Coast Guard .............. 203 Aadhaar card to be accepted as proof to get passport: Ministry of external Affairs ......... 203 National Data Centre for UIDAI to come up in Gurgaon .................................................... 203 Empowered Group of Ministers decided to Auction four Telecom Circles in 1800 MHz Band ............................................................................................................................................. 204 News Broadcasting Standards Association Issued Guidelines for Reporting of Sexual Crimes ............................................................................................................................................. 204 Indias First Successful Intestinal Transplant Performed on a Software Engineer ............. 204 Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde launched Pilot Project of Crime and Criminal Tracking System .................................................................................................................. 204 Foreign Tourists Not Allowed To Work as Journalists on Tourist Visa: MHA ..................... 205 Union Government constituted the 14th Finance Commission under Former RBI Governor YV Reddy ............................................................................................................................. 205 Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram Unveiled Cash Transfer Rollout Plan ................. 205 Bihar became the Fastest Growing Indian State between 2006 and 2010 ........................ 206 Union Government Approved Selling 12.5 Percent Stake in Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers ............................................................................................................................. 206 Union Government exempted Service Tax for Janashree and Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana .. 206 Lok Sabha passed the Companies Bill 2011 aimed at Improving Corporate Governance . 207 Minorities Rights Day Celebrated By the National Commission for Minorities ................. 207 Govt. of India to set up Real Time Water Quality Monitoring stations along River Ganga 207 India Developed Indigenous Japanese Encephalitis (JE) Vaccine ....................................... 207 Union Government launched Government Calendar Featuring Flagship Schemes ........... 208 www.jagranjosh.com
Page 26
Page 27
Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 Cleared By the Union Cabinet ................................................................................................................................ 209 Bhatinda Srinagar Gas Pipeline Project to be completed by July 2014 .............................. 209 India to sign Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in criminal matters with four other nations 210 Karnataka to Provide Tamil Nadu with 12 TMC feet of Cauvery water: CMC .................... 210 Union Government of India cleared Decks for Ambedkar Memorial ................................. 210 Global Terrorism Index Revealed: India Ranked Among Top Five Terror-Hit Nations ....... 210 S.A. Ibrahim's Appointment as Director for Intelligence Bureau Approved ...................... 211 EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organisation) launched its e-Passbook Portal ............. 211 Costal Chain of Static Sensors Positioned along the Coast of Andhra Pradesh ................. 211 Union Minister of Finance P Chidambaram Finalised GAAR Amendment ......................... 211 The Coal Ministry issued Order for Deduction of Bank Guarantees and de-allocation of Coal Blocks .................................................................................................................................. 212 President Pranab Mukherjee Launched Low Cost Aakash Tablet 2 ................................... 212 Union Cabinet Cleared Setting up of 21 Textile Parks ........................................................ 212 TRAI issued a CAP of 100 SMSs on Concession Rates ......................................................... 212 Union Government Body CCEA lifted Export Ban on Some Milk Products ........................ 213 Broadband Network Pact Signed with 16 States and UT Government .............................. 213 Cabinet Reshuffle in India ................................................................................................... 213 IGMRI and CWC Signed MoU for Post Harvest Management of Foodgrains ..................... 216 Prime Minister Launched Aadhar Based Transfer System ................................................. 216 Election Commission Banned Broadcast of Opinion Polls during Assembly Election in Gujarat and HP .................................................................................................................... 216 Union Cabinet Approved setting up of National Automotive Board .................................. 217 SC: All States and UTs to conduct Fresh Surveys to identify Bonded Labour Problems .... 217 Union Cabinet Approved Amendment of Indecent Representation of Women Act ......... 217 Election Commission issued Stricter Guidelines to Curb the Practice of Paid News ......... 218
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 27
Page 28
Rail Radar, Website launched by the Railways to track the position of train .................... 218 MoS was signed to provide Autonomy for the Hills Council in Assam ............................... 218 Supreme Court directed Centre to present fresh guidelines on Tiger Reserves within a week .................................................................................................................................... 219 Postal Department of India Increased Speed post rate by 56 Percent .............................. 219 SC: Refused to restrain Center from providing training to Sri Lankan armed Forces ........ 219 Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal Launched Hockey and Cricket League .............................. 219 India and World Bank Signed 500 Million Dollar Deal for Shiksha Abhyan ........................ 220 Passive Euthanasia Supported by the Law Panel................................................................ 220 Supreme Court directed Government to provide Basic Infrastructure in School .............. 220 Ministry of Rural Development Launched Nirmal Bharat Yatra ......................................... 221 India and China agreed to boost the Defence Ties ............................................................. 221 India and Austria signed an MoU to strengthen bilateral cooperation on Rail and Road . 222 Altamas Kabir sworn-in as 39th Chief Justice of India ........................................................ 222 Jaideep Sarkar appointed as the new envoy to Israel ........................................................ 222 Former Navy Chief Nirmal Verma appointed as Indian envoy to Canada .......................... 222 Election Commission prohibited use of animals in Election Campaigns ............................ 223 SC: There are alternative ways for allocation of Natural Resources .................................. 223 Service Tax on high-end class travel, freight and auxiliary service rail fares...................... 223 Union Cabinet of India approved the Demands of Ex-servicemen for One Rank One Pension ............................................................................................................................................. 223 SC: Land belonging to Scheduled Castes or Tribes cannot be bought by Non Dalits ...... 224 New measures announced for the welfare of overseas Indians ........................................ 224 Government reduced Interest Rates on rescheduled Crop Loans from 12 to 7 Percent ... 225 Rashtriya Aarogya Nidhi Scheme was launched in Arunachal Pradesh.............................. 225 Environment clearance of 99 Mines in Goa suspended ..................................................... 225 Government reduced Interest Rates on rescheduled Crop Loans from 12 to 7 Percent ... 225
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 28
Page 29
Supreme Court: media can be restrained from pressing trials during proceedings .......... 226 Jal Satyagraha came to an end after 17 days demonstration on a victory note ................ 226 Supreme Courts Notice to Tamil Nadu on the petition that challenged 69% quota in the state .................................................................................................................................... 227 Supreme Court granted two weeks time to the centre to take a call on Abu Salem ......... 227 Union cabinet approved interest subsidy for farmer loans ................................................ 227 The Government approved a Complete Ban on Employment of Children ........................ 228 Supreme Court refused to lift Ban on Mining Activities in Karnataka ................................ 228 The Union Government issued an Ultimatum to Social Networking Site Twitter .............. 228 The Government extended the Ban on Import of Milk and Milk Products from China ..... 228 Government of India enacted Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 ............................. 229 Supreme Court of India ordered Better Healthcare for Bhopal Gas Tragedy Victims ....... 229 BCCC asked TV Channels to be Extra-cautious while Showing Violence against Women.. 229 Delhi High Court approved the Guidelines for Media Reporting on Children .................... 229 Bimal Gurung sworn in as the Head of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration ................. 230 Union Cabinet approved the Launch of Satellite to study Mars ........................................ 230 Union Government approved 492 Crore Rupees to set up Central Academy for Police Training in Bhopal ............................................................................................................... 230 Special Tribunal approved MHA Move to declare SIMI as an Unlawful Organisation ....... 231 Union Government approved Relaxation in Policies Related to Transfer of Government Land ..................................................................................................................................... 231 One Thousand Nine Hundred Crore Rupees Allocated to Rain Deficient States................ 231 Power Tripped in Northern, Eastern and North Eastern Grids: Indias Biggest Power Blackout .............................................................................................................................. 232 International Current Affairs (1st Aug 12 15th March 13)..................................................... 234 Eurozone and IMF Agreed For 10 Billion Euros Cyprus Bailout Deal .................................. 234 India and Britain signed Pact to Support Research and Development Projects ................ 234
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 29
Page 30
Khil Raj Regmi to Head the Interim Government of Nepal; Sworn-In As the Prime Minister ............................................................................................................................................. 234 Iran and Pakistan launched Gas Pipeline Project ............................................................... 234 45th Independence Day of Mauritius Celebrated; Pranab Mukherjee Was the Chief Guest ............................................................................................................................................. 235 India and Bhutan signed Currency Swap Agreement worth 100 million Dollars ............... 235 China Unveiled Government Restructuring Plan; Ministry Of Railways to Be Dissolved ... 235 US and South Korea Started Joint Annual Military Drills .................................................... 235 Pakistan Parliament passed Counter Terrorism Authority Bill ........................................... 236 Kenya Election: Uhuru Kenyatta won Kenya Presidency .................................................... 236 India Proposed Hydrocarbon Pipeline from Kazakhstan .................................................... 236 Pranab Mukherjee and Sheikh Hasina Inaugurated Freight Train to Bangladesh .............. 236 India and Republic of Portugal Signed a Social Security Agreement .................................. 236 India-United Kingdom Summit 2013: Issues Discussed and Agreed Upon ........................ 237 India and UK Signed MOU on Strengthening Co-Operation in Earth Sciences................... 237 India and USA inaugurated the First Triangular India-US-Africa Partnership at Hyderabad ............................................................................................................................................. 237 Nicos Anastasiades Won Cyprus Presidential Elections With 57.5 Percent Votes ............. 237 African Leaders signed UN-Brokered Accord in DR Congo ................................................. 238 Trade Deficit of Japan Hit Record in January 2013 as Yen Weakened ............................... 238 Worlds First Mercury Treaty adopted by 140 Countries at Geneva.................................. 238 India and Sri Lanka Signed Agreements On Combating Terrorism and Avoiding DoubleTaxation............................................................................................................................... 238 India and the UAE agreed to take their Trade Relations to another Level......................... 238 Court of Arbitration, The Hague gave a go ahead to India on Kishanganga Project .......... 239 India-US Joint Working Group held its 10th Meeting in Washington ................................ 239 First India-Japan Maritime Affairs Dialogue was held in New Delhi................................... 239 India and France agreed to strengthen Cooperation on Counter Terrorism ..................... 239
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 30
Page 31
North Korea conducted its third Nuclear Test and defied UN Regulations for World Peace ............................................................................................................................................. 240 India and Japan held talks to Strengthen Cooperation in Tourism Sector ......................... 240 Iran called on for destruction and end of the Nuclear Weapons of the World ................. 240 Seventeen Indian Prisoners on Death Row in Sharjah Jail Released .................................. 241 Pakistan approved the Deal which Handed over Gwadar Port to China ............................ 241 Ahmadinejad is the first Iranian President to visit Egypt since 1979 Islamic Revolution ... 241 India and Austria signed a Social Security Pact................................................................... 241 United States of America filed a Civil Lawsuit against Standard and Poor's ...................... 242 Mo Yan and Jackie Chan Selected As Members of Chinese Parliament ............................. 242 India dropped to 140th Rank in the Latest World Press Freedom Index ........................... 242 India Pledged Humanitarian Assistance of 2.5 Million US Dollars to Syria ........................ 243 India and Australia agreed to Concentrate on Energy and Food Security ......................... 243 India and Bangladesh signed Agreements on Extradition and Visa Regime ...................... 243 Milos Zeman won the Czech Republic Presidential Election 2013 ..................................... 243 War Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh pronounced its First Verdict of Death Sentence....... 244 Barack Obama Sworn In As the US President for Second Term ......................................... 244 Chinas Economy Grew 7.8 Percent in 2012, Hits 13-Year Low .......................................... 244 Indians asked to avoid Violence Prone Areas in Nigeria .................................................... 244 MV Amina, Iranian Cargo Ship fled from Sri Lankan Waters and defied orders of its High Court ................................................................................................................................... 245 Pakistan Anti-Corruption Body Refused Arresting PM ....................................................... 245 India and Pakistan agreed not to allow Tension along LoC to Escalate ............................. 245 China appointed Wei Wei, a Career Diplomat as Ambasador to India .............................. 245 India and Bangladesh Decided Increasing Rail Link Projects .............................................. 245 India, Vietnam signed MoU to Strengthen Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises .............. 245 China launched its Postage Stamp on Year of Snake .......................................................... 246
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 31
Page 32
The Oldest Bank of Switzerland to Pay 58 Million Dollar to US in Tax Evasion Case ......... 246 South Korea Became First Country in Asia to Order Chemical Castration of Child Rapist . 246 Beijing was 14th Safest City In China, Lhasa was the 1st : China Academy Of Social Sciences ............................................................................................................................................. 246 The United States evacuated its Embassy in the Central African Republic ........................ 246 President Mohamed Morsi signed Egypt's Controversial Constitution.............................. 247 Pakistan Government Recognised Republic of Kosovo as an Independent State .............. 247 India and Russia signed pacts on Economic Ties for 2 billion dollar Investment Fund ...... 247 Moscow Authorities Announced Demolishing Only Hindu Temple by January 2013 ........ 247 European Union imposed Stiff Sanctions on Trade with Iran............................................. 248 David Cameroon announced that Britain would Pull Half of its Troops from Afghanistan 248 Park Geun-Hye Elected As the First Woman President of South Korea ............................. 248 Ireland to legalise Abortions when the Mothers Life is at Risk ......................................... 248 Queen Elizabeth Became First Peacetime British Ruler to Attend Cabinet Meeting ......... 248 WHO approved Vaccine Manufacturing Practices adopted by Indian Pharmaceutical Companies .......................................................................................................................... 249 UK Planned to Replace Paper Money with Plastic Banknotes............................................ 249 Constitution Amendment Bill passed by Huge Majority in Rajya Sabha ............................ 249 India and Pakistan Jointly operaionalized New Visa Agreement in .................................... 249 North Korea Launched Long Range Unha-3 Rocket amid International Opposition.......... 249 Global Telecom Treaty without Net Control Signed by Eighty Nine Nations ..................... 250 Vinod Rai Re-Elected As Chairman of UN Panel of External Auditors ................................ 250 Maldives took over Charge of Male Airport scrapping Agreement with GMR .................. 250 China Held largest Air Force Drill involving 100 Fighter planes .......................................... 250 Iran Declared Extracting Complete Data from the Captured US Drone ............................. 250 Eleventh Meeting of India-Canada JWG on Counter Terrorism held in New Delhi ........... 251 Immigration to Britain Witnessed Biggest Fall in 20 Years ................................................. 251
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 32
Page 33
Parliament of Egypt Passed Draft of the New Constitution ............................................... 251 India and Japan Signed Two Agreements in Tokyo ............................................................ 251 India and Sweden Signed Social Security Agreement in New Delhi ................................... 251 UN (United Nations) Panel passed N Korea Resolution by Consensus .............................. 252 Eurozone, International Monetary Fund Agreed to New Greek Debt Deal ....................... 252 The 2nd India-China Strategic economic Dialogue held in New Delhi ............................... 252 Tenth ASEAN-India Summit Concluded at Peace Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia ........... 253 New Secretary General for ASEAN...................................................................................... 253 The Seventh East Asia Summit concluded in Phnom Penh, Cambodia .............................. 254 India Voted Against UN General Assemblys Resolution to Ban Death Penalties .............. 254 India Added 22 New Items to promote Indo-Myanmar Border Trade ............................... 254 RBI and the State Bank of Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding ................. 255 China State Broadcaster Auctioned Prime Time Slot at a Record Price ............................. 255 Bangladesh Opted out of D-8 Summit Scheduled to be Held in Pakistan .......................... 255 US Lifted the Ban Imposed on Imports from Myanmar, before P resident Obamas Visit to the Nati ............................................................................................................................... 255 India and Japan Signed Earths Pact on Rare Earth Minerals .............................................. 256 IEA: US would become worlds largest oil producer by 2017 ............................................. 256 India and Afghanistan Signed Four Cooperation Pacts ...................................................... 256 Nepal Elected as a Board Member of the ECOSOC ............................................................ 257 The Review Meeting of the E-9 Countries concluded in New Delhi ................................... 257 India, Britain decided to enhance Cooperation in Cyber Security...................................... 257 Noor Inayat Khans Bust to be Unveiled at London by Princess Anne ............................... 257 India-Canada finalised a Mechanism for Shipping of Canadian Uranium to India ............. 258 India-Japan-US Trilateral Dialogue held in New Delhi ........................................................ 258 India and UK Amended pact on Avoidance of Double Taxation......................................... 258 India, US and Japan held Trilateral meet and Talked on Cooperation ............................... 258 www.jagranjosh.com
Page 33
Page 34
Australian Schools would Teach Hindi ................................................................................ 259 Website of New York Times blocked in China .................................................................... 259 India, Spain Signed Agreement on Defence Cooperation .................................................. 259 The 2nd India-Japan 2+2 Dialogue held in Tokyo ............................................................... 259 Japan Lifted Travel Advisory on Jammu and Kashmir ........................................................ 260 India-Australia Announced Nuclear Deal Negotiation........................................................ 260 India and New Zealand signed Five MoUs to cooperate in Education ............................... 260 Five New Non-Permanent Member Countries Elected to UN Security Council ................. 260 India and Pakistan Discussed TAPI Gas Project .................................................................. 260 UK and Scotland signed an Agreement to hold a Referendum on Scottish Independence 261 UN warned of price hike in food products and a decline in global cereal production ....... 261 Arabic made its debut as official language at Vatican ........................................................ 261 Japan and India Launched Research Project to Study LNG Pricing .................................... 261 India and France signed an Agreement in the Field of Urban Development ..................... 262 India and Austria tied up for development of Smart Cities in India ................................... 262 US, India and Afghanistan held its First Trilateral Discussion ............................................. 262 India and Burundi signed 3 Major Agreements and issued a Joint Statement .................. 263 New Nuclear Safety Agency launched in Japan .................................................................. 263 India signed a memorandum of understanding with Egypt ............................................... 263 India Offered Telecom Support to Turkmenistan ............................................................... 264 China signed 16 new Agreements with Sri Lanka ............................................................... 264 US and Japan agreed to deploy advanced missile defense system .................................... 264 India topped the chart of registered largest number of under five deaths in 2011 .......... 264 India and Saudi Arabia held their first talk on defence ties ............................................... 264 India, Myanmar and Thailand decided to implement Trilateral Connectivity Project by 2016 ............................................................................................................................................. 265 Differences grew in between China and Japan over the disputed Diayo Islands ............... 265 www.jagranjosh.com
Page 34
Page 35
India and Tajikistan went ahead on strategic partnership and signed six agreements ..... 265 Sixth MekongGanga Cooperation meeting held in New Delhi ......................................... 266 India established Diplomatic Relations with Niue .............................................................. 266 The 16th NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) Summit was held in Tehran ............................. 266 USA slapped Sanctions on Laskar-e-Toibas Top Eight Commanders ................................. 267 India and Iran decided to expand Trade and Economic Cooperation ................................ 267 International Atomic Energy Agency set up Special Task Force for Iran ............................ 267 India, Afghanistan and Iran to set up Joint Working Group to spur Trade ........................ 267 India China agreed to set up Joint Working Group on Trade and Investments ................. 268 Russia formally became a Member of the World Trade Organisation ............................... 268 Myanmar abolished Censorship of the Country's Media ................................................... 268 India to cut Import Duties on 234 Items from Pakistan ..................................................... 268 Ecuador Granted Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Political Asylum ............................... 268 China signed Economic Agreements with North Korea which includes the Development of SEZs ..................................................................................................................................... 269 Libya's NTC Handed Power to Newly Appointed National Assembly ................................. 269 Sudan signed a Deal with South Sudan over Oil Payments ................................................ 269 India and Belgium signed Agreement for the Modernisation of Indian Railways .............. 269 India and Israel signed Collaborative Academic Research Programme Agreement .......... 270 US Senate passed Bill to label Haqqani Network as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation ...... 270 India signed Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with Monaco .......................... 270 US Imposed Sanctions on Banks Handling Iranian Oil Transactions ................................... 271 India allowed FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) from Pakistan............................................ 271 Election Commissions of India and South Korea signed MoU to Strengthen Democracy . 271 US and Pakistan inked NATO Supply Agreement ............................................................... 271 News at Glance ....................................................................................................................... 273 Inaugural Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) 2013 Concluded On a High Note ......................... 273 www.jagranjosh.com
Page 35
Page 36
Silver Linings Playbook won Four Awards at the Independent Spirit Awards .................... 273 NASA Scientists spotted the Youngest Black Hole W49B in the Milky Way ....................... 273 Silk Route Car Rally from Kolkata to Kunming organised by CII Flagged Off ...................... 273 Ratan Tata Awarded the Life Time Achievement Award 2012 by Ernst & Young .............. 274 Two Blasts in Hyderabad claimed 14 Lives and left 119 Injured ........................................ 274 T. S. Vijayan, the Former LIC Chief Took Over as the Chairman of IRDA ............................ 274 Malaysia lifted the Ban imposed on Public Screening of Vishwaroopam .......................... 275 NASA Re-Established Contact with ISS after 3 Hours of Blocked Communication ............ 275 Black Money Generated In India Would Exceed 10 Percent of GDP: NIPFP ...................... 275 Tzipi Livni entered into a Coalition Deal with Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel ............................................................................................................................................. 275 Retd. Justice Bhatt to Conduct Judicial Probe in Allahabad Railway Station Stampede .... 276 Mritunjay Singh appointed as the Joint COO of Persistent Systems .................................. 276 Kai Po Che, Chetan Bhagats Novel-Based Movie Premiered ............................................. 276 Ela Bhatt Conferred 2011 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development Award .................................................................................................................................. 276 Ecuadors President Rafael Correa Re-elected for a Third Term ........................................ 277 Indias External Affairs Minister visited Bangladesh to Co-Chair the 2nd Meeting of JCC . 277 Ronald Dworkin, the Constitutional Law Expert and Philosopher of America died at 81 .. 277 Romanian Film Childs Pose bagged the Golden Bear Prize ............................................... 277 Bangladesh Banned the Japanese Cartoon Doraemon to Curb Hindi Invasion ................. 278 Asoke Kumar Mukerji Appointed As the Next Permanent Representative of India to the UN ............................................................................................................................................. 278 Sanskrit as a language of science ........................................................................................ 278 Meteorite exploded over the Skies of Russia left more than 500 injured ......................... 278 Oscar Pistorius charged for Shooting Dead his Girlfriend .................................................. 279 One Billion Rising Campaign launched to end the Violence against Women .................... 279
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 36
Page 37
Seventeenth Convocation of the NIMHANS held in Bangalore .......................................... 279 International Conference on Traditional Medicine for South-East Asian Countries ended279 Mohan Parasaran Appointed As the Solicitor General of India .......................................... 279 Aero India 2013 ended after displaying magnificent Aerobatic Skills ................................ 280 World Radio Day was observed to raise Awareness about the Importance of Radio ....... 280 Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley, Prime Minister of Bhutan visited India .................................. 280 Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty Appointed As the Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi ................. 280 Giuseppe Orsi held on Bribe Charges in Indian Defence Helicopter Deal .......................... 281 2G Prosecutor removed for his alleged involvement in leaking Agency's Trial Strategy ... 281 Afzal Gurus Secret Hanging Was Called Operation Three Star .......................................... 281 Finance Minister P Chidambaram launched Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme in Mumbai ............................................................................................................................................. 281 Ministry of Civil Aviation launched Monthly Bi-lingual Shubh Yatra Magazine ................. 282 The Union Government of India approved setting up of NPCA ......................................... 282 Book Titled Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Germany Presented to the President of India ............................................................................................................................................. 282 YES Bank Awarded Financial Institutions Syndicated Deal of the Year 2012 ..................... 282 Education Minister of Germany Annette Schavan Stripped of Doctorate for plagarism ... 282 Union Cabinet approved DRDO for developing AWACS for IAF ......................................... 283 President of Nepal, Dr. Ram Baran Yadav visited India ...................................................... 283 King of Bhutan visited India as Republic Day function Chief Guest .................................... 283 Rajkeswur Purryag, President of Mauritius Visited India ................................................... 283 Rohinton F Nariman Solicitor-General of India resigned from his office ........................... 284 World Cancer Day observed across the world ................................................................... 284 NASA launched a New Communication Satellite called TDRS ............................................ 284 Muthunayagam and Saraswat to be awarded with Aryabhatta Award by the ASI ............ 284 Scientist Venkatesh Mannar honoured with Order of Canada Award ............................... 284
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 37
Page 38
S. Ramakrishnan took over as Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre ......................... 285 Urjit Patel Was Appointed As the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India ............ 285 Switzerland Best Place to be Born in the World, India Ranked 66th: Survey ..................... 285 Justice Amitava Roy Sworn in as Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court ............................ 285 Freedom fighter Pandit Ram Sanehi Shukla died ............................................................... 286 First Earthquake-Proof Hindu Temple of the World Opened Near Hollywood .................. 286 Prof. Ravindra Dholkia to Head five-member committee of Air India ............................... 286 Violin Maestro M.S. Gopalakrishnan died at the age of 82 ................................................ 286 PM Manmohan Singh Became the 19th Most Followed Leader on Twitter ...................... 286 Irelands prestigious Tipperary International Peace Prize for 2012 awarded to Malala .... 287 Gerda Lerner, The Womens History Pioneer, Died at 92 .................................................. 287 18th National Level Meeting between Myanmar and India held in New Delhi ................. 287 Sunmeet Kaur became the first woman to win 5 Crore Rupees on Kaun Banega Crorepati Game Show ......................................................................................................................... 287 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas meet kicked off in Kerala ..................................................... 287 Indian Institute of Astrophysics to Develop Worlds Largest Solar Telescope ................... 288 Justice D.K. Jain appointed as the Chairman of Law Commission ...................................... 288 N.A.K. Browne inaugurated a Medium Lift Helicopter Complex at Phalodi ....................... 288 India Successfully test-fired manoeuvrable version of BrahMos Supersonic Missile ........ 288 Fitch Ranked India's Sovereign Rating into Negative Status .............................................. 288 Air Marshal Kulwant Singh Gill took over as the Commandant of NDA ............................. 289 Rajiv Takru appointed Secretary of Financial Services in the Finance Ministry ................. 289 Life of Pi Nominated For BAFTA 2013 with Nine Nominations, Lincoln Leads Way with 10 Nods .................................................................................................................................... 289 Renault Duster Awarded Car of the Year Award 2013 ....................................................... 289 IAMAI Report: 64 percent Internet Users from Rural India prefer Vernacular Language .. 290
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 38
Page 39
Malala Yousafzai Honoured with France's Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women's Freedom ............................................................................................................................................. 290 19th Colors Screen Awards: Ranbir Kapoor and Irfan Khan declared Best Actors ............. 290 Golden Globe Awards 2013: Argo Won Best Picture and Best Director Awards ............... 293 Health Ministers of BRICS decided to set up Technical Working Group (TWG) ................. 293 World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) Held in Dubai ......... 293 Adolf Hitler Based Novel Titled Er Ist Wieder Da Became Germanys Bestseller ............... 294 Halimah Yacob Became First Woman Speaker of the Singapore Parliament .................... 294 President Pranab Mukherjee honoured 18 States with Krishi Karman Awards ................. 294 Chinese Author Zhao Jiang to launch her First Book in Tamil, Chinas Travel Attractions . 294 Mahaveer Golechha, London-Based Indian Researcher Selected For Award for Alzheimer's Drug ..................................................................................................................................... 295 SSPI to honour Prof. U R Rao by inducting him as a Member to the Satellite Hall of Fame ............................................................................................................................................. 295 58th Idea Filmfare Awards: Barfi! Bags Seven Awards, Kahaani Scripts Five ..................... 295 Barack Obama took Oath as the President of the United States of America for Second Term ............................................................................................................................................. 296 President of India inaugurated the Centenary Year Celebration of the National Test House ............................................................................................................................................. 296 Election Commission of India nominated Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom as the National Icons .................................................................................................................................... 296 West Bengal Government gave Heritage Status to Neta Jis Ancestral House .................. 297 NMEW held the Sixth National Conference on Implementation of PWDVA ..................... 297 National Girl Child Day Celebrated In India on 24 January................................................. 297 U.S. Federal Court sentenced 35 years in Prison for David Coleman Headley ................... 297 Major Abup J Manjali Selected For Second- Highest Peacetime Gallantry Award Kirti Chakra ............................................................................................................................................. 298 Indian writer shortlisted for the prestigious International Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2013 .................................................................................................................................... 298
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 39
Page 40
India Successfully Test Fired a Ballistic Missile in Bay of Bengal ........................................ 298 Sreeramamurthy Janaki Refused to Accept Padma Bhushan on R-Day ............................. 298 Shah Rukh Khan Ranked First in Inaugural Forbes India Celebrity 100 List ....................... 298 Taiwanese Business Magnate Launches Asias Nobel-Type Prizes..................................... 299 Milos Zeman became Czech Republics First Directly Elected President ........................... 299 World Anti-Leprosy Day Observed to focus Attention on Disease..................................... 299 Haryana Topped the Chart of States that exceeded Revenue Mop up Target .................. 299 Ranjit Sinha, Senior IPS Officer Took Over As CBI Director ................................................ 300 India ranked 94th in 2012 Corruption Perception Index released by Transparency Int. ... 300 Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi on the List of Top 20 Most Powerful People of the World .................................................................................................................................. 300 Parthasarathi Shome Appointed As the Adviser to Finance Minister of India ................... 300 Life of Pi was given two National Tourism Awards by the Ministry of Tourism ................. 301 New Version of Internet Addresses Made Available in India ............................................. 301 Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram Selected For K Karunakaran Foundation Award 301 Nobel Peace Prize 2012 Awarded to European Union (EU) ............................................... 301 Pandit Ravi Shankar, the Indian sitar Maestro Passed away in California ......................... 301 Police Warned People of Map Flaws of Apple Leading to Snake-Infested Desert ............. 302 Bollywood Actress Hema Malini Selected for Bharat Muni Samman ................................ 302 Pandit Ravi Shankar to be Honoured with Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award 2013.. 302 DAVP Received the Web Ratna Award-2012-Golden Icon Award ..................................... 302 Bhanu Athaiya, First Indian to Win Oscar decided to Return Her Trophy .......................... 302 Norman Woodland, the inventor of bar code died at 91 ................................................... 303 Mumbai ranked among the Dirtiest Cities of the World: Survey ....................................... 303 Naina Lal Kidwai became the First Woman President of FICCI .......................................... 303 Mahatma Gandhis Letters and Rare Copy of Indian Constitution sold Big at Sotheby's .. 303 Shahrukh Khan honoured with BrandLaureate Legendary Award in Malaysia .................. 304 www.jagranjosh.com
Page 40
Page 41
Subhash Joshi Appointed New Chief of Indian Border Security Force (BSF) ...................... 304 First of the Eight P - 8I Maritime Surveillance Aircraft received by Indian Navy................ 304 US President Barack Obama named Person of the year 2012 by TIME Magazine ............. 304 Praful Patel re-elected President of All India Football Federation ..................................... 305 Maharaj Loonkaran Singhs Era Gunpowder Found in Sonar Fort ..................................... 305 Jeet Thayil along with 23 Others Chosen as Sahitya Akademi Award Winners ................. 305 India Successfully Test Fired Air to Air Interceptor Astra Missile ....................................... 306 Gangnam Style Named among Collins Dictionarys Word of the Year 2012 ...................... 306 Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards for the Year 2012 Announced ............................................................................................................................................. 306 Justice Swatanter Kumar took over as NGT Chairperson ................................................... 306 Virbhadra Singh took oath as Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh for the Sixth time ...... 306 China inaugurated Worlds Longest High-speed Rail Route linking Beijing with Guangzhou ............................................................................................................................................. 307 Cyber Security get Revamped with Government Five Year Plan ........................................ 307 Shinzo Abe Elected As Prime Minister of Japan by Lower House of the Parliament ......... 307 Narendra Modi was Sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Gujarat ......................................... 307 Oriya Novelist and Academician Pratibha Ray selected for 2011 Jnanpith Award ............ 307 MS Sahoo appointed as Secretary of Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) ..... 308 Security and Exchange Board of India(SEBI) appointed S Raman as Whole Time Member ............................................................................................................................................. 308 President of Russia Vladmir Putin Visited India to attend 13th India-Russia Annual Summit ............................................................................................................................................. 308 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar visited India ............................................................... 308 Passport Seva Project won CSI-Nihilent e-Governance Award for Excellence ................... 309 India-Maldives Joint Military Training Exercise EKUVERIN 2012 held in Belgaum ............. 309 Chitra Ramkrishna appointed as the new Managing Director and CEO of NSE ................. 309 Alok Joshi to be RAW Head, Asif Ibrahim to Head IB ......................................................... 309
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 41
Page 42
Tipu Sultans Era Cannon Discovered at Bangalore Metro Site .......................................... 310 Bangladeshs Worst-Ever Fire Accident Claimed Several Lives .......................................... 310 Ernest Bai Koroma re-elected as the President of Sierra Leone......................................... 310 Joaquim Barbosa sworn-in as Brazils Supreme Courts First non-White President .......... 310 Lula da Silva awarded Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development .... 310 GRACE revealed that Greenland loses 200 million tonnes of ice every year ..................... 311 Gavaskar conferred with Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award ........................... 311 NAK Browne released a book Victory India-A Key to Quality Military Leadership............. 311 Yuvi- Book on Cricketer Yuvraj Singh authored by Makarand Waingankar Released ........ 311 President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf chosen for Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2012 ..... 312 Chinese Film, 11 Flowers won NETPAC Award at Kolkata Film Festival ............................. 312 Urdu Scholar Gopi Chand Narang Awarded Moortidevi Award for 2010 .......................... 312 Xi Jinping elected as the New General Secretary of the Communist Party of China ......... 312 President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai Visited India and discussed on various Issues ..... 312 Ramanujans genius Proved by US Mathematician ............................................................ 313 United Nation Declared November 10 as Malala day ........................................................ 313 The Folded Earth declared among Winners of 11th Economist Crossword Book Award .. 313 Hyderabad Last Nizam Named All time Richest Indian ...................................................... 313 British Writer Hilary Mantel won Booker Prize for Second Time ....................................... 314 World Food Day Celebrated worldwide on 16 October 2012 ............................................ 314 Lloyd Shapley and Alvin Roth of America won Nobel Prize in Economics .......................... 314 Libyas National Congress elected Ali Zidan as the New Prime Minister ........................... 314 Global Hunger Report 2012: India ranked at 65th position ............................................... 314 Mo Yan a Chinese writer won the 2012 Nobel Prize for literature .................................... 315 Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka Won Nobel Prize 2012 for Chemistry ........................ 315 S.Vishwanathan Elected as New Managing Director of State bank of India ...................... 315
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 42
Page 43
Serge Haroche and David Wineland won Nobel Prize 2012 for Physics ............................ 315 John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka won Nobel Prize-2012 for Medicine ......................... 316 Indian Navy Successfully Test Fired BrahMos Missile ........................................................ 316 Niryat Shree and Niryat Bandhu Awards Presented By President of India ........................ 316 ISRO Scientist Tessy Thomas Conferred with Lal Bahadur Shastri Award .......................... 316 India Successfully Test Fired Nuclear Capable Dhanush Missile ........................................ 317 Ajit Saran Appointed as Secretary in National Commission for Women ........................... 317 Nuclear Capable Prithvi II Missile Sucessfully Test Fired .................................................... 317 India successfully launched its Heaviest Satellite GSAT-10 ................................................ 317 CSIR announced Fellowship program for Scientists aged above 70 ................................... 317 R Lakshmipathy elected as chairman of the Press Trust of India ....................................... 318 Aishwarya Rai appointed as International Goodwill Ambassador ..................................... 318 International day of Peace observed worldwide ................................................................ 318 Aung San Suu Kyi received US Congress Highest Honour................................................... 318 India successfully test-fired its Indigenously built Agni-IV Missile ..................................... 318 Salman Rushdie released his Book Joseph Anton .............................................................. 319 Russia declassified the existence richest diamond field of the world ................................ 319 Delhi High Court gave a nod to installation of GPS system in Auto Rickshaws .................. 319 Rajiv Mehta appointed as Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau ......................... 320 Defence Minister, A.K. Antony opened an Army Hospital in Male .................................... 320 The President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon visited India ............................................... 320 Hassan Sheikh Mohamud the newly elected president of Somalia survived assassination ............................................................................................................................................. 320 Tensions grew over Senkaku Islands in between Japan and China .................................... 320 Vice president of India M. Hamid Ansari released a book ................................................. 321 ISRO made a century with the launch of PSLV-C21 ............................................................ 321 Verghese Kurien the White Revolutionary and the Milkman of India Died ....................... 321 www.jagranjosh.com
Page 43
Page 44
India ranked to be 59th in the report released by World Economic Forum ...................... 322 Kaushik Basu appointed as World Bank Chief Economist .................................................. 322 Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi took over as the new Indian Navy Chief .......................... 322 Poonam Kishore Saxena appointed as Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes .......... 322 PJ Kurien elected the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha .................................................... 322 Pakistan Government honoured Gopi Chand Narang with Sitara-i-Imtiaz ........................ 323 Pak Government Honoured Saadat Hasan Manto with the Nisan-i-Imtiaz........................ 323 IMPORTANT AUTHORS AND THEIR BOOKS................................................................................. 325 COMPUTER KNOWLEDGE ........................................................................................................... 341 Introduction of Computer ....................................................................................................... 341 Characteristics of Computer ............................................................................................... 341 Uses of a Computer............................................................................................................. 341 History of Computers .......................................................................................................... 342 Types of Computers ............................................................................................................ 342 Classes of Computers .......................................................................................................... 343 Components of Computer ...................................................................................................... 345 Central Processing Unit ....................................................................................................... 345 Microprocessor ................................................................................................................... 345 Control Unit......................................................................................................................... 345 Arithmetic Logic Unit .......................................................................................................... 345 Memory............................................................................................................................... 345 RAM..................................................................................................................................... 345 Bits and Bytes ...................................................................................................................... 346 ROM AND RAM ................................................................................................................... 346 CACHE ................................................................................................................................. 346 THE BUS ............................................................................................................................... 346
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 44
Page 45
COMPUTER HARDWARE ..................................................................................................... 347 Motherboard....................................................................................................................... 347 Text Input Devices............................................................................................................... 348 Pointing Devices .................................................................................................................. 348 Data Storage........................................................................................................................ 348 Few Important Computer Devices ...................................................................................... 350 Computer Operating Software ............................................................................................... 352 Features of Operating Systems ........................................................................................... 352 Major Operating Systems ................................................................................................... 353 Application Softwares ............................................................................................................. 354 Microsoft Office (MS Office) ................................................................................................... 355 MICROSOFT WORD ............................................................................................................. 355 MICROSOFT EXCEL .............................................................................................................. 355 Microsoft Excel 2010 New Features ................................................................................... 355 MICROSOFT OUTLOOK ........................................................................................................ 356 MICROSOFT POWERPOINT ................................................................................................. 356 Computer Languages .............................................................................................................. 357 ALGOL .................................................................................................................................. 357 C .......................................................................................................................................... 357 C++ ...................................................................................................................................... 357 COBOL ................................................................................................................................. 357 FORTRAN ............................................................................................................................. 357 Java...................................................................................................................................... 357 PASCAL ................................................................................................................................ 358 Computer Network ................................................................................................................. 358 Purpose of Computer Network ........................................................................................... 358
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 45
Page 46
Network Classification on Basis of Scale ............................................................................. 358 Hardware Components of a Network ................................................................................. 359 Network Topologies ............................................................................................................ 360 Internet ................................................................................................................................... 361 World Wide Web ................................................................................................................ 361 Email.................................................................................................................................... 361 Usenet ................................................................................................................................. 361 Search Engine ...................................................................................................................... 361 General Keyboard Shortcut Keys ............................................................................................ 362 MARKETING................................................................................................................................. 366 Nature, Scope and Functions .................................................................................................. 366 Nature of Marketing ........................................................................................................... 366 Scope of Marketing ............................................................................................................. 366 Difference between Marketing and Selling ........................................................................ 367 Creating a Customer ........................................................................................................... 367 Concepts of Marketing........................................................................................................ 368 Functions of Marketing ....................................................................................................... 369 Objectives of Marketing...................................................................................................... 370 Role of Marketing ............................................................................................................... 371 Consumer Behaviour............................................................................................................... 371 Elements of Consumer Behaviour ...................................................................................... 371 Marketing Channels ................................................................................................................ 372 Flows in Marketing Channels .............................................................................................. 372 Sales Promotion .................................................................................................................. 372 Sales Promotion Tools and Programmes ............................................................................ 373 Tools and Programmes for Dealers/Distributors Sales ....................................................... 373
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 46
Page 47
Merits of Sales Promotion .................................................................................................. 374 Demerits of Sales Promotion .............................................................................................. 374 Advertising .............................................................................................................................. 374 Characteristics of Advertising ............................................................................................. 374 Objectives of Advertising .................................................................................................... 375 Elements of Advertising ...................................................................................................... 375 Types of Advertising............................................................................................................ 375 Media of Advertising ........................................................................................................... 376 Advantages of Advertising .................................................................................................. 378 Personal Selling ....................................................................................................................... 379 Importance of Personal Selling ........................................................................................... 379 Elements of Selling .............................................................................................................. 380 Elements of Personal Selling ............................................................................................... 380 Qualities of a Good Salesperson ......................................................................................... 380 Consumer Protection .............................................................................................................. 382 Rights of Consumers ........................................................................................................... 382 Ways and Means of Consumer Protection ......................................................................... 382 Consumer Protection Act, 1986 .......................................................................................... 384 Goods and Services Covered Under CPA, 1986 .................................................................. 384 Machinery for Settlement of Grievances............................................................................ 384 Concept of Bank Marketing .................................................................................................... 386 Role of Marketing in Banking .............................................................................................. 386 Banking Products ................................................................................................................ 387 NRI Banking ......................................................................................................................... 387 Current Accounts ................................................................................................................ 388 Current Accounts can be opened by................................................................................... 388
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 47
Page 48
Loans and Advances ............................................................................................................ 389 Corporate Financing............................................................................................................ 389 Fixed Deposits ..................................................................................................................... 390 Fixed deposit accounts can be opened............................................................................... 390 Non-performing Assets (NPA) ............................................................................................. 390 Mutual Funds ...................................................................................................................... 390 Micro Finance...................................................................................................................... 391 Micro Credit ........................................................................................................................ 391 Different forms of Banking Services Mobile Banking ......................................................... 391 Online Banking .................................................................................................................... 392 Offshore Banking ................................................................................................................ 392 Wholesale Banking.............................................................................................................. 392 Brick and Mortar Banking ................................................................................................... 392 Private Banking ................................................................................................................... 392 Merchant Banking ............................................................................................................... 393 Phone Banking .................................................................................................................... 393 Retail Banking ..................................................................................................................... 393 Bancassurance .................................................................................................................... 393 Glossary ............................................................................................................................... 394
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 48
Page 49
MONEY & BANKING

MONEY, BANKING AND FINANCE
DEFINITION OF MONEY
Money is anything, which is generally acceptable as means of payment in the settlement of all transactions, including debt. It is the commonly used as medium of exchange. It has power to purchase things directly in all markets. It does not require to be converted into something else before it can be spent or used. General acceptability as the common means of payment is the distinctive characteristic of money.
FUNCTIONS OF MONEY
Medium of Exchange It is a characteristic that distinguishes money from other assets (near-money or nonmoney). All other functions of money are derived from this primary function. Without money, exchange will involve a direct barter of goods and services for goods and services. It always promotes transactional efficiency in exchange and allocation efficiency. Unit of Account This function of money is also variously known as unit of value, standard of value, common denominator of value and common measure of value. In terms of money, the values of all goods and services are expressed which ensures possible meaningful accounting systems by adding up the values of goods and services, e.g. National income estimates of a country, money cost of a project, etc. Standard of Deferred Payment Money serves as a standard or unit through which deferred or future payments can be made. This applies to payments of interest, rents, salaries, insurance premium etc. In a money-using system, the bulk of deferred payments are stipulated in money terms. Store of Value This function is derived from the use of money as a medium of exchange in a two-fold manner. First, it decomposes a single barter transaction into two separate transactions of purchase and sale. Second, in money-using system, incomes in the form of wages, salaries, rent, interest and profits are money payments received discontinuously.
KINDS OF MONEY
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 49
Page 50
Coins: These are metallic token money because the intrinsic (metallic) value of a coin is less than its face value. Currency notes: These are made of paper without any intrinsic value. These are inconvertible in the sense that the issuing authority (RBI) does not stand ready to buy them back against gold or silver or full-bodied gold or silver coins of equal value at a predetermined price. Deposit money: It is not like coins or currency notes that can be passed on from hand to hand for a transfer of purchasing power. Deposits are only entries in the ledgers of bank to the credit of their holders. Only demand deposits of banks on which cheques can be drawn are treated as money. The cheques are an instrument through which these deposits can be transferred from the payer to the payee. Only when the ownership of these deposits has been so transferred is the medium of exchange or the means of payment function of these deposits completed.
MEASURES OF MONEY SUPPLY

Four alternative measures of money supply (adopted by RBI since 1977) M or M1 = C + DD + OD M2 = M1 + savings deposits with post office savings banks. AMR or M3 = M1 + net time deposits of banks. M4 = M3 + total deposits with the post-office Saving Organisation (excluding National Savings Certificates)
Here C = Currency held by public DD = Net demand deposits of banks OD = Other Deposits of the RBI AMR = Aggregate Monetary Resources. In the above definitions, M1 is called narrow money and M3 is called broad money. Currency includes paper currency and coins only. Other deposits of the RBI includes deposits other than those held by the Govt (Central and State govt.), banks and a few others. They include demand deposits of quasi-government institutions (like the IDBI), foreign central banks and governments, the IMF and the World Bank etc.
CREDIT AND THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM

Credit Credit is used narrowly for only debt finance. Credit is simply the opposite of debt. Debt is the obligation to make future payments.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 50
Page 51
Credit is a stock-flow variable. At any point of time, there is a certain amount of credit (of any one kind or all kinds) outstanding. It is a revolving stock. Once a loan is repaid, the amount received can be advanced to the same party or some other party or parties. KINDS OF CREDIT The Source of Credit In the present-day Indian economy credit is provided by a wide variety of sources. These sources may be conveniently classified as:
Sources of Credit
Institutional
Non Institutional
Banks
Non Banks
Money Lenders and indigenous
Open Market
Seller (Trade Credit)
RBI
Other Bank
Commercial
Co-operative
Each source can be further subdivided into various sub-classes. The End-uses of credit Credit is required and used, less or more, in all spheres of economic activity. So, we may classify credit by its end-use by way of major areas of economic activity. This is done schematically in the following Figure. The Term of Credit Term-wise credit is usually divided into three broad classes: (I) short-term credit, (ii) mediumterm credit, and (iii) long-term credit. Short-term credit is usually for a year or less. (In agriculture, it goes even up to 18 months.) Medium-term credit is for more than a year, but less than ten years. Long-term credit is for ten years or more. The Cost of Credit
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 51
Page 52
The cost of credit varies over a wide range for different classes of borrowers and for credit from different sources. There are no hard and fast rules for classification of credit by cost. Cost-wise credit is usually divided into three broad classes: (a) cheap, (b) dear, and (c) usurious. Cheap, dear, and usurious are relative terms.
FINANCIAL SYSTEM
The financial system is a set of institutional arrangements through which financial surpluses in the economy are mobilised from surplus units and transferred to deficit spenders. The institutional arrangements include all conditions and mechanisms governing the production, distribution, exchange and holding of financial assets or instruments of all kinds and the organisations as well as the manner of operations of financial markets and institutions of all descriptions. Thus, there are three main constituents of financial system - financial assets, financial markets and financial institutions. Financial assets are subdivided under the two heads of primary (or direct) securities and secondary (or indirect) securities. The secondary securities are financial claims issued by financial institutions or intermediaries against themselves to raise funds from public, e.g. bank deposits, life insurance policies, UTI units, IDBI bonds etc.
RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

Introduction It is the apex institution of the country's monetary system and financial system. It plays a leading role in organising, running, supervising, regulating and developing the monetary and financial system. The design and conduct of the monetary and credit policy are its special responsibility. It was established on April 1, 1935 under the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934. Initially, it was constituted as a private shareholders' bank with a fully paid- up share capital of Rs 5 crores. It was nationalised on January 1, 1949. The executive head of the Bank is called the Governor who is assisted by deputy governors and other officers. It has a central board of directors, supplemented by four local boards at Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai for four regional areas: northern, eastern, southern and western respectively. Its head office is at Mumbai.
FUNCTIONS OF RBI
As currency authority
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 52
Page 53
The RBI is the sole authority for the issue of currency other than one-rupee notes and coins and small coins which are issued by Government of India. There are two separate departments: the Issue Department and the Banking Department. As Banker to Government (Centre as well as states) It transacts all banking business of the government. In return, the governments keep their cash balances on current account deposit with the RBI. It provides short term credit to the government. The Central government is empowered to borrow through treasury bills any amount it likes from the RBI. Thus the Central government is the ultimate monetary authority of the country. As banker's bank and supervisor The RBI holds a part of the cash reserves of banks, lends them funds for short periods, and provides them with centralised clearing and cheap and quick remittance facilities. The RBI is authorised statutorily to require scheduled commercial banks to deposit with it a stipulated ratio (lying between - 3% and 15%) of their net total liabilities. The ratio is called Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR). As Controller of money supply and credit RBI is responsible for keeping inflationary tendencies under check through controlling the money supply and bank credit. To perform the above function, following instruments are at the disposal of RBI: Open market operations The term open market operation's stands for the purchase and sale of government securities by the RBI from/to the public and banks on its own account. In its capacity as the government's banker and as the manager of public debt, the RBI buys all the unsold stock of new government loans at the end of the subscription period and thereafter keeps them on sale in the market on its own account.
STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO (SLR)

Section 24 (2A) of Banking Regulations Act.1949 requires every banking company to maintain in India equivalent to an amount which shall not, at the close the business on any day, be less than prescribed by RBI (earlier 25%) as a percentage of the total of its net demand and time liabilities in India, which is known as SLR.
CASH RESERVE REQUIREMENT (CRR)
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 53
Page 54
CRR refers to the ratio of banks balance with RBI to the banks net demand and time liabilities. The objective of maintaining a minimum balance with RBI is basically to ensure the liquidity and solvency of the scheduled banks. The system of maintaining a minimum cash balance with the Central Bank of a country had originated in USA.
BANK RATE
The Bank Rate (BR) has been defined in Sec 49 of RBI Act 1934 as the 'standard rate at which RBI is prepared to buy or rediscount bills of exchange or other commercial papers eligible for purchase under this act'. The RBI uses its lending power to banks (a) to influence their credit allocation and (b) to develop a genuine bill market in India.
SELECTIVE CREDIT CONTROL

Selective Credit Control (SCC) refers to the directives issued by RBI u/s 21 of Banking Regulation Act 1949 to regulate flow of bank credit against security of sensitive/selected commodities. With a view to prevent speculative holding of essential commodities with the help of bank credit, RBI issues from time to time, directive covering the margin requirements and the level and quantum of accommodation that could be granted against the SCC items.
BANKING REGULATION ACT 1949

Passed as the Banking Companies Act 1949 (came into force wef 16.3.49) and changed to Banking Regulations Act 1949 wef 01.03.66, it was made applicable to J&K in 1956. The Act is not applicable to primary agricultural credit societies, cooperative land mortgage banks and non-agricultural primary credit societies. Banking - Banking means accepting for the purpose of lending or Investment of deposits of money from public repayable on demand or otherwise and withdrawable by cheque, drafts order or otherwise. Banking company means any company which transacts the business of banking. Secured loan or advances means a loan or advance made on the security of asset the market value of which is not at any time less than the amount of such lean or advances and unsecured loan or advances means a lean or advance net secured. Please check statement Banking business a banking company may be engaged in accepting deposits, borrowing money, lending money, dealing in bills, collection of bills buying/selling foreign exchange, lockers, issuing letter of credit, traveller cheques, mortgages, insurance business, acting as trustee etc or any other business which Central Govt may notify in the Official Gazette.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 54
Page 55
Use of Word 'Banking' - For banking companies carrying on banking business in India to use at least one word bank, banking, banking company in its name. Immovable property - Banks are prohibited from holding any immovable property howsoever acquired except as acquired for its own use for a period exceeding 7 years from acquisition of the property, RBI may extend this period by five years. Prohibitions on employment like Chairman, Directors etc (Period of office-not mere than 5 years extendable by another 5 years). Paid-up capital, reserves and rules relating to - Foreign banks: minimum Rs 15 lac (Rs 20 lac for business in Mumbai and/or Calcutta). For domestic Banks: not less than Rs 5 lac. Ratio of authorised, subscribed and paid-up capital minimum 4:2:1. Voting right more than 10% irrespective of holding. Banks not to pay any commission, brokerage, discount etc more than 2.5% of paid-up value of one share. Prohibits a banking company from creating a charge upon any unpaid capital of the company. Section prohibits a banking company from creating a floating charge on the undertaking or any property of the company without the RBI permission. Prohibits payment of dividend by any bank until all of its capitalised expenses have been completely written off. To create reserve fund: 20% of the profits should be transferred to this fund before any dividend is declared (RBI however directed banks to transfer not less than 25% of net profits to Reserve Fund wef Mar 31, 2001). Cash reserve - Non-scheduled banks to maintain 3% of the demand and time liabilities by way of cash reserves with itself or by way of balance in a current account with RBI. Permits banks to form subsidiary company for certain purposes. No banking company shall hold shares in any company. Banks cannot grant loan against security of its own shares. Branch Licensing - obtaining of license from RBI is essential. Statutory Liquidity Ratio - Every bank to maintain a percentage of its demand and time liabilities by way of cash, gold, unencumbered securities. Unclaimed deposits - Return of unclaimed deposits within 30 days of close of each calendar year (10 years and above). Every bank has to publish its balance sheet as on Mar 31.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 55
Page 56
Publish balance sheet and auditors report within 3 months from the end of period to which they refer. RBI may extend the period by further three months. RBI can terminate any Chairman or any employee of a bank where it considers desirable to do so. Amendment carried in the Act during 1983 employers Central Govt to frame rules specifying the period for which a bank shall preserve its books. Other than a banking company/RBI/SBI, no person can accept deposit of money withdrawable by cheque. Certain returns are also required to be sent to RBI by banks such as monthly return of liquid assets and liabilities, quarterly return of assets and liabilities in India, return of unclaimed deposits and monthly return of assets and liabilities.
COMMERCIAL BANKS
Commercial banks are the single most important source of institutional credit in India. A bank is an institution that accepts deposits of money from the public, withdrawable by cheque and used for lending. Two essential functions which make a financial institution a bank - I. acceptance of chequable deposits (of money) from the public and II. Lending. Three things about deposits are noteworthy: They are deposits of money Deposits are accepted from public at large Deposits are repayable on demand and withdrawable by cheque
As bank (under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949) is not allowed to carry on any business of its own (other than that of banking), the word lending is used here broadly to include both direct lending to borrowers and indirect lending through investment in open-market securities.
NATIONALISATION OF BANKS
First to be nationalised was RBI on 1 January 1949. Nationalisation of Imperial Bank of India and its conversion into State Bank of India in July 1955. Conversion of 8 major State-associated banks into subsidiary banks of SBI in 1959. Nationalisation of 14 other Indian scheduled banks in July 1969.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 56

Nationalisation of 6 more banks in April 1980. Indian bank merged into Punjab National Bank in 1995.
Page 57
At present, there are 27 commercial banks in public sector. Out of these 19 banks are nationalised. There are 297 scheduled banks (including foreign banks) and one non-scheduled bank at the end of Dec 2000. Out of these scheduled banks, 223 are in public sector and which account for about 82% of the total deposits of scheduled banks. The principal objectives of the nationalisation were: To eliminate concentration of economic power in a few hands. To diversity the flow of bank credit towards priority sectors consisting of agriculture and allied activities, small scale industries and small business. To foster a new class of entrepreneurs so as to create, sustain and accelerate economic growth. To professionalise banks managements. To impart adequate training as also reasonable terms of service to banks staff and To extend banking facilities to unbanked rural areas.
Keeping in view the objectives of nationalisation, PSBs undertook expansion of reach and services. Resultantly the number of branches increased from 8262 in 1969 to 66239 on Jun 30, 2002 out of which 49% in rural areas and no. of people served per branch office came down from 64000 in 1969 to 15000 in 2002. Much of this expansion has taken place in rural and semiurban areas. The expansion is significant in terms of geographical distribution. States neglected by private banks before 1969 have a vast network of public sector banks. The PSBs including RRBs, account for 93% of banks offices and 87% of banking system deposits.
FUNCTIONS OF BANKS
Acceptance of money on deposit from the public. Collection of cheques, drafts, bills, hundis, and other instruments (inland and foreign) for their depositors. Issue of performance and financial guarantees. Provision of remittance facilities by issue of drafts, mail transfers, and telegraphic transfers. Provision of facilities of safe custody of deeds and securities and safe deposits vaults. Purchase and sale of securities for their constituents.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 57
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 CLASSIFICATION
Page 58
Scheduled Banks: The bank which is included in the second schedule of RBI, Act, 1934. The bank included in this list should fulfil two conditions: The paid up capital and collected funds of bank should not be less than Rs 5 lakh. Any activity of the bank will not adversely affect the interest of depositors.
Non-scheduled Banks: The bank which is not included in the list of scheduled banks is called non-scheduled bank. It has to follow CRR conditions. However, it can keep these funds with itself as no compulsion has been made to deposit CRR funds with RBI. It is not eligible for having loans from RBI for meeting their day-to-day activities but under emergency conditions it can be granted loans by RBI.
BASEL-II NORMS
Basel is the city of Switzerland where in 1992 the BIS conference was held (Banks for International Settlement) & this conference for organized by the European Banks in which they have prepared some guidelines for the banking industry dividing into parts Basel-I & Basel-II. Basel I- between 1994 to 1004 Basel II- after 2004 The Basel-I guidelines were only intact with the car of the banks in which banks were bound to maintain their car between 8-12%.
BASEL-II ACCORD
In the era of globalization, the banking industry is facing very high risk like: Market Risk Supervisory Risk Operational Risk To shake this type of risk, the banking industry requires Basel- II Accord because these accords are related with risk managements of the banks. There are 3 types of risks Indian banking is facing. Operational Risk Human Resource Risk Capital Risk For management of these risks India is required to adopt Basel-II accord. As banking industry is fully based on computer and software so far operational risk management, Banks are upgrading themselves in the field of technology. They are increasing their CBS branches and recruiting highly technically qualified professionals. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 58

For human resource risk management the bankers are increasing their head count.
Page 59
Capital risk management is the most concerning area of Basel-II norms in the era of American subprime crises (capital crunch) and global recession the banks are required to maintain their capital adequacy ratio between 12-18%. According to recent release of RBI the top 50 banks of the country requires Rs.51225cr. to meet capital adequacy ratio norms of Basel-II, of which Rs.45000cr raise through stock options and Rs.3000sr by RBI and rest of the amount by the GOI. According to the release of RBI, All Indian banks which have their foreign branches and all foreign banks working in India are required to adopt Basel-II norms on April 1, 2008 and rest of the Indian banks by April 1, 2009.
WHAT IS AN NPA?
Non-performing Asset (NPA) is an advance where: Interest and/or instalment of principal remain overdue for a period of more than 180 days* in respect of a Term Loan, The account remain out of order for a period of more than 180 days* in respect of an Overdraft/Cash Credit (OD/CC), The bill remain overdue for a period of more than 180 days* in the case of bill purchased and discounted.
REGIONAL RURAL BANKS (RRBS)

Established in 1975. Paid-up capital of each rural bank vary from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore contributed by Central Government, State Government and Public-sector commercial banks in the ratio of 50: 15: 35. Authorised capital of RRB is Rs 5 cr. Now they numbered 196, with about 14,485 branches covering 492 districts. The commercial banks (nationalised) are responsible for the actual setting up of RRBs. Thus the RRBs are also public sector banks. RRBs are working in all states of the country except Sikkim and Goa. The sponsoring banks lend them funds and advise and train their senior staff. NABARD gives them (RRBs) short-term and medium-term loans.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 59

Other sources of finance are SIDBI, deposits.
Page 60
They get guarantee cover against deposits and credit from DICGC on the pattern of commercial banks. Objective: rural development.
MAIN FEATURES OF RRBS

Provides credit and other facilities to agriculture and non-agricultural productive activities in rural areas. Main beneficiaries are small farmers, landless labourers, artisans and small entrepreneurs. Area of operation is limited to a specific region comprising one or more districts. (Vary from 1 district to 5 districts.)
CO-OPERATIVE BANKS
A co-operative bank is registered under the cooperative societys law of the state in which it is founded. Serves the needs of the rural sector in general and the agricultural sector in particular. Provides short-term and medium-term credit to agriculture.
FEATURES OF CO-OPERATIVE BANKS

Banking Regulation Act, 1949 is partially applicable to co-operative banks. Thus RBI has partial control on co-operative banks. Co-operative banks work on principles of co-operation that is the reason why cooperative banks get financial assistance from RBI on concessional rate. Only State Co-operative Bank can seek refinance facility from RBI. Co-operative banks cannot open their branches in foreign countries. Co-operative banks can operate its activities only within limited area.
STATE COOPERATIVE BANKS

Organised at a state level. Apex of the three-tier co-operative credit structure.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 60

There were 28 SCBs, 14 of which were scheduled banks. It is only through them that the RBI provides credit to co-operatives.
Page 61
RBI generally provides loans to SCB on interest rate, one or two per cent lower than Bank Rate. They operate as 'balancing centres' for central cooperative banks (CCBs). They raise funds on their own to make them available to the CCBs and through them or directly to primary societies in such districts where CCBs are not in operation.
CENTRAL CO-OPERATIVE BANKS

It can be divided into two parts: Co-operative Banking Union: Members are only Co-operative societies. Mixed control Co-operative Bank: Members are co-operative societies and individuals. These are the middle level in the three-tier structure. Operate at district level. Main function is to lend money to affiliated primary societies. The duration of loans vary from 1 year to 3 years. Their working capital derives from deposits, borrowings and other liabilities and owned funds.
PRIMARY CO-OPERATIVE BANKS (PCBS)

They are non-agricultural credit societies. Two types: Urban co-operative banks Salary earners' societies. Development of PCBs is looked after by the RBI. Operate only in urban and semi-urban areas. Working capital drawn largely from public deposits and to a smaller extent from owned funds and borrowings. RBI and IDBI offer them concessional refinance facility on a selected basis.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 61
Page 62
Provide housing finance and loans and advances for various other purposes such as petty trade and industry.
NABARD (NATIONAL BANK FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT)

With the setting up of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) July 1982, the RBI's functions relating to the co-operative movement have been taken over by the NABARD. Now, the RBI's role is primarily restricted to the provision of finance to the NABARD, and additional loans and advances to the latter. Besides, the RBI still offers loans and advances to SCBs. The NABARD measures are basically a continuation of the RBI measures. They are studied below under two main heads. (A) Provision of finance and (B) building up of the ecooperative credit structure
DEVELOPMENT BANKS
They are development-oriented banks. Chief role is the promotion of economic development by way of promoting investment and enterprise. Specialised financial institutions which perform the twin functions of providing mediumand long-term finance to private entrepreneurs and of performing various promotional roles. Financial resources of development banks rose not directly from the public but from the Government of India, the RBI, other financial institutions and foreign sources (WB, IFC, and IDA). Bonds issued by the IDBI, and the IFCI are guaranteed by the Government of India in respect of both principal and interest. ICICI bonds though not guaranteed by the government are treated as trustee securities. Rate of interest on these bonds is also the same as that on the Government of India bonds. As banks, they provide finance.
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BANK OF INDIA (IDBI)

Apex institution in the field of industrial development banking. Set up in July 1964 (as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the RBI). It was made autonomous in Feb 1976.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 62
Page 63
Another industrial development bank, the IFCI, and an all-India investment trust, the UTI, are its subsidiaries. The paid-up capital of IDBI till end of Mar 1993 was Rs 753 cr which was fully financed by the Govt of India.
BASIC FUNCTIONS OF IDBI

To provide financial assistance to industrial enterprises. To promote institutions engaged in industrial development. Provides term finance and other development services to industry along with other development banks. Also provides export credit. Co-ordinates the activities of other development banks.
IDBI mobilises its funds mostly from: lLoans from capital market by issuing bonds and Loans from National Industrial Credit (Long term) fund of RBI.
It also secures short-term advances from RBI by depositing fixed term bills. Provides refinance to eligible banks and term-financing institutions like the IFCI and SFCs, against the term-financing of these institutions to industry. Refinance is provided in three ways: By subscription to the shares and bonds of term-financing institutions. By refinancing term loans to industry and export trade. By rediscounting the usance? bills arising out of sales of indigenously- produced machinery on a deferred payment basis.
STATE FINANCIAL CORP ORATIONS (SFCS)

Set up in August 1952. These are state-level organisations. Provides term finance to medium- and small-scale industries. Its share capital contributed by the state govts, IDBI, scheduled banks, insurance companies and others. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 63

Control of SFCs is shared by the state government and the IDBI.
Page 64
These are helpful in ensuring balanced regional development, higher investment, more employment generation and broad ownership of industries. At present, there are 18 SFCs. Source of finance: bonds, debentures and borrowings from the IDBI, state government and SIDBI. Provide financial assistance in all the four major forms, namely loans and advances, subscription to shares and debentures, underwriting of new issues, and guarantee of loans from third parties and deferred payments. The bulk of the SFC finance (about 90%) is made available in the form of loans and advances. Liberal assistance is given to technician entrepreneurs and to industrial units in specified backward areas on concessional terms. The operation of the SFCs suffers from a very high ratio of overdues/defaults, excessive concentration of loan finance, weak promotional role, and delays in sanctioning arid disbursing assistance.
SMALL INDUSTRIES DEVELOPMENT BANK OF INDIA (SIDBI)

SIDBI, as a subsidiary of IDBI, commenced its operations from April 2, 1990. (Act passed in Oct 1989) Its headquarters is at Lucknow. Main objective: to ensure larger flow of financial and non-financial assistance to the small scale sector.
INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION (IFC)

It is an affiliate of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In the early 1950s it was recognised that the requirement that IBRD loans should have a government guarantee was a significant handicap to the attraction of private investment to development of countries.?? The IFC was created in 1956 so that greater advantage could be taken of private initiative in the launching of new capital projects. Until 1961, when its charter was amended, its activities were restricted because it had few resources and it could not participate in equity holdings. Its major objective is economic development by encouraging growth of productive private enterprise in the member countries, particularly the developing ones. To achieve this objective, it www.jagranjosh.com
Page 64
Page 65
Invests in private productive enterprises in association with private investors and without Govt guarantee for repayment Serves as a clearing house to bring together investment opportunities, private capital or both foreign and domestic and experienced management and? Stimulates productive investment of private capital both foreign and domestic
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (IDA)

The World Bank unanimously adopted a proposal on October 1, 1959 for setting up in principle the International Development Association. It was "resolved that with respect to the question of creating ? international development association as an affiliate to the Bank, the executive directors, having regard to views expressed by the governors and considering the broad principles on which such an association should be established and all other aspects of the matter, are requested to formulate articles of agreement of such an association for submission to the member-Government's Bank.
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established for promoting international economic stability by encouraging balanced growth, free international trade and the multi-convertibility of national currencies. The Fund is a pool of central bank reserves and national currencies which are made available to the Fund members under certain conditions. In a way, the pool may be regarded as an extension of member countries' central bank reserves. Purpose: According to the Second Amendment of the Article of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund, which became effective from April 1, 1978, the purposes of the Fund are: To promote international monetary co-operation through a permanent institution, this provides the machinery for consultation and collaboration on international monetary problems. To facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of international trade and to contribute thereby to the promotion and maintenance of high levels of employment and real income and to the development of the productive resources of all members as primary objectives of economic policy. To promote exchange stability, to maintain orderly exchange arrangements among members, and to avoid competitive exchange depreciation. To assist in the establishment of multilateral system of payments in respect of current transactions between members and in the elimination of foreign exchange restrictions which hamper the growth of world trade.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 65
Page 66
To give confidence to members by making the general resources of the Fund temporarily available to them under adequate safeguards, thus providing them with opportunity to correct maladjustment in their balance of payments without resorting to measures destructive of national or international prosperity. In accordance with the above, to shorten the duration and lessen the duration? and lessen the degree of disequilibrium in the international balance of payments of members.
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

The Asian Development Bank, popularly known as the ADB, is a multinational regional development bank established for the purpose of lending funds, promoting investment, and providing technical assistance to the developing member countries, and generally for fostering economic growth and co-operation in the Asia region. The Charter of the Bank was ratified by the majority of the signatory countries in early 1966 and it was established in Manila in December 1966. The Bank operates under the aegis of Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE). Since the idea of the ADB was first proposed by the ECAFE in 1963, the speed with which it has been established represents good achievement by its architects and sponsors. The ADB has two significant features. Firstly, it is an Asian Bank, conceived by the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE). Its headquarters are located in the ECAFE region in Manila in Philippines. More than 60 per cent of the ADB's capital is subscribed by its 32 regional members. The President and seven of the ten directors also come from the region. Secondly, unlike certain regional financial institutions, the membership of the Bank extends beyond the region.
FUNCTIONS AND OBJECTIVES OF ADB

To promote investment in the ECAFE region of public and private capital for development purposes. To utilise the available resources for financing development, giving priority to those regional and sub-regional as well as national projects and programmes which will contribute most effectively to the harmonious economic growth of the region as a whole, and having special regard to the needs of the smaller or less developed member countries in the region. To meet requests from members in the region to assist them in coordination of their development policies and plans with a view to achieving better utilisation of their resources, making their economies more complementary, and promoting the orderly expansion of their foreign trade, in particular intra-regional trade, To provide technical assistance for preparation, financing and execution of development projects and programmes, including the formulation of specific proposals.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 66
Page 67
To cooperate with the United Nations and its organs and subsidiary bodies, including, in particular, ECAFE, and with public international organisations and other international institutions as well as national entities, whether public or private, and to interest such institutions and entities in new opportunities for investment and assistance; and To undertake such other activities and to provide such other services as may advance its purpose.
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)

The opening day of the New Year 1995 marked a significant event for the world trade as it saw the long waited birth of World Trade Organisation (WTO) as an offspring of the Uruguay Round multilateral trade negotiations held under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). WTO was created replacing GATT with its head quarters in Geneva, Switzerland and has 144 countries including India as member. The highest decision making level under WTO is Ministerial Conference of designated ministers of members countries held atleast every two years. WTO is headed by Director General.
SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL CO-OPERATION (SAARC)

Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal constituted an organisation known as SAARC. It was founded on the recommendations of Dhaka Conference on 7-8 December 1985. Its headquarters has been established at Kathmandu. A conference of SAARC is held between the heads of the country every year. The mutual misunderstanding among member nations has created a big question mark in achieving its objectives. South Asian Preferential Trade Arrangement (SAPTA): Sri Lanka was the first country to propose SAPTA in Sixth SAARC Conference held in December 1991. This proposal was accepted and it was decided to start SAPTA by the end of 1997.
ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH EAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN)

ASEAN is a union of South East Asian Nations. Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand constituted this association on August 8, 1967. Brunei also joined this ASEAN in 1984. In July 1995, Vietnam was also given its membership. Laos and Myanmar got its membership in 1997. On April 30, 1999, Combodia also became the member of ASEAN. At present, 10 countries are the member of ASEAN. The main objective of ASEAN is to promote economic cooperation in South East Asia and also to ensure economic stability in the region. Its headquarters is in Jakarta but a Secretary of ASEAN resides in capital of each member country. The Post of General Secretary of ASEAN is rotated among each member country alphabetically, after every two years. On July 23, 1996, ASEAN gave advisory status to India. Besides India, China and Russia also got this status earlier. India cannot join the ASEAN as a member due to its geographical location.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 67
Page 68
India is a part of south-Asia while ASEAN is an organisation of South East Asian Nations: It is planned to establish AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) by 2003 AD.
GROUP OF SEVEN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES G-7 (NOW KNOWN AS G-8)

G-7 was an organisation of seven non-socialist countries that were highly industrialized in the world. G-7 included Britain, USA, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Japan. After adoption of free market policies in the economy, Russia was also made member of the organisation on June 21, 1997. The first G-7 summit was held at Rambonilet near Paris in November 1975. Earlier, only 5 industrialized countries USA, UK, West Germany, France and Japan were its members. Later on, Canada and Italy also joined it in 1976.
G-15
G-15 is an organization of 17 Non-Aligned Developing Countries. The membership of G-15 was enhanced to 17 after including Sri Lanka into the group. It was established in September 1989 in Non-aligned Summit (NAM) at Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The member countries are Mexico, Jamaica, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Senegal, Algeria, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Yugoslavia, Kenya and Sri Lanka. The Secretariat of G-15 is located in Geneva but the headquarters are rotated on the basis of residing country of chairman of the group. All the countries except Brazil and Mexico in G-15 organisation are non-aligned countries. Actually speaking, it is not a correspondingly opposite institution to G-7. It is mainly an attempt to make G-77 (group of 77 developing countries) stronger at international forum.
G-24
G-24 is the group of 24 developing countries which initiates and demands more benefit for developing countries in the meetings of World Bank, IMF and UNCTAD. India is also a member of G-24. The last meeting of G-24 was held in April 1999 at Washington DC. This group demanded more assistance to developing countries of this group in Development meeting of IMF and IBRD held in Washington. G-24 members held a meeting on October 3, 1998 in Washington which was attended by Finance Ministers & Chiefs of Central Banks of member nations, including India. This summit called for lower interest rates charged by industrialised advanced nations. Sh GL Peiris, Finance Minister Was made the cooperative.
GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)

The Finance Minister of the Group of Seven (G-7) countries established in September 1999, the G-20 as an international forum to promote informal dialogue and cooperation
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 68
Page 69
among systematically important countries within the framework of the Bretton Woods institutional system with a view to preserving international financial stability. AQ important distinguishing characteristic of the G-20 from the G-7 is its broader participation from among both the industrialised countries as well as key emerging markets, thereby representing a wider range of viewpoints. Member of the G-20 are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and the Bretton Woods institutions. During the inaugural meeting of the G-20, held in Berlin during December 15-16 1999, the Group deliberated on various prerequisites for a sound international financial system and highlighted the importance of the varied initiatives to avert global financial crisis. The group welcomed the work of the Bretton Woods Institutions and other bodies in the areas of codes and standards and agreed to undertake the completion of Reports on Observance of Standards & Codes and Financial Sector Assessments. The members of the Group advised their Deputies to consider existing work in other forums, and to examine further avenues to mitigate vulnerabilities to crisis. The Group affirmed its commitments to progress towards multilateral trade liberalisation within the WTO framework.
ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION (APEC)

APEC was founded in November 1989 to devise programmes of co-operation between member nations, through the establishment of meetings of economic leaders t rade and foreign ministers. It was institutionalised in June 1992, after a meeting in Bangkok, at which it was agreed to set up a secretariat in Singapore. APEC is a new commercial group appearing on World forum after EEC and NAFTA. APEC was constituted on the initiative of Australian Prime Minister Mr. Bob Hawk., who called APEC as 'Voice for the Asia Pacific in World Affairs'. Member countries are making all efforts to develop APEC as free trade zone like EEC and NAFTA. The present membership of APEC is 21. Chile joined the APEC in 1999. Bogor summit as its 18th member Russia, Vietnam and Peru also joined APEC in 1998. Members of APEC are Australia, America, Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Chile, Russia, Vietnam and Peru.
G-77
This group was constituted under the banner of UNO in 1964 which include 130 countries belonging to 3rd world - Asia, Africa and Latin America. It is an international economic community of developing countries aiming at protecting economic interest of the member countries.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 69
Page 70
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 70
Page 71
BANKING TERMINOLOGY
BANK
According To Banking Encyclopaedia Bank Is A Financial Institution Which Receives Deposits From The Public And Lends Them For Investment Purpose i.e.( y caps), Deposits Of Money And Advances of The Main Function Of Banks, But In The Era of Globalization Banks Indulges Themselves In Many Activities Like Insurance, Mutual Fund Business And Investment In Stock Exchanges, These Activities Of Banking Considered as Para Banking Activities, There are Many Types Of Banking,
UNIVERSAL BANKING
It is an Expansion of Banking Activities in Different area under a Single Roof.
GLOBAL BANKING - The Banking with Global Operations.

OVERSEAS BANKING - Banking With the Sea Touching Countries. OFFSHORE BANKING - Off shoring of banking facilities with foreign Banks. MERCHANT BANKING - The Banking activities with trade and commerce. VIRTUAL BANKING - Whole Banking Activities through Computer. ISLAMIC BANKING - Zero Interest Banking E-BANKING- Whole Banking Based On Electronics. NET BANKING- Internet Banking TELE BANKING- Banking through Telephone COLOURFUL BANKING- Banking with Attraction' (After Sale Services) OR Glamorization of Banking Industry", DOOR TO DOOR BANKING - Retail Banking DISTANCE BANKING - CBS or Net Banking RETAIL BANKING - Banking with All
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 71
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 TYPES OF BANKING
Page 72
1. OVERSEAS BANKING- Banking with Foreign operation that means if a domestic Bank is
working in abroad with its many branches.
2. OFFSHORE BANKING- An offshore Bank Account will allow you to safely and privately
explore, with few restrictions, the far reaches of the vast and diverse financial universe. An offshore bank is a bank located outside the country of residence of the depositor, typically in a low tax jurisdiction (or tax haven) that provides financial and legal advantages. These advantages typically include some or all of Strong Privacy (see also bank secrecy, a principle born with the 1934 Swiss Banking Act) Less Restrictive Legal Regulation Low or No Taxation (i.e. tax havens) Easy access to deposits (at least in terms of regulation) Protection against Local Political or Financial Instability
3. PARALLEL BANKINGParallel banks are defined as banks licensed in different jurisdictions that, while not being part of the same financial group for regulatory consolidation purposes, have the same beneficial owner(s), and consequently, often share common management and interlinked businesses. The owner(s) may be an individual or a family, a group of private shareholders, or a holding company or other entity that is not Subject to banking supervision. Parallel banking relationships may exist, unknown to the supervisors of the parallel banks. Such structures may be established for a variety of reasons, among others to take advantage of different tax arrangements; to avoid legal restrictions in some countries on the ownership of foreign subsidiaries by domestic banks; or to diversify risk outside countries that are considered economically or politically unstable. In some cases, the motivation may be an attempt to evade regulatory constraints or consolidated supervision from the home country.
4. MERCHANT BANKINGIn banking, a merchant bank is a traditional term for an investment bank. It can also be used to describe the private equity activities' of banking developed by merchants, from the Middle Ages onwards.
5. DOOR TO DOOR BANKINGDoorstep banking is to deliver Banking and Financial Services at the doorsteps of the common man. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 72
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 6. ISLAMIC BANKING-
Page 73
Islamic banking refers to a system of banking or banking activity that is consistent with Islamic law (SHARIA) principles and guided by Islamic economics. Particular Islamic law Prohibits usury, the Collection and payment of interest, also commonly called RIBA in Islamic discourse in addition, Islamic law prohibits investing in businesses' that are considered unlawful, or HARAAM (such as businesses that sell alcohol or pork, or businesses that produce media such as gossip columns or pornography, which are contrary to Islamic values). In the late 20th century, a number of Islamic Banks were created, to cater to this particular banking market.
7. RELATIONSHIP BANKINGRelationship banking is an attempt to advance the sales culture in bank marketing beyond order taking to a more pro-active form of direct selling instead of selling financial services. One at a Time, an account officer attempts to gain an understanding of the consumer's needs and offer services that fulfil those needs. Commercial banks and other financial institutions have attempted to apply the concept of relationship banking through personal banker and private banking.
8. UNIVERSAL BANKINGBanking that includes investment services in addition to services related to savings and loans.
9. VIRTUAL BANKINGA virtual bank is a bank with a very small or nonexistent branch network. It offers financial Services by: Telephone Banking Online Banking Automated Teller Mac Hines (Often Through Interbank Network Alliances) Mail Banking Mobile Banking By Eliminating The Costs Associated With Retail Banking, Particularly Bank Branches, Virtual Banks May Offer Higher Interest Rates And Lower Service Charges On Their Savings Accounts Than Their Competitors.
10.GLOBAL BANKINGInternational Banking activities frequently result in financial instability and serious economic downturns as financial markets become more open and deregulated.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 73
Page 74
Competition from multinational bank has reduced the availability of credit to small- and medium- sized enterprises, to low- and middle-income consumers, and to farmers. While Economies experience financial instabilities and declining credit, governments are losing the means to protect their domestic markets.
ACCOUNTS
There are two types of accounts in the banking sector: 1. DEPOSIT ACCOUNT- There are two types of deposits account. TIME DEPOSITS Recurring Account Fixed Deposits
Demand Deposits also known as CASA (Current Account and Saving Account) Current Account Saving Account
2. SAVING ACCOUNT- saving account are made for the household saving purpose and interest rate of this account is decide by the RBI and presently it is 3.5%. 3. CURRENT ACCOUNT- current accounts are made for the business class persons and account holders can made many transaction in a day. The current account attracts no interest rate sometimes Banks can charge some charges from this account.?
LOAN ACCOUNT OR ADVANCES OF BANK

There are two types of lending or advances in the banking sector. 1. SHORT TERM LENDING- up to 4 years. Like Priority Sector Lending Consumer loan Vehicle loans and personal loans 2. LONG TERM LENDING- 4 years and above. Like Industrial Lending Housing Loans Commercial Lending
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 74

Educational Loan.
Page 75
PRIORITY SECTOR LEND ING *PSLS+

As India is a democracy so Government of India has some social responsibilities and the fulfilment of these Social responsibilities the GOI has set some priorities, so the sectors decided for GOI by Landings are known as priority sector lending and The Some Sectors are Agriculture Minority Education Animal Husbandry Fisheries Agriculture Allied Small Scale Industries Cottage Industries Handicrafts Houses for the Poor The Bankers are bound to lend their 40% of the total lending in priority sector r and 18% of their total lending for agriculture. The PSL attract very reduced or less interest rate and if farmers are unable to repay this, loan GOI is bound to waive this loan because of Social Responsibility.
KEY INTEREST RATES (AS ON 15 TH MARCH 2013)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Reverse Repo Rate Repo Rate Bank Rate CRR [Cash Reserve Ratio] SLR [Statutory Liquidity Ratio ] 6.50% 7.50% 8.50% 4% 23%
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 75

6. MSF (Marginal Standing Facility) Rate 8.50%
Page 76
Repo Rate- Repo Rate is the Tool by which RBI in flews liquidity in the financial system. Or it is the rate of interest at which RBI. Provide short term loans to the scheduled commercial Bank against the government securities. (Maximum-90 days) Bank Rate- Bank Rate is the rate of interest at which RBI provide loan to the scheduled Commercial banks for productive purpose & for long term period (more than 4 year] CRR- CRR is The Ratio of Banks Total Deposits for which they are bound to keep with the RBI. It could be between minimum 3% to maximum 15% & CRR is the most effective measure to check inflation if CRR increases bank are bound to keep more money with the RBI & the liquidity in market decreases & the value of money increases & inflation come down. SLR- SLR is the ratio of banks total deposits for which banks are required to keep with themselves If might be in form of cash, gold, government securities and deposits in other banks as current account.
DEFICIT FINANCING
The concept of deficit financing is propounded by Prof. J. M. Kenes in his book "how to pay for war 1940" Deficit financing is a practice adopted by all popular government for bridging the gap between their revenue and expenditure i.e. it is plan excess of expenditure over revenue. Deliberately budgeting for deficit is deficit financing. Deficit financing is only fulfilled by the Borrowings and never by printing of new notes.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 76
Page 77
THE BANKING MARKET TERMINOLOGY

SELF HELP GROUP
Self help group is a small volunteer association of poor people preferably from the same socio Economic background. They come together for the purpose of solving their common problems through self help and mutual help. The self help group promotes small saving among the members. The savings are kept with the Bank. This common fund is in the name of SHG. Usually the number of members in one SHG doesnt exceed 20. The NABARD and NGOs are the promoters of this group.
KISAN CREDIT CARD

Provision timely and adequate credit has one of the major challenges for Banks in India in dispensing of agriculture and rural credit to the farmers in order to achieve the AIM. KCC are now a new concept in the field of agriculture banking in India. The KCC scheme was started by the GOI in conciliation with the RBI and NABARD in 1998-99. The eligibility criteria for KCC is the borrower must be with a good track record of the 2 years would be the prime customer and a farmer who has the operational land holding certificate from the PATWARI. The maximum amount of KCC is up to Rs. 10000 and each withdrawal to be paid within 12 months and KCC is valid for 3 years subject to annual renewal. All branches engaged in agriculture banking could issue KCC. In very special conditions Bank can provide up to Rs. 25000 loan and the interest rate on KCC is 11%.
KISAN GOLD CARD

This is hassle free term loan card that enable to avail loan for agricultural implements, land development, repair of farm machinery and consumption need farmers have the choice in regard to amount, time and purpose. The amount of loan is 5 times the annual form income with the maximum limit of Rs. 5 Lakhs. For the consumption purpose is should not exceed 20% of the limit.
MICROCREDIT OR MICROFINANCE
Micro credit is the extension of very small loans to the unemployed to poor Endeavour? and to others living in poverty who are not considered bankable. These individuals lack collateral steady employment and variable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualification to gain access to traditional credit. Microcredit is a part of microfinance which is the provision of the wider range of the financial services to the very poor. Microcredit is the financial innovation which originated in Bangladesh where it has successfully enabled to extremely impoverish people to engage itself employment project. The founder of this microcredit is Prof. Mohammad Yunus in mid 1970s. He is also the www.jagranjosh.com
Page 77
Page 78
founder of gramin bank of Bangladesh with which Mr. Yunus has received the Noble Peace Price 2006 and to pay respect towards microcredit the united nation organization has declared year 2005 The International Year of Microcredit.
MUTUAL FUND
A Mutual Fund is the professionally manage firm of collective investments that pools money from many investors in stock market, bonds, short term, money market instruments and in other securities. In mutual fund is a fund manager who is also called Portfolio manager trades the fund underlined Securities. The value of the share of mutual fund is called the net asset value which is calculated daily wage on a total value divided be a number of shares, issued and outstanding there are two types of Mutual Fund. Open Ended Mutual Fund Closed Ended Mutual Fund
BULLION MARKET
A market where the trading of precious metals are held like: Gold, Silver, Diamond, Platinum and Crystal.
STOCK MARKET
A stock market is a private or public market for trading of company, stock and derivatives of company stock at an agreed price. Both of these are securities listed on stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.
BULL
Bull is an investor who thinks the market a specific security or an industry will raise. Bulls are the optimistic investors presently predicting good things of the market and bullish is a habit to purchase that share which is in profit they are responsible to Rise in stock exchanges.
BEAR
It is an investor who believes that a particular security or market is headed downward. Bears attempt to profit from a decline in prices. A Bear is generally pessimistic about the state of the given market.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 78
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 STAG
Page 79
A Stag is an investor or speculator who subscribes to a new issue with the intention of selling them soon after allotment to realize for quick profit.
ADR (AMERICAN DEPOSITORY RECEIPTS)

An ADR represents an ownership in the share on Owner Company trading in US trading in US financial market. ADR enable US investors to buy share in foreign companies without undertaking cross border transaction. ADRs carry prices in US Dollars and can be traded as share of US based company.
GDR (GLOBAL DEPOSITORY RECEIPT)

GDR is a bank certificate issued in more than one country for shares in a foreign company. These shares are held by a foreign branch of an International bank. These shares are trades as domestic shares but are offered for sale globally through the various bank branches. A GDR is a very similar to an American Depository Receipt.
SDR (SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS)

This is the depth instrument credit be IMF in 1969 to provide the assistance and loan to their member countries. The value of the SDR was initially defined as equivalent to 0.8888671 gram of fine gold which was at that time equivalent to 1 US$.
MONEY MARKET
Money Market is the global financial market for short term borrowings and lendings. It provides short term liquid funding for global financial system. In Money Market short term obligations such as treasury bills, commercial papers and Bankers acceptance are bought and sold. The Money Market instruments are bank drafts, time deposits, time deposits, short term loans, promissory notes, ADR, GDR, Municipal notes, treasury bills and mutual funds.
CAPITAL MARKET
The Capital Market is the market for securities where companies and government can raise long term fund. The Capital Market includes the stock market and the Bond Market.
CALL MONEY
Call Money Market is the market in which broker and dealers borrow money to satisfy their credit needs either to finance their own inventory or to cover their customer margin Accounts.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 79
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 ICOR (INCREMENTAL CAPITAL OUTPUT RATIO)
Page 80
ICOR is the Ratio of investment to growth which equals to one, divided by the marginal product of Capital. The higher the ICOR indicates lower the productivity of capital and lower the ICOR reflects high productivity of Capital. ICOR is the topic or instrument by which the Economic growth rate of company decided.
DEBIT CARD
Debit Card is also known as gift card. It is a type of plastic money which provides an alternative payment method for cash withdrawals through automated tailor machine and this is a prepaid ATM card.
CREDIT CARD
A Credit Card allows you to borrow money when you purchase. It doesnt directly debit from your bank account at the time of purchase instead you are sent a bill every month for the sum of total of your purchase. In other words this is Post Paid Money Card.
SMART CARD
A Smart Card or chip card or integrated circuit card is defined as a pocket sized card with embedded integrated circuit which can process information. This is a card with all personal information of any individual in financial and Money Market.
MASTER CARD
Master Card international is a multinational corporation based in purchase throughout the world. Its principal business is to process payment between bank of merchants and the bank of purchase that used its master card I.E. Master Card is a service provider company Master Card international incorporated has been a publicity traded company since 2006 with the brand name Master Card. All financial institution in banks is the member of this Master Card international for service providing except bank of America. Bank of America has its own service proving company named as VISA international.
KYC (KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS)

KYC is a term commonly used for customer identification process or these are the guidelines issued by the RBI and SEBI for financial institutions. The intention behind the KYC is to check the money laundering. For the mutual funds MIN (Mutual Fund Identification Number) is the tool of KYC. For Demat Account Pan Card is essential and for bank account Residential Proof.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 80

Identity Proof. Referee/Introducer. Signature Attestation.
Page 81
RTGS
Real time gross settlement is a fund transfer mechanism where transfer of money takes place from one bank to another on a real time and on gross basis. This is the fastest possible money transfer system through the banking channel. The RTGS system is primary for large value transaction. The minimum amount is Rs. 1 Lakh and there is no upper ceiling for RTGS transaction while the minimum and maximum stipulation has been fixed for EFT and NEFT.
NEFT
NEFT is nationwide fund transfer system to facilitate transfer of funds from any bank branch to any other bank. As on Dec. 29, 2007, 34510 bank branches of 82 banks were the member of NEFT system. The NEFT is an electronic fund system to transfer funds from any part of country to any other part of country and work on net settlement.
CBS
Core or centralized banking solution is a heart of banking system. This is a process by which a bank has interconnect their maximum branches through wide area network and only this system provide a facility of any branch or any time banking.
FINANCIAL INCLUSION
It is a delivery of banking services at an affordable cost to the vast section of disadvantage or low income group or this is a facility provided by the banking sector to connect each and every individual to the financial network and the main component of this financial inclusion is no-full account and simplification of know your customers.
LIBOR
London Interbank Offered Rate
MIBOR
Mumbai Interbank Offered Rate
MIBID
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 81

Mumbai Interbank Bid Rate
Page 82
SARFAESI ACT
Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest Act
BOND
Bond is a debt security in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and is obliged to repay the principal with interest at the later date and termed maturity.
DEBENTURES
It is a long term debt instrument issued by government and large companies to obtained funds. It is very similar to bonds except the securitisation conditions are different.
CAMELS
This is the rating system of RBI for banking recommended by Padmanabhan Committee. C- Capital Adequacy A-Assets Quality or Level of NPA M- Management Effectiveness. E- Earning of Profitability. L- Liquidity S- System and Controls. Rear-real effective exchange rate.
RECENT DEVELOPMENT ON FINANCIAL INCLUSION

Recently Rangarajan committee on financial inclusion has submitted their report to finance Minister and committee has suggested that GOI is bound to setup 2 funds on financial inclusion and funds are named as- Financial Inclusion Development Fund
FINANCIAL INCLUSION TECHNOLOGY FUND

Each fund will have its corpus of Rs.500cr contributed by RBI, GOI and NABARD. The commission has also suggested that branch of every bank is bound to open at least 250 accounts in a single financial year and the commission has also suggested that RBI and SEBI must liberalised KYC norms. Banks are bound to open no-frill account for the poorer people.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 82
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 EFT- ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER
Page 83
It refers to computer based system use to perform financial transaction electronically. This term is use for the number of different concept. Card holder initiated transaction, where the card holder makes use of a payment card. Electronic payment by business including salary payment Electronic cheque clearing.
SUB PRIME CRISIS

The Sub Prime Crisis was a sharp rise in home loans which started in United States in late 2006 and became a global financial crisis during 2007-08. The damage of this Sub Prime Crisis is US$ 200-300 billion in 2007. And this Sub Prime Crises has a little bit impact on Indian Economy according to release of ICICI bank annual result, the bank faces Rs 1000cr as a business loss.
MORTGAGE
A Mortgage is a method of using property as a security for the performance of an obligation, usually the payment of a debt. The term Mortgage refers to a legal device used for this purpose and it is also commonly used to refer to a debt secure by the Mortgage.
REVERSE MORTGAGE
These are the powerful tools that help eligible home loaners to obtain tax free cash flow.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 83
Page 84
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 84
Page 85
ECONOMY
ECONOMIC TERMS
ABSOLUTE POVERTY
It is a type of poverty in which a person is unable to meet the basic necessities of life that includes consumer goods like food, clothes, and shelter. The alternative approach for absolute poverty is relative poverty.
ACCELERATOR, INVESTMENT
The Accelerator, Investment suggests that if demand and income increases, it will automatically increases the investment spending. It means investment causes growth that will obviously cause more investment.
ALLOCATIVE EFFICIENCY
Allocative Efficiency means the allocation of the productive resources in a best possible way, which in turn provides extreme satisfaction to the individual. Here, Productive Resources means land, labour, capital, building, machines etc.
AUTOMATIC STABILIZERS
Automatic Stabilizer is program that enhances and diminishes automatically for equalizing current economic trends without assistance of government. The best example for automatic stabilizer is unemployment insurance as it automatically replaces the lost income for people who have lost their jobs.
BALANCED BUDGET
Balanced Budget is considered as a budget in which total revenue is equal to total expenditure. In this type of budget, there is no deficit or surplus.
BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

Balanced Budget Amendment is a constitution rule explaining that the government cannot spend more that its income. This Balanced Budget Amendment has shown negative impacts on overall development of economy, which led to severe economic turn downs.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 85
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 BANKING CYCLE
Page 86
Banking Cycle is an economic cycle that shows cyclical changing in banks attitude towards lending risk. The bankers expand their lending facility in the good economic times. But in opposite situation, these bankers reduce their lending facility and issue fewer loans to the needed ones.
BANK
Bank is a financial institution that that accepts deposits and channelizes these deposits towards lending by issuing loans to the individuals and organizations for promotion of economic growth and creation of better job opportunities.
BARTER EXCHANGE
Barter Exchange is a commodity to commodity exchange in which one good is exchanged with another, without any medium of exchange (Money). This exchange system was followed in earlier times, when money was not in existence.
BOND
Bond is a kind of financial security that shows swear of the issuer for repaying a loan within specific time period and at the particular rate of interest. The bonds can be sold and purchased to the investor over and over again. There is wide variety of bonds, which includes: Fixed Rate Bonds Zero Coupon Bonds High Yield Bonds Convertible Bonds Perpetual Bonds Treasury Bonds Municipal Bonds
CAPITAL
Capital is a sum of money that is used for its productive use. It is also an amount of money, which is invested in business for the purpose of profit generation.
CAPITAL ADEQUACY
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 86
Page 87
The capital adequacies are considered as loose rules and regulation, which are imposed on private banks for assurance of sufficient internal resources so, that these banks can withstand fluctuations of lending and profitability.
CAPITAL FLIGHT
In this situation, foreigner investor and domestic investors withdraw financial capital from the country that results in unfavourable changes in economic policies and political consequences of the country.
CAPITAL GAIN
It is a gain earned on investment by reselling of an asset greater that its actual cost. The asset that could be purchased for the purpose includes stocks, bonds, other financial assets, commodities and so on.
CAPITALISM
Capitalism is an economic system that includes all the privately owned companies and businesses for performing economic activities with the motive for profit generation. The entire work is performed by the salaried workers and wages earners.
CAPITALIST CLASS
The capitalist class is a group of people, which represent the population of the country owning private corporate wealth. This class is generally available in advanced capitalist countries.
CENTRAL BANK
It is the public financial institution, which is usually established and controlled by government of the country. It is the organization, which lends money to the commercial banks, government, and controls the credit system of the economy.
CENTRALLY PLANNED ECONOMIC SYSTEM

The centrally planned economic system is one in which, the important decisions of consumption, rate of interest, rate of exchange, price determination and so on are taken by centralized authority called government.
COMMODITY
The Commodity is a marketable item that is sold and purchased for money including good, services, inputs, labours etc. For example: copper, petrol, iron, salt, seeds, electricity, oil etc.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 87
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 COMPETITION
Page 88
Competition is a situation that arises when two or more companies or organization sell and produces similar products. All these companies always compete with each other for markets and customer.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX

Consumer Price Index is a measure of overall price level, which examines the weighted price of the good and services purchased by consumers. For example: housing, food, electricity, and transportation.
CONSUMPTION
Consumption means the goods and services that are ultimately used by the consumers for meeting end needs. The consumption is of many kinds, which includes private consumption (consumption by individual and financed people) and public consumptions (health care consumption).
CORPORATION:
The corporation is a business form that is a separate legal entity from the owners. The owners of this form of business would be benefitted with limited liability, which means potential losses those results from their ownership in the company. This type of corporation forms Joint Stock of Ownership.
CREDIT
Credit is ability for purchasing the commodities without paying for them through the mode of credit card, a bank loan, a mortgage, or other forms of credit. The credit creation is the most essential source of new money in the economy.
CREDIT SQUEEZE
Credit Squeeze is a situation which disagrees in issuing new loans and credit due to risk of default cases of the borrower. This type of situation arises during the times of recession and financial instability. It also empowers down job creation and economic growth of the country.
DEBT
The amount of money owed by the company, individual, and organization towards bank is called their debt. The amount is owed by government is known as public debt. It symbolizes the accumulation of past budget deficits.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 88
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 DEFICIT
Page 89
Deficit is incurred when any government, individual or business spends more amount than its income generation. The deficit could be financed with new borrowing, or by running down previous savings.
DEFLATION
Deflation is fall in price level of the good and services, which is caused by reduction in supply of money and credit. It is also called decrease in overall price level of prices.
DEPRECIATION
Depreciation means fall in value of assets from existing stock of real capital. It always reflects normal wear-and-tear of machinery, equipment, and infrastructure.
DEPRESSION
The depression is considered a very painful recession, where unemployment rises to very high levels, and economic output does not bounce back.
DERIVATIVES
It is a financial asset whose value for resale entirely depends on value of other financial assets at the distinctive points of time. The value of derivative is derived from other financial assets value. For Example: Futures, Options, and Swaps.
DEVELOPMENT
The development is a systematic process, which is aimed to expand and improves the economy of country in quantitative and qualitative ways. The economic development of the country requires varied processes and condition that comprises accumulation of real capital, development of education, skills, and human capacities, improvements in governance, democracy, and stability
DIVIDEND
Dividend is the payments, which is made by enterprises and corporation to its shareholders. Also, it is a part of corporate profit, which is paid out to the stockholders. The dividends are generally being paid in the form of cash, store credits and so on.
ECONOMIES OF SCALE
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 89
Page 90
The economies of scale refer to the situation in which a firm attains maximum output by using its resources in an efficient manner. It is a long run concept, which helps us in undertaking the things efficiently.
EMPLOYMENT
It is a situation in which all the labour resources are engaged in performing certain task or work within a specified period of time period.
EQUILIBRIUM PRICE
It is the price at which demand for commodity and its supply are exactly equal. The excess demand and excess supply are equal to zero at the equilibrium price.
EQUITY
It is considered as residual value of companys asset after all outside liabilities have been allowed for. The equity in company under liquidation is the property of holders of ordinary shares. Therefore, these shares are called equities.
EXCHANGE RATE
It is the rate of exchange in which currency of one country is exchanged to currency of another country. The countrys currency appreciates when exchange rate grows and depreciates when value of exchange rates decline.
EXPLICIT COST
It is a paid out cost, which implies payment made for productive resources purchased by the firm. Explicit cost is also called accounting costs.
FACTORS COST
It is a term used in national accounts to describe the valuation of output at the market prices less taxes plus subsidies.
FINANCIAL MARKET
It is the market for the exchange of capital and credit in the economy. The financial market is segregated in Money Market and Capital Market. The Money Market focuses on short term debt instruments and Capital Market focuses on long term debts and equity instruments.
FINAL PRODUCTS
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 90
Page 91
The products that are ultimately used for financial consumption are known as final products like television, refrigerators and so on.
FISCAL POLICY
It is the budgetary policy of the central government, which include revenue and expenditure activities in an accounting year.
FIXED COST
The cost which does not change with increase in output is considered as fixed cost. It is also called overheard cost. For example: Rent on factory lease
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

It is an investment made by company of one country in another country on operating business, physical capital assets including building, machinery, and equipments.
FRACTIONAL RESERVE SYSTEM

It is a banking system wherein private banks are required to keep a specific proportion of assets on hand to underpin a much larger amount of lending to the banks customers.
FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS

This is an agreement undertaken between two or more countries, which remove all the tariffs and taxes on trade between the countries. It reduces all the barriers to trade and provides protections for investors and corporations.
FULL EMPLOYMENT
It is a condition in which, a willing and able workers is able to find paid job within a specific period of time. At this time, unemployment is approximately zero.
GOODS
Goods are tangible products that are produced in the economy. It includes natural resources, agricultural products, manufactured products, and construction products.
GIFFEN GOODS
These are those goods, whose demands do not increase with rise in level of income. The goods which do not obey the laws of demand are Giffen Goods.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 91
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT
Page 92
It is a measure of total flow of goods and services produced by the economy over the specific period of time. It excludes value of unpaid work comprising caring reproductive labour performed in the home.
HEDGE
It is an action taken by buyers and sellers for the protection of his business or assets against a change in prices.
HUMAN CAPITAL
It is the term used for skills and knowledge embodied in labour force. The investment in human capital can increase labour productivity.
HYPER-INFLATION
It refers to very rapid growth in rate of inflation. The earlier term for same phenomenon is galloping inflation.
INDUSTRIAL POLICY
The government policies, which are made for fostering the development of the country, creation of desirable for productive industries and for enhancement of international trade performance.
INFLATION
Inflation is the process wherein average price level in an economy increases over time.
INTERMEDIATE PRODUCTS
The products that are manufactured for usage in production of other goods or service are called intermediate goods. For example: capital goods and raw material
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

It is an international financial institution, which was established with the purpose of regulating and stabilizing financial relationships among countries, and ensuring free flow of finance around the world economy.
INVESTMENT
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 92
Page 93
Investment means real capital formation, such as the production or maintenance of machinery or the construction of dwellings that will produce a stream of goods and services for future consumption.
JOINT STOCK COMPANY

A joint stock company is that form of business organization in which capital of the company is jointly held by a large number of people who have purchased its share. Joint Stock Company is also known as corporate company.
LABOR FORCE
Labour force means the total population of working age group people, who are willing and able to work.
LOAN CAPITAL
It refers to fixed interest borrowed funds. It is an alternative term for debenture.
LIQUIDITY TRAP
It refers to the situation in which rate of interest is low that no one wants to hold bonds and people only want to hold cash.
MARGINAL COST
The marginal cost refers to the extra cost incurred due to the last unit of output produced by the firm.
MACROECONOMICS
Macro economics is the study of economics as a whole. In micro economics, we study about aggregate an economic indicator that includes GDP growth, employment, unemployment, and inflation.
MICROECONOMICS
Microeconomics is the study of individual economic behaviour. The components of which includes theory of income, theory of employment, individual demand and supply etc.
MONETARY POLICY
It refers to the central government policy with respect to the quantity of money in the economy, the rate of interest, and the exchange rate. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 93
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 MONEY
Page 94
Money is anything which is used as a medium of exchange. It is widely accepted as in payment of goods and services and settling debts.
MORTGAGE
It is a legal agreement conveying conditional ownership of assets as a security for a loan and becoming void when debt.
MULTIPLIER
The multiplier is defined as the increase in national income divided by the increase in expenditure generating that increase in income.
MONOPOLY
Monopoly is that market situation in which there is only one manufacturers or supplier of the products and services.
NATIONAL INCOME
GNP - Ultimate Monetary Value of all the Services and Goods Produced by the Citizens of The Country Either inside the Country or Abroad in the Single Financial Year Is Known as GNP. GDP- Under the certain geographical area the monetary value of all the services and Goods produced in the single financial year is known as GDP. Domestic Labour and net income from the abroad doesn't include in GDP.
GDP = GNP- Net Income from Abroad

Net Income from Abroad = Income earned by the Indian from Abroad + Income Earned by the foreigners in India. NNP- After reducing the indirect taxes and depreciation from country GNP, we can find 'the exact monetary value of all the services and goods of the country and this exact monetary value is known as NNP. NNP at factor cost is known as National income of the country.
NEAR MONEY
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 94
Page 95
It refers to an asset which like money acts as a store of value but which is not immediately acceptable as a medium of exchange.
NOMINAL VALUE
It is the face value of a share or bond, which may be more or less than its market price.
OLIGOPOLY
Oligopoly is a type of market in which few big firms accounts for large number of output. For e.g. Oil Companies
PAYROLL TAX
It is a tax levied on employers wage bill or on payroll of the employees.
PERFECT COMPETITION
Perfect Competition is a type of competition in which there are large numbers of buyers and sellers.
POVERTY LINE
Poverty Line is drawn on the basis of barest minimum desirable nutritional standards of calorie intake.
PREFERENCE SHARE
Holders of preference share precede the holders of ordinary shares, but follow debenture holders, in the payment of dividends and in return of the capital if the issuing company is liquidated.
PRIVATE COMPANY
It is a type of business organization that permits a limited number of shareholders to enjoy limited liability and to be taxed as a company.
PRODUCER GOODS
The term refers to a commodity used in the production of other goods and services as distinct from final or consumer goods.
PROFIT
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 95
Page 96
Profit is the surplus, which is left over after selling all its output and pay off the cost of production (labour cost, raw material and proportional share of its capital equipment).
PROGRESSIVE TAX
It is a tax that takes an increasing proportion of incomes as income rises.
PUBLIC INVESTMENT
It is the real investment undertaken by the government or public institutions on structures, infrastructure, machinery and equipment, and other real capital.
RATE OF INTEREST
It is the proportion of a sum of money that is paid over a specified period of time in payment for its loan.
RATE OF RETURN
It means net profit after depreciation as a percentage of average capital employed in the business. It is one of a number of financial ratios used to measure the efficiency of a business as a whole.
RECESSION
It is a situation of sharp slowdown in the rate of economic growth or a modest decline in economic activity. Also, recessions are a feature of trade cycle.
RETURN ON EQUITY
It is considered as a measure of business profitability, which is equal to net after-tax income divided by the average level of shareholders equity in the business.
RISK CAPITAL
It refers to the long term funds invested in the enterprises particularly, which is subject to risk as in new venture.
SALES TAX
The sales tax is a tax levied as a proportion of the retail price of a commodity at the point of sale. It is also called Value Added Tax.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 96
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 SHARES
Page 97
It is one of a number of equal proportions in the nominal capital of a company entitling owner to a proportion of undistributed profit and of residual value if the company goes into liquidation.
SPECULATION
Speculation includes purchase of a financial asset with hope of increase in market prices, which will allow a profit to be made on it subsequent resale.
SUBSIDY
It refers to government grants to the suppliers of goods and services. A subsidy may be intended to keep the price down.
SURTAX
It is an additional tax on higher income levied on net income after certain deductions including earned income relief.
SUPPLY
The total quantity of commodity offered for sale in the market at any given price during particular time period is called supply of that commodity.
SURPLUS
The surplus means exceed in income over expenditure. The economy of any country or any sector experiences surplus.
TARIFF
These are taxes imposed on commodity imports. The tariffs are generally imposed for stimulation of more domestic production of the products.
TAX BURDEN
It is the amount of money, which any individual, institution or group must pay in tax. It should include all cost to the tax payer, which he incurs in paying the tax.
TERMS OF TRADE
It is the ratio of index of export prices to the ratio of import prices. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 97
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 TRANSFER PAYMENTS
Page 98
It refers to grants or other payments not made in returns for a productive service. For example: pensions, unemployment benefit, and other form of income support.
UNEMPLOYMENT
The unemployment is the situation wherein an individual who is able and willing to work is unable to find a job in the economy. That particular person is considered an officially employment.
UTILITY
It is a capacity of the human being to satisfy wants. Also, it is want satisfying power of commodity. The amount of utility a commodity posses, it depends entirely on the intensity of wants of the person who uses that goods.
VALUE ADDED TAX

It is a general tax applied at each point of exchange of goods or service from primary production to consumption.
VARIABLE COST
Variable cost means the cost, which vary directly with the rate of output. Examples of variable cost are labour cost, raw material cost. The variable costs are also called operating cost, prime cost, direct cost etc.
WHOLESALE BANKING
It means the making of loans and acceptance of deposits on a large scale between banks and other financial institution especially in inter-commercial banks.
WEALTH TAX
It is a tax in which an owner of particular wealth forms comprising financial wealth, real estate, or inheritance could pay a specified proportion of the wealth to the government.
CLASSIFICATION OF TAXES IN UNION BUDGET Direct Tax Indirect Tax
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 98
Page 99
THERE ARE 5 TYPES OF DIRECT TAXES IN THESE YEAR UNION BUDGET.

Income Tax Corporate Tax STT (Securities Transaction Tax) FBT (Fringes Benefit Tax) - Phased out in March 2010. BCTT (Banking Cash Transaction Tax) - Phased out in March 2010. CTT (Commodities Market Transaction Tax)
NASDAQ
National Association for Securities Dealer and Automated Quotations
NCDEX
National Commodities Derivative Exchange
GST
Goods and Service Tax [It is going to be implemented by April 1st 2011] This tax will replace central excise duty and service tax from April 1, 2011.
INDIRECT TAXES
Central Excise Duty Custom Duty Service Tax The biggest source of income for GOI is corporate tax.
FISCAL DEFICIT
This is overall resources gap of the union budget.
INFLATION
The Persistence and continuous decrease in the value of money due to Excess supply of money in market and decrease in supply of goods and commodities is known as inflation. There are four stage of inflationwww.jagranjosh.com
Page 99

Creeping Inflation- Below 2% Walking Inflation- Between 2-4% Running Inflation - Between 4-8% Galloping Inflation - 8% Or Above
Page 100
In India the inflation is measured on whole sale price index whose base year is 2004-05 and there are 435 goods on which this whole price index measured. These goods are divided in 3 categories. Primary Articles- Share 22.02%. Secondary Articles- Share Around 16%. Manufacturing Articles - Share Around 63%
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 100
Page 101
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 101
Page 102
ECONOMIC SCENARIO IN CURRENT PERSPECTIVE

HPCL AND GOVERNMENT OF RAJASTHAN SIGNED A MOU FOR SETTING UP REFINERY
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and the Government of Rajasthan on 14 March 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at Jaipur for setting up a refinerycum-petrochemical complex in Barmer, Rajasthan. The project will be a joint venture between HPCL and Rajasthan State Refinery Limited, apart from other equity partners.
ECONOMIC SURVEY OF INDIA 2012-13:

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 27 February presented the Economic Survey 201213 in the Lok Sabha of the Parliament. Economic Survey is presented every year, just before the Union Budget. It is a flagship annual document of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. In the economic survey 2012-13, the government's targeted policies for the poor, with the prospect of fewer leakages, can help better translate outlays into outcomes.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE OF STATES AND INTER-STATE COMPARISONS

Bihar has the highest decadal (2001-11) growth rate of population (25.07 percent), while Kerala has the lowest rate (4.86 percent). In 2011, Kerala has the highest sex ratio with 1084 females per 1000 males, followed by Tamil Nadu (995), while Haryana is at the bottom (877). The best performers in terms of growth during 2011-12 are Bihar (16.71 per cent) followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. In terms of growth in per capita income, the best performer is Bihar (15.44 per cent) followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra due to high growth in gross state domestic product (GSDP) in 2011 12. The poverty estimates indicate that the highest poverty headcount ratio (HCR) exists in Bihar at 53.5 per cent as against the national average of 29.8 per cent. Bihar has the lowest MPCE both in rural and urban areas at 780 Rupees (with 65 percent food share) and 1238 Rupees (with 53 percent food share) respectively. In comparison, Kerala has the highest in both rural and urban areas at 1835 Rupees (with 46 percent food share) and 2413 Rupees (with 40 percent food share) respectively.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 102
Page 103
The unemployment rate (per 1000) among the major states is the lowest in Gujarat (18) and highest in Kerala (73) and Bihar (73) in urban areas and the lowest in Rajasthan (4) and again highest in Kerala (75) in rural areas. Infant mortality rate (IMR) in 2011 is the lowest in Kerala (12) and highest in Madhya Pradesh (59) against the national average of 44. Birth rate is lowest in Kerala (15.2) and highest in Uttar Pradesh (27.8) against the national average of 21.8. Death rate is lowest in West Bengal (6.2) and highest in Odisha (8.5) against the national average of 7.1. In terms of decadal growth rate in bank branches, Haryana (59.5 percent) has the highest growth and Bihar the lowest (14.4 percent). Even a north-eastern state like Assam (16.5 percent) is better placed than Bihar. INDUSTRIAL SECTOR After recovering to a growth of 9.2 percent in 2009-10 and 2010-11, growth of value added in industrial sector, comprising manufacturing, mining, electricity and construction sectors, slowed to 3.5 percent in 2011-12 and to 3.1 percent in 2012-13. The manufacturing sector, the most dominant sector within industry, also witnessed a decline in growth to 2.7 percent in 2011-12 and 1.9 percent in 2012-13 compared to 11.3 percent and 9.7 percent in 2009-10 and 2010-11, respectively. SERVICES SECTOR The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economys (CMIE) analysis of the sector-wise performance of services activities based on firm-level data show that the performance of sectors such as transport logistics, aviation and construction in the year 2012-13 is subdued in comparison to with the previous year. High negative PAT (profit after tax) in hotel sector continued. The health services and telecom sectors were projected to have rebounded in the year 2012-13. Overall the year 2013-14 is projected to be better for most of the sectors, except retail trading, which is projected to have negative growth in profitability. INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INDIA AND GLOBAL ECONOMY Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 27 February presented the Economic Survey 201213 in the Lok Sabha of the Parliament. World trade in both goods and services reached and surpassed pre-crisis levels in 2011. However, the deceleration in world growth and trade in 2012 and forecast of only a gradual upturn in global growth by international institutions reflected a weak and slow recovery for world trade. India's exports, which had surpassed precrisis levels within a year in 2010-11 with a record 40.5 percent growth, continued growing even in 2011-12, but were finally affected by the global slowdown in 2012-13 with exports
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 103
Page 104
declining even more at - 4.9 percent in the first ten months than the -3.5 per cent recorded during 2009-10. Gold Imports and Policy Measures: India is one of the largest consumers of gold in the world with consumption increasing from 721.9 tonnes in 2006 to 933.4 tonnes in 2011 and 612 tonnes in the first three quarters of 2012, accounting for around 27 per cent of world gold consumption in 2011, and 26.4 per cent in 2012 (total of first three quarters). In the case of export of gold jewellery, the major export destinations include the UAE (57.9 percent), Hong Kong (14.1 percent), and the USA (12.0 percent). ENERGY, INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNICATIONS Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 27 February presented the Economic Survey 201213 in the Lok Sabha of the Parliament. The Twelfth Five Year Plan laid special emphasis on development of the infrastructure sector including energy. The total investment in the infrastructure sector during the Twelfth Five Year Plan, estimated at 56.3 lakh crore Rupees which is nearly double that made during the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Unbundling of infrastructure projects, public private partnerships (PPP), and more transparent regulatory mechanisms have induced private investors to increase their participation in infrastructure sectors. Their share in infrastructure investment increased from 22 per cent in the Tenth Five Year Plan to 38 per cent in the Eleventh Plan and is expected to be about 48 per cent during the Twelfth Five Year Plan. Production of coal, cement, petroleum refinery was marginally higher during the 2012-2013 fiscal years as compared to the corresponding period of the 2011-2012 fiscal year while steel and power-sector production was comparatively lower. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND CLIMATE Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 27 February 2013 presented the Economic Survey 2012-13 in the Lok Sabha of the Parliament. India's Economic Survey for 2012-13 pegs the country's growth at 6.1-6.7% and inflation at 6.2-6.6% for the next fiscal 2013-14 and made a strong call for cutting subsidies.
UNION GOVERNMENT GRANTED AN AID OF 41 CRORE RUPEES TO PROTECT PASHMINA GOATS

The Union Government on 12 March 2013 decided to provide a financial assistance of 41.21 crore rupees to protect Pashmina goat which produces world-famous fine luxury fibre. The idea of providing assistance came in light of concern over the recent deaths of thousands of Pashmina goats in the Ladakh region. As per the assistance, there is plan which ideates a new Pashmina Wool Development Scheme with a special package and a financial allocation of 41.21 crore rupees.
COAL INDIA SIGNED FUEL SUPPLY PACTS WITH 56 POWER PLANTS
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 104
Page 105
The Union government on 12 March 2013 informed that state-run Coal India Ltd. (CIL) signed fuel supply pacts with 56 power plants so far. Minister of state for coal, Pratik Prakashbapu Patil in his written reply to Lok Sabha mentioned that, Coal India Ltd has signed 56 fuel supply agreements (FSAs) with the power plants as on 2 March 2013. It is important to note that the deadline set by the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) for signing of FSAs between CIL and power producers expired in January 2013.
UNION GOVERNMENT TO LAUNCH 10 RUPEES PLASTIC NOTES IN 5 CITIES

The Union Government and RBI on 12 March 2013 decided to introduce one billion pieces of 10 Rupees bank notes made of plastic on a field trial basis in five cities. A 10 Rupees note in polymer/plastic on a field trial basis will be introduced first; Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said it in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. The field trail is supposed to be conducted in five cities of Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Bhubhaneswar and Shimla with varied geographical locations and climatic conditions. As per the RBI, the primary objective of introduction of polymer notes is to increase its life; it could also help in combating counterfeiting.
WORLD BANK ESTIMATED A GROWTH OF OVER 6 PERCENT FOR THE INDIAN ECONOMY DURING 2013-14
The World Bank in the month of March 2013 forecasted that the Indian economy is estimated to grow over 6 per cent during 2013-14. World Bank Chief Jim Young Kim, who is on a three-day visit to India asserted that India is estimated to have grown 5 percent in the current fiscal and the growth rate is likely to improve to 6.1-6.7 percent in 2013-14. The Indian economy, like any other economy, is subject to global slowdown. It has effect here and at the same time, the export market has started doing better. On the positive node, it also had be seen that share of India in global economy almost doubled in five years between 2005 and 2010.
INDIAN FINANCIAL REGULATORS SIGNED PACT TO MONITOR CONGLOMERATES

The country's top four financial regulators on 8 March 2013 signed an agreement among each other for co-operation on consolidated supervision and monitoring of financial groups identified as financial conglomerates- large banks and other key players. The decisiveness were taken at a sub-committee meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) held in the Reserve Bank. The regulators who signed the pact were the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. The FSDC (Financial Stability and Development Council) meeting, chaired by RBI Governor D Subbarao also approved formulating a national strategy for financial education by incorporating the feedback
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 105
Page 106
received from public consultations and from a global peer review, RBI said without providing details.
UNION BUDGET 2013-14

ALLOCATIONS OF FUNDS TO INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY SECTOR The Union Finance Minister announced different proposals for Infrastructure and Energy Sector in India while tabling the Union Budget 2013-14 in the Lok Sabha on 28 February 2013. The proposals as announced by the Union Finance Minister are as follows: POWER Investment allowance of 15% for investment in plant & machinery 30% increase in plan expense CCI to take up decisions on more Power projects Power transmission system from Srinagar to Leh at an expense of INR 228 Crore in 201314 OIL AND GAS Natural gas pricing policy to be reviewed Move to revenue-sharing from profit-sharing policy in oil and gas sector The oil and gas exploration policy will be reviewed to move from profit sharing to revenue sharing contracts NELP blocks that were awarded but are stalled will be cleared COAL Proposal for Public-private partnership (PPP) policy framework, with CIL as one of the partners, in order to increase the production of coal for supply to power producers and other consumers. More focus on coal import, coal blending and price pooling of coal in short to medium term. INFRASTRUCTURE Road Regulator to be introduced Over 3000 km road projects across Maharashtra, Gujarat, MP to be awarded in 6 months time in 2013-2014
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 106

2 new major ports announced in AP and WB.
Page 107
Infrastructure Debt funding - 4 of these to be in place to extend funding at lesser rate Tax-free infrastructure bonds of Rs 50,000 crore to be issued RENEWABLE ENERGY GBI re-introduced in Wind Sector with allocation of 800 cr. Low interest bearing funds from the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) to IREDA to onlend to viable renewable energy projects. The scheme will have a life span of 5 years.
ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO THE DEFENCE SECTOR

In the Union Budget 2013-14, which was tabled in the Lok Sabha on 28 February 2013 by the Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, there is a hike of 14% on Defence Budget over the last year 2012-13, thus promising more funds required for national security.
TAX PROPOSALS AT A GLANCE

The Union Finance Minister announced tax proposals while tabling the Union Budget 2013-14 in the Lok Sabha on 28 February 2013. The tax proposals as announced by the Union Finance Minister are as follows INCOME In RUPEES 2 Lakh 5 Lakh 8 Lakh 10 Lakh 25 Lakh 50 Lakh 100 Lakh 110 Lakh WORKING MEN Old Tax New Tax 0 0 30900 28840 92700 92700 133900 133900 597400 597400 1369900 1369900 2914900 2914900 3223900 3546290 WORKING WOMEN Old Tax New Tax 0 0 30900 28840 92700 92700 133900 133900 597400 597400 1369900 1369900 2914900 2914900 3223900 3546290 SENIOR CITIZENS Old Tax New Tax 0 0 25750 23690 87550 87550 128750 128750 592250 592250 1364750 1364750 2909750 2909750 3218750 3540625
Surcharge of 10 percent on persons with taxable income exceeding 1 crore rupees The Union Budget 2013-14 proposed a surcharge of 10 percent on persons whose taxable income exceeded 1 crore Rupees every year. This tax proposal would be applicable to individuals, HUFs (Hindu Undivided Families), firms and entities with the same tax status. The Finance Minister also proposed to increase the surcharge from 5 percent to 10 percent on the domestic companies whose taxable income exceeded 10 crore Rupees every year. In case of the foreign companies, there would be an increase of surcharge from 2 percent to 5 percent.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 107
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO THE SOCIAL SECTOR
Page 108
In the Union Budget 2013-14, which were tabled in the Lok Sabha on 28 February 2013 by the Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, announcements were made for the social sector, with focus primarily on women, poor and youth. The Finance Minister laid emphasis on the safety and security of the women and declared that various initiatives were underway as well as many more were taken by the government along with the non-governmental organisations.
MOU SIGNED FOR SETTING UP OF MEMU COACHES MANUFACTURING FACILITY AT BHILWARA

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 25 February 2013 between Indian Railways and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for setting up of Greenfield MEMU coaches manufacturing facility by BHEL at Bhilwara in Rajasthan. Main Line Electric Multiple Unit Trains, popularly known as MEMU trains were first introduced in Indian Railways in the Year 1994-95, as a mode of rapid transit system, to cater to non-suburban passengers, residing in small towns and villages surrounding urban and industrial centres. MEMU trains have higher passenger carrying capacity and higher average speed as compared to conventional loco hauled passenger trains due to faster acceleration and braking characteristics. These rakes are now being manufactured with toilet facilities to take care of passenger needs. MEMU trains increase the line capacity utilisation, and therefore are more suitable for running on high traffic density routes.
NEW PLANS AND SCHEMES ROLLED OUT IN THE UNION BUDGET 2013-14
Nirbhaya Fund: The Finance Minister announced the setting up of a fund called the Nirbhaya Fund - with the Government contributing 1000 crore Rupees for safety and security of the women in India. The Finance Minister announced that various initiatives were underway as well as a lot more were undertaken by Government and NGOs for empowering women and providing them safety and security. 1000 crore Rupees scheme for training youth: A 1000 crore Rupees scheme for training youth for boosting up their employability and productivity was rolled out in the budget. The National Skill Development Corporation would be required to set up curriculum and standards for training different skills. The trained youth who will pass the test by the end of the training would get monetary reward of 10000 Rupees on an average. This initiative would motivate 10 lakh youth. Proposal to set up Indias first Womens Bank as a public sector bank with 1000 crore Rupees as initial capital. Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Scheme to be rolled out throughout the country during the term of UPA Government. This scheme will help the poor. Under the scheme, a bank
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 108
Page 109
account will be opened for each beneficiary; and the bank account will be seeded with Aadhaar in due course. 10000 crore Rupees earmarked for National Food Security towards the incremental cost. Drinking water and sanitation will receive 15260 crore Rupees. 1400 crore Rupees are being provided for setting up water purification plants to cover arsenic and fluoride affected rural areas. Proposal to launch Inflation Indexed Bonds or Inflation Indexed National Security Certificates to protect savings from inflation. Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme launched for recovering service tax dues. 9000 crore Rupees earmarked as the first instalment of balance of CST compensations to different States/UTs. The Interest Subvention Scheme: This scheme for short-term crop loans is proposed to be continued for loans by public sector banks, RRBs and Cooperative banks, and expanded to private scheduled commercial banks. Under the scheme, a farmer who repays the loan on time is able to get credit at 4 cent per year. National Livestock Mission: 307 crore Rupees have been provided for setting up of the National Livestock Mission. This will attract investment and enhance livestock productivity. A sub-mission of this Mission seeks to increase the availability of feed and fodder. Assistance of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank will be sought to build roads in the North Eastern States and connect them to Myanmar. The body of Rural Infrastructure Development Funds (RIDF) is proposed to be raised to 20000 crore Rupees. Plans for seven new cities were finalized for industrial corridors and work on two new smart industrial cities at Dholera (Gujarat) and Shendra Bidkin (Maharashtra) will start during 2013-14. Two new ports will be established in Sagar (West Bengal) and in Andhra Pradesh. A power transmission system will be constructed from Srinagar to Leh and for this 226 crore Rupees were provided in 2013-14. Apparel Parks are proposed to be set up within the Integrated Textile Parks, to house apparel manufacturing units.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 109
Page 110
Standing Council of Experts: Standing Council of Experts is proposed to be constituted in the Ministry of Finance to analyse the international competitiveness of the Indian financial sector. A number of proposals relating to capital market have been finalized in consultation with SEBI. These include simplification of procedure and uniforms norms for foreign portfolio investors, clarity relating to FDI investment, allowing FIIs to participate in new areas, etc.
RBI ANNOUNCED GUIDELINES FOR LICENSING OF NEW BANKS IN PRIVATE SECTOR

The Reserve Bank? of India on 22 February 2013 released the Guidelines for Licensing of New Banks in the Private Sector. The guidelines issued by the Apex Bank have opened gates for private players as well as the finance firms to enter into the strictly regulated banking sector of India. Key Features of the issued Guidelines: Eligible Promoters: Entities / groups in the private sector, entities in public sector and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) shall be eligible to set up a bank through a wholly-owned Non-Operative Financial Holding Company (NOFHC). Fit and Proper criteria: Entities / groups should have a past record of sound credentials and integrity, be financially sound with a successful track record of 10 years. For this purpose, RBI may seek feedback from other regulators and enforcement and investigative agencies. Corporate structure of the NOFHC: The NOFHC shall be wholly owned by the Promoter /Promoter Group. The NOFHC shall hold the bank as well as all the other financial services entities of the group. Minimum voting equity capital requirements for banks and shareholding by NOFHC: The initial minimum paid-up voting equity capital for a bank shall be `5 billion. The NOFHC shall initially hold a minimum of 40 per cent of the paid-up voting equity capital of the bank which shall be locked in for a period of five years and which shall be brought down to 15 per cent within 12 years. The bank shall get its shares listed on the stock exchanges within three years of the commencement of business by the bank.
THE UNION GOVERNMENT CANCELLED BOND AUCTION WORTH 12000 CRORE RUPEES
The Union Government of India on 18 February 2013 cancelled the bond auctions worth 12000 crore Rupees, thereby bringing down the market borrowing programme for 2012-2013 fiscal year in order to contain fiscal deficit at 5.3 percent. With this decision, the overall market
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 110
Page 111
borrowing of government in 2012-2013 fiscal year came down to 5.58 lakh crore Rupees from 5.70 lakh crore Rupees as imagined in 2012-2013 budget. The Finance Ministry announced that after reviewing the cash position as well as the funding requirement of the government, it was decided that market borrowing of the Government through dated securities by 12000 crore Rupees would be reduced.
SEBI ORDERED FREEZING OF ACCOUNTS AND ATTACHMENT OF PROPERTIES OF TWO COMPANIES OF SAHARA
Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) the stock market regulator of India on 13 February 2013 ordered freezing of bank accounts and attachment of properties of two Sahara group firms Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd., and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd. and its Chairman Subrata Roy as well as top executives Vandana Bhargava, Ravi Shanker Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary after it failed to refund more than 24,000 crore rupees to investors.
EXPORTS OF INDIA INCREASED BY 0.8 PER CENT IN JANUARY 2013

The exports of India are increased by 0.8 percent in the month of January 2013 to 25.58 billion US dollars. Comparatively, exports in January 2012 were 25.37 billion US dollars. Imports on the other hand, increased by 6.12 percent to 45.5 billion US dollars. During April to January 20122013, the overseas shipments of India dropped by 4.86 percent to 239.6 billion US dollars. The main concern for the country is however to widen the trade deficit. As a cumulative result, the exports depicted an arrest in decreasing exports. Now, the result is -4.9 percent. Import of crude oil was growing at a faster pace. Oil imports in January 2013 increased by 6.91 percent to 15.89 billion US dollars in comparison to 14.87 billion US dollars in January 2012.
COMFORT LETTER ISSUED BY FINANCE MINISTRY FOR SANCTION OF 25000 CRORE SUBSIDY
The Union Finance Ministry in second week of February 2013 decided to pay an additional cash subsidy of 25000 crore rupees for the state owned fuel retailers. The subsidy package is being given to help the retailers in making up of the revenue that they lost while selling cooking and auto fuel below cost in the current fiscal year of April to December 2012. A comfort letter was issued on 7 February 2013 by the Union Finance Ministry to the Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) that sanctioned sanctioning 25,000 crore rupees as the part of the revenue lost by them on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene below cost or at subsidized cost. The sanctioned subsidy meets about 44 percent of the revenue lost by the three firms of 124854 crore rupees together on the Sale of cooking and auto fuels in a period of April to December in 2012.
TRAI: TELEDENSITY DECLINED BY 25.97 MILLION TO 895.51 MILLION IN DECEMBER 2012

www.jagranjosh.com
Page 111
Page 112
As cell phone operators continued disconnecting inactive SIM cards, India's total telecom subscriber base declined by 25.97 million to 895.51 million in December. In November, the country had 921.47 million telecom subscribers. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) stated that total wireless subscriber base decreased from 890.60 million in November 2012 to 864.72 million at the end of December 2012. TRAI reasoned that this decline is majorly due to large scale disconnections of inactive SIMs by some of the service providers. With this, the overall teledensity in India decreased to 73.34 per cent at the end of December, 2012 from 75.55 per cent in the previous month.
CCEA APPROVED INCREASE OF MSP OF COPRA FOR 2013 SEASON BY 150 RUPEES PER QUINTAL
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 6 February 2013 approved increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for 2013 season of both Milling and Ball Copra by 150 rupees per quintal over the MSP that was regulated in 2012. The MSP for the Fair Average Quality (FAQ) of Milling Copra is fixed at 5250 rupees per quintal, and for the Ball Copra it is 5500 rupees per quintal. The decision from government of India may ignite the interests of the farmers to invest in cultivation of coconut to increase its productivity.
ECONOMIC GROWTH OF INDIA ESTIMATED TO FALL TO 5 PERCENT IN 2012-2013 FY

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 7 February 2013 revealed that the economic growth of India is estimated to fall to 5 percent in financial year 2012-2013, which is a lowest figure in 10 years. A fall in the economic growth is because of the poor performance of the services, agriculture and manufacturing sectors. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) in its advance forecast of the national income chopped off the gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimate to 5 percent for financial year which will end on 31 March 2013. This is much less than the GDP of 6.2 percent in financial year 2011-2012. This is said to be the worst performance of economy of India since 2002-2003 when the economic growth was 4 percent. The major share of Indias GDP comes from the services sector. The services sector is estimated to record a growth of 5.2 percent in fiscal year 2012-2013 against 7 percent of fiscal year 2011-2012. As far as the industry sector is concerned, it is expected that the growth would decrease to 1.9 percent in 2012-2013 FY. The farm sector growth will fall down to 1.8 percent. It is important to note that the official projection of the economic growth of India is much lower than budgetary estimate as well as projections of the central bank of India and other organisations. In the union budget for financial year 2012-2013 which was presented in March 2012, the government pegged Indias economic growth at 7.6 percent.
AUTHORIZED CAPITAL OF NABARD RAISED FROM 5000 CRORE RUPEES TO 20000 CRORE RUPEES
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 112
Page 113
The Union Cabinet of India on 7 February 2013 approved raise in the authorized capital of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Nabard to 20000 crore rupees from 5000 crore rupees. The authorized capital was increased with the aim to enlarge the operations and broadening the activities of NABARD.
NET DIRECT TAX COLLECTION GREW 12 PERCENT IN APRIL-JANUARY IN FY 2012-2013

Gross Direct Tax collection from the period of April to January in fiscal year 2012-2013 increased by 7.02 percent at 455125 crore Rupees against 425274 crore Rupees in same period in 2011-2012 fiscal year. Gross collection of the corporate taxes increased 3.71 percent, i.e., 296451 crore Rupees in 2012-2013 fiscal year against 285837 crore Rupees in 2011-2012. Gross collection of personal income tax increased by 13.81 percent, i.e., 157913 crore Rupees in 2012-2013 fiscal year against 138746 crore in 2011-2012 fiscal year. Net Direct Tax collections registered a growth of 12.49 percent, i.e., 390310 crore Rupees in 2012-2013 fiscal year against 346959 crore Rupees in 2011-2012 fiscal year.
CCEA GAVE ITS NOD TO PRICE POOLING MECHANISM ON COAL TO CONTROL PRICES OF COAL
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 5 February 2013 gave its principle approval for the price pooling mechanism of coal. The mechanism includes cost blending of the domestic coal with the imported one to counterbalance price hike. Basic principles and parameters of the price pooling mechanism have been identified and a specific data on the same would be created by the Power and Coal Ministries. The mechanism has been created before government decided to put on sale the 9.5 percent stake of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) from its present holding of 84.50 percent. The sale of the stake was approved by the Empowered Group of Ministers on disinvestment chaired by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on 5 February 2013. This disinvestment of NTPC would fetch about 12000 crore rupees for the exchequer.
ED SLAPPED 98.5 CRORE RUPEES PENALTY NOTICE ON RAJASTHAN ROYALS

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) slapped the IPL team Rajasthan Royals with a penalty notice of around 100 crore Rupees for violating the Forex laws. ED issued this penalty notice after investigating the matter for 2 years under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Three notices in all were sent across to the IPL franchise which totalled to 98.5 crore Rupees. The Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited (JIPL) as well as its directors was sent a penalty notice of 50 crore Rupees. Apart from this, 34 crore Rupees penalty notice was issued against EM Sporting Holding, Mauritius and its directors for evading the Forex duties. A notice of 14.5 crore Rupees was also issued additionally against the Ms ND Investments, United Kingdom and its directors.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 113
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 BHEL AND GAIL GRANTED MAHARATNA STATUS BY THE UNION GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Page 114
The Union Government of India gave the Maharatna status to two PSUs- BHEL and GAIL on 1 February 2013. Granting Maharatna status to BHEL and GAIL will provide them with better functional and financial freedom and will also guarantee them with better valuation of the shares. Ideally any Maharatna firm has a capacity to take investment decision of around 5000 crore Rupees without taking assistance from the government. On the other hand, forms with Navratna status have this capability of 1000 crore Rupees. However, both BHEL and GAIL do not have enough non-official directors on the board, which is why they cannot exercise their Maharatna powers. Even though all other conditions of Maharatna status were met by both these PSUs but their boards do not have requisite number of board members. While GAIL is short of 4 independent directors, BHEL, on the other hand is short of 6 non-official directors. In terms of turnover, net worth as well as net profit, both these companies meet all the eligibility criterions. Eligibility of a company to get a Maharatna status For any company to qualify for Maharatna status, the annual turnover should be over 25000 crore Rupees in past three years, as per the guidelines issued by Department of Public Enterprises. The net worth of the PSU should be more than 15000 crore Rupees in past three years. The net profit should be over 5000 crore Rupees during past three years.
UNION MINISTRY FOR COMMERCE LAUNCHED E BIZ PORTAL TO PROVIDE ONE STOP SHOP FOR ALL INVESTMENT
The Union Minister for Commerce on 28 January 2013 launched an EBIZ PORTAL at the CII Partnership Summit in Agra. The portal is Indias GOVERNMENT-TO-BUSINESS (G2B) PORTAL developed by Infosys in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Model. This Mission Mode Project will mark a paradigm shift in the Governments approach to providing G overnment-to-Business (G2B) services for Indias investor and business communities.
RESERVE BANK OF INDIA SLASHED REPO RATE TO 7.75 PERCENT AND CRR TO 4 PERCENT
The Reserve Bank of India on 29 January 2013 slashed its key interest rates by 0.25 per cent and released 18000 crore rupees additional liquidity into the system to perk up growth through reduced cost of borrowing. RBI in its third quarter monetary policy review surprised the market by cutting short-term lending rate called repo, by 0.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by similar margin to 4 per cent. The repo rate cut will reduce the cost of borrowing for individuals and corporates, whereas the reduction in CRR, which is the portion of
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 114
Page 115
deposits that banks have to park with RBI, would improve the availability of funds. Unveiling the policy review in Mumbai, RBI stated that the stance of monetary policy in this review is intended to provide an appropriate interest rate environment to support growth as inflation risks moderate. CRR cut will have impact on long term interest rates.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA REVISED THE MECHANISM OF OFFER FOR SALE
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 25 January 2013 revised the mechanism of the Offer for Sale (OFS). The board took the decision of revising the norms because the deadline for the promoters of the listed companies to offload their stake for meeting the minimum public shareholding norm of 25 percent by June 2013 is approaching. These revisions would make the norms much more efficient, transparent and economical. The quantity for cumulative bidding would be made available online for the market across the trading session at different intervals to take care of the orders that carries 100 percent upfront margin and also of the orders which have been placed without the upfront margin. The indicative price of the market would be disclosed for the market across the trading session and is calculated on the basis of bids and orders.
UNION COMMERCE MINISTRY CLAIMED THAT INDIA HAS CROSSED ONE BILLION MARK IN TEA PRODUCTION
The Union Commerce Ministry of India in the third week of January 2013 released figures and it mentioned that tea-industry in India had passed the one billion kilogram mark production. This target has been crossed by the participation of the small tea-growers. To bring into net and check out the production of tea in the nation the industry regulator, Tea Board of India launched a major exercise in which it tried to rope producers from both organised and unorganized sectors of India, these producers also included those who never reported the crop statistics at their end.
FDI INFLOW DECREASED TO TWO-YEAR LOW IN NOVEMBER 2012

The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India decreased to around 2-year low at 1.05 billion US dollar in November 2012 because of uncertainties of the global economies. Back in November 2011, the FDI was worth 2.53 billion US dollar. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) announced that from April-November period 2012-13, inflows of FDI decreased by around 31 percent to 15.84 billion US dollar from 22.83 billion US dollar in 201112.
IMF FORECASTED INDIAN ECONOMIC GROWTH RATE TO BE 5.9 PERCENT IN 2013
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 115
Page 116
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 23 January 2013 projected that the economic growth rate of India in 2013 would be 5.9 percent. The IMF also projected an increased growth rate of 6.4 percent for 2014 looking forward towards the gradual strengthening of the global expansion in Indias context. About International Monetary Fund (IMF) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 188 countries that works for fostering the global monetary cooperation, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, facilitate international trade, secure financial stability and reduce poverty around the world. Since the end of World War II, the IMF had been playing a major role in shaping the global economy. The IMF has played a part in shaping the global economy.
UNION CABINET APPROVED 50 PERCENT REDUCTION IN THE RESERVE PRICES FOR CDMA SPECTRUM
The Union Government on 17 January 2013 approved a 50 per cent reduction in the reserve price of spectrum used by CDMA mobile operators. Spectrum auction, for both GSM and CDMA, is supposed to be completed by 31 March 2013 and thereafter the markets will decide how much revenue the government will get.
CABINET COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AFFAIRS APPROVED THE CONTINUATION OF JNNURM

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 17 January 2013 approved the continuation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) to sanction new projects and capacity building activities till 31st March, 2014 under Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) components of JNNURM. New Urban infrastructure projects in States / UTs would be approved till 31st March, 2014, and taking up new capacity building activities in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and States has also been approved. The proposal would enable provisioning of creation of urban infrastructure, particularly in small and medium towns, in all States and UTs. These projects would be subsumed in the next phase of the JNNURM for the 12th Five Year Plan.
CCEA APPROVED DEFREEZE IN THE TARIFF VALUE OF EDIBLE OILS AS PER INTERNATIONAL MARKET
The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs on 17 January 2013 approved the de-freezing of the tariff values of the all types of edible oils and notified that the tariffs of these oils would be decided on the basis of the existing international prices in the market. Oils that would suffer the effect of this decision are Soya bean Oil Crude Palm Oil - RBD (Refined Bleached Deodorised), Palm Oil Crude, Palmolein Crude, Palm Oil others and Palmolein others.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 116
Page 117
UNION GOVERNMENT APPROVED OPEN POLICY AND LIFTED BAN ON EXPORT OF PROCESSED FOOD
Union Government on 17 January 2013 lifted ban on exports of processed foods and value added agricultural products in order to facilitate uninterrupted supply. The uninterrupted export of such processed food products is projected to be regulated by duty. The list of exportable goods includes processed foods from agricultural commodities, such as wheat, rice, onion and milk. Benefits of Lifting of Ban The lifting of Ban is supposed to give a push to Indias weak merchandise exports and is estimated to add 5 billion dollar to exports over the next two year with West Asia identified as a key market for processed food from India. It will help Indian exporters to move up the value chain as well as create additional employment in the country. An always open policy of this sector will not only help reduce wastage of perishable products but also encourage value addition. Exports of processed or value-added products constitute a very small portion of overall exports and hence, their continuation would not affect the availability in the domestic market owing to very marginal processing capacity in the country.
UNION GOVERNMENT RAISED LPG CAP TO NINE SUBSIDISED CYLINDERS PER YEAR
The Union government on 17 January 2013 hiked the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders from 6 to 9. The move will be effective from April 2013. The Government had also allowed oil companies to hike diesel prices by a small quantum periodically. With the implication of raised cap the Consumers will be getting a quota of five subsidised cylinders between September 2012 and March 2013 and from 1 April 2013, they will be entitled to get nine cylinders per annum. It was also decided in the meeting on Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) that there will be no change in LPG and kerosene rates. With this, the Election Commission has granted no objection to government's proposal for raising cap on LPG gas quota.
UNION GOVERNMENT IMPOSED 2.5 PERCENT IMPORT DUTY ON CRUDE EDIBLE OIL
Union government on 17 January 2013 imposed a 2.5 per cent import duty on crude edible oil with keeping the duties unchanged on refined cooking oil fearing a hike in retail prices. The decision was taken at the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in New Delhi with a view to protect domestic farmers. The Agriculture Ministry had proposed an increase in the duty on crude edible oil to protect the interest of palm growers, particularly www.jagranjosh.com
Page 117
Page 118
from Andhra Pradesh. Presently there is no import duty for crude edible oil but refined edible oil attracts an import duty of 7.5 per cent India imports about half of the total domestic requirement of cooking oil.
WORLD BANK SLASHED THE GLOBAL GROWTH FORECAST TO 2.4 PERCENT

The World Bank on 15 January 2013 projected that the world economy would expand 2.4 percent in 2013, little higher than the 2.3 percent achieved in 2012. In June 2012, the Bank forecasted the growth up to 3 percent, but due to the slow growth rate, high unemployment rate and less confidence in businesses across the developing nations it managed to revise the forecast earlier made. The World Bank has reduced the projected growth rate of different countries. It has slashed the growth rate of Japan to its half from the one projected earlier and in case of US the growth rate has been slashed by 0.5 percent points. The bank also projected narrowing in the growth rate of the Euro Region. For emerging markets of Mexico, Brazil and India also the projection was lowered. The report from the lead auth or of the Banks Global Economic Prospects Andrew Burns describes that the predicted recoveries of the bank in 2012 would be carried forward towards the end of the first quarter and second quarter of 2013.
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF GAAR DEFERRED BY 2 YEARS, TO COME INTO FORCE FROM 1APRIL 2016
The implementation of General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) was deferred by two years by the government of India. It will now come into force from 1 April 2016. Earlier, the provisions of GAAR were to be implemented from 1 April 2014. GAAR will not apply to those Foreign Institutions Investors, FIIs who are not taking any benefit under an agreement under the Income Tax Act. Besides, it will also not apply to non-resident investors in FIIs. The Parthasarathi Shome Committee in its final report submitted to Finance ministry on 30 September 2012 had suggested that GAAR should be deferred by three years. The report was made public on 14 January 2013. Union Government accepted major recommendations of the Shome Committee with some modifications.
KRISHI KARMAN AWARDS FOR THE YEAR 2011-2012 PRESENTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 15 January 2013 presented the Krishi Karman Awards for the year 2011-2012 at an award ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The awards were presented to the State Governments for their excellent performance in increasing the production of food grains in their respective states. Awards in different segments:
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 118
Page 119
Awards Sates The Awards for Special Contribution to Total Food Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Manipur Grains Production and Nagaland Award for Contribution to Production and Bihar Productivity of Rice Award for Contribution to Production and Haryana Productivity of Wheat Award for Contribution to Production and Jharkhand Productivity of Pulses Award for Contribution to Production and Uttar Pradesh Productivity of Coarse Cereals Ten states namely Punjab, Uttarakhand, Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh were presented commendation awards. From the eight awards winning states, for the first time one male and one female farmer were also awarded for their outstanding performance.
UNION GOVERNMENT APPROVED TEN PERCENT STAKE SALE IN ENGINEERS INDIA LTD (EIL)
The Union Government on 10 January 2013 approved 10 per cent stake sale in Engineers India Ltd (EIL), which is supposed to bring back a sum of around 800 crore Rupees to the government. The stake is going to take place this fiscal, April 2012 to March 2013 and is approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). At present 80.40 Percent of Stake in EIL is held by the Government. Earlier in 2010 Government divested 10 per cent stake through an FPO in EIL, a leader in engineering consultancy.
RBI SET UP WORKING GROUP TO REVIEW BANKING OMBUDSMAN SCHEME

The Reserve Bank of India in the month of January 2013 had set up a working group to evaluate and make improvements in the grievance redressal mechanism for bank customers. The working group constituted in the Reserve Bank of India is going to review, update, and revise the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006. As per the RBI annual report of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2011-12, In Financial Year 2011-12, the banking ombudsmans office of the RBI received around 72889 complaints. It disposed off 94 per cent of the customer complaints, about one-fourth of the total customer complaints were about banks failure to meet commitments and non-observance of fair practices code.
MANUFACTURING SECTOR DISPLAYED SIX-MONTH HIGHEST GROWTH IN DECEMBER 2012: SURVEY

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) from HSBC survey revealed on 2 January 2013 that the manufacturing activity of India increased in December 2012 to maximum in six months. This
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 119
Page 120
happened because of an increase in the new orders as well as strengthened factory output. The survey provides a peep into the sector of manufacturing ranging from jobs to output. The survey showed that the manufacturing activity increased from 53.7 in November 2012 to 54.7 in December 2012.
ROLLOUT OF DIRECT BENEFITS TRANSFERS STARTED ON 1 JANUARY 2013

National Committee on Direct Cash Transfers in its meet with the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh decided to roll-out, the Direct Cash Benefits from 1 January 2013 in 43 identified districts of the country. The decision was taken to ensure that the benefits could be transferred electronically into the bank accounts of the individuals, without making delays and diversions of any type. A high level meet was conducted on 13 December 2012 with the District Collectors of thee identified areas and fine tuned information related to steps that need to be taken in case of Direct Benefits Transfer. Direct Benefits Transfer and it covers Transfer of cash benefits like pensions, scholarships, NREGA wages and others directly through the Government in the Bank or Post Office Accounts of identified beneficiaries under the Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) programme. The program would also device necessary system so that the transfers can be done in a phased, time-bound manner for Direct Benefits Transfer. Direct Benefits Transfer would not act as a substitute for delivery of public services and it would continue to be in place via normal delivery channels. The Direct Benefits Transfer would not allow replacement of food through cash managed under Public Distribution System. The Government will be committed towards legislation of the National Food Security Act.
FII INVESTMENT IN THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET SURPASSED MORE THAN 24000 CRORE RUPEES IN DECEMBER 2012
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in the month of December had pumped in more than 24000 crore rupees in the Indian stock market which is said to be the highest in 10 months timeline taking total FII inflow for the year 2012 to over 24 billion dollars. About Foreign Institutional Investors Foreign Institutional investors are those organizations which sum up huge amount of money and invest that amount in securities, real property and other investment assets. Some Foreign Institutional investors are also operating companies that decide to invest their profits to some degree in these types of assets. The most common types of typical investors includes banks, insurance companies, retirement
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 120
Page 121
or pension funds, hedge funds, investment advisors and mutual funds. They act as highly specialized investors on behalf of others which are considered as their economic role.
UNION GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED MORE INCENTIVES TO EXPORTERS HIT BY GLOBAL MELTDOWN

The union government on 26 December 2012 announced more incentives for the exporters who were hit hard because of global meltdown. An extension of 2 percent interest subsidiary would be provided for another year till March 2014. Additionally, the Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma decided an introduction of pilot scheme of 2 percent interest subsidiary for those project exports that took place through Exim Bank. Any incremental export which would be done in the time duration of January to March 2013 would also be granted incentive. The ministry announced that the incentives would enable to push the exports in last quarter of fiscal year 2012-2013.
INDIRECT TAX COLLECTION INCREASED AT 16.8 PERCENT TO 2.92 LAKH CRORE RUPEES IN APRIL-NOVEMBER 2012
The Finance Ministry announced that indirect tax collection increased at the rate of 16.8 percent to 2.92 lakh crore Rupees in the period of April-November 2012 in comparison to the yearly growth target of 27 percent. It was announced that in first 8 months of 2011-2012 fiscal year, accumulation of the indirect taxes which include excise, services tax as well as customs, was 2.50 lakh crore Rupees.
UN SLASHED WORLD GROWTH FORECAST TO 2.4 PERCENT FOR YEAR 2013

United Nations on 18 December 2012 slashed its global growth predictions to 2.4 percent for 2013 and 3.2 percent for the following year and warned of a lasting employment crisis for western countries. The UN's World Economic Situation and Prospects 2013 report warned that the Debt crises in Europe and the United States and a slowdown in China could all throw the world economy into recession. Earlier in the t month of June 2012 UN had predicted a growth forecast 2.7 percent for 2013 and 3.9 percent for the year after. As per the Report, With existing policies and growth trends, it is going to take at least another five years for Europe and the United States to make up for the job losses caused by the Great Recession of year 20082009. The report also predicted growth in South Asia averaging 5 percent in 2013, up from 4.4 percent in 2012, led by a moderate recovery in India.
FOREIGN INVESTMENTS THROUGH P-NOTES INCREASED TO 8-MONTH HIGHEST
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 121
Page 122
Foreign investments in the Indian markets through P-notes or PNs (Participatory Notes) increased to 8-month high of around 1.75 lakh crore Rupees or 32 billion dollar in October 2012. This happened because different reform measures attracted the overseas investors towards the Indian markets. Market regulator SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) revealed in its data that the overall value of P-Note investments in India (debt, equity or derivatives) by October 2012 end increased to highest since February 2012, when the total value of investments like these were 1.83 lakh crore Rupees. What are P-Notes or PNs? P-Notes or PNs or Participatory Notes are used by the HNIs or High Net worth Individuals, foreign institutions as well as hedge funds. P-Notes allow them to invest their money in Indian markets via registered FIIs or Foreign Institutional Investors. This saves them cost as well as time related to direct registrations.
UNION GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOWERED THE GROWTH PROJECTION FOR CURRENT FISCAL TO 5.7 PERCENT
The Union Government of India on 17 December 2012 lowered down the growth projection for the current financial year 2012-13 from 7.6 percent that was estimated earlier to 5.7-5.9 percent. It also pitched for the supportive monetary and fiscal policies for improving the confidence of the investors. The projection was showcased in the Mid-Year Economic Analysis tabled in Indian Parliament.
CABINET COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AFFAIRS APPROVED THE SETTING UP OF CCI

The Union government of India on 13 December 2012 approved the setting up of a Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI), to fast track investment clearances for mega projects. The decision was taken in the Union Cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Prime Minister will head the CCI and he will also nominate the members of the committee. The CCI will expedite projects offering single window clearance for projects costing 1000 crore rupees or more by setting timelines for the concerned ministries.
RETAIL INFLATION INCREASED TO 9.90 PERCENT IN NOVEMBER 2012

Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released on 12 December 2012 showed that the retail inflation increased for the second successive month to 9.90 percent in November 2012 mainly because of the increase in price of food products like edible oil, sugar, vegetables as well as clothing. In October 2012, the retail inflation was 9.75 percent and in September 2012, it was 9.73 percent. Maximum increase in the price in the month of November 2012 was in oil as well as fats segment, amounting to the annual inflation of 17.67 percent. Apart from oil, the price of sugar also increased by 16.97 percent and pulses on the other hand because costlier by 14.19 percent on yearly basis.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 122
Page 123
INDIAN ECONOMY WOULD DOMINATE THE ECONOMY OF THE WORLD BY 2030: US INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY REPORT
US intelligence community in its report called Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds which was released on 10 December 2012 declared that India would straddle international commerce and will also dominate the economy of the whole world by 2030. This would happen with decelerating Chinese economy as well as declining West. Key points of the report Indias chance of powering would begin only after 2015 as Chinas fortunes would start diminishing. By the year 2030, Asia (mainly India) would return back to its position of being the powerhouse of the world, like it was before 1500. Pakistan might not exist at all. India will rush forward after 2020 as China would begin decelerating, primarily on certain demographic trends. China is indeed ahead of India, but the gap between India and China would start zeroing in by 2030. The economic growth rate of India will surge while that of China will slow down. In 2030, India might be rising as the economic powerhouse just like China is today. The current economic growth rate of China, 8-10 percent would become just a memory for the country. Overall size of the working-age population in China would increase in 2016 and decrease from 994 million to 961 million in 2030. Contrarily, working age population of India would most probably rise until around 2050. The demographic opportunities of India will rise between 2015 and 2050. Chinas opportunities window is from 1990 to 2025. Contrarily, USs opportunity was best between 1970 and 2015. Median age of India which is at present 26 will increase to 32 by 2030, which would still be the least among top 10 economies of world. The report also mentioned that anytime after 2030, India instead of China would be having the largest middle-class consumption, which would be even larger than US and Europe combined. However, India might face trapping in the status of middle-income group in case the resources constraint, especially food, water and energy are not resolved. More investment would be required in science and technology sector in order to keep the pace of economy in the value chain.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 123
Page 124
SECURITY AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA (SEBI) ALLOWED 12 MORE ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT FUNDS
Indian Market regulator Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allowed 12 entities to set up Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), a newly created class of pooled-in investment vehicles for real estate, private equity and hedge funds, in the last two months of October and November 2012. The 12 Alternative Investment Funds AIFs that were registered with SEBI since October 2010 included India Realty Fund, Dar Mentorcap Film Fund, Capaleph Indian Millennium Small & Medium Enterprises Fund and Capaleph Indian Millennium Private Equity Fund.
RESERVE BANK OF INDIA (RBI) SIGNED CURRENCY SWAP AGREEMENT WITH BANK OF JAPAN
The Reserve Bank of India on 4 December 2012 signed a three year Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) with the Bank of Japan for swapping of the local currencies to address short-term liquidity problems. The BSA will be effective from 5 December 2012. The main idea behind the arrangement is to address short-term liquidity difficulties and supplement the existing international financial arrangements, as one of the efforts in strengthening mutual cooperation between Japan and India. The Bilateral Swap Agreement (BSA) is going to enable both the countries to swap their local currencies either Japanese yen or Indian rupee against US dollar for an amount up to 15 billion dollars.
CORE SECTORS OF INDIAN ECONOMY GREW BY 6.5 PERCENT IN OCTOBER 2012

Eight core sectors of the Indian Economy grew by 6.5 percent, the eight-month high in October 2012-2013 in comparison to 0.4 percent in same time period last year, the official data revealed on 30 November 2012. The sectors which weight approximately 38 percent in Index of Industrial Production (IIP) increased by seven-month high in September by 5 percent and 2.3 percent in August. However, the growth of core sector is not dependent on the data of industrial production. For instance, in spite of the higher growth in core sector, the industrial production contracted around 0.4 percent in September. A lot of things are dependent on the capital goods segment which showed consistent contraction. The official data revealed that the eight main industries of the Indian economy- steel, electricity, coal, crude, cement, natural gas, refinery products and fertilisers grew 3.7 percent in initial seven months of fiscal year 20122013 against 4.3 percent in the same period in fiscal year 2011-2012.
ECONOMIC GROWTH DECLINED IN JULY-SEPTEMBER QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 2012-2013
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 124
Page 125
The economy of India grew just by 5.3 percent in July-September quarter of fiscal year 20122013, revealed the Central Statistical Organisation. The economy dropped down the rate of growth because of poor performance of the agriculture as well as manufacturing sectors and it is persistently indicating slowdown signs. In the previous fiscal year, the gross domestic product (GDP) had grown by 6.7 percent in the same quarter. In the first quarter of 2012-2013, the economy had grown by 5.5 percent.
NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE AND A NATIONAL CARDIO CARE CENTRE TO BE DEVELOPED AT JHAJJAR
The Union Government of India on 24 November 2012 announced to set up a National Cancer Institute (NCI) and a National Cardio Care Centre (NCCC) at the second campus of All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Badhsa village of Jhajjar, Haryana during the inauguration of the Outreach OPD of the AIIMS-II campus spread over 300 acres. This outreach OPD is well equipped with all the facilities and has a capacity of 1000 beds and the first OPD in the nation to provide free medicines to the patients.
INDIA SIGNED 70 MILLION US DOLLAR LOAN AGREEMENT WITH WORLD BANK

Government of India on 22 November 2012 signed a 70-million US Dollar loan agreement with World Bank for financing the Karnataka Health Systems Development as well as Reform Project. Primary objective of this project is improvisation of public-private collaboration, health services delivery and financial aid for vulnerable groups and underserved in Karnataka. The agreement was signed by the Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and India Operations Advisor of World Bank in New Delhi. The components of the project include: Strengthening present health programs of the Government of India Innovations in the health financing as well as service delivery Project management, evaluation as well as monitoring Additional financing of this project is scheduled to be implemented till 31 March 2016.
RESERVE BANK OF INDIA ASKED BANKS NOT TO PROVIDE LOANS FOR PURCHASE OF GOLD
The Reserve Bank of India, in its notification released on 19 November 2012 directed banks not to provide loans to its customers for purchase of all types of gold, which includes primary gold, jewellery, bullion, gold coins, units of Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) and units of gold mutual funds. The order was directed for discouraging people from getting involved in speculative activities.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 125
Page 126
INCOME CEILING FOR LIG RAISED BY UNION GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

The Union Government of India on 15 November 2012 decided to raise cap on the annual income which is required for qualification for the benefits under the present housing schemes for the Low Income Groups (LIG) as well as Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). This step on the part of the government will provide benefit to 20 lakh people. The Ministry for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) raised the income criterion for EWS housings from 60000 Rupees per year initially to 1 Lakh Rupees now. This clearly indicates that people with household income below 1 Lakh Rupees will be able to avail benefits of EWS housing scheme. Likewise, the income bar for LIG category has been raised to 2 lakh Rupees now. This decision will be implemented during the 12th Five Year Plan. Instructions have been given to the state governments as well as the banks so that the decision could be implemented effectively.
UNION CABINET OF INDIA CLEARED PROPOSAL FOR SPECTRUM SHARING

The Union Cabinet of India on 8 November 2012 approved levy of about 31000 crore rupees as one-time spectrum charge to be implemented on all incumbent telecom operators like Bharati Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and others. The proposed charges had been implemented to create a level ground between the old players and the new players of the telecom sector. The Finance Minister of India P Chidambaram declared that the recommendations of the EGoM (Empowered Group of Ministers) was cleared and the GSM operators would have to pay for the airwaves that they hold beyond the 4.4 Mega-Hertz, the price determined at the auction and the operators holding more than 6.2 mega hertz airwaves would have to pay a retroactive fee from July 2008 onwards. The CDMA operators would have to pay for the airwaves that they hold beyond 2.5 Mega-Hertz as per the validity of the permits offered to them.
CIVIL AVIATION MINISTRY APPROVED NEW TRAFFIC RIGHTS TO INDIAN CARRIERS

The Civil Aviation Ministry in the first week of November 2012 approved new traffic rights to Indian carriers for the next three seasons to expand international air travel out of the country. The new cities include Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, Sydney, Melbourne, Nairobi, and Al Najaf in Iraq, Moscow, Zurich, Macau, Tashkent and Ho Chi Minh City. Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express got their number of weekly flights enhanced. Air India has also got the rights for the first time to fly on sectors like Delhi-Rome-Madrid/Barcelona, Delhi-Moscow, DelhiSydney/Melbourne, Mumbai-Nairobi and Mumbai-Al Najaf.
SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT ROLLED OUT NELSON MANDELA BANK NOTES

The South African Reserve Bank on 6 November 2012 rolled out new bank notes bearing the face of the countrys first black President Nelson Mandela marking it as a tribute to him. The
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 126
Page 127
Note issued by the South African Reserve Bank, displayed the 94-year-old anti-apartheid icons smiling face. Also, the earlier images of one of the five big animals featured on the old bank notes lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant will be retained on the reverse of the note.
GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO DIGITIZE CABLE TV NETWORK IN THIRTY EIGHT CITIES

The Union Government of India on 6 November 2012 decided to digitise Cable TV network in thirty eight cities, spread over 15 States, by 31 March 2013 in the second phase of digitisation. Earlier, the digitization was completed in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata on the 31October 2012, while in Chennai the deadline was extended till the 9 November 2012 by the Madras High Court.
GAIL AND RSPCL SIGNED AN AGREEMENT OF JOINT VENTURE ON GAS SUPPLY PIPELINE PROJECT
The GAIL Gas Limited and the Rajasthan State Petroleum Corporation Limited (RSPCL) signed an agreement of Joint Venture on 5 November 2012 to lay down the natural gas supply pipeline in the state. Both the bodies will together formulate a long-term plan on commercial, domestic as well as industrial consumption of the gas. The agreement was signed by GAIL Gas Limited Chief Executive Officer J. Vasan and Ajitabh Sharma Managing Director of RSPCL in presence of C.K. Mathew, State Chief Secretary. The joint venture would help in supply of pollution free LPG, CNG and LNG to consumers of different categories and would also be responsible for development of the CNG stations on the road sides of the state and national highways. The project would also supply the gas required by the industrial units that is coming up on the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor.
NORTHERN RAILWAYS INTRODUCED PINK COLOURED TATKAL FORMS

The Northern Railways on 18 October 2012 introduced Pink coloured forms for Tatkal reservation. These forms would be made available with a printed warning column at the booking counters itself and would have enough space to fill in the details like names, contact number, address and others. This step of Railways would help in getting away from the menace created by touts and unauthorized ticket agents.
RBI EXPANDED THE LENDING NORMS ON PRIORITY SECTORS

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 18 October 2012 extended the lendings on the Priority sectors like housing, agriculture, small and medium enterprises, and expanded the scope of bank loans for these sectors up to 2 crore Rupees. These amendments would be in effect from 20 July 2012. The decision came after discussions were held with the CMDs/CEOs of selected banks as well as the heads of Priority Sectors of selected banks and based on the same the new guidelines and amendments were made. The banks were permitted by the central bank to offer
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 127
Page 128
loans up to an aggregate limit of 2 crore Rupees, to corporate that includes farmers producer companies, co-operatives and partnership firms of famers indulged in agricultural and allied activities including animal husbandry, bee-keeping, dairy, fishery and sericulture. The Priority loan would also be made available for pre-harvest and post-harvest activities like weeding, spraying, grading, harvesting and sorting. Export Credit loans for exporting ones own farm produce would also be made available. The lending scheme fulfils the criterion mentioned under the MSMED Act-2006.
CIVIL AVIATION MINISTRY ANNOUNCED OMISSION OF AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT FEE FROM JANUARY 2013
The Civil Aviation Ministry on 16 October 2012 announced to abolish the airport development fee on Delhi and Mumbai Airports, from 1 January 2013. The ministry directed the operators of the two airports to stop levying the charges for Airport Development Fee from the travellers from next year and also asked the Airport Authority of India to infuse equity in form of joint venture firms that operates the two largest airports of the nation.
PILOT PROJECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLE FRIENDLY ROADS APPROVED

C.P. Joshi, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways on 11 October 2012, approved two pilot projects for development of People Friendly Roads. This project will involve construction of National highways on corridor redevelopment and spot improvement concepts. This will help in reducing the financial burden from the government making it public friendly.
U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY DISCUSSED ECONOMY AND TRADE BARRIERS WITH INDIA
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Indian Finance Minister P.Chidambaram for the third annual meeting of the India-U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership on 9 October 2012 discussed lowering trade barriers and extending ways to expand capital markets. Both the countries agreed to deepen cooperation at various multilateral forums, including the G20 and discussed ways to remove trade and investment barriers.
SECURITY DEPOSIT ON NEW CONNECTION OF LPG CYLINDER INCREASED

The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on 9 October 2012 approved the increase in the onetime security deposit on availing a new LPG Cylinder connection. The domestic cylinder weighed 14.2 kilograms saw a rise of 250 Rupees and turned up to be 1150 Rupees from the previous one of 900 rupees in the North Eastern State and in rest of the country it turned up to be 1450 Rupees witnessing a hike of 200 Rupees.
IMF SLASHED INDIAS GROWTH FORECAST FOR 2012 TO 4.9 PERCENT

www.jagranjosh.com
Page 128
Page 129
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 9 October 2012 had slashed Indias growth forecast to 4.9 per cent for 2012 due to low business confidence and sluggish structural reforms. The International Monetary Fund earlier in July projected a growth rate of 6.1 per cent for the year 2012-13. During the first quarter ended in June 2012, Indian economy expanded by 5.5 per cent. In the World Economic Outlook (WEO) released in Tokyo ahead of the IMF-World Bank 2012 Annual Meetings, International Monetary Fund stressed that Indias activity suffered from waning business confidence amid slow approvals for new projects, sluggish structural reforms, policy rate hikes designed to rein in inflation, and flagging external demand. The report has projected 6 per cent growth for the next year (2013), compared to an earlier 6.5 per cent projection.
TO ENHANCE SURVEILLANCE 400 CCTV CAMERAS INSTALLED AT 10 RAILWAY STATIONS IN DELHI, NCR
Northern Railways, Delhi Division on 9 October 2012 finished installation of about 400 CCTVs at 10 different stations of Delhi to enhance security and surveillance. Sum of more than 20 crore Rupees was spent on the project. The stations where these cameras have been installed include New Delhi, Old Delhi, Shahadra, Sarai Rohilla, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Anand Vihar, Ghaziabad, Delhi Cantt, Tilak Bridge and Shivaji Bridge.
UNION GOVERNMENT APPROVED 14 FDI PROPOSALS WORTH 113.35 CRORE RUPEES

The Union Government of India approved fourteen foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals, which would bring in the capital inflow of 113.35 Crore Rupees. The major portion of 81.05 crore Rupees investments accounts to the three clearances made in the Pharmaceutical Sector. Approval of these proposals was made in accordance to recommendations made by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) during the meeting held on 18 September 2012. The FIPB is headed by Arvind Mayaram, the Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs (DEA). Proposals of the companies approved include Dashtag, Neo Capricorn Plaza Ltd., Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company Ltd., Prime Surgical Centres Private Ltd., Calyx Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Limited, Egon Software Pvt. Ltd. and Alburaq Trading LLP. Datsang got an approval to hike its foreign equity of value 68.22 crore Rupees with a nod of carrying out the pharmaceutical business especially in products related to antibiotics, anti-histamines, dermatology and oncology. Prime Surgical Centres Private Ltd. is allowed for setting-up of the Limited Liability partnership (LLP) for carrying put and setting up the business of establishing centres for short stray surgery in India. The company will have its flagship centre at Pune and bring in an investment of 14 crore Rupees. Neo Capricorn Plaza Limited a Mumbai based company was allowed with post-facto approvals to carry out its business of constructing fivestar hotels. Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company Limited is allowed to issue foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) for raising its foreign equity and carrying out the businesses of ship repairs, ship building and production of offshore assets.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 129
Page 130
WEBSITE FOR SMS ALERTS AND RAIL PASSENGER ENQUIRY LAUNCHED BY RAILWAYS
Indian Railways on 4 October 2012 introduced a brand new website and SMS service to provide real-time details of running trains. To avail the facilities of the website one can log in to www.trainenquiry.com or send an sms via phone by typing SPOT <Space><Train Number> and sending it to 139. The facility in form of website and sms service is created for providing the passengers information related to the running time and location of different trains.
12TH FIVE-YEAR PLAN FOCUSED ON IMPROVEMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SANITATION

The Union Cabinet on 4 October 2012 approved the 12th five-year plan with its aim to renew Indian economy and use the funds from government in improving the facilities of education, sanitation and health. This plan has seen a three-fold increase in the budget constraints when compared to that of the 11th five-year plan. The plan would infuse a huge fund of 47.7 lakh crore rupees and this will help to accomplish the economic growth to an average level of 8.2 percent. 12th five-year plan is guided by the policy guidelines and principles to revive the following Indian economy, which registered a growth rate of meagre 5.5 percent in the first quarter of the financial year 2012-13. The plan aims towards the betterment of the infrastructural projects of the nation avoiding all types of bottlenecks. The document presented by the planning commission is aimed to attract private investments of up to US$1 trillion in the infrastructural growth in the 12th five-year plan, which will also ensure a reduction in subsidy burden of the government to 1.5 percent from 2 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product). The UID (Unique Identification Number) will act as a platform for cash transfer of the subsidies in the plan.
CCEA APPROVED 1.90 CRORE LAKH PACKAGE ON DEBT RESTRUCTURING FOR THE SEBS
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 24 September 2012 approved a 1.90 lakh crore package on debt restructuring for the state-electricity boards. The taken step will allow the state- distribution companies (DISCOMS) to facilitate their turnaround. The committee met under the leadership of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and gave its nod to the package forcing the red marked distribution companies to start the fresh round of tariff increase.
FOREIGN INVESTMENT CAP HIKED TO 74 PERCENT FOR BROADCASTING SERVICES

The Government of India on 20 September 2012 hiked the foreign investment cap for the broadcasting service providers to 74 percent. The registered hike in foreign investment cap is
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 130
Page 131
for service providers of Direct to Home (DTH), modernized cable network and mobile television. This move of the government will allow the global players in acquiring major stakes in the broadcasting companies. Before his decision was passed, the eligibility of DTH and multi-system cable operators to make foreign investment was limited to 49 percent only.
GAAR REPORT SUBMITTED BY THE SHOME COMMITTEE TO THE FINANCE MINISTRY

The GAAR report was submitted on 1 September 2012 to the finance minister of India by the Shome Committee constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, after the approval of Prime Minister of India. The committee in its report has tried to create a balance in between the investors being invited to the country and protection of the tax base from tax avoidance and evasion, using aggressive tax planning. The major findings of the GAARs committee to create a balance in between the investors and chances of tax avoidance and evasion includes: Tax Evasion, Tax Mitigation and Tax Avoidance Overcharging Principle Applicability of GAAR Monetary Threshold Arms Length Test Test to Misuse or Abuse the Provisions of Act Factors for determination of Commercial Substance Grandfathering of existing Investments GAAR will not override the CBDT circular 789 of 2000 with respect to the tax-treaty in between India and Mauritius GAAR will not be applicable at places where so ever anti-avoidance provisions are in existence in the treaty of tax and any type of anti-avoidance rule exists in the Act Impermissible Avoidance arrangements Tax abolition in cases of gains that rises out by the transfer of listed securities Foreign Institutional Investors Corresponding adjustments Implementation of the Onus on the revenue authority Tax Withholding Definition of the term Connected Person
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 131

Constitution of approval panel Time limit for GAAR provisions AAR to pass ruling within 6 months Prescription of Statutory forms Implementation issue Reporting requirements Shomes Committee
Page 132
The expert committee on GAAR (General Anti-Avoidance Rules) was constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr. Parthasarsthi Shome with members, namely Shri N. Rangachary (Former Chairman of IRDA and CBDT), Dr. Ajay Shah (Prof. NIPFP) and Shri Sunil Gupta (Joint SecretaryTax Policy and Legislation, Department of Revenue) for undertaking the consultations of stakeholders and finalization of guidelines for GAAR. The main objective of the committee was to get feedbacks from the stakeholders and prepare new guidelines or to amend the previous guidelines after examining the things finely. The committee was constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes after being approved by the Prime Minister of India.
FINANCE MINISTRY DEMANDED THE BANK DETAILS OF COAL MINING FIRMS

In wake of the raging Coal Gate Scam, the Finance Ministry on 18 September 2012 asked for information related to bank loans of the mining companies. The ministry also asked details of companies not directly engaged in mining but collaterally engaged to coal blocks allocated from the public sector banks. The ministry also demanded details related to sanctioned and outstanding fund and non-funds of the companies along with their status of asset classification. The move of the ministry is a result of irregularities found in allocation of the coal-blocks to the 58 power and iron and steel companies, whose bank guarantees have been invoked by the Ministry of Coal followed by the recommendation made by the inter-ministerial group on coal or the de-allocation of the coal-blocks that is under process. The need for all these details by the finance ministry is in the wake of the report submitted by the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) of India related to non-transparent allocation of coal blocks, which lead to an estimated exchequer loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore.
RBIS DATA RELATED T O SECTORAL DEPLOYMENT OF CREDIT STATES

Bank exposure to power sector is Rs 344980 Crore Bank exposure to iron and steel is Rs 36320 Crore
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 132

Bank exposure to cement and cement products is 36320 Crore Bank exposure to mining and quarrying is Rs 36600 Crore
Page 133
Power producers in India consume almost 70 percent of the total production of coal in the country.
TRIAL TO MAKE MAHARAJA EXPRESS AFFORDABLE FOR DOMESTIC TOURISTS

In a hunt to pull the interests of domestic tourists by making Maharaja Express affordable, IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) announced a cut in the journey along with discounted offers for twin travellers. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation have declared four trips in the festive season for the current financial year. The IRCTC had shortened the distance of travel and duration of two trips along with a discounted offer of 50 percent discount to the second companion. The trips of eight days and seven nights have been shortened to be of four days and three nights. The two trips scheduled for the year includes the one during Dussehra and the other during Diwali, commencing on 20 October 2012 and 27 October 2012. The trip named to be Indian Panorma will move on the route mentioned DelhiJaipur-Ranthamobore-Agra-Gwalior-Orchha-Khajuraho-Varanasi-Lucknow-Delhi). The offered package includes meals along with sight-seeing, 24-hour valet service, paramedics on-board and entrance fees to the sights. Beer, liquor and house wines will be served as complementary.
SHIMLA MUNICIPAL CORPORATION INTRODUCED GREEN TAX ON VEHICLES ENTERING SHIMLA

Shimla Municipal Corporation on 15 September 2012 introduced GREEN TAX on Shimla entry of vehicles not registered in Himachal Pradesh. The Corporation Commissioner M.P. Sood stated that the vehicles crossing the entry points of the town will have to pay the imposed tax. The tax will be imposed on automobiles on both commercial and non-commercial category.
CHIDAMBARAM PITCHED FOR PRIME MINISTER LED NATIONAL INVESTMENT BOARD

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 15 September 2012 pitched for institutionalization of a National Investment Board under the leadership of Prime Minister. The formation of the board will help in speeding the approval of the proposals, for the mega projects and their implementation. Formation of the board will help the country in achieving the targeted growth for the twelfth five year of 8.2 percent.
IRCTC INTRODUCED INTERBANK MOBILE PAYMENT SYSTEM

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited introduced the Interbank Mobile Payment System (IMPS) for making the payment of the bookings via mobile phones. On use of www.jagranjosh.com
Page 133
Page 134
IMPS system, the user will be charged with Rs 5 for transactions of up to Rs 5000 and Rs 10 for transactions more than that. The facility of booking via IMPS will be available to those with their phone number registered in the respective bank accounts as the M-Pin and the MMID (Mobile money identifier) will be required for furnishing the details required. This facility will ensure smooth and functioning of the booking criteria via SMSs.
PROPOSAL FOR 51 PERCENT FDI IN MULTI-BRAND RETAIL AND 49 PERCENT IN AVIATION PASSED
The Union Cabinet on 14 September 2012 cleared the proposal of foreign direct investment (FDI) for 51 percent in the multi-brand retail chains and 49 percent in Aviation power exchanges industry. Passing of the proposal have cleared the floor for welcoming the multi-brand retail chains like Wall mart and Tesco and Carrefour in the country for setting up of their shops and retail outlets. Similarly, the 49 percent of FDI allowed in aviation and Power exchanges will bring in funds for the domestic carriers on a verge of death and will help in enhancement of power availability and distribution management, respectively. Conditions put forward for investors in the proposal for the multi-brand retails The proposal makes a clear stand that investors looking ahead for investments will have to take the permission in form of approvals from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board Investment of minimum $100 million is a must for any foreign investor planning to invest in India, out of which 50% of the investment should be made in creation of backend infrastructure. Back-end investment means investments that is made in quality control, warehouse creation, cold storage, design improvement, manufacturing, processing and packaging The investors will have to get 30% of the production of their total products by the smallscale industries The proposal also clears that the agricultural produce like pulses, flowers, fruits, vegetables, poultry item, fishery, meat and others can be unbranded Investors can invest in the 51 cities with a minimum population of 10 lakh people as per the census presented in the year 2011 For making investment in the aviation sector, the proposals have This will help in making equity invasion for the aviation companies seeking financial support at the time when maximum of the domestic airlines are passing through a phase of losses.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 134
Page 135
Investors who are not functional in airline business can own equity of 49 percent directly or indirectly in the Indian Aviation Companies. FDI in Power Exchanges will be guided via 49 percent of FDI in power trading exchanges will be taken care of as per the regulation laid down by SEBI and Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Power Market) Regulations) 2010. The commerce minister stated that Foreign Institutional Investors cannot exceed a limit of 26 percent investment and the paid-up capital will be restricted to 23 percent. FII can be permitted under automatic routes whereas; the FDI will be scrutinized under the route approved by the government. The generation of electricity, power transmission and distribution along with trading will be done in accordance to the provisions of the Electricity Act 2003. The current policy allows FDI up to 100 percent in power sector (atomic energy is an exception). What does it mean for different economic sections of India Economy: Help in reversal of the economic slowdown, attract the investment of billions of dollars from foreign market and spin jobs to a greater extent. Kirana Stores: Will lower down the selling price, because they will purchase the supplies from deep down retailers. Retailers: Can sell their equity up to 51% to the global leaders. Farmers: They can sell their produce directly at higher prices and the presence of middle man will end. States: Decision to allow the retail giants or prohibit lies in the hands of states. Common Man: A chance to gain big discount with many options to shop. UPA government: Got a chance to wash away the blames of policy paralysis.
EGOM CUT DOWN THE LOAN INTEREST RATE TO 7 PERCENT IN THE DROUGHT AFFECTED AREAS
The EGOM (Empowered Group of Ministers) on 11 September 2012 declared to slash down the interest rate from 10 to 12 percent to 7 percent in the entire 350 drought hit Talukas of the four states namely, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Karnataka. They also came up with a declaration of providing additional 50 days of work guarantee to that of 100 days under MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) to the registered
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 135
Page 136
households. The decision will be applicable for a period of one year from the day of announcement. The decisions made in the meet, are subject to be practiced in the drought affected areas only. There is a total of 8 percent deficiency in the monsoon to that of the 20 percent recorded in the first four months of the season.
REPORT: INDIAN EXTERNAL DEBTS ARE WITHIN MANAGEABLE LIMITS

The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) published its annual publication- Indias external debt: a status report 2011-12. As per the published report, Indias external debt in the end of March 2012 was $345.8 billion, which is 13% high than the previous years debt or $ 39.9 billion from where India stood at the end of March 2011. The publication points out about the upward movement of the stress that is put on the current account deficit (CAD) of the nation because of the risks thrown on it, from the external sectors that comprises Fall in the reserve cover for imports and external debt, depreciation in the exchange rate of rupee, rise in the level of external debts and the increased share of the short term commercial borrowing in the complete external debt quantum.
CABINET GAVE A NOD TO TWO SUBSIDIARIES OF AIR INDIA: AIESL AND AITSL
To split off the ground handling and engineering services of Air India, Union cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh approved a proposal of Rs 768 crore on 6 September 2012. Now the two units Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL) and Air India Transport Services Ltd. (AITSL) will be operational as two completely owned subsidiaries and treated as separate profit centres. The approval came after waiting for almost two years since; Air India board agreed for the separate operations of the two units and sent it for clearance to the Ministry Of Civil Aviation. Ministry gave its nod to the proposal in the month of April.
GOVERNMENT CLEARED RS 808 CRORE FDI PROPOSAL BY CLOVERDELL

Mauritius based, Cloverdell Investments Ltd. got a clearance for their foreign direct investment proposal of investing Rs 808 crore on 6 September. The Mauritius based companys case was taken into consideration by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in the meeting conducted on 27 July 2012, but the approval came after getting clarifications on certain issues. Clearance for making the investment in form of FDI to Cloverdell raised the total number of cleared FDI application to 11 with an expected investment of Rs 2,067.98 crore. Cloverdells investment will be directed to introduce the foreign equity directly into the operating Non Banking Finance Company (NBFC) like the companies engaged in commodity broking, stock broking, housing finance and depository participant service.
GOVERNMENT APPROVED 14000 CRORE RUPEES FUND TO SPUR PRODUCTION OF HYBRID AND ELECTRICAL VEHICL
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 136
Page 137
The government of India on 29 August 2012 approved a 14000 crore rupees fund to spur the production of hybrid and electrical vehicles in the country. According to a new policy approved, Automobile companies and the government plan to put six million electric vehicles on road by 2020. The government under the new policy will fund research and development, infrastructure and subsidies.
SEBI ALLOWED PARTIAL FLEXIBILITY IN IDRS FOR INVESTORS

Indias market regulator Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 28 August 2012 allowed partial flexibility in the conversion of Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) into equity shares by investors. The SEBI move is aimed at retaining domestic liquidity besides; it is also expected to attract foreign entities to enrol their IDRs on India stock exchanges. In another circular released by the RBI, the central bank put an overall cap of 5 billion dollar for raising of capital through IDRs by foreign companies in Indian markets. The RBI measure will help Indian investors to convert their depository receipts into equity shares of the issuer company and vice versa.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE (PAC) CALLED FOR DETERRENT PENAL PROVISIONS AGAINST UNITS IN SEZS
Parliament's Public Accounts Committee on 23 August 2012 decided to bring the three latest CAG reports on coal allocations, GMR-run Delhi airport and Reliance Power, onto its agenda for the year 2012. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in its meeting on 23 August 2012 called for deterrent penal provisions against units in Special Economic Zones which default duty payments to the exchequer. PAC in a report adopted in the meeting recommended an oversight mechanism which would ensure no misuse of the SEZ policy.
INDIA EASED EXTERNAL OVERSEAS BORROWING RULES TO ENABLE EASIER ACCESS TO CHEAP DOLLAR FUNDS
The high-level committee on external commercial borrowings (ECB),chaired by secretary, department of economic affairs Arvind Mayaram on 22 August 2012 decided to further liberalise the foreign borrowing norms. India eased overseas borrowing rules to enable easier access to cheap dollar funds to housing finance companies such as HDFC, small industry financier SIDBI. It was decided to permit non-resident entities to provide rating enhancement facility to Indian borrower. Indias measure to ease overseas borrowing is expected to boost capital inflows by permitting lower rated companies to raise dollar funds. Even a company with low credit rating will be able to raise foreign funds using credit enhancement facility that states that third party is to assure the lender that he will be compensated if the borrower defaulted. Advantages for Lower-rated Companies
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 137
Page 138
The guarantee for domestic companies from offshore entities effectively lifts the credit ratings of the bonds thereby benefitting lower-rated borrowers. Indian companies have always been constrained in their funding options due to high domestic interest rates and difficulties in tapping markets overseas. The actions targeting credit guarantees will benefit sectors such as telecoms and energy, where foreign companies often operate via Indian units, but whose domestic borrowing get constrained if they had lower ratings than their parent companies.
UNION FINANCE MINISTRY APPROVED 49 PERCENT FDI IN INSURANCE AND PENSION SECTOR
In a move aimed at encouraging investment sentiment in the country, the Union Finance Ministry on 22 August 2012 approved 49 percent foreign direct investment in insurance and pension sector. Earlier the permitted level of FDI in the insurance and pension sector was 26 percent. The proposal for 49 percent FDI in insurance and pension sector was made during Pranab Mukherjees tenure at the finance minister office. However, the decision on the same was delayed because of resistance from the cronies.
AIR INDIA LOSSES PEGGED AT 28046 CRORE RUPEES

Despite all the efforts made by the government to revive ailing Air India, the losses of the company have been constantly mounting. Since the five-year-old merger of Air India with Indian Airlines the collective losses of the company from 2007-08 to 2011-12 pegged at 28046 crore rupees. The data holds great significance as it was revealed by none other than the Union Aviation Ministry itself in the Parliament.
RBI STIPULATED THE NORMS FOR SECURITISATION OF LOANS BY NBFCS

Extending the guidelines of securitisation of loan from banks to non-banking finance companies (NBFC), Indias Central Bank Reserve Bank of India on 21 August 2012 tightened the securitisation norms for NBFCs. The RBI instructed that a non-banking finance company will have to retain at least 5 per cent of the loan being sold to another entity. The RBI in its revised guidelines also stipulated that NBFC cannot sell or securitize a loan unless three monthly installments have been paid by the borrower. The latest directives from the RBI are aimed at checking unhealthy practices and distributing risk to a wide spectrum of investors.
INDIA'S MARINE EXPORTS TO GROW BY OVER 28% TO USD 4.5 BILLION IN 2012-13 FISCAL
According to the data provided by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) in August 2012, India's marine exports are likely to grow by over 28 per cent year-on-year to USD 4.5 billion in 2012-13 fiscal. The growth is expected to rise as a result of the increase in demand in western markets like the US and Europe. During 2011-12, seafood exports had stood
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 138
Page 139
at USD 3.5 billion. The US and the Europe together account for over 45 per cent of the country's total seafood exports.
REGULATOR SEBI PERMITTED SEVEN ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT FUNDS (AIFS) TO START OPERATION IN INDIA
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in August 2012 permitted seven Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) to start operation in India under a newly formulated route that enable pooling of funds for investments in areas such as real estate, private equity and hedge funds. Six AIFs registered with the regulator in August 2012, while one was granted registration back on 23 July 2012. SEBI had published its guidelines with regard to AIF in May 2012. The seven AIFs that registered with SEBI include IFCI Syncamore India Infrastructure Fund, Utthishta Yekum Fund, Indiaquotient Investment Trust, Forefront Alternate Investment Trust, Excedo Realty Fund, Sabre Partners Trust and KKR India Alternate Credit Opportunities Fund. AIF Categories The Category I AIFs are those where funds stand a chance of getting certain incentives or concessions from the government, SEBI or other regulators in India and include Social Venture Funds, Infrastructure Funds, Venture Capital Funds and SME Funds. The Category II AIFs are those funds which can invest anywhere in any combination but are prohibited from raising debt, except for meeting their day-to-day operational requirements. These AIFs include PE funds, debt funds or fund of funds, as also all others falling outside the ambit of Category I and Category III. The Category III AIFs are those trading with an objective to make short term returns and include hedge funds, among others.
CAG PEGGED PUBLIC EX CHEQUERS LOSS AT 1. 86 LAKH CRORE IN COAL BLOCKS ALLOCATION SCAM
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its incisive audit report noted that Indias exchequer suffered a massive loss of 1.86 lakh crore due to the distribution of coal blocks without bidding. The CAG report was tabled in the parliament on 17 August 2012. The CAG in its report stated that 57 coal blocks that were allocated to private companies during 2004-2009, extended them a windfall gain of 1.86 lakh crore rupees. The CAG report has also brought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh under scrutiny as he was holding the charge of Coal Ministry from 2006 to 2009. Besides, the CAG report also raised serious allegations against the PMO which delayed the fair bidding process for coal blocks despite the clearance from Law and Justice Ministry.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 139
Page 140
PMEAC PEGGED INDIAS GROWTH AT 6.7 PERCENT IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2012-13
According to the Economic Outlook 2012-13 released by Prime Minister Economic Advisory Council on 17 August 2012, Indias economy will grow at 6.7 percent in the financial year 2012 13. India economy had registered 6.5 percent growth in the fiscal 2011-12, which was the lowest in the past nine years. The council also raised the projection for inflation to about 6.5 7 percent from earlier 5 6 percent. The governments fiscal deficit is expected to go up to 6 percent in the financial year 2012-13 as compared to 5.8 percent in the previous fiscal.
INTER-MINISTERIAL GROUP RECOMMENDED LINKING PATENTED DRUG PRICES TO PER-CAPITA INCOME

An inter-ministerial group formed in 2007 and entrusted with the responsibility of regulating prices of patented medicines recommended using a per capita income-linked reference pricing mechanism. The proposal by the group is expected to reduce prices of several patented dugs by up to one-third. However it will hit the profitability of foreign companies. The committee suggested fixing the price of patented drugs by comparing the price at which these drugs are procured by governments in the UK, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand. The committee recommended that the retail price is to be fixed by adjusting it to the per capita income of the country. The new mechanism is to be applicable for patented drugs that dont have any therapeutic equivalents in the market.
INDIAS EXPORTS DECL INED TO 22.4 BILLION DOLLAR IN JULY 2012

Indias exports for the month of July 2012 stood at 22.4 billion dollar registering a decline of 14.8 percent as compared to 26.3 billion dollar during the same month of 2011. Imports during July 2012 stood at 37.9 billion dollar as compared to 41.1 billion dollar in July 2011. Balance of Trade stood at 15.5 billion dollar during July 2012 as compared to 14.8 billion dollar in July 2011. The trade data were released by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 14 August 2012. The cumulative figure for exports for the period of April-July 2012 stood at 97.6 billion dollar as compared to 102.8 billion dollar in April-July 2011; the cumulative figure for imports for April-July 2012 stood at 153.2 billion dollar as compared to 163.8 billion dollar in April-July 2011. The cumulative figure for the Balance of Trade for the period of April-July 2012 stood at 55.6 billion dollar as compared to 61.0 billion dollar in April-July 2011.
MOODYS CUT INDIAS GROWTH FORECAST TO 5.5 PERCENT

Moody's Analytics cut India's growth forecast to 5.5 percent for the fiscal year 2012-13, as it blamed government or RBI of inaction despite slowing economy, as well as a poor monsoon. The research unit of ratings agency Moody's Investors Service becomes the latest to cut India's growth forecasts this week. Earlier CLSA and Citigroup had cut their growth outlooks for India to 5.4 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively for the fiscal year ending in March 2013. Moodys
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 140
Page 141
noted despite the slowing growth both the government and the Reserve Bank of India had provided little policy response. Moody's added weaker-than-average rainfalls during the monsoon period would also weigh on India's growth. The research unit also cut its 2013 growth forecast to 6 percent from 6.2 percent.
INDIAS INDUSTRIAL O UTPUT DECLINED TO 1.8 PERCENT IN JUNE 2012

Indias industrial output plunged to 1.8 per cent in June 2012 compared to 9.5 per cent growth registered during June 2011. For the first quarter, the index of industrial production (IIP) declined 0.1 per cent against 6.9 per cent growth in the same quarter of fiscal 2011-12. The figure released by the Central Statistics Office of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on 9 August 2012. Index of Industrial Production (IIP) (Index of Industrial Production IIP) is compiled using data received form 16 source agencies including Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP); Indian Bureau of Mines; Central Electricity Authority; Joint Plant Committee; Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas; Office of Textile Commissioner; Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals; Directorate of Sugar; Department of Fertilizers; Directorate of Vanaspati, Vegetable Oils & Fats; Tea Board; Office of Jute Commissioner; Office of Coal Controller; Railway Board; Office of Salt Commissioner and Coffee Board.
FITCH RATINGS REVISED THE INDIAN RETAIL SECTOR OUTLOOK FOR THE SECOND HALF 2012-13 TO NEGATIVE
Fitch Ratings revised the Fitch Ratings revised the Indian retail sector outlook for the second half of the financial year 2012-13 to negative from stable in the backdrop of a decline in the discretionary spending ability. Fitch has revised down its real GDP forecasts to 6.5% and 7.0% for 2013 and 2014 respectively from the earlier 7.5% and 8.0%. The downward revision was attributed to sluggish demand, high construction costs and liquidity pressures. The worsening business conditions are likely to negatively impact credit profiles. The impact on individual retailers however depends on their ability to manage their capital structures.
RBI PERMITTED BANKS TO LEND TO TELECOM COMPANIES FOR THE UPCOMING AUCTION FOR SPECTRUM
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted banks to lend to telecom companies for the upcoming auction for spectrum, subject to conditions such as mortgaging the spectrum to the lenders. The RBI had laid down a few pre-conditions for financing of telecom firms for the auction of airwaves to protect banks against potential defaults. The Union cabinet on 3 August 2012 approved a proposal that allows telecom companies bidding for airwaves to mortgage spectrum to raise funds from banks. The government set a reserve or base price of Rs 14000 crore for the auction. That banks were revising their lending rates in specific maturities without
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 141
Page 142
lowering the base rate concerned the RBI. This activity of the banks resulted in the transmission of monetary policy signals by the central bank to be ineffective. The base rate is supposed to be responsive to changes in monetary conditions. The RBI had formed a committee to assess the monetary policy transmission mechanism and also loan products offering fixed interest rate. The RBI want banks to enact changes in lending rates through their respective benchmark base rates for floating-rate loans.
INDIAS NSE BECAME THE WORLDS LARG EST BOURSE IN EQUITY SEGMENT AS PER WFES GLOBAL RANKING
As per the latest global ranking compiled and published by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) in August 2012, the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) become the worlds la rgest bourse in terms of the number of trades in equity segment for the first six months of 2012. A total of 735474 trades took place in the equity segment of NSE in the January-June period of 2012, making it the worlds largest exchange on this parameter. NSE was followed by NYSE Euronext and Nasdaq OMX at the second and the third positions. Industry experts attributed the recent position of NSE acquired by the bourse to growing investor base, use of latest technology and new products. NSE's platform is connected to two lakh trading terminals in more than 2000 towns and cities across the country. NSE is the second largest exchange globally after Korea Exchange for index options. Eurex was the third largest exchange worldwide in terms of total number of index options traded during the first six months of 2012. BSE recorded a total of 187824 trades during this period in its equity segment. The total number of listed companies is much larger in case of the BSE; the exchange however lags behind NSE significantly in terms of volume and value of trades.
UNION CABINET SETS BASE PRICE FOR AUCTION OF 2G SPECTRUM AT 14000 CRORE RUPEES
The Union Cabinet on 4 August 2012 approved the reserve price for auction of 2G spectrum as well as spectrum usage charges (SUC). The Cabinet set the reserve price of 14000 crore rupees for the 5 megahertz pan-India spectrum in the 1800 megahertz band. The price is 22 percent lower than the telecom regulator's suggestion. An auctioneer will be soon appointed to conduct a fresh auction.
RBI DIRECTED NBFCS TO MAINTAIN NET-OWNED FUNDS (NOF) AT RS 3 CRORE BY 31 MARCH 2013
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in a notification issued on 3 August 2012 stated that all registered non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) which who intend to convert themselves into non-banking financial company-micro finance institutions (NBFC-MFIs) would have to seek registration with immediate effect, not later than 31 October 2012. The central bank also mentioned that the NBFCs have to maintain net-owned funds (NOF) at Rs 3 crore by 31 March 2013, and at Rs.5 crore by 31 March 31 2014. If the NBFCs fail maintain the NOF they will have www.jagranjosh.com
Page 142
Page 143
to ensure that lending to the micro finance sector, that is, individuals, SHGs or JLGs, which qualify for loans from MFIs to be restricted to 10 per cent of the total assets.
INDIAS FISCAL DEFIC IT REACHED 37 PERCENT OF THE BUDGET ESTIMATE

According to the latest data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on 1 August 2012, India's fiscal deficit in the first quarter (April-June) of the fiscal year 2012-13 stood at 1.90 lakh crore rupees which was 37 percent of the entire budget estimate. The Union Government in the budget 2012 had pegged the fiscal deficit for the financial year 2012-13 at 5.13 lakh crore, or 5.1 percent of total GDP. Fiscal deficit during the corresponding period of fiscal year 2011-12 was 39 percent of the budget estimates amounting 1.63 lakh crore rupees. The revenue receipts, however, increased in the first three months of fiscal year 2012-13. The revenue receipt during the given period stood at 1.18 lakh crore rupees, which was 12.7 percent of the budget estimates. Total expenditure of the government stood at 3.12 lakh crore rupees, or 21 percent of the budget estimates.
RBI SIGNED MOU WITH FINANCIAL REGULATORS OF 9 COUNTRIES TO PROMOTE SHARING OF INFORMATION
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed three memoranda of understanding with Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC), Financial Services Authority of UK and Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with regulators of other countries to promote greater co-operation and sharing of supervisory information between the regulators. RBI signed nine MoUs thus far with financial regulators of different countries. The MoU with the Jersey Financial Services authority was signed on 16 July 2012. Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) is an independent statutory body. The main function of JFC is the regulation, licensing and supervision of financial services providers for compliance with prudential norms and conduct of business requirements in Jersey.
INDIAS EXPORTS SLIP PED BY 5.45 PERCENT IN JUNE 2012

According to the data released by the Commerce Ministry on 1 August 2012 Indias exports in June slipped by 5.45 per cent, year-on- year, to 25 billion dollar on account of sluggish global economy. Imports dipped more sharply, by 13.46 per cent to 35.37 billion dollar during the month, compared to 40.8 billion dollar in June 2011, resulting in a narrower trade deficit of 10.3 billion dollar. The data revealed that, exports during the April-June quarter of fiscal year 201213 dipped by 1.7 per cent to 75.2 billion dollar, from 76.5 billion dollar during the corresponding period of fiscal year 2011-12. Imports during the quarter also witnessed a slump as it dipped by 6.10 per cent to 115.25 billion dollar from 122.74 billion dollar in the same quarter of 2011-12.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 143
Page 144
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 144
Page 145
CORPORATE AFFAIRS IN CURRENT SCENARIO

BHARAT HEAVY PLATE & VESSELS LTD. (BHPV) MERGED WITH BHEL
The Union Cabinet of India approved merger of Bharat Heavy Plate & Vessels Ltd. (BHPV) Vishakhapatnam with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on 21 February 2013. After the merger, BHVP will be a unit of BHEL. Post-merger, BHVP will be able to participate in the tenders as well as obtain the orders. Bharat Heavy Plate & Vessels Ltd. (BHPV) Bharat Heavy Plate & Vessels Ltd. (BHPV) is the engineering and heavy fabrication company which was established back in 1966 in Andhra Pradesh. The company had suffered immense loss because of various reasons. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) acquired BHPV in 2008 as 100 percent subsidiary. However, because BHVP was a separate company, therefore it was not able to derive complete benefits.
NTPC SIGNED 250 MILLION US DOLLARS LOAN AGREEMENT WITH BANKS

National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) tied up a term loan facility of 250 million US dollars with the State Bank of India, New York Branch as well as Singapore Branch of Mizuho Corporate Bank Limited. The agreement for the loan was signed in New York. The loan will empower NTPC for making use of the proceeds of loan towards capital expenditure for procurement of goods and services for new as well as ongoing projects. It will also help NTPC in modernization as well as renovation of stations of this corporation.
TRAI RELEASED PRE-CONSULTATION PAPER ON COUNTRY-WIDE MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY

Telecom Regulator Authority of India (TRAI) started the pre-consultation process for the country-wide mobile number portability services which will enable the users to have the same number even if they change their service area. As of now, mobile number portability (MNP) services were available in one service area only. But with the help of country-wide MNP services, the users would be able to have same number even if they change their location statewise. TRAI announced that it would seek views from the stakeholders on certain issues through the pre-consultation paper. TRAI asked the stakeholders to offer their views by 7 March 2013 on methods or techniques that needed to be used for implementation of full MNP, number portability from one service area to another as well as amendments needed in the existing regulation. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 145
Page 146
DABUR INDIA ROPED IN IRRFAN KHAN TO ENDORSE BABOOL SALT TOOTHPASTE

Dabur India on 18 February 2013 launched Dabur Babool + Salt Powder Toothpaste and roped in actor Irrfan Khan to endorse the brand, as a new face for the product, Babool Salt. Irrfan Khan had been roped in with the brand for being featured in its 360 degree media campaign.
NTPL SIGNED AGREEMENT WITH A GROUP OF BANKS FOR 1000-MW POWER PROJECT
A group of various banks agreed to loan 937 crore Rupees for 1000-MW NTPL power project. NTPL power project is the joint venture of Tamil Nadu Power Generation and Distribution Corporation as well as Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC). The project will come up at Tuticorin. NLC Director (Finance) as well as the Bank of India Deputy General Manager (Mumbai) signed an agreement on 18 February 2013. The estimated cost of the project would be 4909.54 crore Rupees having debt-equity ratio of 70:30.
TELECOM OPERATOR UNINOR CLOSED ITS OPERATIONS IN MUMBAI FOLLOWING SC ORDER

Telecom operator Uninor closed its operations in Mumbai on 17 February 2013 following a Supreme Court order. The apex court had ordered immediate closure of the company after it cancelled 22 licences of Uninor in February 2012. Temporary licences, too, have not been permitted by the Supreme Court. The majority stakeholder of the company, Telenor participated in the November 2012 auction through new entity Telewings Communications and won spectrum in six circles. Telenor is now in the process of transferring business of Uninor in Maharashtra and Goa, Gujarat, UP East, UP West, Bihar and Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh service areas, to Telewings Communications.
AMR SEALED 11 BILLION US DOLLARS MERGER WITH US AIRWAYS

AMR Corporation, parent company of American Airlines as well as US Airways on 14 February 2013 confirmed about their merger plans in a deal which would result in creation of second largest airline of the world in terms of revenue. The merger will take place after Sean Lane; the judge that is overseeing the bankruptcy of AMR will clear the plan. The merger between the two companies will happen just after clearance from US Bankruptcy Court.
RECKITT BENCKISER SIGNED A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP DEAL WITH SAVE THE CHILDREN
Reckitt Benckiser (RB) on 13 Feb 2013 signed a global partnership deal of 8-million US dollars with Save the Children for 2013 to support vulnerable children below the age of five. It will be
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 146
Page 147
done through large-scale health, hygiene and child protection programmes. It will provide local support in more than 40 countries in the world.
MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA (M&M) ACQUIRED STAKE OF NAVISTAR INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) acquired stake of Navistar International Corporation in two joint ventures Mahindra Navistar Engines Pvt Ltd (MNEPL) and Mahindra Navistar Automotives Ltd (MNAL) on 12 February 2013. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) announced that it took over complete ownership to sell products of MNAL and MNEPL. Navistar however decided that it would source the components from India. M&M would forward its engineering services to Navistar, which in turn would facilitate support to it through the license agreements.
PARLE-G BECAME THE FIRST INDIAN FMCG BRAND TO CROSS 5000 CRORE RUPEES MARK
Parle-G in February 2013 became the first Indian FMCG brand that crossed 5000 crore Rupees mark in terms of retail sales in one year. Parle Products were launched in 1939 when the British ruled India. Factually, Parle Products in 2012 sold 5010 crore rupees worth glucose biscuits at the retail price, surpassing the domestic sales of Godrej products and Dabur, while at the same time also selling thrice more products than Maggi. This means that Parle Products sold over 100 crore packets of the glucose biscuits every month, or 14600 crore biscuits in 2012. Parle-G that has less than 1 billion dollar sales in a year, but even then it has good lead over its rivals such as Hindustan Unilever's Wheel and Ghari Detergent.
MCX-SX, THE THIRD NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE MADE ITS DEBUT IN INDIA
MCX-SX, the third bourse on the equities and equity derivatives trading block debuted on 11 February 2013. It is the third national stock exchange of India after Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange. MCX-SX started its trading in shared of 1116 listed companies against 1665 companies in National Stock Exchange and 5191 companies in Bombay Stock Exchange.
THOMAS COOK INDIA ACQUIRED IKYA, THE HUMAN RESOURCE STAFFING SOLUTIONS COMPANY
Thomas Cook India, the largest Indian integrated travel service company on 6 February 2013 acquired 74 percent interests of Ikya Human Capital Solutions, the human resource staffing Solutions Company by signing an investment agreement with it. Thomas Cook made an investment of 256 crore rupees to acquire the interests of Ikya.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 147
Page 148
MUKUND GOVIND RAJAN APPOINTED AS GROUP SPOKESPERSON AND BRAND CUSTODIAN OF TATA
Mukund Govind Rajan was appointed as the group spokesperson and brand custodian of TATA Group on 6 February 2013. Rajan will have the responsibility of looking after the corporate communications as well as the branding activities of the group in India and abroad. Apart from this, Rajan will also serve as the chief ethics officer of this group. He will look after the Corporate Social Responsibility activities of the Tata group as its Chairman of the Tata Council for Community Initiatives.
TIMES TELEVISION NETWORK TIED UP WITH MSM DISCOVERY PVT LTD.

Times Television Network (TTN) tied up with one of the leading distribution companies MSM Discovery Pvt Ltd. (MSMD) in the second week of February 2013 in order to collect subscription revenue of its channels. MSMD is known as The One Alliance and is actually a joint venture of Sony's Multi Screen Media Pvt Ltd as well as Discovery Communications. After the tie-up, all the entertainment and news channels of TTN i.e., Movies Now, Zoom, Times Now and ET Now will be distributed across the country for collecting subscription of revenue over HITS, Cable (Digital and Analogue), DTH and IPTV platforms as the part of The One Alliance. However, the channel penetration and marketing will be done independently by the TTN.
FLIGHT SAFETY INTERNATIONAL ENTERED INDIA THROUGH AGREEMENT WITH AVIATORS INDIA
Flight Safety International, which is said to be one of the biggest aviation training companies promoted by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, entered India through licensing and consultancy agreement with the Bangalore-based Aviators India. Flight Safety International is a 60-year old company based in New York and it offers more than million hours of flight training to the aviation professionals, pilots, cabin attendants and technicians every year. It also additionally supplies visual systems, flight simulators and displays to the military, commercial and governmental organisations across the length and breadth of the world. India operations of Flight Safety will start by June 2013. In its early stage, Flight Safety would start with the training of cabin attendant for corporate and commercial flight operators.
ICICI PARTNERED WITH AIRCEL TO LAUNCH MOBILE BANKING SERVICE, MOBILE MONEY
ICICI Bank, the largest private sector bank of India partnered with Aircel to announce the launch of their mobile banking service called Mobile Money. The service allows the unbanked population of ICICI and Aircel to transfer money instantly and safely through the mobiles without even connecting to data services. Initially, ICICI bank had launched the Mobile Money with Tata Docomo and Vodafone. Mobile Money is aimed at those users who wish to transfer money but are devoid of services such as lack of branches or the ATMs. Mobile Money allows
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 148
Page 149
such users to go for financial services such as cash withdrawals, cash deposits, self-reload of prepaid mobile credit, money transfer to the third-parties as well as utility bills transfer.
THIRTY SOFTWARE COMPANIES SEPARATED FROM NASSCOM, FORMED A NEW ASSOCIATION

Thirty Indian software product companies joined hands to form their own new association, marking a break-up with the IT industry body NASSCOM. Thirty founder members who were led by Bharat Goenka, co-founder of Tally Solutions, Vishnu Dusad, founder of Nucleus Software, Sharad Sharma, former head of Yahoo India R&D, start up mentor and founder of Brand Sigma and Naveen Tewari, founder of InMobi, will meet on 4 February 2013 to formalize this newly formed association and also for developing further action plans. The new association is called Indian Software Product Industry Round Table or iSpirt.
BHARTI AIRTEL LAUNCHED EMERGENCY ALERT SERVICE FOR WOMEN SUBSCRIBERS

Bharti Airtel launched an emergency alert service for the subscribers in Odisha, Bengal and Kolkata on 1 February 2013. The service is directed towards the women primarily and allows them to dial the Airtel helpline number known as 55100 as well as send the messages when there is an emergency.
ZOVI, THE ONLINE FASHION RETAILER ACQUIRED RIVAL INKFRUIT

Zovi, the Bangalore-based online fashion retailer acquired its rival company Inkfruit in the last week of January 2013. Inkfruit is struggling as of now to raise its fresh funds. SAIF Partners and Tiger Global, the global investors triggered latest e-commerce M&A. These two investors pumped in 10 million US dollar in Zovi after merger. After the third round of investment, the overall funding which was raised by Zovi came to 25 million US dollar.
RIM CHANGED TO BLACKBERRY; LAUNCHED NEW BLACKBERRY 10 OPERATING SYSTEM

Research In Motion (RIM), popularly known as RIM and makers of Blackberry phone, on 30 January 2013 announced that it will formally be called Blackberry now. Research In Motion additionally launched two new devices under its own new operating system called Blackberry 10. These two devices are Z10 and Q10. Z10 is a touch-screen device while Q10 is the QWERY portrait keyboard device.
SPICE JET TO LAUNCH FLIGHTS TO GUANGZHOU IN SOUTH CHINA
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 149
Page 150
SpiceJet decided to launch its flights to Guangzhou in the first week of February 2013. With this launch, the low-cost carrier, SpiceJet will become the only Indian private airline to fly China. It has decided to launch the four weekly flights starting from New Delhi to Guangzhou.
AIRCEL LAUNCHED FREE ROAMING SERVICE FOR VOICE, SMS AND DATA
Aircel on 28 January 2013 launched a product called One Nation, One Rate which offers users one rate for voice, SMS and data in home circles and on roaming. Incoming calls while on roaming on Aircel network will be free. Aircel users in Delhi can get the service for 39 rupees, while Mumbai subscribers will have to pay 32 rupees.
PHILIPS ELECTRONICS SOLD AUDIO AND VIDEO BUSINESS TO FUNAI ELECTRIC

Philips Electronics sold the audio and video business to Funai Electric of Japan in the deal which would lead to the exit of the former from consumer electronics completely. Philips would now focus on the healthcare sector and home appliances.
DEUTSCHE BANK APPOINTED AS THE DEPOSITORY BANK FOR GDR OF IIPL

Deutsche Bank was appointed as the depository bank for Global Depository Receipt (GDR) of Indiabulls Infrastructure and Power Limited (IIPL). Global Depository Receipt (GDR) of Indiabulls Infrastructure and Power Limited (IIPL) is listed in the Luxemborg Stock Exchange.
TOYOTA REGAINED THE TITLE OF TOP SELLING AUTOMAKER OF THE WORLD

Toyota Motor acclaimed the title of top selling automaker of the world in 2012, recording the highest sales and beating its arch rivals Volkswagen and General Motors. On 28 January 2013, Toyota Motor announced that it sold 9.75 million vehicles across the world group-wide in 2012, which is a record in itself for the Japanese automaker.
ING LEFT INSURANCE BUSINESS IN INDIA; SOLD 26 PERCENT STAKE TO EXIDE

ING, the Dutch financial services group departed the insurance business in India by selling off 26 percent stake of ING Vysya Life Insurance to the Exide Industries, its joint-venture partner. The deal was worth 1100 crore Rupees. Exide Industries, on the other hand is now searching for the foreign insurer who would buy this 26 percent stake.
SPICE GLOBAL ENTERED HEALTHCARE SECTOR IN INDIA; ANNOUNCED INVESTING OVER 1400 CRORE RUPEES
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 150
Page 151
Spice Global, the diversified company on 22 January 2013 entered into the healthcare sector and also announced its plans to invest more than 1400 crore Rupees by 2016 in order to establish its 1st hospital. The hospital called Saket City Hospital would have 1000 beds at first.
RELIANCE INDUSTRIES SHUT 8TH WELL IN KG-D6; GAS OUTPUT FELL TO ALL-TIME LOW
Reliance Industries shut down its eighth well on the main gas-producing field in KG-D6 block, which compelled the output to drop down to an all-time low at 20.88 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd).
VOLKSWAGEN LAUNCHED ITS NEW AD CAMPAIGN, FAST START

The automobile company, Volkswagen in the third week of January 2013 unveiled its new advertising campaign called Fast Start to restate the strength, safety standards and new features in its car, Polo and Vento.
GOOGLE-GETIT ENTERED INTO PARTNERSHIP TO ROLL OUT DIGITAL MARKETING FOR SMES
Digital marketing company GETIT Infoservices on 19 January 2013 rolled out DigiGains, a name give to platform for digital marketing, for the benefit of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the region. The motto behind entering into partnership to furnish to the strong demands for digital advertising from SMEs and market Google AdWords products and as part of it they would develop, launch and manage digital campaigns for SMEs.
HINDALCO FINALIZED ARRANGEMENTS TO ACQUIRE BAUXITE MINES AND ALUMINA REFIRNERY FROM NOVELIS
The metals flagship of Aditya Birla Group, Hindalco Industries on 18 January 2013 announced that as a part of its corporate reorganization plan, it has finalized arrangements with Novelis Do Brasil, its wholly owned subsidiary Novelis for acquiring the bauxite mines and alumina refinery in Brazil.
IBM SIGNED MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) WITH UPES DEHRADUN

IBM, the American technology corporation in the month of January2013 signed a MoU with University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun in order to create a unique opportunity for students and faculty to learn new skill sets on IBM soft ware products As per the MoU the partnership will focus on training UPES faculty and students on cutting edge technologies and aim to bridge the academia-industry gap by training the faculty and students on different software tools and technologies.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 151
Page 152
UNION GOVERNMENT APPROVED THE PARTIAL DE-NOTIFICATION OF RIL SEZ

The Union Government in the month of January 2013 had given its approval to Reliance Industries plans of de-notifying more than 40 per cent of its multi-product Special Economic Zone in Jamnagar subject to refund of all tax benefits it received for developing the area.
SNAPDEAL.COM TIED UP WITH MAHINDRA FOR SELLING OF TWOWHEELERS

Online Marketplace Snapdeal.com on 18 January 2013 tied up with Mahindra & Mahindra for selling of its two-wheelers to customers on the site. It is for the first time that a vehicle is being sold online in India and will be delivered at the customer's doorstep with launching of e-selling Platform.
JET AIRWAYS PARTNERED WITH CENTRUMDIRECT FOR FOREX SERVICES

Jet Airways, the second largest Mumbai based airline in the month of January 2013 entered into a partnership with Centrum Direct, one of Indias leading financial services groups, to offer Foreign Exchange Services to guests travelling abroad. For availing the facility passengers first have to log into Jet Airways' website and provide necessary details after which an authorised representative from Centrum Direct will then contact the passengers to complete the transaction.
AIR INDIA DIRECTED BY DGCA TO GROUND ALL SIX BOEING 787 DREAMLINERS ON SAFETY CONCERNS
Air India on 17 January 2013 grounded the fleet of all six Boeing 787 dream liners after US federal agency asked its airlines to ground the Boeing 787 due to safety hazard. The move for grounding the fleet came with decision made by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) who received a communication from the US watchdog Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pointing to problems with the battery on the aircraft.
MAHINDRA SATYAM TIED UP WITH JAPANESE FIRM TECHMATRIX FOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES
Mahindra Satyam on 15 January 2013 signed an agreement with the Japanese firm Tech Matrix Corporation digging at business opportunities in the healthcare market in the Association of South-East Asian Nations region.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 152
Page 153
As per the pact Hyderabad Based firm Mahindra Satyam would also look at selling cloud-based healthcare solutions.
TCS NET PROFIT CLIMBS TO UNEXPECTED 26.7 PERCENT IN Q3

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the leading software services exporter of India, posted a very strong, unexpected 23 percent increase in the quarterly profit for October to December 2012 quarter. There was a jump of 26.7 percent in the net profit of the company. With this, the net profit of TCS increased to 35.52 billion Rupees or 652 million Dollars.
MICROSOFT TO SHUT DOWN WINDOWS LIVE MESSENGER SERVICE FROM 15 MARCH 2013
Microsoft in the Month of January 2013 announced plans to shut down its Messenger service which is formerly known by Windows Live Messenger/MSN Messenger. The plan would involve enabling users to move down to Skype from 15 March 2013.Over 100 million users of the service were notified by email over short period of time except those in mainland China where Microsoft have extended the life of Windows Live Messenger in that particular area for an undisclosed period of time.
GAIL INDIA COMMISSIONED DABHOL LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS TERMINAL

GAIL India announced successful commissioning of 5 million tonne capacity Dabhol liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on 10 January 2013 at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. This is the third LNG terminal. The remaining two are set up at Dahej and Hazira in Gujarat.
PR FONROCHE INAUGURATED FIRST SOLAR PLANT UNDER NATIONAL SOLAR MISSION BATCH II
PR Fonroche on 10 January 2013 inaugurated a 5 MW Solar Plant at Gajner near Bikaner in Rajasthan. The project is a part of the 20 MW project of PR Fonroche that was won by the company through the process of independent bidding in the National Solar Mission, Phase I Batch II. The next 15 MW plant would be commissioned officially on 15 January 2013 but the electricity production at the site at present is in process.
SUPREME COURT REJECTED SAHARA PETITION ON REFUND OF 24000 CRORE RUPEES

The Supreme Court on 9 January 2013 dismissed Sahara group's petition for review of its verdict directing its two firms Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIREC) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation (SHIC) to refund around 24000 crore rupees to their investors with 15 percent interest per annum.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 153
Page 154
ALLAHABAD BANK SIGNED MOU WITH CHAMBER OF INDIAN MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
Allahabad bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chamber of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (CIMSME) in Kolkata on 4 January 2013. The MoU was signed to support the priority sector lending. CIMSME is basically a body that represents interest of the companies in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, with the financial institutions, banks, concerned ministries as well as other organisations.
SODEXO ANNOUNCED ACQUIRING CHENNAI-BASED MACLELLAN INDIA

Sodexo, the French major in vouchers and catering announced acquiring MacLellan on 9 January 2013. With this acquisition, Sodexo strengthened its foothold in the segment of 10000 crore Rupees facility management services. However, Sodexo or MacLellan did not disclose the details of this deal.
INCOME TAX SURVEYED N OKIAS CHENNAI PLANT TO CHECK TAX EVASION

Income Tax officials surveyed the Sriperumbudur plant of Nokia in its day-long survey on 8 January 2013 in order to find out the tax default, if it existed. Globally, this is one of the biggest plants of Nokia.
I-T AND VODAFONE DISPUTE

Nokia survey by the I-T department came just two days after the I-T sent the reminder to Vodafone, the British telecom major for paying taxes on its capital gains which came from the 11.2 billion dollar offshore pact with Hutchison Whampoa back in 2007. In its reminder letter, the I-T referred to the tax dues amounting to 14000 crore Rupees which also include the interest that it incurred on the delayed payment.
VERSACE 19.69 TIED UP WITH MAJGENTA FASHIONS FOR INDIA VENTURES

Versace 19.69 Abbigliamento Sportivo, the Italian luxury brand for clothing entered into India through its partnership with the Majgenta Fashions, the apparel as well as leather exporter. Abbigliamento Sportivo laid its foundation first in 2001 and the person behind the company was Allessandro Versace.
UNION GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO DISINVEST STAKES IN OIL INDIA, NTPC
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 154
Page 155
The Union government in month of January 2013 decided to divest 10 percent stake in Oil India in the second fortnight of January and follow this up by disposing of 9.5 percent holding in NTPC in February 2013. As per the Disinvestment Secretary D.K. Mittal the 10 percent stake in Oil India could fetch around 2700 crore rupees at current market prices also the 9.5 percent stake sale in National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) could yield over 12000 crore rupees for the exchequer.
NATIONAL ALUMINIUM CO LTD (NALCO) COMMISSIONED ITS FIRST WIND POWER PROJECT
National Aluminium Co Ltd (Nalco) in the Month of January 2013 commissioned its first wind power project at Gandikota in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. Nalco which is the Government-owned manufacturer and distributor of aluminium products had invested around 275 crore rupees for the 50-MW Suzlon-erected project.
NASSCOM SIGNED PACT WITH NIIT TO TRAIN ONE LAKH STUDENTS IN NEXT THREE YEARS
The Nasscom Sector Skills Council (SSC) on 4 January 2013 signed a memorandum of understanding with NIIT to train one lakh students over the next three years for business/ knowledge process outsourcing and legal process outsourcing jobs.
NESTLE WON ITS TRADEMARK BATTLE OVER KITKAT BAR FROM CADBURY
Nestle in January 2013 won a trademark lawsuit against Cadbury on the rights over the four fingered and three dimensional shape of the KitKat Chocolate Bar. Nestle got the shape of KitKat registered in the year 2006 and soon after this Cadbury tried to invalidate the registration of Nestle with a claim that the trait of product shape cannot be trademarked.
GODREJ UK-BASED SUBSIDIARY ACQUIRED COLGATE-PALMOLIVE BRAND, SOFT AND GENTLE IN UK

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) on 1 January 2012 announced that its UK-based subsidiary Keyline Brands acquired Soft and Gentle, the womens deodorant brand from Colgate-Palmolive Co for an amount which is undisclosed. Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), which manufactures Hit insecticides as well as Cinthol soaps, also announced that acquisition was funded through low-cost debt. The effect of this on consolidated debt equity ratio of GPCL was 0.03.
SUVEN LIFE SCIENCES WON PATENTS ON THREE PRODUCTS FOR CNS MOLECULES
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 155
Page 156
Suven Life Sciences the Drug Firm on 31 December 2012 won patents on three products for CNS molecules. Among the patents two are from Eurasia with patent numbers 016594 and 017007 and one is from Canada with patent number 2683124. These are the New Chemical Entities (NCEs) and would be used for the treatment of disorders related to Neurodegenerative diseases. The validity of these patents would last up to 2027.
INSTAGRAM FACED FIRST CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OVER ITS TERMS OF SERVICE
Instagram photo-sharing service was slapped with first civil lawsuit which resulted because of its changed terms of service leading to protests from the user in the third week of December 2012. Proposed class action lawsuit was filed against Instagram in the federal court of San Francisco. The California-based Instagram user slapped it with the breach of contract as well as other charges against it. In the third week of December 2012, Facebook had announced to the Instagram users its plans to alter the terms and conditions of the service.
JLR CHINESE SUBSIDIARY DECIDED TO RECALL CARS FOR FIXING STEERING BOXES AND BRAKES
The Chinese subsidiary of Jaguar Land Rover decided on 25 December 2012 to recall 337 cars due to below-standard fixture of brakes as well as steering boxes. On its official website, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine mentioned that the China unit of Jaguar Land Rover decided to recall 190 Evoque and Freelander vehicles which were produced on 11 June 2012.
JAPANESE MULTINATIONAL BOUGHT MARGINAL STAKE IN GUARDIAN LIFECARE

Mitsui Corp, the private equity company of Japanese multinational bought marginal stake in Guardian Lifecare, the Gurgaon-based pharmacy store. This indicates how foreign investors are keen towards 20 billion dollar pharmacy as well as wellness market of India.
BLACKBERRY SMARTPHONE MAKER RESEARCH-IN-MOTION (RIM) SIGNED IN RANBIR KAPOOR AS ITS BRAND AMBASSADOR
Blackberry Smartphone maker Research-In-Motion (RIM) in third week of December had signed in Ranbir Kapoor as its brand ambassador in India. The signing of Ranbir Kapoor is a move to attract young entrepreneurs and professionals, as the celebrity endorsement is an accepted norm in India in terms of youth and consumer association with brand. It is also the first time Blackberry had signed a celebrity in India as its brand ambassador.
NYSE AGREED SELLING ITSELF AS A PART OF 8.2 BILLION DOLLAR TAKEOVER BY INTERCONTINENTALEXCHANGE INC.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 156
Page 157
The New York Stock Exchange which is said to be the foundation of American capitalism for 220 years now, agreed to sell itself as part of the 8.2 billion dollar takeover by Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE). According to the deal which was announced on 20 December 2012, ICE would be paying 33.12 dollar per share for NYSE Euronext, which is higher by 38 percent than the closing price on 19 December 2012.
CHINA NAMED INFOSYS IN KEY SERVICE OUTSOURCING COMPANY LIST

Chinas Ministry of Commerce had named Infosys in its list of the 100 key liaison service outsourcing companies in the third week of December. Infosys became the only company headquartered in India that has received this recognition. It was included in the list due to strong growth in China.
DLF SOLD LUXURY HOTEL CHAIN AMAN RESORTS FOR 300 MILLION DOLLAR
DLF, one of the biggest real estate company sold luxury hotel chain Aman Resorts to the founder Adrian Zecha for 300 million dollar or 1637 crore Rupees. However, the deal did not include Aman New Delhi (initially called Lodhi Hotel). DLF will continue to be the owner of this hotel. Aman Resorts has approximately 25 more properties all over the world.
BOARD MEMBERS OF TATA SONS CONFERRED THE TITLE OF CHAIRMAN EMERITUS ON RATAN TATA
Ratan Tata, the outgoing Chairman of Tata Group was conferred with the honorary title of Chairman Emeritus- by the board of Tata Sons, the holding company of the 100 billion dollar Tata Group on 18 December 2012. Ratan Tata will retire from his office on 28 December 2012 and Cyrus Mistry would be taking over the chair of the group after him on the same day.
CYRUS PALLONJI MISTRY APPOINTED AS CHAIRMAN OF TATA SONS

Cyrus Pallonji Mistry was appointed as the chairman of Tata Sons, the firm that holds more than 100 billion dollar Tata Group, on 18 December 2012. Cyrus Pallonji Mistry would take on the role of chairman of Tata Sons with effect from 28 December 2012, after Rata Tata retires as the current Chairman of the company. Ratan Tata who will also celebrate his 75th birthday on 28 December 2012 was conferred the honorary title of chairman emeritus. Tata Sons Board gave the title to Ratan Tata. About Cyrus Pallonji Mistry Cyrus Pallonji Mistry, 43, is billionaire Pallonji Shapoorji Mistrys son. Cyrus Mistry has already remained the director of Tata Sons since 2006.He was appointed as the deputy chairman of Tata Sons in November 2011. Pallonji Mistry, along with the sons, Cyrus Mistry and Shapoor Mistry are the owners of 18.5 percent stake in the company. This makes the Mistry the largest
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 157
Page 158
shareholders on individual basis of this company. Earlier in December 2012, Cyrus Mistry was also appointed as chairman of Tata Motors. He would commence playing his role from 28 December 2012. He was also appointed as chairman of two other Tata companies- Tata Chemicals and Tata Steel. In November 2012, Ratan Tata also bowed out from Tata Global Beverages as the chairman, which paved way for Mistry.
SAMSUNG DEFEATED NOKIA TO BECOME THE WOR LDS LEADING TOP MOBILE BRAND FOR THE YEAR 2012
As per the research firm IHS iSuppli Samsung displaced Nokia to become the worlds leading top mobile brand for the year 2012.This is the first time in 14 years that Nokia is not on top of the global cell phone business on an annual basis. The report states that Samsungs market share account of worldwide cell phone shipments is expected to be 29 percent. It was 24 percent in 2011. On the other hand, Nokias share for 2012 dropped down to 24 percent, down from the 30 percent market share in 2011.
TATA STEEL DEVELOPED A NEW KIND OF ANTI-BALLISTIC STEEL SUPER BAINITE

Tata Steel's Port Talbot plant in the UK developed a new kind of anti-ballistic steel in the second week of December which could transform safety of soldiers and security forces fighting terrorists and extremists.
KG-D6, GAS PRODUCING FIELDS REACHED LOWEST GAS OUTPUT LEVEL SINCE INCEPTION
The biggest gas producing fields of India in Krishna Godavari basin (KG-D6), which are controlled by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) as well as UKs BP, reached the lowest level of output ever since it was incepted. After the production level of gas producing fields touched peak levels of 60 million standard cubic metres of gas per day (mmscmd), the output remained 22.77 mmscmd in second week of December 2012.
HCL INFOSYSTEMS ANNOUNCED DISTRIBUTION OF LATEST MODELS OF TOSHIBA E-STUDIO

HCL Infosystems Ltd. Indias Premier Services and ICT Systems Integration, Distribut ion and Hardware Company on 11 December 2012 announced that it is going to distribute the latest Toshiba copiers and scanners across the country.
FORTIS HEALTHCARE ANNOUNCED TO DIVEST STAKE TO BUPA

Fortis Healthcare on 16 December 2012 announced to divest 64 percent stake in the Dental Corporation Holdings (DC), Australia. Dental Corporation Holdings (DC), Australia is the private
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 158
Page 159
dental care service provider in Australia. Fortiss stake in DC would thereafter be sold to Bupa for 270 million Australian dollars, which is around 1554 crore Rupees, by March 2013.
REPOWER SYSTEMS SE WON A CONTRACT OF SUPPLYING WIND TURBINES IN CANADA

REpower Systems SE, a subsidy of Suzlon Group on 17 December 2012 announced that it has won a contract of supplying 51 wind turbines from wpd Europe GmbH, the subsidy of project developer wpd AG in Canada. REpower Systems also entered into a service and maintenance agreement (ISP) as a part of this contract and will serve for a total period of 15 years.
PETROCHINA AGREED TO BUY STAKE IN ENCANA NATURAL GAS PROJECT

PetroChina in the third week of December 2012 agreed to buy a 49.9 percent stake in Canadian firm Encana's natural gas project in Alberta for 2.2 billion dollars. The project contains supplies equivalent to nearly nine billion barrels of oil. It is considered the latest investment in an overseas oil and gas resource by a Chinese firm. PetroChina is Chinas biggest oil and gas producer.
LEVI STRAUSS & CO APPOINTED HARMIT SINGH AS THE NEW CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Levi Strauss & Co, the jeans-maker appointed Hermit Singh as the new Chief Financial Officer. With this appointment, he became the second Indian in the major leadership of the company only after Chief Human Resource Officer Varun Bhatia. Hermit Singh would be taking up his role on 16 January 2013.
MARKS & SPENCER ADDED ANTI-BRIBERY CLAUSE IN ALL INDIAN CONTRACTS

Marks & Spencer (M&S), the British retail company decided to attach strict anti-bribery clauses to its agreements in India. This was decided as the company planned to go ahead with the process of expansion in country.
ICICI BANK OPENED 101 GRAMIN BRANCHES ACROSS VILLAGES IN SIX STATES
ICICI Bank, the largest private sector bank of India on 13 December 2012 opened 101 distinct gramin branches or rural branches as the part of its financial enclosure plan. These branches were opened in villages which lack the banking facilities, across six states of India.
RELIANCE GROUP SIGNED AN AGREEMENT WITH CHINAS DALIAN WANDA GROUP

www.jagranjosh.com
Page 159
Page 160
Reliance Group led by Anil Ambani signed an agreement with Chinas retail player Dalian Wanda Group to set up a joint venture for strategic long term partnership between them which covers several areas of mutual interest. The main focus would be on the development of real estate, township projects and movie theatre projects.
TELECOM COMMISSION APPROVED 1500 CRORE RUPEES SUBSIDY FOR BSNL

The Inter Ministerial body Telecom Commission of India on 12 December 2012 gave its nod to a 1500 crore Rupees subsidy to state owned BSNL for supporting its landline operations in rural areas. The approval came in line with the TRAI recommendation which had suggested that 2700 crore rupees should be given to BSNL as operations in rural areas dont generate enough revenues.
SUTHERLAND GLOBAL SERVICES SIGNED AGREEMENTS FOR ACQUISITION OF APOLLO HEALTH STREET
Sutherland Global Services, the US-based BPO signed on 12 December 2012, 5 agreements for acquiring Apollo Health Street (AHS), the healthcare outsourcing group of Apollo Hospitals for around 1000 crore Rupees. Five definitive agreements were signed for acquiring 100 percent venture of AHS. The agreements would strengthen the presence of Sutherland Global Services in 38 billion dollar US healthcare BPO market. In the race to acquire AHS, Genpact, the BPO giant was also competing.
LODHA DEVELOPER ACQUIRED T HE MUMBAIS WASHINGT ON HOUSE FOR 342 CRORE RUPEES
Lodha Developer, the renowned realty company acquired the triple storey residential building called Washington House which was owned by US consulate, for 341.8 crore Rupees. The building is located on the Altamont Road, Mumbai.
US BASED FOOD PRODUCER CARGILL INDIA ACQUIRED WIPRO'S SUNFLOWER VANASPATI BRAND
US-based food producer and marketer Cargill India on 10 December 2012 announced the acquisition of the Sunflower Vanaspati brand from Wipro. The deal is going to help Wipro in strengthening its leadership position in the market and is expected to shore up Cargill's consumer brand portfolio and expand its market reach. Cargill and Wipro did not disclose the deal value of the brand but as per the trade analysts the deal was pegged at 30-40 crore Rupees.
BHARTI INFRATEL RAISED 652 CRORE RUPEES FROM 18 ANCHOR INVESTORS BEFORE PUBLIC OFFER
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 160
Page 161
Bharti Infratel, the tower business unit of Bharti Airtel received 651.7 crore Rupees from 18 anchor investors. It is important to note that this investment came ahead of 4500 crore Rupees public offer which opens on 11 December 2012. The price of shares of the company for anchor investors is 230 rupees per piece and 2.83 shares were allocated to these anchor investors. These anchor investors include Wellington, Battery March, Columbia Wagner, AllianceBernstein, Clough Capital, Route One Capital, Sundaram MF, Morgan Stanley among many others.
YAHOO AND NBC SPORTS CAME TOGETHER TO PROVIDE SPORTS CONTENT

Yahoo! Inc and NBC Sports Group decided to promote each others sports content on the Internet as well as on television in a move that would help both the companies represent on their individual strengths across both mediums. The collaboration will increase NBC's digital presence as well as shore up its college and fantasy game coverage, while Yahoo will gain access NBC's video content, live sports coverage and big name television personalities.
CAR SALES DIPPED BY 8.25 PERCENT IN NOVEMBER 2012

The passenger car sales dipped down by 8.25 percent in November 2012 as per the numbers which were released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), because of certain macro-economic factors such as uncertain climate in the economy, high rates of interest as well as rising fuel prices. The analysts as well as the executives of the car industry opined that the situation would be even tougher in the future. SIAM revealed that the sales of car were 1.58 lakh units in November 2012 against 1.72 lakh units in November 2011. Out of a total of 19 carmakers, 9 reported decrease in volume, which also included the heavyweight car makers such as Volkswagen, Ford, General Motors, Tata Motors, Toyota as well as Hyundai.
GOOGLE AND APPLE PARTNERED FOR KODAK PATENTS

Google and Apple tied up for offering over 500 million dollar in order to purchase patents of Eastman Kodak Co out of bankruptcy. After leading different groups in the summer of 2012 in order to buy 1100 imaging patents of Kodak, these two giant companies have partnered. It is worth noticing that both Google as well as Apple are strong competitors for seeking dominance in Smartphone markets.
LOBBY BILL OF WAL-MART HIT AROUND 125 CRORE RUPEES TO SEEK ENTRY INTO INDIA
Wal-Mart had filed the lobbying disclosure report with US Senate and it was found that the retail giant had incurred around 25 million dollar or approximately 125 crore Rupees in the lobbying activities. These lobbying activities also included issues which were associated with increased access to the Indian markets for investments. Wal-Mart, the retail giant across the
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 161
Page 162
world was struggling continuously for initialising its supermarket in India and since 2008 it is lobbying with US lawmakers to seek entry into Indian markets which are highly lucrative. In previous quarter which had ended on 30 September 2012, Wal-Mart had spent 1.65 million dollar or around 10 crore Rupees on different lobbying issues and these also included discussions in context with FDI in India.
TATA MOTORS SLASHED CAR PRICE UPTO 1.5 LAKH RUPEES BY OFFERING DISCOUNTS AND CASH BENEFITS
Tata Motors on 7 December 2012 announced discounts and freebies worth up to 1.5 lakh rupees on purchase of different models which are valid till the end of December 2012.The Ultimate December offer of Tata Motors ranges from 25000 to 150000 rupees and includes cash benefits and exchange offers, are also applicable on accessories, extended warranty and other value added services. Under the scheme, the company is offering benefits of up to 50000 rupees on the newly launched Manza Club Class and up to 45000 rupees on the Indigo eCS with up to 60000 rupees on the Indica Vista and up to 35000 rupees on the Indica eV2.
WIPRO BOUGHT SINGAPORE BASED FMCG COMPANY LD WAXSON

Wipro Consumer Care and Lightning (WCCL) on 8 December 2012 acquired the Singapore-based FMCG Company LD Waxson for 790 Crore Rupees. It is being considered as the second largest acquisition by Wipro till date, Earlier Wipro had acquired Unza, another Singapore-based FMCG brand in Year 2007 for 246 million Dollars. Wipro Consumer Care and Lightning (WCCL's) portfolio of national and international brands includes Santoor, Chandrika, Aramusk, Enchanteur, Yardley, and Woods of Windsor. LD Waxson is going to give Wipro ownership of skincare brands such as Bio-essence and Ginvera, and the healthcare brand Ebene. The acquisition is supposed to provide WCCL a grip in emerging consumer care markets such as Taiwan and western and eastern China, increase WCCL's market share in the Malaysian facial care market from 17% to 26% and take the company to a leadership position in Singapore. Wipro is already present in these countries and the company gets 45% of their total sales from outside India.
SURESH VASWANI, THE FORMER CO-CEO OF WIPRO APPOINTED AS THE DELL SERVICES PRESIDENT
Suresh Vaswani, the former co-CEO of Wipro was appointed as the President of Dell Services, the computer-maker, on 6 December 2012. He replaced Steve Schuckenbrock, the former president of Dell Services. As per the new role, Suresh Vaswani is required to report to the chairman and CEO of Dell Services, Michael Dell. Suresh Vaswani apart from his role would also be responsible for IT delivery of Dell which includes 64 billion dollar Dells infrastructure as well as applications across the world. About Dell
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 162
Page 163
Dell is originally a computer maker and it started its services in 2009 like IBM, after acquiring Perot Systems for 3.9 billion dollar. Ever since that time, the Round Rock, Texas-based Company was constantly working to enhance its presence in BPO and global IT services.
ADANI GROUP COMPLETE D AUSTRALIAS LARGES T COAL MINING PROJECT IN A RECORD TIME
Adani Mining, a global integrated infrastructure player on 3 December 2012 announced completion of the largest mining exploration programme in Australia in a record time of Nine months. For achieving this feat it had deployed a record number of drill rigs to drastically reduce the exploration time frame at the Carmichael mine in the Galillee basin of Queensland in Australia to nine months. The company further announced that as part of the mining exploration it had also completed the most comprehensive geotechnical field investigation to define the coal resource at Carmichael Mine, which at ten billion tones makes this the largest single coal tenement in the world. About Adani Group The Adani Group is one of Indias leading business houses with revenue of over $8 billion for financial year 2012.Founded in 1988; Adani has grown to become a global integrated infrastructure player with businesses in key industry verticals - resources, logistics and energy. The integrated model is well adapted to the infrastructure challenges of the emerging economies. It multiplies the benefit of synergy and economies of scale both for the Group and for the customers.
CITIGROUP PLANNED CUTTING DOWN 11000 JOBS TO SAVE OVER 1 BILLION DOLLAR ANNUAL EXPENSES
In order to save over 1 billion dollar in a year, Citigroup on 5 December 2012 announced that it was planning to cut down 11000 jobs, mainly in the technology and operations segment. This would help tightening expenses over the company. Citigroup, the New York-based bank planned to realise 900 million dollar savings in the year 2013, followed by over 1.1 billion dollar annual savings starting in 2014. The CEO of Citi declared back in October 2012 that the focus would be on the operational efficiency and therefore layoffs should not come as a surprise.
SBI ANNOUNCED EXPECTATION OF 4000 CRORE RUPEES EQUITY FROM THE GOVERNMENT
State Bank of India (SBI), the largest lender of India on 5 December 2012 announced about its expectation of infusion of approximately 4000 crore Rupees from the government in 2012-2013 fiscal year. SBI declared that this move would help it in ramping up the capital to more than 13 percent. The Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of SBI declared that they were expecting the government to infuse a capital of around 4000 crore Rupees. What will be the mode of infusion was still under discussion. It was declared that various options for mode of www.jagranjosh.com
Page 163
Page 164
infusion were given to the government but the final decision would be that of the government itself. The government would decide how equity needed to be infused in SBI.
GOOGLE INDIA PARTNERED WITH E-COMMERCE SITES TO BRING CYBER MONDAY TO INDIA
In order to develop the concept of online shopping in India, Google India decided on 4 December 2012 to partner with leading e-commerce websites to introduce the concept of Cyber Monday in the country. Titled as the Great Online Shopping Festival, it is slated for 12 December 2012. Some of the e-commerce websites that would partner with Google India include Snapdeal, Flipkart, Homeshop 18 as well as Makemytrip. What is Cyber Monday? Cyber Monday is actually the marketing term for Monday after the Black Friday. Cyber Monday was the term which was created by certain marketing companies in order to attract people towards the concept of online shopping. The term was first debuted on 28 November 2005. In the year 2010, it was declared by comScore that the consumers spent a total of 1.028 billion US dollar on this Cyber Monday.
NOKIA AGREED SELLING HEADQUARTER BUILDING FOR 222 MILLION US DOLLAR

Nokia, one of the giant mobile makers agreed to sell the head quarter building in Espoo, Finland for 222 million US dollar or 170 million Euros on 4 December 2012. The headquarter building is to be bought by Exilion, the Finnish real estate company. Nokia would be leasing it back on the long-term basis.
NEWS CORP DECIDED TO SPLIT INTO TWO, INDIAN TO BE THE CFO OF THE PROPOSED PUBLISHING COMPANY
News Corp on 3 December 2012 announced restructuring of the top management of the company. The company decided that the top management would split into the two publically traded firms. Consequently, there would be a new head for the British newspaper arm as well as Indian-origin executive who would be heading the publishing business' finances.
CORPORATE FRAUDS RISING IN INDIA: KPMG SURVEY

As per the India Fraud Survey Report 2012 released by KPMG, around 75 percent surveyed corporate in India believed that the incidences of fraud were on rise. The report indicated that computer-related and e-commerce frauds were the major concerns especially in the coming few years. This survey was being conducted over 1000 firms which included public institutions as well as business establishments. All these surveyed organisations had an annual revenue ranging from 500 crore Rupees to more than 10000 crore Rupees. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 164
Page 165
The major reasons of these rising frauds were grinding down of the ethical values, weaker internal control system as well as reluctant managers for taking the decisive action. Among various kinds of frauds, it was pointed out by the survey that around 81 percent noticed fraud in the financial statement as a major concern and issue.
KINGFISHER AIRLINES SENT EVICTION NOTICE BY MUMBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PVT LTD
Kingfisher Airlines that had its operations from domestic Terminal 1A of Mumbais airport was given an eviction notice by the Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) in the last week of November 2012. Kingfisher owes 22 crore Rupees to airport operator and was rented check-in desks as well as offices to this terminal. There are now doubts whether Kingfisher would be able to resume its operations or not and therefore consequently, the airport operator started off with the process of finding another airline that could operate from Terminal 1A. In reply to MIALs eviction notice, Kingfisher replied that they did not need the space because they had already scaled down the operations and that they were willing to voluntarily hand over the rented space to MIAL.
INFOSYS DECIDED SHIFTING ITS AMERICAN SHARES FROM NASDAQ TO NYSE

Infosys decided to transfer listing of American shares of the company from NASDAQ to NYSE or New York Stock Exchange, which is partner of the Paris as well as London exchanges. The trading market of NYSE known as NYSE Euronext enables the European investors trading easily in the American shares of Infosys through the European exchanges. The European investors of Infosys were requesting the company to simplify the mechanism of trading for them in Infosyss shares. As of now, the difference in time zone makes it difficult for the European traders to function. NYSE Euronext would enable these investors a mode of faster as well as efficient trading. NASDAQ, on the other hand, does not have such kind of arrangement.
PVR ANNOUNCED ACQUIRING 69 PERCENT STAKE IN CINEMAX TO EXPAND ITS PRESENCE

PVR, the multiplex chain operator in India, announced on 29 November 2012 that it would acquire 69.3 percent stake in Cinemax India for an amount of 395 crore Rupees in order to enhance its presence in India. Cinemax owned by Kanakia Group has its ventures in hospitality, education as well as real estate sectors. This deal would make PVR the largest multiplex chain in India. The promoters stake of Cinemax would be acquired by PVR at a cost of 203.65 Rupees per share via Cine Hospitality, the fully owned subsidiary. Additionally, PVR would acquire 26 per cent stake via the open offer from the public shareholders, as per the takeover regulations of SEBI. About PVR
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 165
Page 166
PVR is the Gurgaon-based company. PVR stands for Priya Village Roadshow. It is one of the largest multiplexes in India. Commercial operations of PVR commenced in 1997 and since then, it brought a transition to the experience of cinema viewing in India. The first multiplex in India was PVR Anupam located in Saket, New Delhi.
ASTRAZENECAS PETITI ON PLEA ON CANCER DRUG DISMISSED BY IPAB

British drugmaker AstraZenecas petition in which it challenged the initial ruling, where it was refused patent protection in context with the cancer-fighting drug, was dismissed by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) on 26 November 2012. Back in the year 2007, the Indian patents office had refused patent protection to the quinazoline molecule of AstraZeneca referring to lack of any invention. The decision is a huge blow for AstraZeneca that is already struggling for turning itself around as its main drugs lost the patent protection.
IOC TO UPGRADE ITS REFINERIES AND INCREASE PRODUCTION CAPACITY TO 100 MILLION TONNES
The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on 27 November 2012 declared that it would upgrade refineries at Panipat, Mathura and Gujarat. The IOC would make an investment of up to 70,000 crore rupees so that it can double its capacity of refining to 100 million tonnes per year by 2021-2022. The corporation also announced about its plans to develop a new refinery at Gujarat that will have a capacity of 15 million tonnes. The corporation also announced its plan of setting-up new green field refinery in the West Coast for integration of maximum of its refineries with the with petrochemical complexes, according to the 13th Five Year Plan period. Engineers India Limited is the authorized body selected for submission of the feasibility report for setting up of the refinery plant in the West Coast. To carry on with the plan of expansion, the corporation would pitch forward for compensation from the Government to recover the sale of products below cost. The Corporation has a total capacity of 54.2 million tonnes per annum from the existing seven refineries in different parts of India and according to the expansion plan; it would increase its capacity to 100 million tonnes per annum in the 12th and 13th Five Year Plans.
RATING AGENCY FITCH DOWNGRADED THE DEBT RATING OF SONY CORP. AND PANASONIC CORP.
Fitch, the rating agency in 3rd week of November 2012 downgraded the debt rating of Japans Sony Corp and Panasonic Corp to Junk status. The ranking of the two corporations were downgraded because of the weakness measured in their TV Operations and Consumer Electronics and the low demand that these brands suffered due to the tough competition faced by the competing brands Apple Inc. and Samsung.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 166

Rating from Other Agencies
Page 167
The other two rating agencies, the Moody's Investors Service has rated both these electronic majors in the status of Baa3, this is the lowest of the high-grade category and the Standard & Poor's has rated both the electronic making companies at BBB status, which is the-second lowest of the investment grade. The ranked status would diminish the shine of the worldacknowledged Japanese Brand.
PEPSICO COUGHED UP DOUBLE AMOUNT THAN DLF TO BE NEXT 5 YEARS IPL SPONSOR
PepsiCo left behind Airtel in the race to win Indian Premier League (IPL) title sponsorship for 396 crore Rupees, which is approximately double of the previous right holders- DLF. DLF had paid 200 crore Rupees in 2008 to be the rights holder of IPL. Pepsi has now acquired this right for next 5 years starting from 2013. After meeting on 21 November 2012, the marketing committee of the cricket board two tenders was opened. Airtel offered 316 crore Rupees for the rights. Twentieth Century Media, Pepsi rival Coca Cola, Gameplan and Star TV picked up this tender but did not bid. The chairman of the marketing committee Farooq Abdullah was extremely pleased since the winning bid value reflected the success and growth of IPL. Governing council chairman or IPL, Rajeev Shukla welcomed Pepsi to central sponsorship pool of Pepsi.
NOKIA INDIA INTRODUCED REBRANDED MAP SERVICE NAMED HERE

Nokia India on 20 November 2012 launched its re-branded mobile map services in the Indian market. The new cloud computing-based map service is called as HERE and offers maps and location-based services across multiple devices and operating systems. The main aim of the service is to inspire a new generation of location services and devices that make the mobile experience more personally significant for people everywhere.
DR. REDDYS LABORATO RIES LAUNCHED SILDENAFIL TABLETS IN THE U.S. MARKET
The Dr. Reddys Laboratories (DRL) on 19 November 2012 announced the launch of its Sildenafil Tablets (20 mg), a bioequivalent generic version of Revatio tablets in the U.S. Market. The Hyderabad based major pharma company to get the approval from the United States Food & Drug Administration for making of the abbreviated new drug application.
AIRTEL COMPLETED LARGEST NETWORK TRANSFORMATION IN AFRICA

Bharti Airtel, a leading telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, in the month of November completed a network transformation programme across its mobile operations in 16 African countries in partnership with Ericsson. The programme involved up gradation and expansion of network elements on all of Airtel's www.jagranjosh.com
Page 167
Page 168
African operations, including switching, radio, network management, data, charging, and consumer-services platforms and systems, the company said in a statement. Ericsson had deployed wireless technologies under the programme, and it is going enhance Airtel's network capacity and robustness and would also help deliver services to customers at affordable rates.
MALDIVIAN AIRLINES SIGNED PACT WITH APOLLO HOSPITAL

Maldivian Airlines in the month of November had signed a pact with the Chennaiheadquartered Apollo Hospitals to give discounts to each others clients. The deal that came with signing of pact is that from now onwards, the Apollo Hospitals is going to give a discount on its service charges for those who fly the airline, and the airline in turn will give similar discounts to the hospitals patients on the airfare.
DISA HOLDINGS A PART OF DISA A/S GROUP TO SELL ITS SHARES IN INDIAN ARM
Disa Holdings a part of Copenhagen-based Disa A/S Group decided to sell-out 1.73 lakh shares of the company with its face-value of Rs 10 each in the Disa India, which represents 11.49 percent of the total paid capital. The shares would be sold by a separate window of the Bombay Stock Exchange on 20 November 2012 as mentioned in the notification of the Bombay Stock Exchange.
GOLDMAN NAMED 16 INDIANS AS MDS AND 3 AS PARTNERS

Goldman Sachs, the international financial services giant, promoted 16 Indians as the Managing Directors in the second week of November. Three other Indians were named partners at Goldman Sachs Group. US-based group named 70 executives as the partners and 266 as the MDs and they will be holding positions starting from 1 January 2013. The three Indian partners are named Gaurav Seth, Vivek Bantwal and Amol Naik. The new partners will be based in America. About Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs is the leading international financial services company that provides investment banking, securities and investment management, financial institutions, HNIs as well as corporations. It laid its foundation in 1869 and has its headquarters in New York. The offices are located all across the world in some of the leading financial centres. Goldman Sachs has approximately 32600 employees all over the world. In 2011, the number of employees at Goldman was 34200.
MICRO BLOGGING SITE TWITTER LAUNCHED NEW EMAIL SHARING FEATURE FOR TWEETS
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 168
Page 169
Micro Blogging site Twitter on 15 November 2012 launched a new service for Email Sharing of Tweets also known by one-to-many text messaging service. The new email service is now going to allow users to share their favourite Tweets via email. The Company is giving users the ability to share tweets beyond their list of followers on the social media site.
VOLVO GROUP TO INVEST TWO THOUSAND CRORE RUPEES IN INDIA

The President and Chief Executive Officer of Volvo Group Olof Persson on 15 November 2012 announced that the Volvo Group is going to Invest 2000 crore Rupees in India over the next couple of years to expand its truck, bus and construction equipment business. With this, VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd (VECV) which is a 50:50 joint venture between the Volvo Group and Eicher Motors Ltd (EML), is going to make an investment of 1800 crore Rupees in the next couple of years. About Volvo Group The Volvo Group is the worlds second biggest truck company. It is Sweden based company which not only manufacture trucks and buses but also construction equipment with supplying of marine and industrial drive systems and financial services. Earlier the company also used to manufacture cars. Volvo Group in India constitutes three legal entities Volvo India Private Limited (VIPL) and Volvo Buses India (VBI) and VECV.
LACOSTE ACQUIRED BY SWISS COMPANY MAUS FRERES

The French apparel company Lacoste that bear Crocodile symbol was bought by Swiss familyheld group Maus Freres on 15 November 2012 in a deal which was valued at 1 billion Euros ($1.3 billion). The deal came after Lacoste family conflict over management. The deal basically aims to ensure the longevity of the Lacoste brand. Lacoste was founded in 1933 by French tennis champion Rene Lacoste, the brand have its logo The Crocodile from the nickname of Tennis champion Rene Lacoste which he earned for his tenacity on the court.
HIMALAYA DRUG COMPANY WON ITS TRADEMARK BATTLE AGAINST HOMEOPATHIC PHARMA SBL LIMITED
The Himalaya Drug Company in the second week of November 2012 won the fifteen years long battle in the Delhi High Court against the homoeopathic firm SBL Limited over infringement of its medicine Liv 52 with its own preparation that was named as Liv-T. The High Court Bench of Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Manmohan Singh SBL Ltd. from using the mark LIV as part of its trade mark LIV-T at times, when it deals with medicine preparations.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 169
Page 170
KARISHMA KAPOOR APPOINTED BRAND AMBASSADOR OF MCCAIN FOOD

McCain Foods India Pvt Ltd, the makers of frozen French fries and potato specialty products, appointed Karisma Kapoor as its first brand ambassador in India. Karisma Kapoor is going to endorse the entire range of McCains Indian and International product portfolio. 38 Years old Karishma Kapoor asserted that McCain is a great solution for women, whether working or homemakers. McCain's had easy-to-prepare frozen products and snacks like French fries and aloo tikki as well as innovative snacks like potato bites and veggie nuggets. McCain is a great solution for women, whether working or homemakers. About McCain Food McCain Food is the world's largest producer of French Fries and Potato Specialities. It is Located in Florenceville, New Brunswick in the country of Canada. McCain Foods India is a 100% subsidiary of McCain Foods Canada. From year 1998 onwards McCain is engaged in agriculture R&D and in development of frozen food market in India and subcontinent countries. McCain products are used by leading fast food chains, hotels, restaurants, catering companies and are popular for in-home consumption.
BARISTA LAVAZZA AND PENGUIN BOOKS TIED UP FOR BOOK RELEASES

Barista Lavazza, the chain of Espresso bars in India on 8 November 2012 tied up Penguin Books, the country's leading English language publisher. As per the deal Barista Lavazza is going to provide space to the Penguin Books for its high profile book launches and in return it will bring the enriching collection of Penguin Books for free reading to its customers. The first book to be released at Barista Lavazza would be of renowned writer Shobha Des much anticipated book SETHJI.
VODAFONE INDIA TIED UP WITH ICICI BANK FOR MOBILE MONEY SERVICES
Vodafone India on 8 November 2012 signed an agreement with ICICI Bank to launch a mobile payment service. The mobile payment service is going to be launched initially in Eastern region of the country which includes West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand and is followed by a phased rollout in other parts of the country. The service is called m- pesa and as per the Service Vodafone is offering its customers a mobile money account with ICICI Bank and a mobile wallet issued by Mobile Commerce Solutions Ltd (MCSL).
BAE SYSTEMS INKED AN AGREEMENT WITH SMILE FOUNDATION FOR HEALTH CARE AND PRIMARY EDUCATION
The BAE Systems, a British Defence major, on 7 October 2012 signed an agreement with Smile Foundation, a Non-Government Organisation for supporting the underprivileged in Health Care and Primary Education. The BAE Systems have inked the agreement for strengthening its social presence in India. The company is aimed at making its contribution in development of India by www.jagranjosh.com
Page 170
Page 171
supporting the development programs of Smile Foundation in terms of Primary education and Health Care in both urban and rural communities of seven states of India and the states are Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Odisha and Tamil Nadu.
ONLINE TRAVEL AGENCY MAKEMYTRIP ACQUIRED HOTEL TRAVEL GROUP

Indian Online travel company MakeMyTrip India Pvt Ltd on 6 November 2012 acquired the Hotel Travel Group (HT Group) for $25 million. Hotel Travel Group under the name Hotel Travel is operating its website www.hoteltravel.com for more than ten years and is working from South Asian countries of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
GOV. OF ODISHA SLAPPED 6000 CRORE RUPEES FINE ON TATA STEEL FOR ILLEGAL MINING
The Odisha government had slapped a fine of about 6000 crore Rupees on Tata Steel for its alleged involvement in illegal and excess mining at its captive mines. It was the Deputy Director of Mines (DDM) of Joda mining circle who had slapped fine on steelmaker and on other iron ore producers on charges of illegal and excess mining. However, The Company had denied the allegations, but had acknowledged receipt of 2-3 notices and is going to put up its case before the government. As per an official communication from Tata Steel, the company is going to make a representation to the state government.
ONGC SOLD 26 PERCENT STAKES TO JAPANS IN PEX CORP

Inpex Corp, Japans largest oil firm acquired 26 percent stake of Krishna Godavari basin of deepsea block of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on 5 November 2012. Both the firms have signed the agreement on the strategic partnership for exploration of hydrocarbons in one of the land area of KG Basin. Inpex is known for the expertise that it carries in deep water exploration, would be spending $35 million initially as its part of its share, which was already invested in the past by the consortium.
MASTER CARD AND THOMAS COOK CAME UP TOGETHER FOR TRAVEL PREPAID CARDS
Thomas Cook (India), the integrated travel and travel-related financial services company on 1 November 2012 launched prepaid foreign exchange BORDERLESS PREPAID CARD in collaboration with MasterCard Worldwide, a global payments and technology company. The BORDERLESS PREPAID CARD is going to enable travellers with an option of loading eight currencies on a single card that is US Dollars, British Pounds, Euro, Australian Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Swiss Francs, Singapore Dollars and Japanese Yen.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 171
Page 172
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATION LAUNCHED KIDS CHANNEL IN STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

Discovery Communications on 1 November 2012 officially launched its kid channel, DISCOVERY KIDS in Andhra Pradesh which targets kids below the age of 11 years. The channel was rolled out in three languages English, Hindi and Tamil in the month of October and is counted as the eighth channel in India, which is being run by Discover Communication. Discovery is considered among the 10 most-viewed channels in India which have around 140 million viewers every year.
WORLD SPACE RADIO RE LAUNCHED AND BROUGHT BACK ON AIRTEL DIGITAL TV

Bharti Airtel on 29 October 2012 announced the comeback of Worldspace Radio iMusicSpace on Airtel Digital TV, the DTH Service of Bharti Airtel. The service was launched on the DTH platform in association with Saregama and Timbre Media who will jointly provide the content for the application. The satellite functioning radio station in India had exited in 2009.
INDIRA GANDHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT GOT INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATION

The Indira Gandhi International Airport operator, Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) on 22 October 2012 got an ISO 20000 international certification for eliminating and controlling information technology-related threats. With receiving of this ISO certification, Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) became the sixth airport operator to receive the ISO 20000 certification in IT Service Management System (ITSMS) after Dubai, Munich, Abu Dhabi, Incheon and Hyderabad. ISO 20000-1:2011 is a service management system (SMS) standard which specifies requirements for the service provider to plan, establish, implement, operate, monitor, review, maintain and improve an SMS.
MICROSOFT UNVEILED WINDOWS 8 IN INDIA

Microsoft on 25 October 2012 launched the latest version of its most awaited operating system Windows 8 in India which is designed to work across PCs, tablets as well as for smart phones. The new Window 8 operating system comes with a new start screen and adds more colours. The old start menu is replaced by a tile which showcases users' content that can be updated in real time. Windows 8 is available in two versions, Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro. User who are running PCs with Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7, can download Windows 8 Pro for an estimated retail price of Rs 1,999.
RESCUE PACKAGE OF 7 BILLION TO THE STRUGGLING CAR FIRM PEUGEOT CITROGEN
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 172
Page 173
The French Government on 24 October 2012 agreed to offer a rescue package of 7 billion to the struggling car firm Peugeot Citrogen. The firm considered the funding to be the most significant one at the time when the company announced a huge fall in its sales. As per the reports, 30 banks would be involved in providing the loan of 11.5 billion in form of cash facilities, and 1 billion as an additional liquidity facility. France would be providing finances of up to 5 billion and 7 billion. This is the biggest bailout package intervention in the auto industry by France after 2009, the last time when the country extended a help of 6 billion of low-interest loans to Peugeot and Renault.
DOW CHEMICAL CO. ANNOUNCED CLOSURE OF 20 PLANTS

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) the largest US chemical producer by sales on 23 October 2012 announced a cut of 5 percent of the companys work force worldwide as an act of a restructuring plan that is aimed at coping up with the European Economic Slowdown. The company in its restructuring plan would eliminate about 2400 people from 20 manufacturing units spread across the world.
IBS SOFTWARE SERVICES ACQUIRED US HOTEL BOOKING SOLUTION

Kerala based IBS Software Services on 24 October 2012 announced the acquisition of Atlantabased Hotel Booking Solutions (HBSi) through a multi-million dollar deal. The acquisition of HBSi by IBS was made by buying over the entire shareholding of Crosslink Capital, which is San Francisco-based leading private equity and venture capital firm. Crosslinks Capital has over $1.8 billion in assets with investments in around 100 companies.
SEBI ASKED GOVERNMENT TO SET UP SPECIAL COURT FOR SPEEDY TRIAL

Security Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 22 October 2012 asked the government to set up special courts to fast-track the process of bringing the guilty to book. The grievances came into light with SEBI Worried over delays in prosecution of those found to be involved in frauds and other offences with some cases pended for several years. Keeping it into light SEBI Chairman U K Sinha, made grievances to government for special courts to expedite the process and had also asked the government to facilitate the same with immediate effect.
BHEL DEPLOYED SOLAR PANEL ON GSAT 10 SATELLITE

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) in the Month of October had successfully deployed space grade solar panels on the GSAT-10 satellite of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). BHEL had supplied four solar panels for GSAT-10 that have an area of 5.36 square metres each and comprise multi-junction solar cells in series and parallel combinations, with a total power capacity of 4000 watts. The GSAT-10 satellite was launched from the Kourou launch base in French Guyana, and it is the heaviest Indian satellite built by ISRO and caters to the countrys telecommunications and television broadcasting requirements. Prior to its supply, the www.jagranjosh.com
Page 173
Page 174
space grade solar panels and batteries were manufactured and tested to strict space quality standards at the BHEL facility by highly skilled manpower.
NOKIA INDIA SIGNED DEAL WITH FC BARCELONA

Nokia India on 22 October 2012 signed a deal with Football Club (FC) Barcelona making the company a regional partner of the club. It was a step taken Nokia India for capitalising on the huge fan following for European football in the country. Nokia India by signing the deal became the Barcelona Clubs regional partner in India and also became the first ever company in India to be associated with the Barcelona Club in this way.
BHARTI AIRTEL BECAME WORLDS FOURTH LARGE ST MOBILE OPERATOR

Indian Telecom Service Company Bharti Airtel became the fourth largest telecom operator in the world in terms of subscribers, according to the Wireless Intelligence Scoreboard report. At the end of the quarter ended June 2012, the Company had over 250 million mobile subscribers across its operations, representing 13 percent Year-over-Year growth. China Mobile is on the top position with 683.08 million connections, which is followed by Vodafone Group with 386.88 million Connections and American Movil Group with 251.83 million connections. The other Indian telecom operators in the report are Reliance Communications at eighth position, Idea Cellular at fourteenth position and BSNL at twentieth position. Reliance Communications had maintained its global ranking, Idea Cellular has moved up to three places and State-owned and run telecommunication giant BSNL's ranking dropped by two places.
DGCA SUSPENDED THE LICENSE OF KINGFISHER AIRLINES

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on 20 October 2012 suspended the license of the debt-ridden aircraft carrier Kingfisher Airlines. The decision came up after the airlines failed to address the concerns of the regulatory body about its operation that came up after the airlines was directed to stop-bookings till further notifications. The notification issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on 20 October asked Kingfisher to submit a concrete and reliable revival plan. The Airlines is suffering from a loss of 8000 crore rupees and a debt burden of 7524 crore rupees and right now out of 66 aircraft that was operational last year by the company have only 10 aircraft operational.
TATA STARBUCK OPENED ITS FIRST STORE IN INDIA

Tata Starbucks, a joint venture between Tata Global Beverages (TGBL) and Starbucks Coffee Company, on 19 October 2012 opened its first store in India which is located in Horniman Circle of South Mumbai. The company is going to open two more stores next week in Mumbai one at Oberoi Mall in suburban Mumbai and another at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in South Mumbai. Also in Early 2013 the company will open its first store in Delhi. It was earlier in January 2012 that the company announced its joint venture with Tata Global Beverages Ltd.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 174
Page 175
Starbucks Company runs 18,000 stores in 60 countries worldwide running over 700 outlets in China, 1000 outlets in Japan and 8000 outlets in the U.S
TEA BOARD OF INDIA JOINED HAND WITH EUROPEAN TEA COMMITTEE TO PROTECT DARJEELING TEA
Tea Board of India signed a joint Communiqu with European tea Committee on 17 October 2012. It was agreed with signing of communiqu that both the organisation will cooperate and work together in distributing information about the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) registration and its implications in Germany and other tea consuming countries within the European Union. Now with the implementation of PGI, tea produced only in Darjeeling can be labelled and sold as Darjeeling Tea within the territory of European Union.
IOC SIGNED MOU WITH KOREA GAS CORPORATION TO JOINTLY EXPLORE AND PRODUCE GAS
State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on 17 October 2012 signed MoU with Korea Gas Corporation, Kogas, to jointly explore and produce oil and gas at the global level. The MoU also provides for developing natural gas infrastructure projects and liquefied natural gas or LNG sourcing. It was signed at the Petrotech 2012 conference in New Delhi. The need was emphasized to carry the MoU forward and make progress on areas identified for co-operation in a time bound manner.
ANTIPLATELET DRUG BRILINTA LAUNCHED BY ASTRAZENECA PHARMA

Astrazeneca Pharma India Ltd launched an antiplatelet drug Brilinta (Ticagrelor) on 18 October 2012 in India. Brilinta that is an oral antiplatelet treatment of adult patients is used for treating acute coronary syndromes. The drug has a property of preventing formation of new clots in the blood and eases its flow within the body. This helps in reducing the risks of cardiovascular attack like cardiovascular death and heart attacks. The drug got its approval for marketing the tablets by the name of Brilinta (Ticagrelor) by the Drug Controller General of India following the recommendations made by New Drug Advisory Committee in May 2012.
POLARIS SIGNED A PACT FOR STRENGTHENING MARKET SOLUTIONS WITH PYXIS

Polaris Financial Technology declared on 17 October 2012 that it had entered into a business purchase agreement with Pyxis for strengthening its capabilities of consulting. Pyxis, a specialized market player of technology would help Polaris in strengthening its market solutions.
PETROLEUM MINISTRYS NON APPROVAL TO RIL S INVESTMENT PLANS
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 175
Page 176
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry on 17 October 2012 escalating the troubles of Reliance India Limited informed the Prime Minister office that it would not approve the investments of the company on its KG-D6 fields. The ministry came to its decision after the company refused to allow the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) the federal body that would scrutinize spending made by the company during 2008-09 and 2011-2012 in the block. The Petroleum Secretary, G.C. Chaturvedi at a meeting in the Prime Minist ers Office informed Pulok Chatterjee, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister about the issues related to KG-D6 fields and the production fall in the KG-DWN-98/3 Block by 26 mcmd (million cubic metres per day), which was less than half of the target investments approved by the Government.
VIKRAM PANDIT, THE CEO OF CITIGROUP RESIGNED

Vikram Pandit, the CEO of Citigroup Inc. the words largest financial service network, resigned from his post on 16 October 2012 a day after the company reported its earnings in Q3 to be stronger than that expected. Michael L Corbat head of banks European and Middle East Division would now be the new CEO for the firm. Vikram Pandit served Citigroup as a CEO from 2007 to 2012 and before this in the year 2006 he formed Old Lane Capital, a hedge-fund group that was acquired by Citigroup for $600 million. He also served Morgan Stanley as its chief operating officer in between the year 2000 to 2005.
MAHINDRA SATYAM TIED UP WITH UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND ENERGY STUDIES

Mahindra Satyam, the IT consulting and services company on 15 October 2012 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Dehradun-based University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES) to facilitate joint research and development projects and consultancies in the oil and gas industry. The agreement will allow the students and faculty of engineering disciplines of University of Petroleum and Energy Studies to gain industrial exposure and acquire practical competencies through training from Mahindra Satyams experts.
ZEE LAUNCHED EDUTAINTMENT CHANNEL ZEE Q FOR CHILDREN

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) on 15 October 2012 had launched ZeeQ, an edutainment channel targeting children of 4 to 14 years of age. The channel will go on-air on 5 November 2012 and will be operated by Zee Learn Ltd, an 18-years old company that also runs a chain of pre-schools and K12 schools.
ICICI BANK SIGNED AN AGREEMENT WITH ECO BANK OF AFRICA

ICICI Bank on 15 October 2012 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Eco bank Transnational Incorporated of Africa in order to extend their banking services across their combined footprint in India and Africa. The MoU was signed in Tokyo by Vijay Chandok, President - International Banking Group of ICICI Bank Ltd and Arnold Ekpe, Group CEO of Eco bank. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 176

About Eco bank
Page 177
Eco bank is a pan-African banking conglomerate, with banking operations in 35 African countries. It is the leading independent regional banking group in West Africa and Central Africa, serving wholesale and retail customers. Eco bank was incorporated in Lome, Togo. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated is the parent company of the leading independent panAfrican banking group. About ICICI Bank ICICI Bank Limited is India's largest private sector bank and the second largest bank in India, with consolidated total assets of US $ 111 billion as on June 30, 2012. It is the second largest bank in India by assets and third largest by market capitalization.
L&T FINANCE ACQUIRED INDO-PACIFIC HOUSING

L&T Finance Holdings Limited, the Non Banking Financial (NBFC) arm of the engineering giant Larsen & Toubro, on 10 October 2012 successfully completed the acquisition of Indo Pacific Housing Finance Limited (IPHF) for 110 crore Rupees. The L&T Finance Holdings company earlier on 12 March 2012 had announced the signing of the definitive agreement for same acquisition. About L&T Financial Holding Limited L&T Finance Holdings Ltd. is a financial holding company offering a diverse range of financial products and services across the corporate, retail and infrastructure finance sectors, as well as mutual fund products and investment management services, through our direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Company is registered with the RBI as an NBFC. It is promoted by Larsen & Toubro Limited. It is headquartered in Mumbai, and has a presence in 23 states in India.
GOOGLE LAUNCHED FREE SMS ON GMAIL IN INDIA

Google on 10 October 2012 launched free SMS chat service for its Indian users. Now, the Gmail SMS feature is accessible to Indian users along with 51 other countries in Asia, Africa and North America. Google had first made this feature available to its users in some African countries in 2011. With this free Gmail SMS service users can easily send text messages to mobile phones via Gmail Chat. The responses of the SMSs will appear as replies in Gmail Chat and conversations will be stored in users Chat history, like regular chats. The free Gmail SMS is made available to eight major mobile service operators in India that are Aircel, Idea, Loop Mobile, MTS, Reliance, Tata DoCoMo, Tata indicom and Vodafone.
TOYOTA MOTO CORPS RECALLED 7.4 MILLION ON ROAD VEHICLES FOR RECTIFICATION
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 177
Page 178
Japans biggest Auto maker Toyota Moto Corps on 10 October 2012 decided to call back more than 7.4 million vehicles globally, to rectify the faulty Power Window Switches, having a potential of fire hazards. The recall will hardly take 45 minutes time in replacement of the malfunctioning switch of the power window on drivers side and is going to affect the cars in US, Europe and China.
GVK POWER SECURED GREEN NOD FOR PORT DEVELOPMENT IN AUSTRALIA

The Hyderabad-based GVK Power and Infrastructure Limited in Second week of October received Australian federal government's approval for its Terminal-III (T3) development at the port of Abbot Point, near Bowen in Australia, under the environment protection and biodiversity conservation Act 1999. The approval for GVK's Alpha Coal Port Project at Abbot Point follows a separate approval for the Alpha mine and rail projects which was made on August 23 2012.
KINGFISHER AIRLINES WAS ASKED TO STOP BOOKING THE TICKETS BY DGCA

Kingfisher Airlines, the struggling airlines company of Vijay Mallya on 9 October 2012 was asked to stop booking tickets with immediate effect by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The decision came in effect against the delay of response from the Airlines management on issues of safety and certifications of air operations.
HDFC BANK AND INDIAN OIL CAME TOGETHER TO PROVIDE BANKING SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS
HDFC Bank on 4 October 2012 tied up with Indian Oil Corporation where rural Petrol Pump Outlets of Indian Oil will act as HDFC Bank Business Correspondent (BCs). It is unique and first kind of tie-up, where an oil distribution company is coming up with the bank to make available modern banking services to the people of remote areas. The Indian oil is going to make it possible through Kisan Seva Kendra which is an retail outlet model pioneered by Indian Oil to cater to the needs of customers in the rural segment. HDFC Bank planned to cover 1000 Kisan Seva Kendras in a phased manner and each of these outlets will be able to serve around 1,500 customers. The Kisan Seva Kendra outlets will offer banking services such as preliminary processing of loan applications, disbursal and collection of small value deposits, sale of microinsurance, mutual funds and other investment instruments.
OIL INDIA AND INDIAN OIL, TOGETHER BOUGHT 30% STAKE IN CARRIZO SHALE ASSETS
Public sector companies Oil India Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd on 4 October 2012 announced acquisition of 30 per cent stake in Houston-based Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc's liquid rich
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 178
Page 179
shale assets in Colorado. Both the companies together are going to invest $82.5 million that includes a straight cash payment of $41.25 million. Remaining $41.25 million will be paid based on future drilling and development costs. OIL India will have 20 per cent stake, while Indian Oil Corporation would have 10 per cent stake.
DALMIA CEMENT BHARAT ACQUIRED MEGHALAYA BASED ADHUNIK CEMENT

Meghalaya based Adhunik Cement on 28 September 2012 was acquired by the Dalmia Cement Bharat for Rs 560 crore. The Adhunik Cement have a control over ten percent of the market shares in the North-East, with an annual capacity of 1.5 million tonnes. Dalmia Cement in January 2012, acquired fifty percent stake of the Assam based Calcom Cement for Rs 238 crore. Dalmia cement is a subsidiary venture of Dalmia Bharat Enterprises and a leading player of the domestic market in India.
TATA GROUP GOT AN EXTENSION TO MANAGE THE TAJ MANSINGH FOR ANOTHER YEAR
In a meeting held on 27 September 2012 in between the NDMC Chairperson, Archna Arora and Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit, and the decision were made that the New Delhi Municipal Councils Taj Mansingh Property will be managed by the Indian Hotels Company (IHC) for another one year. The property has been managed by the Indian Hotels Company for past 34 years and its lease to manage the property was about to expire this year.
CAIRN ENERGY SOLD 8 PERCENT STAKE IN CAIRN INDIA

The British oil and gas exploration and production company Cairn Energy plc on 25 September 2012 sold 8 per cent stake in Cairn India for a net realization of about US Dollar 910 million. Following the sale, Cairn Energy retains about 10.3 per cent shareholding in Cairn India. Cairn Energy had earlier in June sold 6.67 crore or 3.5 per cent stake in Cairn India for about $360 million. The company has decided to sell off all its shareholding in Cairn India and exit the country.
DELHI METRO RAIL CORPORATION WON WORK IN JAKARTA METRO RAIL PROJECT
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation on 23 September 2012 was awarded with the work of Management Consulting Services by Jakarta Metro Rail Project. Before this, DMRC assisted them in preparation of SAPI (Special Assistance on Project Implementation). The work in its first phase will be done in a distance of 15.7 kilometres. DMRC will be working in a joint-venture with eight international companies.
NAVEEN JINDAL, PLACED AT THE TOP IN EXECUTIVES PAY CHART

www.jagranjosh.com
Page 179
Page 180
The Chairperson and Managing Director of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), Naveen Jindal was placed at top in the Executive Pay Chart of the listed companies for the fiscal year 2011-2012. He topped the chart for second time in a row with a package of 73.42 crore with a growth of over 6 crore to that of his last years package.
HCL TECH SIGNED MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR DEAL WITH FREESCALE

HCL Technologies on 19 September 2012 signed a multi-million dollar deal with the Texas-based Freescale Semi-conductor and embedded processing solution providing company. As per the deal, HCL will be involved in transformation of Freescales IT infrastructure apart from being an exclusive technology partner for a period of five years. HCL will offer helpdesk support to Freescale across 20 countries with a user base of across 19,000 employees.
EX-COO AND MD OF REEBOK INDIA HELD FOR RS 870 CRORE FRAUD

The ex-COO Vishnu Bhagat and former MD Subhender Singh Prem of Reebok India along with three more executives were arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Gurgaon on 19 September 2012. All these people are accused of doing fraud of Rs 870 Crore with the company. They were involved in selling the goods in the market via ghost representatives using forged bills and not depositing the money back on the companies account.
TATA STEEL WON A HIGH-SPEED RAIL CONTRACT OF VALUE RS 315.15 CRORE IN FRANCE
Tata Steel, the Indian major iron and steel making company, received a letter of intent from French, Eiffage Rail on 19 September 2012 for supplying high quality rails for the 182 kilometre high speed line. The line will connect the cities named Rennes and Le Mans. The project with its value Rs 315.15 Crore and will have to supply 50,000 tonnes rails for making of the BrittanyLoire Valley line. The rail line that is an extension of the high-speed link in existence will reduce the travel time by 37 minutes in between Rennes and Paris.
INDIGO AIRLINES EMERGED TO BE THE TOP RANKED CARRIER FOR CONSECUTIVE SECOND MONTH
The data presented by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on 18 September 2012 claimed that the low cost airlines Indigo emerged as the leading carrier in the month of August by carrying 12.05 lakh domestic passengers out of 43.69 lakh passengers. Indigo shared a total of 27.6 percent of the market share. Share of other airlines are as follows Jet Airways-18.7 percent Spice Jet- 18.5 Percent
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 180

Air India- 18.2 percent
Page 181
The report also reported that there was a fall of 8.6 percent passengers in total as compared to the previous year record for the month.
SCHRODER SINGAPORE ACQUIRED 25 PERCENT STAKE OF AXIS ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY

Axis bank on 18 September 2012 announced that 25 percent of its subsidiary, Axis Asset Management Company was acquired by Schroder Singapore Holdings. The deal value was not disclosed by the bank but the statement released by its spokesperson provides a detail that Schroder has an access to the global distribution network of the company and can advice it for making investment of overseas funds in Indian securities. The statement also cleared that the deal allows Axis Asset Management Company to distribute the funds of Schroder in India.
TOP-LEVEL APPOINTMENTS ANNOUNCED BY TATA MOTORS

Tata Motors on 18 September 2012 with appointment of Ranjit Yadav, the former country head for Samsung India Mobile and IT business as President of its Passenger Car Business Unit (PCUB) announced name of more appointees at top -level. Some of names of new appoints at Tata Motors include Neeraj Garg, Ex-Director Sales and Marketing at Volkswagen in India as its VicePresident for commercial segment of PCBU. R. Ramakrishnan, the former Vice-President of commercial segment of PCBU has been moved as Vice-President for Commercial Vehicles Business Unit (CVBU).
HDFC BANK ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF CREDIT CARD FOR TEACHERS

HDFC Bank on 5 September 2012 announced the launch of credit card for teachers, coinciding with the celebration of Teachers Day. The card offers special features like multiple reward points, weekend bonanza points, petrol surcharge waiver and 500 special gift reward points to be credited annually on the Teachers day. With a combined market size of more than 450 million students and growth rates of 10-15 per cent expected over the next decade, education is one of the largest service sectors in India. In fact, it is the largest issuer of credit cards in the country with a customer base of 5.60 million as of 31 March, 2012.
HDFC BANK COMMISSIONED ITS 10001ST ATM AT KOVALAM

HDFC Bank, Indias second largest private sector bank, on 17 September 2012 commissioned its 10001st Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram city, Kerala. The launch of the 10001st ATM in Kerala follows the inauguration of the 10000th ATM, commissioned last week in Ajmer Sharif, Rajasthan. The launch reflects the banks endeavour to provide all forms of electronic channels-- ATMs, net banking and mobile banking, for customers.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 181
Page 182
ITC LAUNCHED GRAND CHOLA A LUXURY FIVE STAR HOTEL IN CHENNAI

ITC on 17 September 2012 started Grand Chola a Luxury Hotel in Chennai. The luxury hotel with 600 rooms have an integrated banquet in an area of 1 lakh square feet and a convention space of 30,000 square feet of a pillar-less ballroom have 10 beverage and food outlets as well as a Kaya Kalp Spa in a total area of 23,000 square feet. 4000 persons were employed during the construction of the hotel that included workers as well as craftsmen. For management of its day-to-day operations the hotel has employed a team of 1000 people.
TECH MAHINDRA ACQUIRED 51% STAKE IN COMVIVA TECHNOLOGIES

Tech Mahindra on 17 September 2012 acquired 51% stake in Comviva technology limited for 260 crore. The new brand identity is now called as Mahindra Comviva, which reflects combined strength and spirit of both the entities. With this Tech Mahindra enters into the world of Mobility Products and is set to build portfolio in Mobile VAS, Mobile Money and Mobile payments space. The acquisition is going to enhance Tech Mahindras capabilities in the mobile VAS domain and will also provide access to a marquee client base, enabling significant crossselling opportunities. Comviva technology is Bharti group owned mobile value added service (VAS) provider and have Vodafone, Idea, and NTT Docomo in its client list. It was also earlier named as Bharti Telesoft when it was 50% owned by Bharti group. Comviva Technologies Ltd. was formed in 1999, and has grown rapidly to become the global leader in providing mobile VAS and financial solutions.
DMRC STARTED ITS 17-WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM TO TRAIN THE RECRUITS OF RAPID METRORAIL
The 17-week training program scheduled to be conducted by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for the new recruits of Rapid Metrorail Gurgaon Limited (RMGL) commenced on 17 September 2012. RMGL is a consortium that is engaged in building of the 6.1 kilometres Rapid Metro network in Gurgaon and will connect the Sikanderpur Metro station to Cyber City and NH-8 in Gurgaon. The same body will be looking forward for its operations in the future. The rapid metro is scheduled to come under operations by April 2013.
LARSEN AND TURBO RESTRUCTURED ITS ENGINEERING AND INFOTECH SERVICES

Larsen & Turbo the infrastructure and engineering giant on 15 September 2012 integrated its L&T Integrated Engineering Services with IT business L&T InfoTech for igniting growth rate of the company in technical arena. The companys restructured cluster will be rebranded as L&T Technology Service with Keshab Panda, the chief executive of L&T Integrated Engineering Services as its chief executive.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 182
Page 183
SUPREME COURT ASKED ESSAR OIL TO PAY THE SALES TAX DUES IN PHASES
Supreme Court passed a judgment on 13 September 2012 for Gujarat Sales Tax case allowing Essar Oil to pay back the sales tax dues in phases. The dues amount of Rs 5,165 crore can be paid back in eight different installments of two years beginning from 17 January 2012. Supreme Court also dismissed the demand of Rs 1800 crore interest made by the Government of Gujarat.
NIIT AND MICROSOFT CAME TOGETHER FOR CLOUD TRAINING

Information training company NIIT Ltd partnered with Microsoft on 12 September 2012 for courses in Cloud computing. The partnership is going to create nearly one lakh cloud ready professionals in India over the time period of three years. The tie- up is totally benefitting. Now, the benefits of Microsoft Certification integrated with NIIT programmes are made available to students both in the retail and academic space by NIIT.
PRODUCTION SHARING CONTRACT INKED IN BETWEEN BHP BILLITON AND BG GROUP

A production- Sharing Contract (PSC) was signed by Australian BHP Billiton and UKs BG Group on 10 September 2010. The duo won the bid on the deep waters of Mumbai Basin with the government in the ninth round of the bidding that was conducted under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). Two different statements issued by the company and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas confirmed the inking of the contract in between BG-BHP and the government MB-DWN-2010/1 for deep water blocks of the Mumbai Basin. This block is located at a distance of 350 from the offshore of Mumbai covering an area of 7963 sq kilometres in water depths of 2,900 to 3,200 meters.
WELSPUN FINDS THE LENDERS FOR ITS 50 MW SOLAR PROJECT IN RAJASTHAN

Welspun Energy declared that it was successful in finding the funds of Rs 355 crore for its 50 MW Solar Power Project in Rajasthan on 10 September 2012. Three public sector banks along with an infrastructure finance company came together to issue the loan for this long term project to the company. The project is expected to be commissioned by the first quarter of 2013.
INFOSYS ACQUIRED SWITZERLAND BASED FIRM LODESTONE

Infosys, one of the largest software companies of India, acquired Switzerland based global management consultancy firm Lodestone on 10 September 2012 with an enterprise value of $350 million. It is the largest acquisition by Infosys till date. By the end of October Lodestone
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 183
Page 184
will operate as a subsidiary named Infosys Lodestone in Europe. Lodestone is a key player in the SAP domain and has in-depth experience of transformational change.
TCS SIGNED IN AN AGREEMENT OF 103 CRORE TO PROVIDE ICT SOLUTION FOR MGNREGS IN WEST BENGAL
An agreement of Rs 103 crore was signed in between the IT Service firm Tata Consultancy Services and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in West Bengal on 7 September 2012 for providing an end-to-end ICT solution. The tie-up will work for improvement of the e-governance factor in the state of West Bengal. The project will be initiated from the South 24 Parganas district of the state, which further will be extended to the rest of the eighteen districts. Before this, the TCS and MGNREGS tie-up has been successfully implemented and practiced in 1098 Mandals of 22 districts of Andhra Pradesh. The project there in West Bengal will be of a great help in boosting the 100 days employment scheme with utmost transparency under the modernized platform. TCS is responsible for providing the support for five years in management and handling of the system after its implementation.
PARTNERSHIP IN BETWEEN ALSTOM GRID AND TOSHIBA CORP

The two corporate giants Alstom Grid and Toshiba Corp entered into partnership for their smart grid business by signing a Memorandum of Understanding on 6 September 2012. The goal of the collaboration is to secure the supply of energy by identifying different types of electricity management solutions. This partnership will help in ensuring consistency in outcome and support of the supplied energy. Both the organizations are expecting to develop systems that support the integration of renewable energy for bringing down the cost of energy production.
ICICI BANK TO EXTEND ITS NET BANKING SERVICES THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM FACEBOOK
ICICI Bank announced on 6 September 2012 that it is going to launch its services on social media platform Facebook in order to expand its internet banking services. ICICI is among the first banks to start its online presence and the only bank that allows non-cash transactions i.e. requests for cheque books, account statement enquiry and more. The bank has plans of allowing debit and credit transactions in the near future. ICICI on 5 September launched eLocker facility to wealth customers and initiated a 24*7 electronic branch. The bank has also introduced the Tab Banking Services for potential customers, who can open their accounts from any location. The social network expansion is an initiative taken by the bank under the tag line Khayaal Aapka (your care) philosophy in form of next-generation banking solutions.
BHARAT ELECTRONICS LIMITED (BEL) AND THALES ENTERED INTO A JOINT VENTURE
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 184
Page 185
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), the defense public sector unit of India and French security Solutions Company. Thales announced a joint venture on 5 September 2012 to manufacture radars for civilian and defence purposes. The operations related to the processing of the manufacturing process will begin after one and a half year. Following the regulations in India for a foreign company holding shares in the Indian Defense sector, Thales will be able to hold a 26 percent of the equity in total, whereas rest of the 74 percent will remain with BEL. This joint venture will also provide BEL a chance to be a part of Thales Global Supply Chain.
CARGOTEC TIED UP WITH TATA COMMUNICATION TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY
Tata entered up in a tie-up with Cargotec, the provider of cargo handling solutions for ships, terminals, ports and local distribution to more than 50 nations of the world. Cargotec has its presence in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, America and Africa. The tie-up will help in boosting the productivity and operational efficiency of Cargotec and will be a support in streamlining of its supply chain management. Tata Communication, that has a global presence of its fibre optics cable network will be of a great help to Cargotec in extending wide area network (WAN) connectivity to more than 150 global sites.
JINDAL STEEL & POWER ACQUIRED CANADIAN FIRM CIC FOR RS 650 CR
Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) on September 5, 2012 bought CIC Energy Corp of Canada for Rs 650 crore. CIC has coal mines in Botswana, Africa, with reserves of six billion tonnes. The deal was concluded through Jindal BVI Ltd (JBVI), a subsidiary of Jindal Steel and Power Limited. JBVI and CIC now be merged and delisted from the Canadian stock exchange in a months time.
TECH MAHINDRA ACQUIRED HUTCHINSON GLOBAL SERVICES

Tech Mahindra on 4 September 2012 acquired the back office unit of Hutchison Global Services (HGS), for $87.1 million (Rs 484.03 crore). The deal made with the HGS is supposed to give it a revenue rise of USD 845 million over the next five years which will mark to an average revenue increase of around USD 170 million per annum.
INDUSTRY LEADER DEEPAK PAREKH NOMINATED TO COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA

The Union government of India on 31 August 2012 nominated industry leader Deepak Parekh to Competition Commissions Eminent Persons Advisory Group (EPAG). The group advises the antitrust regulator on good global practices and other issues. The group was constituted in a way that CCI could avail from the advice of eminent persons representing a wide arena from the Corporate Sector. Along with HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh, eminent authors Gurcharan Das and Rama Bijapurkar were also nominated as members of the EPAG of the Commission. Others
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 185
Page 186
on the ten-member panel comprises former, Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CAG V N Kaul, NGO activist Rohini Nilekani and former RBI Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan.
THE BHILAI STEEL PLANT WON THE PRIME MIN ISTERS TROPHY FOR T HE 10TH TIME
The Bhilai Steel Plant, on 24 August 2012 won the prestigious Prime Minister's Trophy for the 10th time. Bhilai Steel plant is the flagship unit of Indias largest public sector steel maker, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL). The plant, which is based in Chhattisgarh's Durg district, is some 30 km west of capital Raipur. It has an annual production capacity of over 5 million tonnes.
IDBI BANK LTD ENTERED INTO A MOU WITH SMERA TO EVALUATE ITS MSME
IDBI Bank Ltd entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SME Rating Agency of India Ltd (SMERA) to evaluate its existing as well as potential MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise) clients. This will make it easier for IDBI to get information and expedite the credit decision in lending to the prospective MSME customers. IDBI has agreements with rating agencies such as CARE and Crisil to rate its prospective MSME clients. IDBI Banks outstanding MSME lending was estimated at17000 crore rupees on 31March 2012. The net non performing assets (NPAs) for the segment (MSME) increased to 2.29 per cent in financial year 2012 as compared with 1.83 per cent in financial year 2011.
ANTONY JENKINS APPOINTED AS THE NEW GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF BARCLAYS

Barclays, the British banking giant, appointed Antony Jenkins as its new Group Chief Executive on 30 August 2012. Jenkins replaced Barclays former chief executive officer Bo b Diamond who stepped down following the interest rate manipulation scandal. Jenkins currently leads Barclays Retail and Business Banking (RBB) business. He has been a member of the Group Executive Committee of Barclays since 2009.
MCNALLY BHARAT WON 122 CRORE RUPEES CONTRACT FROM SAIL

McNally Bharat Engineering Company on 29 August 2012 won a 122 crore rupees contract from Steel Authority of India's Bhilai Steel Plant. This contract is a part of steel mill's modernisation and expansion plan. Bhilai Steel Plant is India's only producer of rails and heavy steel plates. BSP's modernisation is the part of SAIL's about 70000 crore rupees expansion plan to take capacity to approximately 23 million tonne (MT) by 2013 from the present 14 MT. McNally Bharat Engineering Company is engaged in providing solutions in the areas of power, steel, material handling, aluminium, coal washing and mineral beneficiation, among others.
HSBC SOLD ITS ENTIRE STAKE IN FEDERAL BANK FOR 341 CRORE RUPEES
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 186
Page 187
Banking major HSBC on 28 August 2012 sold its entire stake in Kerala-based private sector lender Federal Bank. HSBC sold its 5 percent stake in Federal Bank through open market transaction for 341 crore rupees. HSBC was holding 85.16 lakh shares of Federal Bank, which it sold on an average price of 401.04 rupees.
JAMMU AND KASHMIR BANK WAS AWARDED BEST BANKER PRIZE

Jammu and Kashmir Bank on 20 August 2012 won four national awards-The Sunday Standard FINWIZ-2012 Best Bankers Awards. The Bank was awarded Best Banker in Financial Inclusion and Customer Friendliness and declared runner up for Best Banker in Priority Sector Growth and Agricultural Credit. The Sunday Standard is a part of the New Indian Express Group which is based in Chennai. It had engaged Indicus Analytics- Indias premier economic research agencyto conduct a survey and find out Indias best bankers.
GAIL SIGNED PACT WITH FRENCH ENERGY GIANT GDF SUEZ TO IMPORT LNG
State-owned gas utility GAIL India on 26 August 2012 signed a contract with French energy giant GDF Suez to import 0.8 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from 2013 to 2014. GDF would supply six cargoes of LNG in 2013 beginning January and an equal number in 2014. It will supply one cargo once in two months, most probably from its Yemen portfolio. As per the agreement, GDF will supply six cargoes of LNG in 2013 and an equal number in 2014. The LNG could be imported at Dahej terminal of Petronet LNG Ltd in Gujarat or Kochi import facility in Kerala. The gas in its liquid form could be shipped to the Dabhol terminal in Maharashtra. GDF holds a 10-per cent stake in Petronet LNG Ltd. It had in November 2011 agreed to supply 9 cargoes of LNG to Petronet LNG Ltd. GAIL owns and operates over 9,500-km of natural gas pipeline network in India and can manage 175 mmscmd of gas.
APPLE WON PATENT INFRINGEMENT CASE AGAINST SAMSUNG

US technology giant Apple on 24 August 2012 won a 1-billion dollar patent case against Samsung after a California court ruled that the South Korean firm stole a series of Apples patents pertaining to software and design of mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad.
SPICEJET ANNOUNCED LAUNCH OF TWO DAILY FLIGHTS TO JABALPUR FROM DELHI AND MUMBAI
SpiceJet on 22 August 2012 announced launch of two daily flights to Jabalpur from Delhi and Mumbai from 7 September 2012. Jabalpur would be the third destination of the low-cost airline in Madhya Pradesh after Bhopal and Indore. SpiceJet would be deploying its newly acquired Bombardier Q400 NextGen Turboprop aircraft, which can accommodate 78 passengers on these two routes.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 187
Page 188
BHARTI GROUP SOLD ITS STAKE IN CENTUM LEARNING TO EVERONN EDUCATION

Leading Indian business house the Bharti group sold its group company Centum Learning to Everonn Education. As per the terms of the transaction the Bharti group will receive a combination of cash and equity shares in Everonn. The deal of the size was, however, not revealed by the Bharti group. The deal is in line with the companys stated objective of concentrating its energy in core businesses.
RELAXO FOOTWEAR SIGNED BOLLYWOOD ACTOR KATRINA KAIF AS ITS BRAND AMBASSADOR
Footwear maker Relaxo Footwear on 22 August 2012 signed Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif as brand ambassador for its Flite brand. As part of a two-year contract, Kaif will endorse the Flite brand that is mainly targeting young consumers. Katrina will feature in TV commercial endorsing the Flite footwear which would be aired soon, the company added.
ARVIND SAXENA APPOINTED THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF VOLKSWAGEN INDIA

German car maker Volkswagen appointed Arvind Saxena as the Managing Director of Volkswagen passengers car in India. In this new role Saxena will be heading the Volkswagen brand with responsibility for sales, after sales and marketing.
PHILIPPE DIVRY APPOINTED AS THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF VOLVO INDIA

Philippe Divry was appointed as the new Managing Director of Volvo India and Senior VicePresident of Truck Joint Ventures India, the Indian subsidiary of the Swedish heavy vehicles manufacturer Volvo.
M&M SIGNED MOU WITH ORIENTAL BANK FOR PERSONAL AND COMMERCIAL VEHICLE FINANCING
Mahindra & Mahindra on 17 August 2012 signed MoU with the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) for personal and commercial vehicle financing. Customers of Mahindra & Mahindra will be able to take advantage of these services at any of OBCs 1808 branches. M&M has 250 dealer outlets. The MoU was signed by Arun Malhotra, Senior Vice-President, Sales & Customer Care Mahindra & Mahindra, and Atul Gautam, General Manager, Oriental Bank of Commerce.
HOPPR LAUNCHED ITS SERVICE IN CHENNAI TO ALLOW USERS EXPLORE REWARDS AND OFFERS
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 188
Page 189
Hoppr on 9 August 2012 launched its service in Chennai to allow users explore rewards and offers available with brands and merchants in a locality. Hoppr is a brand of Y2CF Digital Media, which is funded by Bharti SoftBank. Y2CF has tied up with six mobile service providers - Airtel, Aircel, Idea, Reliance, Tata Docomo and Vodafone to provide the Hoppr service.
KESHUB MAHINDRA STEPPED DOWN AS THE CHAIRMAN OF MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA

Keshub Mahindra stepped down as the Chairman of 15.4 billion dollar business conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra on 8 August 2012. His nephew and Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the company Anand Mahindra elevated to the position of Chairman, the position Keshub held for nearly 48 years. He would, however, continue to be Chairman Emeritus of the group.
JET AIRWAYS TIED UP WITH HDFC BANK AND LAUNCHED CREDIT CARDS
The Jet Airways tied up with the HDFC bank in order to launch the Jet Privilege -HDFC Bank Credit. This is a range of credit cards which will offer benefits and rewards in the form of JP Miles. This is being regarded as another unique travel option aimed at making air travel for economical. The credit card would be offered in world, platinum and titanium variants on the Master card platform.
SIEMENS INDIA BAGGED 290 MILLION EURO NMDC DEAL

Siemens India nailed an order worth two ninety million Euros from National Mineral Development Corporation (NDMC), which is state run, for developing basic oxygen furnace converter for steel marking. The contract has been awarded to a consortium which is led by Siemens Vai Metals Technologies, SEW infrastructure and Mukand Engineers. The steel works is scheduled to be built at a place called Nagarnar in Chattisgarh with an annual capacity of around three million tonnes steel. The completion of the steel work is scheduled by mid of 2015.
KNR CONSTRUCTIONS BAGGED THE TOLLWAY ROAD PROJECT

KNR Constructions bagged the Tollway Road Project on 5 August 2012. The Company has to build, operate and Transfer (BOT) mode tollway road project from National Highway Authority of India situated in Kerala. National Highway Authority granted concession worth Rs 264.6 crore. The order involves the four-lane of the Walayar-Vadakkancherry section situated in Kerala on National Highway 47 between 182 km to 240 km.
GERMAN LOGISTICS DEUTSCHE BAHN TIED UP WITH MOSER BAER FOR CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 189
Page 190
German Logistics Company Deutsche Bahn (DB) PV plant on 3 August 2012 tied up with Indian company Moser Baer to build a solar park that will generate electricity. Moser Baer Clean Energy had already set up a photovoltaic plant on a railway-owned surface in Wittenberge, Germany. The solar power is likely to be located on former 8-hectare dump site. It has the power generation capacity of 3.92 megawatts-peaks (MWp) that will help to meet the needs of 900 households annually.
GEOJIT BNP LAUNCHED ANDROID OS FLIP ME; FIRST MOBILE TRADING SOLUTION ON NSE & BSE
Geojit BNP Paribas on 3 August 2012 launched its new version for Android Operating System (OS) Flip Me. It is the first mobile trading solution which offered customers the facility to place orders on National Stoke Exchange (NSE) as well as on Bombay Stoke Exchange (BSE). The mobile trading was created by Geonit BNP Paribas in the year 2010.
MICRO TECHNOLOGIES INDIA INTRODUCED MICRO CALL BLOCKER FOR UNSOLICITED CALLS & SMS
Micro Technologies India Ltd on 3 August 2012 introduced an application Micro Call Blocker to detect and block unwanted calls and SMSs. The application is offering to first 10000 users for free. The new application introduced to put an end to the majority of unwanted calls and SMSs. Micro Technologies is a leading India-based IT company. It offers security solutions. The companys objective is to display technological innovation with product expansion in number of segments of vehicle, premises, mobile, other assets and energy and health.
NATIONAL HOUSING BANK CUT INTEREST RATE BY UP TO 1 PERCENT FOR URBAN LOW INCOME GROUP
Housing finance industry regulator National Housing Bank (NHB) on 2 August 2012 reduced interest rate up to 1 percent on refinance to banks and housing finance companies to support affordable finance for urban low income group having income above 15000 rupees per month. NHB is likely to be lower refinance rate by reduction in its lending rates by 0.75 to 1 percent under this special refinance scheme for urban low income housing (LIH).
HIGH COURT OF AP APPROVED CONDITIONAL BAIL TO KONERU PRASAD: EMMAR PROPERTIES CASE
High Court of Andhra Pradesh approved Conditional bail to Industrialist Koneru Prasad 2 August 2012. Prasad was the first person arrested by the Crime Bureau of Investigation on 3 November 2011. He was arrested because of Emmar Properties Case. Koneru was blamed as the culprit for misappropriations in land allotments. Emmar Properties Case
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 190
Page 191
Emmar Group includes Emaar Properties and Emaar MGF. Emaar Properties and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) were jointly working for Emaar MGF Township Project. The former gained the price of Rs. 167 crores and latter suffered the loss of Rs. 43.5 crore.CBI investigated that Emaar MGF had irregularities in land transfer and sale of properties in the township project at Gachibowli.
GILEAD SCIENCES SIGNED WITH 3 INDIAN COMPANIES FOR LOW-COST HIV DRUGS
Worlds biggest HIV drugs maker Gilead Sciences on 2 August 2012 signed deals with three Indian firms to promote its low-cost generic versions of its HIV medicine Emtricitabine in developing countries. The three firms are Ranbaxy, Strides Arcolab and Mylan Laboratories. The partnership is likely to help the Indian firms to produce high volumes of Emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) based HIV medicines and to maintain price equality to regimen. Gilead Sciences is one of the worlds biggest makers of HIV drugs. The company licensed HIV medications to 13 Indian companies. There are more than 2.5 million HIV patients in developing countries who receive a TDF-containing regimen.
HERO MOTOCORP INVESTED 20 MILLION DOLLAR IN US BASED ERIK BUELL FOR R&D
The two-wheeler maker company Hero MotoCorp on 2 August 2012 invested 20 million dollar (110 crore rupees) into US-based Erik Buell Racing (EBR) to maintain its leadership and expand globally. The investment also helps EBR grow its Milwaukee production capacity and hire more people in its own R&D team. The investment was announced to modify MotoCorp available products and on new products design and development. The agreement is likely to ends in June 2014.
KARNATAKA BANK SIGNED MOU WITH NABCONS FOR BANK CUSTOMERS CONSULTAN CY SERVICES
Karnataka Bank on 1 August 2012 signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NABARD Consultancy Services (NABCONS). It is likely to provide the consultancy services to bank customers for making techno-economic appraisal reports, techno-economic feasibility reports, detailed project reports for investments in agriculture and related activities. Besides consultancy services, the collaboration also providing NABCONS services in the field of micro finance, women empowerment, training, capacity building, and periodic monitoring. The MoU was signed between general manager of the bank MS Mahabaleshwar and SNA Jinnah, chief general manager of NABARD. NABCONS functions in 30 states of the India along with technical experts available with NABARD in the field of agriculture, plantation and horticulture, animal husbandry, agro-processing, fisheries, agri-engineering, food processing, finance, economics and other related areas.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 191
Page 192
STAR HEALTH LAUNCHED STAR COMPREHENSIVE AND STAR FAMILY DELITE INSURANCE POLICY
Indias first and largest stand alone health insurance company Star Health on 1 Augus t 2012 launched two new innovative health insurance policies - Star Comprehensive and Star Family Delite. Star Comprehensive Insurance Policy ensures complete coverage for the whole family giving hospitalisation benefits with no sub-limits or caps on room rent, no disease wise limits, OP dental and ophthalmic treatments, hospital cash benefit, delivery and new born baby cover, Pre and Post-hospitalization expenses covered etc.
THE SAHARA GROUP ACQUIRED LANDMARK PLAZA HOTEL OF NEW YORK

The Sahara Group acquired landmark Plaza Hotel of New York on 30 July 2012 in a deal worth 570 Million Dollars. Plaza Hotel was jointly owned by the Israeli Businessman, Yitzhak Tshuva and Saudi Arabia based firm, Kingdom Holdings Co. Elad Properties sold their 60 percent of their stake to Sahara group. The remaining 40 percent was received by Kingdom Holdings Co. Five Star Hotel Sahara Star situated in Mumbai is owned by the Sahara Group. The Sahara Group also owns the Grosvenor House Hotel situated in London.
NDTV FILED LAWSUIT AGAINST AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT COMPANY TAM INDIA

India's national news broadcasting channel NDTV sued the countrys only television audience measurement company TAM India and its global parent firms Nielsen and Kantar on 31 July 2012. The channel accused officials at TAM of being indulged in fraudulent and manipulating TV ratings. NDTV, which filed the lawsuit in Supreme Court of New York, demanded damages of at least 810 million dollar for its losses over the last eight years. Besides, it also claimed the 580 million dollar compensation for losses due to negligence over the last three years. What is TAM? TAM (Television Audience Measurement) the media research company installs People Meters in over 8000 sample homes to monitor viewership patterns. The findings of TAM are instrumental in making the corporate decisions. In its lawsuit, NDTV accused TAM of fraudulent and claimed that the small sample size gave rise to the rampant corruption in Media industry.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 192
Page 193
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 193
Page 194
CURRENT AFFAIRS (1 ST AUG 12 15 TH MARCH 13)

NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS (1 ST AUG 12 15 TH MARCH 13)
UNION CABINET CLEARED BILL TO TACKLE CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN
The Union Cabinet on 14 March 2013 cleared a Bill providing for severe punishment for rape, acid attack, stalking and voyeurism more to the point reducing the age of consent for sex to 16 years. The bill which was named the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 lowers the age of consent for sex from 18 to 16 years with making of rape as a gender-specific offence under which men only can be charged for it. The Bill is brought in line with the Indian Penal Code, but at variance with the Child Protection Act, 2012, which raised it to 18. The bill brought against the milieu of the 16 December 2012 Delhi gang rape, provides for minimum jail term of 20 years for rape which may be extended to natural life of the convict in jail. There is also provision for death sentence if the victim dies or is left in a 'persistent vegetative state'. Stalking, voyeurisms have been defined as criminal offences in the bill. Sustained stalking will be a non-bail able offence.
INDIAS FIRST ALL WO MEN POST OFFICE INAUGURATED BY KAPIL SIBAL

Union Minister of Communications & IT, Kapil Sibal on 8 March 2013 inaugurated the First All Women Employees Post Office of India at Shastri Bhawan in New Delhi. The Post Office is called Project Arrow Office and consists of three counters. Two of the three counters offer Multi Purpose services such as registration, booking of money orders, booking of speed post as well as sale of IPOs. Other counter is meant to facilitate the sale of stamps. All the three counters will have only women employees.
CABINET COMMITTEE ON SECURITY APPROVED FLEXIBLE USE OF AIRSPACE

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on 8 March 2013 cleared Flexible Use of Airspace (FUA) by civil and military users, which was unsettled for last few years. There was a necessity to fulfil the demand of national security, where the requirement of airspace by the military was to be fulfilled in the fast changing environment of air warfare. Therefore, sharing of airspace on a need basis, by civil and military users was an urgent national requisite.
PATIALA HOUSE COURT FRAMED CHARGES AGAINST IROM SHARMILA FOR ATTEMPTING SUICIDE
The Patiala House Court, New Delhi on 4 March 2013 framed charges of allegedly attempting to commit suicide during her fast until death in the Capital in 2006 against Irom Sharmila Chanu, the Iron Lady from Manipur. The Court framed charges against the Iron Lady for her attempt to www.jagranjosh.com
Page 194
Page 195
commit suicide. The Court also issued a show cause notice to Irom Sharmila after she refused to plead guilty. She appeared before the court under Indian Penal Code 309 (attempt to commit suicide) for fasting at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Irom Sharmila Chanu Irom Sharmila had been fasting for more than 12 years for repealing of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958, AFSPA. Sharmila began her fast till death after ten persons, including a boy who received the National Bravery Award, were shot dead in an alleged encounter with Assam Rifles personnel at Malom near Imphal Airport on 2 November 2000. Armed Forces Special Powers Act, AFSPA Violence became the way of life in north-eastern States of India. State administration became incapable to maintain its internal disturbance. Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Ordinance was promulgated by the President on 22 May 1958. In which some special powers have been given to the members of the armed forces in disturbed areas in the State of Assam and Union Territory of Manipur. Later the Ordinance was replaced by the armed Forces Special Powers Bill.
ELECTRONICS PROJECT PROPOSAL SYSTEM E-PPS LAUNCHED BY KAPIL SIBAL

Union Minister Kapil Sibal on 6 March 2013 launched the Electronics Project Proposal System (e-PPS), developed by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, through the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) during a round table discussion with Academia, Industry and R&D Organisation. The e-PPS system will initially start as a pilot project. What is Electronic Project Proposal System (e-PPS) It is a web based system in form of solution to fund the R&D projects, which will start from online submission of the project proposal for funds and will monitor as well as manage the funded projects.
MINISTRY OF NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY SANCTIONED REMOTE VILLAGE ELECTRIFICATION FOR 6033 VILLAGES
Remote Village Electrification (RVE) for a total of 6033 villages as well as hamlets was sanctioned during 11th Plan by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Additionally, work on 5211 villages as well as hamlets, was in its completion stage in various states such as Odisha and Tamil Nadu. Two proposals of 61 hamlets as well as 161 hamlets of UP along with one proposal of 14 villages of Rajasthan and one proposal of 24 villages and 274 hamlets of Jammu & Kashmir, were in all received and were under initial stage of appraisal. It is important to note that the Remote Village Electrification (RVE) programmes as well as projects are usually
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 195
Page 196
sanctioned on the case-to-case basis after these proposals are submitted by the state notified implementing agencies according to the guidelines of this scheme.
PRESIDENT OF INDIA PRANAB MUKHERJEE GAVE ASSENT TO THE CRIMINAL LAW (AMENDMENT) ORDINANCE, 2013
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 3 February 2013 agreed to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 for sharpening the laws against sexual assault. The President mandated harsher punishment such as death penalty for the offenders in such cases where the victim either dies or lands into the vegetative state. The amended law would come into force almost immediately.
PANEL TO EXAMINE ISSUES OF CERTIFICATION UNDER CINEMATOGRAPH ACT 1952 CONSTITUTED

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on 4 February 2013 constituted a panel for examining the issues of certification under Cinematographer Act 1952. Shri Mukul Mudgal, the retired Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court was appointed the Chairman of the Panel.
SC DIRECTED GOVERNMENT TO NOTIFY CAUVERY WATER DISPUTES TRIBUNAL AWARD

The Supreme Court of India on 4 February 2013 directed the Union Government of India to notify the six-year-old final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal by 20 February 2013. A bench headed by Justice RM Lodha expressed displeasure over the government not notifying the award even after the warring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka had agreed before it on 4 January 2013 that they had no objection if the award was notified. The Centre had earlier assured the apex court that it would notify the tribunals award by 31 December 2013.
I&B MINISTRY CONSTITUTED EXPERT COMMITTEE TO REVIEW FUNCTIONING OF PRASAR BHARTI

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on 29 January 2013 constituted an Expert Committee to review the institutional frame work of Prasar Bharati as well as its relationship with Government, its role in continuance as a public broadcaster and the measures that needs to be taken to ensure technical up gradation of the organization. Sam Pitroda is the Chairperson of the committee.
RASHTRIYA BAL SWASTHYA KARYAKRAM LAUNCHED IN THANE, MAHARASHTRA
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 196
Page 197
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on 6 February 2013 launched a new health initiative called Rashtriya Bal Sawsthya Karyakram at Palghar town in Thane district of Maharashtra. The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram is a part of the National Rural Health Mission of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Main Features of Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram are as following: The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram is aimed at improving overall quality of life of children through early detection of birth defects, diseases and deficiencies, which are among key factors for child mortality. The new initiative would assure a package of health services for all children up to 18 years of age. The programme will also prove economical for poor and marginalized. The services will be provided through dedicated mobile health teams placed in every block. The scheme, which will be implemented in a phased manner, is expected to benefit approximately 27 crore children across the country.
UNION CABINET OF INDIA GAVE ITS NOD TO DECREASE HEAD COUNTS IN AREAS COVERED UNDER PMGSY
The Union Cabinet of India on 6 February 2013 gave its nod to the proposal of decreasing the headcounts to 100 in habitations under the government's flagship programme, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, PMGSY. Under this program (PMGSY) habitation with population of 100 tribes and more in eighty-two naxal-hit would be connected via all weather roads. Earlier, under the PMGSY program the tribal areas with a population graph of more than 250 people in the naxal-affected reasons were covered. The decision of decreasing the head counts in different area came after it was pointed out by Kishore Chandra Deo, the Tribal Affairs Minister that maximum habitations in these areas had a population graph of less than 250 people.
I&B MINISTRY LAUNCHED MY INDIA INITIATIVE-A DIGITAL VOLUNTEER PROGRAMME TO REACH CITIZENS
The Information and Broadcasting Minister, Manish Tewari on 7 February 2013 launched the MyIndia Initiative-A Digital Volunteer Programme to reach out the people in the social media space. The initiative from the I&B Ministry is aimed towards disseminating and delivering the messages of development to the citizens by registering them as volunteers them on the social media platforms. The initiative is an effort to make the citizen contribute positively towards nation building and this would initiate a principle of participative governance across the nation. The I&B Ministry on 8 February 2013 also tried to reach out the citizens for the first time via Live Twitter Conference on the eve of 3rd Community Radio Conference. This was the first ever conference of such type by any of the Ministrys of Gover nment of India. Community Radio:
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 197
Page 198
Road Travelled & way forward was the topic for community radio conference and it lasted for a period of 30 minutes from 4 pm to 4:30 pm.
THE UNION GOVERNMENT DIRECTED ALL STATES TO REVIEW CASES OF UNDER-TRIAL

The Union government of India on 10 February 2013 directed all states to review the cases of under-trials lodged in jails for longer duration. The Home Ministry asked the States and Union Territories that an under-trial prisoner completing half of the maximum period of imprisonment should be released by the Court on his personal bond with or without sureties except for those involved in heinous crimes.
PRIORITY SECTOR LENDING (PSL) TO MINORITIES CROSSED 15 PERCENT MARK IN 2012-2013

Priority Sector Lending (PSL) to Minorities increased considerably from 10.60 percent of total PSL in 2007-2008 to 15.01 percent in 2012-2013. Priority Sector Lending (PSL) to minorities belongs to one of the schemes which are covered under the Prime Ministers New 15 Point Programme for Welfare of Minorities. An increase was observed because of lending of 171960.71crore Rupees as on September 2012 to the minorities. Self-employment initiatives were created and sustained because of bank credit. The increase was observed because of sustained efforts of government of India.
SC ORDERED SEIZURE OF OPERATIONS OF UNSUCCESSFUL BIDDERS OF AUCTION OF 2G SPECTRUM

The Supreme Court (SC) of India on 15 February 2013 directed the telecom companies that failed to win bidding in the fresh 2G Spectrum Auction o r didnt participated into it to cease their operations immediately. The fresh auction took place after the licenses issued earlier were scrapped by the Court.
NACO SIGNED MOU WITH MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE TO HIGHLIGHT ISSUES RELATED TO AIDS
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signed the first MoU with the Ministry of Shipping on 14 February 2013 as a part of its efforts to highlight issues relating to HIV/AIDS. According to the MoU, NACO will provide HIV/AIDS/STI preventive, care support and treatment services to port workers as well as community around major ports including fishermen, seafarers, truckers, single male migrants and other vulnerable population etc. It also aims to provide stigma free environment and promote greater involvement of people living with HIV in all major port areas.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 198
Page 199
CBI REGISTERED CASE AGAINST AIRTEL AND TATA COMMUNICATIONS FOR VIOLATING DOT NORMS
The Central Bureau of Investigation registered a case on 22 February 2013 against Bharti Airtel Ltd and Tata Communications Ltd, the giant telecom companies for having link up with the Singapore Telecom for the purpose of international calls, thereby violating norms of Department of Telecom (DoT). CBI on 24 February 2013 announced that the two companies were charged for causing a loss of around 48 crore Rupees to the Union Government of India since 2004 because of illegal arrangement. CBI filed an FIR in the local court in Delhi after complaints of Communications and IT Ministry.
THE CENTRE RESOLVED THE ISSUE OF CST COMPENSATION WITH THE STATES
The Centre on 29 January 2013 resolved the issue of CST compensation with the states. The centre agreed for a lower payment of 34000 crore rupees for phasing out the Central Sales Tax. It paves the way for implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The agreement between centre and states was announced following the meeting of State Finance Ministers at Bhubaneswar. The Centre agreed to pay this compensation amount to the states. As per the resolution at the meeting, the Centre would bear a 100 per cent of the loss accrued to states in 2010-11 fiscal on account of lowering of CST. However, for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 fiscal, the Centre would give 75 per cent and 50 per cent of the losses to the states.
SPECIAL CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH UN ACCORDED TO SIX INDIAN NGOS

Six Indian NGOs or non-governmental organisations working towards upliftment of poor, Dalits as well as women were approved by the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations for consultative status with the UN. The committee is a part of Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The consultative status was given during the annual ongoing session of the world body panel in the week dated 21 January 2013 to 27 January 2013.
INDIA CELEBRATED ITS 64TH REPUBLIC DAY; SHOWCASED MILITARY PROWESS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE
India celebrated its 64th Republic Day on 26 January 2013. Unfurling of National flag, the rich cultural heritage, and nation's achievements in various fields were the highlights of Republic Day Parade at Rajpath in Delhi. The well-turned out and synchronised military and police formations led by General Officer Commanding (Delhi) Lt General Subroto Mitra marched proudly to the tunes of bands through the Rajpath where President Pranab Mukherjee, the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces, took salute for the first time after assuming office in July 2012. The impressive march-past was watched by Chief Guest, King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 199
Page 200
BROADCASTING CONTENT COMPLAINTS COUNCIL SOUGHT REVIEWING RULES FOR TV LICENSING

The Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC), the television body sought assessment of the guidelines issued by the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry for renewing television licenses. BCCC termed the present rules of I&B as violation of freedom of speech. BCCC cited certain shortcomings of the provision of I&B, in which the Ministry demanded that renewal of licenses for the television channels should be denied in case they are found breaching the advertising and program on 5 different occasions or more than that. BCCC, which is led by Justice (retired) A P Shah, instead sought that the violations by the television channels should in turn be handled with the financial penalties.
JUSTICE JS VERMA PANEL REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE GOVERNMENT: RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE SEXUAL CRIMES
The Justice Verma panel, which is a 3-member commission created to review the laws for sexual crimes submitted the report to the Government of India on 23 January 2013. Justice Verma panel was created after the brutal gang rape of the Para-medical student on 16 December 2012. Former Chief Justice of India, Justice JS Verma headed the commission and reviewed the laws on sexual crimes which exist already.
INDIA AND SRI LANKA SIGNED TWO AGREEMENTS ON TERRORISM AND DRUG TRAFFICKING
India and Sri Lanka after the 8th round meet of the Joint India-Sri Lanka Commission on 22 January 2013 at New Delhi inked two agreements.
SUPREME COURT BANNED TOURISTS ENTRY IN J ARAWA TRIBE HABITAT OF ANDAMANS

The Supreme Court of India on 21 January 2013 banned the tourists to pass from Andaman Nicobar Trunk Road which passes through an area which is Jarawas habitat. The Andaman Nicobar Trunk Road leads to the Limestone Cave. A bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and H.L. Gokhale ordered that the directives of the court which were issued in 2012 should be followed strictly. Earlier, the Apex court had banned the tourism or commercial activities in 5-km radius of Jarawa Tribal Reserve which lies in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Supreme Court in its 2007 notification had declared the area up to 5-km radius of Jarawa Tribal Reserve as the Buffer Zone and had prohibited any person from entering into this Zone unless and until that person is a member of aboriginal tribe. Who are the Jarawas? The Jarawas are basically the indigenous tribes or adivasis of Andaman Islands, India. The present population of Jarawas is merely 250-400 people. It is said that the Jarawas have www.jagranjosh.com
Page 200
Page 201
remained the inhabitants of the Andamans for thousands of years. Jarawa ancestors were thought to be the first successful migration of humans from Africa.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DECLARED USE OF MGNREGA LINKED POST OFFICE ACCOUNTS FOR DIRECT CASH TRANSFER
The Union Government of India in the third week of January 2013 amended the August 2008 notification to allow MGNREGA beneficiaries to receive other Government benefits and deposits in their post office saving account. With this order of the Union Finance Ministry more than 3.5 crore post office accounts in existence has turned up to be ready for the Aadhaarlinked Cash Transfer Scheme of Government of India. Earlier, the accounts linked with the MGNREGA workers of the country were used for receiving the wages under the rural employment guarantee scheme. As per the guidelines of the August 2008 notification of the Union Finance Ministry of India no deposit other then NREGA can be made to these accounts. The Aadhaar number would be used for authentication of the identities of the beneficiaries under the new Direct Cash Transfer initiative. This identification would be of a great help in transferring the benefits offered by the Government directly into the accounts of the beneficiaries. There exists of a total of 8.26 crore MGNREGA accounts in the country and out of this 43 percent (3.5 crore) of the accounts exists in post offices of India.
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA BANNED CONSTRUCTION OF RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES AND STATUES ON PUBLIC LAND
The Supreme Court of India on 15 January 2013 passed an order that constructing religious structures such as the temples and shrines on the public land was banned. The bench of Justices R M Lodha and S J Mukhopadhaya, in its order declared that henceforth no state should grant permission for installation of any statue or erection of structures on the public utility places, pavements, public roads as well as the sideways.
PRANAB MUKHERJEE IMP OSED PRESIDENTS RUL E ON JHARKHAND

Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India on 18 January 2013 imposed Presidents Rule in Jharkhand. The decision came as a follow up of the recommendation made by the Union Cabinet of India on 17 January 2013 and fall of the state machinery in form of Government on 8 January 2013 after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha the supporting party to BJP led Coalition Government withdrew its support from it.
UNION HOME MINISTRY ISSUED STRICT GUIDELINES FOR REGULATING SURROGACY IN INDIA
The Union Home Ministry in India issued stricter guidelines for those visas which are used by the foreign nationals interested in surrogacy. This is said to be the archetypical step by the Home Ministry to regulate surrogacy in India. The new guidelines indicated that single
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 201
Page 202
foreigners as well as the gay couples would not be eligible for having the Indian surrogate. Only those foreign man and woman, who are married for at least two years, would be granted the visas.
PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED ENTITLEMENT OF FOOD FOR 67 PERCENT POPULATION

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food and Consumer Affairs in January 2013 suggested the entitlement of the food under the National Food Security Act to the 67 percent population leaving behind the 33 percent people who are tax-payers and have pucca houses of their own.
FIRST SPACE WEATHER READING CENTRE OF INDIA SCHEDULED TO BE OPENED BY MID 2013
The centre of excellence which specialises in reading the weather conditions of the space and helps the air traffic on their polar routes is scheduled to come up in Kolkata by the middle of 2013. The space weather reading centre in Kolkata will be first of its kind and is approved by Union HRD Ministry. This centre would be coming up at Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER) campus. The Union HRD Ministry sanctioned 4 crore Rupees for the centre.
INDIA FOR THE SECOND YEAR REPORTED NO FRESH POLIO CASES

India for the continuous second year reported no fresh cases of Polio. One more year of success with zero fresh cases of polio, would win India a status of polio free nation, in 2014. In 2009, India shared about a half of the polio cases witnessed by the world. But the success achieved since then, can be termed as the biggest public health success story of the century.
ELECTION COMMISSION ANNOUNCED DATE OF ELECTION AND BYELECTIONS IN 10 STATES

The Election Commission of India on 11 January 2012 announced the dates for elections and byelections in the Legislative Assemblies of 10 states. The elections/by-elections would be held in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Assam, Bihar, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab. The states of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland would go for the regular polls for 60 members in each state. The by-polls in Tripura are scheduled for 14 February 2013 and for Meghalaya and Nagaland the decided date of 23 February 2013 and the results would be announced on 28 February 2013.
MONEY LAUNDERING AND BANKING BILLS 2012 TURNED INTO LAW WITH PRESIDENTS ASSENT
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 202
Page 203
The President of India Pranab Mukherjee in second week of January gave his assent to the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill, the Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012 and Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012 to make it a law of the land. The Parliament in its winter session approved the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill 2012 that needed to enlarge its definition of money laundering offences so that it can curb the practice of funding the terrorists operations. The Bill sought removal of 5 lakh rupees as fine in existence under the act and proposed a provision of taking away of the profits of the crime even under situation, where the conviction was not proved but the offence of money laundering happened and the property in question that is involved in the offence. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha during the winter session on 29 November 2012. Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012 would be shaping the way ahead to corporate houses to enter the field of Banking this is one of the key reform legislation. The Banking Bill was passed in the Indian Parliament once the government dropped its clause of controversies that allowed banks to trade in commodity in future. The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2011 was introduced and passed by both the Houses of Indian Parliament during its winter session of 2012 for amendment of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970/1980.
COCHIN SHIPYARD LAUNCHED AADESH, THE FIRST FAST PATROL VESSEL FOR COAST GUARD
Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) on 8 January 2013 launched the first fast patrol vessel (FPV), built for the Indian Coast Guard. The vessel which is named Aadesh was launched by Jayasree Muralidharan, in the presence of M.P. Muralidharan, Director General of Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and K. Subramaniam, Chairman and Managing Director of the Coast Guard.
AADHAAR CARD TO BE ACCEPTED AS PROOF TO GET PASSPORT: MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

The Ministry of External Affairs on 8 January 2013 decided and consequently advised all Passport Issuing Authorities to accept Aadhaar letter as Proof of Address and Photo identity in conjunction with any other prescribed documents for proof of address/identity for the purpose of passport application.
NATIONAL DATA CENTRE FOR UIDAI TO COME UP IN GURGAON

The Chief Minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda on 7 January 2013 laid the foundation stone of the state-of-the-art National Data Centre of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) at Maneshar, Gurgaon in Haryana.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 203
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 EMPOWERED GROUP OF MINISTERS DECIDED TO AUCTION FOUR TELECOM CIRCLES IN 1800 MHZ BAND
Page 204
The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on 7 January 2013 decided to auction the four telecom circles in 1800 MHz band, which failed to win bidders in the November 2012 auction. The EGoM also decided to reduce the reserve price fixed in November by 30 percent. The auction is planned in March 2013. Of the 1800 MHz Band the quantum of spectrum that would be put forward for auction in different states and cities are 15 MHz in Mumbai and Delhi and 10 MHz in Rajasthan and Karnataka. There also are provisions of getting an extra topping of 3.75 MHz as was in November 2012.
NEWS BROADCASTING STANDARDS ASSOCIATION ISSUED GUIDELINES FOR REPORTING OF SEXUAL CRIMES
The News Broadcasting Standards Association (NBSA) on 7 January 2013 issued certain guidelines for the television channels to exercise discretion and sensitivity, while reporting the sexual assault cases. Keeping in view, the Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), NBSA directed television channels to keep the identity of the victims involved in sexual assault, hideous. The guidelines were a result of the Zee News television interview of the friend of Delhi gang rape victim. The name of victim was also disclosed in one international publication.
INDIAS FIRST SUCCES SFUL INTESTINAL TRANSPLANT PERFORMED ON A SOFTWARE ENGINEER

The first successful and healthy intestinal transplant surgery in India was given to a software engineer on 24 November 2012 at Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon. Because around 60 percent intestinal transplants are not successful due to jettison and higher degree of infection of transplanted organ, therefore the hospital authorities waited for announcing the results till patient recovered completely. The earlier attempts of intestinal transplant in India have always failed.
UNION HOME MINISTER SUSHIL KUMAR SHINDE LAUNCHED PILOT PROJECT OF CRIME AND CRIMINAL TRACKING SYSTEM
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on 4 January 2013 launched Pilot Project of Crime and Criminal Tracking Systems. The Government launched the project to make use of technology in bringing greater transparency and accountability into government functioning, as Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) is supposed to be an important step forward in this direction which requires a significant change management effort. The pilot launch of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) Project would create a nation-wide environment for the real-time sharing of crime and criminal information and connect approximately 14000 police stations throughout the country apart from higher offices in police hierarchy.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 204
Page 205
FOREIGN TOURISTS NOT ALLOWED TO WORK AS JOURNALISTS ON TOURIST VISA: MHA

Ministry of Home Affairs on 2 January 2013 ordered foreign tourists not to indulge in the journalistic activities on their tourist visas. The order was issued by the Ministry after observing that a lot of foreigners visiting India on their tourist visa are also involved in covering the events as well as journalistic activities in India.
UNION GOVERNMENT CONSTITUTED THE 14TH FINANCE COMMISSION UNDER FORMER RBI GOVERNOR YV REDDY
Union Government on 2 January 2013 constituted the 14th Finance Commission under former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Yaga Venugopal Reddy. The commission under YV Reddy is going to primarily review finances of the governments keeping in mind the fiscal consolidation road map that was laid out by his predecessor Vijay Kelkar, the head of 13th finance Commission. The Commission would have three full-time members Sushma Nath, Former Finance Secretary M. Govind Rao, Director, NIPFP Sudipto Mundle, Former Acting Chairman of National Statistical About Finance Commission The Finance commission is set up every five years. Article 280 of the Constitution provides for setting up of a finance commission to recommend how net earnings of taxes are to be divided between the Union and states and subsequently among the states. The Finance Commission Act of 1951 states the terms of qualification, appointment and disqualification, the term, eligibility and powers of the Finance Commission.
UNION FINANCE MINISTER P CHIDAMBARAM UNVEILED CASH TRANSFER ROLLOUT PLAN

The government is going to roll out its ambitious scheme of transferring cash to beneficiaries of select schemes in 20 districts on 1 January 2013, but food, fertiliser and fuel subsidies will not be covered in the initial phase. As per the roll-out plan, more and more districts and schemes would be covered under the scheme during the course of 2013. All 26 schemes are ready for rollout. On 1 January 2013 the seven schemes in which payout is due in the (20 selected) districts, the money will be transferred through the direct benefit transfer system using the UIDAI platform. However, Government clarified that subsidies relating to cooking gas (LPG), kerosene, diesel, food and fertilizers will not be included in the first phase of the roll-out. The scheme is going to be rolled out in 43 districts by 1 March 2013 20 districts from January 1, 11 districts from February 1 and 12 districts from March 1. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 205
Page 206
BIHAR BECAME THE FASTEST GROWING INDIAN STATE BETWEEN 2006 AND 2010
As per the data released by the Planning Commission of India, Bihar became the fastest growing state in India at 10.9 per cent between 2006 and 2010 while Gujarats growth rate declined to 9.3 per cent and it lagged behind Bihar and other four states- Orissa, Maharashtra, Haryana, Chhattisgarh in terms of growth rate. Bihar was the slowest growing state during 2001-05 periods with GDP figure of 2.9 percent whereas Gujarat was the fastest growing state between 2001 and 2005 with figure of 11 percent. Chhattisgarh grew from 7.7 per cent in 2001-05 to 10 per cent growth between 2006 and 2010 while Haryana grew from 8.4 per cent to 9.7 per cent, Maharashtra from 8.2 per cent to 9.6 per cent and Orissa from 7.8 per cent to 9.4 per cent between 2006 and 2010. The period between 2004-05 and 2011-12 registered an average increase of 300 per cent in consumption in rural areas, minimizing the gap between rural and urban area thus highlighting the inclusive growth.
UNION GOVERNMENT APPROVED SELLING 12.5 PERCENT STAKE IN RASHTRIYA CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
The union government of India approved selling 12.5 percent stake in Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF) on 26 December 2012. This is said to be the 11th public sector undertaking which is approved for the action. Finance minister P. Chidambaram announced that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) agreed to disinvest 12.5 per cent paid-up equity capital of RCF. The government would make an effort to wind up the entire process in financial year 2012-2013 which would end on 31 March 2013.
UNION GOVERNMENT EXEMPTED SERVICE TAX FOR JANASHREE AND AAM AADMI BIMA YOJANA
Union Government of India in the month of December granted service tax exemption on the services of life insurance business provided under the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) and Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY). Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) was launched in August 2007and it basically covers death and disability insurance for the benefit of rural landless households. About Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) AABY provides for insurance of the head of the family or earning member of the family of rural landless households between the age of 18 and 59 years against natural death or accidental death and partial/permanent disability. The annual premium payable is 200 rupees of which 50 per cent shall be payable by the Union Government and the remaining 50 per cent by the State Government. About Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY)
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 206
Page 207
Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY) was launched in August 2000 and it provides life insurance protection to people who are below poverty line or marginally above poverty line. Persons aged between 18 years and 59 years and who are members of the identified 45 occupational groups are eligible to be covered under the scheme. The premium for the JBY is 200 rupees per member. While 50 per cent premium under the scheme is met out of Social Security Fund maintained by LIC, the balance 50 per cent premium is borne by the member and/or nodal agency.
LOK SABHA PASSED THE COMPANIES BILL 2011 AIMED AT IMPROVING CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Lok Sabha on 18 December 2012 passed the COMPANIES BILL 2011. The Bill is aimed at improving corporate governance. It contains provisions to strengthen regulations for corporate as well as auditing firms. Once enacted as law, it will replace THE COMPANIES ACT 1956. The Companies Bill makes it mandatory for profit-making companies to spend two percent of their profit for community welfare as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. In case, a company fails to meet its social obligations, it will have to explain the reasons for the shortfall. The Bill will protect small investors from corporate frauds. Under the proposed legislation, more powers will be conferred upon Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to deal with corporate frauds. There will be better co-ordination now between the investigation agencies at the centre and the states.
MINORITIES RIGHTS DAY CELEBRATED BY THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR MINORITIES

National Commission for Minorities celebrated Minorities Rights Day on 18 December 2012. Minorities Rights Day is celebrated on 18th December every year. The day is celebrated to protect rights of the minorities communities as well as bringing the better understanding among religious minorities in India.
GOVT. OF INDIA TO SET UP REAL TIME WATER QUALITY MONITORING STATIONS ALONG RIVER GANGA
The Government of India on 17 December decided to set up 113 Real Time Water Quality Monitoring Stations along the river Ganga. The Environment and Forests Minister Jayanti Natarajn in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on 17 December 2012 asserted that the Real Time Water Quality Monitoring Stations is going to be set up in the next five years which includes eight in Uttarakhand, 57 in Uttar Pradesh, 13 in Bihar and 35 in West Bengal to monitor the water quality in the river.
INDIA DEVELOPED INDIGENOUS JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS (JE) VACCINE
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 207
Page 208
First vaccine of the world was developed against Japanese Encephalitis (JE) using the Indian strain of virus. National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune offered the strain of JE virus to Bharat Biotech. This JE virus was gathered from Kolar in Karnataka. Bharat Biotech had submitted results from final human trials to Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) so that it could have marketing clearance. What is Japanese Encephalitis (JE)? JE is the mosquito-borne virus which mainly affects the CNS or Central Nervous System. It can be transmitted to human beings if infected mosquito bites. Mosquitoes in turn are affected when they feed on domestic pigs that carry this virus.
UNION GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED GOVERNMENT CALENDAR FEATURING FLAGSHIP SCHEMES

The Government of Indias Wall Calendar for 2013 was launched on 14 December 2012 featuring various flagship programmes of the Government, which includes Aadhaar based Direct Cash Transfer Scheme to be implemented in 51 districts from January 2013 among others. The calendar is printed and designed by Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which has over the years worked on developing social advertising brand Bharat Nirman. The theme of the calendar is Bharat Nirman- Sabka hit, Sabka Haq. Month Schemes Aadhar based Direct Cash Transfer Scheme PM's 15-point programme for welfare of minorities Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Mid Day Meal Scheme Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA)
January
February
March April
May
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 208

June July August Immunisation Saakshar Bharat Abhiyan Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram
Page 209
September Empowerment of scheduled castes October Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana
November
December The Indira Awas Yojana
LAND ACQUISITION AND REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT BILL, 2011 CLEARED BY THE UNION CABINET
Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 was cleared by the Union Cabinet on 13 December 2012, making it compulsory to get consent of 80 percent land owners. However in case of the Public-Private Projects (PPP), it was made mandatory that the consent of 70 percent people should be taken. The bill was passed at the Cabinet which was presided by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Land Acquisition Bill was made final by the Rural Development Ministry which also included suggestion of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi had suggested the government to take consent of 80 percent land owners for purchasing the land in order to set up PPP projects and industries. Sonia Gandhi was against the proposal of Group of Ministers that consent of 2/3rd land owners was sufficient to acquire the land for setting up industries and PPP projects.
BHATINDA SRINAGAR GAS PIPELINE PROJECT TO BE COMPLETED BY JULY 2014

The Jammu and Kashmir Government on 10 December 2012 informed that the 328-kmlong Bhatinda-Jammu-Srinagar gas pipeline project is scheduled to be completed by July 2014 to draw gas from Gujarat to the State. The progress on the proposed project was reviewed by Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah at a meeting of high-level officers in
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 209
Page 210
Jammu and an early start of work was emphasized by him. He stressed upon the need for fast tracking the project to ensure its timely completion.
INDIA TO SIGN MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE TREATY IN CRIMINAL MATTERS WITH FOUR OTHER NATIONS
India would sign Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in the criminal matters with four other countries in 2013. The treaty in general helps in mutual assistance between two nations for preventing, investigating as well as prosecuting crime. Discussions on treaty were initiated already with four countries namely Azerbaijan, Israel, Nepal and Oman. Ministry of Home Affairs announced that formal signing of this treaty will take place in 2013.
KARNATAKA TO PROVIDE TAMIL NADU WITH 12 TMC FEET OF CAUVERY WATER: CMC
The Cauvery Monitoring Committee (CMC) on 7 December 2012 asked Karnataka to provide Tamil Nadu with 12 TMC feet of Cauvery water during December even as it asked both the states to be more efficient in using available water. The meeting of the CMC came after the Supreme Court of India on 5 December 2012 asked the multi-state panel to meet within the next two days to decide on water requirement of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The states sharing the disputed Cauvery River waters were informed that the final award of the Cauvery Waters Dispute Tribunal will be notified by the end of December 2012.
UNION GOVERNMENT OF INDIA CLEARED DECKS FOR AMBEDKAR MEMORIAL

Union Government of India on 5 December 2012 cleared the decks for transferring the prime India 12.5 acre United Mill land in Mumbai to the Maharashtra government for building a stateof-the-art memorial to B.R. Ambedkar. The Maharashtra State government is going to bear the entire cost of the memorial project and will henceforth take care of the land. The Union Cabinet will take further decisions on the process. A Bill will have to be passed in Parliament for transfer of the land for the memorial project.
GLOBAL TERRORISM INDEX REVEALED: INDIA RANKED AMONG TOP FIVE TERROR-HIT NATIONS
New index called Global Terrorism Index (GTI) prepared by Australian think tank revealed on 4 December 2012 that India, Afghanistan and Pakistan were the most terrorism-hit nations in 2011. GTI was released by Australia-based Institute for Economics & Peace and it ranked various countries based on the data collected from Global Terrorism Database, which in turn is operated by a group at University of Maryland. GTI revealed that India, Afghanistan and Pakistan accounted for 11 percent, 10 percent and 12 percent of global terrorist events respectively from time period 2002 to 2009.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 210
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 S.A. IBRAHIM'S APPOINTMENT AS DIRECTOR FOR INTELLIGENCE BUREAU APPROVED
Page 211
The Competent Authority on 3 December 2012 approved appointment of S. A. Ibrahim the IPS (MP-77) as officer on Special Duty in the Intelligence Bureau and also as the Director for Intelligence Bureau for a next two years from the date he acquires his charge or till the next order that is further sent. His tenure to the post of Officer on Special Duty in the Intelligence Bureau started from 1 December 2012.
EPFO (EMPLOYEES PROVIDENT FUND ORGANISATION) LAUNCHED ITS EPASSBOOK PORTAL

Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) on 30 November 2012 launched its e-Passbook portal for its members to access their accounts online. The facility will be available on the website- www.epfindia.gov.in. The members will now be able to download their e-passbook each month, if they are active and Electronic Challan-cum-Return is being uploaded by their employer.
COSTAL CHAIN OF STATIC SENSORS POSITIONED ALONG THE COAST OF ANDHRA PRADESH
A coastal chain of static sensors positioned along the coast of Andhra Pradesh was inaugurated by Ministry of Defence in a ceremony held at Coast Guard District Headquarters in Visakhapatnam on 23 November 2012. The event signified the operationalisation of the network on the East coast. A complete surveillance mechanism along the coast was needed post 26/11 incident. A chain of static sensors were planned to monitor the high sensitive traffic density areas along the coast of India. The coastal surveillance network will provide an integrated picture of all the vessels traversing along the coast. As part of this project, a chain of radar stations along the coast line of Andhra Pradesh were installed by the Ministry of Defence. The Chain of Static Sensors project being steered by the Indian Coast Guard, envisages fitment of high end surveillance gadgets on lighthouses and masts at various locations.
UNION MINISTER OF FINANCE P CHIDAMBARAM FINALISED GAAR AMENDMENT

Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 18 November 2012 disclosed that the Amendments to GAAR, the controversial law against tax avoidance through foreign investments, had been finalised. Supporting the fact P. Chidambaram asserted that the amendments to the Chapter 10A of the Income Tax Act which deals with taxation of investments were finalized and it will be sent to the Prime Minister Office (PMO).
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 211
Page 212
GAAR (General Anti-Avoidance Rules), which was proposed in 2012-13 budgets with a view to preventing tax evasion, generated sharp reactions from foreign as well as domestic investors who feared that ungoverned powers to taxmen is going to result in harassment of investors.
THE COAL MINISTRY ISSUED ORDER FOR DEDUCTION OF BANK GUARANTEES AND DE-ALLOCATION OF COAL BLOCKS
The Coal Ministry of India on 17 November 2012 issued orders for deduction of bank guarantees of the D B Power and decided on de-allocation of some coal blocks following a decision made by an Inter Ministerial Group. The Inter ministerial Group after its decision recommended a deduction of the bank guarantee of D B Power to an extent of 5.1 crore rupees. The calculated bank guarantee of the coal controller is to be deducted and deposited with the government.
PRESIDENT PRANAB MUKHERJEE LAUNCHED LOW COST AAKASH TABLET 2

The Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on 11 November 2012 in New Delhi launched the new tablet Aakash -2 which is an improved version of India's super- cheap tablet computer on the occasion of the National Education Day which is observed on 11 November 2012 ever year. The new version Aakash 2 come at a price of 1130 Rupees for students, and the first one lakh devices is going to be made available to students of engineering colleges and universities. Preceding its previous version it is now powered by a processor running at 1 GHz, 512 MB Ram, 7 Inch capacitative Touch Screen and battery which have atleast three hour of working operation.
UNION CABINET CLEARED SETTING UP OF 21 TEXTILE PARKS

The Union Government on 8 November 2012 approved the release of funds for the establishment of 21 integrated textile parks which was sanctioned in the 11th Five Year Plan. The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA), in a meeting held in New Delhi also had committed the government to provide for liability beyond 200 crore Rupees. It was in October 2010 that the CCEA had approved a proposal for setting up additional 21 integrated textile parks utilising the Rs.200 crore left in the 11th plan. The parks were to be implemented during the 11th Five Year plan (2007-2012) under the Scheme of Integrated Textile Parks (SITP) aims at providing private sector investment, generating employment and a create a need-based and product-based world class infrastructure for the industry.
TRAI ISSUED A CAP OF 100 SMSS ON CONCESSION RATES

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 5 November 2012 issued a cap of 100 SMSs per day at concession rate. It also fixed a rate of 50 paise per SMS beyond the decided cap. TRAI also ordered the service providers and operators to place a technology to make sure
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 212
Page 213
that the unregistered telemarketers are not able to send more than 200 SMSs per hour, from their phone or computer. About TRAI The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is an independent regulator of the telecommunications business in India. It came into existence by the Act of the Parliament on 20 February 1997 and the act was named as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997. Its constitution came into effect in 1994, when the Government constituted the National Telecom Policy (NTP) to attract domestic and Foreign Direct Investment in the telecommunication sector. The flooding of investors from domestic market and the international market players resulted in the development of the regulatory body. As a result of this demand, the formation of the Telecom Regulatory Body came up.
UNION GOVERNMENT BODY CCEA LIFTED EXPORT BAN ON SOME MILK PRODUCTS
The Union Government body, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 1 November 2012 lifted the export ban on milk products, especially on whole milk powder (WMP), dairy whitener, infant milk foods and other milk products till March 2013. In February 2011 to meet the domestic supply of Milk Products the Union government had imposed ban on export of all kinds of milk products that is skimmed milk powder (SMP), whole milk powder (WMP), dairy whitener, infant milk foods, casein and casein products.
BROADBAND NETWORK PACT SIGNED WITH 16 STATES AND UT GOVERNMENT

The central government on 26 October 2012 signed a tripartite pact with 16 state and UT governments for laying digital highway and also formed a special purpose vehicle BBNL for facilitating connection to every gram Panchayat with broadband network. The states which signed the pact include Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerela, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. Also, the three union territories Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Puducherry also signed the agreement. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed for around 140000 gram panchayats. It is Rs 20000 crore projects and entire fund is going to be provided by central government. State Governments will have to provide approvals for lying of the optic fibre network and facilitate other measures for expeditious rollout of the network. By December 2013, broadband network across the country will be completed. The states which signed the pact constitute 60 per cent gram panchayats in the country. Bharat Broadband Network Ltd will be unveiling the project, which will be executed by BSNL, RailTel and Power Grid.
CABINET RESHUFFLE IN INDIA

www.jagranjosh.com
Page 213
Page 214
The Cabinet Reshuffle that took place on 28 October 2012 witnessed reshuffling of 5 ministers along with 17 new faces, which were inducted to take on the charge. All these 22 ministers would take the charge of their new offices, on 29 October 2012. Few of the most important names in this cabinet reshuffle were the lifting of the former Law Minister Salman Khurshid to External Affairs Minister of India, and Ajay Maken, who has been promoted to Cabinet Rank and got the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation. List of total Ministers in different segment: Cabinet Ministers- 17 Ministers of State with Independent Charge- 7 Minister of State- 20 Portfolios of the newly-elected and reshuffled ministers are mentioned below: List with portfolio allotted of the Cabinet Ministers: M. Veerappa Moily- Petroleum & Natural Gas S. Jaipal Reddy- Science & Technology and Earth Science Kamal Nath- Urban Development & Parliamentary Affairs Vayalar Ravi- Overseas Indian Affairs Kapil Sibal- Communications & Information Technology C.P. Joshi- Road Transport & Highways Kumari Selja- Social Justice & Empowerment Pawan Kumar Bansal- Railways Salman Khursheed- External Affairs Jairam Ramesh- Rural Development K. Rahman Khan- Minority Affairs Dinsha J. Patel- Mines Ajay Maken- Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation M.M. Pallam Raju- Human Resource Development Ashwani Kumar- Law & Justice Harish Rawat- Water Resources
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 214

Chandresh Kumari Katoch- Culture List with portfolio allotted of the Ministers of State with Independent Charge: Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia- Power K.H. Muniappa- Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki- Drinking Water & Sanitation Sachin Pilot- Corporate Affairs Jitendra Singh- Youth Affairs & Sports Manish Tewari- Information & Broadcasting K. Chiranjeevi- Tourism List with portfolio allotted of the Ministers of State E. Ahamed- External Affairs D. Purandeswari- Commerce & Industry Jitin Prasad- Defence & Human Resource Development S. Jagathrakshakan- New & Renewable Energy R.P.N. Singh- Home K.C. Venugopal- Civil Aviation Rajeev Shukla- Parliamentary Affairs & Planning Shashi Tharoor- Human Resource Development Kodikunnil Suresh- Labour & Employment Tariq Anwar- Agriculture & Food Processing Industries K. J. Surya Prakash Reddy- Railways Ranee Narah- Tribal Affairs Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury- Railways A.H. Khan Choudhury- Health & Family Welfare Sarvey Sathyanarayana- Road Transport & Highways Ninong Ering- Minority Affairs
Page 215
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 215

Deepa Dasmunsi- Urban Development Porika Balram Naik- Social Justice & Empowerment Kruparani Killi- Communications & Information Technology Lalchand Kataria- Defence
Page 216
IGMRI AND CWC SIGNED MOU FOR POST HARVEST MANAGEMENT OF FOODGRAINS
Department of Food & Public Distribution under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, and Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) on 25 October 2012 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for creating a Centre of Excellence focusing on capacity building in the areas of post harvest management of food grain by providing training on latest developments to the aspirants internationally. The MOU was signed by S. Gupta, Director of Indian Grain Storage Management and Research Institute (IGMRI), Hapur on behalf of Department of Food & Public Distribution and G. Mathialagan, Director of CWC.
PRIME MINISTER LAUNCHED AADHAR BASED TRANSFER SYSTEM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 20 October 2012 launched Aadhaar Enabled Service Delivery in Dudu district of Rajasthan to mark the 2nd anniversary of Aadhaar. Also marking the second anniversary, the 21st crore Aadhaar number was given to a local resident of Kurawar, district of Udaipur. With this launch of delivery system the government is going to start out Aadhaar Enabled Service Delivery initiatives in 51 districts across the country. Now, the services will be linked to various government schemes such as MNREGA wage payments, PDS distribution, payment of social security benefits such as old-age payments, distribution of LPG cylinders, etc. A number of state governments are coming ahead to roll out for these initiatives. Currently 23 crore residents have enrolled for an Aadhaar number, of which 21 crore Aadhaar numbers have already issued. Aadhaar is a 12-digit number, which serves as a proof of identity and address anywhere in the country. It is an online identity platform that can be accessed in real-time for authenticating beneficiaries and can be adapted by various user agencies.
ELECTION COMMISSION BANNED BROADCAST OF OPINION POLLS DURING ASSEMBLY ELECTION IN GUJARAT AND HP
The Election Commission on 19 October 2012 issued a complete ban on broadcast and publication of the opinion polls during the period of Assembly Elections in the two states Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, from 4 November 2012 to 17 December 2012. The election commission has prohibited the publication or publishing of the polls or any election matter by means of electronic medium, print or any other medium from 8 am on 4 November 2012 in
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 216
Page 217
Himachal Pradesh and the ban would continue up to 5:30 pm on 17 December 2012 the last day of poll in Gujarat.
UNION CABINET APPROVED SETTING UP OF NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE BOARD

The Union Cabinet on 18 October 2012 gave its nod for setting up of the National Automotive Board (NAB). The body will be responsible for promoting the research and development activities of the industry and act as a facilitator in between the industry and the government. NAB would also be responsible as a specialized body to promote sustainable development of the Nations Auto Sector along with skill development for the automobile sector.
SC: ALL STATES AND UTS TO CONDUCT FRESH SURVEYS TO IDENTIFY BONDED LABOUR PROBLEMS
The Supreme Court of India on 15 October 2012 directed all states and Union Territories to conduct fresh surveys to identify bonded labour problems in the country and regretted that a large number of children continue to work as domestic help even after the enactment of the Right to Education Act (RTE act). A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra ruled in a judgment that it shall be the duty of the local bodies and panchayats to identify such children and ensure that they get proper education. Referring to bonded labour practice, the apex court noted that after the perusal of the NHRC (National Human Rights Commission) and other reports it is clear that the practice is rampant. The court passed the directions while dealing with a 1985 PIL filed by Public Union for Civil Liberties, highlighting bonded labour practice in the country.
UNION CABINET APPROVED AMENDMENT OF INDECENT REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN ACT

The Union Cabinet on 11 October 2012 approved the introduction of Amendments to the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 in Parliament under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The amendments proposed are as: Broaden the scope of the law to cover the audio-visual media and material in electronic form which includes Internet, satellite-based communication, multi-media messaging and cable television, among others. Penalties to be enhanced to a maximum of three years of imprisonment and fine of between 50000 to 100000 Rupees for first conviction, and imprisonment of not less
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 217
Page 218
than two years, but which may extend to seven years, and a fine between 100000 Rupees to 500000 Rupees for second conviction. Police officers not below the rank of Inspectors authorized to carry out search and seizure, in addition to State and Central Government officers authorized by the State or Central Government.
ELECTION COMMISSION ISSUED STRICTER GUIDELINES TO CURB THE PRACTICE OF PAID NEWS
The Election Commission of India on 9 October 2012 issued stricter guidelines to curb the practice of Paid News. It asked candidates to reply within 48 hours to notices sent to them regarding Paid News. The Commission also asked the Media Certification and Monitoring Committees, MCMC at the districts and state levels to decide such cases within the 48 hours of getting the reply from a candidate.
RAIL RADAR, WEBSITE LAUNCHED BY THE RAILWAYS TO TRACK THE POSITION OF TRAIN
Rail Radar, the new online application was launched by the Indian Railways on 10 October 2012, to find out the location of 6500 trains on real-time basis on Google Map. It can be accessed from the website trainenquiry.com. To identify the train running status that whether the train is running on-time or late from its schedule, colour codes have been created. Blue colour is a code for trains running on time and red markers are the symbol of trains running behind schedule. On clicking upon the name of the train, the map will show the route along with stoppages and running status of the train on real time-basis. At present, out of 10000 trains that depart from different stations of India 6500 trains would be visible on the map at present. This website is full of different features and allows tracking the exact location of the train across the country apart from providing its running status.
MOS WAS SIGNED TO PROVIDE AUTONOMY FOR THE HILLS COUNCIL IN ASSAM
Tripartite Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) was signed on 9 October 2012 for providing autonomy for the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council in Assam and a special package for speedier socio-economic development of the area. It was signed between Centre, Assam government and both factions of Dima Halam Daogah (DHD). DHD used to be a group with violent activities in the state but gave up violence and resorted to peace for getting into the mainstream of development. Under the MoS, a committee will be constituted to deal with the matters relating to the 6th schedule councils. Under the agreement, the DHD will dissolve as an organization within a reasonable timeframe as a precursor to the government initiating further process to implement the agreed decisions. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 218
Page 219
SUPREME COURT DIRECTED CENTRE TO PRESENT FRESH GUIDELINES ON TIGER RESERVES WITHIN A WEEK
Supreme Court of India on 9 October 2012 asked the centre to present fresh guidelines on tiger conservation within a week. The court in its verdict also said that the guidelines issued by the court on banning all types of tourists activities in Tiger reserves given on 24 July, may be modified. The Supreme Court bench of Justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar in its statement also stated that the court will not allow the given directives on tiger-reserves to be open ended and in case the state government is not happy with the issued guidelines, they can challenge the decision in the court. The bench also cleared that ultra vires will not be declared in case the states challenged the guidelines issued by the apex court.
POSTAL DEPARTMENT OF INDIA INCREASED SPEED POST RATE BY 56 PERCENT

The postal department of India had increased the rates of Speed post deliveries by 42-56% from 1 October 2012. Domestic charges were increased from Rs 12 to Rs 17, including service tax, and the 'One India' tariff escalated up from Rs 25 to Rs 39. It is first time since 2007 that the rates have been revised. World Post Day World Post day is held every year on October 9. The date is marked with the establishment of Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in Bern, Switzerland. The Universal Postal Union was the start of global communications revolution the result of which people could write to others all over the world.
SC: REFUSED TO RESTRAIN CENTER FROM PROVIDING TRAINING TO SRI LANKAN ARMED FORCES
The Supreme Court on 8 October 2012 denied from restraining the centre from offering training the armed forces of Sri Lanka. Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam including Ms. Ranjana Desai stated that it was the government policy and the court cannot interfere in the government policy decisions. The court in its verdict declared the petition as misconceived, dismissed the petition. The decision came in response to the petition filed by N Raja Raman against nine Lankan defence personnels, who are being trained in the Indian Air Force base at Karnataka.
UNION HRD MINISTER KAPIL SIBAL LAUNCHED HOCKEY AND CRICKET LEAGUE
In order to give encouragement to the talented sportsmen of the University system and promote sports in Universities, the Union Minister of Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal on 5 October 2012 launched hockey and cricket league under the Association of Indian www.jagranjosh.com
Page 219
Page 220
Universities (AIU). Association of Indian Universities has been organising the Rohinton Baria Cricket Trophy, the Inter University Hockey Tournament and other events for promotion of sports in the Universities throughout the country.
INDIA AND WORLD BANK SIGNED 500 MILLION DOLLAR DEAL FOR SHIKSHA ABHYAN
World Bank and the Government of India on 5 October 2012 signed a loan agreement of 500 Million US Dollar for Secondary Education Project named Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). The project is going to help in achieving increased and good quality secondary education as directed in the framework of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, the flagship government of India program for gradual Universalisation of secondary education. The agreement was signed by Prabodh Saxena, the joint secretary, department of economic affairs and Onno Ruhl, the country director of World Bank. What is Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan? Like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the Department of School Education and Literacy of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) under Government of India is launching Rastriya Madhyamic Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) with an aim to achieve Universal Access and Quality Secondary Education.
PASSIVE EUTHANASIA SUPPORTED BY THE LAW PANEL

The Law Commission which advice government on legal issues made a recommendation to the government to initiate measures to enact a comprehensive law on passive euthanasia, subject to certain safeguards. According to the Commission, Passive Euthanasia is not objectionable from a legal and constitutional point of view. It was in April 2011 that the UPA government had asked the law commission to study the feasibility of framing a law for euthanasia after the legalization of Passive Euthanasia in Aruna Shanbaug case after the Supreme Court verdict. The verdict was just law of the land till it will enacted by Parliament. What is Euthanasia? Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering. Passive euthanasia entails the withholding of common treatments, such as antibiotics, necessary for the continuance of life. Active euthanasia entails the use of lethal substances or forces, such as administering a lethal injection, to kill and is the most controversial means.
SUPREME COURT DIRECTED GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE IN SCHOOL
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 220
Page 221
The Supreme Court of India on 3 October 2012 directed the Union government of India and state governments to provide basic infrastructure, including drinking water and toilets, in all schools within six months. A bench headed by justice K S Radhakrishnan fixed the time limit and directed the governments to take steps to provide the basic facilities in schools across the country. The Supreme Court bench noted that all its previous directions pertaining to providing infrastructure should be implemented within the time-frame fixed by it. On 18 October 2011, the apex court had directed all states and union territories to build toilets, particularly for girls, in all government schools. The court passed the order on a PIL seeking its direction to the Centre and state governments to provide basic facilities of drinking water and toilets in schools.
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT LAUNCHED NIRMAL BHARAT YATRA

Ministry of rural development on3 October 2012 started a campaign named Nirmal Bharat Yatra which focuses on making the country free from open defecation. The Yatra will begin from Wardha District of Maharashtra from 3 October 2012 and will go through Indore, Kota, Gwalior, and Gorakhpur and end up in Bettiah district of Bihar on November 17, covering about 2000 km of distance. The Indian Bollywood actress Vidya Balan is the brand ambassador of the campaign. The campaign is being promoted by several NGOs and private companies and it is going to be completed at a cost of over Rs 12 crore and is going to target over 9 crore people to spread awareness about sanitation. The well known NGOs that are participating in the programme are Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. According to the Studies conducted by World Health Organisation and UNICEF it was found that with 626 million people defecating in the open, India has largest population without access to toilets. The Yatra is about demand generation and sensitization about the sanitation issues as open defecation is a blot on our society.
INDIA AND CHINA AGREED TO BOOST THE DEFENCE TIES

India and China on 4 September 2012 agreed to boost defence ties. The agreement was made during the visit of Chinese Defense Minister Gen Liang Guanglie to India and his meet with his Indian Counterpart AK Antony. Last time the defence minister of China visited India in the year 2004. The two nations have agreed on improving the friendly, strategic and co-operative partnership and exchange of young officers and high level visits. An inter-collegiate exchange that includes non-traditional security fields is also a part of the agreement. During the joint Naval Practice in Shanghai, the two nations agreed on increasing the process of military exchange that includes maritime operations and navy. Last joint exercise that took place between the two nations was at Kunming in the year 2007 and at Belgaum in the year 2008. The third joint exercise scheduled for 2010 was cancelled because China disagreed to provide VISA to Lieutenant General BS Jaiswal of the Northern Command and since then India cancelled all collateral ties related to defence activities with China. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 221
Page 222
INDIA AND AUSTRIA SIGNED AN MOU TO STRENGTHEN BILATERAL COOPERATION ON RAIL AND ROAD
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on 1 October 2012 between Indian and Austria to strengthen the long-term bilateral cooperation and relationship on rail and road infrastructure. The MoU was signed in between C.P. Joshi- the Minister of Railways and Road Transport of India and Highways and the Doris Burse-the Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology of Austria during her visit to India. The identified areas of cooperation as declared by C.P. Joshi are tunnelling technology enhancement, training and skill up gradation like locomotive drivers psychological qualification test, track monitoring as well as maintenance. The memorandum also includes provisions of mechanised track laying, traction and rolling stock and telecom and signalling. As per the provisions of the MoU, there has been an agreement on establishing and encouraging relationship for communication and cooperation that is effective and continue for a long term. The understanding also includes exchange of information related to infrastructural development for roads, their management, administration, road safety and different areas of mutual interests that includes intelligent Transport Systems related to road transport technologies.
ALTAMAS KABIR SWORN-IN AS 39TH CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA

Justice Altamas Kabir on 29 September 2012 was sworn-in as the new chief justice of India by President Pranab Mukherjee. He took over the office from Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia, who retired after serving the Supreme Court for two and a half year. 64 year old Altamas Kabir will be in the office for a period of nine months, from 29 September 2012 to 18 July 2013. His oath ceremony was conducted at the ceremony held at Ashoka Hall of Rastrapati Bhawan. At the swearing ceremony some of the dignitaries present were Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Vice President Hamid Ansari, working Chairperson of NDA L.K. Advani, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, RJD leader Lalu Yadav along with several Union Ministers.
JAIDEEP SARKAR APPOINTED AS THE NEW ENVOY TO ISRAEL

Jaideep Sarkar on 27 September 2012 was appointed as the new Indian Ambassador to Israel. The IITian and diplomat, is a private secretary to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a joint secretary of external affairs ministry, has replaced Navtej Sarna, the former ministry spokesperson.
FORMER NAVY CHIEF NIRMAL VERMA APPOINTED AS INDIAN ENVOY TO CANADA
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 222
Page 223
Nirmal Verma, the former navy chief on 27 September 2012 was appointed as Indias high commissioner to Canada. His appointment to the post happened on the recommendation of the PMO to the president, who cleared his name for the vacancy. Admiral Verma, will soon leave for Ottawa to join the office because Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harpers visit is scheduled to India in the near future.
ELECTION COMMISSION PROHIBITED USE OF ANIMALS IN ELECTION CAMPAIGNS

The Election commission on 27 September 2012 directed the Political Parties and candidates not to use birds and animals in the campaigns. The commission also directed that in case the use of animal is unavoidable then the party or candidate will have to ensure that no harm is caused to the animal including violation of any law as well as cruelty towards the creature.
SC: THERE ARE ALTERNATIVE WAYS FOR ALLOCATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

The Supreme Court in its verdict for routing of the allocation of Natural Resources on 27 September 2012 directed that the Auction being a preferable method for allotment of the natural resources cant be turned up to be a constitutional limitation or requirement. The Supreme Court passed the statement in relation to the 2 G Presidential Reference in form of its advisory opinion. The Supreme Court bench of five judges comprising Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justices D.K. Jain, Dipak Misra, J.S. Khehar and Ranjan Gogoi in its statement declared that auctioning is one of the several methods that can be used in distribution of natural resources. The bench also stated that it is the government, who is responsible to decide the ways of distribution with concerns of common good.
SERVICE TAX ON HIGH-END CLASS TRAVEL, FREIGHT AND AUXILIARY SERVICE RAIL FARES
The new Railway Minister C.P. Joshi and the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in their meeting held on 26 September 2012 came up with the decision to regulate service taxes on high-end passenger classes like AC along with freight and auxiliary services provided by the railways. The taxation will be in effect from 1 October 2012. Implementation of the taxes will help the exchequer in generating estimated revenue of Rs 3100 Crore annually.
UNION CABINET OF INDIA APPROVED THE DEMANDS OF EXSERVICEMEN FOR ONE RANK ONE PENSION
The Union Cabinet of India, under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 24 September 2012 approved the long awaited demand for One Rank One Pension (OROP) and www.jagranjosh.com
Page 223
Page 224
other benefits of ex-servicemen. The cabinet also gave a nod for enhancement of pension for family and dual family pension. The approved demand will cost the government about Rs 2300 crore per year. The cabinet also approved family pension grants for mentally or physically challenged children of personnel from armed forces. Issue The ex-servicemen association and defence forces demanded payment of uniform pension to the defence personnel retiring at same rank with same length of service period irrespective of their date of retirement. The OROP also demanded passing of future enhancements to the past pensioners.
SC: LAND BELONGING TO SCHEDULED CASTES OR TRIBES CANNOT BE BOUGHT BY NON DALITS
The Supreme Court of India on 20 September 2012 ruled that the land belonging to scheduled castes or tribes cannot be bought by non-Dalits; including companies as such transactions are unconstitutional. A bench of justices KS Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra gave the verdict on an appeal by the Rajasthan government against the state High Court's order holding such a sale to be valid in law. The Rajasthan High Court had passed its order on an appeal by a private firm against the refusal by the state authorities to recognise or grant mutation to the purchase of a plot by the company from a person belonging to scheduled caste.
NEW MEASURES ANNOUNCED FOR THE WELFARE OF OVERSEAS INDIANS

Vayalar Ravi, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs inaugurated the 7th Heads of Indian Missions (HoMs) conference on 17 September 2012. He announced revised Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) scheme, which includes: Assistance towards boarding expenses per head by HOMs is enhanced from 15 to 30 days. Payment of penalties in respect of Indian nationals for illegal stay in the host country where prima facie the worker is not at fault. Payment of small fines/penalties for the release of Indian nationals in jail/detention centre. Providing support to local Overseas Indian Associations to establish Overseas Indian Community Centres in countries that have populations of Overseas Indians exceeding 1,00,000. Providing support to start and run Overseas Indian Community-based student welfare centres in Countries that have more than 20,000 Indian students presence.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 224
Page 225
GOVERNMENT REDUCED INTEREST RATES ON RESCHEDULED CROP LOANS FROM 12 TO 7 PERCENT

Government on 11 September 2012 reduced interest rates on rescheduled crop loans from 12 to 7 per cent in drought-affected areas for this fiscal. It also increased the number of guaranteed work days under the MGNREGA to 150 days from 100 days. Four Indian states namely Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have declared drought in more than 390 taluks. During agrarian crisis, crop loans get converted into term loans for a longer period of three years but at a higher interest rate of 12 per cent.
RASHTRIYA AAROGYA NIDHI SCHEME WAS LAUNCHED IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH

The State Health Ministry of Arunachal Pradesh launched Rashtriya Aarogya Nidhi scheme in Itanagar on 14 September 2012. The scheme which is under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare provides financial assistance up to 1.5 lakh rupees to BPL patients suffering from life threatening diseases in the form of a onetime grant. In the event of the treatment cost exceeding 1.5 lakh rupees, the patients can avail the assistance from the Central Rashtriya Aarogya Nidhi scheme.
ENVIRONMENT CLEARANCE OF 99 MINES IN GOA SUSPENDED

The environment clearance of 99 Mines of Goa was suspended with respect to the report presented by the Justice M B Shah Commission on 12 September 2012. Report claims that the organizations involved in the mining work taunted with the forest laws and environment norms & guidelines. This report also suggests the involvement of state directorate of mines, the union ministry for environment and forests (MoEF), Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), the state forest department and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) in this act of illegal mining. Jayanti Natarajan, the Minister of State for Environment and Forests cleared his stand over the issue that officials, whose involvement is found in the case, will be dealt accordingly following the procedures made by the law. As per the issued report, the complete scam worth approx 35,000 rupees.
GOVERNMENT REDUCED INTEREST RATES ON RESCHEDULED CROP LOANS FROM 12 TO 7 PERCENT

Government on 11 September 2012 reduced interest rates on rescheduled crop loans from 12 to 7 per cent in drought-affected areas for this fiscal. It also increased the number of guaranteed work days under the MGNREGA to 150 days from 100 days. Four Indian states namely Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have declared drought in more than 390 taluks. During agrarian crisis, crop loans get converted into term loans for a longer period of three years but at a higher interest rate of 12 per cent. The Empowered Group of Ministers
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 225
Page 226
also approved 846 crore rupees to Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, and relaxed some norms.
SUPREME COURT: MEDIA CAN BE RESTRAINED FROM PRESSING TRIALS DURING PROCEEDINGS
Supreme Court refused to frame any guideline for pressing up of the court proceedings of the sub-judicial matters, on 11 September 2012. It just put forward a constitutional provision for postponement of the publications of the report or court hearing if the involved parties want so. The bench of five judges, headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia declared its stand on the issue. The bench also said that the decision about the publication of the proceedings and its postponement will be decided by the court on case to case basis. The other four members of the bench were justices S S Nijjar, D K Jain, Ranjana Prakash Desai and J S Khehar. This bench of Supreme Court also cleared that use of the constitutional principle is a preventive measure not a prohibition and this will help in ensuring fair trail and maintain a good balance for freedom of speech.
JAL SATYAGRAHA CAME TO AN END AFTER 17 DAYS DEMONSTRATION ON A VICTORY NOTE

The most outstanding demonstrations of its own kind in Khandawa district of Madhya Pradesh named Jal Satyagraha continued for 17 days at Omkareshwar Dam Project came to an end on 10 September 2012. Across 1000 acres of cultivatable land has been submerged into water with at least 60 odd villages that will not be visible in the map of India any more. The Satygrahis demanded land for the land compensation following the ruling of Supreme Court. The oustees in the Satyagraha remained standing in the neck deep water with demands like lowering down the level of water stored in the dam to 189 meters and to provide land for land compensation ended the battle on the victory note. A high level committee has been constituted to hear the grievances of the dam effected people. The constituted committee will comprise of Minister of State for Narmada Valley Development K.L. Agrawal, SC-ST Welfare Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah, Commerce and Industries Minister Kailash Vijaywargiya, Principal Secretary, Narmada Valley Development Rajneesh Vaish and the Indore Divisional Commissioner. Jal Satyagraha Jal Satyagraha is a type of Satyagraha in which 51 farmers from Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh stood in the neck dip water of Omkareshwar Dam for 17 days continuously asking for their rehabilitation. In this unique way of demonstration by the agitators of Khandwa region of Madhya Pradesh against the state government demanding for their rehabilitation after their lands and homes were flooded off by the Omkareshwar Dam water. The Satyagrahis demanded for the compensation as per the ruling of the Supreme Court. The agitators termed as Jal Satyagrahis made a decision to stand in neck deep water of the dam, all wet and damp.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 226

Omkareshwar Dam Project
Page 227
Omkareshwar Dam Project is a 520 MW project constructed by the Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation in joint venture with Madhya Pradesh Government and NHPC is among the biggest dam on Narmada River. The Omkareshwar project area, lies in between the banks of the two important rivers of India, Narmada and Kaveri (its a tributary to Narmada). It was conceived as an irrigation and power dam to be built in the state of Madhya Pradesh in the year 1965. The project is one of the fasted completed hydroelectric projects of the country in between 2004 and 2006. The project has benefitted about 529 villages with irrigation facilities and has helped in raising the yield to .725 million tons of grains along with .835 million ton of other crops in the region.
SUPREME COURTS NOTICE TO TAMIL NADU ON THE PETITION THAT CHALLENGED 69% QUOTA IN THE STATE
In a petition filed against 69 per cent quota in educational and employment institutions of Tamil Nadu by ten meritorious students, Supreme Court of India issued a notice on 10 September 2012 as the granted quota exceeds the limits decided by the judgement issued by Mandal Commission. After hearing from the senior council Rakesh Diwedi, the notice was issued by the bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra seeking clarification and response from the state for directing the ways to provide admission to the petitioners in the running session of the Medical Colleges, by increasing the number of seats as it has been doing for past sixteen years.
SUPREME COURT GRANTED TWO WEEKS TIME TO THE CENTRE TO TAKE A CALL ON ABU SALEM
In case of Abu Salems extradition to India, Supreme Court of India granted a two weeks time to the centre to analyse the judgement of Portuguese Court and pass a statement in relation to the gangster on 10 September 2012. The order was passed in reference to the submitted petition to the Supreme Court by the Attorney General G E Vahanwati for granting sometime to translate the judgement of Portugals court from Portuguese to English. Abu Salem, 44 years in age is an underworld don who has been convicted with the charges of 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai and killing of Gulshan Kumar the Indian music tycoon and many more cases of extortion and killings. He has also been a close associate of Dawood Ibrahim. In 2002, the Azamgarh born was arrested in Lisbon, Portugal by the Interpol.
UNION CABINET APPROVED INTEREST SUBSIDY FOR FARMER LOANS

The Union Cabinet on 6 September 2012 gave its approval to continue interest subsidy to Public Sector Banks (PSBs), Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Cooperatives Banks and NABARD enabling them to provide short-term crop loans of up to Rs 3 lakhs to farmers at 7% p.a. during the year 2012-13. It was also decided to provide additional interest subsidy of 3% p.a. to those farmers who repay loans within one year of disbursement in the current fiscal year. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 227
Page 228
THE GOVERNMENT APPROVED A COMPLETE BAN ON EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN

The Union Government on 28 August 2012 cleared a proposal to put a complete ban on employment of children up to the age of 14 both in hazardous and non-hazardous work by amending an anti-child labour Act. The Union Cabinet approved bringing amendment to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, which has also penal provisions for non compliance. As per the existing Act, children below 14 years of age are allowed to work in industries not considered to be hazardous. Children between 14-18 years will also be defined as adolescents in the amended Act. The amendment will also fulfil the mandate of Right to Education to free and compulsory education for children in the age group of 6-15 years. It will also bring labour laws in the country in line with International Labour Organisation norms. The Union Cabinet also referred the Land Acquisition Bill, to a Group of Ministers (GoM).
SUPREME COURT REFUSED TO LIFT BAN ON MINING ACTIVITIES IN KARNATAKA

The Supreme Court of India on 17 August 2012 ruled that it would not allow resumption of mining activities of iron ore in Karnataka unless there is a statutory compliance and full implementation of reclamation and rehabilitation measures. A special forest bench comprised of Justice Aftab Alam, K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar accepted all recommendations of August 16 report of the apex court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC). The Apex Court directed the authorities in Karnataka to fully cooperate in the implementation of the suggestions.
THE UNION GOVERNMENT ISSUED AN ULTIMATUM TO SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE TWITTER

The DEIT (Department of Electronics and Information Technology) on 21 August 2012 issued an ultimatum to social networking site Twitter to block nearly 30 of its WebPages, which continue to host morphed and inflammatory content or face punitive action. The government served the ultimatum on Twitter as it failed to comply with the government order to block 28 web-pages on its site. Government had already ordered blocking of 310 WebPages, which showed morphed and inflammatory contents which allegedly incited Muslims in India against people of the North-eastern region resulting in to the mass exodus of the latter from places in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
THE GOVERNMENT EXTENDED THE BAN ON IMPORT OF MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS FROM CHINA
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recommended the extension of the ban till 23 June 2012 or until further orders, whichever is earlier. The notification for ban was issued on 4 July 2012 by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. The banned milk products
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 228
Page 229
include chocolate, chocolate products, candies, confectionery, food preparations with milk or milk solids as ingredient. The prohibition on import of milk and its products from China was imposed on 24 September, 2008 because the milk products imported from China contained melamine. Melamine is a banned substance injurious to health.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ENACTED PROHIBITION OF CHILD MARRIAGE ACT 2006

The Government of India enacted the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) 2006, which will have under its ambit all the States and Union Territories of India except the State of Jammu & Kashmir. The Act also applies to all citizens of India without and beyond India. Under the PCMA 2006, every child marriage is voidable at the option of the contracting party who was a child at the time of the marriage, within two years of the child attaining majority. PCMA 2006 replaced Child Marriage Restraint Act (CMRA) of 1929. PCMA was notified in the Gazette of India on 11 January, 2007 and has been enforced 1 November, 2007.
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA ORDERED BETTER HEALTHCARE FOR BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY VICTIMS
In an order passed on 9 August 2012, the Supreme Court of India directed the government to make all the medical records of Bhopal Gas victims computerised and issue health booklets and smart cards to each victim. The courts directive came as it seek to ensure better healthcare and proper implementation of relief and rehabilitation programme for thousands of victims of worlds worst industrial disaster. The Apex Court Bench of Chief Justice SH Kapadia and Justices AK Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar passed the order on a petition filed by the Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sanghathan.
BCCC ASKED TV CHANNELS TO BE EXTRA-CAUTIOUS WHILE SHOWING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

The Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) in its report submitted to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, asked TV channels to be extra-cautious while showing violence against women. BCCC received almost half of the complaints related to obscene scenes during its first year of functioning. BCCC stated that during the period from 20th of June 2011 till the 2nd July 2012, out of the 717 specific complaints received, 47 per cent were on obscenity and nudity while 16 per cent were regarding depiction of violence.
DELHI HIGH COURT APPROVED THE GUIDELINES FOR MEDIA REPORTING ON CHILDREN
The Delhi High Court approved the guidelines for media reporting on children who stipulate various curbs including that the identity of kids be not revealed under any circumstances while covering stories of sexual offences, elopement and drug abuse. A committee, appointed by the
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 229
Page 230
court in February 2012, had submitted the guidelines before a bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw. The Committee set the guidelines that the media shall ensure that a child's identity is not revealed in any manner, including but not limited to, disclosure of personal information, photographs, school or locality and information of the family including their residential or official address.
BIMAL GURUNG SWORN IN AS THE HEAD OF GORKHALAND TERRITORIAL ADMINISTRATION

The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), a semi-autonomous body for trouble-torn Darjeeling hills in West Bengal, sworn in on 4 August 2012. The 50-member body was administered oath by West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan in presence of Home Minister Sushil Shinde, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Railway Minister Mukul Roy. Bimal Gurung, President of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), will head the first elected body of the GTA. The 50-member body will consists of 45 elected candidates and 5 nominated candidates. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) had emerged victorious on all 45 seats in the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) election. The party won 28 seats out of 45 uncontested while, the voting for remaining 17 GTA seats were held on 29 July 2012 and results were declared on 2 August 2012. Gorkhaland Territorial Administration is the successor of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council which came into existence in 1988. Gorkhaland Territorial Administration was the result of three-year long agitation by Bimal Gurung led Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for separate Gorkhaland state. The agitation which kicked off in 2007 culminated with the formation of GTA in 2011. In 2011, when Mamta Banrjee led Trinmool Congress stormed to power in West Bengal, three sides viz. Union Government, West Bengal Government and GJM inked a tripartite agreement with respect to the formation of GTA.
UNION CABINET APPROVED THE LAUNCH OF SATELLITE TO STUDY MARS

The Union Cabinet on 3 August 2012 gave its consent to the launch of satellite to the Mars proposed in 2013. The Cabinet decision came following a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Department of Space had sent a proposal to the Union Cabinet, in which it had sought governments permission to launch a satellite to study Mars, also called Red Planet. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is expected to launch a Mars Orbiter in November 2013 with a 25kg scientific payload. The Mars mission will be launched by ISROs advanced Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The objective of the mission is to study the climate, geology, origin, evolution and sustainability of life on the planet. If the ISRO fails to launch the Mars Mission next year, other opportunites are available in 2016 and 2018.
UNION GOVERNMENT APPROVED 492 CRORE RUPEES TO SET UP CENTRAL ACADEMY FOR POLICE TRAINING IN BHOPAL
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 230
Page 231
The Union Government on 3 August 2012 approved the setting up of Central Academy for Police Training (CAPT) in Bhopal at a cost of 492 crore rupees. The government also approved the creation of one post of Director, CAPT in the rank of Inspector General of Police. A total of 492 crore rupees has been allocated by the government under the 12th Plan for the CAPT. The proposed academy will also train trainers for police officials directly recruited by the states through their public service commission. The Madhya Pradesh government will provide about 400 acres of land in Bhopal for setting up the academy.
SPECIAL TRIBUNAL APPROVED MHA MOVE TO DECLARE SIMI AS AN UNLAWFUL ORGANISATION

A special tribunal in its decision pronounced on 1 August 2012 approved the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) move to declare Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) as an unlawful association. The tribunal headed by sitting Delhi High Court Judge Justice VK Shali submitted its report to the Union Home Ministry. The tribunal was constituted to decide whether there was sufficient cause for declaring the association unlawful. The Union Home Ministry on 3 February 2012 had extended the ban on SIMI for another two years. SIMI was first designated as an unlawful association on 27 September 2001, given its alleged involvement in the numerous terrorist incidents in the country. The organization also believed to have a close rapport with dreaded terrorist organization like Lashker-e-Taiba.
UNION GOVERNMENT APPROVED RELAXATION IN POLICIES RELATED TO TRANSFER OF GOVERNMENT LAND

The Union Government of India on 2 August 2012 approved relaxation in policies relating to transfer of government land. The objective of the policy is to speed up private-public partnership in the country and to fast-track pending infrastructure projects. The decision will ensure that infrastructure projects are not held up for procedural delays. A ban was imposed in 2011 on transfer of government-owned land to any entity except in cases where land was to be transferred from one government department to another.This ban however excluded the cases where the land was to be transferred from one government department to another. The policy has also been relaxed for all land transfers from ministries to statutory authorities or PSUs (Public Sector Units).
ONE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED CRORE RUPEES ALLOCATED TO RAIN DEFICIENT STATES
The union government announced a financial assistance of 1900 crore under various schemes for the rain deficient states. It also extended a diesel subsidy of fifty percent to farmers to save the standing crops through groundwater irrigation which would be shared between the centre and the states. The decisions were taken at the meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM). The meeting was chaired by Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 231
Page 232
POWER TRIPPED IN NORTHERN, EASTERN AND NORTH EASTERN GRIDS: INDIAS BIGGEST POWE R BLACKOUT
India witnessed its biggest ever power blackout on 31 July 2012. Post the collapse of the northern power grid twenty states in India were left with no electricity till late evening. This is the second time that the country saw a power failure of a huge margin, interestingly both the failures happened in a time frame of over twenty four hours. The collapse happened at around one o clock in the noon, when the northern grid tripped, which then immediately led to a similar effect on the eastern and north-eastern grids, as the two are connected as a common grid. The problem was compounded as several states had removed the under frequency relays that island their systems when grid disruptions occur.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 232
Page 233
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 233
Page 234
INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS (1 ST AUG 12 15 TH MARCH 13)

EUROZONE AND IMF AGREED FOR 10 BILLION EUROS CYPRUS BAILOUT DEAL
The Eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund signed a deal on 16 March 2013 in Brussels to aid Cyprus with a bailout worth 10 billion Euros. It is important to note that Cyprus is the fifth country to go to Eurozone for the financial aid because of sovereign debt crisis that kicked off in 2010. Other countries that reached Eurozone for financial aid before Cyprus are Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. However, the Eurozone agreed for the bailout agreement of up to 10 billion Euros, while Cyprus in 2012 had asked for around 17 billion Euros.
INDIA AND BRITAIN SIGNED PACT TO SUPPORT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
India and Britain in the Month of March 2013 signed a multi-million-pound agreement to support industry and businesses by working together on the commercialisation of research ?in key areas like energy and healthcare. The deal is supposed to help build and strengthen links between countries and to build the international partnerships between businesses so vital in todays global economy.
KHIL RAJ REGMI TO HEAD THE INTERIM GOVERNMENT OF NEPAL; SWORN-IN AS THE PRIME MINISTER
Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Nepal on 14 March 2013. Khil Raj Regmi will be the head of interim government which will have its elections by 21 June 2013. He took over the office from Baburam Bhattarai. Regmi will be the head of 11member electoral government. Khil Raj Regmi, 63, took oath of the office and secrecy from the President Ram Baran Yadav after the top leaders of four main parties- the United Democratic Madhesi Front, Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) and United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), reached the 11-point understanding.
IRAN AND PAKISTAN LAUNCHED GAS PIPELINE PROJECT

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari on 11 March 2013 launched a 7.5 billion dollar gas pipeline project which will link Iran's gas pipeline to that of Pakistan. The inauguration ceremony of gas pipeline project was held in Iran's Chabahar city and attended by ministers and senior officials from Iran and Pakistan. With the launch of pipeline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asserted that West has no right to obstruct Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project that has nothing to do with Iran's nuclear issue. Both
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 234
Page 235
the president mentioned that the completion of the pipeline is in the interests of peace, security and progress of the two countries and is supposed to consolidate the economic, political and security ties of the two nations.
45TH INDEPENDENCE DAY OF MAURITIUS CELEBRATED; PRANAB MUKHERJEE WAS THE CHIEF GUEST
Mauritius celebrated its 45th Independence Day on 12 March 2013. The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee was the chief guest at the 45th Independence Day celebrations of Mauritius. It is important to note that 12 March 2013 is also iconic for India because it is the anniversary of Dandi March as well. Apart from being the Chief Guest at the 45th Independence Day of Mauritius, Pranab Mukherjee also visited the World Heritage Site, the Aapravasi Ghat, where Indian labourers first landed. India as well as Mauritius share a mutual interest in various sectors such as science and technology, renewable energy, investment, education, culture and trade.
INDIA AND BHUTAN SIGNED CURRENCY SWAP AGREEMENT WORTH 100 MILLION DOLLARS
India and Bhutan on 8 March 2013 signed a currency swap agreement for up to 100 million US dollars to strengthen economic co-operation between both the countries. The currency swap arrangement was signed between the Reserve Bank of India and the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMAB).
CHINA UNVEILED GOVERNMENT RESTRUCTURING PLAN; MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS TO BE DISSOLVED

China on 10 March 2013 unveiled its Government Restructuring Plan, according to which the most powerful Railways Ministry will be dissolved, while the National Family Planning Commission will be merged with the Ministry of Health. It is said to be the biggest reduction in the cabinet-level entities since 1998.
US AND SOUTH KOREA STARTED JOINT ANNUAL MILITARY DRILLS

The US as well as South Korea started their annual military drills called Key Resolve on 11 March 2013 despite tensions with North Korea in context with the UN sanctions vote. The annual military drills came just a few days after UN approved the new sanctions on North Korea after it carried out the nuclear test in February 2013. The nuclear test in February 2013 was the third test of the communist country. It came after the successful launch of three-stage rocket in December 2012, which was actually the banned test of missile technology. The UN sanctions came after the underground nuclear test of North Korea on 12 February 2013. These were the fourth set of UN sanctions imposed since the first nuclear test of North Korea in 2006.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 235
Page 236
PAKISTAN PARLIAMENT PASSED COUNTER TERRORISM AUTHORITY BILL

Pakistans parliament on 9 March 2013 passed a bill for the setting up of a new organisation that is supposed to integrate counter-terrorism efforts by different bodies in the wake of criticism of civilian law enforcement agencies by the powerful army. The bill for establishing the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) was passed by the National Assembly or lower house of parliament after incorporating some amendments suggested by lawmakers.
KENYA ELECTION: UHURU KENYATTA WON KENYA PRESIDENCY

Uhuru Kenyatta, the Deputy Prime Minister who faces trial for alleged crimes against humanity, clinched victory in a tightly fought race for Kenya's presidency, on 9 March 2013. Uhuru Kenyatta needed over 50% of the national vote to avoid a run-off. He received 50.07% to win the elections but the victory is being disputed by his main rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who has now unsuccessfully sought the presidency three times. Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta is a controversial figure as he is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity from his alleged role in the country's 2007-2008 election.
INDIA PROPOSED HYDROCARBON PIPELINE FROM KAZAKHSTAN

India in the month of March 2013 proposed the idea of a hydrocarbon pipeline with Kazakhstan that is intended to bring fuel through a five-nation route. The concept of the pipeline, unveiled could be in future extended to Russia.Officials said currently most hydrocarbon pipelines from Central Asia are on an east-west axis. This pipeline will, like TAPI, be on a north-south axis, providing a new route to South Asia for hydrocarbons extracted from Central Asia.
PRANAB MUKHERJEE AND SHEIKH HASINA INAUGURATED FREIGHT TRAIN TO BANGLADESH

The President of India Pranab Mukherjee and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina on 5 March 2013 jointly inaugurated the locomotives and tank wagons being supplied to Bangladesh under the 800 million US Dollar line of credit that was provided by India. The freight train was inaugurated at Dhaka cantonment railway station. The freight train comprised of twenty broad gauge tank wagons, two locomotives and one brake van. Inauguration of the railway wagons as well as locomotives in Dhaka was a part of the implementation of 14 projects which were approved under the 800 million US dollar credit line provided by India to Bangladesh.
INDIA AND REPUBLIC OF PORTUGAL SIGNED A SOCIAL SECURITY AGREEMENT

A Social Security Agreement (SSA) was signed between India and Republic of Portugal on 4 March 2013 at New Delhi. The agreement was signed by Vayalar Ravi, the Minister of Overseas
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 236
Page 237
Indian Affairs and Paulo Sacadura Cabral Portas, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs of Portugal. The bilateral social security agreement would help in taking advantage of the emerging employment opportunities and strengthening the trade and investments between the two countries. At present about 75000 Indians are living in Portugal and it includes self-employed people as well as working professionals.
INDIA-UNITED KINGDOM SUMMIT 2013: ISSUES DISCUSSED AND AGREED UPON

The India-UK Summit talks took place on 19 February 2013 in New Delhi during the official visit of British Prime Minister, David Cameron to India. The British Prime Minister was accompanied with his Ministerial colleagues as well as delegation which included largest British trade delegation ever to visit India, i.e., the university Vice Chancellors, leaders of the UK-India CEO Forum and members of Parliament.
INDIA AND UK SIGNED MOU ON STRENGTHENING CO-OPERATION IN EARTH SCIENCES

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between India and UK to strengthen their cooperation in Earth Sciences and environmental research on 1 March 2013 in New Delhi. The MOU will allow the two countries to share information on meteorology, hydrology and climate variability.
INDIA AND USA INAUGURATED THE FIRST TRIANGULAR INDIA-USAFRICA PARTNERSHIP AT HYDERABAD
India and the United States inaugurated the first triangular INDIA-US-AFRICA PARTNERSHIP in agricultural training at the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad, on 6 January 2013 for 30 trainees from three African countries Kenya, Liberia and Malawi. The three-year triangular partnership program aims to improve agricultural productivity, strengthen agricultural value chains, and support market institutions in Kenya, Liberia, and Malawi. Supported by the U.S. Government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture of India, and implemented by two of Indias leading agricultural training institutes National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad, and the Chaudhary Charan Singh National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), Jaipur, the program will train 180 mid-level African Government and private sector agriculture professionals from Kenya, Malawi, and Liberia in agricultural extension practices, agri-business, and agricultural marketing.
NICOS ANASTASIADES WON CYPRUS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS WITH 57.5 PERCENT VOTES
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 237
Page 238
Nicos Anastasiades, the centre-right DISY (the Democratic Rally) party leader won the presidential elections of Cyprus on 24 February 2013 with 57.5 percent votes. The term of his office starts from 28 February 2013. Nicos Anastasiades had a very easy-going victory over Communist-backed Stavros Malas who secured 42.5 percent votes in the election.
AFRICAN LEADERS SIGNED UN-BROKERED ACCORD IN DR CONGO

Regional African leaders from Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Republic and South Sudan signed UN-brokered accord which aims to bring peace to the troubled eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The deal was signed in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia.
TRADE DEFICIT OF JAPAN HIT RECORD IN JANUARY 2013 AS YEN WEAKENED

The monthly trade deficit of Japan hit record in January 2013 after the aggressive monetary policy weakened Yen, its currency considerably. The exports increased in January, which was the first increase in 8 months time. Exports of Japan increased because the goods became affordable for the foreign buyers. However, because of the weakened Yen, the import bill also increased which eventually led to a monthly trade deficit of 1.6tn yen or 17.1 billion US dollars. This was the 10 percent increase from 2012.
WORLDS FIRST MERCUR Y TREATY ADOPTED BY 140 COUNTRIES AT GENEVA

An international treaty that legally binds the nation to limit the use of health hazardous mercury was adopted by 140 nations in the third week of January 2013 at Geneva. The treaty would be signed in Minamata, Japan, in October 2013 to honour the inhabitants of town who have suffered the consequences of serious mercury contamination for decades.
INDIA AND SRI LANKA SIGNED AGREEMENTS ON COMBATING TERRORISM AND AVOIDING DOUBLE-TAXATION
India and Sri Lanka on 22 January 2013 signed two agreements for fighting against international terrorism as well as avoiding double taxation. The agreements were signed after 8th India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission meeting which was held in New Delhi.
INDIA AND THE UAE AGREED TO TAKE THEIR TRADE RELATIONS TO ANOTHER LEVEL
India and the UAE agreed to improve their trade and investment relations during the first meeting of INDIA-UAE HIGH LEVEL TASK FORCE ON INVESTMENT in Abu Dhabi on 18 February 2013. UAE decided to invest 2 billion dollars in Infrastructure sector projects in India
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 238
Page 239
and the two countries decided to work for and support Strategic Oil Reserve in India. The meeting was co-chaired by the Union Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles, Anand Sharma and Sheikh Hamid Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court.
COURT OF ARBITRATION, THE HAGUE GAVE A GO AHEAD TO INDIA ON KISHANGANGA PROJECT

The Court of Arbitration at The Hague on 18 February 2013 allowed India to go ahead with the Construction of the Kishanganga hydro-electric project in Gurez valley near Bandipura in North Kashmir, the court rejected the plea of Pakistan that the construction was a violation of 1960 Indus Water Treaty. The Court of Arbitration, chaired by Stephen M. Schwebel in its orders stated that India can move ahead with the diversion of water plans of Kishanganga that is a tributary of Jhelum, for generation of hydro-electric power. But it restrained India from adoption of the drawdown technique of flushing for clearing the sedimentation of the run-ofthe river project that had been designed and asked it to adopt a different technique for generation of 330 MW power facilities. The Court had also demanded the environmental flows statistics of the project. Bhaswati Mukherjee, Indian Ambassador and her Pakistani counterpart Fauzia Mazhar Sana received the Judgment of the Court at The Hague.
INDIA-US JOINT WORKING GROUP HELD ITS 10TH MEETING IN WASHINGTON

The India-U.S. Joint Working Group on UN Peacekeeping held its 10th meeting in Washington on 13 February 2013. At the meeting, India and the United States advanced a number of goals laid out in the Declaration of Principles the Joint Working Group agreed upon in 2011. The Joint Working Group also continued in-depth consultations on UN peacekeeping issues, and explored an agreement on a set of Principles of India-U.S. Cooperation in the Area of Training UN Peacekeepers and institutional arrangements between their peacekeeping institutions.
FIRST INDIA-JAPAN MARITIME AFFAIRS DIALOGUE WAS HELD IN NEW DELHI

The first India-Japan Maritime Affairs Dialogue was held in New Delhi on 29 January 2013. Issues of mutual interest were discussed, inter alia, maritime security including non-traditional threats, cooperation in shipping, marine sciences and technology, marine biodiversity and cooperation at various multilateral forums. The Indian delegation was led by DB Venkatesh Varma, Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs), in the Ministry of External Affairs and the Japanese delegation by Mr. Kazuyuki Yamazaki, Deputy Director General (Ambassador), Foreign Policy Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
INDIA AND FRANCE AGREED TO STRENGTHEN COOPERATION ON COUNTER TERRORISM

www.jagranjosh.com
Page 239
Page 240
India and France on 14 February 2013 agreed to strengthen counter terrorism and intelligence cooperation between the two countries during the visit of French President Francois Holllande to India. Both nations exchanged views on a number of bi-lateral, regional and multilateral issues. India and France also reviewed progress on the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project and reiterated our commitment to its early implementation as soon as the commercial and technical negotiations, which have made good progress, are completed. Both the nations also concluded negotiations on the short range surface to Air missile to be coproduced in India. They also agreed on the need to reinvigorate economic engagement between the two countries. Moreover, they had in-depth discussion on the defence cooperation issue including submarines and missiles.
NORTH KOREA CONDUCTED ITS THIRD NUCLEAR TEST AND DEFIED UN REGULATIONS FOR WORLD PEACE
North Korea on 12 February 2013 announced success of its underground Nuclear Test. The country cleared that the miniaturized nuclear device was detonated successfully and it also announced that the test was an act of self-defence from the US Hostility and also threatened stronger steps in future. This was the third test conducted by the country since 2006 that had defied the UN regulations in existence. The test is reported to have conducted in the North Hamgyeong Province nearby the Punggye-ri nuclear complex, the place where the tests of 2006 and 2009 were conducted. Due to the past two nuclear tests of 2006 and 2009, North Korea is already facing many sanctions over it imposed by the United Nations Security Council. This is the first test conducted in North Korea under the leadership of Kim Jong-un.
INDIA AND JAPAN HELD TALKS TO STRENGTHEN COOPERATION IN TOURISM SECTOR

India and Japan on 12 February 2013 decided to strengthen cooperation in tourism sector and explore the new areas and opportunities in the sector by working together in different fields like the field of human resource development, investment in the tourism sector, exchange of tour operators and exchange of information related to tourism. The decision was made during a meet of the Japanese Senior Vice-Minister of Tourism, Hiroshi Kajiyama with the Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi in India. The two also discussed issues related to singing of an agreement/MoU.
IRAN CALLED ON FOR DESTRUCTION AND END OF THE NUCLEAR WEAPONS OF THE WORLD
The sanctions-hit Iran on 12 February 2013 called on for destruction of all atomic weapons of the world. The decision came soon after North Korea declared that the country had staged the most powerful nuclear test yet available with it. The Foreign Ministry of Iran statement cleared that they demand of the country was that the nuclear weapons of every country of the world
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 240
Page 241
should be destroyed and at the same time, no country of the world should posses any type of nuclear arm.
SEVENTEEN INDIAN PRISONERS ON DEATH ROW IN SHARJAH JAIL RELEASED

Seventeen Indian prisoners who were on death row in Sharjah jail since 2010 on charges of murdering a Pakistani national were released by the Dubai court in the second week of February 2013. As per the court ruling, their death sentences commuted through the pardon, but received a suspended two year prison sentence each. As they have already served more than the prescribed time in prison, they can be released. A Sharjah court had sentenced them to death in March 2010.
PAKISTAN APPROVED THE DEAL WHICH HANDED OVER GWADAR PORT TO CHINA
Pakistan in the last week of January 2013 approved the deal which transferred operational control of Gwadar port from Singapores PSA International to Chinese Overseas Port Holdings Ltd. Gwadar port is situated at a strategic location of the Arabian Sea and the mouth of the Persian Gulf. It is only 400 kilometres away from the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil supply route. Pakistan decision to hand over Gwadar port to China is a serious concern for India. It can be an attempt by China to encircle India. In addition to funding ports in Sri Lanka, China has also plans to build a port in Bangladesh.
AHMADINEJAD IS THE FIRST IRANIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT EGYPT SINCE 1979 ISLAMIC REVOLUTION
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran on 5 February 2013 became the first Iranian leader to visit Egypt after Tehran's 1979 Islamic revolution. He flew into the Egyptian capital city Cairo for attending the summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that started on 6 Feb 2013. Ahmadinejads visit to Egypt was scheduled to improve the ties between the two countries. During this historic visit to Egypt, Ahmadinejad received a red carpet welcome by the President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi. The Presidents of the two nations discussed on the ways to improve relations between them and to resolve the Syrian crisis without resorting to military intervention.
INDIA AND AUSTRIA SIGNED A SOCIAL SECURITY PACT

India and Austria on 5 February 2013 inked a social security pact at Vienna, under which the Indian professionals working in Austria would be exempted from paying the social security contribution of the country, if such payments are already made in India. Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Austrian Minister for Labour and Social Security, Rudoulf Hundstorfer signed the pact. The pact of social security between the two countries would also boost
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 241
Page 242
cooperation of the labour market expansion in Austria, the country that is a home for more than 17000 Indian professionals.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FILED A CIVIL LAWSUIT AGAINST STANDARD AND POOR'S
The United States of America on 5 February 2013 filed a civil lawsuit against Standard and Poor's (S&P) the credit rating agency alleging that the agency lied about the nations objectivity and independence by the way it rated the mortgage bonds. The lawsuit have claimed that as a result of the ratings issued by the S&P, which misrepresented the securities true credit risks the investors, even those who were federally insured financial institution lost billions of dollars on collateralized Debt Obligations.
MO YAN AND JACKIE CHAN SELECTED AS MEMBERS OF CHINESE PARLIAMENT

Mo Yan, the winner of Nobel Prize for literature, 2012 and Jackie Chan, the movie star were given a political role in China by being selected as members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, one of the houses of Chinese parliament. Mo Yan and Jackie Chan were among 2237 people selected by China's new leaders led by Xi Jinping as the members of CPPCC National Committee. Out of 2237 people, 399 are women. Xi Jinping is the new general secretary of the Communist Party. He will become the President of China after two Houses of Parliament have meeting in March 2013. Apart from Mo Yan and Jackie Chan, other known face to be given a seat in this political party includes former NBA star and popular basket ball player Yao Ming. CPPCC comprises of the members from different fields and they were selected without any election process. The party includes 893 members of the Communist Party. The chosen officials include members of non-Communist parties, military officers, officials, representatives from environmental, social, cultural, political and economic fields.
INDIA DROPPED TO 140TH RANK IN THE LATEST WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX
India dropped nine places to 140th rank in the list of 179 countries in the latest World Press Freedom Index 2013, which is the lowest since 2002. India got this lowly rank because of increasing impunity for violence against journalists and internet censorship. Netherlands, Norway and Finland topped the list. The Press Freedom Index was released by world Press Freedom index for the year 2013. China got 173rd rank. Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea were placed at the bottom of the list as has been in the last three years. As per the Press index report, there has been a decline in freedom of information in South Asia and the Indian subcontinent among Asia witnessed the sharpest deterioration in providing freedom and security for those involved in news reporting in 2012. In India considered as the world's biggest democracy, the authorities insist on censoring the Web and impose numerous
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 242
Page 243
kinds of restrictions, while violence against journalists was not punished and the regions like Kashmir and Chhattisgarh are getting increasingly isolated.
INDIA PLEDGED HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE OF 2.5 MILLION US DOLLARS TO SYRIA

India announced an assistance of 2.5 million US dollars to Syria on 30 January 2013 at the Highlevel International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria held in Kuwait. Syria continues to face acute crisis as the impasse has become explosive and could engulf the region. India has strongly expressed its concern on the steep escalation of violence and has called upon all sides in Syria particularly the Syrian leadership to abjure violence and resolve all issues peacefully through discussions taking into account the aspirations of the people of Syria.
INDIA AND AUSTRALIA AGREED TO CONCENTRATE ON ENERGY AND FOOD SECURITY

India and Australia on 28 January 2013 agreed to concentrate on priority areas like energy and food security for mutual benefit of the two countries. At the 14th Session of the India Australia Joint Ministerial Commission held in New Delhi, the two sides underlined the importance of a solid institutional framework to facilitate future growth in bilateral trade and investment. The Commission was co-chaired by Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma and his Australian counterpart, Craig Emerson. India and Australia welcomed the positive momentum in the India-Australia relationship, based on shared values, converging interests and growth in economic links. The successful state visit to India by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in October 2012 underlined both countries deep commitment to advance the Strategic Partnership agreed in November 2009. The Minister for External Affairs, Salman Khurshid, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Bob Carr, held the 8th Foreign Ministers Framework Dialogue on the 21 January 2013, to review the bilateral relations and build on the momentum achieved by Prime Minister Gillards visit. The two countries also met at Ministerial level to advance Agriculture, Energy, Education and Science & Technology links.
INDIA AND BANGLADESH SIGNED AGREEMENTS ON EXTRADITION AND VISA REGIME

India and Bangladesh on 28 January 2013 signed two landmark agreements on extradition of criminals and terrorists and liberalising the visa regime. However, refusal provisions were incorporated into the extradition treaty. If extradition of someone poses a threat to national security, a nation has the right to refuse the deportation request. Moreover, no political detainee will be brought under the purview of the extradition treaty. In case of a controversy during an extradition process, the matter will be resolved according to the laws of the country concerned.
MILOS ZEMAN WON THE CZECH REPUBLIC PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2013

www.jagranjosh.com
Page 243
Page 244
As per the Czech Republic Presidential election results declared on 25 January 2013, Milos Zeman won and thus became the countrys first elected Pre sident through direct elections. He won 55 percent as compared with 45 percent of Karel Schwarzenberg.
WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL OF BANGLADESH PRONOUNCED ITS FIRST VERDICT OF DEATH SENTENCE
The War Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh constituted for conducting trials against those, who committed atrocities during the Bangladesh Liberation War 1971 on 21 January 2013 pronounced its first verdict and ordered death sentence against Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the Jamaat-e-Islami leader. International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh (ICTB) The International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh also referred as the War Crimes Tribunal was established by the officials of Bangladesh for carrying on the investigations and to prosecute the crimes which were committed during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Following the reports of the official estimates available more than three million people were killed and 200000 were raped during this civil war due to the involvement of the local militia and Pakistani Soldiers.
BARACK OBAMA SWORN IN AS THE US PRESIDENT FOR SECOND TERM

Barack Obama, the first mixed race president of the United States, was sworn in as the President of the country for the second term on 20 January 2013. The oath-taking ceremony was quiet as well as brief in the White House East Room by Justice John Roberts.
CHINAS ECONOMY GREW 7.8 PERCENT IN 2012, HITS 13-YEAR LOW

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Chinas economy which is said to be the second largest economy of the world grew just 7.8 percent in 2012, which is the 13-year low. In the year 2010, the economy of China increased 10.4 percent. NBS announced that there was not any crucial improvement in the economy of China. The figures by NBS came when Xi Jinping will soon be taking over as the new President of the country. Initially the economy was in a slow pace when the GDP grew 7.6 percent in 1999. The NBS however announced that the economy of the country was expected to grow at a stable pace in 2013.
INDIANS ASKED TO AVOID VIOLENCE PRONE AREAS IN NIGERIA

India on 19 January 2013 issued an advisory to its citizens in Nigeria, asking them to limit their exposure to areas where radical Islamic sect Boko Haram is active. The Indian High Commission in an advisory placed on its website also warned Indian crew-members to be careful while plying their ships in Gulf of Guinea, dominated by pirates.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 244
Page 245
MV AMINA, IRANIAN CARGO SHIP FLED FROM SRI LANKAN WATERS AND DEFIED ORDERS OF ITS HIGH COURT
The Iranian Cargo Ship MV Amina fled away from the waters of Sri Lanka after suffering detention by its Navy for about two months on 16 January 2013. Seizure of the ship was done after the DVB Bank obtained orders from the high Court of Colombo on 12 December 2012 to hold the vessel as it had to recover millions of dollars.
PAKISTAN ANTI-CORRUPTION BODY REFUSED ARRESTING PM

The anti-corruption body chief of Pakistan, Fasih Bokhari refused to abide by the order of the Supreme Court to arrest Raja Pervez Ashraf, the Prime Minister of Pakistan on 17 January 2013. Fasih Bokhari refused on the grounds that there were not enough evidences which proved PMs corruption charges.
INDIA AND PAKISTAN AGREED NOT TO ALLOW TENSION ALONG LOC TO ESCALATE
DGMOs (Director Generals of Military Operations) of India and Pakistan on 16 January 2013 agreed not to allow escalation of tensions along the Line of Control (LoC) with the Pakistan Army asking its troops to observe ceasefire strictly and exercise restraint.
CHINA APPOINTED WEI WEI, A CAREER DIPLOMAT AS AMBASADOR TO INDIA

Chinese President Hu Jintao on 16 January 2013 appointed the career diplomat and its current envoy to Singapore Wei Wei as its new Ambassador to India. Wei Wei would be the successor of Zhang Yan in India.
INDIA AND BANGLADESH DECIDED INCREASING RAIL LINK PROJECTS

India and Bangladesh decided in the third week of January 2013, to speed up its rail link projects in order to increase the contact among the people of two neighbouring nations. As of now, there are four ongoing rail link projects and these are Chilahati (Bangladesh)-Haldibari (India), Birol (Bangladesh)-Radhikapur (India), Akhaura (Bangladesh)-Agartala (India) and Shahbazpur (Bangladesh)- Mahishashan (India).
INDIA, VIETNAM SIGNED MOU TO STRENGTHEN MICRO, SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
India and Vietnam on 15 January 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which is directly meant for building capacity and developing institutional framework and identifying
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 245
Page 246
thrust areas and opportunities for micro, small and medium enterprises in Vietnam.The MoU was signed during the 4 day state visit of Vice President Hamid Ansari to Vietnam.
CHINA LAUNCHED ITS POSTAGE STAMP ON YEAR OF SNAKE

China in the first week of January 2013 launched a Postage Stamp for the upcoming Year of snake. The snake depicts a reptile that carries a bright pearl in its mouth in form of a gratitude for the man, who was a savior of its life. This stamp carries a face-value of 1.20 Yuan i.e. 19 cents.
THE OLDEST BANK OF SWITZERLAND TO PAY 58 MILLION DOLLAR TO US IN TAX EVASION CASE
The oldest bank of Switzerland, Wegelin & Co became first foreign bank that pleaded guilty in the United States for the case of tax evasion. The bank admitted on 3 January 2013 that it assisted various American clients to conceal over 1.2 billion dollar from Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
SOUTH KOREA BECAME FIRST COUNTRY IN ASIA TO ORDER CHEMICAL CASTRATION OF CHILD RAPIST
South Korean court in landmark ruling on 3 January 2013 ordered the first-ever chemical castration of the country. The sentence of chemical castration was given to 31-year old pedophile (a person who is sexually-attracted to children) along with 15 years of jail term. The order was the first-ever since South Korea passed the law in 2011 allowing chemical castration or hormonal treatment for offenders who are at the risk of repeating crimes. The defendant, Pyo was charged against a crime of having sex with 5 teenagers six times between November 2011 and May 2012. The defendant met these teenagers through chat service of a smartphone.
BEIJING WAS 14TH SAFEST CITY IN CHINA, LHASA WAS THE 1ST : CHINA ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
A survey conducted by China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) which is a government owned body, revealed that the capital of China, Beijing is less safer than other cities of the country. The safest place is the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, followed by Shanghai.
THE UNITED STATES EVACUATED ITS EMBASSY IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
The United States of America evacuated its embassy in the Central African Republic, reflecting growing fears that the capital, Bangui, may fall to rebel forces called Saleka. The country's
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 246
Page 247
President Francois Bozize sought French and American help against the insurgents, who have been making rapid territorial gains. France, however, rejected any intervention.
PRESIDENT MOHAMED MORSI SIGNED EGYPT'S CONTROVERSIAL CONSTITUTION

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on 25 December 2012 signed into law a new Islamistdrafted constitution which will help end political disorder and allow him to focus on fixing the weak economy.
PAKISTAN GOVERNMENT RECOGNISED REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO AS AN INDEPENDENT STATE

Government of Pakistan on 24 December 2012 officially recognised Kosovo as an independent state, almost five years after it declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. The decision was made in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Kosovo. With this Pakistan became the 98th sovereign state among 193 UN-member states recognising Kosovo.
INDIA AND RUSSIA SIGNED PACTS ON ECONOMIC TIES FOR 2 BILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT FUND
India and Russia on 24 December 2012 signed a pact for strengthening their economic ties with a Kremlin-backed 2 billion dollar investment fund. Both the parties also agreed to talk about a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement involving Kazakhastan and Belarus. During the twelfth straight annual summit, the leaders of both the nations Vladimir Putin - President of Russia and Manmohan Singh - Prime Minister of India finalised 10 agreements including two military contracts of 20000 crore rupees, which was under process for past some time. The two nations were not successful in making a substantial progress on issues related to delay in commissioning of Gorshkov-the aircraft carrier, applicability of the Nuclear Limited Liability Act at Kudankulams six new reactors developed by Russia. Plans of Sistema and Severstal- the two Russian companies investment plans in India and the tax imposed on the Indian company operating in Russia named Imperial Energy.
MOSCOW AUTHORITIES ANNOUNCED DEMOLISHING ONLY HINDU TEMPLE BY JANUARY 2013

The only Hindu temple in Russia, ISKCON was scheduled to be demolished by Moscow authorities by 15 January 2013. The ISKCON monks announced that the Hindu temple was facing closure by Russian government, a year after the country had sought ban of Bhagvad Gita.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 247
Page 248
EUROPEAN UNION IMPOSED STIFF SANCTIONS ON TRADE WITH IRAN

European Union (EU) imposed stiff sanctions on trade with Iran in a move aimed at further isolating it over the controversial nuclear program. The fresh sanctions directed against Iran's banking, shipping and industrial sectors came into effect from 22 December 2012. These are considered to be the toughest EU measures and include bans on financial transactions, sales to Iran of shipping equipment and steel, and imports of Iranian natural gas in addition to the existing ban on import of Iranian crude oil.
DAVID CAMEROON ANNOUNCED THAT BRITAIN WOULD PULL HALF OF ITS TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN
The Prime Minister of Britain, David Cameroon on 19 December 2012 announced that Britain has planned to withdraw more than half of its troops back from Afghanistan by 2013 and allforeign forces of the country would be pulled out by 2014. The Prime Minister informed to the commons that 3800 troops, who were deployed at Helmand Province would be back by end of the year 2013 leaving 5200 troops behind.
PARK GEUN-HYE ELECTED AS THE FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA

Park Geun-hye was elected as the president of South Korea on 19 December 2012, the first woman who acquired this post. Park Geun-hye is the daughter of longest ruling dictator of South Korea.
IRELAND TO LEGALISE ABORTIONS WHEN THE M OTHERS LIFE IS AT R ISK

Ireland on 18 December 2012 announced that it will legalise abortions when the mother's life is at risk, weeks after the death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar who died after being refused an abortion in the European country. The decision comes after a huge public outcry over the death of 31-year-old Savita, who died on 28 October 2012 at Galway University Hospital. She had been 17-week pregnant and was found to be miscarrying.
QUEEN ELIZABETH BECAME FIRST PEACETIME BRITISH RULER TO ATTEND CABINET MEETING
On 18 December 2012, Queen Elizabeth became first peacetime British ruler ever since 1781, who attended the cabinet meeting. Though she did not take part in any deliberations, but she participated in the cabinet meeting as an observer and a listener. Queen Elizabeth remained seated on the chair which is usually occupied by the prime minister.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 248
Page 249
WHO APPROVED VACCINE MANUFACTURING PRACTICES ADOPTED BY INDIAN PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in the third week of December 2012 approved the manufacturing practices being adopted by the private vaccine manufacturing pharmaceutical companies of India. This approval was given to Indian Pharmaceutical companies after an intensive four days audit of the vaccine manufacturing facilities across the country was concluded by a 16-member multi-nation team that was headed by WHO officials. The team comprised officials from China, EU, the US FDA, Thailand, Sweden and France.
UK PLANNED TO REPLACE PAPER MONEY WITH PLASTIC BANKNOTES

Britain planned to replace the paper money with plastic banknotes, which are said to be more durable as well as waterproof. Another advantage of these plastic banknotes is that they are difficult to be forged. Paper money has been used in Britain for over 300 years. The radical renovation in Britain might see polymer sterling currency in circulation in just three years time.
CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT BILL PASSED BY HUGE MAJORITY IN RAJYA SABHA

The Constitution Amendment Bill that provides quotas for SCs and STs in Government Job Promotions was approved in Rajya Sabha on 17 December 2012 by an overwhelming majority. The new amendment demands retaining of Article 335 and deletes the words or in the article to make sure that condition of efficiency as mentioned in the Article continues to be the part of Indian Constitution and not wiped out. The bill would also ensure that the provision of the Article 335 and its effects are retained and allows related standards for promotion against reserved vacancies to candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
INDIA AND PAKISTAN JOINTLY OPERAIONALIZED NEW VISA AGREEMENT IN

India and Pakistan jointly operationalized the new Visa Agreement on 14 December 2012 in New Delhi during the visit of Pakistan interior minister A. Rehman Malik to India. However, the Visa-on-Arrival will come into effect from 15 January 2013 and the Group Tourist Visa from 15 March 2013.
NORTH KOREA LAUNCHED LONG RANGE UNHA-3 ROCKET AMID INTERNATIONAL OPPOSITION
North Korea launched a long-range rocket Unha-3 on 12 December 2012 despite international opposition and growing tensions in the region successfully delivering a scientific satellite Kwangmyongsong-3 into orbit. Unha 3 is the second version of satellite Kwangmyongsong-3 which is successfully lifted off from the Sohae Space Center by carrier rocket.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 249
Page 250
GLOBAL TELECOM TREATY WITHOUT NET CONTROL SIGNED BY EIGHTY NINE NATIONS
A controversial new global treaty on telecom regulations was signed on 14 December 2012 by 89 International Telecommunication Union member states out of a possible 144 Countries regardless of US objections to prospective regulation of the Internet. Over 150 nations met in Dubai, under the support of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to update a set of telecom rules of 1988, before the Internet and mobile phones transformed communications. But they failed to draw a conclusion which will lead to a new fight over cyberspace.
VINOD RAI RE-ELECTED AS CHAIRMAN OF UN PANEL OF EXTERNAL AUDITORS

United Nations gave Vinod Rai, the comptroller and auditor general of India a second term as the designation of chairman of UN Panel of External Auditors for 2013. CAG of the UK, Amyas Morse was re-elected as the vice-chairman. Panel of the United Nations is the deciding body of the course as well as subject of audit of the different UN organisations which also include International Atomic Energy Agency.
MALDIVES TOOK OVER CHARGE OF MALE AIRPORT SCRAPPING AGREEMENT WITH GMR
Maldives took charge of Male airport from GMR. Maldives government had scrapped the agreement with GMR on first December 2012, saying that the agreement was not in the interest of the country. Singapore Supreme Court had upheld the right of Maldives to terminate the 25 year contract.
CHINA HELD LARGEST AIR FORCE DRILL INVOLVING 100 FIGHTER PLANES
China held one of its largest- ever airforce drill involving about 100 multi-types fighter planes, amid heightened tensions with Japan over territorial dispute in the East China Sea. The air combat exercises were held under information conditions at an airport in southwest China for 11 days in the month of November 2012 which involved over 100 fighters of over 10 different types and support staff.
IRAN DECLARED EXTRACTING COMPLETE DATA FROM THE CAPTURED US DRONE

Iran declared on 5 December 2012 that it had extracted data from the US intelligence drone which was caught spying on its military sites as well as oil terminals. Iran had declared on 4 December 2012 that the US spying drone was captured. US however put down the claim on the grounds that there were no evidences to support this assertion.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 250
Page 251
ELEVENTH MEETING OF INDIA-CANADA JWG ON COUNTER TERRORISM HELD IN NEW DELHI

The 11th meeting of the India-Canada Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter Terrorism was held in New Delhi on 29 November 2012. The meeting took place within the framework of the enhanced interaction in bilateral relations between India and Canada, and in keeping with the desire of the governments of India and Canada towards greater cooperation in counter terrorism matters.
IMMIGRATION TO BRITAIN WITNESSED BIGGEST FALL IN 20 YEARS

Immigration into Britain saw the deepest dip in 20 years, the official figures revealed. In 2011, 536000 foreigners migrated to live in UK, which is 42000 lower than in 2010. This drop is said to be the biggest and deepest because immigration dropped down by 61000 during the recession of 1991.
PARLIAMENT OF EGYPT PASSED DRAFT OF THE NEW CONSTITUTION

The Parliament of Egypt passed draft of their new constitution in which the duties, responsibilities and roles of the legislature, judiciary and executive have been defined. 230 articles of this new constitution were discussed as well as voted upon by Salafist and Islamist MPs at the rushed session of Egyptian Parliament which took place for 16 hours. This was also followed by protests and boycotting. The secular, liberal as well as leftist opposition with the minority Coptic Christians proscribed proceedings of Parliament while discussions and voting was going on.
INDIA AND JAPAN SIGNED TWO AGREEMENTS IN TOKYO

The Governments of India and Japan signed the two agreements on 16 November 2012 in Tokyo: The agreements are as following: 1) Agreement between India and Japan on Social Security 2) Memorandum between the Department of Atomic Energy of India and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan on Cooperation in the Rare Earths Industry in India.
INDIA AND SWEDEN SIGNED SOCIAL SECURITY AGREEMENT IN NEW DELHI

India and Sweden signed a social security agreement in New Delhi on 26 November 2012. This agreement will help both the countries in more investment and work opportunities for nationals of India and Sweden. It will also encourage more and more Indians to go to Sweden for employment opportunities and vice versa. Approximately, 156 Swedish companies are operating in India and expressed the hope that this agreement will encourage Swedish people to come in large numbers to India. In fact, India is the first Asian country with which Sweden has signed this type of agreement.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 251
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 UN (UNITED NATIONS) PANEL PASSED N KOREA RESOLUTION BY CONSENSUS
Page 252
The Social, Humanitarian Cultural Affairs Committee (Commonly referred as third committee of the UN General assembly) of United Nations on 27 November 2012, overseeing human rights issues, unanimously passed a resolution on North Korea. The committee asked North Korea to solve the abduction issue and address human rights abuses.The resolution came before the Third Committee of the General Assembly for the eighth year in a row, but the first time no vote was taken.
EUROZONE, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND AGREED TO NEW GREEK DEBT DEAL

Eurozone finance ministers signed a deal on 27 November 2012 with International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce over 40 billion Euros or 52 billion US Dollar massive debt burden of Greece by 2020, thus freeing long-blocked loans. What are Eurozone Nations? Eurozone is also known as the Euro Area. It is the EMU or Economic and Monetary Union of total 17 European Union (EU) states which have mutually agreed to espouse Euro as the common currency as well as legal tender. The nations which come under Eurozone include Greece, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Cyprus, Estonia, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Italy.
THE 2ND INDIA-CHINA STRATEGIC ECONOMIC DIALOGUE HELD IN NEW DELHI

The 2nd India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue was held in New Delhi on 26 November, 2012. During the 2nd meeting of the Dialogue, India and China discussed a wide range of topics including greater cooperation at the global level, strengthening communication on macroeconomic policies, deepening and expanding trade and investment and promoting bilateral cooperation in the financial and infrastructure sectors. The proposals and recommendations made by the five Working Groups were considered during the 2nd Dialogue and directions given for their future activities. India and China signed the following MoUs: Memorandum of Understanding between the Planning Commission of the Government of the Republic of India and National Development and Reform Commission of the Government of the Peoples Republic of China on Undertaking Joint Studies. Memorandum of Understanding between the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power, Government of the Republic of India and National Development and Reform
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 252
Page 253
Commission of the Government of the Peoples Republic of China on Enhancing Cooperation in the Field of Energy Efficiency. Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Railways of the Government of the Republic of India and Ministry of Railways of the Government of the Peoples Republic of China on enhancing technical cooperation in the railway sector. Memorandum of Understanding between the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), India and the China Software Industry Association (CSIA) on Enhancing Cooperation in the IT/ITES Sector.
TENTH ASEAN-INDIA SUMMIT CONCLUDED AT PEACE PALACE, PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA

The tenth ASEAN-India Summit that was held at Peace Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia concluded on 19 November 2012. The summit was chaired by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia- Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo HUN Sen and attended by the leaders of the ten Member states of ASEAN and the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. During the summit the discussions were held on identifying the future course of action on the ASEAN-India relations. Success was achieved in deciding the convening of the ASEANIndia Commemorative Summit scheduled to be held on 20 December to 21 December 2012 at New Delhi, India, the summit will be held to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations. Concerns towards Climate Change and Environment Both the parties during the Tenth ASEAN-India Summit that concluded at Peace Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia agreed to work together to respond to the issues of climate change and its impact. They also agreed on strengthening steps to respond to natural disasters that has always remained a issue of concern in the region, like fllod and earth quakes.Both the parties during the Tenth ASEAN-India Summit that concluded at Peace Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia agreed to work together to respond to the issues of climate change and its impact. They also agreed on strengthening steps to respond to natural disasters that has always remained a issue of concern in the region, like fllod and earth quakes.
NEW SECRETARY GENERAL FOR ASEAN

Le Luong Minh- the candidate from the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam was appointed as the upcoming Secretary General for ASEAN for the next five year term by the ASEAN Head of States. The nomination was done on the basis of alphabetical rotation plan for next five year that would start from January 2013 and end in December 2018. ASEAN ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) was created on 8 August 1967 at Bangkok, Thailand after ASEAN Declaration (also called Bangkok Declaration) was signed between the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 253
Page 254
With time 5 more South Asian countries joined the group namely Brunei Darussalam joined on 7 January 1984, Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999. Today, ASEAN is a 10-member group by now. The group was formed with a basic idea of promoting social progress, economic growth and cultural development between the member nations and talk on the differences in a peaceful manner.
THE SEVENTH EAST ASIA SUMMIT CONCLUDED IN PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA

The seventh East Asia Summit (EAS) was held at Peace Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 19 November 2012. Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen chaired the meeting. The Leaders of East Asia Summit adopted a joint declaration for the 7th East Asia Summit following the regional responses to control Malaria and address the resistance to anti-malarial medicines. Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia and the largest city of the country. It is located on the bank of River Mekong. Phnom Penh is the centre for all types of economic and industrial activities in the nation.
INDIA VOTED AGAINST UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY S RESOLUTION TO BAN DEATH PENALTIES

India was one among the 39 other countries that voted on 20 November 2012 against the nonbinding draft resolution of UN General Assembly that proposed for putting an end to death penalty. India voted on the grounds that each and every nation has its own sovereign right in order to determine the legal system. 110 nations voted in the favour, while 36 members withdrew.
INDIA ADDED 22 NEW ITEMS TO PROMOTE INDO-MYANMAR BORDER TRADE

Indian Government in the month of November added 22 commodities such as agricultural tools, bicycle, coal and garments in the list of items for border trade with Myanmar to boost the two-way commerce between the neighbours. The new items added and revised in the list of 40 tradable items was confirmed in a public notice by Director General of Foreign Trade which now make the list of 62 Consolidated items. The other new items included are edible oil, electrical appliances, steel products, medicines, tea, beverages, motor cycles and spare parts, semi precious stone, sewing machines and three wheelers/cars below 100 cc.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 254
Page 255
RBI AND THE STATE BANK OF VIETNAM SIGNED A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 16 November 2012 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) for promoting greater co-operation and sharing supervisory information, between the two supervisors. The MoU between the two banks was signed at Hanoi, Vietnam in the Headquarters of State Bank of Vietnam and by the Chief General Manager-In-Charge, Department of Banking Supervision, RBI- G. Jaganmohan Rao and Chief Inspector, Banking Supervision Agency, SBV- Nguyen Huu Nghia. The Deputy Governor, SBV- Dang Thanh Binh, and Indian Ambassador to Hanoi- Ranjit Rae graced this occasion of signing the MoU.
CHINA STATE BROADCASTER AUCTIONED PRIME TIME SLOT AT A RECORD PRICE

Chinas main state broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV) in the month of November raised a record 15.88 billion Yuan (US$2.5 billion) by selling prime-time advertising spots for year 2013. As per News paper Global times, Revenue from the closely-watched auction by China Central Television (CCTV) grew more than 11 per cent from a similar auction for year 2012.Analysts is describing the results as encouraging amid a slowdown in Chinas ove rall economy. The Irish Law on Abortion Under the OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSON ACT 1861, abortion in Ireland has been made as a criminal offense. The laws that govern abortion are underSECTION 58 AND 59 of Offences against the Person Act 1861. However a person is free to travel to another state to abort the unborn child in case there is harm to the life of a mother. Abortions abroad are also subject to stern conditions.
BANGLADESH OPTED OUT OF D-8 SUMMIT SCHEDULED TO BE HELD IN PAKISTAN

Bangladesh opted out of the key summit known as D-8 SUMMIT in Pakistan which is scheduled to be held later in November, 2012. Bangladesh opted out because Pakistan refused to apologise for the deeds committed during 1971 war which eventually led to Bangladeshs independence. Bangladeshs foreign minister in an earlier visit of Hina Rabbani, Pakistans foreign minister demanded a formal apology to the Bangladeshs populace. This apology was demanded for the carnage committed by Pakistan Army and also for putting the former political as well as military personalities on trial in then-East Pakistan.
US LIFTED THE BAN IMPOSED ON IMPORTS FROM MYANMAR, BEFORE PRESIDENT OBAMAS VI SIT TO THE NATI
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 255
Page 256
The decade old ban on most of the imports from Myanmar in the third week of November was scrapped by the United States. The step of scrapping the bans on import of most of the products from Myanmar came ahead of the landmark visit of the U.S. President Barack Obama scheduled on 20 November 2012 to the long isolated nation. With this visit to Myanmar, Obama would turn-up to be the first sitting President of U.S. to visit the country.
INDIA AND JAPAN SIGNED EARTHS PACT ON RARE EARTH MINERALS

India and Japan signed an Earths Pact on 16 November 2012 that will enable the latter to import the rare Earth minerals from India. These rare minerals are very important for the Techsavvy industries of Japan. The pact came as a conclusion despite postponement of India-Japan annual summit. As per the signed pact, Japan will be able to import 4000 tonnes rare Earth minerals for a year from India. By signing the pact, Japan has branched out its supply from China for metals which are used in their industries. Japan now hopes that the pact will reduce its dependency on China for these rare minerals. It is important to note here that Japan is in tiff on the issue of Senkaku islands with China. Apart from this, India-Japan also signed a social security pact. These two pacts which were destined to come into force on the now-cancelled Indian PMs trip were reinforced in Japan.
IEA: US WOULD BECOME WORLDS LARGEST OIL PRODUCER BY 2017

The International Energy Agency (IEA) in the second week of November 2012 announced that United States would takeover Saudi Arabia as worlds biggest oil producing nation by 2017. The forecast came up by the Paris based energy agency because U.S. has been drilling more crude oil by using the technology based on hydraulic fracturing of underground shale formations. This drilling activity would make U.S. in times to come as an economy that is self-sufficient in terms of energy within next five years but down the line by 2023, North America would became a net oil exporter in the world. This forecast from the International Energy Agency is a change on its previous prediction in which the agency stated that Saudis would be the worlds leader in oil production up to 2035. At present U.S. imports about 20 percent of oil to meet its energy needs.
INDIA AND AFGHANISTAN SIGNED FOUR COOPERATION PACTS

India and Afghanistan on 12 November 2012 signed four agreements to cooperate in areas of social welfare, fertilizer, coal mining and youth affairs. President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai was in India on a four day visit from 9 November 2012 to12 November 2012. During his visit a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by External Affair Minister Salman Khurshid and Afghanistan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul under which India will provide grants to Afghanistan to implement small development projects through local bodies, community organisations, charitable trusts and educational institutions.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 256
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 NEPAL ELECTED AS A BOARD MEMBER OF THE ECOSOC
Page 257
Nepal was elected on 8 November 2012 as a board member of the UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (ECOSOC) for a three year term starting from January 2013. Nepal along with seventeen other countries was elected as board members. Nepal was elected with 131 votes out of the total 194 in the UN General Assembly. The fifty-four member ESOSOC is one of the principal organs of the UN which coordinates the economic, social and related work of the UN and its specialized agencies and institutions.
THE REVIEW MEETING OF THE E-9 COUNTRIES CONCLUDED IN NEW DELHI

The three-day review meeting of Ministers of Education and heads of delegation of the E-9 countries comprising India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria and Mexico ended in New Delhi on 10 November 2012 with the adoption of the New Delhi Commitment. E-9 nations decided to expand their cooperation in Inclusive, Relevant Quality Education for All. It took stock of the progress towards the Education for All goals and to renew cooperation in consolidating the gains and addressing remaining challenges. The member-states reaffirmed the central role of education in all development endeavours and in promoting peace and social cohesion. E-9 Countries decided to expand their cooperation in the area of Inclusive, Relevant Quality Education for All. They recognised relevance and equity as key dimensions of quality in their future efforts and resolved to address the same by making their education systems more flexible and responsive.
INDIA, BRITAIN DECIDED TO ENHANCE COOPERATION IN CYBER SECURITY

India and Britain on 8 November 2012 decided to step-up cooperation in Cyber Security during the Foreign Minister level talks of both the nations. Before, this during the Foreign Secretary level talks, the issues discussed was nuclear energy and counter-terrorism. The representatives of both the nations, William Hague the British Foreign Secretary and Salman Khurshid India's External Affairs Minister after agreeing on the issues of cooperation on cyber crimes, which included cooperation in defining the ways of tackling the cyber crime, bilaterally issued a joint statement on the issues discussed.
NOOR INAYAT KHANS B UST TO BE UNVEILED AT LONDON BY PRINCESS ANNE

Britain's Princess Anne unveiled the Bronze Bust of Noor Inayat Khan in London, reckoned to be a heroine of the World War II on 8 November 2012 for the role that she played as a secret agent in the secret mission against the Nazis. The Bronze Bust was unveiled at Gordon Square the place, where Noor Inayat lived at the time.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 257
Page 258
INDIA-CANADA FINALISED A MECHANISM FOR SHIPPING OF CANADIAN URANIUM TO INDIA

India and Canada on 6 November 2012 succeeded in creating a mechanism for shipping Canadian Uranium to India clearing the mistrust generated on the Canadian side after the nuclear explosion from India in 1974. Both the sides were successful inking the agreement on the mechanism of shipment of the Canadian Uranium to India for the first time after 1974. The nuclear trade relations between the two nations were affected, when India used the plutonium that was allegedly abstracted from the Canadian test reactor to carry on a nuclear explosion in the year 1974.
INDIA-JAPAN-US TRILATERAL DIALOGUE HELD IN NEW DELHI

Senior officials of the India, Japan and USA held their third trilateral dialogue in New Delhi on 29 October 2012 to enhance cooperation on combating maritime security, combating piracy and leveraging their strengths to shape the Asia-Pacific architecture. The trilateral meeting was the third of its kind.
INDIA AND UK AMENDED PACT ON AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION

India and the United Kingdom on 30 October 2012 signed a protocol amending the 1993 bilateral convention on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion related to taxes on income and capital gains. The Protocol amends the pact or Convention that was originally assigned on 25 January 1993 in New Delhi. The protocol was signed by Indias High Commissioner Jaimini Bhagwati and Exchequer Secretary to the U.K. Treasury, David Gauke. The amended protocol is going to provide tax stability to the residents of both the countries and also facilitate mutual economic cooperation with stimulating flow of investment, technology and services.
INDIA, US AND JAPAN HELD TRILATERAL MEET AND TALKED ON COOPERATION

India, U.S. and Japan on its third trilateral meet on 29 October 2012 discussed trilateral cooperation in maritime security and a route through middle or north of Myanmar leading up to Hanoi. The other major area of discussion was on exchanging of proposals for doing projects together in Africa as well as cooperating on the economic side in Afghanistan. The three countries were on cycle of talk which they completed following this meet. The talk began with their first meeting in Washington in December 2011 which was followed by next meeting in Tokyo in April 2012.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 258
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS WOULD TEACH HINDI
Page 259
Australia on 28 October 2012 revealed that the country was planning to include Hindi and Mandarin as languages to be taught in its schools. This was a step forward to be taken by the county to establish deeper and strengthened links with India and other nations with booming economies, of the world.
WEBSITE OF NEW YORK TIMES BLOCKED IN CHINA

China blocked access to the English as well as Chinese-language website of the New York Times on 26 October 2012 in the country, after the website published article on the Prime Minister Wen Jiabao with a claim that he and his family has created a total asset of at least US dollar 2.7 Million.
INDIA, SPAIN SIGNED AGREEMENT ON DEFENCE COOPERATION

India and Spain on 26 October 2012 signed a memorandum of understanding under which they are going to encourage collaboration between their defence industries and exchange of personnel. The MoU was signed by Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Morens Eulate in New Delhi. Both the Countries agreed to exchange defence-related experience and information, and will encourage visits of personnel and collaboration in the defence industry and similar areas of cooperation. Other pacts signed are included as under: A protocol for amending the over 19-year-old double taxation avoidance pact to check tax evasion, A MoU in the roads and road transport sector, aimed at promoting efficient and environmentally sustainable transport systems. A pact to promote and facilitate co-production of films which includes feature films, documentary and animation films.
THE 2ND INDIA-JAPAN 2+2 DIALOGUE HELD IN TOKYO

The 2nd India-Japan 2+2 Dialogue was held in TOKYO on 22 October, 2012. These 2+2 consultations at Senior Official level are mandated by the ACTION PLAN TO ADVANCE SECURITY COOPERATION concluded between India and Japan in December 2009. The first India- Japan 2+2 Dialogue was held at New Delhi in June 2010. The two countries briefed the other on their respective defence and security policies in the background of each countrys security environment.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 259
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 JAPAN LIFTED TRAVEL ADVISORY ON JAMMU AND KASHMIR
Page 260
The country of Japan on 19 October 2012 in a step to testimony the fact that security situation in Jammu and Kashmir is improved, relaxed the travel restriction to the state for its nationals. The move to ease restrictions is valid for Srinagar and adjoining areas like Gulmarg.
INDIA-AUSTRALIA ANNOUNCED NUCLEAR DEAL NEGOTIATION

India and Australia on 17 October 2012 announced the launch of nuclear negotiations for a civil nuclear deal that will enable the sale of uranium from Australian Capital city Canberra to New Delhi. The deal was announced by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on her visit to India. The deal is going to provide stretch in India's civilian nuclear ambitions and will also strengthen bilateral ties between both the Countries. Earlier in 2011, the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Australian Labour Party refused to sell uranium to India by specifying that India had not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
INDIA AND NEW ZEALAND SIGNED FIVE MOUS TO COOPERATE IN EDUCATION

India and New Zealand on 19 October 2012 signed five Memorandum of Understanding, MoU in the different fields of education. The MoUs were signed in New Delhi during the first meeting of India-New Zealand Education Council. The education institutions of New Zealand specially higher education maintain global standards. India and New Zealand share strong people to people links through increasing migration, tourism, education and sporting ties. The education can play a vital role in strengthening links between the two countries.
FIVE NEW NON-PERMANENT MEMBER COUNTRIES ELECTED TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL

The UN General Assembly on 18 October 2012 elected five new non-permanent members to the Security Council. The New Members are SOUTH KOREA, LUXEMBOURG, ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA AND RWANDA. The newly elected member countries are going to serve a two-year term in the powerful UN body that will begin on 1 January 2013.
INDIA AND PAKISTAN DISCUSSED TAPI GAS PROJECT

Pakistans Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Asim Hussain met Cabinet Minister of Petroleum and Natural gas of India, Jaipal Reddy in New Delhi on 17 October 2012 in an event PETROTECH 2012 and discussed avenues for energy cooperation, including the trans-regional project TAPI. Asim Hussain in his talk underlined the need of hastening work on the TAPI and the importance of demonstrating political will. He also stressed for setting up the economic modality by establishing a Special Purpose Vehicle or consortium duly empowered to take all necessary decisions.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 260

About TAPI Gas Project
Page 261
The TAPI is the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline project which is also known as Turkmenistan AfghanistanPakistanIndia Pipeline, TAP or TAPI. It is basically a proposed natural gas pipeline that is developed by the Asian Development Bank. The project was started on 15 March 1995 by signing a memorandum of understanding between the governments of Turkmenistan and Pakistan for a pipeline project. Under the Proposed plan, the pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and finally to India.
UK AND SCOTLAND SIGNED AN AGREEMENT TO HOLD A REFERENDUM ON SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE

UK and Scotland signed an agreement on 15 October 2012 to hold a referendum in 2014 on Scottish independence. The referendum agreement has been signed following talks in Edinburgh between David Cameron, UK Prime Minister and Alex Salmond, who leads the proindependence Scottish National Party. The referendum could lead to the United Kingdom breaking up after 300 years, leaving only England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the Union.
UN WARNED OF PRICE HIKE IN FOOD PRODUCTS AND A DECLINE IN GLOBAL CEREAL PRODUCTION
United Nations on 4 October 2012 issued a warning of price rise for meat and dairy products in response to the extreme weather conditions suffered by Europe and associated centers of food production. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) with its headquarters in Rome indicated that the global wheat production saw an expected fall of 5.2 percent and other crops meant for feeding the animals could drop down by 10 percent in the year 2012 to that on the available data of year 2011.
ARABIC MADE ITS DEBUT AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE AT VATICAN

Arabic on 10 October 2012 made its official debut among one of the Languages at Pope Benedicts weekly general audiences. This is an exercise and attempt of Vatican to expand its reach to Christians and Muslims in Middle East. This came out of the growing concerns of the Vatican in relation to the mass departure of the Christians from Middle East fearing to their safety over there. The community that comprised about 20 percent of the total population a century ago has fallen down to a percentage level of five. Some of the estimates also states that the 12 million of Christians leaving in Middle East may drop down to its half by 2020.
JAPAN AND INDIA LAUNCHED RESEARCH PROJECT TO STUDY LNG PRICING

Japan and India on 10 October 2012 launched a joint research project into pricing structures in LNG markets. Japans industry minister Yukio Edano and Deputy chairman of Planning commission of India Montek Singh Ahluwalia, signed the agreement on joint research in Tokyo. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 261
Page 262
Resource-poor Japan is on the hunt for cheaper energy, with the situation further worsened by the shuttering of all but two of its nuclear reactors amid public distrust following tsunamisparked meltdowns at Fukushima.
INDIA AND FRANCE SIGNED AN AGREEMENT IN THE FIELD OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT

India and France on 7 October 2012 signed an agreement in the field of sustainable Urban Development. The agreement was signed in Paris between Union Minister of Urban Development Kamal Nath and Minister for Foreign Trade of France Nicole Bricq. Both India and France would benefit from the agreement as it would provide an enabling platform for the officials, professionals, business leaders and local self-governing bodies to meet and share knowledge and best practices in the urban sector. It would also lead to enhanced cooperation and deepen the engagement between the two countries. India and France also discussed ways to enhance economic and commercial relations between the countries.
INDIA AND AUSTRIA TIED UP FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SMART CITIES IN INDIA

India and Austria on 2 October 2012 tied up to develop smart cities that would include fine planning of the city including the transport system and services of internet. The decision came up after the meeting of Union Minister for Urban Development Kamal Nath with Austrian Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation & Technology Doris Bures. The plans of developing the new cities will be implemented under the second phase of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM II). As per the plans initially two model smart cities will be developed in every state of the country that will include the midsized cities with a minimum population of half a million to one million. Every State to have two smart-cities Austrian Institute of Technology will assist the country in planning and development of the smart cities that will include things that it needs to cover, broadband facilities to its maintenance to carbon levels. As per the plans of the Central Government under JNNURM II every state will have two model towns initially.
US, INDIA AND AFGHANISTAN HELD ITS FIRST TRILATERAL DISCUSSION

US, India and Afghanistan held its first ever trilateral meeting on 25 September 2012. The major point of discussion was on the situation in Afghanistan along with the issue of terrorism. The discussion marks the strengthening of Afghanistan relation with India and US who are totally behind the vision of a secure, peaceful, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan living in peace, security, friendship and cooperation with its region and the wider world. The meeting was held www.jagranjosh.com
Page 262
Page 263
at the Afghan Mission in New York and was attended by Joint Secretary Y K Sinha and Joint Secretary (America) Jawed Ashraf from the Indian side, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Marc Grossman and Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake.
INDIA AND BURUNDI SIGNED 3 MAJOR AGREEMENTS AND ISSUED A JOINT STATEMENT
President of the Republic of Burundi visited India from 17 to 19 September 2012. During this visit, India and Burundi signed three agreements-(i) Exchange Programme for Cooperation in the field of Education, (ii) Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the field of Rural Development and (iii) Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine. Besides, India also announced a Line of Credit of 42.38 million US dollars for Farm Mechanisation and Integrated Food Processing Complex in Burundi.
NEW NUCLEAR SAFETY AGENCY LAUNCHED IN JAPAN

Japan launched a new Nuclear Safety Agency on 18 September 2012. The formation of this fivemember Nuclear Regulation Authority was done after the country was hit by Tsunami in the year 2011 resulting in major breakdown and leakage of the Nuclear Power Plants in the tsunami-stricken-area of Fukushima Dai-Ichi Plant. Headed by the nuclear Physicist, Shunichi Tanaka, this agency is responsible for reviewing of the nuclear policies of the country.
INDIA SIGNED A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH EGYPT

India and Egypt on 18 September 2012 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in New Delhi to establish an institutional framework for their ongoing cooperation in the field of election management and administration. The MOU was signed by the Chief Election Commissioner of India, V.S. Sampath and the Secretary General of the Supreme Presidential Election Committee of Egypt, Justice Hatem Bagato. The major aims of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) are: Promotion of exchanges of knowledge and experience in the field of organizational and technical development, with a view to strengthening the administration of electoral processes. Exchange of information, material, expertise and technical knowhow relating to electoral processes and systems; training of personnel and development of human resources. Organizational development and capacity building. MoU was made so that it can facilitate sharing of best practices, skills and experiences between the two institutions for mutual benefit.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 263
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 INDIA OFFERED TELECOM SUPPORT TO TURKMENISTAN
Page 264
India has assured Turkmenistan of all cooperation in Information and Communication technology (ICT) for the mutual benefit of both the countries. It was decided in the inaugural session of TurkmenTEL 2012 at the Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat on 17 September 2012 by the Minister for Communications & IT and HRD, Kapil Sibal. Recalling the historical ties between India and Turkmenistan, it was emphasized that the need for regional cooperation to uplift the social and economic status of the people in the region is uttermost important. Kapil Sibal shared the success story of Indian Telecom Sector and gave an overview of the spectrum of policy initiatives in Indias National Telecom Policy 2012.
CHINA SIGNED 16 NEW AGREEMENTS WITH SRI LANKA

China on 16 September 2012 signed 16 major agreements with Sri Lanka in Colombo on a range of issues, from visa exemption and marine development to economic and technology cooperation. China also promised to expand investment and increase imports from Sri Lanka. China and Sri Lanka agreed that holders of diplomatic and service passports of the other nation will be exempt from visa requirements. China-Sri Lanka bilateral trade volume reached 3.14 billion dollars in 2011.
US AND JAPAN AGREED TO DEPLOY ADVANCED MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM

The United States and Japan on 17 September 2012, announced an agreement to set up second advanced missile defense radar on Japanese province. It is an effort which is distinctively designed to counter the ballistic missile threat from North Korea. The radar which is named as X-band radar is meant to protect Japan as well as the U.S. homeland.
INDIA TOPPED THE CHART OF REGISTERED LARGEST NUMBER OF UNDER FIVE DEATHS IN 2011
In the CHILD MORTALITY ESTIMATES REPORT 2012 published on 12 September 2012, by United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), India was placed at the top position in the chart of 10 countries that topped on the chart. The other countries with their names on the chart are NIGERIA, THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, CHINA, PAKISTAN, INDONESIA, ETHIOPIA, BANGLADESH AND AFGHANISTAN.
INDIA AND SAUDI ARABIA HELD THEIR FIRST TALK ON DEFENCE TIES
The Joint Committee on defence cooperation from Saudi Arabia and India met for creation of defence ties on 11 September 2012. Decisions for this establishment of joint committees was decided during the visit of Indian defence minister A.K. Antony to Saudi Arabia and his meet
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 264
Page 265
with the Crown Prince and defence minister of Saudi Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud in February 2012.
INDIA, MYANMAR AND THAILAND DECIDED TO IMPLEMENT TRILATERAL CONNECTIVITY PROJECT BY 2016
India, Myanmar and Thailand on 10 September 2012 reviewed the eagerly awaited trilateral connectivity project and decided to make all efforts to implement this by 2016. This was done at the meeting of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Joint Task Force, which met in New Delhi. It was also agreed during the meeting that steps be initiated to address issues related to harmonisation of customs and immigration procedures at border check-posts to enable seamless movement of goods and people to realise the full potential of the trilateral highway.
DIFFERENCES GREW IN BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN OVER THE DISPUTED DIAYO ISLANDS
Japan on 11 September 2012, announced that it has purchased the three uninhabited islands in the Diayo Islands from its owner family based in Tokyo. Amidst, the growing tensions in relation to the disputed East China Sea, China issued a warning to Japan on that it will take care of its interests by taking necessary steps in relation to the three islands purchased by Japan in the Diaoyo Islands. Two Marine Surveillance Ships were sent on patrol by China to the inhabited islands for enforcement of Chinese control that heightened the possibilities of confrontation with Japanese coastguards. What is the Dispute all about? Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands are the uninhabited group of Islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan since 1895. These Islands lie in between the mainland of China, West of Okinawa Island, Northeastern Taiwan and north of the South-western end of Ryukyu Islands. As per a study conducted by the experts in the year 1968, it was discovered that these islands may have oil reserves. After Japans surrender in the World War II, the control of the Islands went in the hands of USA and controlled by them from 1945 to 1971. US returned these islands to Japan after the Okinawa Reversion Treaty inked in between US and Japan in 1972. Whereas after the reversal treaty, Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China, Taiwan (ROC) claims the discovery of the islands and their control over these from 14th Century. Amidst the complexity, ROC and PRC consider these Islands as the part of Taiwan as part of Yilan Countries, Toucheng Township. Japan does not consider Taiwan as a sovereign state and hence does not regard the claims of Taiwan over the group of Islands.
INDIA AND TAJIKISTAN WENT AHEAD ON STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AND SIGNED SIX AGREEMENTS
India and Tajikistan on 3 September 2012 signed six agreements in the field of sports, health, culture, education, labour, textiles and energy. India and the central Asian country of Tajikistan www.jagranjosh.com
Page 265
Page 266
agreed to advance their ties to a strategic partnership in order to impart greater strength to the relationship through all-round co-operation and engagement. The President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Mr. Emomali Rahmon, was on a State Visit to India from 1 to 4 September 2012 at the invitation of the President of the Republic of India. This was the fifth visit to India by President Mr. Emomali Rahmon.
SIXTH MEKONG GANGA COOPERATION MEETING HELD IN NEW DELHI

MekongGanga sixth Cooperation meeting was held in New Delhi on 3-4 September 2012.Senior officials meeting was held on September 3 whereas the Foreign Ministers meet was held on September 4 2012. The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) was established on November 10, 2000 in Vientiane, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic with a purpose of cooperation amongst India and the five Mekong region countries - Cambodia, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand.
INDIA ESTABLISHED DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH NIUE

Minister of State for External Affairs of India E Ahamed and Prime Minister of Niue H. E. Toke Talagi signed a Joint Communiqu on the establishment of Diplomatic Relations between India and Niue, at Cook Islands, on 30 August 2012. Niue is a Pacific island country, which is a member of regional bodies such as the Pacific Island Forum and the Pacific Community and also of UNESCO, WTO and FAO. It is an island of 1400 inhabitants, which is also known as the worlds first Wi-Fi nation, in which free wireless Internet access is provided throughout the country. Niue is also known as the Rock of Polynesia, and is situated 2400 km northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest and the Cook Islands to the southeast. Since 2002, India has intensified its cooperative relations with all countries in pacific island region. India always actively participated as a 'Dialogue Partner' of the Pacific Island Forum, a regional group of Pacific Island countries. The country has always been engaged in assisting in the development of the island countries of the Pacific.
THE 16TH NAM (NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT) SUMMIT WAS HELD IN TEHRAN

The 16th NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) summit was held at Tehran, Iran on 30-31 August 2012.The theme of the summit was LASTING PEACE THROUGH JOINT GLOBAL GOVERNANCE. At the Tehran Summit , the Chairmanship of NAM was passed on from Egypt to Iran in accordance with the NAMs practice of regional rotation.The NAM meeting in Tehran was held in three phases: preparatory senior officials meeting on 26-27 August, ministerial level meeting on 28-29 August, and the summit on 30-31 August. Heads of the government from over 100 countries participated in the Tehran Summit to discuss the new global challenges.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 266
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 USA SLAPPED SANCTIONS ON LASKAR-E- TOIBAS TOP EIGHT COMMANDERS
Page 267
The United States of America on 31 August 2012 slapped sanctions on Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba's top eight commanders, including Mumbai terrorist attack mastermind Sajid Mir and its founder Hafiz Saeed's son. LeT, despite being designated as a foreign terrorist organisation in January 2002, continues to operate in Pakistan and throughout the region and engage in terrorist activities worldwide. LeT conducted numerous terrorist acts against Pakistani, Indian, Afghan and US interests and is responsible for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed more than 160 people, including six Americans, and the July 2006 Mumbai train bombings that killed more than 180 people.
INDIA AND IRAN DECIDED TO EXPAND TRADE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION

India and Iran 28 August 2012 decided to expand Trade and Economic Cooperation. The two nations agreed to expand trade and economic cooperation through the Chahbahar port. The port will act as an important trade and transit point for Afghanistan and central Asia. On the nuclear issue, India expressed hope that progress will be on the P5 plus one dialogue in the interest of peace and stability in the region. Both the nations agreed to set up an Indian cultural centre in Tehran.
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY SET UP SPECIAL TASK FORCE FOR IRAN
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the international agency for the monitoring of nuclear energy, on 29 August 2012 set up a special Task Force to handle inspections and other issues related to the Iran's disputed nuclear programme. The Vienna based agency is aiming at handling the sensitive Iran issue by deploying the experts and other resources under one unit. IAEA, which regularly inspects Iran's nuclear sites, has voiced growing concern over the lran's nuclear program. Tehran, however, has argued that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and there is no any military dimension to it.
INDIA, AFGHANISTAN AND IRAN TO SET UP JOINT WORKING GROUP TO SPUR TRADE
Iran, India and Afghanistan discussed options for investment in the Chabahar Port, located in southeast Iran. In a crucial trilateral meeting held on 26 August 2012 ahead of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit, the three nations agreed to set up a joint working group to spur trade and transit through the Iranian port of Chabahar. Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai held dialogues with deputy foreign ministers of Iran and Afghanistan in Tehran to explore ways to expand trade and transit cooperation, including investment, among the three countries, starting with the Chabahar Port.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 267
Page 268
INDIA CHINA AGREED TO SET UP JOINT WORKING GROUP ON TRADE AND INVESTMENTS
India and China agreed to set up a joint working group (JWG) to look into issues related to trade and investments. The decision to set up the JWG was taken at the meeting of India-China Joint Group on Economic Relations, Trade, Science and Technology in New Delhi on 27 August 2012. Besides the two nations also agreed to adopt a five-year plan on economic cooperation. The ministerial level meeting was attended by Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and his Chinese counterpart Chen Deaming.
RUSSIA FORMALLY BECAME A MEMBER OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION

Russia formally became a member of the World Trade Organisation(WTO) on 22 August 2012 after 18 years of negotiations. Russia agreed to reduce import tariffs on goods, including food and cars and to relax controls on overseas companies entering its financial and telecom sectors. Russia will be the 156th member of the WTO. WTO requires that any country that seeks to benefit from it must apply the same trade rules to all member countries. Russia negotiated for membership for 18 years, beginning when the WTO was called the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
MYANMAR ABOLISHED CENSORSHIP OF THE COUNTRY'S MEDIA

Myanmar government on 20 August 2012 abolished censorship of the country's media. The reporters would no longer have to submit their work to state censors before publication. Burma had begun censorship on media on 6 August 1964. The journalists were given permission to print without prior censorship and restrictions were lifted on 30000 internet sites, allowing users unrestricted access to political content for the first time.
INDIA TO CUT IMPORT DUTIES ON 234 ITEMS FROM PAKISTAN

The Union Cabinet on 17 August 2012 approved the Commerce Ministrys proposal to cut down the list of sensitive items under South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) for Pakistan by 30 percent. Besides, India will also cut import duties on about 234 items from Pakistan under the bilateral trade normalisation programme.The cabinet, however, made it clear that the India will follow these measures only when Pakistan reciprocates with the same gesture and allows goods to be traded through the land routes.
ECUADOR GRANTED WIKILEAKS FOUNDER JULIAN ASSANGE POLITICAL ASYLUM

The foreign ministry of Ecuador announced that Ecuador would be granting Wikileaks cofounder Julian Assange a political asylum on 16 August 2012. This decision will help Assange
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 268
Page 269
shield from being extradited from Britain to Sweden, where he is facing charges of rape and sexual molestation.
CHINA SIGNED ECONOMIC AGREEMENTS WITH NORTH KOREA WHICH INCLUDES THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEZS
China in the second week of August 2012 signed agreements with North Korea to increase the bilateral economic co-operation. The agreements were signed during a visit of senior North Korean official.The agreements included the development of two special economic zones in North Korea. One is in Rason, on North Koreas east coast and the other is in Hwanggumphyong on the border with China. Moreover, China and North Korea also signed agreements on agricultural co-operation and electricity supply.
LIBYA'S NTC HANDED POWER TO NEWLY APPOINTED NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

The ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) handed over power to the newly elected National Assembly on 8 August 2012 in a night ceremony in Tripoli, Libya. NTC Chairman, Mustafa Abdel Jalil passed on the responsibility to the oldest member of the new two hundred member assembly, Mohammed Ali Salim.
SUDAN SIGNED A DEAL WITH SOUTH SUDAN OVER OIL PAYMENTS

Sudan in the first week of August 2012 signed an agreement with South Sudan over oil payments. South Sudan agreed to pay Sudan just over 9 dollars per barrel to transport oil to its ports. The two nations held three weeks of talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa before reaching the agreement.
INDIA AND BELGIUM SIGNED AGREEMENT FOR THE MODERNISATION OF INDIAN RAILWAYS
India on 1 August 2012 signed an agreement with Belgium for the modernisation of the Indian Railways and make some of the major railway stations in the country of global standard. Under the agreement the two countries would share design and current practices in railway infrastructure and deputation of experts in areas of mutual interest. The countries will also explore the new avenues of co-operation in the Railway sector. Belgian state run companies such as Euro Station and Euro Immostar have vast experience in developing stations. The companies have extensive expertise in transforming historical railway stations into the modern international terminals. Numerous Belgium or Belgium-based companies are already operating in India and have been involved in activities such as fastening and coating of rails to delivery of parts for train construction and software for safety and network management.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 269
Page 270
INDIA AND ISRAEL SIGNED COLLABORATIVE ACADEMIC RESEARCH PROGRAMME AGREEMENT

India and Israel signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 2 August 2012 for starting a collaborative academic research programme. Under the Research programme both the countries will together work in areas such as medical, information technology, social sciences, humanities and arts. The MoU was signed by Professor Benjamin Geiger, Chairman of the Israel Science Foundation and Ved Prakash, Chairman of University Grants Commission. The agreement will exist for next five years, providing support up to 100000 dollar a research project for three years. The idea of collaborative academic research programme came into being during a recent visit of Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal to Israel. Sibal during the course of her visit had conducted dialogue with Israels Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, Education Minister Gideon Saar and Chairman of Planning and Budgeting Committee Manuel Trajtenberg.
US SENATE PASSED BILL TO LABEL HAQQANI NETWORK AS A FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANISATION

The US Senate on 27 July 2012 unanimously passed a resolution to label the Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist group. The resolution came following the US House of Representatives passed Haqqani Network Terrorist Designation Act of 2012 early July 2012. The bill was already passed in 2011 but had to be passed by the Senate again given the changes made in it by the House. As the final step to become a legislation the bill now move to the White House for the approval of President Barack Obama. What is Haqqani Network? The Haqqani Network is a group of Islamic fanatics which have been fighting against US-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan to reacquire control over the trouble-torn nation. The insurgent group, which came into existence in mid 1970s, was largely used by the US as a tool against Soviet Russia during the cold war days. Haqqani Network is widely believed to have the support of Pakistani administration as well as the ISI, Pakistan's top spy agency. The Network is led by Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin Haqqani. The group, which believed to have its base in Pakistan, operates across the Afghanistan- Pakistan border. The dreaded terror group consistently remains one of the most formidable threats to the US led NATO forces and the Afghan Government given its striking capabilities and the influence it enjoys among the conservative islamic groups existing across the border. The network has drawn extreme reactions from the leaders in US and western countries, which consider it as the most resilient enemy network.
INDIA SIGNED TAX INFORMATION EXCHANGE AGREEMENT (TIEA) WITH MONACO
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 270
Page 271
India signed Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with Monaco on 31 July 2012 in New Delhi. It will allow the two countries to check tax evasion and money laundering. This was the ninth TIEA signed by India.
US IMPOSED SANCTIONS ON BANKS HANDLING IRANIAN OIL TRANSACTIONS

United States announced fresh sanctions against foreign banks that helps Iran sell its oil on 1 August 2012.The U.S government signed an executive order of new sanctions which will target anyone buying Iranian petrochemicals or facilitating payments to Iran, including an Iraqi and a Chinese Bank. The government stated that the measure would increase pressure on Tehran for failing to meet its international nuclear obligations.
INDIA ALLOWED FDI (FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT) FROM PAKISTAN

Indian government on 1 August 2012 decided to allow investment from Pakistan with the objective of boosting bilateral economic relations. However, India kept out strategic sectors of defence, space and atomic energy from Pakistan. Pakistan can explore sectors like cement, textiles and sports for investments in India. Besides, the FDI proposals from Pakistan need to be cleared from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
ELECTION COMMISSIONS OF INDIA AND SOUTH KOREA SIGNED MOU TO STRENGTHEN DEMOCRACY
The Election Commission of India and South Korean Election Commission on 1 August 2012 signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to strengthen institutions and processes for democracy. This was 13th MoU that India signed with Electoral Bodies. It will also strengthen India-South Korea bilateral cooperation. Both the nations will work together for the cause of the Asian electoral community and the larger global electoral fraternity.
US AND PAKISTAN INKED NATO SUPPLY AGREEMENT

After a week long negotiations, Pakistan and the US on 31 July 2012 finally signed an agreement on transporting supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan through Pakistan, until the end of 2015. The agreement was signed by Additional Defence Secretary Rear Admiral Farrukh Ahmed and US Charge d Affaires Richard Hoagland.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 271
Page 272
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 272
Page 273
NEWS AT GLANCE
INAUGURAL LAHORE LITERARY FESTIVAL (LLF) 2013 CONCLUDED ON A HIGH NOTE
The two-day inaugural Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) 2013 which was aimed to revive creativity and art of Lahore, the cultural capital of Pakistan, concluded on 24 February 2013. The LLF 2013 ended with the discussions on literature, celebration of the international and local writers as well as social discourse of past, present and future of the literature. Chairperson of the LLF's advisory board declared that the first-ever LLF was meant to reclaim and celebrate essence of Pakistani culture. In the event, people got an opportunity to meet, hear and interact with some of the eminent journalists, artists, intellectuals, authors and many more, at both local and global level. Indian authors who took part in the LLF 2013 were Pran Nevile, Urvashi Butalia and Jeet Thayil.
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK WON FOUR AWARDS AT THE INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS
Silver Linings Playbook won four awards at the Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica on 24 February 2013. The movie won best film, best screenplay, best director for David O Russell and best actress for Jennifer Lawrence at the film awards. The awards were presented by Daniel Radcliffe, Salma Hayek and Jeremy Renner.
NASA SCIENTISTS SPOTTED THE YOUNGEST BLACK HOLE W49B IN THE MILKY WAY
NASA scientists spotted the youngest black hole yet in the Milky Way galaxy called W49B, which is just 1000-years-old and only 26000 light-years away from Earth. New data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory suggested a highly distorted supernova remnant may contain the most recent black hole formed in the Milky Way galaxy. NASA explained that W49B appears to be the product of a rare explosion in which matter is ejected at high speeds along the poles of a rotating star. Laura Lopez, who led the study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said that W49B is the first of its kind to be discovered in the galaxy.
SILK ROUTE CAR RALLY FROM KOLKATA TO KUNMING ORGANISED BY CII FLAGGED OFF
The Silk Route Car rally from Kolkata to Kunming organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and supported by the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation (BCIM) was flagged off on 22 February 2013 from Helipad Ground in Salt Lake Stadium, West Bengal. In its 3000 kilometer long journey the car rally will pass from North-East of India to Bangladesh than will enter back to North-East and then to Myanmar to head
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 273
Page 274
towards China. The rally will end on 5 March 2013 at Kunming, China. A total of eighty participants from India, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar in 20 SUVs will rally on the ancient trade route that have remained closed for more than six decades, post World War II. Success of the rally may help in redefining the ancient trade route and bring out the trade potential of the region.
RATAN TATA AWARDED THE LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2012 BY ERNST & YOUNG
Ratan Tata, the former head of Tata Group was awarded the life time achievement award 2012 by Ernst & Young on 21 February 2013. He was given away the award for displaying great role for the Indian businessmen on global business level. The entrepreneur of the year (2012) award was given away to Adi Godrej, Godrej Group Chairman. It is important to note that entrepreneur of the year award is an only business award which is based on self-nomination. Also, Ernst & Young announced names of successful entrepreneurs in various categories and these awards were given away to TT Jagannathan, Chairman, TTK Group; Fr ancisco DSouza, Chief Executive Officer, Cognizant Technology Solutions; Cyrus S Poonawalla, Managing Director, Serum Institute of India and Onkar S Kanwar, Chairman and Managing Director, Apollo Tyres.
TWO BLASTS IN HYDERABAD CLAIMED 14 LIVES AND LEFT 119 INJURED

Two bomb blasts took place in Dilsukhnagar, the busy shopping area of Hyderabad, the Capital City of Andhra Pradesh on 21 February 2013. 14 people were reported dead and 119 were critically injured in the serial blasts that rocked the city around 6:50 pm. Investigations were ordered by both the Central Government and the State Government to find out the group involved in the blast. The State Government of Andhra Pradesh appointed a probe team into the matter. The blasts were triggered using the Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), which were placed on two different bicycles at a distance of 100 meters from each other near Konark and Venkatadri theatres. The area of blasts lie on the Hyderabad-Vijaywada National Highway within Cyberabad police limits.
T. S. VIJAYAN, THE FORMER LIC CHIEF TOOK OVER AS THE CHAIRMAN OF IRDA
T. S. Vijayan, the former LIC chief took over as the Chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) on 21 February 2013. Vijayan will succeed J. Hari Narayan. J. Hari Narayan completed the five-year term on 20 February 2013. The tenure for IRDA chairman is five years or till 65 years. T. S. Vijayan will take over as the Chairman of IRDA when the entire industry is facing meltdown. The challenges which will be faced by him include taking the insurance industry to rural areas as well as simplifying the insurance products.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 274
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 MALAYSIA LIFTED THE BAN IMPOSED ON PUBLIC SCREENING OF VISHWAROOPAM
Page 275
The Malaysian Authorities on 19 February 2013 lifted the ban imposed on the screening of the Tamil movie Vishwaroopam, directed and produced by Kamal Haasan for public screening. Earlier on 24 January 2013 the authorities approved the screening of the movie in Malaysia but following the directives released by the Home Ministry that the content of the movie portrayed Islam in a negative light, the approval was withdrawn. The movie received a go-ahead in Malaysia after the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and the National Censorship Board studied the movie from all aspects including religious and security fronts and gave a green signal to its screening.
NASA RE-ESTABLISHED CONTACT WITH ISS AFTER 3 HOURS OF BLOCKED COMMUNICATION

The ground controllers of NASA re-established its contact with International Space Station in just less than 3 hours after the computer failure had blocked their communication. The flight controllers of Houston were updating the ISS software when the data relay system broke down. But ISS was able to irregularly contact NASA through the Russian stations. Usually, NASA communicates to ISS from Houston through three communication satellites. Interruptions like these have happened certain times in past. The main problem was that the primary computer that has the responsibility of controlling the critical functions of the ISS defaulted to the backup computer. But it did not allow the ISS to communicate with the Tracking and Data Relay Satellites of NASA.
BLACK MONEY GENERATED IN INDIA WOULD EXCEED 10 PERCENT OF GDP: NIPFP

A 1000 page report submitted by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) to the finance ministry estimated that unlawful wealth would exceed 10 percent or more of GDP, i.e., above 10 lakh crore Rupees as per the size of the economy. The study was commissioned by NIPFP in last week of December 2012 in order to quantify the black money that was generated in India. The study conducted by NIPFP was headed by the head of NIPFP's tax policy and research and also included former director general of income tax investigation. The report presented a sector-wise division of the scope of black money in India, for example, telecom sector, mining sector and real estate sector.
TZIPI LIVNI ENTERED INTO A COALITION DEAL WITH BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel on 19 February 2013 announced a coalition deal with the rival centrist Hatnua Party Chairwomen and the former Israeli Foreign Minister,
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 275
Page 276
Tzipi Livni, at Jerusalem. Under the deal agreement, Livni will serve as the new Justice Minister and will oversee the peace efforts with the Palestinians.
RETD. JUSTICE BHATT TO CONDUCT JUDICIAL PROBE IN ALLAHABAD RAILWAY STATION STAMPEDE
The State Government of Uttar Pradesh on 18 February 2013 appointed Onkareshwar Bhatt, the retired Justice of Allahabad High Court to conduct Judicial Probe into the Allahabad Railway Station Stampede that occurred during Kumbh Mela. The constituted committee that will probe into the matter is a one-man committee and was directed to submit its report in two months. The State Government ordered a Judicial Probe into the incident that occurred on the day of Mauni Amawasya 10 February 2013 at the Allahabad Railway Station during Kumbh Mela.
MRITUNJAY SINGH APPOINTED AS THE JOINT COO OF PERSISTENT SYSTEMS

Mritunjay Singh was appointed as the new joint Chief Operation Officer (COO) of the Persistent Systems, a software product and technology service providing company. At this post, Mritunjay had been made responsible for managing the operations of the company and work alongside the Executive Director and COO, Nitin Kulkarni. Mritunjay Singh had joined Persistent Systems from Infosys, where he served as the delivery head for the financial services and insurance application development and maintenance unit. He was also the head of Infosys Pune development centre.
KAI PO CHE, CHETAN B HAGATS NOVEL -BASED MOVIE PREMIERED

Abhishek Kapoor's Kai Po Che based on the novel of Chetan Bhagat- 3 Mistakes of My Life was premiered on 18 February 2013. Produced by Sidharth Roy Kapur, the movie premier witnessed some Bollywood stars such as Vidya Balan, Hrithik Roshan and his wife Sussanne Roshan as well as Ranveer Singh. Kai Po Che is the Bollywood debut of Sushant Singh Rajput as well as Amit Sadh. The plot of the movie revolves around three friends, the characters of whom are played by Sushant, Amit and Rajkumar Yadav. Kai Po Che will release on 22 February 2013. In the third week of February 2013, the movie attracted many at Berlin Film Festival.
ELA BHATT CONFERRED 2011 INDIRA GANDHI PRIZE FOR PEACE, DISARMAMENT AND DEVELOPMENT AWARD
The President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 18 February 2013 conferred 2011 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development Award to Ela Ramesh Bhatt, a renowned Women social worker. The award was given away at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Ela Bhatt was given away the award for life time achievements in women empowerment, promotion of grassroot level entrepreneurship as well as contribution towards promotion of equitable development and peace. Ela Bhatt has her organisation SEWA (Self-Employed Womens
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 276
Page 277
Association). President Pranab Mukherjee while giving away the award announced that SEWA was a vehicle of self employment and self reliance for the Indian women, while at the same time being synonymous with the rural inclusiveness.
ECUADORS PRESIDENT RAFAEL CORREA RE-ELECTED FOR A THIRD TERM

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa was re-elected for a third term with more than 50 percent of the vote according to the election results declared in the third week of February 2013. As per the results, Rafael Correa got 56.7 percent while his closest competitor Guillermo could secure only 23.3 percent. Correa is a socialist leader who was first elected in 2007. He is credited with bringing political stability to a nation that experienced several protests and coups. He is known for his citizen revolution which made him popular among people of Ecuador. He is 49 years old.
INDIAS EXTERNAL AFF AIRS MINISTER VISITED BANGLADESH TO COCHAIR THE 2ND MEETING OF JCC
External Affairs Minister of India, Salman Khurshid paid an official visit to Bangladesh on 16-17 February 2013 to co-chair the second meeting of the INDIA-BANGLADESH JOINT CONSULTATIVE COMMISSION (JCC). Both nations reviewed the progress of initiatives taken under the Framework Agreement since the last meeting and hold discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral relations including power, water resources, security, border management, people-to-people exchanges, trade, connectivity, culture, development cooperation, environment and education. The JCC was constituted under the Framework Agreement on Cooperation for Development signed during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh in September 2011. The first meeting of the JCC was held in New Delhi in May 2012.
RONALD DWORKIN, THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW EXPERT AND PHILOSOPHER OF AMERICA DIED AT 81
American philosopher and Constitutional law expert, Ronald Dworkin died in a hospital at London on 14 February 2013. The liberal scholar who argued that the law should be founded on moral integrity died at the age of 81 suffering from leukemia. He is now survived by his wife, Irene Brendel Dworkin, two children Anthony Dworkin and Jennifer Dworkin and two grandchildren.
ROMANIAN FILM CHILD S POSE BAGGED THE GOLDEN BEAR PRIZE

The Romanian film Child's Pose on 16 February 2013 bagged the coveted GOLDEN BEAR PRIZE for best film at the 63rd Berlin film festival. The Romanian drama is about a dominating mother using her social position to try to save her son from jail. The awards ceremony brought to a close the 11-day cinema showcase, where hundreds of movies were screened across Berlin. US independent director David Gordon Green won the SILVER BEAR BEST DIRECTOR AWARD for www.jagranjosh.com
Page 277
Page 278
his movie Prince Avalanche. The movie, the only comedy movie among the 19 contenders at the festival, features Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch in the lead roles as highway maintenance workers in Texas at a crossroads in their lives.
BANGLADESH BANNED THE JAPANESE CARTOON DORAEMON TO CURB HINDI INVASION

Bangladesh banned the Japanese cartoon Doraemon in the third week of February 2013 because of the fears that children watching the Hindi-dubbed version were struggling to cope up with their native language- Bangla. Information Minister of Bangladesh Hasanul Haque Inu declared that all television channels which screened Doraemon were sent official notifications in which it was ordered that all the series should be taken off-air. The minister declared that the Government of Bangladesh did not want the educational atmosphere of the children to be disturbed by this Japanese cartoon.
ASOKE KUMAR MUKERJI APPOINTED AS THE NEXT PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF INDIA TO THE UN
Asoke Kumar Mukerji was appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations on 13 February 2013. Mukerji replaced Hardeep Singh Puri who retired in February 2013 after the tenure of two years. Asoke Kumar Mukerji was chosen by the Ministry of External Affairs of the Union Government of India. At present, Mukerji is Special Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry. He also served as the Consul General in Dubai as well as the Deputy High Commissioner in London.
SANSKRIT AS A LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE

In the event, Sanskrit was described as the language of science. It was also declared that Sanskrit was the base language for science and that even the scientists from NASA were developing programmes on the artificial language in Sanskrit. Even JNU developed certain programmes on the basis of Sanskrit. Justice Katju explained that Sanskrit language which was read and spoken in modern times in India was actually shaped and defined by Panini and that it was a very powerful instrument for expressing scientific ideas with precision.
METEORITE EXPLODED OVER THE SKIES OF RUSSIA LEFT MORE THAN 500 INJURED
The meteorite that weighed around 10 tonnes entered the earths atmosphere over Siberia above the skies of Ural Mountains on 15 February 2013. The meteorite that travelled at a speed of 15 to 20 kilometer per second created a panic kind of situation and resulted into shockwaves that blasted windows and rocked buildings. Russian Emergency Situations Ministry declared that the shockwaves injured around 500 people out of which 84 were children.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 278
Page 279
OSCAR PISTORIUS CHARGED FOR SHOOTING DEAD HIS GIRLFRIEND

Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee Blade Runner from South Africa was charged on 14 February 2013 for allegedly shooting dead his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, at his home in Pretoria. Oscar Pistorius Oscar Pistorius is a South African sprint runner, who turned up to be the first double-legamputee, who lined up in the starting blocks with the able bodied competitors in the men's 400 metres race during the London Olympics 2012. He won gold medals in the men's 400 metre race in a Paralympic and set a record time of 46.68 seconds as well as he managed to create a world record in the 4 100 metres relay in 41.78 seconds
ONE BILLION RISING CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED TO END THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
The entire world came together on one platform to raise the voice for the violence against women across the globe by participating in ONE BILLION RISING Campaign. This is a global campaign to rise against violence and take a stand for the one billion women. Almost 200 hundred countries are taking part in this campaign. UN in its message stated that by standing together the world can end the violence against women and girls and build a world where all live free from harassment and fear. In fact, the governments across the globe should make a concrete commitment of action to end the violence against women and girls.
SEVENTEENTH CONVOCATION OF THE NIMHANS HELD IN BANGALORE

Seventeenth Convocation of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) was held on 14 February 2013 in Bangalore. Chief Guest of the convocation was the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad.
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TRADITIONAL MEDICINE FOR SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES ENDED

The two-day International Conference on Traditional Medicine for South-East Asian Countries concluded with the Adoption of Delhi Declaration in New Delhi on 13 February 2013. The Delhi Declaration was made for fostering the development of Traditional Medicine of the region.
MOHAN PARASARAN APPOINTED AS THE SOLICITOR GENERAL OF INDIA

Mohan Parasaran, the Additional Solicitor General was on 13 February 2013 appointed as the Solicitor General of India after senior advocate Rohinton Nariman resigned from his
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 279
Page 280
designation. Mohan Parasaran will serve as the Solicitor General of India for a term of three years. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) cleared his name for Solicitor General of India. Rohinton Nariman resigned from his post in Early February 2013. Mohan Parasaran is a senior advocate of the Supreme Court. He was appointed by first UPA Government as Additional Solicitor General (ASG) in July 2004.
AERO INDIA 2013 ENDED AFTER DISPLAYING MAGNIFICENT AEROBATIC SKILLS

The 9th edition of Aero India 2013, a five-day aviation show organised by the Defence Exhibition Organization of the Ministry of Defence ended at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka, Bangalore on 10 February 2013 after displaying its magnificent aerobatic skills and belongings that created a chance of winning potential business tie-ups and networking. Defence Minister of India, A K Antony inaugurated the Air Show on 6 February 2013. During the inauguration ceremony of the 9th Edition of Aero India show, Aero Space Policy of Karnataka state was unveiled by the Defence Minister of India, A K Antony.
WORLD RADIO DAY WAS OBSERVED TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF RADIO
World Radio Day was observed on 12 February 2013 to raise awareness about the importance of radio, facilitate access to information through it and enhance networking among broadcasters. On the 18th of December, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the 2011 resolution adopted by the UNESCO General Conference, proclaiming the 13th of February as World Radio Day, the day United Nations Radio was established in 1946. Since its invention more than a century ago, the radio serves as a channel for information and entertainment. The multi-purpose medium is an important source of information in those areas which are sometimes too remote to get a newspaper delivered.
LYONCHHEN JIGMI Y. THINLEY, PRIME MINISTER OF BHUTAN VISITED INDIA

Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley was on the home visit to India from 7 February to 9 February 2013. During his visit to India he met with President of Indian UnionPranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Vice-President of India-Hamid Ansari, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, Minister of Finance-P Chidambaram and Foreign Secretary-Ranjan Mathai.
KALYAN KUMAR CHAKRAVARTY APPOINTED AS THE CHAIRMAN OF LALIT KALA AKADEMI

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee appointed Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty as the chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi on 12 February 2013. Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty is the IAS officer of 1970 batch and retired from the designation of Secretary to Government of India. Kalyan Kumar
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 280
Page 281
Chakravarty will retain his position till 31 December 2017. Chakravarty also served in Madhya Pradesh government. He had also remained member-secretary of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and director general of the National Museum, New Delhi apart from vice chancellor of the National Museum Institute.
GIUSEPPE ORSI HELD ON BRIBE CHARGES IN INDIAN DEFENCE HELICOPTER DEAL

Giuseppe Orsi, head of an Italian defence and aerospace giant Finmeccanica was arrested in Milan on 11 February 2013 on the charges of his alleged involvement in the bribery activity to secure an Indian defence helicopter deal of 3600 crore rupees. He was arrested in relation to the probe of the international corruption.
2G PROSECUTOR REMOVED FOR HIS ALLEGED INVOLVEMENT IN LEAKING AGENCY'S TRIAL STRATEGY
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 11 February 2013 removed the public prosecutor AK Singh from the 2G Spectrum Case. The decision of removal came after the alleged public prosecutor was caught discussing the strategy of prosecution with one of the prime accused of the 2G Spectrum Allocation Case in a taped conversation. The 2G Spectrum Case is under trial in a Court of Special Judge at New Delhi and the court was informed about the alleged involvement if the Public Prosecutor by the CBI. AK Singh was the part of the 2G scam legal team of the CBI that was headed by the senior lawyer UU Lalit (the special public prosecutor in the case).
AFZAL GURUS SECRET HANGING WAS CALLED OPERATION THREE STAR

Operation Three Star: Code name given to secret plan for executing Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist Afzal Guru in Tihar Jail on 9 February 2013. Operation Three Star started on 4 February 2013, just a day after the President of India Pranab Mukherjee rejected mercy plea of Afzal Guru. A few top officials of Home Ministry were aware about secret Operation Three Star. Afzal Guru was hanged on 9 February 2013 at 8 AM in Tihar Jail, New Delhi. Afzal Guru was guilty of conspiring as well as providing shelter to terrorists who attacked Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001. Hanging of Mumbai terror attack militant Ajmal Kasab was called Operation X. he was hanged at Yerwada Central Jail on 21 November 2012.
FINANCE MINISTER P CHIDAMBARAM LAUNCHED RAJIV GANDHI EQUITY SAVINGS SCHEME IN MUMBAI
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on 9 February 2013 launched the much-awaited Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme in Mumbai. The move will encourage new investors to put their money in the stock market. The scheme, which was announced in the Budget 2011-12, seeks to provide tax benefits to first-time investors in stock market. Under the scheme, an individual
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 281
Page 282
with an income of less than 10 lakh rupees would get tax incentives for investing up to 50000 rupees in the stock market. As per the notification issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India on the scheme, there would be a lock-in period of one year on investments made under the scheme.
MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LAUNCHED MONTHLY BI-LINGUAL SHUBH YATRA MAGAZINE

Ministry of Civil Aviation on 8 February 2013 released Shubh Yatra, an exclusive monthly bilingual (Hindi & English) inflight magazine of Air India. It covers travel, lifestyle, culture and entertainment in all colour and spice.
THE UNION GOVERNMENT OF INDIA APPROVED SETTING UP OF NPCA

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 7 February 2013 approved the proposal for the merger of National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) and National Wetlands Conservation Programme (NWCP) to develop a new scheme named National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA). The estimated cost to bring this plan into operations during the 12th Plan Period is 900 crore rupees. The Government of India and the State Governments would be sharing the costs in a ratio of 70:30 and in case of the North-Eastern states the ratio is 90:10.
BOOK TITLED NETAJI SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE AND GERMANY PRESENTED TO THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA
First copy of the book titled Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Germany by Professor Anita B. Pfaff was given to the President of India Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 6 February 2013. The book was brought out by the Federation of Indo-German Societies in India. The book is a collection of the records shared by Professor Anita Pfaff as well as other known biographers and writers. The book depicts interesting facts about the life of Netaji and his contribution to freedom struggle of India. The President described the book as a tribute to Netaji.
YES BANK AWARDED FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS SYNDICATED DEAL OF THE YEAR 2012
YES Bank, the fourth largest private sector Bank of India was awarded the Financial Institutions Syndicated Deal of the Year 2012 in its Asia Pacific Region. The award was given for 155 million US dollar syndicated loan. The award was given away by Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA), which is a leading trade association for syndicated loan market in this region. The award ceremony was held in Hong Kong. The 155 million US dollar loan which was syndicated by YES bank was distributed across 9 different countries from 14 banks.
EDUCATION MINISTER OF GERMANY ANNETTE SCHAVAN STRIPPED OF DOCTORATE FOR PLAGARISM

www.jagranjosh.com
Page 282
Page 283
Annette Schavan the Education Minister of Germany on 6 February 2013 was stripped of her doctorate degree by the committee of academics at Duesseldorfs Heinrich Heine University. The University took the action after the committee considered the allegations of plagiarism done by Schavan in different parts of the thesis submitted to the University. The allegations were made against the Education Minister by an anonymous blogger in 2012 claiming the Annette Schavan failed to cite the passages properly of the thesis in philosophy submitted to the University in 1980. Before this, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the former Defence Minister of Germany resigned from his office in 2011 after it was confirmed that a major portion of doctoral thesis submitted by him to avail the doctorate was copied.
UNION CABINET APPROVED DRDO FOR DEVELOPING AWACS FOR IAF

The Union Cabinet of India on 6 February 2013 gave approval to Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for developing an indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) for IAF. AWACS allows IAF to keep a close watch on the enemy territory. The government granted an in-principal approval to the proposal for developing an indigenous AWACS. The approval was granted in the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security.
PRESIDENT OF NEPAL, DR. RAM BARAN YADAV VISITED INDIA

Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, the President of Nepal was on a visit to India from 24 December to 29 December 2012. During his visit to India, he attended the Special Convocation of Banaras Hindu University that marked the concluding ceremony of the Birth Ceremony of Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya on 25 Dcember 2012. During his stay in India, he inaugurated the Maithili Play presented by Nepalese Artists at Sriram Center on 28 December 2012.
KING OF BHUTAN VISITED INDIA AS REPUBLIC DAY FUNCTION CHIEF GUEST

The King and Queen of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema respectively visited India from 23 January to 30 January 2013. King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck was invited by the Indian President to be the Chief Guest for the Republic Day Celebrations of India. The visit of the King of Bhutan and his acceptance to be the chief guest for the Republic Day celebration would contribute to further strengthening and expansion of the bilateral relation and ties between Bhutan and India. During his visit, the King of Bhutan met with President of India, the Vice-President, Prime Minister, UPA Chairperson, Leader of Opposition in Lok sabha, Foreign Secretary, National Security Advisor.
RAJKESWUR PURRYAG, PRESIDENT OF MAURITIUS VISITED INDIA

Rajkeswur Purryag, President of Republic of Mauritius visited India from 3 January 2013 to 10 January 2013. He was accompanied by Aneetah Purryag as well as the Ministers of Arts & Culture and of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment, and senior officials. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 283
Page 284
ROHINTON F NARIMAN SOLICITOR-GENERAL OF INDIA RESIGNED FROM HIS OFFICE

Rohinton F Nariman, the Solicitor-General of India resigned from his office on 4 February 2013. He was appointed at the second highest law official of India on 23 July 2011 after Gopal Subramanium resigned from his office on 14 July 2011 following the issues with Government in context to the 2G Spectrum Allocation Scam. Nariman was designated as a senior advocate at the age of 37, when M.N. Venkatachaliah, the Chief Justice of India amended the rules and reduced the age from 45 years for designating a lawyer as a senior advocate. In the history of last four decades, only three Solicitor Generals have been successful in completing his five year term in the office and they are - L N Sinha from 1972-77, Dipankar Gupta from 1992-97 and G E Vahanvati from 2004-09.
WORLD CANCER DAY OBSERVED ACROSS THE WORLD

World cancer day was observed on 4 February 2013 in order to raise awareness about this illness as well as to promote the measures, early detection, prevention and treatment of the disease. The theme for World Cancer Day, 2013 was Cancer - Did you know? The theme focused on dispelling the misconceptions associated with the disease. Various functions on the day were organised by Union for International Cancer Control, which is the leading organisation for cancer fighting.
NASA LAUNCHED A NEW COMMUNICATION SATELLITE CALLED TDRS

NASA on 31 January 2013 launched a new communication satellite to stay in touch with its space station astronauts and relay more Hubble telescope images. An unmanned Atlas V rocket blasted into the starry night sky carrying the TRACKING AND DATA RELAY SATELLITE (TDRS) from Cape Canaveral. This is the 11th TDRS satellite to be launched by NASA. The space agency uses the orbiting network to communicate with astronauts living on the International Space Station. The first TDRS spacecraft flew in 1983.
MUTHUNAYAGAM AND SARASWAT TO BE AWARDED WITH ARYABHATTA AWARD BY THE ASI

The Astronautical Society of India (ASI) in the last week of December 2012 announced names of former secretary of the Department of Ocean Development, Dr. A.E. Muthunayagam and Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister for prestigious Aryabhatta Award for the year 2010 and 2011 respectively. The two have been selected for the achievement in rocketry.
SCIENTIST VENKATESH MANNAR HONOURED WITH ORDER OF CANADA AWARD
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 284
Page 285
Venkatesh Mannar a Channai-born Scientist of Indian Origin and President, Micronutrient Initiative, Canada was awarded with Canadas Highest Civilian Award the Order of Canada in the last week of December 2012. Mannar, a Graduate from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and a post graduate in chemical engineering from Northwestern University, US, was honoured with the award for his forty years long contribution working towards reduction of debilitating micronutrient deficiencies among the worlds most vulnerable.
S. RAMAKRISHNAN TOOK OVER AS DIRECTOR OF VIKRAM SARABHAI SPACE CENTRE

A senior Scientist from ISRO, S. Ramakrishnan took over as the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram in the first week of January 2013. Ramakrishnan carries a four decades of experience in rocketry and headed the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at ISRO. He replaced P S Veeraraghavan.
URJIT PATEL WAS APPOINTED AS THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA
Urjit Patel was appointed as the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India on 3 January 2013. Urjit Patel succeeds Subir Gokarn, who handled Monetary Policy in RBI. The three-year term of Subir Gokarn terminated in November 2012 but he was given an extension which ended finally on 31 December 2012.
SWITZERLAND BEST PLACE TO BE BORN IN THE WORLD, INDIA RANKED 66TH: SURVEY
Switzerland, which is said to be the tourist paradise, emerged as best place to be born in 2013, as per the survey held by the Economist Intelligence, the sister company of The Economist. India was ranked 66th, among the last 15 countries where a baby should begin life. The worst place for a baby to start life was violence-hit African country Nigeria. The survey included 80 nations and Australia ranked second followed by Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Singapore, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Canada and New Zealand were also ranked among top 10.
JUSTICE AMITAVA ROY SWORN IN AS CHIEF JUSTICE OF RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT

Justice Amitava Roy on 2 January 2013 was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court. The oath was administered to him at Raj Bhavan by the Governor of Rajasthan Margaret Alva. With taking over the oath he asserted that there was scope for strengthening the trial processes related to prevention of atrocities against women. He acknowledged the need for the courts to reduce the trial time.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 285
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 FREEDOM FIGHTER PANDIT RAM SANEHI SHUKLA DIED
Page 286
Pandit Ram Sanehi Shukla, the veteran freedom fighter died at the age of 98 at Sahebpur Village under Madiyahon tehsil on 3 January 2013. Shukla, who was a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, died after surviving a long illness. The last rites of the freedom fighter were performed at the Manikarnika Ghat of Varanashi with full state honour.
FIRST EARTHQUAKE-PROOF HINDU TEMPLE OF THE WORLD OPENED NEAR HOLLYWOOD

One among the biggest Hindu temples in US, which is built at an enormous cost of 100 million dollar near Hollywood city, Los Angeles was opened on 3 January 2013. The temple became an attraction for its majesty as well as eco-friendly design ever since it was inaugurated on 23 December 2012. This is the 68th Swaminarayan temple built by Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) by making use of the 35000 hand-carved Italian Carrara marble pieces as well as Indian Pink Sandstone. The temple is also said to be the first earthquake-proof Hindu temple of the world and it is expected to standstill for 1000 years.
PROF. RAVINDRA DHOLKIA TO HEAD FIVE-MEMBER COMMITTEE OF AIR INDIA

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on 3 January 2013 constituted a five-member committee to look into and suggest the measures that can be taken for cost cutting as well as optimal utilization of resources in Air India. The committee would be headed by Prof. Ravindra Dholkia of IIM, Ahmedabad. The Ministry has provided a two months time to Prof. Dholkia and the committee to submit its report along with interim recommendations, for immediate implementation.
VIOLIN MAESTRO M.S. GOPALAKRISHNAN DIED AT THE AGE OF 82

Padma Bhushan M.S. Gopalakrishnan, the Violin maestro died on 3 January 2012 at the age of 82. He died with the complaints of breathlessness and a brief illness. The violinist was an expert in Hindustani and Carnatic systems of classical music. He is now survived by his wife and a violinist son and daughter M Narmada and Suresh Respectively and another daughter Latha.
PM MANMOHAN SINGH BECAME THE 19TH MOST FOLLOWED LEADER ON TWITTER

As per Digital Policy Council (DPC), PM Manmohan Singh became the 19th most followed leader of the world on Twitter. PM Manmohan Singh is ahead of David Cameron and Julia Gillard, both of who were left behind in less than 12 months time. The latest study conducted by Digital Policy Council (DPC) concluded that leaders of politically-unstable states or fragile states considered social media threatening but Manmohan Singh and India were an exception to this fact.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 286
Page 287
IRELANDS PRESTIGIOU S TIPPERARY INTERNATIONAL PEACE PRIZE FOR 2012 AWARDED TO MALALA
Irelands prestigious Tipperary International Peace Prize for 2012 was awarded on 3 January 2013 to Malala Yousafzai the teenage schoolgirl from Pakistan, who was shot by Talibans Gunman in October 2012. Malala would be conferred with the award for her bravery, courage and determination to speak and support the cause of access to equal education for every child. With this award, Malala became the second Pakistani National to win the award. Before this, Lt. Benazir Bhutto was awarded with the same award in 2007. Malala was one among the five nominees, which included Sonia Gandhi, the Indian National Congress Party President and Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State.
GERDA LERNER, THE WO MENS HISTORY PIONEE R, DIED AT 92

Gerda Lerner, the leader in womens history as well as the founding member of National Organization for Woman died on 2 January 2013 at Wisconsin. She was aged 92 years.
18TH NATIONAL LEVEL MEETING BETWEEN MYANMAR AND INDIA HELD IN NEW DELHI
The 18th National Level Meeting between Myanmar and India was held on 28 -29 December, 2012 in New Delhi. The Indian delegation was led by A.K Mangotra, Secretary, Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. While the Myanmar delegation was led by Brig. Gen. Kyaw Zan Myint, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. The major area of Discussion was that of drug trade, arms smuggling and extremism/terrorism.
SUNMEET KAUR BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN TO WIN 5 CRORE RUPEES ON KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI GAME SHOW
Sunmeet Kaur Sawhney, a housewife from the state of Punjab in January 2013 emerged as the first woman to win 5 crore rupees on the TV game show Kaun Banega Crorepati 6 (KBC). Sawhney who had studied till class XII only is a home tutor and she presently resides in the city of Mumbai. She used to give tuitions to young children in suburban Mumbai to add to the family income.
11TH PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS MEET KICKED OFF IN KERALA

The three-day 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) kicked off in Kochi on 7 January 2013. The event saw delightful response from the people with more than 2000 registrations. The distinctive feature of this year's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is that this is the first time that there is going to be an exclusive session on Middle East. The organizing partner of this year summit is Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC).
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 287
Page 288
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF ASTROPHYSICS TO DEVE LOP WORLDS LARGEST SOLAR TELESCOPE

The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore in the first week of January 2013 informed about its decision to come up with worlds largest solar telescope in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. The project would commence by the end of year 2013 and the telescope is likely to be placed at Hanle or Merak village near Pangong Lake in Ladakh. The telescope would be a 2-metre class, state-of-the-art National Large Solar Telescope (NLST). Its expected that the project would complete by 2017.
JUSTICE D.K. JAIN APPOINTED AS THE CHAIRMAN OF LAW COMMISSION

Union Government of India on 7 January 2012 appointed Justice D.K. Jain as Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India. Justice Jain would take on the chair of the Chairman of the Law Commission on 24 January 2012 after he retires of a Judge of Supreme Court on the same day. The Law Commission is responsible for offering advices on complex issues to the Government. He would be heading the commission as its chief for a period of three-years from the date of being in the office.
N.A.K. BROWNE INAUGURATED A MEDIUM LIFT HELICOPTER COMPLEX AT PHALODI

The Chief of the Air Staff, N.A.K. Browne inaugurated the Medium Lift Helicopter Complex on 7 January 2013 at Phalodi, near Jodhpur. The complex has been developed with the purpose of raising the new Mi-17 V5 helicopter Unit.
INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRED MANOEUVRABLE VERSION OF BRAHMOS SUPERSONIC MISSILE

India on 9 January 2013 successfully test-fired a highly manoeuvrable version of the 290-km range supersonic cruise missile BrahMos from a naval warship off the coast of Vishakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal. The missile blasted off in a pre-designated war scenario taking a double manoeuvre in S-form hitting the designated target ship just one meter above water line. The sheer velocity and power of hit made the missile rip through the ships hull.
FITCH RANKED INDIA'S SOVEREIGN RATING INTO NEGATIVE STATUS

The Rating Agency Fitch released its latest outlook on Indias Sovereign Ratin g on 8 January 2013 and maintained the negative status for India. The negative rating came out of the concerns over the inflammatory pressures, slow economic growth and uncertain fiscal outlook. Moodys and Standard and Poor are the other two agencies along with Fitch that has rated India into its negative category of the sovereign rating outlook. There are prospects of shifting
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 288
Page 289
India in the junk grade in case the economic slowdown and fundamentals doesnt improve in next few months.
AIR MARSHAL KULWANT SINGH GILL TOOK OVER AS THE COMMANDANT OF NDA
Air Marshal Kulwant Singh Gill on 8 January 2013 took over the charge of National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla as its new Commandant. Kulwant Singh replaced outgoing Lt. Gen Ashok Singh to take over this post.
RAJIV TAKRU APPOINTED SECRETARY OF FINANCIAL SERVICES IN THE FINANCE MINISTRY

Rajiv Takru, the Senior IAS officer on 9 January 2013 promoted and appointed as Secretary of Financial Services in the Finance Ministry. Rajiv Takru was promoted from his present post of Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The job of Rajiv Takru is that of looking after the functioning of banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions.
LIFE OF PI NOMINATED FOR BAFTA 2013 WITH NINE NOMINATIONS, LINCOLN LEADS WAY WITH 10 NODS
Life of Pi and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, the Hollywood films which had their shooting in India were chosen for the major BAFTA Awards 2013. The political drama of Steven Spielberg, Lincoln is leading its way with ten nominations. Suraj Sharma, the Indian actor was already nominated for the BAFTA Awards 2013 for the category of Rising Star. He acted as the Pi in Life of Pi directed by Ang Lee. Life of Pi and Les Miserables earned nine nominations respectively. These movies are competing with Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty and Argo in the category of Best Film. Daniel Day-Lewis was nominated for the category of Best Actor for his portrayal as US President in the movie Lincoln. Others who are nominated in this category include Ben Affleck for Argo, Joaquin Phoenix for The Master, Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook and Hugh Jackman for Les Miserables. Ang Lee was nominated for Best Director category in BAFTA for Life of Pi along with Ben Affleck (Argo), Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), Michael Haneke (Amour) and Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained).
RENAULT DUSTER AWARDED CAR OF THE YEAR AWARD 2013

Renault Duster was awarded the Car of the Year Award 2013 by the automotive magazine Autocar India at the annual awards night on 9 January 2013 in Mumbai. In the gala event, there was a strong competition for the award among some of the most renowned and reputed names in auto industry. Autocar India gave away 22 awards in all, in the two-wheeler as well as four-
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 289
Page 290
wheeler segment. Renault Duster grabbed three awards in all and these were SUV of the year 2013, viewers choice car of the year 2013 and overall Autocar car of the year 2013.
IAMAI REPORT: 64 PERCENT INTERNET USERS FROM RURAL INDIA PREFER VERNACULAR LANGUAGE
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on 9 January 2012 released the Vernacular Report 2012. The report described that a percentage of the rural people aware of the regional language content were higher than that of the Urban users. The report also revealed the fact that there are 45 million users in India, who access content in local language. A total of about the 64 percent population (24.3 million users out of the total 38 million) of the rural internet users prefer internet in their vernacular language. In case of 84 million urban users, a total of 25 percent users access or browse net in local languages and it constitutes of about 20.9 million people.
MALALA YOUSAFZAI HONOURED WITH FRANCE'S SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR PRIZE FOR WOMEN'S FREEDOM
Malala Yousafzai, 15, the schoolgirl from Pakistan shot by Taliban for campaigning girls education, on 9 January 2013 received France's Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women's Freedom in Paris. Malalas father Ziaudin Yousafzai received the honour on her behalf. The award is accompanied with 2.5 million Rupees honorarium.
19TH COLORS SCREEN AWARDS: RANBIR KAPOOR AND IRFAN KHAN DECLARED BEST ACTORS
The 19th Colors Screen Awards were announced on 12 January 2013 in a function at Mumbais Bandra Kurla Complex. From the list of 119 films released in 2012, 27 films were green signaled in the Screen Academy Selection singled for consideration by the Jury. The screen jury comprised the eminent members of the Indian Film Industry. These panelists after several rounds of discussions and debates were able to finalise the nominations. For details read the table: Award Category Winners
Best Film
Paan Singh Tomar
Best Actor Male
Irfan Khan for Paan Singh Tomar and Ranbir Kapoor for Barfi
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 290

Best Actress Female Vidya Balan for Kahaani
Page 291
Best Director
Anurag Basu for Barfi
Best Ensemble Cast
Gangs Of Wasseypur
Best Actor (Female-Popular Catagory)
Katrina Kaif
Best Actor (Male Popular Category)
Salman Khan
Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Female) Dolly Ahluwalia for Vicky Donor
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)
Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Talaash
Best Actor in (Male/Female)
Negative
Role Tigmanshu Dhulia for Gangs Of Wasseypur
Most Promising Newcomer (Female)
Ileana D'Cruz for Barfi
Most Promising Newcomer (Male)
Ayushmann Khurrana for Vicky Donor
Best Child Artiste
Mohammad Samad for Gattu
Promising Debut Director
Gauri Shinde for English Vinglish
Best Actor in (Male/Female)
Comic
Role Annu Kapoor for Vicky Donor and Abhishek Bachchan for Bol Bachchan
Best Playback Singer (Female)
Shalmali Kholgade for Ishaqzaade
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 291

Best Music Pritam for Barfi
Page 292
Best Playback Singer (Male)
Javed Ali for Ishaqzaade
Best Story
Sujoy Ghosh & Advaita Kala for Kahaani
Best Background Score
Pritam for Barfi
Best Production Design
Kaushik Dasa & Subrata Barik for Kahaani
Best Lyrics
Javed Akhtar for Talaash and Muskanein Jhoothi Hain
Best Sound Design
Sanjay Maurya & Allwyn Rego for Kahaani
Best Dialogue
Bhavesh Mandlia & Umesh Shukla for OMG: Oh My God
Best Screenplay
Sanjay Chouhan & Tigmanshu Dhulia for Paan Singh Tomar
Best Editing
Namrata Rao for Kahaani
Best Choreography
Prabhu Deva & Vishnu Deva for Go Govinda and OMG: Oh My God
Best Cinematography
Ravi Varman for Barfi
Best Action
Sham Kaushal For Gangs Of Wasseypur
Best Costume
Anaita Shroff Adajania for Cocktail
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 292

Best Animation Delhi Safari
Page 293
Best Marketing
Barfi
Legend of Indian Cinema Award
Amitabh Bachchan
Lifetime Achievement Award
Yash Chopra
GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS 2013: ARGO WON BEST PICTURE AND BEST DIRECTOR AWARDS
In the prestigious Golden Globe Awards 2013, the hostage-crisis movie Argo thrashed Lincoln to bag best picture as well as best director awards on 13 January 2013. Les Miserables, on the other hand won the awards in best musical or comedy category with the actors Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman winning one trophy each. The award-winning movie Argo is actually inspired by 1979 crisis US diplomats in Iran. In the category of Best Drama, other nominees were Django Unchained, Zero Dark Thirty as well as Life of Pi.
HEALTH MINISTERS OF BRICS DECIDED TO SET UP TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP (TWG)

TWG (Technical Working Group): The group set up by the BRICS nation to exchange information regarding the prevailing systems and institutional mechanisms through meetings. The Health Ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) in the second week of January 2013 decided to set up a Technical Working Group (TWG). As per the Agreed Action Plan released by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry, member countries will nominate their respective Nodal Officers to work jointly for the Working Group.
WORLD CONFERENCE ON INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS (WCIT-12) HELD IN DUBAI

International telecommunication Union (ITU) summoned the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates which was held from 3 to14 December 2012. In the landmark conference, it was decided that the current International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs) shall be reviewed.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 293
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 ADOLF HITLER BASED NOVEL TITLED ER IST WIEDER DA BECAME GERMANYS BESTSELLER
Page 294
New novel about Adolf Hitler, called Er Ist Wieder Da (Hes Back) authored by Timur Vermes became the bestseller in Germany, replacing Winter Of The World by Ken Follet. Er Ist Wieder Da is the novel that makes use of the proactive approach with a tinge of comedy and satire. The book was released in September 2012. About the author Timur Vermes who authored the book is a former journalist. He described his book as something that makes use of the comic theme to put forward the authenticity of Hitler.
HALIMAH YACOB BECAME FIRST WOMAN SPEAKER OF THE SINGAPORE PARLIAMENT

Halimah Yacob (58) became the first woman and the 9th Speaker of the Singapore Parliament on 14 January 2013. She replaced Michael Palmer, the former People's Action Party MP. Palmer got down from the post of Speaker of the Parliament and as an MP on 12 December 2012. Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong nominated her for the designation of speaker.
PRESIDENT PRANAB MUKHERJEE HONOURED 18 STATES WITH KRISHI KARMAN AWARDS

President Pranab Mukherjee on 15 January 2013 presented Krishi Karman awards for 2011-12 to eight states, which includes the state of UP and Bihar for improving the food grain production and commendation awards to 10 other states. About Krishi Karman Award Krishi Karman awards were instituted in 2010-11. It recognise the effort made by states in foodgrain production. The awards are given to best performing states in two broad categories, one for the total foodgrain production and the other for the individual foodgrain crops of rice, wheat, pulses and coarse cereals.
CHINESE AUTHOR ZHAO JIANG TO LAUNCH HER FIRST BOOK IN TAMIL, CHINA S TRAVEL ATTRACTION S
Zhao Jiang the Director of the Government-run China Radio Internationals (CRI) Tamil station has written a book in Tamil titled Chinas Travel Attractions. The book will carry her Tamil name Kalaimakal. This is her first book in Tamil and would make a debut in the Chennai Book fair that is going on in YMCA College Ground in Nandanam and will continue till 23 January 2013. The book by Zhao Jiang would be available on the stall of the publication house named Gowtham Pathippagam.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 294
Page 295
MAHAVEER GOLECHHA, LONDON-BASED INDIAN RESEARCHER SELECTED FOR AWARD FOR ALZHEIMER'S DRUG
Mahaveer Golechha, the London-based Indian researcher was selected to be felicitated for an award that includes his work on a drug that can be a potential cure of Alzheimer's disease. Golechha, 27 would receive this Young Investigator Scholarship Award which will be awarded by the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation at its 7th Annual Drug Discovery for Neurodegeneration Conference in February 2013 at San Francisco.
SSPI TO HONOUR PROF. U R RAO BY INDUCTING HIM AS A MEMBER TO THE SATELLITE HALL OF FAME
The Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) would honour, the Former Chairman of ISRO and Secretary Department of Space, Professor U R Rao by inducting him as the member of the prestigious Satellite Hall of Fame, Washington.
58TH IDEA FILMFARE AWARDS: BARFI! BAGS SEVEN AWARDS, KAHAANI SCRIPTS FIVE
58th Idea Filmfare Awards were given away on 20 January 2013 at YRF Studio, Andheri. At the 58th Idea Filmfare Awards, Barfi!, the much-acclaimed film grabbed seven Black Lady awards while, Kahaani bagged five awards. The award for the Best Actor was given to Ranbir Kapoor for his deaf-mute performance in Barfi! Vidya Balan, on the other hand was adjudged as the Best Actress for Kahaani. Barfi! was awarded with the Best Film award, while Kahaanis director Sujoy Ghosh won the Black Lady for the Best Director. The lifetime achievement award was given away to Yash Chopra posthumously. Yash Chopras wife Pamela collected this award on his behalf. Rest of the awards was as follows: Critics Award for Best Actor: Irrfan Khan for Paan Singh Tomar (Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia) Critics Award for Best Film: Gangs of Wasseypur (Director: Anurag Singh Kashyap ) Critics Award for Best Actor (Female): Richa Chadda for Gangs of Wasseypur Best Lyricist: Gulzar for Challa (Jab Tak Hai Jaan: Director Yash Chopra) Best Music Director: Pritam for Barfi! Best Background Score: Pritam for Barfi! Best Production Design: Rajat Podar for Barfi!
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 295

Best Playback (Female): Shalmali Kholgade for the song Pareshaan Best Playback (Male): Ayushmann Khurrana for the song Pani da Rang Lifetime Achievement Award -Yash Chopra Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Anushka Sharma (Jab Tak Hai Jaan) Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male): Annu Kapoor (Vicky Donor)
Page 296
BARACK OBAMA TOOK OATH AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR SECOND TERM
Barack Obama on 20 January 2013 formally took oath as the President of the United States of America in the oath-taking ceremony at the White House East Room. Justice John Roberts made him take the oath in presence of his family along with a closed group. The oath was taken in the brief oath-taking ceremony that was organised for meeting the constitutional guideline of taking the oath of the President and Vice-President on 20 January by noon. He took the oath as the President on the family Bible and repeated the same process of oath-taking on 21 January 2013 on the Bibles, which were used by Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln. He took the oath for the second time because 20 January 2013 was a Sunday and an official Holiday in United States.
PRESIDENT OF INDIA INAUGURATED THE CENTENARY YEAR CELEBRATION OF THE NATIONAL TEST HOUSE
Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India on 20 January 2013 inaugurated the centenary celebrations of the National Test House at Kolkata, West Bengal. The Governor of West Bengal, H.E. Mayankote Kelath Narayanan released a book on history of the National Test House and gifted its first copy to the President on this occasion.
ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA NOMINATED SAINA NEHWAL AND MARY KOM AS THE NATIONAL ICONS
The Election Commission (EC) of India on 22 January 2013 announced Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom as the National Icons to help promote, voter participation in India. Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom, both are Olympic Bronze Medalists in the London Olympics 2012, in Badminton and Boxing respectively. Apart from these two, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Captain of the Indian National Cricket Team and former President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam are the existing National Icons of the Board and they will continue to be at the position.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 296
Page 297
WEST BENGAL GOVERNMENT GAVE HERITAGE STA TUS TO NETA JIS ANCESTRAL HOUSE
The West Bengal Government on 22 January 2013, the day of Neta Ji Subhash Chandra Boses birth anniversary, declared that it would give a heritage status to his ancestral house at Kodalia in South 24 Parganas district. The Government also announced that if the need arises to acquire the land, than it is also ready to do so.
NMEW HELD THE SIXTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF PWDVA

The National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW) in collaboration with the Lawyers Collective Womens Rights Initiative (LCWRI), supported by UN Women held the Sixth National Conference on implementation of PWDVA (Protection of Women of from Domestic Violence Act), 2005 on 21 January 2013. The Sixth Monitoring and Evaluation Report titled Staying Alive: Evaluating Court Orders was released at the National Conference along with the release of the Best Practices Manual on the implementation of PWDV Act 2005 and a Resource Tool for Monitoring & Evaluation of PWDV Act 2005.
NATIONAL GIRL CHILD DAY CELEBRATED IN INDIA ON 24 JANUARY

24 January, National Girl Child Day: This day is celebrated as theNational Girl Child Day every year by the Government of India with an objective to raise consciousness of Indian society towards the girl children.
U.S. FEDERAL COURT SENTENCED 35 YEARS IN PRISON FOR DAVID COLEMAN HEADLEY
David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani-American and the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack 2008 was sentenced to 35 years in Prison on 24 January 2013 by a U.S. Court. The Court sentence would be followed by a five years of supervised release. The sentence was pronounced by the U.S. Federal District Court Judge Harry Leinenweber, who said that Headley was a terrorist and numerous crimes were committed by Headley but his confessions turned up to be the reason that lenient sentences were issued for him. David Coleman Headley David Coleman Headley is a Chicago based Pakistani-American, who was involved as a mastermind in Mumbai Terror Attack and many other terrorist activities. He is accused of carrying on the spying mission during the terror attacks of Mumbai in which 166 people died. In 2009 he was the mastermind to plan the attack on the Danish Newspaper, Jyllands-Posten.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 297
Page 298
MAJOR ABUP J MANJALI SELECTED FOR SECOND- HIGHEST PEACETIME GALLANTRY AWARD KIRTI CHAKRA
Major Abup J Manjali of the Rashtriya Rifles was selected for the award of Kirti Chakra for his extraordinary bravery efforts in counter- terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir. Major Manjali will be awarded on 26 January 2013. Major Manjali is the only soldier to receive this second- highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra on the Republic Day. Apart from him, eight other jawans as well as officers were selected to be awarded with the Shaurya Chakra.
INDIAN WRITER SHORTLISTED FOR THE PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL MAN BOOKER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2013
UR Ananthamurthy, the Kannada author was shortlisted among other ten authors for prestigious International Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2013. UR Ananthamurthy, 80, is an only Indian who was shortlisted in the final list of this prestigious award. The list of the awardees was announced at the Jaipur Literature Festival on 24 January 2013.
INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST FIRED A BALLISTIC MISSILE IN BAY OF BENGAL

India on 26 January 2013 successfully test fired an underwater ballistic missile, K-15(codenamed Bo5), with a strike range of around700 kilometres, from an underwater platform in Bay of Bengal. The medium range K-5 ballistic missile was test-fired from an underwater pontoon and all parameters of the test firing were met.
SREERAMAMURTHY JANAKI REFUSED TO ACCEPT PADMA BHUSHAN ON R-DAY

Sreeramamurthy Janaki, the renowned playback singer, refused to accept the Padma Bhushan award. She refused on the grounds that only some people from the Southern states were awarded and that honour given to her was too late. The padma awards are announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day. Apart from Janaki, the other person from Tamil Nadu who was chosen for the Padma Bhusan was industrialist Ramamurthy Thyagarajan.
SHAH RUKH KHAN RANKED FIRST IN INAUGURAL FORBES INDIA CELEBRITY 100 LIST
Shah Rukh Khan, the Bollywood superstar topped the inaugural Forbes India Celebrity 100 list. The ranking was given based on the popularity as well as income of the biggest entertainers of India. Second on the list was Salman Khan and MS Dhoni followed in the third position. The special edition of Forbes India judged in eight different categories, i.e., directors, film actors, TV personailities, models, comedians, sports stars, authors and singers/musicians. Even though Salman Khan and MS Dhoni were ahead in the ranking in terms of popularity, in comparison to www.jagranjosh.com
Page 298
Page 299
SRK, but the Bollywood King ranked high because of his earning, most of which came from the brand endorsements.
TAIWANESE BUSINESS MAGNATE LAUNCHES ASIA S NOBE L-TYPE PRIZES

A business tycoon from Taiwan with interests mainly in China declared on 28 January 2013 that he was funding the Asia's Nobel Prizes for outstanding achievements in natural and social sciences. Samuel Yin, the head of Ruentex Group announced that he would establish Tang Prize Foundation which would have an initial donation of 103 million dollar. About the Tang Prize Foundation The prizes under the Tang Prize Foundation will commence from 2014. The winners of the prize would be entitled to receive 1.7 million US dollar. Nobel prizes award 1.2 million US dollar to the awardees. The winners of the Tang Prize will be nominated as well as screened by the special committees which in turn would be established by the Academia Sinica, the highly prestigious research organisation of Taiwan.
MILOS ZEMAN BECAME C ZECH REPUBLICS FIRS T DIRECTLY ELECTED PRESIDENT

Milos Zeman became Czech Republics first directly elected President as per the Czech Republic Presidential election results declared on 25 January 2013. He won 55 percent as compared with 45 percent of Karel Schwarzenberg. Milos Zeman is the former Prime Minister of Czech Republic and head of the PARTY OF CIVIC RIGHTS-ZEMANOVCI (SPOZ) while Karel Schwarzenberg is foreign minister in the present centre-right coalition government. Zeman succeeds Vaclav Klaus as the President of Czech Republic.
WORLD ANTI-LEPROSY DAY OBSERVED TO FOCUS ATTENTION ON DISEASE

World anti Leprosy Day was observed on 30 January 2013 to focus attention and create awareness about the air-borne disease. The day is chosen in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi, who took a keen interest in the eradication of leprosy and the plight of people affected by it. Several programmes are being organised across India to galvanise people to fight the stigma and discrimination against leprosy which is now completely curable.
HARYANA TOPPED THE CHART OF STATES THAT EXCEEDED REVENUE MOP UP TARGET
Haryana topped on the chart of states for significantly exceeding the revenue mobilization targets as per the report released in the first week of December by the Planning Commission on State Finances during 11th Five Year Plan. As per the report, the state of Haryana was
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 299
Page 300
successful in mopping 64123 crore rupees during the Five Year Plan, which was 192 percent of the targeted resource mobilization for the 11th Plan.
RANJIT SINHA, SENIOR IPS OFFICER TOOK OVER AS CBI DIRECTOR

Ranjit Sinha, IPS officer of 1974-batch Bihar cadre on 3 December 2012 acquired the office as new CBI director. Ranjit Sinha, 59, who was holding the designation of director general IndoTibetan Border Police, succeeded A.P. Singh who retired from the CBI office on 30 November 2012. Sinha will have two-year duration as the CBI director. He had served in CBI agency initially as the DIG and joint director as well.
INDIA RANKED 94TH IN 2012 CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX RELEASED BY TRANSPARENCY INT.
India was ranked 94th out of 176 countries in Transparency Internationals 2012 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released on 5 December 2012. In 2011, India was ranked 95 out of 183 countries. Denmark, Switzerland and Finland topped the index with a score of 90 followed by Sweden which scored 88 points. North Korea, Afghanistan and Somalia scored a lowly 8, ranking at the bottom of the index. In fact, two-thirds of the 176 nations scored below than 50 points.
MANMOHAN SINGH AND SONIA GANDHI ON THE LIST OF TOP 20 MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE OF THE WORLD
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were named in the list of top 20 most powerful people in the world by the Forbes Magazine in annual power rankings which were declared on 5 December 2012. Enjoying the first position for the second year consecutively is the US President Barrack Obama. Prime Minister Manmohan Sign was ranked at number 19. Sonia Gandhidropped from the rankings of 2011 to number 12 in 2012. Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, the richest business tycoon of India as well as Arcelor Mittal CEO Lakshmi Mittal also appeared in this list. Ambani is ranked at number 37 and he outranked Mittal by various positions.
PARTHASARATHI SHOME APPOINTED AS THE ADVISER TO FINANCE MINISTER OF INDIA

The Union government of India appointed Parthasarathi Shome, the tax expert, as the adviser to finance minister P Chidambaram. Shome was appointed with a rank of minister of state and this also indicated his comeback to the Secretariat building after almost 5 years. Shome was also the adviser to P Chidambaram during the UPA-I. He was the working brain behind fringe benefit tax as well as banking cash transaction tax on the withdrawals of the cash. These tax policies were aimed towards keeping a check on black money which was a subject of sharp criticisms apart from the securities transaction tax.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 300
Page 301
LIFE OF PI WAS GIVEN TWO NATIONAL TOURISM AWARDS BY THE MINISTRY OF TOURISM
LIFE OF PI was given two National Tourism Awards by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India on 8 December 2012 recognizing the impact it has had in promoting India as a tourism destination, especially Puducherry and Munnar (Kerala). These Awards will be given to Ang Lee, Director of the film Life of Pi and Yann Martel, writer of the book of the same name.
NEW VERSION OF INTERNET ADDRESSES MADE AVAILABLE IN INDIA

Indian Registry for Internet Names and Numbers (IRINN) started issuing next version of Internet addresses IPv6, which is going to make it easy for security agencies to identify each Internet user. The present version of Internet that is IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4), is limited and service providers often assign single IP address to many users which makes it difficult to identify the end user. Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), which is one of the five authorised bodies for issuing Internet addresses, has recognised Indian Registry for Internet Names and Numbers (IRINN) for issuing IP addresses in India. IRINN has been set-up under the state-run NIXI. The new addresses are going to be be multiple times cheaper for companies than IPv4 addresses.
UNION FINANCE MINISTER P CHIDAMBARAM SELECTED FOR K KARUNAKARAN FOUNDATION AWARD

Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram was selected for K Karunakaran Foundation award on 9 December 2012 for his brilliant administration. The award is being offered in the memory of renowned Congress leader as well as the former Kerala Chief minister K Karunakaran. It includes 1 lakh Rupees as well as citation.
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 2012 AWARDED TO EUROPEAN UNION (EU)

The Nobel Peace Prize 2012 was awarded to the European Union (EU) leaders on 10 December 2012 at Oslo, Norway. The award was given to the European Union leaders for the efforts in promotion of peace as well as human rights. The award was given despite criticisms from some.
PANDIT RAVI SHANKAR, THE INDIAN SITAR MAESTRO PASSED AWAY IN CALIFORNIA
Renowned Indian sitarist and Bharat Ratna Recipient Pandit Ravi Shankar passed away in San Diego city of California on 11 December 2012. He was 92 years old. The musician was admitted to the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla on 6 December 2012 after he complained of breathing difficulties.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 301
Page 302
POLICE WARNED PEOPLE OF MAP FLAWS OF APPLE LEADING TO SNAKEINFESTED DESERT

Australian police on 11 December 2012 warned travelers against the troubled iPhone mapping software of Apple after various motorists stuck in the snake-infested desert of the country. These travellers used iPhone for seeking directions to their routes but instead they were directed to the snake-infested desert of country. Police in the state of southeast Victoria revealed that they had to rescue various motorists who were caught for 24 hours without water or food after they were directed to the Murray Sunset National Park instead of Mildura, the tourist town which is situated 70 km away.
BOLLYWOOD ACTRESS HEMA MALINI SELECTED FOR BHARAT MUNI SAMMAN

Famous Bollywood actress and Bharatanatyam exponent Hema Malini had been selected for the prestigious Bharat Muni Samman of year 2012 for her outstanding contribution to the field of art and culture. Bharat Muni Samman is named after the author of Natyashastra Bharat Muni and has been instituted by Bhubaneswar-based organisation Kalingayana Touryatrikam.
PANDIT RAVI SHANKAR TO BE HONOURED WITH GRAMMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2013
Organisers of the Recording Academy announced on 13 December 2012 that Pandit Ravi Shankar, the sitar maestro would be honoured with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awardposthumously. Pandit Ravi Shankar would become first Indian to receive the prestigious award. The award would be presented at 55th Grammy Awards ceremony on 10 February 2013 in Los Angeles. Pandit Ravi Shankar is a three-time Grammy Award winner.
DAVP RECEIVED THE WEB RATNA AWARD-2012-GOLDEN ICON AWARD

Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) was conferred the prestigious Web Ratna 2012, Golden Icon Award for Innovative use of Technology. The DAVP Website The Web Ratna Awards The Web Ratna awards constituted by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, acknowledges exemplary initiatives/practices in the realm of e-governance. In order to promote more innovative e-governance initiatives, the Web Ratna Awards have been instituted under the ambit of the National Portal of India.
BHANU ATHAIYA, FIRST INDIAN TO WIN OSCAR DECIDED TO RETURN HER TROPHY
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 302
Page 303
Bhanu Athaiya, the first Indian to win an Oscar for costume design in the movie GANDHI decided to return her award to the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in December 2012. Bhanu Athaiya fears that she might lose her trophy as the government might not be able to protect it. Bhanu Athaiya, 85 blamed that the central government had neglected her work and contributions. She also blamed that there was no one or no museum that could protect these things.
NORMAN WOODLAND, THE INVENTOR OF BAR CODE DIED AT 91

Norman Woodland, the inventor of bar code, which revolutionalised retail in 70s, died at 91 on 8 December 2012 at New Jersey. He died because of complications resulting due to Alzheimers disease. He is survived by his wife (61), two daughters, one brother and granddaughters. Woodland was the co-inventor of bar code; the zebra pattern which stores information about the products. He as well as his partner Bernard Silver (who died in 1963) patented this idea of bar code back in 1952 and also sold that to Philco, the electronics company for 15000 US dollar.
MUMBAI RANKED AMONG THE DIRTIEST CITIES OF THE WORLD: SURVEY

Mumbai, the commercial capital of India was named one among the dirtiest cities of the world in the Trip Advisors Cities Survey. Trip Advisors Cities Survey was the global survey including 40 main tourist cities. Mumbai ranked last in the category of cleanest streets. Tokyo got the first rank in this category.
NAINA LAL KIDWAI BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT OF FICCI

Naina Lal Kidwai on 15 December 2012 took over as President of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), becoming the first woman to head the leading industry body. Kidwai, is the first woman and professional manager to be elected as President of the chamber. She is 55 years old. Chairman of Digjam Ltd, Sidharth Birla was elected as Senior VicePresident of FICCI.
MAHATMA GANDHIS LET TERS AND RARE COPY OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION SOLD BIG AT SOTHEBY'S
Anonymous bidder bought two letters of Mahatma Gandhi as well as rare copy of Indian constitution at Sotheby's sale in London on 12 December 2012. The bidder bought letter which was written by Gandhi in 1922 to eldest brother of Rabindranath Tagore, Dwijendranath at 7 times the value of its pre-sale estimate. The rare copy of Indian constitution was sold at around 8 times the offer price to private collector.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 303
Page 304
SHAHRUKH KHAN HONOURED WITH BRANDLAUREATE LEGENDARY AWARD IN MALAYSIA

47 Years old Bollywood Actor Shah Rukh Khan on 13 December 2012 awarded with the prestigious Brand Laureate Legendary Award in Malaysia. The award was given by the Malaysia-based Asia Pacific Brands Foundation for his contributions to the Bollywood film industry and as India's foremost brand ambassador.
SUBHASH JOSHI APPOINTED NEW CHIEF OF INDIAN BORDER SECURITY FORCE (BSF)
Subhash Joshi on 18 December 2012 appointed as the new chief of Border Security Force (BSF) while special secretary in home ministry Ajay Chadha appointed to head the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Subhash Joshi is at present is the director general of National Security Guard and he is going to lead the 1.8 lakh strong border force BSF. The post of the chief of Indian Border Force had fallen vacant on 1 December 2012 due to retirement U K Bansals, the director general of the Border Security Force ( BSF).
FIRST OF THE EIGHT P - 8I MARITIME SURVEILLANCE AIRCRAFT RECEIVED BY INDIAN NAVY

The Indian Navy on 19 December 2012 received its first P-8I Maritime Surveillance Aircraft at its facility located at Seattle, out of the eight that it would get from Boeing. P-8I would be armed with torpedoes, rockets and deadly missile with abilities to fight against powerful warships and anti-submarine warfare. About P-8I P-8I, the aircraft is an imitative of the Boeing 737-800 long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft and an anti-submarine warfare aircraft. Being an Indian variant of the P-8A Poseidon, being developed by Boeing for U.S. Navy the P-8I is expected to replace Indian Navys Russian Tupolev Tu - 142M maritime surveillance turboprop. The aircraft would enable Indian Navy to patrol across Indian Ocean to a greater level.
US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA NAMED PERSON OF THE YEAR 2012 BY TIME MAGAZINE
US President Barack Obama was named TIME's Person of the Year for 2012, because of his historic win over the re-election in November 2012 which is being considered as symbol of the nation's changing demographics amid the backdrop of high unemployment and other challenges. His name was announced by TIME editor Rick Stengel on NBC's Today program on 19 December 2012. It is the second time Barack Obama is being accorded with this honour. He had also received the honour in 2008, when he was first elected as president.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 304
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 PRAFUL PATEL RE-ELECTED PRESIDENT OF ALL INDIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION
Page 305
Praful Patel on 20 December 2012 was re-elected as the President of All India Football Federation (AIFF) during the annual general body meet that was held at Football House at New Delhi. This would be the second term for him as the President of All India Football Federation. The election concluded in the presence of Radhica Sreeman-Regional Director of SAI, P. C. Makholia of SAI, Mun Si Song of Asian Football Confederation and Shaji Prabhakaran of FIFA Regional Developmental Officer, South and Central Asia and the members of the federation were elected unopposed to the AGM.
MAHARAJ LOONKARAN SI NGHS ERA GUNPOWDER FOUND IN SONAR FORT

More than 1500 kg of 500-year old gunpowder was found on 20 December 2012 in five leather bags near Jain Temple in Sonar Fort, Jaisalmer. District administration decided to seek help from Army for destroying the gunpowder. The secretary of Jaisalmer Vikas Samiti explained that gunpowder was lying in closed burj (tower) and was discovered by the labourers who were engrossed in repairing work. This burj had remained closed for several years, possibly centuries.
JEET THAYIL ALONG WITH 23 OTHERS CHOSEN AS SAHITYA AKADEMI AWARD WINNERS
Jeet Thayil - nominated to Booker Prize 2012, Subrata Mukhopadhyay - the Bengali novelist, K Satchidanandan - the Malayalam poet and HS Shivaprakash - the noted Kannada writer are among the 24 authors, who were chosen for the Prestigious Sahitya Akademi Awards 2012 on 20 December 2012 by the Sahitya Akademi - Indias National Academy for Letters. Six short stories, twelve books of poetry, four novels along with an autobiography and criticism have been chosen for being awarded. The works were chosen after the recommendation of the Jury members who represented from 24 Indian languages and then the Executive Board of the Akademi approved the selected candidates for the award to be presented this year. Sahitya Akademi Award Sahitya Akademi Award the literary honour in India is annually conferred to the writers for their outstanding works in the field of literature by Sahitya Akademi, the National Academy of Letters in India. The award is conferred for the works done in 24 major languages of India including English as quoted in Sahitya Akademi. The Sahitya Akademi Award had been into existence since the year of its inception in 1954 and was conferred for the first time for meritorious literature published in India in the year 1955. Since day of inception the prize amount of the Sahitya Akademi has been changed constantly and it followed like 5000 rupees since inception which was enhanced to 10000 rupees from 1983, 25000 rupees from 1988, 40000 from 2001 rupees, 50000 rupees from 2003 and is now 100000 rupees from 2009. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 305
Page 306
INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST FIRED AIR TO AIR INTERCEPTOR ASTRA MISSILE

India on 21 December 2012 test launched its indigenously developed beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air interceptor missile Astra at the interim test range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha. The missile was fired from the launch pad number two of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) run missile testing centre at around 13.30 hours to confirm its reconfigured propulsion, control and guidance systems.
GANGNAM STYLE NAMED AMONG COLLINS DICTIO NARYS WORD OF THE YEAR 2012
Gangnam Style, the most-watched video ever on Youtube now booked a place in popular culture with becoming Collins dictionarys word for November 2012. Gangnam Style, is pop sensation with a horse dance video by his Sotuh Korean singer Psy. It became the first video in the history of the Internet to be viewed more than a billion times. Gangnam Style was named among the Collins dictionarys words of the year along with mummy porn, fiscal cliff and Romneyshambles.
SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI FELLOWSHIPS AND AKADEMI AWARDS FOR THE YEAR 2012 ANNOUNCED
The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, New Delhi on 21 December 2012 in a meet elected and declared N. Rajam, T.H. Vinayakram and Ratan Thiyam as the three eminent personalities in the field of Arts, as Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellows (Akademi Ratna). This fellowship is the rare and most prestigious honour, restricted to a limited number of people at a given pint of time. At present, there exist only 40 fellows of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
JUSTICE SWATANTER KUMAR TOOK OVER AS NGT CHAIRPERSON

Justice Swatanter Kumar in the fourth week of December 2012 took over as the Chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) - the apex body constituted under The National Green Tribunal Act 2010. He would look forward to the issues related to the cases of environmental protection and conversation of forests and the natural resources.
VIRBHADRA SINGH TOOK OATH AS CHIEF MINISTER OF HIMACHAL PRADESH FOR THE SIXTH TIME
Former Union Minister of India and Veteran Congress leader Virbhadra Singh on 25 December 2012 was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Himachal for a record sixth term in Shimla. 78 years old Virbhadra Singh was administered the oath of office by Governor of Himachal Pradesh Urmila
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 306
Page 307
Singh. Oath of office and secrecy to the chief parliamentary secretaries was administered by the Chief Minister.
CHINA INAUGURATED WO RLDS LONGEST HIGH -SPEED RAIL ROUTE LINKING BEIJING WITH GUANGZHOU
China on 26 December 2012 inaugurated world's longest high-speed rail route linking its capital Beijing with the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, covering a distance of 2298 kms. It runs at an average speed of 300 km per hour and it will save nearly 12 hours by bringing down the travel time between Beijing and Guangzhou from more than 20 hours to around eight. The route connects five provinces and has 35 stops in major cities, including Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Changsha.
CYBER SECURITY GET REVAMPED WITH GOVERNMENT FIVE YEAR PLAN

Union government of India in its bid to meet the challenge of cyber attacks and security in the virtual world in month of December set in motion a five-year project to revamp the entire cyber security apparatus of critical sectors in the country. In the past one year, India has suffered 13,000 cyber incidents. National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) had taken the responsibility to coordinate cyber security operations for critical infrastructures across the country.
SHINZO ABE ELECTED AS PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN BY LOWER HOUSE OF THE PARLIAMENT
Shinzo Abe, the conservative leader of Japan was elected as the prime minister of the country by lower house of the Parliament called the House of Representatives, on 26 December 2012. Shinzo Abe took oath to rebuild Japanese economy as well as mend the coalition with US.
NARENDRA MODI WAS SWORN-IN AS THE CHIEF MINISTER OF GUJARAT

Narendra Modi on 26 December 2012 was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for the fourth consecutive term. Governor Kamla Beniwal administered the oath of office and secrecy to him at Sardar Patel Stadium at Ahmedabad. Seven cabinet Ministers and nine Ministers of State also took oath.
ORIYA NOVELIST AND ACADEMICIAN PRATIBHA RAY SELECTED FOR 2011 JNANPITH AWARD
Renowned Oriya novelist, Pratibha Ray on 27 December 2012 selected for the prestigious Jnanpith award for the year 2011 for her contribution to the field of Indian literature. Pratibha Ray is the first Oriya woman and fourth Oriya writer to get the coveted award. Earlier Gopinath Mohanty (1973), Sachidananda Routray (1986) and Sitakant Mohapatra (1993) were conferred
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 307
Page 308
the honour. The award carries a cash prize of 7 lakh rupees, a citation and a bronze statuette of Godess Saraswati.
MS SAHOO APPOINTED AS SECRETARY OF INSTITUTE OF COMPANY SECRETARIES OF INDIA (ICSI)

MS Sahoo, the former member of SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) on 27 December 2012 had been appointed secretary of the Institute of Company Secretaries. The appointment of MS Sahoo is going to be effective from 1 January2013.
SECURITY AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA(SEBI) APPOINTED S RAMAN AS WHOLE TIME MEMBER
Indian Market Regulator SEBI on 28 December 2012 appointed S. Raman as Whole-time Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Prior to this appointment, Raman, had served as Chairman and Managing Director of Canara Bank from September 2010 to September 2012 and had also served as Executive Director of Union Bank of India from October 2008 to August 2010.
PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADMIR PUTIN VISITED INDIA TO ATTEND 13TH INDIA-RUSSIA ANNUAL SUMMIT
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the President of Russia visited India on 24 December 2012 at the Invitation of Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India to attend 13th India-Russia Annual Summit. During the visit the Russian President met the Prime Minister of India - Manmohan Singh and the President of India Pranab Mukherjee. During this visit of President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reviewed the progress made in all the important areas of mutual cooperation, comprising sectors like energy, trade, high technology and military-technical cooperation. Both these leaders discussed on extending the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two countries.
DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI OF MYANMAR VISITED INDIA

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Chairperson of the National League of Democracy of Myanmar visited India from 13 November 2012 to 18 November 2012. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi spent several years in India during her early days when her mother Daw Khin Yi was Ambassador to India. She also spent some time as a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla in 1987. Besides her engagements in Delhi, travelled to Bangalore where she visited the Indian Institute of Science and the Infosys Campus. She also toured rural areas in Andhra Pradesh to gain a firsthand impression of the rural development and womens empowerment programmes being undertaken in India.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 308
Page 309
PASSPORT SEVA PROJECT WON CSI-NIHILENT E-GOVERNANCE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

The Computer Society of India (CSI) on 22 November 2012 adjudged Ministry of External Affairs Passport Seva Project as the most significant e-Governance initiative of the Government of India undertaken during 2011-12. The final selection for the award was done after a multi-stage evaluation, which included field visits to Passport Seva Kendras. The Computer Society of India is the largest association of IT professionals in India. It joined hands with Nihilent Technologies in the year 2002 to institute CSI-Nihilent e-Governance Awards for recognising successful efforts in application of ICT for good governance.
INDIA-MALDIVES JOINT MILITARY TRAINING EXERCISE EKUVERIN 2012 HELD IN BELGAUM

The fourth Joint Military Training Exercises between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) - EKUVERIN 2012 - was held in Belgaum, India from 12 to 25 November 2012. A total of 45 personnel from the MNDF are taking part in the exercises along with the personnel from the Indian Army. The bilateral annual exercises, which commenced in 2009 in Belgaum, are alternately held in India and Maldives. The aim of the exercises is to enhance the close military cooperation between the two countries.
CHITRA RAMKRISHNA APPOINTED AS THE NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CEO OF NSE
Chitra Ramkrishna on 26 November 2012 was appointed as the Managing Director and CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Her appointment to the position would come to effect from 1 April 2013, for a period of five years from the date of joining. Chitra Ramkrishna would be replacing the Managing Director and CEO of NSE Ravi Narain. NSE- National Stock Exchange The National Stock Exchange is the stock exchange of India that covers different cities and towns of the nation and was established in November 1992. It came into existence to provide a modern and fully automated screen-based trading system with a national reach. NSE has been playing a catalytic role in bringing in the reforms in the Indian Securities market and had also established speed & efficiency, safety and market integrity along with unparallel transparency in the securities business. NSE has established the procedures and facilities that act as a model for securities industries in managing the systems, procedures and practices.
ALOK JOSHI TO BE RAW HEAD, ASIF IBRAHIM TO HEAD IB

Alok Joshi, senior IPS officer of 1976 batch from Haryana cadre is scheduled to be appointed as the new Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief and Syed Asif Ibrahim is cleared to be the next
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 309
Page 310
Intelligence Bureau director. Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) cleared Alok Joshis name as the RAW chief to succeed Sajeev Tripathi, the 1973-batch UP cadre IPS officer.
TIPU SULTANS ERA CA NNON DISCOVERED AT BANGALORE METRO SITE

Workers digging the underground section of the Bangalore Metro rail were surprised to discover a 12 feet 18th century cannon as well as a 10 kg cannonball which is believed to be from the era of Tipu Sultan. The site of construction in Bangalore lies between the summer palace of Tipu Sultan and Bangalore Fort. This is the rarest discovery in the capital of Karnataka linked to that time period.
BANGLADE SHS WORST -EVER FIRE ACCIDENT CLAIMED SEVERAL LIVES

The worst industrial fire accident took place on 24 November 2012 in Bangladesh at Ashulia at Savar which is approximately 30 km away from Dhaka. In the history of Bangladesh, this is the most devastating fire accident which claimed several lives. The fire which broke out due to unexplained reasons started at Tazreen Fashion near the Dhaka Export Processing Zone and soon engulfed the ground floor and first floor of the multi-storey building.
ERNEST BAI KOROMA RE-ELECTED AS THE PRESIDENT OF SIERRA LEONE

Sierra Leone, the incumbent President Ernest Bai Koroma, leader of the All People's Congress was re-elected as the President of the nation on 23 November 2012 after the electoral body declared results of the elections that took place in the country in third week of November. He had sworn in as the President of Sierra Leone on the same day, when the results were declared.
JOAQUIM BARBOSA SWORN- IN AS BRAZILS SUPREME COURTS FIRST NON-WHITE PRESIDENT

Joaquim Barbosa was sworn-in as Brazil's Supreme Court's first non-White President on 23 November 2012 at a packed ceremony in the capital Brazilia. Barbosa became famous in Brazil after overseeing one of the country's biggest corruption trials involving key members of the former President Lula Da Silva's government.
LULA DA SILVA AWARDED INDIRA GANDHI PRIZE FOR PEACE, DISARMAMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
The former President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was awarded with Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development on 22 November 2012 at Rashtrapati Bhavan by President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. About the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 310
Page 311
Every year, Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development is awarded to person or an organisation that works towards enlargement of scope of freedom as well as enrichment of human spirit. The award is conferred upon the person or an organisation irrespective of race, religion, nationality or other aspects. It consist of award worth 2.5 million Rupees as well as trophy alongwith citation.
GRACE REVEALED THAT GREENLAND LOSES 200 MILLION TONNES OF ICE EVERY YEAR
Greenland lost 200 million tonnes of ice every year and the ice melting condition is further aggravating. This is the reason for rising sea levels. The information had been revealed by the recent study from GRACE or Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment. GRACE is responsible for detecting the major changes on the earths surface. What is GRACE? GRACE is a collaborative project of US as well as German Space Agencies (NASA and DLR). The ground segment operations of GRACE at present are co-funded by ESA or European Space Agency. Together these three bodies (NASA, DLR and ESA) are facilitating the measurements of the mass redistribution on the system of the Earth.
GAVASKAR CONFERRED WITH COL. CK NAYUDU LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Sunil Gavaskar, the Former Captain and legendary opener of Indian Cricket Team on 21 November 2012 was conferred with BCCIs prestigious Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award at the BCCI Annual Awards Function 2011-12. Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and V.V.S. Laxman were also felicitated at the award ceremony.
NAK BROWNE RELEASED A BOOK VICTORY INDIA-A KEY TO QUALITY MILITARY LEADERSHIP
The Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne on 20 November 2012 released a book titled Victory India A Key to Quality Military Leadership authored by Colonel Vinay B Dalvi (Retd) at the Air Headquarters. The book has tried to present the process of identification, selection and training of the youths for moulding them into effective and inspiring military leaders of the nation.
YUVI- BOOK ON CRICKETER YUVRAJ SINGH AUTHORED BY MAKARAND WAINGANKAR RELEASED

The book on Indian Cricketer Yuvraj Singh named Yuvi was released in third week of November 2012. Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar, the former cricketing legends were invited at the launch ceremony to offer insight on the cricketing star.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 311
Page 312
PRESIDENT OF LIBERIA ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF CHOSEN FOR INDIRA GANDHI PEACE PRIZE 2012
Liberian President and Nobel laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on 19 November 2012 was chosen for 2012 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for being an INSPIRATION to women and ensuring return of peace and democracy in her country.
CHINESE FILM, 11 FLOWERS WON NETPAC AWARD AT KOLKATA FILM FESTIVAL

The Chinese film, 11 Flowers on 17 November 2012 won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award at 18th Kolkata International Film Festival. The film won the best film award in Asian Select category-the only competitive category in Kolkata International Film Festival. A total of 13 films from 12 12 Asian Countries were selected to compete for the award of this category.
URDU SCHOLAR GOPI CHAND NARANG AWARDED MOORTIDEVI AWARD FOR 2010
The Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari on 16 November 2012 presented the MOORTIDEVI AWARD FOR 2010 to eminent Urdu scholar Gopi Chand Narang for his outstanding work on URDU GHAZAL AUR HINDUSTANI ZEHAN WA TEHZEEB at a function organized by Bhartiya Jnanpith. Gopi Chand Narang revived Urdu language in India through his writings and he is one of the foremost theorist, literary critic and Urdu scholar of our country. His perceptive writings have helped Urdu criticism becoming more contemporary.
XI JINPING ELECTED AS THE NEW GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA
The Communist Party of China (CPC) on 15 November 2012 declared Xi Jinping as the new General Secretary of the Partys seven-member Politburo standing committee. The 59 years old, Xi Jinping is the son of the former politburo and vice premier. Xis selection as the new leader, the Communist Party of China has marked the end of Hu Jintaos ten year term as the General Secretary of the Party, but he will continue as the President till March 2013, the month when the Chinese Parliament would meet.
PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN HAMID KARZAI VISITED INDIA AND DISCUSSED ON VARIOUS ISSUES
Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan paid a state visit to India from 9 November to 13 November 2012 following the invitation of the President of the Republic of India Pranab Mukherjee. On his visit to India he was accompanied by a high-level delegation to India. The
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 312
Page 313
Afghani President held delegate level bilateral discussions on various regional and international issues that are relevant for both the nations with the Prime Minister of India.
RAMANUJANS GENIUS P ROVED BY US MATHEMATICIAN

A scientist from US had finally proved the mathematical relation - discussed by great Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan with his mentor G H Hardy in one of his last letters. Srinivasa Ramanujan, the young genius who died at the age of 32, often managed to jump from insight to insight without formally proving the logical steps in between. Now the proof was found for a connection that he seemed to mysteriously comprehend between two types of mathematical functions. It was Ken Ono of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia who had previously unearthed hidden depths in Srinivasa Ramanujans work, and now he was prompted by. Ramanujans 125th birth anniversary to look once more at his writings. Ken Ono settled on a discussion in the last known letter that. Ramanujan wrote to Mathematician Hardy, concerning a type of function now called a modular form.
UNITED NATION DECLARED NOVEMBER 10 AS MALALA DAY

The United Nations declared November 10 as MALALA DAY in honour of Pakistani teeenage rights activist Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in October 2012 for advocating girls education. The day 10 November marks the 30-day anniversary of the Taliban attack on the 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai, the education campaigner from Pakistan. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon asserted that Malala Yousafzai is an inspiration for girls education the world over.
THE FOLDED EARTH DECLARED AMONG WINNERS OF 11TH ECONOMIST CROSSWORD BOOK AWARD
The 11TH ECONOMIST CROSSWORD BOOK AWARD was declared on 18 October 2012 at Mumbai. The Folded Earth and A Free Man-a nonfiction book, written by Anuradha Roy and Aman Sethi respectively were declared among winners of the 11th Economist Crossword Book Award. THE FOLDED EARTH was declared winner in ENGLISH INDIAN FICTION CATEGORY,whereas, A FREE MAN won the award in the ENGLISH NON-FICTION CATEGORY FOR 2011.
HYDERABAD LAST NIZAM NAMED ALL TIME RICHEST INDIAN

Osman Ali Khan the last Nizam of Hyderabad on 16 October 2012 was named in list of the 25 richest people across the world who ever lived by US website Celebrity Networth. Osman Ali Khan, the Nizam, who ruled Hyderabad between 1886-1967, was ranked sixth in world and the richest in India with $236 billion. He died in 1967 at age of 80. The list declared by US website Celebrity Networth was compiled after adjusting the fortunes of people across history for inflation. For example, $100 million in 1913 is equivalent to $2299.63 billion in 2012. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 313
Page 314
BRITISH WRITER HILARY MANTEL WON BOOKER PRIZE FOR SECOND TIME
British Writer Hilary Mantel on 16 October 2012 won the prestigious literary prize, the Booker Prize for her novel BRING UP THE BODIES, the second in a historical trilogy set during the reign of King Henry VIII. Hilary Mantel had earlier won the Booker prize in 2009 for "Wolf Hall," the first novel in the trilogy. Hilary Mantel is the third author to win the prize twice, alongside South-African-born J.M. Coetzee and Australian Peter Carey. With this she also became the first British author, and the first woman, to achieve a double Booker Prize.
WORLD FOOD DAY CELEBRATED WORLDWIDE ON 16 OCTOBER 2012

World food day 2012 is celebrated with a theme AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES KEY TO FEEDING THE WORLD. World Food Day is celebrated every year across the globe on 16 October in honour of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. The aim of this World Food Day is to raise awareness on global food problems and to create a sense of solidarity in the fight against poverty, hunger and malnutrition. The theme was chosen by United nation to highlight the role of cooperatives -- or voluntary associations of people who work together for their common benefit -- in improving food security and contributing to the eradication of hunger.
LLOYD SHAPLEY AND ALVIN ROTH OF AMERICA WON NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS
Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley of America were awarded the Nobel economics prize on 15 October 2012 for their work in market design and matching theory. The research work helps in explaining the market processes at work, say, when doctors are assigned to hospitals, students to schools and human organs for transplant to recipients. The award was cited to the economist by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the 8 million crown ($1.2 million) prize, called their work an outstanding example of economic engineering.
LIBYAS NATIONAL CON GRESS ELECTED ALI ZIDAN AS THE NEW PRIME MINISTER
Libya's 200-member General National Congress on 14 October 2012 elected Ali Zidan as the new Prime Minister. Ali Zidan, an independent, won 93 votes, a majority among those present. He beat a candidate favoured by the Justice and Construction party which is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. Announcing his victory, President of the National Assembly asked Mr Zidan to propose a cabinet within two weeks. Ali Zidan is a human rights lawyer.
GLOBAL HUNGER REPORT 2012: INDIA RANKED AT 65TH POSITION
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 314
Page 315
The report on Global Hunger Index for seventh year was released on 11 October 2012 by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide. The basic theme of the report for the 2012 Global Hunger Index -- The Challenge of Hunger: Ensuring Sustainable Food Security under Land, Water, and Energy Stresses. IFPRI that calculated the global hunger Index analysed the measures based upon multidimensional angles. The published report have shown a proportional growth in hunger reduction of people worldwide but recorded the progress speed was tragically slow and alarming. The report in its findings recorded twenty countries across the world mainly from South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa to be highly alarming and have highest level of hunger, and showcased the sufferings of millions of poor.
MO YAN A CHINESE WRITER WON THE 2012 NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE
Mo Yan, the Chinese writer won 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature on 11 October 2012. The Swedish Academy of Stockholm praised the Chinese writer for the writer called his hallucinatory realism. The writer combines the folk stories, modern events and the history in his works. He is the first Chinese writer in the 111 years of Nobel history to become a Nobel Prize winner. Before him, Gao Xingjiana a French citizen born in China won a Nobel in literature in 2000.
ROBERT LEFKOWITZ AND BRIAN KOBILKA WON NOBEL PRIZE 2012 FOR CHEMISTRY
Robert Lefkowitz (69) and Brian Kobilka (57), the two Americans won the Nobel Prize 2012 for Chemistry on 10 October 2012. They won the award for their study and research on Protein Receptors, which allows the body to respond the signals from outside world. The study is a key and would pave the path for developing better drugs to different ailments. Lefkowitz and Kobilka from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina and Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California respectively will be sharing the prize amount of 8 million-krona ($1.2 million).
S.VISHWANATHAN ELECTED AS NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR OF STATE BANK OF INDIA

S. Viswanathan on 8 October 2012 was appointed as a managing director of State Bank of India. His appointed came by the Central Government of India. Viswanathan, was earlier serving as a deputy managing director of State Bank of India. Prior to that he was heading the state-run banks investment banking arm, SBI Capital Markets Ltd.
SERGE HAROCHE AND DAVID WINELAND WON NOBEL PRIZE 2012 FOR PHYSICS
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 315
Page 316
Serge Haroche and David Wineland of France and US respectively, won the Nobel Physics Prize on 9 October 2012. They received Nobel for their work on quantum physics, which would open a gate for supercomputers in future. The two physics have developed the technology for examining the intimate relationship between matter and light.
JOHN GURDON AND SHINYA YAMANAKA WON NOBEL PRIZE-2012 FOR MEDICINE
John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka, the British and Japanese researchers respectively on 8 October 2012 won the Nobel Prize-2012 in Medicine. They were awarded with the prize for the discovery of reprogramming the specialised and matured cells of the body into blank slate and this may one day this can start repairing the damaged organs. The Prize committee based in Karnolinska Institute at Stockholm stated that this discovery has helped in understanding the theory of cell and organism development.
INDIAN NAVY SUCCESSFULLY TEST FIRED BRAHMOS MISSILE

The Indian Navy on 7 October 2012 successfully test-fired the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile which is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg, from a warship off the Goa coast. ABOUT BrahMoS MISSILE BrahMos is a stealth supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between Republic of India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroeyenia who have together formed BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited
NIRYAT SHREE AND NIRYAT BANDHU AWARDS PRESENTED BY PRESIDENT OF INDIA

President of India Pranab Mukherjee with Union Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma on 5 October 2012 presented awards to exporters on the occasion of the presentation of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Niryat Shree and Niryat Bandhu awards at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
ISRO SCIENTIST TESSY THOMAS CONFERRED WITH LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI AWARD
President Pranab Mukherjee on 1 October 2012 conferred the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award 2012 to ISRO scientist Tessy Thomas at an award function in Rashtrapati Bhawan. The award was given on the eve of Birth anniversary of Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shashtri. Tessy Thomas 48 years old is the Key Scientist for Agni-V in Defence Research
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 316
Page 317
and Development Organisation Hyderabad. She is the first woman scientist to head a missile project in India.
INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST FIRED NUCLEAR CAPABLE DHANUSH MISSILE

India on 5 October 2012 successfully test fired nuclear capable Dhanush Missile, the naval version of short-range ballistic missile, Prithvi from a warship off Odisha coast. Dhanush, The indigenously developed naval version of the Prithvi short-range ballistic missile has a strike range of up to 350 km and can carry 500 kg of conventional or nuclear warhead.
AJIT SARAN APPOINTED AS SECRETARY IN NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN

Senior IAS officer Ajit M Sharan was appointed as Member Secretary in National Commission for Women (NCW) on 3 October 2012. Ajit Sharan is a 1979 batch officer of Haryana cadre. He is going to be in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary.
NUCLEAR CAPABLE PRITHVI II MISSILE SUCESSFULLY TEST FIRED

India on 4 October 2012 successfully test fired its indigenously developed, nuclear-capable ballistic missile Prithvi-II from a test range in Odisha. The missile was test fired by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha. All the radars and electro-optical systems along the coast have monitored the missile throughout its flight path.
INDIA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED ITS HEAVIEST SATELLITE GSAT-10

The advanced communication satellite GSAT-10 of India was successfully launched on 28 September 2012 on board Ariane-5 rocket from European spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket placed GSAT-10 in the elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) within 30 minutes and 45 seconds of its launch from the French station just after injecting the European copassenger ASTRA-2F in the orbit. IGSAT-10 is the 101st space mission for ISRO is a Rs 750 crore project that includes development of the satellite along with its launch from the European launching station. The 3400 kg lift-off is the heaviest satellite built by the Indian Space Research Organization headquartered at Bangalore. Designed with a life span of 15 years the satellite will expand Indian radio-navigation, direct-to-home broadcasting and telecommunication services to the next level.
CSIR ANNOUNCED FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM FOR SCIENTISTS AGED ABOVE 70

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on its 70th Foundation Day celebration on 26 September 2012 greeted the scientists aged above 70 years with research fellowships. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 317
Page 318
The fellowship will offer a sum of Rs 20 lakh per year for continuous 5 years to scientists who will guide students and publish research papers. A scientist who has won the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award is eligible for the fellowship program.
R LAKSHMIPATHY ELECTED AS CHAIRMAN OF THE PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

R Lakshmipathy, the publisher of Tamil daily Dinamalar, was elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Press Trust of India (PTI) on 24 September 2012 after the company's Annual General Meeting (AGM). Lakshmipathy, has served as PTI Chairman twice earlier and is also a member of press council. He is succeeding M P Veerendrakumar, Chairman and Managing Director of Mathrubhoomi group of newspapers.
AISHWARYA RAI APPOINTED AS INTERNATIONAL GOODWILL AMBASSADOR

The United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has appointed Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as its International Goodwill Ambassador. Her job will be now is to raise global awareness on protecting children from HIV infection and to increase access to antiretroviral treatment.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE OBSERVED WORLDWIDE

International day of peace also called as World peace day was celebrated worldwide on 21 September 2012. The day is dedicated to peace, providing opportunities to different organizations, individuals and nations to create a practical act of peace.
AUNG SAN SUU KYI RECEIVED US CONGRESS HIGHEST HONOUR

The Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi received, the US Congress highest Civilian Honour at a ceremony organized in the Capitol Rotunda on 19 September 2012, before her meet with the US president Barack Obama. Before her, the recipient of this award includes George Washington, Pope John Paul II and Dalai Lama-the Tibetan Buddhist Leader. During her 15 year long house arrest against the military rule in Myanmar, she received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2008.
INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRED ITS INDIGENOUSLY BUILT AGNI-IV MISSILE

India on 19 September 2012 test fired its nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Agni-IV missile from Wheeler Island, off the Odisha Coast. Fitted with composite rocket motor technology, the missile was test fired from the road mobile launcher. The full range of the missile is 4000 kilometer. The launch was declared to be successful after the missile succeeded in hitting the
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 318
Page 319
pre-decided target after taking a flight of 20 minute at an altitude of about 800 kilometer in the atmosphere at a roasting temperature of about 3000C. The support of Micro Navigation System (MINGS) along with the Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System (RINS) ensured the two digit perfection in making the missile reach its target. The 20 meter long, 1.5 meter broad and 17 ton in weight, is capable of carrying about 1000 kilogram of explosives along with it. Light in weight, this missile is fitted with two stage solid propulsion with a payload for re-entry into the heat shield. One of its kinds, Agni-IV Missile Indias first indigenously developed ballistic missile is embedded with 5th Generation on Board Computer state-of-the-art Avionics and a finely distributed architecture, which allows correction and guidance during in-flight disturbances.
SALMAN RUSHDIE RELEASED HIS BOOK JOSEPH ANTON

Joseph Anton the 633 page book depicts a memoir of Salman Rushdie during his 10 years long run to protect himself from the Fatwa issued by his name was released on 18 September 2012. Salman Rushdies new book reveals his life, at the time when he was issued an Iranian fatwa that ordered his death for the publication of The Satanic Verses in 1988. In the book, Salman Rushdie has characterized himself as Joseph Anton and the name is the combination of the first names of his favourite writers Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekhov.
RUSSIA DECLASSIFIED THE EXISTENCE RICHEST DIAMOND FIELD OF THE WORLD

Russian government on 18 September 2012 declassified its diamond reserves formed after a 7 kilometer wide asteroid stroked the graphite rich area of Russia, about 35 million years ago. The most valuable secret of Russian Cold War was kept hidden from the rest of the world for more than five decades. The reserve was discovered by the Russians during the mid 1960s. The huge deposits of hard diamond, which can fulfill the demands of the world for next 3000 years was discovered in the Popigoi crater in East Siberia in an asteroid with diameter of 120 kilometers. Russian scientists from the Novosibirsk Institute of Geology and Mineralogy claimed that the total quantity of the available diamond in the crater is more than 10 times of the total reserve of diamond that the world have.
DELHI HIGH COURT GAVE A NOD TO INSTALLATION OF GPS SYSTEM IN AUTO RICKSHAWS
The division bench of Delhi High Court that comprised Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and A. K. Sikri rejected the petitions of auto-rickshaw owners and green signalled the installation of GPS systems in auto-rickshaws in Delhi on 17 September 2012. He also ordered the installation of printers in the auto-rickshaws to provide the print-outs of fares to the passengers traveling from one position to other within the capital.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 319
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 RAJIV MEHTA APPOINTED AS DIRECTOR GENERAL OF NARCOTICS CONTROL BUREAU
Page 320
Rajiv Mehta is appointed as a Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on 18 September 2012. His appointment will be on deputation basis for a period of five years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or till the date of his superannuation or until further orders.
DEFENCE MINISTER, A.K. ANTONY OPENED AN ARMY HOSPITAL IN MALE

On his three day visit from 15 September 2012 to 17 September 2012 to Maldives the Defence Minister of India, A.K. Antony opened Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) hospital, SENAHIYA at Male on 16 September 2012. The hospital that was developed with Indian assistance is an example of a shining collaboration and cooperation model in between the two countries.
THE PRESIDENT OF TAJIKISTAN EMOMALI RAHMON VISITED INDIA

The President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon visited India from 1 to 4 September 2012.This was the fifth visit to India by President Emomali Rahmon. During this visit, India and Tajikistan signed six agreements in the field of sports, health, culture, education, labour, textiles and energy. It was also decided that India would increase training slots for Tajikistan from 100 to 150 under India Technology and Eco Training Programme.
HASSAN SHEIKH MOHAMUD THE NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT OF SOMALIA SURVIVED ASSASSINATION
After two days of his being appointed in the office, the Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud survived an assassination attempted by the Shebab a group Islamic rebels from AlQaeda, on 13 September 2012. At the time when the two bomb blasts happened the president was meeting the Kenyas Foreign Minister in Mogadishu hotel.
TENSIONS GREW OVER SENKAKU ISLANDS IN BETWEEN JAPAN AND CHINA

The uninhabited group of Islands Senkaku or Diaoyu turned up to be the cause for mounting tensions in between China and Japan. Japan on 11 September 2012 announced that they have purchased three islands of this group of islands from its identified Tokyo based Kurihara family (owner of the island) at $25b million. In response to this declaration, china sent two Marine Surveillance Ships for patrol and resettling Chinese claim on the islands. Chinese foreign ministry also warned Japan that necessary steps will be taken to protect Chinese interests to the issue.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 320
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA M. HAMID ANSARI RELEASED A BOOK
Page 321
India Current Affairs 2012. Vice president of India Hamid Ansari released the book MUSLIM IN INDIAN CITIES on 10 September 2012. The book is edited by Laurent Gayer and Christopher Jafferlot. On the occasion of book release, Vice-President denoted Indian muslim as SUI GENERIC that means unique in characteristics.
ISRO MADE A CENTURY WITH THE LAUNCH OF PSLV-C21

With the launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C21) on 9 September 2012, at 9:53 am Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) completed its 100th mission. PSLV-C21, the Rs 90 crore project that was 44 meter in height and 230 tonne in weight, fired 2 satellites in the orbit. The reverse count for the launch started on 7 September 2012 and ended after a 51 hour long countdown. The PSLV-C21 took 17 minutes and 49 seconds to inject Frances SPOT -6, the first satellite into the orbit. Within seconds, it managed to fix Proiteres from Japan into the orbit. SPOT-6 that weighs 712 kg, so far has been the heaviest lift for the multi-million dollar global satellite launch station, since India has became a part of the commercial satellite launch Market. ISRO ISRO began its operations for the space mission with the launch of Aryabhata in the year 1975 Indias first satellite via Russian Rocket. Vikram Sarabha was the visionary, who envisioned and realized the potential of the space technology that can be of the great importance for national development. This was thought after the scientific investigations helped in identifying, the upper atmosphere and ionosphere over the magnetic equator, near Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram with the use of small sounding rockets.
VERGHESE KURIEN THE WHITE REVOLUTIONARY AND THE MILKMAN OF INDIA DIED
The man responsible for bringing white revolution in India and founder of worlds largest dairy company Amul, Verghese Kurien (90) took his last breath in a hospital at Nadiad, on 9 September 2012. The body of Kurien was cremated in the ultramodern crematorium at Kailash Bhumi in the milk capital of India- Anand, Gujarat in presence of his admirers and staff members of milk cooperatives. Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) was founded under the chairmanship of the visionary. He was appointed to be the founder Chairman of National Dairy Development Board in the year 1965 by the then Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri. He played a major role in different organizations like, he chaired the Vikshit Bharat Foundation and been a Chairman for Board of Governors of Institute of Rural Management, Anand.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 321
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 INDIA RANKED TO BE 59TH IN THE REPORT RELEASED BY WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
Page 322
India slipped down with 3 ranks to 59th position from its previous year ranking in the Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 released on 5 September 2012 by the World Economic Forum. The identified reason for this downfall is Indias disappointing performance in satisfying competitiveness for the basic factors.
KAUSHIK BASU APPOINTED AS WORLD BANK CHIEF ECONOMIST

On 5 September 2012, The World Bank appointed Kaushik Basu, as its chief economist and senior vice president. Basu, an Indian national and a Cornell University professor most recently served as chief economic adviser of the India's Union Ministry of Finance. He has to take over as the chief economist at the World Bank on October 1.
ADMIRAL DEVENDRA KUMAR JOSHI TOOK OVER AS THE NEW INDIAN NAVY CHIEF
Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi (DK Joshi) took over as the new Indian Navy chief on 31 August 2012. He is the 21st Chief of Naval Staff of Independent India and the 19th Indian to command the Indian Navy. He succeeded Admiral Nirmal Verma. DK Joshi has commanded several naval ships which includes aircraft carrier INS Virat. He was also the chief of Eastern Fleet. He specializes in anti-submarine warfare.
POONAM KISHORE SAXENA APPOINTED AS CHAIRMAN OF CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECT TAXES

The Union Finanace Ministry appointed Poonam Kishore Saxena, a 1975 batch IRS officer, as Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on 21 August 2012. She was holding the additional charge of the post after incumbent chairman Laxman Das retired July 2012. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) CBDT is responsible for administration of direct tax laws through the Income Tax Department and also provides essential inputs for policy and planning of direct taxes.
PJ KURIEN ELECTED THE DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF RAJYA SABHA

Congress leader PJ Kurien was unanimously elected the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh moved the motion for the election of Kurien. Kurien has been the member of national parliament for the last three decades representing Idukki, and Mavelikkara Lok Sabha constituencies. Since 2005 he is a member of the Rajya Sabha.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 322
Page 323
PAKISTAN GOVERNMENT HONOURED GOPI CHAND NARANG WITH SITARA-I-IMTIAZ

Pakistan government on 14 August 2012 honoured Urdu author, Gopi Chand Narang with sitara-i-Imtiaz, the third highest civilian honour given by the nation. In the past, former Prime Minister Morarji Desai and matinee idol Dilip Kumar were bestowed Pakistan's highest civilian honour, Nishan-i-Imtiaz. The award will be given to Gopi Chand Narang in Pakistan on 23 March, 2013, Pakistan's Republic Day.
PAK GOVERNMENT HONOURED SAADAT HASAN MANTO WITH THE NISAN-I-IMTIAZ

Acclaimed Pakistani writer Saadat Hasan Manto on 14 August 2012 was honoured with the Nisan-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan's highest civilian award. Manto is best known for his Urdu short stories, especially those that explored the impact of the partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan in 1947. Toba Tek Singh, Bu (Odour), Khol Do (Open It) and Thanda Gosht (Cold Meat) were written by him.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 323
Page 324
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 324
Page 325
IMPORTANT AUTHORS AND THEIR BOOKS

Anita Desai: Fire on the Mountain; In Custody; Fasting, Feasting (shortlisted for Booker Prize); Village by the Sea Amitav Ghosh: Circle of Reason, Shadow Lines Amrita Pritam: The Revenue Stamp Anna Sujatha Mathai: The Attic of Night Arundhati Roy: She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her first novel, The God of Small Things. Amartya Sen: Identity and violence: The Illusion of Destiny, Argumentative Indian A.B. Vajpayee: Rajniti ke Uss Par AI Gore: An Inconvenient Truth, The Assault on Reason Alan Greenspan: The Age of Turbulence Alison Moore: The Lighthouse Anurag Mathur: The Inscrutable Americans Anita Nair: Ladies Coupe Arun Shourie: Courts & Their Judgements, A Secular Agenda, Falling over Backwards Andrew Boyle: The Climate of Treason Ankit Fadia: Unofficial Guide to Ethical Hacking Andersen: The Little Mermaid, King's Clothers. Alexander Dumas: Count of Monte Cristo Arnold Tonybee: Mankind and Mother Earth Aristotle: Ethics, Politics, Metaphysics etc. Alan Hollinghurst: The Line of Beauty, The Swimming Pool Library. The Folding Star Amrik Singh: The Challenge of Education Amrita Pritam: Death of a City, Shadows of words: An Autobiography, Pinjar'
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 325

Aman Bhushan: Escape to Nowhere Aladi Aruna: Unfederal Features of Indian Constitution Anthony Queen: The Original Sin, Suddenly Sunset
Page 326
Antony Copley: Hinduism in public and private-Reform, Hindutva, Gender and Sam-Praday Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations Mulk Raj Anand: The Village, The Golden Breath, The Coolie, Two Leaves and a Bud, Across the Black Waters Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: India Wins Freedom A.G. Noorani: Islam and Jehad, The Babri Masjid Question- A matter of National Honour A.P.J. Abdul Kalam: Ignited Minds, Wings of Fire, Inda 2020. A vision for the New Millenium, India my Dream. Aijaz Ahmad: On Communalism and Globalisation, Offensives of the far right A. Vaidyanathan: India Economic Reforms and Development Aldous Huxley: Antic Hay, Ends and Means, Travel Books, Grey Eminence, Brave New World Revisited Aurobindo Ghosh: Life Divine, Essays on Gita and Savitri etc B.G. Verghese: Warrior of The Fourth Estate: Ramnath Goenka of the Express Bimal Jalan: The Future of India Bana Bhatta: Kadambari, Harshacharita. Bring up the Bodies: Hilary Mantel J.M. Barrie: Peter Pan, What Every Woman Knows, A Kiss for Cinderella Bibhuti Bhushan: Pather Panchali L. Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata, Fidelio and the Ninth Symphony Samuel Butler: The Way of All Flesh Sir Richard Burton: Arabian Nights B.R.Ambedkarl: What Congress and Gandhi Have Done to The Untouchables. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 326

Bhabani Bhattacharya: So Many Hungers, Music for Mohini, He Who Rides Tiger.
Page 327
Mrs. Annie Besant: Wake Up India, The Theosophy, Death and After, Reincarnation etc Bankim Chandra Chatterjee: Anandmath, Kapal Kundala, Durgesh Nandini, Vish Vriksha, Chandra Shekhar. B.R. Nanda: In Search of Gandhi: Essays & Reflections Bill Gates: Business, The speed of thought, The Road Ahead Bill Clinton: My Life Albert Camus: The Plague, The Rebel Miguel De Cervantes: Don Quixote Anton Chekov: The Cherry Orchard, The Three Sisters Christopher Paolini: Brisingr Colleen McCullough: Thorn Birds Chitra Mudgal: The Crusade Christopher Wakling: Beneath the DiamondSky Clarence Thomas: My Grand Fathers Son Chandra Shekhar: Dynamics of Social Change Jim Corbett: Man Eaters of Kumaon Charles Darwin: The Origin of Species, Descent of man. Conan Doyle: Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Alexandre Dumas: Three Musketeers Dostoevsky: Crime and Punishment John Dryden: All for Love, Absalom and Achitophe Dadabhai Naoroji: Poverty and Un-British Rule in India Dayananda Swami: Satyartha Prakash Dinabandhu Mitra: Neel Darpan www.jagranjosh.com
Page 327

Indira Gandhi: My Truth Jawaharlal Nehru: Autobiography, The Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History. Jayaprakash Narayan: Prison Diary
Page 328
Chetan Bhagat: Five Point Someone, One Night at the Call Centre, The Three Mistakes of my Life, 2 states, Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition. David Ogilvy: Blood, brains and beer Deepak Chopra: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success Dalai Lama: Ethics for the New Millennium David Davidar: The House of Bluff Mangoes David Selbourne: The Making of a Midsummer Night's Dream David Stevenson: Armaments and the Coming of War Lord Meghnad Desai: Nehru's Hero- Dilip Kumar in the Life of India. Don Miguel Ruiz: The Four Agreements Dr. Karan Singh: Heir Apparent Dominique Lapierre and Javier Moro: It was Five Past-Midnight in Bhopal Edwin Aldrin "Buzz": Encounter with Timber Stephenie Meyer: Eclipse Escott Reid: Envoy to Nehru Edgar Snow: Red Star Over China Eugene O'Neill: Beyond the Horizon Rehlnton Mistry: Family Matters Edward Fitzgerald: Rubaiyat of Omer Khayyam Francois Gautier: A Western Journalist on India Firdausi: Shahnama Edward. M. Forster: A Passage to India, Maurice www.jagranjosh.com
Page 328

God is Not Great: Christopher Hitchens George Bernard Shaw: Androcles and the Lion Geoff Dyer: Zona Gopichand Narang: Tapish Naam-E- Tammna Graham Greene: The Power and the Glory Gunter Grass: The Flounder, The Tin Drum, Cat and Mouse, My Century etc. Gloria Steinem: Revolution from Within
Page 329
Jhumpa Lahiri: She was the first Asian to win the Pulitzer Price in 2000 (for Interpreter of Maladies). Kamala Das: My Story Kamala Markandaya: Nectar in a Sieve, Some Inner Fury, A Silence of Desire Khushwant Singh: Train to Pakistan Lala Lajpat Rai: Unhappy India Kiran Desai: Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, The Inheritance of Loss (won the 2006 Man Booker Prize). Laxman, R.K.: Idle Hours, The Hotel Riviera Manohar Malgaonkar: Distant Dawn + Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Indian Home Rule, My Early life, Non-violence in Peace and War, Conquest of Self. Mulk Raj Anand: Coolie, Untouchable, The Big Heart Narayan, R.K.: Mr Sampat; The Guide, The Vendor of Sweets, My Days. Rabindranath Tagore: Sandhana Personality, The Religion of Man. Radhakrishnan, Dr. S.: An Idealist View of Life, Indian Philosophy, Hindu View of Life, East and West in Religion. Nirad C. Chaudhuri: The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian. Raja Rao: Kanthapura, The Cat and Shakespeare, The Serpent and the Rope
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 329

Ranjit Hoskote: Zones of Assault Sarkar, J.N.: The History of Aurangzeb Sarojini Naidu: The Golden Threshold, The Bird of Time, The Broken Wing. Savarkar, V.D.: The Indian War of Independence Rajagopalachari, C.: The Nation's Voice, The Fatal Cart, Reconciliation-Why and How.
Page 330
Ruskin Bond: The Room on the Roof, Vagrants in the Valley, A Flight of Pigeons. Author of over 300 short stories, essays and novellas, he was awarded the. Padma Shri in 1999. Ruth Prawar Jhabvala: Heat and Dust (won the Booker Prize in 1975), To Whom She will, East into Upper East, Out of India. Salman Rushdie: Midnight's Children (won the 'Booker of Bookers' Prize in 1993), Shame, Shalimar the Clown, Joseph Anton: A Memoir. Ghalib: Urdu and Persian Ginu Kamani: Junglee Girl Gita Mehta: Snakes and Ladders: Essays on India Girish Karnad: Two Plays Guy de Maupassant: A Woman's Life Victor Hugo: Les Miserable, Hunchback of Notre Dame Anthony Hope: The Prisoner of Zenda Thomas Hardy: Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd, Under the Greenwood.Tree, A Pair of Blue Eyes Satyajit Ray: Our Films, Their Films; The Adventures of Feluda Shashi Deshpande: The Binding Vine, Matter of Time, That Long Silence (won the Sahitya Akademi Award). Shashi Tharoor: The Great Indian Novel, Show Business Sitakant Mahapatra: Death of Krishna and other Poems Sudeep Sen: The Lunar Visitations.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 330

Subhash Chandra Bose: The Indian Struggle Syed Ahmad Khan: Causes of the Indian Mutiny Syed Ameer Ali: The Spirit of Islam Tabish Khair: My World Tara Patel: Single Woman Upamanyu Chatterjee: English August Vasudevan Nair, M.T.: Catching an Elephant and Other Stories
Page 331
V.S. Naipaul: The Mystic Masseur, The Suffrage of Elvira, Miguel Street, A House for Mr Biswas, Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion, The Mimic Men, A Flag on the Island, In a Free State, Guerrillas, A Bend in the River, Finding the Centre, The Enigma of Arrival, A Way in the World, Half a Life, Magic Seeds, The Middle Passage: Impressions of Five Societies British, French and Dutch in the West Indies and South America, An Area of Darkness, The Loss of El Dorado, India: A Wounded Civilization, A Congo Diary, Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey, A Turn in the South, India: A Million Mutinies Now, Homeless by Choice, Bombay, Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions among the Converted Peoples, Between Father and Son: Family Letters, Reading & Writing: A Personal Account, The Writer and the World: Essays, The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African Belief. Vikram Seth: The Golden Gate, A Suitable Boy. Harold Robbins: Never Enough Hari Kunzru: Gods without men Hilary Mantel: Bring up the Bodies Humra Quraishi: Kashmir- The Untold Study Henry Morton Robinson: The Cardinal Ibsen: A Doll's House, Ghosts Indra Sinha: Animals People Iqbal Mohammed: Bang-e-Dara, Bal-e-Jabril Jaswant Singh: Jinnah-India Partition - Independence James Hilton: Goodbye, Mr. Chips
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 331

John Grisham: Playing for Pizza Inder Malhotra: Indira Gandhi Indira Goswami: The shadow of Kamakhya, Chhinqmasta Iris Murdoch: The Green Knight Irving Wallace: The R Document Jayaprakash Narayan: Prison Diary James Baldwin: The Fire Next Time Jamil Ahmad: The Wandering Falcon Jeremy Scahill: Black Water Johngray Eliot: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus Ben Jonson: Every Man in his Humour, Silent Woman, Alchemist Jhumpa Lahiri: The Interpreter of Maladies, The Namesake John Grisham: A Painted House J.M. Coetzee: Youth, Disgrace, Foe, Slow Man JRR Tolkein: The Lord of the Rings Joanne Harris: Chocolate Joyce, James: Ulysses, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man J. K. Jerome: Three Men in a Boat, Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow Javed Akhtar: Quiver (Tarkash)
Page 332
J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and Globlet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, The Tale of Beedle, the Bard, Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows. Jullian Barnes: The Sense of an Ending John Keay: When Men and Mountains Meet Jacques Chirac: A New France Jaswant Singh: A Call to Honour-In Service of Emergent India, Travels in Transoxiana . www.jagranjosh.com
Page 332

Jyotirmaya Sharma: Hindutva- Exploring the India of Hindu Nationalism J.W. Smith: Economic Democracy J.M. Lyngdoh: Chronicle of an Impossible Election Joseph Anton: Salman Rush- die Katherine Frank: Life of Indira, Nehru, Gandhi John Keats: Isabela, The Eve of St. Agnes, Endymion Khalid Rashid: Jhelum Factor K.M. Panikkar: Asia and Western Dominanc Kanti Bajpai: Kargil & After, Challenges for Indian Policy Karl Meyer and Shareen Brysac: Tournament of Shadows Kazi Nazrul Islam: Agni Veena Kalidas: Sakuntala, Meghdoot, Raghuvansh, Ritu Samhara, Kumar Sambhava Karl Marx: Das Capital Khushwant Singh: Love, Truth and A Little Malice, Delhi, The Sikhs, Train to Pakistan Khaled Hosseini: A Thousand Splendid Suns Kalhana: Rajatarangini Kiran Bedi and Parminder Singh: E-Governance Opportunities of India Kiran Desai: The Inheritance of Loss. Kiran Nagarkar: The Extras Kautilya: Artha-shastra Kapil Dev: By God's Decree D.H. Lawrence: Lady Chatterley's Lover, Sons and Lovers, Rainbow Lajpat Rai: Unhappy India MJ Akbar: Blood Brothers: A family Saga
Page 333
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 333

Mikhail Sholokhov: And Quiet Flows the Don Margaret Mitchell: Gone With The Wind Milan Kundera: The Joke Christopher Marlowe: Dr. Faustus. Edward II, Tamerlaine the Great Madeline Miler: The Song of Achilles Maugham, Somerset: Razor's Edge MukuJ Kesavan: Secular Common Sense Michael Griffin: Reaping the Whirlwind Mike Marqusee: Anyone But England Manjula Padmanabhan: Harvest Maroof Raza: Generals and governments in India & Pakistan John Milton: Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Camus Samson Agonistes. Maxim Gorky: Mother Mark Tully: Non-Stop India Mrinal Pande: The Other Country- Dispatches from the Mofussil Margaret Atwood: The Blind Assassin Machiavelli: On the Art of War, The Prince' Major Sulakshan Mohan: India's Nuclear Leaf Margaret Drabble: The Middle Ground MartinAmis: The War against Cliche MarkShand: 'River Dog' Mario Puzo: The Family, The Godfather Katherine Mayo: Mother India. Mala Sen: India's Bandit Queen: The true story of Phoolan Devi
Page 334
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 334

Milan Kundera: Life is Elsewhere R. K. Narayan: The Guide, Waiting for the Mahatma, Memories of Malgudi N. Vittal: Ideas for Action N.A.Palkhiwala: We the Nation; The Lost Decades Noreen Grice: Touch the Universe Nelson Mandela: Long walk to freedom, The Struggle in My Life Nassim Nicholas Taleb: The Black Swan Sarojini Naidu: The Sceptred Flute: Songs of India Namita Gokhale: Present Tense-Living on the Edge Nisha Da Cunha: No Black, No White Jawaharlal Nehru: The Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History. Naguib Mahfouz: Children of Gebalawi Surya Kant Nirala: Juhi Ki Kali, Tulsi Ka Gyan Bodh Narcopolis: Jeet Thayil Omar Khayyam: The Rubaiyat George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty Four, Animal Farm Octavio Paz: Sun Stone Panini: Ashatadhyayi Prabha Atre: Enlisting the Listener Pt. Ravi Shankar: My Music, My Life Pearl S. Buck: Good Earth Pope John Paul II: Crossing the Threshold of Hope Boris Pasternak: Dr. Zhivago Plato: The Dunciad, Essay on Man
Page 335
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 335

Penelope Leach: Baby and Child Patricia Cornwell: Black Notice Prof D.N. Jha: Holy Cow: Beef in Indian Dietary Traditions Pankaj Mishra: The Romantics P.C. Alexander: Through the Carridors of Power-An Insider's Story P. V. Narasimha Rao: A Long way, Ayodhya: 6 December 1992 Pervez Musharraf: In the Line of Fire: A Memoir Munshi Prem Chand: Rang Bhumi, Kaya Kalp, Godan, Prem Basti, Soz-i-Watan. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan: Hindu View of Life, India Philosophy, East & West in Religion Romain Rolland: Mahatma Gandhi, Ramakrishna, Jean Christopher Rousseau: The Social Contract, Confessions. Robin Cook: Abduction, Shock Rajeev Sharma: The Pakistan Trap Richard Bernstein: Ultimate Journey Ram Jethmalani: Big Egos, Small Men R. Venkatraman: My Presidential Years Remarque: All quiet on the Western Front R.M. Lala: For the Love of India Robert Ludlum: The Paris Option Rudyard Kipling: Kim, Jungle Book, The Light That 'Failed' . R.K. Laxman: Laugh With Laxman, A dose of Laughter Rajagopalachari, C: The Fatal Cart, Reconciliation - Why and How William Shakespeare: Othello, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet Sunil Gavaskar: Sunny Days
Page 336
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 336

Shill Khera: You Can Win Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: Friends & Foes Sashi Tharoorz: The Great Indian Novel; Nehru-The Invention of India Simone de Beauvoir: The Second Sex S. Mujibur Rahman: Friends and Foes Stepheie Meyer: New Moon Sunil Gangopadhyay: First light Steve Martini: The Judge Stephen Hawking: A Brief History of Time, The Universe in a Nut Shell. S. Gopalan: Tryst with Destiny S.S. Gill: Gandhi A Sublime failure Sir Thomas Moore: Utopia Stanley Wol-port: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi
Page 337
Salman Rushdie: Midnight's children.fury, The Moor's Last Sigh, Step across this Line, Shalimar The Clown SK. Majumdar: Jinnah and Gandhi Satyajit Ray: Stranger Stories Samuel P. Huntington: Clash of Civilizations Subramanian Swamy: Hindus Under Siege: The Way Out Steve Waugh: Out of My Comfort Zones Swimming Home: Deborah Levy. Strobe Talbott: Engaging India-Diplomacy, Democracy and the Bomb Stephenie Meyer: Twilight R.N. Tagore: Gora, The Wreck, The Gardener, The Post Office, The King of Dark Chamber, Crescent Moon, Home and the World
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 337

Ruskin Bond: The Adventure of Rusty Toni Morrison: Beloved Tommy Franks: American Soldier Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan Thomas Mann: Death in Venice Tok Johnson: Through Little Tails and The Treat Floor Thomas Gray: Elegy Writen in a Country Churchyard T.N. Seshan: Regeneration ofIndia-2001
Page 338
Taslima Nasreen: Lajja, My Girlhood, French Laver, Uthal Hawa; Dwikhandita, Nirbasan Thomas Paine: Common Sense The Golden Notebook: Doris Lessing (Nobel prize 07) The Garden of Evening Mists: Tan Twan Eng The Lighthouse: Alison Moore Tennyson: The Lady of Shalott, Idylls of the King Tara Ali Baig: The Forbidden Sea Tony Kusher: Angels in America Umbrella: Will Self VP Singh: Manzil se Jyada Safar Vikram Seth: Suitable Boy, Golden Gate, The Rivered Earth Vladimir Putin: Judo-History: Theory & Practice V.V. Giri: My Life and Times Vatsyayana: Kamasutra Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita Vishnu Sharma: Panchatantra
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 338

V. Anand: How to Play Chess. Ved Mehta: Mahatma Gandhi and his Apostles, Portrait of India
Page 339
V. S. Naipaul: India: A wounded civilization, A Bend in the River, Half a life, The Adventures of Gurudeva, A House for Mr. Biswas H.G. Wells: The Shape of Things to Come, Time Machine Walt Whitman: Leaves of Grass W. Wordsworth: Ode to Duty, The Prelude, Solitary Reaper, Tintern Abbey P.G. Wodehouse: The Conqueror, The Code, The Woosters William Kennedy: Very Old Bones Y.S. Rajan: Empowering Indians Yves Thoraval: The Cinemas of India (1896-2000) Zia Jaffrey: The Invisibles LA. Bhutto: If I am Assassinated
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 339
Page 340
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 340
Page 341
COMPUTER KNOWLEDGE
INTRODUCTION OF COMPUTER
As per Collin's English dictionary computer is "a device, usually electronic, that processes data according to a set instructions". In other words, computer is an electronic device, which accepts information in the digitalized data form and process it for some result based on a program or sequence of instructions on how the data is to be processed".
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTER
Automatic: The computers are automatic machines as they work normally without any human support. However, computers being machines cannot start themselves. Speed: It is one of the fastest machines. It calculate/work at a speed which is virtually impossible for a human being. A powerful computer is capable of performing several billion airthmetic operations per second. Accuracy: In addition to speed they are also very accurate. Accuracy is topmost consideration in installation of computers. Any calculating device is useless if the results are unreliable. Reliability: The computer systems are particularly adept at repetitive task. They do not take rest and coffee breaks and they never complain. Memory Capability: The computer systems have total and instant recall of data and an almost unlimited capacity to store data.
USES OF A COMPUTER
Business The computer is now being used in all aspects of business and the economy. It has become one of the sophisticated tools, which has significantly increased the productivity. Right from the designing of a product to the sells counters computers are used everywhere. There are various softwares which are used during the process like, CAD, Tally, busy, spread sheets word processors etc. Communication The modern day communication is entirely based on computers and computer system. From mobile phones to satellites everything runs on the basis of computers. These days we use emails which are also completely based on computer system. Internet which is a network of computers around the world has changed the world in a global village. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 341
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 HISTORY OF COMPUTERS
Page 342
The history of the modern computer begins with two separate technologies-automated. Calculation and programmability-but no single device can be identified as the earliest computer, partly because of the inconsistent application of that term. The "castle clock", an astronomical clock invented by Al-Jazari in 1206, is considered to be the earliest programmable analog computer. The first calculating machine of sorts was developed by French mathematician, scientist and philosopher, Blaise Pascal, in 1642. In the mid-1800s, an English mathematician and logician, George Boole, used the binary system to invent a new type of mathematics called Boolean logic and Boolean algebra. The first successful computer was built by an American inventor and businessman, Herman Hollerith, in 1888. He devised a punched card system, including punching equipment, for tabulating the results of the United States census. Vannevar Bush, an American electrical engineer, developed an analog computer in 1930. The device, called a differential analyzer, solved differential equations, deriving its measurement from the movement of gears and shafts. The inventor of the program-controlled computer was Konrad Zuse, who built the first working computer in 1941 and later in 1955 the first computer based on magnetic storage. In 1951, the same engineers collaborating with a Hungarian-born American mathematician, John von Neumann, assembled the Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC) which strongly influenced later computer designs. The EDVAC could store more of its programming. In 1951 itself, Echert and Mauchly built a more advanced computer called Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC-I) which later became the first commercially available computer. An American engineer, Seymour Cray, made the first fully transistorized computer in 1958. Further miniaturisation became possible when the integrated circuit (or chip) was developed in the early 1960s.
TYPES OF COMPUTERS
1. Analog Computer An analog computer is a form of computer, which uses the continuously-changeable aspects of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being solved.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 342
Page 343
Mechanical analog computers were very important in gun fire control in World War II and the Korean War; they were made in significant numbers. Analog computers can have a very wide range of complexity. Slide rules and nomographs are the simplest, while naval gun fire control computers and large hybrid digital/analogue computers were among the most complicated. Running an electronic analog computer, assuming a satisfactory setup, started with the computer held with some variables fixed at their initial values. Moving a witch released the holds and permitted the problem to run. 2. Hybrid Computers The hybrid computers are those that exhibit features of analog computers and digital. The digital component normally acts as the controller and provides logical operations, while the analog component normally serves as a solver of differential equations. In general, analog computers are extraordinarily faster in speed, since they can solve most complex equations at the rate at which a signal traverses the circuit, which is generally an" appreciable fraction of the speed of light. Digital computers can be built to take the solution of equations to almost unlimited precision, but quite slowly compared to analog computers. Generally, complex equations are approximated using iterative numerical methods which take huge numbers of iterations, depending on how good the initiai "guess" at the final value is and how much precision is desired. 3. Digital Computer The class of devices that is capable of solving problems by processing information in discrete form is known as digital computers. It operates on data including magnitudes letters and symbols that are expressed in binary form is using only the two digits 0 and 1.
CLASSES OF COMPUTERS
1. Personal Computers Microcomputers or Personal Computers are the most common type of computers in 'existence today, whether at work in school or on the desk at home. The term "microcomputer" was introduced with the advent of single chip microprocessors. A personal computer (PC) is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator. A personal computer may be a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet PC or a handheld PC (also called palmtop). The most common microprocessors in personal computers are
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 343
Page 344
x86-compatible CPUs. Software applications for personal computers include word processing, spreadsheets, databases, Web browsers and e-mail clients, games, and myriad personal productivity and special-purpose software. a) Desktop computer b) Single unit c) Nettop d) Laptop e) Netbook f) Tablet PC g) Ultra-Mobile PC h) Home Theatre PC i) A Pocket PC 2. Minicomputers Minicomputers (Midrange computers): A minicomputer is a class of multi-user computers that lies in the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the largest multi-user systems (mainframe computers) and the smallest single-user systems (microcomputers or personal computers). The contemporary term for this class of system is midrange computer, such as the higher-end SPARC, POWER and Itanium-based systems from Sun Microsystems, IBM and Hewlett-Packard. 3. Mainframe Computers The term mainframe computer was shaped to differentiate the conventional, large, institutional computer projected to service multiple users from the smaller, single user machines. These computers are competent of handling and meting out very large amounts of data quickly. Mainframe computers are used in large institutions such as government, banks and large corporations. These institutions were early adopters of computer use, long before personal computers were available to individuals. "Mainframe" often refers to computers compatible with the computer architectures established in the 1960s. Thus, the origin of the architecture also affects the classification, not just processing power. Mainframes are measured in integer operations per second or IPS. An example of integer operation is moving data around in memory or I/O devices. A more useful industrial benchmark is transaction processing as defined by the Transaction Processing Performance Council.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 344
Page 345
COMPONENTS OF COMPUTER
CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) or the processor is a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, and is the primary element carrying out the computer's functions.
MICROPROCESSOR
A microprocessor integrates most or all of the functions of a computer's central processing unit (CPU) on a single integrated circuit (IC, or microchip). The first microprocessors emerged in the early 1970s and were used for electronic calculators, using-binary-coded decimal (BCD) arithmetic on 4-bit words. Affordable 8-bit microprocessors with 16-bit addressing also led to the first general purpose microcomputers in the mid- 1970s.
CONTROL UNIT
The control unit administers the computer's various components; it reads and interprets (decodes) the program instructions, convert them into a series of control signals which make active other parts of the computer. Control systems in advanced computers may change the order of some instructions to improve the performance.
ARITHMETIC LOGIC UNIT

Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) is a digital circuit, which performs arithmetic and logical operations. The ALU is considered as a fundamental building block of the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer, and even the simplest microprocessors contain one for purposes such as maintaining timers. The processors found inside modern CPUs and graphics processing units (GPUs) holds very powerful and very complex ALUs; a single component may contain a number of ALUs.
MEMORY
Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to computer components, devices, and recording media that maintain digital data used for computing for some interval of time. It is one of the fundamental components of all modem computers, and coupled with a central processing unit (CPU, a processor), implements the basic computer model used since the 1940s.
RAM
In contemporary usage, memory usually refers to a form of semiconductor storage known as random-access memory (RAM) and sometimes other forms of fast but temporary storage.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 345
Page 346
Similarly, storage today more commonly refers to the mass storage - optical discs, forms of magnetic storage like hard disk drives, and other types slower than RAM, the terms internal memory and external memory are also used.
BITS AND BYTES

In almost all modem computers, each memory cell is set up to store binary numbers in groups of eight bits (called a byte). Each byte is able to represent 256 different numbers (2^8 = 256); either from 0 to 255 or -128 to + 127. To store larger numbers, several consecutive bytes may be used (typically, two, four or eight. A computer can store any kind of information in memory if it can be represented numerically. Modem computers have billions or even trillions of bytes of memory. There are several units of information which are defined as multiples of bits, such as byte (8 bits), kilobit (either 1000 or 210 = 1024 bits) megabyte (either 8000000 or 8x220 = 8388608bits), etc.
ROM AND RAM

Computer main memory is available in two types: Random-Access Memory or RAM and ReadOnly Memory or ROM. RAM can be read and written to anytime the CPU commands it, but ROM is pre-loaded with data and software that never changes, so the CPU can only read from it. ROM is typically used to store the computer's initial start-up instructions. In a PC, the ROM contains a specialised program called the BIOS that coordinate loading the computer's operating system from the hard disk drive into RAM whenever the computer is turned on or reset.
CACHE
Cache is considered as a collection of data, which duplicates original values stored elsewhere on a computer. There are caches for your CD-ROM, memory caches and hard drive caches. Your favorite browser even keeps a cache on your hard drive of the most recent websites you've visited.
THE BUS
The network of wires or pathways through which the CPU is able to send various data values, instructions, and information to all the devices and components inside your computer as well as the different peripherals and devices attached is called the Bus. A computers bus can be divided into two different types comprising Internal and External. The Internal Bus connects the different components inside the case: The CPU, system memory, and all other components on the motherboard. Its also referred to as the System Bus.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 346
Page 347
The External Bus connects the different external devices, peripherals, expansion slots, I/O ports and drive connections to the rest of the computer.
COMPUTER HARDWARE
Hardware means the physical components of a computer system, in the form of computer hardware.
MOTHERBOARD
1. The motherboard is the vital component inside the case. IUs a large rectangular board with integrated circuitry that connects the rest of the arts of the computer including the CR ,the RAM, the disk drives (CD, DVD, hard disk, or any others) as well as any peripherals connected via the ports or the expansion slots. 2. Removable Media Devices CD (Compact Disc): The most common type of removable media, suitable for music and data. CD-ROM Drive: A device used for reading data from a CD. CD Writer: A device used for both reading and writing data to and from a CD. DVD (Digital Versatile Disc): A popular type of removable media that is the same dimensions as a CD but stores up to 12 times as much information. It is the most common way of transferring digital video, and is popular for data storage. DVD-ROM Drive: A device used for reading data from a DVD. DVD Writer: A device used for both reading and writing data to and from a DVD. DVD-RAM Drive: A device used for rapid writing and reading of data from a special type of DVD. Blu- ray Disc: A high-density optical disc format for data and high-definition video. Can store 70 times as much information as a CD. BD-ROM Drive: A device used for reading data from a Blu-ray disc. BD Writer: A device used for both reading and writing data to and from a Blu-ray disc. HD DVD: A discontinued competitor to the Blu-ray format. Floppy disk: An outdated storage device consisting of a thin disk of a flexible magnetic storage medium. Used today mainly for loading RAID drivers.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 347
Page 348
Iomega Zip drive: An outdated medium-capacity removable disk storage system, first introduced by Iomega in 1994. USB flash drive: A flash memory data storage device integrated with a USB interface, typically small, light-weight, removable, and rewritable. Capacities vary, from hundreds of megabytes (in the same ballpark as CDs) to tens of gigabytes (surpassing, at great expense, Blu-ray discs). Tape Drive: A device that reads and writes data on a magnetic tape, used for long term storage and backups. 3. Secondary Storage: Hardware that keeps data inside the computer for later use and remains persistent even when the computer has no power. Hard Disk: for medium-term storage of data. Solid-state drive: A device similar to hard disk, but containing no moving parts and stores data in a digital format. RAID Array Controller: A device, which manages several internal or external hard disks and optionally some peripherals in order to achieve performance or reliability improvement, is called a RAID array. 4. Sound Card: It enables the computer to output sound to audio devices, as well as accept input from a microphone. Most modem computers have sound cards built-in to the motherboard, though it is common for a user to install a separate sound card as an upgrade.
TEXT INPUT DEVICES

Keyboard: A device to input text and characters by depressing buttons (referred to as keys), similar to a typewriter. The most common English-language key layout is the QWERTY layout.
POINTING DEVICES
Mouse: A pointing device, which detects two dimensional motions relative to its supporting surface. Optical Mouse: A newer technology that uses light to track the surface under the mouse to determine the motion to be translated into cursor movements on the screen. Trackball: A pointing device consisting of an exposed project ball housed in a socket that detects rotation about two axes.
DATA STORAGE
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 348
Page 349
1. Primary Storage: Primary storage (or main memory or internal memory); often referred to simply as memory, is the only one directly accessible to the CPU. Historically, early computers used delay lines, Williams tubes, or rotating magnetic drums as primary storage. Processor cache is an intermediate stage between ultrafast registers and much slower main memory. It introduced solely to increase performance of the computer. Main memory is directly or indirectly connected to the CPU via a memory bus. It is actually two buses. 2. Secondary Storage: Secondary storage (or external memory) differs from primary storage, which is not directly accessible by the' CPU. The computer usually uses its input/ output channels to access secondary storage and transfers the desired data using intermediate area in primary storage. Some other examples of secondary storage technologies are flash memory (e.g.,) USB flash drives or keys), floppy disks, magnetic tape, paper tape, punched cards, standalone RAM disks, and Iomega Zip drives. 3. Tertiary Storage: Tertiary storage or tertiary memory, a third level of storage. Typically it involves a robotic mechanism which will mount (insert) and dismount removable mass storage media into a storage device according to the system's demands; this data is often copied to secondary storage before use. It is primarily used for archival of rarely accessed information since it is much slower than secondary storage (e.g.,) 5-60 seconds vs. l-l0 milliseconds). This is primarily useful for extraordinarily large data stores, accessed without human operators. Typical examples include tape libraries and optical jukeboxes. Characteristics of Storage Storage technologies at all levels of the storage hierarchy can be differentiated by evaluating certain core characteristics as well as measuring characteristics specific to a particular implementation. These core characteristics are volatility. 1. Volatility Non-volatile memory: The non volatile will retain the stored information even if it is not constantly supplied with electric power. It is suitable for long-term storage of information. Nowadays used for most of secondary, tertiary, and off-line storage. In 1950s and 1960s, it was also used or primary storage, in the form of magnetic core memory. Volatile memory: It requires constant power to maintain the stored information. The fastest memory technologies of today are volatile ones (not a universal rule). Since primary storage is required to be very fast, it predominantly uses volatile memory.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 349

2. Differentiation
Page 350
Dynamic Random Access Memory: The form of volatile memory which also requires the stored information to be periodically re-read and re-written, or refreshed, otherwise it would vanish. Static Memory: A form of volatile memory similar to DRAM with the exception that it never needs to be refreshed as long as power is applied. 3. Accessibility Random access: Any location in storage can be accessed at any moment in approximately the same amount of time. Such characteristic is well suited for primary and secondary storage. Sequential access: The access of pieces of information will be in a serial order, one after the other; therefore the time to access a particular piece of information depends upon which piece of information was last accessed. 4. Capacity Raw capacity: The total amount of stored information that a storage device or medium can hold. It is expressed as a quantity of bits or bytes (e.g. 10.4 megabytes). Memory storage density: The compactness of stored information. It is the storage capacity of a medium divided with a unit of Iength, area or volume (e.g. 1.2 megabytes per square inch).
FEW IMPORTANT COMPUTER DEVICES

PRINTER
A printer is a peripheral which produces a hard copy (permanent readable text andlor graphics) of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparent sheet. Classification 1. Toner-base Printers A laser printer is a type of computer printer, which rapidly produces high quality text and graphics on plain paper. As with digital photocopiers and multifunction printers (MFPs) Another toner based printer is the LED printer which uses an array of LEDs despite of a laser to cause toner adhesion to the print drum
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 350

2. Liquid Inkjet Printers
Page 351
Inkjet printers operated by propelling variably-sized droplets of liquid or molten material (ink) onto almost any sized page. They are the most common type of computer printer for the general consumer. 3. Tele-printer The common tele-printer could easily be interfaced to the computer and became very popular except for those computers manufactured by IBM. Most teleprinters operated at ten characters per second although a few achieved 15 CPS.
SCANNER
In computing, a scanner is a device, which optically scans images, printed text, handwriting, or an object, and converts it to a digital image. Common examples found in offices are variations of the desktop (or flatbed) scanner where the document is placed on a glass window for scanning. Hand-held scanners, where the device is moved by hand, 3D scanners used for industrial designing, reverse engineering, test and measurement, orthotics, gaming and other applications. 1. Rotary scanner: It is used for high speed document scanning, is another type of drum scanner, using a CCD array instead of a photomultiplier. Other types of scanners are planetary scanners, which take photographs of books and documents, and 3D scanners, or producing three-dimensional models of objects. 2. Digital camera scanners: These are based on the concept of reprographic cameras. Due to increasing resolution and new features such as anti-shake, digital c eras have become an attractive alternative to regular scanners.
WEBCAM
A webcam is a video capture device connected to a computer 0 computer network, often using a USB port or, if connected to a network, Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 351
Page 352
COMPUTER OPERATING SOFTWARE

In computing, an Operating System (OS) is software that provides an interface between the hardware and other software. The OS is responsible for management and coordination of processes and allocation and sharing of hardware resources such as RAM and disk space, that acts as a host for computing applications running on the OS.
FEATURES OF OPERATING SYSTEMS

1. Program Execution: The operating system, which acts as an interface between an application and the hardware. The user interacts with the hardware from "the other side". Executing a program involves the creation of a process by the operating system. 2. Interrupts: Interrupts are central to operating systems, as they provide an efficient way for the operating system to Computer Operating System. 3. Protected mode and supervisor mode: Processing Units with this capability use two modes: protected mode and supervisor mode, which allow certain CPU functions to be controlled and affected only by the operating system kernel. 4. Memory management: A multiprogramming operating system kernel must be responsible for managing all system memory which is currently in use by programs. This ensures that a program does not interfere with memory already used by another program. Since programs time share, each program must have independent access to memory. 5. Virtual memory: The use of virtual memory addressing (such as paging or segmentation) means that the kernel can choose what memory each program may use at any given time, allowing the operating system to use the same memory locations for multiple tasks. 6. Multitasking: Multitasking means running of multiple independent computer programs on the same computer; giving the appearance that it is performing the tasks at the same time 7. Disk access and file systems: Access to data stored on disks is a central feature of all operating systems. Computers store data on disks using files, which are structured in specific ways in order to allow for faster access, higher reliability, and to make better use out of the drive's available space. 8. Device drivers: A device driver is a specific type of computer software, which is developed to allow interaction with hardware devices. 9. Networking: The most operating systems support a variety of networking protocols, hardware, and applications for using them. 10. Security: A modem operating system provides access to a number of resources, which are available to software running on the system, and to external devices like networks via the kernel.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 352
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 MAJOR OPERATING SYSTEMS
Page 353
1. DOS: DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition 2. DOS is a single user, single-task operating system with basic kernel functions that are nonreentrant: only one program at a time can use them. 3. The DOS kernel provides various functions for programs (an application program interface), like displaying characters on-screen, reading a character from the keyboard, accessing disk files and more. 4. GNU/Linux and Unix-like operating systems: Ken Thompson wrote B, mainly based on BCPL, which he used to write UNIX, based on his experience in the MULTICS project. B was replaced by C, and UNIX developed into a large. 5. Mac OS X: Mac OS X is a line of partially proprietary, graphical operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., the latest of which is pre-loaded on all currently shipping Macintosh computers. Mac as X is the successor to the original Mac as, which had been Apple's primary operating system since 1984. 6. Microsoft Windows: Microsoft Windows is a family of proprietary operating systems that originated as an add-on to the older MS-DOS operating system for the IBM Pc. Modem versions are based on the newer Windows NT kernel that was originally intended for OS/2. 7. Windows 2010: Microsoft Office 2010 (also called Office 20 I 0 and Office 14) is a productivity suite for Microsoft Windows, and the successor to Microsoft Office 2007. Office 2010 includes extended file format support, user interface updates, and a changed user experience. A 64-bit version of Office 2010 is available, although not for Windows XP or Windows Server 2003. 8. Real-Time Operating Systems: A real-time operating system (RTOS) is a multitasking operating system intended for applications with fixed deadlines (real-time computing). Such applications include some small embedded systems, automobile engine controllers, industrial robots, spacecraft, industrial control, and some large-scale computing systems.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 353
Page 354
APPLICATION SOFTWARES
Computer software is a term primarily used for digitally stored data such as computer programs and other kinds of information read and written by computers. Application software, also known as software application, application or app, is computer software designed to help the user to perform singular or multiple related specific tasks. Computer software is so called to differentiate it from computer hardware, which includes the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. Programs are ordered of instructions for changing the state of the computer in a particular sequence. It is usually written in high-level programming languages that are easier and more efficient for humans to use (closer to natural language) than machine language. Software is also sometimes used in a more narrow sense, meaning application software only. Examples include: Application software, such as word processors which perform productive tasks for users. Firmware, which is software programmed resident to electrically programmable memory devices on board mainboards or other types of integrated hardware carriers. Middleware controls and co-ordinates distributed systems. System software such as operating systems, which govern computing resources and provide convenience for users. Software testing is a domain independent of development and programming. Software testing consists of various methods to test and declare a software product fit before it can be launched for use by either an individual or a group. Testware is an umbrella term or container term for all utilities and application software, which serves in combination for testing a software package but not necessarily may optionally contribute to operational purposes. Testware is not a standing configuration but merely a working environment for application software or subsets thereof.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 354
Page 355
MICROSOFT OFFICE (MS OFFICE)

Microsoft Office (MS Office) is an office suite of interrelated desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. Microsoft Office was introduced by Microsoft in 1989 for Macintosh, with a version for Windows in 1990. The major components of Microsoft Office are MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Access, MS Notepad, and MS Outlook, etc.
MICROSOFT WORD
Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first introduced in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. It is a component of the Microsoft Office system; however, it is also sold as a standalone product and included in Microsoft Works Suite. Major Features of MS Word Microsoft Word's native file formats are denoted either by a .doc or .docx file extension. The newer c ".docx" extension signifies the Office Open XML international standard for Office documents and is used by Word 2007 for Windows, Word 2008 for the Macintosh, as well as by a growing number of applications from other vendors. Word comprised inbuilt spell checker, thesaurus, dictionary, Office Assistant and utilities for transferring, copy, pasting and editing text, such as Pure Text.
MICROSOFT EXCEL
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphic tools, pivot tables and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications or VBA. Microsoft Excel has the basic features of spreadsheets, using-a grid of cells arranged in numbered rows and letter-named columns to organize data manipulations like arithmetic operations. Finally, it has a variety of interactive features allowing user, who can completely hide the spreadsheet from the user, so the spreadsheet presents itself as a decision support system (DSS) via a custom-designed user interface. For example, a stock analyzer, or in general, as a design tool that asks the user questions and provides answers and reports.
MICROSOFT EXCEL 2010 NEW FEATURES

Quickly, intuitively filter large amounts of information using new slicer functionality and enhance your Pivot Table and Pivot Chart visual analysis. Easily customize the improved Ribbon to make the commands you need most accessible. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 355
Page 356
You can work with other people simultaneously on the same workbook in almost any web browser using Excel Web Application Share Point Excel Service enables you to share your easy-to-read workbooks in a web browser with your team while maintaining a single version of the workbook.
MICROSOFT OUTLOOK
Microsoft Outlook, formerly Microsoft Office Outlook, is a personal information manager from Microsoft. The current versions are Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 for Windows and in late 2009; Microsoft released the beta version of Microsoft Outlook 2010. It embraces a Calendar, Task Manager, Contact Manager, note taking, a journal and web browsing. It can be used as a standalone application, or can work with Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server for multiple users in an organization, such as shared mailboxes and calendars, exchange public folders, share point lists and meeting schedules.
MICROSOFT POWERPOINT
Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation program by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating system. MS PowerPoint is generally used by business people, educators, students, and trainers. The presentation can be printed, displayed live on a computer, or navigated through at the command of the presenter. Slides can also form the basis of web casts. PowerPoint provides three types of movements: Entrance, emphasis, and exit of elements on a slide itself are controlled by what PowerPoint calls Custom Animations Transitions, on the other hand are movements between slides. Custom animation can be used to create small story boards by animating pictures to enter, exit or move.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 356
Page 357
COMPUTER LANGUAGES
ALGOL
ALGOL is a short form for ALGO-rithmic language which is a high-level problem-oriented language for mathematical and scientific application using algorithms. The language defines algorithms as a series of statements and declarations in the form of algebraic formulae and English words. An instruction or assignment statement of the form b; = a + c + b.
C
C is a explanation of the primary hard disk in a PC. (ii) A mid level structured programming language developed by AT&T 1 Bell Laboratories. C is programmed as a series of function that call each other for processing.
C++
It is an object oriented version of popular C programming language, developed by Bjarne Stroustrup of Bell laboratories. C++ merge traditional elements of C language with object oriented capability and has been adopted as the inhouse programming language by number of companies.
COBOL
This is an acronym for common business oriented language. It is a high-level programming language designed to assist the tak of programmers by enabling them to write programs in a more simple manner than is possible with' assembly code. The language is largely used for mainframe computers. It assists to solve business problems for such applications as stock control, payroll, sales and purchase ledger accounting etc.
FORTRAN
It is acronym for Formula Translation. It is a high-level language for scientific and mathematical use using algebraic formula. The language was first of all introduced by IBM in 1957. It has been replaced or supplemented to some extent by other languages such as BASIC and other highlevel languages.
JAVA
The programming language developed by Sun Microsystem. Java is an object oriented language very similar to C++ in structure. It can be used to create small applets that run in a web browser and can be incorporated as part of a website.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 357
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 PASCAL
Page 358
A high-level programming language used on microcomputers. It is said that PASCAL is a superior language to BASIC and BASIC is not intended for complex programs. PASCAL appeared in the late sixties at the Zurich Technical Institute. It is a development from ALGOL. The idea PASCAL is to produce a structured, algorithmically-oriented language. PASCAL executes programs quickly compared with other languages, especially in comparison with interpretative languages like BASIC.lt takes time to learn the notation and syntax before it can be used.
COMPUTER NETWORK
A computer network is a collection of computers and devices, which connected by communications channels that facilitates communications among users and allows users to share resources with other users.
PURPOSE OF COMPUTER NETWORK

Facilitating communications: Using a network, people can communicate efficiently and easily via e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms, telephony, video telephone calls, and videoconferencing. Sharing hardware: In a networked environment, each computer on a network can access and use hardware on the network. Sharing software: The users connected to a network can access application programs on the network.
NETWORK CLASSIFICATION ON BASIS OF SCALE

Networks are often classified as local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), personal area network (PAN), virtual private network (VPN), campus area network (CAN), storage area network (SAN), and others, depending on their scale, scope and purpose. 1. Personal Area Network: A personal area network (PAN) is a computer network, which is used for communication among computer and different information technological devices close to one person. 2. Local Area Network: A local area network (LAN) is a network that connects computers and devices in a limited geographical area such as home, school, computer laboratory, office building, or closely positioned group of buildings. Each computer or device on the network is a node. Current wired LANs are most likely to be based on Ethernet technology, although new standards like ITU-T G. LAN also provide a way to create a wired LAN using existing home wires (coaxial cables, phone lines and power lines).
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 358
Page 359
3. Home Area Network: A home area network is a residential LAN which is used for communication between digital devices typically deployed in the home, usually a small number of personal computers and accessories, such as printers and mobile computing devices. 4. Campus Area Network: A campus area network (CAN) is a computer network made up of an interconnection of local area networks (LANs) within a limited geographical area. In the case of a university campus-based campus area network, the network is likely to link a variety of campus buildings including; academic departments, the university library and student residence halls. 5. Metropolitan Area Network: A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network that connects two or more local area networks or campus area networks together but does not extend beyond the boundaries of the immediate town/city. Routers, switches and hubs are connected to create a metropolitan area network. 6. Wide Area Network: A wide area network (WAN) is a computer network that covers a large geographic area such as a city, country, or spans even intercontinental distances, using a communications channel that combines many types of media such as telephone lines, cables, and air waves. 7. Virtual Private Network: A virtual private network (VPN) is a computer network in which some of the links between nodes are carried by open connections or virtual circuits in some larger network (e.g., the Internet) instead of by physical wires. 8. Internet: The Internet is a global system of interconnected governmental, academic, public, and private computer networks. It is the successor of the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), developed by DARPA of the U.S. Department of Defense. The Internet is also the communications backbone underlying the World Wide Web (WWW). 9. Intranets and extranets: Intranets and extranets are parts or extensions of a computer network, usually a local area network. An intranet is a set of networks, using the lnternet Protocol and IP-based tools such as web browsers and file transfer applications that is under the control of a single administrative entity An extranet is a network that is limited in scope to a single organization or entity and also has limited connections to the networks of one or more other usually, but not necessarily, trusted organizations or entities.
HARDWARE COMPONENTS OF A NETWORK

1. Network interface cards: A network card, network adapter, or NIC (network interface card) is a piece of computer, hardware designed to allow computers to communicate over a computer network.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 359
Page 360
2. Repeaters: A repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal, cleans it from the unnecessary noise, regenerates it and retransmits it at a higher power level. In most twisted pair Ethernet configurations, repeaters are required for cable which runs longer than 100 meters. Repeaters work on the Physical Layer of the OSI model. 3. Hubs: A network hub contains multiple ports. When a packet arrives at one port, it is copied unmodified to all ports of the hub for transmission. It works on the Physical Layer of the OSI model. 4. Bridges: A network bridge connects multiple network segments at the data link layer (layer 2) of the OSI model. However, bridges do not promiscuously copy traffic to all ports, as hubs do. Local bridges: Directly connect local area networks (LANs) Remote bridges: Can be used to create a wide area network (WAN) link between LANs. Remote bridges, where the connecting link is slower than the end networks, largely have been replaced with routers. Wireless bridges: Can be used to join LANs or connect remote stations to LANs. 5. Switches: A network switch is a device that forwards and filters OSI layer 2 datagrams (chunk of data communication) between ports (connected cables) based on the MAC addresses in the packets. Switches make forwarding decisions of frames on the basis of MAC addresses. 6. Routers: A router is a networking device that forwards packets between networks using information in protocol headers and forwarding tables to determine the best next router for each packet.
NETWORK TOPOLOGIES
The Bus Topology This type of network topology is generally used with Ethernet networks. The Mesh Topology This type of network topology boasts the highest fault tolerance of all of the network topologies, it is also usually the most expensive. The Ring Topology Ring topology networks the devices by connecting each device to its two neighbouring devices. The Star Topology A physical Star topology connects the devices via a centralised unit, such as Hub or Switch.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 360
Page 361
INTERNET
The Internet is a global system, which is interconnected computer network that uses the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. This network that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by a broad array of electronic and optical networking technologies.
WORLD WIDE WEB

World Wide Web (www) commonly known as The Web, is a system of interlinked hypertext documents contained on the Internet. With a web browser, one can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them by using hyperlinks.
EMAIL
Electronic mail is an electronic method of exchanging digital messages. E-mail systems are based on a store-and-forward model in which e-mail server computer systems accept, forward, deliver and store messages on behalf of users, who only need to connect to the e-mail infrastructure, typically an e-mail server, with a network-enabled device for the duration of message submission or retrieval.
USENET
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It is developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.
SEARCH ENGINE
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information which must be consulted, akin to other techniques for managing information overload.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 361
Page 362
GENERAL KEYBOARD SHORTCUT KEYS

CTRL+C CTRL+X CTRL+V CTRL+Z DELETE SHIFT+DELETE Copy Cut Paste Undo Delete Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin Copy the selected item Create a shortcut to the selected item Rename the selected item Move the insertion point beginning of the next word to the the the
CTRL while dragging an item CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item F2 key CTRL+RIGHT ARROW CTRL+LEFT ARROW CTRL+DOWN ARROW CTRL+UP ARROW CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow SHIFT with any of the arrow keys CTRL+A F3 key ALT+ENTER ALT+F4 ALT+ENTER ALT+SPACEBAR www.jagranjosh.com
Move the insertion point to beginning of the previous word Move the insertion point to beginning of the next paragraph
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph Highlight a block of text keys Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop Select all Search for a file or a folder View the properties for the selected item Close the active item, or quit the active program Display the properties of the selected object Open the shortcut menu for the active window

Page 362

CRTL+F4 ALT+TAB ALT+ESC F6 KEY F4 KEY SHIFT+F10 ALT+SPACEBAR CTRL+ESC ALT+U F10 KEY RIGHT ARROW LEFT ARROM F5 KEY BACKSPACE ESC CTRL+SHIFT+ESC Dialog Box Keyboard Shortcuts CTRL+TAB CTRL+SHIFT+TAB TAB SHIFT+TAB Move forward through the tabs Move backward through the tabs Move forward through the options Move backward through the options Close the active document in programs Switch between the open items
Page 363
Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer Display the shortcut menu for the selected item Display the System menu for the active window Display the Start menu Underlined letter in a menu name Activate the menu bar in the active program Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu Update the active window or Refresh the active window View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer Cancel the current task Open Task Manager
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 363

ALT+Underlined letter ENTER SPACEBAR Arrow keys F1 key F4 key Backspace
Page 364
perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option Perform the command for the active option or button Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons Display Help Display the items in the active list Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 364
Page 365
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 365
Page 366
MARKETING
NATURE, SCOPE AND FUNCTIONS
The term 'Marketing' has been defined in a number of ways few of them can be explained as follows "Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanged that satisfy individual and organizational objectives." "American Marketing Association" Philip Kotler defines marketing as "Satisfying needs and wants through an exchange process." The Chartered Institute of Marketing defines marketing as "The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably". "Marketing is essentially about marshalling the resources of an organization so that they meet the changing needs of the customer on whom the organization depends." Palmer "Marketing is the process whereby society, to supply its consumption needs, evolves distributive systems composed on participants, who interacting under constraints, technical (economic) and ethical (social), create the transactions or flows which resolve market separations and result in exchange and consumption." Bartles
NATURE OF MARKETING
Marketing is a human activity. Marketing is a social-economic activity. Marketing is consumer-oriented process. The core of marketing is product or service. Marketing is based on exchange. Marketing is both art and science. Marketing is an universal activity.
SCOPE OF MARKETING
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 366
Page 367
The scope of marketing has been increased a lot in this modem time. The following are now included under the scope of marketing. All the decisions related to product like size, colour, design, packaging, etc, are taken with active participation of marketing department of the company. All the decisions related to the consumers are taken after having studied the consumer's responses with respect of different products, different prices and brands. All promotional decisions, like choosing type of marketing media, are also being taken under marketing activity. An effective after sales service is formulated by the marketing manager in order to satisfy the consumer.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARKETING AND SELLING

Marketing Marketing comprise selling and other activities including various promotional measures like marketing research, after sales services etc. It starts with research on consumer needs, wants, preference, likes, dislikes etc and continues even after the sales have actually taken place. Always focuses on earning profit through maximization of customers satisfaction. Customer need is the central point around which all marketing activities revolve. It is an integrated approach to achieve long term goals like creating, maintaining and retaining the customers. Selling Selling is restrained to influence of consumers to buy firm's goods and services. Selling initiate after the production process is over and ends with the handing over the money to the seller by the buyer. Focus is on earning profit through maximization of sales. Fragmented approach to achieve short-term gain All activities revolve around the product that has been produced
CREATING A CUSTOMER
The activities necessary to create the customers include the following
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 367

Recognizing customer needs Designing goods and services, which can satisfy those needs Communicate information about those goods and services to potential buyers.
Page 368
Making the goods and services available to customer's at right place at right time. Providing the necessary service and follow up to ensure customer satisfaction after the product is sold.
CONCEPTS OF MARKETING
Marketing is based on many concepts as per the orientation and perception of the firms about the business and market place. Exchange Concept This concept of marketing indicates that the exchange of a product between the seller and buyer is necessary. Production Concept Production dominates the thinking process of the consumers. Products produced in a great volume at a low unit cost are supported by the consumers. Production is focused in this concept. Product Concept Quality of the product is focused. Good and quality products are provided to the customers. Sales Concept Large sales promotion is believed to maximize the selling. Organizations resort to aggressive advertising, high power personal selling. The customer is being neglected in this concept. Marketing Concept Organization focuses on the consumer. Consumer is at both the beginning and the end of the business cycle. Consumer needs and aims at the satisfying those needs are determined.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 368

The customer's need becomes the focal point of the business.
Page 369
FUNCTIONS OF MARKETING
Marketing engross distribution of goods produced to the ultimate consumers. A number of operations need to be performed while carrying out the function of distribution of goods. These operations are termed as functions of marketing. Marketing Research It involves collection and analysis of facts of various aspects of marketing. It is a process of collection and analyzing information regarding customer needs and buying habits, nature of competition prevailing prices effectiveness of advertising media etc. It congregates records and analyses facts for arriving at rational decisions and developing suitable marketing strategies. Product Planning and Development The task of marketing initiates with planning and designing a product for the consumers. It could be done by modifying and improving an existing product. The marketers gather information regarding the needs of the consumers and then decide what to produce. Buying and Assembling It refers to buying and collection of required goods for resale. It is primarily relevant to those business organizations which are engaged in trading activities. In the context of manufacturing organizations, buying and assembling involve buying raw materials and components required for production of finished goods. Packaging It involves putting the goods in attractive packets container according to the convenience of consumers. Goods may be packaged in bottles, bones, cans or bags. Packaging enhances the presentation of goods and also appeals to the user. Packaging is also used as a promotional tool as suitable and attractive packages increases the demand for the products to a great extent.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 369

Standardization and Grading
Page 370
It refers to development of standards for production of goods with respect to shape, design, colour and other characteristics. Standardization helps in promotion the sale of the product by increasing consumer's confidence in the product quality. Grading engross separating products into different classes on the basis of certain predetermined standards related to size and quality. Branding It refers to giving an attractive name, symbol or identity mark to the product to make it look different from other products. The product is known by its brand name. Pricing It involves decisions regarding fixation of product prices. Pricing is done keeping in view the product costs, the capacity of customers to pay and the prices of the competitive products.
OBJECTIVES OF MARKETING
Marketing activities are organized to achieve the following objectives 1. Provide Satisfaction to Customers: All marketing activities are directed towards customer satisfaction. Marketing starts with establishing consumer needs and production of goods that satisfy those needs most effectively. The pricing and distribution functions of marketing are also planned accordingly. 2. Increase the Demand: Through advertising and other sales promotional efforts, marketing intend to create additional demand for their products. Satisfied customers also help in creating new customers. So, marketing aims at consumer's satisfaction. 3. Provide Better Quality Product to the Customers: This is also one of the vital objectives of marketing. The organization always tries to update and upgrade their knowledge and technology continuously to provide better products to their customers so that they remain loyal to the company. 4. Create Goodwill for the Organization: Another important objective of marketing is to build a good public image and create goodwill for the organization. This will attract new customers and help the organization retaining the existing customers. 5. Generate Profitable Sales Volume: The ultimate objective of all marketing efforts is to generate profitable sales volumes for the business. Taking care of customers needs and wants by providing the required goods and services at prices they can afford and at www.jagranjosh.com
Page 370
Page 371
places and timing that are convenient to them which will ultimately lead to increased sales and profits.
ROLE OF MARKETING
1. Role of Marketing in Business: The role of marketing in business success has become vital due to varied reasons that are as follows: (a) Technological changes are taking place at fast pace. (b) Competition has become intense in the market. (c) Consumer tastes and preferences are changing very fast. (d) Production is organized on a large scale. 2. Role of Marketing in Society: Marketing also has an important role in society. It makes new and better products available to people, increasing their standard of living. It helps in creation of new jobs. It bridges the gap between production and sale of goods, making economic activity possible. It integrates agricultural and industrial sectors, in. nutshell it lends to economic development of the country.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
ELEMENTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
The following elements constitute the consumer behaviour Consumer Wants Consumer Attitude Decision making Steps in Consumer Behaviour The buyer or the consumer takes his buying decision, for some commodities, immediately without much consideration, such as items of daily use, while for some other commodities mainly luxury or durable items, he delibarates much before taking a decision to purchase it. Sometimes, he consults others. Generally, a buyer passes through six distinct stages while taking a decision for purchasing a particular commodity. These stages are Problem Recognition
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 371

Alternative Search Evaluation of Alternatives Test of Product Purchase Decision
Page 372
Post Purchase Evaluation
MARKETING CHANNELS
FLOWS IN MARKETING CHANNELS
Five most important flows in marketing channels are as 1. Product Flow: Actual physical movement of the product from the manufacturers to the final consumers. 2. Negotiation Flow: It symbolizes the interplay of the buying and the selling functions associated with the transfer of title. 3. Ownership Flow: It shows the movement of the title to the product as it is passed along from the manufacturer to the consumer. 4. Information Flow: It shows the exchange of information through the transportation functions. 5. Promotion Flow: It refers to the persuasive communication in the form of advertising, personal selling and publicity.
SALES PROMOTION
OBJECTIVES OF SALES PROMOTION
1. Information to customers: Sales promotion activities update the potential buyer about the availability, features, use etc, of the product. Thus, it offers additional support to promotional activities like advertising, publicity and personal selling. 2. Persuade customers: Sales promotion activities aim at generating customers interest in the product and persuading them to buy. 3. Incentive to retailers: The main objective of sales promotional activities is to offer promotional support to retailers. Sales promotion schemes make sales easier. Incentive schemes help product in getting shelf-space for them in new retail outlets.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 372
Page 373
4. Create product identity: A number of brands of a particular product are now-a-days available in the market and it is very difficult to distinguish one from the other as all have similar features, prices, variety etc. Under sales promotion programme, product identity is established by offering additional features and incentives for that particular product. This helps in building consumer's preference for the specific products and brands.
SALES PROMOTION TOOLS AND PROGRAMMES

Sales promotion techniques called as promotion tools and the mode of their application is known as sales programme. These tools and programmes are divided under following broad: 1. Tools and programmes for consumers sales promotion. 2. Tools and programmes for dealer/distributor sales promotion. 3. Tools and Programmes for Consumers Sales Promotion These tools and programmes are as follows Coupon Premium (gift) offers Price off Trading Stamps Fair and Exhibitions Public Relations Activities
TOOLS AND PROGRAMMES FOR DEALERS/DISTRIBUTORS SALES

Promotion These tools and programmes are: 1. Free display: There is separate provision of free display of material either at the point of purchase (POP) or at the point of sales (POS) depending on one's view point. Display reaches consumers when they are buying and actually spend their money on that good. 2. Retail demonstrations: This type of demonstration is arranged by the manufacturer of a product but at a retail level. It always endeavors at attracting the customer to its product at pre-launch stage. 3. Trade deals: These are offered to encourage retailers to give additional selling support to the product, eg, toothpasts are sold with 30% to 40% margin.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 373
Page 374
4. Buying allowance: Sellers give buying allowance of a certain amount of money for a product bought. 5. Buy-back allowance: It is offered to encourage repurchase of a product immediately after another trade deal. A buy back is a resale opportunity. 6. Free goods: Many a times companies offer free bies, eg, one piece free with two or two pieces free with 10.
MERITS OF SALES PROMOTION

Sales promotion is always helpful in new product launch. Sales promotion activities are perfectly designed to supplement the personal selling and advertising efforts used by a firm. Sales promotion activities attract the attention of the people because of the use of incentives. Sales promotion activities tempt people to break away from their regular buying behaviour and try the new product.
DEMERITS OF SALES PROMOTION

Sales promotion activities reflect a crisis if a firm frequently rely on it. Use of sales promotion tools may affect image of a product.
ADVERTISING
CHARACTERISTICS OF ADVERTISING
1. Impersonal Advertising is an impersonal communication of message. It includes sending messages through one or more media such as television, radio, newspapers and magazines, etc. It is called impersonal because the message is conveyed through some media rather than a person. 2. Helps in promotion of Goods or Services Advertising is done with a specific objective of promoting a product or service and increase their sale. The message generally, contains' information regarding products characteristics, prices, uses and important needs that may be satisfied by use of the product. 3. Sponsorship
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 374
Page 375
The message is sent by manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers who are called sponsors of the advertisement. 4. Paid form of communication Advertisements appearing in the newspapers, television, cinema halls etc, are duly paid for. The sponsors pay huge amounts for use of space in newspaper or time slot in television and radio etc.
OBJECTIVES OF ADVERTISING
The main objectives of advertising are Introduction of new product Increase in sale Maintaining existing buyers Create and enhance goodwill of the firm Create and enhance brand image Helps in personal selling
ELEMENTS OF ADVERTISING
It is a public presentation. It helps in sale of the product. It may be written or printed in words.
TYPES OF ADVERTISING
The advertising process may be classified as follows Product Advertising Pioneering Advertising Consumer Advertising Trade Advertising Competitive Advertising Institutional Advertising
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 375

Local Advertising National Advertising Industrial Advertising
Page 376
MEDIA OF ADVERTISING
Advertising media is the means through which messages regarding products and services are transmitted from the advertising firm to people at whom that product is targeted. Many types of media are available for the purpose. 1. Press Advertising It is printed media of advertising. It includes Newspaper Advertising (a) Classified Advertising (b) Display Advertising Magazine Advertising 2. Outdoor Advertising Banners Posters Hoardings Sky Advertising Bus Advertising Train Advertising Tram Advertising Car Cards Electric Display Advertising Board Sticker Advertising 3. Direct Mail Advertising Post card www.jagranjosh.com
Page 376

Booklets Folders Circular Catalogue Personal Letters Monthly Magazines Leaflets Sales Letter Price list 4. Electronic Advertising Radio Television Cinema Video Cassette Cinema Slide Film Loudspeaker 5. Entertaining Advertising Drama Music Programmes Fairs Exhibitions Educational Programmes Demonstration 6. Point of Purchase Advertising Window Display
Page 377
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 377

Counter Display 7. Modern Advertising E-mails Mobile Internet (Digital Marketing) Satisfied Customer Past Customer E-commerce
Page 378
ADVANTAGES OF ADVERTISING
Advertising plays an important role in business and society. The advantages of advertising is explained below 1. Benefits Consumers: Advertising aid the consumers to gain useful information about the products, prices, quality, terms of sale, after sales services, etc. Besides providing such information advertising also guides the customers about the right use of the product. This helps them to make a comparative analysis and taking right decisions. 2. Benefits manufacturers: Advertising helps the manufacturers in bringing out new products, maintaining customers of existing products and in enhancing their sales by attracting new customers. It also helps the business houses in creating and enhancing their goodwill. 3. Benefits society: The enhanced competition results from advertising motivate the producers to make improvements in their existing products and find out better alternatives through Research and Development (R and D) activities. It generates employment for thousands of people who are connected with advertising world in different capacities.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 378
Page 379
PERSONAL SELLING
Personal Selling is one of the essential marketing communications tools such as advertising. Personal selling tends to Use fewer resources, price is often negotiated. Products tend to be fairly complex (e.g., financial services or new cars). There is some contact between buyer and seller after the sales so that an ongoing relationship is built. Client/prospects need specific information. The purchase tends to involve large sums of money. There are exceptions of course, but most personal selling takes place in the above mentioned way. Personal selling involves a selling process that has been surnmarised in the following 'Five Stage Personal Selling Process. The five stages are Prospecting Making first contact Sales call Objection handing Closing the sale
IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL SELLING

Benefits the consumers A salesperson acts as a friend and guide to the consumers. By making conversation with salesperson, the customer gets help in identifying the product of his need and the price range that suits him. The sales person explains the customers the uses and the operational aspects of a product. Benefits the business It helps a business in increasing its sales. Identification of new customers and persuading them to buy can be done effectively through personal selling. Since, the sales person comes in direct contact with the customers, understands the needs and preferences of the customers is easy for them. Benefits the society Personal selling facilitates the process of production, distribution and consumption. Salespersons help in collecting market information, credit information, delivering goods and www.jagranjosh.com
Page 379
Page 380
collecting payments. They also inform the consumers about the introduction of new products, if any.
ELEMENTS OF SELLING
It is the soul of marketing. It is a social character. It is personal and impersonal. It is the basis of exchange. It is a productive function. It includes Advertisement Publicity Sales promotion
ELEMENTS OF PERSONAL SELLING

It is a creative activity. It involves a personal relationship between customer and salesman. It is a two way communication of marketing.
Custome r It is an oral presentation.
Seller
It is based on social and individual activity. O It is a tool to sell the product or service.
QUALITIES OF A GOOD SALESPERSON

Salesmanship is a tough and challenging job which requires a mixture of physical and mental qualities. Some of the common qualities which a salesperson must possess are as follows Impressive Personality
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 380
Page 381
Personality is a mixture of varied traits including physical appearance, sense of dressing, way of talking, manners, pitch of voice, habits etc. In nutshell, he should have an impressive personality and should also look a very friendly person. Good Behavior A salesperson should be a well-behaved person with ability to interrelate with people comfortably. He should also be co-operative, a patient listener who can understand the requirements of the prospective buyer. Ability to Communicate and Persuade The salesperson must speak confidently, clearly and audibly. Good communication skill coupled with good product knowledge help the salesperson in persuading the customer to buy. Persistence The salesperson should be aware of the art of persistence. It requires a sense of determination to convince the customers to buy. He/she must not give up easily. Without being offensive, he/she must persuade the customer to finalise the purchase with a sense of satisfaction. Mental Qualities A good salesman should possess certain mental qualities like imagination, initiative, selfconfidence, sharp memory, alertness etc. He should be able to perceive the needs and preference of customer, quickly. Knowledge of the Product and the Company A salesman should have complete knowledge of the product and the company he is representing. He should be able to explain each and every aspect of the product, i.e., its qualities, how to use it, what precautions to be taken, etc to the prospective buyer. Integrity of Character A good salesman should possess the qualities of honesty and integrity.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 381
Page 382
CONSUMER PROTECTION
Consumer protection involves safeguarding the interest and rights of consumers. In other words, it refers to the measures adopted by government for the protection of consumers from unscrupulous and unethical malpractices by the business and to provide them speedy redressal of their grievances. The most common business malpractices leading to consumer exploitation are given below Sale of duplicate goods. Hoarding and black-marketing leading to scarcity and rise in price. Charging more than the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) fixed for the product. Misleading advertisements, i.e., advertisements falsely claiming a product or service to be of superior quality, grade or standard. Supply of inferior services, i.e., quality of service lower than the quality agreed upon. Sale of sub-standard goods. Sale of spurious goods. Sale of adulterated goods. Use of false weights and measures leading to underweight.
RIGHTS OF CONSUMERS
John F Kennedy, the former USA President, in his message to consumer had given six rights to consumers. These rights are Right To Safety Right To Be Informed Right To Choose Right To Be Heard Right To Seek Redressal Right To Consumer Education These rights had paved the way for organised consumer movement in the USA and later it's spread all over the world.
WAYS AND MEANS OF CONSUMER PROTECTION

www.jagranjosh.com
Page 382
Page 383
The following are the various ways and means of consumer protection followed in India Lok Adalat Lok Adalats are the effective and economical system for quick redressal of the public grievances. The aggrieved party can directly approach the adalats with his grievance and his problems are discussed on the spot and decisions are taken quickly. Public Interest Litigation (PIL) Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is a scheme under which any person can move to the court of law in the interest of the society. It includes efforts to provide legal remedy to unrepresented groups and interests. Such groups may consist of consumers, minorities, poor persons, environmentalists and others. Any person or organisation, though not a party to the grievances, can approach the court for remedial action in case of any social atrocities. Redressal Forums and Consumer Protection Councils A judicial system has been set up to deal with the consumer grievances and disputes at district level, state level and national level, Under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. These are known as district forum, state consumer disputes redressal commission (state commission) and national consumer disputes redressal commission (national commission). Any individual consumer or association of consumers can lodge a complaint with the district, state or national level forum, depending on the value of goods and claim for compensation. The Act as amended in 2002, also provides or setting up of consumer protection council at district, state and national level for promotion and protection of the rights of the consumers as laid down in Section 6 of the Act. Awareness Programme To improve the level of awareness among the consumers the government of India has initiated various publicity measures. It regularly brings out journals, brochures, booklets and various posters depicting the rights and responsibilities of consumers, redressal machineries etc. It observes World Consumer Right Day on 15 March and National Consumer Day on 24 December. Legislative Measures A number of laws have been enacted in India to safeguard the interest of consumers and protect them from unscrupulous and unethical practices of the businessmen. Some of these acts are as follows 1. Drug Control Act, 1950 Drug Control Act, 1950 Agricultural Products (grading and marketing) Act, 1937 Industries (development and regulation) Act, 1951
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 383

Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 Essential Commodities Act, 1955 The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1956 Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969
Page 384
Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Essential Supplies Act, 1980 Bureau of Indian Standard Act, 1986
CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 1986

The Consumer Protection Act was passed in 1986 and it came into force from I July, 1987. The main objectives of the Act are to provide better and all round protection to consumers and effective safeguards against different types of exploitation such as defective goods, deficient services and unfair trade practices. It also makes provisions for a simple, speedy and inexpensive machinery for redressal of consumer's grievances. The salient features of Consumer Protection Act (CPA), 1986 are as follows It applies to all goods, services and unfair trade practices unless specifically exempted by the Central Government. It covers all sectors-private, public or co-operative. It provides for establishment of consumer protection councils at the central, state and district levels to promote and protect the rights of consumers and a three-tier quasijudicial machinery to deal with consumer's grievances and disputes. It provides a statutory recognition to the six rights of consumers.
GOODS AND SERVICES COVERED UNDER CPA, 1986

The term 'goods' under this Act has the same meaning as under the sale of goods Act. Accordingly it covers all types of movable property other than money and includes stocks and shares, growing crops etc. The term 'service' means service of any description made available to potential users and includes banking; financing, housing construction, insurance, entertainment, transport, supply of electrical and other energy, boarding and lodging, amusement, etc. The services of doctors, engineers, architects, lawyers etc are also to he included under the provisions of Consumer Protection Act.
MACHINERY FOR SETTLEMENT OF GRIEVANCES

The judicial machinery set up under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 consists of consumer courts at the district, state and national levels. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 384

District Consumer Forums
Page 385
This is established by the State Governments in each of its districts. The district forums are headed by the person of the rank of a district judge. A written complaint can be filed before the district consumer forum where the value of goods or services and the compensation claimed does not exceed Z 20 lakh. If a consumer is not satisfied by the decision of the district forum, he can challenge the same and approach the state commission, within 30 days of the order. State Commission This is established by the State Governments in their respective states. The commission is headed by a person of the level of high court judge. A Written complaint can be filed before the State Commission where the value of goods or services and the compensation claimed exceeds Z 20 lakh but does not exceed Zone crore. In case, the aggrieved party is not satisfied with the order of the State Commission, he can appeal to the national commission within 30 days of passing of the order. National Commission The National Commission was constituted in 1988 by the Central Government. It is the apex body in the three-tier judicial machinery set up by the government for redressal of consumer grievances. The National Commission is headed by a sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court. All complaints pertaining to those goods or services and compensation whose value is more than Rs. one crore can be filed directly before the National Commission. An appeal can be filed against the order of the National Commission to the Supreme Court within 30 days from the date of order passed.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 385
Page 386
CONCEPT OF BANK MARKETING

The bank marketing concept involve following the significant increase in the developed countries of the financial Sector and implicitly the banking sector. The bank marketing is the marketing that applies in the universal bank's field and in the specialized bank's field. Besides the insurance companies and savings institution for constructions, the banks are the most important offers on the market of financial services. The bank marketing is also called marketing for services or for immaterial goods. The adaptation of the bank marketing concept as an assembly of strategic and tactical decisions adopted in the management process and the bank existence, implies the consideration of the following elements Satisfaction of customer needs Increasing the bank profitability Employee's involvement Social responsibility
The bank marketing considers that the bank institutions must involve themselves to a great extent in the complex study of the customer's behaviour.
ROLE OF MARKETING IN BANKING

The marketing management philosophy that holds achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target market and delivering the desired satisfactions better then the competitors. The banking and marketing are two different terminologies because banks provide the services so that is why bank use the service-marketing tool in the banking industry. A large number of business organizations offer services airlines, hotels, insurance, consulting firms, medical and law practices, entertainment companies, real estate firms, retailers and others also use service marketing. Banks play a vital role in every country's economy as they daily involve in accuring funds and providing loan to the individual persons, industry, corporate sector etc. Banks provide several types of services to their clients. We all known well that now the era has changed and now people want innovation in everything so that is why mostly banks are using the marketing approach for providing better services to their clients.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 386
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 BANKING PRODUCTS
Page 387
Banks offer a number of tangible or intangible products which can be considered as follows Cheque The cheque may be of three types Bounced Cheque A cheque that a bank has refused to cash or pay as the account holder does not have sufficient funds to cover it in this account. Cashier's Cheque A cheque issued by a bank drawn on its own funds rather than on the funds of depositors. Clear A cheque is 'cleared' when its account is debited or deducted from the payer's account and credited "Or added to the payee's account. Bank Draft A cheque drawn by one bank against funds deposited into its account at another bank, authorizing individual named in the draft. Plastic Money Plastic money emerged at the end of 20th century following the introduction of credit cards. At the beginning credit card was classified also as credit more but introduction of debit card and A TM cards influenced the establishment of an another form of currency that is 'Plastic Money'. PIN (Personal Identification Number) code is required to perform transactions with the plastic money. Examples of Plastic Money are Credit Cards Debit Cards ATM Cards Smart Cards Demat Services Demat account (Dematerialized account) is used to avoid holding the physical shares. The shares are bought and sold through a stock broker. By having a proper demat account one can indulge in the activity of share trading.
NRI BANKING
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 387
Page 388
Banks allow the NRI's to open an NRI account when they complete the account opening formalities. The customers can have a NRI saving Bank account, current account, fixed deposits in Indian Rupees, fixed deposits in foreign currency, NRO account. Saving Account A saving bank account in the most common operating account for individuals and others for non-commercial transactions. A savings account helps people to put through day-to-day banking transactions besides earning some return on the savings made. In saving account, banks generally put some ceilings on the total number of withdrawls permitted during specific time periods. Banks as a rule do not give overdraft facility in a saving account but allow occasional over drawings to meet contingencies. A savings bank account can be opened by an individual singly or jointly in the name of a minor, in the name of illiterates under thumb impression. O by registered societies, clubs, trusts, associations not engaged in business. By any other body or institution not engaged in business trading or commercial activity for profit. saving bank account can be opened only with proper introduction regarding the identity of the prospective customer for which the KYC (Know Your Customer) norms have been stipulated to enable the bank to satisfy itself about the true identity of the customer, the origin and source of his funds and the nature of transactions.
CURRENT ACCOUNTS
Current accounts are cheque operated accounts maintained for mainly business purposes. For current accounts, no limits are fixed by the banks on the number of transactions permitted. Generally, a higher minimum balance is maintained in the current account. According to RBI directives, banks are not allowed to pay any interest on the balances maintained in current accounts.
CURRENT ACCOUNTS CAN BE OPENED BY

Individuals singly or jointly. Sole proprietorships.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 388

Clubs, societies, associations, educational institutions. Partnership firms. Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs). Trustees, executors, administrators. Limited companies. Statutory bodies etc.
Page 389
LOANS AND ADVANCES

Loans and advances are considered as the asset of any bank The lending practices of a bank are closely linked to the nature of requirement of the borrower-customer. O Consumption of credit has many forms and depends upon the purpose for which the funds are required. Retail Lending It entails servicing of a large number of accounts requiring substantial manpower, but it promotes the consumer and retail industry in a big way. Consumerism gets a huge boost as the aspirations of the people for a better lifestyle is achieved through personal loans, educational loans, auto loans, consumption loans, housing loans, credit cards receivables. These loans are repaid over the duration of the loan period agreed at the time of sanction/disbursement of the loan amount. The interest charged is higher in case of unsecured loans as the element of risk is comparatively more. O The bank by charging higher interest rate tries to earn the maximum income from these accounts as likelihood of default is higher.
CORPORATE FINANCING
Advances to business enterprises can be in the form of term loans, the term depending upon the type of asset being financed, revolving credit through overdrafts or cash credit for working capital requirements of the business entity. Term loans are primarily for capital investments in business like acquisition of immovable property, plant and machinery etc. Cash credit accounts indicate continuously available finance facility to be used as per requirements up to a predetermined limit, which will have transactions relating to both payments and receipts of an enterprise.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 389
Page 390
Overdrafts generally suggest short-term accommodation through a credit facility which is deemed necessary in view of sudden requirements of a business. Another form of credit facility extended to corporates is against transfer of title of negotiable instruments like cheques and documentary bills of exchange.
FIXED DEPOSITS
These are deposits given to the bank for a fixed period. These deposits may vary from 7 days to 420 months as per the suitability of the customer. Savings of the customers, which they can afford to keep with the bank for a particular duration to earn interest, constitute such deposits. Interest is payable on fixed deposits as per the duration of the deposit. Accounts are opened only after completion of all formalities including introduction and compliance with KYC norms. Fixed deposit receipts are issued confirming the details of deposit made by the customer with the maturity value on the due date.
FIXED DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS CAN BE OPENED

By an individual, singly or jointly. On behalf of a minor. In the name of clubs, societies, associations, sole proprietorships, partnership firms, joint stock companies, executors, administrators, educational institutions. By illiterate persons to be operated under thumb impression.
NON-PERFORMING ASSETS (NPA)

It is an asset that ceases to generate income of the bank. This term is used in banking and finance sector basically in the loan department.
MUTUAL FUNDS
Mutual funds collect the savings from small investors to invest them in government and other corporate securities and cash income through interest and devidends besides capital gains.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 390
Page 391
Mutual funds work on the principle of "small drops of water make a big ocean". Each fund is divided into a small fraction called, units, of equal value. Each investor is allotted units in proportion to the size of his investment. Mutual funds are a safe form of investment as compared to investing in the stock market because of the following professionally managed diversified portfolio possibility of good returns transparent dealings high liquidity because of simple sale procedures o wide choice of schemes as per risk assessment tax savings options Mutual funds are regulated entities under SEBI.
MICRO FINANCE
It refers to the provision of financial services to poor or low income clients, including consumers and the self employed. Bringing all the poor people under the banking net is also termed as the financial inclusion. The term also refers to the practice of sustainably delivering those services.
MICRO CREDIT
Micro credit is the extension of very small leans to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneurs and to others living in poverty that are not considered bankable. Micro credit is a part of micro finance, which is the provision of a wider range of financial services to the very poor. The poor are those individuals lacking collateral, steady employment and a, verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualification to gain access to the traditional credit.
DIFFERENT FORMS OF BANKING SERVICES MOBILE BANKING

It means undertaking banking transactions using mobile phones by bank customers for credit/debit of their accounts. Mobile banking is a means to enlarge the customer base of banks since a very large portion of the population possesses mobile phones.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 391
Page 392
It also includes checking of bank accounts for balance enquiry, stop payment instructions, transaction enquiry etc.
ONLINE BANKING
The introduction of core banking solutions has made possible banking through different channels. Internet or online banking is one of them. It is possible by using specially generated password by the bank after registering with it. Most of the basic services are available on a 24 x7 basis.
OFFSHORE BANKING
Offshore banking denotes branch of an Indian bank which is located in a special economic zone or an area away from the location of the customer. It is primarily meant to encourage exports from the area with a specified set of rules and regulations.
WHOLESALE BANKING
Wholesale banking involves a small number of very large customers such as big corporations and governments. Wholesale banking is largely with banks; banks use the interbank markets to borrow from or lend to other banks/ large customers, to participate in large bond issues and to engage in syndicated lending.
BRICK AND MORTAR BANKING

With the introduction of technology in banking services the delivery models of banks have undergone changes. To differentiate traditional banking from the modem channels, traditional branch type banking is known as brick and mortar banking.
PRIVATE BANKING
It is a specialized financial and banking service made available to high net worth individuals. The mode and manner of delivery of these services is very different from the normal banking services.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 392
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 MERCHANT BANKING
Page 393
Banks acting as intermediaries in various business transactions of corporates like equity, debt, external commercial borrowing etc are known as merchant bankers. It also includes banks aiding in mergers and acquisitions and strategic investments.
PHONE BANKING
Phone banking is to get banking facilities through the use of phones after due identification process is completed. Cash delivery, pick up of cheques for collection and delivery of drafts are the different benefits that are available through this mode.
RETAIL BANKING
Banking business which primarily caters to the average individual like offering deposit accounts and loans like personal, car and housing come under the retail banking.
BANCASSURANCE
Banks are now selling different financial products to enlarge their scope of activities and also to increase their earning capacity. Selling of insurance products across bank counters describes the term bancassurance. Banks are favorably placed because of-their large customer base and the trust of their clients. Insurance companies want to utilize this largely captive customer's pool of banks and their close understanding of the each customer's financial needs. Banks are paid fees by the insurance companies for selling their policies.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 393
General Awareness for SBI PO 2013 GLOSSARY

Activity Based Cost (ABC)
Page 394
Accounting procedures that can quantify the true profitability of different activities by identifying their actual costs. Advertising It is any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Arm's-length price It is price levied by other competitors for the same or a similar product. Augmented product It is the product that includes features that go beyond consumer expectations and differentiate the product from competitors. Average Cost The cost per unit at a given level of production; it is equal to total costs divided by production. Backward Invention It means reintroducing earlier product forms, which can be well adapted to a foreign country's needs. Banner Ads (Internet) Banner Ads are small, rectangular boxes containing text and perhaps a picture to support a brand. Brand It is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, proposed to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to distinguish them from those of competitors. Brand Audit A consumer-focused exercise that involves a series of procedures to assess the health of the brand, uncovers its sources of brand equity, and suggest ways to improve and leverage its equity. Brand Awareness
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 394
Page 395
It is a consumers' will to identify the brand under different conditions, as reflected by their brand recognition or recall performance. Brand Development Index (BDI) BDI is the index of brand sales to category sales. Brand Equity Brand Equity is the added value endowed to products and services. Brand Extension A company's uses an established brand to introduce a new product. Brand Image It is the perceptions and beliefs held by consumers, as reflected in the associations held in consumer memory. Brand Knowledge It includes all the thoughts, experiences, feelings, images, beliefs, and so on that become associated with the brand. . Brand Valuation An estimate of the total financial value of a brand. Branding Branding involved endowing products and services with the power of a brand. Branding Strategy The number and nature of common and distinctive brand elements applied to the different products sold by the firm. Breakeven analysis It the means by which management estimates number of units of the product the company would be selling to break even with the given price and cost structure. Capital Items Capital Goods are those long-lasting goods that facilitateso developing or managing the finished product. Captive Products The products that is necessary to the use of other products, such as razor blades or film. www.jagranjosh.com
Page 395

Category membership
Page 396
The products or sets of products with which a brand competes and which function as close substitutes. Communication Adaptation It means changing marketing communications programs for each local market. Communication-effect research It involves determining whether an ad is communicating eiffectively. Company demand Company demand means the company's estimated share of market demand at alternative levels of company marketing effort in a given time period. Competitive Advantage a company's ability to perform in one or more ways that competitors cannot or will not match. Consumerist movement An organized movement of citizens and government for strengthening the rights and powers of buyers in relation to the sellers Convenience goods These are the goods the consumer purchases quickly, immediately, and with a minimum of effort. Conventional Marketing Channel Conventional marketing channel comprises an independent producer, wholesaler(s), and retailer(s). core benefit the service or benefit the customer is really buying. Core Competency Core Competency is the attribute that (1) is a source of competitive advantage in that it makes a significant contribution to perceived customer benefits, (2) has applications in a wide variety of markets, (3) is difficult for competitors to imitate. Corporate Retailing Corporate Retailing means corporately owned retailing outlets that achieve economies of scale, greater purchasing power, wider brand recognition, and better-trained employees. Customer-based brand equity
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 396
Page 397
It is the differential effect that brand knowledge has on a consumer response to the marketing of that brand. Customer Consulting It includes data, information systems, and advice services that the seller offers to buyers. Customer Database It is an organized collection of comprehensive information about individual customers or prospects that is current, accessible, and actionable for marketing purposes. Customer lifetime value (CLV) CLV is the net present value of the stream of future profits expected over the customer's lifetime purchases. Customer Perceived Value (CPV) It is the difference between the prospective customer's evaluation of all the benefits and all the costs of an offering and the perceived alternatives. Customer Profitability Analysis (CPA) It is a means of assessing and ranking customer profitability through accounting techniques such as Activity-Based Costing (ABC). Customer Training It is kind of training the customer's employees to use the vendor's equipment properly and efficiently. Customer Value Analysis It is the report of the company's strengths and weaknesses relative to various competitors. Customer Value Hierarchy Customer Value Hierarchy is the five product levels that must be addressed by marketers in planning a market offering. Customization It is the combination of operationally driven mass customization with customized marketing in a way that empowers consumers to design the product and service offering of their choice. Database Marketing It is the process of building, maintaining, and using customer databases and other databases for the purpose of contacting, transacting, and building customer relationships.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 397

Data Mining
Page 398
Data Mining is the extraction of useful information about individuals, trends, and segments from the mass of data. Demand Chain Planning It is the process of designing the supply chain based on adopting a target market perspective and working backward. Direct Marketing It is the use of consumer-direct (CD) channels to reach and deliver goods and services to customers without using marketing middlemen. Direct-Order Marketing Direct-Order Marketing is a kind of marketing in which direct marketers seek a measurable response, typically a customer order. Direct Product Profitability (DPP) It is a way of measuring a product's handling costs from the time it reaches the warehouse until a customer buys it in the retail store. Discrimination Discrimination is the process of recognizing differences in sets of similar stimuli and adjusting responses accordingly. Dissociative Groups These are those groups whose values or behaviour an individual rejects. Distribution Programming This programming involves building a planned, professionally managed, vertical marketing system that meets the needs of both manufacturer and distributors. Dual Adaptation It means adapting both the product and the communications to the local market. Dumping Situation It is a situation, in which a company charges either less than its costs or less than it charges in its home market, in order to enter or win a market. E-business
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 398
Page 399
E-business is the use of electronic means and platforms to conduct a company's business. E-commerce A company or site offers to transact or facilitate the selling of products and services online. E-marketing E-marketing are company efforts to inform buyers, communicate, promote, and sell its products and services over the Internet. E-purchasing It is the purchase of goods, services, and information from various online suppliers. Environmental Threat It is a challenge posed by an unfavourable trend or development that would lead to lower sales or profit. Exchange It is the process of obtaining a desired product from the person by offering something in return. Expectancy-Value Model In this model, consumers evaluate products and services by combining their brand beliefspositive and negative- according to their weighted importance. Expected Product These are the set of attributes and conditions buyers normally expect when they purchase this product. Fad It means a craze that is unpredictable, short-lived, and without social, economic and political significance. Family Brand It is one of the situation in which the parent brand is already associated with multiple products through brand extensions. Fixed Costs (Overhead) The costs that do not vary with production or sales revenue is called Fixed Cost. Focus Group
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 399
Page 400
Focus Group is a gathering of six to ten people who are carefully selected based on certain demographic, psychographic, or other considerations and brought together to discuss various topics of interest. Forward Invention Forward Invention means creating a new product to meet a need in another country. Frequency Programs (FPs) These programs are designed to provide rewards to customers who buy frequently and in substantial amounts. Global firm Global Firm is a firm that operates in more than one country and captures R&D, production, logistical, marketing, and financial advantages in its costs and reputation that are not available to purely domestic competitors. Global Industry It is an industry in which the strategic positions of competitors in major geographic or national markets are fundamentally affected by their overall global positions. Goal formulation The process of developing specific goals for the planning period is called Goal Formulation. Going-Rate Pricing Going-Rate Pricing is the process of pricing based largely on competitors' prices. Gray Market Gray Market is a place where branded products diverted from normal or authorized distributions channels in the country of product origin or across international borders. Heuristics Heuristics means rules of thumb or mental shortcuts in the decision process. Holistic marketing It is a concept based on the development, design, and implementation of marketing programs, processes, and activities that recognizes their breadth and interdependencies. Horizontal Marketing It is a proper system of two or more unrelated companies put together resources or programs to exploit an emerging market opportunity.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 400

Hybrid Channels
Page 401
Hybrid Channels indicates the use of multiple channels of distribution to reach customers in a defined market. Image Image is the set of beliefs, ideas, and impressions a person holds regarding an object. Industry The group of firms that offer a product or class of products that are close substitutes for one another is called industry. Innovation Innovation means any good, service, or idea that is perceived by someone as new. Innovation Diffusion Process Innovation Diffusion Process is the spread of a new idea from its source of invention or creation to its ultimate users or adopters. Integrated Logistics Systems (ILS) ILS is a materials management, material flow systems, and physical distribution, abetted by information technology (IT). Integrated Marketing Integrated Marketing means mixing and matching marketing activities to maximize their individual and collective efforts. Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) It is a concept of marketing communications planning that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan. Joint venture Joint venture means a company in which multiple investors share ownership and control. Lexicographic Heuristic Lexicographic Heuristic means the consumer choosing the best brand on the basis of its perceived most important attribute. Life-Cycle Cost
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 401
Page 402
Life-Cycle Cost is the product's purchase cost plus the discounted cost of maintenance and repair less the discounted salvage value. Line Stretching Line Stretching is a situation in which, a company lengthens its product line beyond its current range. Loyalty Loyalty is a commitment to re-buy or re-patronize a preferred product or service. Market-Buildup Method Market-Buildup Method means identifying all the potential buyers in each market and estimating their potential purchases. Market demand The total volume of a product that would be bought by a defined customer group in a defined geographical area in a defined time period in a defined marketing environment under a defined marketing program is called Market demand. Market Forecast The market demand corresponding to the level of industry marketing expenditure is known as Market Forcast. Market Opportunity Analysis (MOA) Market Opportunity Analysis is a system used to determine the attractiveness and probability of success. Market-Penetration Pricing It is a pricing strategy where prices start low to drive higher sales volume from price-sensitive customers and produce productivity gains. . Market-Skimming Pricing It is also pricing strategy in which, prices start high and are slowly lowered over time to maximize profits from less price-sensitive customers. Marketer Marketer is someone who seeks a response (attention, a purchase, a vote, a donation) from another party, calico the prospect. Marketing
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 402
Page 403
Marketing is a process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. Marketing audit A comprehensive, systematic, independent and periodic examination of a company's or business unit's marketing environment, objectives, strategies, and activities. Marketing channels It is a set of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption. Marketing Communications The means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind consumers-directly or indirectly- about products and brands that they sell are called Marketing Communication. Marketing Communications Mix Advertising, sales promotion, events and experiences, public relations and publicity, direct marketing, and personal selling. Marketing Information System (MIS) Marketing Information System is a people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute information to marketing decision makers. Marketing Intelligence System It is a set of procedures and sources managers use to obtain everyday information about developments in the marketing environment. Marketing Plan Marketing Plan is awritten document that summarizes what the marketer has learned about the marketplace, indicates how the firm plans to reach its marketing objectives, and helps direct and coordinate the marketing effort. Marketing Research The systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company is known as Marketing Research. Markup Pricing Pricing an item by adding a standard increase to the product's cost is called Markup Pricing. Media Selection www.jagranjosh.com
Page 403
Page 404
The selection of the most cost-effective media to deliver the desired number and type of exposures to the target audience is known as Media Selection. Micro Sales Analysis Micro Sales Analysis is the examination of specific products and territories that fail to produce expected sales. Multichannel marketing In Multichannel marketing, a single firm uses two or more marketing channels to reach one or more customer segments. Net Price Analysis It is an analysis that encompasses company list price, average discount, promotional spending, and co-op advertising to arrive at net price. Non Compensatory Models Non Compensatory Models in consumer choice, when consumers do not simultaneously consider all positive and negative attribute considerations in making a decision. Opinion Leader Opinion Leader is the person in informal, product-related communications who offers advice or information about a specific product or product category. Organizational Buying Organizational Buying is the decision-making process by which formal organizations establish the need for purchased products and services and identify, evaluate, and choose among alternative brands and suppliers. Overall Market Share Overall Market Share is the company's sales expressed as a percentage of total market sales. Partner Relationship Management (PRM) These are the activities the firm undertakes to build mutually satisfying long-term relations with key partners such as suppliers, distributors, ad agencies, and marketing research suppliers. Perceived Value It is the value promised by the company's value proposition and perceived by the customer. Perception
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 404
Page 405
It means the process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world. Point-Of-Purchase (P-O-P) Point-Of-Purchase is the location where a purchase is made, typically thought of in terms of a retail setting. Potential market The set of consumers who profess a sufficient level of interest in a market offer creates potential market. Price Discrimination A company sells a product or service at two or more prices that do not reflect a proportional difference in costs. Principle of Congruity It is a psychological mechanism that states that consumers like to see seemingly related objects as being as similar as possible in their favorability. Private Label Brand The brands that retailers and wholesalers develop and market are called Private Label Brand. Product Adaptation Product Adaptation means altering the product to meet local conditions or preferences. Product Penetration Percentage It is the percentage of ownership or use of a product or service in a population. Product System A group of diverse but related items that function in a compatible manner is known as Product System. Public It is any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on a company's ability to achieve its objectives. Publicity Publicity is the task of securing editorial space-as opposed to paid space-in print and broadcast media to promote something.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 405

Purchase Probability Scale
Page 406
Purchase Probability Scale is a scale to measure the probability of a buyer making a particular purchase. Reference Groups Reference Groups are the groups that have a direct or indirect influence on a person's attitudes or behaviour. Reference Prices Pricing information a consumer retains in memory which is used to interpret and evaluate a new price is called Reference Prices. Relationship Marketing Relationship Marketing means building mutually satisfying long-term relationships with key parties, in order to earn and retain their business. Relative Market Share It is the market share in relation to a company's largest competitor. Risk Analysis Risk Analysis is a method by which possible rates of returns and their probabilities are calculated by obtaining estimates for uncertain variables affecting profitability. Sales Analysis Sales Analysis means measuring and evaluating actual sales in relation to goals. Sales budget Sales Analysis a conservative estimate of the expected volume of sales, used for making current purchasing, production, and cash flow decisions. Sales promotion A collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate quicker or greater purchase of particular products or services by consumers or the trade. Sales-Variance Analysis Sales-Variance Analysis is a measure of the relative contribution of different factors to a gap in sales performance. Secondary Group
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 406
Page 407
It is a group, which tends to be more formal and require less interaction than primary groups, such as religious, professional, and trade-union groups. Selective Retention Selection Retention includes good points about a product that consumers like at e remembered and good points about competing products are forgotten. Service Any act or performance that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything is called Service. Share Penetration Index Share Penetration Index is comparison of a company's current market share to its potential market share. Social Classes Social Classes is a homogeneous and enduring divisions in a society, which are hierarchically ordered and whose members share similar values, interests, and behaviour. Social Marketing Social Marketing is a marketing done by a nonprofit or government organization to further a cause, such as "say no to drugs." Sponsorship Sponsorship means financial support of an event or activity in return for recognition and acknowledgment as the sponsor. Strategic Brand Management Strategic Brand Management is the design and implementation of marketing activities and programs to build, measure, and manage brands to maximize their value. Strategic Marketing Plan Strategic Marketing Plan means laying out the target markets and the value proposition that will be offered: based on analysis of the best market opportunities. Supplies and Business Services The short-term goods and services that facilitate developing or managing the finished product are known as Supplies and Business Services. Target-Return Pricing
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 407
Page 408
Target-Return Pricing means determining the price that would yield the firm's target rate of return on investment (ROI). Total Costs Total Costs is the sum of the fixed and variable costs for any given level of production. Total Customer Value Total Customer Value is the value the perceived monetary value of the bundle of economic, functional, and psychological benefits customers expect from a given market offering. Transaction Transaction is an activity of trade of values between two or more parties: A gives X to B and receives Y in return. Transfer Price The price a company charges another unit in the company for goods it ships to foreign subsidiaries. Trend Trend is a direction or sequence of events that has some momentum and durability. Tying Agreements An agreement in which, producers of strong brands sell their products to dealers only if dealers purchase related products or services, such as other products in the brand line. The agreement between them is known as tying agreement. Unsought goods These are those the consumer does not know about or does not normally think of buying, like smoke detectors. Value Network Value Network is a system of partnerships and alliances that a firm creates to source, augment, and deliver its offerings. Value Pricing Value Pricing means winning loyal customers by charging a fairly low price for a high-quality offering. Variable Costs It is a type of costs that vary directly with the level of production.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 408

Venture Team
Page 409
A cross-functional group charged with developing a specific product or business is called venture team. Vertical Marketing System (VMS) VMS stands for Vertical Marketing System in which, producer, wholesaler(s), and retailer(s) acting as a unified system. Viral Marketing Viral Marketing means using the Internet to create word of mouth effects to support marketing efforts and goals. Yield Pricing It is a situation in which companies offer (1) discounted but limited early purchases, (2) higherpriced late purchases, and (3) the lowest rates on unsold inventory just before it expires. Zero-level channel (direct-marketing channel) Zero-level channel is a direct marketing channel through which, a manufacturer selling directly to the final customer.
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 409
Page 410
www.jagranjosh.com
Page 410

GK For Sbi Po Exam 2013

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

GK For Sbi Po Exam 2013

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

GK For Sbi Po Exam 2013

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

GENERAL AWARENESS FOR SBI PO RECRUITMENT 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013

General Awareness for SBI PO 2013