20 December 2012 Current Affairs
Hockey legend Leslie Claudius passes away
Legendary hockey player and one of India’s greatest Olympians Leslie Claudius, passed away in Kolkata on 20 December 2012.Claudius had three Olympic gold medals – London 1948, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956. At Rome in 1960.India won the silver medal in the Asian Games in 1978 in Bangkok, when he was the team manager.He got the Padma Shree award in 1971.
Prithvi-II flight-tested successfully
The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) successfully flight-tested nuclear weapons-capable Prithvi-II missile from Chandipur, off the Odisha coast on 20 December 2012 .The surface-to-surface ballistic missile, was fired from a road mobile launcher and tested for its full range of 350 km.The single-stage, liquid propelled missile can carry a payload of 500 kg.
Miss Universe 2012 Winner is USA Olivia Culpo
Miss USA Olivia Culpo is crowned Miss Universe 2012 on 19 December 2012,beating out 88 other contestants during a televised competition at the Planet Hollywood casino on the Las Vegas Strip.Miss Philippines, Janine Tugonon, came in second, while Miss Venezuela, Irene Sofia Esser Quintero, placed third.Slipa Singh, Who participated in this event from India got the 16th place.
Narendra Modi Re-elected as Gujarat Chief Minister
The BJP registered its fifth consecutive victory in Gujarat on 20 December 2012.This is the third victory under Modi leadership.BJP won the 115 seats , which are two less than the 2007 elections, Congress won the 61, Nationalist Congress Party won two seats and Janata Dal-U one seat.This is the fourth consecutive time for Modi to become the CM.
Sahitya Akademi awards 2012 announced
Booker-nominated Jeet Thayil and Bengali novelist Subrata Mukhopadhyaya are among 24 authors selected for this year’s Sahitya Akademi Awards, which was dominated by poets.Peddabhotla Subbaramaiah(Telugu) got the award for their book of short stries.
Congress got the victory in Himachal Pradesh elections
The Congress returned to power in Himachal Pradesh after five years, defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Himachal Pradesh State Assembly elections conduced on 4 November 2012.The Congress secured 36 seats and the BJP 26 seats, while independents and others bagged six seats.
VVS Lakshman appointed as the Brand Ambassador of “Innovolt”
The International Test Cricketer VVS Lakshman appointed as the Brand Ambassador for KVN Power solutions who manufacturing the inverters and UPS.
Tom Moody named coach of Sunrisers IPL team
Moody, who has previously coached Sri Lankan international team and Kings XI Punjab IPL team, will take over as the coach for the next season of IPL. The Sun Risers will unveil their logo in Hyderabad on 20 December 2012. Sunrisers will also have recently retired Indian batsman VVS Laxman and former India captain Kris Srikkanth as mentors.
Mohan Kanda’s book released
A book by former Chief Secretary Mohan Kanda titled ‘A Century of Credit Cooperatives in India-An Anthology’ was released on 20 December 2012 by Chief Minister .
Pak National Assembly Cleared Anti-terror Bill
On 20 December Pakistan’s National Assembly passed a bill that will give intelligence and security agencies sweeping powers to conduct surveillance and collect data from SMS’s and emails.The National Assembly or lower house of parliament approved the “Fair Trial Bill 2012 ” after incorporating amendments proposed by the main opposition PML-N and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which is part of the ruling coalition led by the Pakistan People’s Party.
U.S. House of Representatives Passed ” Defense Authorization Bill – 2013 “
On 20 December US (United States) House of Representatives passed the ” Defence Authorization Act of 2013 ” .The bill authorizing 633.3 billion – dollar in defense spending for 2013, easing limits on satellite exports and providing more Marines for embassy security.
Hinduism Third Largest Religion of World
According to the ‘ Pew research ‘ survey report Hinduism is the third largest religion of the world after Christianity , Islam and 97 per cent of all Hindus live in the world’s three Hindu-majority countries (India, Mauritius and Nepal), and nearly nine-in-ten Christians (87 per cent) are found in the world’s 157 Christian majority countries.Although Muslims are a minority in India (14 per cent of the total population), India nonetheless has one of the largest Muslim populations in the world.In the total world population 2.2 billion Christians (32 per cent of the world’s population), 1.6 billion Muslims (23 per cent) around the world as of 2010.
” Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill ” Passed by Rajya Sabha
On 20 December Parliament passed a bill that makes economic offences, including circulation of high quality counterfeit currency, a terrorist act.The Rajya Sabha passed Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2012 by voice vote while several parties. The bill was already passed by Lok Sabha.
P.Chidambaram received ” Best Administrator ” Award
On 20 December Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram received “Best Administrator in India” award instituted by K. Karunakaran Foundation.The award was presented to him by Vice President of India, M. Hamid Ansari.The award is being offered in the memory of renowned Congress leader as well as the former Kerala Chief minister K Karunakaran.First Karunakaran Foundation Award was given to Pranab Mukherjee.
Syed Rahim Nabi named ” AIFF Player of the Year 2012 “
Syed Rahim Nabi has been named the ‘ AIFF (All India Football Federation) Player of the Year, 2012 ‘ . The announcement was made by AIFF President Mr. Praful Patel during the Annual General Meeting conduced at Football House, the All India Football Federation Headquarters in New Delhi on 20 December .
ASEAN – India Commemorative Summit held in New Delhi
India is hosted the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit held from December 20-21 in New Delhi to mark the 20th anniversary of the ASEAN – India dialogue partnership and the 10th anniversary of ASEAN-India Summit-level partnership.The theme of the summit is “ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace and Shared Prosperity ” .The summit discussed on cooperation in economics, trade, investment and science-technology, strengthening connectivity, assisting ASEAN in its community building, and Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) cooperation.ASEAN and India have signed the awaited Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on comprehensive economic cooperation as foundations for the establishment of an ASEAN-India Trade and Investment Area.India’s Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh declared that after implementation of FTA in the goods, the trade between the two sides increased by 41 percent in the year 2011-2012.