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INTERNATIONAL

Pakistan Supreme Court annulled New Law Protecting the Prime Minister

Supreme Court of Pakistan on 3 August 2012 annulled the new law called Contempt of Court Act 2012(COCA 2012). Pakistan’s Supreme Court 3 August 2012 struck down a law designed to protect the new prime minister from being charged with contempt and thrown out of office like his predecessor. The court ousted the previous prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, from office in June by charging him with contempt of court for failing to reopen corruption proceedings against President Asif Zardari.

OIC suspended Syria

The Organisation Islamic Cooperation(OIC) suspended Syria on 16th August 2012 saying the muslim world can no longer accept a government that “massacres its people”,further isolating the embattled regime.

Senkaku Islands became the Bone of Contention between China and Japan

Ten Japanese on 23 August 2012, made an unauthorized landing on Uotsuri, which is known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands and in China as the Diaoyu Islands. The uninhabited islands surrounded by rich fishing grounds are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.The Senkaku Islands dispute engulfs in itself a territorial dispute on a group of uninhabited islands. Of the ten Japanese people who visited the island, five were apparently conservative local assembly members.The Senkaku Islands are located in the East China Sea between Japan, and the Republic of China. The archipelago contains five uninhabited islands.

Somalia Assembly Passes the Endorses Draft Constitution

Somalia Constitution on 1 august 2012 endorsed a draft constitution billed a key step to ending the decades of the civil war. The Horn of Africa country’s outgoing government hailed the end of an eight-year interim period. Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali expressed happy and announced that Somalia has from now, left the transitional period. The special assembly chosen by traditional elders in a U.N.-backed process took eight days to debate and vote on the new Constitution, as the graft-riddled government approaches the end of its mandate on August 20.

Myanmar abolished Direct Media Censorship

Myanmar on 20 august 2012 he latest dramatic reform by its quasi-civilian regime, but journalists face other formidable restrictions including a ban on private daily newspapers and a pervasive culture of self-censorship. Under the new acts journalists no longer have to submit reports to state censors before publication, ending a practice strictly enforced during nearly half a century of military rule that ended in March last year. Previously, every song, book, cartoon, news report and planned piece of art required approval by teams of censors rooting out political messages and criticisms of one of Asia’s most repressive governments.

INDIA & WORLD

EC signs MoU with South Korean counterpart

The Election Commission of India on 01 August 2012 signed an MoU with its South Korean counterpart to help each other in strengthening the  electoral processes and political culture. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Chief
Election Commissioner of India V S Sampath on behalf of the poll panel and by Justice Nung Hwan Kim of the Republic of Korea at a brief ceremony. This is the 13th MoU signed by ECI with other countries and international election panels.

India-Israel Sign MoU on research programme

India and Israel on 02 August 2012 entered into a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for launching a programme that would promote collaborative research across a wide range of disciplines from medical and information technology to social sciences, humanities and arts. The programme, which will run for five years will provide support up to $1,00,000 a research project for three years .The MoU was signed by Chairman of the Israel science Foundation professor Benjamin Geiger and Chairman of University Grants Commission ved Prakash.

India, Monaco ink tax information exchange  agreement
Tata Communications’ payment solutions providing arm has bagged an exclusive order to install and manage nearly 14,000 ATMs for all public sector banks in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal,Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands by 2013—14.”Government of India and Government of Principality of Monaco have signed a Tax
Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) on 02.August 2012″.

India, Iran & Afghanistan to expand trade,transit through Chabahar port
India, Iran and Afghanistan have moved one step closer to expand their trade and economic ties. At a trilateral meeting in Teheran, they agreed to work for expanding trade, investment and transit cooperation through Chabahar port in Iran. A joint working group consisting of the representatives of the three countries will meet within the next three months in Chabahar to expedite the process.

India to help Sri Lanka set up SEZs
India will help Sri Lanka establish a special economic zone to manufacture auto components in Trincomaee, commerce minister Anand Sharma said in colombo on 03 August 2012. The SEZ would promote exports to the production chains in India.

Indian Scientist , Amitabh Ghosh in NASA team helped choose Curiosity’s landing site

An Indian scientist, Amitabh Ghosh part of the NASA team which had identified the landing site of the ‘Curiosity’ rover on Mars on 6August 2012 described the Spot as “very exciting and holding “great promise”.

Pakistan asked India to register Oil Marketing

Companies (OMCs) with Pakistan State Oil In the wake of New Delhi’s decision to allow pakistani investments, Islamabad has asked India to register its oil marketing companies(OMCs) with Pakistani State Oil to take part in spot tenders for
supply of petroleum products such as petrol,diesel, furnace oil and petcoke.

India Ranked Second in Search Queries for Education on Google

Indian Ranked second in education queries on Google.After the US, Indian people from IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmadabad were the most searched in their respective categories. India was Ranked 8th in 2008, at present it is behind only to the US.

TB screening for Indians seeking UK visa

From August 16, Indians planning to travel to UK for more than six months will be screened for tuberculosis before they are given a visa under a pre-entry TB screening programme extended to India. However, the screening will not be required for those travelling for six months or less.The Home Office announced that all such applicants would be required to submit a certificate from a local clinic approved by the British Government to show that they are “TB-free’’. There will be a fee of Rs 1500 for screening, to be borne by the applicant.

India gets first Embraer jet with Indian airborne radar tech

India, with taking the delivery of the first Embraer 145 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) in Brazil on 17 August 2012, moved one more step ahead in aerial security.India and Brazil signed a deal reportedly worth $ 210 million for the supply of three aircraft by 2014. This includes a comprehensive logistic package that entails training, technical support, supply of spare parts and ground support equipment.

Government extends ban on import of milk, milk products from China

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has recommended the extension of the ban till June 2013 or until further orders.The banned milk products include chocolate, chocolate products, candies, confectionery, food preparations with milk or milk solids as ingredient.

Sonia is Sixth in Forbes list of 100 most powerful Women

The Forbes magazine on 22nd August 2012 ranked united progressive Alliance(UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi the sixth most powerful woman in the world in the list of 100women.Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel got the first place. United States Secretary Hillary Clinton got the second place and Michelle Obama got the 7th Place.

Ranking by World Bank

As per the World Bank Report, India has been ranked at 132 amongst the sample 183 Countries.Recognising the need for Reforming the Regulatory Environment for doing business in India, a Committee under the Chairmanship of Shri. M.Damodaran has been constituted on 23 August 2012 by this ministry to extensively examine different areas
of root functioning such as financial reforms, governance reforms, liberalized policy framework,process reforms etc, and to suggest a roadmap for improving business climate in India.

Pak hails India’s move to allow FDI

Pakistan 01 August 2012 welcomed India’s decision to allow Pakistani Foreign Direct Investment, saying the move will create goodwill and give a boost to efforts to normalise bilateral relations. Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Khan welcomed the Indian government’s decision to allow Pakistani investments in all areas except defence, space and atomic energy.  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).

NATIONAL

Ban on SIMI upheld by Tribunal

A special tribunal has upheld the ban imposed by the Centre on Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), which has links with Pakistan-based terrorist outfits including Lashkar-e-Taiba and its front, Indian Mujahideen. The Home Ministry on February 3 extended the ban on SIMI by two more years.

India is the second-largest mobile phone user in world

India is the second-largest mobile phone user with over 900 million users in the world said Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in London on 03 August 2012. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) announced that the mobile users in India are increased to 93.4 crore.

Hamid Ansari re-elected as India’s 14th Vice President

Hamid Ansari has been re-elected as the 14th Vice President of India.He received 490 votes in his favour.His rival, BJP nominee Jaswant Singh polled 238 voted.He became the only person after Dr.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan to get a second term.

PSCC recommends declaration of tea as ‘national drink’

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce (PSCC) headed by BJP Rajya Sabha member Shanta Kumar has recommended declaration of tea as a ‘national drink‘.Stating this at Palampur on Friday, Kumar said the 102nd report
of the Committee on the Tea Industry had placed in both houses of the Parliament that 96 percent to 99 percent people in both Urban and Rural areas of the country consume tea and as such it has already acquired the status of a national drink.

NRHM to be expanded to towns also
The government will expand the scope of the NRHM(National Rural Health Mission) to all towns and cities, by converting it into a National Health Mission(NHM).

Mobile base Station radiation limit will be cut from September 1

The Union government has told parliament that exposure limit of radio frequency fields(base station emissions) will be brought down to one-tenth of the existing level from 1st September 2012,because they receive petitions in High Courts and Supreme Court on fears of health hazards like cancer from mobile tower radiations.RF signals produced by
base stations are caused for short and long term health effects.

Complete ban on child labour below 14 approved by Cabinet

The Union Cabinet on 28th August 2012 approved a proposal for amending the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, to ban employment of children aged up to 14 in any form of industry. It will be an offence to employ such children not only in factories or industries but also in homes or on farms, if their labour is meant to serve any commercial interest.

Supreme court upholds death sentence for Kasab

The Supreme court has upheld the death sentence for pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab in the 26/11/2008 Mumbai terror attack.
2% Reservation to Sports Persons

Youth Services and Sports – Sports Policy -Incentives to Sports Persons – Extension of Sports Reservation to Two (2%) to meritorious sports persons in direct recruitment in Government Departments / Undertaking / Grant – in – Aid Institutions at all levels – Instructions and Guidelines – Notification Orders Issued.

STATES

Orissa is the first state to provide e-payment
facility for government employees Orissa became the First Indian state to provide epayment facility for government employees from 1 August 2012.Now, the government employees in the state will receive their salaries and pensions
through the online Portal of Reserve Bank of India.Employees received their salaries and pensions directly to their bank account.

Keshubhai Patel launched Gujarat Parivartan (GPP) Party

Former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Keshubhai Patel launched Gujarat Parivartan (GPP) Party on 6 August 2012. Keshubhai Patel and the former union textile minister Kanshiram Rana resigned from Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) on 4 August 2012. This Party would contest all the 182 seats in Gujarat assembly elections which will be held by the end of 2012.

Himachal Bagged top slot in Environment Index

Environment Performance Index(EPI)-2012 compiled on July Month.According to the Survey Report conducted across all 28 states and 7 Union territories, the EPI is an Indication of the “ Environmental well-being of a state”. Himachal
bagged first and Andhra Pradesh bagged Second. The rankings, the report added, have been decided based on five broad parameters: air pollution, forests, water quality, waste management and climate change.

MJP merges with Keshubhai party

The anti-Narendra Modi factions in the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)in Gujarat under one umbrella, the Mahagujarat Janata Party(MJP), formed five years ago, was on 8 August 2012 merged with the Gujarat Parivartan Party(GPP) formed by the former Chief Minister and Mr. Modi’s arch rival Keshubhai Patel.

Maharashtra bans Bt cotton seeds

The Maharashtra government has banned the sale and distribution of the genetically modified Bt cotton seeds of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco), a partner of US multinational Monsanto, in the state with immediate effect for supplying inferior quality seeds. “The government has banned the Mahyco company with immediate effect,”
agriculture commissioner Umakant Dangat told IANS(Indo-Asia News Service) 9 August 2012,
when asked about the canceling of the company’s license.

Haryana to ban food articles containing Nicotine and Tobacco

Haryana government will impose a complete banon food articles containing nicotine and tobacco from 2012 August 15.

House Sparrow declared “State Bird of Delhi”

The good old house sparrow, which is becoming rarer by the day, has been declared “State Bird of Delhi” by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as part of a new campaign to save the species and enhance awareness about their life and habitat.High court imposed a fine of Rs.5000 rupees to State Government for the appointment of DGP

The State Government challenged the Central

Administrative Tribunal(CAT) order in the High Court. Ironically for the State, the High Court imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the government, while declaring the appointment of Dinesh Reddy in the post of DGP as invalid.

Drug Trial Related Deaths Highest in Maharastra

According to data released by the Drug Controller General of India Maharastra has recorded the maximum deaths number of deaths due to serious adverse events (SAEs) during drug trials, while Madhya Pradesh saw the least number of such deaths.During the 49 months period (January 2008 to January 2012) , the country had recorded the 2,061 drug trial related deaths. while maharastra recorded maximum number of deaths 268 deaths to stand first among top five states.It is followed by Andhra Pradesh (153), Delhi/National Capital Region (97), Gujarat (87) and Karnataka (78). The number of deaths in Maharashtra was over 10 times that of Madhya Pradesh, which is the lowest among the top 10 States.

Delhi launched the Kerosene-free Delhi scheme

Delhi Government set to launch an ambitious scheme(Kerosene-free Delhi scheme ) on 21st August 2012 under which 3.56 lakh households will get LPG cylinder and a gas stove free of cost.

Punjab Approves Rs.93crore Milk Production Scheme

The Punjab Government has started a special programme to increase the milk production in the state by spending Rs.93crore during 2012-13. This was announced by Dairy Development Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike. Punjab government has bought 3 lakh doses of foreign semen from America and Canada for improvement of cow breeds in the state.

Uttarakhand Cabinet increases age limit for jobs

Uttarakhand Cabinet the maximum age limit for government jobs had been increased from 35 to 40 years for general category candidates from 21 August 2012 onwords.Candidates belonging to other categories would also get the benefit of the decision accordingly.

‘Odisha tops in FDI proposals; Andhra, Gujarat next’

Odisha attracted the largest value of investments from foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals filed in 2011-12, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.Odisha garnered 27 per cent of the total investments (worth about Rs 49,527 crore),   though barely 17 FDI proposals were filed for the State. Andhra Pradesh ranked second with a share of about
19 per cent through about 70 proposals, attracting investment worth about Rs 33,936 crore.Gujarat, which received 131 FDI proposals, ranked third with a share of over 11 per cent attracting proposed
investment worth Rs 20,258 crore.

Jaane Apna Rajasthan’ scheme for NRIs

The Rajasthan Government on 27 Aug launched a scheme aimed at making the young non-resident Indians(NRIs) familiar, with the culture and traditions of the state under the ‘ Jaane Apna Rajasthan’(Know your Rjasthan)scheme announced by the chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. According to this scheme the NRIs who visit Rajasthan will be taken around” historical places, tourist attractions,sanctuaries,famous educational institutions, ancestral villages and major Industrial projects” will be shown to them .

CONFERENCES

Cairns in Australia to host G20 financeministers meet in 2014

The Prime Minister Gillard announced on 05 August 2012, the tropical northen Australian city of Cairns will host a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in 2014.

The eleventh Energy Efficient Summit

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Summit held in HICC, Novotel Hyderabad. The summit was held between 22 August 2012 to 25 August 2012.The objective of the summit was to facilitate the Indian industry to improve energy efficiency on a continuous basis and help them in achieving the target set as part of Perform Achieve and Trade under the National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency. It was ended on 31st August 2012.

16th Non Alignment Movement in Iran

The Two-day meet of the 120 grouping of nations takes place at Tehran in Iran. The key issues like the worsening situation of Syria, Iran’s nuclear programme and other matters of global are main agenda of this NAM summit which opened on 30
Aug 2012. Prime Minister Manmohan singh is leading the Indian delegation to the summit, which is being attended by over 30 Heads of state and government. This summit ended on 31 August, 2012.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Ashok sen received Yuri Milner award

Ashok Sen who is working in Harish chandra  research institute as scientist in physics got Yuri Milner Fundamental Physics prize of worth Rs 16.7Crore(USD $3 million) on 1st August 2012.This Fundamental Physics prize has been established by Russian Business man Yuri Milner , which is three times more than Noble prize. He has been recognised for his work on ‘String Theory’.

“NASI- Reliance Industries Platinum Jubilee Award 2012” for Bhadra

Dr. Manik Pal Bandra, Principal scientist of chemical biology division,CSIR Indian Institute of Chemical Technology Hyderabad, has been selected for the “ NASI- Reliance Industries Platinum Jubilee award 2012”. Dr.Bhadra was nominated for the award by the National Academy of science for significant contribution in the area of applications of orientedinnovations in biological sciences for 2012. He was given this for his involvement in the synthesizing or
orally administered next generation nano particles to deliver material like DNA an RNA for effective gene therapy. This award will be presented on November 29,2012 at New Delhi.

Sastra Ramanujan Prize to Zhiwei Yun

The 2012 sastra Ramanujan prize will be given to the Professor Zhiwei on December 22, The birth anniversary of mathematical genius Ramanujan, in New Delhi. The award will be given away during the closing ceremony of the International conference in the legacy of Ramanujan, organized by the National Board of Higher Mathematics of India &
co-sponsored by sastra University and Delhi University. prof.Zhiwei Yun has made fundamental contributions to sevaral areas that lie at the interface of representation theory. This Prize will be given to under 32 age, at the same age as Ramanujan died.

Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana award for D.R.Mehta

Renowned social worker DR Mehta, founder and chief patron of the organization that popularized the Jaipur Foot, has been selected for the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award for the year 2012. D.R. Mehta will present the 20th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna Award at a function New Delhi on 20 Aug 2012.The award, which carries a citation and
cash of Rs 5 lakh, is being given to Mehta, a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, for his “outstanding contribution towards promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill”.Former recipients of the award include Mother Teresa, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, Sunil Dutt, S.N. Subbarao and Dilip   Kumar.

NRI heart surgeon Dr Mukesh Hariawala

chosen for ‘India’s Most Admired Surgeon’award India born internationally acclaimed NRI HeartSurgeon and Research Scientist from the famed Harvard University, Dr Mukesh Hariawala, has been unanimously selected by the National Healthcare jury to be honored with the prestigious ‘India’s Most Admired Surgeon 2012 Award’.

NASI awarded for IICT Scientist

Dr.SuryaPrakash Singh ,Scientist of Inorganic and Physical Division, CSIR – Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad has been selected for NASI(National Academy of Science,India)-Young Scientist PlatinumAward 2012.

Jaipur Bags JRD TATa Award for Health schemes

Odisha’s Jaipur district has bagged the coveted fifth“JRD Tata Memorial Award 2011” for Population reproductive health and Family planning programme. The award was presented by the Nobel Laureate Amartyasen at JRD Tata memorial  Award and Oration Function held in New Delhi.

Indian Urdu Literature to get Rare Pakistani’s Honour

An Urdu literature Professor Gopi Chand Marang’s name figures in the list of Civilian honours announced by Pakistan on its Independence day. He has been confered”Sitara-i-Imtiaz”(Star of excellence) the third highest civilian honour bestowed by the nation.He received the “ Padma Bhushan”. It was great that an Indian selected for Pakistan’s highest honour
for his selfless work for urdu. eminent poet Josh Mahihabadi also selected for “ Hilal-i-Imtiaz’.

P.K.B Pattnaik Honoured with Damien -Dutton Award

State Leprosy Officer P.K.B. Pattnaik, has been selected for the coveted Damien-dutton award for the year2012 for his work in the field of leprosy eradication. Mother Teresa, Babu Amte and Dr.Dharmendra has given this award. He is an
Odisha doctor. He said that”We have been able to treat 12 lakh leprosy patients, rehabited 40,000 patients with leprosy and performed surgical  defromitry correction on 3,500 patients”.

Gruber cosmology Prize 2012 to Charles L Bennett

Johns Hopkins University professor Charles L. Bennett and members of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) space mission that he led will receive the Gruber Foundation’s 2012 Cosmology Prize in Beijing, China.Bennett   and the 26-member WMAP team will share the $500,000 prize and are being recognized by the foundation  for their transformative study of an ancient light dating back to the infant universe.

“The Best Story” Award for Indo-American

Indian American Rajan Gangahar has won the “Best Story” award for the movie “Kushiyaan” at the Punjabi International film Academy Award (PIFAA) held in Toronto. New york based Rajan was presented with the award at a function held in
Toronto. His first film as a story writer, Rajan wrote dialogue and scree play for “Khushiyaan”, made by another Indo-American Trilok Malik.

Pakistan’s Highest Civilian Award to Saadat Hasan Manto

The Writer Saadat Hasan Manto Posthumously received the Pakistan’s Highest award”Nisan-i- Imtiaz”. He died at 42 in  1955, Manto is best known for his short stories, especially he explored the impact of the partition of the subcontinent into  India & Pakistan in 1947. along with Manto, renowned singer Mehdi Hassan was also Posthumously honoured with “Nishan-i-Imtiaz” Hassan Popularly known as the “Shahenshah-e-Ghazil” who died in June 2012 at the age of 84.

Delhi Scientist Aditi Mukherji won Morman Baorlaug award

A Delhi based scientist, Aditi Mukherji has won the world’s most prestigious award for young researchers in food and water management, named after the father of India’s Green revolution Norman Borlaug on 29 Aug 2012. The World food prize Foundation started by Borlaug has picked Mukherji for the first ever Norman Borlaug award for his application of work in transforming access to water for thousands of farmers in west Bengla. The award comes with $10,000 prize. It will present to Mukherji on October 17 in Dea Moines , lawa US.

Indian American selected as Presidential Innovation Fellow

Indian American entrepreneur Karl Mehta has been selected among the 18 ‘Presidential Innovation Fellows’ who will work on five ‘high-impact’ projects in the US capital.Selected from an applicant pool of nearly 700 innovators from across the
country, the “Fellows” would spend six months in Washington DC to work on five high-impact projects aimed at upporting entrepreneurs, small businesses and the economy, while significantly improving how the Federal Government serves the American people.

Utsa Patnaik gets V.V. Giri award

The V.V. Giri Memorial Award 2011 for outstanding contribution to labour studies was conferred on Utsa Patnaik, Professor in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on 29 August 2012. The award, instituted by the V.V Giri National   Labour Institute, was conferred by Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge, who stressed on the importance of
systematic and sound research to understand the nature and characteristics of the emerging labour landscape.

University of Calicut to honour Montek, M.S. Swaminathan, Fathima Beevi

University of Calicut will confer honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) degrees on noted agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan, economist and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and jurist and former Supreme Court judge Fathima Beevi.

“Young woman In Science Award” for Indian Origin Sorojini Nadar

Indian Origin has been selected for a prestigious science award in south Africa for her contribution to the avancement of  science and building the knowledge base.Sarojini Nadar has been named the winner of the Distinguished Young Women in   Science Award, which was announced by Naledi Pandor, South African Minister of Science and Technology.

Eight Sporting Coaches received Dronacharya Award for 2012

Dronacharya Award is an award presented by the government of India for excellence in sports coaching. Eight Sporting Coaches selected for the Dronacharya Award for 2012 are Wrestling coach Yashvir Singh, Boxing Coach BI Fernandez, Athletics Coaches Virender Poonia, J.N.Bhatia, Kabaddi Coach Sunil Davas, Parathletics Coach Dr. Satyapaul , Hockey Coach Harinder Singh, Table Tennis Coach Bhavani Mukherjee,.Fernandez will become the first foreign coach to be awarded the the Dronacharya Award

Arjuna Awards:

Deepika Kumari , Laishram Bombayla Devi (archery),

Sudha Singh , Kavita Ramdas Raut (athletics),

Ashwani Ponnappa , Parupalli Kashyap (badminton),

Aditya S Mehta (billiards and Snooker),

Vikas Krishan (boxing),

Yuvraj Singh (cricket),

Sardar Singh (hockey),

Yashpal Solanki (judo),

Anup Kumar (kabaddi),

Samir Suhag (polo),

Annu Raj Singh, Omkar Singh, Joydeep Karmakar (shooting),

Deepika Pallikal (squash),

Sandeep Sejwal (swimming),

Ng. Sonia Chanu (weightlifting),

Narsingh Yadav , Rajinder Kumar , Geeta Phogat (wrestling),

M. Bimoljit Singh (wushu),

Deepa Mallick, Ramkaran Singh (athletics, Paralympics).

 Four Sports persons receive Dhyan Chand Award-2012

Dhyan Chand Award is India’s highest award for lifetime achievement in sports and games, given by the Government of India. Four persons selected for the Dhyan Chand Award-2012 are Jagrajsinghman (Athletics), Gundeep Kumar(Hockey), Vinod Kumar (wrestling), Sukhbeer Singh Tokan (para sports).

9 Indian- Americans Awarded for Enhancing Indo-US Ties

9 Indian- Americans were awarded by Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston (IACCGH) for their contribution towards enhancing relationships between India & US. The 2012 Excellence Award, was presented to Suresh
Khator. RK Chopra was awarded International Business Advocate of the Year. Woman entrepreneur of the year award was presented to Vijay Dhingra and Pushpa Shenoy.

SPORTS & GAMES

Olympics 2012

The 30th Olympics 2012 held at London on 27 July  and ended on 12 August. This is a 17 days Festival of Five Rings. There are 204 countries and more than 10,000 athletes participated in 300 events. US secured top place in medals of acquiring  104 medals in total, 46 gold, 29 silver and 29 bronze. the next place occupied by China of 99 medals. Britain stood at 3rd place of acquiring 65 medals in total. India stood at 55th place by acquiring 6 medals in total, 2 silver and 4 bronze. India got 6 medals among 81 athletes who participated in London Olympics. The next Olympics will be host by Rio De Janeiro on
2016. The Winter Olympics 2014 will be host by Russia, Sochi.

The name of the Indian Medalists are

1. Gagan Narang won the bronze Medal in the event of Men’s 10m. Air Rifle shooting.

2. Vijay Kumar won the Silver Medal in the event of individual 25 metre rapid fire pistol. He was awarded Khel Ratna by      the Government of India of his performance inLondon Olympics 2012.

3. Saina Nehwal won the Bronze medal in the Event of Badminton Women’s Singles.

4. Mary Kom won the bronze medal in the event of Women’s Fly 51kg. Boxing.

5. Yogeswar Dutt won the bronze medal in the event of Men’s 60kg. Free style wrestling. He was awarded Khel Ratna by the Government of India of his performance in London Olympics 2012.

6. Sushil kumar who is an Indian Flag Bearer and also won Silver Medal in the event of Men’s 66kg. Free style wrestling.

London Olympics world Records:

List  of  Countries  ranking by gold Medal:

Highest Medals in Olympics won by Individuals:

Gold Medalists:

Andrian Clinhes Gold by a Finger Tip

Nathan Andrian clinched the Olympic 100 m free style gold by a fingertip on 1 August 2012 to become the first American to hold the title since 1988.

Serena Williams Wins Olympic Gold

Serena Williams secured her first ever gold medal victory in the women’s singles with 6-0, 6-1 win over the Russian beauty, Maria Sharapova at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon on 4 August 2012.Serena becomes the second women to win the Olympic gold medal in addition to all four different Grand Slam titles. she also set the record of being the only female professional to attain the number one spot in both singles and doubles category.

Ben Ainslie Claims  a Record

Britain’s Ben Ainslie became the most successful Olympic sailor on 5 August 2012 won a gold medal in the single handed finn class to claim a record breaking fifth consecutive medal.

Murray Won Olympic Gold

Britain’s Andy Murray demolished Roger Federer 6-2,6-1,6-4 in the men’s final on 5 Aug 2012 to wins first gold medal ad avenge his Wimbledon final defeat against the world no1. Roger Federer bagged Olympic Silver , Juan Martin del potro bagged copper.

Serena and Venus Williams won Olympics Gold in Women’s Doubles

Serena and Venus Williams teamed to win women’s doubles title at the Olympics on 5 August 2012. The third time the dynamic duo taken Home the gold medal.

Lin Defends Olympic Badminton Gold

China’s Lin Dan over hauled Lee Chong Wei in the final to win Olympic men’s badminton singles on 5 August 2012.

Salimikordasiabi Won Olympic Gold 

Inran’s Beh Salmi Kordasiabi won gold in the event of weightlifting competition at London to claim the title of “Strongest man at the Olympics”. He lifted 455 kg in total.silver for sajjad Anoushiravani. He is from Iran. Bronze for Russia’s Rulsan ALbegor with 448kg.

Sally Pearson Won 100m Hurdled Olympic Gold

Sally Pearson an Australian Won 100m hurdles Olympic Gold. She made an Olympic record time of 12.35seconds at Olympic Stadium, London. The Victory margin  record time of 12.37 seconds made by Joanna Hayes of US in Athens.

Decathlon Gold for Ashton eaton

Decathlon is the toughest event in the Olympics. which consists of 10 events as one event.On 10 Aug America based Ashton eaton who is an Olympic Gold winner of Decathlon of total of 8,869 points made at London. Previously he made a World Record by acquiring 9,026 points at U.S. Olympic trials.

Yodisha Won Women’s Wrestling Title

Japan’s saori Yodish won a third Olympic 55 kg women’s free style Wrestling title on 9 August 2012.

Women’s Soccer Won By America

The U. S Women’s Football team won its third straight Olympic medal on 9 August 2012 by beating Japan of 2-1.The midfielder Carli Lloyd, who made critical  2 goals to  America’s  victory.

Oscar Pistorius

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius made a history when he became the first double amputee to participate in an athletics event of 400meters at the Olympics on 04 August 2012.

Olympic Swimming: Power Ranking Michael Phelps’ 18 Gold Medal Performances

Michael Phelps is an American swimmer who has won 22 Olympic medals (18 Gold, 2 Silver, & 2 Bronze). He is an Olympic legend who broke the record for most medals while participating at the London 2012 games. Michael Phelps swam in four Olympic Games. He broke 39 world records. He beat the record of Larisa Latynina Soviet Union gymnast.

Nicola Adams wins first ever women boxing gold

Britain’s Nicola Adams became the first ever Olympic women’s boxing champion with a 16-7 flyweight final win over China’s world champion Ren Cancan on  9 August 2012.

Lysenko bags Gold

World champion Tatyana  Lysenko of Russia added the Olympic gold to her collections with an Olympic record 78.18m in women’s hammer throw at the Olympic stadium on 10 August 2012.

Roger Federer and Lina were Crowned the

Cincinnati Masters Tennis Championship World No.1 Tennis player Roger Federer won a record fifth Western and Southern open title (Cincinnati Masters) at Cincinnati on 19 August 2012. Federer beat second seeded Novak Djokovic 6-0, 7-6. This was the first time when top seeded men’s players clashed in the final.

India beat Australia to win Under-19 World Cup

India won their third Under-19 World Cup title as captain Unmukt Chand saved his best for last, coming up with a crucial, unbeaten ton in the final against Australia on 26 August 2012.

New Heaven Open title to Czench star
Petra kvitova beat Maria Kirilenko on 25 Aug to win the New Haven Open, the Czech star’s second WTA tournament title.

South Africa’s Hashim Amla becomes fasters
players to 3,000 ODI runs South Africa’s Hashim Amla became the fastest player to 3,000 one-day international runs during the course of his 150 that set up the Proteas’ 80- run win over England at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

Lydia Ko won CN Canadian Women’s Open LPGA Golf
Lydia Ko Won CN Canadian Women’s Open LPGA Golf on 26 Aug to become the youngest winner in LPGA Tour History and only the fifth amateur championship. she is 15-year-old .

US PGA Golf champion is Rory Mccllroy

Rory Mallory won US PGA Golf Championship at kaiwah Island on 12 August 2012.This is his second major title with a  record setting eight shot victory. The Northern Irishman,23, hit a six-under 66 to finish  13 under and return to world number one.

Dhoni named Castrol Indian cricketer of the year

The Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence are the premier cricketing awards recognizing outstanding performances by  Indian cricketers – past, present and future. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was declared the Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year
2011 whilst Ajit Wadekar received the Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award and India’s Under 19 World Cup winning  Captain Unmukt Chand was awarded the Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award.

V.V.S. Laxman retired from international cricket

V.V.S. Laxman retired from international cricket on 18 August 2012. He played 134 tests, amazing 8781 runs and an coverage of 45.97 and hitting 17 hundreds. He played 86 ODI for an aggregate of 2338 runs at an average of 30.76.

Life Long Ban on Lance Armstrong

The U.S. anti doping agency 14 years of Lance Armstrong strong career on 24 Aug , including his record of seven tour de  France Titles and banned him for life from the sport. He was cyclist who retired an year ago. He would no longer challenge USDA and declined to exercise his last option by entering arbitration. He denied again that he ever took banned substances in his career, called USADA’s Investigation a “witch hunt” without any physical evidence.

ECONOMY

China’s millionaire number crosses million mark

“The number of millionaires in China crossed a million mark for the first in the Communist nation, putting it in the elite club of the wealthy nations like US and Japan. The elite millionaires group includes 63,500 billionaires, according to  Hurun Report, a Chinese event and publishing group which compiled the China’s list of the rich.The number of Chinese
worth more than 10 million yuan (USD 1.6 million) broke the million mark in 2011 for the first time, with 1.02 million people now in this elite group. Of these million-plus wealthy individuals, 84 per cent are concentrated in the eastern,  northern and southern regions of China, with Beijing home to the greatest number, at 1.79 lakh millionaires.

Crisil Research cuts 2012-13 GDP growth forecast to 5.5%
Crisil Research has cut India’s real GDP growth forecast for 2012-13 from 6.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent. This downward revision in GDP is due to deficient monsoon and worsening of the Euro Zone economic outlook.

CIBIL working on Risk  Index to help banks

Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd (CIBIL) is planning to introduce a risk index that will help the country’s banks take quicker decisions on extending loans to corporates and business houses. The index follows the credit information firm’s TransUnion score for individual borrowers being used by financial institutions and banks to take decisions in respect
of credit cards and home loans. “Any individual with over 750 score can be considered as good”.

P.M.’s Economic Panel Lowers the Indian

Growth Estimate to 6.7% for 2012-13 Prime Minister’s economic advisory panel on 17 August 2012 pegged GDP growth for the current financial year to 6.7 percent. This is mainly due to poor Monsoon which will pull down the agriculture
growth rate to 0.5 percent from 2.8 percent last year. “Economy will grow at 6.7 percent in 2012- 13, Prime Minister’s economic Advisory council (PMEAC) chairman C.Rangarajan said that while releasing “Economic outlook for 2012-13”.  He asked the government to open multi – brand retail to foreign investment and raise diesel prices in one (or) more steps to contain the subsidy bill. India has registered 6.5% growth in the fiscal year 2011- 12. Which was the lowest in the past nine years.

Government Detected Rs.49,325 crore Black Money in India

Government said that Rs.49,325 crore has been detected in the country in the last three years while tax evasion of Rs.600 crore found on input from abroad under multi-prolonged efforts to heck black money menance. this information has been  contained in a 13 page fact-sheet released by the Finance Ministry.The fact-sheet say the Central Board of Direct  Taxes(CBDT) has detected undisclosed income of over Rs.32,000 crore besides seizing assets valued at over Rs 2,600  crores. 17,325 crore income detected in survey. Government also disclosed that under Double Avoidance agreement(DTAA), investigation of information from German and France has led to detection of tax evasion of Rs.600  crore and realization of Rs.200 crore in taxes.

Union Finance Minister Approved the Proposal  FDI raise up to 49%

The Union Finance Minister P.Chidambaram  approved the raise of FDI in Insurance and Pension sector up to 49%. Earlier   the limit of FDI was up to 26%. This Proposal of 49% raise of FDI was made during the tenure of Pranab mukherjee.  It was delayed because of resistance from the cronies.

ISC directs Sahara Group to refund Rs 17,400 crore to investors

In a major setback to the Sahara Group, the Supreme Court on 31st August 2012 directed two of its companies to refund around Rs 17,400 crore to their investors within three months with 15 percent interest.A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar directed SEBI to take action against the companies, Sahara India Real Estate Corporation
and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation, if they fail to refund the money.

India, China joint panel to address trade concerns

India and China have agreed to establish a joint working group to address all trade-related issues, including the widening trade balance between the countries. The decision was taken at a meeting between trade minister Anand Sharma and his
Chinese counterpart Chen Deming in New Delhi on 27th August 2012.Trade between the countries was $75.4 billion in 2011-12, against $59 billion in 2010- 11. In 2011-12, exports to China stood at $17.9 billion while imports from there  stood at $57.5 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $39.6 billion.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SPOT6 reached to SHAR
The Satish Dawan Space Centre in Nellore district at Sriharikota will launching PSLV C-21 rocket(100th rocket) with French satellite SPOT6(800kg) and a small Japanese satellite weighing around 15kg in the month of September.This is the hundredth rocket in the 49 years of ISRO history.

Cabinet Clears Mars mission
The Union Cabinet on 03 August 2012 cleared the Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO) mission to Mars next year November The project envisages putting a spacecraft in the red planet’s orbit to study its atmosphere with the help of the  polar Satellite launch vehicle. India joins the United states , Russia, Europe, Japan and China in undertaking such an
effort. The spacecraft will have a scientific payload of 25 kg and its proposed to be placed in an orbit of 500 x 80,000 km  around the planet.The mission is estimated to cost about Rs $450 crore.

Curiosity Landed on Red Planet
The Robotic Explorer Curiosity blazed through the pink skies of mars, steering itself to gentle landing inside again crater for the most ambitious dig yet into the red planet. It was NASA’s seventh landing on earth’s Neighbor.In November 2011  American Space Research Centre NASA Launched the curiosity into the space. On 6 Aug 2012 the Curiosity landed safely  on the Mars.The Voyage to Mars took more than eight months and spanned 352m million miles(566 million kilometers). It  sliced through Martian atmosphere ay 13,000mph(21,000kph). The first of what scientists predict will be enormous
amounts of Information, Including a possible answer to whether Mars ever supported conditions for Organic life, to find  evidence of life itself,alive or fossilized-its raft of 10 scientific instruments will hunt for carbon based compounds             considered essential to microbial life. It stays 2 years in Mars to collect all these Information. This is the next space  mission of NASA after 1970. Ashwini, Indo-American scientist involved in this mission.

NASA picks 3 firms to develop space taxis
NASA picks 3 firms to develop space taxis,the companies are the Boeing Co,Space Exploration Technologies called SpaceX, and Sierra Nvada Corp.

A new oxidant in the atmosphere identified
Scientists have found for the first time unequivocal evidence of another oxidant playing a vital role in the formation of  gaseous sulphuric acid in the atmosphere. Until now, it was thought that the combination of OH (hydroxyl radical) oxidant  with sulphur dioxide (SO) was the dominant way by which gaseous sulphuric acid is formed in the atmosphere. They found the new oxidant has “significant capacity” to oxidise sulphur dioxide.

Largest 3D Map of Galaxies
Astronomers have unveiled the largest ever 3D map of the sky, encompassing massive galaxies and distance black holes, based on sloan digital sky survey III(SDSS- III). These galaxies are captures by a 2.5 meter wide -angle telescope located at the Apache Point observatory in New Mexico.The release Includes of 200 million galaxies and spectra of 1.35 million  galaxies, according to a Harvardsmith soniam statement with SDSS-III.

Agni-II Test Fired Successfully
Surface to Surface missile Agni-II soared to a successfully test fired on 9 august 2012 at Wheeler Island of the Odisha. It have a height of 20km and weighted as 17 tonnes and have the capacity to carry a nuclear war head of weighing one ton.   The missile Ranging Agni-I 700km , Agni-II 2,000 km , Agni- III-3,300km. The future projects are Agni 4 andAgni 5 to launch.

Print High Resolution Images Without Ink aNew Technology Developed
The team of scientists with Indian origin has developed a new technology of printing high resolution images without ink. The Institute of materials research and Engineering in Singapore has demonstrated that 1,00,000 dots per inch(dpi) can
produce sharp and full spectrum color images.Which can be applicable in reflect colour displays , anti-counterfeiting, and high density optical recording.Karthik Kumar says that size and spacing of the nanodots is critical to the final image  quality. “The closer the dots are together and because of their small size, the higher the resolution of the image.

Nanotechnology for Solar panel efficiency
A University of Houston researchers has developed a nano particle coating for solar panel that makes it easier to keep them clean. This helps in keeping them efficient and cuts maintains cost. NASA spies cosmic supermom Scientists have found a cosmic supermom, a galaxy that gives birth to more stars in a day than Earth’s does in a year. Astronomers used  NASA’s Chandra X-ray telescope to spot this distant gigantic galaxy creating about 740 new stars a year. By comparison,
our Milky Way Galaxy spawns just about one new star each year.

Prithvi-II missile test, a Success
The strategic Forces Command, which is in charge of nuclear weapons, successfully fired the surface to surface Prithvi-II missile from Chandipur in Odisha’s Balasore district on 25th August 2012, confirming yet again that the armed forces are
capable of launching nuclear missiles independently.

China Military test fires 14,000km range missile
The china central television(CCTV) reported that the china’s military had successfully tested the new 14,000 rang Dong  feng-41 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). It have the capacity to carry 10 nuclear war heads.

Blue moon on 31st August 2012
When a full moon appears in the night sky for the second time in a calendar month ,it is called a ‘blue oon’.The next blue moon will occur on July 31,2015.

In US, India’s First C-17 transport aircraft takes shape
Now the Indian Air Force is planned to introduce a C-17 Globemaster III heavy lift military planes in place of old Cargo planes for the next year June. So India made deal with Boeing for $410 crores in the last year.C-17 has the capacity to fill oil in the air.

PERSONS IN NEWS

A) Appointments

Sushil Kumar Shinde as the new Leader in house of Lok Sabha
Sushile Kumar Shinde has been appointed as the new Leader in the House of Lok Sabha taking the place of Pranab  Mukherjee who has now become the President on 3 August 2012.

Hyderabadi Advocate becomes a Vice-Chairman of ABA
Hyderabad based lawyer Mr.JLN Murthy has been appointed to the Vice-Chairman of the AmericanBar Association Section of International Law, Europe Committee, for the year 2012-13.The main aim of this association is to focus on several international legal issues.

Nasim Ahmad Zaidi is new election commissioner
Former civil aviation secretary Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi was 7 August 2012, appointed an election commissioner by President Pranab Mukherjee.The former EC V.S. Sampath took charge as CEC(Chief Election Commissioner.

Dimple Yadav and M. Raja Mohan Reddy takes oath as Lok Sabha member

Dimple Yadav, the wife of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, 8 August 2012 took oath as a Lok Sabha member from Kannauj. She had won the by-election, caused by her husband’s resignation, unopposed in June.Along with Yadav,
M. Raja Mohan Reddy, the newly-elected MP from  Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, also took oath. Reddy is from the YSR Congress.

Raghuram Rajan is chief economic advisor
The government has issued formal orders to appoint Raghuram Rajan, former International Monetary Fund chief economist, as the chief economic advisor in the finance ministry. The economist, who is currently a professor at Chicago University’s Booth School of Business, is not expected to take charge for the next few weeks due to academic commitments. Rajan will take over at a time when the government is trying to combat a hostile economic climate.

Cabinet nod for Customs’ first-ever woman chief
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has given its nod for Praveen Mahajan to be a full-fledged Chairperson of the Central Board of Excise and Customs(CBEC). She is the first lady ever to head the highest policy-making body on indirect
taxes.Prior to this elevation, she was Member (Personnel and Vigilance) in the CBEC from August 2011.

Ansari takes oath for second term
Hamid Ansari became the second Vice-President of India to take oath of office for second consecutive terms in New Delhi on 11 August 2012 Ansari, a former diplomat, followed Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan who served two successive terms as Vice-President.

Indian origin Sanjay Reddy, appointed as the director of new York University’s Centre
New York’s leading University, the new school, has named an Indian-origin academician as director of its center of trans-regional study, which is focused on research on the relations between India, china and U.S. He associate ‘Professor of Economics,has been named academic director of the new school’s India, China Institute(ICI) along with Mark Frazier, Professor of Politics on 16 August 2012.

New Envoy to Syria is Lakhdar Brahimi
The United Nations on 17 August, 2012 confirmed that Veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi will replace the former UN Secretary general Kofi Annan as the International mediator on Syria as the 17 month old conflict slides deeper into  civil war. Brahimi, who served as Algeria’s foreign minister from 1991 to 1993 and joined UN in 1994 and
served various high profile positions until he retired in 2005.

P.J. Kurien is Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman
P.J. Kurien is unanimously elected as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha on 21 August 2012.

Poonam Kishore Saxena appointed as Chairman of CBDT
The government appointed Dr.Poonam Kishore Saxena,a 1975 batch IRS officer as the Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on 22nd August 2012.

P. M. Nair Appointed as Director General,NDRF & CD
Shri P. M. Nair, IPS has been appointed as Director General, National Disaster Response Force & Civil Defence (NDRF & CD), Ministry of Home Affairs.Shri Nair is presently working as Special Director General, Central Reserve Police Force.

Admiral D K Joshi takes charge as new Navy chief
Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi took over as the new Indian Navy chief on 31st August 2012.Admiral Joshi is the 21st  Chief of Naval Staff of independent India and the 19th Indian to command the Indian Navy.

New President Of Libya is Mohammad Magarief
National Assembly of Libya elected their former Opposition leader Mohammed Magarief as its New President. Mr.Magarief seen as a Moderate Islamist, will head the 200-member congress. The 72-year-old Magarief who is the head of National
front party. An economist and former Libyan ambassador to India who had lived in exile since the 1980s, Magarief was a leading figure in Libya’s oldest movement opposition movement. Magarief won 113 votes versus independent Alli zindan who secured 85 votes.

New Jammu Varsity Chancellor is Vohra
Jammu & Kashmir governor N.N.Vohra has been appointed the first chancellor of the Central University of Jammu. Pranab Mukharjee on his visit to that University appointed Mr. Vohra the chancellor if the University for a period of five years.

B) Resigns

Gopal Goyal Kand Home Minster of Haryana Quits
Haryana Minster of state for home, Goyal Kanda resigned on 5 August 2012 night after a 23-year – old farmer air hosters named him in a suicide note before hanging herself.

Kofi A.Annan Resigns as Syria Peace Envoy
FreeJobAlert.com Current Affairs 20 Kofi A.Annan resigned as the UN Peace envoy to Syria on 2 August 2012 by complaining the international community had not done enough to support his bid to persuade Bashar al-Assad to
accept a peace plan. His term as UN peace interlocutor was set to expire on 31 August 2012. Annan was appointed the UN-Arab League Peace envoy to Syria in February 2012.

Indo American Fareed Zakaria resigned from Yale Government Board
After a long association with Yale University the noted Indo American Writer and and journalist Fareed Zakaria has resigned from its governing body to focus on journalistic career.Zakaria, who received his bachelor’s degree from the university, was associated with the Yale Corporation for past six years. The decision of Zakaria to shed some of his
non-journalistic responsibilities has come close on the heels of accusations of plagiarism against him.

Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi Quit as Iraq communication Minister
Iraqi Communications minister Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi quit his post in 27 Aug accusing Prime Minister Nuri – Maliki of “Political Interference” in his ministry. Allawi’s resignation is the first by a cabinet member since Iraq’s national unity government was formed in December 2010.

C)Deaths

Contrarian Author Gore Vidal Dies
“Writer Gore Vidal, who filler his novels and essays with acerbic observation on politics,sex and American culture. While carrying on feuds with bigname literary rivals,died on 1 August 2012 at home in Los angels of complications from pneumonia,age 86. His historical novels was ‘Burr’, ’18762 .’Lincoln’,’The Golden Age’.

Vilasrao Deshmukh passes away
The Union Minister for science and Technology and Ex. chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh ,who was suffering from sclerosis of the liver, passed away at a chennai hospital on 2012 August 14th.

Hindi cinematographer Ashok Mehta Passed away
The ace cinematograoher Ashok Mehta, who lost the battle with lung cancer at a mumbai hospital on 15 August 2012.The   man who worked with best in the business, raging from the highly accomplished shyam benegal, Girish Karnad and shekhar Kapur, hugely populared Sunhash Ghai. He did films like Utsav, Mandi,36 chowsinghee Lane.

Science Friction Writer Harry Harrison Passed Away
American Author Harry Harrison has died in Britain on 16 august 2012 at 87. He was best known for his”The Stainless Steel rat” series. His 1966, “Make  room! Make Room!- a Science Friction take on the horrors of over population. The Other works included anthologies, collections and children’s stories-including one particularity goofs tale about an Intergalactic force of Mutant pigs.

Philippine Minister Jesse Robredo died in Plane Crash
The most powerful minister of Philippine died in plane crash on 19 August 2012. The Interior secretary Jesse Robredo. This crash was held at the central island of Masbate.

Prime Minister of Ethipio Meles Zenavi passed away
Meles Zenavi, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, passed away on 20 August 2012 following prolonged illness. He was 57 Ethiopio’s foreign minister will assume the change as the acting P.M. of the country.

US Astronaut Neil Alden Armstrong passed away
US Astronaut , Armstrong, as the commander of the Apollo 11 mission, became the first human to land on the moon on 20 July 1969,passed away on 25th August 2012.

Veteran actor Hangal Passed away
Actor A.K.Hangal, who had the rare ability to imbue the smallest and the most ordinary of roles with quality and dignity, passed away on 26 Aug at Mumbai followed Health complications caused by a recent hip fracture.

D) Visitors

Fijian President calls on Pranab
Fijian President Ratu Epeli Nailatikaw called on his Indian counter part Pranab Mukherjiee at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on 7 August 2012 and discussed the scope for expanding trade and bilateral ties.Mr. Mukherjiee also granted Fiji for
joining the Non-Alignment movement.

Chinese defence minister to visit India
India and China are expected to discuss ways of strengthening defence ties during the three-day visit of Chinese defence minister General Liang Guanglie starting September 2 in Mumbai.

E)Miscellaneous

Miss China Crowned Miss World
Chaina’s Wen Xia Yu was on 18 August 2012 crowned Miss world-2012 the competitions are conducted in China at Innar Mangolia Erina. Wales Sophie Moulds was first runner up and the second runner up position to Jessica. Kahawaty of  Australia. Indian beauty Vanya Mishra on the 6th position by winning two awards in miss world competition. The
multimedia award and social networking skin & beauty.

Student Prafull Sharma Discovers SOHO
A Delhi boy has discovered a new comet using data from NASA and European Space Agency;s Space Craft-based observatory SOHO that studies the sun. Prafull sharma, is a XII class student of Ahlcon public  school, the new comet SOHO-2333 is a fragment believed to have separated from a relatively larger comet Machholz when it last came close to the sun in 2007. sharma, who has been associated with Delhi-based NGO science. Popularization Association of  Communicators and educators (SPACE), ia apart of a world wide team os comet hunters. Who scour through images of the  sun transmitted back to earth by Solar and Heliosphere Observatory(SOHO).

Zakaria suspended by CNN/TIME Magazine
Indo – American Journalist and author Fareed Zakaria has been suspended by his employers and Time Magazine because he copied some Portions of an article he wrote on “ Gun Control for Time”, from the New Yorker Magazine. He suspended  for one month.

Ex-Prez Pratibha Patil spent 140Cr on air Travel
According to RIT report India’s ex-President visited 18 Countries in 10 trips from November 2008 to October   2011.India’s former president Pratibha Patil sets a new record by spending 140 Cr travel expenses alone. Patil was the most frequent flyer using IAF planes 255 times as compared to PM ManMohan(108) abd Vice President Ansari(106).
As A.P.J.Abdul Kalam visited 17 Countries in 7 trips and K.R.Narayana covered 10 Countries in 6 trips. S.D.Shrama covered 16 Nations in 4 trips.

Himachal Hotel Gets Heritage Status
The Castel Magar, Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation’s prime hotel in the picturesque, Kullu Valley was notified under the heritage status by the Union tourism ministry on 23 August 2012. Maggar was the capital of the erst
while kullu state for about 1460 years. The Castle was built by Raja Sidhi Singh in the 16th century.

Amir Khan on the Cover Page of Time Magazine
The most successful Tv show Satyamev Jayate made Amir Khan features in the cover page of the Time Magazine.Aamir Khan is featured on the cover of Time with the caption ‘Khan’s Quest’. Bollywood actors who have featured before on Time cover are Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Parveen Babi. Parveen Babi became the cover girl of Time’s July  1976 issue, after acting in super hit flick Deewar. The cover story was titled ‘Asia’s Frenetic Film Scene’.On one of 2003  issues, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was called ‘New Face Of Film’. The magazine mentioned: ‘Aishwarya Rai   leads the invasion as Bollywood goes global and becomes hip.’

9 IAF personnel killed in mid-air copter collision
Nine IAF personnel, including five officers, were killed when two Mi-17 medium-lift utility helicopters collided in mid-air while on a “live firing exercise” at the Sarmat field range near the Jamnagar airbase in Gujarat on 30 August 20112.

PLACES IN NEWS

Death toll in Iran’s twin earthquakes is over 250
Two strong earthquakes that struck north-west Iran on 11th August 2012 killed more than 250 people and left grieving survivors — buffeted by repeated aftershocks — in a state of trauma.The first quake, of magnitude 6.2, jolted the Ahar area around 1600 hours local time, Fars News Agency (FNA) reported. Almost an hour later, a quake of 6 magnitude rocked  the city of Varzaqan and its surroundings in the same province.Thousands of people, rattled by at least 35 aftershocks, fled from their homes. Many families spent the night in parks, braving chilly conditions that prevail in the mountainous province.

Typhoon Haikui Hit East Coast China
Typhoon Haikui hit to the east coast china on 8 August 2012. By hitting hard the area around the business metropolis of shanghai with heavy wind and rain. The storm’s wind’s were at ‘Severe typhoon”. It made land fall in the Province of  Zhejiang, about 225 kilometers(140 miles) south of Shanghai. The wind speed in between 150 and 184 kilometers per
hour. Chinese officials had relocated 374.000 people from shanghai and 250,000 from zhejiang.

BOOKS IN NEWS

“Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden”: A New Book released
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden was written by a Navy SEAL under the pseudonym Mark Owen with co-author Kevin Maurer and is to be released next month on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. This book has claimed that Abbottabad house where al-Qaeda chief lived was “carved out”from Pakistan Military Academy compound and its powerful army chief may have been briefed beforehand on the ‘Kill Osama Mission’.

COMMITTEES

Pak Prez Formed a Panel to Talk with Pak Hindus
Pakistan President Asif Ali zardari has set up a three member committee of Parliamentarians to meet and reassure Hindus in sindh of their security after their families decided to flee their homes. Zardari has taken serious notes of reports of the “Sense of Insecurity” among hindus families in sindh and directed authorities to address their unfair treatment  and report to him. This panel consists of senator Hari Ram, National Assembly member Lal Chand and Federal Minister Moula Bakhsh Chandio.

Panel to Examine Western Ghats Report

Environment Ministry has constituted a high level working panel to headed by eminent space scientist and panning commission member K Kasturirangan to examine the Western Ghats ecology expert panel report “in a holistic and  multidisciplinary fashion”. The nine member group will examine the the Madhav Gadgil committee report released  recently “in a holistic and multidisciplinary fashion keeping in view the comments received from the concerned state
governments, central ministries, stakeholders”.It will also study the “effects and challenges of climate change in the ecologically significant Western Ghats region,” “the implications of the UNESCO heritage site recognition of some parts of the Western Ghats” and the constitutional implications of Centre-State relations regarding the conservation and sustainable development of the region.” It is also expected to “recommend further course of action” regarding the
report within two months.

Two Member Panel to Study on Universal Health coverage
The National Advisory council has set up a two member working group to study the report on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) prepared by the high level expert scope of the National rural health Mission(NRHM) and convert it into a National
Health Mission. The Two-member group, comprising Mirai chatterjee and A.K.Shiva kumar,will work closely with the Ministry of Health and Family welfare and the planning commission to resolve any possible issues arising on health.

SL Committee pulled up for diluting civilnuclear Liability Rules
The subordinate legislation committee of the lok sabha has pulled up the department of atomic energy for ‘diluting’ the civil. liability for clear Damage(CLND)Act. The committee monitors whether the rules tabled in parliament are in tune
with the act passed by parliament. This is 15 member panel has represented from all parties.

ABBREVIATIONS

EPT       –    Environment Performance Index
NASI    – National Academy of Science, India
SPSS      – Sloan Digital Sky Survey
SFC        – Strategic Forces Command
DRDO    – Defense Research and development Organization
DTAA   – Double Taxation of direct Agreement
CBDT     – Central Board of Direct Taxes
SPACE   – Science Popularization Association of Communicators and educators
SOHO    – Solar and HelioSpheric Observatory

DAYS & DATES

August 1 – World Breast-feeding Week

August 3 – Friendship Day

August 6 – Anti Nuclear Day

August 6 – Hiroshima Day

August 9 – Nagasaki Day

August 9 – International Day of the World’s Indigenous People

 August 12 – International Youth Day

August 13 – World Left Hander’s Day

 August 15 – International Mourning Day

August 19 – World Humanitarian Day

 August 19 – World Photography Day

August 20 – World Mosquito Day

August 23 – International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition

August 20 -Namibia Day

Responses to “August 2012 Current Affairs Study Material”