DECEMBER 2012 NEWS

INTERNATIONAL

1. Who announced a $10 million donation for a global war chest to educate all girls by 2015 set up in the name of Malala Yousafzai?
Ans: Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari

2. Who elected as a Prime Minister with a clear victory over the  Prime Minister  and leader of the Democratic Party of Japan(DPJ) Yoshihiko Noda in the Parliament elections of Japan on 26 December 2012?
Ans: Shinzo Abe

3. Who is the first woman President of South Korea?
Ans: Park Chung-hee

4. Which bill that will give intelligence and security agencies sweeping powers to conduct surveillance passed by Pakistan’s National Assembly on 20 December 2012?
Ans: Fair Trial Bill 2012

5) Which state the Pakistan Government officially recognised  as an independent state on 26 December 2012?
Ans:Kosovo

INDIA & WORLD

1. Who is the Bihar’s State Chief minister recently among Foreign Policy magazine “The Top 100 Global Thinkers”  List ?
Ans: Nitish Kumar

2. Which Country  had agreed to set up barbed wire Fencing along Tripura border on  2 December 2012?
Ans: Bangladesh

3. Which country signed with India on 10 December 2012 on five pacts?
Ans: Ukraine

4. According to the 2011 Britain population census record what percent of the Hindu religion became a third-largest religion in the Nation’s ?
Ans: 1.5 %

5. According to the which survey report India nonetheless has one of the largest Muslim populations in the world ?
Ans: Pew research

NATIONAL

1. Which Criminal Law bill Passed by Lok Sabha on 4 December 2012 ?
Ans: Sexual Assault a Gender-Neutral Offence

2. On 7 December 2012 The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) cleared a major expansion plan of the strategic Karwar naval base Phase II Alpha of the project Seabird in ——
Ans: Karnataka

3. Which bill providing for quota for SCs and STs in government job promotions was on 2012 December 17 passed by Rajya Sabha?
Ans: Constitution 117th  Amendment Bill

4. The Union Government of India on 23 December 2012 constituted a three-member Commission to suggest measures for saftey of women.Who is the head of this Commiitte?
Ans: Former Chief Justice of India J.S. Verma

5. On 25 December 2012  Government of India decided to set up five-year project for restoring the overall which structure of critical sectors of India?
Ans: Cyber Security

6. Which amendment bill 2011 have been passed by Lok Sabha on 20 December 2012?
Ans: Banking Laws Amendment Bill, 2011

7. Whose commission appointed for Delhi incident victim Nirbhaya’s Case on December 2012?
Ans: Usha mehra

STATES

1. Which Scheme announced by Assam government on 12 December 2012 ?
Ans: Special Health Scheme

2. Which state Lokayukta Bill, 2012 was passed on 14 December 2012 ?
Ans: Meghalaya

3. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi was launched a major food security programme of Delhi Government on 15 December 2012. What is the name of the program?
Ans: Annshri Yojna

4. Which state government  on 17 December 2012 ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the matter of multi-crore irrigation scam?
Ans: Maharashtra

5. Which State had became the first state that announced some measures for making public transport safer via use of technology on 23 December 2012?
Ans: Karnataka

CONFERENCE

1. What is the theme of  ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit held from 20 – 21 December 2012 in New Delhi ?
Ans: ASEAN – India Partnership for Peace and Shared Prosperity

2. Which of the following country will host the Climate Conference in 2013?
Ans: Poland

AWARDS & HONOURS

1. Who was honoured with award of ‘National Tansen Samman’ for year 2011-12 for their contribution to Hindustani classical music?
Ans: Rajan and Sajan

2. Which state received the Silver Icon Web Ratna Award 2012 for its public grievance redressal website?
Ans: Bihar

3. Who received the Yuri Milner Foundation award for the work on black holes and in the discovery of a new subatomic particle believed to be the long-sought Higgs boson?
Ans: Stephen Hawking

4. Who will be honoured with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously and he is also the first Indian to got this award?
Ans: Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar

5. Who is former BBC correspondent had been conferred with Lifetime Achievement Award for 2012 on 16 December 2012?
Ans: Sir Charles Wheeler

6. Who is the Indian-origin girl won the prestigious a wildlife conservation award in South Africa ?
Ans: Afeefah Patel

7. Who was honoured with ‘Tolkappiyar’ award  by the President on 21 December 2012?
Ans: C. Govindarajanar

8. Who is the Bollywood actor  attended the Italy’s River to River Film Festival from India and honoured by the Government of Italy
Ans: Amitabh Bachchan

9. Who became the first Emirati and Arab to win the Tagore Peace Prize on 26 December 2012?
Ans: Shihab Ghanem

10. Who was honoured with Canada’s Highest Civilian Award – the Order of Canada in December 2012?
Ans: Venkatesh Mannar

SPORTS & GAMES

1. Who won the 23rd Lal Bahadur Shastri hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium New Delhi on 4 December 2012?
Ans: Air India

2. Who set the record for most goals in a calender year by scoring his 86th goal of 2012?
Ans: Barcelona’s soccer  player Lionel Messi

3. Who was named Swiss Female athlete of the year at the 2012 Credit Suisse Sports Awards on 16 December 2012 in Zurich ?
Ans: Nicola Spirig

4. Who had been named the ‘ AIFF (All India Football Federation) Player of the Year  on 20 December 2012?
Ans: Rahim Nabi

5. Who is the Indian cricketer retired from ODI’s on 23 December 2012?
Ans: Sachin Tendulkar

6. Who won the Syed Modi India Grand Prix Gold 2012 title?
Ans: Kashyap Parupalli

7. Which country won the Asian Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy 2012 in Qatar on 26 December 2012?
Ans: Pakistan

8. Who won the gold medal for India in Azerbaijan boxing tourney?
Ans: Aman Indora

9. Who won the World Tennis Championship title on 29 December 2012 in Abu Dhabi ?
Ans: Novak Djokovic

10. Who got the gold medal in  the men’s rapid fire pistol event at the 56th National Shooting Championship in New Delhi?
Ans: Vijay Kumar

11. Who is the Australian player inducted in the  International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame on 4 January 2013 at the Sydney Cricket Ground?
Ans: McGrath

ECONOMY

1. According to US intelligence counsel which country economy dominate the world economy by 2030?
Ans: India

2. According to the  International Telecommunications Communication Union (ITU) Information Society 2012 – Observe report number of cell phone connections exceeding  the world’s population by ——
Ans: 2014

3. How much amount was loss by India in the form of black money during the period 2001 to 2010?
Ans: $123 billion

4. According to an Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) survey which business group in India perceived to be India’s best-known global brand within and outside the country?
Ans: Tata Group

SCIENCE & TECNOLOGY

1. What is the name of the scientist developed Smart Phone application to easily observe the heart beat of a patient?
Ans: Jems Haythers

2. Which country scientists were developed  a new technology that allows electronic messages sent from mobile phones to be directly projected on to contact lens placed in the recipient’s eyes?
Ans: Belgian

3. What are the names of NASA’s twin probes crashed successfully onto Lunar Mountain?
Ans: Ebb and Flow

4. Which discovery top placed in Journal Science’s 2012  Top 10 list released on 22 December 2012 ?
Ans: Discovery of the Higgs Boson

5. What is the name of protein found by the Chris Ormandy, researcher of Sydney‘s Garvan Institute to makes breast cancer tumours more aggressive and resistant to treatment?
Ans: ELF5

PERSONS IN NEWS

APPOINTMENTS

1. Who was appointed as Adviser to Finance Minister of India on 6 December 2012?
Ans: Parthasarathy Shome

2. Who appointed as a Senior Security Adviser in Home ministry on 11 December 2012?
Ans: Vijay Kumar

3. Who elected as the Chair of the UN auditors panel for the year 2013?
Ans: Vinod Rai

4. Who is the first Woman president of FICCI?
Ans: Naina Lal Kidwai

5. Who is the first woman president of Chicago-based Federation of Indian Associations (FIA)?
Ans: Rita Singh

6. Who was appointed as the new chief of Border Security Force(BSF) on 18 December 2012?
Ans: Subhash Joshi

7. Who sworn as the new Chief Minister of Gujarath for 4th consecutive time on 26 December 2012?
Ans: Narendra Modi

RESIGNS

1. Who is the Singapore’s Parliament speaker resigned on 12 December 2012 over an extramarital affair with a staff member of the People’s Association?
Ans: Michael Palmer

2. Who is the Israeli Foreign Minister submitted his resignation on 16 December 2012 due to a pending indictment against him for fraud and breach of trust?
Ans: Avigdor Lieberman

DEATHS

1. Who is the world’s oldest woman died on 4 December 2012?
Ans: Besse Cooper

2. Who is the world’s tallest woman died on 4 December 2012?
Ans: Yao Defen

3. Who is the Britist astronomer and Who was a former president of the British Astronomical Association passes away on 9 December 2012?

Ans: Sir Patrick Moore

4. Who is the former Ranji cricketer ,who did the highest score in the first – class cricket died on 11 december 2012?
Ans: BB Nimbalkar

5. Who is the Sitar maestro and the receiver of Bharat Ratna passes away in San Diego on 11 December 2012?
Ans: Sitar maestro Pandit  Ravi Shankar

6. Who is the co-inventor of bar code with Bernad Silver died on 9 December 2012?
Ans: Norman Joseph

7. Who is the  the world’s oldest person and a resident of Iowa, had died on 17 December 2012 in Johnston?
Ans: Dina Manfredini

8. Who is the former hockey player and Donee of Padma Shree award died on 20 December 2012?
Ans: Leslie Claudius

VISITORS

1. Who is the Palestnian Hamas leader visited the Gaza on 6th December 2012?
Ans: haled Meshaal

2. Who is the Pakistan’s Interior Minister  visited India from 14 to 16 December 2012?
Ans: Rehman Malik

MISCELLANEOUS

1. Which country person Jiroemon Kimura (115 years)  had been named  the new oldest person in the world by Guinness World Records on 18 December 2012 ?
Ans: Japan

2. Harvard Business Review (HBR) prepared a 100 best performing global chief executives list.Who was the first among the Indian CEOs featured in this list?
Ans: Subir Raha

PLACES IN NEWS

1. Which of the following country was hit by the powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 on 7 December 2012?
Ans: Japan

ABBREVIATIONS

1. What is the full of   U N F C C C   …. ?
Ans: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

2. G A A R ………..full form?
Ans: General Anti Avoidance Rules

BOOKS IN NEWS

1. Who is the author of  Former India opener Late Pankaj Roy Book  Pankaj, Bengal`s Forgotten Hero?
Ans: Bengali sports journalist Gautam Bhattacharya

2.What is the name of a  book written by Former Chief Justice P N Bhagwati?
Ans: My Tryst with Justice

3. What is the name of the M.S. Subbulakshmi new book launched on December 2012?
Ans: M.S. Subbulakshmi – Queen of Carnatic Music

COMMITTEES

1. Whose Committee had appointed by Market regulator Sebi to frame a single set of guidelines for all types of foreign investors?
Ans: K.M. Chandrashekhar

IMPORTANT DAYS & DATES

1. When is the International Mother Tongue Day celebrated?
Ans: February, 21

JAN - 2013 CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS

INTERNATIONAL

1. On 7 January who is the country Palestinian Authority President has issued a decree renaming the organization the “State of Palestine ?

Ans:- Mahmoud Abbas

2. On 16 January 2013 Which country Cargo Ship MV Amina fled away from the waters of Sri Lanka after suffering detention by its Navy for about two months ?

Ans:- Iran

3. Which country  president signed into law the Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012 on January 2013 ?

Ans:- America

4. Which country Bar Council recently Suggested Chemical Castration for Repeated Sex Offenders ?

Ans:- Malaysia

INDIA & WORLD

1. According to the which country  2012 Home Office report, India is among 10 countries that are the main sources of illegal immigration ?

Ans:- Britain

2. On 30 January 2013  which country  Pledged Humanitarian Assistance of 2.5 Million US Dollars to Syria ?

Ans:- India

3. India asked to avoid Violence Prone Areas in which country on 19 January 2013 ?

Ans: Nigeria

4. Which two countries agreed not to allow escalation of tensions along the Line of Control (LoC) on 16 January 2013 ?

Ans:-  India and Pakistan

5. What is the name of the Tibetan Monk got sentenced to death by the Chinese Court for encouraging the self-Immolations?

Ans:-Lorang Konhok

NATIONAL

1. In how many districts Government of India launched Direct Cash Transfer Benefit (CBT) on 1 January  2013  ?

Ans:-  20 districts

2.  According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012 report which class students could read Class II text fell from 53.7% in 2010 to 46.8% in 2012

Ans:- Vth class

3. Who released the Commemorative Postage Stamps, at the Commemoration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, in New Delhi on 12 January 2013 ?

Ans:- President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee

4. Government of India how much crore of the MGNREGA linked Post Office Accounts would be used under the Direct Cash Transfer Scheme on January 2013 ?

Ans:-  3.5 Crore

STATES

1. What is the name of the  system launched by Odisha government on  2 January 2013 for citizens under the Odisha Right to Public Service Act, 2012 ?

Ans:-  Public Service Delivery System

2. In which state the first Shariat panchayat  is scheduled to be inaugurated on 3 March 2013 ?

Ans:- Punjab

3. Which state high court stayed the state government’s decision for giving 4 per cent additional reservation to Gurjar on 29 January 2013?

Ans:-  Rajasthan High Court

4.  On 20 January Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated Ghat Ki Guni tunnel at Jaipur.

CONFERENCES

1. What is the name of the 100th Indian Science Congress theme which was held from   3 to 7 January 2013 at Kolkata ?

Ans:- Science for Shaping the Future of India

2. The 43rd World Economic Forum Annual Meeting held from 23 – 27 January at —-

Ans:- Davos-Klosters in Switzerland

AWARDS & HONOURS

1. Who is the Mauritius President was received the 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award on 9 January 2013 ?

Ans:- Rajkeswur Purryag

2. Who is an Indian researcher selected for a prestigious ‘Young Investigator Scholarship Award’ for his work on a drug to cure Alzheimer’s?

Ans:- Mahaveer Golechha

3. Who got the Best Actor award at the 58th Idea Filmfare Awards held in Mumbai on 20 January 2013?

Ans:- Ranbir Kapoor

4. Who honoured with the prestigious “International Scientific Cooperation Award 2012″?

Ans:-  C N R Rao

5. Who launched a Tang Prize(Asian Noble Prize) on 28 January 2013 ?

Ans:-  Samuel Yin

6. Who was selected for the Order of Australia Medal award on 30 January 2013?

Ans:- Krishna Arora

SPORTS & GAMES

1. Who is a former India player  announced his retirement from  first class cricketer on 01 January 2013?

Ans:- Sanjay Bangar

2. Who got the CEAT  International Cricketer of the Year 2011-12 on 03 January 2013?

Ans:- Virat Kohli

3. Who won the WTA Brisbane International trophy on 5th January 2013?

Ans:-  Sania Mirza and  Bethanie Mattek

4. Who defeated the Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov to get a Brisbane International title on 06 January 2013?

Ans:-  Andy Murray

5.  Who won the Chennai Open Tennis Title on 6 January 2013 ?

Ans:- Tipsarevic

6. Which country won in the third and final Test match against Sri Lanka on 6 January 2013 ?

Ans:- Australia

7. Who is an Australian cricketer  suspended for one match and  $4500 at MCG on 07 January 2013?

Ans:-  Shane Warne

8. Who got the  FIFA Player of the Year award consecutively four times?

Ans:- Lionel Messi

9. Who got the youngest national table tennis championship award on 11 January 2013?

Ans:- Soumyajit Ghosh

10. Which country won the Test series with 2-0 between South Africa and New Zealand?

Ans:- South Africa

11. Who is from Andhra Pradesh selected to represent India at the World Cup fencing championship in Doha (Qatar), to be held from January 19 to 21?

Ans:- Y.Hala

12. To whom the International Olympics Committee (IOC) asked  to return the Olympic Bronze Medal and Certificate of 2000 Sydney Games  on 17 January 2013 after found guilty of doping?

Ans:- Lance Armstrong

13. Who won the Malaysian Open Badminton Championship Women’s singles title on 20 January 2013 ?

Ans:- Tai Tzu-ying

14. Who won the Australian Open Tennis Tournament Mens single’s title in the final on January 2013 ?

Ans:- Novak Djokovic

15. Who got the first place  in the women’s singles rankings in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on 31 January 2013?Ans:- Lee Juri

ECONOMY

1. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index Who is the 18th richest person in the  world?

Ans:- Mukesh Ambani

2. Which country company Toyota Motor appears at the top ranked in the top-1500 Global R&D investments list ?

Ans:-  Japan

3. On 29 January  2013  The Reserve Bank of India slashed Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) from 4.5% to —-

Ans:- 4 percent

4. On 23 January 2013 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that the economic growth rate of India in 2013 would be ——– ?

Ans:- 5.9 percent

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

1. NASA/ESA Astronomers had captured one of the flattest galaxies known in the universe, sitting like a silver needle in the haystack of space using Hubble Space Telescope.What is the name of the galaxy?

Ans:-  IC 2233

2. What cells in White blood cells having the capacity to kill the tumour (Cancer) cell?

Ans:-  T lymphocytes

3. What is the name of the rocket used to launch a Mars Orbiter Mission in the mid-October 2013?

Ans:-  PSLV-XL

4. How many earth size plantes are found in a Milky way Glaxy?

Ans:-  17 billion

5. What is the name of the missile successfully test fired by the Indian Navy on 09 January 2013 at Visakhapatnam?

Ans:-  Brahmos

6. What is the name of the largest Space structure found in the Universe?

Ans:-  Large Quasar Group(LQG)

7. What is the name of the underwater ballistic missile India successfully test fired on 27 January 2013?

Ans:-  K-15.

8. What is the name of the multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) weapon system, was successfully test fired from a defence base at Chandipur-on-sea on 30 January 2013?

Ans:- Pinaka

PERSONS IN NEWS

A) APPOINTMENTS

1. Who is the first minority community person appointed as a chief of the Intelligence Bureau?

Ans:- Asif Ibrahim

2. Who is appointed a deputy governor at the Reserve Bank of India on 02 January 2013?

Ans:-  Urjit Patel

3. Who is the present chairman of 20th Law Commission?

Ans:-  Justice DK Jain

4. Who is the first woman speaker and Indian-origin  elected for the Singapore’s Parliament on 08 Janauary 2013?

Ans:-  Halimah Yacob

5. Who is the new Chairman and Managing Director of Canara Bank?

Ans:-  RK Dubey

6. Who is the new executive director of Central Bank of India appointed on 11 January 2013?

Ans:-  Raj Kumar Goyal

7. Who is the Founding Chairwoman of CII’s women wing

Ans:- Suchitra Ella

8. Who is the present Secretary of State of America?

Ans:- John Kerry

9. Who is the present President of  Czech?

Ans:- Milos Zeman

B) RESIGNS

1. Who is the first woman chief justice SriLanka dismissed by the Sri Lankan President?

Ans:-  Shirani Bandamayake

C) DEATHS

1. Who is the oldest surviving woman of the world, died at the age of 115 years in a town near Tokyo, Japan on 12 Jan. 2012 ?

Ans:- Koto Okubo

2. Who is the the former all-rounder of India from Surat died on 13 January 2013 in Mumbai ?

Ans:- Rusi Framroze Surti

3. Who is the co-founder of Reditt committed suicide on 11 January 2013 ?

Ans:- Aaron Awartz

D) VISITORS

1.  Which village was visited by Mauritius  President Rajkeswur Purryag  in Bihar near patna on January 2013 ?

Ans:-  Bojeetpore

2. Who visited Vietnam on January 2013 from India ?

Ans:-  Vice President Hamid Ansari

3. Who visited the India from Bhutan on 23 January 2013?

Ans:-  Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

E)MISCELLANEOUS

1. In which case Ex-CM of Haryana Om Prakash Chautala arrested on 16 January 2013?

Ans:-Teachers Recruitment Scam

2. Who is the oldest Indian woman conquer the 6 Summits,the highest mountains of each of the six continents?

Ans:- Premlata Agarwal

3. What is the name of the Tibetan Monk got sentenced to death by the Chinese Court for encouraging the self-Immolations?

Ans:- Lorang Konhok

PLACES  IN  NEWS

1.  On 27 January 2013 In which country 233 People Killed in Night Club Fire Accident ?

Ans:- Brazil

ABBREVIATIONS

1. What is the abbreviation of WEF?

Ans:-  World Economic Forum

BOOKS IN NEWS

1. Who is the author of  “My Share of the Task : A Memoir ” Book ,which was released on 7 January 2013 ?

Ans:- General Stanley McChrystal

COMMITTEES

1. What is the name of the committee set up to recommend measures to improve laws dealing with sexual offences on 23 December 2012?

Ans:-  JS Verma

Literacy Rate in Tamil nadu

The literates exclude children in the age group 0 - 6 who are by definition treated as illiterate. The literacy rate is the number of literates per 100 population of aged 7 +.
The literacy rate for Tamil Nadu in 2011 has increased to 80.33 % from 73.45 % returned in the 2001 Census. Among the males, 86.81% are literates whereas among the females the rate is 73.86%. The corresponding rates in 2001 were 82.42% for males and 64.43% for females. It may be observed that more than three fourth of the population is literate among males in all the districts (except Dharmapuri), while more than two third of the population is literate among females in all the districts exception of 8 districts namely Dharmapuri (60.03), Krishnagiri (64.86), Tiruvannamalai (65.71), Villupuram (63.51), Salem (65.43), Erode (65.07), Perambalur (66.11) and Ariyalur (62.22). The literacy rate for India
is 74.04 for persons 82.14 for males and 65.46 for females. The 2001 rates for India stand at 64.8 for persons; 75.3 for males and 53.7 for females.
Among the districts, Kanniyakumari district has reported the highest literacy rate of 92.14% while Dharmapuri district accounts for the lowest rate of 64.71%. The five districts namely Kanniyakumari (92.14%), Chennai (90.33%), Thoothukudi (86.52%), The Nilgiris (85.65%) and Kancheepuram (85.29%) have recorded very high literacy rates. As such, 16 districts have registered higher literacy rates than the State average. Sixteen districts are below the State average.

Child Sex Ratio in Tamil Nadu

Population in the age group 0-6 in Tamil Nadu has decreased from 72,35,160 (11.59 % to the total) in 2001 to 68,94,821 (9.56 %) in 2011. Comparing with child sex ratio of 2001 Census it is noticed that 14 districts, the sex ratio was declined ranging from - 2 to – 62. It is significant to note that in Cuddalore district child sex ratio was decreased from 957 to 895 and in Ariyalur district it was decreased from 949 to 892. In eighteen districts the child sex ratio has increased ranging from 1 to 85 in 2011 Census. It is significant to note that the child sex ratio in Dharmapuri has increased from 826 in 2001 to 911 in 2011 and similarly in Salem district child sex ratio has improved from 851 to 917 with an increase of 66 points.

SABLA

The SABLA scheme aims at empowering Adolescent Girls of 11-18 years by improving their nutritional
and health status, upgradation of home skills, life skills and vocational skills. The girls will be equipped
with information on health and family welfare, hygiene and guidance on existing public services.
The following Nine Districts will be implementing the scheme first. Chennai, Cuddalore, Tiruchirappalli,
Tiruvannamalai, Salem, Coimbatore, Madurai, Ramnathapuram, Kanniyakumar

political parties in tamil nadu

Name of the party                                         Symbols

1. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam  Two Leaves

2. Bahujan Samaj Party                                   Elephant

3. Bharatiya Janata Party                                 Lotus

4. Communist Party of India                            Ears of Corn and Sickle

5. Communist Party of India (Marxist)              Hammer, Sickle and Star

6. Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam           Nagara

7. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam                       Rising Sun

8. Indian National Congress                            Hand

9. Nationalist  Congress Party                         Clock

10. Pattali Makkal Katchi                               Mango

Impact of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan- At a Glance

96.7% of all 6-14 year olds in rural India are enrolled in school. This number has held steady since 2010.

Nationally, private school enrollment has risen year after year for the 6-14 age groups, increasing from 18.7% in 2006 to 25.6% in 2011. These increases are visible in all states except Bihar.

Nationally, reading levels are estimated to have declined in many states across North India. The All India figure for the proportion of children in Std V able to read a Std 2 level text has dropped from 53.7% in 2010 to 48.2% in 2011. Such declines are not visible in the southern states.

Basic arithmetic levels estimated in ASER 2011 show a decline. For example, nationally, the proportion of Std III children able to solve a 2 digit subtraction problem with borrowing has dropped from 36.3% in 2010 to 29.9% in 2011. Among Std v children, the ability to do similar subtraction problems has dropped from 70.9% in 2010 to 61.0% in 2011.

At the All India level, children’s attendance shows a decline from 73.4% in 2007 to 70.9% in 2011 in rural primary schools.

Nationally, for rural government primary schools, data suggests that over half of all classes visited  are multigrade. For example, all India Standard 2 was sitting with one or more other classes in  58.3% of Std 2 classes in primary schools were sitting with another class. This figure is 53% for Std 4.

Between FY 2008-9 and FY 2010-11 the flow of SSA grants to schools improved significantly. however, this improvement occurred largely between FY 2008-9 and 2009-10. In fact a marginal decrease in the proportion of schools receiving grants is observed between FY 2009-10 and 2010- 11. The data suggest that schools tend to get their grants during the second half of the fiscal  year.

At the All India level, there has been a marginal improvement in the proportion of schools  complying with RTE norms on pupil-teacher ratio, from 38.9% in 2010 to 40.7% in 2011.

Nationally, the proportion of schools with no provision for drinking water remained almost the  same – 17.0% in 2010 and 16.6% in 2011.

current news

Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has launched a research centre on gastrointestinal cancer. Started by the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology , the centre would study the prevalence and incidence of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers.

A 114-year-old Japanese woman, daughter of a kimono maker, was today officially recognised as the world’s oldest female by Guinness World Records. The world’s oldest living person is a 115-year-old Japanese man in Kyoto, Jiroemon Kimura, who was born on April 19, 1897, making Japan home to both the longest living man and woman in the world.

The world’s previous oldest woman, 115 year old Koto Okubo, also Japanese, passed away in mid-January, less than a month after inheriting the title.

Chennai and Bangalore have emerged as the most-secure amongst the top eight cities, in a new report by the Tata Strategic Management Group.

The National Institute for Research and Development in Defence Shipbuilding, (NIRDESH) at Chaliyam in Kozhikode will commence a pioneer training programme – Young Officers Capsule Course from March 11.

Axis Bank and the Indian School of Business have joined hands to foster diversified leadership among women in the banking industry.

Former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has agreed to join the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (RGIIM) in Meghalaya as a visiting faculty member.

Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro took over as acting president in a ceremony rejected by the opposition after a tearful farewell to Hugo Chavez during a state funeral for the firebrand leftist.

Mukul Sangma was on Friday re-elected as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party and is set to become the 23rd chief minister of the state.

Australia beats India in first match of Azlan Shah Hockey tournament

Former West Bengal Governor and industrialist Viren J Shah died in Jordan today following a heart attack. He was 86. Shah was on a holiday to Jordan with his wife when he suffered the heart attack. His body will be brought back to Mumbai, where he lived, for cremation, family sources said. Shah was elected to Parliament from Junagadh in Gujarat in 1967 and was also member of the Rajya Sabha twice from 1975 to 1981 and from 1990 to 1996. He was the Governor of West Bengal from 1999 to 2004. He was the former Chairman and Managing Director of Mukund Ltd, engaged in steel business, and held the position for 27 years from 1972 to 1999. He was also the former treasurer of BJP.

To mark the International Women’s Day, Air India today operated an ‘All Women Crew' flight between Bangalore and Delhi. Bangalore-based Capt V. Roopa in command along with Capt. Niranjana Ashok, the first officer as co-pilot, operated the Airbus A319 flight AI 804 to Delhi.

BEST BANK EXAM COACHING CENTER IN COIMBATORE TIRUPUR TIRUNELVELI IN TAMIL NADU. CLASSES STARTS ON SOON.

SPORTS EVENTS - January - 2013

BASKETBALL
National Championship
Uttrakhand outperformed defending champions Punjab in the men’s final while Indian Railways got the better of Tamil Nadu in the women’s section to retain the title for a record ten years in a row in the National Basketball Championship.

CHESS
Tata Steel Tournament, 75th
Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the title after surviving a scare against Anish Giri of Holland. Carlsen was pushed to the wall but salvaged a half point to match Garry Kasparov’s best ever 10 points out of a possible 13 in this tournament. World champion Viswanathan Anand suffered a shocking last-round defeat against Wang Hao of China and had to be content with a joint third finish. The tournament was played at Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands).

CRICKET
Ranji Trophy
A dominant Mumbai lifted their 40th Ranji Trophy title after skipper Ajit Agarkar and Dhawal Kulkarni combined to wreck Saurshtra for an innings and 125-run victory in the five-day final that ended inside three days.

India-Pakistan ODI Series
An insipid India slumped to yet another series defeat with a pathetic display as arch-rivals Pakistan spanked the hosts by 85 runs in the second One-day International, played at Kolkata, to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Pakistan had won the first ODI at Chennai by six wickets. In the third ODI, played at New Delhi, India managed a consolation win. India won the match by 10 runs but lost the series 2-1. Nasir Jamshed of Pakistan was declared the Man of the Series. He scored 2 centuries in 3 ODIs.

South Africa-New Zealand Test Series
South Africa defeated New Zealand by an innings and 27 runs in the first at Newlands. Vernon Philander of South Africa needed only 26 deliveries to take five New Zealand wickets first time around as South Africa inflicted the lowest score on a Test side for 39 years. The only consolation for New Zealand was a maiden Test hundred from Dean Brownlie. 

It took South Africa less than a session to complete a crushing innings-and-193-runs victory in Port Elizabeth, in the second Test, and win the two-Test series 2-0. Dale Steyn took eight wickets in the match to completely decimate New Zealand. Although two Tests is barely enough to constitute a series, still this was South Africa's first whitewash win since 2008.

India-England ODI Series
India’s woeful run of losses continued after a struggling top-order failed to convert good starts even on a placid track, as England drew first blood with a thrilling nine-run victory in the first ODI, played at Rajkot.

In the second match, played at Kochi, India first posted a competitive 285, riding on captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s 72 and Ravindra Jadeja’s 61, before the bowlers skittled out the visitors for a paltry 158 in just 36 overs to win the match by 127 runs and level the five-match series 1-1. It was convincing and morale-boosting victory for the Indians who had struggled of late even in home conditions, losing the ODI series to arch-rivals Pakistan and the Test series against England.

India bundled out England for 155 runs and then went on to win the third ODI, played at Ranchi, by seven wickets.

After letting England escape from 157 for four in 40 overs to a healthy-looking 257 for seven in its allotted overs, India covered the distance riding on three half-century stands, with five wickets and 15 deliveries to spare. Rohit Sharma’s 83 pushed England to the brink of a series defeat, and Suresh Raina’s 89 not out knocked the visiting side over. The triumph gave India a series-winning 3-1 lead.

India paid the price for some poor shot selection by their top order batsmen as England rode on Ian Bell’s unbeaten century to salvage some pride by winning the fifth and final ODI by seven wickets and reduce the margin of series defeat to 3-2.

Australia-Sri Lanka ODI Series
Opener Phil Hughes scored a debut century as Australia amassed 305 for five and dismissed Sri Lanka cheaply for a 107-run victory in the opening match of the five-game one-day international series. Sri Lanka came back in the second ODI in Adelaide to win the match by eight wickets.

A fearsome spell of in-swing bowling from Nuwan Kulasekara, who took a career-best 5 for 22 and helped Sri Lanka bundle out Australia for 74 runs, with the aid of Lasith Malinga, who tore down the tail, helped Sri Lanka to win the third ODI by 4 wickets. Sri Lanka’s run chase was shaped as a straightforward one, but they lost six wickets before they reached their target. 

Moises Henriques and Xavier Doherty took three wickets each to capitalize on Phil Hughes’ unbeaten century as Australia beat Sri Lanka by 32 runs in the fifth and final ODI and share the five-match series 2-2. 

The fourth match was abandoned due to rain.

FOOTBALL
Messi wins Ballon d'Or for fourth time
Lionel Messi, still only 25, was named the world’s best player for the fourth time in a row after a year in which he finally produced his best form for Argentina as well as Barcelona. Messi was handed the FIFA Ballon D'Or award after a typically cheesy ceremony which featured a performance from a giant dancing armadillo named Fuleco, the mascot for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

TABLE TENNIS
National Championship
India's number one player Soumyajit Ghosh  became the youngest national champion after he defeated six-time winner Achanta Sharath Kamal in the final to bag the Maharaja Pitampura Cup along with a prize money of Rs 2.30 lakh.

K. Shamini avenged her last year’s loss with a victory over Poulomi Ghatak in the final to win the women’s title, comprising of prize money of Rs 1.45 lakh along with the Travancore Cup.

Men doubles: Sourav Chakraborty and G. Sathiyan.
Women doubles: K. Spoorthy and Nikhat Banu.
Mixed doubles: Utkarsh Gupta and Manika Batra.

TENNIS
Australian Open, 2013
Novak Djokovic became the first man to win three successive Australian Open titles in the professional era when he beat third seed Andy Murray in the men’s singles final.

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus won the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Li Na of China in their women's singles final match.

Men’s doubles title: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA) beat Robin Haase/Igor Sijsling (Netherlands). With this win, American twins Bob and Mike Bryan became the most successful men’s pair in Grand Slam history.
 
Women’s Doubles title: Top-seeded Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci of Italy won the first Australian Open title of 2013, beating the un-seeded Australian pair of Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua.

Mixed Doubles: Wild card entrants Jarmila Gajdosova and Matthew Ebden combined to win the mixed doubles title with a win over Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak.

Chennai Open
World number nine Janko Tipsarevic won the ATP Chennai Open with a masterful fight-back to defeat young Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the final and win the title.

EVENTS - January - 2013

8—Jharkhand’s ruling coalition partner JMM withdraws support to the Arjun Munda-led BJP government. Chief Minister Munda recommends dissolution of the Legislative Assembly. 
10—At least 101 people are killed in bombings in two cities in Pakistan, with most casualties caused by sectarian attacks in the city of Quetta.
11—The Election Commission announces Assembly elections to three north-eastern States. Polls in Tripura will be held on February 14 while Meghalaya and Nagaland will go to polls on February 23.
12—French aircraft pound Islamist rebels in Mali for a second day and neighbouring West African States speed up their plans to deploy troops in an international campaign to prevent groups linked to al Qaeda expanding their power base. France warns that the control of northern Mali by the militants posed a security threat to Europe, as heavily armed Islamist fighters swept southwards towards Mali’s capital Bamako. 
12—US President Barack Obama and Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai agree to end “most” combat operations of US troops in Afghanistan by April 2013. The two leaders also back the holding of talks between the Afghan government and Taliban leaders in Doha, Qatar. The transition of US troops to a support role by would be several months earlier than the mid-2013 deadline agreed at a NATO summit in Chicago in 2012.
14—The world’s largest gathering of people, the 55-day Kumbh congregation, begins in Allahabad, with tens of thousands of devotees, led by ash-smeared Naga ascetics, taking a dip at the Sangam—the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers.
15—Pakistan plunges into a fresh political crisis with the Supreme Court ordering the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for allegedly receiving bribes in power projects. 62-year-old Ashraf, who became Prime Minister after the exit of Yousuf Raza Gilani in June 2012, has been accused of receiving kickbacks and commission in the rental power projects (RPPs) case, as federal minister for water and power.
22—In a major blow to the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), a CBI court sentences its chief Om Prakash Chautala and his son Ajay Chautala to 10-year imprisonment for corruption, cheating and forgery in the recruitment of 3,032 junior basic trained (JBT) teachers in Haryana in 1999-2000 when Chautala was the Chief Minister.
24—David Coleman Headley is sentenced by a US court to 35 years in jail for plotting the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
27—India successfully test-fires the underwater ballistic missile, K-15 (code-named B05), off the Visakhapatnam coast, marking an end to a series of developmental trials. India is only the fifth country to have such a missile—the other four are the United States, Russia, France and China.
30—South Korea succeeds in its third attempt to put a satellite into orbit in a high-stakes test of national pride after arch-rival North Korea got there first with a rocket launch in December 2012. The 140-tonne Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV-I) blasted off from the Naro Space Centre on the south coast, reaching its target altitude nine minutes later and deploying its payload satellite. A positive outcome after successive failures in 2009 and 2010 was critical to ensuring the future of South Korea’s launch programme and realising its ambition of joining an elite global space club.

APPOINTED; ELECTED

Jeroen Dijsselbloem: Dutch Finance Minister, he has taken over as the Chairman of the key euro-zone Finance Ministers forum.


John Kerry: He has been appointed as the Secretary of State of USA. He took over from Hillary Clinton.


Y.V. Reddy:  Former RBI governor, he has been appointed Chairman of 14th Finance Commission.


Justice D.K. Jain: He has been appointed as the Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India, with a three-year term ending on August 31, 2015.   The Law Commission gives advice to the government on complex legal issues. 


Urjit Patel: He has been appointed as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India for a three-year term ending January 2016.


Rajnath Singh: He has been appointed as the President of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

RESIGNED

Arjun Munda: Chief Minister of Jharkhand.

DISTINGUISHED VISITORS

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck: King of Bhutan. He was the Chief Guest at the 2013 Republic Day parade.

Rajkeswur Purryag: President of Mauritius. He was the Chief Guest at the 11th Parvasi Bharti Divas (PBD), held at Cochin.

Bob Carr: Foreign Minister of Australia. During his visit, wide-ranging talks were held on bilateral issues as well as global developments. India and Australia also announced that they would launch negotiations on a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in New Delhi in March, which will facilitate the export of uranium to India to meet its growing energy needs.

G.L. Peiris: Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka. During bilateral talks India impressed upon Sri Lanka the need to do more to rehabilitate the Tamils displaced due to the prolonged conflict in the island nation. The two countries also signed accords on combating international terrorism and drug trafficking and avoidance of double taxation.

DIED

Aaron Swartz: Internet activist and computer prodigy, who helped create an early version of the Web feed system RSS. He was facing federal criminal charges in a controversial fraud case. He committed suicide at age 26.

MILESTONES

C.N.R. Rao: Eminent scientist and head of the Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, he has been awarded a top Chinese science award for his contribution to scientific cooperation between the two countries.  Rao, 79, founder of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore, shared the 2012 award with Herbert Jaeckle of Germany’s Max Planck Society and Russian space physicist G.A. Zherebtsov.

Shah Rukh Khan: Hindi film industry star, he has topped the inaugural Forbes India Celebrity 100 list. Actor Salman Khan is at the second spot while India’s cricket captain M.S. Dhoni is third in the list. Among the top 10 in the list are Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Kareen Kapoor, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli and Katrina Kaif.