Current Events 2010

International Current Affairs 2010

Sri Lanka abandons Tamil version of its national anthem (13^th Dec 2010)

The Sri lankan government has decided to scrap the tamil version of the national anthem in its official and state functions. This move may possibly further alienate the tamil minorities in the country. A directive to use only the Sinhalese version as been sent by the ministry as president Rajapakse pointed out that no country uses two versions of the anthem.

China reveals world’s fastest train (8^th Dec 2010)

China unveiled its new high speed train CRH380 that can clock a maximum speed of 486.1 kmph. It is said to be much faster than even the bullet trains of Japan. At a cruising speed of 380 this is certainly a major accomplishment. China on its part has gone ahead and is now working on a model that is expected to clock 600kmph.

Pakistan’s Initiative against Terrorism (23th Nov 2010)

Pakistan has been the victim of international terrorism in the past few months. As a result of this, a top US official recently said that Islamabad should begin to crack down on terrorists and terrorist groups operational within the country immediately. Barrack Obama, President of the United States of America has also agreed to this statement and feels that Pakistan has been one of the major victims of international terrorism lately. President Obama also said that Pakistan needs to take strong and immediate steps against all terrorist groups operating on Pakistani soil. Furthermore, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said that a number of terrorist groups are operating in a syndicate and working together against American interests, not just in the US but in other nations such as Afghanistan and India as well. Mr. Blake also stated that the US has welcomed every step take by Pakistan so far and that it is in full support of Pakistan as always.

Mark Zuckerberg, Times Person Of The Year (16th Nov 2010)

Times magazine has named Mark Zuckerberg as the person of the year . Mr Zuckerberg is the founder of thesmash hit social networking site Facebook and is also the world youngest billionaire currently. Although, Julian Assange the editor in chief of wikileaks was the pick of the time readers, but Zuckerberg won because of the scope and reach his website and how it has touched and remodeled our thoughts on social networking bringing the world that much more closer. Facebook has reached 500 million users this year all around the globe and the numbers are still counting.

UN’s terrorism sanctions list (16th Nov 2010)

In a recent and sudden move, a US committee took down several names of al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists off its terrorism sanction lists. The committee said that the reason for such an action was that several of the names on the sanctions list were probably dead. The committee Chairman Thomas Mayr Harting said that following this step, the committee had started investigations into how many terrorists put on the list were actually dead. This committee was set up in 1999.

Friendly neighbor China (15th November 2010)

Rising concerns over China’s assertive and aggressive attitude in the Asian continent has prompted China’s President Hu Jintao to assure all nations that China is committed to being a friendly and helpful neighbor. China has been in the news recently over its spats with neighboring nations over international borders and territories. The reason for this has been said to be China’s interests in a group of potentially resource rich islands in the Asian Pacific. Speaking to leaders at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Japan, President Hu said that China was committed to the regional policy of building good neighborliness and friendship.

New Government in Iraq (11th Nov 2010)

Prolonged warring and quarrels between rival political factions in Iraq had caused over an eight month deadlock over the issue of forming the next government. Recently, the Iraqi Prime Minister appealed to these political factions to work together and unite following his acceptance of the President’s request to form the next government. Senior officials admitted that a Herculean task now lay before them, that of forming a government comprising of members of all possible political factions. The task has been made harder by the month long deadline to form the government which will preside over the country’s affair as US troops move out and power is handed back to the Iraqi people. The new government is expected to have members from all the political factions such as the Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis. Prime Minister Designate al-Maliki called upon al Iraqi citizens and politicians to help him in this difficult task.

Myanmar polls called fake (10th November 2010)

The first democratic polls in Myanmar after several years of military rule were held among complaints of threats, intimidation and accusations of the polls being a charade. In most constituencies, the poll was a competition between the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the National Unity Party (NUS). Several accusations were made by opposition parties against the USDP, claiming that they illegally collected advanced ballots. USA and UK officials also voiced their concerns about the transparency and fairness of these polls.

Rolls Royce sued by Qantas (8th November 2010)

Australian flight safety officials have recently warned that manufacturing defects have been found in the Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines. Officials further urged airlines using these engines to carry extensive checks before using them because defects present in them could lead to catastrophic failures. In the meanwhile, Qantas began court proceedings against Rolls Royce and was granted an injunction by the federal court of Australia which ensured that the airline could pursue legal action against the engine manufacturing giants.

China’s slowest growth (5 November 2010)

China had its slowest rate of economic growth in a year during the September quarter. In addition to this, a World Bank report hinted at a further decrease in its economic growth. One of the reasons for this has been the long term inflation that China has faced for almost two years. China’s industrial growth has also fallen considerably in recent times. This slow growth in China’s economy has gotten many people to believe that India might be the next economic superpower to rise because of its high levels of industrial and economic growth in recent times. Though not immediately, but experts predicted India’s rate of growth to exceed that of China’s by a considerable margin in the next five years.

India gets UNSC non-permanent seat (12 October 2010)

The biggest news on the international front for India has been its inclusion into the UNSC as a non-permanent member after a gap of 19 years. Even as India’s acclamation for a non-permanent bench on the body that includes fifteen members in total was an inevitable cessation afterwards Kazakhstan back out of the chase for the Asian bench beforehand in early January. India got an unbelievable 187 of the 191 votes in the UN General Assembly ballot on October 14th 2010. India's previous spell in the Security Council was way back in 1992. Almost immediately afterwards India's appointment, Indian agent to the United Nations Hardeep Singh Puri put it straight that New Delhi would make use of this couple of year valid span to build assurance and accord a feeling of aplomb to the five non changing associates (famously known as the P-5) - the United States of America, Russia, Britain, France and China. Considering that Brazil, a running affiliate of the United Nation Security Council, and South Africa and Germany, which got appointed with India, on October 14th were as well in contention for a permanent membership, he stated: 'Of course everybody of us will attempt to bring into play the two years we need to render our allies a feeling of aplomb and formulate trust and faith so that they are at ease with our role playing in the United Nation Security Council on a continued period of time'.

India and Mozambique sign 3 agreementss (5 October 2010)

India and Mozambique came together and signed three agreements and a credit band of 500 million United States dollars has been advanced to that nation state for works regarding the infrastructure, agronomics and power during a convention that featured President of Mozambique Armando Guebuza and Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh. Guebuza and Singh, who captivated entrustment level converses, resolved to actualize an affiliation following the lines of superior political meeting, deepening of bread-and-butter collaboration, deepening of defense and aegis collaboration, distinctively to get hold of sea lanes in opposition to piracy and, cooperation in competence building and human resource (or workforce) development. “Both of us together accord to the aforementioned Indian Ocean association and we carve up familiar issues. It is in our alternate absorption to ensure the assurance and aegis of sea lanes of communication in the Indian Ocean,” Dr. Manmohan Singh said in a collective journalist statement. India will back the enactment in preparation and setting up organizations in Mozambique to back capacity building in the coal business and will as well back the ability formation for the defense and patrolling personnel of that nation state, the Prime Minister alleged. Conveying worry over the assurance and aegis of sea lanes in Indian Ocean, Guebuza promised India it will accommodate all practical aid to safeguard them.

Indians freed from Malay traffickers: (3 September 2010)

Not less than 24 Indian men who were discovered bound up in a residence in a Malaysian boondocks were successfully freed from the arrest and two Pakistani men supposedly engaged in a human trafficking guild were detained with immediate effect. "Inquiries into the matter exposed that those people, age-old amid 20 and 30, were from Uttar Pradesh. If the reports of the media are to be trusted, the victims landed on to the capital’s intl. airport four months back, afore getting picked by the accused people who were apparently looking for workers in an industrial unit in Johor," he said. He further stated that the two men promised the Indian workers appealing wages as the bait. It is once again proved that Malaysia is a magnet for wide spread drug peddling and human trafficking. Unemployed workforce looking out for jobs is brought for added transfers to other Southeast Asian countries and to Australia.

Indians to lead FIDE: (September 2010)

Indians have already proved their metal in various sports at the international level. Tennis, Cricket, Shooting, Boxing and also Chess. After Vishwanathan Anand, another lot of Indians are about to triumph on the World Chess Podium. D.V. Sundar has been elected has the President of the world body for the sport of chess, FIDE at Russia. Apart from that, the president for the Asian Continent was Mr. Dongre and Commonwealth Chess Federation President was revealed in the name of Mr. B.S. Chahuhan, a press statement by the All India Chess Federation revealed.

Make way for the new breed: ( September 2010)

The new world power calendar for 2010 has once again predicted that New Delhi’s dominance in the world will see acceleration by 2025. Among the able coalition, the country has been placed at the fourth position afterwards the US, China and the European Union. ‘The Global Governance 2025’ was together brought out by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) of the US and the European Union’s Institutes for Security Studies (EUISS). In the current year, the US leads the lot of able countries/regions, cumulatively for about 22 percent of the worldwide supremacy. The US is chased by China at 12 percent, European Union at 16 percent and India at eight percent. India comes next to Japan, Russia and Brazil with beneath than 5 percent apiece. Following these global statistics, by 2025 the ability of the US, EU, Japan and Russia will cut down although that of China, India and Brazil will boost but this surge will see the positions unchanged. By 2025, the United States of America will continue to be the most dominating nation, but it will be possessing just a bit above 18 percent of the global authority. The US will be carefully trailed by China with 16 percent, European Union with 14 percent and India with 10 percent looking to overleap.

Mission Accomplished (19 August 2010)

The United States have finally started pulling its troops out of Iraq. President Barack Obama has confirmed that the US plans to withdraw significant number of combat troops from Iraq stating that the war was nearing an end. The remaining force of 50,000 soldiers will train Iraqi security forces and provide security for ongoing US Diplomatic efforts.

Australia with a hung parliament (23 August 2010)

Australians failed to elect a new government in the polls held in August and were left with a hung parliament. The non-result elections between Julia Gillard’s Labor and Abbott’s Liberal party led to the first hung parliament in Australia since World War II. Three key Independents are now in the process of deciding which party to support to form a government.

Pakistani cricketers tainted (30 August 2010)

The Game of cricket gets murkier with alleged match-fixer Mazhar Majeed’s claim of having rigged games played by Pakistan for three years. The British Police recovered cash from hotel rooms of Pakistani players involved in spot fixing. Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammed Asif were interviewed and their mobiles confiscated after Majeed’s confession. The Anti-Corruption Unit of the ICC will probe all 82 international matches played by Pakistan during this time. The news came as a bolt for the flood-stricken and violence-plagued country where cricket is the national sport.

Pakistan Floods (2 August 2010)

In the worst flooding disaster in 80 years the floodwaters have affected about one-fifth of the country washing away millions of hectares of crops, submerging villages and destroying roads, bridges, schools, electricity and communication setting back the infrastructure by many years. Disease is fast spreading in these flood affected areas and there have been warnings that dams in the south may burst. It is estimated that the floods in Pakistan have displaced people thrice the number displaced during partition.

Hike in Visa fee (11 August 2010)

The Obama Regime has raised H-1B and L1 visa fees to protect its borders from illegal Mexican immigrants. This additional fee would be used to build operating bases and deploy unmanned aerial surveillance to beef up U.S.-Mexico border security. The impact of this hike will be substantial on Indian IT companies that account for approximately 50,000 H1 and L1 visas per year.

Mosque near ground Zero(28 August 2010)

A New York city panel has cleared the way for the construction of a mosque near ground zero that has been causing a political uproar over religious freedom. The proposed construction of the mosque near ground zero has sparked debate all around the country. President Barack Obama, however, supported the right of having a mosque by asserting that Muslims have the same right to freedom of religion as everyone else in America.

China to launch space station(17 August 2010)

Having finished the first module of a planned space station and testing its electronics and other systems China is all set to launch it into orbit next year. Changes were being made to the rocket that will carry the 8.5ton Tiangong 1 module into a set orbit. No finishing or manning dates have been given for the space station. The official Xinhua news agency said that The Shenzhou 8 spacecraft and Shenzhou 9 and 10 spacecraft would dock with it in the second half of 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Online route(30 August 2010)

Oxford English Dictionary that has been in print for over a century may never appear in print for the future generations. The word reference Bible is likely to loose its existence to its online version. With the digital books becoming popular, the format that the 3rd edition, currently being worked upon, will take is anybody’s guess.

Japan Elections(10 July 2010)

Democratic Party of Japan suffered a heavy blow in the elections for the upper house of Japan’s Diet (parliament) when it won ten seats fewer than expected thus loosing its majority. DPJ will now have to look for new coalition partners to restore its majority in the upper house and enable it to easily pass laws through the Diet legislature. After breaking the 55 year period of dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party and naming Naoto Kan the new prime minister just a month back the results have baffled the DJP.

July 15th Summit, Islamabad(15 July 2010)

Failed talks between Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna and the Pakistani counterpart Mr. Shah Mehmood Qureshi's have once again proved that whenever efforts were initiated by India to improve the relations between the two countries. The Pak leaders and officials took deliberate steps to derail the process conveying a clear message to India that the talks can continue only on its terms.

Gulf of Spill(15 August 2010)

More than three months after the April 20 explosion aboard the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil platform, which killed 11 workers and sank the rig gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the most severe US environmental disaster ever is close to coming to an end. In an operation called “static kill” 2,300 barrels of mud was forced down into the well’s opening overnight pushing the crude back down to its source. A cap over the wellhead has shut in leaking oil since July 15 and the static kill — also known as bull heading — probably would not have worked without the cap in place.

Genocide(12 July 2010)

Omar-al-Bashir, President of Sudan has been charged with three counts of genocide over the Darfur Conflict, he was convicted by the International Criminal Court at The Hague. It is for the first time that a court has accused anyone of genocide.

Jacob Lew the new Budget Director(13 July 2010)

President Barack Obama has chosen Mr. Jacob Lew as his new budget director. This is Mr. Lews second stint with the federal budget.

Current Affairs [June 2010]

• Julia Gillard become Australia’s first women Prime Minister replacing Kevin Rudd following a sudden revolt against him.
• No more time for sorrow’ written by Robert Beeman. The author predict that terrorist will set off an atom bomb in the USA by 2013.
• Tuvalu become 187th member of IMF (International Monetary Fund). The island is located in the Pacific Ocean.
• Kyrgyzstan voted for a new constitution in a referendum. It is Central Asia’s first parliament democracy.
• G-20 summit held at Toronto, Canada.

Current Affairs [May 2010]

• G-15 summit was held at Tehran on 16-17 May.
• Bangladesh handed over Ranjan Daimary of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland to India. The group was responsible for serial bombing in Assam in 2008.
• National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Myannmar’s democracy leader Aung San Sui Kyi was abolished after deadline to re-register as a political party was over.
• EU-IMF provide a $ 1 trillion rescue package to the Greece to resolve its debt crises.
• Pakistan successfully test fired two short range ballistic missiles, Shaheen I( range 650 Km) and Ghazani (range 290 Km) capable of carrying nuclear war heads and striking Indian cities.

Current Affairs [April 2010]

• Belgium became the Europe’s first country to ban burqa.
• Pakistan’s National assembly passed a bill that takes away the President’s power to dissolve parliament, dismiss a elected government and appoint the three services Chiefs. Pakistan’s parliament passes 18th amendment which was later signed by Presient cutting President’s powers.
• USA and Russia signed Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty(START) that allowed a maximum of 1550 deployed overheads, about 30% lower than a limit set in 2002. The treaty was signed in the Progue Castle.
• Emergency was imposed in Thailand.
• Nuclear Security Summit held at Washington.It was a 47 nation summit wherein P.M. announced setting up of a global nuclear energy centre for conducting research & development of design systems that are secure, proliferation resistant & sustainable.
• PM visit USA & Brazil, a two nation tour. He attended Nuclear Security Summit in USA & India- Brazil-S.Africa(IBSA) and Brazil-Russia-India-China(BRIC) summit in Brasilia (Brazil).
• 16th SAARC Summit held in Bhutan in 28-29 April. The summit was held in Bhutan for the first time. It is the silver jubilee summit as SAARC has completed 25 years. The summit central theme was ‘Climate Change’. The summit recommended to declare 2010-2020 as the “Decade of Intra-regional Connectivity in SAARC”. The 17th SAARC summit will be held in Maldives in 2011.

Current Affairs [March 2010]

• China will launch in 2011 unmammed space mode ‘ Tiangong I’ for its future space laboratory.
• US internet giant Google close its business in China.
• India’s largest telecom service provider Bharti Airtel buy Zain’s Africa operations for an enterprise value of $ 10.7 billion (Rs 49000 crore). Currently Bharti’s non-India operations include Sri Lanka & Bangladesh.
• Russia abolished two of its eleven time Zones.

Current Affairs [February 2010]

• NATO forces carried out Marjah operation (dubbed Moshtarak) against Taliban forces in Afghanistan.
• European Union summit was held in Brussels. EU & IMF decided to giving support to Greece in its struggle to bring its ballooning budget deficit under control. EU President is Herman Van Rompuy.
• Iran’s President Mahmood Ahmedinejad declared that Iran had produced first batch of 20 % enriched uranium and now Iran became a nuclear state.
• Iran launched ‘Kavoshger -3 rocket’ capable of carrying a satellite. It carried a mouse, worms & two turtles.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

• Gilgit Baltistan region elected its first Chief Minister Mehdi Shah on the basis of Gilgit Baltistan Empowerment & Self Governance Order 2009. The new appointed CM declare the Gilgit Baltistan region as 5th province of Pakistan. The Indian Govt has, however, of the view that the region was part of J & K, and thus objected to the remarks of CM.
• Venezuela devalued it currency ‘Bolivar’.
• A massive earthquake strike Haiti, the Carribbean nation. Capital of Haiti is Port-au-Prince.
• Mahinda Rajapaksa won a second term as Sri Lanka’s President. He belongs to Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

National Current Affairs 2010

CBI seeking closure in Arushi Talwar case (13^th Dec 2010)

CBI has sought closure after being unable to comprehensively solve the Arushi Talwar murder case which has hogged the limelight for over two years now. The report claims that they have hit a road block and lack of evidence as main reasons for not being able to solve the case. However the report as named the victims father Dr Rajesh Talwar as a possible suspect.

Chandra Babu Naidu ends fast (13^th Dec 2010)

Telugu Desam Party president finally ended his hunger strike of eight days on the insistence of visiting leaders like Thambi Durai, Arunkumar, Amba Durai, Maitreya, Prakash Karat, Bardan, Om Prakash Choutala, Sharad Yadav and Ajit Singh. Mr Naidu undertook the fast citing that the Andhra Govt should revise its compensation package for the rain hit farmers of the state. The visiting leaders promised Mr Naidu that they would bring the issue to the notice of the Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh by taking an all party delegation to New Delhi.

Congress blames Sanjay Gandhi for the emergency excesses (13^th Dec 2010)

The congress party which is celebrating its 125th birthday this month has accused Sanjay Gandhi for many of the excesses committed during the emergency of 1975-77. Sanjay Gandhi received notoriety for many ruthless measures like slum clearance and mass sterilization programs. The congress has always had to walk a tight rope when it comes to defending Indira Gandhis decision to enforce emergency which led to one of the most turbulent times in Indian history since independence.

CBI seeking closure in Arushi Talwar case (13^th Dec 2010) Citibank employee Shivraj Puri accused of fraud surrenders

Citibank employee Shivraj Puri who is said to be involved in a massive fraud, finally surrendered to the police after almost 48 hrs since the incident came to light. Mr Puri who works as a relationship manager has been accused of siphoning of money to the tune of 400 crores from atleast 20 clients to other fictitious accounts.

Opposition unrelenting on its demand in JPC probe (13^th Dec 2010)

The opposition has been steadfast in its demand for the JPC with regard to the 2G scam. The PM Dr Manmohan Singh had earlier offered to appear himself before the PAC headed by BJP stalwart Mr. Murali Manohar Joshi. The opposition still feels the JPC would be the best option that would help to bring this case to its logical conclusion.

Human rights activist Dr Binayak Sen convicted, gets life term (13^th Dec 2010)

The session’s court of Raipur has convicted Dr Binayak Sen and three others on grounds of sedition and conspiracy thereby sentencing them for life due to their links with the Maoists. Dr Sen has been held guilty under Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, of being a conduit between Naxals and of meeting Narayan Sanyal in jail. The trio has also been convicted under provisions of section 124 IPC (sedition) and 120 B IPC (conspiracy). Dr Sen is a pediatrician and alumni of Christian medical college. The 58 year old doctor has provided over 28 years of selfless service to the poorer sections of Chattisgarh.

Prices of onions hit through the roof (13^th Dec 2010)

The prices of onions have undergone a steep rise with a kg costing close to Rs 80 in the national capital and its surrounding areas. Other parts of India too have started feeling the pressure and the prices are continuously shooting up. The Government on it part has suspended the export of onions until January in an attempt to bring down the prices. According to traders, they are attributing the supply crunch due to torrential downpours in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Southern states which has lead to a poor yield.

Indias GSLV vehicle fails during launch. (13^th Dec 2010)

ISRO suffered a serious setback when its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F06) failed on its course, forcing the team at SriHarikota to abort the mission and self destruct the launch vehicle. The vehicles on board computer lost control of the actuation system raising serious questions about ISROS other ambitious projects that includes a mission to the moon. The GSAT-5P satellite which the launch vehicle was supposed to send into orbit was one of the heaviest and cost ISRO 125 crores. Had it been successful, the satellite would have served the needs of the telecommunication sector and the weather department. It would have eventually replaced the INSAT-2E satellite that was sent up in 1999.

India and China set $100bn trade target by 2015 (16^th Dec 2010)

India and China have agreed upon a new $100billion trade target by 2015 which is more than the $6 billion agreed upon in 2010.With the arrival of Chinese PM Wen Jiabao accompanied by 400 Chinese business leaders in India, the two countries signed around 50 deals in power,steel ,wind energy , food and marine products and telecommunications worth $16 billion. This overtakes the $10bn of agreements signed between Indian and American businesspeople during the recent visit of US President Barack Obama.

Sensex drops 458 points (November 2010)

The Bombay Stock Exchange recently fell by a total of 458 points. The reasons for the underperformance of the Indian Equity market have been said to be the series of scams that were unearthed from mid November. Just last month, CBI officials discovered a bribe for loan scandal that involved several officials from financial firms and a few state run banks. The 10.8% rise in industrial growth since last month could not help and several indices ended with huge losses. Major loses were mainly suffered by PSUs, realty, consumer durables and healthcare.

Satyam Trial Case (2 November 2010)

The examination of the first witness in the infamous multi crore Satyam Computer accounting scam would begin from the first of November Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court. CBI officials submitted a list of six witnesses to the courts who were officials of a number of different banks. All ten accused including company founder B Ramalinga Raju were present in court during the hearing of the case. The DIG of police who operates under the department of CBI said that the agency requested permission to set up LCD projectors and screens in the court so that both parties could observe and take notes on all the documents that would be brought up in court. Since cases in the Supreme Court need to be resolved at the earliest, CBI officials submitted close to a thousand documents to the court to speed up the prosecution. The bail of the owner of company and the other 5 individuals associated has been rejected.

Baba Ramdev Temple under threat (2 November 2010)

An anonymous letter was received at the Ramdev Baba temple in Jaisalmer that contained threats to blow up the temple on November 9th. District Collector G S Kushwaha received this letter by normal post. Following this letter security around the temple and the surrounding complex was tightened by posting additional number of policeman around the temple complex. Around 5 million devotees are said to visit the temple every year.

Ashok Chavan’s fate (5 November 2010)

Disgraced Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ashok Chauhan’s would be decided after the Diwali holiday season, i.e. after November 8th said the Congress party. Recently Chief Minister Ashok Chauhan’s name had come in the Adarsh Housing Society scam. Following this allegation, Mr. Ashok Chauhan immediately offered to resign from his post. No mention of either the Adarsh Housing Society scam or the commonwealth Games fiasco was made by the Congress in its AICC session. Also present at the meeting were Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, Common Wealth Games Organizing Committee Chaiperson Suresh Kalmadi, Heavy Industries Minister and former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Maharashtra PCC President Manikrao Thakre.

Adjournment of Ajmer Dargah blast case (27 November 2010)

The hearing of the Ajmer Gargah blast case was recently adjourned to November 8 by a sessions court due to leave taken by the presiding judge. Over an 800 page charge sheet was produced before the court of the Additional Chief Judge Magistrate on the 22nd of October by the Rajasthan ATS. The five accused in the case have alleged links with the radical Hindu group Abhinav Bharat. Only one accused was brought to the court while the other two are being questioned about the Hyderabad Mecca blast case. The accused have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code like conspiracy to murder, attempt to murder and murder. Over one hundred and thirty witnesses have been cited by the prosecution of the case.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s concern (29 November 2010)

The finance minister of the country Pranab Mukherjee recently raised his fears over the rising of inflation in the country. Minister Mukherjee said that the Reserve Bank of India would take steps at its next monetary policy review to check rising prices because of increased inflation. He further added that rising food prices were solely the reason for this sudden inflation. Inflation for the month of September was estimated to be close to 8.6% much above the acceptable rate of 5%. As said by Finance Minister Mukherjee, food prices had the highest amount of inflation which in Mid October was estimated to be over 13%. Recently, Minister Pranab Mukherjee was in talks with the Reserve Bank of India Governor over the the possible rate hike action by the Central Bank. The global financial crisis, which was worsened by the total collapse of financial firm Lehman Brothers, is being said to be the reason behind the RBI’s recent reversal of its soft monetary policy that it started back in September 2008. Adding to these has been the sudden drop in industrial growth from 15.2% to 5.6%. To combat the aforementioned rise in inflation, the Reserve Bank of India has hiked its key short term lending and borrowing times several times this year.

Protest during Obama visit by Bhopal Gas tragedy victims (6 November 2010)

Victims of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy are said to be planning to stage a protest at Jantar Mantar on the 8th of November, during the time of US President Barrack Obama’s visit to the capital. Several tonnes of the poisonous gas methyl iso-cyanide, leaked from the Union Carbide Plant in Bhopal in 1984, killing over 3000 people the same night and causing the deaths of over 25000 people over the subsequent years. Five different voluntary organizations working for the gas tragedy victims recently held a press conference where they stated that they would be requesting to President Obama to use his Presidential powers to bring the Union Carbide Corporation to Indian Courts and be answerable to them. The verdict of this case many years back had found seven top officials of this corporation to be guilty but as these guilty persons were bailed out within minutes of the verdict, many people till date question the justice imparted in the case. The voluntary organizations further added that hundreds of people regularly fall sick and die every month due to the long term poisonous effects of the leaked gas on the soil and water. They further plan to ask President Obama for his help as the US government has been largely unhelpful these last few years. The sit in protest organized by the voluntary organizations is said to be comprised of over 5000 gas tragedy victims.

Third stage of Bihar polling completed (28 Oct 2010)

Polling was carried out affably in 48 electorates on 28th Oct 2010, estimating in the third appearance of Bihar Assembly elections, which witnessed an approximated 53% voter responsive. Electorates like Amnour, Taraya, Ramnagar, Balmikinagar and Patepur (Maoist followers) account about 45%-52% voting. Voters were carried by boats in the littoral areas of Raghopur Assembly electorate in Vaishali commune where the popular figure of Rabri Devi was in the tussle. The better half of RJD spearhead Lalu Prasad Yadav is as well battling from Sonepur bench in Saran constituency. More than 185 people were held during the balloting, which saw miniature incidents of affray and fracas. Unlike on a number of occasions before, this time Bihar polling did not see what it usually it experiences in terms of riots, booth capturing and other forms of unrest and violence that hampers the true and the honest spirit of competition. "Apart from this, it was nonviolent and silky," stated by Neelmani (DG of Police). Approximately sixty cars were as well detained. In excess of one crore voters will adjudge the future of six ministers (of the state) in the third stage. The following round i.e. stage 4 will be carried out on Nov. 4 2010.

UID experiences technical hiccups (Oct 2010)

In order to overcome the challenge posed by the huge figure of people (approximately 1.03 billions) in the country, the chief of the dept. stated that the 16 digit long UID numbers will be released in the next year and half or so. He added that the epicenter of its working will be in the city of Bangalore. An easy remedy to the obstacles posed by the allotment of different IDs is to have a bench where every formerly sanctioned UID are kept and a fresh one is given only afterwards verifying that is actually a unique code. Fundamentally, we charge to break an extremely tough difficulty in dispersed schemes once we have copies of the bench (for dependability) and ought to accordingly respond/keep informed the table as questions are asked. Taking the point in consideration, provided the millions of accretion objects affiliated to the web, there is no scrutiny if a prime number selected is the similar chosen by somebody else before. If this is to happen, it is an aegis aperture of the aboriginal order for web; the possibly is, nevertheless, acutely undersized. Population on another instance has proven to be a major obstacle in the development and progress course of India. UID which was anticipated to be a huge success and particularly curb this issue is yet to combat the problem itself to even get kick started.

Haryana barricades polythene bags entry (Aug 2010)

In another attempt to safeguard the environmental and not add insult to the already injured state of the planet, like the govt. of Delhi, Haryana govt. has also decided to prohibit polythene bags in the state. The ban includes a complete no-no of recycling, storage and usage (in any form) within the state. A suggestion to this aftereffect has been supported by Bhupinder Singh Hooda (the honorable Chief Minister of the state), an authorized agent said in the capital on Saturday. The resolution was taken as it was empiric that fractional forbid on use of polythene bags of a clearly defined array bracket did not crop the needed consequences. There was consistent ambiguity over the array of poly bags in exercise and it had as well been discovered that nibbling of a great number of polythene bogs had resulted in deaths of cows on a regular basis, he said. This type of thinking and resolutions are the only way through which we can combat and better the ailing state of the plant Earth. If all other cities and states like previously Delhi and now Haryana think about the hazards the polythene bags can cost, we will be having better standards of health and hygiene.

PM and Sonia Gandhi inaugurate UID: (28 Sep 2010)

The Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh and UPA Arch Sonia Gandhi shaped a record by accordingly ablution the world's aboriginal ID activity on September 29th 2010 forth with Nilekani, the arch man of the ministry is acclimated to accommodate Unique Identification Numbers for India's citizens (cumulatively well in billions), by rendering them the aboriginal collection of twelve digit figures to ten clannish. The PM as well as the UPA Chief were collectively congratulated in the presence of former Infosys headman. This ID Card is assumed to be nation’s biggest ever tech adeptness action alleged 'Aadhaar'(base), that is due to be issued to all Indians to accommodate them within a lucrative nationally accurate and absolute individual antecedent of character affidavit through an authenticity vault and that will help to accomplish supply processes transparent. Biometric following abstracts include fingerprints and an iris browse getting acclimated for the aboriginal time wherever in the planet.

Yamuna raises its bar, causes menace: (28 Sep 2010)

The baptize akin in the river rose to 206.70 accent recently, 1.87 accent aloft the crisis mark of 204.83 accent and is acceptable to go up added as neighboring Haryana would absolution added water in the river, a chief official of the flood ascendancy administration said. Waters from the flood reached into vicinities like of the local areas as well (Yamuna and Sonia Vihar, Usmanpur, Jaitpur are a few). A large number of localities that reside in the areas forth the banks of the river were apparent lined up on the footpaths on the ITO arch with whatsoever they had of their possessions. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had on Friday requested the inhibiters not to get into agitation and said all basic measures are getting put into abode to accommodated any possible occurrence. Over 100 cadre from National Disaster Response Force, were soon deployed to abetment the bounded authorities. The ascent Yamuna has affected the Northern Railways to abolish 25 trains and absent 36 others. The cancelled train were prominent ones (Kalka and Brahamaputra Mail, Shalimar, A.A. and G.N. Express, etc). The 90 trains that have to be detoured included the most heavily commuted ones and this has disrupted the life of the general public paralyzing their usual movements, a Northern Railway spokesmen stated.

Ayodha Verdict finally out, Allahabad Bench applauded: (Sep 2010)

Culminating 60 years of anfractuous proceedings, asserts and counter-claims, optimism and desolation, Allahabad HC conventions in favor of improvised Ram temple on quarreled site; the remaining of acreage to be disconnected amid Hindus & Muslims. In what is conceivably the most of eagerly anticipated judgment in contempt times, a breach adjudication dispensed out by a three-member bank of Allahabad High Court were in full abounding of the claims of the Hindu petitioners while acclimation a three-way analysis of the acknowledged land. The cardinal provided acknowledged permit to the temporary Ram temple that came up afterwards the annihilation of the acknowledged anatomy in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. The entire panel of adjudicators – the prominent faces of the country (Justice Agarwal, Khan and Sharma) – was very much in favor of the acceptance that captivated the acknowledged land was the native land of the Hindu deity. Mr. Sharma and Mr. Agarwal settled with the long-held affirmation of the Sangh Parivar and an area of archaeologists that the acknowledged anatomy cannot be advised as an Islamic place of worship as it came into actuality adjoins the credo of Islam.

Lights, Camera and Applause: (Sep 2010)

The 57th Edition of the National Film Award ceremony was concluded for the year 2009 in the month of September. The awards were given away in three groups namely, finest Feature Motion Picture Class led by Chairpersonship of Mr. Sippy, Non Feature Motion Picture Group led by Chairpersonship of Mr. Pandey, and Script on Movies beneath the Chairpersonship of Mr. S. Bandhopadhyay.

The following were the recipients of a few awards in various nominations:

1. Motion Picture: Malayalam flick – KuttySrank
2. I.G.A. for the Best first appearance movie : Hindi movie – Lahore for the Direction
3. Box office blockbuster (widespread entertainment): Hindi – 3 Idiots
4. N.D.A. for the Best motion picture on Patriotic Spirit: Hindi – Delhi 6
5. Best motion picture on Society’s Matters: Bollywood - Well Done Abba
6. Motion Picture for Kids: Tied between Keshu (Malayalam) and Putaani Party (Kannada)
7. Direction: Rituparno Ghosh for Abohoman
8. Actor: Amitabh Bachcha for Auro’s role
9. Actress: Ananya Chatterjee
10. Child’s Performance: Tollywood’s Pasanga
11. Male Singer: Rupam Islam in Bengali
12. Female Singer: Neelanjana Sarkar in Bengali

Nuclear liability bill passed (Aug 2010)

Nuclear liability bill which was adopted by Rajya Sabha has now been approved by the process of Voice vote. The session of the Parliament lasted 48 hours extra than the scheduled time so that the legislation can be easily passed and approved. A total of 18 amendments were introduced in this bill by Lok Sabha before processing it further. Soon the bill was selected for a considerable hike in the liability of operator. This liability has now become 3 times then what it was in the past and now holds a value of rupees 1500 crore’s in total. By virtue of progression of this bill and significant increase in the liability many overseas companies have shown their interests in setting up reactors in India. Special accidental care will now be provided for the employees operating in the various sections of the nuclear plants. The decision and the passing of the bill had been strongly opposed by the BJP leaders as they found it insignificant.

Swiss Bank Access (Aug 2010)

Swiss Authorities will provide information to India on cases of tax fraud and tax evasion from January 1,2011under the reworked double tax agreement (DTA) signed by India and Switzerland. The Indian Authorities can now seek information about the account holders in Swiss banks who have a case filed against them for tax evasion.

Government Intervention for CWG (28 Aug 2010)

PM and his select team of ministers takeover as CWG supervisors. Indian Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh took over the reigns of the forthcoming games in the wake of scandals and unfinished work surrounding the event. Committee of Secretaries, headed by a Cabinet Secretary, will now supervise the mega event to be held in October overtaking Organizing Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi.

Bhopal Case reopened (Aug 2010)

The Supreme court of India has reopened the Bhopal Gas leak case in response to Government’s petition for harsher punishment to the guilty for the worst tragedy of its kind in which at least 7,000 people perished within days of the release of the toxic methyl isocyanate gas at the Union Carbide pesticide plant on 3 December 1984, and a further 15,000 died later from exposure to the gas. The tragedy left countless others with lifelong damage to their health.

CSAT to replace the civil services prelims (Aug 2010)

The new Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) will replace the existing civil services (preliminary) examination from 2011. The new scheme will test the candidates for their aptitude for civil services as well as their ethical and moral dimension of decision-making. There will now be two common papers with equal weightage in place of one common paper (general awareness) and one optional paper (any particular subject of choice). The civil services main exam and the interview will remain the same as of now.

Rahul creates controversy (Aug 2010)

Wherein one place Mamta Banerjee is speaking in the favour of naxals and now Rahul Gandhi is sharing a dias with a suspected Maoist , this is the approach of the government in the fight against naxals.

Member Parliament salaries hiked (Aug 2010)

Parliament recently in Delhi has made a decision to increase the salaries of MPs. A hike of about rupees 35000 will be introduced in the salary of each MPs thus taking it from figures like 20,000 to 55,000 or so. Because daily allowance has an important role to play hence parliament has also decided to exactly double the allowances issued daily to each Member of Parliament. Hence daily allowance of rupees 1000 will now become 2000. This daily allowance will be issued only when the parliament session is in progress. Other than the daily allowances the official expenses for every office per month have now been considerably raised and touch a 50,000 amount. That is not all the travel and conveyance charge issued will now become 4 times which were earlier around rupees 1,00,000. Retired members will now get a monthly pension of around rupees 20,000 which was around 10,000 in the past times.

Commonwealth with less green (Aug 2010)

Approximately 40,000 trees have been either felled or transplanted for Delhi’s preparation of Commonwealth Games 2010. Apart from the financial burden of creating world class infrastructure and transport facilities Delhites have to bear the loss of its green cover as the compensatory plantation cannot in any way compensate for the loss of a fully grown, mature tree.

Blackberry controversy (Aug 2010)

Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of Blackberry has finally surrendered to Indian security agencies’ demand for access to their server. The company has proposed for lawful access to its services including the messenger as well as the enterprise with immediate effect and the company would have to set up a server in India if it does not work to the satisfaction of Indian agencies. The security agencies already had access to voice data, SMS and general emails sent through Blackberry devices but Blackberry email and messaging services that are highly encrypted were major concerns for the security agencies. With this understanding in place the government has decided to serve notices to Google and Skype also to fall in line.

Direct tax code (Aug 2010)

The Government deferred the direct tax code(DTC) by yet another year to April 2012 causing yet another disappointment to the taxpayers. Women taxpayers suffered a bolt as the preferential treatment meted out to them earlier is now proposed to be withdrawn. Senior citizens, however, enjoy a higher exemption limit. The bill that replaces the Income Tax Act 1961 seeks an increase in exemption threshold of individuals from Rs.1.6 lakh currently to Rs.2lakh. The corporate taxes will be reduced to a flat 30%.

Leh hit by flood (Aug 2010)

A cloudburst on the intervening night of August 5 and 6 has led to flash floods and mudslides in the Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir. The cloudburst and the following floods have claimed over 175 lives and injured about 400 people, besides causing widespread damage to public and private property. The worst hit Chuglamsar has just turned into debris all over.

More rich than poor Indians (Aug 2010)

National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has estimated in its report, "How India Earns, Spends and Saves", that despite the economic slowdown of the last three years, the number of high-income households in India has exceeded the number of low-income households. Households with high income or earnings have grown by over 3.7% in total and now touch the mark of around 21%. That is not all also the households with low income sources have fallen by around 3.2% and gone down to a mark of 18%.

CWG Anthem (Aug 2010)

When everything is being prepared for the common wealth coming up in October then how could Music maestro A R Rahman stay away from it. Yes, the musician has launched the theme song for the Commonwealth Games 2010 that has the best lyrics covering khelo oh yaaro,,jeeto oh yaaro. During the launch of this theme song honorable Chief Minister Shiela Dixit, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and OC Chairman Suresh Kalmadi were present in the ceremony.

CWG breeding mosquitoes (Aug 2010)

The fingers are already crossed and people fear further delay in the common wealth problems. When the earlier hurdles are not getting removed and new problems are coming into view. The sincere attention is being drawn by the mosquitoes breeding in various dumps. Because of heavy rainfall in the country water is collected in almost every venue and mosquitoes have converted these venues into their favorite breeding places and are increasing the fear of dengue disease.

Yet another marine disaster (Aug 2010)

A foreign cargo ship MV Khalijia-111 which collided with MSC Chitra which was carrying about 1,200 containers with over 266 tonnes of fuel about 10 km off Mumbai harbour has spilled oil into the Mumbai seas. The collision tilted MSC Chitra vessel causing 300 containers carrying oil to tumble into the Mumbai waters creating a thick oil slick two to three kms around the vessel Chitra causing a serious threat to the marine life.

India’s Independence (Aug 2010)

August 15th, 2010 India celebrated the 63rd anniversary of its independence.

IBM Number two employer (Aug 2010)

IBM is the second largest private sector employer in India after TCS . The company has more than one lakh people on its rolls.

Noose tightening for Politicos in Sohrab case (July 2010)

Sohrab case getting murkier with CBI stepping up pressure on top Gujarat IPS Officers P.C.Pande, O.P.Mathur and Geeta Johri for their suspected involvement in scuttling the probe at the behest of former Gujarat Minister of State for home Amit Shah. Two Rajasthan BJP leaders Gulabchand Kataria and Om Mathur are also facing the CBI heat.

Sohrabuddin Sheikh was killed in a fake encounter and his wife who was a witness to her husband’s abduction was also later eliminated. The agency is investigating the police-politico nexus behind the killings.

Chidambaram confident of overcoming maoist problem in three years (July 2010)

Addressing a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for the ministry of home affairs, P Chidambaram informed that in a meeting of chief ministers of seven Naxal-affected states on July 14, a decision of unified command was agreed to namely in-- West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand -- for anti-Naxal operations. A two-pronged strategy of initiating development and police action in the affected areas was designed to overcome Maoist problem after consultations with the Naxal-affected states

Grooming for a succession? (July 2010)

Noel Tata, chairman Ratan Tata’s brother has been installed as the chairman and CEO of Tata Investment Corp and the MD in Tata International while relinquishing his executive position in Trent Ltd within the last two months. There is speculation that these moves are in line with the group’s succession plan for top job i.e. the Chairmanship of Tata Sons in 2012 when Ratan Tata steps down.

Applaud or embarrassment? (July 2010)

According to top sources from Central Vigilance Commission, fake certificates were being routinely issued to pass substandard work and material to the vendors of Commonwealth Games 2010 leading to huge gains for the contractors and vendors. All these certificates were issued without ground verification or technical examination. The compromise, herein, in the quality of materials and workmanship poses a serious threat to the sports personnel from countries all over the world lending a shameful picture of India and hence jeopardizing our ability to host such events in the future.

Valley stir (July 2010)

Following the imposition of curfew in wake of the protest by Syed Ali Geelani demanding the release of dozens of arrested separatist leaders, violence was triggered in the valley due to a spate of civilian killings by security personnel leading to an indefinite curfew being clamped in Srinagar. Educational institutions, shops, post offices, banks, public transport and other business establishments were closed as a precautionary measure. The protests are part of the separatists' 'Quit Kashmir' programme.

Current Affairs [June 2010]

• In the Global Peace Index 2010, India ranked at 128.
• 2010 Failed State Index- Somalia top the list followed by Zimbabwe, Sudan & Chad. India is ranked at 87 place out of 177 countries. Norway in ranked at the bottom of the list.
• President Rule imposed in Jharkhand.
• Amar Singh launches a new party ‘Akhil Bhartiya Lok Manch’.
• South African president Jacob Zuma visited India.
• Turkmenistan President Gurbaguly Bardimuhamedov visited India.
• Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited India. India signed 7 pacts with Sri Lanka. India will assist in building 50000 houses in the northen & eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.
• Bangladesh Govt has requested to rename the train linking West Bengal to Tripura via Banglades as ‘ Sonar Tori’. Earlier the name of the train as envisaged in the Railway Budget 2010 is ‘Epar Bangla Opar Bangla’. Sonar Tori is a collection of poems written by Rabindranath Tagore, whose 150th birth anniversary is being celebrated in 2010.
• Maharastra will become first state in the country to have a real estate regulatory authority.
• BWA- Broadband Wireless Access. The BWA spectrum was auctioned by the Govt. BWA Spectrum is essential for rolling out WiMAX services enabling hand held devices and laptops to access Intranet. It will allow firms to offer high speed Net, Web telephony & TV Services. The govt fixed Rs.1750 crore as base rate for BWA license. The auction was held for 117 rounds and in 16 days. Rs.12848 crore was the pan India BWA license price which was won by Infotel Broadband services ( in all 22 circles). The Govt auctioned the BWA license for a total of Rs.38,543 crore. Mumbai had the highest bid of Rs.2293 crore followed by Delhi with Rs.2241 crore respectively.
• India signed Civil Nuclear agreement with Canada. The agreement was signed by Manmohan Singh and Canada’s PM Stephen Harper. Canada is the 8th nation to enter into such an agreement with India. Canada served nuclear ties with India in 1974 when India conducted its first nuclear test at Pokhran in 1974. India’s nuclear power programme is based on the CANDU ( Canada Deuterium Uranium) reactor.
• India become a full fledged member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a 34 member inter governmental body that devises policies at both national & international levels to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. FATF membership will enable Indian authorities to access information on suspect accounts in nations such as Switzerland & UK. India become its 34th member.

Current Affairs [May 2010]

• Naxalites killed 47 people in a landmine blast between Dantewada and Sukma in Chattisgarh.
• Test fire of nuclear capable Agni-II missile was successfully carried out from Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa on 17th May. Agni II has a range of 2000Km. It is 20m long two stage solid propelled ballistic missile. It was developed by Advanced System Laboratories alongwith DRDO & Bharat Dynamics Ltd.
• Supreme Court in a recent judgement upheld a rule that allows the adjustment of reserved category candidate SC/ST/OBC against their quota seats even if they manage to qualify an examination for govt services on merit.
• National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is the monitoring authority for the Right to Education Act which became effective from April 1, 2010.

Current Affairs [April 2010]

• Naxals killed about 75 CRPF personal at Chintalnar-Tarmetla village in Dantewada distt ,Chhattisgarh. Government appoint E.N. Rammohan, to probe the incident.
• Uninque Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) now known as Aadhaar. It’s Chairman is Nandan Nilekani. It will assign 16 digit identification number to all residents in India.
• NTRO- National Technical Research Organisation. The organization came to limelight after allegation of phone tapping of politicians.
• Indian navy commissioned India’s first indigenously built stealth warship ‘ INS Shivalik’. The other stealth warship to be built are named as ‘INS Sahyadri’ and INS Satpura’.
• Right To Education Act is notified and will become a legally enforceable from 1 April 2010. Key features of RTE Act are : All children in 6-14 age group must get free and compulsory eduction; No child shall be held back,expelled or required to pass a board examination till Class VIII; There must be 25 % reservation for poor children even in private & minority schools; There must be one teacher for every 30 students; A child rights commission will look into violations of the RTE law.
• Govt start Census 2011. It is the 15th Census. It is in two phase. The first phase is called –House listing & Housing Census and the second phase is called decadal headcount which will be held in Feb 2011. The Registrar General of India is C Chandramouli.

Current Affairs [March 2010]

• Govt launched National Mission for Empowerment of Women aimed at inter-sectoral convergence of all pro- women programmes.
• Constitution 108th Amendment Bill 2008 commonly known as women’s reservation bill was passed by Rajya Sabha by 186 in favour 1 against 39 abstained (Current strength of Rajya Sabha is 233). The bill seeks to reserve a third of the seats on the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for 15 years on a rotational basis. It was first introduced in 1996. Sharad Joshi, an independent MP is the only MP which cast vote against the bill. In the present Lok Sabha, there are 59 women MPs out of 543 MPs. Total MLAs in 29 state assemblies in India are 4093.
• Yamunanagar (Haryana) and Vishakhapatnam (AP) are choosen for a pilot project on saving household energy by replacing incandescent lamps with CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps).
• Earth Hour 2010 has been celebrated on 27 March organized by World Wide Fund for Nature, India. Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru are official Earth Hour Cities among 15 Indian cities.
• Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia visit India in March 2010.
• Supreme Court allowed religion based 4 % reservations in Govt jobs & educational institutes in Andhra Pradesh. It extended the benefit to 14 OBC in muslims in the state. The matter is further referred to Constitutional bench of Supreme Court.
• ’Bold Kurushetra’ a joint armour exercise between India and Singapore was held at Jhansi(UP).
• Prohibition of unfair practices in technical, medical educational institutions & universities Bill is passed by Govt. It provided for 3 year imprisonment and a fine of upto Rs 50 lakh for higher education providers guilty of misleading students.
• Govt approved Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry & Operation) Bill 2010. It provides foreign universities to set up campuses in India.
• Govt amends Anti Hijacking Act 1982. It now provides for death sentence to the hijackers.
• Govt starts the scheme for creation of the National Population Register (NPR) of Indian residents. The project will cover an estimated 1.2 billion people and total cost of the project will be Rs. 3539.24 crore.
• India became 1st country in the world to have a ‘manoeuvrable’ supersonic cruise missile, when it successfully test fired 290 km range Brahmos missile.
• Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu visit India in March 2010.

Current Affairs [February 2010]

• Kirit Parikh committee , set up to review petro pricing regime, submit its recommendation. Its major recommendation are to deregulate the prices of petrol & diesel as per market prices, reduce the subsidy on LPG.
• India signed a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with the UK, which became the 8th country to enter into such a pact, since the lifting of atomic trade embargo in 2008.
• Govt set up a panel under the Chairmanship of former Justice B N Srikrishna which would consider the demand for splitting Andhra Pradesh.
• India and Denmark signed a social security pact which will relieve their workers from double taxation and provide for cooperation in areas of labour market expansion and orderly migration.
• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Saudi Arabia in Feb 2010. He was the first Indian PM in 28 years to visit the gulf country. Saudi Arabia is India’s largest supplier of crude oil ( 23 %) followed by Iran ( 17 %) and Nigeria ( 11 %). India is offering upto 10 % equity to Saudi petroleum firm Saudi Aramco in a refinery being built in Orissa. PM addressed the Shoura council of Saudi Arabia.
• Constitution 111th Amendment – Proposes to incorporate a new Part ( Part IX B) in the Constitution so as to provide for legal framework to regulate the functioning of cooperative societies. A new Article ( Article 43 B) is also proposed to be inserted in Part IV of the Constitution (Directive Principles of State Policy) for the States to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning of cooperative societies.
• Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2009 commonly known as Nuclear Liability Bill will be introduced by Govt in Parliament in Winter session 2010. The draft bill aims at limiting the liability of a nuclear plant operator to Rs. 300 crore in the eventuality of an accident. The bill provides for the penalty to be paid by the operator and not the supplier companies which would mainly be American in this case. India has entered into civil nuclear cooperation agreement with eight countries so far.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

• Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visit India in Jan 2010. She belongs to Awami League Party. The two countries signed five agreements – on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, on transfer of sentenced persons and on combating international terrorism, organized crime & illicit drug trafficking besides MOU on cooperation in the power sector and on cultural exchanges. India give Bangladesh a $ 1 billion line of credit, the biggest it has given to any country so far.
• South Korea President Lee Myung Bak visit India in Jan 2010. The two countries decided to double the bilateral trade to $ 30 billion by 2014. Four facts were signed between two countries – cooperation in peaceful use of outer space, IT, science & technology for the year 2010-12 and transfer of sentenced persons. South Korean President was also the chief guest at 2010 Republic Day Parade.
• Gujarat Local Authorities Law (amendment) Bill 2009- The Bill makes it the duty of a qualified voter to vote during elections to local bodies. Voting is compulsory, but the Bill allows voters to cast their vote in favour of none of the candidates. Election officers will declare those who fail to vote defaulter, and serve them a notice.
• India and China has decided to start joint military exercise from 2011.
• Najib Razak, Malaysia Prime Minister visit India in Jan 2010.
• Govt launched Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. Key highlights of the mission are :
  • To create an enabling policy framework for the deployment of 20,000 MW of solar power by 2020.
  • To create favourable conditions for solar manufacturing capability for indigenous production and market leadership.
  • To promote programmes for off grid applications, reaching 1000 MW by 2017 and 2000 MW by 2022.
  • To achieve 15 million sq. meters solar thermal collector area by 2017 and 20 million by 2022.
  • To deploy 20 million solar lighting systems for rural areas by 2022.
• New Governors appointed : a) M K Narayanan – West Bengal, b)Shivraj Patil – Punjab, c) Mohsina Kidwai – Jharkhand, d) Shekhar Dutt – Chhattisgarh, e) E S L Narasimhan – Andhra Pradesh.
• Govt plans to create a National Gas Highway Development Authority. The present Gas Pipeline Density in India is 3.29 Km per 1000 Sq.Km.
• Govt plans to set up a National Green Tribunal to control Carbon Emissions and pollution. It will be responsible for implementing the low carbon roadmap to be set forth in the 12th Five Year Plan.

Sports Current Affairs 2010

Sachin Tendulkar scores fifty centuries in test cricket (19th Dec 2010)

Sachin Tendulkar scored his fiftieth test century in the second innings of the first test against South Africa at the Centurion. The master blasted scored his century in196 balls with 12 fours and one six. Even thought India lost the first test Sachin’s century helped about bringing some respectability to the proceedings. Incidentally he has also been named the ICC player of the year.

Indian cricket teams wins its second test at Durban. (16th Dec 2010)

The Indian team had a poor game at the centurion where they were bundled out by an innings and twenty five runs by their South African counterparts. The second test they came back with a much more inspired performance with both bat and bowl leading to their first ever win in Durban which had always troubled them in the past. India had scored 205 and 228 in their two innings while the South Africans could score only 131 and 215 respectively.The star of the match was V.VS Laxman whose 96 helped India seal victory.

Saina Nehwal wins Honk Kong Open Super Series. (12th Dec 2010)

Indias star sportswoman Saina Nehwal rallied around from a one game deficit to win 15-21, 21-16, 21-17 over Wang Shixian of China. Saina finished of her year on a wonderful note and has an unmatched record compared to any Indian player with regard to winning the super series title.

Current Affairs Chelsea lose third match out of fourth (16th Nov 2010)

Birmingham City defeated Chelsea by a score of 1-0 at Birmingham City making this the third defeat to be suffered by Chelsea in the four matches that it has played so far. This win helped Manchester United to move up in the English Premier League rankings. Birmingham gained three points in the rankings thanks to the one and only winning goal scored by its player Lee Bowyer. Newcastle lost 5-1 to Bolton while West Ham lost 3-0 to Liverpool alongside Blackpool and Stoke who claimed their respective victories. In their game against Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea let slip past their initial lead of 2-0, to finally lose the game at a score of 3-2. The game was at a score of 2-0 till half time with Chelsea winning but a combination of lack of concentration in players and simple bad luck cost Chelsea the match.

Cricket in 2014 Asian Games (15th Nov 2010)

Rumors recently originated that cricket had been removed from the list of proposed sports and events of the 2014 Asian games. The reason for these rumors has been said to be the decision of the Olympic Committee of Asia to limit the number of sporting events in the Asian games to a maximum of 35. However, these fears proved out to be false as the OCA recently confirmed the inclusion of cricket in the list of sporting events for the Asian games 2014. For the time being cricket and karate have been confirmed as two out of the seven non Olympic events in these games while the other five are still to be decided. However, South Korean organizers are said to not be in support of this decision.

Nadal and Clijsters (Nov 2010)

Rafael Nadal continues to hold the top spot in the ATP rankings with his score being close to 11900 points while Roger Federer holds the spot of number two. On the other hand Kim Clijsters fell to the third position in the WTA rankings released recently followed by Serena Williams on the fourth position.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Nov 2010)

Following his win in the Korean Grand Prix, third position in Brazil and third position in the qualifiers of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso of Ferrari looked like the possible winner. However the title slipped out of his hands, much to his surprise and landed into the hands of Vettel making him the youngest Formula One champion in the history of F1 racing aged just 23 years.

Current Affairs A century of Medals in CWG 2010: (15th Oct 2010)

Thanks to the final in the woman badminton category that India was able to taste the sweet gland of a century tally of medals for the very first time in any CWG edition. India had tallied 38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze medals which cumulatively read 101 medals. Even though India were shattered to an 8-0 defeat by the Aussies the woman shutters’ heroics steered them to a total of medals that read 101. India finished ahead of England (142) and behind Australia (177). The culminating day (Oct 14th) saw the quest of an unimaginable 2nd place finish thanks to Jwala and Ashwini. They defeated Singapore’s Sari Shanti Mulia and Yao Lei with some ease and become the lone pair so far to win gold in women badminton (doubles). But the cherry on the cake was put by Indian badminton pioneer – Saina Nehwal. The hosts scalped addition one inclusive of a bronze medal when our table tennis masters Poulomi Ghatak and Mouma Das won in the doubles for women bronze medal final round alongside the Australian pair. Tan Zed Vivian and Peri Campbell-Innes. But the finals for the hockey men were a match to forget as they were thumped by the Kangaroos scoring 8 past their goal. Going into this match with some resilient attitude as shown in the semis, the Aussies brought them to ground by outplaying them with power play.

Master Blaster’s the Best; ICC admits:

Sachin Tendulkar (quite unsurprisingly) was shortlisted for the most decorated cricketing accolade in contempt period, an award given to the greatest cricketer for the year that is named after Sir Garfield Sobers. The Master Blaster turned out to be the second Indian to win the accolade following the success of Rahul Dravid in the same award six years before. Afterwards accumulating 1,000 runs in Test match cricket this calendar year more to the point becoming the aboriginal cricketer to score a double century in LOI cricket playing against South Africa on Feb 24th 2010 in Gwalior, Sachin completed a double of awards at the even by also winning the famous – LG People’s Choice Award. The Men in Blue had a lot extra to applaud about as their striking opener, Virender Sehwag, with 1,282 runs in the game’s longer adaptation, was chosen as the Test Cricketer of the Year and M.S. Dhoni was selected as the captain of a World Test XI. In the previous, Sehwag’s Delhi team mate as well as opening partner, Gautam Gambhir was given this privilege. Decorated Indian off-spinner, B.S. Bedi was introduced into the Hall of Fame (for ICC) forth along with the legendary West Indies’ fast bowlers Garner and Walsh and Rachael Heyhoe Flint (ex-England women cricketer) The LOI (also known as ODI) Player of the Year was bagged by the South African cricketer A.B. de Villiers.

Kangaroos see BLUE in India:

In a highly anticipated and evenly fought cricket competition between two giants of the beautiful game of cricket between India and Australia, the former proved to be good for the Aussies. The Australian team over a period of time has seen its main workforce in Gilchrist, Hayden, McGrath and others retiring had to rely majorly on the young breed of players lacking experience of play in the Indian subcontinent. India had slipped its rank down a bit from No. 1 and was in a quest to get it back. That’s what actually transpired. Thanks to the great heroics of Sachin along with the rest of his teammates India were not only able to beat the Aussies but finish it as a clean sweep which the team Down Under hadn’t experienced for quite some time. Sachin’s double ton was the highlight of the series and imperative in order to retain the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Apart from the Test Series, India also won the ODI series without losing single game (1-0). Two of the three matches were abandoned due to bad weather conditions while the sole game played, India convincingly beat the Australians thanks to a solid partnership between Suresh Raina and Mohit Tiwary. The partnership between the two batsmen helped India to chase down a total just under 300.

Current Affairs [September 2010]

• Kalmadi and Co. pocket Common man’s Wealth:

  The contempt letters of forgery and fraud in Commonwealth Games resulted in an abnormally affliction of our nation’s picture. The bulk of finances used up on modernizing the venues for Commonwealth Games accommodate a prima facie affirmation of ample calibration enticement in the alignment of Commonwealth Games. The abstracts accessible on the Commonwealth Games website reveals that the amount of refurbishing the JNU stadium was USD 215 million; the IGI Stadium USD 150 million; the Hockey stadium (named after Dhyan Chand) USD 60 million; and the Shooting Alleys USD 35 million. An absolute sum of USD 10150 million was spent on renovations. The costs incurred in the advance of the lone cricket stadium in Delhi were USD 20 million. For the LBS stadium in Hyderabad was USD 18 million, and architecture of a contemporary and technology studded stadium in the city of oranges amounted USD 19 million. It is acute that the Central Government anon adjustment a top akin analysis into this arrangement and the dealings embarked on. It is abominable that such all-embracing abusage of communal resources has taken abode in the name of the Commonwealth Games. The accusations of inducement ambit from favoritism in accolade of affairs to big-ticket appoint of accessories for training and abrupt accretion in the costs of architecture treaties.

• Bridge Collapses; Casualties cross double figures:

  Reportedly not less than 27 people were afflicted afterwards an under-construction foot over bridge burst within the close proximity of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the capital area of the Commonwealth Games, bidding the Organizing Committee (OC) to awning up by giving a statement or in other words a false sense of complacency and assurance that everything is being taken care of. The arch was to hotlink the amphitheater to parking for delegates and athletes. The Urban Development Minister, Jaipal Reddy has dismissed the pressures by quoting it is a negligible incident. The Public Works Department (PWD) has urged for an acoount of the structure from the builders. Later the aforementioned day, Organizing Committee Secretary General Lalit Bhanot addressed reporters: "We will put up a great show. He said the venues will be all set in the days to come and there would be added sprucing to accommodate top notch standards. However, the mishap is a concern to the CWG organizers, who are already nabbed amidst accuse of laziness and fraud for the XIX Edition. Previously, Mike Hooper, the main controller of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), remarked on the condition of hygiene at the Games Village as “dirty.”

• Chennai are the Super Kings of Twenty20 Cricket:

  The Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings are the champions of the second edition of the AirTel Champions League Twenty20 hosted by South Africa from September 10th to September 26th. Chennai Super Kings defeated their fellow finalists in some fashion by 8 wickets in the final of the Champions League T20 2010.Warriors had won the toss earlier and decided to bat first but bootless to account an appropriate target, but only capable to set a minimal total of mere 128 runs for 7 wickets. Only Davy Jacobs’s denticulate 34 runs were the notable contribution and was also the best from the entire batting lineup of the Warriors. Muttiah Muralidaran was the most booming bowler scalping 3 wickets for only 16 runs. Ashwin got a couple of wickets for 16 runs as well. Chennai Super Kings started off in some style by baking batting by Murali Vijay who denticulate a 58 run total. Michael Hussey fabricated 42 handy runs to the total. The Opening brace fabricated 103 runs which fabricated their way of triumph easier than it ever seemed. With this Murali Vijay became the highest run getter of the second edition of the Champions League Twenty20. He was facilitated with the Man of the Match Award. With such great triumph on the world stage, the Indian and CSK captain has silenced his critics and is still in contention to be the best ever captain in the world today.

Current Affairs [August 2010]

• Sehwag denied century

  A deliberate no ball by the Srilankan off-spinner Suraj Randiv to prevent Virendar Sehwag from completing his century in the tri-series has left a bad taste in the mouth for all cricket lovers. Indians were just short of 5 runs from destination called victory and the opening batsman VEERU was just a run away from his ton. At the same time Lankan skipper chose spinner S. Randiv to come in and bowl. On the third bowl of his spell Virender Sehwag sent the bowl out of the fence with a huge six but the turning point was that it was a no ball which defended Virender Sehwag from completing his century. As per the declaration of the match referee it was been found out that it was an intentional attempt.

• Shooting Gold

  Tejaswini Sawant created history by becoming India’s first female shooter to clinch gold at the World Shooting Championship held in Munich, Germany. The 29-year-old, who shot a score of 597/600 (100, 100, 100, 99, 99, 99), equaling the world record in the process, won the 50m rifle prone event

• Sri Lanka wins the tri series

  The host Sri Lanka’ eight wicket victory over India in Dambulla represents its 25th win in a tournament final. Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara'who won the toss decided to bat against India in the tri-series final. The Sri Lankans won the match by 74 runs in this game. With this it became the second team to win a tournament final on 25 occasions. Australia has won 52 tournament finals.

• First Indian US PGA Tour winner

  Arjun Atwal has become the first Indian Golfer to win the US PGA tour. Atwal, who started playing at the age of fourteen, became one of the leading players on the Asian Tour and the European tour. He is the the first native East Indian golfer to become a member of, and later win the U.S. PGA Tour.

Current Affairs [July 2010]

• Saina Nehwal: A smash hit

  The Indian Open Grand Prix Gold, the Singapore Open Super Series and then the Indonesian Open Super Series at Jakarta have given enough reasons to Saina to celebrate. The World No.3 defeated a fighting Sayaka Sato of Japan 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 in the badminton finals. Just two notches away from the badminton World No. 1, Saina is now indisputably India's top female athlete.

• Khel awards

  Saina Nehwal to be conferred the country’s top sporting honour-the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. While Jhulan Goswami skipper of womens cricket team, boxer Dinesh Kumar and Sandeep Singh are tipped to receive the Arjuna Awards in recognition of their outstanding achievements during the last one year, Footballer Sunil Chhetri and Deepak Mondal have also been nominated for the award that will be given away in Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29th Aug by President Pratibha Patil.

• World cup for Spain

  In a historic football victory Spain lifted their first-ever World Cup after defeating Netherlands 1-0 in Johannesburg. Andres Iniesta secured the only goal of an enthralling final against the Netherlands four minutes from the end of extra-time on Sunday leading his team to victory.

Current Affairs [June 2010]

• French Open 2010 :
  • Men’s singles – Rafael Nadal defeated Robin Soderling. He is the second person after Bjorn Borg to win 5th French Open titles.
  • Women’s singles- Francesca Schiavone (Italy) defeated Samantha Stosur (Australia). She became first Italian women to won the French open.
  • Men’s Doubles- Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic defeated Lukas Dlouhy & Leander Paes.
  • Women’s Doubles- Serena Williams & Venus Williams defeated Kveta Peschke & Katarina Srebotnik.
  • Mixed Doubles – Katarina Srebotnik & Nenad Zimonjic defeated Yavoslava Shvedova & Julian Knowle.
• Saina Nehwal defeated Choo Wong Mew to win women’s single title in Yonex-Sunrise Indian Open badminton championship. In the Men’s singles Yunus Alamsyah won the title.
• Saina Nehwal defeated Japan’s Sayaka Sato to win women’s singles title in Indonesian Open Super Series 2010.
• Indian Ronjan Sodhi won the double trap gold medal at ISSF World Cup in Lonato, Italy.
• India defeated Sri Lanka to won Asia Cup(Cricket) 2010. India won the title after 15 years i.e. it won the cup in 1995.
• Saina Nehwal won the Women’s singles title in Singapore Super Series badminton championship 2010 defeating China’s Tzu Ying Tai. It was her 2nd consecutive title.
• 3000th ODI( One day international) cricket match was played between England & Australia.

Current Affairs [May 2010]

• England won 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating Australia. The tournament was held at West Indies. Kevin Pieterson of England has been declared as Player of the Tournament.
• Australia won 2010 Women’s World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating New Zealand.
• India and South Korea were declared joint winner of 2010 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, after suspension of the final match due to heavy rains.India’s Sardar Singh has been declared as Best Player of the Tournament. Australia won the Bronze medal. The tournament was held at Ipoh (Malaysia). India had won the tournament earlier in 1985, 1991, 1995 & 2009.
• China won Thomas Cup ( Men’s Badminton) defeating Indonesia.
• In the World Youth Boxing Championship, held at Baku, Azerbaijan, India won 1 Gold & 1 Silver. Gold medal was won by Vikas Krishan and Silver medal was won by Shiva Thapa.
• India won bronze medal in the 2nd Asian Paragliding Championship held at Nishiewa, Japan.
• World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand retained his title after defeating Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the World Chess Championship 2010.

Current Affairs [April 2010]

• IPL3 season won by Chennai Super Kings defeating Mumbai Indians.
• Youth Olympics Games 2010 to be held in Singapore in Aug 2010.
• World Youth Championship was held at Baku, Azerbaijan.
• Lawn tennis legend Martina Navratilova diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
• ‘Jumbo’ chosen as 2011 World Cricket Cup Mascot.
• World Kabbadi Cup 2010- India defeated Pakistan to won World Cup Kabbadi 2010 held at Ludhiana.
• Pankaj Advani won the Asian Billiards Championship defeating Singapore’s Peter Gilchrist for the consecutive third time.
• Badminton Asia Championship, Delhi :
  • Men’s singles – Lin Dan defeated Wang Zhenguing
  • Women’s singles-Li Xiurei defeated Liu Xin.

Current Affairs [March 2010]

• Tamil Nadu defeated West Bengal to won Vijay Harare Cricket Trophy.
• Australia won World Hockey Cup 2010 defeating Germany. India ranked at 8th place.
• India won six gold medal in the Commonwealth Boxing Championship held at Delhi.
• Two new IPL teams, Kochi was auctioned for Rs 1533 crore and Pune was auctioned for Rs 1702 crore. Kochi was auctioned to Rendezvous Adventure Sports Ltd. Pune was auctioned to Sahara Adventure Sports Ltd.

Current Affairs [February 2010]

• Sachin Tendulkar became first player in the world to score a double century in ODI (One day International). He scored 200 (Not out) against South Africa.
• 11th South Asian Games 2010 : Held at Dhaka, Bangladesh from 29 Jan to 8 Feb. Originally scheduled to take place in 2009, but due to general elections in Bangladesh, the games were held in 2010. This was the third time that the Dhaka hosted the Games, thus becoming the first city to hold the games three times. 8 countries participated in the games in 23 different sports, including T20 cricket, which was introduced for the first time in SAG. The 8 countries included are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. 1The logo of the games was ‘Kutumb’, a flying doel , which is the national bird of Bangladesh. The mascot of the games featured a magpie robin, which was holding the torch to begin the games. The final medal tally include : India - 1st place with 90 G 55 S 29 B Total 174, Pakistan- 2nd place with 19 G 25 S 36 B Total 80, Bangladesh- 3rd place with 18 G 23 S 56 B Total 97.
• West Zone won Duleep Trophy ( 2009-10) defeating South Zone.
• India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar won the Asian Tour International Trophy 2010. It is his 2nd consecutive title.
• Euro 2012 to be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine.
• 2010 Winter Olympic Games were held at Vancouver, Canada. Mascot of the game was MIGA (a sea bear), QUATCHI( a sasquatch) and SUMI (animal guardian spirit). The logo of the games was Ilnaaq meaning Friend in Inuktut. There were 86 events in 7 sports. The games were held from 12 Feb to 28 Feb. Final medal tally. Canada- 14 G 7 S 5 B, Germany- 10 G 13 S 7 B, USA- 9 G 15 S 13 B.
• IOC (International Olympic Committee ) has approved ICC (International Cricket Council) bid to join the Olympic games 2020. The first time cricket was included in the Olympic games was in Paris Olympic 1900.
• 11th World Hockey Cup 2010- To be held in Delhi, India. This is 2nd WHC which India is hosting. India also hosted the WHC in 1982 at Mumbai. 12 countries participated in the tournament. WHC is held in the years between two summer Olympics. First WHC was held at Barcelona in 1971. Pakistan has won the cup four times, Netherland three times, Germany two times, India & Australia once each. India won the WHC in 1975.
• Commonwealth Shooting Championship was held in New Delhi in Feb 2010. India stood at first place with 35 Gold 25 Silver and 14 Bronze. England stood at 2nd place with 4 gold and Wales stood at 3rd place.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

• U-19 World Cup 2010 held in New Zealand from 15 – 30 Jan 2010. Javagal Srinath from India appointed as one of the match referee for the tournament.
• Australia won the U-19 World Cup for the third time defeating Pakistan. India is placed at 6th rank. Australia won the cup for the third time.
• Rafael Nadal won the Capitala World Tennis Championsip, held at Abu Dhabi defeating Robin Soderling.
• Magnus Carlsen becomes the youngest World No.1 chess player at the age of 19 years breaking the Garry Kasparov’s record when he became the world’s top ranked chess player at the age of 22 years in 1985. Magnus Carlsen is the 5th player after Kasparov, Kramnik, Topalov and V.Anand (India) to cross the 2800 ELO rating. In the Jan 2010 FIDE ranking, Carlsen stood at 1st place, Topalov at 2nd place and V Anand at 3rd place.
• Marin Cilic defeated Staniglas Wawrinka to won Men’s singles title of Aircel Chennai Open.
• Pakistan’s cricketer Shahid Afridi was banned for two T20 internationals after he was found guilty of ball tempering in a ODI against Australia.
• Corus Chess Grandmaster Tournament won by Magnus Carlsen. V.Anand of India ranked at 4th place. Hopman Cup 2010- Spain defeated Great Britain.
• Australian Open 2010 : Women’s Single- Serena William defeated Justin Henin. It is Serena’s 5th Australian Open title. It is also Serena’s 12th Grand Slam title equaling the record of Billie Jean King.
• Men’s Single- Roger Federer(Swiss) defeated Andy Murray(Britain). It is Federer’s 4th Australian Open title. It is Federer’s 16th Grand Slam title.
• Men’s Double- Mike Bryan & Bob Bryan defeated Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic.
• Women’s Double – Serena Williams & Venus Williams defeated Cara Black & L Huber.
• Mixed Double – Laender Paes (India) & Cara Black (Zimbabwe) defeated Ekterina Makasova & Jaroslav Levinsky. It is Paes’s 11th Grand Slam title.