dec,jan,feb,march,april current affairs 2013

7/27/2019 dec,jan,feb,march,april current affairs 2013

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Content: Current Affairs 2013 (December 2012,January2013,febraury 2013,March 2013, April 2013 )

Howdy ! friends . we are providing Five months currentaffairs for all competitive exam preparation ..

Source : Various Location on Web Portal .

Contains :

1. International Awareness

2. National Awareness3.States News4.Confrences5. Sports and News6. Awards and honors7. Persons In News8. Important dates9. Books and Authors10. Science and technology

11. Economy News

INTERNATIONAL

Mahama Re-elected as Ghanas President : On 10 December Ghanas incumbent President John Dramani Mahama of the rulingNational Democratic Congress (NDC) has won the countrys presidential election.Mahama took 50.70 percent of the total valid votescast, while his closest challenger, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) obtained 47.74 percent.Withhis re-election, Mahama becomes the fourth president to be elected under the Forth Republic.He had served as Ghanas vicepresident since 2009.

UN, Pakistan Launched Malala Fund : Pakistan joined forces with the United Nations on 10 December 2012 to launch a fundaimed at boosting girls education throughout the world.The fund is named for Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old Pakistani girl.Pakistans President Asif Ali Zardari also announced a $10-million donation for a global war chest to educate all girls by 2015 setup in the name of Malala Yousafzai for campaigning for girls education.

Shinzo Abe Elected As Japans New PM : The former Prime Minister and the Leader of LDP Shinzo Abe elected as a PrimeMinister with a clear victory over the Prime Minister and leader of the Democratic Party of Japan(DPJ) Yoshihiko Noda in theParliamentary Elections on 26 December 2012.The lawmakers in Japan voted in favour of Abe by 328 votes. Opponent BanriKaieda, the newly chosen leader of DPJ received merely 57 votes.

Jacob Zuma re-elected as South Africas President: South Africas ruling African National Congress on 18 December 2012 re-elected President Jacob Zuma as the party chief with a thumping majority. Mr.Zuma received the support of over 75 per cent of the


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total voting delegates at the ANC National Conference held in Bloemfontein. Juma was Deputy President of South Africa from 1999to 2005

Park elected South Korean President : Park Guen-hye, the daughter of former military dictator Park Chung-hee, beat heropponent on 19 December 2012 in the South Korean presidential elections. Park is the countrys first woman President. She is theformer head of the ruling Conservative Saenuri Party, had secured the necessary votes and defeated Moon Jae-in, of theDemocratic United Party.

Pak Cleared Anti-terror Bill : On 20 December Pakistans National Assembly passed a bill that will give intelligence andsecurity agencies sweeping powers to conduct surveillance and collect data from SMSs and emails.The National Assembly or lowerhouse of parliament approved the Fair Trial Bill 2012 after incorporating amendments proposed by the main opposition PML-Nand the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which is part of the ruling coalition led by the Pakistan Peoples Party.

U.S. House Passed Defense Bill : On 20 December US (United States) House of Representatives passed the DefenceAuthorization Act of 2013. The bill authorizing 633.3 billion dollar in defense spending for 2013, easing limits on satellite exportsand providing more Marines for embassy security.

Napolitano Dissolved Italian Parliament : On 22 December Italian President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved Parliament followingthe resignation of Prime Minister Mario Monti. Italian Government under the leadership of Mario Monti brought forward a series ofausterity reforms backed by EU and business leaders.

Morsi signed on Egypts New Constitution : On 25 December Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi signed into law a newIslamist-drafted constitution. He signed a declaration enforcing the charter late after the official announcement of the result of areferendum approving the basic law. Two-thirds of the members of the 270-seat council were elected earlier this year in a vote in

which only 12 per cent of registered voters participated. The remaining 90 were appointed by Mohamed Morsi, the Islamistpresident.

Pakistan Recognised the Republic of Kosovo : On 26 December Pakistan Government officially recognised Kosovo as anindependent state, almost five years after it declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. Pakistan is the 98th countryamong the 193 U.N-member states to recognise Kosovo .Kosovo is a small south east European state lies between Albania,Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro.

Palestinian Authority to be Named State of Palestine : On 7 January Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hassigned a decree changing the name of the Palestinian Authority to the State of Palestine," according to the organizations officialnews agency.

Pakistani Supreme Court Orders Arrest of Prime Minister : On 15 January 2013 Pakistans Supreme Court ordered the arrestof the prime minister in connection with a corruption case linked to power projects. The Supreme Court gave authorities 24 hours toarrest Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and 16 others.This is the first in the history of Pakistan to arrest a Prime Minister. Theorders of the Court came following the allegations in connection with a corruption case linked to power projects, done during his

office of the Water and Power Minister.

Obama Signed 23 Executive Orders on Gun Safety : On 16 January President Barack Obama announced 23 executive actionson gun control laws, making them stricter,which would come into effect immediately after his signatures. One of these measuresinclude requiring the target shooters to keep their guns locked and also to ban military-style assault weapons, high capacitymagazine as well as to make the background check mandatory.Obama announced that this was his attempt to keep children safe,keeping in view the massacre of Newtown where 20 first grade children along with six adults were killed.

140 Nations Agreed On Global Mercury Limits : On 19 January , More than 140 nations have agreed on the first legally bindingtreaty to curb mercury pollution.Delegates at UN discussed in Geneva approved measures to control the use of the highly toxicmetal, which is widely used in chemical production and small-scale mining, in order to limit mercury emissions.The governmentsagreed to ban the production, export and import of a range of products containing mercury by 2020.The treaty has been discussedfor four years, but it is only now that the negotiators agreed over the final version of the document. The treaty, known as theMinamata Convention on Mercury, provides controls and reductions across a range of products and processes where mercury isused, released and emitted.

Milos Zeman Elected as Czech Republic new President : On 25 January A leftist candidate Milos Zeman won the CzechRepublics first presidential election decided by direct vote.Milos Zeman, a former prime minister and head of the Citizens RightsParty, won with 54.8% of the vote.He defeated Karel Schwarzenberg, an aristocratic foreign minister with the TOP09 party, whogarnered 45.2%.Zeman replaces Vaclav Klaus, who must step down after serving the maximum of two terms.

UK, Afghan, Pakistan Leaders Hold Talks in Britain : On 4 February The leaders of Britain, Afghanistan and Pakistan pushedfor the Taliban to come to the table for peace talks to end Afghanistans protracted conflict and gave themselves a six-monthdeadline to get a deal.British Prime Minister David Cameron hosted Afghanistans President Hamid Karzai and Pakistans PresidentAsif Zardari for trilateral talks on Afghanistans floundering peace and reconciliation process.


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UNICEF Syria Crisis Humanitarian Situation Report : On 8 February According to the UNICEF (United Nations Childrens Fund)Syria Crisis Humanitarian Situation Report, The vaccination effort in collaboration with the Ministry of Health is well underway, withover 53,000 children receiving measles vaccinations, over 44,000 receiving vitamin A supplements, and over 10,000 polio dosesadministered.

Pakistan to Renamed Sindh Province to Sind : On 12 February 2013, the Sindh Assembly approved a bill to rename thesouthern Pakistani province as Sind.The assembly approved the Sindh Laws Amendment Bill of 2012, whereby the letter h will beremoved from the name of the province.

Russia Rejected U.S. Nuclear Warheads Proposals : On 14 February Russia rejected U.S. president Barack Obama proposals ,which deployed nuclear warhead delivery systems including bombers, missile launchers and nuclear submarines a cut of about60%.In 2010 Russia and the United States signed on New START agreement.The New Start treaty limits each side to no morethan 800 deployed nuclear warhead delivery systems including bombers, missile launchers and nuclear submarines a cut of about50%.

Rafael Correa Re-elected for 3rd term as Ecuadors President : On 17 February Ecuadoreans president Rafael Correa hasbeen re-elected for a third term with more than 50 percent of votes in his favour.As per the results, Rafael Correa got 56.7 percentwhile his closest competitor Guillermo could secure only 23.3 percent.Correa is a socialist leader who was first elected in 2006December and he was sworn in on 15 January 2007 as the 56th president of Ecuador.Correa was re-elected to a second term in2009.

Pakistan Hands Over Strategic Gwadar Port To China : On 18 February Pakistan and China signed an agreement to hand overcontrol of the strategic Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea to a Chinese company.Under the agreement for transfer of concessionrights, the deep sea port will remain the property of Pakistan while the Chinese company will share profits from its operation. China

Overseas Port Holdings Limited will fully assume responsibility for Gwadar port in Balochistan province.

Israels Netanyahu Announced Coalition Deal with Tzipi Livni : On 19 Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has announced acoalition deal with former Foreign Minister and the rival centrist Hatnua Party Chairwomen Tzipi Livni, at Jerusalem. Under the dealagreement, Livni will serve as the new Justice Minister and will oversee the peace efforts with the Palestinians.Tzipi Livni is anIsraeli Politician and the first women to be the leader of opposition in Israel. She is the leader of the new centrist party, Hatnuah.She served Israel as its Foreign Minister from 2006 to 2009.

Russia and Brazil Signed on Defence Cooperation Agreements : On 20 February Russia and Brazil signed a Defence, Energyand Agricultural agreements .Brazil agreed to negotiate the purchase of Russian anti-aircraft missile batteries on the condition thatRussia transfer the technology to Brazilian defense companies without restrictions.The agreements are signed by Russian PrimeMinister Dmitry Medvedev and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff .

Nicos Anastasiades Elected as Cyprus New President : On 24 February the centre-right DISY (the Democratic Rally) partyleader Nicos Anastasiades, has won the presidential elections of Cyprus with 57.5 percent votes.Nicos Anastasiades had a very easygoing victory over Communist-backed Stavros Malas who secured 42.5 percent votes in the election.

Raul Castro re-elected for Second Term as Cubas President : On 25 February Raul Castro has been re-elected as Cubaspresident officially to his last five-year term.The National Assembly of Peoples Power approved, in the capital Havana, ArmyGeneral Raul Castro Ruz as president of the Council of State, and elected Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, as its first vicepresident.Raul Castro became interim president when his brother, revolution icon Fidel, took ill in 2006. He then formally becamepresident in 2008.

UN Imposed New Sanctions on North Korea : On 7 March The UN Security Council approved a new regimen of sanctionsagainst North Korea for conducting an underground nuclear test recently, imposing penalties on North Korean banking, travel andtrade in a unanimous vote that reflected the countrys increased international isolation. The resolution, which was drafted by theUnited States and China, was passed in a speedy vote hours after North Korea threatened for the first time to launch a pre-emptivenuclear strike against the United States and South Korea.

Obama Signed Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act 2013 : On 8 March the US President, Barack Obama signedthe reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act 2013 on the eve of International Womens Day. The Violence AgainstWomen Act was first passed in 1994. Reauthorised since then, the new Act offers support to the organisations which serve to the

victims of domestic violence.

Uhuru Kenyatta Won Kenya Presidential Election : On 9 March In Kenya, Deputy Prime Minister Kenyatta has won presidentialelection with a slim margin of 50.03 percent of votes. He defeated his rival Raila Odinga.

Japan & Ten EU Countries Exempted from US Iran Sanctions Act : On 13 March The US has renewed the exemptions forJapan and ten European Union countries from tough American sanctions imposed on nations buying oil from Iran.The third six-monthly exemption to Japan, under the Iran Sanctions Act.The 10 European Union countries, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France,Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the UK, have also qualified for a renewal of the exemption from sanctionsbecause they have not purchased Iranian oil since July , 2012.


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get access to the web data.This is the second time Cispa has been passed by the House.Senators threw out the first draft, saying itdid not do enough to protect privacy.Senators had earlier rejected the first draft of this bill on the grounds that it wasnt providingenough for protecting the privacy.

Napolitano Re-elected as Italys President : On 21 April Italys Parliament re-elected Giorgio Napolitano as the ItalysPresident for second 7-year term .Giorgio Napolitano will be the first Italian president to be re-elected to serve a second term.Hegot 738 votes, far more than the 504 needed for victory.More than 1,000 national and regional lawmakers had convened to electthe next Italian president, with the overwhelming majority of them ultimately backing Napolitano.The People of Freedom party of

former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi got second place in Italy elections.He is the first President of Italy to have been a member ofthe Italian Communist Party and the first to be elected to a second term as President.Giorgio Napolitano is the 11th President of theItalian Republic since 2006.

Horacio Cartes Elected as Paraguays new President : On 22 April Businessman Horacio Cartes of the Colorado Party has beendeclared Paraguays new president.The electoral board announced that Cartes had 46.1 percent of the vote and his main rivalSenator Efrain Alegre of the ruling Liberal Party 36.9 percent.The conservative Colorados held Paraguays presidency for 60 yearsuntil leftist former Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo was elected in 2008.

French Parliament Approved Gay Marriage Law : On 23 April France parliament approved a new law to allow gay marriage.Parliament passed the bill by 331 votes for and 225 against.France has become the 14th country to allow gay marriage..

UK Approved Caste Discrimination Bill : On 25 April Britain has outlawed caste discrimination, after the House of Lords votedfor legal protection to be given to the most vulnerable, mainly in the Indian and Sikh communities.The UK now looks set to becomethe first country in Europe to outlaw discrimination based on caste.

Cuba and Venezuela Signed 51 Cooperation Projects : On 28 April Cuba and Venezuela have signed at Havana accords for 51joint projects worth two billion U.S. dollars.At the close of 13th Cuba-Venezuela Intergovernmental Meeting , Cuban President RaulCastro and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced the deals for projects in such areas as education, health, sports, cultur,food production, construction, transport, communications, energy and support of social missions.Havana and Caracas agreed tojointly invest two billion dollars to develop these projects and also signed a memorandum to establish a bilateral medium- and long-term economic agenda.The investment also covers joint ventures in vital and strategic economic areas in both countries.

Pakistan court bans Musharraf from contesting polls for life : A four-judge bench of the Peshawar high court headed by chiefjustice Dost Muhammad Khan imposed the life ban while dismissing Musharrafs appeal challenging the rejection of his nominationpapers for May 11 general election.The lifetime ban was imposed because Musharraf had abrogated the Constitution twice anddetained judges during the 2007 emergency.

INDIA & WORLD

Nitish Kumar, Hazare, Malala Among The Top 100 Global Thinkers List : On 2 December According to the United States-based Foreign Policy magazine has released its list of the 100 Top Global Thinkers from 2012. The magazine has placed theIndians in the list include Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who features way below at the 77th place, Anna Hazare who has beenplaced at the 37th position for his anti-corruption crusade in the country. 15-year-old Pakistani child rights activist Malala Yousafzaiat 6th position, Aung San Suu Kyi is ranked first in list.

Bangladesh Agreed on Zero Line Fencing along Tripura Border : On 2 December Bangladesh had agreed to set up barbedwire fencing along zero line in nine stretches on the Indo-Bangladesh border in Tripura. According to the MHA communique, fencingalong zero line was to be allowed in 9 areas.

India & Japan Signed Currency Swap Agreement : India signed a bilateral swap arrangement (BSA) with the Bank of Japan toswap their local currencies for an amount of $15 billion for a three year period on 4 December 2012.The BSA will effect from 5December 2012.

India is Among Top Five Terror-Hit Nations : The Australian think tank released The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) on 4December 2012, according to this GTI, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan were among the nations most impacted by terrorism in2011. In 2011, the Middle East, India, Pakistan and Russia were the areas most impacted by terrorism. Indias GTI rank was 4 outof the 159 countries surveyed. While Iraq stood at number1, Pakistan at number 2, Afghanistan at number 3 and Yemen wasnumber 5.

Bangalore Best Indian City To Live : Bangalore ranks better than New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata amongst Indiancities in overall global quality of living index, according to a Mercer 2012 Quality of Living Survey.Bangalores overall quality ofliving rank went up from 141 in 2011 to 139 in 2012 and is highest amongst other Indian cities.

India Ranked 94th Position in Corruption : Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tied for the first place in watchdogTransparency Internationals 2012 index of the least corrupt countries. India is on 94th position in the Corruption PerceptionsIndex. Most corrupted nations are Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia in 174th positions.


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US Extends Exemptions For India to Iran Oil Sanctions : On 8 December the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hasextended exemptions to India, China ,South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Taiwan from IranianSanctions Act mainly because of their significant reduction in oil import from Iran.The 9 countries have again qualified for anexception to sanctions outlined in Section 1245 of the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012, based onadditional reductions in the volume of their crude oil purchases from Iran.This is for the second time that countries including Indiahas received waiver from US under the Iranian sanctions act.

3 Indian Projects among Strategic- Global Infrastructure Projects List : Three Indian projects have placed in the new

yorks Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum Top 100 Strategic Global Infrastructure Projects list. GIFT city (GujaratInternational Financial Tech city), Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project (Maharashtra) and the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR)project (Andhra Pradesh).

India, Ukraine Signed on Five Agreements : India and Ukraine on 10 December 2012 signed on five agreements in New Delhito enhance cooperation including in areas of defence, Nuclear, Science and Technology and also to remove barriers in trade andcommerce.

Indians Largest Ethnic Minority Group in UK : On 11 December According to the 2011 Britain population census recordIndians are the largest ethnic minority group in the UK.With 1.5 percent of the Hindu religion became a third-largest religion in thenations. The Christian population in the country is also a drop in the statistics.. The Muslim community population in thecountrys fastest growing increased by 3 percent to 4.8.

India& Pak Signed on New Visa Agreement : The new Visa Agreement between India and Pakistan on 14th December, 2012at New Delhi. However, the Visa-on-Arrival will come into effect from 15th January, 2013. Shri Sushilkumar Shinde, Home Ministerof India and Mr. A. Rehman Malik, Pakistan Interior Minister singed on the agreement.

Cell Phone Connections to exceed the World Population by 2014 : The International Telecommunications CommunicationUnion (ITU) to be designed and released Information Society 2012 Observe report on 11 December. According to the reportnumber of cell phone connections exceeding the worlds population by 2014. Now 6 billion (hundreds of millions) cell phoneconnections they will reach 730 Millions by 2014 .Then the worlds population is 700 crore.Already in Russia 1.8 times cell phoneaccounts more than 25 million people.

Indians now Live Longer but in Poor Health in Old Age : According to the the prestigious British medical journal, The Lancet report the life expectancy (LE) at birth of an average Indian male has gone up by 15 years between 1970 and 2010. An averageChinese male is living 10 years longer than an Indian male, while a Chinese woman is living 11.5 years longer than her Indiancounterpart. An average American lives nearly 13 years longer than an Indian.

World Malaria Report 2012 : According to the WHO World Malaria Report 2012 India, the country most affected by malaria inthe South East Asian Region, is projected to see a decrease of 50-75 per cent in malaria case incidence by 2015.In South East AsiaRegion, Bhutan, Korea, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand have registered decreases of 75 per cent or more in the incidence ofmicroscopically confirmed malaria incidence rates between 2000 and 2011.

Hinduism Third Largest Religion of World : According to the Pew research survey report Hinduism is the third largestreligion of the world after Christianity , Islam and 97 per cent of all Hindus live in the worlds three Hindu-majority countries(India, Mauritius and Nepal), and nearly nine-in-ten Christians (87 per cent) are found in the worlds 157 Christian majoritycountries.In the total world population 2.2 billion Christians (32 per cent of the worlds population), 1.6 billion Muslims (23 percent) around the world as of 2010.

India & Russia signed Rs 22,000 crore Defence Deals : India and Russia signed defence deals worth around Rs. 22,000 crore($4 billion) on 24 December. According to this pact Russia will sell India 71 military helicopters for $1.3 billion and technological kitsto assemble 42 Sukhoi jet fighters for $1.6 billion.

India Pakistan Exchanged Nuclear Units Lists : On 1 January India and Pakistan exchanged their nuclear units lists , as it iscustomary since 20 years. The list which contains the names of nuclear units of two countries, are exchanged between India andPakistan as a custom and part of an agreement which prevents them from aiming the nuclear installations of each others nations.

Thousands of illegal Indian Migrants in UK : According to a 2012 UK Home Office report, India has been named along with

Pakistan, China, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Brazil and Iran as the main sources of illegal immigrationto Britain.What the report does not mention is how many of the 863,000 illegal migrants that it says are living in the UK arestudents. This is a contentious area because critics of the coalition government claim it is counting students among overallimmigrants.

World Economic Forums Global Risks Report : According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) report , India ranks lowestamong the worlds major economies for its preparedness to tackle global environmental risks and second-lowest for economicrisks.Switzerland is best placed among the worlds 10 major economies for adapting to or recovering from global economic andenvironmental risks.While India is ranked 9th in terms of its ability to tackle global economic risks, it comes last at 10th positionfor environmental risks.However, India fared relatively better at 6th position in terms of the governments risk managementeffectiveness.The US and China were ranked fourth and fifth respectively.


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Indians Top the List of Working in Dream Jobs : According to survey conducted by networking website LinkedIn,Indians haveemerged at the top of the list of people working in their dream job.The dream job league table:1. India 44 percent 2. Indonesia 42 percent 3. United Arab Emirates 35.7 percent 4. Germany 33 percent 5. Brazil 32 percent 6. Austria 31 percent 7.Switzerland 30 percent 8. USA 29 percent 9. France, Canada, Sweden, South Africa 28 percent 13. Singapore, Hong Kong 27 percent 15. Australia 26 percent 16. New Zealand 25 percent 17. UK 21 percent

India Vietnam Signed on Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises : On 15 January India and Vietnam signed an MoU aimed atbuilding capacity for developing institutional framework and identifying thrust areas and opportunities for micro, small and medium

enterprises in this country.The MoU was signed here between the Ministry of Planning and Investments of Vietnam and Ministry ofMicro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) of India .

India and Sri Lanka signed Anti-terror, Tax evasion Agreements : On 22nd January India and Sri Lanka signed twoseparate agreements on combating international terrorism and avoidance of double taxation, eyeing elevation of robust bilateralties to building of a special economic partnership.The two key accords were signed after the 8th India-Sri Lanka Joint Commissionmeeting held at New Delhi , both countries discussed enhanced cooperation in a range of areas including civil nuclear energy.At themeeting, the Indian side was led by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid while the Lankans were led by his counterpart G.L.Peiris.During the meet, both the parties also decided setting up of the Special Economic Zone at Trincomali and a textile andpharmaceutical cluster in Sri Lanka.

International Tea Producers Forum formed : On 22 January India, along with five other tea producing countries, has formedthe International Tea Producers Forum (ITPF) at Colombo.Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry D Purandesari signedthe joint communique on behalf of India along with representatives of Kenya, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Rwanda and Malawi in

Colombo.The ITPF will initially be an independent body but in future may get affiliated to Food & Agriculture Organisation of UnitedNations.

India , Bangladesh Signed Extradition and Visa Agreements: On 28 January Bangladesh and India signed an extraditiontreaty and struck a deal to relax business visa restrictions between the neighbouring countries. However, refusal provisions wereincorporated into the extradition treaty.Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde signed the agreement with his Bangladeshi counterpartMohiuddin Khan Alamgir at the end of their bilateral talks.

India Dropped to 140th Rank in Press Freedom : According to the report Reporters Without Borders India has dropped nineplaces to the 140th rank in the list of 179 countries in the latest World Press Freedom Index.China (173rd, +1) shows no sign ofimproving. Its prisons still hold many journalists and netizens, while increasingly unpopular Internet censorship continues to be amajor obstacle to access information.As last year, the list is topped by three European countries Finland, Netherlands andNorway.Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea continue to be at the bottom of the list as has been in the last three years.

India-Malaysia Double Taxation Agreement in Force : On 2 February India and Malaysia signed on double-taxation avoidanceagreement (DTAA). Dividends paid by Indian companies to Malaysian investors or entities will attract a lower withholding tax of 5

percent against 10 per cent earlier. The new agreement has also, in line with international practice, introduced a new article fortaxing capital gains from alienation of property.

India Failed To Curb Sexual Violence Against Women: According to the Human Rights Watch (HRW) World Report 2013 India has been accused of failure to curb incidents of sexual violence against women and for restrictions on right to free speech,India has a thriving civil society, free media, and an independent judiciary, the city-based rights group said in its assessment ofrights abuses in India.

Six Indian Institutes in Global 150 Top Think-Tanks : On 3 February Six Indian research institutes, including Centre for CivilSociety (CCS), are among top 150 global think tanks in the annual list released by the University of Pennsylvania for the year2012.The list was topped by Brookings Institution (United States) followed by Chatham House (United Kingdom) and CarnegieEndowment for International Peace (United States).Other Indian think-tanks featured in the list are:- Institute for Defence Studiesand Analysis , Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations , The Energy and Resources Institute , ObserverResearch Foundation and Development Alternatives.

India and Austria Signed a Social Security Agreement : On 5 February India and Austria signed a social security agreement at

Vienna, under which the Indian professionals working in Austria would be exempted from paying the social security contribution ofthe country, if such payments are already made in India. Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Austrian Minister forLabour and Social Security, Rudoulf Hundstorfer signed on the agreement.

India Pledges $100m For Mali Reconstruction : On 5 February India pledges $100m for Mali reconstruction .India hascommitted to giving $1 million for the upgrade of the Malian army with a pledge to ramp up contributions for reconstruction to $100million after the situation stabilizes.

India and China Tourists Triple Australian Visits : According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics report , Chinese and Indianvisitors, with tourist numbers from those countries tripled in the past decade.630,000 visits from Chinese tourists in 2012 comparedwith 190,000 in 2002. Indian visits went from 45,000 to 160,000 in the same period.Despite a high Australian dollar, Australias


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short-term visitor numbers were up by nearly five percent since 2011 with 6.1 million short trips made to Australia 270,000 morethan in 2011.

Special Purpose Vehicle Formed for TAPI Pipeline Project: On 7 February The Union Cabinet gave its approval for formationof the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Pipeline Project and to permit GAILIndia Ltd. to join the SPV. The four countries involved in the TAPI Gas pipeline project, signed an Inter-Governmental Agreementalong with a Gas Pipeline Framework Agreement (GPFA).Turkmenistan and Pakistan agreed to the formation of TAPl Ltd. The 1,680km pipeline will carry 90 million metric standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of gas, and is scheduled to become operational in

2018.

India and Japan to Strengthen Cooperation in Tourism Sector : India and Japan have resolved to strengthen cooperation intourism sector. This was decided at a meeting between the visiting Japanese Senior Vice-Minister of Tourism, Mr. Hiroshi Kajiyamaand Union Tourism Minister Shri K Chiranjeevi in New Delhi on 12 February 2013.

India and France Signed 22 Agreements : On 14 February France and India have signed on 22 agreements after FrenchPresident Francois Hollandes meetings with the Indian president and the prime minister in New Delhi.Both nations exchanged viewson a number of bi-lateral, regional and multilateral issues and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in order to facilitatetechnical cooperation in Railways to each other.Chairman, Railway Board, India and Chairman and CEO SNCF from the French sidesigned this MoU.Both the nations also concluded negotiations on the short range surface to Air missile to be co-produced in India.They also agreed on the need to reinvigorate economic engagement between the two countries.

India and Bangladesh Signed Land Boundary Agreement : On 16 February India and Bangladesh held the second JointConsultative Commission meeting in Dhaka .After the meeting , both countries exchanged one strip map as part of the process ofthe implementation of the agreement signed to resolve land boundary issues between them.In addition, two MOUs were also signed

for the construction of a rail link to connect Akhaura in Bangladesh to Agartala in India and for setting up a thinktank to be calledBangladesh-India Foundation.The India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission is an interministerial body of the two countriesheaded by the Minister of External Affairs of India and Foreign Minister of Bangladesh.

CBI probe Ordered into Rs 3700 crore Italian Chopper Deal Scam : In February 2010, India had inked the deal with ItalainFinmeccanica to acquire the 12 three-engine AW-101 helicopters from AgustaWestland for IAFs elite Communication Squadron,which ferries around the President, PM and other VVIPs.The deal came under the scanner of Italian agencies after allegations ofkickback given in India surfaced.The agencies arrested Giuseppe Orsi, the head of Italian defence and aerospace giant Finmeccanicaas part of their probe related to international corruption.Around 50 million euros , about 10 per cent of the deal, were alleged tohave been given as bribes to ensure that the company won the contract.On February The Defence Ministry has ordered CBI probeinto alleged scam in a Rs 3600 crore defence helicopter deal after arrest of head of Italian firm Finmeccanica on charges of bribery.

India and Britain Discussed on Nuclear Cooperation : On 19 February Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BritainPrime Minister David Cameron discussed on regional and global issues ,which included key issues of nuclear energy cooperation,security, terrorism and trade .The two sides have also decided to commence negotiations on a bilateral Civil NuclearAgreement.Britain has assured that it will extend all cooperation to any Indian probe into the multi-million-dollar helicopter scamwhich involves Italian defense giant Finmeccanicas UK-based subsidiary AgustaWestland.David Cameron announced that his

country is going to introduce sameday visa service for Indian businessmen in a bid to accelerate the bilateral trade between the twosides.

India won Kishanganga Case Against Pakistan : On 18 February the Court of Arbitration at the Hague allowed India to goahead with the Construction of the Kishanganga hydroelectric project in Gurez valley near Bandipura in North Kashmir, the courtrejected the plea of Pakistan that the construction was a violation of 1960 Indus Water Treaty.The Court of Arbitration, chaired byStephen M. Schwebel in its orders stated that India can move ahead with the diversion of water plans of Kishanganga that is atributary of Jhelum, for generation of hydro-electric power. But it restrained India from adoption of the drawdown technique offlushing for clearing the sedimentation of the run-of-the river project that had been designed and asked it to adopt a differenttechnique for generation of 330 MW power facilities.

India, South Korea Hold Security Talks : On 1 March 2013 India and South Korea hold discussions over emerging dynamics ofglobal and regional security, cooperation in cyber security, defense and space sectors and reviewing bilateral ties. ArvindGupta,Director General of IDSA, led the Indian side while Lt.G (retd.) Bang, Hyo-Bok president of KIDA and former vice armychief,represented the Korean side in the talks.

India,UK Signed MOU To Strenghen Cooperation In Earth Sciences : On March 1, India and UK signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) to strengthen their cooperation in Earth Sciences and environmental research by sharing information onmeteorology,hydrology and climate variability.The MoU between the Earth System Science Organisation of the Ministry of EarthSciences and UKs Natural Environment Research Council was inked in New Delhi in the presence of Science and TechnologyMinister S Jaipal Reddy .

India and Bhutan signed Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement : On 4 March India and Bhutan signed the double taxationavoidance agreement (DTAA), a move that will facilitate exchange of information on banking between the two nations and helpcheck tax evasion.This is the first ever DTAA for Bhutan with any country. The treaty was signed by Finance Minister PChidambaram and his Bhutanese counterpart Lyonpo Wangdi Norbum, on behalf of the Royal Government of Bhutan.


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India and Republic of Portugal Signed a Social Security Agreement : On 4 March A Social Security Agreement (SSA) wassigned between India and Republic of Portugal ,after the both countries meeting end at NewDelhi.The agreement was signed byVayalar Ravi, the Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs and Paulo Sacadura Cabral Portas, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs ofPortugal.

India Worlds Third Largest Spam Spewing Nation : On 6 March According to statistics from SophosLabs ,India has beenplaced third on the list of the countries distributing spam across the world.US is still firmly on the top, distributing more spam thanany other country in the world.China took the second spot and India the third, with 8.2 percent and 4.2 percent of the worlds

spam.

Indias Tourism Industry Competitiveness 65th in World : According to the fifth Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Reportby the WEF, India has moved up by three notches to 65th out of 140 countries in terms of the competitiveness of the travel andtourism industry.India has been ranked in the 11th place in the region and 65th overall, gaining three positions since the lastedition.

India and Romania Signed Two Agreements : On 8 March India and Romania signed on Avoidance of Double Taxation and thePrevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income.The agreement was signed after External Affairs Minister SalmanKhurshid held talks with his Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean on the entire gamut of bilateral relations, regional andinternational issues of mutual interest.

India and Bhutan Signed $100m Currency Swap Agreement : On 8 March India and Bhutan signed a currency swapagreement for up to $100 million to further economic co-operation between the two countries.The currency swap arrangement wassigned between the Reserve Bank of India and the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMAB).

Iran and Pakistan Launched Gas Pipeline Project : On 11 March Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Pakistanicounterpart Asif Ali Zardari was officially inaugurated the final construction phase of the multi-billiondollar Iran-Pakistan gaspipeline project.The 1,244-mile pipeline would each day transport more than 750 million cubic feet of natural gas to Pakistan fromIrans South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf.This Project was started from Chabahar city in Iran to Karachi in Pakistan with $7.5Billion. Initially they have an idea to extend this project to New Delhi in India but India was dropped from this project in 2009.

Britain & India Signed Agreement To Support R&D Projects : On 13 March Britain and India have signed an agreement tolaunch a joint programme to encourage industry and business in the two countries to work together towards commercialisation ofresearch leads in a range of key areas, including energy and health care.As part of the deal, Global Innovation and TechnologyAlliance (GITA) sponsored by the Indian governments Department of Science and Technology and UKs Technology Strategy Board(TSB) will support UK and Indian businesses and academics in joint R&D and innovation projects over a three-year period.

India Ranks 136 in Human Development Index : On 14 March According to the Human Development Report 2013 released bythe United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ,India has been ranked 136 among 187 countries evaluated for humandevelopment index (HDI).Norway (1st rank), Australia (2nd rank) and the Netherlands (3rd rank) lead the Human DevelopmentIndex (HDI).The other countries ranks are:- Netherlands (4th rank) , Japan (10th rank), Denmark (15th rank) , South Korea (12th

rank).

China Unveils 5-Point Formula To Improve Ties With India : On 18 March Chinas new President Xi Jinping has unveiled afive-point formula to improve relations with India, and that the resolution of the boundary dispute between the two nations wontbe easy and pending its final settlement peace and tranquility should be maintained on the border without affecting the overallties. The Xi Jinping 5 Points are :- 1. First,to maintain strategic communication and keep bilateral relations on the right track. 2.Second, we should harness each others comparative strength and expand win winwin cooperation in infrastructure, mutualinvestment and other areas. 3. Third, we should strengthen cultural ties and constantly increase mutual understanding andfriendship between our peoples. 4. Fourth, we should expand coordination and collaboration in multilateral affairs to jointlysafeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries and tackle global challenges. 5. Fifth, we should accommodateeach others core concerns and properly handle problems and differences existing between the two countries.

India Egypt Signed Seven Agreements : On 19 March In a bid to deepen ties and strengthen economic bonds, India andEgypt signed 7 agreements after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy held bilateral talks inNew Delhi.The seven agreements included a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the field of cyber security, cooperation in thefield of protection of intellectual property rights and prevention of illicit traffic of antiquities besides others.The two leaders alsoagreed to enhance cooperation in Defence and in international forums like UN.

India Signed Social Security Agreements With 18 Countries : On 20 March India has signed Social Security Agreements(SSAs) with Belgium,France, Germany (social insurance for posted workers only), Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,Hungary, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Republic of Korea, Norway, Germany, Finland, Canada, Japan, Sweden, Austria andPortugal.Bilateral labour Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) have also been signed with United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jordan,Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Malaysia and Bahrain for ensuring protection and welfare of overseas Indian workers.

India Votes Against Sri Lanka at UNHRC : On 21 March India has voted for the resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN HumanRights Council session in Geneva.The UN Human Rights Council adopted a US-sponsored resolution on human rights violation in SriLanka.The 47-member Geneva forum adopted the resolution with 25 countries in favour, including India.13countries opposed it,including Pakistan. 8 abstained and one delegation was absent.The US-backed resolution that addresses alleged war crimes by


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Lankan forces during the countrys civil war with the Tamil Tigers.The 26-year civil war that ensued, which ended with the LTTEsmilitary defeat in 2009.

Japan Grants India $2.32 Billion Aid For Infrastructure Building : On 27 March India and Japan have agreed to promotetheir bilateral strategic and global partnership especially in economic and security areas, with Tokyo granting a $2.32 billion aid forinfrastructure building. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida ,External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid discussed about bothcountries bilateral issues the meeting held at Tokyo .During the meeting Kishida unveiled a 220 billion yen (USD 2.32 billion) aid toIndia for infrastructure building and a 71-billion-yen loan ($753.17 million) for the subway project in Indias financial capital

Mumbai.

India and Singapore Signed MoU on Air Services : On 2 April India and Singapore signed a new Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) on bilateral air services arrangement in the presence of Civil Aviation Minister, Shri Ajit Singh and Minister ofTransport of Singapore, Mr Lui Tuck Yew in Singapore.

India, Azerbaijan ink 3 key pacts : Aimed at creating the necessary legal framework in areas of extradition, India andAzerbaijan on 04 April 2013 inked three key pacts which also included treaties for mutual legal assistance in criminal and civilmatters.Visiting Justice Minister of Azerbaijan Fikrat Mammadov held a meeting with Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde where theextradition treaty was signed.

India and Tanzania Signed Agreement To Explore Mineral Wealth : On 6 April India and Tanzania have signed an agreementfor forging an alliance to explore mineral wealth in the African nation.The agreement was signed by the Union Minister of Steel,Beni Prasad Verma and Sospeter Muhongo, the Minister of Energy and Minerals, United Republic of Tanzania at Der es Salaam.

India and Russia signed Regulation of Co-operation Agreement : On 10 April India and Russia signed a Regulation defining

the structure, functions and procedure of the Joint Commission at Moscow.The agreement was signed by Vladimir Puchkov, Ministerof the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters and Sushil kumarShinde, the Union Minister of Home Affairs.

Two Day India-China Counter-Terrorism Dialogue on Afghanistan ended : The two-day India-China counter-terrorismdialogue ended on 12 April 2013 in Beijing China. The two nations discussed upon the ways to step up cooperation to counter terrorin Afghanistan as a follow up plan after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2014.

India Mauritius Signed MoU on Electoral Cooperation : On 12 April India and Mauritius signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) in New Delhi on cooperation in the field of Election Management and Administration. The MoU was signed byChief Election Commissioner of India, V.S. Sampath and the Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius, Mohammad Irfan AbdoolRahman.

India Mauritius Signed MoU on Electoral Cooperation : On 12 April India and Mauritius signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) in New Delhi on cooperation in the field of Election Management and Administration. The MoU was signed byChief Election Commissioner of India, V.S. Sampath and the Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius, Mohammad Irfan Abdool

Rahman.

Bangladesh Inks $1.6 Billion Power Deal with India : On 20 April India and Bangladesh signed its biggest-ever joint ventureagreement with India involving investment of $1.6 billion for 1,320 MW coal-fired power plant which is expected to be operationalin the next five years.The two countrys signed three deals under a pact to run the plant at Rampal of Bagerhat while the twoothers were Power Purchase Agreement and Implementation Agreement.A supplementary joint venture agreement floating thecompany was signed by Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) chairman Abdual Wahab Khan and NTPC Chairman andManaging Director Arup Roy Choudhury while the two others agreements were signed by officials concerned of the two countries.

Indian origin boy won spelling championship : 12 years old Indian origin boy won the very popular spelling competitionbeating another 30 competitors, held at Singapore. The name of the competition was R.B.H- The Straight Times National SpellingChampionship. The name of the boy is Ashwin Shiv Kumar, who won the top place in this championship on 27 April 2013 . He is thestudent of 6th grade at Anglo-Chinese school. He was awarded by 5000 Singapore Dollars, as a prize he got. He passed through 10stages and won the competition.

NATIONALSexual Assault a Gender-Neutral Offence Bill Passed by Lok Sabha : The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, replacing the wordrape by the phrase sexual assault and seeking to widen the scope of the offence passed by Lok Sabha on 4 December. Both menand women could soon be able to invoke the provisions of a criminal law in case of sexual assault .The amendment bill expands thedefinition so that cases of sexual assault where victims were male would fall under the same law along with cases where victimswere women.

Cabinet Approved Naval Base Phase II of Project Seabird : On 7 December The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)cleared a Rs 13,500 crore major expansion plan of the strategic Karwar naval base Phase II Alpha of the project Seabird in


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Karnataka is set to become the countrys biggest Naval base by 2025. The Karwar naval base is Indias third major naval base afterMumbai and Visakhapatnam on the east coast.

Over 7 Crore Unemployed Youth in India : According to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report an approximate 7crore youth people in India are either unemployed or under-employed. The figures were revealed by Labour and EmploymentMinister Mallikarjun Kharge in Rajya Sabha.As per results of the latest survey conducted by NSSO during 2009-10, the number ofunemployed or under-employed persons on usual status basis in the country was 95 lakhs and about six crore respectively.

Rajya Sabha Passed SC/ST Quota Bill : A Constitution 117th amendment bill providing for quota for SCs and STs ingovernment job promotions was on December 17 passed by Rajya Sabha.

Unlawful Activities Amendment Bill Passed by Rajya Sabha : On 20 December Parliament passed a bill that makeseconomic offences, including circulation of high quality counterfeit currency, a terrorist act.The Rajya Sabha passed UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2012 by voice vote while several parties. The bill was already passed by Lok Sabha.

LokSabha Approved Company Bill 2011 : On 18 December Lok Sabha passed the Companies Bill 2011 paving the way for anew modern company law.The Bill is aimed at improving corporate governance. It contains provisions to strengthen regulations forcorporate as well as auditing firms.

Banking Bill passed by Lok Sabha : The Banking Laws Amendment Bill, 2011, have been passed in the Lok Sabha on 20December .The amendments pave the way for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to issue new bank licences, and also opens door formore foreign investment into the sector.

Usha Mehra commission for Delhi incident victim Nirbhayas Case : A female physiotherapy intern student Nirbhaya beatenand gang raped in Delhi on 16 December and died on 29 December while undergoing emergency treatment in Singapore for brainand gastrointestinal damage from the assault.The government has formed a committee of enquiry under justice Usha Mehra toreconstruct the events leading to the incident identify lapses by police and other agencies and fix responsibility for the crime.

Microsoft Launches 14 Innovation Centres in India : Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd had launched 14 MicrosoftInnovation Centres (MICs) in India. It has signed agreements with leading academic institutions across four States.As part of theglobal programme, which currently has 75 MICs, Microsoft aims to launch a 100 such centres in India in the next two years.

Govt Launched Direct Cash Transfer Scheme in 20 Districts: On 1 January 2013 The government launched its scaled downCash Transfer Benefit (CBT) in 20 districts,but food, fertiliser and fuel subsidies will not be covered in the initial phase. All 26schemes are ready for rollout. On 1 January 2013 the seven schemes in which payout is due in the (20 selected) districts, themoney will be transferred through the direct benefit transfer system using the UIDAI platform.The scheme is going to be rolled outin 43 districts by 1 March 2013, 20 districts from January 1, 11 districts from February 1 and 12 districts from March 1. By end of2013, the direct cash benefit transfer will be rolled out in all the districts of the country.

PA Sangma launched National Peoples Party : PA Sangma, who broke away with the NCP in 2012 to contest the presidentialelections, though unsuccessfully, on 05 January 2013 launched National Peoples Party (NPP), and chosen a book as its symbol.Sangma has chosen to align his party with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

President Released Stamps on Swami Vivekananda : On 12 January The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee released theCommemorative Postage Stamps, at the Commemoration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, in New Delhi .

Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012 : On 17 January According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER)2012 report has found that learning levels have dipped to an all-time low. So, almost half the 6-7 year-olds (Class I) in Indiacannot read even one letter in any language, over 57% cannot read any English while almost 40% cannot recognize numbersbetween 1 and 9.The 12.8% children between Class I and V could not read a single letter while 10.7% could not recognize numbers1 to 9. The number of children in Class V who could read Class II text fell from 53.7% in 2010 to 46.8% in 2012. In 2010, sevenout of 10 children could solve a two-digit subtraction problem with borrowing. This has come down to five out of 10 in 2012.

President Gave Assent to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 : On 3 February President Pranab Mukherjeegave his assent to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 which provides for, amongst other things, stricter punishment

for crimes against women. The Ordinance was to be largely based on the recommendations of the Justice VermaCommittee.However, the Ordinance will have to be passed by Parliament within six months otherwise the same shall lapse.

All Juvenile Crimes 64% by 16-18 yr Old Age Group : On 4 February According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)data shows that most juvenile crimes are committed by those in the age group of 16-18 years.In 2011 the growth in rape byjuveniles (34%) over 2010 was again among the highest.In 2011, 64% of all juvenile criminals fall in the age group of 16-18. In2011, 33,887 juveniles were arrested for 25,178 instances of crime.All together make for over 50% of all rape cases by juveniles.

Aero India 2013 Held in Bangalore : The Asias biggest airshow Aero India 2013, a biennial air show and aviation exhibitionheld from 6 10th February at the Yelehanka Air Force Station in Bangalore .In the event displays magnificent aerobatic skills andbelongings that created a chance of winning potential business tieups and networking. Defence Minister of India, A K Antonyinaugurated the Air Show on 6 February .In the event 53 civil and military aircraft and 27 countries participated and 78 delegations


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attended from US, Israel and Russia.The first Edition of the show was organised for the first time in 1996.The next Aero India showis scheduled to be held from 18 February to 22 February 2015 at Bangalore.

Cabinet Approved Rs.38500 cr Rural Road Development Plan : On 7 February The Union Cabinet approved a Rs 38,500 crorerupees for road connectivity under the Prime Ministers Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).The schemes approved were mainly forconnectivity to villages in tribal areas, desert and hilly areas, with a population of at least 250 each.In 82 areas hit by Naxaliteviolence, villages with less than 250 people are also to be connected under the scheme.

Parliament Attack Case Convict Afzal Guru Hanged : On 9 February in a top secret operation , the 2001 Parliament attackcase convict Mohammed Afzal Guru was hanged in Delhis Tihar jail.Afzal Guru was given the death sentence by the Supreme Courtin 2004.The President rejected the Afzal Gurus mercy petition on 23 January 2013.The code name of the secret operation wasOperation Three Star .

Centre Notified Cauvery Dispute Tribunal Award : After six years,on the directions of the Supreme Court, the CentralGovernment of India has notified the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) on sharing the waters of theCauvery system among the basin States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala and Union territory of Puducherry on 20February.The Tribunal, comprising chairman Justice N.P. Singh and members N.S. Rao and Sudhir Narain, in a unanimous award inFebruary, 2007 had determined the total availability of water in the Cauvery basin at 740 thousand million cubic (TMC) feet at theLower Coleroon Anicut site.In, what was then described as a balancing act, the Tribunal gave Tamil Nadu 419 TMC of water (asagainst the demand of 562 TMC); Karnataka 270 TMC (as against its demand of 465 TMC); Kerala 30 TMC and Puducherry 7TMC.After the issuance of the notification, institutions like the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) chaired by the Prime Minister and theCMC will cease to exist.

Cabinet Approves Bill for Time-Bound Services to Citizens : On 7 March the government gave its nod to a Bill aimed at

providing time-bound delivery of services like passports, pensions and birth and death certificates, among others, to thecitizens.The Right of Citizens for Time- Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011, wasapproved by the Union Cabinet at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh .

President Released the Commemorative Postage Stamp on Sahir Ludhianvi : On 8 March the President of India, PranabMukherjee released the Commemorative Postage Stamp on Sahir Ludhianvi on occasion of his birth anniversary at RashtrapatiBhavan in New Delhi.Sahir Ludhianvi died on 25 October 1980 and was a renowned Urdu poet.He fought for recognition of lyricwriters through the Film Writers Association.

Indias First All-Women Post Office : After announcing Indias all women public bank, the central government on 08 March 2013started an all women post office in New Delhi on the occasion of the International Womens Day. Communications & InformationTechnology Minister Kapil Sibal inaugurated the post office at Shastri Bhawan the hub of central government offices in centralDelhi. All the employees in these post of fice are women only.

Cabinet Approved Electronic Delivery of Services Bill : On 18 March the Union Cabinet approved a bill that aims to provideaccess to all central and state government services such as passport, ration card and driving licences electronically.The Bill requires

public authorities to deliver all public services electronically within a maximum period of 8 years.

Cabinet Approved Food Security Bill : On 19 March the union cabinet has approved the National Food Security Bill which aims togive the right to food to around 67% of Indias 1.2 billion people.The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2011 andhad been sent to a parliamentary standing committee for further consideration.In the bill, the government had proposed 7 kg ofgrain per month per person to priority households and at least 3 kg of foodgrain at half the price for general households.

Rajya Sabha Passed Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2013 : On 21 March the Rajya Sabha passed the Criminal Law(Amendment) Bill 2013 that provides for capital punishment in cases of brutal rape, and also deals with several other crimesagainst women.On 19 March Lok Sabha passed the Bill with an aim of providing a strong deterrent against rapes and gang rapes,the Bill states that an offender can be sentenced to rigourous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 20 years, butwhich may extend to life, meaning imprisonment for the remainder of that persons natural life and with a fine.

Supreme Court upholds Death for Yakub Memon : On 21 March the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of Yakub AbdulRazak Memon in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case that had claimed 257 lives and left 713 injured.The Supreme Court also upheld theconviction of actor Sanjay Dutt under the Arms Act in the terror attack and sent him to five years in prison.The capital punishment

of the other 10 death row convicts was commuted to life sentence by a bench of justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan which alsoupheld the life term awarded to 16 out of 18 convicts.

68 million Indians Living in Slums : On 21 March According to the first such census report on slum households prepared by theRegistrar General of India, approximately 68 million Indians are living in slums. In all 1.73 crore census houses have been reportedin houselisting blocks, categorised as slums in India, comprising 1.37 crore slum households.The report also noted that in 19 citieswith million-plus population, 25 per cent of households live in slums.A majority-71 per cent- of these are located in six states ofMaharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, west Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.90 per cent of slum households useelectricity, 70 per cent slum households have television, 72.7 per cent have telephone facility while 10.4 per cent households havecomputer or laptop in their house.


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Prez Pranab Mukherjee clears anti-rape bill : President Pranab Mukherjee had given his assent to the anti-rape bill whichprovides for life term and even death sentence for rape convicts besides stringent punishment for offences like acid attacks,stalking and voyeurism.Mukherjee accorded his assent to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill-2013 on 03 April 2013.This is calledas the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.The law, passed by Lok Sabha on March 19 and by Rajya Sabha on March 21.

Union Government Approved Project for NOFN Creation in Gram Panchayats : On 12 April The Government of Indiaapproved the project for creation of National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) connecting all the 250000 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in thecountry through Optical Cable (OFC). The Union Government decided to fund the project through Universal Service Obligation Fund

(USOF).

Government Approved For 13 Power Projects : On 22 April The Cabinet Committee on Investment cleared 13 power projectsthat involves investment of 33000 crore rupees. The projects on which the investments will be made include one hydro and twothermal project as well as ten transmission projects. 25 oil and gas blocks with investment commitment of about seven billion USdollars also got approval during the same meet. Of these 16 blocks were given conditional clearances, while nine blocks wereapproved without any condition. Approval of these projects was pending due to the objections raised by the Ministry of Defenceover national security.

Mukherjee Gives Assent To Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Bill : On 25 April President Pranab Mukherjee hasgiven his assent to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2013.Sexualharassment at workplace is a violation of womens right to gender equality, life and liberty.It creates an insecure and hostile workenvironment, which discourages womens participation in work, thereby adversely affecting their economic empowerment and thegoal of inclusive growth. (ANI)

STATESDelhi Government Launched Delhi Annshri Yojna : UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi was launched a major food securityprogramme of Delhi Government Delhi Annshri Yojna on 15 December 2012.under which a monthly cash subsidy of Rs. 600 willbe transferred directly into Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of the senior-most female members of two lakh poor families.

BJP Won in Gujarat Assembly Elections : The BJP registered its fifth consecutive victory in Gujarat on 20 December 2012.Thisis the third victory under Modi leadership. BJP won the 115 seats. Congress won the 61 seats. Modi won by a landslide fromManinagar constituency in Gujarat, beating his nearest Congress party rival Shweta Bhatt by a margin of 86,373 votes.

Congress has won Himachal Pradesh Elections : The Congress returned to power in Himachal Pradesh after five years,defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Himachal Pradesh State Assembly elections conduced on 4 November 2012.TheCongress secured 36 seats and the BJP 26 seats. The Congress Leader Virbhadra Singh won from Shimla (Rural) constituency anddefeated the rival from BJP Ishwar Rohal by 19033 Votes.

Meghalaya Passed Lokayukta Bill 2012 : On 14 December the Meghalaya Lokayukta Bill, 2012 was passed in the MeghalayaLegislative Assembly and replaced the existing Lokayukta Act, 2002 amidst opposition from legislators. The new act under thelokayukta bill covered the chief minister, governor and all public servants, but allowed the state government through a clause toexclude the complaints by citing public interest.

Madhya Pradesh Government Set Up a Senior Citizen Commission : On 21 December the Madhya Pradesh Government hasset up a Senior Citizen Commission to look into problems of the elderly in the State.

Assam Government Announced Special Health Scheme : On 12 December Assam government announced that 50 riverinepublic health centres would be set up in the state soon under the National Rural Health Mission.The public health centres would belocated primarily in the districts of Barpeta, Dhubri, Goalpara and Darrang.

30% Reservation for Rural Candidates in Assam Govt. Jobs : Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on 26 December 2012announced that 30 per cent state government jobs will be reserved for candidates belonging to rural areas from 2013.

Odisha Launched Public Service Delivery System : On 2 January The Odisha government launched the much-sought after

Public Service Delivery System for citizens under the Odisha Right to Public Service Act, 2012.Under the new act, people will getservices like issue of driving license, birth and death certificates, passport and trade license within a stipulated time.Odisha isamong the 12th state to implement the law.

Haryana Government announced Kanyadan Scheme for Bride participants of Mass Marriages : The Government ofHaryana on 3 January 2012 announced its plan of launching a Kanyadan Scheme in the state for brides participating in the massmarriage ceremony, which would be organised by any of the registered NGO or the Red Cross Society. The scheme would carry anincentive amount of 11000 rupees and would come into effect from 1 April 2012. The incentive amount of 11000 rupees would begiven to brides from all castes, creeds, race, religion and the income category to which the girl belongs.


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Arunachal Pradesh Collaborated with NSDL for Adoption of National Pension Scheme : On 9 January The state ofArunachal Pradesh entered into an agreement with signing of MoU with National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), permitting it towork as a Central Record Keeping Agency (CRA) for adoption of the National Pension System (NPS).National Pension Scheme NPS isan initiative of the Union Government of India and Arunachal Pradesh is the 26th State to adopt it.

Gujarat Tops List of Indian States on Economic Freedom Policy : According to the Economic Freedom of States in India report which was released by former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor and present Rajya Sabha Member Bimal Jalan.The topstate in India in (terms of) economic freedom in 2011 was western Indian state Gujarat. It displaced southern Indian state Tamil

Nadu which had been at the top in 2009.Gujarat freedom index has been rising fast and estimated at 0.64 points. The biggestimprovement has been registered by Madhya Pradesh with freedom index score rose from 0.42 in 2009 to 0.56 in 2011 enabling itto move up from sixth to third position.

Assembly polls in Tripura,Meghalaya and Nagaland on Febrauary : Assembly elections in Tripura will be held on February 14and in Meghalaya and Nagaland on February 23 and their results will be out on February 28, the Election Commission announced on10 January 2013.The EC also announced byelections to nine assembly constituencies in Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal andPunjab on February 23 and in Assam, Bihar and Maharashtra on February 24, but their results will be out together on February 28.

Presidents Rule Imposed on Jharkhand : On 18 January Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India imposed Presidents Rule inJharkhand under Article 356(1) of the Constitution.The Presidents Rule for the third time since its formation 12 years ago.Thedecision came as a follow up of the recommendation made by the Union Cabinet of India and fall of the state machinery in form ofGovernment on 8 January after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha the supporting party to BJP led Coalition Government withdrew itssupport from it. The state was placed under Presidents Rule in 2009 and 2010.

Three New High Courts for North East : The Centre has constituted three new High Courts in the northeast Meghalaya, Manipur

and Tripura taking the total number of High Courts in the country from 21 to 24.According to Law Ministry sources, the strength ofjudges in each High Court will be as follows: Tripura 4 (including the Chief Justice), and Meghalaya and Manipur: three each(including the Chief Justice).

Sonia Gandhi Launched Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram Scheme : On 6 February Congress President and UPAChairperson Sonia Gandhi launched Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), a new children health care project initiative inPalghar, a tribal block in Thane district of Maharashtra.The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram, is a part of the National RuralHealth Mission of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The scheme is aimed at improving overall quality of life ofchildren through early detection of birth defects, diseases and deficiencies, which are among key factors for child mortality.

Maharashtra Promulgates Ordinance To Amend Cooperative Societies Act : On 15 February the Maharashtra Governmentpromulgated an ordinance to amend the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, which aims to promote voluntary formation,autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional management of co-operative societies.The ordinance is to amend theAct to make it in consonance with the 97th constitutional amendment by Parliament last year.

Indias First Geothermal Plant in Chhattisgarh : On 17 February Chhattisgarh has signed an agreement with the National

Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to set up the countrys first geothermal power plant in its newlyformed Balrampur district.Amemorandum of understanding (MoU) for the project was signed between the NTPC and the Chhattisgarh Renewable EnergyDevelopment Agency (CREDA). The plant will come up at Tata Pani in Balrampur, a district located in extreme northern region ofthe state.

Rajasthan Constituted a Task Force to Check the Spread of Swine Flu in State : On 19 February the State Government ofRajasthan decided to constitute a task force to control Swine Flu effectively. Chief Secretary of the State, CK Matthew wasappointed as the head of the task force constituted.The state had witnessed 148 cases of death and 834 positive cases since April2012. A central team that constitutes of five doctors and microbiologist is on the state visit and would pay a visit to Jodhpur, Ajmerand Bikaner, areas worst affected from the disease.

Cabinet Approved NTPC Power Project in Jharkhand : On 20 February the Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) approvedthe setting up of the 1,980 MW North Karanpura Super Thermal Power Plant in Jharkhand by the National Thermal PowerCorporation (NTPC).The Cabinet committee of investment also agreed for restoring the original coal linkage for the project anddeclared that the project will be based on environment friendly super-critical technology. This supply will be made available in the13th Five Year Plan.

Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland Assembly Elections Results : Northeastern states of Tripura ,Meghalaya and NagalandAssembly election was released on 28 February .The Assembly elections in the three states, having 60 seats each, were heldFebruary 14 and February 23.In Tripura the CPI-M on its own won 49 seats out of the total 60 seats and stormed back to power inTripura for the fifth straight term.Chief Minister Manik Sarkar won from Dhanpur by a margin of around 5,000 votes. It was Sarkarssixth win.Meghalaya The Indian National Congress here has won 29 seats in the election to the 60-member Meghalaya Assemblywith Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, winning with huge margins.Nagaland Ruling Naga Peoples Front combine returned to powerwith an absolute majority in Nagaland winning 39 seats in the 60-member Assembly.The ruling NPF-led Democratic Alliance ofNagaland (DAN) alliance will form government for a third consecutive term.Congress managed to win eight seats. Nagaland ChiefMinister Neiphiu Rio won from Northern Angami II seat by defeating his nearest Congress rival Kevise Sogotsu of Congress by12,671 votes.


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Desalination Plant in Tamil Nadu Commissioned : On 22 February J. Jayalalithaa, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu inaugurated adesalination plant at Nemmeli in Kanchipuram district of the state.The plant which will benefit over 15 lakh residents in Velachery,Pallipattu and Tiruvanmiyur areas of south Chennai has been set up with an investment of Rs 871 crore. About 265 million ltrs ofwater will be drawn from the sea to realise 100 million ltrs per day of drinking water through the plant spread over 40 acre.

HPCL signed MoU for Rajasthan Refinery : On 14 March Min of Petroleum & Natural Gas Hindustan Petroleum CorporationLimited (HPCL) and Rajasthan Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at Jaipur for setting up a Rs 37,320crrefinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Barmer, Rajasthan. The project will be a joint venture between HPCL and Rajasthan State

Refinery Limited, apart from other equity partners.The MoU was signed by Subhash Pant, Secretary Mines and Petroleum,Government of Rajasthan and K.Murli, Director (Refineries) of HPCL.

Madhya Pradesh Spice Park Inaugurated in Guna : On 16 March In Madhya Pradesh, Union power ministry inaugurated aSpice Park in Mawan area of Guna district. This spice park has been built at a cost of fifty five crore rupees.

Delhi Launched a Comprehensive Five-In-One Vaccine : On 12 March the Chief Minister of Delhi,Sheila Dikshit launched acomprehensive five-in-one vaccine in order to provide protection to children against certain diseases such as tetanus, diphtheriaand pertusis.The CM announced that instead of three injections, now there will be a requirement of only one injection for providingprotection against the diseases.

Karnataka State Assembly Elections Schedule Released : On March 20 The Election Commission of India has announced thedates for Karnataka Assembly Elections 2013.The elections will be a single-phase election and counting would take place on May8.The Polls would be held on May 5.

Three High Courts Opened in Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya : Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur on 23 March 2013 got their

own High Courts. Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre, Judge of Chhattisgarh High Court took oath as the first Chief Justice of ManipurHigh Court on 23 March 2013. Justice Deepak Gupta along with three other judges would be administered the oath to the HighCourt of Tripura .Justice Meena Kumari took oath as the first Chief Justice of Meghalaya. With the opening of the three high Courtsin the North Eastern states of India, the total number of high Courts in India has gone up to 24 from previous 21.

Arunachal Pradesh Became the First State to Introduce e-GPF : Arunachal Pradesh became the first state to introduce e-GPFor electronic GPF.The state Finance Department facilitated the online access to 34000 GPF accounts through its redesigned Website, which was launched by Chief Minister of Arunachal Pardesh Nabam Tuki.

Housing stock, Amenities and Assets in Slums Report : On 29 March Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviationreleased the report on Housing stock, Amenities and Assets in slums based on Houselisting & House Census, 2011.RegistrarGeneral presented the important features of the report and outlined its importance.In all 1.73 Crore Census houses have beenreported in the House listing Blocks categorized as Slums in India, comprising 1.37 Crore slum households.There are 19 cities withmillion plus population where more than 25% households live in slums.A majority (71%) of these are located in six States namely,Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.Out of these 19 cities, five citiesnamely, Vishakhapatnam, Jabalpur, Mumbai, Vijayawada and Meerut have more than 40% slum households.Out of total slum

houses, 92.7% are occupied and 7.3% are vacant.84.9% Census Houses are used for residence/residence-cum-other use.58.4%residential census houses are in good condition, 37.5% are livable and rest 4.0% are in dilapidated condition.70.2% Slumhouseholds are owned.

Punjab, Haryana, Delhi Top in Well Being Index : According to the Tata Strategic Management Group Survey report , Punjab,Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana have been ranked at the top of the Well Being Index,while southern states, Gujarat and mostof the north-eastern states emerged as the most secure ones for women in the Female Security Index.The states of Punjab, Delhi,HP, Haryana and Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh were ranked at the top of the Well Being Index. On the Female SecurityIndex, Chennai and Bangalore were at the top.

Andhra Pradesh Government launched Online Services named Parishkaram for Entrepreneurs : Andhra PradeshGovernment on 1 April 2013 launched the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporations online services for entrepreneurs and grievanceredressal system. The platform is proposed to be a link between the APIIC and entrepreneurs which would make the process ofapplication and registration of land for setting up industries a paperless one.

EC issues notification for Karnataka assembly polls : The Election Commission on April 10 issued the notification for the

Karnataka Assembly polls.The nomination papers will be scrutinised on April 18. The last day for withdrawing the nominations isApril 20. The votes polled on May 5 will be counted on May 8.

Himachal Govt To Connect All Gram Panchayats With Broadband : On 12 April Himachal Pradesh government signedmemorandum of understanding (MoU) with Department of Telecommunication, Govt of India (GOI) and Bharat Broadband NetworkLimited (BBNL) for providing broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats of the state by establishing of an optical fiber network.

Himachal celebrates 66th anniversary : On 15 April 2013 Himachal Pradesh celebrated 66th Himachal Day.Himachal Pradeshcame into existence on 15 April 1948 with the merger of 30 princely states.During the function, the Chief Minister announced manyschemes for the state which are under development phase like Mukhyamantri Adarsh Krishi Gaon Yojana, Skill DevelopmentAllowance. In the skill development Allowance, the government would provide 1000 rupees per month to educated unemployedyouths and 1500 rupees to persons with disabilities of the state.


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Indias first automatic toll collection system launched in Maharashtra : The countrys first interoperable RIFD(RadioFrequency Identification Device )-based electronic toll system was rolled out on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai National Highway and thesystem would allow vehicles fitted with electronic tags to sail through six toll plazas automatically.

Tamilnadu Planned Rs.7000 crore Underground Hydel Power Station : On 25 April Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaaannounced the government planned a Rs 7,000 crore underground hydel power station in Nilgiris district besides the ongoingrelated schemes,which in all will cost over Rs 20,000 crore.The first unit of North Chennai Thermal Power plant, third unit of Vallurproject and 2x 500 MW each of Tuticorin Power project would start generating power between March 2014.The first unit of North

Chennai Thermal Power plant, third unit of Vallur project and 2x 500 MW each of Tuticorin Power project would start generatingpower between this year May and March 2014

CONFERENCES

UN Climate Change Conference (COP 18) : The United Nations Climate Change Conference , which is the 18th session of theConference of the Parties (COP 18) and 8th session of the Conference of the Parties (serving as the Meeting of the Parties to theKyoto Protocol ) ends on 8 December in Qatar, Doha. United Nations climate talks in Doha had agreed to extend the Kyoto Protocolthrough 2020. Poland will host the next round of 19th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) UN climate talks in 2013.

World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) : The First ever World Conference on InternationalTelecommunications (WCIT) from 3 -14 December held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.The conference reviewed the currentInternational Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs).The 193 member states of the ambassadors are attended this conference.While89 states have signed the UN International Telecommunications agreement and another 55 countries have refused the deal.Thenew agreement will come into effect in January 2015.

ASEAN India Commemorative Summit held in New Delhi : India is hosted the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit heldfrom December 20-21 in New Delhi to mark the 20th anniversary of the ASEAN India dialogue partnership and the 10thanniversary of ASEAN-India Summit-level partnership.The theme of the summit is ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace and SharedProsperity. ASEAN and India have signed the awaited Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on comprehensive economic cooperation asfoundations for the establishment of an ASEAN-India Trade and Investment Area.

100th Indian Science Congress held in Kolkata : The 100th Indian Science Congress was held from 3 to 7 January in Kolkata(West Bengal) .The theme of the session is Science for Shaping the Future of India .The session was inaugurated byPranab Mukherjee the President of India .In the session Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released The Science, Technologyand Innovation Policy(STI) 2013 .On 4 January Former President Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam inaugurated a Children Science Congressas part of the 100th Indian Science Congress .The 100th Indian Science Congress (ISC 2013) is also organized a specialprogramme Women empowerment for the development of the country to showcase the contribution of women in science andtechnology.This is the 13th time the Indian Science Congress is being hosted by Kolkata

11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held in Kochi : 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) was held from 7- 9 January at Kochi

(Kerala).Mauritius President Rajkeswur Purryag was the chief guest of this official inaugural session.2000 delegates from 40countries attended the convention.The theme for this years Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is Engaging Diaspora the Indian GrowthStory.On 7th January in the event they discussed on problems that people from Kerala face in the region.Prime MinisterManmohan Singh will inaugurated the annual flagship event and released the postage stamp on Ghadar Movement on 8 Januaryand President Pranab Mukherjee will delivered the valedictory address on January 9 and also presented the Pravasi BharatiyaSamman awards.Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on January 9 every year to mark the contribution of overseas Indiancommunity in the development of India.The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the first of its kind involving the Indian Diaspora, was held in2003 at New Delhi.

Fourth Meeting of ASEAN and India Tourism Ministers held in Vientiane : The Fourth meeting of ASEAN and India TourismMinister (4th M-ATM+ India) was held in Vientiane, Lao PDR from 21 to January in conjunction with the ASEAN Tourism Forum2013 (ATF2013).The Meeting was jointly co-chaired by H.E. Prof. Dr. Bosengkham Vongdara, Minister of Information, Culture andTourism, Lao PDR, and H.E. Dr. K. Chiranjeevi, Minister for Tourism, Government of India.In the meeting Both the Ministers havesigned the Protocol to amend the Memorandum of Understanding between ASEAN and India on Strengthening Tourism Cooperation.

World Economic Forum Summit Held in Davos : The 43rd World Economic Forum Annual Meeting held from 23 27 January atDavos-Klosters in Switzerland.The annual forum, which has been running for over 40 years, provides a platform for decision-

makers in politics, non-governmental organisations and businesses to gather and to exchange views on the worlds most pressingproblems.The World Economic Forum (WEF) unites international political leaders, business leaders and journalists from across theglobe to discussed and shape global, regional and industrial agendas with regards to economics, health and the environment.TheWEF was founded in 1971 as a non-profit organization by the German Klaus Schwab, a business professor at the University ofGeneva.

13th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) : The 13th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) concluded on2 February at NewDelhi.The theme of the summit is The Global Challenge of Resource Efficient Growth and Development.Amongfrom 30 countries Heads of Governments , research institutions, policy-makers, NGOs and corporates attended the summit.TheSummit organized annually since 2001 by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), is an international platform for exchange ofknowledge on all nuances of sustainable development.


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24th Arab League Summit Held in Doha : The 24th summit was held in Doha (Qatar) from 21 to 26 March 2013.A total of 15heads of state of Arab countries attende

dec,jan,feb,march,april current affairs 2013

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