General Awareness Facts of October 2012
NATIONAL UPDATES:
· Renewable Energy Certificate (R.E.C.) trade inflated in India. According to the recent report of Hindustan Times, In India a mechanism to trade renewable energy including solar, wind, biomass, and small biomass projects on platforms similar to stock exchanges is slowly increasing.
· Mr. Hamid Ansari was elected Vice President of India for the second term defeating his nearest rival Mr. Jaswant Singh on August 7, 2012. He secured 490 votes while Jaswant Singh bagged 238 votes. Hamid Ansari is second person after Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan to hold the office of vice president for a second consecutive term.
· Lok Sabha Appoints a New Panel to Tackle Contempt by Government Officials: The Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has constituted a new panel which is to ensure that the Members of Parliament command the respect they believe they deserve.
· Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh Passes Away: He was the Minister of Science and Technology. He was undergoing treatment for a serious liver ailment, died in a city hospital at Chennai. He was 67 years old.
· Creation of Five New Tiger Reserves Gets Approval from the Centre, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan said in her written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
· Long Term Visas for Pakistani Hindus: The Indian government on 16 august, 2012 said that the Pakistani Hindus will get long term visas to stay in the country if they applied under stipulated rules.
· Gujrat’s Nuclear Hurdle: Mithivirdi, in Gujarat has been chosen as the location of 6000 MW nuclear power project, one of the first India hopes to build in the aftermath of the civilian nuclear deal it signed with the United States in n2008. The project will be spread over 777 hectares and house six nuclear reactors manufactured by US based Westinghouse, which is subsidiary of Toshiba of Japan, and which has signed an agreement with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (N.P.C.I.L.)
· CAG report on Coal Blocks Allocation Tabled in Parliament: on August 17, 2012 the central government was buffeted by another serious allegation after 2G spectrum, that it has caused a `1.86 Lakh Crore loss to the exchequer by not ensuring transparency in the Coal Block Allocation during 2004-09. Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh also came under scrutiny of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C.A.G.) of which report pointed to serious discrepancies during 2006-09when he was holding the charge of Coal Ministry.
· Government agrees to set up 20 more IIIT’s: A Bill, which seeks to give IIIT’s administrative autonomy and enables setting up of 20 more such institutes was approved by Union Government on August 17, 2012.
· India Gets First Embraer Jet: India on August 17, 2012 made a major breakthrough in mounting an electronic eye in the sky, taking delivery of the first Embrael 145 Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft (AEW&C) built with IndianTechnology.
· Coast Guard Welcomes Indigenous Pollution Control Vessel Samudra Pehredar: Samudra Pehredar, the indigenously built second pollution control vessel, specially designed to mitigate any marine oil spill received a warm welcome from the Coast Guard fraternity on its arrival at Chennai Port on August 21, 2012.
· Supreme Court Upholds Death for Kasab Two Acquitted: Describing the November 28, 2008 terror attack on Mumbai as an attack on Indians which deserved the rarest of rare punishment the Supreme Court on August 29, 2012 confirmed the death sentence of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab. A bench of Justice Aftam Alam and C.P.Prasad said that Kasab, the only Lashkar-e-
Toiba attacker who survived the three day outrage in India’s financial capital, showed no remorse or the possibility of rehabilitation after his arrest and in fact considered himself as a “hero and a patriotic Pakistani at war”. He had no feeling of pity and killed without the slightest twinge of conscience and the gallows remained the ‘only’ punishment for him.
· Sonia Gandhi is sixth in the Forbes List of 100 Most Powerful Women: The forbes magazing on August 22, 2012 ranked United Progressive Alliance (U.P.A.) chairperson Sonia Gandhi the sixth most powerful woman in the world, in its list of 100 women. German Chancellor Angela Merkel tops the list for the second year in a row. Sonia Gandhi was ranked seventh last year.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
· UN Assembly Adopts Resolution on Syria, India Abstain from Vote: The UN General Assembly on August , 2012 overwhelmingly adopted a Saudi-drafted resolution on Syria that denounced a political transition, a voting in which India was among 31 nations that abstained. The symbolic UN General Assembly resolution which expressed ‘grave concern’ at the escalating violence in Syria, got 133 votes in favour in the 193-member body on August 3, 2012.
· Libya’s ruling Council Hands over Power to New Assembly: Libya’s ruling council handed over power to a newly elected national assembly on August 8, 2012 in the North African country’s peaceful transition of power in its modern history but which comes amid heightened violence.
· Mars Rover Curiosity lands on Mars: The Mars Science rover ‘CURIOSITY’ landed on Martian surface on August 5, 2012 to begin a two-year mission seeking evidence of life on the Red Planet once hosted ingredients for life as per NASA. The car sized rover apparently came to rest at its planned destination near the foot of a tall mountain rising from the floor of
Gale Carter in Mars southern hemisphere, mission controllers said. The $2.5 billion Curiosity project, formally called the Mars Science Laboratory, in NASA’s first astro-biology mission since 1970’s era Viking probes.
· Iran Tests Upgraded Version of Short Range Missile: On August 4, 2012 claimed it had successfully test fired an upgraded version of a short range ballistic missile with improved accuracy , increasing the Iran’s capability to strike both land and naval targets. The Solid Fuelled “FATEH-110” has a range of 300 kms.
· Sudan, South Sudan Strike Deal on Oil Transit Fees: Sudan and South Sudan have reached a deal on oil transit fee, but Khartoum said it would be implemented only after the issue of border security had been resolved, dampening hopes of a quick resumption of southern oil exports through the north. This agreement was announced on August 4, 2012.
· Egyptian President Sweeps out Army Rulers: Egyptian President Mohd. Morsi has driven back the biggest challenge to civilian rule by dismissing top generals and tearing up their legal attempt to curb his power in a bold bid to end 60 years of military leadership.
· Ethiopian Premier Meles Zenawi passed away: Meles Zenawi (57), Ethiopia’s Prime Minister since 1995, died on August 20, 2012 in a hospital in Brussels. Mr.Meles Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front seized power in 1991 following the collapse of the dictatorship of Colonel Mengitsu Haile Marium. He headed the transitional government and won elections in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010, in a land slide election whose validity was questioned by Western observers and human rights groups.
· Romania Court Puts President Back in Office: Romania’s Constitutional Court ruled on August 21, 2012 that a referendum to impeach the country’s President was invalid, leaving Traian Basescu in power after months of political turmoil.
· Islamic Co-operation Body Deals New Blow To Syria: The organization of Islamic co-operation suspended Syria on August 16, 2012 saying that the muslim world can no longer accept a government that massacres its people, further isolating the embedded regime.
· The Non Aligned Movement Summit (N.A.M.): The 16th Non Alignment Movement Summit (N.A.M.) which represents around half the world, with 120 countries participating in its deliberations concluded in Tehran (Iran) on August 31, 2012 Dr. Manmohan Singh Prime Minister represented India.
· ‘Curiosity’ Aces First Test Drive: NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity took a 16 minute drive on August 22, 2012- its first since reaching the Red Planet to search for habitats that could have supported microbial life.
· Russia joined W.T.O. after 18 years of Talk: After 18 years of negotiation, Russia on August 22, 2012, entered the World Trade Organization (W.T.O.), which restricts imports duties and subsidies in an attempt to create a level-playing field for international trade. Russia is one of the last major global economies to enter the group, which has long included other developing nations such as China.
