GENERAL AWARENESS CAPSULES

1) Which Indian state will set up 200 hi-tech mini-dairy units to boost milk production?

1) Haryana

2) Punjab

3) Uttar pradesh

4) Maharashtra

5) Karnataka

Ans 1

2) Who will become the first Indian Women and 5th sports person to be conferred with IT Wlonel Rank?

1) P.T Usha

2) Aparna Popat

3) Geeta Phogat

4) MC Mary Kom

5) Saina Nehwal

Ans 4

3) Justice Madan Bhimarao Lokur was sworn in as a Judge of the Supreme court in June 2012. with this, the strength of the apex court has gone up to 26.What is the sanctioned strength of the supreme court?

1) 28 Judges

2) 29 Judges

3) 30 Judges

4) 31 Judges

5) 32 Judges

Ans 4

4) Who among the following Presidents was impeached by the Parliament of his/her country in June ?

a) Jose Mujica

b) Sebastian Pinera

c) Dilma Rousseff

d) Ollanta Humala

e) Fernando Lugo 

Ans 5

5) Who among the following Presidents has offered to provide political asylum to Wiki leaks founder Julian Assange Who is facing extradition to Sweden from Britain in June 2012?

1) Jose Mujica

2) Rafeal Correa

3) Dilma Rousseff

4) Ollanta Humala

5) Sabastian Pinera

Ans 2

6) Who among the following Indian Americans was convicted of insider trading by US Court in June 2012?

1) Gururaj Deshpande

2) Preet Bharara

3) Kanwal Rekhi

4) Vinod Dham

5) Rajat Gupta

Ans 5

7) Who among the following was appointed as the new CMD of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited in June 2012?

1) Sekhar basu

2) Ratan Kumar Sinha

3) Srikumar  Bannerjee

4) Kailash Chandra Purohit

5) Shreyans Kumar Jain

Ans 4

8) Who among the following was elected as President of Egypt in June 2012?

1) Amir Moussa

2) Ahmed Shafik

3) Hamdeen Sabbahi

4) Mohammed Mursi

5) Abdul Moneim Adoul Fotouh

Ans 4

9) Which album has the only duet song in the voices of Lata Mangeshkar and Ghazal legend Mehdi Hassan, Who passed away in Karachi at the age of 84 in June 2012?

1) Aman

2) Rishte

3) Faasle

4) darmiyan

5) sarhadein

Ans 4

10) Which government appointed committee had recommended a higher excise duty on diesel cars to compensate for subsided sale of diesel Fuel?

1) Ashok Chawla Committee

2) Arun Maira Committee

3) Kaushik Basu Committee

4) Kirit Parikh Committee

5) Rakesh Mohan Committee

Ans 4

Rain Enhancement Techniques Conducted in India

A multi-year research observational campaign entitled, “Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement (CAIPEEX)” was conducted by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune during the period 2009-2011 over different parts of the country. The objectives of the program were: (1) to understand the role of aerosols in the rainfall processes in the clouds and (2) to carry out cloud seeding experiments in research mode for rain enhancements using modern techniques.

During the period May to September 2009, the cloud and aerosol observations were conducted over different parts of country using instrumented aircraft Total 220 hrs of flying was done. In the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons of 2010 and 2011, the cloud seeding experiments were conducted over the rain-shadow areas of peninsular India from Hyderabad base. Total 200 and 250 hours of flying was done in the years 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Modern techniques such as (1) hired instrumented aircraft for measuring the atmospheric state parameters, aerosols and cloud microphysical parameters (2) equipped for seeding by flares and salt powder, (3) radar for monitoring the potential clouds, (4) pilot to ground connectivity and internet connectivity for real time transfer of data, (5) half hourly INSAT satellite data, weather data from IMD sites (6) high resolution weather models for the forecasting etc., were used in the program.

The Indian rainfall shows different types of trends over different regions and over different time periods. The studies carried out so far have suggested that there is increasing trend in the extreme rainfall events (>10cm/day) and decreasing trend in the moderate (2-5cm/day) and low rainfall events (<2cm/day) over central India. It is also established that there is approximately a natural 30-year cyclicity in the monsoon rainfall. Under such a decreasing phase of monsoon rainfall that is persisting for the recent three and half decades, a decreasing trend of monsoon rainfall is also persisting.

Additionally, the factors like global warming and increasing loading of aerosols over India have established potential to modulate the natural rainfall variability to certain extent as a part of short term variability.

National Child Labour Projects

 The Government is implementing National Child Labour Project (NCLP) in 266 districts of 20 States of the country including Maharashtra for rehabilitation of children rescued/withdrawn from work. Under the Project, children rescued/withdrawn from work are enrolled in the special schools, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, nutrition, stipend, health care, etc. before being mainstreamed into formal education system.

Nine Point Action Plan for TPDS

A Nine Point Action Plan for curbing the leakages/diversion of foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) has been evolved in consultation with the State Governments.

The Government has been regularly monitoring the action being taken by States/UTs including issuing advisories, holding conferences etc. wherein State/UT Governments are requested to implement the Nine Point Action Plan.

The Minister added that the Nine Point Action Plan inter-alia stipulates that States should undertake a campaign for review of Below Poverty Line(BPL)/Antyodaya Anna Yojana(AAY) lists to eliminate ghost ration cards. Further, instructions were issued to all State/UT Governments to carry out an intensive campaign from October, 2009 to December, 2009 to review the existing lists of BPL/AAY families and eliminate ineligible/bogus ration cards. As a result thereof, 27 State/UT Governments have reported upto 30.06.2012, deletion of 266.80 lakh bogus/ineligible ration cards since July, 2006.

GENERAL AWARENESS MCQ CAPSULES

1. The restructured version of the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) was launched by the Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh recently in which of the following states?
1) Tamil Nadu
2) Kerala
3) Goa
4) Orissa
5) Andhra Pradesh

2. Who was elected as a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), based in The Hague, Netherlands in April 2012?
1) Justice Altamas Kabir
2) Justice D.K.Jain
3) Justice P. Sathasivam
4) Justice G.S.Singhvi
5) Justice Dalveer Bhandari

3. Achala Sachdev passed away on April 30, 2012. She was a famous?
1) Author
2) Sportsperson
3) Film actress
4) Journalist
5) Politician

4. Who is the author of 'Lava', a book of poems?
1) Javed Akhtar
2) Kunwar Narayan
3) Uday Prakash
4) Mohan Rana
5) None of these

5. Rustom is a/an?
1) Surface to surface missile
2) Unmanned aerial vehicle
3) Surface to air missile
4) Air to air missile
5) Nuclear powered submarine

6. Which of the following warships was decommissioned on June 11, 2012?
1) INS Vindhyagiri
2) INS Taragiri
3) INS Himgiri
4) INS Nilgiri
5) INS Udaygiri

7. Enrica Lexie is an oil tanker involved in the shooting of two fishermen at Indian coast in February 2012. It belongs to which of the following countries?
1) France
2) Germany
3) Italy
4) Spain
5) Russia

8. Karen rebels have been fighting for self-rule for more than 60 years in which of the following countries?
1) Nepal
2) Vietnam
3) Cambodia
4) Myanmar
5) China

9. The Coast Guards of India and which of the following countries conducted a joint exercise named "Sahyog Kajin-XI" recently?
1) China
2) Japan
3) Sri Lanka
4) Myanmar
5) South Korea

10. What is the full form of 'CEPA'?
1) Complete Economic Preference Agreement
2) Cultural and Economic Partnership Accord
3) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
4) Complete Economic Partnership Accord
5) None of these

Indian Magsaysay Award Winners

Name	Year Awarded	Category
Vinoba Bhave	1958	Community Leadership
Chintaman Deshmukh	1959	Government Services
Amitabha Chowdhury	1961	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Mother Teresa	1962	Peace and International Understanding
Dara Khurody	1963	Community Leadership
Verghese Kurien	1963	Community Leadership
Tribhuvandas Patel	1963	Community Leadership
Welthy Fisher	1964	Peace and International Understanding
Jayaprakash Narayan	1965	Public Service
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay	1966	Community Leadership
Satyajit Ray	1967	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Moncompu Sambasivan Swaminathan	1971	Community Leadership
M. S. Subbulakshmi	1974	Public Service
Boobli George Verghese	1975	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Henning Holck-Larsen	1976	Peace and International Understanding
Sombhu Mitra	1976	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Ela Ramesh Bhatt	1977	Community Leadership
Mabelle Arole	1979	Community Leadership
Rajanikant Arole	1979	Community Leadership
Gour Kishore Ghosh	1981	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Pramod Karan Sethi	1981	Community Leadership
Chandi Prasad Bhatt	1982	Community Leadership
Manibhai Desai	1982	Public Service
Arun Shourie	1982	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Rasipuram Lakshman	1984	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Muralidhar Amte	1985	Public Service
Lakshmi Chand Jain	1989	Public Service
K. V. Subbanna	1991	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Ravi Shankar	1992	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Banoo Jehangir Coyaji	1993	Public Service
Kiran Bedi	1994	Government Services
Pandurang Athavale	1996	Community Leadership
Tirunellai Seshan	1996	Government Services
Mahasweta Devi	1997	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Mahesh Chander Mehta	1997	Public Service
Jockin Arputham	2000	Peace and International Understanding
Aruna Roy	2000	Community Leadership
Rajendra Singh	2001	Community Leadership
Sandeep Pandey	2002	Emergent Leadership
James Michael Lyngdoh	2003	Government Services
Shantha Sinha	2003	Community Leadership
Laxminarayan Ramdas	2004	Peace and International Understanding
V. Shantha	2005	Public Service
Arvind Kejriwal	2006	Emergent Leadership
Palagummi Sainath	2007	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Mandakini Amte	2008	Community Leadership
Prakash Amte	2008	Community Leadership
Deep Joshi	2009	Community Leadership
Neelima Mishra	2011	Emergent Leadership
Harish Hande	2011	Emergent Leadership
Kulandei Francis	2012	Community Leadership

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards Announced

The Government has announced the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards for the year 2012.

            A large number of nominations were received for these awards this year, which were considered by Selection Committee consisting of eminent sportspersons and sports administrators; headed by Col Rajya Vardhan Singh Rathore. Based on the recommendations of the Committee and after due scrutiny, the Government has approved to confer awards upon the following sportspersons. 

           

A.        Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award - 2012:

1.	Shri Vijay Kumar	Shooting
2.	Shri Yogeshwar Dutt	Wrestling

B.        Arjuna Awards 2012:

Sl. No.	Name	Discipline
1.	Ms. Deepika Kumari	Archery
2.	Ms. Laishram Bombayla Devi	Archery
3.	Ms. Sudha Singh	Athletics
4	Ms. Kavita Ramdas Raut	Athletics
5	Ms. Ashwani Ponnappa	Badminton
6	Mr. Parupalli Kashyap	Badminton
7	Mr. Aditya S. Mehta	Billiards & Snooker
8	Mr. Vikas Krishan	Boxing
9	Mr. Yuvraj Singh	Cricket
10	Mr. Sardar Singh	Hockey
11	Mr. Yashpal Solanki	Judo
12	Mr. Anup Kumar	Kabaddi
13	Mr. Samir Suhag	Polo
14	Ms. Annu Raj Singh	Shooting
15	Mr. Omkar Singh	Shooting
16	Mr. Joydeep Karmakar	Shooting
17	Ms. Deepika Pallikal	Squash
18	Mr. Sandeep Sejwal	Swimming
19	Ms. Ng. Sonia Chanu	Weightlifting
20	Mr. Narsingh Yadav	Wrestling
21	Mr. Rajinder Kumar	Wrestling
22	Ms. Geeta Phogat	Wrestling
23	Mr. M. Bimoljit Singh	Wushu
24	Mrs. Deepa Mallick	Athletics – Paralympics
25	Mr. Ramkaran Singh	Athletics – Paralympics

Normally  only one award of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna  is given every year to an individual sportsperson. However, the Scheme provides that this condition can be relaxed in exceptional circumstances viz., winning of an Olympic medal. Like wise for the Arjuna Awards, normally not more than 15 awards are to be given in any calendar year.  However, the Scheme of Arjuna Awards also provides that keeping in view the performance of Indian sportspersons in the Commonwealth, Asian Games and Olympic Games during a particular year, Arjuna Awards exceeding 15 in number may be allowed with proper justification and approval of the Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports.  The Selection Committee noted that 2012 is the Olympic year and India has won 6 medals in the London Olympics, which is country’s best performance in Olympic Games, and recommended that the condition of one award in case of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and 15 awards in case of Arjuna Awards may be relaxed and the number of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award may be increased from 1 (one) to 2 (two) and Arjun Awards may be increased from 15 (fifteen) to 25 (twenty five). 

National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.  Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for spectacular performance in the year under consideration; Arjuna Award is given for consistently outstanding performance for three consecutive years preceding the year of award.    

           

Apart from a medal and a citation, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardees will receive a cash prize of Rs.7.5 lakh each and Arjuna Awardees will receive statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs.5 lakh each. 

Miss China bags the title of Miss World 2012

Miss China, Wenxia Yu won the title of Miss World 2012 while Miss Wales Sophie Elizabeth Moulds and Miss Australia Jessica Michelle Kahawaty came second and third respectively. Miss China had to compete with 116 candidates to win the crown.

Miss India Vanya Mishra made it to the list of top 7 finalists, but could not go beyond that.
Miss World contest is watched by over a billion people across the world.

Reigning Miss World Ivian Sarcos of Venezuela crowned the winner in the futuristic Ordos stadium, which sits alongside a vast town square devoted to the powerful Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan.

The beauties have been in the town from the past one month. Apart from the traditional swimsuits and evening gowns, participants also donned interesting national and local costumes to make the event even spicier.

While the charm of the pageant, first held in 1951, has waned in the West, it continues to be an object of interest in Asian countries. Sweden's Kiki Hakansson was the first Miss World, while Oscar-winning US actress Halle Berry was a finalist in 1986.

Venezuela has produced the most Miss Worlds, with six winners, while India and Britain claim five titles each.

Rita Faria was the first Indian to bag the title in 1966, followed by Aishwarya Rai(1994),  Diana Hayden(1997), Yukta Mookhey(1999) and Priyanka Chopra(2000).

China has already hosted the competition five times.

INDIAN ECONOMY-HIGHLIGHTS

1. The Economy of India is the eleventh largest in the world by nominal GDP and the fourth largest by purchasing power parity (PPP).
2. Agriculture including allied activities accounted for 13.9 per cent of GDP, it is the predominant occupation in India, accounting for about 52% of employment.
3.  India is the largest producer and consumer of black tea in the world.
4.  India ranks first in the world in milk production.
5.  India ranks among the top three countries in egg production in the world.
6. India is the fourth largest producer of natural rubber (NR) in the world. India is the sixth largest producer of coffee after Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, and Ethiopia.
7.  India is the third largest producer and consumer of fertilizers in the world after China and the USA.
8. Oil and gas constitute around 45 per cent  of total energy consumption of India.
9. India is at the fifth position globally after Germany, Spain and USA in Wind Power production.
10. India ranks a low 134 among 187 countries in Human Development Index 2011.
11. India currently accounts for 1.5% of world trade as of 2010 according to the World Trade Statistics of the WTO.
12. India is the second largest producer of quality cement in the world.
13. The Indian Paper Industry is among the top 15 global players today, with an output of more than 11 millions tones annually.
14. The Textiles sector is the second largest provider of employment after agriculture.
15. India is the second largest producer of cotton (4.13 mn. metric tones), accounting for 16 per cent of global production.
16. India is the largest producer and second largest exporter of jute goods in the world.
17. India is the second largest producer of silk and contributes about 18% to the total world raw silk production.
18. India is the seventh largest producer of wool and contributes 1.8% to total world production.
19. Indian Chemical Industry is 12^th largest in the world and 3^rd largest in Asia.
20. India is the fourth largest producer of crude steel in the world after China, Japan, and the USA.
21. India is the largest sponge iron producer in the world.
22. India is the world's second fastest growing auto market and boasts of the sixth largest automobile industry after China, the US, Germany, Japan and Brazil.
23. India is the largest cutting and polishing industry for diamond in the world.
24. India is the 16^th largest country in the world in terms of Gross Shipping tonnage by nationality of owner.
25. India has the largest postal network in the world with 1,55,015 post offices.
26. India is the world's fastest growing Wireless market.
27. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world.
28. India is the largest overseas exporter of cashew nuts and spices.
29. India is the second largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world.
30. India is the second tractor manufacturer in the world.
31. India is fifth largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the world.
32. India is the second largest producer of quality cement in the world.
33. India is world's largest producer of mica blocs and splittings.
34. India ranks third among global chromite producers.
35. India ranks third in the production of coal, lignite, barites.
36. India ranks sixth in the production of bauxite and manganese ore.
37. India ranks tenth in the production of aluminium.
38. India produces 89 minerals of which 4 are fuel minerals, 11 metallic, 52 non-metallic and 22 minor minerals.
39. India's power market is the fifth largest in the world.
40. Indian retail industry is ranked among the ten largest retail markets in the world.
41. India has the world's biggest movie industry producing around 1000 movies each year.
42. India's per capita energy consumption is 439 kg of oil equivalent.
43. India's per capita emissions is 1.52 CO₂ tons of CO₂.
44. India ranks among top five countries in terms of GHG absolute emissions.
45. India's share in global exports and imports is 1.5 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively in  2010 (1.4 and 2.1 per cent as per WTO).
46. UAE is India's largest trading partner followed by China and USA.
47. The top four items in India's manufactured exports are engineering goods, gems and jewellery, chemicals and related products, and textiles.
48. In the top 100 imports of the world, India has only 6 items with a share of 5 per cent and above in 2010.
49.  India's trade deficit as a per cent of GDP at 5.7 percent in 2010, is 3^rd highest in the world after Hong Kong and UK.
50. Among its top 15 trading partners, India had bilateral trade surplus with five countries, namely the UAE, USA, Singapore, the UK, and Hong Kong.
51. Gujarat and Maharashtra, account for 46 per cent of total exports from India.
52. China is the largest source with an 11.7 per cent share in India's total imports followed by the UAE and Switzerland.
53. UAE is the top destination for India's exports followed by the USA and China.
54. India is the 5^th largest exporter and importer of commercial services preceded by the EU, and US, China and Japan with the same ranks both in exports and imports of commercial services.
55. India is the fourth largest foreign exchange reserve holder in the world, after China, Japan and Russia.

Source: (Compiled from Economic Survey of India and India Year Book)

Welfare Schemes for Women

Many welfare schemes for women are implemented by Government of India, State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. The details of major schemes under implementation by Ministry of Women and Child Development for the welfare of women are as under :-

i. RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL CRECHE SCHEME FOR THE CHILDREN OF WORKING MOTHERS (RGNCS) provides day care facilities to the children in the age group 0-6 years from families with monthly income of less than 12000/-. In addition to being a safe space for the children, the crèches provide services such as supplementary nutrition, pre-school education and emergency health care, etc.

ii. CENTRAL SOCIAL WELFARE BOARD: The main women welfare related schemes and programmes being implemented by CSWB are family counselling centres, awareness generation programme and condensed courses of education for women.

iii. NATIONAL MISSION FOR EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN (NMEW) is an initiative of the Government of India for empowering women holistically. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme sanctioned in April 2011 and acts as an umbrella Mission with a mandate to strengthen inter-sectoral convergence.

iv. WORKING WOMEN’S HOSTEL (WWH) Scheme envisages provision of safe and affordable hostel accommodation to working women, single working women, women working at places away from their home-towns and for women being trained for employment.

v. SUPPORT TO TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME (STEP) for Women was launched as a Central Sector Scheme during 1986-87. It aims at making a significant impact on women by upgrading skills for self and wage employment. The target group includes the marginalized assetless rural women and urban poor.

vi. RASHTRIYA MAHILA KOSH (RMK) with a corpus of Rs.100 crore extends micro-finance services to bring about the socio-economic upliftment of poor women.

vii. INDIRA GANDHI MATRITVA SAHYOG YOJANA (IGMSY) is a Conditional Cash Transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating (P&L) women introduced in the October 2010 to contribute to better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and nursing mothers.

viii. SWADHAR SCHEME: The Ministry of Women and Child Development had been administering Swadhar scheme since 2001 for Women in difficult circumstances. Under the Scheme, temporary accommodation, maintenance and rehabilitative services are provided to women and girls rendered homeless due to family discord, crime, violence, mental stress, social ostracism. Another scheme with similar objectives/target groups namely Short Stay Home (SSH) is being implemented by Central Social Welfare Board.

ix. UJJAWALA is a comprehensive scheme for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.

House sparrow declared Delhi's state bird

The humble House Sparrow was declared as 'state bird' of Delhi by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on 14 August, 2012. Expressing concern over dwindling number of house sparrows in the city, Dikshit hoped that the new status of the bird would help in its conservation.

The Chief Minister, known for her environment-friendly initiatives, announced the decision after launching a campaign "Rise for the Sparrows" aimed at conserving the species.

In her address, Dikshit said her Government will consider incorporate monitoring of the common bird in the school curriculum to make aware the students about conservation of House Sparow and other birds.

Government of India Launched Anti-Ragging Website

The Government of India launched an anti-ragging website. Kapil Sibal, the Union Human Resource Minister inaugurated the ‘Anti-Ragging Web Portal’ on 26 July 2012.

The portal has been developed by The University Grants Commission (UGC) in collaboration with Ed.CIL (India) Ltd. and Planet E-Com Solutions. Rajendra Kachroo, father of Aman who lost his life to ragging at a medical college in Himachal Pradesh in 2009 has also contributed In the UGC managed portal.

 

Supreme Court, in its judgment dated 8 May 2009 ordered implementation of a ragging prevention programme comprising, inter-alia, setting up toll-free anti-ragging helpline /call centre, database of institutions/students, engaging an independent non-government agency.

All calls that would be received by the Anti-ragging Helpline (18001805522) will be managed and followed up in a structured software system. Moreover, students can see the progress of their complaint any time on www.antiragging.in. Online anti ragging affidavits can be downloaded by students from the site, www.antiragging.in.

 

Pak Government Honoured Saadat Hasan Manto with the Nisan-i-Imtiaz

Acclaimed Pakistani writer Saadat Hasan Manto on 14 August 2012 was honoured with the Nisan-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan's highest civilian award. Manto is best known for his Urdu short stories, especially those that explored the impact of the partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan in 1947. Toba Tek Singh, Bu (Odour), Khol Do (Open It) and Thanda Gosht (Cold Meat) were written by him.

Saadat Hasan Manto worked for the Urdu Service of All India Radio in 1941 for several months. Manto ended a career as a scriptwriter in Mumbai to move to Pakistan in 1948. He died at the age of 42 in 1955. His frank style angered conservatives in Pakistan and he faced trial three times on charges of obscenity.

 Besides Manto, renowned singer Mehdi Hassan, Lt.Gen (retired) Khalid Kidwai and Munir Ahmed Khan were honoured with civilian awards for their contributions in fields like arts and literature, nuclear science, education and sports, healthcare and public service. The awards will be given away at a ceremony to be held on Pakistan Day on 23 March 2013.

A Web-based System developed for advising Farmers on Fertilizers

The Indian Institute of Soil Science developed a web-based system for advising farmers the right quantity of fertilizers that they should use in their soils for a particular type of crop.
The software takes into account the soil type in different districts of the country and available nutrient in the soil. It takes into consideration the crop and cropping season in calculating the nutrient requirement. In some cases, it takes care of even different available varieties of main crops. Finally, the system converts the nutrient data into the quantities of main fertilizers-urea, MOP and SSP that are required to be used by the farmer.
This system is presently available district-wise for these 11 states: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

London Olympics 2012 Medals Tally

Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
USA	46	29	29	104
China	38	27	22	87
Great Britain	29	17	19	65
Russia	24	25	33	82
Republic of Korea	13	8	7	28
Germany	11	19	14	44
France	11	11	12	34
Italy	8	9	11	28
Hungary	8	4	5	17
Australia	7	16	12	35
Japan	7	14	17	38
Kazakhstan	7	1	5	13
Netherlands	6	6	8	20
Ukraine	6	5	9	20
Cuba	5	3	6	14
New Zealand	5	3	5	13
Islamic Republic of Iran	4	5	3	12
Jamaica	4	4	4	12
Czech Republic	4	3	3	10
DPR Korea	4	0	2	6
Spain	3	10	4	17
Brazil	3	5	9	17
Belarus	3	5	5	13
South Africa	3	2	1	6
Ethiopia	3	1	3	7
Croatia	3	1	2	6
Romania	2	5	2	9
Kenya	2	4	5	11
Denmark	2	4	3	9
Poland	2	2	6	10
Azerbaijan	2	2	6	10
Turkey	2	2	1	5
Switzerland	2	2	0	4
Lithuania	2	1	2	5
Norway	2	1	1	4
Canada	1	5	12	18
Sweden	1	4	3	8
Colombia	1	3	4	8
Georgia	1	3	3	7
Mexico	1	3	3	7
Ireland	1	1	3	5
Serbia	1	1	2	4
Argentina	1	1	2	4
Slovenia	1	1	2	4
Tunisia	1	1	1	3
Dominican Republic	1	1	0	2
Trinidad & Tobago	1	0	3	4
Uzbekistan	1	0	3	4
Latvia	1	0	1	2
Algeria	1	0	0	1
Grenada	1	0	0	1
Bahamas	1	0	0	1
Uganda	1	0	0	1
Venezuela	1	0	0	1
India	0	2	4	6
Mongolia	0	2	3	5
Thailand	0	2	1	3
Egypt	0	2	0	2
Slovakia	0	1	3	4
Armenia	0	1	2	3
Belgium	0	1	2	3
Finland	0	1	2	3
Puerto Rico	0	1	1	2
Taipei (Chinese Taipei)	0	1	1	2
Indonesia	0	1	1	2
Estonia	0	1	1	2
Bulgaria	0	1	1	2
Malaysia	0	1	1	2
Gabon	0	1	0	1
Botswana	0	1	0	1
Guatemala	0	1	0	1
Cyprus	0	1	0	1
Portugal	0	1	0	1
Greece	0	0	2	2
Singapore	0	0	2	2
Qatar	0	0	2	2
Republic of Moldova	0	0	2	2
Bahrain	0	0	1	1
Afghanistan	0	0	1	1
Honk Kong, China	0	0	1	1
Tajikistan	0	0	1	1
Saudi Arabia	0	0	1	1
Kuwait	0	0	1	1
Morocco	0	0	1	1

London Olympics 2012 Medal Tally India

Silver

● Vijay Kumar - Shooting (Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol)

● Sushil Kumar - Wrestling (Men's 66kg Freestyle)

Bronze 

● Saina Nehwal - Badminton (Women's Singles)

● Chungneijang Mery Kom Hmangte - Boxing  [Women's Fly (51kg)]

● Gagan Narang - Shooting (Men's 10m Air Rifle)

● Yogeshwar Dutt - Wrestling (Men's 60kg Freestyle)

National Population Register: My Identity My Pride

The National Population Register  (NPR) is a comprehensive identity database to be maintained by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs .
As per Section 14A of the Citizenship Act 1955  as amended in 2004, it is compulsory for every citizen of the country to register in the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC). The creation of the National Population Register (NPR) is the first step towards preparation of the NRIC. Out of the universal dataset of residents, the subset of citizens would be derived after due verification of the citizenship status. Therefore, it is compulsory for all usual residents to register under the NPR.

The objective of creating this identity database is to help in better utilization and implementation of the benefits and services under the government schemes, improve planning and security in the country.
The Government of India has initiated the creation of this database, by collecting specific information of all usual residents in the country during the House listing and Housing Census phase of Census 2011 during April 2010 to September 2010. It is planned that the collected information of the Usual Residency (aged 5 and above) of 17 states and 2 UTs  will now be digitized, and biometric data will be collected from these residents for further integration.

National Register of Indian Citizens

The National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) will be a Register of citizens of the country. It will be prepared at the local (Village level), sub District (Tehsil/Taluk level), District, State and National level after verifying the details in the NPR and establishing the citizenship of each individual. The NRIC, therefore, would be a sub-set of the NPR.

Mary Kom bagged Bronze in Women Flyweight Boxing at London Olympics 2012

In a bout fought on 8 August 2012 at the Excel Arena, star Indian female Boxer Mary Kom got India its fourth medal in the London Olympics 2012, giving the country its biggest medal haul in the history of modern Olympics. The ace pugilist, however, knocked out of the Olympic Games flyweight (51 kg) semi-finals after she suffered an 11-6 defeat in the hand of Britain’s Nicola Adams.
Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom popularly called Mary Kom or Magnificent Mary got her place secured at London Olympics 2012 after winning 2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship held in Qinhuangdao, China from 9 May to 22 May 2012. There too she had suffered a defeat to Nicola Adams in the quarter-finals.
Kicking off her Olympics campaign on 5 August 2012, Mary Kom had beat Karolina Michalczuk of Poland 19-14 in the in the first round. In the quarter-final, the following day, she defeated Maroua Rahali of Tunisia 15-6, securing one medal for the country. This was the first time when the women boxing event was introduced in the Olympic games.
Born on 1 March 1983 in Kangathei  in Manipur, India, Mary Kom turned professional boxer after her victory in the Manipur state women's boxing championship in 2000. Mary made her international debut at the first AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship held in the United States, where she bagged a silver medal in the 48 kg weight category. Subsequently she won a gold medal in the 45 kg class at the second AIBA Women's WorldBoxing Championship in Turkey in 2002. Kom has total 5 world boxing championship titles in his name.
The government of India had awarded her with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, country’s highest award given to sports persons, in 2009. Besides she was also given the Arjuna Award in 2003 and Padma Shree Award in 2006. She was also appointed the International Boxing Association’s Ambassador for Women’s Boxing in 2009.

Jamaican Sprinter Usain Bolt won Gold in Men’s 100 Meter Race, set Olympic Record

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won gold in men’s 100 meter race with 9.63 seconds, fastest in the history of Olympics. His compatriot Yohan Blake came second as he took 9.75 second to complete the race. US’ sprinter Justin Gatlin grabbed bronze with 9.79 seconds.
Bolt holds a world record of 9.58 second in 100 meter racing, the record he set at the Berlin World Championships in 2009. With it, he now has the three fastest 100 meters in history next to his name. He is only the second Olympic champion in the 100 meters to defend his title after United State's Carl Lewis.

Saina Nehwal clinched Bronze in Women’s Singles Badminton Event at London Olympics 2012

Indian shuttler Saina Nehawal won India its third medal at London Olympics 2012 after she clinched a bronze in women's singles badminton event played at Wembley Arena on 4 August 2012. Saina bagged the bronze after her Chinese opponent  Xin Wang conceded the match due to a knee injury. Xin Wang was one game point ahead of Saina when she decided to quit the game due to the unbearable pain. Chinese shuttlers Li Xuerui and Wang Yihan won the gold and silver medals respectively.
Saina’s bronze marked India’s third medal at London Olympics 2012 and twelfth individual medal in the history of modern oympics. The previous two medals came in shooting events. While Gagan Narang won India its first bronze in the London Olympics on 30 July 2012, Vijay Kumar clinched silver on 3 August 2012. With this victory, Saina became the second Indian woman after Karanam Malleshwari to win a medal in the history of olympics. Karnam Malleshwari had earned India a bronze in weight lifting event in 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Born in Hisar, Haryana on 17 March 1990, Saina Nehwal turned a professional shuttler in 2006. Year 2008 saw her winning the World Junior Badminton Championships. In 2008 Beijing Olympics she had reached the quarter-finals round becoming the first Indian woman to reach the quarter finals in the Olympic Games. In year 2009, she won the Indonesia Open Title, becoming the first Indian to win a BWF Super Series title. Saina’s career best ranking came in 2010 when she rose to world number two position.
Former Indonesian badminton great Atil Jauhari is the present coach of Saina while, national coach Pullela Gopichand is her mentor.
Saina was awarded with the Arjuna Award in 2009 and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the highest award given to a sportsperson in the country, in year 2010. The government of India also conferred Padm Shree, the fourth highest civilian award in India, upon her in 2010.

Saina Nehwal’s Medal Tally
2008: BWF World Junior Championships (Gold)
2009: Indonesia Super Series (Gold)
2009: Indian Open Grand Prix (Gold)
2010: Badminton Asia Championships (Bronze)
2010: Indian Open Grand Prix (Gold)
2010: Singapore Open Super Series (Gold)
2010: Indonesia Open Super Series (Gold)
2010: Commonwealth Games (Gold)
2010: Hong Kong Super Series (Gold)
2011: Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold (Gold)
2011: Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold (Silver)
2011: Indonesia Open Super Series Premier (Silver)
2012: Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold (Gold)

Vijay Kumar bagged Silver in Olympics 25 Metre Rapid Fire Pistol Event

In a nerve-wracking battle for Olympic medal in the individual 25 metre rapid fire pistol event, Indian shooter Vijay Kumar clinched the silver on 3 August 2012. Kumar hit the target 30 times out of 40 attempts in the series comprising eight rounds of five shots each. Leuris Pupo of Cuba, whi clinced the gold clinched scored 34 out of 40. Chinese marksman Ding Feng bagged the bronze.
Born on 19 August 1985 in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh is presently a Subedar in the Indian Army’s 16th Dogra Regiment. He booked his place at the London Olympics when he won a silver medal at the shooting World Cup in Fort Benning, US in 2011. The persevering shooter has more than 20 international medals and 75 national medals to his credit. He had won 3 gold medals and one silver medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi. 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne saw him winning two gold medals in two separate shooting events. In one of the major achievements in 2009 ISSF World Cup held in Beijing he bagged Silver missing the gold by mere 0.1 point. Acknowledging his excellent track record and medal winning performances, the India government awarded him with the Arjuna Award in year 2007.

Gagan Narang won Bronze in the men's 10 meter air rifle event at London Olympics

Ace Indian Shooter won India its first medal in the London Olympics 2012 after he clinched the bronze medal in the men's 10 meter air rifle event on 30 July 2012. While Abhinav Bindra, who had won a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics 2008, failed to qualify for finals and finished sixteenth.
Romania’s shooter Alin George Moldoveanu claimed the gold medal with a total score of 702.1 while Italy's Niccolo Campriani clinched the silver with a score of 701.5. Narang came third with a total score of 701.1.
It was third time when Gagan Narang was participating in Olympics. In previous Athens and Beijing Olympic games he could not turn his performance into medal. This was India’s third medal in shooting events in the history of Olympics. Earlier Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore and Abhinav Bondra had won India silver and Gold medal respectively in 2004 and 2008 olympic games. Narang’s bronze also marked India’s tenth individual medal in the history of Olympic games.
Gagan Narang, who hails from Amritsar in Punjab was conferred with the Padma Shree Award in 2010. Considering his tremendous contribution to the field of sports, in year 2010, Gagan Narang was chosen for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the highest sports award in the country.

First Meeting of the India-CELAC Troika Foreign Ministers was held in New Delhi

First meeting of the India-CELAC Troika foreign ministers was held in New Delhi. The first meeting of the India-CELAC (The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Troika foreign ministers was held in New Delhi on 7 August 2012. The CELAC Troika was led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile Alfredo Moreno Charme, the pro-tempore President of CELAC. The Foreign Minister of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro and the Vice Foreign Minister of Cuba, Rogelio Sierra participated in the meeting as members of the Troika. The Indian delegation was led by the External Affairs Minister of India, SM Krishna.
The meeting was held with the objective of strengthening India-CELAC relationship.