DIARY OF EVENTS 2012

20th Law Commission of India

Justice D. K. Jain, who would take up the assignment after his retirement on January 24, will have a three-year tenure and has been saddled with a wide terms of reference including one to examine existing laws from the gender equality perspective and suggest necessary amendments. The 12th Law Commission was constituted through a Government Order with effect from September 1, 2012, with the term ending on August 31, 2015. It was asked to identify obsolete laws for their repeal and also suggest suitable measures for quick grievance redressal of citizens grievances in the field of law. The new Law Commission would also examine the Laws which affect the poor and carry out post-audit for socio-economic legislations and take all necessary measures to harness law and the legal process in the service of the poor.

Greening Rural Development in India

The Ministry of Rural Development, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released a report “Greening Rural Development in India”. The report presents strategies for inclusive rural development embodying the principles of environmental sustainability. The Report assumes particular significance in the light of the Twelfth Five Year Plan, which has as its objective, faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth?.The report has examined six flagship Government of India (GoI) schemes, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MGNREGS); National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM); Integrated Watershed Development Programme (IWDP); Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY); National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDP) and Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) to recommend actions and measures to achieve greening outcomes. In specific it looks as improving quality of ecosystems, enabling sustainable livelihoods, strengthening resilience of local communities to enable them to recover from extreme weather events and reducing ecological footprint through efficient use of energy, material and natural resources.

Tagore Centre for the Study of Culture and Civilization

To pay a befitting tribute to the man of letters, Nobel Laureate, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, on his 150th birth anniversary, the Government of India has set up a 'Tagore Centre for the Study of Culture and Civilization' (TCSCC) at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla. The objectives of the Centre include: to encourage the study of Tagore's work; support translations of Tagore's work into other Indian languages; promote comparative study of his work with poets, artists and writers in other parts of India and the world; study the elements of his Humanist philosophy and his cosmopolitanism; and explore his concerns regarding the relationship between science and society.

Ravindra H. Dholakia committee

A committee was set up to suggest measures to lower the high costs of Air India’s operations and improve utilisation of resources in line with best global practices to help the state-run carrier achieve the goals of its turnaround and financial restructuring plans. A five-member committee, headed by IIM- Ahmedabad’s Prof Ravindra H Dholakia, was set up by Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh after a review meeting of the ailing national carrier’s functioning. Though the panel has been given two months to submit its report, it has been asked to give interim recommendations without waiting for its final report so that these could be implemented by Air India immediately.

14th Finance Commission

The government announced the constitution of the 14th Finance Commission under the chairmanship of former RBI Governor Y. V. Reddy. The five- member panel is to submit its report by October 31, 2014. Apart from its recommendations on the sharing of tax proceeds between the Centre and the States which will apply for a five-year period beginning April 1, 2015, the Commission has been asked to suggest steps for pricing of public utilities such as electricity and water in an independent manner and also look into issues like disinvestment, GST compensation, sale of non-priority PSUs and subsidies.

Bhim Awards" on outstanding sports persons

Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia conferred annual "Bhim Awards" on outstanding sports persons of the state. Appreciating the sports policy of the state he said that till now 137 sportpersons have been honoured with Bhim Award. Those who received the "Award" presently include Boxer from Bhiwani jeetender kumar, wrestler from Karnal Nirmala Devi, athletic player shotputter from Gurgaon Om Parkash, Roller Skating player from Faridabad Dhruv Gautam and Yashdeep kaur of Sirsa and Paralympics athlete from Sonepat Mr Rajesh Kumar.

Madhya Pradesh will be observed as Information Technology Empowerment Year as 2013

In Madhya Pradesh, the year 2013 will be observed as Information Technology Empowerment Year. All MoUs signed in the IT sector will be implemented during the Year. Work will be undertaken for development of new IT parks in Bhopal and Indore. Electronic manufacturing hubs will be established at Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur. Rural women will be given IT training while maximum number of government officers and employees will be made IT-savvy. Besides this an IT cadre will be developed for making available skilled human resources from state to block levels. Work will be done on a mission mode in mobile governance sector so that good governance can be ensured at the lowest level.

Venkatesh Mannar received Canada’s ‘highest’ civilian award

A Chennai-born scientist of Indian origin, Venkatesh Mannar, President, Micronutrient Initiative, Canada, has been awarded Canada’s ‘highest’ civilian award – the Order of Canada. For nearly 40 years, Mannar has been working to reduce debilitating micronutrient deficiencies among the world’s most vulnerable. Established in 1967 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the award is the centrepiece of the Canadian Honours System, and recognises a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation to people in all sectors of Canadian society. Micronutrient Initiative is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to ensure that the world’s most vulnerable – especially women and children – in developing countries get vitamins and minerals they need to survive and thrive through supplements and a food fortification programme. Its mission is to develop, implement and monitor cost effective and sustainable solutions for hidden hunger, in partnership with others.

Asia’s First Bio-Safety Level-IV Laboratory

India opened its first BIO-Safety Level –IV Laboratory in Pune. The lab has been established by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) with support from Department of Science & Technology. The BSL 4 Facility is dubbed to have the highest level of bio-safety lab in the world and will be the first of its kind in Asia and India. Under the aegis of ICMR, there are few Biosafety Laboratories and some of them are being upgraded to Level III and IV. A total of 16 new; 14 BSL-II and 2 BSL-III Laboratories have been set up for working on viral diseases and TB in the country.

‘Annaprasana’ – an innovative programme

The Odisha State government will be implementing the scheme through 71,134 anganwadi centres across the State. Annaprasana will be aimed at helping mothers know about complementary food required for infants after six months. The State government would give a spoon and a bowl to every mother to encourage them to follow the guideline.

Tagore Peace Prize

An Emirati poet, who is well known for translating Indian poetry in Arabic, has become the first from the Arab world to win the Tagore Peace Prize. Shihab Ganem has been awarded the prize for his achievements in the field of poetry and its translation, as well as his contribution to developing human understanding that are in compliance with the values of humanity, love and peace adopted and called for by Tagore. The honour is awarded to a single person every two years. The Tagore Award was instituted by the Indian government to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, for promoting values of universal brotherhood.

Jnanpith Award for the year 2011

Leading Oriya novelist and academician Pratibha Ray, who has over 40 novels, travelogues and short stories to her credit, was named for the prestigious Jnanpith Award for the year 2011. Ray has 20 novels, 24 short stories, 10 travelogues, two poetry collections and a number of essays to her credit. Her writings have been translated into English, other foreign languages as also a number of other Indian languages. Her boldness, courage and commitment to work with the Bonda tribe was commendable at a time when even a male researcher shied away from working with them.

India's first and unique cow sanctuary

India’s first and unique cow sanctuary will be established in Madhya Pradesh. State’s chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan laid the foundation stone of the Kamadhenu Cow Sanctuary at Salriya village in Susner tahsil of Shajapur district.Chief minister said that world's unique cow sanctuary will be made a cow pilgrimage centre. He also announced to set up a Cow Products Research Centre in the sanctuary. He said that a religious tourism circuit will be developed by interlinking Maa Bagulamukhi Mandir at Nalkhera, Pipalya Balaji Mandir at Soyat, Baijnath Mahadev Mandir at Agar and the cow sanctuary.

70th Annual Golden Globe Awards 2013

In the prestigious Golden Globe Awards 2013, the hostage-crisis movieArgo thrashed Lincoln to bag best picture as well as best director awards on 13 January 2013. Les Miserables, on the other hand won the awards in best musical or comedy category with the actors Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman winning one trophy each.

The award-winning movie Argo is actually inspired by 1979 crisis US diplomats in Iran. In the category of Best Drama, other nominees were Django Unchained, Zero Dark Thirty as well as Life of Pi.

Lincoln which was leading the race with a total of seven nominations took away just the trophy of best actor which was awarded to Daniel Day-Lewis for his role as the 16 President of US. However, the film might have better opportunities at Oscars where it is running first with 12 nominations.

The Golden Globe Awards 2013 also did not stand with Life of Pi and the film only took home a single award, the best original score by Mychael Danna.

List of Golden Globe Awards 2013 Winners:
•Best Motion Picture-Drama: Argo
•Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy: Les Miserables
•Best performance by an actor in a motion picture – Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
•Best performance by an actress in a motion picture – Drama: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
•Best performance by an actor in a motion picture- Musical or Comedy: Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables)
•Best performance by an actress in a motion picture- Musical or Comedy: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
•Best Director: Ben Affleck (Argo)
•Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz
•Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway
•Best Television Series (Drama): Homeland
•Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Drama): Claire Danes (Homeland)
•Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Drama): Damian Lewis (Homeland)
•Best Screenplay: Adele - 'Skyfall' (Skyfall)
•Best Television Series (Comedy or Musical): Girls
•Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Comedy or Musical): Lena Dunham (Girls)
•Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Comedy or Musical): Don Cheadle (House of Lies)
•Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Game Change
•Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Julianne Moore (Game Change)
•Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Kevin Costner (Hatfields & McCoys)
•Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey)
•Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Ed Harris (Game Change)
•Best Original Score: Life of Pi
•Best Animated Feature Film: Brave

The other winners at the Golden Globe Awards 2013 were as follows:
•Best Foreign Language Film: Amour (Austria, Les Films Du Losange, X Filme Creative Pool, Wega Film; Sony Pictures Classics)
•Best Animated Feature Film: Brave
•Best Original Song: Skyfall, Adele from Skyfall
•Best Original Score: Mychael Danna, Life of Pi

About the Golden Globe Awards:
The Hollywood stars came on 13 January 2013 to Beverly Hills, Calif for taking the much-popular Golden Globe trophies at 70th annual Golden Globe Awards. These awards were presented by Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The first Golden Globes were held at Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and were hosted by Hollywood Foreign Correspondents Association. From there, the idea of recognizing the excellence in the concept of moviemaking came up by the members of Foreign Correspondents Association. The first awards of the organisation took place in early 1944 and the informal ceremony took place at 20th Century Fox.

Jennifer Jones bagged the Best Actress award for The Song of Bernadette, which was also the best film. Paul Lukas won the Best Actor award for Watch on the Rhine.

Jeevan Raksha Padak

The President of India has approved the conferment of Jeevan Raksha Padak Awards – 2012 on the following persons :-

Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak (3)

	Ms. Vineetha P.K. (Posthumous), Kerala Ms. Remya Rajappan (Posthumous), Kerala Smt. Sangeeta Agarwal (Posthumous), Uttarakhand
1.
2.
3.

Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak (10)

1.	Shri Rahul Kevat, Madhya Pradesh
2.	Shri Shivam Rajendra Pandey (Posthumous), Maharashtra
3.	Shri C. Thanthuama  (Posthumous), Mizoram
4.	Shri Liankanglova, Mizoram
5.	Shri Ramesh Kompalli Babu, Andhra Pradesh
6.	Ms. Lovely Verma (Posthumous), Uttar Pradesh
7.	Shri Kshetrimaym Rakesh Singh, Manipur
8.	Shri Mohammed Nishadh V.P., Kerala
9.	Ms. Prasannta Shandilya (Khushi), Jharkhand
10.	Ms. Mittal Mahendrabhai Patadiya, Gujarat

Jeevan Raksha Padak (37)

1.	Shri Sureshkumar C.S. (Posthumous), Kerala
2.	Shri Jishnu. V. Nair, Kerala
3.	Shri Pradeep Rai, Madhya Pradesh
4.	Shri Pradeep Shingare, Madhya Pradesh
5.	Shri Shahid Ismail Inamdar, Maharashtra
6.	Shri Ananda Ishwar Mane, Maharashtra
7.	Shri Shrikant Shamrao Mane, Maharashtra
8.	Shri Nitin Vilas Kore, Maharashtra
9.	Shri Lalramchhana, Mizoram
10.	Shri Lalchhuanliana, Mizoram
11.	Ms. Lalrinzuali, Mizoram
12.	Shri K.T. Chungnunga, Mizoram
13.	Shri Nisar Khan, Rajasthan
14.	Shri Aji Cherippanattu Kochu, Kerala
15.	Shri Kartik Uppal, Delhi
16.	Shri Sham Raj Kishor, Punjab
17.	Dr. Narendra Singh, Jammu & Kashmir
18.	Shri Takhelchangbam Devajit Sharma, Manipur
19.	Ms. Saudhita Barman (Posthumous), West Bengal
20.	Shri G. Parameswaran, Tamil Nadu
21.	Shri S.S. Madhu, Karnataka
22.	Shri Johnson Tourangbam, Manipur
23.	Shri Yandam Amara Uday Kiran, Andhra Pradesh
24.	Shri Phurailatpam Borish Sharma alias Bode, Manipur
25.	Shri Durgesh Singh, Chhattisgarh
26.	Shri Devashish Pandey, Chhattisgarh
27.	Shri Shubham Kumar Tiwari, Chhattisgarh
28.	Shri Raju Dhruv, Chhattisgarh
29.	Shri Vipin Patel, Chhattisgarh
30.	Shri Anshif C.K., Kerala
31.	Shri Suthrapu Shiva Prasad, Andhra Pradesh
32.	Shri Adithya Gopal (Posthumous), Arunachal Pradesh
33.	Shri Ranjan Pradhan, Chhattisgarh
34.	Shri Paramjeet, Haryana
35.	Shri Sahsad. K., Kerala
36.	Shri Dungar Singh, Rajasthan
37.	Ms. Anjali Singh Gautam, Chhattisgarh

            Jeevan Raksha Padak series of awards are given to a person for meritorious act of humanenature in saving the life of a person.  The award is given in three categories, namely, Sarvottam JeevanRaksha Padak, Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak, and Jeevan Raksha Padak.  Persons of either sex in all walks of life are eligible for these awards.  The award can also be conferred posthumously.

            The decoration of the award (medal, certificate signed by the Home Minister and demand draft for lump sum monetary allowance) is presented to the awardee in due course by the respective State Government to which the awardee belongs.  The lump sum monetary allowance is given at the rate of 1,00,000, Rs.60,000, and Rs. 40,000 to the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padakand Jeevan Raksha Padak awardee respectively.

Jute fair in Mangalore

The National Jute Board (NJB) will conduct a jute fair, an exhibition-cum-sale of lifestyle jute decorative products, in Mangalore on January 16-20.

Mayor of Mangalore, will inaugurate the event on January 16.The NJB, which is under the Union Ministry of Textiles, has been organising exhibitions, buyer-seller meets, fashion shows, seminars and workshops for the promotion of the eco-friendly jute products. The jute fair will be conducted at Woodlands Auditorium on Bunts’ Hostel Road in the city

19th Colors Screen Awards

The 19th Colors Screen Awards were announced on 12 January 2013 in a function at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex. From the list of 119 films released in 2012, 27 films were green signaled in the Screen Academy Selection singled for consideration by the Jury. The screen jury comprised the eminent members of the Indian Film Industry. These panelists after several rounds of discussions and debates were able to finalise the nominations.

Details :

Award Category	Winners
Best Film	Paan Singh Tomar
Best Actor Male	Irfan Khan for Paan Singh Tomar and Ranbir Kapoor for Barfi
Best Actress Female	Vidya Balan for Kahaani
Best Director	Anurag Basu for Barfi
Best Ensemble Cast	Gangs Of Wasseypur
Best Actor (Female-Popular Catagory)	Katrina Kaif
Best Actor (Male Popular Category)	Salman Khan
Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Female)	Dolly Ahluwalia for Vicky Donor
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)	Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Talaash
Best Actor in a Negative Role (Male/Female)	Tigmanshu Dhulia for Gangs Of Wasseypur
Most Promising Newcomer (Female)	Ileana D'Cruz for Barfi
Most Promising Newcomer (Male)	Ayushmann Khurrana for Vicky Donor
Best Child Artiste	Mohammad Samad for Gattu
Promising Debut Director	Gauri Shinde for English Vinglish
Best Actor in a Comic Role (Male/Female)	Annu Kapoor for Vicky Donor) and Abhishek Bachchan for Bol Bachchan
Best Playback Singer (Female)	Shalmali Kholgade for Ishaqzaade
Best Music	Pritam for Barfi
Best Playback Singer (Male)	Javed Ali for Ishaqzaade
Best Story	Sujoy Ghosh & Advaita Kala for Kahaani
Best Background Score	Pritam for Barfi
Best Production Design	Kaushik Dasa & Subrata Barik for Kahaani
Best Lyrics	Javed Akhtar for Talaash and Muskanein Jhoothi Hain
Best Sound Design	Sanjay Maurya & Allwyn Rego  for Kahaani
Best Dialogue	Bhavesh Mandlia & Umesh Shukla for OMG: Oh My God
Best Screenplay	Sanjay Chouhan & Tigmanshu Dhulia  for Paan Singh Tomar
Best Editing	Namrata Rao  for Kahaani
Best Choreography	Prabhu Deva & Vishnu Deva for Go Govinda and OMG: Oh My God
Best Cinematography	Ravi Varman for Barfi
Best Action	Sham Kaushal For Gangs Of Wasseypur
Best Costume	Anaita Shroff Adajania for Cocktail
Best Animation	Delhi Safari
Best Marketing	Barfi
Legend of Indian Cinema Award	Amitabh Bachchan
Lifetime Achievement: Award	Yash Chopra

India to host first global ministerial meet on elephants

India will host the first ever global ministerial meet – 'E 50:50' – on elephants in the Capital from November 14 to 19.

The conference, expected to be attended by 50 countries that harbour wild populations of elephants, will discuss conservation and welfare of elephants, according the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

The ‘E 50:50 – the First International Elephant Congress and Ministerial Meet, will bring together scholars, conservation practitioners and policy makers to discuss issues on elephant conservation policy. It will also include conclaves on science, culture and management culminating in a ministerial summit to adopt a vision charter with common minimum global vision on conservation, management and welfare of elephants across all range countries.

At present, three species of elephants are spread across 50 countries, but regardless of geo-political boundaries, they face common threats of poaching, habitat loss and conflicts with people.

In 2010, India had set up an Elephant Task Force (ETF) to work out a strategy for the long-term conservation of the species elephants. In an effort to take the global lead on the matter, the ETF had initiated a global meet of affected countries in May 2011, such as Botswana, Congo Brazzaville, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Thailand.

Krishi Karman awards for 8 States

Bihar, Manipur, Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh will be awarded the Krishi Karman 2011-12 awards for their efforts in increasing food grain production.

President Pranab Mukherjee will present these awards to Chief Ministers of these States.

The awards are given to best performing States in two broad categories, one for the total food grain production and the other for the individual food grain crops of rice, wheat, pulses and coarse cereals.