Current Affairs September 2012

1. UK’s Tennis icon Andy Murray won his first Grand Slam title yesterday when he defeated Novak Djokovic by 7-6 (12-10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 in the dramatic US open 2012 final. With this he ended UK’s 76-year wait for men’s Grand Slam title. 76 years ago UK’s Fred Perry won the last Grand Slam title at US Open.

2. US Tennis star Serena Williams won Women’s Singles US Open title 2012last weekend after defeating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus by 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. This is her 4th US Open Title and 15th Grand Slam title.

3. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton won the Italian Grand Prix 2012 last weekend. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished at the 3rd position and extended his overall lead.

4. The South Korean Movie, Pieta won the Golden Lion Prize in the “Best Movie” category at the 69th Vennish Film Festival recently. It was directed by Kim Ki-duk. Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” won two prizes, The Best Director award for Paul Thomas Anderson and Best Actor awards for Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix.

5. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has been elected as the new President of Somalia. He defeated current President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in the Presidential election after securing 190 votes compared to Ahmed’s 79 votes.

6. The Italian economy was contracted by 0.8% during the second quarter (April-June) of the current year. It deepens recession in the country which is already struggling with high public debt and lower economic growth

· Apple Inc. - a Japanese court rejected the patent claim of Apple Inc. that its South Korean rival Samsung stole its technology.

· Harvard University - an Ivy League University which has recently faced largest cheating scandal in its history

· Ramon Magsaysay Award Winners 2012 – Award given by the President of Philipinnes Benigno Aquino III.

· Awards -
1. Government Service – Syeda Rizwana Hasan (Bangladesh)
2. Public Service – Yang Siang Koma (Cambodia)
3. Community Leadership –Kulendei Francis (India)
4. Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts – Romulo Davide (Philippines)
5. Peace and International Understanding – Chen Shu-chu (Taiwan)
6. Emergent Leadership – Ruwindrijarto (Indonesia)

· Thalidomide - A drug manufactured by Grünenthal, a German pharmaceutical company An estimated 10,000 children worldwide were born with defects — including missing limbs — after their mothers took thalidomide, which was sold in nearly 50 countries before being pulled from the market in 1961.

· International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – in its recent report, IAEA has alleged that Iran is frustrating U.N. inspection of a suspect military site by apparently scrubbing it clean.

· Lucimar da Silva - A gay man in Brazil who has been granted a fourmonth “maternity” leave for a child he and his civil partner adopted.

· Meles Zenawi – the person who served as the Prime Minister of Ethopia – he has recently passed away – he served as the Prime Minister until he died

· Iran – country which has reinforced its aspirations to transform its navy into a blue water force that is capable of establishing its presence off the coast of the United States in the next few years.

· Kaushik Basu - The World Bank has named Kaushik Basu as the institution’s new chief economist and Senior Vice-President – Earlier, he was the chief economic adviser of the India’s Ministry of Finance

· Save the Children - Pakistan has asked foreign staff members of the international aid agency Save the Children [an NGO] to leave the country – there have been allegations against the NGO for helping CIA and its relation in Abottabad attack on al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

· Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) - the United States has finally lifted its “terrorist” tag for Nepal’s s ruling party, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists)

· Haqqani Network - a terror outfit in Afghanistan – has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by U.S.A.

· Paul McCartney – Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney he has recently received the French Legion of Honour award

· Massachusetts Institute of Technology - The prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology has grabbed the top slot from Cambridge University on a world ranking for 2011-2012 – rankings in the “league table” by QS World University Rankings.

· WikiLeaks - it recently released a cache of more than 32,000 emails to and from the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying they revealed “the inner workings of the Syrian government and economy’’ .

· Bank of England – it is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based – British Treasury chief George Osborne said he would be advertising a major job for the first time ever: Governor of the Bank of England.

· Christopher Stevens - The ambassador of the United States to Libya has been killed during an armed mob attack in Benghazi on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

· Apple Inc. - it recently unveiled the iPhone 5 – Marketing head Phil Schiller unveiled the year’s most eagerly awaited phone

· Eduardo dos Santos - President of Angola. Angola is holding country’s third elections since gaining independence in 1975.

· Vinod Rai – Comptroller and Auditor General of India - he was in light because of the report which he presented on the allocation of Coal Blocks – he reported the huge losses suffered by the government in this allocation

· Raj Thackeray - Chairperson, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena

· Rajasthan Vishesh Awas Yojna - special housing schemel launched by the state of Rajasthan for rehabilitation of both urban and rural poor affected by natural and manmade calamities.

· India’s G.D.P growth (1st quarter 2012-13) – 5.5% – it was the worst GDP in this quarter within past one decade.

· India’s Foreign Policy: Coping with the Changing World – book authored by Muchkund Dubey to be released – M. Dubey is a former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh

· Gen Liang Guanglie – Chinese Defence Minister who is on a visit to India

· Duniya Na Mane - movie screened on the opening day of the Delhi Book Fair to commemorate 100 years of Indian cinema.

· Duniya na Mane is a 1937 Hindi social classic directed by V. Shantaram.

· National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Programme - the Ministry of Human Resource Development has started a process of enhancing the criteria of annual parental income from the current Rs. 1.5 lakh and the rate of scholarships to make a larger number of students eligible for the scholarships.

· No long duration SIM card for foreign tourists - the government has asked telecom service providers not to provide mobile connection for more than three months to any foreign tourist visiting India.

· Haryana – state which has instituted nutrition awards at the district level to check malnourishment among children..

· Gujarat – State which has recently issued a notification to ban Gutka and Pan Masala in the state.

· Anil Bordia - Eminent educationist, activist and former civil servant, who played an important role in defining the country’s new education policy – he has recently passed away

· ‘Hamari Miss India’ – campaign to move from village to village to voice a strong concern against sex-selective tests and reiterate the opportunity that a girl child brings to a family and to society at large – launched by Delhi-based Sun Foundation

· ‘Sorry Teacher’ – Telugu Feature Film whose release for public viewing was restrained by Andhra Pradesh High Court

· Sri Lanka – country which has recently issued a travel advisory to its citizens from visiting Tamil Nadu for ‘increasing acts of intimidation against Sri Lankan nationals in Tamil Nadu’.

· “Delhi Annshri Yojana” - Under the programme, Rs.600 in cash would be transferred to the eldest female members of more than two lakh families which are not presently covered under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Antyodaya programmes – to be launched by Delhi Government on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti this year

· Hydro-electric project on Kishenganga River – a matter of dispute between India and Pakistan

· Justice Altamas Kabir – to take over as the Chief Justice of India in September 2012 – he will be the 39th Chief Justice of India – he will succeed Justice S.H. Kapadia

· McDonald’s - The world’s second-biggest restaurant chain after Subway – It will open its first vegetarian outlet in the middle of next year near the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

· Union Cabinet - it has recently approved a Bill to amend the Constitution to provide reservation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government job promotions.

· ‘Solaris’ – a solar-powered passenger car developed by Delhi Technological University – it has recently been flagged off by President Pranab Mukherjee

· Musalmander Koronio (What Muslims should do) – book that contains certain passages which are critical of the Trinamool Congress-led government’s policies for minorities – The author of the book is Nazrul Islam – the publisher of the book was attacked and office was raided by the police in relation to the book.

· Union Minister of State for Telecommunication & Information Technology - Sachin Pilot – to be commissioned in the rank of lieutenant in the Territorial Army (TA).

· Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) - to soon launch mobile applications to allow people access weather related information on their Android mobile phones.

· Rajasthan Government – it has launched a new scheme for providing training to women for employment in different fields.

· India – it has slipped a place down to 169th in FIFA rankings, and is ranked 32nd in Asia

· Washington Post – The newspaper which was in controversy for publishing a controversial article on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

· In a landmark judgement, Supreme has held that Indian courts have no jurisdiction to pass interim orders in foreign arbitration awards between an Indian company and a foreign company under the provisions of the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

· Justice M.B. Shah Commission - probed into illegal mining of iron ore and manganese in Goa

· External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Interior Minister Rehman Malik – they have recently signed a long-pending visa agreement to ease travel relations between India and Pakistan - The new visa regime — the first major overhaul since 1974 — in particular eases travel restrictions for businessmen and introduces a new category of group tourism. Besides, persons aged above 65 will be issued visa on
arrival.

· Manoj Kumar Raina - the first contestant to have won Rs. 1 crore in the sixth season of Kaun Banega Crorepati

· “Nagara mattu Nadikanive” – A documentary deals with the impact the proposed Gundia power project will have, if implemented, on the biodiversity of the Western Ghat - Kesari Haravu is the director of the documentary.

· Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C21) - A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C21) blasted off from Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) and placed two foreign satellites in orbit - Two foreign satellites which were launched by PSLV-C21 are – SPOT-6 a 712-kg French earth observation satellite – built by Astrium SAS, a European space technology company - Proiteres a 15-kg Japanese microsatellite, was put into orbit as an additional payload – Proiteres is meant to study the poweredflight of a small satellite by an electric thruster and to observe Japan’s Kansai district with a high-resolution camera - It is the biggest commercial lift by PSLV

· Aseem Trivedi - Award-winning political cartoonist and anti-corruption and Internet freedom crusader Aseem Trivedi has recently been arrested – he was arrested on charges of sedition, cyber crime, and insulting the national flag, Parliament and the Constitution through his work.

· Trivedi’s ‘Cartoons Against Corruption’ website was earlier banned by the Mumbai police.

· Verghese Kurien - father of “White Revolution” and founder of the cooperative dairy movement in the country – he has recently passed away – was also known as milkman of India

· Anand - a small town in central Gujarat that was Kurien’s home for the last six decades and which he made famous as “the milk capital of India.”

· Delhi Government - it has decided to impose a complete ban on manufacture, sale, display, transportation and storage of gutka and other related products in the city - Delhi Government has also imposed a blanket ban on manufacture, sale, storage and use of plastic bags in the city

· Goa - state which suspended the operation of all existing mining leases – the move has been taken to scrutinise clearances obtained by the leaseholders and not to allow continuation of operations without verification of requisite approvals

· There was a growing public outcry over the illegalities in the mining sector as brought out by the Justice M. B. Shah Commission of Inquiry in its report

· Free medicine supply scheme – the objective of the scheme is to provide free medicines to all patients in all Government hospitals to the people of all socioeconomic categories – The scheme was launched in Rajasthan on October 2, marking Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary in 2011

· “Siachen – The Cold War” – a comic which illustrates comic replete with bloody battle scenes, snazzy guns and strong men about India and Pakistan fighting a tough battle on the snow tops of the Himalayan range, i.e., Sianchen Glacier

· Rishi Kumar is the author, illustrator and publisher of the comics.

· ‘Padma’ and ‘Chopola’ - Replicas of the houseboats used by Rabindranath Tagore during his stay in East Bengal (now Bangladesh) – boats to be handed over to India by Bangladesh

· Nikki Haley - second Indian-American governor in U.S.A. (South California)

· Supreme Court of India – it has recently laid down the constitutional principle which would allow the aggrieved parties to move the appropriate court for postponement of the publication of hearings.

· ‘Vivekanand Yuva Vikas Rath Yatra’ - an aggressive campaign for the Gujarat Assembly elections scheduled in December this year

· Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd. (SIRECL) and the Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd. (SHICL) - owned by Subrata Roy Sharma, Chairman of Sahara India Pariwar Group [It is headquartered in Lucknow] –

· Sahara Group has recently been directed by the Supreme Court to refund over Rs. 24,400 crore collected from 2.21 crore depositors through the optimally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs) by way of bonds.

· ATIV S- Samsung’s first device to run Windows 8

· Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul.

· Windows Server 2012 - Microsoft has announced general availability of Windows Server 2012, a first of its kind version of operating system (OS) that can be controlled remotely.

· Scala – a new version of car recently launched by Renault India.

· The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) – it has recently asked telecom companies to de-activate the international calling facility in pre-paid numbers and restore it only after a subscriber gives his consent to avail himself of the service.

· Infosys – it has recently announced the acquisition of Zurich-based Lodestone Holding AG, a leading management consultancy firm, for 330 million Swiss francs ($345 million or Rs.1,925 crore), which is expected to strengthen the company’s consulting capabilities.

· “www.machinebank.in” - An online platform promoted by alumni from the IIM and ISB providing advisory services to buy, hire, sell or auction new and old machinery and spares, avail project and equipment finance and manpower solutions.

· Jeet Thayil – Indian writer who has been shortlisted for this year’s Man Booker award for his debut novel Narcopolis — a dark tale about the opium and heroin dens of Mumbai thought to be based on his own experiences of what one critic described as the city’s “seedy underbelly”.

· Unmukt Chand - Captain of the under-19 Indian cricket team which has recently won 2012 World Cup – India also has the privilege to win Under 19 Cricket World Cup in the year 2008 and 2012

· 2012 Under -19 Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the tournament.

· The event was staged in the Australian state of Queensland

· Indian Wrestling League (IWL) – to be launched by the Wrestling Federation of India next year – in order to promote wrestling in India

· Winner, Belgian Grand Prix – Jenson Button

· Jenson Button is an English Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 Formula One World Champion.

· Glen McGrath – he has recently taken over as the Director of MRF Pace Foundation – he succeeded legendry cricketer Dennis Lillee, who helped in the creation of the Foundation

· 2012 Nehru Cup - 15th edition of the Nehru Cup – India won 2012 Nehru cup defeating Cameroon in penalty shoot out

· 58th National School Games 2012 – held in Jammu and Kashmir

· Oscar Pistorius - a South African sprint runner – At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Pistorius became the first double leg amputee to participate in the Olympics when he entered the men’s 400 metres race

· Girisha Hosanagara - won the silver medal in the high jump in 2012 Paralympics Games held in London – It was also India’s 1st medal at 2012 Paralympics

· Ravichandran Ashwin - broke into the top 20 of ICC’s Test Rankings for the first time at a career-best 18th spot after guiding the team to a series whitewash over New Zealand.

· Prince of Asturias 2012 prize for sports - Casillas, goalkeeper for Real Madrid and Spain, and Xavi, Barcelona midfielder, were awarded the prestigious Prince of Asturias 2012 prize for sports

· Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan - collected a record-equalling 12th Grand Slam men’s doubles title when they defeated Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek in the US Open final.

· Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant – he claimed a record 14th Asian Tour golf title as he cruised to a three-shot victory at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters in Malaysia.

· United States of America – it recently beat former champion Germany 1-0 in Tokyo to claim its third FIFA U-20 women’s World Cup crown

· Divij Sharan – he has joined the elite doubles players by breaking into the Top 100 of the world rankings.

· Serena Williams – she captured her 15th Grand Slam title and fourth career US Open crown with victory over World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in recently concluded final match of U.S. Open (Women’s title)

· Andy Murray- he ended Britain’s 76-year wait for a men’s Grand Slam champion when he beat 2011 winner Novak Djokovic in an epic 2012 US Open final - Murray became Britain’s first major champion since Fred Perry claimed his third American title in 1936, the year the Spanish Civil War started and Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected US president.

· Head, Expert Committee on General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) – Parthasarathi Shome

· Committee was set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to address the concerns of foreign and domestic investors

· Urban Development Minister - Kamal Nath

· Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) - Shanta Sinha

· Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi – an anti-submarine warfare specialist – has recently taken over as Navy Chief from Admiral Nirmal Verma

· Chairman, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) – R.K. Tyagi

· Prime Minister, Pakistan – Raja Pervez Ashraf

· India’s Ambassador to United States of Amercia (USA) – Nirupama Rao

· Chairman, I.T.C. Ltd. – Y.C. Deveshwar – he has been appointed as a director on the central board of directors of the Reserve Bank of India

· CEO and Managing Director, Infosys – S. D. Shibulal

· Governor, Karnataka – H.R. Bharadwaj

· President, European Central Bank – Mario Draghi

· United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy for Syria – Lakhdar Brahimi

· Head, Pakistan Cricket Board – Zaka Ashraf

· Union Rural Development Minister – Jairam Ramesh