DIARY OF EVENTS 2012

  

Current Affairs of January 2013

The golf player who has won the 112th Amateur Golf Championship by defeating Viraj Madappa in the finals	Shubhankar Sharma
The eminent nuclear scientist who has been awarded the 'Maharashtra Bhushan' for 2011-12 instituted by the Maharashtra Government	Dr. Anil Kakodkar
The 19-year old table tennis player who has become the youngest National Champion by defeating Sharath Kamal in the finals of 74th National Table Tennis Championships	Soumyajit Ghosh
The Indian city which has been listed as the World's third best city to visit in 2013 by Lonely Planet. (San Francisco and Amsterdam at number 1 and 2 position respectively.)	Hyderabad
The Congress leader who has chosen to be awarded the Census 2011 Gold Medal for his outstanding contribution to the successful conduct of census operations	Gurudas Kamat
The Argentinian football star who has been crowned with FIFA's prestigious Ballon d'Or title for the fourth time	Lionel Messi
The common bird which has been announced to be the state bird of Bihar by its Chief Minister, Shri Nitish Kumar	House Sparrow
The venue of 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations being held from 07 to 09 January 2013	Kochi, Kerala
The Chief of Army Staff of Nepal who has been conferred the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army by the President of India	General Gaurav Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana
The new Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India which has been constituted with a 3-year term ending on August 31, 2015	Justice D.K. Jain
The Indian state whose legislature is celebrating 125 years of its formation on 08 January 2013	Uttar Pradesh
The Serbian tennis player who has won the ATP Chennai Open defeating Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the final	Janko Tipsarevic
The place in Gujarat where fire in Indian Oil Corporation terminal killed 2 persons and destroyed fuel worth crores of rupees	Hazira
The venue of 8th South Asia Free Media Association 4-day conference being held from 06 Jan 2013	Amritsar
The Indian cricket player who has been chosen as the CEAT International Cricketer of the Year 2011-12	Virat Kohli
M.S. Gopalakrishnan, a recipient of Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri and Sangita Kalanidhi title, who passed away on 02 Jan 2013 was a legendary	Violinist
The theme of 100th session of Indian Science Congress being held in Kolkata from 3rd Jan 2013 to 07th Jan 2013	Science for shaping the Future of India
The former Governor of Reserve Bank of India who has been appointed the Chairman of the 14th Finance Commission	Dr. Y.V. Reddy
The state which has started issuing unique green passports to young wildlife enthusiasts which would be an official stamp of approval for future conservation activities to be done along with state wildlife officials across wild life sanctuaries and parks in the state	Kerala

Annual Global Risks Report

As per the annual Global Risks Report published by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF), the biggest global risk in terms of likelihood is 'severe income disparity' for the next 10 years, while 'major systemic financial failure' will be the topmost risk before the world in terms of impact. The report said that Switzerland is best placed among the world's 10 major economies for adapting to or recovering from global economic and environmental risks. While India is ranked ninth in terms of its ability to tackle global economic risks, it comes last at tenth position for environmental risks. Italy is ranked lowest at tenth position for economic risks. The rankings of the 10 major economic of the world -- Brazil, China, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Russia, the UK and the US -- are based on a Global Risks Perception Survey of over 1,000 experts from across the world.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Rangarajan panel

The panel, headed by Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan, was tasked to suggest design of future contracts for exploration and production of oil and gas. The Rangarajan committee is believed to have suggested a complex pricing formula that will lead to near- doubling of the natural gas price to about $8 (Rs 439). However, it is unclear if this will override the price discovery mechanism set out in current oil and gas contracts. The six-member panel, which gave its report to the Prime Minister’s Office on December 20, is believed to have suggested pricing of natural gas based on the weighted average of the fuel in North America, Europe and Japan as well as imported liquefied natural gas ( LNG). Sources said the panel had suggested bringing gas-on-gas competition in five years. That will essentially means deregulation of the sector.

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.

AWARDS AT A GLANCE 2012

Right Livelihood Award

Hayrettin Karaca, considered the grandfather of the Turkish environmental movement is recipient of the Right Livelihood Honorary Award for 2012.

Dhanvantri Award

Padma Bhushan Dr. S.K. Sarin, eminent gastroenterologist is the recipient of 41st Dhanvantari Award.

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CNN IBN Awards for the year 2012

CNN-IBN Indian of the Year

World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand was named CNN-IBN 'Indian Of The Year' for the year 2012.

CNN-IBN Lifetime Achievement Award

Heroes of Rezang La, 13 Kumaon's C Company which beat back the Chinese in 1962 in a heroic battle was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award.

CNN-IBN Politician of the Year

Goa's Chief Minister Manohar Parikkar.

CNN-IBN Public Service Award

Healthcare legend Dr Devi Shetty of Narayana Hrudalaya

CNN-IBN Indian of the Year in Sports

Viswanathan Anand

CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Entertainment Award

Irrfan Khan

CNN-IBN Indian of the Year in Business Category

Yusuf Hamied of Cipla

CNN-IBN Special Achievement Award

1. MC Mary Kom
2. Aamir Khan and Team Satyamev Jayate and
3. Agni Putri Tessy Thomas and team DRDO

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Board of Control for Cricket in India Awards

Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Trophy 2011-12

Sunil Gavaskar, former Indian Test Captain has been chosen for the BCCI's Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Trophy 2011-12.

Polly Umrigar Award for India's best cricketer of 2011-12

Virat Kohli has been awarded the Polly Umrigar Award for India's best cricketer of 2011-12.

MA Chidambaram Trophy (Best woman cricketer of 2011-12)

Anagha Deshpande, wicketkeeper from Maharashtra was awarded the MA Chidambaram Trophy (Best woman cricketer of 2011-12)

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Thomson Reuters India Innovation Awards - 2012

Pharma Academic and Government category

Department of Biotechnology

Pharma Corporate

Cipla Limited

Hi-Tech Corporate

Tata Consultancy Services

Hi-Tech Academic and Government

Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru

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Infosys Prize 2012

Engineering and Computer Science category

Ashish Lele of National Chemical Laboratories, Pune

Social Sciences category

Arunava Sen of Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi

Humanities category - History

Sanjay Subrahmanyam of University of California

Humanities category - Contemporary Literature

Amit Chaudhuri of University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

Life Sciences category

Satyajit Mayor of National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore

Mathematical Sciences category

Manjul Bhargava of Princeton University

Physical Sciences category

Ayyappanpillai Ajayagosh of National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology

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SR Jindal Prize 2012

Crusade against Corruption category

1. NHAI Engineer late Satyendra Dubey
2. RTI activists Subhash Agrawal and Ajay Shankar Dubey and Sanjeeb Singh Katiyar.

Honorary Award

Dr. E. Sreedharan of Delhi Metro

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Economist-Crossword Book Award 2011

Awarded in October 2012

Best Popular Book

The Incredible Banker by Ravi Subramanian

Indian Fiction category

The Folded Earth by Anuradha Roy

Indian Non-Fiction category

A Free Man by Aman Sethi

Indian Language Translation category

17 by Anita Agnihotri and Kochareti - The Araya Women by Narayan

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Biodiversity Awards - 2012

Awards given at the Biodiversity Summit 2012 in Hyderabad in Oct 2012.

About the Award

The awards carry Rs one lakh, a citation and recognise good practices in India — from community-run institutions, local self governance bodies, joint forest management committees and protected area management agencies. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is partnering the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests in supporting these awards. They will be an annual feature to mark the International Biodiversity Day on May 22.

Category: COMMUNITY STEWARDSHIP (Biodiversity governance driven by community institutions)

Tanda Panchayat in Wadala village of Maharashtra and Pir Jahania Jungle Suraksha Committee in Gundlaba village of Odisha

DECENTRALIZED GOVERNANCE (Biodiversity governance practices led by local self-government)

Shankarpur village gram panchayat in Maharashtra

CO-MANAGEMENT (Biodiversity governance undertaken jointly by communities and the government)

Van Utthan Sansthan in Rajasthan

PROTECTED AREA (Effective and innovative biodiversity governance practices demonstrated by management agencies of designated protected areas)

Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh and Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala

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Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award for
Service to Children for 2011

About the award

The Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award was instituted on 20 Aug 1994 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The award is conferred on three individuals who make outstanding contribution in the field of Child Protection, Child Development or Child Welfare for over ten years. The Award carries a cash prize of Rupees One lakh and a citation to each awardee. The selection for the award is made each year by a National Selection Committee, from the candidates recommended by the State governments. The awards were announced by the Ministry of Women and Child Development on 19 August 2012.

1. Shri R. Ravi Kumar,
   President Sri Gayatri Welfare and Cultural Youth Academy, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
2. Swami Japananda,
   Chairman Swami Vivekananda IRHC, Pavagada, Karnataka
3. Shri N. Thungdemo Kikon,
   Founder Secretary, Wondang-Ki-Charitable Foundation, Dimapur, Nagaland

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Castrol Cricket Awards

The awards were presented on 29 August 2012 at Bengaluru.

Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year

M.S. Dhoni

Castrol Test Cricketer of the Year

Rahul Dravid

Castrol ODI Cricketer of the Year

Suresh Raina

Castrol Indian Bowler of the Year

Ravichandran Ashwin

Castrol Performance Under Pressure Award

Virat Kohli

Castrol Life Time Achievement Award

Ajit Wadekar

Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year

Unmukt Chand

Castrol Indian Batsman of the Year

Sachin Tendulkar

Castrol stand out Performance Under Pressure Award

Gautam Gambhir

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15th Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation Awards

These awards are given in 4 categories and carry a cash component of Rs.10 Lacs each, a commendatory citation and a memento. The award was instituted in 1995. The 15th awards were given in October 2012.

Award For Excellence in the sphere of Non-violence & Vegetarianism

Chiranjee Lal Bagra

Award in the field of Medicine

Dr Anant Sinha

Award for Excellence in Education

Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences of Bhubaneswar

Award for Excellence in the sphere of Community and Social Service

Ramakrishna Mission Hospital at Itanagar

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Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards 2010

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution announced the annual awards and commendation certificates for the seventeenth prestigious Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards for the year 2010 on 19 March 2012.

The Best of All Awards

Vikram Cement Works (A unit of Ultratech Cement Limited), Khor, Madhya Pradesh.

Large Scale Manufacturing Industry

Ashok Leyland Limited, Bhandara, Maharashtra

Small Scale Manufacturing Industry

Kudale Instruments Private Limited, Pune, Maharashtra

Small Scale Service Industry

Chaitanya Hospital, Chandigarh, Punjab
In addition to these awards, ten organizations have been selected for commendation certificates under various categories.
The awards, given annually, were instituted by the Bureau of Indian Standards in the year 1991 with a view to encouraging Indian manufacturing and service organizations to strive for excellence and giving special recognition to those, who are considered to be the leaders of quality movement in India.

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National Tribal Awards 2011-12

Best Janjatiya Achiever for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Sports (Category A)

Smt. M.C. Mary Kom from Manipur

Best Janjatiya Achiever for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Tribal Art and Culture (Category A)

Shri Guru Rewben Mashangva from Manipur

Exemplary Community Service (Category B)

Smt. Binny Yanaga (Maya)
In Category ‘A’ - Best Janjatiya Achiever carries cash prize of Rs. 2.00 lakhs, a citation and a trophy and Category ‘B’ award carries cash prize of Rs. 5.00 lakhs, a citation and a trophy. The Awards were conferred to the recipients during the National Tribal Festival – Prakriti in March, 2012.

SAHITYA AKADEMI AWARDS 2012

Sahitya Akademi Award instituted in 1954, carries a prize money of Rs. 1,00,000/-, an engraved copper plaque and a shawl. The awards are given to authors of Twenty Four Indian languages (22 recognised languages as per the Constitution of India and Rajasthani and English). The following authors of various languages have been chosen for the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2012. The awards will be presented on February 18 during the Festival of Letters to be organised by Sahitya Akademi.

Poetry

Sl No.	Name	Work	Language
1.	Guneswar Musahary	Boro Khonthai	Bodo
2.	Bal Krishan 'Bhaura' (posthumous)	Tim-Tim Karde Tare	Dogri
3.	Jeet Thayil	These Errors Are Correct	English
4.	Chandrakant Devtale	Patthar Fenk Raha Hoon	Hindi
5.	H.S. Shivaprakash	Mabbina Haage Kaniveyaasi	Kannada
6.	Makhan Lal Kanwal	Yath Aangnas Manz	Kashmiri
7.	Kashinath Shamba Lolienkar	Kavyasutra	Konkani
8.	K. Satchidanandan	Marannu Vecha Vasthukkal	Malayalam
9.	Darshan Buttar	Maha Kambani	Punjabi
10.	Aaidan Singh Bhati	Aankh Hinye Ra Hariyal Sapana	Rajasthani
11.	Ramji Thakkura	Laghupadhyaprhbandhatrayi	Sanskrit
12.	Krishna Kumar Toor	Ghurfa-i-Ghaib	Urdu

Novels

Sl No.	Name	Work	Language
1.	Chandana Goswami	Patkair Ipare Mor Desh	Assamese
2.	Subrata Mukhopadhyaya	Birasan	Bengali
3.	Jodha C Sanasam	Mathou Kanba DNA	Manipuri
4.	D. Selvaraj	Thol	Tamil

Criticism

Sl No.	Name	Work	Language
1.	Chandrakant Topiwala	Sakshibhasya	Gujarati

Autobiography

Sl No.	Name	Work	Language
1.	Shefalika Verma	Kist-Kist Jeewan	Maithili

Short Stories

Sl No.	Name	Work	Language
1.	Jayant Pawar	Phoenixchya Rakhetun Uthala Mor	Marathi
2.	Uday Thulung	Ekantavas	Nepali
3.	Gourahari Das	Kanta O' Anyanya Galpa	Odia
4.	Gangadhar Hansda	Banchaw Akan Goj Hor	Santali
5.	Indra Vaswani (posthumous)	Miteea Khaan Miteea Taaeen	Sindhi
6.	Peddibhotla Subbaramaiah	Peddibhotla Subbaramaiah Kathalu - Vol-1	Telugu

Sahitya Akademi Translation Award 2012

In addition to the above, names of winners of Sahitya Akademi Translation Award 2012 have also been announced. They are given to authors for their work of translation in 24 languages. The Prize carries an amount of Rs. 50,000 and a plaque which will presented to the authors in August 2013.

Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2012

Names of winners of Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2012 have also been announced. This years awards are being given in 19 languages. There is no award in Sindhi language and awards in Manipur, Nepali, Santali and Telugu will be announced later. The award carries an amount of Rs. 50,000 and a copper plaque.