CURRENT AFFAIRS Notes on 2009

CURRENT AFFAIRS NOTES 2009

International Affairs 2009

Fiji’s president Ratu Josefa Iloilo repealed the country’s constitution and appointed himself head of the State and set a 2014 election deadline.

Switzerland expanded its border upto 150 meters into Italian territory because of melting glaciers in the high Alps.

Venezuela’s Stefania Fernandez become Miss Universe 2009. This is the 2nd consecutive year Miss Venezuela has won the title. Venezuela has so far won the title for the record six times. Miss Ada de la Cruz (Dominican Republic) is 1st runner up. Miss Marigona Dragusha is the 2nd runner up. Miss Universe 2009 contest was held in Bahamas.

Patent Cooperation Treaty(PCT) is an agreement that binds 141 countries in a pact that facilitates the process of seeking protection for an invention in multiple countries. The PCT which is administered by WIPO ( World Intellectual Property Organization) is particularly valuable option for any company operating internationally. It is a procedural treaty first launched in 1978. Recently PCT is in news because it is under modification/ reformation which India is opposing.

Pakistan govt clears construction of the $ 8.5 billion Diamer-Bhasha power project of 4500 MW capacity on the Indus river in the Gilgit region in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Under the Indus water treaty signed with India, Pakistan is free to build dams anywhere on the Indus river. The treaty gives India first right over the waters of the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers and Pakistan the same privileges over the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum rivers.

70th anniversary of the beginning of World War II ( 1 Sep 1939) celebrated on 1 Sep. OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) parliamentary assembly recently grouped Germany and Soviet Union, pronouncing them to be equally responsible for World War II. Yukio Hatoyama is appointed as next Prime Minister of Japan. He is nicknamed ‘the alien’. For the first time since last 54 years, LDP(Liberal democratic party) ousted from forming Govt in Japan. Hatoyama belongs to Democratic Party.

USA Commission on International Religious Freedom placed India on its ‘watch list’ for 2009 because it found the Indian govt had failed to take effective measures to ensure the rights of religious minorities.

The summit of Dushanbe Four was held in 2009. It includes Russia, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The official objective to the summit was to discuss supply of electricity from Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Nepal Vice President Parmananda Jha who took oath in Hindi last year, has been asked by the Nepal Supreme Court to retake the oath in Nepali language or resign from the post.

Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth after it failed to meet a deadline to make progress towards establishing democracy. India’s Reena Kaushal Dharamshaktu will be part of an eight member team that will ski to the South Pole to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Commonwealth. The expedition is headed by Felicity Aston and to be flagged off in Nov 2009.

China intrudes Ladakh region on 31 July 2009.

Sri Lanka expels James Elder, Communication chief with UNICEF(United Nations Children’s Fund).

Farah Pandith an Indian American, has been sworn in as the first US Special Representative to muslim communities in USA.

As per report of UN World Food Programme (WFP), the number of hungry people will pass one billion this year for the first time. In the Food Security Risk Index 2009, India ranked at 25th place. The US is least at risk followed by France, Canada. The index rank the nations on the basis of risk of food shortage faced by the countries.

Communal violence erupted in China’s North West Xinjiang province capital ‘ Urumgi’ in July 09.

START ( Strategic arms reduction treaty) between USA & Russia started on 31 July 1991 came to end on 5 Dec 2009. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) met at Yekaterinburg on June 2009. The SCO comprises of Russia, China, Kazakhtan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgzstan. India, Pakistan, Mongolia and Iran have observer status. Afghanistan’s president attended the summit as a special guest. Sri Lanka had been granted the status of dialogue partner. Google was shut down in China.

The first ever summit of BRIC countries was held at Yekaterinburg in Russia in June 09. BRIC countries include Brazil, Russia, India and China.

India signed a $ 400 million agreement with Ukraine to upgrade its fleet of transport aircraft AN-32 aimed at extending its life and improving avionics.

Tipaimukh dam project issue between India and Bangladesh.

Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Network (TAR) entered into force on June 11, 2009 after China ratified the treaty. The other parties to the agreement are Combodia, India, Mongolia, Korea, Russia, Tajikistan and Thailand.

Abu Dhabi, capital of UAE was elected as headquarter of the International Renewal Energy Agency (IRENA), a grouping of 129 countries. Mini Pravasi Indian Day was held at Hague (Netherland) in Sep 2009.

France President has recently remarked that ‘ the burqa is a sign of female subservience’.

Lord Swaraj Paul became the first India born Briton to be appointed a Privy Councillor in Britain.

Milan has been named as the world’s top fashion city. Mumbai is placed at 16th place and Delhi at 17th place.

Japan’s finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa resigned after he was accused to attending the G 7 summit in Rome in drinking condition.

China became world’s largest green house gas emitter in 2007. USA at 2nd position. Russia at 3rd position. India at 4th position with one tone of Carbon Dioxide per person per year emission.

Nuclear armed submarines from Britain and France collided in the Atlantic Ocean.

USA govt approved $ 787 billion economic stimulus package initiated by Barack Obama.

Venezuala’a President Hugo Chavez won a referendum vote that lets him stay in power as long as he keeps winning elections.

From 1 April 2009 NATO membership was enlarged to 28 with the entrance of Albania and Croatia. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) also called the North Atlantic Alliance is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. 16th SAARC Summit was held in Maldives in 2009.

EUMA ( End User Monitoring Agreement)- India has signed EUMA with USA which allows US inspectors to verify the end use of US sourced high technology equipment to dual use. EUMA is designed to facilitate high end dual use technology transfer to India.

World’s first commercial passenger flight powered by natural Gas operated between London and Qatar in Oct 09. Shell company developed and produced the 50-50 blend of synthetic Gas to Liquid (GTL) kerosene and conventional oil based kerosene fuel. Qatar will become the world’s leading producer of GTL kerosene by 2012.

Turkey and Armenia signed a landmark accord to restore ties and open their shared border after a century of hostility stemming from World War I.

‘Operation Rah E Nijat or Path to Salvation’- It is the name of operation conducted by Pakistan army against strongholds of Tehreek-e- Taliban (also called Pakistan Taliban) soldiers.

USA has declared national emergency in view of increasing number of death due to Swine flu.

Bangladesh decided to advance its time an hour to GMT + 7. Every 15 degree means an hour. France have 12 time zones, Russia have 11 times zones, USA has nine time zones. India has one time zone based on its 82*30’ East near Allahabad.

India and Canada signed a civil nuclear cooperation deal . Canada became the 8th country with which India has reached a civil nuclear agreement.

Commonwealth has admitted Rwanda, central African country, as its 54th member.

Nepal cabinet meet at Kala Patthar, situated at 17,192 ft above sea level in Nov 09 and the base camp of Mount Everest. It adopted Mt Everest declaration which allow setting up of Gauri Shankar Conservation Area near Mt Everest.

COP15, the official term for the Copenhagen meeting, the 15th conference of parties to negotiate a new global climate treaty to replace or extend the 1997 Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012 in Dec 2009. Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark.

India and Russia sign civil nuclear agreement in Dec 2009.

National Affairs 2009

Union govt cleared a constitutional amendment to increase the reservation for woman in Panchayat to 50 % from present 33 %. The Panchayati Raj Ministry amend Art 243 D of the Constitution of India accordingly. The proposed amendment will increase reservations for woman to 50 % in Zila Parishads, Panchayat Samitis and Gram Panchayats at District, Block and Village level respectively. India has about 28.18 lakh elected representatives in panchayats. Four states- Bihar, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh already have 50 % reservation for woman in Panchayat. Kerala also announced 50 % reservation for woman in Panchayat. Bihar was the first state to give 50 % reservations to woman in Panchayat in 2005.

Govt clear setting up of National Mission Against Corruption Authority (NMAC). The aim of the authority will be to ensure better coordination among the CBI and State/UT anti corruption vigilance bureaus.

Govt has declared 272 districts out of 616 districts as drought stricken in 2009 due to rainfall shortage.

Draft of National Food Security Act to be presented in parliament in winter session (Jan 2010). As per the proposed Act, every family living below the poverty line in rural and urban areas will be entitled for 25 Kg of rice or wheat per month at Rs. 3 per Kg.

Govt plans to built 321 feet Shivaji statue in Mumbai. It is 16 feet taller that New York’s Statue of Liberty and on completion, it became the tallest statue in the world.

Jaswant Singh book’ Jinnah-India partition Independence was banned in Gujarat state. The ban however ,was lifted after the High court judgment. The book is a biography of Jinnah. Jaswant Singh also earlier write ‘ A Call to Honour’.

State Assembly Election was held in Oct 2009 in three states namely Haryana (seats -90), Maharashtra (seats -288) and Arunachal Pradesh (seats -60).

Govt has decided that NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) will now provide employment for 200 days instead of 100 days. Parliament adopted the Constitution 109th amendment Bill 09 providing reservation of seats for SC & ST in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies of the states for another 10 years.

Namibia president Hifikepunye Pohambe visit India in Sep 209.

Russia provides nuclear submarine’ Nerpa’ to India in 2009. It is Akula-2 submarine series.

Women’s will be exempted from paying any fees for UPSC/SSC etc examination.

SAF university to be set up in Delhi. It will be started from 2010-11 academic session. India bear 79 % of its expenditure.

In the seven natural Wonders list, India’s only entry is that of Sunderban. It is a joint entry from India and Bangladesh.

Vision-2015 For Consumer Satisfaction and Beyond – The paper is published by Oil & Petroleum ministry in which it is proposed to provide CNG in 200 cities by 2015.

Mongolia president Tsakhiagiin Elbagdorj visited India in Sep 2009. India and Mongolia signed a Civil Nuclear pact. India already has civil nuclear agreement with USA, Russia, Kazakhstan and France.

Indian National Congress party will completes 125 years on Dec 2009. Congress was formed on Dec 1885.

India’s first non-stop super fast passenger train ‘Duronto Train’ inaugurated from Sealdah station to Delhi. Total of 14 such trains will be launched this year.

Yashpal Committee was set up to give recommendation on Higher education sector.

Under Kisan Abhiman Scheme. Kerala Govt has granted Rs 300 per month as pension to farmers above 60 years of age.

Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank appointed as fifth Chief Minister of Uttrakhand.

Railway ministry has appointed Amit Mitra to prepare Vision -2020 document for the railways.

B Sudershan Reddy appointed as chairman of panel to look into the impeachment proceeding against Justice Soumitra Sen. India is funding Palaly project in Sri Lanka.

Areva, French Company and Nuclear power corporation of India Ltd sign an agreement to set up two 1650 MW nuclear plants in Maharastra state. Govt launched ‘Rajiv Awas Yojna’ under which govt plans to formulate for slum dwellers and the urban poor in an effort to promote a slum free India in next five years.

Ramalingam Chandrashekeram appointed as head of parliamentary special committee that look into the matter of granting citizenship and other facilities for Sri Lankans in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu.

Indian Railway proposed a South Asian Regional Train service linking Dhaka, New Delhi and Lahore.

Justice Liberhan Commission which probed the sequence of events that led to the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya on Dec 1992, submitted its report. It has 399 sittings and 48 extensions.

Govt increases minimum support price (MSP) for sugarcane to Rs. 107.76 for 2009-10. The MSP for the paddy crop for current year is Rs.950. Rajasthan will host the World Tiger Summit in Ranthambore in 2010.

Appointment of new Governors – D N Dwivedi ( Gujarat), Margarat Alwa (Uttarakhand), Jagannath Pahadia (Haryana). Tata’s first Nano car was given to Ashok Vichare of Mumbai.

Dilip Donde will try to circumnavigate the world solo ( on his own) in boat ‘Mhadei’ under Project Sagar Parikrama from 19 Aug 2009. Rajasthan became the first state in the country to sign a tripartite agreement with Central Govt promising accountability and adequate utilization of funds in the two tiger reserve of Sariska at Alwar and Ranthambore at Sawai Madho pur in Rajasthan.

Jawahar lal Nehru Urban renewal mission (JNNURM) a centrally govt funded urban renewal mission is implemented in 63 cities out of a total of 5161 cities, towns and urban agglomerations in India.

Right to Education Bill passed by the Parliament. Parliament made the right to education a fundamental right through the 93rd Constitution amendment. The bill earmarks 25 % seats to weaker sections in schools, seeks to do away with the practice of schools taking capitation fees before admission, subjecting the child or parents to a screening procedure and giving powers to child rights panels to look into grievances of parents against schools.

Govt approved renaming of state of Orissa as ‘Odisha’ and the Oriya language as ‘Odia’.

Assembly election was held in Jharkhand which is under President Rule since Jan 2009 in Dec 09. Total number of seats are 81.

RIC ( Russia, India & China). It is a group of three nations. Second meeting of RIC is held at Bangalore in Oct 09.

President Pratibha Patil visit Britain in Oct 09 to invite Queen Elizabeth to inaugurate 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held next year. This is the first state visit by an Indian President to Britain after S Radakrishnan and R Venkataraman in 1963 & 1990 respectively.

Separation plan – India has notified its separation plan to International Atomic Energy Ageny. India will place 14 reactors under ISSA ( India Specific Safeguards Agreement) of the International nuclear watchdog by 2014. Under the plan, India has decided to permanently shut down the CIRUS research reactor located inside BARC, countries strategic laboratory in 2010.

Govt has announced five new sites for setting up of light water reactors. The plants will come up at Jaitapur (Maharastra), Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu), Haripur (West Bengal), Chhayamithi Virdi (Gujarat) and Kovvada (Andhra Pradesh).

Indian President Pratibha Patil visits Cyprus (Capital- Nicosia) in Nov 2009.

Govt started ‘Operation Green Hunt’ to tackle the Maoists in five Indian states.

Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangehuck visit India on a 5 day visit in Dec 09. He is the 5th king of Bhutan.

NATGRID- National Intelligence Grid to be established by May 2011. The grid will provide real time access into 21 categories of databases such as credit card transaction, driving license, telephone, internet, passport, PAN details, bank A/c details etc.

Impeachement motion has been initiated against Justice P D Dinakaran in the parliament on charges of amassing disproportionate assets and land grab.

Sports Affairs 2009

Shooting champion of India, Samresh Jung is known as ‘Gold finger’.

Heinrich Haussler won Tour de France 2009 tournament.

Ranji Trophy celebrated Platinum Jubilee after completing 75 years in 2009. Ranji trophy will also be started in Ireland.

38th Ranji Trophy was won by Mumbai defeating UP in Jan 2009.

Pullela Gopichand (Badminton champion) is the only person to have been awarded with Arjuna award, Dronacharya award and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.

Binish K Shahji of India won silver medal in World School Athletics in Estonia held in June 2009.

Wimbledon 2009

• Men’s Single – Roger Federer defeated Andy Roddick. Federer break the record of Pete Sampras record of 14 grand slams.
• Women’s Single – Serena William defeated Venus William. She claimed third Wimbledon title.
• Women’s doubles –Serena and Venus William defeated Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur.
• Mixed Doubles- Mark Knowles and Anna Lena Groenefeld defeated Laender Paes(India) and Cara Black.
• Men’s Doubles- Danial Nestor & Nened Jimonjic defeated Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan.

French Open 2009

• Men’s single – Roger Federer defeated Robin Soderling.
• Men’s double – Laender Paes and Lukas Dlouhy defeated Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman.
• Women’s single – Svetlana Kuzenletsova defeated Dinara Safina.

Australian Open 2009

• Mixed Double - Mahesh Bhupati and Sania Mirza defeated Nathalic Dechy and Andy Ram. Sania Mirza became the first Indian women to won a Grand slam title.
• Men’s singles- Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer. He became the first Spaniard to won the title.
• Women’s singles- Serena William defeated Dinara Safina.
• India’s Yuki Bhambri won Junior Australian Open Single title 2009 defeating A F Georgoudes.

US Open 2009

• Women’s singles – Kim Clijsters(Belgium) defeated Caroline Wozniacki.
• Men’s singles- Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro defeated Roger Federer.
• Men’s Doubles- Laender Paes (India) and Lukas Dlouhy defeated Mahesh Bhupathi & Mark Knowles. This is Paes 10th Grand Slam title.
• Women’s Doubles – Venus Williams & Serena Williams defeated Cara Black & Ticzel Huber.
• Mixed double – Carly Gullickson and Travis Parrott defeated Cara Black & Laender Paes(India).

Science & Technology Affairs 2009

2009 is celebrated as International Year of Astronomy. 2009 is also celebrated as 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations with the telescope used by the Italian physicist. 2009 is also celebrated as : Natural Fibre Year by UN, International Gurilla Year by conservationists & environmentalists, International Year of Reconciliation.

Longest total solar eclipse of 21st century occurred on 22nd July 2009. It lasted 6 min 44 sec at Taregana in Bihar.

GM( Genetically Modified) crops are those in which the genetic material(DNA) is altered so that there is some perceived advantage either to the producer or consumer. Bt Cotton (Bacillius Thuringeinsis) is only commercially approved biotech crop in India. Govt plans to introduce GM foods particularly Tomatoes, Brinjals and Cauliflower to held meet food production target in three years time. Till date, India has only allowed the use of GM Cotton, a non food crop. India is world’s second largest cotton producer. India’s own Bt cotton variety : Bikaner Narma. Deep Space Network Facility is located at Byalalu, Karnataka.

Chandrayan II a lander rover mission of ISRO is scheduled to be launched in 2012. ISRO plans to hoist a capsule with two Indians on board to the Moon by 2015. Subsquently, an Indian will be launched to set foot on the Moon in 2020.

‘Aditya’ satellite will be sent by India to carry out studies on the Sun in 2012. SOHO stands for Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Probe Plus of NASA to study Sun System will be launched in 2018.

India’s first nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine’Arihant’ was launced on 26 July 2009. It will be commissioned by 2011. It was built with the help of Russian consultants. With the launch, India join elite club of five nations USA, Russia, China, Britain and France having nuclear powered submarine capability.

Blue Brain project in Switzerland is under progress under which scientist attempt to ‘Reverse engineer’ the mammalian brain. Novo-G, world’s fastest and most powerful supercomputer became operational. Novo-G got the first part of its name from the Latin term to ‘make anew, change, alter’ and the second word G from ‘Genesis’.

World Forestry Day celebrated on 21 March. Theme for 2009 was ‘Sustainable Forest Management’. India currently has 23.39 % of forest area against 33 % required. India presently has 37 Tiger reserves, 99 national parks and 515 wildlife sanctuaries.

Earth Hour 2009 is a global event every year which will see landmarks around the world to go dark for an hour. Earth Day celebrated on 22 April.

Eight Millenium Development Goals (MDG) were set in Millenium Summit 2000. It has a deadline of 2015. Kerala has already achieve the targets in 2008.

India launched a Israel developed spy satellite ‘RISAT 2’ providing all weather 24 hour surveillance. Also launched experimental communication micro satellite’ ANUSAT’ built by Chennai based Anna University.

International Space Development Conference was held at Orlando in May 2009.

Scientist have discovered 47 million year old primate fossil named ‘Ida’ (Scientific name-Darwinius masillae) which forms a crucial missing link between our evolutionary branch of life and rest of animal kingdom.

Per capita consumption of electricity is 630 Units in India in 2009.

NDRI Karnal cloned world’s 2nd cloned buffalo ‘Garima’. It also produced world’s 1st cloned buffalo calf in Feb 2009 but it could not survive. El Nino- is a shift in ocean temperatures and atmospheric conditions in the tropical pacific. It is a periodic warming of the Pacific oceans that leads to extremes of weather.

La Nino- It follows an El Nino. It is also called the Little Girl. It is anti El-Nino or simply a cold event. It is the cooling of water in the Pacific Ocean.

SOI ( Southern Oscillation Index) is a major indicator of El Nino, measures the pressure difference between the Pacific islands of Tahiti and Darwin in Australia. A consistently negative SOI indicates to a developing El Nino. An El Nino is formally declared when above normal temp -0-5 degree celcius or higher are recorded over eastern Pacific surface for three straight months.

Definition of poverty as per Planning Commission- Average per capita spending below Rs. 356 per month in rural areas and Rs. 539 per month in urban areas.

38th World Environment Day was celebrated on 5th June 2009. Theme for 2009 chosen by UNDP is ‘Your Planet Needs You’. World Environment Day was established by UN General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the human environment. 0.8 degree celcius rise in average temperature around the world since 1880. India is the 5th largest emitter of Greenhouse Gases. 2 of the 12 biodiversity hotspots of the world are in India i.e. Northeastern region and Western Ghats.

US Space Agency’s Themis Mission – to study the colourful display of high latitude skies.

Phoenix Mars Lander found Perchlorate substance on Mars surface.

Carbon Credits : It provide a way to reduce green house emissions on industrial scale by capping total annual emissions and allowing the market to assign a monetary value to any shortfall through trading. India has earned 4,64,45,282 carbon credits, second only to China in the world. Per capita carbon dioxide emission for India is 1.02 metric tones, while USA stood at first place with 20.01 metric tones. Super Earth : It is a large extrasolar terrestrial planet, which is atleast twice the mass of earth but less than ten earth masses. European researcher found three super earths recently.

Asia’s first and world’s second DNA bank is opened in Lucknow.

Pluto, the 9th planet of solar system, was demoted from planet status in 2006 is now called’ Plutoids’. Jason-2, a French- USA satellite was launched in 2009. It will monitor rising sea levels and current movement. ‘Gegeneiphis Seshachari’ first viviparous ( those that do not lay eggs) was discovered in western Ghat. It is the first viviparous creature to be found in Asia.

International Lunar Network, is a initiative that provide new insights into the Moon’s surface and its interior composition- critical inputs for the future colonialist. India has signed for the mission to put together a network of robotic science stations on the Moon. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, UK, USA and India have joined hands for six to eight stations of the Lunar Network. USA places first two Lunar Network Landers on the lunar surface in 2013-14. India has also scheduled to launched Chardrayaan-II in collaboration with Russia in 2012-13.

LHC Project : Large Hadron Collidor Project is operated by European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) at Geneva on 10 Sep, 2008, at Franco- Swiss border. In actual CERN stand for Conseil European pour la Recharche Nucleaire, in French language. CERN was founded in 1954. Under this experiment, scientist recreate the conditions just after the Big Bang to understand the creation and workings of the Universe. It is the most expansive scientific experiment to date, it cost $ 3.8 billion or Rs.16,340 crore. . CERN has 20 nations as member. India, Japan, Russia and US are the observer countries.

Hadron : A particle with mass made up of smaller units called quarks that are bound together. Protons and Electrons are types of hadron. Higgs Boson : A theoretical particle which is thought to give matter its mass, known as the ‘God Particle’. First proposed by Peter Higgs in 1964. The particle was named after an Indian physicists S.N.Bose. The LHC experiment should confirm whether it exists or not. Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) operates the 17 reactors in six states, to produce 4120 MW of electricity.

Brain Fingerprinting : It is an electronic test of a specific kind of brain wave that can identify incriminating information despite an individual’s attempt to conceal the knowledge. It is a type of signal in the brain kwown as P300 wave, so called because it is an involuntary response to a recognized object or piece of information that happens within 300 milliseconds.

Carbon Footprint : It is a measure of the impact human activites have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of Carbon Dioxide.

Global Positioning System Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) : It is a satellite based process developed jointly by the ISRO and the Airport Authority of India. Govt recently approved the system that will help airlines to choose the best and most fuel saving routes. GAGAN would be in place by 2011 and make flying much safer.

Govt set a ten year deadline for the blending of petrol and diesel with 20 % bio-fuel. Govt approved the implementation of National Biofuel Policy that has set an indicative target of blending 20 % ethanol in petrol and non-edible oil from plants like Jatropha in diesel by 2017. At present, 5% ethanol blending in petrol is mandatory across the country except J&K, NE states. India is the world’s second largest producer of sugar after Brazil. Ethanol is produced from molasses, a sugar by product.

10th planet discovered called ‘Xena’ or 2003 UB 313.

A new ozone hole discovered over Tibet.

Anoushah Ansari is the first woman space tourist in the world.

Namira Salim, first Pakistani women astronaut, sent in space by NASA in 2008.

Agni 5 missile is in design stage. It has a maximum range of 5000 Km as an ICBM ( Inter Continental Ballistic Missile). Range of Agni I -700 Km, Agni-II- 2500 Km, Agni-III- 3500Km

Virgin Mothership ‘Eve’ is designed to reach an altitude of 50000 feet and release space Ship Two, which will transport passengers to space.

S-500 – Russia is developing a fifth generation surface to air rocket which is cabable of engaging ballistic hypersonic targets flying at a speed of 5 Km per second.

ISRO unveil ‘Bhuvan’, its version of Google Earth. It is a 3 D mapping tool.

Google unveiled a new version of its search engine called ‘ Caffeine’.

‘Weblog’ first coined by Jorn Barger in 1997. The contracted name ‘blog’ was coined in 1999 by Peter Merholz.

TERI launched campaign ‘Lighting a Billion Lives’ which is based on the use of solar laterns specially designed and manufactured on a decentralized basis.

Govt approved National Solar Mission which aimed at Solar generation target of 20,000 MW by 2020. At present solar generation capacity of India is 500 MW. National Solar Mission envisages an investment of Rs.91,684 crore over the next 30 years. It proposes to add 20,000MW of power by 2020 and 1,00,000 MW by 2030. It aims to achieve parity with coal based thermal power generation by 2030.

According to latest findings, Malaria was first transmitted to humans by Chimpanzees.

H1N1 a new influenza virus caused Swine flu. It is a genetic code consists of 8 segments. The virus gets its name from a combination of two proteins – hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. Swine flu was first detected in 1987. Just like humans, pigs get flu too, hence the name Swine flu. A disease that spreads throughout the world is called Pandemic. Swine flu is termed as pandemic disease.

Govt formulate a technology mission – War for Water ( Winning, Augmentation and Renovation for Water). It solve problem of water scarcity. CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) is a global mechanism where green projects can be registered to earn carbon credits for trading in the international market. India has maximum number of CDM projects in the world followed by China. One Carbon Credit is equal to a tone of carbon saved from emission.

UN Convention on Climate Change, the global body for certifying clean projects was held at Bonn, in Aug 2009.

UMPP (Ultra Mega Power Projects) are large sized coal based power projects having a capacity of 4000 MW involving an estimated investment of about $ 4 billion. Four UMPP has been awarded so far in India. These are Mundra UMPP, Gujarat, Sasan UMPP, Madhya Pradesh, Krishnapatnam UMPP, Andhra Pradesh and Tilaiya UMPP at Jharkhand.

Antares DLR-H2 motor glider is the first manned aircraft to be powered exclusively with a hydrogen fuel system.

IMD (Indian Meteorological Deparment) official definition of a drought year is when more than 20 % of the country faces a deficit of atleast 25 % of normal rainfall.

Wind power generation in India as on March 2009 is 10243 MW.

SPASER- It is the world’s smallest laser which amplifies surface plasmons- tiny oscillations in the density of free electrons on the surface of metals which in turn produce light waves. LASER amplifies light using a mirrored cavity to intensify it.

IIST- Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology set up at Valiamala, Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala is the only space university in the world offering courses at the undergruate, graduate, doctoral and post doctoral level in space technology.

The Amino acid ‘Glycine’ a fundamental building block of proteins has been found for the first time in a comet Wild 2 by the NASA spacecraft ‘Stardust’ sent in 2004. Comet Wild 2 was named after astronomer Paul Wild.

ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) launched first Swiss satellite built by students of Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne to study the upper atmosphere.

‘Tobacco Atlas’ published by American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation, ranks India at No.3 in the top 20 female smoking population across the globe. First and second place is held by USA and China.

Former DRDO (Defence Research & Development Organisation) scientist K Santhanam claimed that 1998 Hydrogen bomb test at Pokhran (Rajasthan) has failed to deliver the desired result.

ISRO looses contact with Chandrayan I on 29 Aug 2009. It was launched on 22 Oct 2008 and was designed for a two year mission in space. India has terminated the 400 crore moon mission Chandrayan I on 30 Aug 2009. NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper placed abroad Chandrayan I recorded presence of water molecules on Moon.

India’s first national medical research park is being set up in the Sricity SEZ on the Tamil Nadu-AP border.

World’s first cloned wolf named ‘Snuwolf’ died in South Korea.

Ridge A in the Antarctic plateau is the world’s coldest, driest and calmest place discovered so far. China proposed base in Antarctica is known as ‘Kunlun’ located at Dome A.

A new technique called array Comparative Genomic Hybridization(CGH) makes it possible to ensure eggs have a normal number of chromosomes boosting the likelihood of a successful pregnancy. Baby Oliver became the first baby in the world using this egg screening technique in London.

China overtake USA in the internet user population. Internet users in 2009 : China - 298 million, USA – 227 million, Japan – 94 million ,India -81 million.

International Ozone Day is celebrated on 16 September every year. Theme of 2009 is ‘Universal Participation-Ozone protection unifies the world’. Ozone layer is a deep layer in the stratosphere , encircling the earth that has large amounts of ozone in it. The ozone layer protects all life on land on the surface of the ocean. Ozone molecules absorb the harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun. This protects us from radiation that can cause skin cancer and other severe skin disorders.

Scientist discovered first rocky extrasolar planet named ‘Corot-7b’.

ISRO launch Oceansat-2 satellite on 23 September 2009, which would help identify fishing zones and help in coastal studies. The 970 Kg spacecraft is launched by C 14 PSLV from Sriharikota. Six other nano satellites from European countries were also launched alongwith it.

‘Copernicium’ is included in the Periodic table as a new chemical element in July 09. It’s name was done after the famous astronomer Nicolus Copernicus.

Google is testing a new service ‘ Fast Flip’ that allows users to view news articles from dozens of major publishers and flip through them as quickly as they would the pages of a magazine.

Planet Saturn’s 61st satellite discovered.

Scientist confirmed for the first time that Australia was once home to a dinosaur, after discovery of ‘Australovenator Wintonensis alias Banjo’.

A new class of black hole was discovered by astronomers in 2009. A black hole is a ramnant of the collapsed star with such a powerful gravitational field that it absorbs all the light that passes near it and reflects nothing.

Mocrobiologists in Maharastra’s Lonar lake found magnetic bacteria therein formed due to meteorite impact.

Present day Carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere have touched the highest mark in the past 2.1 million years.

World’s first zero waste city is under construction in Abu Dhabi called Masdar City. It is to be completed by 2016 and will be world’s first carbon neutral, zero waste city completely powered by renewable energy.

CMERI has developed a solar electric rickshaw called ‘ Soleckshaw’ which is pollution free.

Gyroscopes are used to maintain orientation and provide stability in boats, aircrafts and space crafts.

Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning harbour wave. A massive tsunami was unleased by a earthquake in the pacific islands of Samoa on 30 Sep,2009. The capital of Samoa is Apia.

Light combat aircraft ‘Tejas’ successfully completes its 1000th flight in Jan 09.

Indigenously built ‘Astra’ air to air missile was successfully tested at Chandipur Range, Orissa in May 09.

China’s Chang’e-1 mission successfully landed on Moon surface in March 09. It is China’s first moon probe.

‘Princess Elizabeth’ is the name of research station established by Belgium in Antartica in Feb 09. It is the first research station which does not emit any pollutant i.e. it is pollution free station.

China successfully conducted Artificial Snowfall.

LCROSS – Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite. NASA’s LCROSS crashed two spacecrafts into a lunar crater on 9 Oct 2009, hoping to splash ice and find out possibility of water on Moon.

IOTWS (Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning & Mitigation System)- It was tested in 18 Indian ocean nations on 14 Oct 2009.

‘2 Pallas’is the name of one of the largest asteroid in the solar system.

James Dyson has developed a ‘Dyson Air Multiple Fan’, a desktop cooling device with no blades.

Scientists have identified a gene ‘TMPRSS6’ which is responsible for causing anaemia.

Neutrinos are elementary particles key to understanding how the universe evolved. Govt proposed to set up Rs.900 crore Neutrino observatory at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve at Masinagudi in Tamil Nadu.

Epi -genome are the pattern of chemical switches in 200 types of human cell. A team led by Joseph Ecker produce the first complete map of the human epi- genome.

NASA launched Ares 1-X rocket. It is first flight test of NASA’s next generation space craft and launch vehicle system which will replace shuttle system.

There are 61 greenhouse gases that are together called Carbon Dioxide equivalent.

ICAR scientist discovered a new sub species of the ‘mite’ variety of insect and named it ‘Mangalaus’.

International Antartic Treaty Expedition 2009 was made from 15 to 30 Nov 2009. It started from Ushuaia. The expedition was run by Robert Swan Obe ( only man to travel to both North & South Poles). Drake passage is a thin body of water that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Indian scientist at Institute for Genomics & Integrative Biology sequenced the entire genome of human. The human genome contains 3.1 billions base pairs. India is the 8th country in the world to sequence the human genome.

Astronomers discovered a planet GJ 1214 b in the constellation called ‘ Ophiuehus’. The planet is almost entirely made of water. ‘Ardi’ which roamed African forests 4.4 million years ago, has been named as the ‘Scientific breakthrough of 2009’.

- D.V. RAGHU RAM