January, 2012
·
In a major policy decision, the Centre announces
its decision to allow Qualified Foreign Investments (QFIs) to directly invest
in Indian equity market in order to widen the class of investors, attract more
foreign funds, reduce market volatility and deepen the Indian capital market.
·
India
and Pakistan
exchange a list of their nuclear installations and facilities under a
two-decades-old pact prohibiting attacks on atomic assets.
·
Assam
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announces a slew of welfare schemes on New Year’s
Day, the implementation of which will entail an expenditure of Rs. 5,000 crore
over the next five years for the State government.
·
Asserting that freedom of the Press is a must
for the growth of Indian democracy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asks media
organizations to devise a mechanism to promote objectivity and curb
sensationalism.
·
Dance guru K.J. Sarasa, who devoted her lifetime
to deep engagement with Bharatnatyam, passes away in Chennai.
·
President Pratibha Patil visits the Satish
Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR) at Sriharikota and dedicates the new Mission
Control Centre to the nation.
·
President Pratibha Patil presents ISRO awards
for 2008-09, including the Lifetime Achievement Award to the former ISRO
chairman, K. Kasturirangan.
·
At the International Conference on Technology
Enhanced Education at Amritapuri near Kollam, Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus
says that technology should be used for solving socio-economic problems rather
than for commercial exploitation.
·
Reliance Industries, India’s biggest listed company,
expands its footprint in the media sector, with a major investment in the TV18
group which will effectively fund a consolidation with the Eenadu TV media
group.
·
At the 99th annual session of the
Indian Science Congress in Bhubaneshwar, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh applauds
the tribal community of Koraput for being chosen by the United Nation’s Food
and Agriculture Organization for recognition under the Globally Important
Agricultural Heritage sites programme.
·
The two Indian traders, holed up in a hotel to
the southern Chinese trading town of Yiwu and facing threats to their lives,
are released after more than two weeks of forced detention following a bitter
trade dispute with local businessmen.
·
The University Grants Commission (UGC) awards
the status of ‘Universities with Potential for Excellence (UPE)’ to the University of Mysore, one of the country’s oldest and
most respected centres of higher learning.
·
The government clears a proposal to equip the
French Mirage ground attack aircraft with 500 air-to-air missiles that would be
procured from a western consortium.
·
India
declares itself free from bird flu (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza).
·
Career diplomat Arvind Gupta assumes charge as
Director-General of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA) in New Delhi.
·
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee
announces that 73,000 villages not covered by banks will be covered before
March-end, either with brick-and-mortar branches, mobile banking or with
telephony services.
·
As directed by the Gujarat High Court, the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) takes over the investigation of the
Ishrat Jahan ‘fake’ encounter case.
·
Senior Indian diplomat D. Bala Venkatesh Varma
is given the first S.K. Singh award “for his extraordinary efforts to
strengthen India’s position
in the global nuclear order” by UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia
Gandhi in New Delhi.
·
Vice Admiral M.P. Muralidharan takes charge as
the Director-General of the Indian Coast Guard in New Delhi. Prior to taking over as the
Director-General, Vice Admiral Muralidharan was the Chief of Personnel at the
Integrated Headquarters (IHQ), Ministry of Defence, and earlier served as the
first Commandant of the Indian
Naval Academy
at Ezhimala.
·
The Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister orders
the VIP grid disconnected from power supply, so that hospitals and other
essential installations can receive the electricity.
·
The former Union Minister, Sukh Ram surrenders before
a court in New Delhi
in 1993 telecom scam case.
·
India
decides to send a truncated 15-member military delegation to China after Beijing expressed objections to hosting an
Indian Air Force (IAF) official from Arunachal Pradesh.
·
According to the findings of a study released by
Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh in New Delhi, despite low literacy rates, most
of the low-income single women in the country are not dependent on their
families but run their households on their own.
·
The 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
conclave is kicked off in Jaipur with a colourful unveiling depicting the rich
and vibrant Rajasthani culture.
·
Inaugurating the 10th Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas in Jaipur, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announces the right of
franchise to the non-resident Indians who are registered under the
Representation of the People Act, 1950.
·
The Rajasthan government seeks special status
for the State in view of its difficult geography and a package for drinking
water considering the shortage caused by recurrent droughts, scanty and
irregular rainfall.
·
Six researchers from five science streams are
honoured with the Infosys Prize-2011 by the former President, A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam in Bangalore.
·
As per the Forward Markets Commission data,
turnover of the 21 commodity exchanges in India increased by 66% to Rs. 137.22
lakh crore till December 2011 in the current fiscal (2011-12).
·
Mahindra Satyam files a lawsuit against the
former board of directors and some ex-employees of the company seeking damages
after the company was hit by fraud.
·
Finance Ministry announces that rating agency
Moody’s upgraded the short-term country ceiling on foreign currency bank
deposit increasing from NP (not prime) to Prime (P-3).
·
As per the tax collection data for the
April-December 2011 period released by Central Board of Excise and Customs
(CBEC), indirect tax collections increased 16.1% during April-December 2011.
·
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
(DIPP) notifies the rules, allowing 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand
retail.
·
The 15th World Sanskrit conference
jointly organized by Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan and International Association
of Sanskrit Studies jointly concludes at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
·
The government announces its approval to 20
foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals, envisaging a total inflow of Rs.
1,935.24 crore in foreign exchange.
·
PMO directs cash-rich public sector undertakings
(PSUs) to invest around Rs. 1.76 lakh crore, including Rs. 1.41 lakh crore
domestically to act as a stimulus in the next fiscal 2012-13.
·
DGFT notifies that the Commerce Ministry has
lowered the minimum export price of onions by $100 a tonne to $150 a tonne to
boost exports.
·
Special life-time achievement award, in memory
of G.V. Raja, the founder-president of the Kerala State Sports Council is
announced to be instituted.
·
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee launches
the signature tune of the Indian Customs Pragati ki Dhadkan in New Delhi.
·
India
decides to make a ‘strategic shift’ in LNG (liquefied natural gas) sourcing
with a ‘look US
policy’ for contracting new import volumes.
·
Industrial production bounces back with a growth
of 5.9 per cent in November 2011, marking a five-month high and just a tad
lower than the 6.4 per cent expansion posted in the same month a year ago.
·
Tata Technologies unveil the prototype for a
$20,000-electric car that can carry up to four passengers in Detroit as it sets out to challenge more
costly rivals.
·
India
extends for five years anti-dumping duty on import of four Chinese products in
the face of widening trade gap with China.
·
RBI issues guidelines on compensation of whole
time directors, chief executive officers and other risk takers in private and
foreign banks.
·
In a major development, Telecom Disputes
Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) sets aside all penalties imposed by
the government on new telecom operators for delay in meeting roll out
obligations of services.
·
The Securities and Exchange Board of India
stipulates that Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) should not issue offshore
derivates instruments/participatory notes (PNs).
·
Workshop on Climate Change Financing is
inaugurated by R. Gopalan, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry
of Finance.
·
GAIL Gas Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
GAIL (India),
joins hands with the Andhra Pradesh Government for setting up of an LNG
terminal/floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) along the State’s
expansive sea coast.
·
India’s
first woman photo-journalist Homai Vyarawalla dies in Vadodara, Gujarat.
·
As per the Wholesale Price Index, published by
the government, reduced food prices caused the inflation to dip to a year low
at 7.47% in December, 2011.
·
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
proposes a fee of Rs. 20 crore for a national-level unified licence under the
new regime.
·
The Pioneer’s J. Gopikrishnan and CNBC-TV18’s
Udayan Mukherjee are adjudged Journalist of the Year at the 5th
Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism.
·
The Government of Singapore announces to have
acquired 1.09 per cent stake, now worth about Rs. 2,500 crore, in Mukesh
Ambani-led Reliance industries Ltd. (RIL), the company’s latest shareholding
data show.
·
The 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami
Vivekananda is commemorated under the directions of a National Committee Implementation
Committee chaired by Honourable Finance Minister.
·
In a three-pronged bid to check the burgeoning
current account deficit, halt depreciation of the rupee and partly make up the
shortfall in revenue collections, the Central Government tweaks the duty
structure on precious metals to mop up an additional Rs. 600 crore during the
last quarter of the current fiscal.
·
Anthony Prabhu Gonsalves, India’s first music arranger dies.
·
As per data released by the government, cheaper
food items pulled down the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by 0.44 per cent
month-on-month in December 2011.
·
India
is ranked the sixth most innovative country in the world in multinational
conglomerate GE’s second Annual Global Innovation barometer.
·
World Economic Situation and Prospects 2012, a
United Nations report on global economic prospects projects India’s economy to
grow at a pace a tad lower than 8 per cent in 2012 and 2013 in view of the
sharp increase in downside risks stemming from the problems in Europe and the
U.S.
·
Siddharth Varadarajan succeeds N. Ram as Editor
of The Hindu.
·
Harish Khare resigns as media advisor to Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh.
·
Senior television journalist Pankaj Pachauri is
appointed as Communication Advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office.
·
Vice-President Hamid Ansari inaugurates the 16th
Convocation of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences at Bangalore.
·
U.K.-based Vodafone Group welcomes the Supreme
Court’s ruling to set aside the Bombay High Court judgment, asking its Indian
arm to pay Rs. 11,000 crore income tax to the government for acquiring majority
stake in Hutchison-Essar in 2007.
·
Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata
group, increases its stake in group company Tata Steel by converting 1.2 crore
warrants into equal number of equity shares.
·
Singapore-based Sri Lankan author Shehan
Karunatilaka is awarded the DSC Prize for South Asia Literature 2012, at the
Jaipur Literature Festival.
·
Even as Mauritius-based Baytree Investments is
set to pick up 4.9 percent stake in Godrej Consumers Products Ltd. (GCPL), the
Mumbai-based company inks a deal to acquire 60 per cent stake in Cosmetics
National, a leading hair colorant and cosmetics company in Chile.
·
Senior Congress leader and former Deputy Chief
Minister of Andhra Pradesh C. Jagannath Rao dies of a heart attack in
Secunderabad.
·
The World Health Organization (WHO) adopts a
resolution that focuses on the global burden of mental disorders and the need
for a comprehensive, coordinated response from health and social sectors at the
country level.
·
The World Bank approves funds worth Rs. 74.24
crore for about three dozen incomplete roads and bridges in Himachal Pradesh.
·
India
and the European Union (EU) announce to have joined hands for launching joint
military operations in the Indian Ocean against
piracy activities.
·
Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh
Ahluwalia says that the 9 per cent growth target for the 12th Five
Year Plan is achievable, provided the country registered a high rate of growth
in domestic savings and capital formation.
·
Sukumar Azhikode, award-winning Malayalam
writer, scholar and one of the most influential Gandhian intellectual in Kerala
dies.
·
CCEA gives final approval to Vedanta Resources’
acquisition of a majority stake in Cairn India.
·
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cuts the cash
reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points from 6 per cent to 5.5 per cent with
effect from January 28, which would release Rs. 32,000 crore into the financial
system.
·
The Board of Approval (BoA) under the Commerce
Ministry approves the proposal of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to set up a
special economic zone (SEZ0 at Indore
in Madhya Pradesh.
·
The Padma awards for the year 2012 are announced
on the eve of India’s
63rd Republic Day.
·
Seeking an end to the discriminatory taxation
regime adopted for petroleum products, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry
asks the Finance Ministry to bring petroleum products, including crude oil,
petrol, diesel, ATF and gas, under the new Goods and Services tax (GST) regime
in line with the recommendations of the XIII Finance Commission.
·
Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra says
that India and Thailand
would work to double the bilateral trade to around $14 billion by 2014.
·
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) says that
interest rates applicable on the domestic savings banks deposits will be
determined on the basis of end-of-day balance in the account.
·
Kerala governor and former Puducherry Chief
Minister and M.P., M.O.H. Farooq dies in Chennai.
·
President of Pratibha Devisingh Patil confers
the Ashoka Chakra on Lt. Navdeep Singh (posthumous) on the occasion of the 63rd
Republic Day 2012.
·
Expert Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr.
C. Rangarajan, Chairman Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, is
constituted to examine issues relating to the sugar sector.
·
In a bid to end the turf war between the Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a Cabinet Committee announces to
have worked out a compromise that will result in the biometric data of all
residents being captured by June 2013.
·
Two days after a successful trial, an advanced
version of pilot-less target aircraft Lakshya is successfully flight-tested at
the Integrated Test Range,
near Balasore.
·
President of the Senate of Chile Guido Girardi
calls for partnership between his country and India in the renewable energy
sector, saying that his country has decided to achieve 20 per cent of its
energy needs through renewable energy sources by 2020.
·
The Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI) decides to enhance the minimum investment amount per client managed by
portfolio managers to Rs. 25 lakh from Rs. 5 lakh at present by amending the
SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 1993.
·
In a study by Yale and Columbia Universities, India
holds the very last rank among 132 nations in terms of air quality with regard
to its effect on human health.
·
In yet another move to get information about
black money stashed away abroad, India signs the Multilateral
Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, a multilateral
agreement that promotes international cooperation while respecting the rights
of taxpayers.
·
Pitching for foreign investment in the
infrastructure sector, which needs $1 trillion in the 12th Five Year
Plan, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Chicago
asks U.S.
investors to access the Indian debt market through a mechanism of regulated
entities with a sustained long-term interest rate.
·
India
announces to provide a grant of $1.5 million to the University of Chicago
to establish a Vivekananda Chair for Indian studies, as part of the initiatives
to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the 19th century
luminary, Swami Vivekananda, and polymath Rabindranath Tagore.
·
“Sahyog-Kaijin-XI,” a mock drill on the deep
seas by the Indian and Japan Coast Guard units demonstrate the inherent capabilities
of the two forces to jointly counter a range of maritime threats in the
Asia-Pacific region.
·
Andhra Pradesh Home Secretary B.P. Acharya is
arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in Hyderabad for his role in the
fast-snowballing scandal relating to irregularities in the allotment of
high-priced plot for villas in the township project of Dubai-based real estate
developer Emaar.
·
Starbucks – the iconic American coffee house
brand that helped make the beverage ‘cool’ worldwide, spurring imitators but
also critics announces to set up shops across India in association with the Tata
Group.
·
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee says that India will not scale down its petroleum imports
from Tehran despite U.S. and European sanctions against
the Islamic republic.
·
In a blow to every corrupt politician or
bureaucrat shielded by the executive’s unwillingness to let them stand trial,
the Supreme Court sets a three-month deadline for governments to decide whether
or not to grant sanction for prosecution under Section 19 of the Prevention of
Corruption Act.
·
India selects the French Fighter Rafale over the
Eurofighter Typhoon in a multi-billion dollar contract for the supply of 126
Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) – the country’s largest defence deal
to date.
·
The Delhi High Court sets new guidelines on
distances within which the Capital’s private unaided schools will have to admit
children from economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups in the 25
per cent reserved quota under the Right to Education Act.
·
February,
2012
o
The 1974 batch Indian Revenue Service officer
Laxman Das takes over as the new Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) replacing Mr. M.C. Joshi.
·
The K.K. Birla Foundation awards the 21st
Bihari Puraskar for 2011 to Arjundeo Charan for his Rajasthani poetry
collection “Ghar Tau Ek Nam Hai Bhrosai
Rau”.
·
The Supreme Court declares unconstitutional
Section 27 (3) of the Arms Act, which provides for mandatory death sentence to
an accused charged with an offence under this provision.
·
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh approves the
constitution of a National Council for Senior Citizens to advise the Central
and State Governments on the welfare of senior citizens.
·
Declaring the allocation of 2G spectrum by the
Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government illegal and an
example of the arbitrary exercise of power, the Supreme Court cancels all 122
telecom licences allotted on or after January 10, 2008 to 11 companies during
the tenure of the former telecom minister, A. Raja.
·
Director-General of TERI R.K. Pachauri presents
the Green Globe Award for outstanding contribution by a celebrity to Bollywood
actor Abhishek Bachchan in New Delhi.
·
Director-Producer Raj Kumar, who launched Shah
Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra in Bollywood, passes away at the age of 50.
·
Veteran environmental filmmaker Mike Pandey is
honoured with the V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award at the Mumbai
International Film Festival 2012.
·
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan says India’s
economic growth is likely to slow down to 7-7.5% in 2011-12 from 8.4% in
2010-11.
·
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee releases
a special edition of Rabindranath Tagore’s diary with his translations of Gitanjali, as part of the poet’s 150th
birth anniversary celebrations in Kolkata.
·
The Karnataka High Court appoints a 27-year old
transgender C. Anu as a Class IV employee. This is, perhaps, the first such
appointment in the country.
·
The special Central Bureau of Investigation
court hearing the 2G scam case dismisses Janata Party President Subramanian
Swamy’s demand to prosecute P. Chidambaram for allegedly conniving with then
telecom minister A. Raja in illegal allocation of mobile spectrum and licences.
·
The Union Government unveils a comprehensive
policy on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
·
Historian Sharada Dwivedi passes away in Mumbai
at the age of 69.
·
A money laundering case is registered against
the former Union Minister, Dayanidhi Maran and his brother and Sun TV Managing
Director Kalanidhi Maran by the Enforcement Directorate in connections with the
2G spectrum case.
·
Around 62 percent voters cast their votes in the
first phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections held in 55 constituencies
in 10 districts.
·
India’s
indigenously developed micro-light pilot less target aircraft Lakshya-1 is
successfully test flown from the Integrated
Test Range
at Chandipur near Balasore as part of a routine trial.
·
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil unfurls a
national flag, touted as the tallest in the country (90 x 60 feet), in the famous
holy Brahmasarovar area of Kurukshetra, Haryana.
·
Professor Tapas Kumar Kundu of Bangalore-based
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research wins the G.D. Birla
Award for Science.
·
The Indian Navy stages a network-centric
exercise of the Southern coast and displays cooperation with the Indian Air
Force in its annual TROPEX.
·
Indian and Chinese leaders lay out a new
road-map for bilateral ties, calling for a flexible and imaginative approach in
2012 to minimize the effect of persisting irritants.
·
The Special Investigation Team probing Zakia
Jafri’s complaint frees Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of all charges in
the 2002 Gujarat pogrom against Muslims.
·
Veteran Bollywood writer-filmmaker O.P. Dutta
passes away at the age of 81.
·
The Supreme Court refuses to intervene in Army
Chief General Vijay Kumar’s plea regarding his date of birth pointing out that
the Army Chief, who accepted the government’s decision in determining his date
of birth as May 10, 1950 on three occasions cannot go back on his commitment.
His writ petition is disposed of as withdrawn.
·
India
and the European Union make progress on their Broad-based Trade and Investment
Agreement and nominate minister-level monitors to push for its early
finalization but discussions on regional issues remain centre stage at their
annual summit in New Delhi.
·
India
moves closer to the deployment of the fledgling, indigenous Ballistic Missile
Defence system when an interceptor missile achieves a direct hit and destroys
an incoming target missile at an altitude of 15 km over the Bay
of Bengal.
·
About 59 per cent of the voters exercised their
franchise in 59 constituencies in nine districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh in
the second phase of Assembly elections.
·
Urdu poet and Jnanpith Award recipient Akhlaq
Mohammed Khan, popularly known as Shahryar, who shot to fame by penning ghazals
in Bollywood classics like Umrao Jaan,
passes away at the age of 76.
·
Noted Hindi writer Professor Ramdarash Mishra is
selected for the 21st Vyas Samman for his poetry collection “Aam ke Patte”.
·
Lieutenant General Ramesh Halgali, one of the
four generals indicted in the Sukna
Land scam, takes over as
the new Army Deputy Chief (Information Systems and Training).
·
Karnataka’s Minister for Higher Education V.S.
Acharya passes away at the age of 71.
·
Sitar maestro Shamim Ahmed Khan, one of the
finest exponents of Hindustani instrumental music, passes away at the age of
74.
·
Twenty two writers and poets of English and
regional languages including historian Ramachandra Guha are honoured with the
Sahitya Akademi Awards for 2011.
·
Communications and Information Technology
Minister Kapil Sibal announces major contours on spectrum management and
licensing framework.
·
Times Internet Limited (TIL) launches India’s
first tablet magazine Tweek.
·
Jawahar Sircar, Secretary in the Union Culture
Ministry, is selected by a panel for the post of Chief Executive Officer of
Prasar Bharati.
·
After hectic negotiations, the Kerala police
arrest two Marines suspected to have fired the shots from an Italian oil tanker
that killed two Indian fishermen off Kerala on February 15, 2012.
·
The fourth phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly
elections records a turnout of 57.20 per cent.
·
As per the first nationwide retail inflation
data released by the government inflation based on the all India Consumer Price
Index stands at 7.65 per cent in January 2012.
·
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar arrives in Islamabad, leading a six member parliamentary delegation
on a five-day visit to Pakistan.
·
The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council projects
a 7.5 – 8 per cent growth for the fiscal 2012-13 in its Review of the Economy
2011-12.
·
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh
unveils the new version of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act to include works related to agriculture, animal husbandry,
poultry, drinking water and sanitation.
·
The fifth phase of Assembly elections in Uttar
Pradesh witnesses a high polling percentage of 59.2 per cent.
·
Anti corruption crusader Anna Hazare and former
President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam receives the S.R. Jindal Prize.
·
The Human Resource Development Minister Kapil
Sibal launches Virtual Labs – a correction of 91 online laboratories containing
hundreds of experiments in nine disciplines of science and engineering.
·
The Supreme Court slams Delhi Police for
excessive use of force during the midnight eviction of Baba Ramdev’s supporters
from Ramlila Maidan on June 4, 2010.
·
Indian makes a strong pitch to channelise
investments into its oil and gas sector from Saudi Arabia, which apart from private
giants, has a sovereign wealth fund of over $600 billion.
·
Gunjan Sharma (The Week) and Tarun Tejpal (Tehelka)
receive the IPI-India Award for Excellence in Journalism 2011.
·
India,
which has been polio-free for over a year now, is taken off the list of
polio-endemic countries by the World Health Organization.
·
China
objects to Defence Minister A.K. Antony’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh,
saying India
should refrain from taking any action that can complicate the border issue.
·
The Supreme Court directs the Centre to
constitute a special committee forthwith for inter-linking of rivers for the
benefit of the entire nation.
·
Senior journalist George Joseph, who shot to
fame in early 1990s for his reporting on militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir, passes away at the age of
58.
·
In the sixth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly
elections about 60 per cent of voters exercise their franchise.
·
The Centre decides to link payment of pension
for the elderly, widows and disabled persons to the Aadhaar to ensure timely delivery.
·
Growth in the eight key core industries slows to
0.5 per cent in January 2012, dragged down by a decline in natural gas, crude
oil, steel and petroleum refinery products.
·
The Government informs Army Chief General V.K.
Singh that he will retire on May 31, 2012, brining the curtains down on a
two-year row over his birth date.
·
The Indian economy grew 6.1 per cent during
October-December 2011 quarter, the slowest pace of expansion in 11 quarters.
·
After considerable dithering Pakistan decides to switch to the negative list
approach for trade with India
and phase it out completely by December 2012.
·
Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim sweep the maximum
number of awards at the National Tourism Award ceremony, while Madhya Pradesh
get four awards, including best state for tourism infrastructure and best
tourism film, Sikkim gets the award for best tourism infrastructure in the
north-east and best state to have implemented the Clean Indian campaign.
·
March,
2012
o
India
and China
decide to open a new chapter in bilateral cooperation by agreeing to undertake
joint operations against pirates and sharing technological know-how on seabed
research.
·
Six months after their appearance before a
special CBI court, charges are framed against Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu
Prasad and the former Bihar Chief Minister, Jagannath Mishra, in connection
with the multi-crore fodder scam case.
·
For the first time, Pritzker Architecture Prize,
considered as the Nobel prize in architecture, is awarded to Wang Shu (48) a
Chinese, for “producing an architecture that is timeless, deeply rooted in its
context and yet universal.
·
While there is agreement on the need for
environmental taxes, there is a need to carefully calibrate the level of
taxation on polluting industries in targeting a reduction in environmental
pollution, C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime
Minister, says in New Delhi.
·
The Union government justifies the first come,
first served (FCFS) policy and urges the Supreme Court to review the 2G
judgment, which quashed spectrum licences and directed issuance of fresh ones
on the basis of auction.
·
In an unprecedented move, Andhra Pradesh
Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar disqualifies as many as 16 ruling Congress
MLAs.
·
The Supreme Court appoints retired Supreme Court
Judge Justice H.S. Bedi as Chairman of the Monitoring Authority to probe all
cases of fake encounter deaths in Gujarat from
2003 to 2006.
·
The indigenously developed advanced lightweight
torpedo and the Akash missile system is handed over to the Navy and the Indian
Air Force respectively at a function in Hyderabad.
·
For the first time in the history of the Bangalore University, an FIR is registered against
its Vice-Chancellor, N. Prabhu Dev, related to the complaint filed under the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
·
Eastern Army Commander Lieutenant General Bikram
Singh is announced to be the next Chief of Staff of the 1.3 million-strong
Indian Army.
·
Press Council of India
Chairperson Justice Markandey Katju withdrew the show-case notice issued to
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan after he assures him to do “all he
can for maintaining the freedom of the press (in Maharashtra).
·
The Indian economy is expected to register an
improved performance during the 2012-13 fiscal with a growth rate of about 7.5
per cent, C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime
Minister says.
·
The Army successfully test-fires the BrahMos
supersonic cruise missile at Pokhran to operationally the second regiment of the
weapon system in service.
·
The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and
Pensions, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances,
Government of India, organizes a two-day Regional Conference on “Reforms for
Citizen Centric Governance” involving the states of southern and central
region, in association with the Government of Puducherry.
·
The Supreme Court is announced to get one more
judge – Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court F.M. Ibrahim
Kalifulla – with the collegiums of judges clearing his name for elevation.
·
Pakistan
test-fires Hatf-II surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which can carry
nuclear warheads. The Hatf-II or Abdali has a range of 180 km.
·
Thousands of Tamils from across Europe protest
in front of the U.N. headquarters in Geneva,
demanding the creation of an international tribunal to try “war crimes”
committed in Sri Lanka.
·
Gopalkrishna Gandhi is made the new chairman of
the governing body of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, and
president of its society.
·
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurates the
golden jubilee celebrations of Afro-Asian Rural Development Organization in New Delhi.
·
The electorate of Uttar Pradesh delivers a
stunning mandate for stability, paving the way for the Samajwadi Party (SP) to
form the next government in the State.
·
The Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance in Punjab scripts history by bagging 68 of
·
the 117 seats in the State Assembly, elections.
·
The National Association of Street Vendors of
India (NASVI) and Nidan, an organization that supports unorganized workers, is
announced to be honoured with the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship by
the Skoll Foundation in Oxford,
England, on
March 29.
·
The Congress secures absolute majority in the
Manipur Assembly elections.
·
It was an impressive debut for the Byari feature
film industry with its first offering, simply titled Byari, sharing the top
prize at the National Film Awards 2011.
·
The International Air Transport Association
(IATA) suspends Kingfisher Airlines from its clearing house that enables
airlines to settle inter-line billings globally for its failure to pay dues.
·
Despite India’s “impressive” rise, its
ambition to be a superpower may remain just that – an ambition, according to an
authoritative new study by the London School of Economics (LSE) to which
several Indian scholars have contributed.
·
Bombay Ravi, a composer who played a key role in
brining melody back into Malayalam cinema in the 1980s, dies in Mumbai.
·
The largest solar storm in five years engulfs
Earth.
·
Narendra Kumar, a young IPS officer is crushed
to death by the mining mafia in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district.
·
The Karnataka High Court ordered issue of
notices to the Centre, the Broadcasting Ministry, the State on PILs seeking a
direction to the media to telecast visuals portraying the alleged attack on
lawyers during the March 2 violence at the Bangalore civil court complex.
·
In a set of recommendations that should warm the
cockles of the aam admi’s heart and that of all taxpayers at large, as also
enthuse the stock markets, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance
pitches for far higher relief than what was proposed by the Government in the
Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill, aimed at ushering in a new direct taxation
regime.
·
Manohar Parrikar is sworn in as Goa Chief
Minister, heading a BJP-led coalition, at a ceremony in Panaji.
·
Yesteryear actor Joy Mukherjee passes away after
prolonged illness at the Lilavati hospital in Mumbai.
·
Tusha Mittal of Tehelka’s Kolkata News Bureau is
chosen for the Chameli Devi Jain Award, 2012.
·
At the 6th National Grassroots
Innovations Awards in New Delhi,
President Pratibha Patil awards innovators.
·
In a more that will give a big push to broadband
penetration in the country, the Central Department of Telecommunications (DoT)
clears an ambitious plan to distribute 50 lakh tablet PCs (personal computers)
to students in the next financial year 2012-13.
·
As for wealth tax, the Parliamentary Committee
on Finance suggests that the impost be levied only if the value of the
specified asset exceeds Rs. 5 crore.
·
Leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband
issue a fatwa against full body scans, ruling that the exercise is against the
Sharia Law.
·
The Union Cabinet defers a decision on a
proposal to make a Presidential reference on the Supreme Court’s order to 2G
licences regarding the auction of natural resources.
·
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science
and Technology, Environment and Forests, which examined ‘The Nuclear Safety
Regulatory Bill, 2011,’ suggests the establishment of a Council of Nuclear
Safety (CNS) to oversee and review the policies related to radiation/nuclear
safety in the country.
·
Claiming that the National Ganga River Basin
Authority has become a toothless organization which has made no change to the
government’s neglect of the national river, three of its non-governmental
members submit their resignations to the Prime Minister, chairperson of the
body.
·
The University Grants Commission (UGC) chalks
out several plans to increase gross enrolment ratio (GER) of students in higher
education from the present 20 percent to 30 percent during the 12th
Five-Year Plan (2012-17).
·
Union Minister for Rural Development, Drinking
Water and Sanitation Jairam Ramesh announces a national award for sanitation
and water in the name of Maharashtrian saint Sant Gadge Baba.
·
British Prime Minister David Cameron says he
will be “very sad” if India boycotts the London Olympics following the row over
sponsorship of the event by Dow Chemicals, linked to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
·
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
announces to amend the West Bengal Cooperative Societies Act, 2006, to ensure
that banks run by cooperative societies are not empowered to attach the
property of any farmer who fails to repay a loan.
·
In a spell of fresh trouble for the Congress
government, the Supreme Court issues notices to six Ministers and eight Indian
Administrative Service officers from Andhra Pradesh on a petition alleging that
the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is not proceeding against them
despite having sufficient evidence that they helped Kadappa MP Y.S. Jaganmohan
Reddy accumulate massive illegal assets.
·
To earthquakes of moderate intensity shake the Kashmir Valley within three hours.
·
Pointing to ‘human capital deficit’ as one of
the major challenges facing public sector banks (PSBs) in emerging as potential
global leaders, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee asks the banking
community over the weekend to improve customer services to remain relevant in
an intensely competitive financial business environment.
·
While agreeing in principle on the need to have
an effective anti-terrorism mechanism on the lines of the proposed National
Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), almost all States emphasise the need to make
them as “en effective stakeholder” in all aspects of counter-terrorism domain.
·
Announcing major initiatives to provide
universal healthcare, President in her speech to the joint session of the first
day of the Budget session of Parliament, Pratibha Patil says the government
would endeavour to increase both Plan and Non-Plan public expenditure in the
Centre and the States taken together to 2.5 percent of the gross domestic
product by the end of the 12th Plan.
·
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil announces a
separate Department of Disability Affairs in her speech on the first day of the
Budget session of Parliament.
·
Sharmila Tagore, UNICEF’s National Goodwill
Ambassador, reaches out to pregnant women in Jharkhand to gain first-hand
knowledge of maternal health in the State.
·
A detailed analysis of the Census 2011 data,
released in New Delhi, shows that 27 per cent of the households in Uttar
Pradesh still had two or more married couples living together – far more than
the national average of 18 percent for such families.
·
The functioning of both Houses of Parliament is
disrupted when members cutting across party lines vociferously demand that India support the resolution to be moved by the U.S., France
and Norway against Sri Lanka at the U.N. Human Rights Council
(UNHRC) in Geneva.
·
Vijay Bahuguna, MP, is sworn in as Chief
Minister of Uttarakhand after Congress overrules a revolt by another MP Harish
Rawat.
·
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda says that
Haryana Government will provide a grant of Rs. 11,000 on the marriage of girls
hailing from families having land holding below 2.5 acres or annual income less
than Rs. 1 lakh.
·
Noted critic Namvar Singh presented the Jnanpith
Award to eminent Hindi author Amar Kant at a special ceremony in Allahabad.
·
In what is regarded as a major administrative
move, the Planning Commission clears the transfer of the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh
Gram Yojana (PMAGY) to the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) from the
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
·
Increasing the fare for the first time in eight
years, the Railway budget for 2012-13, presented in the parliament by Railway
Minister Dinesh Trivedi, also envisages 113 new trains and promises to focus on
safety, for which the Railway Board will be restructured and a separate
authority set up.
·
In a bid to contain further losses, troubled
private carrier Kingfisher Airlines announces that it would be curtaining its
international operations.
·
Okram Ibobi Singh is sworn in as Manipur Chief
Minister for the third consecutive term.
·
Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal
says in the Lok Sabha that an upgraded version of Aakash tablet computer would
be launched in April 2012 without any increase in the price.
·
Governor Shivraj V. Patil administers the oath
of office and secrecy to the 84-year-old Akali stalwart, Prakash Singh Badal,
who takes over as the Chief Minister of Punjab for a record fifth time.
·
The West Bengal Government issues a gazette
notification in Kolkata for setting up the Gorkhaland Territorial
Administration (GTA) following the Presidential assent to the GTA Bill.
·
The Finance Ministry gives its nod for the
Labour and Employment Ministry to fix the rate of interest payable to EPF
subscribers at 8.25 p.c. for 2011-12, instead of at 9.5 per cent paid in
2010-11.
·
Members of a Pakistani judicial commission
arrive in Mumbai to record the statements of four witnesses in the November 26,
2008 terror attacks in the city.
·
The Haryana Government announces to introduce
‘Surakshit Maa’ and ‘Swasth Maa’ awards from the next financial year to promote
institutional deliveries and create awareness and “responsibility towards
health” in pregnant women.
·
With a slew of scams vitiating the government’s
policy-making environment and holding up reforms, the Economic Survey 2011-12,
presented in the Parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherkee, advocates
need for a ruthless crackdown on corruption.
·
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) wins the
prestigious Jane’s Award for 2012, an international award given to recognize
and reward excellence in the air traffic control industry.
·
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet decides to give a
grant of Rs. 30,000 to high school pass Muslim girls for pursuing their
education and marriage, as well as the decision to construct boundary walls
along Muslim ‘qabristans” (graveyards).
·
The Supreme Court says that it would examine the
constitutional validity of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, which
pegs the maximum liability on a supplier and operator of a nuclear power plant
in case of an accident at Rs. 1,500 crore.
·
A court in New York dismisses a complaint against Urban
Development Minister Kamal Nath for his alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh
riots, saying it had no jurisdiction.
·
Noor Mohammad, a 1977 batch IAS officer, takes
over as acting Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University.
·
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presents the
Union Budget 2012-2013 in the Parliament.
·
The British Council announces 60 new ‘Jubilee
Scholarships’ for Indian students for 2012.
·
Tarique Rahman, son of the former Bangladesh
Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, and 29 others are indicted by a special court in Dhaka for a 2004 grenade attack that killed 24 people.
·
The UPA government breathes easy in the Lok
Sabha when the Opposition-sponsored amendments to the President’s address are
defeated with help from the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the
Bahujan Samaj Party.
·
Ending the impasse over the Kudankulam Nuclear
Power Project (KKNNP), the Tamil Nadu Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister
Jayalalithaa, resolves to take steps for the early commissioning of the plant.
·
The Planning Commission releases the latest
poverty estimates for the country showing a decline in the incidence of poverty
by 7.3 per cent over the past five years and stating that anyone with a daily
consumption expenditure of Rs. 28.35 and Rs. 22.42 in urban and rural areas
respectively is above the poverty line.
·
In a setback to the Union government, the
Supreme Court rejects its plea for a review of the court’s January 20 ruling
that the Income Tax Department did not have the jurisdiction to impose Rs.
11,000 crore in tax on the overseas deal between Vodafone International
Holdings and Hutchinson Group.
·
With the Congress-led UPA bowing to the
Trinamool Congress’ pressure, its member and Union Minister of State for
Shipping Mukul Roy is hurriedly elevated to the Cabinet rank and allocated the
Railways portfolio primarily to fulfil the constitutional requirement of
passing the Railway budget.
·
Union Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek
Singh Ahluwalia admits that income distribution is not at the desired level and
inequality increased in both rural and urban areas.
·
The Congress wins two morale-boosting victories
in a string of bypolls; it snatches a Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka – taking its
strength in the Lower House up to 207 – and an Assembly seat in Gujarat, both of which have been held by its principal
national rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party, for the last 15 years.
·
Dadasaheb Phalke award is announced for eminent
actor Soumitra Chatterjee for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.
·
Lok Sabha members, cutting across party lines,
lambaste Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia for the
‘cut-off poverty line” estimate released by the Commission and seek his removal
as well as its disbandment “for deceiving the country and cheating people”.
·
With the presence of 1,168 bird species recorded
in the country, India
is ranked 9th in the global list of bird wealth.
·
Seeking to tap the huge potential of the Inland
Waterways Transport (IWT), the Prime Minister’s Office identifies seven mega
projects and corridors all over the country – entailing an outlay of Rs. 2,100
crore – for private sector investment in the 12th Plan.
·
Union Ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh, Rajiv Shukla,
Mukul Roy, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Ms. Mayawati and Bharatiya Janata Party
leader Arun Jaitley are elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.
·
Railway Minister Mukul Roy rolls back the fare
hike except for three high-end-classes of travel, which his predecessor Dinesh
Trivedi proposed. Mr. Roy also strikes down the plan to restructure Railway
Board.
·
India
votes for a United States –
sponsored resolution at the United Nations’ top human rights body censuring Sri Lanka
for its alleged rights violations during the War against the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
·
The Bombay High Court asks the Adarsh
cooperative housing society to surrender the building to the Union Ministry of
Defence.
·
Tamil Writer A.A. Manavalan is selected for the
Saraswati Samman 2011 for his book on Ramayana.
·
Samajwadi Party supremo and Member of Parliament
Mulayam Singh Yadav will be honoured with the prestigious ‘International
Jurists Award-2012’ in London
on May 28, 2012.
·
The Director-General of Indian Coast Guard Vice
Admiral M.P. Muralidharan commissions the Dahanu Coast Guard station, the
fourth in Maharashtra.
·
Padma Bhushan awardee Shabana Azmi becomes the
first Indian actor to receive honour from New
York city.
·
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh tells the
floor leaders of the Rajya Sabha that the Centre will come forward with an
amended version of the Lokpal Bill, taking into account the suggestions made by
the opposition and the constituents and supporting parties of the ruling United
Progressive Alliance.
·
The Union Government approves a seven percentage
point increase in the rate of dearness allowance for its employees and
pensioners.
·
The Union Cabinet approves the Marriage Laws
(Amendment) Bill 2010 seeking to give women a share in the husband’s property
after divorce.
·
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurates
the Seventh Asia Gas Partnership Summit in New Delhi.
·
The 2200 km Dahej-Vijajpur-Dadri-Bawana-Bhatinda
gas pipeline network built at a cost of Rs. 13,000 crore, is dedicated to the
nation by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
·
The Union Cabinet gives the green signal for the
setting up of a credit risk guarantee fund trust with an initial corpus of Rs.
1200 crore to help give a push to housing for low-income groups in the country.
·
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh arrives in Seoul to take part in the
nuclear security summit to be held on March 26 and 27, 2012, to discuss ways of
protecting nuclear materials and facilities.
·
To mark the 11th International
Childhood Cancer celebrations – 2012, four cycling enthusiasts – Ranjul
Goswami, Anil Uchil, Bertram Fonseca and Mallikarjun Singh – pedaling from Gateway
of India in Mumbai over the past 21 days, end their unusual expedition at India
Gate in New Delhi.
·
P.K. Roy, former Chairman of Press Trust of
India, passes away in Kolkata at the age of 91.
·
The Army Chief General V.K. Singh alleges that
an equipment lobbyist offered him a bribe of Rs. 14 crore, which he reported to
Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony.
·
President Pratibha Patil’s wanderlust has cost
the public exchequer a whopping Rs. 205
crore on her foreign visits, surpassing the record of all her predecessors.
Since assuming office as the country’s first woman President in July 2007,
Patil has undertaken 12 foreign trips covering 22 countries across four
continents.
·
India
and South Korea agree to
expand their political and security ties besides upgrading the already booming
business cooperation to achieve an ambitious trade target of $40 billion by
2015, doubling the figure, during the talks between Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan
Singh and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul.
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