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2011 Current Affairs at a Glance

         JANUARY

Ø        History met geography when Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took the salute as the Chief Guest at India’s 62nd Republic Day parade on January 26, 2011. President Soekarno was the Chief Guest at the founding of the Indian republic, in 1950.

Ø         In January 2011, the US removed nine Indian space and defence related companies, including those from ISRO and DRDO, from its export control ‘Entity List’  

Ø        On January 1, 2011, Dilma Rousseff became the Brazil's first female President. The former Marxist guerrilla, has evolved over the years into a pragmatic civil servant with a professed obsession for reducing poverty.

Ø        On January 31, 2011, Marouf Bakhit was appointed as the Prime Minister of Jordan by King Abdullah. The move came following protests inspired by mass demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt, but the opposition dismissed the move as insufficient. 

Ø         The assassination of former Governor of Punjab province of Pakistan, Salmaan Taseer, on January 4, 2011, once again drew attention to Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws, which have been at the center of debate of late.

Ø        Per capita income of Indians grew by 14.5 per cent to Rs 46,492 in 2009-10, from Rs 40,605 in 2008-09. The new per capita income figure estimates on current market prices is over Rs 2,000 more than the previous estimate of Rs 44,345 calculated by the Central Statistical Organisation. Per capita income means earnings of each Indian if the national income is evenly divided among the country's population at 117 crore (1.17 billion). Per capita income (at 2004-05 prices) stood at Rs 33,731 in FY10 against Rs 31,801 in the previous year. 

Ø         While 2010 was observed as the International Year of Biodiversity, from 2011 started the Decade of Biodiversity.

Ø        The Qingdao Haiwan Bridge in China is the world’s longest sea bridge. It is 42.48 km long, 8.04 km further than the distance between Dover and Calais, as also longer than a marathon. The bridge links the main urban area of Qingdao city in east China’s Shandong province with Huangdao district.

Ø        January 14, 2011 marked the 250th anniversary of the third battle of Panipat. The defeat of the Marathas by the army of Ahmad Shah Abdali prepared the ground for the gradual take-over of India by the East India company.

Ø        Army Day is observed in India on January 15.

Ø        On January 17, 2011, Indian Navy commissioned a squadron of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), named INAS 343, at Porbander, Gujarat, to enhance coastal surveillance capabilities. The UAVs have been nick-named “Frontier Formidables”.

Ø        Anti-Leprosy Day is observed in India on January 30.

FEBRUARY

Ø        The Economic Survey 2011 revealed that though Rajasthan, followed by Andhra Pradesh, UP, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Bihar, provided maximum employment under MNREGA in 2009-2010, it was Punjab which employed the maximum Scheduled Castes under the programme (Punjab also reports the lowest number of people below poverty line in India) while Madhya Pradesh employed the maximum STs, followed by Jharkhand, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.

Ø        On February 16, 2011, India and Japan signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) to open markets and reduce barriers on goods, services and movement of people between the two countries.

Ø        After three decades of armed conflict that cost thousands of lives in Assam, the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam( ULFA) finally decided to sit for “unconditional” talks with the Government of India.

Ø        On February 22, 2011, thirty one persons were convicted and 63 others, including the main accused Maulvi Umarji, were acquitted by a special court in the 2002 Godhra train burning incident that left 59 persons dead and triggered violence in Gujarat that claimed the lives of over 1200 people.

Ø        On February 11, 2011, Hosni Mubarak stepped down as Egypt's President

Ø        Ending a seven-month-long standoff over the Prime Ministerial election, Nepal's Parliament, on February 3, 2011, elected veteran communist leader and chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) Jhalanath Khanal as the new Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Nepal.

Ø        India’s first inland fish processing unit has been set up in the village of Bhutana in Karnal district of Haryana. 

Ø        The National Science Day is observed on February 28 to mark the discovery of Raman Effect by Sir C.V. Raman in 1928, for which he was awarded the Nobel prize. 

Ø         To reduce the burden of small tax-payers, a new, simplified income tax return form, Sugam, has been introduced.

Ø        The Union Budget 2011 has increased the Defence budget by 11 per cent.

Ø        The Union Budget 2011 has earmarked Rs 52,000 crore for education, out of which Rs 21,000 crore will be spent on Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, Rs 6,213 crore on secondary education and Rs 2,200 crore on higher education.

Ø        The Hyderabad international airport has bagged the first rank in its category in the latest Airport Service Quality (ASQ) rankings of the Airports Council International (ACI).

Ø        The theme song of Cricket World Cup, 2011 was “De Ghuma Ke

Ø        The SAARC Foreign Ministers’ meet was held in Thimpu, Bhutan on February 8, 2011.

Ø        The NASSCOM India Leadership Forum (NILF) was held in Mumbai in February 2011.

Ø        Mahatma Gandhi and the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama have been listed by the Time magazine as the world’s top 25 political icons. 

Ø        India has agreed to temporarily lend fragments of Buddha’s bones, famously known as Kapilavastu relics, to Sri Lanka for an exposition to celebrate his 2600th year of enlightenment in 2011.

MARCH

Ø        The Supreme Court of India rejected the petition for mercy killing of Aruna Shanbaug, who has been in a “persistent vegetative state” for the past 37 years. There is no law to allow it. However, the apex court permitted passive euthanasia under certain, supervised by a High Court. Euthanasia, also called assisted suicide, has been debated worldwide.

Ø        The Union Cabinet has given its nod to the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to increase the voting rights of foreign investors in private sector banks. 

Ø        India's most backward and populous States slowed down their rate of population growth, helping the country register its sharpest decline in population growth since Independence. India's population grew to 1.21 billion, according to provisional results of the decadal headcount declared by Census Commissioner C. Chandramouli on March 30, 2011. The absolute addition of about 181 million people is slightly less than the population of Brazil—the world fifth most populous country—but the slower decadal growth rate of 17.64% has offered hope to policy makers.

Ø        India’s total population, as per the 2011 Census is 12102.2 million. Out of this 586.5 are females and 623.7 are males.

Ø        Literacy rate of India, as per Census 2011 has gone up to 74.04% from 64.83% a decade ago. 82.4% is male literacy and 65.46 is female literacy.

Ø        At 11,297 people for every sq km, Delhi tops the list of States and Union Territories in terms of density. Chandigarh comes next, with 9,252 people. Among Andaman and Nicobar and Arunachal Pradesh are the least densely populated territories, with 46 and 17 people, respectively, in every sq km. Dibang valley of Arunachal has only one person in a sq km, while Samba in J&K has two. Nagaland is the only State that has statistically demonstrated a negative growth rate and a marginal decline in density.

Ø        Much against the opinion of his own Cabinet, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited Pakistani leaders—both Prime Minister and President—to witness the cricket World Cup semi-final match at Mohali, played between the teams of the two nations on April 29, 2011. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani accepted the invitation to take forward the peace initiative taken by the Indian Prime Minister.

Ø        On March 30, 2011, Myanmar’s military handed power to a nominally civilian government after almost half a century of army rule, as the junta was disbanded and a new President appointed. Former PM Thein Sein, a key Than Shwe ally, was sworn in as President. He is among a slew of generals who shed their army uniforms to contest the elections and are now civilian members of Parliament, which also has a quarter of its seats kept aside for the military. 

Ø        On March 10, 2011, the Dalai Lama announced his retirement plan on the 52nd anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day.

Ø        Child sex ratio of India, as per Census 2011, is 914 females against 1000 males. This is lowest since independence. The overall sex ratio has risen by 7 points to 940 females per 1000 males.

Ø        India Post has launched online portal ‘e-post office’ to provide postal transactions and tracking service online. This portal will provide electronic money order (eMO), instant money order (iMO), sale of philatelic stamps, postal information, tracking of express and international shipments, PIN code search and registration of feedback and complaints online.

Ø        The 11th Info-Poverty World Conference was held in March 2011 at the United Nations.

Ø        The biennial Wind Power India conference was held in Chennai.

Ø        The three-day world Sufi music festival was held on March 11-13, 2011 in New Delhi.

Ø        World House Sparrow day is observed on March 20.

Ø        World Water Day is observed on March 22.

APRIL

Ø        On April 15, 2011, the Supreme Court granted bail to civil rights activist Dr Binayak Sen, holding that possessing Naxal literature or visiting jailed Maoists did not amount to sedition.

Ø        India’s exports for 2010-11 have clocked $245.9 billion registering a growth of 37.5 per cent. This is the first time exports have crossed $200 billion.

Ø        World Heritage Day, also known as the international day for monuments, is observed on April 18.

Ø        World Health Day is observed on April 7.

Ø        World Haemophilia Day is observed on April 17. Haemophilia is a genetic blood disorder in which blood does not clot properly.

Ø        Civil Services Day is observed on April 21.

MAY

Ø        More than 40 years after it was mooted, the Union Cabinet, on May 13, 2010, gave its approval to set up the nation’s first defence university at Binola, around 20 km from Gurgaon.

Ø        Indian President Pratibha Patil visited Beijing from May 27, 2010. She is the first Indian Head of State to visit China in a decade. During her visit, Patil inaugurated China’s first Indian-style Buddhist temple in Luoyang city in Henan province.

Ø         On May 3, 2010, a Mumbai court found 22-year-old Pakistani national, Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, guilty of mass murder and waging war against India

Ø        India is ranked 73 in the list of 77 nations rated for the “best place to be a mother”, according to a report by child rights organisation Save the Children. What is more shocking in the “State of the World's Mothers 2010” report is that India is rated much lower than a host of conflict-ridden African countries like Kenya and Congo. China is at 18th place, Sri Lanka at 40, while Pakistan lags behind India at 75th place. Bangladesh, featured in the list of 40 least developed countries, is ranked 14. The report analysed a total of 166 countries, among which Sweden is placed at the top while Afghanistan is at the bottom. 

Ø         National Technology Day is observed on May 8.

Ø        Sahara India has won the sponsorship rights of Indian cricket team till 2013.

Ø        The 11th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards were held in Sri Lanka.

Ø        India observed May 21 as Anti-Terror Day to mark former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination on May 21, 1991.

Ø        The Reserve Bank of India has decided to increase the cash withdrawal limit for ATMs to Rs one lakh in a single day.

JUNE

Ø        On June 7, 2010, nearly 26 years after the world's worst industrial disaster left more than 15,000 dead in the Bhopal gas tragedy, former Union Carbide India Chairman Keshub Mahindra and seven others were convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment. The 89-year-old Warren Anderson, the then Chairman of Union Carbide Corporation of USA, who lives in the United States, appears to have gone scot free for the present as he is still an absconder and did not subject himself to trial. There was no word about him in the judgement.

Ø        On June 1, 2001, Jharkhand came under Central rule with President Pratibha Patil accepting a recommendation of the Union Cabinet after the Congress and the BJP gave up efforts to form an alternative government following resignation of Chief Minister Shibu Soren.

Ø        On June 28, 2001, India and Canada signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement. The pact was signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Canada. The US, France, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Namibia and Britain are the eight countries that have already signed similar pacts with India.

Ø        Members of SAARC have pledged to step up coordinated action against the common menace of terrorism, including steps to apprehend or extradite persons connected with acts of terrorism and facilitate real-time intelligence sharing. The meeting of the Interior Ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, held on June 27, 2010 in Islamabad, Pakistan, also resolved to step up cooperation in real time intelligence-sharing and to consider Pakistan’s proposal for creation of SAARCPOL, an institution on the lines of Interpol.

Ø         On June 27, 2010, G-8 leaders met in Totonto, Canada for their annual Summit meeting. The leaders decided to drop a commitment to complete the troubled Doha trade round in 2010 and vowed to push forward on bilateral and regional trade talks until a global deal could be done.

Ø        Indian consumers are the greenest in the world, according to a global survey of 17 countries. Brazil is ranked number 2, while US consumers are ranked last, just below Canada. 

Ø        Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has become the first municipal body of India to cash in on cutting down carbon emissions warming the planet.

Ø        World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5.

Ø        World Day against Child Labour is observed on June 12.

Ø        World Blood Donor Day is observed on June 14.

Ø        Vaxiflu-S is India’s first indigenous vaccine to counter influenza-A H1N1, also known as swine flu.

Ø        India is ranked a lowly 128 on 2010 Global Peace Index. Pakistan (145) is placed among the five countries that were least peaceful. India had ranked 122 in 2009. New Zealand was ranked the most peaceful, followed by Iceland and Japan.

JULY

Ø        The Reserve Bank India (RBI) has announced linking new branch licensing to the number of rural branches that banks open.

Ø        two decades of uncertainty in the Darjeeling hills, a historic tripartite agreement for a new council with more powers was signed on July 18, 2011, even as the West Bengal government ruled out any division of the State. The new autonomous, 50-member elected hill council will have more administrative and financial powers to independently run the three hill sub-divisions of Kurseong, Kalimpong and Darjeeling, as compared to its former avatar, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, formed in the late 1980s. While 45 members will be elected, the remaining five will be nominated by the government. 

Ø        On July 25, 2011, India signed a “historic” civil nuclear cooperation agreement with South Korea, paving the way for the possibility of Seoul exporting its atomic power plants. South Korea has now become the ninth country which had signed nuclear agreement with India after it got the waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) in 2008. The other countries are the US, France, Russia, Canada, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Argentina and Namibia.

Ø        The India-US strategic dialogue was held in New Delhi on July 18, 2011, during the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Ø        Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde’s report on illegal mining, submitted to the State government on July 27, 2011, accused Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa of corruption and asked the Governor to take action against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The report also names the two Reddy brothers, Janardhana and Karunakara, both Cabinet ministers in Karnataka, V. Somanna, also a member of the Yeddyurappa-led Cabinet, JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Congress MP Anil Lad.

Ø         Punjab, Kerala and Karnataka are now among the most urbanized States in India, having more than 35 per cent of their population living in urban areas. Uttar Pradesh has the maximum number of its people living in rural areas; 55.5 crore people in UP live in rural areas. Mumbai tops the list of places having maximum number of people in urban area at 5 crore.

Ø        Punjab has become the first State in India to start an integrated solid waste management programme in the entire State.

Ø        World Population Day is celebrated every year on July 11.

Ø        “News of the World”, 168-year-old newspaper of Britain, was closed down in July 2011, in a breathtaking response to a phone-hacking scandal engulfing the media empire of Rupert Murdoch.

Ø        The Union Cabinet has cleared a massive hike of Rs 3 crore per MP in the annual allocation of MPLAD fund that enables every MP to recommend development works in his/her constituency. The allocation has been hiked from Rs 2 crore per MP to Rs 5 crore per MP and will cost the exchequer an additional Rs 2,370 crore annually.

Ø        Juba is the capital of the new nation of South Sudan which declared independence on July 9, 2011.

Ø        Mumbai and Delhi are among the five cheapest places in the world, according to the Worldwide Cost of Living survey. The five cheapest cities are: Karachi (Pakistan), Tunis (Tunisia), Mumbai (India), Tehran (Iran) and New Delhi (India), in that order. The five costliest places are: Tokyo (Japan), Oslo (Norway), Osaka Kobe (Japan), Paris (France), Zurich (Switzerland).

Ø        According to the UN Millennium Development Goals Report, as many as 320 million people in India and China are expected to come out of extreme poverty by 2015, while India’s poverty rate is projected to drop to 22%, from 55% in 1990. Those living on less than $1.25 a day are considered extremely poor.

Ø        On July 8, 2011, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee launched a new set of coins and Rs 10 notes bearing the rupee symbol. With this India became the second country after England to have its currency symbol printed on its notes.

Ø        National Green Tribunal (NGT) is a judicial body constituted to try all matters related to environmental issues. The Tribunal is headed by Justice L.S. Panta. The first sitting of NGT was held on July 4, 2011.

AUGUST

Ø        On August 29, 2011, the Reserve Bank of India released its much-awaited draft guidelines for new banking licences. The last time India issued a banking license was in 2004, to Yes Bank Ltd.

Ø         On August 27, 2011, the extraordinary 12th day of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption fast, the Parliament responded with extraordinary grace to show what it could do to honour a crusader’s urge. After over eight hours of debate around the structure of the Lokpal Bill, the Government and the Opposition in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha came together to agree “in-principle” to the three major demands the activist had raised in his letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a condition to end his protest. In doing so, the Parliament paved the way for the Gandhian to end his fast. 

Ø         Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai was sworn in as Nepal’s new Prime Minister on August 29, 2011.

Ø        The Parliament has permitted the government to mint coins of Rs 1,000 denomination. The Coinage Bill, 2009, passed by Rajya Sabha in August 2011, limits payment through coins up to Rs 1,000. The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill without discussion in March.

Ø        It has been proposed to change the name of West Bengal to Paschimbanga. The name change will become official after it is cleared by the Parliament.

Ø        The Reserve Bank of India’s gross income for 2010-11 rose by 12.73 per cent to Rs 37,070.12 crore, from Rs 32,884.14 crore a year ago, due to increase in earnings from domestic assets.

SEPTEMBER

Ø        The Union Government has introduced in the Lok Sabha an amended version of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill 2011 

Ø        World Heart Day is celebrated on September 29. 

Ø        TRAI has renamed the National Do Not Call list as the National Consumer Preference Registry. 

Ø        SLINEX-II was the joint Indo-Lankan naval exercise held at the Trincomalee navy base, 275 km east of Colombo, in September 2011. 

Ø        Jammu & Kashmir has become the first State of India to get “MY Stamp” by which people will get personalised stamps with their photographs on these. 

Ø        The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the regulatory body which makes rules for food safety, has recommended the use of Stevia, a natural sweetener, for use in carbonated water, soft drink concentrates, chewing-gums and table-top sweeteners. 

Ø         International Literacy Day is celebrated on September 8. 

Ø        Former atomic energy commission chairman Anil Kakodkar has been made head of the high-level committee to review railway safety.

       
OCTOBER

Ø        On October 21, 2011, the Planning Commission released the second India Human Development Report (HDR) 2011, which records controversial claims and a few surprises on income, education, health, literacy and sanitation. The last India-specific report had come out in 2000.

Ø        On October 3, 2011, the Union government unveiled the draft National Policy on Electronics, 2011, which aims at $400 billion turnover in 2020 by the domestic industry and focuses on reducing imports.

Ø        The draft national policy on information and communications technology, 2011, was unveiled by Telecom & IT Minister Kapil Sibal on October 7, 2011.

Ø        Disillusioned by Pakistan’s attitude and its hobnobbing with the Haqqani network, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai focused on strengthening ties with India during his visit to New Delhi on October 4, 2011.

Ø        Nepal's Maoist Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai arrived in New Delhi on October 20, 2011

Ø        President of Vietnam, Mr Truong Tan Sang, visited New Delhi on October 11, 2011

Ø        Telecommunications Minister Kapil Sibal unveiled the draft National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2011 on October 10, 2011. The policy not only seeks to give the consumer the right to free roaming within the country but also seeks to increase the country’s tele-density to 100 per cent by 2020 and bring about transparency in spectrum allocation.

Ø        On October 20, 2011, Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya for 42 years was killed by fighters who overran his home-town and final bastion Sirte.

Ø        The 2012 Commonwealth Summit concluded in Perth, Australia on October 30, 2011. The 2013 CHOGM meet will be hosted by Sri Lanka.

Ø        The 5th IBSA Summit, which was held in Pretoria on October 18, 2011, came out with a declaration on major global issues with focus on reforms of multilateral organisations, including the UN Security Council, the IMF and the World Bank, to give greater voice to emerging countries like India

Ø        On October 31, 2011, Palestine won full admission into UNESCO, the United Nations science, education and cultural heritage organization, in a closely watched vote in Paris.

Ø        National Voluntary Blood Donation Day is celebrated on October 1.

Ø        International Day of Older Persons is celebrated on October 1.

Ø        The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has renamed the Lakhanpur-Jammu-Srinagar National Highway 1-A as the Lakhanpur-Jammu-Srinagar National Highway 44. It is the lone surface link between the Kashmir valley and rest of the country.

Ø         World Polio Day is observed on October 24.

Ø        Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Day is observed on October 21.

Ø        The Union government has announced setting up of National Institute of Sports Science and Medicine (NISSM) at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. The institute will aim at fostering the disciplines of physiology, psychology, nutrition, biochemistry, biomedical, anthropometry and sports medicine.

Ø        “Sudarshan Shakti” was the massive joint exercise held by Indian Army, with Air Force and Navy.

Ø        The World Food Day is observed every year on October 16. It was on this day in 1945 that the Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations came into being. The aim of the Day is to heighten public awareness on the scarcity of food and strengthen movement against hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

Ø        Jugnu, a nano-satellite built by IIT, Kanpur, is India’s first indigenously designed nano-satellite to be successfully placed into its orbit. It was launched on October 12, 2011 by PSLV-C18.

NOVEMBER

Ø        Close on the heels of the world population crossing the 7 billion-mark, the new Human Development Report of UNDP has revealed a major reason behind India’s growing numbers. While we are worrying about high total fertility rates (TFRs) of 2.6, new data points out that our adolescent fertility rates (AFR) are even more shocking at 86.3. One of the main drivers of high gender inequality in India, which has the poorest (129th) Gender Inequality Index rank in South Asia (leaving aside Afghanistan which is poorer at 141), high adolescent fertility rate reflects that our child marriage prevention laws have simply not worked and our contraception prevalence rate remains poor at 54%. Even Sri Lanka has a higher contraception prevalence rate at 68%.

Ø        India is ranked 134th among the 187 countries assessed for their performance in three key areas of human development—education, health and income. The UNDP Global Human Development Index (HDI) 2011 places Norway, Australia and The Netherlands on top of the charts, while Congo, Niger and Burundi fare the worst in the annual rankings. India’s place remains unchanged because the index includes 18 new countries this time as against just 169 in 2010, when India stood at rank 119. This year, though, India is placed behind all its partners in BRICS, where Russia is the leader at number 66, followed by Brazil at 84; China at 101 and South Africa at 123.

Ø         On November 22, 2011, Tunisia entered a new era of democracy with the inaugural session of its democratically elected Constituent Assembly, ten months after a popular uprising ended years of dictatorship.

Ø        On November 30, 2011, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Myanmar on the first top-level US visit for half a century, seeking to encourage a “movement for change” in the military-dominated nation.

Ø        Myanmar has won approval of ASEAN to chair Southeast Asia’s regional bloc in 2014, in a reward for hints of reform from its new government after decades of military rule.

Ø        The 17th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was held at the Addu atoll in Maldives. In its 26th year, SAARC has finally taken the shape of a cohesive grouping of nations willing to cooperate in key areas to boost their economic clout.

Ø        The island nation of Kirabati has become the first to declare that its territory has become uninhabitable due to global warming.

Ø        Buddhist sites in Sanchi have become the first blind-friendly world heritage monuments of India. Special tactical walk-ways, signages in Braille, beepers and Braile map will make the monuments, including the Stupa, come alive for the visually-challenged, who will also be allowed to “feel” the grandeur in every sense.

Ø        National Integration Day is observed on November 19.

Ø        Vivek Express is the new weekly train that covers India’s longest rail route from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, covering the distance of 4,286 km in approximately 83 hours. The train was flagged-off on November 19, 2011.

Ø        Queensland’s Gold Coast in Australia has been named as 2018 Commonwealth Games host.

Ø         National Education Day is observed on November 11, birthday of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

Ø        November 7 is observed as the National Cancer Awareness Day.

Ø        From April 1, 2012, the Reserve Bank of India has cut the validity of Cheques and bank drafts to three months instead of the six months earlier. 

DECEMBER

Ø        Eleven hours after an often stormy debate, the Lok Sabha passed the Lokpal & Lokayukta Bill, 2011 on December 27, 2011, after incorporating several amendments. 

Ø        On December 12, 2011, Canada became the first country to announce it would withdraw from the Kyoto protocol on climate change, dealing a symbolic blow to the already troubled global treaty. Canada, a major energy producer which critics complain is becoming a climate renegade, has long complained Kyoto is unworkable precisely because it excludes so many significant emitters. 

Ø        Delhi celebrated 100 years of re-emergence as the capital of India on December 12, 2011. It had been proclaimed as capital of British Raj on December 12, 1911, shifting from Kolkata, by then Emperor of India George V.  

Ø        India’s ranking in transparency international’s corruption perception index has slipped to a low 95 among 183 countries. 

Ø         World Aids Day is observed on December 1.