current affairs( AUGUST 2012)

INTERNATIONAL

• French prosecutors have opened a murder enquiry into Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s 2004 death near Paris, sources close to the matter told on 28 August. The probe comes after Arafat’s family launched legal action in France last month over claims the veteran Palestinian leader died of radioactive polonium poisoning. Arafat’s widow Suha and his daughter Zawra lodged a murder complaint on July 31 in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. Arafat died at a military hospital near Paris in 2004. Allegations that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was poisoned were resurrected last month after Al-Jazeera news channel broadcast an investigation in which experts said they found high levels of polonium on his personal effects. At the time of his death, Palestinian officials alleged he had been poisoned by long-time foe Israel, but an inconclusive Palestinian investigation in 2005 ruled out poisoning, as well as cancer and AIDS. Israel has consistently denied the allegations, accusing Suha Arafat and Palestinian officials of covering up the real reasons for the former leader’s death
  
• The Vienna based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the international agency for the monitoring of nuclear energy, on 29 August 2012 set up a special Task Force to handle inspections and other issues related to the Iran's disputed nuclear programme. IAEA is aiming at handling the sensitive Iran issue by deploying the experts and other resources under one unit. IAEA, which regularly inspects Iran's nuclear sites, has voiced growing concern over the lran's nuclear program. Tehran, however, has argued that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and there is no military dimension to it. Iran has been targeting of western nations for carrying out its nuclear plan. Iran has been facing tough economic sanctions imposed by US and European Union. However, Iran has been dubbed the allegations made by US and its allies as ridiculous and maintained that the country has no military ambition behind its nuclear programme.
  
• A 7.6 earthquake struck off the Philippine coast on 31 August, triggering a small tsunami that hit the eastern part of the archipelago. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a depth of 34 km and hit at 8:47 pm (1247 GMT), 139 kilometers east of the city of Sulangan on Samar island. A 16-centimetre tsunami hit the eastern Philippines about two hours later, raising fears that bigger waves were imminent. But the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center shortly afterwards lifted its tsunami warnings for the Philippines and Indonesia. Warnings had also been raised for Japan, Taiwan and several Pacific islands, but they were almost immediately lifted.
  
• The 16th NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) summit was held at Tehran, Iran on 30-31 August 2012.The theme of the summit was “Lasting Peace through Joint Global Governance”. At the Tehran Summit, the Chairmanship of NAM was passed on from Egypt to Iran. The NAM meeting in Tehran was held in three phases: preparatory senior officials meeting on 26-27 August, ministerial level meeting on 28-29 August, and the summit on 30-31 August.
  
• Venezuela was selected the host for the 17th NAM Summit in 2015 and two nations, namely Azerbaijan Republic and Fiji, were accepted as the new members of the organization. The NAM was founded in the former Yugoslavia in 1961. It represents almost two-thirds of the UN members and about 55 percent of the world population.
  
• A commission of enquiry has concluded on 30 August, that the former Maldivian President, Mohamed Nasheed, was not ousted in a coup. The Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI) was set up by the Maldivian government to probe if the events of February 7 constituted a coup. On that day, President Mohamed Nasheed had stepped down and Vice-President Mohamed Waheed assumed office as per the Constitution. The commission, in a report released on 30 August, concluded that “there was no illegal coercion or intimidation nor any coup d’état. The Commission has received no evidence supporting or to substantiate these allegations”. The commission, co-chaired by a Singapore judge and which included two international observers, said: “A coup d’etat required a positive action against President Nasheed. Non-action and inaction cannot constitute a coup d’état. Moreover, the Constitution does not call for loyalty of anyone to the President. It calls for loyalty to the Constitution.
  
• Iran, India and Afghanistan discussed options for investment in the Chabahar Port, located in southeast Iran. In a crucial trilateral meeting held on 26 August 2012 ahead of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit, the three nations agreed to set up a joint working group to spur trade and transit through the Iranian port of Chabahar. Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai held dialogues with deputy foreign ministers of Iran and Afghanistan in Tehran to explore ways to expand trade and transit cooperation, including investment, among the three countries, starting with the Chabahar Port. In a joint statement released after trilateral dialogue the three countries committed to meet within next three months at Chabahar to take the discussions forward. In another significant development Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna held bilateral dialogues with his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehion 27 August 2012. The two leaders discussed issues related to trade and economy during the meeting. The two nations hoped to take their economic ties to a new level through increased cooperation in the economic sector. Iran is hosting the 16th Nan-Aligned Movement Summit in capital Tehran from 26 August to 31 August 2012.Both the nations agreed to set up an Indian cultural centre in Tehran. India also discussed the issue of global governance confronting the developing world.
  
• Russia became the 156th member of the World Trade Organization on 21 August, following nearly two decades of negotiations. Russia was one of the world's last major economies to join the Geneva-based institution, having previously expressed concerns about the potential influx of Western goods and services. As part of its membership, Russia has agreed to lower import tariffs to less than 8 percent from a current average of around 10 percent. As part of the agreement, Russia has also made commitments to open trade in several sectors, including the banking, automotive and insurance industries. Some analysts expect this will be to the benefit of Russian consumers by making it cheaper for them to purchase imported products while allowing them to save more and invest back into the local economy. Russia joins the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, which will become the WTO s 157th member on 21 August. Pascal Lamy is the present Director-General of WTO.
  
• Meles Zenawi (57), Ethiopia’s Prime Minister since 1995, died on 20 August, in a hospital in Brussels. Sources said, Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn would head a transitional government while the ruling party chooses Mr. Meles successor, adding that the Constitution allowed his government to appoint a successor without holding elections. Mr. Meles’s Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front seized power in 1991 following the collapse of the dictatorship of Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam. He headed the transitional government and won elections in 1995, 2000, 2005 and most recently in 2010, in a landslide election whose validity was questioned by Western observers and human rights groups. Mr. Meles is credited with resurrecting the ruined economy he inherited in 1991. In the last seven years, the economy has grown by an average 11 per cent annually due to investments in agriculture and infrastructure. Adis Ababa is the capital for Ethiopia.
  
• Miss China , Wenxia Yu, was crowned the 62nd Miss World with Miss Wales Sophie Elizabeth Moulds as the 1st runner-up and Miss Australia Jessica Michele Kahawaty as the 2nd runner-up. This event was held at Ordos, in China on 18 august.Miss India Vanya Mishra stood at sixth place. While Vanyamishra got the coveted titles of Miss World Beauty with a Purpose and also went on to win the Multimedia Award at the Miss World pageant. Miss china was also awarded Miss Talent 2012, Miss World 2012 Beach Beauty was Miss Wales. While South Sudan took away the Miss World 2012 Top Model award.Finally, Miss World Sports Woman 2012 was awarded to Miss Sweden.
  
• Myanmar abolished direct media censorship on 20 August, the latest dramatic reform by its quasi-civilian regime, but journalists face other formidable restrictions including a ban on private daily newspapers and a pervasive culture of self-censorship. Under the new rules, journalists no longer have to submit reports to state censors before publication, ending a practice strictly enforced during nearly half a century of military rule that ended in March last year. Previously, every song, book, cartoon, news report and planned piece of art required approval by teams of censors rooting out political messages and criticisms of one of Asia’s most repressive governments. Privately run daily newspapers are still not permitted, leaving a monopoly to state-run papers
  
• Anti-Japanese protests rocked Chinese cities on 19 August, as nationalists from Japan landed on an East China Sea island at the heart of a territorial dispute between the two nations. In several Chinese cities, thousands took to the streets shouted slogans agaist Japan’s claim over the islands. Tokyo and Beijing have been feuding for decades over the island chain, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, near potentially huge maritime gas fields. On 19 August, 10 Japanese made an unauthorised landing on Uotsuri island, the largest in a small archipelago known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands and in China as the Diaoyu Islands. Of the 10 who visited the island, five were conservative local assembly members.
  
• The Organization of Islamic Cooperation suspended Syria on 16 August , citing President Bashar al-Assad's suppression of the Syrian revolt, but there was little support for direct military involvement in Syria at a summit of Muslim leaders in Mecca.Summit host Saudi Arabia has led Arab efforts to isolate Syria diplomatically.
  
• China's commerce ministry announced on 14 August, China will develop two economic zones in North Korea. Both sides met in Beijing to discuss the setting up of Rason Economic and Trade Zone and Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone.Sources said , a joint mechanism will be set up to train personnel, for compiling plans and regulations, customs clearance and telecom links .
  
• Noted Indian-American journalist and author Fareed Zakaria(48) has been suspended by his employers CNN and Time magazine after he admitted to plagiarism and apologized for the ethical lapse. Mr Zakaria, was suspended by CNN and Time magazine after he admitted that he had plagiarised portions of an article he wrote on gun control for Time, from the New Yorker magazine. He issued an apology saying he had made a “terrible mistake” and his lifting a paragraph from the article by Harvard University professor of American history Jill Lepore was an “ethical lapse“. Mr Zakaria, a Yale and Harvard graduate, had written the column on gun control that appeared in the August 20 issue of Time magazine. Born on 20 January 1964 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Fareed Zakaria obtained his Bachelors degree in Arts from Yale University. Later he received Doctorate in Political Science from Harvard University in 1993. In a career spanning more than two decades in journalism, Zakaria worked with numerous global media organizations such as News Week, Time, CNN.
  
• In a high intensity political act, Ecuador on 16 August, granted asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, ignoring a threat from the British government to strip it of its diplomatic status and storm its embassy in London to arrest Mr. Assange for breaching his bail conditions. He has been holed up at the embassy since seeking refuge there in June to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of sexual assault. British Foreign Secretary William Hague made clear that Mr. Assange would not be given safe passage out of the country and indicated that the diplomatic stand-off could drag on for some “considerable” time. Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said the decision to grant asylum to Mr. Assange was prompted by a concern for Mr. Assange’s human rights as his government believed that his fears of “political persecution’’ were “legitimate.” Mr. Assange fears that if extradited to Sweden he could be handed to the American government that wants to prosecute him for publishing secret official documents. Britain said it was “disappointed” by the decision and stressed its “obligation” to extradite Mr. Assange to Sweden pointing out that he had exhausted all legal options in Britain.
  
• The United Nations on 17 August, has announced that Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi will replace Kofi Annan as peace envoy to Syria. The 78- year-old Brahimi has worked in several high-profile positions at the UN, gaining a reputation as a tough, independent negotiator as envoy to Afghanistan, Iraq and Haiti. He helped negotiate the end of Lebanon’s civil war. Mr. Brahimi is a member of the Elders, a group of former world leaders working for global peace. Mr. Annan announced his resignation earlier this month after failing to achieve a temporary ceasefire during six- month tenure. The Security Council announced on 16 august, it would end the UN military observer mission in Syria
  
• Russia will build a string of naval bases along its northern coast as it prepares to claim a vast swath of the energy-rich Arctic. Security Council chief Nikolay Patrushev said on 7 August, that a list of naval infrastructure hubs along the Northern Sea Route has been drawn up to serve as resupply bases for Russian warships and border guard vessels. By 2020, Russia is to deploy a combined-arms force of naval, border and coastal guard units to protect its economic and political interests in the Arctic.President Vladimir Putin last month said that Russia would build dozens of warships by 2020 to better protect its natural resources in the Arctic. Russia, which is entitled to a 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone in the Arctic, plans to submit next year its claim for a 150-mile additional territory on the grounds that the seabed is continuation of its continental shelf. This claim is disputed by other Arctic powers — Norway, the United States, Canada and Denmark.Russia also plans to open year-round navigation along the Northern Sea Route, which stretches for 5,600 km along Russia’s Arctic coast from Murmansk in the Barents Sea to the Bering Strait in the Far East.
  
• At least six persons were killed and several injured, on 5 August, by a gunmen, at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, a Gurdwara, in what appeared to be a hate crime in Oak Creek, a quiet suburb of Milwaukee. Reports also quoted an unnamed member of the Sikh community as saying a Sikh priest visiting from New Delhi was said to have been shot at. One police officer was injured in an exchange of fire. India said its embassy in Washington was in touch with the U.S. National Security Council on the tragic incident. Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao said an official was rushed to the site to ascertain the situation.
  
• Taiwan proposed for a peace proposal on 5 August aimed at easing mounting tensions in a territorial dispute over an island chain in the East China Sea also claimed by China and Japan. The proposal, put forth by President Ma Ying-jeou, came after Japanese Defence Minister Satoshi Morimoto warned recently, Tokyo could send troops to the island chain.
  
• Sudan and South Sudan have come into an agreement in Adis ababa on 5 August, on a deal over oil, resolving a key part of a bitter dispute that brought the rivals to the brink of all-out war earlier this year. African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki said that the parties have agreed on all of the financial arrangements regarding oil. Landlocked South Sudan said it had agreed to pay a pipeline transit fee of $9.48 per oil barrel to transport its crude through Sudan, a significant drop from Sudan’s initial demands of up to $36 a barrel in fees. In addition, South Sudan agreed to make a "one-off payment" to Khartoum of some $3 billion to cover the massive financial gap created by the South's independence last year, a fractious divorce that left a raft of issues unresolved. Mutrif Siddiq, a Sudanese delegate to the talks in the Ethiopian capital, said the deal was "reasonable", although it did not meet the expectations of either side. U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed the deal, saying it opened the door to better prosperity for both countries. He also praised the mediation efforts of the African Union led by Thabo Mbeki, a former South African president.
  
• The US government on 2 August 2012 announced to impose some fresh sanctions on Iran. These sanctions, imposed under Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA), put punitive regulation on those who continued to maintain ties with Iran.Under the sanction Bank of Kunlun in China and Elaf Islamic Bank in Iraq faced cut off from transactions with US institutions. The two banks were punished for facilitating transactions worth millions of dollars on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks. Experts say that the new sanctions categorically target the Iranian energy and petrochemical sectors. Earlier this year India, China and a host of other nations had opposed US’ dictate to cut down their oil imports from Iran. US and European Union have come down heavily on Iran’s nuclear programme seeking all possible diplomatic methods to stop the belligerent nation to carry on its nuclear programme. Though the heavy sanctions imposed by the US and EU over Iran have not yielded them the desired result as Iran has thus far not gave up its plan to build nuclear armaments.
  
• In Sudan, the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) handed over power to the newly elected National Assembly on 8 August 2012 in a ceremony in Tripoli. NTC Chairman, Mustafa Abdel Jalil passed on the responsibility to the oldest member of the new two hundred member assembly, Mohammed Ali Salim. The new assembly will appoint a new interim Prime Minister to form the government and a sixty-member panel to draft the new constitution of Libya. The ceremony marked the first peaceful government transition of the country post Gadhafi seized power in Libya.
  
• Pakistan’s Supreme Court on 8 August 2012 ordered the Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to appear before judges for he failed to write Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against the president Asif Ali Zardari. The court asked the PM to appear before judges on 27 August 2012 to explain his actions.Earlier on 3 August 2012 the Supreme Court had nullified a legislation that sought to protect elected legislators from contempt charges. It was believed that the legislation was meant to prevent court from disqualifying current Prime Minister from the office under contempt charges.Earlier,the Supreme Court of Pakistan had removed Yousuf Raza Gilani from his post on 19 June 2012 after he failed to follow court’s order to write a letter to Swiss authorities asking them to reopen corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari.
  
• Somalia’s Constituent Assembly on 1 August , endorsed a draft constitution billed as a key step to ending decades of civil war during. The Horn of Africa country’s outgoing government hailed the end of an eight-year interim period. Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali expressed happy and announced that Somalia has from now, left the transitional period. The special assembly chosen by traditional elders in a U.N.-backed process took eight days to debate and vote on the new Constitution, as the graft-riddled government approaches the end of its mandate on August 20.Key steps in the fragile political process remain, including a new Parliament to be selected by traditional elders, with that Parliament to subsequently elect a new President.
  
• An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus has killed at least 13 people in Uganda. The outbreak began in late June. Ebola is spread by close personal contact, and kills up to 90 percent of those infected. There is no vaccine for the virus. Symptoms include sudden onset of fever, weakness, headache, vomiting and impaired kidneys.
  
• The 193 member U.N. General Assembly on 3 August, overwhelmingly adopted a Saudi-drafted resolution on Syria that expressed “grave concern” at the escalating violence but India was among the 31 nations that abstained. The General Assembly passed the resolution that denounced Syria’s crackdown on its people and demanded that the country lockdown its chemical and biological weapons. The resolution also deplored “the failure of the Security Council to agree on measures to ensure the compliance of Syrian authorities with its decisions”. The resolution got 133 votes in favour, while 12 countries voted against. Thirty-one countries, including India, abstained.
  
• The former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan quit as international peace envoy to Syria on 3 August, complaining that his initiative to end the bloodshed there never received the support it deserved. As Syria's government deployed fighter jets against rebels armed with tanks around the commercial capital Aleppo, the outgoing UN-Arab League envoy voiced regret at the "increasing militarisation" of the nearly 17-month conflict.
  
• Bangladesh has ordered three international charities to stop providing aid to Rohingya refugees who cross the border to flee violence in Myanmar. France's Doctors without Borders (MSF) and Action Against Hunger (ACF) as well as Britain's Muslim Aid UK have been told to suspend their services in the Cox's Bazaar district bordering Myanmar.

NATIONAL

         

• The Madras High Court on 31 August cleared the decks for the commissioning of Units I and II of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP), holding that there was no impediment to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd to proceed with the project. However, it made it clear that the regulatory authorities should periodically oversee the compliance and maintenance of standards of pollution. In its nearly 300-page order, the Bench said Tirunelveli District Collector should conduct offshore drill periodically in all villages. The Tamil Nadu government should initiate the developmental schemes contemplated by it for the villages around the plant immediately. The court concurred with former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s suggestion to establish a multispecialty hospital with all facilities in the area, apart from establishing various schools with the CBSE and State government syllabus with hostel facilities. Infrastructural facilities should be provided for fishermen for repair of mechanised boats in and around Kudankulam. After going through the records, the specially constituted Bench held that there was no violation of environmental safeguards. Various safety and other aspects of the KKNPP were being monitored continuously by the authorities. As and when required, they could always give suitable directions for maintaining ecological balance. An expert committee appointed by the State government had categorically stated that historically there had never been a big earthquake or tsunami in the Kudankulam area.
  
• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 27 August attacked the Comptroller and Auditor-General’s report on the coal blocks allocation during 2004-09, saying any allegation of impropriety was without basis and unsupported by facts.
  
• The Union government on 27 August told the Supreme Court that the Cabinet had cleared the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012. On August 24, the court pulled up the government for its callousness in not enacting a law to ban manual scavenging despite repeated assurances that it would come out with law to eliminate this heinous practice. Additional Solicitor General Harin Rawal said to the court that as per Article 117(1), the Bill had to be introduced in Parliament on the President’s recommendation.
  
• Supreme Court of India on 29 August 2012 upheld the death sentence of Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Amir Kasab. Upholding the death sentence of Kasab the Supreme Court bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice CK Prasad held that waging war against the country was the primary and foremost offence committed by the Pakistani terrorist. Kasab was awarded the death sentence by a special anti-terror court on 6 May 2010 on charges of criminal conspiracy, waging war against the nation and various other provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. As the Supreme Court confirmed his death sentence, became the 309th prisoner on death row in India. If executed, he will be the 52nd person to be hanged after India got independence.
  
• The Union Government on 28 August 2012 cleared a proposal to put a complete ban on employment of children up to the age of 14 both in hazardous and non-hazardous work by amending an anti-child labour Act. The Union Cabinet approved bringing amendment to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, which has also penal provisions for non compliance. As per the existing Act, children below 14 years of age are allowed to work in industries not considered to be hazardous.
  
• The Supreme Court of India on 17 August 2012 ruled that it would not allow resumption of mining activities of iron ore in Karnataka unless there is a statutory compliance and full implementation of reclamation and rehabilitation measures. A special forest bench comprised of Justice Aftab Alam, K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar accepted all recommendations of August 16 report of the apex court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC). The Supreme Court was hearing to a petition filed by an NGO Samaj Parivartana Samudaya against the illegal mining and encroachment of forest areas in the state. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan appeared for NGO. An alleged 35 lakh metric tons of iron ore have been illegally exported by private firms in Karnataka. Accepting the recommendations of CEC, the Supreme Court on 13 April 2012 had suspended new mining leases in Bellary, Tumkur and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka unless rehabilitation plans for the existing leases were executed.
  
• A special court on 29 August 2012 convicted 32 people, including former Gujarat Minister Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riots case. The communal riot in Naroda Patiya in Gujarat had claimed the lives of 97 people from the minority community. Kodnani, a three-time BJP MLA from Naroda area and Bajrangi were held guilty under sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC in the post-Godhra riots case. The court acquitted 29 other accused in the same case as it didn’t find any solid evidence against them. The court will award the punishment to all the convicts on 31 August 2012. The trial in the case began in August 2009 and charges were framed against 62 accused. The massacre in the Naroda Patiya area had taken place a day after the Godhra train burning incident of 27 February 2002. On February 28, 2002 when a bandh call was given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a large crowd gathered in the Naroda Patiya area and attacked people belonging to minority community that resulted in the death of 97 people while 33 others were injured in the violence.
• India's ruling United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi has been ranked sixth, in the Forbes magazine list of 100 powerful women. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is ranked the most powerful in the world for the second year in a row. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is placed second, followed by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, making the top three spots unchanged from that of last year. US first lady Michelle Obama, who had topped the list in 2010, was ranked No.7. Also in the top five were Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and wife of Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates, and Jill Abramson, executive editor of the New York Times. Besides Sonia Gandhi, the list released on 21 august features three other Indians. Padmasree Warrior, chief technology and strategy officer, Cisco Systems, and Chanda Kochhar, managing director and CEO, ICICI Bank, are ranked 58th and 59th, while Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder and chair, Biocon Ltd, is placed 80th. PepsiCo's Indian-American chairperson and CEO Indra Nooyi is ranked 12th. The list named women involved in policymaking, entertainment, technology and nonprofit organisations, among other fields. They were ranked according to influence, the amount of money they control or earn, and media presence.
  
• Government has given an ultimatum on 21 August, to social networking site Twitter to block nearly 30 of its webpages which continue to host morphed and inflammatory contents or face punitive action.The move comes after Union Home Secretary RK Singh asked the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEIT) to serve the ultimatum on Twitter as it failed to comply with the government order to block 28 WebPages in its site. Government had already ordered blocking of 310 webpages where morphed and inflammatory contents were uploaded with the aim to incite Muslims in India leading to the mass exodus of people of the northeastern region from places in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
  
• Members of Parliament, cutting across party lines, on 18 august, sent out a strong message to the northeast people that the whole country was for them and with them and that, they need not have any apprehension about their safety. Like any other citizen, they have every right to study, work and reside in any part of India.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha when the Houses took up for discussion, by suspending question hour, attacks on the northeast people and their exodus. He said the growing sense of insecurity among the northeast people was “more reprehensible”. Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh said that to check rumours, bulk SMSs and MMSs have been banned for 15 dayswith immediate effect. No one would be allowed to send more than 5 SMSs at a time and more than 20 KB of data through mobile phones.
  
• The re-designed website of the President of India was launched at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 3 August. The re-designed website has some new features, which include direct connectivity from the website to social networking media of the President i.e. Facebook and You-Tube. These two features have been initiated after assumption of charge by the President Pranab Mukherjee. The new website also has a Video Gallery. Citizens can connect to the President directly by clicking the button ‘Write to the President’, which will take them directly to the helpline portal. Moreover, visuals have been conceptualized and made user friendly. Launching the website, Secretary to the President, Ms. Omita Paul expressed the hope that it would be a step forward to bring the President of India closer to the people. She also said that efforts would be made to ensure that the website is in line with the best global practices.
  
• A parliamentary panel on agriculture asked the government to ban all field trials of GM crops until it develops a better system of monitoring and oversight. In the 389-page report submitted in the parliament on 9 August 2012, the panel also demanded a complete probe into how permission was granted in 2009 for the commercialisation of Bt brinjal (also known as aubergine, or eggplant). Experts say that, it will be a major setback to the production of genetically modified (GM) foods in the country.Bt Brinjal was developed by Pune-based Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Company) in a joint venture with US seed giant Monsanto. The Genetic Engeneering Appraisal Committee had cleared the commercialization of Bt Brinjal on 14 October 2009, though soon after its clearance it was caught amidst bitter controversies ranging from its environmental impacts to ethical concerns such as corporate control of the food supply and intellectual property rights. Bt cotton was the only GM crop before Bt Brinjal which had got clearance for commercialization.
  
• Former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Keshubhai Patel launched Gujarat Parivartan (GPP) Party on 6 August 2012. Keshubhai Patel and the former union textile minister Kanshiram Rana resigned from Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) on 4 August 2012. This Party would contest all the 182 seats in Gujarat assembly elections which will be held by the end of 2012.
  
• Naresh Chandra Committee, a 14-member task force on national security, submitted its report to the government on 8 August 2012. The committee was set up by the Union government on 21 June 2012 to suggest ways to revamp of defence management in the country. Naresh Chandra, a former bureaucrat, headed the committee which members included former military officers, intelligence chiefs, diplomats and strategic analysts. The main objective behind the constitution of the committee was to contemporarise the Kargil Review Committee’s recommendations, which was tabled in the Parliament on 23 February 2000. Besides, the task force was also asked to examine the state of country's border management and restructuring system.
  
• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 2 August, approved relaxations in the land transfer policy by Clearing bottlenecks in transfer of Government land, which would also remove any delays in awarding concessions for infrastructure projects. The decision to relax the ban imposed on all transfer of government owned land for certain categories would speed up the award of PPP projects from this month onwards significantly. Early last year, a ban had been imposed on all transfer of government owned land to any entity except in cases where land was to be transferred from one government department to another. With this decision, all cases of land transfer from Ministries to statutory authorities or PSUs will be allowed as also development and use of railway land by the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA). All PPP infrastructure projects — roads, railways, ports, civil aviation and metros have some element of land alienation as the projects are often built on government owned land. The government continues to own the land that is leased or licensed out.
  
• The Union Cabinet on 3 August, fixed a reserve (minimum) price of Rs. 14,000 crore for 5 MHz of pan-India 2G spectrum in the 1800-MHz GSM band for auctioning spectrum to be vacated by companies whose 122 licences were cancelled by the Supreme Court on February 2, 2012. The reserve price for 5 MHz of CDMA spectrum has been put at Rs. 18,200 crore, 1.3 times the price of GSM spectrum. Only two slots of 5 MHz each will be put on the block, though spectrum will be available for bidding in multiple blocks of 1.25 MHz. Taking a bold political decision, the government shaved $750 million, or roughly Rs. 4,100 crore, off the roughly Rs 18,000-crore reserve price recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
  
• Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare, ending his "indefinite" hunger strike after six days, announced the launch of a new political party. The 75-year-old broke his fast with a glass of juice offered by former army chief Gen. V. K. Singh.His team said, candidates for the party would be chosen by the people.His campaign also demanded a special probe into possible graft allegations against 15 ministers, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
  
• The Centre has decided to frame a new National Water Framework Act with guiding principles on water laws the States may adopt, which will have far-reaching implications. States that adopt and reform will be incentivised for water projects. That such a law would be made is buried in the pages of the draft new national water policy that is yet to be considered by the National Water Council, the supreme policy body chaired by the Prime Minister.
  
• A top official of ONGC said, Tripura will emerge as the biggest on—land natural gas producing state in the country by 2014 with the capacity of producing 50 lakh cubic meter natural gas (5 MMSCMD) per day, Now 18 lakh cubic meter gas (1.83 MMSCMD) is produced daily from the operational wells in Tripura. Sources said, 15 wells have been drilled across the state and there are plans to drill 15 more wells during 2012-13.The 726 MW gas based thermal power project at Palatana in Gomati district would start producing power this year. It was set up by ONGC Tripura Power Corporation (OTPC) .The Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone for the project at Palatana, 60 km from Agartala in 2005.
  
• Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s 1955 classic ’Pather Panchali’ has featured in the 50 greatest films of all time list, which was dominated by Alfred Hichcock’s thriller ’Vertigo’. ‘Pather Panchali’ (Song of the Road) was made on a budget of Rs. 1,50,000. With 31 votes ‘Pather Panchali’ came 42nd in the Sight & Sound poll. The film is a lyrical, closely observed story of a peasant family in 1920s rural India.
  
• The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has swept the first-ever elections to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) winning all 45 seats in the regional autonomous body. The GJM had gained control of the body with its candidates winning from 28 constituencies unopposed. Elections to the remaining 17 constituencies were held on July 29 and the results were announced on 2 August. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee announced on July 21 the withdrawal of her party candidates from the fray, making things easier for the GJM.
  
• The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA), headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on 3 August, approved the longstanding demand of the people of Karnataka to provide special status, under Article 371-D of the Constitution, to develop six backward districts of the Hyderabad Karnataka region in the State. This will be on the lines of special status given to the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. The six districts that will benefit in Karnataka are Bidar, Gulbarga, Yadgir, Koppal, Raichur and Bellary.
  
• Union Government, Shipping Minister G K Vasan, as part of efforts to enhance maritime security, on 3 August launched the Rs 132 crore National Automatic Identification System (NAIS), which will ensure effective search and co-ordination besides broadcasting warnings to merchant ships. Authorities describing the project as the most important component of coastal surveillance, and it will enhance safe navigation along the 7,500—km long Indian coastline.

BILATERAL

          

• India and China, on 27 August agreed to set up a joint working group (JWG) to look into not only trade-related issues but also investments. The working group is expected to come out with a report within 90 days. The decision to set up the JWG was taken at the meeting of India-China Joint Group on Economic Relations, Trade, Science and Technology in New Delhi on 27 August 2012 .The working group is set up even as India has expressed serious concerns over the widening trade deficit with its neighbour and sought a correction. On its part, China expressed serious concern over the imposition of duty on import of power equipment by New Delhi. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said after the meeting, both countries had also agreed to work on a five-year plan on economic cooperation. His China’s counterpart, Mr. Chen Deming said, in times of global economic crisis, there was a need for strengthening India-China economic relationship. He also expressed the hope that bilateral trade would hit the target of $100 billion by 2015. The total bilateral trade between India and China for 2011-12, stood at 75457.42 million dollar as compared with 59000.36 million dollar in 2010-11. During 2011-12, the exports were 17902.98 million dollar while the imports stood at 57554.44 million dollar. The provisional trade deficit for 2011-12 was 39651.46 million dollar. The Joint Group on Economic Relations, Trade, Science & Technology was formed in 1988 when then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited Beijing.
  
• India and Belgium on 8 August decided to cooperate in the railway sector. A MoU was signed for this purpose in the presence of visiting Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders, who also holds the portfolio of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of External Affairs SM Krishna said India wanted to collaborate with Belgium in newer areas, particularly in infrastructure and energy sector, including port development, renewable energy, both solar and wind power. He said his discussions with Mr Reyders touched the entire gamut of their bilateral relations and touched on their cooperation in further strengthening the strategic partnership with the European Union. They took note of the fact that despite global economic slowdown, there was substantial increase in their bilateral trade, which has now crossed the 13 billion Euro mark in 2011. Belgium has now emerged as the second largest trading partner in goods sector within the European Union.
  
• On the sidelines of the First India-CELAC Foreign Ministers Troika Meeting in New Delhi on August 7, 2012, Vice Foreign Minister of Cuba ,Mr. Rogelio Sierra Diaz, met with External Affairs of India, S.M. Krishna. During the meeting, both sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction. Both sides reiterated their desire to sustain and consolidate these relations. Both sides noted that the total bilateral trade of US$ 40 million between India and Cuba did not correspond to the excellent bilateral ties. They emphasized that the trade turnover should be enhanced through concerted efforts and underlined that new opportunities for cooperation existed in the area of trade and investment. The Cuban side appreciated the importance of the role played by the Indian Company OVL (ONGC Videsh Ltd.) in the field of petroleum exploration in Cuba and sought OVL’s continued engagement in Cuba in this area. The Indian side reiterated its offer of Lines of Credit announced during the visit of its Minister of External Affairs to Cuba in June 2012. India and Cuba agreed on the need for the reform of the United Nations Organisation. The Indian side appreciated Cuba’s expression of support to India’s candidature for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council. Both sides emphasised the continued relevance of the Non-Aligned Movement in the current context of global relations and agreed to work towards the success of the forthcoming NAM Summit in Tehran. India and Cuba expressed appreciation over the importance and significance of the First India-CELAC Troika Ministerial Dialogue and recalled the considerable opportunities available for mutually beneficial cooperation between India and CELAC both in a multilateral manner and bilaterally.
  
• The first meeting of the India-CELAC (The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Troika foreign ministers was held in New Delhi on 7 August 2012. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile Alfredo Moreno Charme, the pro-tempore President of CELAC, led the CELAC Troika. The Foreign Minister of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro and the Vice Foreign Minister of Cuba, Rogelio Sierra participated in the meeting as members of the Troika. The External Affairs Minister of India, SM Krishna, led the Indian delegation. The meeting was held with the objective of strengthening India-CELAC relationship India and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean countries (CELAC) agreed to work for raising their relationship to the level of Strategic Partnership and having regular Summit Level Meetings in the near future. Pending an agreement on full-fledged Strategic Partnership, both sides agreed to cooperate in diverse sectors like trade and investment, energy, minerals, agriculture, science and technology, culture, education and people-to-people contacts. They agreed to work together on common global challenges in the interest of developing countries by maintaining coordinated approach on UN reforms, financial crisis, climate change and international terrorism. They urged the international community to adopt a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the earliest. Both sides acknowledged the efforts of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) for a renewed political commitment towards Sustainable Development to achieve poverty eradication through a balanced integration of economic, social and environmental aspects.
  
• Giving a big boost to trade and bilateral relations with Pakistan, the Government of India on 1 August , notified law permitting investments by citizens and companies, under the government route, in sectors/activities other than defence, space and atomic energy, of the neighbouring country. The move is likely to give new direction to South Asian economic integration. Pakistan was the only country in the negative list under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), which prohibits investments in India. Sri Lanka was removed from the list in 2006 and Bangladesh in 2007. The initiative is part of a road map drawn by Trade Ministers and leading chambers of commerce of the two countries to give a fillip to trade and economic engagement. Officials in the Industry Ministry said that to address security concerns over investments from Pakistan, FDI proposals from Islamabad would be routed through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), which is headed by the Economic Affairs Secretary in the Finance Ministry.
  
• India and Israel on 2 August, entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for launching a programme that would promote collaborative research across a wide range of disciplines from medical and information technology to social sciences, humanities and arts. The programme, which will run for five years, will provide support up to $1,00,000 a research project for three years. The MoU was signed by Professor Geiger Chairman of the Israel Science Foundation and Chairman of University Grants Commission Ved Prakash. After the signing ceremony, Israeli Ambassador Alon Ushpiz noted that both nations hosted some of the best academic institutions. “The linking of our researchers together comes only naturally,” he said. The programme was initiated during a recent visit of Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal to Israel, when he met with Israel’s Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Chairman of Planning and Budgeting Committee Manuel Trajtenberg.
  
• India, on 2 August, invited Belgium to invest in the upcoming national manufacturing and investments zones (NMIZs) with a focused approach in energy, water disposal as well as treatment, and research and training. This was conveyed to the visiting Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs, Didier Reynders, by Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma, during his meeting in New Delhi. An official statement issued after the meeting said the visiting Belgian Minister offered expertise in water treatment, waste disposal and energy sector which would be useful in NMIZs .NMIZs will be mega industrial zones with world-class supporting infrastructure.The government is offering incentives such as exemption from capital gains tax and a liberalised labour and environment norms to promote these zones.

Economy

• The Supreme Court on 31 August, held that the economic offences committed by Saharas must be dealt with by an iron hand and directed the Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd. (SIRECL) and the Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd. (SHICL) to refund over Rs. 24,400 crore collected from 2.21 crore depositors through the optimally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs) by way of bonds. A Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and J.S. Khehar said they should refund the amounts collected through Red Herring Prospectus (RHPs) dated March 13, 2008 (Rs. 17,400 crore) and October 16, 2009 (over Rs. 7,000 crore), along with 15 per cent interest to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) from the date of receipt of the subscription amount till the date of repayment, within three months. The sum should be deposited in a nationalised bank bearing the maximum rate of interest. In its common order, the Bench directed Saharas to furnish the SEBI, in 10 days, with all documents in their custody, especially the application forms submitted by subscribers, the approval and allotment of bonds, to enable it to ascertain the genuineness of the subscribers as well as the amounts deposited. The court appointed the retired Supreme Court judge, B.N. Agrawal, “to oversee whether directions issued by this court are properly and effectively complied with by the SEBI (WTM) from the date of this order. Mr. Justice B.N. Agarwal would also oversee the entire steps adopted by the SEBI (WTM) and other officials for the effective and proper implementation of the directions issued by this court.”
  
• GAIL (India) and GDF SUEZ of France, on 27 August, announced that they had entered into a medium-term LNG supply agreement for supply of 12 cargoes from 2013 to 2014, representing a total of 0.8 million tones. This agreement will contribute to supply the Indian gas market, which is expected to grow from 58 billion cubic meters in 2012 to 220 cubic meters in 2020, representing a CAGR of over 18 per cent. The agreement was signed in Paris. B.C. Tripathi, chairman and managing director, GAIL said that, this agreement with GDF SUEZ is yet another step by GAIL to bridge the demand-supply deficit of the Indian market in the medium-term. This is in addition to other initiatives of GAIL towards LNG sourcing, creating LNG re-gasification infrastructure and augmenting transmission capacity significantly during the next two to three years.
  
• The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) held the eleventh Energy Efficient Summit in HICC, Novotel Hyderabad. The summit was held between 22 August 2012 to 25 August 2012. The objective of the summit was to facilitate the Indian industry to improve energy efficiency on a continuous basis and help them in achieving the target set as part of Perform Achieve and Trade under the National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency. The other objective was also to disseminate information on the latest trends and energy efficient technologies and facilitate sharing of best practices amongst the Industries. In addition, while the summit was going on, The Swedish Energy Agency, CII and the Cleantech Scandinavia entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) of understanding for cooperation in the energy sector.
  
• The government of India on 29 August 2012 approved a 14000 crore rupees fund to spur the production of hybrid and electrical vehicles in the country. According to a new policy approved, Automobile companies and the government plan to put six million electric vehicles on road by 2020. The government under the new policy will fund research and development, infrastructure and subsidies. With an aim at reducing the burden on fossil fuels, the Union government in national budget 2011 had proposed a plan to develop electric and hybrid vehicles. Later, the government set up a National Council for Electric Mobility led by heavy industries minister Praful Patel, and a National Board for Electric Mobility to ensure uniform rules in all the states. The government has long been contemplating a policy to reduce its dependence on oil which make up a substantial part of India’s huge import basket. The hybrid and electric vehicles have emerged as a better alternative of traditional oil-based vehicles over the years.
  
• India’s market regulator Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 28 August 2012 allowed partial flexibility in the conversion of Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) into equity shares by investors. The SEBI move is aimed at retaining domestic liquidity besides; it is also expected to attract foreign entities to enroll their IDRs on India stock exchanges. In another circular released by the RBI, the central bank put an overall cap of 5 billion dollar for raising of capital through IDRs by foreign companies in Indian markets. The RBI measure will help Indian investors to convert their depository receipts into equity shares of the issuer company and vice versa.
  
• Supreme Court of India on 27 August 2012 extended the deadline for 2G spectrum auction and instructed the union government to carry out the auction by 11 January 2013. The court also allowed the mobile companies whose licenses are set to be annulled to operate until 18 January 2013. In its first, the union government is set to conduct an open auction of 2G mobile radio airwaves, after the apex court scrapped all 2G licenses awarded to mobile companies, citing massive irregularity in the license distribution as the reason. The court had earlier ordered the government to carry out the radio wave auction by the end of August 2012and had ruled that the affected companies can operate on their existing licenses until 7 September 2012. The government later urged the court to extend the deadline until 12 November 2012 to begin the auction and 40 days from the completion of auction to allocate frequencies. The government has said that it requires around two months to complete the entire auction process.
  
• Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has been appointed as India's Governor on the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank and African Development Fund in place of Pranab Mukherjee.Likewise, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram has been appointed as India's alternate Governor.
  
• SEBI has allowed seven Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) to set up shop in the country under a newly formulated route, which allows pooling of funds for investments in areas such as real estate, private equity and hedge funds. The approval has been given to all the seven AIFs by the Securities and Exchange Board of India in a period of less than one month, as per the information available with the market regulator. SEBI had notified its guidelines in May for AIFs, which are funds established or incorporated in India for the purpose of pooling in of capital from Indian and foreign investors for investing as per a pre-decided policy. As per SEBI data, six AIFs registered with the regulator during August 2012, while one was granted registration on July 23.
  
• India on 26 August, extended the ban on milk and milk products from China for another year till June 2013. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification that, Prohibition on import of milk and milk products (including chocolates and chocolate products and candies/confectionary/ food preparations with milk or milk solids as an ingredient) from China is further extended till June 2013, or until further orders. The ban had ended on June 24 this year. Imports of milk and milk products from China have been prohibited since September 24, 2008. Though the DGFT has not cited any reason for the ban, it is understood it was over fears of Chinese milk containing melamine, a deadly chemical. 
• The Finance Ministry has approved foreign direct investment in insurance and pension sectors up to 49%. The Insurance and Pension Bills will now need Cabinet approval before coming up before Parliament. These Bills have already made one trip to the Cabinet, but at the time it was for 26% FDI. When Pranab Mukherjee was the Finance Minister, they had gone to the Cabinet but they had deferred the decision. With P Chidambaram now headed the finance portfolio, these bills were relooked and now the FDI limit stands at 49%. Whether the bills will come up for Cabinet approval or not, or what decision the Cabinet takes will be a political decision. Both these bills have seen strong opposition from the Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress. But if the Cabinet clears these two bills, they will be introduced in the winter session of Parliament.
  
• Parliament's Public Accounts Committee on 23 August 2012 decided to bring the three latest CAG reports on coal allocations, GMR-run Delhi airport and Reliance Power, onto its agenda for the year 2012. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in its meeting on 23 August 2012 called for deterrent penal provisions against units in Special Economic Zones which default duty payments to the exchequer. PAC in a report adopted in the meeting recommended an oversight mechanism which would ensure no misuse of the SEZ policy. The PAC panel based its findings on a sample of 22 SEZ units. The panel found that out of an overall export of Rs 7149.23 crore made by 22 SEZ units, the actual export content was only Rs 1999.27 crore (28%) and the remaining Rs 5149.96 crores (72%) related to Domestic Tariff Area earnings. The committee recommended that all SEZs undertake physical export of at least 51% of their product, and even import tax waivers raw material for goods falling under the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) is to be considered on the credit account of the SEZ firms. It was noted that SEZ units could sell their goods, including by products, and services in DTA on payment of applicable duty including at nil rate with no requirement to payback the duty foregone on inputs used in the clearance of products. This policy will put SEZ units at a distinctly advantageous position compared to similar units in the DTA.
  
• The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its audit report noted that India’s exchequer suffered a massive loss of 1.86 lakh crore due to the distribution of coal blocks without bidding. The CAG report was tabled in the parliament on 17 August 2012.The CAG in its report stated that 57 coal blocks that were allocated to private companies during 2004-2009, extended them a windfall gain of 1.86 lakh crore rupees. The CAG report has also brought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh under scrutiny as he was holding the charge of Coal Ministry from 2006 to 2009. Besides, the CAG report also raised serious allegations against the PMO which delayed the fair bidding process for coal blocks despite the clearance from Law and Justice Ministry. Tata Group, Reliance Power, Jindal Power and Steel, Abhijit Group, Bhushan Group, Electro Steel, OP Jindal Group were some of the major beneficiaries of the coal blocks distribution. The government has distributed about 150 coal blocks over the past eight years. During this period Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Shibu Soren and Prakash Jaiswal have been charged the Coal Ministry. The 1.86 lakh rupees scam is the biggest in the history of India as it surpassed the 1.7 lakh crore 2G spectrum scam.
  
• India’s leading car maker Maruti Suzuki India, on 16 august, announced termination of services of 500 regular workers and resumption of normal operations from August 21 at its violence-hit plant at Manesar, Haryana. Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Chairman R. C. Bhargava told that, they had issued termination notices to 500 regular worker and they had plan to lift the lock-out from August 21 and resume operations at the facility in phases. The company said termination notices had been issued to regular workers who were allegedly involved in the July 18 violent incidents that led to the death of a senior MSI executive, Ashwani Kumar, and left nearly 100 others injured. Maruti Suzuki India had declared a lockout at the Manesar plant on July 21, stating the safety and well-being of its employees were paramount to the company.
  
• The United States administration has announced setting up of an institute for manufacturing innovations, which will help prevent jobs going to India and China. President Barack Obama said in a statement that,this institute would help make sure that manufacturing jobs of tomorrow take root not in places such as China or India, but right here in the United States of America. The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII), which will be based in Ohio, will be a public-private partnership initiative and has received $70 million as initial financial assistance.On March 9, Mr. Obama had announced plans to invest $1 billion to catalyze a network of up to 15 manufacturing innovation institutes around the country that would serve as regional hubs of manufacturing excellence and help to make manufacturers more competitive and encourage investment in the U.S. According to the White House, the NAMII will provide the innovation infrastructure needed to support new additive manufacturing technology and products to become a global centre of excellence in this field. Additive manufacturing, often referred to as 3D printing, is a new way of making products and components from a digital model, and will have implications in a wide range of industries, including defence, aerospace, automotive, and metals manufacturing.
  
• In yet another indication of slowdown, the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council(PMEAC) on 18 August, revised downwards its economic growth projections for the current fiscal to 6.7% from an earlier 7.5-8%. The PMEAC also raised its inflation forecast to 6.5-7% from an earlier estimate of 5-6% for the current fiscal. PMEAC Chairman C Rangarajan said , Food inflation is expected to remain high in the coming months.
  
• The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to extend equity support up to Rs.4,000 crore to AP Genco during the next four years to facilitate early completion of its upcoming power projects. This government response followed consistent Opposition criticism that the Genco is being neglected by it vis-à-vis private developers. The undertaking which meets over 40 per cent of the power demand in the State through its various thermal, hydel and other stations, has taken up new projects with installed capacity of 21,000 MW at a huge cost of over Rs.36,000 crore. The Chief Minister of A.P ,N. Kiran Kumar Reddy cleared a slew of measures to improve the electricity availability to consumers in the State and ensure seven-hour supply to farmers. These included a decision to give boost to renewable energy sources by facilitating establishment/completion of new projects based on wind and solar energy on fast track mode as they were expected to add 1,000 MW to the grid (over 20 million units).
  
• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) inaugurated their local office in Jaipur on 4 August. It was inaugurated by Rajeev Kumar Agarwal, the member of SEBI. The office will be responsible to look after all the regulatory aspects of investor protection, investor education and all the other responsibilities within Rajasthan state.
  
• As per the latest global ranking compiled and published by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) in August 2012, the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) became the world’s largest bourse in terms of the number of trades in equity segment for the first six months of 2012. A total of 735474 trades took place in the equity segment of NSE in the January-June period of 2012, making it the world’s largest exchange on this parameter. NSE was followed by NYSE Euronext and Nasdaq OMX at the second and the third positions. NSE is the second largest exchange globally after Korea Exchange for index options. Eurex was the third largest exchange worldwide in terms of total number of index options traded during the first six months of 2012.BSE recorded 187824 trades during this period in its equity segment. The total number of listed companies is much larger in case of the BSE, the exchange however lags behind NSE significantly in terms of volume and value of trades.
  
• Moody's Analytics cut India's growth forecast to 5.5 percent for the fiscal year 2012-13. It blamed the government and RBI of inaction despite slowing economy, as well as a poor monsoon. The research unit of ratings agency Moody's Investors Service becomes the latest to cut India's growth forecasts this week. Earlier CLSA and Citigroup had cut their growth outlooks for India to 5.4 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively for the fiscal year ending in March 2013.
  
• India Post on 9 August has chosen Infosys as its technology and consulting partnerto integrate its delivery of financial products across its network of 1.5 lakh post offices in the country. The “transformational” project, part of the “India Post 2012” initiative, would cost the postal service Rs.700 crore.
  
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted banks to lend to telecom companies for the upcoming auction for spectrum, subject to conditions such as mortgaging the spectrum to the lenders. The RBI had laid down a few pre-conditions for financing of telecom firms for the auction of airwaves to protect banks against potential defaults. The Union cabinet on 3 August 2012 approved a proposal that allows telecom companies bidding for airwaves to mortgage spectrum to raise funds from banks. The government set a reserve or base price of Rs 14000 crore for the auction.
  
• The Reserve Bank of India, on 1 August, constituted a committee to suggest ways to strengthen the rural co-operative credit structure. The panel, headed by Nabard Chairman Prakash Bakshi, will review the existing short-term co-operative credit structure (STCCS), focussing on structural constraints in the rural credit delivery system. It will also explore ways to strengthen the rural co-operative credit architecture. The seven-member panel will make an in-depth analysis of the STCCS, and examine various alternatives with a view to reducing the cost of credit. It will also look at the feasibility of setting up of a two-tier STCCS as against the existing three-tier structure. The STCCS targets the credit requirement of the small and marginal farmers in the country. The panel will submit its report within three months from the date of its first meeting. It will mainly assess the role played by State and district cooperative banks in fulfilling the requirement of agriculture credit.
  
• Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said in Colombo on 3 August, India will help Sri Lanka establish a special economic zone to manufacture auto components in Trincomalee. The SEZ would promote exports to the production chains in India.A Joint Task Force on the SEZ would be set up and submit its report within 90 days. Anand Sharma also announced the setting up of a pharmaceutical manufacturing hub in Sri Lanka.

Persons

             

• P.M. NAIR- The Ministry of Home Affairs on 27 August 2012 appointed P M Nair as the Director General, National Disaster Response Force & Civil Defence (NDRF & CD).A 1978-batch Indian Police Service Officer of Bihar cadre, Nair is presently working as Special Director General, Central Reserve Police Force.
  
• ADMIRAL DEVENDRA KUMAR JOSHI (DK JOSHI)-D.K.Joshi took over as the new Indian Navy chief on 31 August 2012. He is the 21st Chief of Naval Staff of Independent India and the 19th Indian to command the Indian Navy. He succeeded Admiral Nirmal Verma.DK Joshi has commanded several naval ships which includes aircraft carrier INS Virat. He was also the chief of Eastern Fleet. He specializes in anti-submarine warfare. During his tenure, the Navy will start 13000 crore rupees phase II expansion of Project Seabird, the naval harbour under construction near Goa.
  
• RAGHU RAM RAJAN- Former chief economist of International Monetary Fund (IMF) took over as the Chief Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry on 29 August 2012. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet had cleared the appointment of Rajan as the new CEA on 10 August 2012. The position was lying vacant since Kaushik Basu demitted the office on 31 July 2012.Raghuram Rajan has already been serving as the ‘Honorary Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister’, the position he was given in November 2008. He also headed High Level Committee on Financial Sector Reforms in 2007.
  
• A.K.HANGAL(97)-Veteran actor Avatar Krishan Hangal, popularly called AK Hangal, passed away in Mumbai on 26 August 2012 after prolonged illness. In a career spanning nearly 40 years Hangal worked in around 225 films. A devoted artist, he also worked in numerous theatre plays and TV Series. He was born in Sialkot, now in Pakistan, on 1 February 1917.Some of his memorable works came in the movies like Namak Haraam, Shaukeen , Sholay .Considering his immense contribution to the Indian film industry the government of India awarded him with the Padma Bhushan in 2006.
  
• Neil Alden Armstrong(82)- The US Astronaut, who got his name written in the history of mankind after he became the first person on the Earth to walk on the surface of moon, passed away on 25 August 2012. At the age of 38, Armstrong, as the commander of the Apollo 11 mission, became the first human to land on the moon on 20 July 1969. Armstrong was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon along with Collins and Aldrin, the Congressional Space Medal of Honour by President Jimmy Carter in 1978.Apollo 11 was the space flight which landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, two humans for the first time on the surface on moon.
  
• Republican Mitt Romney is all set to challenge incumbent Barack Obama after the party nominated the former Massachusetts governor as its candidate for the US presidential elections in November this year. Romney won the nomination as he crossed the support of necessary 1,144 delegates during the ongoing Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. The convention also approved Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate.
  
• Kapu Rajaiah(87)- Famous folklore artist, passed away on 20 august, at his residence at Siddipet,Medak dt, A.P. Rajaiah rose to fame by focusing his paintings on the idiom of Telangana culture, pastoral life and simple village folks. His works were often compared with those of Jamini Roy.He won several awards and these include Lalit Kala Academy’s national award, Kala Vibhushana by All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, gold medal at All India Art Exhibition, Patna and Kerala Buddha Jayanthi festival, first prize in Dussehara exhibition, Mysore and awards at All India Exhibitions at Gwalior and Bangalore. The Andhra Pradesh Government felicitated him with “Rajata Patra” in 1966.He also earned the title of “Chitra Kala Prapurna” in 1975. He received an honorary doctorate from the JNTU, Hyderabad.Lalita Kala Samithi etablished by him in Siddipet trained several budding artists.
  
• Karl Mehta- Indian-American entrepreneur has been selected among the 18 ‘Presidential Innovation Fellows’ who will work on five ‘high-impact’ projects in the US capital. Selected from an applicant pool of nearly 700 innovators from across the country, the “Fellows” would spend six months in Washington DC to work on five high-impact projects aimed at supporting entrepreneurs, small businesses and the economy, while significantly improving how the Federal Government serves the American people. Mr. Mehta, the only Indian-American to be present in this list of 18 fellows, would work on “The 20 per cent Initiative” programme. “The 20 per cent Initiative will work to transition ‘the last mile’ of international development assistance payments from cash to electronic methods - lowering administrative costs, promoting financial inclusion, and reducing theft, fraud, and violence,” the White House said. A member of TiE Silicon Valley, Mr Mehta is founder & CEO of PlaySpan, which was acquired by Visa in March 2011.He won the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year 2010’ Award from Ernst & Young for Northern California. The fellows - the first of its kind initiative of the White House - was announced by the US Chief Technology Officer, Todd Park.
  
• Poonam Kishore Saxena –The Union Finanace Ministry appointed, P.K.Saxena, a 1975 batch IRS officer, as Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on 21 August 2012. Prior to her appointment as CBDT Chairman, Saxena worked as Director General (Investigation) in Jaipur for three years. CBDT is responsible for administration of direct tax laws through the Income Tax Department and also provides essential inputs for policy and planning of direct taxes.
  
• PJ Kurien- Congress leader, was unanimously elected as the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Kurien has been the M.P for the last three decades representing Idukki, and Mavelikkara Lok Sabha constituencies. Since 2005 he is a member of the Rajya Sabha.The Deputy Chairman is elected in the meeting of the Rajya Sabha as decided by Chairman of the Rajya Sabha from amongst the members of the Rajya Sabha. He is supposed to resign from his original party because as a Deputy Speaker, he has to remain impartial.Deputy Chaiman of Rajya Sabha acts as the Presiding Officer in case of leave or absence of the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, the Vice-President of India.
  
• Vayalar Ravi- assumed charge as the Union Minister for Science and Technologyon 21 August 2012. He was allocated the charge after Vilasrao Deshmukh, who was holding the portfolio passed away on 14 August 2012.Vayalar Ravi is also holding the portfolio of Union Ministry of Overseas Affairs. Besides he also holds the charge of Ministry of Earth Sciences and Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
  
• Vilasrao Deshmukh(67)- The Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences died of multiple organ failure at the Global Health City Hospital in Chennai on 14 August 2012. He was born on 26 May 1945 in Babhalgaon, Latur district, in Maharashtra. He first became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra after 1999 state assembly elections. He remained on the position till 2003. Again he became the chief minister in the year 2004 but he resigned from the post following the Mumbai Terror Attack on 26 November 2008.In 2009, Deshmukh was elected to the Rajya Sabha and was made the Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. Later he became the Minister for Rural Development replacing Manishankar Aiyyar.
  
• Ashok Mehta(65)- One of India's most accomplished cinematographers, who had been critically ill from lung cancer, passed away on 15 August. Mehta was an award-winning lensman and had worked with prominent filmmakers like Subhash Ghai, Rajiv Rai and MF Husain. He was the director of photography in films like 36 Chowringhee Lane, Utsav, Trikal, Khalnayak, Bandit Queen, Chalte Chalte, Gajgamini, Trimurti, Khalnayak, Moksha and Ram Lakhan. He also launched model-turned-actor Arjun Rampal in 'Moksha' opposite Manisha Koirala. A true Renaissance Man, he even wrote and acted in some movies.
  
• RAKESH SINGH-The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI) has elected on 21 July Mr Rakesh Singh as its new President. He has replaced Mr M. Gopalakrishnan. Earlier, Mr Singh was the Vice- President of the institute. Meanwhile, Mr S.C. Mohanty has been elected as the Vice-President of the institute. Both Mr Singh and Mr Mohanty will hold the post for the year 2012-13.
  
• RAGHURAM G RAJAN- Former IMF chief economist, has been appointed as the Chief Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet cleared the appointment of Mr Rajan as the new CEA on 10 august.Mr Rajan, known for his frank views, was also honorary economic advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. At present, he is a professor in the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. He is also highly acclaimed for predicting the 2008 global financial crisis.An Alumni of IIM-Ahmedabad and IIT-Delhi, Mr Rajan did his doctorate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.The position of the CEA has been lying vacant since Kaushik Basu’s term ended on July 31. Mr Basu would now return as a professor in Cornell University.Mr Rajan was also involved with the report on Financial Sector Reforms, which was authorised by the Planning Commission.
  
• Venu Rajamony-A 1986 batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, assumed charge as Press Secretary to the President on 2 August. He took over from Archana Datta, who served as OSD to Pratibha Patil. A career diplomat, Mr. Rajamony has served as Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry.
  
• Bimal Gurung- president of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), was elected Chief Executive Officer of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) on 3 august, by the elected and nominated members of the new regional autonomous body.The members of the GTA, that replaces the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), will be sworn in Darjiling on 3 august.
  
• Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi(60)- a 1976 batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, is all set to become an Election Commissioner. A formal notification is expected from President Pranab Mukherjee. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already approved his appointment. The vacancy in the three-member Election Commission arose after Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi retired on June 10. V.S. Sampath was appointed in his place. H.S. Brahma is the other Commissioner.
  
• Sushil Kumar Shinde(71)- the Union Home Minister on 3 august, will be the next Leader of the Lok Sabha, the first Dalit to hold that job. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, informing him of the nomination.Shinde is a seven time MLA and three time MP from Maharashtra.
  
• Laisenia Qarase- Former Fiji Prime Minister, the last democratically elected leader in the coup-plagued South Pacific nation, was sentenced to 12 months jail on 3 August after being found guilty of corruption. Mr. Qarase, who became prime minister in 2000 and was ousted in a military coup six years later, was convicted on nine charges of abuse of office and failing to discharge his duty when he was a public servant in the 1990s. The charges related to his time as a director of a government investment company called Fijian Holdings from 1992 to 1995, when prosecutors said he put the interests of his family and home village before the public.

Science and Technology

• Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) on 27 August 2012 signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a Joint Venture with M/s Rosoboron export, Russia and M/s Splav “SPA”, Russia to manufacture five versions of Smerch Rockets based on the technology received from Russia. The MoU was signed in New Delhi. The Smerch Rockets are technologically superior having a range of 70-80- kms. With formation of this Joint Venture, the Indo-Russian Friendship will be strengthened. After indigenizing the technology of Smerch Rockets, OFB will attain new heights in manufacturing of advanced Rocket.
  
• Identifying TNT explosives present at a very low concentration, has become possible with a nanostructure-sized sensor developed by T. Pradeep of the Department of Chemistry, IIT Madras .There is a complete change in luminescence from red to green when TNT is added to the sensor. All that is required to detect the change in luminescence is a fluorescence microscope. The results can be double checked by Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectrum specific to TNT gets enhanced and hence identifying the signature becomes easy. Prof. Pradeep said it is possible to make one billion sensors with one gram of gold. So it is not worth reusing the sensors after cleaning them. A device based on this principle is under development.
  
• Scientists on 31 August, have reconstructed the entire genetic makeup of a girl who lived and died in a Siberian cave more than 50,000 years ago. The young woman belonged to a long extinct group of humans called Denisovans — their existence known only from meagre fossil remains uncovered at the Denisova cave in the Altai Mountains in 2008. They are thought to have occupied much of Asia tens of thousands of years ago. Previous tests on the remains found they were more closely related to Neanderthals than modern humans. Writing in the journal Science , researchers in the U.S. and Germany describe how they sequenced the girl’s genome with an accuracy once considered impossible with such ancient specimens. The final sequence matched the quality of modern genetic tests on living people. They sequenced single strands of DNA taken from a little finger bone found at the scene. The bone fragments, and two fossilised teeth, are the only remains of the Denisovan. Svante Paabo, at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, said there was now “no difference in what we can learn genetically about a person that lived 50,000 years ago and from a person today, provided that we have well-enough preserved bones”. The team from Leipzig and Harvard Medical School in Boston compared the Denisovan genome with similar sequences from Neanderthals and 11 modern humans from around the world.
  
• India’s indigenously developed, micro-light pilot-less target aircraft ‘Lakshya-1’ was successfully test flown from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur,Odisha on 23 August. The test was carried out to check the validity of its engine and duration enhancement. The aircraft is remote-controlled from the ground and designed to provide training to both airborne and air defence pilots. Lakshya-1, fitted with an advanced digitally controlled engine and is a sub-sonic, re-usable aerial target system.
  
• India on 17 august, made a major breakthrough in mounting an electronic eye in the sky,taking delivery in Sao Jose dos Campos in Brazil, of the first Embraer 145 Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft, built with Indian technology. The first of the three AEW&C aircraft comes equipped with India’s first-ever airborne Active Electronic Scanned Array (AESA) radar, giving it the capability to detect missiles and hostile fighters at all angles.The aircraft was delivered at an official ceremony held at Embraer’s headquarters in Sao Jose dos Campos in Brazil in the presence of top Indian and Brazilian defence officials. The new aircraft would give the Indian Air Force capability of operating both the longer range Israeli-made IL-76 Phalcon AWACS as well as the shorter range Brazilian EMB 145. India already has acquired three Israeli AWACS and is in the process of getting two more.India and Brazil signed a deal reportedly worth $ 210 million for the supply of three aircraft by 2014. This includes a comprehensive logistic package that entails training, technical support, supply of spare parts and ground support equipment. Embraer is the world’s third largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, behind American Boeing and Europe’s Airbus. The Indian Air Force already operates four Embraer Legacy 600 jets to transport government officials and foreign dignitaries. A fifth one is operated by India’s Border Security Force.
  
• The Indian Institute of Soil Science developed a web-based system for advising farmers the right quantity of fertilizers that they should use in their soils for a particular type of crop. The software takes into account the soil type in different districts of the country and available nutrient in the soil. It takes into consideration the crop and cropping season in calculating the nutrient requirement. This system is presently available for all the districts in 11 states- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
  
• The US space agency NASA landed Curiosity, a huge new robot rover on Mars on 5 August 2012. The one-tonne vehicle touched the surface of Mars after a 345-million-mile expedition. The robot rover will now conduct a study to find out whether the planet was ever hospitable to life. The robot rover is set to spend nearly two years for the mission. NASA undertook the mission with an objective to determine whether Mars has ever had the conditions to support life. The ambitious project costed the US overnment about 2.5 billion dollar. The 900 kg rover has the top speed of about 4cm/s. Plutonium generators installed on the rover will deliver heat and electricity for at least 14 years. It is equipped with tools to brush and drill into rocks, to scoop up, sort and sieve samples. Rover is equipped with 17 cameras, which will identify particular targets, and a laser will zap those rocks to probe their chemistry.The findings of the mission will be delivered to Earth through antennas on the rover deck.
  
• India on 9 August 2012 successfully test-fired domestically built nuclear capable surface- to-surface two stage Agni-II ballistic missile. The missile was launched from a test range at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. It has a strike range of 2000 km and the missile was inducted in the Army on 17 May 2010.The missile was launched by the strategic force command of Indian Army as a routine users’ trial. Agni-II is 20 metres long and capable of carrying a nuclear warhead weighing one ton. Agni-II was developed under the joint work of advanced systems laboratory, the missile development laboratory of the DRDO, Defence Research Development Laboratory and Research Centre Imarat, while it was integrated by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad. The Agni-II missile belongs to the genre of medium range ballistic missiles developed by India under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program.
  
• A newly discovered Australian spider measuring little more than a millimeter in length has been named after celebrated British scientist and broadcaster David Attenborough. The minuscule arachnid, which is found only on Horn Island, in Australia's Torres Strait, was named prethopalpus attenboroughi by its discoverers. Sources said, Prethopalpus is commonly known as a goblin spider, making this species Attenborough's goblin spider. Attenborough was presented with the honour at a ceremony in Perth where he was given a framed picture of the spider. Attenborough, 86, was chosen for his love of nature and renowned ability to make science accessible over a career spanning six decades. It is not the first time the naturalist has received such an honour -- a 380-million-year-old fossil found in Western Australia in 2008 of a prehistoric mother fish giving birth was named materpiscis attenboroughi.
  
• Scientists for the first time found evidence of another oxidant named X, which plays an important role in the formation of gaseous sulphuric acid in the atmosphere. Until now there was a misconception that the combination of OH(hydroxyl radical) oxidant with sulphur dioxide was the reason behind the formation of gaseous sulphuric acid is formed in the atmosphere. The results are published on 9 August 2012 in Nature. The new oxidant is capable of oxidizing suphur dioxide. Experiments done by Scientists showed that the concentration of ‘X’ also does not remain constant during the day.
  
• The Union Cabinet on 3 August, cleared the Indian Space Research Organisation’s mission to Mars next year. The project, which comes on the heels of the Chandrayaan mission to the moon, envisages putting a spacecraft in the red planet’s orbit to study its atmosphere, with the help of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).India joins the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and China in undertaking such an effort. The launch is slated for November next year from Sriharikota. The Space Commission gave its clearance in December last. The spacecraft will have a scientific payload of 25 kg and is proposed to be placed in an orbit of 500x80,000 km around the planet. Sources in the ISRO said November was chosen, as the planet would be closest to the earth that time. The next such opportunity will come only in the summer of 2018. NASA is also said to be working on a Mars mission for November next year. The mission is estimated to cost about Rs.450 crore.
  
• A group of researchers in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh has claimed to have found traces of a paleo-river near Narmada. A paleo-channel or paleo-river is an inactive river or water stream buried under sediment. Vishal Verma of the Mangal Panchayatam Parishad said, due to geological activities, the nearly 65 million year-old river might have been covered under basaltic lava. The current course of the Narmada is about 10 km from the site of the paleo-river, parallel to it.
  
• Russian Ecologists said, Heavy forest fires spurred by hot and dry weather have vanished vast areas of Siberia, and ruined the region’s ecosystem. Fires have destroyed 100,000 sq km of forests across Russia , an area bigger than Bihar since the start of the summer season this year, The situation is worst in central Siberia, where fires have ravaged 50,000 sq km of forests. More than 6,000 fire-fighters; a dozen aircraft; and hundreds of volunteers are fighting the fires in Siberia, but have so far failed to contain the calamity.
  
• Scientists at the Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) in Pilani have developed a new bio-sensor device to detect arsenic content in drinking water. The device can be operated by a layman and is based on a rare combination of bio-engineering and electronics. The hand-held device, the size of a mobile phone and presently undergoing field testing, promises to be immensely useful for millions of people inhabiting the river basins of the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna in India and Bangladesh reported to be affected by arsenic contamination. Nearly 50 crore people are estimated to be at risk across Utttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Bangladesh due to high arsenic content in drinking water. High intake of arsenic along with malnourishment and lack of medical care worsens the life of people, especially children, in the arsenic-affected regions.

Persons

    

• India defeated host and defending champion Australia to win ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. In the final match played at Townsville in Australia on 26 August 2012, the Indian under -19 squad led by Unmukt Chand beat Australian side by 6 wickets. Skipper Unmukt Chand scored unbeaten 111 runs leading his team to a glorious victory.William Bosisto, the Australian skipper received the Man of the Tournament award. Anamul Haque of Bangladesh scored 365 runs, highest in the tournament. Reece Topley of England claimed 19 wickets and remained the leading wicket taker of the tournament. This victory marked third under-19 world cup title for India after Mohammad Kaif in 2000 and Virat Kohli in 2008 had led the team to the tournament victory. Meanwhile in Mumbai, the BCCI announced a cash prize of Rs. 20 lakh each for members of the team.
  
• Queen Elizabeth officially opened the London Paralympic games, on 29 August 2012. Britain's first Paralympic Games gold medallist, Margaret Maughan hit the cauldron.The opening ceremony signalled the start of 11 days of competition by 4200 athletes from 164 countries.
  
• Delhi won the 23rd Federation Cup Throw Ball Championship-2012 in both the male and female categories. The Championship which was held on 23-25 August 2012, in Srinagar. Delhi beat Tamil Nadu in the women’s final while, in the men’s final, Delhi beat Andhra Pradesh.
  
• England’s test team captain Andrew Strauss announced his retirement from international cricket on 29 August 2012. Under Strauss’ captaincy the England team witnessed back-to-back Ashes wins over Australia and reached to the top of the test rankings. A left-hand batsman, Strauss made his first class debut in year 1998 and one-day international debut in 2003 against Sri Lanka. Strauss made his test debut against New Zealand at Lord’s in 2004, where he scored 112 and 83 runs in two innings and received Man of the Match award. In a nine-year long international career, Strauss played 100 tests and 127 one-day internationals. Strauss has to his credit 7037 and 4205 runs in test and ODIs respectively.
  
• The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) erased 14 years of Lance Armstrong’s career on 24 august, including his record seven Tour de France titles, and banned him for life from the sport that made him the hero of millions of cancer survivors, after concluding he used banned substances. The USADA said it expected cycling’s governing body to take similar action, but the International Cycling Union (ICU) was measured in its response, saying it first wanted a full explanation on why Armstrong should relinquish the Tour de France titles he won between 1999 and 2005.Armstrong, who retired a year ago, said on that he would no longer challenge USADA and declined to exercise his option of entering arbitration. While announcing the decision, he again denied taking banned substances during his career and called the USADA’s investigation a “witch hunt” .The International Olympic Committee said it would await the USADA’s and the ICU’s decisions before taking any step against Armstrong, who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Games.
  
• Veteran Indian batsman VVS Laxman announced on 18 August that he would be retiring from international cricket with immediate effect."It's been 16 years since I have made my international debut for India and I think it is the right time to move on," said an emotional Laxman after announcing his retirement in Hyderabad. Laxman was also picked for the forthcoming India-New Zealand two-Test series but the stylish Hyderabadi stunned the cricket fraternity by calling it quits with immediate effect. Laxman has played 134 Tests, amassing 8,781 runs at an average of 45.97 and hitting 17 hundreds. The Hyderabadi has pouched 135 Test catches too.
  
• Test debut: vs South Africa at Ahmedabad, 1996 M - 134; Runs - 8,781; Avg - 45.97; 100s - 17; Top Score - 281
  
• ODI debut: vs Zimbabwe at Cuttack, 1998 M - 81; Runs - 2,338; Avg - 30.76; 100s - 6; Top Score – 131
  
• Union government announced the Arjuna awards on 19 August in New Delhi.25 sportsperson will be awarded Arjuna Awards this year, while Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna will be jointly given to vijay kumar and yogeshwar dutt.President of India will grant them awards at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29. Selection committee was headed by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. Vijay Kumar won a silver in the 25m rapid fire event and Yogeshwar won a bronze in 60kg free style event. They both will be awarded with cash prize of Rs. 7.5 lakh each along with medal and a citation. Yuvraj Singh will be awarded with the Arjuna Award.Arjuna Awardees will receive statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh each.Normally only 1 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award is given every year to an individual sportsperson and for the Arjuna Awards not more than 15 awards are to be given in any calendar year.However in certain conditions the rules can be relaxed. 25 sportsperson for Arjuna Awards 2012 are: Deepika Kumari (Archery), Laishram Bombayla Devi (Archery), Sudha Singh (Athletics),Kavita Ramdas Raut (Athletics), Ashwani Ponnappa (Badminton), Parupalli Kashyap (Badminton), Aditya S Mehta (Billiards and Snooker), Vikas Krishan (Boxing), Yuvraj Singh (cricket),Sardar Singh (Hockey), Yashpal Solanki (Judo), Anup Kumar (Kabaddi), Samir Suhag (Polo), Annu Raj Singh (Shooting), Omkar Singh (Shooting), Joydeep Karmakar (Shooting), Dipika Pallikal (Squash), Sandeep Sejwal (Swimming), Ng. Sonia Chanu (Weightlifting), Narsingh Yadav (Wrestling), Rajinder Kumar (Wrestling), Geeta Phogat (Wrestling), M. Bimoljit Singh (Wushu), Deepa Mallick (Athletics Paralympics), Ramkaran Singh (Athletics Paralympics).
  
• Six sporting coaches were recommended for the Dronacharya Awards 2012. Wrestling coach Yashvir Singh, Boxing Coach BI Fernandez, Athletics Coach Virender Poonia, Kabaddi Coach Sunil Davas, Parathletics Coach Dr. Satyapaul and Hockey Coach Harinder Singh are the six names who have been selected for the coveted award.The Dronacharya Award was instituted by the government of India in 1985. The award carries five lakh rupees and a citation and is conferred to coaches of different sports for their noteworthy contribution. The awards will be presented by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29 August 2012, the National Sports Day.
  
• World number one Roger Federer defeated Novak Djokovic 6-0 7-6 to win his sixth ATP Cincinnati Msters title of the year. In the women’s singles China's Li Na defeated German Angelique Kerber 1-6 6-3 6-1 to win the title.The sixth seeded Indian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna lost in the finals by Sweden's Robert Lindstedt and Romania's Horia Tecau 4-6, 4-6 in straight sets.
  
• South Africa stood as the World’s Number One Test Cricket team replacing England. The feat was achieved after its 2-0 victory over England in the three Test-match series, which ended at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on 21 August 2012. Australia and Pakistan stood at third and forth positions. India stands on fifth position.
• The London Olympics 2012 concluded in London on 12 August 2012. The 30th summer Olympic event was inaugurated at Olympic Stadium at the Olympic Park in East London on 27 July 2012. Nearly 10500 athletes were participated in 26 sports events in this Olympics. At the end of the game US topped the medal tally with a total of 104 medals (46 Gold+29 Silver+ 29 Silver) followed by China with 88 medals (38 Gold+27 Silver+23 Bronze). Great Britain with 65 medals (29 Gold+17 Silver+19 Bronze), Russia with 82 medals (24 Gold+26 Silver+32 Bronze) and South Korea with 27 medals (13 Gold+8 Silver+6 Bronze) finished third, fourth and fifth respectively. India with 6 medals (2 Silver+4Bronze) finished 55th on the medal tally.
  
• The mascots of London Games-2012 were Wenlock and Mandeville. While Wenlock is a mascot of Olympics, Mandeville is mascot for Paralympics. These are two ultra-modern one- eyed creatures. Total 4700 medals ( Gold, Silver, Bronze) were there at the London Olympics 2012. The Olympic medals weigh between 375-400 grams. The gold medals are not actually made of solid gold. They are in fact 92.5 percent silver and 1.34 percent gold, while the rest is copper. On every medal there is the image of Nike, the Greek Goddess of victory. The 31st edition of Summer Olympics will be held in Reo de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016.
  
• Some of the winners at London Olympics 2012:
  1. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won three gold in three separate events (100 meter race, 200 meter race and 4X100 meter relay team race). With a storming victory in both 100 and 200 meters race he became the only sprinter in the history to defend both Olympic titles.
  2. Dan Lin of China beat Malaysian Chong Wei Lee to clinch Badminton men’s singles gold
  3. Germany beat Netherlands 2-1 to win men’s hockey gold.
  4. Mexico beat Brazil 2-1 to win Soccer gold
  5. United States defeated Spain to win men’s Basketball gold
  6. Andy Murray of Great Britain beat Roger Federer of Switzerland to win tennis men’s singles gold
  7. Michael Phelps bagged 6 medals(4 Gold+2 Silver) in swimming, becoming the most decorated Olympian ever with 22 medals.
  8. Russia defeated Brazil to win men’s volleyball gold.
• India’s performance-India had sent 83-member team to the London Olympics 2012, which is the largest ever contingent sent by Indian Olympic Association in the Olympics. Shooter Vijay Kumar bagged the silver medal in the 25 m Rapid Fire event, while MC Mary Kom, five-time world women's boxing champion, ace shuttler Saina Nehwal and rifle shooter Gagan Narang won India bronze medals. Gagan Narang opened India’s account at the medal tally after he won bronze in shooting event on 30 July 2012.
  
• The London Olympics 2012 concluded in London on 12 August 2012. The 30th summer Olympic event was inaugurated at Olympic Stadium at the Olympic Park in East London on 27 July 2012. Nearly 10500 athletes were participated in 26 sports events in this Olympics. At the end of the game US topped the medal tally with a total of 104 medals (46 Gold+29 Silver+ 29 Silver) followed by China with 88 medals (38 Gold+27 Silver+23 Bronze). Great Britain with 65 medals (29 Gold+17 Silver+19 Bronze), Russia with 82 medals (24 Gold+26 Silver+32 Bronze) and South Korea with 27 medals (13 Gold+8 Silver+6 Bronze) finished third, fourth and fifth respectively. India with 6 medals (2 Silver+4Bronze) finished 55th on the medal tally.
  
• The mascots of London Games-2012 were Wenlock and Mandeville. While Wenlock is a mascot of Olympics, Mandeville is mascot for Paralympics. These are two ultra-modern one- eyed creatures. Total 4700 medals ( Gold, Silver, Bronze) were there at the London Olympics 2012. The Olympic medals weigh between 375-400 grams. The gold medals are not actually made of solid gold. They are in fact 92.5 percent silver and 1.34 percent gold, while the rest is copper. On every medal there is the image of Nike, the Greek Goddess of victory. The 31st edition of Summer Olympics will be held in Reo de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016.
  
• Britain’s Andy Murray defeated Roger Federer 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 in the men’s final on 5 August to win his first Olympic gold medal and avenge his Wimbledon final defeat against the World No.1.
  
• Top Indian shuttler Saina Nehawal won India its third medal at London Olympics 2012 after she won a bronze in women's singles badminton event played at Wembley Arena on 4 August 2012. Saina bagged the bronze after her Chinese opponent Xin Wang conceded the match due to a knee injury. The previous two medals came in shooting events. While Gagan Narang won India its first bronze in the London Olympics on 30 July 2012, Vijay Kumar clinched silver on 3 August 2012. With this victory, Saina became the second Indian woman after Karanam Malleshwari to win a medal in the history of Olympics. Karnam Malleshwari had earned India a bronze in weight lifting event in 2000 Sydney Olympics.
  
• Mary Kom defeated Maroua Rahali of Tunisia in the Quarterfinals 15-6, securing one medal for the country. This was the first time when the women boxing event was introduced in the Olympic games. Later, Mary kom was knocked out of the Olympic Games flyweight (51 kg) semi-finals after she suffered an 11-6 defeat in the hand of Britain’s Nicola Adams, with that Mary satisfied with the Bronze medal. om has total 5 world boxing championship titles in his name. The government of India had awarded her with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, country’s highest award given to sports persons, in 2009. Besides she was also given the Arjuna Award in 2003 and Padma Shree Award in 2006. She was also appointed the International Boxing Association’s Ambassador for Women’s Boxing in 2009.
  
• Sushil Kumar, the star Indian wrestler, won India its sixth medal on the very last day in London Olympics 2012. Sushil bagged the silver after his Japanese opponent Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu defeated him 3-1 in the gold medal bout in the 66-kg freestyle category on 12 August 2012.He became the first ever Indian sportsperson to win individual medals in two successive Olympic Games. He had won a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games. In a separate 60- kg wrestling event, Yogeshwar Dutt, another Indian wrestler won India a bronze medal. Dutt defeated North Korea's Ri Jong Myong in the bronze medal bout on 9 August 2012. With the two medals in wrestling, India took the total number of its medals in London Olympics 2012 at a record haul of six medals. Shooter Vijay Kumar bagged the silver medal in the 25 m Rapid Fire event, while MC Mary Kom, five-time world women's boxing champion, ace shuttler Saina Nehwal and rifle shooter Gagan Narang won India bronze medals. Gagan Narang opened India’s account at the medal tally after he won bronze in shooting event on 30 July 2012.
  
• China made an unprecedented sweep of all five Olympic badminton gold medals on 4 August after Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng won the men's doubles at the London Games.Before that, Lin Dan of China had defeated Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei to win the men’s singles title. Lin’s victory gave China its fourth gold medal in badminton.
  
• Michael Phelps, the greatest swimmer of all time became the most decorated Olympian of all time when he won a record 19th Olympic medal at the London Games on 1 August. Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, who won the last of her 18 Olympic medals at Tokyo in 1964, held the record Phelps broke. Until Phelps surfaced, no-one had come close to breaking her record in almost half a century but now the torch has been passed to the 27-year-old from Baltimore.
  
• Vijay Kumar (26) of India, won with a silver medal in 25m rapid fire pistol at the Royal Artillery Barracks in the London Olympics on 3 August. The 26-year-old Vijay has given a tough fight in the final in which the reigning world champion Alexei Klimov of Russia went without a medal despite shooting a world record 592 in qualification.
  
• Eight badminton players at the London Olympics have been dramatically disqualified on 1 August, after being charged with trying to throw their matches. The Badminton World Federation said that it had charged the players, from China, South Korea and Indonesia, with not giving their best efforts to win a match and “conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport.”
  
• Michael Phelps won the 100 metres butterfly gold at the London Olympics on 4 August. The American, whose list of achievements in the Olympic pool is already beyond comparison, and wins his 17th gold and 21 overall medals.
  
• Saina Nehwal won the badminton bronze in the women’s singles as Wang Xin of China retired with a painful knee while leading 21-18, 1-0. Nevertheless, Saina became only the second Indian woman after weightlifter Karnam Malleswari in Sydney in 2000, to win an Olympic medal for India. She is the third Indian to win a medal in the London Games behind shooters Gagan Narang (bronze) and Vijay Kumar (silver).

Awards

• Aditi Mukherjee, a Delhi based scientist, won the prestigious Norman Borlaug Award in Field Research and Application. Mukherjee was picked for the award for her work in transforming access to water for thousands of farmers in West Bengal. The award will be formally presented to Mukherji on 17 October 2012 in Des Moines, Iowa, US. Mukherji, 37, is a senior researcher at the Delhi office of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). The international award is conferred by the World Food Prize Foundation, which was started by Norman Borlogue, the father of Green Revolution in India. The award carries 10000 dollar cash prize. The Borlaug Award is restricted to scientists under 40.
  
• The Castrol awards for cricketing excellence honoured the players, as Ajit Wadekar, who bagged the lifetime achievement award, and Unmukt Chand, who topped the ‘Junior cricketer’ category. The other awards are- Indian cricketer of the year — M.S. Dhoni, special award for- Yuvraj Singh. Test-cricketer-of-the-year award - Rahul Dravid , while the limited-over category honours went to Suresh Raina and Sachin Tendulkar took the batsman-of-the-year trophy and the best bowler award - R. Ashwin. Other awards: Performance in the World Cup: Yuvraj Singh; 100th hundred: Tendulkar; Extraordinary double century in ODIs: Virender Sehwag; Performance under pressure: Gautam Gambhir (World Cup final); Stand-out performance under pressure: Virat Kohli.
  
• Physics professor of Johns Hopkins University, Charles L Bennett, was awarded with the Gruber Cosmology Prize 2012 in Beijing at the opening ceremony of the 28th Conference of the International Astronomical Union on 22 August 2012. This award was given to him acknowledging his immense contribution to the world of physics. Bennett, a prominent physicist, led a 26-member team that worked on NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. The findings of the study helped astronomers refine their understanding of the age, shape and makeup of the universe.
  
• Dr PKB Patnaik has bagged the Damien-Dutton Award for 2012. He is now working as the State Leprosy Officer , Odisha. Dr Patnaik has been selected for the award in recognition of his more than 25 years of concern and dedication to the victims of leprosy in India and for his direct involvement in making the multi-drug therapy available to the people affected by leprosy and goal to eliminate leprosy from the State, which has been achieved. The Damien-Dutton Society for Leprosy AID INC was founded in the year 1944 by the Staff Sgt Howard E Crouch, Medical Corps US Army.Dr Patnaik is also Honorary Secretary, Hind Kustha Nivaran Sangh, Odisha State Branch appointed by the Governor since 1996.
  
• In a rare honour, eminent Urdu litterateur, Padmabhushan award winner, Professor Gopi Chand Narang’s(81) name figured in the list of civilian honours announced by Pakistan on the eve of its Independence Day. Prof. Narang has been conferred Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence), the third highest civilian honour bestowed by the nation.The legendary writer Saadat Hasan Manto ( Nishan-i-Imtiaz ), ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan ( Nishan-i- Imtiaz ) and eminent poet Josh Malihabadi ( Hilal-i-Imtiaz ) are also figured in the list of award winners. In the past, former Prime Minister Morarji Desai and matinee idol Dilip Kumar have been bestowed Pakistan's highest civilian honour, Nishan-i-Imtiaz .The investiture ceremony will take place in Pakistan on March 23, 2013, Pakistan's Republic Day.
  
• Ashok Sen, an Indian physicist currently on the faculty of an Allahabad-based research institute has become a proud recipient of USD three million (about Rs 16.75 crore) cash prize instituted by Russian entrepreneur Yuri Milner for researchers in the discipline. Ashoke Sen, a professor in Physics faculty of the Harishchandra Research Institute, situated at the city outskirts and funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), received the news on, that he was selected for the inaugural group of nine recipients of the Fundamental Physics Prize this year when he was abroad last week. Sen, 56, who is known for his research on the 'String Theory', is an alumni of the prestigious Presidency College at Kolkata and IIT- Kanpur. He has been associated with premier US-based institutes like Fermilab and Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre, besides the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research at Mumbai. Sen had received the Padma Shri in 2001, besides being honoured with a number of prizes like the International Centre for Theoretical Physics Prize (1989), S S Bhatnagar Award (1994). He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1998. Yuri Milner is said to have himself studied Physics at the under-graduate level before dropping out of college and making billions by investing in companies like Facebook. According to the Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation's website, Sen was chosen "for uncovering striking evidence of strong-weak duality in certain super- symmetric string theories and gauge theories, opening the path for the realisation that all string theories are different limits of the same underlying theory".
  
• A Chennai-based development organisation, Hand in Hand India, is among the five winners of this year’s World Environment Day Challenge organised by the UN for inspiring environmental action. Hand in Hand India brought together over 500 volunteers to create a colourful 10,000 square foot rangoli carpet depicting 10 environmental themes. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) had challenged people across the world to pledge an environmental activity in connection with this year’s World Environment Day, which was observed on June 5.
  
• Renowned social worker D.R. Mehta was selected for the 20th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna Award on 4 August. Congress treasurer Motilal Vora, who is member secretary of Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award Committee, said in a statement that the award was given to Mehta for "his outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill". The award, given on the birth anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, carries a citation and a cash award of Rs.5 lakh. Mehta is founder of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), a Jaipur-based NGO that helps the physically challenged, particularly the poor, by providing devices such as artificial limbs and callipers. Former recipients of the award include Mother Teresa, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, Sunil Dutt, S.N. Subbarao and Dilip Kumar.
  
• India born internationally acclaimed NRI Heart Surgeon and Research Scientist from the famed Harvard University, Dr Mukesh Hariawala, has been unanimously selected by the National Healthcare jury to be honored with the prestigious 'India's Most Admired Surgeon 2012 Award'. The glittering ceremony to be held at Mumbai's Hilton Hotel on 21st September, will have in attendance top dignitaries from government, celluloid personalities, industrialists and eminent public figures, led by Maharashtra Governor Shri K. Sankaranarayanan.