Saturday 16 June 2012

Current Affairs 2012 & GK 2012 N1


SEBI tightens consent order norms news

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has tightened its procedures and decided not to pass consent orders in case of defaults, including insider trading, front running and failure to make an open offer. Modifying its April 2007 circular, which provides the framework for passing of consent orders and for considering requests for composition of offences,According to  SEBI it will not initiate the consent process in case of very serious offences. These also include failure to redress investor grievances and failure to respond to summons issued by the market regulator.

Bharti buys 49% in Qualcomm unit

The country’s largest mobile phone operator Bharti Airtel has acquired a 49% stake in US-chipmaker Qualcomm’s Indian unit holding 4G broadband wireless licences for $165 million (Rs 924 crore).
The deal involved Bharti buying a 26% stake equally held by Global Holding Corporation and Tulip Telecom apart from subscribing to fresh equity. Bharti gets access to Qualcomm’s broadband licences in four circles, including the two major regions of Mumbai and Delhi. The telco already had 4G permits in four circles of Kolkata, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra . It recently rolled out 4G services in Kolkata and Bangalore. Barclays Capital advised the San Diego-based Qualcomm on the deal.

Ace photographer Rajamani dead

Veteran photographer V.K. Rajamani passed away. He was 77. In a career spanning more than five decades, he not only captured the architecture of South Indian temples, but also dancers.

Webber Wins Monaco Grand Prix

Mark Webber won the Monaco Grand Prix . Made Formula One history, while Fernando Alonso took a narrow lead in the championship. Webber  started from pole position, is the sixth different driver to win in the opening six races of the season, a first for F1.

DRDO test-fires two Akash missiles

The DRDO test-fired two surface-to-air ‘Akash’ missiles from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur. While one test was successful, data for the other is still being analysed.

 Cannes Film Festival

The 65th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 16 to May 27, 2012 . Italian film director Nanni Moretti was the President of the Jury for the main competition and British actor Tim Roth was the President of the Jury for the Un Certain Regard sect
* Palme d’Or (Best Film) – “Love”/Amour (Austria) by Michael Haneke
* Grand Prix (Runner-up) – “Reality” (Italy) by Matteo Garrone
* Jury Prize (Third Prize) – “The Angels’ Share” (Britain) by Ken Loach
* Camera d’Or (Debut Film) – “Beasts of the Southern Wild” (U.S.) by Benh Zeitlin
* Best Director – Carlos Reygadas for “Post Tenebras Lux” (Mexico)
* Best Screenplay – “Beyond the Hills” (Romania) by Cristian Mungiu
* Best Actress – Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur in “Beyond the Hills”
* Best Actor – Mads Mikkelsen in “The Hunt”

Viswanathan Anand wins 2012 World Chess Championship

Viswanathan Anand won  World Chess Champion 2012 . He defeated Boris Gelfand in the final match . Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand  beat challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel in a tense rapid chess tie-breaker to win the World Championship crown for the fifth time and fourth in a row. He hold the title from Mexico 2007, Bonn 2008, and Sofia 2010.

India’s GDP growth slumps to 6.5 pc in 2011-12

India’s growth has hit a three-year low with the GDP growing at just 6.5 per cent in 2011-12, as compared to an impressive 8.4 per cent in the previous fiscal. The GDP growth in the January-March quarter, 2011-12, was just 5.3 per cent compared to 9.2 per cent in the same period in 2010-11.
The main culprit, as has been for the past few quarters, was the manufacturing sector which, along with the farm segment, fared dismally and dragged down the economic growth rate for 2011-12 to 6.5 per cent. At this level, it is not only way lower than the 8.4 per cent GDP growth achieved in 2010-11 but also marks a downward revision from the 6.9 per cent expansion estimated earlier for the fiscal year by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO). The scale-down in growth rate for 2011-12 to 6.5 per cent — the lowest since 2002-03 when the economy grew by four per cent — disappointed both the government and the industry but came as no surprise as indications of a steady slowdown have been there for quite some time.


Kevin Pietersen retires from ODIs, T20s

England batsman Kevin Pietersen has decided to retire from international limited-overs cricket with immediate effect. A press release from the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed Pietersen’s decision

Vidya Balan receives Prabha Khaitan Puraskar

Actor Vidya Balan was awarded the Prabha Khaitan Puraskar 2012 from the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce. Prabha Khaitan, a former president of the chamber started this award in 1992 with an aim to empower women.

Bikram Singh assumes charge as new Army chief

Gen Bikram Singh, a veteran infantry officer  took over as the 25th Chief of the Indian Army succeeding Gen V K Singh whose 26-month tenure was mired by controversies. 59-year-old Gen Bikram Singh will have a tenure of two years and three months in the top post.

Odisha sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik wins international award

Internationally acclaimed sand artist from Odisha Sudarshan Pattnaik has been won the Copenhagen sand art Championship- 2012.

New Zealand Win Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

New Zealand won Sultan Azlan Shah Cup for the first time after beating Argentina 1-0 in the final. New Zealand which finished third four times (1995, 2003, 2008 and 2009) while Argentina won the hockey tournament in 2008. India defeated Great Britain, 3-1 to secure the bronze medal at the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament.

2012 Indian Premier League

The 2012 Indian Premier League season, abbreviated as IPL 5 or the IPL 2012 or the DLF IPL 2012, was the fifth season of the Indian Premier League, initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007 with the first season played in 2008. The tournament began on 4 April and ended on 27 May 2012. Kolkata Knight Riders were the winning team, beating defending champions Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in the final. This season the number of teams in the league went from ten to nine with the termination of Kochi Tuskers Kerala.

Winners        Kolkata Knight Riders

Runners-up                 Chennai Super Kings

Third place               Delhi Daredevils

Fourth place              Mumbai Indians

The IPL offers a total 25 Cr prize money.
  • Champions: 10 crore
  • Runner-up: 7.5 crore
  • Third place: 3.75 crore
  • Fourth place: 3.75 crore
  • No prize money for remaining teams
Most runs            Suresh Raina   (2101, Chennai Super Kings)
Most wickets      Lasith Malinga (81, Mumbai Indians)

Pakistan test fires Hatf VII

Pakistan successfully test fired the nuclear-capable Hatf-VII cruise missile with a range of 700 km, the latest in a series of tests of missiles that can hit targets deep within India. This was the fifth missile test by Pakistan since late last month.

Annual plan outlay fixed at Rs 10,500 cr

The Planning Commission approved Assam’ Plan outlay of Rs 10,500 crore for the current fiscal which is over 16 per cent higher than the outlay for the previous fiscal. The state has proposed an outlay of Rs 14,537.33 crore for the current fiscal.

B.V. Kakkilaya passes away

Freedom fighter and veteran Communist leader Bevinje Vishnu Kakkilaya died of brain haemorrhage. He was 93 years old. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha for two years representing the Madras Province and an MLA in the Karnataka Assembly for two terms. Mr. Kakkilaya led many agitations against injustice to farmers and labourers and played a key role in building the Communist Party of India and its students’ wing, the All-India Students’ Federation in the State. He was the secretary of the Karnataka State committee of the CPI.

Vice Admiral D.K. Joshi named new Navy Chief

Vice Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi, Western Naval Command chief and a specialist in anti-submarine warfare, was named as the new Navy Chief to succeed Admiral Nirmal Verma whose tenure ends on August 31. He will have a three-year tenure. Joshi has commanded the tri-services Andaman and Nicobar Island command and also headed the Integrated Defense Staff headquarters in New Delhi. He also commanded the Visakhapatnam-based Eastern Fleet of the Navy.Commissioned in 1974, the Vice Admiral has commanded the aircraft carrier INS Viraat, Guided-missile Destroyer Ranvir and corvette INS Kuthar.

RBI removes penalty on prepayment of home loans

The Reserve Bank of Bank (RBI) issued notification to all banks for not charging any foreclosure/prepayment penalties on floating rate home loans. This move brings cheers among home loan borrowers . They can now take advantage of better credit pricing in a perfectly competitive banking industry.

Khullar named new Trai chief

Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar has been appointed the new chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Khullar named new Trai chief with 3-yr term. Mr. Khullar is  a 1975-batch IAS officer.

Spanish Grand Prix

Pastor Maldonado won Spanish Grand Prix.

Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson steps down

Yahoo chief executive officer (CEO) Scott Thompson has resigned and the company has named Ross Levinsohn as interim CEO. board of directors also appointed Fred Amoroso as chairman.

Moody’s downgrades ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank

Credit ratings agency Moody’s downgraded India’s three top private sector lenders — ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank — on growing concerns over the country’s sovereign debt ratings. Moody’s lowered the standalone ratings of these top three private sector lenders to the sovereign ratings level of D+ from earlier C-. The lenders’ hybrid rating is also lowered a notch to Baa2 from Baa3.

Dalai Lama Awarded 2012 Templeton Prize

Dalai Lama received the prestigious £1.1 million Templeton Prize for his contribution to “affirming life’s spiritual dimension.” The Dalai Lama described India as the “ideal place” for religious co-existence.

Aziz Qureshi sworn in as Uttarakhand Governor

Aziz Qureshi was sworn in as the fifth Governor of Uttarakhand by Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice Barin Ghosh.

Moody’s downgrades credit of 26 Italian banks

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the debt ratings of 26 Italian banks as they struggled with the effect of the weak economy and government austerity measures. The move means Moody’s now ranks Italy’s banks lower than most of their Western European peers. The firm lowered its long-term debt and deposit ratings by one notch each for 10 banks, by two notches for eight banks, by three notches for six banks and by four notches for two banks. It also downgraded the short-term rating on 21 banks by one or two notches, which triggered long-term rating downgrades. The firm’s outlook for all 26 banks is negative.

James Anderson is England’s cricketer of the year

England fast bowler James Anderson has been declared as the England cricketer of the year for 2011-12. Anderson played in 12 Tests during 2011 and bagged 53 wickets in all. The right-arm pacer has taken 258 Test wickets and currently holds third spot in the ICC rankings.

Facebook IPO values company at $104 billion

Facebook’s initial public offering of common stock will be priced at 38 dollars a share, valuing the company at 104 billion dollars, which makes it the largest IPO for a U.S. tech company.

Reserve Bank of India decided to set up a 2 Billion Dollar Swap Facility for SAARC Nations

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to set up a 2 billion dollar swap facility for SAARC (South-Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) member-nations. This facility will be available in foreign currency and Indian rupee. The facility will provide the member nations with the facility to swap U.S. dollar, euro or Indian rupee against the domestic currency or domestic currency-denominated government securities. The withdrawal could be done in multiple tranches.

Francois Hollande takes oath as France’s President

Francois Hollande took oath as country’s socialist President. Pierre Moscovici is the new finance minister and ex-PM Laurent Fabius has been named as foreign minister.

Jean-Marc Ayrault took over as the New Prime Minister of France

Jean-Marc Ayrault has taken over as the new prime minister of France. Ayrault is 62-year-old former German teacher, lawmaker and long-time Socialist ally of Hollande.

2012 Champions League

England’s Chelsea Football Club has won the 2012 UEFA Champions League after beating Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout . The first time Chelsea has reigned as Europe’s champion soccer team in the 107-years they’ve been around.

Nadal wins sixth Rome crown

Rafael Nadal won his record sixth Italian Open title by beating top-ranked Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-3. The 25-year-old Nadal lifted the trophy at the Foro Italico for the sixth time, following triumphs in 2005-2007 and 2009-2010. Victory also marked a record-breaking 21st ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown for Nadal.

Napoli Wins Italian Cup

Montpellier claimed its first French league soccer title after winning 2-1. Napoli won the Coppa Italia to deny Juventus an unbeaten season.

General Provident Fund interest rate raised to 8.8% for 2012-13

Government has hiked interest rate on contributions to General Provident Fund (GPF) and other similar funds to 8.8 per cent for 2012-13.The interest rate on such funds was 8.6 per cent during December 2011-March 2012 period, while it was 8 per cent for April-November 2011. This will benefit millions of employees.

 Mr. Sampath appointed as new CEC
Senior-most Election Commissioner Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath  appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) by President Pratibha Patil. He replaces S.Y. Quraishi . Mr. Sampath, a 1973 batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, took charge as Election Commissioner on April 21, 2009.

Rs 3,939 Crore Plan Budget size approved for Meghalaya

The Central Planning Commission has approved a Plan Budget size of Rs. 3,939 Crore for Meghalaya the year for 2012-13. This is is 44.44 per cent higher than that in 2011-12.

12.5 p.c. service charge on railway freight from July

Freight charges, which were hiked by over 30 per cent in March, will rise further with the imposition of service charge from July 1.

State Bank cuts rates for select term deposits

 State Bank of India (SBI) has revised its retail term deposit interest rates by reducing 25 basis points for tenors up to 240 days with effect from June 8. The reduction in interest rates on retail term deposits is being seen as a precursor to a cut in lending rates over the next few days.
The SBI lowered the retail term deposit rates by 0.25 percentage point in tenors up to 240 days with effect from June 8. While deposits (below Rs 15 lakh) with a maturity period of 7-90, 91-179 and 180 days have been brought down to 7 per cent, the revised rate is 7.25 per cent for deposits between 181 and 240 days.

 IIFA Awards 2012

13th International Indian Film Academy Awards held in Singapore

Winners of IIFA Awards 2012

  • Best Actor – Ranbir Kapoor (Rockstar)
  • Best Actress – Vidya Balan (The Dirty Picture)
  • Best Movie – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
  • Best Director – Zoya Akhtar (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara)
  • Best Story – Zoya Akhtar and Reema Katgi (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara)
  • Hottest Bollywood Pair – Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri (Rockstar)
  • Best Supporting Actor – Farhan Akhtar (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara)
  • Best Supporting Actress – Parineeti Chopra (Ladies vs Ricky Bahl)
  • Best Performance in a Comic Role – Ritesh Deshmukh (Double Dhamaal)
  • Best Performance in a Negative Role – Prakash Raj (Singham)
  • Best Debut (Male) – Vidyut Jamwal (Force)
  • Best Debut (Female) – Parineeti Chopra for Ladies vs Ricky Bahl
  • Best Music – A R Rahman ( Rockstar)
  • Best Singer Male – Mohit Chauhan (Nadaan Parinde – Rockstar)
  • Best Singer Female – Shreya Ghosal (Teri Meri – Bodyguard)
  • Best Lyrics – Irshad Kamil (Nadaan Parindey – Rockstar)
  • IIFA Awards 2012 for Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema – Ramesh Sippy
  • IIFA Awards 2012 for Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema – Rekha
  • IIFA 2012 Green Award: Dia Mirza


Saina wins Thailand Open

Saina Nehwal got victory in the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Bangkok . She beat Thailand’s rising star and world No.11 Inthanon Ratchanok 19-21, 21-15, 21-10 .She won her second title of the year .

2012 French Open

The 2012 French Open 111th edition of the French Open, and took place at the Stade Roland Garros from 27 May to 11 June 2012 .
Champions
Men’s Singles  Rafael Nadal
Runners up Novak Djokovic
Women’s Singles  Maria Sharapova
Runners up Sara Errani
Men’s Doubles  Max Mirnyi /  Daniel Nestor
Women’s Doubles  Sara Errani /  Roberta Vinci
Mixed Doubles  Sania Mirza /  Mahesh Bhupathi
Boys’ Singles  Kimmer Coppejans
Girls’ Singles  Annika Beck
Boys’ Doubles  Andrew Harris /  Nick Kyrgios
Girls’ Doubles  Daria Gavrilova /  Irina Khromacheva
Legends Under 45 Doubles  Albert Costa /  Carlos Moyá
Women’s Legends Doubles  Lindsay Davenport /  Martina Hingis
Legends Over 45 Doubles  John McEnroe /  Patrick McEnroe
Wheelchair Men’s Singles  Stéphane Houdet
Wheelchair Women’s Singles  Esther Vergeer
Wheelchair Men’s Doubles  Frédéric Cattaneo /  Shingo Kunieda
Wheelchair Women’s Doubles  Marjolein Buis /  Esther Vergeer

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