Tuesday 28 February 2012

84th Academy Awards




The 84th Academy Awards (The Oscars) ceremony, hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2011. The ceremony took place on February 26, 2012, at the Hollywood and Highland Center also known as KODAK Theaters in Hollywood (USA) .

List of the 84th Annual Academy (The OSCARS) Award winners:

1. Best Picture: "The Artist."

2. Actor: Jean Dujardin, "The Artist."

3. Actress: Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady."

4. Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, "Beginners."

5. Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, "The Help."

6. Directing: Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist."

7. Foreign Language Film: "A Separation," Iran.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, "The Descendants."

9. Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris."

10. Animated Feature Film: "Rango."

11. Art Direction: "Hugo."

12. Cinematography: "Hugo."

13. Sound Mixing: "Hugo."

14. Sound Editing: "Hugo."

15. Original Score: "The Artist."

16. Original Song: "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets."

17. Costume Design: "The Artist."

18. Documentary Feature: "Undefeated."

19. Documentary Short: "Saving Face."

20. Film Editing: "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

21. Makeup: "The Iron Lady."

22. Animated Short Film: "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore."

23. Live Action Short Film: "The Shore."

24. Visual Effects: "Hugo."



Sunday 26 February 2012

Gujarat Riots 2002





The history of violence in modern India has been marked by certain images. Perhaps the most haunting in collective memory is the train burning incidence in 'Godhra Junction Station' followed by communal riots that claims death of more than 2000 people (Unofficial data) and many still missing. Godhra is a city in Gujarat, a state situated in the western part of India.



Today marks the tenth anniversary of Gujarat train burning incident that followed by two month long communal riots. On 27 February 2002, the Sabarmati Express train was attacked at Godhra station by a large Muslim mob as per a pre-planned conspiracy.58 Hindu pilgrims, mostly women and children returning from Ayodhya (a Hindu pilgrimage), were killed in the attack. This in turn prompted retaliatory attacks against Muslims and general communal riots on a large scale across the state of Gujarat, in which 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were ultimately killed and 223 more people were reported missing.523 places of worship were damaged that includes 298 dargahs, 205 mosques, 17 temples, and 3 churches. 61,000 Muslims and 10,000 Hindus fled their homes. Preventive arrests of 17,947 Hindus and 3,616 Muslims were made. In total 27,901 Hindus and 7,651 Muslims were arrested. Nearly 10,000 rounds of bullets were fired in police shootings that killed 93 Muslims and 77 Hindus.









Thursday 23 February 2012

By 2015 Indian Toy Market To Reach 13K Crore




             The size of India’s toy industry may touch whooping Rs 13,000 crore by the year 2015 compared to Rs 7,500 crore at present, on account of increasing consumerism and a fast growing population, according to the ASSOCHAM.

               According to the ASSOCHAM Report, the toy market industry is growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 20 percent, which is pretty high indeed.

               According to the ASSOCHAM Secretary General, D.S. Rawat, the Indian toy industry caters to about 4 crore kids in the age group of 12 years across the whole country. But domestically manufactures toys account for only 15 percent of the market and rest of the markets is flooded with imported toys from countries like China, Malaysia, Korea, the UK and the USA.

           According to a recent study, the domestic toy industry is highly fragmented, unorganized and is predominantly dominated by micro, small and medium-scale manufactures.

India’s Real GDP Is Expected To Touch $ 2.5 Trillion by 2021




               India’s real GDP is expected to touch $ 2.5 trillion by 2021 as the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals, like savings, investments and per capita income, are growing very much strong, according to a recent study. At present, the country’s real GDP amount to $ 1 trillion. Well known Industry body PHDCCI in its study, “Growth Opportunities” said India’s real per capita income is estimated to double from the current level of $ 900 TO $ 1,800 BY 2021.

               The real GDP is estimated to achieve an average growth of 9.3 percent in the next 10 years by 2021, which is really a mind blowing growth. So we can simply say that Indian Economy is becoming stronger day by day.

               Despite the fact that the slowdown in advanced economies, coupled with domestic economic challenges like high inflation and borrowing costs, have pulled down the growth momentum in the near-term, India has emerged a leading economy in the World Economic System, according to the PHD Chamber President Sandip Somany.

               According to the study, WPI Inflation is projected to remain within the 5-6 percent trajectory, while the gross fiscal deficit is estimated to remain within 3-4 percent of the real GDP by the year 2021.

India Will Be Among Most Favorable Destinations By 2025




               The future of equity capital markets is shifting towards the East now days and the Experts are assuming that in coming 15 years or so, India is likely to be among the most favorable listing destinations for the well known foreign companies, according to a report which was published recently.

               According to PricewaterhouseCoopers ‘Capital Markets in 2025’ report, that covered a huge 400 Senior Managers at companies across the whole world, developing Asia is emerging as the most popular region for the future listing. This is bloody cool news, and it will boost up the Indian Economy for sure.

               Nearly 80 Percent of respondents covered by the study believe China will be the home of most new issuers and will also be the domicile to raise the largest pool of equity capital by 2025, while India comes Second spot in terms of issuers (voted for by 59 percent of respondents) and 3rd in terms of capital (39 percent of respondents).

             As per the report is concern, Foreign companies overtook Chinese Enterprises to become the biggest participants in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s IPO Market.

               Overseas companies rose HK dollar 122.5 billion, contributing to a record high of 70 percent of the total IPO capital proceeds in Hong Kong.

               A similar pattern has emerged in Singapore also, where more than 40 percent of companies listed on the Singapore Exchange now originate from the outside of Singapore, that simply means that foreign companies are overtaking the shares.

               India’s primary markets are also growing quite rapidly indeed, in 2010 a total of 63 IPO’s rose USD 8.3 Billion for domestic companies, up from USD 4.5 billion rose by 36 IPO’s in 2008.

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Kolkata To Host 100th Indian Science Congress In 2013



              The centenary of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) will be held in Kolkata in 2013. Eventually the last edition, which is the 99th edition of the ISC, concluded at Bhubaneswar on Jan 7 ringing down the curtain on the five-day mega science event which also witnessed 35 special lectures and 30 plenary sessions and panel discussions. The event was a great success and saw participation of several eminent scientists, delegates, Nobel laureates and scholars.

          B. Hari Gopal, advisor, Science and Technology to the Prime Minister took charge for the 2013 congress. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the President of the 100th Indian Science Congress which will be held at city of joy Kolkata.

          The 99th edition of ISC was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on Jan 3. More than 15,000 delegates, including scientists and students participated in the event held at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT University).

          The theme of the conference was “Science and Technology for Inclusive Innovation-Role of Women”. Along with the event Women’s Science Congress and Children’s Science Congress were also organized.

          The five-day event saw a “Pride of India” expo and many other programmes. Many science lovers of Kolkata and across the country is waiting for this event badly. Hope it will again be a grand Success.

Monday 20 February 2012

13th International Mother Language Day






             "International Mother Language Day" is observed annually on February 21 (i.e., today). The event encourages people to maintain their knowledge of their mother tongue while learning and using more than one language. It was first announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999. Its observance was also formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution establishing '2008 as the International Year of Languages'. The idea behind this observance was to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.


              The date represents the day in 1952 when students in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) demonstrating for recognition of their language Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Islamic republic of Pakistan, were shot and brutally killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of present day Bangladesh.

Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. Mother language is the medium of one’s inner thoughts and reflections. Thought and language are interrelated for acquiring knowledge. Mother tongue is the best medium available to covey ones feelings. And it is considered as one of the best source of creativity and vehicles for social expression, mother languages along with linguistic diversity matter a lot for the identity of individuals and vital for the health of societies.


          It opens opportunities for dialogue necessary for understanding and cooperation. As wellsprings of knowledge, mother languages are starting points for greater sustainability in development and growth endeavors, and for managing more harmonious relationships with the environment and change. It has been scientifically proven that the absorption of facts is easier through one’s own language. This is one of the reasons the founders of many nations gave importance to mother tongues while they considered the idea of sovereign states after their nations had undergone colonization. Most of these prominent personalities were passionate advocates of their mother tongues.





Iran Stops Oil Exports To UK & France



               Yesterday Iran ordered a halt to its oil sales to British & French oil companies in a move seen as retaliation against tightening European Union (EU) sanctions, as a team of United Nations IAEA inspectors flew to Tehran to press Iran over its disputed nuclear program. Oil prices rose above $120 a barrel today; this is seen as the outcome of yesterdays ban by Iran.


             The European Union enraged Tehran last month when it decided to impose a boycott on its oil from July 1. Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, responded by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, the main Gulf oil shipping lane.


             The ban will have little impact on the UK, which has not imported any oil from Iran for the past six months. Iran has been supplying 75,000 barrels of oil a day to France. But it was seen as a warning shot to other EU nations that are bigger consumers of Iranian oil, including Italy, Spain and Greece.


            China rebuked Iran's move. China has repeatedly called for talks over Tehran's efforts to enrich its own uranium, which Western countries suspect is aimed at obtaining nuclear weapons. Iran has said the enrichment is for power generation.

Sunday 19 February 2012

Scotland Will Vote For Its Independence From UK In 2014




           Scottish Government intends to hold a referendum of the Scottish electorate on the issue of independence from the United Kingdom in the autumn of 2014. The sovereign constitutional monarchy of "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" consists of four Countries, three Crown Dependencies and Fourteen Oversea territories. Four politically significant countries are England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface is now struggling to save its own home land i.e., island of Great Britain (England & Scotland make the major entity of the island). Once sovereign, Kingdom of Scotland signed Treaty of Union in 1706 with The Kingdom of Britain despite widespread protest across Scotland. In 1707 Scotland entered into an incorporating political union with England to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Many Scot nationalists feels, Scotland can better survive if it attends independence from UK, as they feel the major part of the UK's budget get diverted to England. But the rest who don't support Scotland's independence says, Scotland will not get much of the global attention that it enjoys while within the Union with a superpower.

                Government of UK is trying its level best to postpone the proposed 2014 referendum, as they fears that if Scotland leaves the union to form a sovereign state then they may lose the Permanent seat in United Nations Security Council and may lose their influential status in the decision making in groups like European Union & NATO. PM Cameron is now in an official visit to Scotland, there he convincing the political leadership to make the union intact, he is also hold talks with The First Minister of Devolved Government of Scotland. His arrival was interrupted by a group of protesters, though he is not ready to lose hope. PM Cameron announced a number of investment proposals & jobs generating schemes to retain the confidence of Common Scottish population, he also said that his government in London wants to empower Scotland's devolved Government to a semi-autonomous status.

Saturday 18 February 2012

DOWNLOAD CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS OF FEBRUARY FOR FREE



You can Download all these questions by clicking HERE



India and ____ have agreed for cooperation in coal sector.

Ans: Turkey.

The Central Government provides up to ____ viability gap funding under the “scheme for financial support to Public-Private Partnership in Infrastructure”.

Ans: 20%.

Indian Railway have carried ____ millions tones of revenue earning freight traffic during April-November 2011.

Ans: 618.00

Who inaugurated “Teach 1000 Teachers” training programme on solar photovoltaic in New Delhi?

Ans: Dr. Farooq Abdullah.

3rd India-Africa Hydrocarbon Conference was held in _____ on December 9-10, 2011.

Ans: New Delhi

The World Petroleum Council, established in _____, is the only international organization representing all aspects of the petroleum sector.

Ans: 1933.

Who was elected Vice President-Youth & Gender, Executive Committee of World Petroleum Council?

Ans: Nishi Vasudeva.

Endowed with the power and charisma of creating myth; transcending moments of history-Delhi completes _____ golden years.

Ans: 100.

Expand the term ABS as used in Banking/Finance Sector.

Ans: Asset-Backed Securities.

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development sanctioned a role of ____ to Uttar Pradesh Government.

Ans: Rs. 305.19 Crore.

Which is the overall male literacy rate in India as per recent cencus report?

Ans: 82.14%.

Government of India launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in _____.

Ans: 2005.

The National Solar Power Mission aims at production of _____ of solar power by the year 2020.

Ans: 20000 MW.

Park Tae-Joon has died recently. Who was he?

Ans: Founder of POSCO.

The 42nd International Film Festival of India was held in ____ from 23rd November to 3rd December, 2011.

Ans: Pune.

What does the letter ‘M’ stands for in the term MSF which is commonly used in financial/economic news?

Ans: Marginal.

Who has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Egypt?

Ans: Kamal-Al-Ganzouri.

‘Vikram Sarabhai’ India’s Rocket Launching Centre is located in ____.

Ans: Kerala.

Vishnu Prakash has been appointed as India’s next envoy of ____.

Ans: South Korea.

Who has been appointed Member of the Advisory Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States?

Ans: Preeta D. Bansal.

Union Budget is always presented in the month of ____.

Ans: February.

Who has won the ‘Guardian First Book’ Award for “biography” of Cancer, The Emperor of All Melodies?

Ans: Siddhartha Mukherjee.

Ans: Who has been honored with the Dayawati Modi Award?

Ans: Dalai Lama.

Who has been awarded with the Newcomer Medal?

Ans: Samantha Stosur.

Whose signature is found on a 5 Rupee currency note in India?

Ans: Governor, RBI.

Who has been honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 8th Dubai International Film Festival?

Ans: A.R. Rehman.

India’s veteran batsman _____ has been honored with the “Poly Umrigar” Award.

Ans: Rahul Dravid.

Dr. B.P. Rajan has died in Chennai on November 22, 2011. Who was he?

Ans: Dental Surgeon.

The headquarters of World Bank is in ____.

Ans: Washington D.C.

Veteran _____ journalist Subash Kumar Sham passed away in Mumbai.

Ans: Sports.

FIH is an organization associated with the field of _____.

Ans: Sports.

Peter Gethin has died on December 05, 2011. Who was he?

Ans: F1 Driver.

Mario Miranda has died in Loutolim on December 11, 2011. He was a famous _____.

Ans: Cartoonist.

Boris Chertok has died on December 05, 2011. Who was he?

Ans: Rocket Designer.

What is the minimum limit (in Rupees) prescribed for RTGS transactions?

Ans: 1.5 Lakh.

National Investigation Agency has its headquarters in ____.

Ans: Delhi.

Union Tourism Minister, ____ released India Promotional Calendar 2012 in New Delhi.

Ans: Subodh Kant Sahai.

Who is the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment of India at present?

Ans: Shri. Mukul Wasnik.

When is National Energy Conservation Day celebrated?

Ans: 14th December.

What is the full form of ‘NPV’, a term we see frequently in financial newspaper?

Ans: Net Present Value.

The ____ India-China Annual Defence Dialogue (ADD) was conducted on Dec 09, 2011 by the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi.

Ans: 4th

Who has been appointed as the Central Provident Fund Commissioner?

Ans: R.C. Mishra.

The World Bank has signed a _____ credit agreement with the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India for Capacity Building of Urban Development Project.

Ans: US $60 Million.

Who has been awarded the Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize for 2011?

Ans: C.N.R. Rao.

Who has been elected as the Chairman of the Panel of External Auditors of the United Nations?

Ans: Vinod Rai.

The _____ National Youth Festival was held from 12th to 16th January, 2012 at Mangalore, Karnataka.

Ans: 17th.

The United Nations General Assembly in _____ established the Panel of External Auditors, comprising the individual external auditors of the United Nations System.

Ans: 1959.

The first National Youth Festival was held at Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) in _____.

Ans: 1995.

Who has been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Department of Revenue?

Ans: Amitabh Ranjan.

The 20th World Petroleum Congress was held in _____ on 4-8 December, 2011.

Ans: Doha.

Who has been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce?

Ans: Madhusudan Prasad.

Who transformed a Telecom Technology, designed and developed by Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) to telecom manufactures?

Ans: Kapil Sibal.

Who has been appointed as the Secretary in the Department of Biotechnology?

Ans: Dr. M.K. Bhan.

Which Country has hosted the 4th International Tax Dialogue Conference on Tax and Inequality?

Ans: India.

Who is the Minister of Labour & Employment of India at present?

Ans: Mallikarjun Kharge.

The next meeting of the International Sugar Council will be held in New Delhi during ____.

Ans: April, 2012.

Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) established in the year ____, under Ministry of Communications & IT is an autonomous r & d Telecom Technology Centre.

Ans: 1984.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated the _____ edition of India Telecom 2011 “m-Powering India”.
Ans: 6th




Thursday 16 February 2012

PRIME MINISTER DECLARES 2012 AS “NATIONAL MATHEMATICAL YEAR”





                   The Honorable Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has announced that the December 22, the birthday of Mathematical Genius Srinivas Ramanujan, will be celebrated as the National Mathematics Day every year and the year 2012 as the National Mathematical Year.

                 Ramanujan was ranked by the English Mathematician G.H Hardy in the same class as giants like Euler, Gauss, Archimedes and Isaac Newton.

              India was in the forefront of mathematical developments in the early centuries of the Common Era, Aryabhatta in the fifth century, followed by Brahmagupta in the next were reckoned to be among the all time great mathematicians. India taught the world to think of ZERO as a number and the modern way of representing all the numbers with 10 symbols.

INDIA AND OMAN EXTEND MOU ON MILITARY COOPERATION TO 2015


          India and Oman have extended the validity of the existing bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on Military Cooperation, signed in December 2005, for a further period of 5 years. The documents were signed by the Defence Minister Shri A.k. Antony and the visiting Minister Responsible for Defence Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, His Excellency Badar Bin Saud bin Harib al Busaidi.

                 Bilateral defence cooperation between India and Oman has been growing over the years.




          During the delegation level talks both sides noted that bilateral defence cooperation activities have been progressing satisfactorily. The 5th meeting of the India-Oman Joint Military Cooperation Committee was held recently in India in September, 2011. Both the Ministers discussed important issues relating to regional and maritime security.

Wednesday 15 February 2012

7TH DEFEXPO TO BE HELD IN NEW DELHI THIS YEAR



                    The next Def-expo will be held in New Delhi from March 29 to April 1, 2012. The 7th Def-expo 2012 billed to be the largest of its kind in Asia and is expected to be attended by the official delegations from 90 different countries. So it’s going to be a pretty huge event for sure. The biennial International Defence Exhibition on Land and Naval Systems is organized by the Department of Defence Production on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

             The Def-expo is a hugely attractive event for global defence hardware manufacturers and suppliers. An Indoor Shell Scheme in Def-expo is available for foreign exhibitors at a premium of USD 709 per square metre (psm).

            In terms of exhibitors while 650 companies including 300 from 35 other countries showcased their products during the 6th Def-expo-2010. During the last Def-expo 25 products were launched globally, which made the event very much successful.

           The Def-expo-2010 was visited by official delegations from 74 countries, while the Auto Expo is an entirely Industry and Trade Exposition. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will be the event managers to the Def-expo-2012.