National Current Affairs 2010

Current Affairs [August 2010]

 Nuclear liability bill passed

Nuclear liability bill which was adopted by Rajya Sabha has now been approved by the process of
Voice vote. The session of the Parliament lasted 48 hours extra than the scheduled time so that
the legislation can be easily passed and approved. A total of 18 amendments were introduced in
this bill by Lok Sabha before processing it further. Soon the bill was selected for a considerable
hike in the liability of operator. This liability has now become 3 times then what it was in the past
and now holds a value of rupees 1500 crore’s in total. By virtue of progression of this bill and
significant increase in the liability many overseas companies have shown their interests in setting
up reactors in India. Special accidental care will now be provided for the employees operating in
the various sections of the nuclear plant.
 Swiss Bank Access
Swiss Authorities will provide information to India on cases of tax fraud and tax evasion from
January 1,2011under the reworked double tax agreement (DTA) signed by India and Switzerland.
The Indian Authorities can now seek information about the account holders in Swiss banks who
have a case filed against them for tax evasion.
 Government Intervention for CWG
PM and his select team of ministers takeover as CWG supervisors. Indian Prime Minister
Dr.Manmohan Singh took over the reigns of the forthcoming games in the wake of scandals and
unfinished work surrounding the event. Committee of Secretaries, headed by a Cabinet Secretary,
will now supervise the mega event to be held in October overtaking Organizing Committee chief
Suresh Kalmadi.
 Bhopal Case reopened
The Supreme court of India has reopened the Bhopal Gas leak case in response to Government’s
petition for harsher punishment to the guilty for the worst tragedy of its kind in which at least
7,000 people perished within days of the release of the toxic methyl isocyanate gas at the Union
Carbide pesticide plant on 3 December 1984, and a further 15,000 died later from exposure to the
gas. The tragedy left countless others with lifelong damage to their health.
 CSAT to replace the civil services prelims
The new Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) will replace the existing civil services
(preliminary) examination from 2011. The new scheme will test the candidates for their aptitude
for civil services as well as their ethical and moral dimension of decision-making. There will now
be two common papers with equal weightage in place of one common paper (general awareness)
and one optional paper (any particular subject of choice). The civil services main exam and the
interview will remain the same as of now.
 Rahul creates controversy
Wherein one place Mamta Banerjee is speaking in the favour of naxals and now Rahul Gandhi is
sharing a dias with a suspected Maoist , this is the approach of the government in the fight against
naxals.
 Member Parliament salaries hiked
Parliament recently in Delhi has made a decision to increase the salaries of MPs. A hike of about
rupees 35000 will be introduced in the salary of each MPs thus taking it from figures like 20,000
to 55,000 or so. Because daily allowance has an important role to play hence parliament has also
decided to exactly double the allowances issued daily to each Member of Parliament. Hence daily
allowance of rupees 1000 will now become 2000. This daily allowance will be issued only when
the parliament session is in progress. Other than the daily allowances the official expenses for
every office per month have now been considerably raised and touch a 50,000 amount. That is not
all the travel and conveyance charge issued will now become 4 times which were earlier around
 rupees 1,00,000. Retired members will now get a monthly pension of around rupees 20,000
which was around 10,000 in the past times.
 Commonwealth with less green
Approximately 40,000 trees have been either felled or transplanted for Delhi’s preparation of
Commonwealth Games 2010. Apart from the financial burden of creating world class
infrastructure and transport facilities Delhites have to bear the loss of its green cover as the
compensatory plantation cannot in any way compensate for the loss of a fully grown, mature tree.
 Blackberry controversy
Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of Blackberry has finally surrendered to Indian security
agencies’ demand for access to their server. The company has proposed for lawful access to its
services including the messenger as well as the enterprise with immediate effect and the company
would have to set up a server in India if it does not work to the satisfaction of Indian agencies.
The security agencies already had access to voice data, SMS and general emails sent through
Blackberry devices but Blackberry email and messaging services that are highly encrypted were
major concerns for the security agencies. With this understanding in place the government has
decided to serve notices to Google and Skype also to fall in line.
 Direct tax code
The Government deferred the direct tax code(DTC) by yet another year to April 2012 causing yet
another disappointment to the taxpayers. Women taxpayers suffered a bolt as the preferential
treatment meted out to them earlier is now proposed to be withdrawn. Senior citizens, however,
enjoy a higher exemption limit. The bill that replaces the Income Tax Act 1961 seeks an increase
in exemption threshold of individuals from Rs.1.6 lakh currently to Rs.2lakh. The corporate taxes
will be reduced to a flat 30%.
 Leh hit by flood
A cloudburst on the intervening night of August 5 and 6 has led to flash floods and mudslides in
the Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir. The cloudburst and the following floods have claimed
over 175 lives and injured about 400 people, besides causing widespread damage to public and
private property. The worst hit Chuglamsar has just turned into debris all over.
 More rich than poor Indians
National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has estimated in its report, "How
India Earns, Spends and Saves", that despite the economic slowdown of the last three years, the
number of high-income households in India has exceeded the number of low-income households.
Households with high income or earnings have grown by over 3.7% in total and now touch the
mark of around 21%. That is not all also the households with low income sources have fallen by
around 3.2% and gone down to a mark of 18%.
 CWG Anthem
When everything is being prepared for the common wealth coming up in October then how could
Music maestro A R Rahman stay away from it. Yes, the musician has launched the theme song
for the Commonwealth Games 2010 that has the best lyrics covering khelo oh yaaro,,jeeto oh
yaaro. During the launch of this theme song honorable Chief Minister Shiela Dixit, Bhupinder
Singh Hooda and OC Chairman Suresh Kalmadi were present in the ceremony.
 CWG breeding mosquitoes
The fingers are already crossed and people fear further delay in the common wealth problems.
When the earlier hurdles are not getting removed and new problems are coming into view. The
sincere attention is being drawn by the mosquitoes breeding in various dumps. Because of heavy
rainfall in the country water is collected in almost every venue and mosquitoes have converted
these venues into their favorite breeding places and are increasing the fear of dengue disease.
 Yet another marine disaster
A foreign cargo ship MV Khalijia-111 which collided with MSC Chitra which was carrying
about 1,200 containers with over 266 tonnes of fuel about 10 km off Mumbai harbour has spilled
oil into the Mumbai seas. The collision tilted MSC Chitra vessel causing 300 containers carrying
 oil to tumble into the Mumbai waters creating a thick oil slick two to three kms around the vessel
Chitra causing a serious threat to the marine life.
 India’s Independence
August 15th, 2010 India celebrated the 63rd anniversary of its independence.
 IBM Number two employer
IBM is the second largest private sector employer in India after TCS . The company has more
than one lakh people on its rolls.

Current Affairs [July 2010]

 Noose tightening for Politicos in Sohrab case

Sohrab case getting murkier with CBI stepping up pressure on top Gujarat IPS Officers
P.C.Pande, O.P.Mathur and Geeta Johri for their suspected involvement in scuttling the probe at
the behest of former Gujarat Minister of State for home Amit Shah. Two Rajasthan BJP leaders
Gulabchand Kataria and Om Mathur are also facing the CBI heat.
Sohrabuddin Sheikh was killed in a fake encounter and his wife who was a witness to her
husband’s abduction was also later eliminated. The agency is investigating the police-politico
nexus behind the killings.
 Chidambaram confident of overcoming maoist problem in three years
Addressing a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for the ministry of home
affairs, P Chidambaram informed that in a meeting of chief ministers of seven Naxal-affected
states on July 14, a decision of unified command was agreed to namely in-- West Bengal, Orissa,
Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand -- for anti-Naxal operations. A two-pronged strategy of initiating
development and police action in the affected areas was designed to overcome Maoist problem
after consultations with the Naxal-affected states
 Grooming for a succession?
Noel Tata, chairman Ratan Tata’s brother has been installed as the chairman and CEO of Tata
Investment Corp and the MD in Tata International while relinquishing his executive position in
Trent Ltd within the last two months. There is speculation that these moves are in line with the
group’s succession plan for top job i.e. the Chairmanship of Tata Sons in 2012 when Ratan Tata
steps down.
 Applaud or embarrassment?
According to top sources from Central Vigilance Commission, fake certificates were being
routinely issued to pass substandard work and material to the vendors of Commonwealth Games
2010 leading to huge gains for the contractors and vendors. All these certificates were issued
without ground verification or technical examination. The compromise, herein, in the quality of
materials and workmanship poses a serious threat to the sports personnel from countries all over
the world lending a shameful picture of India and hence jeopardizing our ability to host such
events in the future.
 Valley stir
Following the imposition of curfew in wake of the protest by Syed Ali Geelani demanding the
release of dozens of arrested separatist leaders, violence was triggered in the valley due to a spate
of civilian killings by security personnel leading to an indefinite curfew being clamped in
Srinagar. Educational institutions, shops, post offices, banks, public transport and other business
establishments were closed as a precautionary measure. The protests are part of the separatists'
'Quit Kashmir' programme.

Current Affairs [June 2010]

 In the Global Peace Index 2010, India ranked at 128.

  2010 Failed State Index- Somalia top the list followed by Zimbabwe, Sudan & Chad. India is
ranked at 87 place out of 177 countries. Norway in ranked at the bottom of the list.
 President Rule imposed in Jharkhand.
 Amar Singh launches a new party ‘Akhil Bhartiya Lok Manch’.
 South African president Jacob Zuma visited India.
 Turkmenistan President Gurbaguly Bardimuhamedov visited India.
 Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited India. India signed 7 pacts with Sri Lanka. India
will assist in building 50000 houses in the northen & eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.
 Bangladesh Govt has requested to rename the train linking West Bengal to Tripura via Banglades
as ‘ Sonar Tori’. Earlier the name of the train as envisaged in the Railway Budget 2010 is ‘Epar
Bangla Opar Bangla’. Sonar Tori is a collection of poems written by Rabindranath Tagore, whose
150th birth anniversary is being celebrated in 2010.
 Maharastra will become first state in the country to have a real estate regulatory authority.
 BWA- Broadband Wireless Access. The BWA spectrum was auctioned by the Govt. BWA
Spectrum is essential for rolling out WiMAX services enabling hand held devices and laptops to
access Intranet. It will allow firms to offer high speed Net, Web telephony & TV Services. The
govt fixed Rs.1750 crore as base rate for BWA license. The auction was held for 117 rounds and
in 16 days. Rs.12848 crore was the pan India BWA license price which was won by Infotel
Broadband services ( in all 22 circles). The Govt auctioned the BWA license for a total of
Rs.38,543 crore. Mumbai had the highest bid of Rs.2293 crore followed by Delhi with Rs.2241
crore respectively.
 India signed Civil Nuclear agreement with Canada. The agreement was signed by Manmohan
Singh and Canada’s PM Stephen Harper. Canada is the 8th nation to enter into such an agreement
with India. Canada served nuclear ties with India in 1974 when India conducted its first nuclear
test at Pokhran in 1974. India’s nuclear power programme is based on the CANDU ( Canada
Deuterium Uranium) reactor.
 India become a full fledged member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a 34 member
inter governmental body that devises policies at both national & international levels to combat
money laundering and terrorist financing. FATF membership will enable Indian authorities to
access information on suspect accounts in nations such as Switzerland & UK. India become its
34th member.

Current Affairs [May 2010]

 Naxalites killed 47 people in a landmine blast between Dantewada and Sukma in Chattisgarh.
 Test fire of nuclear capable Agni-II missile was successfully carried out from Wheeler Island off
the coast of Orissa on 17th May. Agni II has a range of 2000Km. It is 20m long two stage solid
propelled ballistic missile. It was developed by Advanced System Laboratories alongwith DRDO
& Bharat Dynamics Ltd.
 Supreme Court in a recent judgement upheld a rule that allows the adjustment of reserved
category candidate SC/ST/OBC against their quota seats even if they manage to qualify an
examination for govt services on merit.
 National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is the monitoring authority for the
Right to Education Act which became effective from April 1, 2010.

Current Affairs [April 2010]

 Naxals killed about 75 CRPF personal at Chintalnar-Tarmetla village in Dantewada distt

,Chhattisgarh. Government appoint E.N. Rammohan, to probe the incident.
  Uninque Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) now known as Aadhaar. It’s Chairman is
Nandan Nilekani. It will assign 16 digit identification number to all residents in India.
 NTRO- National Technical Research Organisation. The organization came to limelight after
allegation of phone tapping of politicians.
 Indian navy commissioned India’s first indigenously built stealth warship ‘ INS Shivalik’. The
other stealth warship to be built are named as ‘INS Sahyadri’ and INS Satpura’.
 Right To Education Act is notified and will become a legally enforceable from 1 April 2010. Key
features of RTE Act are : All children in 6-14 age group must get free and compulsory eduction;
No child shall be held back,expelled or required to pass a board examination till Class VIII; There
must be 25 % reservation for poor children even in private & minority schools; There must be
one teacher for every 30 students; A child rights commission will look into violations of the RTE
law.
 Govt start Census 2011. It is the 15th Census. It is in two phase. The first phase is called –House
listing & Housing Census and the second phase is called decadal headcount which will be held in
Feb 2011. The Registrar General of India is C Chandramouli.

Current Affairs [March 2010]

 Govt launched National Mission for Empowerment of Women aimed at inter-sectoral

convergence of all pro- women programmes.
 Constitution 108th Amendment Bill 2008 commonly known as women’s reservation bill was
passed by Rajya Sabha by 186 in favour 1 against 39 abstained (Current strength of Rajya Sabha
is 233). The bill seeks to reserve a third of the seats on the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for 15
years on a rotational basis. It was first introduced in 1996. Sharad Joshi, an independent MP is the
only MP which cast vote against the bill. In the present Lok Sabha, there are 59 women MPs out
of 543 MPs. Total MLAs in 29 state assemblies in India are 4093.
 Yamunanagar (Haryana) and Vishakhapatnam (AP) are choosen for a pilot project on saving
household energy by replacing incandescent lamps with CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps).
 Earth Hour 2010 has been celebrated on 27 March organized by World Wide Fund for Nature,
India. Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru are official Earth Hour Cities among 15 Indian cities.
 Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia visit India in March 2010.
 Supreme Court allowed religion based 4 % reservations in Govt jobs & educational institutes in
Andhra Pradesh. It extended the benefit to 14 OBC in muslims in the state. The matter is further
referred to Constitutional bench of Supreme Court.
 ’Bold Kurushetra’ a joint armour exercise between India and Singapore was held at Jhansi(UP).
 Prohibition of unfair practices in technical, medical educational institutions & universities Bill is
passed by Govt. It provided for 3 year imprisonment and a fine of upto Rs 50 lakh for higher
education providers guilty of misleading students.
 Govt approved Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry & Operation) Bill 2010. It
provides foreign universities to set up campuses in India.
 Govt amends Anti Hijacking Act 1982. It now provides for death sentence to the hijackers.
 Govt starts the scheme for creation of the National Population Register (NPR) of Indian residents.
The project will cover an estimated 1.2 billion people and total cost of the project will be Rs.
3539.24 crore.
 India became 1st country in the world to have a ‘manoeuvrable’ supersonic cruise missile, when
it successfully test fired 290 km range Brahmos missile.
 Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu visit India in March 2010.
Current Affairs [February 2010]

 Kirit Parikh committee , set up to review petro pricing regime, submit its recommendation. Its
major recommendation are to deregulate the prices of petrol & diesel as per market prices, reduce
the subsidy on LPG.
 India signed a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with the UK, which became the 8th country
to enter into such a pact, since the lifting of atomic trade embargo in 2008.
 Govt set up a panel under the Chairmanship of former Justice B N Srikrishna which would
consider the demand for splitting Andhra Pradesh.
 India and Denmark signed a social security pact which will relieve their workers from double
taxation and provide for cooperation in areas of labour market expansion and orderly migration.
 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Saudi Arabia in Feb 2010. He was the first Indian PM in
28 years to visit the gulf country. Saudi Arabia is India’s largest supplier of crude oil ( 23 %)
followed by Iran ( 17 %) and Nigeria ( 11 %). India is offering upto 10 % equity to Saudi
petroleum firm Saudi Aramco in a refinery being built in Orissa. PM addressed the Shoura
council of Saudi Arabia.
 Constitution 111th Amendment – Proposes to incorporate a new Part ( Part IX B) in the
Constitution so as to provide for legal framework to regulate the functioning of cooperative
societies. A new Article ( Article 43 B) is also proposed to be inserted in Part IV of the
Constitution (Directive Principles of State Policy) for the States to promote voluntary formation,
autonomous functioning of cooperative societies.
 Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2009 commonly known as Nuclear Liability Bill will be
introduced by Govt in Parliament in Winter session 2010. The draft bill aims at limiting the
liability of a nuclear plant operator to Rs. 300 crore in the eventuality of an accident. The bill
provides for the penalty to be paid by the operator and not the supplier companies which would
mainly be American in this case. India has entered into civil nuclear cooperation agreement with
eight countries so far.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

 Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visit India in Jan 2010. She belongs to Awami League
Party. The two countries signed five agreements – on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters,
on transfer of sentenced persons and on combating international terrorism, organized crime &
illicit drug trafficking besides MOU on cooperation in the power sector and on cultural
exchanges. India give Bangladesh a $ 1 billion line of credit, the biggest it has given to any
country so far.
 South Korea President Lee Myung Bak visit India in Jan 2010. The two countries decided to
double the bilateral trade to $ 30 billion by 2014. Four facts were signed between two countries –
cooperation in peaceful use of outer space, IT, science & technology for the year 2010-12 and
transfer of sentenced persons. South Korean President was also the chief guest at 2010 Republic
Day Parade.
 Gujarat Local Authorities Law (amendment) Bill 2009- The Bill makes it the duty of a qualified
voter to vote during elections to local bodies. Voting is compulsory, but the Bill allows voters to
cast their vote in favour of none of the candidates. Election officers will declare those who fail to
vote defaulter, and serve them a notice.
 India and China has decided to start joint military exercise from 2011.
 Najib Razak, Malaysia Prime Minister visit India in Jan 2010.
 Govt launched Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. Key highlights of the mission are :
o To create an enabling policy framework for the deployment of 20,000 MW of solar
power by 2020.
 o To create favourable conditions for solar manufacturing capability for indigenous
production and market leadership.
o To promote programmes for off grid applications, reaching 1000 MW by 2017 and 2000
MW by 2022.
o To achieve 15 million sq. meters solar thermal collector area by 2017 and 20 million by
2022.
o To deploy 20 million solar lighting systems for rural areas by 2022.
 New Governors appointed : a) M K Narayanan – West Bengal, b)Shivraj Patil – Punjab, c)
Mohsina Kidwai – Jharkhand, d) Shekhar Dutt – Chhattisgarh, e) E S L Narasimhan – Andhra
Pradesh.
 Govt plans to create a National Gas Highway Development Authority. The present Gas Pipeline
Density in India is 3.29 Km per 1000 Sq.Km.
 Govt plans to set up a National Green Tribunal to control Carbon Emissions and pollution. It will
be responsible for implementing the low carbon roadmap to be set forth in the 12th Five Year
Plan.