Last Six months Current affairs 2012-13 for sbi po exam

25. Bhutan King Wangchuck Visited India : The King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel

Wangchuck visited India from 23-30 January.During the visit he attended the India’s

Republic Day celebrations as a Chief Guest.Wangchuck met President Pranab Mukherjee,

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and the United Progressive Alliance’s Chairperson, Sonia

Gandhi.This is the fourth time since 1954 that a Bhutanese King will be a Chief Guest at

India’s Republic Day celebrations.

26. Ex-Haryana CM Chautala, son get 10 years jail : Former Haryana chief minister Om

Prakash Chautala and his son Ajay had been sentenced to 10 years in jail in connection

with a teachers recruitment scam.Special CBI Judge Vinod Kumar sentenced the Chautalas

and seven others to 10 years in jail while one convict was given five years in jail and 45

others four years in jail.

27. Swaminarayan sect opens $100-million quake-proof temple near Hollywood : One

of the biggest Hindu temples in the US, built at a whopping cost of $100 million near the

Hollywood city in Los Angeles .The 68th Swaminarayan temple of Bochasanwasi Shri

Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) had been built using 35,000 pieces of

meticulously hand carved Italian Carrara marble and Indian Pink Sandstone.

28. Premlata Conquers Summit of Mt Vinson in Antarctica : On 17 January Premlata

Agrawal, the oldest woman in India to have climbed Mt. Everest, has conquered Mt. Vinson

in Antarctica in pursuit of the ‘Mountaineering Challenge’ of climbing the ‘Seven

Summits’.She completed her Mt. Vinson expedition on January .The person successful in

conquering all the seven summits is considered a member of the ‘Hall of Fame’ for

mountaineers.Premlata will become the first Indian woman and one of the oldest in the

world to conquer all seven summits.

29. Ex-ISRO chairman Inducted in to ‘ Satellite Hall of Fame ‘ : The Indian Space

Research Organisation (ISRO) announced its former chairman and Department of Space

secretary Prof U R Rao by inducting him as the member of the prestigious ‘ Satellite Hall of

Fame ‘ , Washington.Since 1987, the SSPI Hall of Fame has been recognising the

invaluable contribution of the visionaries who have transformed life on planet earth for the

better through satellite technology. Members of the Hall of Fame are recognised pioneers

in communications, satellite related aerospace scientific research or development and

delivery of applications for business, institutions and government via satellite.

30. David Headley sentenced for 35 years for 26/11 role(Mumbai attacks) : Pakistani-

American Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist David Headley was on 24 January 2013 sentenced to

35 years in jail by a Chicago court for his ‘unquestionable’ role in the massacre of 166

people in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

31. Forbes India Celebrity 100 List : According to the Forbes India “” Celebrity 100 List “”

The Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, topped the inaugural Forbes India Celebrity

100 list.Forbes India estimates, the total earning of Shah Rukh from October 2011 and

September 2012 was 202.8 crore Rupees.The ranking was given based on the popularity

as well as income of the biggest entertainers of India. Second on the list was Salman Khan

and MS Dhoni followed in the third position.The special edition of Forbes India judged in

eight different categories – directors, film actors, TV personailities, models, comedians,

sports stars, authors and singers/musicians.The youngest celebrity in the list of Forbes

India was Saina Nehwal, aged 23 years.

32. Switzerland best place to be born, India 66th : Switzerland has been called the best

place in the world to be born in 2013 according to the The Economist Intelligence Unit

(EIU), a sister company of The Economist. The worst place for a baby to start life was

violence-hit African country Nigeria. The survey included 80 nations and Australia ranked

second followed by Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Singapore, Netherlands, Hong Kong,

Canada and New Zealand were also ranked among top 10. India was ranked 66th

place.The survey included significant parameters to judge the best country to be born and

these factors included demography, geography, cultural and social characteristics, state of

economy, future income per head as well as public policy.
33. Death toll in Iran’s twin earthquakes is over 250Two strong earthquakes that struck

north-west Iran on 11th August 2012 killed more than 250 people and left grieving

survivors — buffeted by repeated aftershocks — in a state of trauma.The first quake, of

magnitude 6.2, jolted the Ahar area around 1600 hours local time, Fars News Agency

(FNA) reported. Almost an hour later, a quake of 6 magnitude rocked the city of Varzaqan

and its surroundings in the same province.Thousands of people, rattled by at least 35

aftershocks, fled from their homes. Many families spent the night in parks, braving chilly

conditions that prevail in the mountainous province.

34. Typhoon Haikui Hit East Coast China : Typhoon Haikui hit to the east coast china on 8

August 2012. By hitting hard the area around the business metropolis of shanghai with

heavy wind and rain. The storm’s wind’s were at ‘Severe typhoon”. It made land fall in the

Province of Zhejiang, about 225 kilometers(140 miles) south of Shanghai. The wind speed

in between 150 and 184 kilometers per

hour. Chinese officials had relocated 374.000 people from shanghai and 250,000 from

zhejiang.

35. 37 killed in Sivakasi cracker unit blast : 37 people have been killed and at least 60

have been injured in a huge fire at a Om Siva Sakthi Crackers in Mudalipetti, near

Sivakasi, in Tamil Nadu.

36. Two Same magnitude earthquake in China at Yunnan and Guizhou : 80 people were

died , more than 730 people were injured,twenty thousand homes were destroyed and

nearly one hundred thousand persons have been evacuated after the two earthquakes at a

magnitude of 5.6 hit Yunnan and Guizhou provinces in China on 07th September 2012.

37. Shadman Chowk renamed as Bhagat Singh Chowk in Lahore : Pakistan government

has finally renamed Shadman Chowk as Bhagat Singh Chowk in Lahore as a mark of

respect to the martyr and an acknowledgement of his role in the struggle against British

rule.

38. Mercedes-Benz rolls out M-Class luxury SUV from Pune facility : Mercedes-Benz

India has rolled out its first locally manufactured M-Class luxury SUV from its facility in

Chakan, Pune. The company has also declared the start of operations of its paint shop at

the same location.India is the only country outside of the USA where the German luxury

car maker has begun production out of the new ML-Class.

39. 44 killed in Syrian air strikes : At least 44 people were killed in air strikes on the Syrian

rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan on 18th October 2012.

40. 5.5 magnitude earthquake hits off Taiwan : A 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck off

southern Taiwan on 25th October 2012, the island’s Seismology Center said, but there

were no reports of any damage or casualties.

41. Earthquake in Canada triggers tsunami in Hawaii : A powerful 7.7-magnitude

earthquake rattled the west coast of Canada, triggering tsunami warnings for Hawaii on

28th October 2012.

42. Earthquake in Guatemala : Guatemalans hit by A powerful earthquake with a magnitude

of 7.4 on 8th November 2012.

43. Mumbai’s Sufi shrine Haji Ali Dargah bans entry of women : The management of

Mumbai’s iconic Sufi shrine Haji Ali Dargah, which is visited by thousands of devotees

every year, has restricted the entry of women.

44. Strong Earthquake strikes Myanmar : A strong earthquake with magnitude of 6.8 hit

the Myanmar on 11th November 2012 .

45. North Island New Zealand volcano Mt Tongariro erupts : New Zealand’s Mount

Tongariro volcano in the central North Island erupted on 21 November 2012.

46. Typhoon Bopha Killed Hundreds in Philippines : Bopha, the strongest typhoon hit the

Philippines on 5 December 2012, was left at least 325 died. The typhoon with central

winds of 115 kph and gusts of up to 145 kph was moved to west-northwest of the central

Philippines on 6 December 2012.

47. Powerful Earthquake in Japan : The powerful earthquake had occurred in Japan on 7

December 2012.The magnitude of this earthquake was recorded as 7.3. This earthquake

had occurred in 240 km beyond the Miyagi coast in the Pacific Oceanin a depth of 10m

48. Strong Quake in Indonesia : On 22nd January A strong, shallow earthquake rocked

parts of western Indonesia early killed 30 persons and panicking residents and ruining

homes. Several other people were injured.Indonesia’s meteorology and geophysics agency

put the preliminary magnitude at 6.0 and said the inland quake caused no tsunami. It was

centered southwest of the city of Banda Aceh and 10 miles (6 kilometers) beneath the

earth’s crust, according to the U.S. Geological Survey..

49. 233 People Killed in Brazil Night Club Fire Accident : On 27 January The blaze in the

university town of Santa Maria nightclub fire killed at least 233 people in southern Brazil

.Most of those who died were suffocated by toxic fumes that rapidly filled the crowded

club after sparks from pyrotechnics used by the band for visual effects set fire to

soundproofing on the ceiling.

COMMITTEES

1. Pak Prez Formed a Panel to Talk with Pak Hindus : Pakistan President Asif Ali zardari

has set up a three member committee of Parliamentarians to meet and reassure Hindus in

sindh of their security after their families decided to flee their homes. Zardari has taken

serious notes of reports of the “Sense of Insecurity” among hindus families in sindh and

directed authorities to address their unfair treatment and report to him. This panel

consists of senator Hari Ram, National Assembly member Lal Chand and Federal Minister

Moula Bakhsh Chandio.

2. Panel to Examine Western Ghats Report : Environment Ministry has constituted a high

level working panel to headed by eminent space scientist and panning commission

member K Kasturirangan to examine the Western Ghats ecology expert panel report “in a

holistic and multidisciplinary fashion”. The nine member group will examine the the

Madhav Gadgil committee report released recently “in a holistic and multidisciplinary

fashion keeping in view the comments received from the concerned state governments,

central ministries, stakeholders”.It will also study the “effects and challenges of climate

change in the ecologically significant Western Ghats region,” “the implications of the

UNESCO heritage site recognition of some parts of the Western Ghats” and the

constitutional implications of Centre-State relations regarding the conservation and

sustainable development of the region.” It is also expected to “recommend further course

of action” regarding the

report within two months.

3. Two Member Panel to Study on Universal Health coverage : The National Advisory

council has set up a two member working group to study the report on Universal Health

Coverage (UHC) prepared by the high level expert scope of the National rural health

Mission(NRHM) and convert it into a National Health Mission. The Two-member group,

comprising Mirai chatterjee and A.K.Shiva kumar,will work closely with the Ministry of

Health and Family welfare and the planning commission to resolve any possible issues

arising on health.

4. SL Committee pulled up for diluting civilnuclear Liability Rules : The subordinate

legislation committee of the lok sabha has pulled up the department of atomic energy for

‘diluting’ the civil. liability for clear Damage(CLND)Act. The committee monitors whether

the rules tabled in parliament are in tune with the act passed by parliament. This is 15

member panel has represented from all parties.

5. Rangarajan panel for total decontrol of sugar industry : The Rangarajan panel will

submit the report on decontrol of sugar industry within two weeks

6. Rangarajan panel for total decontrol of sugar industry : Rangarajan Committee has

recommended deregulation of the sugar sector, by giving freedom to mills to sell sugar in

the open market.The Millers should sell the 10%of sugar to government below the market

price,for running the ration shops ,remaining should sell in the open market.

7. Pope Benedict XVI appoints six non-European cardinals for Pope selection

committee : Pope Benedict XVI has appointed six priests from non-European countries to

be cardinals, at a service in the Vatican’s St Peter’s Basilica.From India Baselios Cleemis

Thottumkal, head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church was selected as a one of the

Cardinal for the pope selection committee.

8. Usha Thorat Committee for NBFCs : India’s majority of Non-Banking Finance

companies (NBFCs) may be freed from the regulatory clutches provided Reserve Bank of

India (RBI) implements one of the recommendations made by Usha Thorat Committee.

The committee had submitted its recommendations to RBI. Currently, those

recommendations are under RBI’s consideration.

9. Chandrashekhar Committee to Frame Rules for Foreign Investors : On 13

December The market regulator Sebi has appointed a committee under ex-Cabinet

secretary K M Chandrashekhar to frame a single set of guidelines for all types of foreign

investors.The committee will suggest ways to simplify the investment process for all

overseas entities like foreign institutional investors, foreign venture capital investors

(FVCIs), qualified financial, institutional investors (QFIs)

10. Vijay Kelkar Committee for Fiscal Consolidation : The Vijay Kelkar Committee, which

was appointed by Finance Ministry to suggest a roadmap for fiscal consolidation, has

suggested immediate hike in fuel prices and complete deregulation of diesel prices by start

of 2014-15 fiscal.It also suggested raising kerosene and LPG rates.Now the Kelkar

committee recommendation is still at proposal stage.

11. Justice Verma Committee Submitted Report : On 23 January The three-member

committee included former Chief Justice of India, J S Verma, who headed the committee,

Justice (Retd.) Leila Seth, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court and Gopal

Subramanian, former Solicitor General of India , set up to suggest ways to make rape laws

stronger in the country, has submitted its report with recommendations to enhance and

amend existing laws dealing with cases of sexual crime.The Justice Verma panel

recognised failure of governance as primary cause of sexual crimes.The Panel suggested

Trafficking should be made punishable with imprisonment ranging from not less than 7

years to 10 years .There was a need for the separate Bill of Rights for women that will

make sure that women would have their own rights for having sexual autonomy.”

BOOKS IN NEWS

1. “Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden”: A New Book released : No Easy Day: The

Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden was written by a Navy SEAL

under the pseudonym Mark Owen with co-author Kevin Maurer and is to be released next

month on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. This book has claimed that

Abbottabad house where al-Qaeda chief lived was “carved out”from Pakistan Military

Academy compound and its powerful army chief may have been briefed beforehand on the

‘Kill Osama Mission’.

2. Vice President Releases the Book ‘Muslims in Indian Cities’ : Vice President after

releasing the book entitled “Muslims in Indian Cities” edited by Laurent Gayer and

Christoph Jafferlot on 10th September 2012 at New Delhi, Shri Ansari has said that

Muslims have lived in India’s religiously plural society for over a thousand years, at times

as rulers, at others as subjects and now as citizens. They are not homogenous in racial or

linguistic terms and bear the impact of local cultural surroundings, in manners and

customs, in varying degrees.

3. 800-year-old Chinese encyclopaedia on display in Taiwan : Taiwan (AP) – An 800-

year-old Chinese encyclopaedia is on display at a book fair in Taipei. The rare

publicationwas recently purchased by a Chinese publishing house for US$33 million

(S$40.5 million) at an auction in Beijing. :

4. Salman Rushdie released his Book Joseph Anton : Joseph Anton the 633 page book

depicts a memoir of Salman Rushdie during his 10 years long run to protect himself from

the Fatwa issued by his name was released on 18 September 2012.

5. Hilary Mantel wins Booker Prize for Tudor saga : British writer Hilary Mantel won the

prestigious Booker literary prize for a second time on 16th October 2012 with her bloodsoaked

Tudor saga. Ms Mantel, who took the 50,000 pound ($82,000) award in 2009 for

“Wolf Hall,” is the first British author, and the first woman, to achieve a Booker double. :

6. “The Folded Earth and A Free Man” won the 11th Economist Crossword Book

Award : The Folded Earth written by Anuradha Roy and A Free Man by Aman Sethi won

the 11th Economist Crossword Book Award that was declared at Mumbai.

7. Governor releases ‘Ek Thhi Kusum’ by former Speaker : Uttarakhand Governor Aziz

Qureshi on 22nd October 2012 released “Ek Thhi Kusum”, a short stories collection

authored by former State Assembly Speaker Prakash Pant.

8. Vice President Releases Series of Books Granthavali : The Vice President Mohammad

Hamid Ansari released a collection of writing and works -Granthavali of late Dr

Dineshnandini Dalmia in New Delhi on 2nd November 2012.

9. Saina Nehwal autobiography book released by Gagan Narang : Ace shuttler Saina

Nehwal , Ace shooter Gagan Narang and badminton player Parupalli Kashyap released

book autobiography of Saina Nehwal “Playing to win-My life on and off the court ” in

Hyderabad on 7 November 2012.

10. Yuvi – book on Yuvraj released : “The book on Indian Cricketer Yuvraj Singh named

Yuvi was released in third week of November 2012. Yuvi, the book on Yuvraj Singh is

published by Harper Sport and written by Makarand Waingankar. The book illustrates the

brilliance of cricket shown by Yuvraj Singh in his career as a cricketer and the way he

recovered from Cancer.

11. Chief of the Air Staff and Chairman COSC Air Chief Marshal Nak Browne Releases

Book : Chief of the Air Staff and Chairman COSC Air Chief Marshal Nak Browne Releases

Book titled “VICTORY INDIA – A Key to Quality Military Leadership” on 20 November

2012.The book is a collection of well written contributory articles by military experts.The

book focuses on the process of identification, selection and training of our dynamic youth

to mould them into inspiring effective quality military leaders.

12. Amitav Ghosh, Jeet Thayil shortlisted for literature prize : Six books including “River

of Smoke” by Amitav Ghosh, “Narcopolis” by Jeet Thayil and “The Wandering” by Pakistanbased

author Jamil Ahmad, have been shortlisted for the DSC South Asian Literature Prize

2013.The finalist will be announced at the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival January 2013.

13. “The Peak” Book Released on Sachin Tendulkar : On 2 December Indian Cricketer

Yuvraj Singh was launched Sachin Tendulkar’s new book named ‘The Peak’ which is a

unique photographed story on Tendulkar by photo-journalist Suman Chattopadhyay.

The book captures some rare and memorable moments of Tendulkar’s life through

Chattopadhyay’s lens and the stories behind them in the master’s own words

14. “Pankaj, Bengal’s Forgotten Hero” Book Released : On 3 December Senior batsman

Sachin Tendulkar and former India captain Sourav Ganguly released a book on former

India opener Late Pankaj Roy named ‘Pankaj, Bengal‘s Forgotten Hero‘ has been written by

Bengali sports journalist Gautam Bhattacharya. Pankaj Roy had played 43 Tests for India

in a span of 10 years scoring 2442 runs with five centuries.

15. “My Tryst with Justice” Book Released : On 12 December President Pranab

Mukherjee released a book “My Tryst with Justice” which was written by Former Chief

Justice P.N.Bhagwati .The book would be a prized possession for every Indian who wants

to make a difference to the world and who aspires for a world more just, he added.

16. ’M.S. Subbulakshmi – Queen of Carnatic Music’ Book Launched : The life story of

carnatic music legend M.S. Subbulakshmi, the first musician to be conferred the Bharat

Ratna, is now detailed in a graphic illustrated book launched on December. The story of

the nightingale of carnatic music, fondly known as MS. It is being told through Amar Chitra

Katha’s new title “M S Subbulakshmi – Queen of Carnatic Music’’

17. Swami Vivekananda “The Monk as Man ” Book Released : The renowned Bengali

writer Shankar wrote a “The Monk as Man ” book on Swami Vivekananda ,who spread the

message of India’s spiritual heritage across the world.In the book Shankar described

Vivekananda used to emphasise greatly on physical strength and is known for the shocking

statement ‘Better to play football than read the Gita’.

18. McChrystal “My Share of the Task: A Memoir ” Book Released : General Stanley

McChrystal, the former American commander in Afghanistan, wrote a “My Share of the

Task: A Memoir,” book which was released on 7 January .In the book Chrystal explained

that tensions between the White House and the Pentagon were evident in the Obama

administration from its opening months in office.This book is not just for aficionados of

military history or for students of American foreign policy .

ABBREVIATIONS

EPT – Environment Performance Index

NASI – National Academy of Science, India

SPSS – Sloan Digital Sky Survey

SFC – Strategic Forces Command

DRDO – Defense Research and development Organization

DTAA – Double Taxation of direct Agreement

CBDT – Central Board of Direct Taxes

SPACE – Science Popularization Association of Communicators and educators

SOHO – Solar and HelioSpheric Observatory

AITA—-All India Tennis Association.

IOR-ARC— Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation

SAARC—-South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation

USAID—-United States Agency for International Development

IAAF—–International Amateur Athletic Federation.

UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

WCCB – Wildlife Crime Control Bureau

TRAI – Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

SCI – Shipping Corporation of India

NSC – National Security Council

OIL – Oil India Limited

GAAR – General Anti Avoidance Rules

NCHRH – National Council for Human Resources in Health

IOA – Indian Olympic Association

GCC – Gulf Cooperation Council

NDAA – National Defence Authorisation Act

INAE – Indian National Academy of Engineering

ITSMA – Information Technology Services Marketing Association

GTI – Global Terrorism Index

CBT————-Cash Transfer Benefit

EIU————–Economist Intelligence Unit

CBS————Central Bureau of Statistics

NLST———-National Large Solar Telescope

CEET———-Centre for Energy-Efficient Telecommunications

CIA———–American Intelligence Agency

WEF———-World Economic Forum

PBS———Pravasi Bhartiya Divas

MSME——–Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

BWF———–Badminton World Federation