CURRENT AFFAIRS / Genarl Awareness : MARCH 2013

INTERNATIONAL

·        President to be chief guest at Mauritius national day

President Pranab Mukherjee will be the chief guest at the national day celebrations of Mauritius on March 12. He will visit 3days from March 11 to 13 in Mauritius. In this visit he will sign several bilateral treaties including ones on health and tourism.

·        India vote against Sri Lanka on human rights issue; stresses on reconciliation at UNHRC

In the 22nd session of United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) during the adoption of the Report of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, Indian government, under pressure by DMK to vote against Sri Lanka on human rights issue, has stressed for action on issues like early progress towards reconciliation, apart from credible probe into alleged rights violations.
The government has been criticized for appreciating the Sri Lankan government for implementing India’s suggestions to implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) Report and to promote trilingual policy.

·        60th National Film Awards

The 60th National Film Awards were announced on 18 March 2013. Films such as Kahaani and Paan Singh Tomar were given some of the big awards at National Film Awards which are said to be the most popular film honours in Indian Cinema.

The artists who gave benchmark performances in acting and film making in the year 2012 were rewarded in the National Film Awards 2013.

The list of winners chosen by the jury in National Film Awards 2013 is as follows:

• Best actor: Irrfan Khan for Paan Singh Tomar and Vikram Gokhale for Marathi film Anumati
• Best film - wholesome entertainment: Vicky Donor
• Best film on social issues: Spirit (Malayalam)
• Best Animated Film: Delhi Safari
• Best Children's Film: Dekh Indian Circus
• Best Supporting Actress: Dolly Ahluwalia for Vicky Donor
• Best supporting actor: Annu Kapoor
• Best original screenplay: Sujoy Ghosh for Kahaani
• Best screenplay (adapted): OMG Oh My God
• Best actress: Usha Jadhav for Marathi film Dhaag
• Best actor: Irrfan Khan for Paan Singh Tomar
• Best Playback Singer - Male: Shankar Mahadevan for Bolo Na from the film Chittagong
• Best Playback Singer - Female: Aarti Anklekar Tikekar for Marathi film Samhita
• Best Choreography: Pandit Birju Maharaj for Vishwaroopam (Tamil)
• Best Editing: Namrata Rao for Kahaani (Hindi)
• Best Special Effects: Eega (Telugu)
• Best sound recording: Gangs of Wasseypur
• Special Jury Award - Actress: Parineeti Chopra for Ishaqzaade
• Special Jury Award - Actor: Nawazuddin Siddiquie for four films
• Special Jury Award - Film: Rituporno Ghosh for Chitrangada

·         Aung Suu Kyi Re-elected As Opposition NLD Leader

On 10 March Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been re-elected head of the new executive board of the National League for Democracy at a landmark maiden party congress. Hundreds of delegates from around myanmar unanimously selected the Aung suu kyi  as chairwoman of the 120-member central committee of her party. On 1 April 2012, her party, the National League for Democracy, announced that she was elected to the Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of the Burmese parliament.

·        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.

·        Afghan actor killed in NATO air strike

     On March 10,Prominent Afghan actor Nazar Mohammad Majnonyar Helmandi who starred    in over a dozen films highlighting the struggle against drug trafficking and terrorism was killed in a NATO air strike in southern Afghanistan.Helmandi was killed along with three militants who had seized the movie star on suspicion of spying for the government.After seizing,the militants were interrogating Helmandi when the NATO air strike took place, killing the actor and the rebels.

·        UAE Inaugurated World’s Largest Solar Power Plant named Shams 1

           The oil-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 17 March 2013 officially opened the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant .The solar power plant opened is the 600-million dollar.project which is aimed at providing electricity to 20000 homes.The solar power station which is named Shams 1 was inaugurated in Madinat Zayed by the President of UAE and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

·        Iran and  Pakistan Launched Gas Pipeline Project

On March 11,Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari was officially inaugurated the final construction phase of the multi-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project.The 1,244-mile pipeline would each day transport more than 750 million cubic feet of natural gas to Pakistan from Iran’s South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf.This Project was started from Chabahar city in Iran to Karachi in Pakistan with $7.5 billion.Initially they have an idea to extend this project to New Delhi in India but India was dropped from this project in 2009.

·        Pakistan Government completed its Historic Five Year Term

Pakistan's government made history on 16 March 2013, with the parliament becoming the first democratically chosen body to complete its five-year term. Pakistan has faced three military coups and persistent political turmoil.The election will be held within 60 days as per the constitution of Pakistan. Meanwhile, there will be an interim government to manage the affairs of the country.

·        Eurozone and IMF Agreed For 10 Billion Euros Cyprus Bailout Deal

The Eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund signed a deal on 16 March 2013 in Brussels to aid Cyprus with a bailout worth 10 billion Euros. It is important to note that Cyprus is the fifth country to go to Eurozone for the financial aid because of sovereign debt crisis that kicked off in 2010. Other countries that reached Eurozone for financial aid before Cyprus are Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. However, the Eurozone agreed for the bailout agreement of up to 10 billion Euros, while Cyprus in 2012 had asked for around 17 billion Euros.

·        India and Britain signed Pact to Support Research and Development Projects

India and Britain in the Month of March 2013 signed a multi-million-pound agreement to support industry and businesses by working together on the commercialization of research in key areas like energy and healthcare. The deal is supposed to help build and strengthen links between countries and to build the international partnerships between businesses so vital in today’s global economy.

·        World Bank President to visit India

On March 11th World Bank President Jim Yong Kim reached the India for three days visit.During his visit,Kim will have meeting with Prime Minister ManMohan Singh and Finance Minister P.Chidhambaram

·        Nepal and United States decided to conduct the military exercises

Nepal and United States decided to conduct the military exercises jointly in the last week of March 2013. The joint military exercises will also include other countries such as India. The joint military exercises are called Shanti Prayas-2 or Peace Initiatives and these will be conducted in Panchkhal, 50 km east of Kathmandu from 25 March 2013 to 7 April 2013.

The Armies of Nepal and the US, apart from other countries announced participating in this drill, which is said to be the latest in Asia-Pacific region. This drill is designed for promotion of security as well as regional peace, while also enhancing the peacekeeping capabilities as well as capacity of the nations which participate in Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI). GPOI is the initiative of G8 nations for increasing the operations for peace support across the worldwide.

·        Japan Pioneers Gas Extraction From Seafloor Methane Hydrate

On 12 March Japan has become the first country in the world to extract natural gas from  frozen methane hydrate successfully off the central coast.Deposits of methane hydrate, a frozen gas sometimes referred to as “flammable ice” .State-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) a successful test drilling at an offshore methane hydrate deposit located about 50 kilometers away from Japan’s main island of Honshu, in the Nankai Trough.According to the Japanese study, it was estimated that around 1.1tn cubic metres of methane hydrate existed in the offshore deposits. This is equal to the gas consumption of Japan in more than 10 years.

·        Jorge Bergoglio Elected As 266th Pope

On 13 March Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina is selected as the new leader for 120 crore Catholics across the world.George was the Buenos Aires Archbishop and he was chosen as the new Pope by 115 cardinals.He changed his name as Francis-1.He is the 266th Pope (head of the Roman Catholic Church).Francis-1 is the first Pope from the Jesuit community. He is also the first pope from Latin America.  He is also the first pope to be selected from a non European country in the modern history.There are five Indian also among the cardinal electors.

·        Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Nepal

Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Nepal on 14 March 2013. Khil Raj Regmi will be the head of interim government which will have its elections by 21 June 2013. He took over the office from Baburam Bhattarai.Regmi will be the head of 11-member electoral government. Khil Raj Regmi, 63, took oath of the office and secrecy from the President Ram Baran Yadav after the top leaders of four main parties- the United Democratic Madhesi Front, Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) and United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), reached the 11-point understanding.

·        India and Bhutan signed Currency Swap Agreement worth 100 million Dollars

India and Bhutan on 8 March 2013 signed a currency swap agreement for up to 100 million US dollars to strengthen economic co-operation between both the countries.
The currency swap arrangement was signed between the Reserve Bank of India and the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMAB).

 

·        Xi Jinping appointed Chinese President

On March 14 the new leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi Jinping  was appointed as the President of China. It is important to note that Xi Jinping, 59, was also chosen as the General Secretary of CPC in November 2012. On 14 March 2013, Xi Jinping was approved by National People’s Congress (NPC), the Parliament of China, in the comprehensive election process at Great Hall of the People. Out of 2963 delegates of NPC, there were 2956 delegates present. Out of the present delegates, 2952 voted for Xi Jinping.

·        US and South Korea Started Joint Annual Military Drills

The US as well as South Korea started their annual military drills called Key Resolve on 11 March 2013 despite tensions with North Korea in context with the UN sanctions vote. The annual military drills came just a few days after UN approved the new sanctions on North Korea after it carried out the nuclear test in February 2013. The nuclear test in February 2013 was the third test of the communist country. It came after the successful launch of three-stage rocket in December 2012, which was actually the banned test of missile technology. The UN sanctions came after the underground nuclear test of North Korea on 12 February 2013. These were the fourth set of UN sanctions imposed since the first nuclear test of North Korea in 2006.

·        Pakistan Parliament passed Counter Terrorism Authority Bill

Pakistan’s parliament on 9 March 2013 passed a bill for the setting up of a new organisation that is supposed to integrate counter-terrorism efforts by different bodies in the wake of criticism of civilian law enforcement agencies by the powerful army.
The bill for establishing the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) was passed by the National Assembly or lower house of parliament after incorporating some amendments suggested by lawmakers.

·         Kenya Election: Uhuru Kenyatta won Kenya Presidency

Uhuru Kenyatta, the Deputy Prime Minister who faces trial for alleged crimes against humanity, clinched victory in a tightly fought race for Kenya's presidency, on 9 March 2013.Uhuru Kenyatta needed over 50% of the national vote to avoid a run-off. He received 50.07% to win the elections but the victory is being disputed by his main rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who has now unsuccessfully sought the presidency three times.

·        Barack Obama Signed Into Law the Violence against Women Act Reauthorization 2013

The US President, Barack Obama on 7 March 2013 signed into law, the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization 2013 in Washington. The Violence Against Women Act was first passed in 1994. Reauthorised since then, the new Act offers support to the organisations which serve to the victims of domestic violence. Usually, the local authorities are responsible for criminal prosecutions of abusers, but now the Act made a stricter sentence for stalking under the federal law.

·        Nicos Anastasiades Won Cyprus Presidential Elections With 57.5 Percent Votes

Nicos Anastasiades, the centre-right DISY (the Democratic Rally) party leader won the presidential elections of Cyprus on 24 February 2013 with 57.5 percent votes. The term of his office starts from 28 February 2013. Nicos Anastasiades had a very easy-going victory over Communist-backed Stavros Malas who secured 42.5 percent votes in the election.

·        Hamadi Jebali, Resigned from the Post of Prime Minister of Tunisia

Hamadi Jebali resigned from the office of the Prime Minister of Tunisia on 19 February 2013 after his attempt to end a political standoff by formation of a Government of Technocrats failed. Hamadi Jebali was trying to create coalition because of the political crisis which took birth by killing of Chokri Belaid, the opposition leader.A cabinet of apolitical technocrats was proposed by Jebali to suppress the disorder created after the assassination of the secular opposition politician Chokri Belaid on 6 February 2013. Belaid, an outspoken critic of the government and a leaning lawyer was shot dead and his death created a situation of mass protests across the nation.Assassination of Chokri Belaid on 6 February 2013 led to mass protests as well as resignations from the coalition government of Tunisia.

·        Mercury Treaty

An international treaty that legally binds the nation to limit the use of health hazardous mercury was adopted by 140 nations in the third week of January 2013 at Geneva.

The treaty would be signed in Minamata, Japan, in October 2013 to honour the inhabitants of town who have suffered the consequences of serious mercury contamination for decades

NATIONAL

 

·        Veteran Carnatic musician Dr Sripada Pinakapani passed away

On March 11,Veteran Carnatic musician Sripada Pinakapani  passed away in Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh. He was a medical doctor by profession, who gained excellence in Carnatic classical music.Pinkapani was born at Priya Agraharam of Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. He passed MBBS in April 1938 from the Andhra Medical College (AMC), Visakhapatnam and completed an MD in general medicine in December 1945 also from AMC. The President of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1984, for his outstanding contribution to Carnatic classical music as a vocalist and an erudite scholar.He was also conferred Andhra Pradesh Sangeetha Natak Academy Award in 1966 and the Sangeetha Kalanidhi by the Madras Music Academy in 1983.

·        Gujarat Tops in FMCG Consumption

 On 12 March According to the ‘Evolution of Indian Rural Markets During 2004-05 to 2009-10′ report released by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) , Gujarat has garnered maximum growth in per capita food and non-food consumption expenditure across the country between FY05 and FY10 with growth rate of about 28% and 33% respectively. Besides registering a growth of about 24.69%, Gujarat has also topped in terms of household consumption of fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) during the  five-year period.West Bengal has seen least growth of just about 1.6% and about 8% in per-capita food and non-food consumption expenditure, respectively.The per capita food and non-food consumption expenditure across India has increased at over 14% and 17%, respectively, between FY05 and FY10

·        Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad airports among top 5 in the world

Airports of Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad are among the top five airports in the world providing international standard services.Airports Council International (ACI), a global body of airports, has adjudged Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport as second best after Seoul’s Incheon airport in the category of airports handling 25-40 million passengers per annum (MPPA) for their service quality for the year 2012.Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport was adjudged the third best in this category.Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International airport (RGI) has bagged the second position for their service quality in the category of five to 15 MPPA. Japan’s Nagoya airport was adjudged the best in this category.In the Asia-Pacific region, Delhi airport was adjudged as fourth in the Best Airports by Region (fewer than two million passengers per year) category. Seoul’s Incheon ranked first, Singapore’s Changi second and Beijing was placed at the third spot.

 ·        Hyderabad to host World Agriculture Congress

Hyderabad will play host to yet another major international event, the World Agriculture Congress (WAC), in November 2013 which is likely to see participation from about 600 delegates. The broad theme for the WAC-2013 will be ‘Reshaping agriculture for the benefit of small and marginal farmers’. About 600 delegates from all over the world, including government leaders, administrators, eminent academicians, industry CEOs, farmers, functionaries of development group and other stakeholders are expected to attend the event.

·        Indian Women Selected For  State Dept Award For Environment Awareness

On 5 March Dr Shubhalaxmi Vaylure has been selected for the US State Department’s International Exchange Alumni Member of the Month for March for her dedication to build greater environmental awareness in India. Shubhalaxmi first came to the US in 2003 as part of the Fulbright Indo-American Environmental Leadership Programme which took her to the University of Montana to study educational nature centers.Upon returning from this programme, she drew inspiration from her Fulbright programme as she implemented innovative educational programs at the Mumbai Conservation Education Center.

·        Sonia sets record as longest President of Congress

Sonia Gandhi achieved a feat in her political career that has never been attained in 127 year old history of Congress Party. The veteran leader completed 15 years working as the party president. This is an outstanding record which came in a career that has seen many ups and downs.

·        Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 Passed by Union Cabinet

On 14 March the Union Cabinet cleared a Bill providing for severe punishment for rape, acid attack, stalking and voyeurism more to the point reducing the age of consent for sex to 16 years.The bill which was named the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 lowers the age of consent for sex from 18 to 16 years with making of rape as a gender-specific offence under which men only can be charged for it. The bill also proposes a punishment of not less than 10 years to a maximum of life imprisonment Defining acid attack as a separate IPC offence.Rape has been made a gender-specific crime only a woman can be its victim and it replaces the more general expression “sexual assault” used in the ordinance. It also provides for the death sentence if the rape victim dies or ends up in a vegetative state.

·        Tagore award for Ravi Shankar

President Pranab Mukherjee presented the first annual Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony to late Pandit Ravi Shankar at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 07 Marchi 2013.Sukanya Shankar, wife of Ravi Shankar, received the award.

·        Neiphiu Rio sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Nagaland

Neiphiu Rio 63, of Naga People’s Front (NPF) party was sworn in as Chief Minister of Nagaland for the third straight term on 5 March 2013 along with 11 ministers by the Governor Nikhil Kumar at the Raj Bhavan in Kohima.He is the 19th CM of Nagaland.NPF party in Nagaland got the 38 seats out of 60 seats in Assembly elections conducted recently.

·        B Ashok Reddy Elected As the Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry

  B Ashok Reddy, the Infotech Enterprises President (Human Resources and Corporate Affairs), was elected as the new chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Andhra Pradesh, for 2013-14. C Suresh Rayudu, the Srinivasa Hatcheries Group Managing Director was elected as the vice-chairman of CII, AP. Both of them were elected on 16 March 2013 in Hyderabad.

·        Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards for the Year 2011 Announced

The Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Prof. K.V. Thomas on 14 March 2013 announced Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards for the year 2011.These awards give recognition to those who are considered as the leaders of quality movement in the country. In a category called Large Scale Manufacturing Industry, Nokia Siemens Networks Private Limited, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu was given the award for excellence in quality standards. In the Large Scale Service Industry category, R Systems International Limited, Noida, and Uttar Pradesh won the award. In the Small Scale Manufacturing Industry category, the award was bagged by Technocrat Connectivity Systems (Private) Limited, Rudrapur, Uttarakhand.

·        Government to Extend Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor upto Chitradurga District

The Union Ministry for Commerce, Industries and Textiles on 16 March 2013 accepted Karnataka’s proposal to extend Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridor upto Chitradurga district in the state.The Chennai-Bangalore corridor is being modeled along the 100 billion dollars, Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor. The projects are taken up with assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency and will be developed in collaboration with the respective state governments. The projects will help create jobs and help MSMEs by augmenting demand for their products. The global retail outlets will source their goods mostly from the small scale enterprises within the country.

 

·        Stree Shakti award for ‘Nirbhaya’ on International Women’s Day

President Pranab Mukherjee presented the ‘Stree Shakti’ award on  International Women’s Day( 08 March 2013)  for  ‘Nirbhaya’,who was the victim of Delhi gang-rape on 16 December 2012. ‘Stree Shakti’ award as a tribute to her courage and strength.The award was recevied by her family members.As a measure of recognition of achievements in individual women in the field of social development, the government had instituted of 6 national awards which are called ‘Stree Shakti Puraskar’. The awards are in the name of the eminent women personalities namely Devi Ahalya Bai Holkar, Kannagi, Mata Jajabai, Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang, Rani Lakshmi Bai and Rani Rudramma Devi (which is open to both men and women). Nirbhaya was honoured with the Sree Shakti award of Rani Lakshmi Bai.The Rani Rudramma Devi Award for the year 2012 was awarded to Smt. Pranita Talukdar from Assam. She was honoured for her commendable work for the overall development of women.

·        Eshwarappa resigned as Karnataka BJP chief

Karnataka BJP chief KS Eshwarappa was resigned from the post on 07 March 2013.Arun Jaitley, who is coming to Bangalore on 08 March 2013 , would finalise a name to lead the party.

·        National Science Award for Dangoria Charitable Trust, Hyderabad 

Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Shri S.Jaipal Reddy 08 March 2013 conferred National Award for Women’s Development through Application of Science & Technology in New Delhi to mark the International Women’s Day. On this occasion the National Award for Women Development through Application of Science and Technology for the year 2011 in the institutional criteria was conferred to Dangoria Charitable Trust, Hyderabad and M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai.

·        Goa Legislative Assembly Completed 50 Years of Its Inception

The Goa Legislative Assembly on 18 March 2013 decided to have year-long celebrations for marking 50 years of its inception. The Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly, Rajendra Arlekar made an announcement of the celebrations. First Legislative Assembly of Goa was convened on 9 January 1964, three years after liberation of Goa from Portuguese rule. In 1961, the Portuguese rule in Goa ended, after which it was placed under the military administration that was headed by LtGenCandeth.

·        President Pranab Mukherjee  received the ‘Bangladesh Liberation War Honour Award’

President Pranab Mukherjee was honoured with the award ‘Bangladesh Liberation War Honour Award’ by Bangaldesh Government on 04 March 2013 in recognition of his contribution to the struggle that led to the birth of this nation 42 years ago.

·        Cabinet Approves Bill for Time-Bound Services to Citizens

On 8 March the government gave its nod to a Bill aimed at providing time-bound delivery of services like passports, pensions and birth and death certificates, among others, to the citizens.The Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011, was approved by the Union Cabinet at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh .The Bill envisages penalty of up to Rs 50,000 against a Government official failing to provide his or her duties.It lays down an obligation upon every public authority to publish citizen’s charter, stating therein the time within which specified goods shall be supplied and services be rendered and provides for a grievance redressal mechanism for non-compliance of its provisions.

·        Government instituted National Awards for Prevention of Drug Abuse and Alcoholism

The Union ministry of social justice and empowerment for the first time instituted national awards in order to recognise the efforts and encourage excellence in the field of prevention of Alcoholism and Drug abuse and rehabilitation of its victims. The awards shall be conferred on the awardees in a function to be held in New Delhi on the 26 June every year, which has been declared as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.The Awards are open to all Indian Institutions, Organisations including Gram Panchayats and Individuals without any distinction or discrimination on grounds of religion, race, sex, caste or creed. Even a former addict, who has done outstanding work in the field of awareness generation or de-addiction or rehabilitation will be recognized and awarded.

·        India Ranked Low on Gender Inequality Index: UN Human Development Report 2013

The UN Human Development Report 2013 was released on 14 March 2013, according to which India has poor Gender Inequality Index, apart from the overall poor Human Development Index (HDI). Apart from Afghanistan that got a rank of 147 in comparison to 132 of India, all the countries in the region of South Asia were ranked higher on Gender Inequality Index. China was also ranked very high on Gender Inequality Index. This Gender Inequality Index measures the inequality in terms of achievements between males and females in three main aspects namely, labour market, reproductive health and empowerment

·        Union Government granted an aid of 41 Crore Rupees to protect Pashmina Goats

The Union Government on 12 March 2013 decided to provide a financial assistance of 41.21 crore rupees to protect Pashmina goat which produces world-famous fine luxury fibre. The idea of providing assistance came in light of concern over the recent deaths of thousands of Pashmina goats in the Ladakh region.As per the assistance, there is plan which ideates a new Pashmina Wool Development Scheme with a special package and a financial allocation of 41.21 crore rupees.

·        Union Government to launch 10 Rupees Plastic Notes in 5 Cities

The Union Government and RBI on 12 March 2013 decided to introduce one billion pieces of 10 Rupees bank notes made of plastic on a field trial basis in five cities.

A 10 Rupees note in polymer/plastic on a field trial basis will be introduced first; Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said it in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

·        Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013

The Union Cabinet on 14 March 2013 cleared a Bill providing for severe punishment for rape, acid attack, stalking and voyeurism more to the point reducing the age of consent for sex to 16 years. The bill which was named the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 lowers the age of consent for sex from 18 to 16 years with making of rape as a gender-specific offence under which men only can be charged for it. The Bill is brought in line with the Indian Penal Code, but at variance with the Child Protection Act, 2012, which raised it to 18.

·        India’s First All Women Post Office Inaugurated by Kapil Sibal

Union Minister of Communications & IT, Kapil Sibal on 8 March 2013 inaugurated the First All Women Employees Post Office of India at Shastri Bhawan in New Delhi.

The Post Office is called Project Arrow Office and consists of three counters. Two of the three counters offer Multi Purpose services such as registration, booking of money orders, booking of speed post as well as sale of IPOs. Other counter is meant to facilitate the sale of stamps. All the three counters will have only women employees.

·        India Ranked Third on the List of Spam Spewing Nation in the World

 

India ranked third on list of countries which distribute spam all over the world, after US and China, as per the new report of SophosLabs. SophosLabs is the Sophos’s global network of threat analysis centres.

In the study, US was single highest ranking country, but Asia ranked at number 1 position in the list of the continents with 36.6 percent of overall spam of the world. US sent 18.3 percent of the junk emails overall in the world. In last few months of 2012, India topped the spam spewing nations’ list, but eventually fell back to the third position. Second position was held by China.

·        Arun Jaitley, Karan Singh and Sharad Yadav Selected For Outstanding Parliamentarian Award

The Parliamentary Award Committee selected BJP leader Arun Jaitley, Congress MP Karan Singh and JD(U) MP Sharad Yadav for Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Arun Jaitley and Karan Singh are the members of Rajya Sabha from Gujarat and Delhi respectively. Sharad Yadav, on the other hand is a member of Lok Sabha from Madhepura, Bihar.

·        Mukul Manda Sangma Sworn-In As the Chief Minister of Meghalaya

Mukul Manda Sangma of Congress was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya for the second term on 5 March 2013. He took oath for the second term as 26th Chief Minister of the state. The Governor, R.S. Mooshahary administered him the oath of office and secrecy at the Raj Bhavan premises in Shillong. 47-year old Mukul Sangma led the Congress with 29 seats, merely two seats short of the majority in a house of 60. He was sworn-in without the Council of Ministers.

·        Hariram Meena Selected For the Bihari Puraskar For 2012

Rajasthani author Hariram Meena was selected for the Bihari Puraskar for 2012 for Hindi novel Dhooni Tape Teer. The novel was published in 2008.

Dhooni Tape Teer is a novel based on the deaths of tribal people in Banswara in Rajasthan on 17 November 1913.
The Bihari Puraskar is selected annually by a panel, which at present is headed by Nand Kishore Acharya

·        Vice President of India Released Walking With Lions: Tales from a Diplomatic Past

The Vice President of India, M. Hamid Ansari released a book titled Walking with Lions: Tales from a Diplomatic Past, written by K. Natwar Singh, the former Union Minister for External Affairs on 1 March 2013.

In the book, experiences of Natwar Singh have been described in interesting approach. The book will enlighten the readers. In the book, K. Natwar Singh has put together 50 episodes which will entertain

 

·        Indian Coast Guard Commissioned Arneson Surface Drive Based Interceptor Boat C-154

At the ceremony held in Mumbai on 22 February 2013, the Indian Coast Guard Interceptor Boat C-154 was commissioned by the Chief Secretary to Government of Maharashtra. Representatives of the State Government departments, Air Force, Navy and Army were also present in the ceremony.

·        Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal is the New Director General of Indian Coast Guard

Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal on 28 February 2013 took over as the twentieth Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. He is the successor of the outgoing Vice Admiral MP Muralidharan.

SPORTS

·        Muradian Khalmuratov Clinched Gold in Men's Category of Hero Asian Cycling Championship

Muradian Khalmuratov of Uzbekistan clinched second gold by winning the 156.2 km individual road race event in the men's category of Asian champion's title on final day of Hero Asian Cycling Championship on 17 March 2013.

With this, the total tally of Muradian Khalmuratov, 31, became two gold. Earlier, he had won the gold in 42.6 km individual time trial event.

·        Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2013

Australia, the World Champions won the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament title for the seventh time on 17 March 2013. Australia defeated Malaysia 3-2 in the final match in Malaysia. South Korea came at the third position. It is important to note that Malaysia came at the runner-ups position for the fourth time.

South Korea won bronze after defeating 2012 winner- New Zealand 2-1. At the fifth position was India which defeated Pakistan 4-2.

·        India won under-14 Football title

Indian girls Football team won the AFC under-14 Football title.India defeated the Bhutan in final match with 9-0 golfs conducted in Colombo.

·        Deepika Kumari named ‘Sportsperson of the year’ by Tata Steel

On March 1,the  woman archer Deepika Kumari was named ‘Sportsperson of the year’ by Tata Steel for her outstanding achievements.The announcement was made by Tata Steel on the occasion of 174th birth anniversary of its founder Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata.It was the third consecutive time when Deepika, who recently topped the National Senior Ranking Archery Tournament held in Hyderabad, was given the honour.

·        Rafael Nadal won ATP Mexican Open 2013 Tennis Tournament

Rafael Nadal won ATP Mexican Open 2013 Tennis Title after he defeated the top seed and defending champion David Ferrer 6-0, 6-2 on 2 March 2013 in the final match of the ATP Mexican Open 2013 tennis tournament.This is the 38th clay court title of Nadal.On the other hand, in the women’s final, Italy’s Sara Errani defeated Carla Suarez-Navarro of Spain 6–0, 6-4.

·        34 years record in Test Cricket was break by  Pujara and  Vijay

 In the Test cricket between India and Australia ,the Indian players Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay pair break the 34 years record.In this match they got 370 runs for second wicket.For Indians this is the highest score in test matchs for the partnership of second wicket.Previously,in 1978  Gavaskar (182), Veng Sarkar (157) pair get a 344 runs for second wicket paternership in Kolkata.

·        Formula One Team Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen Won the Australian Grand Prix 2013

Kimi Raikkonen, the Australian driver of Formula One team Lotus won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix 2013 on 17 March 2013. Kimi Raikkonen started at the seventh spot in Finland and adopted just two pit stops technique for winning the race.

·        Muradian Khalmuratov Clinched Gold in Men's Category of Hero Asian Cycling Championship

Muradian Khalmuratov of Uzbekistan clinched second gold by winning the 156.2 km individual road race event in the men's category of Asian champion's title on final day of Hero Asian Cycling Championship on 17 March 2013.

With this, the total tally of Muradian Khalmuratov, 31, became two gold. Earlier, he had won the gold in 42.6 km individual time trial event.

 

·        David Beckham Named Richest Footballer of the World

David Beckham was named as the richest footballer of the world, according to the Goal Rich List 2013. David Beckham has a total income of 175 million pound. 37-year-old Beckham is the biggest brand in the world now, leaving behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

 

·        Services Clinched 67th Santosh Trophy, the Indian Football Tournament

In the final of the 67th Santosh Trophy on 3 March 2013, Services won the soccer contest by defeating hosts Kerala 4-3 on penalties at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.

The Man of the Match title was clinched by Services striker Lalian Mawia. The Services team bagged their third Santosh Trophy title.