Current Affairs - 1

Current Affairs - 2

Current Affairs - 3

Current Affairs - 4

Current Affairs - 5

Current Affairs - 6

Current Affairs - 7

Current Affairs - 8

1. Microsoft Corporation India and the A.P. State government have signed a Memorandum Of Understanding ( MOU) for the implementation of project Shiksha. The first project is in Uttaranchal and the second is in Andhra Pradesh.

2. The European Union has approved anti subsidy duties on imports of cotton bed linen from India. The duties have been adopted between 4.4 % and 10.4 % on textiles produced by companies in India.

3. The ONGC ( Oil and Natural Gas Corporation ) is conducting oil explorations in the Krishna - Godavary delta of A.P. and off the Porbandar Coast, Gujarat. Discover Seven Seas, Sagar Vijay and Belfort Dolphin are three of the explorerships which are conducting these explorations.

4. According to the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Gems and Jewellery worth 10.646 billion have been exported. Of these, Cut and Polished diamonds accounted for $ 8.708 billion.

5. The Government has raised the Foreign Direct Investment ( FDI) ceiling in the oil sector from 26% to 100 % and it will be put through the Automatic route for oil refineries except in the case for public sector companies. Also, the government has raised the ceiling for FDI in the Banking sector from 49 to 74% in the automatic route.

6. An advance team of Japanese soldiers consisting of 30 members has left for Iraq to provide humanitarian aid and purify local water.

7. Steffi Graf, Stefan Edberg and Dodo Chency are to be included in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July. Dodo Chency was the first American woman to win the precursor to the Australian open in 1938.

8. The Cabinet Committee on Security ( CCS) on the 17th January approved the Rs. 2800 crore deal for the Russian Aircraft Carrier Admiral Gosrshkhov. The CCS has also approved the purchase of naval fighters from Mig- Mappo ( Russian ). In December 2003, the government had approved the import of advanced Jet Trainers ( AJT's ) from British Aerospace.

9. The Central Para Military Forces ( CPMF ) would now be provided to nearly 55 districts over nine states without any additional charges.

10. The Mars Explorer "Spirit" took the first microscopic images of the surface of Mars. The surface consists of fine soil and thin crust.

11. I.S.R.O. shall undertake the first Indian unmanned mission to the moon i.e., Chandrayan-1 by 2007. An indigenous Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle ( PSLV ) shall be used. I.S.R.O. is also looking at the launch of a dedicated astrological satellite called "ASTROSAT".

12. The President of India launched the Apollo - DRDO technology partnership which is to work towards i) Stem cell usage in specific diseases and ii) Treating mentally challenged children with neurological problems.

13. The Kerala Forest Department ( KFD) and the Tropical Botanical Garden Research Institute shall file patent applications for a few herbal products based on the traditional knowledge of the Kani tribals in the western Ghats region. Herbal tea, A Cough Syrup with antioxidant capabilities and a Herbal pain balm are some of the products. A biodiversity register and a knowledge base shall also be created.

14. Samyukta, an indigenous state of the art Integrated Electronic Warfare System was presented by the President to the chief of the Army Staff Lt. Gen. N.C. Vij. It is configured for frequencies of a wide range for direction finding and adversary signal jamming.

15. The Union Home Ministry has advanced / expanded Indo U.S. collaboration in Disaster Management.

16. The Central Government has announced more concessions for the farm sector which include the establishment of a National Commission for Farmers, a new scheme for Urban Services in Rural Areas and Privatisation of Foodgrain procurement for Exports.

17. The A.P. State government and the visting Austrian team have identified the Devadula Lift Irrigation scheme, the Singareddypalli Hydel Scheme and the Dummagudem Hydel Project for immediate execution.

18. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. shall soon announce reduction in power tarriff to the State Electricity Boards. This reduction is becoming possible due to
i ) An increase in the average Plant Load Factor ( PLF ) of the 14th Nuclear Power Stations operated by the Corporation.
ii) The rapid pace of construction of Nuclear Power Plants at Tarapur ( Maharashtra ), Kaiga ( Karnataka ), Rawatbhatta ( Rajasthan ), Kalpakkam and Koodankulan (Tamilnadu).

19. The Kakrapur Atomic Power Stations first unit ( located near Surat, Gujarat) with a plant load factor of 98.6 % was
a adjudged the world's best pressurised Heavy Water Reactor.

20. The Bagle / Beagle worm is the latest Internet virus to afflict the Windows Operating System users in Asia, Australia and Europe. Home users are at maximum risk as it arrives in an e-mail with an accompanying attachment. The afflicted system is then used for spamming.

21. A sharply angled rock which was discovered on the surface of Mars has been named as ADIRONDACK. The Spirit Rover is expected to analyse the rock.

22. The Sri Lankan Freedom Party ( SLFP) and the radical Janata Vimukthi Perumana ( JVP ) signed a Memorandum Of Understanding to form the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA).

23. The European Commission shall strengthen and support the Hyderabad based Indian Institute of Health and Family Welfare. The Commission shall upgrade Library and the Computer Centre of the Institute and provide Training to the entire faculty at the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The Indian Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Hyderabad is one of the two institutes in India to receive the EC's help.

24. The Railway Ministry has decided to establish a Divisional Headquarters at Gulbarga ( Karnataka).

25. Sanjog Chetri, of the 9th Para Regment has been selected for the Ashok Chakra ( the highest peace time Gallantary Award ) for his valour while fighting militants during operation Sarp Vinash.

26. The 32nd World Economic Forum commenced in Davos ( Switzerland ). On the top of its agenda are the subjects - Terrorism and Global Economy.

27. The Prime Minister launched the Krishi Television channel and a network of call centres for the farming community.

28. A Tax Information Network to enable electronic filling of income revenue returns has been launched by the Central Government. This system is based on the recommendations of the Kelkar Committee. The network would be managed by the National Securities Depository Limited.

29. The Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited ( Andhra Pradesh ) has launched a waste disposal project titled Subhram. The initiative seeks to dispose 85 tonnes of the garbage generated in its township.

30. Tarangini, the floating Naval Academy, has completed one year of its round the world voyage. Cadets are trained on various aspects of the Navy in this academy.

31. Aparna Poput and Chetan Anand won the Women's and Men National Badminton Championship respectively at Hyderabad. Chetan Anand will Captain the Indian Badminton Team at the South Asian Federation Games to be held in Islamabad.

32. A direct proof of the existence of water on Mars has been found by the Mars Orbitor of the European space agency.

33. The United State Senate has approved a bill that prevents private sector contractors in the US who get Federal Government contract from sub-contracting out to other countries. It however, does not prevent private sector out sourcing.

34. The Governor of Madhya Pradesh has given assent to a ordinance which bans cow slaughter in the state. The Ordinance makes cow slaughter related crime cognizable and non-bailable.

35. The Centre has setup a four member commission headed by Balmiki Prasad Singh to determine the critirea for providing reservations to the Economically Backward Classes. The tenure of the commission is one year and the commission has to suggest the quantum of reservation and criteria for determining the economically backward classes among castes and communities other than the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

36. The Union Labour Minister has launched a Social Security Scheme for the unorganised sector. The salient features of the scheme are i) Workers and employees to contribute Rs. 50 per month each and the government to contribute 1.6% of the National Floor Level minimum wages. ii) The above provision would ensure a pension of Rs. 500 per month on retirement and a personal accident insurance of Rs. 1.25 lakh and Health Insurance for expenses upto Rs. 30,000. iii) The scheme will be managed by the Employees Providend Fund Organisation. iv) The first worker to be insured under this scheme was Devender Mondal.

37. Pope John Paul-II is to be honoured with a prestigious award for his contribution towards European Unity. He shall received a special edition of the International Charlemagne Prize in the Vatican City. Some of the previous recipients of this awards are Winston Churchill, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair etc. The Award has been given since 1950 by the city of Aachen.

38. The government has announced import duty cuts on raw materials used in the manufacture of Air conditioners, Automobiles, Telecom, and Information Technology related products.

39. The USA has replaced David Kay, the Inspector of Weapons of Mass Destruction ( WMD) in Iraq by Charles Duelfer. David Kay, had reportedly expressed sceptism about the presence of WMP's in Iraq under the Saddam Hussein regime.

40. The Gunfoundry located in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh is all set to become a tourist attraction. The Department of Archeology has worked out a detailed plan for the excavation, conservation and restoration of the foundry. Earlier known as `Tope Ka Sancha' the foundry was setup for the casting of guns and cannons by Monsieur Raymond in 1786, under the rule of Nawab Meer Nizam Ali Khan ( the second Nizam of Hyderabad).

41. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development ( NABARD) has allocated Rs. 218. 04 crores to the A.P. government as a loan under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund.

42. The National Remote Sensing Agency ( NRSA) of India will take up the task of providng satellite imaging and related services for the digital mapping of Maldives and setting up a of a remote sensing unit.

43. The worlds' largest sea water hybrid desalination plant coupled with a Nuclear Power Station is under development at the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre ( BARC ), Trombay. This plant is expected to desalinate sea or brackish water and produce 63 lakh lts. of water per day.

44. A new Malayalam language font "Rachana" has become the first non-roman script to be released under an open license for the benefit of the free software community.

45. The Central Board of Secondary Education ( C.B.S.E. ) has decided to introduce "Fashion Studies" as an elective in class - XI and class-XII from the next academic year.

46. The following awards were announced on the Republic Day, 2004 :
PADMA VIBHUSHAN : i) Jayant V. Narlikar ( Astronomer ) ii) M.N. Venkatachalaiah ( Former C. J. of India ).
PADMA BHUSHAN : i) Soumitra Chatterjee ( Bengali film director ) ii) M.V. Kamath (Journalist)
iii) Gulzar ( Hindi film director and lyricist,
PADMA SHRI : i) Sourav Ganguly, ii) Rahul Dravid ( Cricketeers), iii) Hariharan (Singer ).

47. A.P. - CENSUS (2001) - A FEW STATISTICS

Population - 76 210, 007 Men - 38,527, 413 Women- 37,682,594
Decadal population growth - 14.59% ( 1991-2001)
Sex Ratio - 978/ 1000 Rural - 975 / 1000 Urban - 965/1000

48. The Indian Army conducted a six day long operation in the Ratnuchak area. Termed as Operation Sadbhavana the aim was to in the hearts and minds of the people on the International Borders.

49. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Defence Research Development Organisation are in collboration working upon the use of pyrolised carbon to build heart valves. Pyrolized carbon is used in the Agni Range of missiles. The influx and efflux of blood from the valve is controlled by software for computational dynamics, which is used in missile programmes.

50. The first Snow Theme Park in India has been established in Hyderabad, A.P., by the Department of Tourism in colloboration with Ocean Park Multi Tech. Ltd.

51. Four education radio stations named Gyanvani were commissioned on 26th January, 2004 in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai. Gyandharshan an exclusive higher educational channel has already been launched.

52. The Indian government has banned the import of wild or domestic birds, hatching eggs, bird semen, fresh meat and processed poultry meat for six months due to the outbreak of Bird Flu ( Pathogenic Avian Influenza ). The disease has struck in Vietnam, Korea, Thailand, Japan, Combodia and Pakistan. According to the World Health Organisation ( WHO) even dead fowl can carry lethal viruses for 10 days.

53. Lt. Gen. V.R. Raghavan (retd.) has been appointed Commissioner to the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission headed by the former U.N. Weapons Inspector Hans Blix. The Commission is funded by the Swedish Government.

54. The British Broad Casting Corporation ( BBC ) Chairman, Gavyn Davies resigned on the 28th of January, 2004 in the wake of criticism by the Lord Hutton Commission.

55. The government announced the following EXIM measures: Lifting of curbs on gold and silver imports, a gold card scheme to give easy bank credit to exporters with a good track record, manufacturing companies to import duty free fuel, services sector to be allowed to import duty free office and professional equipment, Heritage and Small hotels to be allowed to import duty free alcohol.

56. The rural e-Seva project in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh is among the projects short listed for the Stockholm Challenge Award 2003-04 in the e-governance catogory.

57. Genome Valley Hyderabad and Malaysia's BioValley have signed a pact for cooperation in Human Resource Development, Cooperative Research and exchange of information.

58. The Interim Railway Budget was presented by the Railway Minister. The Budget proposes;
The introduction of 18 fast track trains called "Sampark Kranti Express" to connect the States to New Delhi. Reservations to be possible through cellular phones, information regarding departure of certain trains to be made available through the short messaging service. Outlay : Rs. 26,000 crores Special Railway safety fund : 2795 crores Budgetary support : 4544 crores Market borrowings : 3050 crores.

59. The Union Ministry of IT, Communication and the Department of posts would release, on March, 29th, a commomerative stamp on the 'Saint - Poet' Annamacharya who composed 32,000 verses on Lord Venkateshwara.
60. India is the second largest producer of footwear in the world. The Indian Leather Industry is the 8th largest foreign exchange earner for India.

o o o