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1. Cine Actress of the yesteryears Suraiyya Jamal Sheikh expired on the 31st January , 2004 after a brief illness. She was the recipient of the Sahitya Academy Award in 1998.

2. A printer to bridge the divide between conventional wet photography with digital photography was launched by Epson of Japan.

3. The Ore handling complex at the Vishakapatnam Port Trust ( VPT) established an all time record by loading the highest quantity of 11.44 lakh tonnes in February.

4. Gulmarg has played host to the National Winter Games after a gap of 6 years and has been designated the venue for the International Winter Games.

5. China's first cross cloned animal, the offspring of a Goat and an Ibex has been born in the Xinjiang province. Scientists used the somatic cell of an Ibex and an egg cell of a Goat and transferred the embryo into the womb of a goat.

6. Justin Henin - Hardenne won the Australian open women's singles title defeating World No. 2 Kim Clifesters. Both of them belong to Belgium.

7. Roger Federer of Switzerland defeated Marat Safin of Russia to lift Australian Open Tennis Championship trophy on the 1st of February, 2004.

8. The Rainforests at Manthampotti that form the corridor of the Silent Valley is said the be the only place in the world where the Veteria Macrocarpus trees are found. The Silent valley area is home to endangered species of flora such as Etada Seans, Culenia Dipetrocarpus and Fauna such as the lion - tailed Macaque, the Malabar Squirrel, Elephant, Panther and Tigers. A Rs. 219 crore eco restoration scheme is being implemented in the Attapady hills and is aided by Japan.

9. Andhra Pradesh has launched an Emergency Network Project. The project aims at reducing the mortality rates of accident victims on the Highways by ensuring early medical aid. It is a public- private partnership and the first project will be implemented on the Hyderabad-Guntur Highway. The project has received a central aid of Rs. 1.5 crores.
10. The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation ( APSRTC ) has won an award for fuel conservation by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association. The APSRTC is a Guinnes book record holder with 19,250 buses.

11. The Union Finance Minister presented a Vote an Account, Interim Budget on February 3rd, 2004.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE INTERIM BUDGET

Ò 50 per cent DA to be merged with basic pay of Central Government employees.
Ò Fiscal deficit for 2003-04 at 4.8 per cent of GDP; Revenue deficit at 3.6 per cent.
Ò Credit, insurance schemes expanded for farmers.
Ò Stamp duty structure halved on Central Government stamp papers.
Ò Long term capital gains tax exemption for listed equities extended.
Ò Antyodaya Anna Yojana extended to additional 50 lakh families.
Ò New drinking water scheme for mega cities.
Ò Free baggage allowance after travel abroad raised to Rs. 25,000; Customs duty on such baggage reduced to 40     per cent.
Ò Special package for tea growers.
Ò Rs. 25,000 crore non lapsable Defence Modernisation Fund.
Ò New speciality hospitals in six States.
Ò Foreign BPO companies exempt from tax.
Ò IDBI to be a Lead Development Finance Institution.
Ò Steps for improvement of tax administration.

12. The Uttaranchal government shall be assisted by Microsoft Corporation for crowd management at the Ardh Kumbh Mela at Hardwar in April - May this year.

13. The 7th ministerial conference of the Asia Pacific Cooperative Ministers (APCM) opened in New Delhi on the 2nd of February. The conference was organised by the International Cooperative Alliance and the Ministry of Agriculture and deliberated upon cooperative legislation and policy.

14. The Bangladesh - India - Myanmar - Srilanka - Thailand Economic Cooperation Ministerial Meeting ( BIMSTEC) was held in Phuket, Thailand, from February 7 to 8. A Free Trade Agreement, covering both goods and services was signed by the respective commerce ministers of India and Five other countries. Bangladesh is the only country which has not signed the deal.
BIMSTEC was formed in 1997 to give a boost to Trade, Energy and Infrastructure Cooperation between the member nations. Nepal along with Bhutan shall join BIMSTEC as full time members .

15. In a landmark judgement the Supreme Court has held that the absence of the license with the driver of a motor vehicle or his / her having a fake or invalid license would still require the insurance company to pay compensation to the accident victims. The Court ruled that the Insurance Firm cannot escape liability on the above grounds.

16. The Mydoom Internet Worm has afflicted one million computers worldwide making it the fastest spreading worm attack ever ( discovered on 26th January, 2004 ). It is the biggest ever Distributed Denial of Service Attack.

17. The President of U.S.A shall sign an executive order setting up an independent commission that will investigate intelligence lapses in Iraq. The commission shall present its report by early 2005.

18. The Lord Sri Venkateshwara Temple in Helensburgh in New South Wales, Australia the largest temple complex in the Southern Hemisphere was consecrated. The temple is built in the South Indian Temple Architectural style.

19. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's Nuclear Progamme, on the 2nd of February admitted to the clandestine transfer of Nuclear technology to North Korea, Iran and Libya.

20. The Delhi High Court on the 4th of February quashed the charges under the Prevention Of Corruption Act against the three Hinduja brothers in the Bofor's case.

21. The Central Government on the 4th of February decided to double the income limit for determining the "Creamy Layer" among the Backward Classes ( OBC's ) from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakhs in line with the recommendations of the National Commission for Backward Classes. ( The Supreme Court in the Indira Sawhney and others Vs. Union of India case, upheld 27% reservation for the OBC's subject to the exclusion of the socially advanced persons and sections among them and termed them as the creamy layer ).

22. The Joint Parliamentary Committee has found correct the findings of the Centre for Science and Environment ( an NGO) on the presence of pesticides residue in soft drinks.

23. Rajasthan Atomic Power Station -1 ( RAPS-1) is India's first pressurised Heavy Water Reactor. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board has cleared the restructuring of Unit-1 of RAPS-1 at Rawatbhata after a 21 month closure.

24. A study is on to check the viability of a trans - BIMSTEC pipeline. Rail India Technical and Economic Services ( RITES ) has been given the job of ascertaining the feasibility of constructing a missing rail link of 315 km between Jiribaum ( Manipur ) and Kallay ( Myanmar). This would be a part of the Delhi - Hanoi rail route.

25. The Reserve Bank of India has formulated a remittance scheme allowing resident individuals to remit upto $25,000 per calendar year for current account transactions, capital account transactions or both. Under this facility, residents will be free to acquire and hold immovable property or shares or any other assets outside the country without prior approval from the RBI.

26. A Portuguese High Court has ordered the extradition of Abu Salem, the prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. However, Abu Salem has the right to appeal against the High Court order in the Portuguese Supreme Court.

27. The Union Human Resource Development Ministry has decided to reduce the fees for the Post Graduate Programme offered by the Indian Institutes of Management ( IIM's) to Rs. 30,000 from Rs. 1.5 lakhs / year.

28. The care taker Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh inaugurated a Bus Tracking System. Stated to be the first of it's kind in the country, this is a Vehicle Tracking and Real Time Passenger Information System for a fleet of 75 APSRTC buses in the Inter and Intra-city routes.

29. The Planning Commission has decided to set aside Rs. 450 crores for the next financial year onwards to ensure that each child particularly in rural India gets one hot meal a day. The amount shall be drawn from the Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana ( PMGY ).

30. Scientists have created a plant that can locate landmines by changing it's colour when it comes into contact with explosives. ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA or green wall cress is cheap to produce and can be grown in 6 to 8 weeks. It changes from green to red when it's roots come into contact with Nitrogen Dioxide.

31. The Government on the 5th of February launched an "India Power Fund" to meet the shortfall in equity needs of the power sector. The seed capital is Rs. 200 crores and is expected to expand to Rs. 7000 crores. The seed capital has been contributed by the Power Financial Corporation.

32. The President of India. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam dissolved the 13th Lok Sabha on the 6th of February paving the way for the next Parliamentary elections. Article 85 of the Constitution empowers the President to do so.

33. The Union Petroleum Minister announced that the 5th Round of New Exploration Licensing Policy ( NELP ) would be launched in April.

34. The Srilankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga on the 7th of February, dissolved the 225 member Parliament, paving the way for fresh general elections in April.

35. The WTO has called the Indian Mission in Geneva for a consultation following a case filed by Dhaka against New Delhi's anti dumping duties imposed on Bangladesh Batteries.

36. India and China will sign a co-production accord. This accord shall be signed to use the media and entertainment industry to improve ties between the two countries.

37. The existing stretch of the National Highways connecting Thiruvnantapuram to Kanyakumari would be converted into a 4 lane road. ( The rate of highway construction in India is 11 km. A year 536 km of Highways has been constructed in Kerala in the past 5 years. 24,000 kms of roads are sought to be converted into 4 lane roads at a cost of Rs. 98,000 crores.

38. The Indian Hockey Team ( Women's) clinched the Asia Cup Hockey Tournament in New Delhi, defeating Japan 1-0. The team was led by Surajlata Devi.

39. India defeated New Zealand 3-2 in the Asia - Ocean'a Davis Cup Tennis Tournament at Invercargil, New Zealand.

40. The Central Statistical Organisation ( CSO ) today said that the economy was poised to grow at 8.1% in 2003-04. The main proponents of this growth are the Agriculture and manufacturing sector growing at 9.1% & 7.1% respectively.

41. The Konkan Railway Corporation has secured a U.S. patent for its indigenously developed technologies - Sky Bus Metro and its Self Stabilising Railway tracks. The technology is now globally acceptable.

42. The National Authority on the Elimination of Child Labour ( NAECL ) has decided to combine the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan with the National Child labour Project to shift children from their work places to schools. 10,000 schools shall be opened nationwide to achieve this and the NCLP shall import primary education to 6 lakh students in the age of 5-
14 years.

43. American Researchers have identified the molecule which is responsible for damaging the ozone layer in the stratosphere. The molecule is Cloocl, formed by the reaction of chlorine monoxide with Ozone.

44. The World Bank and the U.K. based Department for International Development ( DFID) has approved and sanctioned a $ 220 m and $ 100 million loan respectively as structural adjustment loan to the Andhra Pradesh State Government.

45. Sun Microsystems would be setting up it's first Centre of Excellence in India, at the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics ( CDFD). Sun Microsystems has 80 such centres all over the world.

46. The European Space Agency ( ESA) on the 11th of February declared the Martian Probe Beagle-2 as lost. It's mothership Mars Express is operating successfully.

47. The Reserve Bank of India has permitted Non-Banking Financial Corporations registered with it to take up insurance agency business on a fee basis without risk participation and with prior RBI approval.

48. ICRISAT ( International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics ) Hyderabad, has signed an MOU with Sun Microsystems to establish a Centre for Excellence under the Umbrella of the VASAT.

49. Researchers in South Korea have become the first to successfully clone a human embryo and then extract master stem cells which are considered a key to providing customized cures for disorders such as Diabetes and Parkinsons disease.

50. A compact High Temperature Reactor ( CHTR) to produce Hydrogen is under development at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay. The Reactor shall produce hydrogen to fuel cars, trucks, buses and shall be ready in five years time.

51. The World Health Organisation has selected the Director General of CSIR. R.A. Mashelkar, as the Vice-Chairman of the International Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovations and Public health.

52. India and Tunisia on February 9th signed an MOU on Cooperation in Information Technology and Telecommunication. A Joint Working Committee shall be established to implement the scope for cooperation and exchange of information on certification rules.