Current Affairs : January 16, 2012

Pakistan’s Parliament passes a pro-democracy Resolution

• The Parliament of Pakistan has passed a pro-democracy resolution which gives a moral booster for the beleaguered government that is haunted by the graft issues and the so called memogate controversy.
• The resolution, introduced by a junior partner of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, was passed by a two-thirds majority in the 342-member National Assembly.
• In the backdrop of government’s confrontation with the military and the judiciary over the memo scandal and the reopening of high-profile graft cases, PPP’s coalition partners reposed full confidence in Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and decided that he will appear in the Supreme Court to face the contempt notice.

Army Chief General V K Singh drags government to Supreme Court

• Army Chief General V K Singh moves to Supreme Court against the government’s rejection of his claim on his date of birth.
• In a writ petition, he has questioned the government’s decision to treat his date of birth as May 10, 1950 instead of May 10, 1951. This is the first time that a chief of armed forces of India drags the government to the court of law. In the petition, General saus that it is matter related to his “honour and integrity” as he headed a force of 13 lakh personnel. He also questions why the government had chosen to “change” his date of birth after he had spent 36 years in service and promoted throughout the career.

Health Ministry Declares 2012 as “Year of Intensification of Routine Immunization”

• India’s Health Ministry has declared 2012 as the “Year of Intensification of Routine Immunization” in children against various diseases.
• The idea is to bring all children under the enhanced immunization coverage, particularly in the remote and backward areas as well as in urban slums.
• Currently, only 61 per cent of the children are covered under the immunization programme.
• In the year 2012, high priority will be given to the 200 worst performing districts across the country.
• The following strategies would be adopted:
  • Updating of Micro plans to cover all villages and hamlets
  • Intensification of immunization activity by observing immunization weeks in low performing states
  • Special focus on migrant and mobile populations.

Sukma inaugurated 23rd district of Chhattisgarh

• Sukma has been inaugurated as the 23rd district of the Chhattisgarh.
• The new district which is the most naxal affected district in the state, was inaugurated by the Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh.
• On January 1, 2012, Dr. Raman Singh announced birth of nine new districts in Chhattisgarh.
• These new districts are Sukma, Kondagaon, Balod, Bemetara, Baloda Bazar, Gariaband, Mungeli, Surajpur and Balrampur.
• The district of Sukma has been carved out of Chhattisgarh’s worst Maoist affected Dantewada district; while Kondagaon has been carved out of insurgency-hit Bastar district.

Government rejects media reports of Urea Price Hike

• The Government has rejected the reports that it is planning to go with 40 per cent hike in urea prices.
• The Government clarifies that the retail price of Urea is notified by the Government and it is at present 5310 rupees per metric tonne.

5th World Future Energy Summit begins in Abu Dhabi

• The fifth World Future Energy Summit begins in UAE capital Abu Dhabi.
• The 4 day long summit brings together more than 60 top leaders from 50 countries to discuss global issues related to energy policies and the challenges.
• The theme of this year’s World Future Energy Summit is – “Sustainable Energy for All”.
• UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in his inaugural address calls upon the global community to look for and adopt energy solutions which are viable and sustainable in the long run.

Google & Facebook tell the Delhi court that they can’t control content

• Google India and Facebook India tell a Delhi High Court that it was impossible for them to control content with billions of people accessing the websites.
• Google’s advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul said that the summons issued to social networking sites by a metropolitan magistrate showed complete lack of understanding about how the online system worked.
• He argued that the issue was related to the freedom of speech.
• He submitted that the petitioner company had no control over websites where the objectionable material was posted.
• “I am only a search engine, the offending materials of websites have nothing to do with me,” he said, reportedly.
• He also makes it clear that “Google India is neither a search engine nor a web hosting site and was a distinct legal entity from its US-based holding company Google Inc., a search engine,”

Indian economy to grow 7.7 percent in 2012: UN

• As per the United Nation’s department of economic affairs, India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 7.7 percent in 2012 and 7.9 percent in the following year as compared to the estimated 7.6 percent in 2011.

Inflation falls to 7.47 percent in December

• India’s annual inflation based on the wholesale price index fell to 7.47 percent in December as compared to 9.11 percent in the previous month on the back of a decline in the prices of food products.

India’s winners at Asian Shooting Championship in Doha

• India bags two Gold and two Bronze medals at the Asian Shooting Championship in Doha.
• In Women’s 50-metre Rifle Prone event on January 16, India’s Raj Kumari amassed 594 points in the final round, helping India bag its second Gold of the tournament.
• Ace shooter Abhinav Bindra, earlier, baggs a Gold medal in the Men’s 10-metre Air Rifle event.
• In the team event of Women’s 50-metre Rifle Prone category, the Indian team of Raj Kumari, Tejaswini Sawant and Lajja Gauswami scored a total of 1,755 points, bagging a bronze for India. The team, however, failed to qualify to the 2012 London Olympics.

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Month: Current Affairs - January, 2012