Current Affairs Notes
The Governor of Tamil Nadu, Shri Surjit Singh Barnala commissioned Waterjet Propelled Fast Attack Crafts INS Carnicobar and INS Chetlat, at Chennai on February 16.
1. These would be the first two in a series of ten Water Jet fast attack ships being built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata.
2. They are the first ever water jet propelled ships of the Indian Navy. The commissioning marks another step in the direction of indigenization of the Navy’s ship building efforts.
3. These fast attack crafts are named after pristine islands located in the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep respectively
April 25, 2009
Sixteen-year-old Yuki Bhambri defeated Vishnu Vardhan to win his maiden International Tennis Federation (ITF) title at Delhi Lawn Tennis Association on April 2, 2009. The Delhi boy, Bhambri defeated his opponent in a straight set 7-6 (1), 6-4. Vishnu Vardhan gave though challenge to Bhambri in the first set but the junior Australian Open champion came back strongly in the second set. Both the players were playing their first ITF final.
Some more facts about Yuki Bhambri:
1. Yuki Bhambri has earlier won the junior singles title at 2009 Australian Open. He had defeated Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas of Germany by 6-3, 6-1.
2. By winning the title, Bhambri became the fourth Indian after Ramanathan, Ramesh Krishnan and Leander Paes to lay his hands over a junior Grand Slam title.
3. Apart from winning in Australian Open, he has won a title at the Orange Bowl in Key Biscayne in the US.
April 27, 2009
The India Government has cleared 22 FDI proposals which shall bring Rs. 541.25 crore to our nation. These are
1. Japanese two wheeler major Yamaha’s plans to transfer Indian operations to a new company, India Yamaha Motor Pvt Ltd
2. A joint venture of Nokia and HCL infocomm
3. Broadband company Tikona will bring largest chunk of Rs. 237.26 crore. It is a ISP, Internet Service Provider.
4. Govt rejected Dubai-based Al Khaleej’s request to set up a sugar refinery
May 2, 2009
Infosys Technologies Limited has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Mr. K. V. Kamath as an additional director to the Infosys Board, with effect from May 2, 2009. With the induction of Mr. K. V. Kamath, the Infosys Board will have 16 directors.
Some facts about Mr. Kamath:
1. Mr. Kundapur Vaman Kamath is the non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of ICICI Bank Limited, India’s second largest bank.
2. Mr. Kamath has a degree in mechanical engineering as well as one in management studies from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
3. He started his career in 1971 at ICICI, an Indian financial institution that founded ICICI Bank and merged with it in 2002.
4. In 1988, he moved to the Asian Development Bank and spent several years in South-east Asia before returning to ICICI as its Managing Director and CEO in 1996.
5. Under his leadership, the ICICI Group transformed itself into a diversified, technology-driven financial services group that has leadership positions across banking, insurance and asset management in India, and an international presence.
6. He retired as Managing Director and CEO in April 2009, and took up his present position.
7. Mr. Kamath was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honours, in 2008.
8. He was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards 2008; was named ‘Businessman of the Year’ by Forbes Asia and The Economic Times ‘Business Leader of the Year’ in 2007; Business Standard’s ‘Banker of the Year’ and CNBC-TV18’s ‘Outstanding Business Leader of the Year’ in 2006; Business India’s ‘Businessman of the Year’ in 2005; and CNBC’s ‘Asian Business Leader of the Year’ in 2001.
9. He has been given an honorary Ph.D. by the Banaras Hindu University.
10. Mr. Kamath was the president of the Confederation of Indian Industry for the year 2008-09.
May 9, 2009
India’s Jayanta Talukdar, Rahul Banerjee and Mangal Singh Champia, earned India a gold medal in the recurve team event of the archery World Cup Stage II at Porec, Croatia, on May 9, 2009. India defeated Russian Federation by 220 points to 218. Italy won the bronze beating China 221-219.
May 12, 2009
Asia’s oldest stock exchange, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has finally got Madhu Kannan to join in as managing director and chief executive officer. And after much speculation, BSE on Monday appointed the high-profile Madhu Kannan as managing director & chief executive officer (CEO) of the exchange.
Prior to his appointment at BSE, Kannan was a MD with Bank of America-Merrill Lynch based in New York.
May 15, 2009
Chip giant Intel was handed a record fine of 1.06 billion Euro ($1.45 billion) for allegedly abusing its leading position in the CPU market. Company is accused of abusing its market position between 2002 and 2007, claiming Intel made generous payments to PC manufacturers and retailers to boycott AMD chips. Dell, Acer, HP, Lenovo and NEC were among the companies linked to Intel’s malpractice.
17 May , 2009
US President Barack Obama has nominated Preet Bharara, an Indian-American lawyer, to become the U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York. Mr. Bharara (40), was counsel to New York Democrat Senator Charles Schumer and played a key role in the congressional investigation of the Bush administration’s firing of eight U.S. Attorneys.
Mr. Bharara was named 2007 South Asian Lawyer of the Year by the North American South Asian Bar Association.
May 17, 2009
Barcelona has won the Spanish league title for the first time in three years. Barcelona’s eight-point advantage became unassailable in the standings when its closest rival Real Madrid lost 3-2 at Villarreal.
May 18, 2009
India’s Suranjoy Singh sizzled with a gold on the concluding day of the European Grand Prix boxing as India finished their campaign with four medals in Usti Nad Labem, Czech Republic. Suranjoy emerged as the lone Indian gold medalist when he beat Armenia’s H Danielyan 4-1 in the fly weight category final. India had earlier won three bronze medals in the championship.
Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh (75kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Jai Bhagwan (60kg) all finished third after losing in the semifinals
May 19, 2009
Indian Navy commissioned INS Airavat, Landing Ship Tank (Large) designed for amphibious operations on May 19. In Hindu mythology, Airavat is the mount of God Indra, and is the king-god of elephants.
Some interesting features of INS Airavat:
1. Commissioned by Admiral Sureesh Mehta, AVSM, PVSM, ADC, Chief of the Naval Staff at IN Jetty at Naval Base, Visakhapatnam.
2. Constructed by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkota as Yard 3016.
3. Launched by Mrs. Maria Teresa Mehta at Kolkota on March 27, 2006.
4. The ship measures 125 meters in length, 17.5 meters in breadth and displaces 5655 tons.
May 20, 2009
Sikkim Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh administered oath of office and secrecy to the state Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, at the Raj Bhavan at Sikkim on May 20, 2009.
Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) president Pawan Chamling has become Chief Minister for the fourth consecutive term after having already completed an eventual 15 years of ruling this Himalayan state uninterruptedly from 1993, thus becoming one of the longest serving Chief Ministers in the country.
May 22, 2009
Few Facts about zoozoo:
1. Zoozoos aren’t animated characters. They are human beings who were made to wear body suits.
2. Prakash Varma, ad filmmaker, Nirvana Films, has directed the commercials, and reveals that the Zoozoos were a big challenge to create. The practical aspects of how they will move, talk, gesticulate and emote were very important. Essentially, costume design and artwork were crucial elements.
June 2, 2009
INS Brahmaputra (F 31) is on goodwill visit to Israel. The visit is significant as INS Brahmaputra is armed with Israeli-made Barak Naval Air Defense System, designed to counter anti-ship air threats including supersonic sea skimming missiles.
Some interesting features of INS Brahmaputra and her visit are:
1. INS Brahmaputra is from Indian designed Type 16A Brahmaputra class, Guided Missile Frigate.
2. It is a modification of the Type 16 Godavari class of frigates.
3. It was commissioned on April 14, 2000.
4. It was named after the river Brahmaputra.
5. It is commanded by Captain Philipose G Pynumootil.
June 4, 2009:
President Pratibha Patil has said that the cabinet committee formed to look into the long standing ‘one rank one pension’ demand of armed forces veterans will submit its report by the end of June.The welfare of ex-servicemen will continue to be accorded high priority. The committee headed by the cabinet secretary to look into the issue of of one rank one pension has already commenced its work and expects to complete it by the end of June 2009,” the president said in her address to a joint session of both houses in parliament. The government formed the panel headed by cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar after many ex-servicemen returned their medals to protest the rejection of their ‘one rank one pension’ demand. Ex-servicemen have so far returned about 13,000 medals won in combat or for distinguished service to Patil, who is the supreme commander of the armed forces.
Some Facts about World Cup Hockey
The Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The tournament was started in 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer Olympics.
There is also a Women’s Hockey World Cup, which has been held since 1974 and was organised by the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) until 1981, when the governing bodies merged into the current International Hockey Federation.
Five countries have dominated the event’s history. Pakistan is the most successful team, having won the tournament four times. The Netherlands have won three titles, and Germany has won two titles. India and Australia have each won the tournament once.
The 2006 Hockey World Cup was held at the Warsteiner HockeyPark, Mönchengladbach, Germany from September 6 to September 17. Germany won for the second time, defeating Australia 4–3 in the final. The FIH decided to allot the next Hockey World Cup in 2010 to India.
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Month: Current Affairs - May, 2009