Important Current Affairs Question for Civil Services Exam (pre) 2013- Part 1

1. The World Environment Day was observed across the globe on 5 June 2012. Theme for the World Environment Day 2012 was

(a) Green Economy: Does it include you?

(b) Forests-Nature At Your Service

(c) Water- all we need

(d) None of the above

Answer: (a)

2. The UN General Assembly started observing the World Environment Day in 1972 to

 i) Raise public awareness about the need of better environment.

ii) To mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment

Choose the right option:

a)    Both i and ii are correct.

b)    Only i is correct.

c)    Only ii is correct.

d)    Neither i nor ii is correct.

Answer: (a)

3. World IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) Launch Day held globally on 6 June 2012. Which of the following facts related to World IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) Launch Day is not true?

i) The day, organized by Internet Society, represents a major milestone in the global deployment of IPv6.

ii) Previous year the World IPv6 Day was observed on 8 June

iii) World IPv6 Day 2012 was an event sponsored and organized by the Internet Society and several large content providers to test public IPv6 deployment

iv)  The day was announced by Google

Choose the right option:

a)    Both i and ii are wrong

b)    Only i is wrong

c)    Only iv is wrong

d)    Neither i nor ii is wrong

Answer: (c)

4. Scientists discovered eight genes which could pave the way for the development of effective treatments for ankylosing spondylitis which is painful form of_

a) Joint pain

b) Headache

c) Arthritis

d) Cancer

Answer: (c)

5. Scientists at the Tomato Genome Consortium (TGC) successfully sequenced the genomes of which of the following vegetables?

a) Tomato

b) Onion

c) Brinjal

d) Potato

Answer: (a)

6. The Union Government of India on 5 June 2012 announced a new trade policy aimed at achieving 20 per cent increase in exports to 360 billion dollar in the fiscal year 2012-13. Which of the facts related to this statement is not true?

1.    2 per cent interest subsidy scheme extended till March 2013

2.    Foreign Trade Policy document to be more user friendly

3.    Seven new markets added to Focus Market Scheme

4.    Incentives for exports from north-eastern states

a.    Only 1

b.    3 & 4

c.    Only 4

d.    All the statements are true

Answer: (d)

7. The state-run oil marketing companies on 2 June 2012 announced to slash the petrol prices by what amount?

a.    2.02 rupees

b.    2 rupees

c.    3 rupees

d.    2.20 rupees

Answer: (a)

8. According to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 2 June 2012, India’s foreign exchange reserve plummeted by 1.74 billion dollar. According to the data what is India’s current forex reserve?

a.    295 billion dollar

b.    290 billion dollar

c.    310 billion dollar

d.    170 billion dollar

Answer: (b)

9. Ministry of Statistics on 1 June 2012 released data on the states Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP)? Which one of the following given facts are not true about the GSDP data?

1.   Bihar topped the list of the states with highest GSDP 13.1 per cent growth in 2011-122   

2. Delhi and Chennai came second and third respectively

3.    Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, the two highly industrialized states registered the growth of 9.4 per cent and 9.1 per cent respectively in the fiscal year 2011-12

4.    The top five states include Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan

a.    Only 1

b.    Only 2

c.    Only 3

d.    Only 4

Answer: (d)

10. Indian Rupee plunged to its historic low mark of 55.54 against a dollar on 1 June 2012. Among the following given reasons, what could be the most significant reason behind the fall of Indian rupee?

a.    Purchase of gold by the investors

b.    Purchase of Dollar by the investors

c.    Euro Zone Crisis

d.    Demand of dollar in the world market

Answer: (d)

11. The Commerce Ministry of India on 14 June 2012 released the export-import data for the month of May 2012. Which of the following given statement are not true according to the data?

1.    India's export dropped by 4.16 per cent at 25.68 billion dollar in May 2012

2.    India’s imports also registered a decline of 7.36 per cent at 41.9 billion dollar in May 2012

3.    The trade deficit figure also shrank to 16.3 billion dollar during the May 2012, from 18.5 billion dollar in May 2011

4.    Import of crude oil witnessed a decline

a.    Only 1

b.    3 & 4

c.    Only 4

d.    All the statements are true

Answer: (c)

12. The World Bank in its report named Global Economic Prospects released on 12 June 2012, projected Indian economy to grow by what per cent in the financial year 2012-13?

a.    6.9 per cent

b.    7.2 per cent

c.    7.9 per cent

d.    7 per cent

Answer: (a)

13. According to the IIP figure released on 12 June 2012, India’s Industrial output figure rose by what per cent in the month of May 2012 ?

a.    0.1 per cent

b.    3.1 per cent

c.    4.2 per cent

d.    none of the above

Answer: (b)

14. The World Bank on 12 June 2012 released its report on Global Economic Prospect, which of the following given statements are not true according to the World Bank report?

1.   Indian economy will grow by 6.9 per cent in the financial year 2012-13

2. The World Bank predicted India’s growth 7.2 per cent and 7.4 per cent in fiscal years 2012-13

3.    The World Bank report estimated the global economy to expand 2.5% in the fiscal year 2012-13

4.    The World Bank report predicted western economy to grow significantly in the fiscal year 2012-13

a.    Only 1

b.    Only 2

c.    Only 3

d.    Only 4

Answer: (d)

15. India’s gross direct tax collections grew by what per cent in April-May 2012?

a.    3.62 per cent

b.    3 per cent

c.    2.62 per cent

d.    4.62 per cent

Answer: (a)

16. Which one of the following cities has been slated to host the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 2012?

a) Rio de Janeiro

b) Buenos Aires

c) Hawana

d) Toronto

Answer: (a)

17. NASA on 13 May 2012 launched Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) on a Pegasus rocket from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Consider the following given facts related to NuSTAR and chose the right option?

 i) NuSTAR will help scientists find the most subtle and energetic black holes.

ii) NuSTAR will work in coordination with other telescopes in space, including NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which observes lower-energy X-rays

Choose the right option:

a)    Both i and ii are wrong.

b)    Only i is wrong.

c)    Only ii is correct.

d)    Both i and ii are correct

Answer: (d)

18. China on 16 June 2012 launched its spacecraft Shenzhou-9 from the Jiuquan satellite launch centre in north-western Gansu province. Which of the following facts related to Shenzhou-9 is not true?

i) Shenzhou-9 is China’s fourth human spaceflight

ii) Shenzhou -9 spacecraft will conduct the first manned docking mission

iii) Shenzhou-9 space mission comprise three astronauts including China’s first woman astronaut Liu Yang

 iv)  Shenzhou-9 is China’s first manned space programme

Choose the right option:

a)    Both i and ii are wrong

b)    Only  i is wrong

c)    Only iv is wrong

d)    Neither i nor ii is wrong

Answer: (c)

19. According to the World Health Organization's cancer agency’s report declared on 12 June 2012, is the most probable cause of cancer among the people.

a) Diesel Fumes

b) Dust

c) Petrol exhaust

d) None of the above

Answer: (a)

20. According to a new government report India's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rose by 58 per cent between 1994 and 2007. Greenhouse gases are those gases that can absorb and emit infrared radiation. Which one of the following is not a green house gas?

a)  Nitrogen (N)

b)  Methane (CH4)

c)  Nitrous oxide (N2O)

d)  Ozone (O3)

Answer: (a)

21. Consider the following statements using the code given below identify the personality with whom these statements are associated

1.    He won the French Open Singles Title 2012

2.    It was his seventh French Open Title

3.    The French Open title marked his 11th Gand Slam title

4.    Now he is five title short of  the arch rival Roger Federer’s record 16 grand slam titles

Code

(a)    Rafael Nadal

(b)    Novak Djokovic

(c)    David Ferrer

(d)    Juan Del Potro

Answer: (a)

22. Which one of the following statements is wrong ?

(a)    Maria Yuryevna Sharapova won French Open 2012 on 9 June 2012

(b)    She defeated Saria Erani of Italy

(c)    This was Sharapova’s first French open title

(d)    Sharapova with the French Open Title completed her career grand slam

Answer: (d)

23. Indu Chaudhary and Sakshi Malik won gold Medals in Asian Junior Wrestling Championship 2012. Asian Junior Wrestling Championship 2012 was organised in which of the following country?

(a)    Iran

(b)    China

(c)    Kazakhastan

(d)    South Korea

Answer: (c)

24. Which one of the following Indian cricketers was conferred upon the Wisden India Outstanding Achievement award in Dubai on 11 June 2012?

(a)    MS Dhoni

(b)    Rahul Dravid

(c)    Virat Kohali

(d)    Sachin Tendulkar

Answer: (d)

25.  The final UEFA European Football Championship 2012 is being hosted by Poland and Ukraine between 8 June and 1 July 2012. How many nations are participating in the tournament?

(a) 26

(b) 18

(c) 16

(d) 22

Answer: (c)

26. Which of the following regulators on 26 June 2012 made it mandatory for top 500 listed companies to hold e-voting with an objective to widen shareholder participation in key decisions?

a.    IRDA

b.    SEBI

c.    CCI

d.    TRAI

Answer: (b)

27. Nomura, the global financial services firm, on 26 June 2012 slashed the country's growth forecast for the fiscal year 2012-13 to what per cent?

a.    5.8%

b.    5%

c.    4.6%

d.    3%

Answer: (a)

28. In a move aimed at arresting the unrelenting fall of Indian rupee, India’s central bank the Reserve Bank of India on 25 June 2012 hiked the limit of foreign investment in government bonds by 5 billion dollar to what amount?

a.    10 billion dolar

b.    15 billion dollar

c.    20 billion dollar

d.    30 billion dollar

Answer: (c)

29. Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 21 June 2012 notified new rules for ownership and governance of stock exchanges. Which of the following statements given below are not true in this respect?

1.    The amendments were announced following the legal tussle between the regulator and MCX Stock Exchange, which had earlier sought approval to start an equity platform.

2.    The new norms require the recognised stock exchange to have a minimum net worth of Rs 100 crore at all times and at least 51 per cent of stake has to be held by public

3.    The ownership of a single investor was capped at 10% with an exemption for stock exchanges, depositories, insurance and banking companies and public financial institutions, which has been permitted to hold up to 5 per cent

4.    SEBI also specified that direct and indirect exposure to any stock exchange will be considered while calculating the prescribed shareholding limit.

a.    2 & 4

b.    Only 2

c.    1 & 2

d.    Only 3

Answer: (d)

30. Ratings agency Fitch on 20 June 2012 revised the outlook on India's financial institutions to negative from stable. Which of the following facts related to the statement are not true?

1.    The outlook of six government banks, two private banks, two wholly owned government institutions and one infrastructure finance company was lowered by the rating agency

2.    Major public sector lender, Reserve Bank of India which recently announced its plans to raise $2 billion from overseas markets will be hit the most by the revision

3.    The rating agency listed high customer deposit base, established domestic franchises and adequate capitalisation as the strengths of banks. On the other hand it also mentioned that non-banking institutions are at greater risk because they lack the funding advantage

4.    Fitch mentioned that in case sovereign long-term IDR is downgraded, banks with viability rating (VR) of BBB- would also be affected because of these linkages.

a.    1 & 3

b.    2

c.    1 & 4

d.    3

Answer: (b)

31. According to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 19 June 2012, the foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in India dipped by what per cent to 7.8 billion dollar during January-April 2012?

a.    8 %

b.    7%

c.    6%

d.    4%

Answer: (a)

32. International credit rating agency Fitch revised the credit outlook of India to negative on 18 June 2012. Which of the following facts are not true?

1.    The agency cited rampant corruption and stalled reform existing in the country as the reason behind the move to downgrade the country's credit rating

2.    The rating agency, however, maintained the India's sovereign rating at 'AAA-'

3.    Fitch also downgraded the credit outlook of seven PSUs namely ONGC, BHEL, BPCL, HP, NTPC, CIL and NHPC

4.    The agency in its report opined that with the fragile state of economy and a large subsidy bill India is likely to miss its fiscal deficit target of 5.1 percent for 2012-13. It predicted India’s fiscal deficit to be 5.6-5.9 percent of GDP

a.    Only 1

b.    Only 3

c.    2 & 4

d.    Only 4

Answer: (b)

33. As per the official data released by the Union government on 18 June 2012, retail inflation increased to what per cent in May due to rise in prices of vegetables, edible oils and milk?

a.    5.63%

b.    7.55%

c.    10.36%

d.    11%

Answer: (c)

34. Reserve Bank of India in its mid-quarterly monetary policy review on 18 June 2012, decided to keep the cash reserve ratio and the policy repo rate unchanged. Which of the following facts with respect to RBI’s mid-quarterly monetary policy are not true?

1.    The cash reserve ratio and the policy repo rate unchanged at 4.75 per cent and 8.0 per cent respectively

2.    The reverse repo rate remain unchanged at 8.0 per cent

3.    The marginal standing facility rate and the Bank Rate is to stand at 9.0 per cent

4.    The slowing pace of the economy (India's March quarter economic growth stood at 5.3 per cent, lowest in past 9 years) and weakening investment sentiments had prompted industry leaders to urge RBI to take a call on policy rate cuts

a.    Ony 1

b.    1 & 3

c.    Only 4

d.    Only 2

Answer: (d)

35. As per the export-import data released by the Commerce Ministry on 14 June 2012, India's export dropped by what per cent at 25.68 billion dollar in May 2012?

a.    4.16

b.    5.55%

c.    3.18%

d.    2.45%

Answer: (a)

36. Which the following two countries had signed strategic partnership agreement on 27 June 2012?

(a)    India and Pakistan

(b)    Pakistan and Norway

(c)    Afghanistan and Norway

(d)    Afghanistan and United States of America

Answer: (c)

37. Which Company had signed the world chess Champion Viswanathan Anand their Brand Ambassador on 26 June 2012?

(a)    Honda

(b)    True Value Homes

(c)    Muthoot Finance

(d)    Muthoot Fincorp

Answer: (b)

38. Which Country Chaired the seventh G20 Summit on 18 and 19 June 2012?

(a)    United States of America

(b)    Mexico

(c)    South Africa

(d)    Netherlands

Answer: (b)

39.________________ became the president of Egypt on 24 June 2012?

(a)    Pranab Mukherjee

(b)    Barak Obama

(c)    Mohommed Moorsi

(d)    Yusuf Raja Gilani

Answer: (c)

40. ____________emerged as the largest trading partner of___________in the first quarter of 2012-13?

(a) India, Dubai

(b) India, USA

(c) India, UK

(d) India, Iran

Answer: (a)

41. Which one of the following High Courts on 28 May 2012 scrapped the Union Government's 4.5 per-cent quota for minorities, carved out of the 27 per cent reservation for the other backward classes (OBCs)?

a.    Andhra Pradesh High Court

b.    Allahabad High Court

c.    Karnataka High Court

d.    Patna High Court

Answer: a

42. The DRDO test-fired indigenously built ‘Akash' missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur on 28 May 2012. What kind of missile Akash is?

a.    Surface-to-air missile

b.    Air-to-surface missile

c.    Surface-to-surface missile

d.    Water-to-surface missile

Answer: a

43. The Union Cabinet on 31 May 2012 approved the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012. Which of the following facts are not related to the National Telecom Policy?

1.    The policy also allows national number portability but with no visible timelines

2.    NTP 2012 expects to take India's presently 39% rural teledensity to 70% in the next 5 years

3.    The new policy will make roaming free of any charge

4.    Spectrum pricing falls under the purview of new telecom policy

a.    Only 1

b.    1 &4

c.    2&3

d.    Only 4

Answer: (d)

44. Army Chief General V.K. Singh, who led over the one-million-strong Indian Army for the past 26 months, retired on 20 May 2012. Figure out which one of the following fact is not correct about General V.K. Singh?

1.    He became the Chief of Staff of the Army on 31 March 2010

2.    He was commissioned into the Rajput regiment on 14 June 1970

3.    He was the first Army Chief who moved to The Supreme Court of India against the Union Government

4.    He raised the issue of shortages and deficiencies in the Army

a.    1

b.    2

c.    3

d.    All the facts are correct

Answer: (d)

45. Brahmeshwar Singh alias ‘Mukhiyaji,' the head of a dreaded private militia of upper caste landowners in Bihar, was shot dead on 1 June 2012. Name the group he was head of?

a.    MCC

b.    Ranvir Sena

c.    People’s War Group

d.    CPI( Maoist)

Answer: (b)

46. Identify the person with whom the following facts are related.

1.   He was appointed the next Chief of the Indian Navy

2.    He will succeed Admiral Nirmal Verma, who retires on 31 August 2012

3.    He Commissioned in the Navy's executive branch in 1974

4.    Presently he is the Western Naval Command chief of Indian Navy

a.    Vice Admiral DK Joshi

b.    Vice Admiral Bikram Singh

c.    Vice Admiral Vishnu Kapoor

d.    Vice Admiral Amar Pratap Singh

Answer: (b)

47. Name the Indian Army Officer whose ban was ban was lifted by Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh?

a.    Lt. General Dalbir Singh Suhag

b.    Lt. General PS Thorrat   

c.    Lt. General Ranjeet Singh

d.    Lt. General BK Singh

Answer: (a)

48. According to which international organisation’s report, India is listed among the top five countries across the world where a large number of children dies due to diseases like pneumonia and diarrhoea ?

a.    UNICEF

b.    WHO

c.    World Bank

d.    NHRC

Answer: (a)

49. Name the Indian cricketer who was sworn in as the member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament on 4 June 2012 ?

a.    MS Dhoni

b.    Sachin Tendulkar

c.    Sunil Gavaskar

d.    Saurabh Ganguly

Answer: (b)

50. Identify the person, with whom the following statements are attached.

1.    He was appointed the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) by President Pratibha Patil on 6 June 2012

2.    He took charge as Election Commissioner on 21 April 2009

3.    He was born at Vellore in Tamil Nadu on 16 January 1950

4.    He is a 1973 batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre

a.    Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath

b.    H.S. Brahma

c.    SY Qureishi

d.    Shumsher Sheriff

Answer: (a)

India’s Ailing Electoral System: Need for Reforms

Democracy is passing through a difficult phase of institutional decline. The political parties are functioning in a manner detrimental to the interests of the country and its citizens. Persons without any commitment to the Constitution and its values are being elected in large numbers to the Parliament and State Legislatures. There is a growing conflict of interest between them, their parties and the people they profess to serve. Some of the policies they pursue are anti-national and unconstitutional. The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2002) observed that “the main cause and source of political-decay is the ineptness of the electoral process which has not been able to keep out criminal, anti-social and undesirable elements from participating in and even dominating the political scene and polluting the electoral and parliamentary processes. Political parties, which have a fair share of the Criminal elements, handle enormous funds ostensibly for meeting party and electoral expenditure. Money-power and criminal elements have contributed to pervasive degeneration of standards in public life and have criminalised politics. This is reflected in the quality of governments and of the governing processes. …There is crisis of confidence. There is crisis of leadership. Political leaders, owing to narrow partisan and sectarian interests and desire for short time political gains, are unable even to agree upon broad, common, national purposes.”

In a memorial lecture delivered in 1998, Atal Bihari Vajpayee said: "Barring exceptions, those who get elected to these democratic institutions are neither trained, formally or informally, in law-making nor do they seem to have an inclination to develop the necessary knowledge and competence in their profession. …the electoral system has been almost totally subverted by money power, muscle power, and vote bank considerations of castes and communities. As a result, although casteism and communalism may be weakening in social life, the same are being aided and abetted by the electoral process. Elections are not entirely free and fair; they are not reflecting the true will and aspirations of the people. …The natural inclination of today's MPs and MLAs is to get involved in the executive function - that too without accountability and much capability. The exceedingly high premium placed on capturing power by fair or foul means is because of the elected representatives' conviction that power is the passport to personal prosperity. …The biggest challenge that we, who have preached and practiced probity in public life face, is to restore faith in the political class and rejuvenate the democratic process".

The Law Commission in its 170th Report on Reform of the Electoral laws (1999) observed: "There has been a steady deterioration in the standards, practices and pronouncements of political class, which fights the elections. Money-power, muscle power, corrupt practices and unfair means are being freely employed to win elections. …”

On the functioning of Parliament and the State Legislatures, the National Commission observed: “If there is a sense of unease with the way the Parliament and the State Legislatures are functioning, it may be due to a decline in recent years in both the quantity and quality of work done by them. Over the years the number of days on which the houses sit to transact legislative and other business has come down very significantly. Even the relatively fewer days on which the houses meet are often marked by unseemly incidents including use of force to intimidate opponents, shouting and shutting out of debate and discussion resulting in frequent adjournments. There is increasing concern about the decline of Parliament, falling standards of debate, erosion of the moral authority and prestige of the supreme tribune of the people. Corrective steps are urgently needed to strengthen Parliament’s role as the authentic voice of the people as they struggle and suffer to realise the inspiring vision of a free and just society enshrined in the Constitution. Also, it is of the utmost importance for survival of democracy that Parliament continues to occupy a position of the highest esteem in the minds and hearts of the people.” In the words of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, "Sadly, serious debate has ceased to take place in our elective bodies, which have come to resemble akharas (arenas for fighting bouts) where noisy confrontation is the norm."

Nani A. Palkhivala, the most famous lawyer of his time was a crusader for reforms. He said: "It is high time that, having regard to the lack of character and caliber in the overwhelming majority of our politicians, we should think of making some badly needed changes in our Constitutional Law... The time has come when citizens must wrest the initiative from professional politicians and form political parties, and insist upon men of knowledge, vision and character being chosen as candidates for parliamentary and state elections. It is only such men who can give India the type of government it needs - a government which is strong without being authoritarian and humane without being weak. Poverty can be eradicated only by experts in finance, production and marketing, and specialists in social engineering and deployment of resources.”

Several expert bodies like Dinesh Goswami Committee, Inderjit Gupta Committee, Justice V.R Krishna Iyer Committee, the Law Commission of India, the Election Commission of India and the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution and distinguished leaders like Ramakrishna Hegde, C. Subramaniam and Krishna Kant, have suggested comprehensive electoral reforms.

Unity and Integrity of India

Speaking at the inaugural sitting of the Constituent Assembly, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan had said: "India is a symphony where there are, as in an orchestra, different instruments, each with its particular sonority, each with its special sound, all combining to interpret one particular score. It is this kind of combination that this country has stood for. It never asked the Parsis or the Jews or the Christians or the Muslims who came and took shelter there to change their creeds or become absorbed in what might be called a uniform Hindu humanity... "Live and let live" - that has been the spirit of the country."

In the Constituent Assembly Dr. Ambedkar had declared emphatically: "The castes are anti-national, In the first place because they bring about separation in social life. They are anti national also because they generate jealousy and antipathy between caste and caste." In the Constitution, we the people of India had resolved to promote fraternity among all citizens and promote unity and integrity of the nation. Now we find that we are divided on caste and community and sectarian lines by the political class for electoral gains. The British policy of "divide and rule" was limited to playing the Hindus against the Muslims and vice-versa. India is much more divided today than during the alien rule as quite a few political parties thrive by relying on caste and community. In India we have common citizenship and all Indians are entitled to equal rights, but according to the philosophy of the Thackeray's (Late Bal Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray), Maharashtra is for Maharashtrians, Indian Railways shall recruit only Maharashtrians, all employment opportunities - from the lowest to the highest in public as well as private establishments should be reserved exclusively for Maharashtrians; and every legislator must take the oath only in Marathi language, otherwise they will let loose their senas, paralyse civic life, attack targeted people and destroy their property. Can political parties with such an ideology be allowed to enjoy the benefit of registration and recognition by the Election Commission?

Recommendations

In order to eliminate the influence of caste and community in elections, Krishan Kant, former Vice President of India, had suggested two simple amendments to the election law: (i) to introduce a condition that in order to be declared elected from a constituency a candidate shall secure not less than 50% + 1 vote of the total votes polled, failing which, there shall be a runoff election limiting the contest to the two leading candidates in the first round, and (ii) to add one more slot in the ballot paper "none of the above" for negative vote i.e. for rejecting all the candidates contesting. If a majority of the votes polled reject all the candidates there shall be a fresh election with new faces. If these are implemented, reliance on caste and community will vanish silently. Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer Committee recommended in addition that a party bearing the name of a religion, race or caste shall not be registered as a political party to contest elections. Reasonable time may be given to such existing political parties to change their names, and a party which promotes communalism or seeks to fight elections on communal issues, shall be deregistered and disqualified. To ensure that the elected candidate represents a substantial section of the voters, the committee suggested that if the total vote polled in a constituency is less than 35 percent of the total number of voters in the constituency, there should be a repoll. The Committee's recommendation for regulation of political parties by law to ensure inner party democracy in every political party and maintenance of regular accounts and their audit by them has subsequently been reiterated by the Law Commission of India.

Strengthen the Election Commission

The Election Commission has been doing a commendable job. It would do still better by revising the norms for classification of political parties which grow like mushrooms and help in the emergence of two national parties or at least two combinations of parties. Political parties should be classified into, national, regional and state for proper identification of the nature and size of a political party. Regional parties cannot be called national parties. All political parties have secured registration by giving a written undertaking to the Election Commission of India in terms of Section 29(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 that they shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy, and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. In blatant violation of the undertaking barring a few exceptions, they rely on caste differences and pursue communal, parochial and chauvinistic policies unconcerned about the unity and integrity of India. Now, it does not have the power to withdraw or cancel registration of a party. The Commission needs power to withdraw or cancel the registration granted to a political party if and when the party violates the undertaking given to the Election Commission. There is no law to regulate political parties. The Election Commission is powerless to discipline them. It cannot even cancel the registration of erring political parties. The Commission should be enabled to deregister communal parties which are masquerading as political parties.

Proliferation of Political Parties

The problem in India is that there are too many political parties bereft of ideology, with a burning desire to capture power and retain it by hook or crook. They are destabilizing our democracy. Too many cooks spoil the broth. In 1988, Justice Sarkaria Commission noted: "A large number of splinter groups with shifting loyalties and narrow interests have been thrown up rather than large-size political parties with healthy traditions and broad outlook which could shoulder heavy responsibility if occasion arose. This has tended to encourage irresponsible political behaviour." In the words of the Law Commission: “…there has been a steady deterioration in the standards, practices and pronouncements of the political class. The proliferation of political parties, almost a mushroom growth over last few decades, necessitating the formation of coalitions with all their internal contradictions, pulls and pressures, has resulted in lack of good governance. This has to be checked. A Parliamentary democracy can be run successfully only if there are two or three parties. The Commission has suggested measures to check proliferation of political parties. Democracy cannot work without political parties. Stable and successful democracies like UK and USA function mostly with a two-party system.

From Parliament downwards to a students' union, democracy is by and large, seen as securing votes somehow, by candidates who are mostly ill-equipped, self-serving and ambitious investors in politics who are hungry for limelight and exploitation of power. The people who are the real repository of sovereignty have no say in the choice of candidates. The option given to them is either to vote for one or the other of the candidates contesting or to altogether abstain from voting. Indian democracy has now become a routine ritual. In the words of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: “the din and noise of election have kept democracy going in India.” The National Commission gave a warning: “There is increasing criminalisation of politics and of the electoral process. If the remedies are not found and implemented speedily there might remain very little of value to salvage.”

Coalition Governments

Horse-trading is part of coalition politics. The traders bargain for lucrative portfolios. They do not permit clean, transparent and effective governance. A Prime Minister or a Chief Minister heading a coalition government dare not drop a corrupt minister so long as the minister commands the support of a coalition partner which has a sizeable strength in the house, unless he is prepared to risk the fall of his own government. Integrity and ability are no longer the main criteria for appointment of ministers. The wishes of the people of India, the repository of political sovereignty, have no say in the selection of candidates by political parties or in the appointment of ministers. The National Commission observed:

"There is pervasive impurity of the political climate and of political activity. Criminalisation of politics, political-corruption and the politician-criminal-bureaucratic nexus has reached unprecedented levels needing strong systematic changes. Black-money, parallel economy and even parallel Governments are the overarching economic and social realities. Legitimate Government will, in due course, find it increasingly difficult to confront them. In course of time these illegal criminal outfits will dictate terms to the legitimate Governments.” This has happened in Orissa and Chhattisgarh when Naxalites kidnapped a District Collector and MLAs.

State Funding of Elections

After considering the recommendations made earlier by various committees regarding state funding, the Law Commission accepted the suggestion of Inderjit Gupta Committee for partial state funding of elections in kind on an experimental basis by providing facilities for organising meetings, allocating time on the radio and television and facilitating printing of election literature and postage etc. The committee also recommended imposing simultaneously restrictions by law on the number of cut-outs, banners, wall posters, hoardings, flags, vehicles to be used etc. The Law Commission has also recommended disqualifying a person against whom a criminal charge has been framed by a Court of law if the offence involved moral turpitude, from contesting at an election or continuing as a Member of Parliament or of a State Legislature.

Structural changes

To make the political executive perform better, it is necessary to carry out a few structural changes in the Constitution with respect to the Executive. B.K. Nehru's suggestion for total separation of the executive and the legislature is not possible, parliamentary democracy being a basic feature of the Constitution. However, it is desirable and possible to separate the executive from the legislature to the extent of making MPs, MLAs and MLCs ineligible to hold any executive office except the post of minister and simultaneously laying down strict conditions of eligibility for the office of minister to keep away undesirable persons. If ministership is made inaccessible to all except the well equipped members of Parliament or a State Legislature, it will ensure good governance.

A provision for direct induction of outstanding persons of ability and experience in the cabinet to handle the key portfolios, without their having to be elected to Parliament or the State Legislature concerned is a felt necessity. They could be made ex-officio Members of Parliament or the State Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council concerned as the case may be, to facilitate transaction of business in the House. Dr. Rajendra Prasad had mentioned in his concluding address to the Constituent Assembly: “I would have liked to have some qualifications laid down for members of the legislatures. It is anomalous that we should insist upon high qualifications for those who administer or help in administering the law but none for those who make it except that they are elected. A law giver requires intellectual equipment but even more than that, capacity to take balanced view of things, to act independently and above all to be true to those fundamental things of life - in one word - to have character. It is not possible to devise any yardstick for measuring the moral qualities of a man and so long as that is not possible, our Constitution will remain defective.” Palkhivala said: "The grim irony of the situation where the one job for which you need no training or qualification whatsoever is the job of legislating for and governing the largest democracy on earth. You need years of training to attend to a boiler or mind a machine; to supervise a shop floor or build a bridge; to argue a case in a law court or to operate upon a human body. But to steer the lives and destinies of more than 650 millions (now 1200 millions) of your fellow-men, you are not required to have any education or equipment at all... By voting ignorant professional politicians to power, we have kept a singularly gifted and enterprising nation in the ranks of the poorest on earth." C. Subramaniam, former Union Minister and later Governor of Maharashtra, suggested that a candidate for election to an Assembly must possess a minimum educational qualification of Plus Two (HSC) and for Lok Sabha he should be a Graduate from a recognised Institute or have experience in the functioning of the Panchayati Raj Institutions or must have rendered public service in a recognised voluntary service organization.

Apprehensions of Leaders

C. Rajagopalachari had anticipated the present state of affairs 25 years before Independence, when he wrote in his prison diary: "Elections and their corruption, injustice and tyranny of wealth, and inefficiency of administration, will make a hell of life as soon as freedom is given to us. Men will look regretfully back to the old regime of comparative justice, and efficient, peaceful, more or less honest administration…." He added: “Hope lies only in universal education by which right conduct, fear of God and love will be developed among citizens from childhood.” in November 1949, Dr. Ambedkar voiced his concern whether India would maintain her Independence or will lose it again as it happened before due to “the infidelity and treachery of some of her own people”. Dr. Rajendra Prasad in his concluding address to the Constituent Assembly sounded a note of caution: "Whatever the Constitution may or may not provide, the welfare of the country will depend upon the men who administer it. If the people who are elected are capable and men of character and integrity, then they would be able to make the best even of a defective Constitution. If they are lacking in these, the Constitution cannot help the country." Palkhivala posed the question, “Has the Constitution failed?” and answered it by saying that “it is not the Constitution which has failed the people, but it is our chosen representatives who have failed the Constitution.” It is evident that we have not been able to work the Constitution in the manner expected. To recall the words of Joseph Story, American Jurist: "Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished from the pubic councils, because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people, in order to betray them."

Unless we bring into Parliament, State Legislatures and the Councils of Ministers, the best brains available in the country i.e. distinguished men and women of integrity, ability and vision who can work the Constitution successfully, democracy and the rule of law may not survive. India is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of human resources. There is no dearth of patriots or Statesmen in the country. Besides electoral reforms, administrative reforms (including Police reforms) and Judicial reforms are the need of the hour. Pressure of public opinion alone will make the Parliament reform the system. Only the youth of the country can prevail upon Parliament to amend the laws as they have done in the case of gang rape of a Delhi girl and saw to it that an Ordinance was issued in a record time.

Mr PP Rao, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court

To more knowledge- http://www.vifindia.org/article/2013/may/02/india-s-ailing-electoral-system-need-for-reforms

Visits-(November 2012- March 2013)

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee Visited Mauritius for Two Days-

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee visited Mauritius from 11 March 2013 to 13 March 2013. He was invited to be the chief guest at the 45th Independence Day celebrations of Mauritius. During his visit to Mauritius, he also visited to the Aapravasi Ghat, which is the World Heritage Site. This is the place where Indian labourers first landed.

President of Egypt Mohamed Morsy was on three days Visit to India- 

The President of Egypt Mohamed Morsy visited India from 18 March 2013 to 20 March 2013 accompanying his senior ministers as well as business delegation. Both the sides discussed bilateral defence ties and measures to enhance cooperation, including through the forthcoming Joint Defence Committee meeting scheduled to take place in Delhi in April, 2013.

The Prime Minister of India Visited Durban, South Africa for the 5th BRICS Summit-

The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Durban, South Africa for the 5th BRICS Summit which took place from 25 March 2013 to 28 March 2013. The central area of discussion was under the overarching theme, BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Development, Integration and Industrialisation.

Foreign Minister of Portugal, Paulo de Sacadura Cabral Portas Visited India-

 The Foreign Minister of Portugal, Paulo de Sacadura Cabral Portas visited India from 3 March 2013 to 8 March 2013. This was his first official visit. Paulo de Sacadura Cabral Portas was accompanied by Minister of State for Culture of Portugal and a business delegation. The minister visited Goa and Mumbai with the delegation.

David Cameron, the Prime Minister of United Kingdom was on an Official Visit to India-

 David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was on a visit to India from 18 February to 20 February 2013. During his three day visit to India, the Prime Minister met the President of India Pranab Mukherjee as well as the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

India’s External Affairs Minister visited Bangladesh to Co-Chair the 2nd Meeting of JCC-

 External Affairs Minister of India, Salman Khurshid paid an official visit to Bangladesh on 16-17 February 2013 to co-chair the second meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission (JCC). Both nations reviewed the progress of initiatives taken under the Framework Agreement since the last meeting and hold discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral relations including power, water resources, security, border management, people-to-people exchanges, trade, connectivity, culture, development cooperation, environment and education.

Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley, Prime Minister of Bhutan visited India-

 Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley was on the home visit to India from 7 February to 9 February 2013. During his visit to India he met with President of Indian Union-Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Vice-President of India-Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister-Manmohan Singh, Minister of Finance-P Chidambaram and Foreign Secretary-Ranjan Mathai. His visit was aimed at improving India-Bhutan bilateral relationship.

President of Nepal, Dr. Ram Baran Yadav visited India-

Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, the President of Nepal was on a visit to India from 24 December to 29 December 2012. During his visit to India, he attended the Special Convocation of Banaras Hindu University that marked the concluding ceremony of the Birth Ceremony of Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya on 25 Dcember 2012. During his stay in India, he inaugurated the Maithili Play presented by Nepalese Artists at Sriram Center on 28 December 2012.

King of Bhutan visited India as Republic Day function Chief Guest-

 The King and Queen of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema respectively visited India from 23 January to 30 January 2013. King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck was invited by the Indian President to be the Chief Guest for the Republic Day Celebrations of India.

Rajkeswur Purryag, President of Mauritius Visited India-

 Rajkeswur Purryag, President of Republic of Mauritius visited India from 3 January 2013 to 10 January 2013. He was accompanied by Aneetah Purryag as well as the Ministers of Arts & Culture and of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment, and senior officials.

President of Russia Vladmir Putin Visited India to attend 13th India-

Russia Annual Summit-Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the President of Russia visited India on 24 December 2012 at the Invitation of Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India to attend 13th India-Russia Annual Summit. During the visit the Russian President met the Prime Minister of India - Manmohan Singh and the President of India – Pranab Mukherjee.   

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar visited India-

 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Chairperson of the National League of Democracy of Myanmar visited India from 13 November 2012 to 18 November 2012. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi spent several years in India during her early days when her mother Daw Khin Yi was Ambassador to India. She also spent some time as a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla in 1987. 

President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai Visited India and discussed on various Issues-

Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan paid a state visit to India from 9 November to 13 November 2012 following the invitation of the President of the Republic of India Pranab Mukherjee. On his visit to India he was accompanied by a high-level delegation to India. The Afghani President held delegate level bilateral discussions on various regional and international issues that are relevant for both the nations with the Prime Minister of India

DEATH( Nov 2012- March 2013)

INTERNATIONAL

Roger Ebert-The Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for the Chicago Sun-Times as well as the film critic, died at the age of 70 years on 4 April 2013 at Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Roger Ebert remained the film critic for Chicago Sun-Times for 45 long years and was also given the title of most powerful critic in America by the Forbes in 2007. 

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala- Oscar and Booker Prize winner writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala died on 3 April 2013 in Manhattan, New York after a long illness. She died at the age of 85 and is survived by her three daughters, her husband Cyrus Jhabvala and six grandchildren.

 Richard Griffiths-Actor Richard Griffiths, the renowned Vernon Dursley of Harry Potter died on 28 March 2013 at University Hospital in Coventry, central England. His age was 65 years. He died because of complications in the heart surgery. 

Anthony Lewis- Two-time Pulitzer winner Anthony Lewis, whose New York Times column championed liberal causes for three decades, died on 25 March 2013 in Boston. He died from due to complications of heart and renal failure. He was 85 years old. Pietro Mennea, the Italian athletics died in Rome on 21 March 2013. He was 60 years of age. He died because of some incurable disease. Pietro Mennea was the gold medal winner in the 200m at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.  He remained 14-time champion in 100m and 200m in the outdoor Italian championships. He was renowned for creating the world record of 19.72sec in Mexico 1979. His record could not be broken for around two decades. This was a record which broke its record of American Tommie Smith and remained unbeatable by US sprint great, Michael Johnson, in 1996. Pietro Mennea was also called Arrow of the South.

Pietro Mennea The Italian athletics died in Rome on 21 March 2013. He was 60 years of age. He died because of some incurable disease. Pietro Mennea was the gold medal winner in the 200m at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He remained 14-time champion in 100m and 200m in the outdoor Italian championships.  He was renowned for creating the world record of 19.72sec in Mexico 1979. His record could not be broken for around two decades. This was a record which broke its record of American Tommie Smith and remained unbeatable by US sprint great, Michael Johnson, in 1996.  

Zillur Rahman- The President of Bangladesh, Zillur Rahman passed away on 20 March 2013 at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. He was 84 years of age. The Government of Bangladesh announced three-day mourning in the country. Zillur Rahman was undergoing treatment for kidney as well as respiratory complications. 

Peter Banks- Peter Banks, the original guitarist for rock band Yes, died in London on 7 March 2013. He was aged 65 years. Peter Banks died due to heart failure. Yes band was established in 1968. He played guitar on two main albums of his life- Yes (1969) and Time And A Word (1970). Later he pursued his own band called Flash. 

Lilian Davies-  Swedish Princess Lilian Davies died in Stockholm on 10 March 2013. She was aged 97 years. Swedish Princess Lilian was married to Prince Bertil. The Swedish Princess Lilian Davies was born in Swansea, Wales in August 1915 in a working class family. The cause of her death is unknown, but she suffered from Alzheimer's disease. 

James Strong -James Strong, the chairman of local organising committee of the 2015 World Cup died at the age of 68 years on 3 March 2013 in Sydney. ICC World Cup chief executive John Harnden, in the meanwhile announced that Strong’s successor would be made in a due course of time.

Hugo Chavez- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died on 5 March 2013 at a military hospital in Caracas at the age of 58 due to Cancer. He died after battling from cancer for two years during which he underwent several surgeries and chemotherapy in Cuba. With his death his 14 year rule of Venezuela came to an end and bringing a challenge of electing a new President for the country within 30 days as per Constitution of Venezuela. Till then the Presidency will be assumed by the Vice-President of the country, Nicolas Maduro. The Foreign Minister of Venezuela Elias Jose Jaua Milano announced seven days mourning for the country.

 Armando Trovajoli-Italian musician and composer Armando Trovajoli died aged 95. He wrote the scores for about 300 films.During his long stint, he worked with some of the world's great jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis. His most famous song was a romantic serenade to Rome earned so much popularity with the tourists that it was regarded as the city's theme tune.

Ronald Dworkin- American philosopher and Constitutional law expert, Ronald Dworkin died in a hospital at London on 14 February 2013. The liberal scholar who argued that the law should be founded on moral integrity died at the age of 81 suffering from leukemia. 

Zhuang Zedong- Zhuang Zedong, the table tennis legend died in Beijing on 10 February 2013 following lengthy fight with cancer. He was aged 72 years. Zhuang Zedong is a three-time world table tennis champion. He won a range of events in 1960s. He was renowned for chance meeting with Glenn Cowan, the US table tennis player during 31st World Table Tennis Championships in 1971.

 Ayesha Haroon- Ayesha Haroon, the renowned Pakistani journalist died on 2 February 2013 in New York following 4-year long fight with cancer. She was 46 years old. Ayesha Haroon is a highly respected journalistic figure in Pakistan. She was former Lahore Resident Editor for The News International. She also served as the editor of The Nation. 

Aaron Swarth- Aaron Swarth, the internet activist and co-founder of Reditt committed suicide by hanging himself on 11 January 2013. The 26 years old computer genius was the developer of the early version of the RSS (Rich Site Summary) – web feed system was facing federal criminal charges in cases of a controversial fraud and hacking allegations. 

Koto Okubo- Koto Okubo, the lady who received the title of world’s oldest lady alive after the death of Dina Manfredini of United States, died on 12 January 2013. The 115 years old Okubo was born on 24 December 1897 in a town near Tokyo, Japan. Dina Manfredini after receiving the title died within two weeks time and she received the award after the death of Japanese Jiroemon Kimura. Jiroemon born on 19 April 1897, in the ancient capital of Kyoto also died at the age of 115 years.

Neil Adcock- Former South Africa fast bowler, Neil Adcock died on 6 January 2013 at the age of 81 in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. He had pneumonia and was also suffering from cancer for a long period of time. 
 Neil Adcock made his Test debut in year 1953 at home against New Zealand. Neil Adcock had played 26 Tests for South Africa between 1953 and 1962, and took 104 wickets at an average of 21.10. He took 26 wickets in a Test series in England in 1960. 

Gerda Lerner- Gerda Lerner, the leader in women’s history as well as the founding member of National Organization for Woman died on 2 January 2013 at Wisconsin. She was aged 92 years. Lerner died in peace at the assisted-living facility in the city of Madison. She founded the doctoral programme in the women’s history in Madison at the University of Wisconsin. 

 Tony Greig- Tony Greig, 66, the former captain of England cricket team and renowned commentator passed away in Sydney on 29 December 2012 following lung cancer. Greig was diagnosed with the ailment in October 2012. Tony Greig was born in Queenstown in South Africa. He was awarded with the Best Cricketer of the Year award in 1975. Greig had the test career of 58 matches and he scored 3599 runs while claiming 141 wickets.He played 22 ODIs and scored 269 runs while grabbing 19 wickets. 

Norman Schwarzkopf – The retired US General and a person who led the U.S. Forces for a Victory in the first Gulf War in Operation Desert Strom in 1991 died at Florida on 27 December 2012. He led an international coalition of U.N. authorized forces from 34 different nations into Kuwait to drive out the forces of Iraq from the country, when the forces of Iraq invaded Kuwait during the regime of President Saddam Hussein. 

Norman Woodland-The inventor of bar code, which revolutionalised retail in 70s, died at 91 on 8 December 2012 at New Jersey. He died because of complications resulting due to Alzheimer’s disease. He is survived by his wife (61), two daughters, one brother and granddaughters. Woodland was the co-inventor of bar code; the zebra pattern which stores information about the products.  He as well as his partner Bernard Silver (who died in 1963) patented this idea of bar code back in 1952 and also sold that to Philco, the electronics company for 15000 US dollar. 

Devendra Lal- The renowned geophysicist as well as the visiting professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), University of California died at 83 on 1 December 2012. He passed away at his home in San Diego. evendra Lal started his career in research when he was 20 years of age. He started his career at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. His areas of research there were earth and planetary sciences, cosmic ray physics as well as astrophysics. He mainly studied records of the climate which are found in terrestrial minerals. 

Besse Cooper- the woman listed as the oldest person of the world died on 4 December 2012 in Georgia nursing home at 116 years of age. Besse Cooper had died peacefully in Monroe. Besse was recently taken ill with the stomach virus. 
Besse Cooper was declared as the oldest person of the world in January 2011 by the Guinness World Records. 

Dave Brubeck- The renowned Jazz pianist died on 5 December 2012 due to heart failure. He was 91 when he died and just a day away from the 92nd birthday.His experiments in style as well as rhythm won him a million jazz fans. Dave Brubeck died at a hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut while visiting cardiologist. He had also won various awards during his career which spanned over six decades. The Library of Congress designated him as the Living Legend. The 1959 album called Time Out was the first million-selling Jazz album of the modern times.

 Joseph Edward Murray- Dr. Joseph Edward Murray, the first doctor to perform kidney transplant successfully died on 26 November 2012. The 93 year old doctor had received a Nobel Prize for the work. Murray had stroke at the suburban home in Boston on 22 November 2012 and eventually he died at Brigham and Women's Hospital .

Elizabeth Comber- Chinese-British writer and physician Elizabeth Comber, who was known by her pen name Han Suyin, died at the age of 95 on 2 November 2012 at her home in Lausanne, Switzerland.Han Suyin, was a Chinese-Belgian British writer.  She emerged as among the most powerful voices that served as a bridge between China and the West in the 20th century. She later became an ambassador for China-India relations after her marriage to an Indian colonel, Vincent Ratnaswamy.

NATIONAL

Bratindra Nath Mukherjee- Padma Shri Awardee Professor Bratindra Nath Mukherjee, the renowned historian and an epigraphy expert died at his residence in Kolkata on 4 April 2013. He authored more than 50 books and wrote about 700 articles in different national and international journals. Few of his famous books were Greek and Aramaic Edicts of Ashoka, Rise of Kushan Empire and a book on coins of the country named Indian Gold.

Kallam Anji Reddy-Kallam Anji Reddy, the main behind Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd (DRL), the second-largest drugmaker of India died on 15 March 2013 at Hyderabad’s Apollo Hospital. Anji Reddy was the founder and chairman of DRL. He was aged 72 years. He died because of liver cancer. He is survived by his wife, daughter and son.

Prof Veer Bhadra Mishra-The noted environmentalist as well as the acclaimed Hero of the Planet of TIME Magazine in 1999, died at Sir Sundarlal Hospital of Banaras Hindu University on 13 March 2013. He was aged 75 years.  Prof Veer Bhadra Mishra was given the title of Hero of the Planet by the TIME magazine in 1999. He was the founder of Sankat Mochan Foundation. He founded Sankat Mochan Foundation in 1982.

Ganesh Pyne-76 years old legendary painter Ganesh Pyne on 12 March 2013 died after a heart attack at a city hospital in Kolkata. Ganesh Pyne was born in Kolkata in 1937. In his long career of five decades his paintings were exhibited round the world - Paris, London, Washington and Germany. He was described as an artist's artist, a philosopher's philosopher and master fantasist of them all.He had received several awards and accolades for his works. He was conferred Raja Ravi Varma award by Kerala Government.

 Viren J Shah-86 years old Former West Bengal Governor and industrialist Viren J Shah died in Jordan on 9 March 2013 after a heart attack. Viren Shah went on for holiday to Jordan with his wife where suffered the heart attack. Viren Shah was elected to Parliament from Junagadh in Gujarat in 1967. He was also member of the Rajya Sabha twice from 1975 to 1981 and from 1990 to 1996.  He was the Governor of West Bengal from 1999 to 2004.

SK Varma- The former news editor of The Indian Express died on 3 March 2013 in New Delhi following a cardiac arrest. Varma was aged 90 years. SK Varma began his career during Quit India movement with the Patna Times. Thereafter, he moved to Indian Nation. By the end of World War II, he shifted to the Punjab Mail and also worked with the Daily Herald as a sub-editor. 

Mukesh Gadhvi- The Congress MP from Banaskantha passed away on 1 March 2013 in Ahmadabad because of multiple organ failure. Mukesh Gadhvi was 50 years of age. Mukesh Gadhvi is survived by his wife, two daughters and one son. Gadhvi was two-time MP from Banaskantha as well as three-time MLA from Danta.

Hari Shankar Singhania The leading industrialist died on 23 February 2013 at the age of 79 years. Hari Shankar Singhania was a Padma Bhushan awardee (in 2003) and was also involved with JK organisation since 1951. 
He was also the chairman of International Chamber of Commerce from the time duration of 1993 to 1994. He had remained the president of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in 1979-80.

Radhakishan Malviya- The former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha Member from Madhya Pradesh died on 19 February 2013 at a private hospital in Indore after suffering from a brief illness. He died at the age of 68.  He was a veteran Congress Leader and was elected MLA from Sanver in Indore district in 1972.  He served the country as Labour Minister in mid 1980s in the Rajiv Gandhi Government.  He was elected as the MP to Rajya Sabha three times.

Shanu Lahiri- The renowned painter of Bengal School died on 1 February 2013 following a brief illness at the private hospital in Kolkata. She was 85 years of age. She is survived by daughter Damayanti and son Arnab. She was cremated at the Keoratala Crematorium on 1 February 2013. Shanu Lahiri was born in the artistic family and studied at Government School of Art and Crafts, Calcutta.She also received President’s Gold Medal. She was the first one to receive this honour at her University. In 1950, her first solo exhibition was organised.

Rusi Framroze Surti-The former all-rounder of India from Surat died on 13 January 2013 in Mumbai. Surti was aged 76 years. Surti was often also called poor man's Garry Sobers and played 26 Test matches for India from the time period of 1960 to 1969. He played for Rajasthan as well as Gujarat in Ranji Trophy. In Sheffield Shield, he represented Queensland 35 times.

Haradhan Bandopadhyay The renowned Bengali actor died on 5 January 2013 in Kolkata after struggling for his life for 15 days. Haradhan Bandopadhyay was aged 86 years and is survived by wife and two sons. Haradhan Bandopadhyay worked in a total of 66 films and he had a career span of six decades.He worked with Satyajit Ray in movies such as Mahanagar, Shonar Kella, Jai Baba Felunath and many more.He worked with some of the renowned directors such as son of Satyajit Ray, Sandip Ray and Mrinal Sen.

Pandit Ram Sanehi Shukla-The veteran freedom fighter died at the age of 98 at Sahebpur Village under Madiyahon tehsil on 3 January 2013. Shukla, who was a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, died after surviving a long illness. The last rites of the freedom fighter were performed at the Manikarnika Ghat of Varanashi with full state honour. 

Nityanand Swami- The first chief minister of Uttarakhand, Nityanand Swami, passed away on 12 December 2012. He was 84 years old and belonged to the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP).Nityanand Swami, served the people throughout his life, focused on developmental issues and built a very good rapport with the people. Uttarakhand Government had declared three days' of state mourning as a mark of respect to the departed leader. 

Pandit Ravi Shankar- Renowned Indian sitarist and Bharat Ratna Recipient Pandit Ravi Shankar passed away in San Diego city of California on 11 December 2012. He was 92 years old. The musician was admitted to the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla on 6 December 2012 after he complained of breathing difficulties. Pandit Ravi Shankar is survived by his wife Sukanya and musician daughters, sitar player Anoushka Shankar, singer Norah Jones, 3 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.

Devendra Lal- The renowned geophysicist as well as the visiting professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), University of California died at 83 on 1 December 2012. He passed away at his home in San Diego. Devendra Lal started his career in research when he was 20 years of age. He started his career at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. His areas of research there were earth and planetary sciences, cosmic ray physics as well as astrophysics. He mainly studied records of the climate which are found in terrestrial minerals. 

 Inder Kumar Gujral- Inder Kumar Gujral,  who served as the Prime Minister in  United Front government in 1990s, died at the age of 92 on 30 November 2012. Following the resignation of HD Deve Gowda, he became the 13th Prime Minister of India on 21 April 1997 and held that post till 19 March 1998 in United Front government .The political party which he belonged to wasJanta Dal. Gujral was a Rajya Sabha Member twice from 1964 to 1976 and a member of the Lok Sabha from 1989 to 1991. He was re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Bihar in 1992.

Indravadan Ambalal Modi- Founder of Cadila Pharmaceuticals and industrialist, Indravadan Ambalal Modi died on 26 November 2012 after suffering from a brief illness and respiratory disorder. The 87 year old industrialist was the Chairman of Cadila Pharmaceuticals. He ventured himself into the Pharma industry in the year 1951 by setting Cadila Laboratories. . 

P K Venukuttan Nair- A well known theatre personality as well as the Malayalam film actor died on 26 November 2012 at Thiruvananthapuram because of brief illness. Nair was a respected personality in theatre circles in the state of Kerala. Nair had also received state government award for the best drama director four times. Nair is survived by his wife. 

Tulsi Govinda Baruah- The Chairman of Assam Tribune Group of Newspapers died on 17 November 2012 at his residence in Rajgarh. The 87 year old is now survived by his wife a daughter and two sons. Tulsi Govinda Baruah was born in Dibrugarh town of Assam, on 29 July 1925. His father R.G. Baruah was the first Mayor and architect of modern Guwahati and he ran the English daily newspaper, The Assam Tribune.

Balasaheb Keshav Thackeray- The Shiv Sena Supremo Balasaheb Keshav Thackeray died on 17 November 2012 at the age of 86.  He died of the cardio-respiratory arrest after suffering a long illness at his residence Matoshree, in Mumbai. Balasaheb Keshav Thackeray was an Indian Politician, who founded Shiv Sena a Political Party based in Mumbai, Maharashtra in the year 19 June 1966. Before turning up to politics, he was a cartoonist by profession with an English daily newspaper in Mumbai, named the Free Press Journal. His cartoons were also published in the Times of India.

K.C. Pant- the ex-Defence Minister of India and former Planning Commission Deputy Chairman died on 15 November 2012. The 81 years old is now survived by his wife Ila Pant, who was a former Member of Parliament and two sons.  Krishna Chandra Pant was the son of the Bharat Ratna and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Govind Ballabh Pant.

Kamala Sadagopan- The eminent Tamil writer and novelist Kamala Sadagopan died on 14 November 2012. She is survived by her husband Sadagopan who is also a screenplay writer known by the name of Chitralaya Gopu and four sons. Kamala worked in a journal run by novelist Vai Mu Kothainayaki Ammal named Jaganmohini.  As a delegate to All India Congress Committee she attended its Avadi Session In 1955 .

Shree Krishna Khaitan- The chairman of Khaitan group of companies, passed away on 4 November 2012. He was a native of Jhunjhunu village in Rajasthan and was born on 15 December 1939. It was S.K. Khaitan who had incorporated the Khaitan group of companies in 1975.

Kailashpati Mishra- Veteran BJP leader, former governor of Gujarat and Rajasthan and former finance minister of Bihar, Kailashpati Mishra, passed away in State of Bihar on 3 November 2012.Kailashpati Misra, was of 90 years of age and was suffering from prolonged illness.

T Samuel- Veteran Cartoonist and the pioneer of pocket cartoons in India, T Samuel died  on 2 October 2012 at the age of 86. Samuel is now survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. Samuel started his journey as a professional cartoonist before Independence from Lahore with a Military Gazette.  After partition he came to Delhi as a refugee and joined Shankar’s weekly, where he contributed the Kalu and Meena, the silent strip cartoon and some more related to social life. As a staff cartoonist, he served Delhi edition of Times of India, where he became famous as the creator of the pocket cartoon named Babuji. 

RESIGNATION November 2012 to February 2013

INTERNATIONAL

Giulio Terzi- Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi resigned on 26 March 2013 in the wake of a dispute with India over the 2012 killing of two Indian fishermen by two marines while there are on anti-piracy duty.

Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib - The opposition Coalition President of Syria, Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib announced his resignation from Syrian National Coalition (SNC), the opposition of Syria, on 24 March 2013. Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib declared that he was resigning so that he could work with more freedom which was devoid to him in the official institution. 

Mario Monti- Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on 21 December 2012 resigned after 13 months in office with handing over his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano after parliament gave final approval to the 2013 budget law. With the resignation of Mario Monti the President is expected to call early national elections within 70 days of the parliament dissolution, possibly on 24 February 2013.

Pope Benedict XVI -Pope Benedict XVI announced on 11 February 2013 that he would resign at the end of the month. He reasoned that he was too infirm to carry on. He is the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The decision set the stage for the election of a new Pope before the end of March 2013.

Marc Grossman- The US special envoy to Af-Pak (Afghanistan-Pakistan), Marc Grossman on 27 November 2012 announced his resignation after being at the helm of diplomatic affairs in the volatile region for two years from 2010 to 2012. His resignation would come into effect from 14 December 2012. Grossman would be succeeded by his Deputy Special US Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, David D Pearce.

George Entwistle- BBC Director General George Entwistle on 10 November 2012 resigned from the job after the broadcaster put out a program which was denounced by the corporation's chairman as shoddy journalism as a British politician was depicted in child sex abuse.

NATIONAL

Sunil Dutt- Blackberry India Managing Director Sunil Dutt, who joined the company in December 2011, quit from the company in the month of March 2013 within a month after leading the launch of BlackBerry 10 OS and the Z10 in India.
BlackBerry India spokesperson confirmed the news of his resignation from the position as Managing Director of BlackBerry India with an immediate effect.In the interim, Rick Costanzo, Executive Vice President for Global Sales, will take over the leadership of the talented management team in India .

Anindya Kumar Mitra- The Advocate-General of West Bengal, Anindya Kumar Mitra resigned from his office on 8 February 2013. Following his resignation, Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal appointed Bimal Chatterjee as the new Advocate General of the state.

Rohinton F Nariman- Rohinton F Nariman, the Solicitor-General of India resigned from his office on 4 February 2013. He was appointed at the second highest law official of India on 23 July 2011 after Gopal Subramanium resigned from his office on 14 July 2011 following the issues with Government in context to the 2G Spectrum Allocation Scam.

 Nitin Gadkari- Nitin Gadkari resigned from his post as the BJP President on 22 January 2013. After his resignation, Rajnath Singh was appointed as the party chief. A lot of senior BJP leaders had earlier sought removal of Gadkari as BJP chief after his name came up in the Purti scam in 2012. Nitin Gadkari’s name surfaced in the corruption charges in his company purti Group.

Arjun Munda- The Arjun Munda Ministry in Jharkhand on 8 January 2013 resigned and recommended dissolution of the two-year-old Assembly to the governor in Ranchi.The decision of his resignation came after his coalition partner, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), decided to withdraw its support from the 28-month-long BJP-led coalition government.

B.S.Yeddyurappa- B.S.Yeddyurappa( Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yeddyurappa), former Chief Minister of Karnataka on 30 November 2012 announced his resignation from Legislative Assembly and from primary membership of BJP party. Yeddyurappa submitted his resignation to the Speaker of the Assembly, KG Bopaiah. Yeddyurappa represented Shikaripura in his home district Shimoga, which is about 280 km north of Bangalore.

Pavan K. Varma- Indian Diplomat Pavan K. Varma in October 2012 resigned as India’s ambassador to Bhutan with an idea of entering into politics. Ambassador Pavan Varma is set to join the Janata Dal-United (JDU). He asserted that he wants to contribute to clean politics and good governance in the country.