CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009-10 SPORTs

January 2009

Indian Railways teams win the men's and women's titles in the National basketball championships in Surat.

Serena Williams bags the women's title in the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne.

Yuki Bhambri wins the junior boys' title in the Australian Open.

February 2009

Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza became the first Indian pair to win a Grand Slam mixed doubles title when they clinch the Australian Open

Arvind Bhat and Sayali Gokhale win the men's and women's singles titles in the National badminton championship in Patna.

Mahela Jayawardene (240) and Thilan Samaraweera (231) smash double hundreds during a stand of 437 runs against Pakistan in the first Test in Karachi, a record for the fourth wicket in Tests.

March 2009

Manchester United clinches the Carling Cup, beating Tottenham Hotspur in a shootout in the final at Wembley

Ugandan footballer Alex Katete, 25, dies of a heart attack in Silchar, Assam

Honda announces the sale of its Formula One team to former team principal Ross Brawn. The new outfit is called Brawn GP.

Viswanathan Anand finishes fourth in the Linares chess tournament at Spain, a forgettable result for the Indian who had won the title the previous two years.

Somdev Devvarman beats world no. 59 Lu Yen-Hsun in straight sets to help India clinch a 3-2 win over Chinese Taipei at Kaohsiung and advance to the third and final round of the Davis Cup Asia/ Oceania Zone Group I.

China becomes the first nation ever to win all five titles (Men's and Women's Singles, Men's Doubles, Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles) in the open era at the All-England badminton championships.

Virender Sehwag scores India's fastest ODI hundred against host New Zealand.

India wins the five-match ODI series against New Zealand 3-1. The host records a consolation eight-wicket win in the final match at Auckland.

Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar wins his maiden professional title, the PGTI Players' Championship at Panchkula, and becomes the youngest winner on the PGTI Tour.

Brawn GP drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barichello start the Formula One season with a one-two finish in the Australian Grand Prix.

April 2009

India clinch a 1-0 win in the Test series against New Zealand, after the third Test at Wellington is drawn.

Chitra Magimairaj finishes runner-up in the WLBSA World ladies' billiards championship at Cambridge, losing to Emma Boony of England in the final.

Wisden names Virender Sehwag the 'Leading Cricketer in the World' for 2008 and Mahendra Singh Dhoni captain of its 'Dream Test XI', which contains five Indians.

Gagan Narang wins the bronze medal in the men's 10m air rifle event of the first ISSF World Cup of the year in Chongwon, Korea.

India wins the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament with a 3-1 victory over host Malaysia in the final.

Argentine golfer Angel Cabrera wins The Masters at Augusta, pipping Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry in a sudden-death play-off.

Gagan Narang clinches the gold in the men's 50-metre free rifle 3-position event in the shooting World Cup in Changwon, Korea.

Churchill Brothers wins its maiden I-League football title.

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber of Red Bull pull off a one-two finish in the Chinese Grand Prix.

French swimmer Alain Bernard breaks the 100m freestyle world record at the French championships at Montpellier, setting a new time of 46.94s.

Manchester United veteran Ryan Giggs is crowned PFA Footballer of the Year, while Aston Villa's Ashley Young wins Young Player of the Year award.

Yulia Yefimova breaks the world record in the women's 50m breaststroke with a timing of 30.23s at the Russian swimming championships in Moscow

May 2009

The Indian men's recurve team defeats the Russian Federation to win the gold in the archery World Cup Stage II at Porec, Croatia.

Tejaswini Sawant wins a bronze medal in the women's 50m rifle 3-position at the shooting World Cup in Munich.

Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly wins the Asian chess championship in Philippines.

Sayali Gokhale wins the women's singles title at the Spanish Open badminton championship in Madrid, beating Lianne Tan of Belgium

Singapore's Gao Ning defeats India's Sharath Kamal to win the men's singles title at the Commonwealth table tennis championships in Glasgow

Russian pole vaulter and Olympic gold medallist Yelena Isinbayeva wins her second Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award.

Barcelona beats defending Manchester United in the final to lift the Champions League title in Rome.

Chelsea wins the FA Cup, beating Everton in the final.

June 2009

Swede Robin Soderling defeats defending champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the French Open.

Svetlana Kuznetsova defeats Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-2 in an all-Russian French Open final to win her second Grand Slam title.

Roger Federer wins his first French Open title, completing a career Grand Slam.

India's Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic win the French Open men's doubles crown.

Viswanathan Anand completes a 5-3 victory over home favourite Peter Leko in their eight-game rapid chess match at Miskolc, Hungary.

Boxer Suranjoy Singh wins gold in the Asian championship in Zhuhai, China. Thokchom Nanao Singh and Jai Bhagwan win silver medals.

Pakistan wins the Twenty20 World Cup, beating Sri Lanka in the final at Lord's, London.

Saina Nehwal becomes the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament with her triumph in the Indonesian Open. Saina beat Chinese Lin Wang in the final in Jakarta.

Indian women's hockey team wins the Champions Challenge for women in Kazan, Russia.

July 2009

Roger Federer wins a record 15th grand slam by triumphing at Wimbledon.

Serena Williams wins the women's title and along with Venus claims the women's doubles crown.

Leander Paes and Cara Black suffer a straight-set defeat in the mixed doubles final.

India wins the ODI series against the West Indies 2-1 after the last match at Gros Islet is washed out.

Squash player Joshna Chinappa wins the third WISPA title of her career in Kuala Lumpur.

Mark Webber of RBR-Renault wins the German Grand Prix

GM Arun Prasad becomes the first Indian to claim the title in the 116-year history of the Scottish chess championship in Edinburgh.

American Stewart Cink wins the British Open golf title at Turnberry.

Usain Bolt powers away from a top-class field to win the 100 metres event at the London Grand Prix.

GM Parimarjan Negi wins the Politiken Cup chess title at Copenhagen.

Golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar wins maiden Asian Tour title with victory at the Indonesia President Invitational golf.

Gaganjeet Bhullar enters the top-10 in the Asian Order of Merit

The Union Government announces Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards for the Beijing Olympic Games bronze medal-winners Sushil Kumar and Vijender Singh along with boxer M. C. Mary Kom.

India goes down 1-3 to England in the first of the three hockey Tests at Birmingham.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009-10

National October 2009

The Union Cabinet renames the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act after Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of his 140th birth anniversary.

Dolphin is declared the national aquatic animal at the first meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority in New Delhi.

Two nuclear-capable, medium range Prithvi-II missiles are successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the Orissa coast.

India and Argentina sign an Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Cristina Fernando de Kirchner, in New Delhi.

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee gives nod for commercial cultivation of genetically modified Bt brinjal.

Kerala begins a survey in the Periyar Tiger Reserve for a dam it proposes to build across the Mullaperiyar river.

Jaya Arunachalam, President, Working Women’s Forum among four selected for the Jamnalal Bajaj Award 2009.

The Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee launches the National Skill Development Corporation, a unique public-private partnership, in New Delhi.

India and China sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to establish a partnership for strengthening dialogue and practical cooperation in the area of climate change, in New Delhi.

The President Pratibha Patil presents the Dadhasaheb Phalke award to singer Manna Dey at the 55th National Film Awards 2007 ceremony in New Delhi.

The Centre gives nod to a proposal to enhance quota for women in urban local bodies from one-third to 50 per cent.

Nod for constitution of 19th Law Commission.

K. Radhakrishnan is appointed the ISRO Chairman.

The Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and China adopt common stand on climate change, North Korea and reforms of multinational financial institutions, after a meeting in Bangalore.

The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flags off the first train on the Anantnag-Qazigund section at Wanpoh in the Kashmir Valley

At least four persons are killed and 150 injured in a massive fire at the Indian Oil Corporation’s fuel depot in the Sitapura industrial area on the outskirts of the Rajasthan capital Jaipur.

P.S: Veeraraghavan takes over as Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009-10

National December 2009

Najam Sethi, the former Editor-in-Chief of the Friday Times and Daily Times, Pakistan is presented the "2009 Golden Pen of Freedom", of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), during the 62nd World Newspaper Congress and 16th World Editors' Forum inaugural in Hyderabad.

The Rajya Sabha gives nod for the Workmen's Compensation (Amendment) Bill, 2009. The Legal Metrology Bill, 2008 is passed by voice vote

The Right to Information Act has given a new meaning to citizen engagement with governance, says the Vice-President Hamid Ansari delivering the inaugural address at the first "National RTI Awards - 2009" in New Delhi.

India announces 20-25 per cent carbon emission intensity cuts on the 2005 levels by 2020

The Cabinet clears the National Green Tribunal Bill.

The Taiwanese film I Can't Live Without You (No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti) directed by Leon Dai bags the prestigious Golden Peacock at the 40th IFFI. French-South Korean filmmaker Ounie Lecombe's A Brand New Life (Yeo Haeng Ja) is awarded the Silver Peacock.

Celebrated playback singer Lata Mangeshkar is presented France's highest civilian award Officer of the Legion of Honour, in Mumbai.

The Rajya Sabha passes the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2009 to bifurcate the Central University in Jammu and Kashmir.

Fifty six newspapers in 45 countries through a common editorial call for united and decisive action to check irreparable damage that climate change will thrust on earth.

Scientist Yash Pal and Project Director of Chandrayaan-1, M. Annadurai are chosen for the H.K. Firodia awards for 2009.

The Lok Sabha passes the Essential Commodities (Amendment and Validation) Bill 2009 (Sugarcane Pricing Bill).

BSNL becomes the first company in the country to launch wireless broadband services.

Chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises Sunil Mittal is conferred the 10th Lal Bahadur Shastri Award by the President Pratibha Patil, in New Delhi.

Rajya Sabha nod for renaming the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Nod for Competition (Amendment) Bill 2009 and the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act will cease to exist, two years ahead of its scheduled closure.

The Ranganath Misra Commission recommends 10 per cent quota for Muslims in government jobs.

The Rajya Sabha post facto approves SBI-State Bank of Saurashtra merger

The R.D. Pradhan Committee probing the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai indicts former Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor for his handling of the "war-like" assault.

King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck arrives on his first state visit after his coronation last year, in New Delhi.

A. R. Rahman is presented the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year award by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. Lifetime Achievement Award goes to sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar.

India and Bhutan sign four MoUs after a summit with the visiting monarch. New Delhi agrees to fund nearly a quarter of Thimphu's Tenth Plan outlay of Rs. 14, 800 crore.

India to draw a road map for low- carbon growth

Poets dominate 2009 Sahitya Akademi Awards, with eight of their books chosen for honours in 24 categories of literature

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 to be amended to be made more disabled-friendly.

India, Japan finalise plan to further security cooperation.

Lokmanya Tilak award for The Hindu Editor-in-Chief N. Ram.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009-10

National November 2009

The Union Cabinet renames the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act after Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of his 140th birth anniversary.

Dolphin is declared the national aquatic animal at the first meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority in New Delhi

Two nuclear-capable, medium range Prithvi-II missiles are successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the Orissa coast.

India and Argentina sign an Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Cristina Fernando de Kirchner, in New Delhi.

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee gives nod for commercial cultivation of genetically modified Bt brinjal.

Kerala begins a survey in the Periyar Tiger Reserve for a dam it proposes to build across the Mullaperiyar river.

Jaya Arunachalam, President, Working Women’s Forum among four selected for the Jamnalal Bajaj Award 2009.

The Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee launches the National Skill Development Corporation, a unique public-private partnership, in New Delhi.

India and China sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to establish a partnership for strengthening dialogue and practical cooperation in the area of climate change, in New Delhi.

The President Pratibha Patil presents the Dadhasaheb Phalke award to singer Manna Dey at the 55th National Film Awards 2007 ceremony in New Delhi.

The Centre gives nod to a proposal to enhance quota for women in urban local bodies from one-third to 50 per cent.

Nod for constitution of 19th Law Commission.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi unveils the logo for the World Classical Tamil Conference to be held in Coimbatore next June.

K. Radhakrishnan is appointed the ISRO Chairman.

P.S: Veeraraghavan takes over as Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009-10

National September 2009

An “informed meeting” of the WTO Trade Ministers in New Delhi aimed at fast-tracking the Doha Round opens.

Kanchivaram wins the Best Feature Film award and Prakash Raj adjudged Best Actor as the 55th National Film Awards 2007 are announced in New Delhi. Inime Nangathan bags the Best Animated Film award. The Best Actress Award goes to Kannada actor Umashree for her role in Gulabi Talkies. Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Naalu Pennugal fetches him the Best Director Award.

The National Mission for Female Literacy christened Saakshar Bharat Mission, is launched by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.

The Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Selja, unveils contours of Rajiv Awas Yojana aimed at making cities slum-free in the next five years.

India and Hong Kong sign the Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement on criminal matters.

India and Mongolia sign a civil nuclear agreement for uranium supply, besides pacts on peaceful uses of radioactive minerals, health, culture and statistics.

The World Bank approves “Single Tranche loan” worth $4.3 billion for four specific projects in India aimed at strengthening select public sector banks.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle puts in orbit India's 960-kg. Oceansat-2 and six foreign nano satellites after blasting off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

The Chandrayaan-1 probe finds traces of water across the surface of large parts of moon.

Eleven persons, including four from the IISC, Bangalore are selected for the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awards of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research for 2009.

Veteran playback singer Manna Dey is selected for the 2007 Dada Saheb Phalke award.

The International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei is honoured with the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace and Disarmament and Development 2008, in New Delhi.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009-10

National August 2009

B.C. Tripathi takes over as the Chairman and Managing Director of GAIL (India).

The Rajya Sabha passes the Constitution (109th Amendment) Bill 2009 that seeks extension of reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for another 10 years.

Parliament adopts The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2009.

A U.P. NGO Nirantar, which runs Khabar Lahariya, a fortnightly newspaper in Hindi bags the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize 2009.

India and China decide to set up a hotline between Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Wen Jiabao as a confidence building measure at the 13th round of boundary talks in New Delhi.

The Centre agrees to abolish the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council and work for a new set-up in the hill district.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in the region of Andaman Islands causes aftershocks in many cities in the southern and eastern parts of the country

The Indian Space Research Organisation launches the beta version of ‘Bhuvan', a new web-based 3D mapping tool at the National remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad. The geo portal can be accessed at http://bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in

A ‘Heritage Train' with a 1947-made WP 7200 steam engine is flagged off from the Howrah Station, retracing the route the first train of the East India Railway took 155 years ago.

Eminent Sanskrit poet, author of The Ramayana: A Linguistic Study, Satya Vrat Shastri is presented the 42nd Jnanpith Award by the princess of Thailand, Maha Chakri Sirindhorn at a function in New Delhi.

The Union Cabinet gives nod for the setting up of the Indian Community Welfare Fund in 18 Indian missions to help overseas Indians in times of distress.

India and Nepal initial the revised Treaty of Trade and Agreement of Cooperation to Control Unauthorised Trade.

The first indigenously built T-90 S battle tank named Bheesma rolls out of the Avadi Heavy Vehicle Factory in Chenna

The Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change gives “in principle” approval for the National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act gets presidential assent.

The UPA government raises reservation for women at all tiers of the panchayati raj system from 33 to at least 50 per cent. Nod to amend Article 243(D) of the Constitution.

The Indian Space Research Organisation loses radio contact with Chandrayaan-1 and the first moon mission ends in ten months instead of its slated life of two years.

The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dedicates to the nation the Mangala oil field in Barmer, Rajasthan, said to be the largest onshore discovery in the country over two decades.

The Chandrayaan-1 mission is terminated.

The National Stock Exchange launches Interest Rate Futures.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009-10

National July 2009

The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announces the setting up of a National Council for Human Resources in Health to act as an over-arching regulatory body

In a landmark judgment, the Delhi High Court strikes down the provision of Section 377 of the IPC which criminalised consensual sexual acts of adults in private

National Food Security Act to be brought in to ensure entitlement of 25 kg of rice or wheat per month at Rs.3 a kg to BPL families.

The ‘star sensors' of India's first lunar satellite Chandrayaan, vital in determining the orientation fail and are set right by activating contingency “gyroscopes” on board. (The snag occurred on April 26 and was detected on May 16).

India and the U.S. finalise three agreements — a military end user pact, the Technology Safeguards Agreement and the Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement — with the visiting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Rajya Sabha passes “The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008

The Centre launches ‘Customs Tariff Database Online' in New Delhi.

A longest total solar eclipse of the century lasting 6 minutes and 39 seconds sweeps across a narrow swathe of Asia. The dark shadow of the moon made its landfall in Gujarat before racing across the nation.

The former CEO of Insofys Nandan Nilekani takes over as Chairman of the newly created Unique Identification Authority of India.

The President Pratibha Patil presents the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2007 to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, launches the nation's first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant for sea trials at Visakhapatnam. The Advanced Technology Vessel project was cleared for implementation by Indira Gandhi in 1984.

Two Indian NGOs, Ecosphere Spiti in Himachal Pradesh and Barefoot College in Rajasthan are chosen for the 2009 Green Energy and Green Livelihoods awards, instituted by Sierra Club, a U.S.-based environmental organisation.

India will follow a policy of “trust and verify” on commitments by Pakistan, says the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Lok Sabha.

India's first standard gauge Metro train goes on trial run on the Inderlok-Mundka corridor of the Delhi Metro.

Actor Nandita Das is appointed chairperson of the Children's Films Society of India.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009-10

National June 2009

The President's Joint address to both Houses of Parliament delineates 10 broad areas of priority for the government, including the proposal to enact a National Food Security Act under which below the poverty line families are entitled to 25 kg of rice or wheat a month at Rs. 3 a kg. An Equal Opportunity Commission on the anvil.

Sensex ends above 15000 for the first time since September 2008 with the Centre's reforms agenda unveiled in the President's address lifting investor sentiment.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia is appointed Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission for a second term.

Indian scientists announce the birth of the world's second cloned buffalo named Garima at the National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal, Haryana. The first cloned buffalo was born on February 6.

Gopal Subramaniam is appointed Solicitor-General.

Global Wind Day is celebrated for the first time in the country at the Marina beach in Chennai.

For the first time in over 30 years, the year-on-year inflation strays into negative territory at minus 1.61 per cent for the week ended June 6.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India gives nod for the “anchor investor concept”

The Centre launches a round-the-clock anti-ragging helpline that can be accessed at 1800-180-5522.

Satyam Computer Services unveils its new brand identity ‘Mahindra Satyam'. C.P. Gurnani is new chief executive officer of Mahindra Satyam.

Nandan M. Nilekani is to be chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority.

Tata Motors launches products from the Jaguar and Land Rover stable in India.

The UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi declares open the Bandra-Worli sea link, a state-of-the-art cable-stayed bridge in Bandra, Mumbai.

The President, Pratibha Patil, inaugurates the IOC golden jubilee fete in New Delhi.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009-10

National May 2009

The country's first case of influenza A (H1N1) flu virus is confirmed when a 23-year-old male who came to Hyderabad from New York tests positive.

The 14th Lok Sabha is dissolved by the President Pratibha Patil.

Malvinder Mohan Singh quits as the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited.

Cyclone ‘Aila' pounds West Bengal leaving 23 dead and affecting 1.1 lakh people. The Sunderbans region is badly hit.

Patlolla Sabitha Indra Reddy becomes the first woman Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Five other women given key portfolios.

Rani Abbakka, the Coast Guard's first inshore patrol vessel is launched at a function in Visakhapatnam.

The rule that packaging of tobacco products must carry pictorial warnings comes into effect.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009-10

National April 2009

Reliance Industries Ltd. begins gas production in Krishna-Godavari basin located off the coast in the Bay of Bengal.

Pramod Bhasin, President and CEO of Genpact, takes over the new Chairman of the National Association of Software and Service Companies.

Tech Mahindra acquires Satyam Computer Services outbidding L&T.

ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair, environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna, Olympic gold medal winner Abhinav Bhindra among 63 personalities presented with the Padma awards 2009 by the President Pratibha Patil.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C-12) puts in Orbit Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT-2) a surveillance satellite procured from Israel and Anusat built by Anna University, Chennai after lift-off from Sriharikota.

India announces Rs. 100 crore grant for providing relief to civilians being evacuated from the conflict zone in northern Sri Lanka

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009-10

National March 2009

The Election Commission announces that elections to the 15th Lok Sabha will be held in five phases, on April 16, 23 and 30 and May 7 and 13. The Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim will be held simultaneously.

The Boards of Directors of Reliance Industries Limited and its refinery subsidiary Reliance Petroleum Limited approve the merger of the firms, the nation's largest-ever corporate merger

The Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express the Country's first superfast passenger train completes 40 years of service.

India's light combat aircraft Tejas is bang on target in the first test sortie in the second phase of weapon testing under way at an Air Force base in the north-Western sector.

A new version BrahMos supersonic cruise missile meant to attack a particular target and out of a cluster on land is successfully tested at Pokhran, Rajasthan.

The DRDO successfully launches an interceptor missile from the Wheeler Island off the Orissa coast and it destroys a Dhanush missile at an altitude of 80 km over Bay of Bengal.

The SEBI gives nod for Satyam Computer Services for choosing a strategic investor to acquire 51 per cent stake in the company.

Manipur Human rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila on a continuous fast for the past nine years demanding complete withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 is freed from judicial custody, in Imphal.

Air Marshal D.C. Kumaria takes charge as the first-ever Director General Operations at Air Headquarters in New Delhi.

India and Chile decide to explore the possibility of a free trade pact after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Michele Bachelet.

Meghalaya is put under President's rule and the Assembly is kept under suspended animation. For the first time in 30 years, inflation plummets to its lowest level at 0.44 per cent for the week ended March 7.

Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata launches commercially Nano, the people's car at a function in Mumbai.

Sister Mary Prema is elected the new Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity in place of the ailing Sister Nirmala.

Venu Srinivasan, Managing Director, Sundaram-Clayton takes over as the Confederation of Indian Industry president for 2009-10, at the CII annual convention in New Delhi.

The Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Mediaperson for 2008 is conferred on Nirupama Subramanian, Islamabad Correspondent of the The Hindu and Vinita Deshmukh, Editor of Intelligent Pune in New Delhi.

The Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar, actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Akshay Kumar, noted Tamil writer D. Jayakanthan among 62 persons presented with the Padma awards.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009-10

NATIONAL February 2009

The ISRO Chairman, G. Madhavan Nair and Team Chandrayaan are declared the CNN-IBN Indian of the year 2008. Actor Dilip Kumar is presented the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar, ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair, social activist Aruna Roy among seven persons to be presented with the Bharat Asmita National Awards at a function in New Delhi

India and the U.S. sign an MoU for cooperation in production and marketing of biofuels

A commemorative postage stamp is released in New Delhi to mark 50 years of SAIL.

India signs its first commercial nuclear pact with the French nuclear Areva for reactors, fuel supply in New Delhi.

The Union Minister for Textiles Shankersinh Waghela releases the Handloom Atlas of India, in Chennai.

The U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Koon is presented the Sustainable Development Leadership Award 2009 at the Ninth Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in New Delhi. There are no “bailouts” for a climate crisis, says the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee inaugurating the summit.

A.S. Murty is appointed Chief Executive Officer of Satyam Computer Services.

Cabinet nod for national policy on safety at workplace.

Mumbai terror “a crime against humanity,” says the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in an interview to The Hindu.

Kiran Karnik, the former president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies, chairman of Satyam Computer Services

The first model e-court in the country is launched by the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad.

Pandit Bhimshen Joshi, noted Hindustani classical vocalist is presented with Bharat Ratna at his residence in Pune

The Union Cabinet gives nod for changes to the foreign direct investment policy and excludes indirect investment through domestic firms from the overall sectoral ceilings.

Scientists of the Karnal based National Dairy Research Institute announce cloning of the world's first buffalo

John Chambers, Chairman of CEO, Cisco Systems is presented the Global CEO of the year 2008 award at the inaugural of the Nasscom India Leadership Forum 2009 in Mumbai.

Suman Sharma becomes the world's first woman to fly the mighty Russian MiG-35 fighter jet at the Aero India International Air Show in Yelahanka, Bangalore.

Sonia Gandhi inaugurates the Srinagar International Airport and the Baramulla-Srinagar train service.

The External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, who holds charge of Finance presents the interim budget for 2009-10 for a vote-on-account. A massive allocation of Rs. 1,31,317 crore is made for flagship programmes. Defence gets Rs. 1,41,703 crore and Rs. 65,300 crore debt waiver and relief given to 3.6 crore farmers. A sum of Rs. 100 crore earmarked for Unique Identification Project

The Government moves the Company Law Board to supersede the boards of Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties both promoted by the family of Ramalinga Raju, former chairman of Satyam Computer Services.

Prominent Hindi novelist Govind Mishra among 23 persons presented the Sahitya Akademi Awards for 2008 in New Delhi.

The Centre launches Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme and Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension scheme.

Rajya Sabha passes the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill, 2008.

Lok Sabha passes the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill, 2009.

The Navy is tasked with overall maritime security encompassing coastal and offshore security of the nation. National Command Control, communications and intelligence network planned.

The keel of the first indigenous aircraft carrier is laid by the Defence Minister A. K. Antony at a function in Kochi.