Current Affairs- December 2012
Current
Affairs December 2012 –Fourth Week (Useful for all competitive Examinations)
Sachin Tendulkar announced Retirement from One Day Cricket
One of
the game's all-time greats, SachinTendulkar, on 23 December 2012 announced his
retirement from one-day cricket, bringing to an end a glorious 23-year-old
career in the format during which he rewrote numerous batting records. Tendulkar
goes out after amassing 18,426 runs in 463 one-dayers at an average of 44.83.
The diminutive right-hander has an astonishing 49 hundreds in the format,
including a double hundred -- the first in this form of the game.
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian Batsman who
is considered one of the greatest batsman of the world after Don Bradman in
Test Cricket and the second most successful one day batsman after Viv Richards
as per the ranking done by Wisden-the Bible of Cricket. Tendulkar who belongs
to Mumbai Maharashtra made his appearance in six world cups for India and was
the member of the 2011 World Cup winning squad of the nation.
The major facts related to his one day
international career are as follows:
•
Sachin scored 18426 runs in 463 one-day matches at an average of 44.83
•
Tendulkar made his ODI debut on his international tour against Pakistan
in 1989 in Gujranwala, where he scored zero runs
• He scored
his first half century in the 9th ODI
• He
made 49 hundreds in the one-day format, including a double hundred which is the
first in this form of cricket and 96 half centuries
• He
scored his first century in the 79th ODI against Australia in 1994 at R
Premadasa Stadium, Colombo in a day-night match-this was the third match of
singer world series
• In
the 2003 World Cup in South Africa he finished as the highest run-getter
• He
became the first cricketer to score a double century in the history of One Day
international Cricket against South Africa in February 2010
• He
played his last One Day International Match against Pakistan in Asia Cup Dhaka
played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur and scored a half century to
help India win the match
•
Tendulkar scored his 100th international century on 16 March 2012
against Bangladesh, where he scored 114 runs
Jnanpith Award 2011 won by Oriya
Novelist and Academician Pratibha Ray
Leading Oriya novelist and academician Pratibha
Ray, who has over 40 novels, travelogues and short stories to her credit, was
on 27 December 2012 named for the prestigious Jnanpith Award for the year 2011 for
her contribution to the field of Indian literature. The award carries a cash
prize of 7 lakh rupees, a citation and a bronze statuette of Godess Saraswati. Pratibha
Ray is the first Oriya woman and fourth Oriya writer to get the coveted award. She
will also be the 47th author to be bestowed with the honour. Ray has 20 novels,
24 short stories, 10 travelogues, two poetry collections and a number of essays
to her credit. Born in 1943,
Pratibha Ray is one of the most widely read Oriya novelists and short story
writers. Her novels and stories are deeply and persuasively grounded in the
great tradition of story-telling.
Former Army chief Gen VK Singh's Z-Plus
Security Cover removed by Union Government
As Z-plus security beneficiary, the ex-army
chief had around 30-35 Army personnel offering 24*7 proximate security in
shifts. Six to seven vehicles which include the primary bullet-proof vehicle
was also provided to the ex-army chief. While the government withdrew the
security to Gen V K Singh, he would still get secretariat staff as well as
certain sahayaks.
What is Z-Plus Security?
In India, depending upon the threat perception,
high-risk people are provided securities by local government and the police.
There are mainly four categories of security and these are Z-Plus, Z, Y and X.
Z-Plus security cover is the highest level of security. Anyone provided with
the Z-Plus security, gets a security cover of 36 personnel. Individuals in
India who are provided with various categories of securities include cabinet
ministers, chief ministers, Supreme Court and High Court judges, senior
bureaucrats as well as leading politicians. NSG or National Security guards are
usually used for providing security to individuals under Z-Plus security cover.
Shinzo Abe elected as Japan's prime
minister
Shinzo Abe, the conservative leader of Japan was
elected as the prime minister of the country by lower house of the Parliament
called the House of Representatives, on 26 December 2012. Shinzo Abe took oath
to rebuild Japanese economy as well as mend the coalition with US. Abe, who was
also prime minister in 2006-2007, led the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) to
victory in parliamentary elections Dec. 16. As the seventh prime minister of
Japan in not even 7 years, Abe replaced Yoshihiko Noda, who belonged to DPJ and
whose party suffered deep defeat at the elections. DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan)
had come into power in 2009 and it lost on grounds of failing policies as well
as mishandling of atomic disaster at Fukushima in 2011.
Kamal Nath appointed as the new
ex-officio Member of Planning Commission
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office on 26
December 2012 has re-constituted the Planning Commission and appointed the
Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development Minister - Kamal Nath as the new
ex-officio member of the Plan panel in place of rural development minister
Jairam Ramesh. The decision was taken with the view to lay down government
emphasis on the Urban Development and schemes like MNREGA, already in existence
for rural development. The other ex-officio members of the Commission are
Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Home
Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Chemicals and
Fertilisers Minister M K Alagiri, Communications Minister Kapil Sibal, Law
Minister.
Narendra Modi sworn in
as Gujarat Chief Minister for fourth term
Narendra Modi, who powered BJP to an emphatic
victory in Gujarat, was on 26 December 2012 sworn in as Chief Minister for the fourth
consecutive term at the head of a 17-member ministry. Governor Kamla Beniwal
administered the oath of office and secrecy to him at Sardar Patel Stadium at Ahmedabad.
Virbhadra Singh took oath for the
Sixth time as Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh
Former Union Minister of India and Veteran
Congress leader Virbhadra Singh on 25 December 2012 was sworn-in as Chief
Minister of Himachal for a record sixth term in Shimla. Governor Urmila Singh
administered the oath of office to the septuagenarian, who has been chief
minister for more than 16 years. Virbhadra Singh is often referred to as the
Raja of Rampur because his ancestors were royalty. He had served five terms as
chief minister of Himachal Pradesh between 1983 and 2007. He first assumed
office April 8, 1983. In his five-decade political career, he has been an MLA
seven times and a parliamentarian five times.
China starts world’s longest bullet
train linking Beijing with Guangzhou
China on 26 December 2012 inaugurated world's
longest high-speed rail route linking its capital Beijing with the southern
metropolis of Guangzhou, covering a distance of 2,298 kms. Running at an
average speed of 300 km per hour, the bullet train will save nearly 12 hours by
bringing down the travel time between Beijing and Guangzhou from more than 20
hours to around eight. The route connects five provinces and has 35 stops in
major cities, including Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Changsha. The new
train covers Beijing with China's most industrialised province Guangdong where
most developed cities like Guangzhou close to Hong Kong and Maccau are located.
The line is expected to be extended to Hong Kong by 2015.
‘Gangnam Style’ Collins
dictionary’s word of the year
After becoming the most-watched video ever on
Youtube, Korean singer Psy’s pop sensation “Gangnam Style” has now booked a
place in popular culture with recognition from a renowned British dictionary. Gangnam
Style, is pop sensation with a horse dance video by his Sotuh Korean singer
Psy. It became the first video in the history of the Internet to be viewed more
than a billion times. “Gangnam Style” has been named among the Collins
dictionary’s words of the year along with “mummy porn”, “fiscal cliff” and
“Romneyshambles”.
ü Mummy
porn became April’s word of the year as the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey
was published during that month and became an instant bestseller.
ü Defeated
presidential candidate Mitt Romney became word of the year for July after
critics recognized his visit to London a Romneyshambles.
Shihab Ghanem became the First Arab to
receive India’s Tagore Peace Prize
Emirati poet and translator Shihab Ghanem became
the first Emirati and Arab to win the Tagore Peace Prize.Tagore Peace Prize is
instituted by the Indian government to commemorate the birth anniversary of
India’s poet, philosopher and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Ghanem was
awarded the accolade in recognition of his creative literary and translation
works, both in Arabic and English, and for promoting human understanding and
values of love and peace Tagore had advocated. The award is given to one person
every two years. Ghanem was chosen due to the promotion of the human values of
love and peace via his poetic works.
High-Level Committee Shortlisted Nominees for Padma
Awards
High-level committee met on 26 December 2012 to
shortlist the nominees of prestigious Padma awards. Rajesh Khanna, singer
Kailash Kher as well as director of much-acclaimed movie Sholay’, Ramesh Sippy
might be honoured with the prestigious awards on 26 January 2013. Rajesh
Khanna, who died on 18 July 2012, was shortlisted for highest category of Padma
awards- Padma Vibhushan. Ramesh Sippy and Kailesh Kher were shortlisted for the
award of Padma Shri.
Awardees’ names would be declared on 25 January
2013 after PM Manmohan Singh’s approval. Rajesh Khanna, Kailash Kher and Ramesh
Sippy were shortlisted after recommendations from the Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting.Usually, the Padma awards are not conferred after the death of
an individual, but Rajesh Khanna was considered by the Government as highly
deserving candidate for Padma Vibhushan. This would make an exception to the
Padma awards. Similar exceptions were made earlier when singer and music
director Bhupen Hazarika was conferred with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan
posthumously in 2012.
The high-level committee that shortlisted the
nominees of the award included cabinet secretary Ajit Seth, home secretary R K
Singh, scientist Anil Kakodkar, principal secretary to the PM Pulok Chatterjee
as well as actor Ratna Pathak Shah.
Number of Supreme Court Judges
increased to 28 after 3 Judges Sworn In
Justice M.Yusuf Eqbal-Chief Justice of Madras High Court, V.
Gopala Gowda-Chief Justice of Orissa High Court and Vikramajit Sen-Chief
Justice of Karnataka High Court sworn in as the Judges of Supreme Court of
India on 24 December 2012 by the Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir. With
this, the number of judges in Supreme Court of India rose to twenty-seven, with
four more vacancies remaining. The three judges were appointed by the President
of India Pranab Mukherhjee for the post on 21 December 2012.
India successfully
test-fires Astra missile third time in a week
India on on 24 December 2012 successfully
test-fired its indigenously developed Astra air-to-air interceptor missile from
a defence base in Odisha for the third time within a week. The test was
conducted for identifying the missile's interception capability and high
manoeuvring and was successful in intercepting the simulated target at an
altitude of 4 kilometer. Before this test firing, Astra was also tested from
the same base on 21 December and 22 December 2012 by the scientists of the
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), who have designed and
developed this missile. After passing all the tests, Astra would be integrated
with different combat fighter aircraft like MIG-29, Sukhoi-30 and other light
combat aircraft.
Park Geun-hye becomes
first woman South Korean President
In recent Presidential elections in South Korea,
Park Geun-hye gained the victory to become country’s first woman President,
daughter of the former military ruler, Park Chung-Hee.
Justice Swatanter Kumar is new NGT chief
Justice Swatanter Kumar has become the first
Supreme Court judge to be the chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT)
which was, till now, functioning without a full-time chairperson. He will
decide on cases pertaining to environmental protection, and conservation of
forests and natural resources.
President Obama: TIME’s Person of the
Year
TIME magazine has named US President Barack
Obama Person of the Year "For finding and forging a new majority, for
turning weakness into opportunity and for seeking, amid great adversity, to
create a more perfect union". This is the second time that Time has chosen
Obama. Previously, the magazine chose him Person of the Year in 2008.
Prepared by: currentaffairs4examz.blogspot.com
Like ‘currentaffairs4examz’ on facebook for regular updates- For link see facebook plugin at
the bottom of this page
0 comments:
Post a Comment