INDIAN CURRENT AFFAIRS APRIL 2012

INDIAN CURRENT AFFAIRS APRIL 2012

International News

• Russia to build two more nuclear reactors in China
  Nuclear countries Russia and China have cemented their nuclear cooperation leading the Russian capital to build two more reactors in the Chinese soil.
  
  Earlier also Russia helped China in building two reactors in the Taiwan nuclear plant in Jiangsu province. Those two reactors went into operation in the year 2007 as said by the Sergey Sergeevich Razov, Moscow's envoy. The two reactors being built have a combined capacity of 2,000 mw and are using Russia's VVER 1000 nuclear model.
  
  Russia will build the two reactors in Taiwan after the Chinese government lifts its suspension on the new atomic power plants imposed after the nuclear disaster in Japan last year.
  
• Britain's Duke of York Prince Andrew to visit the Capital Delhi on Monday
  Britain's Duke of York Andrew, will arrive in the capital for a week-long visit in order to enhance ties with India in areas like defence and trade.
  
  The Prince will be in Capital to represent Queen Elizabeth II in the year of her Diamond Jubilee. After visiting the capital the Prince is slated to visit other states of the country as well which includes Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and north eastern state of Nagaland.
  
  The British High commission to India stated that -"The Prince’s visit includes diverse themes that range from inclusive development and defence ties to the growing business relationship".
  
  It is also said the meeting will also discuss how the British-Indian relations have changed and enhanced over the 60 year reign of their Queen.
  
• Following deadly strikes by terror group Taliban, Delhi and Kabul soon to share real time intelligence info
  India and Afghanistan are looking forward to renew up the intelligence sharing system shared by the two following the recent multiple strikes by terror group Taliban. The air strikes were made in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan. With the Indian foreign minister S M Krishna's meeting with his Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul the government officials have stated that the two countries have decided to stop the practice of sharing intelligence using routine' letters and now they will simply provide intelligence inputs immediately to the each other’s government.
  
  Taliban stroked Kabul and other cities in Afghanistan on April 15. These attacks are being seen as the most ferocious air strikes coordinated by the group in the country. The report stated that the Indian establishments were not the main targets.

National

• Congress sounds out DMK chief Karuna for the President post
  Congress has intensified all its current efforts in order to draw a unanimous consensus for the nominees it prefers for the post of President. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s main emissary A K Antony sounded out DMK chief M Karunanidhi regarded the candidatures of our current vice-president Hamid Ansari and our finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. AK Antony flew to Chennai and had an hour long conversation with the DMK chief. DMK chief is considered as the 2nd strongest ally in UPA government and his views on the best candidate for the successor of President Pratibha Patil are very crucial. Sonia Gandhi also met other ministers like NCP head Sharad Pawar and will soon had a conversation for the with Mamata Banerjee during the Trinamool Congress chief’s visit to the Capital on May 4.
  
• Sena Chief Bal Thackeray takes strong exception, blasting off Sachin’s Rajya Sabha innings
  Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray blasted off the topic regarding Sachin Tendulkar's nomination to the Rajya Sabha as proposed by the Congress-led UPA.
  
  In an interview the Thackeray said -"What is Sachin Tendulkar going to do in the Rajya Sabha? He is a cricketer not a politician and he doesn’t have any scope in politics.” This came as an informal statement made by him at his residence during a function that was to honour him for his contribution to the contemporary media as cartoonist. Raipur based magazine 'Cartoon Watch', facilitated the Sena Chief.
  
  Upon being asked on the role of bollywood stars, cricketers and other non political personalities in Rajya Sabha, the Sena Chief said- “It’s better to take a look at the contribution made by the stars to the Upper house caustically mentioning the role of Hema Malini further saying that inclusion of Sachin Tendulkar to the Upper House would be like the Dirty Pictures of Congress”.
  
• Malegaon blasts perpetrators linked to 4 other blast in Maharashtra
  The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has the work of probing the saffron terror cases, found new evidence stating that blasts in cities like Purna, Jalna, Parbhani, and Nanded between the year 2003 and 2006 have been carried out by the same perpetrators of Malegaon blasts, even though in a peculiar fashion. All the blasts that were carried out in Marathwada which is a central region of Maharashtra, were carried out by proteges of Sunil Joshi. Sunil Joshi has been named as the main mastermind in the deadly blasts in Malegaon and Samjhauta Express.
  
  NIA in its investigation found that accused Himanshu Panse, Sanjay Chaudhari and several other associates were trained by Sunil Joshi's group that allegedly carried out blasts in Malegaon, Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Sharif.
  
  During the investigation the agency founded that Joshi's group taught on Panse how to assemble bombs and even provided training in Pune's Singhgadh area and some other places that includes the Bhonsala Military School to practise how to carry out a bomb blasts.
  
• Talks with the Naxal positive stating collector safe release soon
  The interlocutors of Chhattisgarh government met the Maoists counterparts that Sukma Alex Paul Menon was safe and is in good health. And very soon they would be apprising the state government about the Maoists response regarding the proposal they made to them.
  
  The interlocutor from the Maoists side B.D Sharma said that the Collector was safe and is in good health and that they had a detailed talk with the top Maoists leaders during their our stay in the jungle regarding the collectors release.
  
  Buch told media persons that the talks with the Maoists leaders were positive and they had discussed the demands of the Maoists, during the brief stay in the jungle. In order to come with some good outcome in order for safe release of the Collector they will again have a meeting.

Business and Economy Current Affairs

• First economic dialogue between India, Japan To impart a renewed momentum in order to grow and flourish new ties and to resolve issues relating to civil nuclear issues, India and Japan are going to hold their first economic dialogue and sixth strategic talks.
  
  The two dialogues will be co-chaired by our external Affairs Minister along with his Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba, who will be on a two day visit to the National Capital.
  
  The dialogues are slated to be centred on range of bilateral and global issues. These issues include the prospects of civil nuclear cooperation, maritime security and the evolving East Asia regional security architecture.
  
• Gold breaks record price at Rs 29,590 per 10g
  Gold hit to an all-time high of Rs 29,590 per 10 grams following the brisk buying by stockists. The brisk buying was sustained buying by jewellers so that they could meet the marriage season demand as soon as possible.
  
  The precious metal had already gained Rs 650 in its last eight trading sessions and was advanced further by Rs 50 to Rs 29,590 per 10 grams. This level was never seen before after the consumption of the precious metal. But as per the trade gurus the demand rose for the ongoing marriage season. Even in London gold gained 0.1% to $1,665.23 an ounce.
  
• India, Switzerland to share tax details conveniently
  The Indian and Switzerland government agreed to have a liberal interpretation of the identity rules under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. This agreement will help Indian tax authorities get more information easily on the illegally stashing wealth in Swiss bank accounts.
  
  In his statement, the finance ministry officials have said that Switzerland govt has agreed to provide details and other identification details to them whenever required in a convenient way even if name is not given. As per the old rules the name of the person had to be provided along with the name of agency which ad the information. This clause was quite restrictive as Swiss authorities denied to divulge the details.
  
• India to join the league top five markets for Sony
  Even before Kazuo Hirai took charge as the chief executive officer for the Sony Corp the first senior colleagues he met was Masaru Tamagawa, chief of Sony's Indian operations. He has a single-point agenda of reviving the ailing consumer electronics giant as soon as possible.
  
  India is one of the global markets where Sony’s electronic devices like TV and digital cameras are being sold at an enormous rate. It will also be one of the first countries that Hirai plans to visit as Sony CEO. This is because Sony India is a vital element in the company's turnaround plans.
  
  "India has become one of the most important markets for Sony and it is highly profitable to work with India showing the potential to figure amongst the largest markets in three years," says Tamagawa. Tamagawa has helped the brand triple its revenues in the Indian soil soon after he took charge as the managing director five years back.

Sports Current Affairs

• Real Madrid eyes 32nd Spanish title at Athletic
  The Real Madrid can still hold the Spanish league title with their victory at the Athletic Bilbao. In the score update the real Madrid is seven points clear of its top rival with only three games to play. Also even a Barcelona loss will also award the Spanish leader its record 32nd domestic crown.
  
  Barcelona's last three games are seen to serve as preparation for next month's Copa del Rey final against Athletic. These matches will be the last games for the coach Pep Guardiola’s before he hands over the reins to assistant Tito Vilanova.
  
• Yuvraj Singh to be back on April 9
  After battling lung cancer and receiving treatment for close to two months in the state of Boston Indian Cricketer Yuvraj Singh is all set to return to his homeland on April 9. The cricketer is currently in London and is recovering at a good pace.
  
  He was diagnosed with a rare form of germ cell cancer and underwent three rigorous sessions of chemotherapy. Following the treatment he was discharged from his hospital last month. Yuvraj is expected to announce his future plans including the details of his treatment after he reaches India.
  
  Even though during his stay in Boston for his treatment the Flamboyant player was in touch with his well wishers via twitter and thanked all those who prayed for his well being.
  
• Leander Paes to be Haryana's sports ambassador
  Ace tennis player and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardee, Leander Paes, will be seen as the brand new face as the Sports Ambassador of Haryana.
  
  The decision to make Paes as the sports ambassador was taken at a meeting held between Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Paes.
  
  An official said in his statement that the decision is in sync with the declared objective of the Haryana Government to promote sports in the state.
  
  The official said that Paes will motivate the youths of the state to take up sports as a career. As per the reports Peas has decided to set up a sports centre in the state, for which the land will be provided by the state government.
  
  Besides this Paes is also going to help the Sports Department of the State of Haryana in developing better sports infrastructure and provide best state-of-art training facilities for sportspersons.
  
  An MoU was signed between the Haryana Game Authority with Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association, in the presence of the Chief Minister and Paes, to facilitate the training of the players.
  
• Pakistan Cricket Board hopeful of home series
  The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is hopeful of the home series against Bangladesh team.
  
  The PCB has asked the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to update them regarding the appeal filed in the high court. The appeal is against the petition in order to sought cancellation of Bangladesh's cricket tour of Pakistan. The home series was postponed by the Dhaka High Court for four weeks citing security concerns. The series consisted for the ODI and Twenty20 matches in the land of Pakistan.
  
  The petition was filled by Dhaka university teacher Khandaker Didarus Salam to cancel the tour on security grounds.
  
• Jwala eyeing London berth
  India's ace doubles shuttler Jwala Gutta is eyeing a good run at the Yonex Sunrise India Open in order to book a ticket for herself at the 2012 London Olympics.
  
  In the mixed doubles the Indian ace will team up with V.Diju where as in women's doubles she will be pairing with Ashwini Ponappa. Both the matches will be played at the Siri Fort Complex, where she has some fond memories.
  
  Because at the very same venue she and Ashwin won their Commonwealth Games doubles gold medal in 2010. Nintendo posts first annual loss
  
  Japanese videogame giant Nintendo officially posted its first annual loss after it became a public company. The reason for the loss was considered a soaring yen and the price cuts on its consoles leading to a loss of $530 million.
  
  The Kyoto-based Japanese company slashed the price of its new Nintendo 3DS last year in August. The slash in price was about 40.0 percent after they had a lacklustre debut. This slash was followed in similar reductions in its overseas gaming market as it failed to boost sales during the Christmas period.
  
• Newer version of Halo in November
  Microsoft has revealed that they’ll be releasing a new instalment to the hit videogame "Halo" in November this year. The officials stated that Microsoft will launch the hugely popular franchise instalment.
  
  Halo 4 has been designed exclusively to be played on Microsoft's Xbox 360 consoles. Microsoft Studios corporate vice president Phil Spencer said in a release-"We are starting a new era with Halo 4 and will embark our journey which will encompass the next decade of 'Halo' games".
  
• India’s Gaming Carnival to be hosted in Noida
  For all the gamers of India there’s good news. Noida the suburb of the national capital will be hosting its first ever digital games carnival from April 6. This is a three-day event and it welcomes both international and national gamers to compete with one another under the same roof. The India Gaming Carnival (IGC) is being organised by WTF Eventz Pvt Ltd. This gaming carnival will encompass all the latest digital and online games like: Need for Speed, Fifa Soccer, Tekken,Dota, Counter Strike, Hello, Pool, Poker, Angry Birds and Call of Duty. Kushagra, director, WTF Eventz Pvt Ltd, said in a statement that "The motive behind this gaming carnival is to give the Indian players an expose to the electronic gaming experience,"