Events; Appointments; Etc.: February 2011

FOR RAS PRE EXAM 2012

Events; Appointments; Etc.: February 2011

APPOINTED; ELECTED Etc. Jhalanath Khanal: He has been elected as the Prime Minister of Nepal. U.K. Sinha: He has taken over as the chief of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). DISTINGUISHED VISITOR Hamid Karzai: President of Afghanistan. DIED Anant Pai: Creator of Amar Chitra Katha comics in India. Satinder Singh Noor, Dr: Internationally acclaimed multi-lingual scholar and eminent Punjabi litterateur. He was 70. EVENTS FEBRUARY 10—The United Liberation Front of Assam, a separatist group from Assam, holds the first round of peace talks with the Union and Assam government in New Delhi. 11—Hosni Mubarak steps down as President of Egypt, following 18 days of mammoth protests in Cairo, ending three decades of autocratic rule. 17—Cricket World Cup opening ceremony is held at Bangabandhu stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh. As part of the ceremony, the captains from the 14 competing teams parade through the stadium in colourfully draped rickshaws. 17—The Union government annuls the deal between ISRO’s commercial arm Antrix and Bangalore firm Davos Multimedia Private Limited. The agreement hasd been signed in 2005 for handing over 70 MHz of S-band Spectrum to the private firm for Rs 1000 crore. The agreement has been annulled following CAG’s findings that the deal had resulted in a loss of Rs 2 lakh crore to the nation. 22—More than 65 people are killed as a 6.3-magnitude eathquake strikes New Zealand’s southern city of Christchurch. MILESTONES Lt Gen J.D.S. Rawat: He is the first officer of the Corps of military Intelligence (MI) to be elevated to the rank of Lt. General. Till now, the senior-most rank that officers of MI could attain was major general. MI is responsible for counter-intelligence, field security and information gathering. Major Mitali Madhumita: She is the first woman officer of Indian army to get decorated with a gallantry medal. She has been honoured for her act of bravery during the attack on guest house of Indian officials in Kabul, Afghanistan Dilip Sanghvi: Chairman and Managing Director of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, he has been named as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2011.