Sports Round-Up: September '12 

CHESS : 6th Leiden International Chess tournament : England’s David Howell won the 6th Leiden International Chess  tournament at 7.5 points on 15 July 2012. The tournament was held at Leiden, Netherland from 7 July 2012 to 15 July 2012. The grandmaster and Asian champion Parimarjan Negi ended the tournament with 7 points out of nine possible points and was second in the 6th Leiden  International Chess tournament. He defeated Netherland’s Benjamin Bok in the ninth round (final) of the tournament. He was announced as the Indian youngest Grandmaster at the age of 13 years on 1 July 2006 after drawing with  Russian Grandmaster Ruslan Sherbakov. He also won the 11th Asian continental chess championship held in from 4 May 2012 to 14 May 2012 in Vietnam. Third place of the Leiden tournament was shared by two Indian Grandmasters S Arun Prasad and M.R. Lalith at 6.5 points.

MOTOR RACING/F1 : European Grand Pix 2012 : Formula One (F1) racer Sebastian Vettel defeated Lewis Hamilton by 1minute 38.086 seconds and won European Grand Pix 2012, Valencia on 24 June 2012. Vettel became the first F1 repeat winner of the season. Vettel is from Red Bull’s team and Hamilton is from McLaren. There were 57 numbers of Laps on the Valencia Street Circuit in European Grand Pix 2012. The circuit length was 5.419 km had the race distance of 308.883 km. There were 12 teams participated in European Grand Pix 2012.  Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racer. He was born on 3 July 1987. He won the World Championship in 2012 and 2011. Vettel also won youngest-ever World Drivers’ championship runner-up. He also secured Red Bull’s first pole position and race win in the team’s history.

ATHLETICS : Three Russian Female Athletes were Suspended : Russian Athletics Federation on 3 July 2012 decided to suspend  three Russian female athletes with the European Marathon Champion, Naiva Tulamanova.The three women are Svetlana Klyuka, Yevgenia Zinurova, Lithuania’s Zivile Balciunaite. European Marathon Champion 2010 Naiva Tulamanova was banned for two years. While Second winner in 800 meters European Champions in 2006 Svetlana Klyukaand 2011 European 800 indoor winner Yevgenia Zinurova, were suspended for anomalous indexes in their biometric  passports and Lithuania’s Zivile Balciunaite was disqualified and banned for using steroids. The suspensions of Yulamanova and Klyuka have been backdated to February. The ban for Zinurova began from September. All the three were suspended to compete in Russian championships as well as from London Olympics.

GOLF : Scottish Open India’s Jeev Milkha Singh birdied the first play-off hole to defeat Italy’s Francesco Molinari and claim the Scottish Open golf title on Sunday. Jeev, who had been five shots off the lead going into the final round, hit a five-under 67 to finish on 17 under . Molinari held his nerve to birdie the final hole for a par 72 to send the tournament into the play-off. Back on the 18th,  Molinari left his birdie putt well short while Jeev confidently held his testing attempt to add the Scottish Open to his wins at the  2006 China Open, Volvo Masters and 2008 Austria Open.

OLYMPICS : 30th Edition of Summer Olympics inaugurated in London : Summer Olympic games 2012 inaugurated at Olympic Stadium at the Olympic Park in East London on 27 July 2012. Queen Elizabeth II officially declared the commencement of the 30th Olympics Game, popularly called the London Olympics, amidst the sparkling fireworks. The games, which will conclude on 12 August 2012, will see nearly 10500 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees participating in as many as 26 sports events. London was selected to host the 30th Summer Olympics on 6 July 2005 after it defeated bids from Moscow, New The York City, Madrid and Paris during the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. London also got a distinction to host the modern Olympic Games three times. The city had previously host the games in 1908 and in 1948.

Below are some of the major facts related to London Olympics 2012

1. 100 heads of states were present at the three and a half hour long opening ceremony

2. More than 10000 performers participated in the opening ceremony

3. The opening ceremony was directed by celebrated Hollywood director Danny Boyle

4. Motto of the London Olympics is - Inspire a Generation

5. 10500 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees participating in as many as 26 sports events India at London Olympics 2012 Champion wrestler and the winner of bronze medal in Beijing Olympics 2008, Sushil Kumar was the official flag bearer of 83-member Indian contingent at the opening ceremony of Olympics. India has sent 83-member team in the London Olympics 2012, which is the highest ever sent by Indian Olympic Association in the Olympics.

CYCLING : Tour de France Bicycle Race : 99th Edition of Tour de France Bicycle Race Bradley Wiggins of Britain became the first cyclist of the country, to win the coveted Tour de France Cycling race on 22 July 2012. Team Sky rider Wiggins is the first cyclist to have won both the Tour and an Olympic track cycling gold. His Sky teammate and fellow Briton, Froom Christopher came second. Their teammate and fellow country man Mark Cavendish was declared the day’s winner as he won the final stage of the race. Wiggins, 32, was given the yellow jersey at the end of the event. The rider with the lowest aggregate time at the end of each day is given the yellow jersey. One of the most successful Olympian of Britain, Wiggins won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and three medals (1 Gold + 1 Silver + 1 Bronze) at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and two golds at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Wiggins is the first and only person in history to win the Paris-Nice, the Tour de Romandie, Critérium du Dauphiné and Tour de France in one single season. Tour de France The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race event held in France and nearby countries. The first The Tour de France was held in 1903. The race which lasts three weeks, covers around 3200 kilometres. Mauris Garin was the winner of the first edition of tour, while Lance Armstrong of USA had won the race for 7 times, the highest individual win.

SHOOTING/ARCHERY : Vijay Kumar bagged Silver in Olympics 25 Metre Rapid Fire Pistol Event : In a nerve-wracking battle for Olympic medal in the individual 25 metre rapid fire pistol event, Indian shooter Vijay Kumar  clinched the silver on 3 August 2012. Kumar hit the target 30 times  out of 40 attempts in theseries comprising eight rounds of five shots each. Leuris Pupo of Cuba, whi clinced the gold clinched scored 34 out of 40. Chinese marksman Ding Feng bagged the bronze. Born on 19 August 1985 in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh is presently a Subedar in the Indian Army’s 16th Dogra  Regiment. He booked his place at the London Olympics when he won a silver medal at the shooting World Cup in Fort Benning, US in 2011.

The persevering shooter has more than 20 international medals and 75 national medals to his credit. He  had won 3 gold medals and one silver medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi. 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne saw him winning two gold medals in two separate shooting events. In one of the major achievements in 2009 ISSF World Cup held in Beijing he bagged Silver missing the gold by mere 0.1 point. Acknowledging his excellent track record and medal winning performances, the India government awarded him with the Arjuna Award in year 2007.

Gagan Narang won Bronze in the men’s 10 meter air rifle event at London Olympics : Ace Indian Shooter won India its first medal in the London Olympics 2012 after he clinched the bronze medal in the men’s 10 meter air rifle event on 30 July 2012. While Abhinav Bindra, who had won a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics 2008, failed to qualify for finals and finished sixteenth. Romania’s shooter Alin George  Moldoveanu claimed the gold medal with a total score of 702.1while Italy’s Niccolo Campriani clinched the silver with a score of 701.5. Narang came third with a total score of 701.1. It was third time when Gagan Narang was participating in Olympics. In previous Athens and Beijing Olympic games he could not turn his performance into medal. This was India’s third medal in shooting events in the history of Olympics. Earlier Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore and Abhinav Bondra had won India silver and Gold medal respectively in 2004 and 2008 olympic games. Narang’s bronze also marked India’s tenth individual medal in the history of Olympic games. Gagan Narang, who hails from Amritsar in Punjab was conferred with the Padma Shree Award in 2010. Considering his tremendous contribution to the field of sports, in year 2010, Gagan Narang was chosen for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the highest sports award in the country.

FOOTBALL : Spain won UEFA Euro Cup Football Championship 2012 : Spain beat Italy 4-0 in the final to win UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Euro Cup Football Championship 2012 at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine, on 1 July 2012. Spain which had earlier defeated Germany 1-0 in 2008 Euro Cup not only defended the title but also created a record by becoming the first team to claim two consecutive titles in tournament’s 52-year long history. Spain and Italy had defeated Portugal and Germany respectively in their semi final matches. Iker Casillas was the captain of Spanish side, while the Italian side was led by Gianluigi Buffon. Spain midfielder Andrés Iniesta of Spain was declared the man of the match given his match winning performance, while Fernando Torres was given the Golden Boot as he scored three goals in the Spain’s title winning campaign. Torres also became the first ever player in the history of the  tournament to score in two separate European Championship finals.

HOCKEY : Hockey India signed a multiyear broadcast agreement with ESPN STAR : Hockey India on 30 July 2012 signed a multi-year broadcast agreement with ESPN STAR Sports to exclusively broadcast all international hockey test matches under Hockey India to be played  in India for the next 5 years. Under the agreement the ESPN STAR Sports will also exclusively cover Hockey India League (HIL), which is expected to be launched in January 2013. The Hockey India is coming up with a professional hockey league that will see the best of Indian and international hockey players showcase their sporting skill. The first edition of the league  is expected to be played in the month of January 2013. At least six franchise hockey teams will participate in the league and will feature 33 hockey matches to be played in prime time in state-of-theart stadia across the country. All teams will play each other on a home and away basis (30 league matches) followed by 2 semifinals and the final.

WRESTLING : Sushil Kumar named India’s Flag-bearer : World champion and Olympic bronze medallist, wrestler Sushil Kumar, was chosen as the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent at the opening ceremony of the Olympics in London on July 27. Making the announcement at a send-off function organised by one of the principal sponsors of the Indian contingent, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in the  capital here on Sunday, the acting president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, said that the choice was made after four Olympic medallists were short-listed for the honour. “We have four Olympic  medallists in the contingent.Leander Paes has already carried the flag. Abhinav Bindra and Vijender Singh have competition early in the Games,” explained Prof. Malhotra. Sushil will be training in Belarus and his competition will be only on the last  day of the Olympics, on August 12.He will specifically be flown to London for the opening ceremony and back to Belarus to continue with his training. ( Read Sports Events Right from January 2012-Click Below)

Current Affair: September 2012 : National Events

NEW SCIENCE POLICY FROM NEXT YEAR

The government is expected to unveil a new science policy next year which will give primacy to global competitiveness on scientific discoveries and giving affordable solutions through science. The New Policy document  would seek to emphasise on global competitiveness of discovery science as well as affordability through solution science. Participating in a consultation exercise, he said the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy would help in achieving faster, sustainable and inclusive growth and proposed to introduce sound measurement systems based on global experience. The  emphasis of Policy will be to provide a renewed impetus for the science and technology sector while creating a vibrant innovation ecosystem that is intertwined with the overall S&T strategy, he said. In the last 10 years, S&T has undergone drastic changes and needs a new STI policy to contribute effectively to country’s economic growth,” Sharma said. The new policy would be framed with the aim of providing a transition from perception to evidence-based approaches for investment decisions  and gaining technological self-reliance through substantial budgetary support to S&T sector.

NATIONAL POLICY FOR CHILDREN 2012

The Ministry of Women and Child Development on 26 July 2012 drafted the National Policy for Children 2012. The revised draft policy reaffirms the government’s commitment towards children and addresses new challenges, seeking to realize the full potential of children’s rights throughout the country. It defines a child as a  person below eighteen years of age, and acknowledges the inalienable and inherent rights of the child and

aims to realize the full range of child rights for all children in the country. The draft has stated that every child has a right to be safeguarded against hunger, deprivation and malnutrition. According to the draft policy, the state is bound to secure the rights and entitlement of children in difficult circumstances such as migration, displacement, disasters and communal violence. The first National Policy on Children was formulated in 1974.

The first policy of 1974 described children as a supremely important asset and made the state responsible for providing equal opportunities for growth and development of all children. The policy primarily focused on health

and education of the children.

RELAXATION IN POLICIES RELATED TO TRANSFER OF GOVERNMENT LAND

The Union Government of India approved relaxation in policies relating to transfer of government land. The objective of the policy is to speed up private public partnership in the country and to fast-track pending infrastructure projects. The decision will ensure that infrastructure projects are not held up for procedural delays. A ban was imposed in 2011 on transfer of government-owned land to any entity except in cases where land

was to be transferred from one government department to another. This ban however excluded the cases where the land was to be transferred from one government department to another. The policy has also been relaxed for all land transfers from ministries to statutory authorities or PSUs (Public Sector Units). Besides, the government allowed use and development of railway land by Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), as per the provisions of Railways Amendment Act, 2005.

PROPOSAL TO MAKE RAPE A GENDER-NEUTRAL OFFENCE APPROVED

The Union cabinet approved a proposal that seek to make rape a gender-neutral offence. With the cabinet giving its nod to the proposal, now, the word rape will be replaced with sexual assault. Under the current definition of rape (Section 375 of Indian Penal Code) a man is said to commit rape when he has sexual intercourse with a woman against her will. The amendment will expand the definition to cover male victims of sexual assault. The cabinet also approved a proposal which said the IPC will have a separate section (326-A) that would cover injury, hurt, burns and disfigurement of any body part of a person (male or  female) by acid. The offence would

draw a punishment of 10-year imprisonment and a penalty of 10 lakh rupees. The cabinet further decided to change the definition of a minor. At present some sections of the IPC and the Criminal Procedure Code consider those below 16 as minor. Following the amendment a person below 18 would be considered as minor. The age of consent has also been raised from existing 16 years to 18 years. However, it is proposed that the sexual intercourse by a man with own wife being under sixteen years of age will not be considered as sexual assault.

DISMISSAL OF LT. GEN. AVADESH PRAKASH RATIFIED

Chief of Army Staff General VK Singh on 21 May 2012 ratified a court martial’s decision to dismiss former military secretary Lt. Gen. Avadesh Prakash from  service after he was found guiltyby an army court for his role in the Sukna land scam case. The dismissal will deprive Lt. Gen. Prakash of all the benefits like pension and any privilege attached with military service. Prakash is the senior-most officer to have been awarded this punishment by the army. The General Court Martial (GCM) had announced its decision to dismiss Lt. Gen. (retired) Prakash in December 2011. He was found guilty of abusing his position under Section 45 (conduct unbecoming of his position as an officer) and Section 52 (intent to defraud) of the Army Act by the General Court Martial at 51 sub-area of the Army station at Narengi in Guwahati. The court martial was conducted when an Army court found Lt. Gen. Prakash guilty of misusing his post in the land scam. Prakash was accused of illegal transfer of 71 acres of land adjacent to the Sukna military station near Siliguri in West Bengal to a private realtor for constructing an educational institution in 2008. Lt. Gen. Prakash is the third Lt Gen rank officer to have been given the punishment in a corruption-related case. Earlier Lt Gen S.K. Sahni was removed from service given his role in the ration scam and Lt Gen P.K. Rath was given a punishment for his involvement in the Sukna case. While Prakash and Sahni were punished after their retirement, Rath was in service when he was

rebuked. Sukna land scam came into public notice in 2008 when the alleged move to transfer the land in Siliguri to a private educational trust came out in the open. Following the grave allegations against the top army  officials the army began disciplinary proceedings against Lt. Gen. Prakash and Lt. Gen. Rath among other top officials.

IT IS MANDATORY TO LABEL GM FOODS

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs in its gazette notification published on 5 June 2012 made it mandatory to make labelling of every package containing genetically modified food from 1 January 2013. The ministry in the notification noted that every package containing the genetically modified food shall bear at the top of its principal display panel the words ‘GM’. The ministry’s move will affect the numerous GM products which enters into the Indian market for sale. The move is aimed at educating consumers and make them aware of GM products, much in the manner that there is labelling to distinguish nonvegetarian food from vegetarian. Under the current practice Importers or exporters rarely display the GM label on the product. Under the new rule the consumers will have the liberty to make a choice on whether they want to buy the GM products or not.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS

Genetically modified foods also known as GM foods or biotech foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms. The process includes the introduction of certain specific changes into the DNA of Genetically modified organisms by genetic engineering techniques.The GM foods were first introduced in the market in year 1996.

SUPREME COURT REFUSED TO STAY ON ANDHRA PRADESH HIGH COURT ORDER

The Supreme Court of India on 11 June 2012 refused to entertain the Union Government’s petition seeking a stay on an Andhra Pradesh high court order which quashed a 4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities in educational institutions and government jobs in the existing OBC quota. The twojudge Supreme Court bench of Justices K.S.Radhakrishnan and J.S.Khehar refused to stay the Andhra Pradesh High Court order as it observed the government did not present any material to show how it had arrived at a figure of 4.5 percent reservation. As per the bench’s directions the reports by the Union Government are to be produced on 13 June 2012. The Congress-led UPA government on 22 December 2011, ahead of the key assembly polls in the five states including UP in February-March 2012, had announced the 4.5 per cent subquota for socially and educationally backward minority communities. It envisaged carving this sub-quota out of the existing 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). On 28 May 2012, an Andhra Pradesh High Court’s division bench had struck down the government’s sub quota for minorities, and held that the Centre acted in a “casual manner”. The High Court said that the government Office Memorandum (OM) creating the sub-quota was based on religious grounds and not on any other intelligible consideration.

RS. 1,500-CR. PLAN FOR CENSUS TOWNS

If a rural area boasts a high population — well above 5,000, sometimes as high as 20,000 — with most of its workforce in nonfarm jobs, is it a village or a town? For almost 4,000 such areas, the definition is unclear: the census calls them towns, but since they have gram panchayats rather than municipal corporations, the government seems to consider them rural. The government has now launched a Rs. 1,500-crore revamp of the PURA (Provision of Urban Amenities for Rural Areas) scheme to bring basic infrastructure to these areas that are falling through the cracks of the rural-urban divide.

BIG PHENOMENON

“This is the big phenomenon of the 2011 Census,” says Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh. “The number of statutory towns [with a municipal corporation] has stayed almost the same from 2001. The number of

villages is almost the same. But the number of so-called census towns has grown from just 1,362 in 2001 to 3,894 now.” A census town is defined as a place with a population of over 5,000, a population density of more than 400 per square kilometre, with three-fourths of its male workforce employed in non-agricultural jobs. “We have schemes for rural infrastructure, and schemes for urban infrastructure, but neither of them apply for these trishanku — caught in the middle areas,” added Mr. Ramesh. The Planning Commission has now agreed to grant Rs. 1,500 crore during the 12th Five Year Plan period to fund a public-private partnership scheme to bring water supply, sewerage, drainage, solid waste management and street lighting to such unofficial urban clusters, mostly in the six States — Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala — which have seen the highest growth of census towns.

TRAI issued Tariff Order for TV Channel

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in its much-awaited tariff order issued on 30 April 2012, ordained the TV channels to carry a minimum of 100 free-to-air channels on their networks. As per the TRAI order, the basic service tier (BST) will comprise at least five channels of news and current affairs, infotainment, sports, kids, music, lifestyle, movies and general entertainment in Hindi, English and regional language of the concerned region. While multisystem operators (MSO) have to offer the BST, it is not mandatory to subscribe to it. The subscriber is free to subscribe to his own package of a maximum of 100 FTA channels, but in either case , the MSO can’t charge the subscriber more than 100 rupees a month. Besides having to carry a minimum of 500 channels from next year, TRAI has mandated that every MSO will have a minimum capacity to carry 200 channels from1 July, 2012. The TRAI’s order came following the I&B ministry’s Cable Television Networks Rules 2012 notification issued on 29 April 2012. Broadcasters shall not provide their channels to MSOs who have channel carrying capacity of less than 200 channels immediately and less than 500 channels from 2013. TRAI also gave the responsibility of fixing Carriage Fee to the MSO in a uniform and transparent manner. MSOs can fix the retail tariff, and package and price offerings. But, the sum of the a-lacarte rates of channels — part of a bouquet — shall not exceed 1.5 times the rate of the bouquet.

Changes in the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill 2010, Approved

The Union government of India approved the changes in the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010, introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 2 May 2012. The Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 17 May 2012 approved the amendments seeking to give the wife and children a clearly-defined share in the husband’s immovable residential property in case of divorce. The Cabinet meeting, which was presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also gave its consent to a provision that both husband and wife seeking divorce will have to file petitions together for waiver of the six-months cooling period. The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 seeks amendments in the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The bill, which was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on 2 May 2012, had faced severe criticism of the opposition parties in the house and the civil society outside for some of its provisions.

Supreme Court upheld the Constitutional Validity of the RTE Act, 2009

The Supreme Court of India on 12 April 2012 upheld the constitutional validity of the Right to Education Act, 2009, which mandates 25 per cent free seats to the poor in government and private unaided schools uniformly across the country. The apex court clarif ied that its judgment will come into force from 12 April 2012. However, the act will apply uniformly to government and unaided private schools except unaided private minority schools. A three-judge bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia and justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swantanter Kumar gave the ruling. The bench had reserved its verdict on 3August 2012 on a batch of petitions by private unaided institutions which had contended that the section 12 (1)(c) of RTE Act violates the rights of private educational institutions under Article 19(1) (g)which provided autonomy to private managements to run their institutions without governmental interference. Right to Education Act (RTE) was passed by the Indian parliament on 4 August 2009.The act came into force on 1 April 2010. It has the provision of free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. India became one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child. Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE act says that every recognized school imparting elementary education is obliged to admit underprivileged children even if it is not aiaded by the government to meet its expenses.

India Accounted for 47 Per Cent of Measles Deaths in 2010

As per a recent World Health Organisation (WHO) study, Published in the British medical journal, The Lancet, on 23 April 2012, India accounted for about 47 percent of measles deaths in 2010, while Africa recorded 36 percent of deaths due to the same disease. The study revealed that the death rates from measles went down by 74 percent between 2000 and 2010, but it missed the WHO target of 90%. The shortfall was largely attributed to deaths in India and Africa where the virus kills thousands a year. Africa and India two key regions of the world where a large number of cases related to Measles come into light significantly underperformed which led the WHO to miss its target. The Americas and Europe accounted for less than 1 percent each of the Measles cases. The WHO study described that even with 74 percent drop in cases of measles, it killed an estima ted 139200 people across the world in 2010, down from just over 535000 in 2000. Measles is a viral disease and transmitted when an infected person breaths, coughs or sneezes. There is no specific treatment for it and a person’s natural immunity allows them to recover in 2-3 weeks. It can lead to severe complications in particulary indigent demographics like malnourished children and people with weak immunity and can cause serious complications including blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhoea, ear infections and pneumonia. The disease can be prevented by immunisation and experts say increasing vaccination rates to above 95 percent worldwide and keeping them up is the only way to eradicate measles.

India Recorded the Highest Number of Deaths Due to Premature Births

A new report by Save the Children, titled Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Pre-term Birth revealed, India has the highest number of deaths due to premature births, and ranks 36th in the list of pre-term births globally. The ranking included 199 countries. As per the report of the 27 million babies born in India annually (2010 figure), 3.6 million are born prematurely, of which 303600 don’t survive due to complications. The deaths due to pre-term births are second only to pneumonia, the report noted. In terms of deaths due to pre-term birth, India is at the top (indicating it fares the worst), while in terms of the rate of pre-term births, it is ranked 36th, after Malawi (ranked first), Pakistan (ranked eighth), Nepal (20th), and Bangladesh (24th). More than 100 experts from almost 40 U.N. agencies, universities, and organisations contributed to the report,. The countries with the greatest numbers of preterm births are India – 3519100; China – 1172300; Nigeria – 773600; Pakistan – 748100; Indonesia – 675,700; United States – 517400; Bangladesh – 424100; Philippines – 348900; Democratic Republic of the Congo – 341400; and Brazil – 279300. More than 60 per cent of preterm births occur in Africa and South Asia. The 10 countries with the highest numbers include Brazil, the United States, India and Nigeria, demonstrating that pre-term birth is truly a global problem. Of the 11 countries with pre-term birth rates of more than 15 per cent, all but two are in sub-Saharan Africa. In the poorest countries, on average, 12 per cent of babies are born too soon, compared with 9 per cent in higher-income countries. Many factors, according to Save the Children - India CEO Thomas Chandy, contributed to the problem such as early marriage and pregnancy, inadequate nutritional intake by pregnant women, and want of adequate health interventions were among the reasons that contributed to such a high rate of pre-term pregnancy, exposing both the mother and the baby to risk. The report defined preterm as 37 weeks of completed gestation or less, which is the standard WHO definition.

1. Which countriy is the world's largest producer and exporter of uranium?
(a) Australia
(b) Kazakhstan
(c) Canada
(d) France

2. Who was awarded the CNR Rao national prize in chemical sciences for the year 2012-13?
(a) S Chandrasekhar
(b) V Surya Prakasa Rao
(c) JK Bera
(d) AK Sood

3. Recently, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, handed over a railway project built with Indian assistance to which of the following countries?
(a) Bangladesh
(b) Sri Lanka
(c) Bhutan
(d) Nepal

4. Football club Livorno's midfielder Piermario Morosini died after collapsing on the pitch during a game. Which country did he belong to?
(a) Portugal
(b) Germany
(c) Uruguay
(d) Itay

5. Former Special Protection Group (SPG) chief B Wanchoo recently has been appointed as the Governor of:
(a) Goa
(b) Uttarakhand
(c) Rajasthan
(d) Andhra Pradesh

6. What is the range of the Agni-V missile?
(a) 3000 km
(b) 3500 km
(c) 5000 km
(d) 6000 km

7. Which High Court has upheld the validity of a decision taken by the Indian Banks Association to not give educational loan to students who had secured less than 60% in qualifying examinations and then secured seats in private colleges under the management quota?
(a) Madras High Court
(b) Delhi High Court
(c) Allahabad High Court
d) Gujarat High Court

8. President Salva Kiir has ordered the immediate withdrawal of his troops from the contested Heglig oil field. Salva Kiir is the President of:
(a) Brazil
(b) South Sudan
(c) Bolivia
d) Ethiopia

9. Wilson Kipsang won the London Marathon. He belongs to:
(a) Kenya
(b) Ethiopia
(c) Jamaica
(d) Uganda

10. Who won the Barcelona Open men's tennis tournament 2012?
(a) David Ferrer
(b) Fernando Verdasco
(c) Milos Raonic
(d) Rafael Nadal

11. IIT-Kharagpur has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with a state government to open an extension centre to impart quality improvement and knowledge upgrade training to university and college teachers. Name the state.
(a) Chhattisgarh
(b) Jharkhand
(c) Bihar
(d) Odisha

12. Who among the following is the current chief of DRDO?
(a) M Natarajan
(b) VK Saraswat
(c) R Sreehari Rao
(d) S Sundaresh

13. The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and the Karnataka State AIDS Control Society have launched a single-window project in four districts of Karnataka to facilitate social protection and deliver social entitlements for people living with HIV. Name the project?
(a) Swavlamban
(b) Utthan
(c) Utkarsha
(d) Nirbhay

14. In a significant decision, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has set aside the Environmental Clearance granted to the 4 MTPA Coal Mining Project of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd and 4 MTPA Coal Washery on grounds of faulty public hearing. These projects were located in which of the following states?
(a) Chhattisgarh
(b) Odisha
(c) Jharkhand
(d) Karnataka

15. Which country accounted for 47% of global measles deaths in 2010?
(a) Pakistan
(b) India
(c) Bangladesh
(d) Uganda

16. Which insurance company is planning to come out with a new product that will extend coverage to HIV positive and AIDS patients?
(a) National Insurance Company Limited (NICL)
(b) Apollo Munich Health Insurance
(c) ICICI Lombard
(d) United India Insurance Co Ltd

17. SunEdison, a worldwide solar energy services provider, announced the activation of a 25 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant located within a multi-developer, multi-facility solar park in:
(a) Rajasthan
(b) Gujarat
(c) Haryana
(d) Maharashtra

18. Justice Ranjan Gogoi has been sworn in as a Supreme Court judge, raising the strength of the apex court to 27. He was the former Chief Justice of:
(a) Punjab and Haryana High Court
(b) Guwahati High Court
(c) Calcutta High Court
(d) Madras High Court

19. Which of the following countries is planning to install two coastal nuclear power plants, each with the
capacity to generate 1000MW? 
(a) India
(b) Pakistan
(c) Iran
(d) North Korea

20. Which among the following satellites is the heaviest satellite of India till date?
(a) RISAT-1
(b) RESOURCESAT-1
(c) CARTOSAT-1
(d) INSAT-4G

21. Which of the following countries recently allowed imports of basmati rice from India?
(a) Japan
(b) South Korea
(c) China
(d) Pakistan

22. A Karnataka High Court-appointed committee on malnutrition among children will submit a report to Chief Justice Vikramjit Sen by 15 June. The committee is headed by:
(a) NK Patil
(b) BL Patil
(c) M Srinivasan
(d) B Sivaraman

23. ‘Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid’ is a book written by:
(a) CK Prahlad
(b) Amartya Sen
(c) Stephen J Dubner
(d) Sudeep Reddy

24. Which of the following Indian films has been nominated for the Cannes Film Festival 2012?
(a) Miss Lovely
(b) Ra One
(c) The Dirty Picture
(d) Pan Singh Tomar

25. Which state governments has banned the use of the expression, ‘handicapped'?
(a) Haryana
(b) New Delhi
(c) Kerala
(d) West Bengal

26. After the successful launch of the Agni-V missile, India has become one of the nations with Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) technology. Which of the following countries do not have the ICBM technology?
(a) US
(b) Russia
(c) China
(b) Germany

27. According to the latest data of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which of the following countries was the world's largest arms importer between 2007- 2011?
(a) Pakistan
(b) China
(c) South Korea
(d) India

28. Which of the following female actors will act as a brand ambassador on public hygiene issues?
(a) Katrina Kaif
(b) Vidya Balan
(c) Madhuri Dixit
(d) Karina Kapoor

29. Which one of the following persons has been recently elected as the al-India president of the Progressive Writers Association?
(a) Ponneelan
(b) Amrita Pritam
(c) Vijaydan Detha
(c) Habib Tanvir

30. Ace tennis player and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardee, Leander Paes, will be the Sports Ambassador of:
(a) Andhra Pradesh
(b) Kerala
(c) Haryana
(d) Gujarat

31. Which of the following state's Chief Minister was recently named as one of the 100 most influential people of the world by 'Time magazine'?
(a) Gujarat
(b) New Delhi
(c) Bihar
(d) West Bengal

32. In which state has the Atomic Energy Commission of India commissioned a uranium ore mine and processing plant set up by the Uranium Corporation of India?
(a) Karnataka (b) Andhra Pradesh
(c) Madhya Pradesh (d) Jharkhand

33. Who among the following is the current chairman of the Bar Council of India (BCI)?
(a) Ashok Parija
(b) Manan Kumar Mishra
(c) Zafar Ahmed Khan
(d) Shri Gopal Subramanium

34. Who won the 'Sulabh Kala Sarjak Samman' award - instituted by Sulabh International?
(a) Virendra Prabhakar
(b) Karan Thapar
(c) Rajdeep Sardesai
(d) Dr Prannoy Roy

35. ‘How to fight Islamist terror from a missionary position’ is a book written by:
(a) Shashi Tharoor
(b) Urvashi Butalia
(c) Tabish Khair
(d) Salman Rushdie

Current Affairs 

1. Cobra has been chosen as the sole supplier of beer for Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee picnic, which will be held in the gardens of Buckingham Palace on 4 June. The founder of Cobra Beer is:
(a) Karan Bilimoria
(b) Shaikh Zahoor Alam
(c) Samuel Adams
(d) William Bass

2. Who among the following has been selected as the chairman of the US-India Business Council (USIBC)?
(a) Ajay Banga
(b) Indra Nooyi
(c) Ron Somers
(d) Harold ‘Terry’ McGraw III

3. Which Indian company plans to invest up to GBP 800 million ($1.3 billion) in its facilities in Wales over the next five years recently?
(a) Reliance petrochemicals
(b) Tata Steel
(c) Jindal steel
(d) ONGC

4. Which hotel group plans to operate under the 'Lalit' brand in London?
(a) Taj hotels
(b) Welcome Group
(c) Bharat Hotels
(d) Ramada Plaza

5. Which airlines recently announced the launch of its Dreamliner Boeing 787 flight between Tokyo and Delhi from 1 May?
(a) British Airways
(b) Air Berlin
(c) European Air Transport
(d) Japan Airlines (JAL)

6. Which group will acquire a controlling stake in Future Group's ‘Pantaloons Format' business following its demerger with Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd. (PRIL)?
(a) Raymond
(b) Bombay Dyeing
(c) Aditya Birla Nuvo
(d) Provogue

7. Which Indian firm launched its new Editorial Collaboration Platform (ECP) for media companies recently?
(a) Tata Consultancy Services
(b) Infosys
(c) Mahindra Satyam
(d) Wipro

8. Which consumer lending company has selected TCS' BaNCS suite as the core banking system for its venture into retail banking in Africa?
(a) ICICI Bank
(b) Letshego Holdings Ltd
(c) Mortgage Brokers and Lenders
(d) EZCORP Inc

9. Which country has ordered Coca-Cola to temporarily halt its production after the company admitted February 2012 that some of its products were contaminated by chlorine? 
(a) China
(b) Japan
(c) Malaysia
(d) Vietnam

10. Which Indian firm has recently announced that it is acquiring Australia’s Promax Applications Group (PAG), to expand its analytics business? 
(a) Aarem System
(b) Wipro
(c) ABS India Pvt Ltd
(d) Abacuse Softech Ltd

11. Broadcast regulator TRAI has announced a new tariff structure for digital cable systems that will kick in the four metros of Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata from 1 July. Under the new order, a viewer can opt for a maximum of how many free-to-air channels for a minimum of Rs 100?
(a) 50
(b) 75
(c) 100
(d) 125

12. Which of the following countries is the fourth largest exporter of LNG in the world? 
(a) Russia
(b) Iran
(c) Turkmenistan
(d) Australia

13. Which bank has opened specialised Medium, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) loan centres in the country?
(a) Yes Bank Limited
(b) Corporation Bank
(c) Punjab and Sind Bank
(d) Central Bank

14. Which Indian industrialist will be conferred with ‘The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun' title by Japan for his contributions in strengthening economic relations between Japan and India? 
(a) Kumar Mangalam Birla
(b) Mukesh Ambani
(c) Azim Premji
(d) Ratan Tata

15. Recently, global credit rating agency Moody's downgraded which company as credit negative following the downward revision in the company's assessment of natural gas reserves?
(a) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
(b) Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
(c) Indian Oil Corporation
(d) Reliance Industries Ltd

16. Yamaha has announced it will set up a plant at an investment of Rs 1,500 crore near which city?
(a) Chennai
(b) Bengaluru
(c) Pune
(d) Faridabad

17. Moody's recently downgraded some top private sector banks. Which one of the following bank has not been downgraded?
(a) ICICI Bank
(b) HDFC Bank
(c) Axis Bank
(d) Yes Bank

18. Who has assumed charge as Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL)?
(a) Sutirtha Bhattacharya
(b) KC Verma
(c) SK Mukherjee
(d) Tarun Kapoor

19. In an indication of tough times ahead, Indian exports have been hit by poor global economic conditions, and in April 2012, registered growth of:
(a) 2.3%
(b) 3.2%
(c) 4.5%
(d) 5.4%

20. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) survey has projected GDP growth in 2012-13 at:
a) 5.7%
b) 6.5%
c) 7.5 %
d) 7.8%

Answers Business Affairs1. (a) Kazakhstan 2. (a) S Chandrasekhar 3. (b) Sri Lanka 4. (d) Italy 5. (a) Goa 6. (c) 5000 km 7. (a) Madras High Court 8. (b) South Sudan 9. (b) Ethiopia 10. (d) Rafael Nadal 11. (a) Chhattisgarh 12. (b) VK Saraswat 13. (c) Utkarsha 14. (a) Chhattisgarh 15. (b) India 16. (a) NICL 17. (b) Gujarat 18. (a) Punjab and Haryana HC 19. (b) Pakistan 20. (a) RISAT-1 21. (c) China 22. (a) NK Patil 23. (a) CK Prahlad 24. (a) Miss Lovely 25. (a) Haryana 26. (b) Germany 27. (d) India 28. (b) Vidya Balan 29. (a) Ponneelan 30. (c) Haryana 31. (d) West Bengal 32. (a) Karnataka 33. (b) Manan Kumar Mishra 34. (a) Virendra Prabhakar 35. (c) Tabish Khair Current Affairs 1. (a) Karan Bilimoria 2. (a) Ajay Banga 3. (b) Tata Steel 4. (c) Bharat Hotels 5. (d) Japan Airlines (JAL) 6. (c) Aditya Birla Nuvo 7. (a) Tata Consultancy Services 8. (b) Letshego Holdings Ltd 9. (a) China 10. (b) Wipro 11. (c) 100 12. (d) Australia 13. (b) Corporation Bank 14. (d) Ratan Tata 15. (d) Reliance Industries Ltd 16. (a) Chennai 17. (d) Yes Bank 18. (a) Sutirtha Bhattacharya 19. (b) 3.2% 20. c) 7.5 %