Lakshami Niwas Mittal is richest Asian in Britain for the year 2010 with an estimated wealth of 17 billion pound as per the latest Asian Rich List 2010, brought out by Eastern Eye. He is followed by Hinduja Brothers.

Sibutramine which is usually marketed as sibutramine hydrochloride monohydrate salt is a drug used for oral administration for treatment of obesity. It is basically an appetite suppressant. around 20 drug companies are marketing this drug under different brand names. Administration and usage of this drug has invited serious concerns about its safety. This has been suspended from use in the UK and EU. European Medicine Agency (EMA) has recommended complete withdrawal of the drug from European markets due to serious side effects. Now India’s Top Drug Regulator, DGCI (Drugs Controller General of India ) initiates steps to ascertain the safety profile of the medicine. It asks the pharmacovigilance committee to take note of the EMA decision.

Reliance Industries Ltd is becoming the first Indian refinery to produce Euro-IV compliant diesel as the first cargo of 25,000 tonnes of Euro-IV grade diesel from RIL’s refinery at Jamnagar was shipped by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd on January 22, 2010. This is also the first coastal supply of Euro-IV diesel for the Indian market

CottonKing Maharashtra Premier League (MPL) is the first state run League in India, which is being organized by Maharashtra Cricket Association

National Communal Harmony Awards
Mohd Hanif Khan Shastri who is an eminent Sanskrit scholar & Rajasthan’s Centre for Human Rights and Social Welfare selected for National Communal Harmony Awards for the year 2009. These awards were instituted in 1996 by the National Foundation for Communal Harmony, an autonomous organization set up by the Union Government.

BPSS : Board for Payment and Settlement Systems
CAMELS : Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity, Systems and Control
CBLO : Collateralized Borrowing and Lending Obligation
CDRM : Corporate Debt Restructuring Mechanism
DARPG : Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances

• The first India born person to earn US citizenship was A.K. Mozumdar .
• The first Indian descent person to be recruited by the US army was Bhagat Singh Thind. He was recruited in 1918.
• The first India born scholar to win Newbery medal in United States was Dhan Gopal Mukerji.

On May 20, 2010, Google officially announced the Google TV Project at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco, USA.

What is Google TV?
Google TV is a search technology that will provide an easy and fast way to navigate to television channels, websites and applications, all on televisions.

The Google TV device will include Google software including Android and Chrome Web browsers, a Sony television with an Intel microprocessor and a special remote control and wireless keyboard from Logitech.

In technical terms, Google TV is a software platform for Set Top Boxes and HDTVs and is based upon Android Operating System.

Who are co-partners?
The project is being co developed by Google, Intel, Sony and Logitech. Intel, Sony and Logitech together with Best Buy, Dish Network and Adobe have announced their support for Google TV.

The Mughal Empire of India :

The Mughal era is the historic period of the Mughal Empire in India, it ran from the early sixteenth century, to a point in the early eighteenth century when the Mughal Emperors power had dwindled.

It ended in several generations of conflicts between rival warlords.

During the Mughal period, art and architecture flourished and many beautiful monuments were constructed. The rulers were skillful warriors and admirers of art as well.

The Mughal Empire lasted for more than three centuries. The Mughal Empire was one of the largest centralized states in premodern history and was the precursor to the British Indian Empire.

The Mughal Emperors :

• Babur (1526 – 1530)
• Humayun (1530 – 40 & 1555 – 1556)
• Akbar (1556 – 1605)
• Jahangir (1605 – 1627)
• Shahjahan (1628 – 1658)
• Aurangzeb Alamgir
• Later Mughal or Fall of Mughal

• He also built Fatehpur Sikri (city of victory) near Agra. In Fatehpur Sikri are the Panch Mahal, Diwan-I-Khas, Diwan-I-Aam, Jodhabai’s palace and Sheikh Salim Chishti’s tomb. Buland Darwaza (53 m high) is located here, commemorating the emperor’s conquest of Gujarat.
• Built his own tomb at Sikandra, near Agra.
• Built the temple of Govindadeva at Vrindavan.

Buildings in Jahangir Mughal Empire :

• With Jahangir’s reign, the practice of putting up buildings in marble and decorating the walls with floral designs made of semi-precious stones started. This method of decoration was known as Pietra Dura.
• Nurjahan built the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula at Agra.
• Jahangir built Moti Masjid at Lahore and his own mausoleum at Shahdara (Lahore).

Shahjahan Architecture :

• Built Taj Mahal, Moti Masjid at Agra, Jama Masjid and Red Fort at Delhi, Shalimar Bagh at Lahore and city of Shahjahanabad.
• Also built Mussaman Burz at Agra (where he spent his last years in captivity), Sheesh Mahal, etc.
• He got the peacock throne built by Bebadal Khan on which Amir Khusrau’s couplet – ‘If there is a paradise on earth, it is here’, inscribed on it.

Aurangzeb Architecture :

• Built Moti Masjid at Delhi and Badshahi Mosque at Lahore.
• Built Bibi ka Makbara in Aurangabad.

National Museum, New Delhi, today , has in its possession over 2,00,000 works of exquisite art, both of Indian and Foreign origin covering more than 5,000 years of our cultural heritage. Its rich holdings of various creative traditions and disciplines which represents a unity amidst diversity, an unmatched blend of the past with the present and strong perspective for the future, brings history to life.

National Museum, New Delhi, today , has in its possession over

The History of India begins with the birth of the Indus Valley Civilization, more precisely known as Harappan Civilization. It flourished around 2,500 BC, in the western part of South Asia, what today is Pakistan and Western India. The Indus Valley was home to the largest of the four ancient urban civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China. Nothing was known about this civilization till 1920s when the Archaeological Department of India carried out excavations in the Indus valley wherein the ruins of the two old cities, viz. Mohenjodaro and Harappa were unearthed. The ruins of buildings and other things like household articles, weapons of war, gold and silver ornaments, seals, toys, pottery wares, etc., show that some four to five thousand years ago a highly developed Civilization flourished in this region.

The Indus valley civilization was basically an urban civilization and the people lived in well-planned and well-built towns, which were also the centers for trade. The ruins of Mohenjodaro and Harappa show that these were magnificent merchant cities-well planned, scientifically laid, and well looked after. They had wide roads and a well-developed drainage system. The houses were made of baked bricks and had two or more storeys.

The highly civilized Harappans knew the art of growing cereals, and wheat and barley constituted their staple food. They consumed vegetables and fruits and ate mutton, pork and eggs as well. Evidences also show that they wore cotton as well as woollen garments. By 1500 BC, the Harappan culture came to an end. Among various causes ascribed to the decay of Indus Valley Civilization are the invasion by the Aryans, the recurrent floods and other natural causes like earthquake, etc.

Ancient History Of India

India’s history and culture is dynamic, spanning back to the beginning of human civilization. It begins with a mysterious culture along the Indus River and in farming communities in the southern lands of India. The history of India is punctuated by constant integration of migrating people with the diverse cultures that surround India. Available evidence suggests that the use of iron, copper and other metals was widely prevalent in the Indian sub-continent at a fairly early period, which is indicative of the progress that this part of the world had made. By the end of the fourth millennium BC, India had emerged as a region of highly developed civilization.

Source: National Portal Content Management Team Reviewed on: 28-1-2010

The Ashok Chakra series of awards are open to civilians also. Recommendations received in respect of civilians from the State Governments/Union territory Administra-tions and Ministries/Departments of the Central Government are processed by the Ministry of Defence for the consideration of the Central Honours and Awards Committee chaired by the Defence Minister. These awards are biannual and are given on the Republic Day and Independence Day.

Padma Awards

Padma Awards, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri are given for exceptional and distinguished service in any field including service rendered by Government servants. The recommendations for Padma Awards are received from the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations, Central Ministries/Departments, Institutions of Excellence, etc. which are considered by an Awards Committee. On the basis of the recommendations of the Awards Committee, and after approval of the Home Minister, Prime Minister and President, the Padma Awards are announced on the eve of the Republic Day.