International Affairs
FJP Leader Mohammed Mursi won the Egyptian Presidential Election 2012
Mohammed Mursi, leader of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), on 24 June 2012 was declared victorious in Egypt’s historical presidential election. Mursi bagged 51.73 per cent of the total 13.23 million votes cast, while his closest rival Ahmed Shafiq, the former Egyptian PM and the independent candidate, polled 48.3 per cent votes. The FJP is an independent political party, which enjoys a strong political support from the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest and best-organized political group in Egypt
Rio+20 summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rio+20 summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The heads of 172 states and government marked their presence at the conference. The basic theme of the conference was Green economy in the context of sustainable development poverty eradication and institutional framework for sustainable development. The world famous beaches Copacabana and Ipanema lies in this beautiful city of the world.
The Indian Embassy in UAE decided to hold Open Days
The Indian Embassy in UAE decided to hold Open Days on 15 May 2012. The Open days will be on a regular basis on the first Sunday of each month. They aim to addresses the grievances of the local Indian community regarding consular, community and other matters.
National Affairs
Calcutta High Court scrapped the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011
The Calcutta High Court on 22 June 2012, held the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011 as unconstitutional and void. The legislation enabled the government to recover the disputed Singur land from Tata Motors, who was leased 997 acre of land at Singur in Hooghly district by previous left front government in the state.
The Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act was passed by the West Bengal state assembly in 2011 when Mamata Banrjee led Trinamool Congress swept to power in May 2011. The legislation which justified the state government’s land re-acquisition drive, empowered the government to recover 1000 acres of land at the abandoned Tata Nano factory site in Singur.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs made it Mandatory to label GM Foods
The Ministry ofConsumer 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 non-vegetarian 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.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry discarded Gas Allocation of DMICDC
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry on 25 June 2012 discarded Gas allocation of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC). The gas allocation was of 8 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) gas from two of DMICDC power projects, to provide gas at reasonable rate.
The request was neglected because as per Petroleum Ministry there is additional demand of fertilizer about 22 mmscmd and any allocation of gas to DMICDC projects was not possible.
Business -International
Asian corporates turn to bonds
Asian borrowers are tapping the bond market in record numbers as lending cuts from European banks force them to look closer to home for funding
Abu Dhabi wealth fund to continue hiring
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is looking to expand its private equity team despite a slowdown in activity
Business -National
Sensex Up 61 Points On Hopes of Strong Reforms
Extending its gains for the second straight day, the Sensex today advanced by 61 points led by metal and power stocks amid hopes of faster economic reforms with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself taking over the additional charge of Finance Ministry.
The BSE benchmark index, which had gained about 24 points in the previous session, scaled the key 17,000 level in early trade on positive Asian trends. After trading in a narrow 122-point range, the index finally closed at 16,967.76, up 61.18 points or 0.36 per cent.
Sports Affairs -International
F1 Racer Sebastian Vettel defeated Lewis Hamilton to win 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.
Sports Affairs -National
Tintu Luka won Greenko 52nd National Inter-State Senior Althletic Championship
Athletic Tintu Luka won Greenko 52nd National Inter-State Senior Althletic Championship on 24 June 2012 by defeating her competitor Sinimole Paulose. She won the championship in women’s 800 meters. She is India’s best athletic in the two-lap race.
Tintu timing was 2m 01.36s. The timing was near to her National record of 1m 59.17s, which was set in Brussels in 2010.Sinimole won silver with the timing of 2:03.71 where S R Bindu was third in 2:09.53.
Athlete Tintu Luka is the National Record Holder in 800 meter race. She is trained by P.T.Usha at Usha School of Athletics which is holded by Olympics Gold Quest.
AITA announced Two Teams for Men’s Doubles for London Olympics 2012
The All Indian Tennis Association (AITA) on 21 June 2012 announced to send two men’s doubles team for London Olympics 2012. The team involves top player Leander Paes with low-ranked Vishnu Vardhan and second ranked Mahesh Bhupathi with third ranked Rohan Bopanna.
The hassle started when AITA decided to send two teams in London Olympics 2012 which were not acceptable by Paes. Earlier, AITA announced Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi as a team for India’s doubles entry for the London Olympics 2012. But Bhupathi refused to play with Paes because of differences of their opinions. He appealed to be paired with Rohan Bopanna. Bhupathi and Bopanna showed their strong hope to play together.
