International Current Affairs 2010

Current Affairs [July 2010]

 Japan Elections
Democratic Party of Japan suffered a heavy blow in the elections for the upper house of Japan’s
Diet (parliament) when it won ten seats fewer than expected thus loosing its majority. DPJ will
now have to look for new coalition partners to restore its majority in the upper house and enable it
to easily pass laws through the Diet legislature. After breaking the 55 year period of dominance of
the Liberal Democratic Party and naming Naoto Kan the new prime minister just a month back
the results have baffled the DJP.
 July 15th Summit, Islamabad
Failed talks between Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna and the Pakistani counterpart Mr. Shah
Mehmood Qureshi's have once again proved that whenever efforts were initiated by India to
improve the relations between the two countries. The Pak leaders and officials took deliberate
steps to derail the process conveying a clear message to India that the talks can continue only on
its terms.
 Gulf of Spill
More than three months after the April 20 explosion aboard the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil
platform, which killed 11 workers and sank the rig gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the most
severe US environmental disaster ever is close to coming to an end. In an operation called “static
kill” 2,300 barrels of mud was forced down into the well’s opening overnight pushing the crude
back down to its source. A cap over the wellhead has shut in leaking oil since July 15 and the
static kill — also known as bull heading — probably would not have worked without the cap in
place.
 Genocide
Omar-al-Bashir, President of Sudan has been charged with three counts of genocide over the
Darfur Conflict, he was convicted by the International Criminal Court at The Hague. It is for the
first time that a court has accused anyone of genocide.
 Jacob Lew the new Budget Director
President Barack Obama has chosen Mr. Jacob Lew as his new budget director. This is Mr. Lews
second stint with the federal budget.

Current Affairs [June 2010]

 Julia Gillard become Australia’s first women Prime Minister replacing Kevin Rudd following a
sudden revolt against him.
 No more time for sorrow’ written by Robert Beeman. The author predict that terrorist will set off an
atom bomb in the USA by 2013.
 Tuvalu become 187th member of IMF (International Monetary Fund). The island is located in the
Pacific Ocean.
 Kyrgyzstan voted for a new constitution in a referendum. It is Central Asia’s first parliament
democracy.
 G-20 summit held at Toronto, Canada.

Current Affairs [May 2010]

 G-15 summit was held at Tehran on 16-17 May.

 Bangladesh handed over Ranjan Daimary of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland to India.
The group was responsible for serial bombing in Assam in 2008.
 National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Myannmar’s democracy leader Aung San Sui Kyi
was abolished after deadline to re-register as a political party was over.
 EU-IMF provide a $ 1 trillion rescue package to the Greece to resolve its debt crises.
  Pakistan successfully test fired two short range ballistic missiles, Shaheen I( range 650 Km) and
Ghazani (range 290 Km) capable of carrying nuclear war heads and striking Indian cities.

Current Affairs [April 2010]

 Belgium became the Europe’s first country to ban burqa.

 Pakistan’s National assembly passed a bill that takes away the President’s power to dissolve
parliament, dismiss a elected government and appoint the three services Chiefs. Pakistan’s
parliament passes 18th amendment which was later signed by Presient cutting President’s
powers.
 USA and Russia signed Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty(START) that allowed a maximum of
1550 deployed overheads, about 30% lower than a limit set in 2002. The treaty was signed in the
Progue Castle.
 Emergency was imposed in Thailand.
 Nuclear Security Summit held at Washington.It was a 47 nation summit wherein P.M. announced
setting up of a global nuclear energy centre for conducting research & development of design
systems that are secure, proliferation resistant & sustainable.
 PM visit USA & Brazil, a two nation tour. He attended Nuclear Security Summit in USA & India-
Brazil-S.Africa(IBSA) and Brazil-Russia-India-China(BRIC) summit in Brasilia (Brazil).
 16th SAARC Summit held in Bhutan in 28-29 April. The summit was held in Bhutan for the first
time. It is the silver jubilee summit as SAARC has completed 25 years. The summit central theme
was ‘Climate Change’. The summit recommended to declare 2010-2020 as the “Decade of Intra-
regional Connectivity in SAARC”. The 17th SAARC summit will be held in Maldives in 2011.

Current Affairs [March 2010]

 China will launch in 2011 unmammed space mode ‘ Tiangong I’ for its future space laboratory.
 US internet giant Google close its business in China.
 India’s largest telecom service provider Bharti Airtel buy Zain’s Africa operations for an enterprise
value of $ 10.7 billion (Rs 49000 crore). Currently Bharti’s non-India operations include Sri Lanka
& Bangladesh.
 Russia abolished two of its eleven time Zones.

Current Affairs [February 2010]

 NATO forces carried out Marjah operation (dubbed Moshtarak) against Taliban forces in
Afghanistan.
 European Union summit was held in Brussels. EU & IMF decided to giving support to Greece in
its struggle to bring its ballooning budget deficit under control. EU President is Herman Van
Rompuy.
 Iran’s President Mahmood Ahmedinejad declared that Iran had produced first batch of 20 %
enriched uranium and now Iran became a nuclear state.
 Iran launched ‘Kavoshger -3 rocket’ capable of carrying a satellite. It carried a mouse, worms &
two turtles.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

 Gilgit Baltistan region elected its first Chief Minister Mehdi Shah on the basis of Gilgit Baltistan
Empowerment & Self Governance Order 2009. The new appointed CM declare the Gilgit
Baltistan region as 5th province of Pakistan. The Indian Govt has, however, of the view that the
region was part of J & K, and thus objected to the remarks of CM.
 Venezuela devalued it currency ‘Bolivar’.
 A massive earthquake strike Haiti, the Carribbean nation. Capital of Haiti is Port-au-Prince.
  Mahinda Rajapaksa won a second term as Sri Lanka’s President. He belongs to Sri Lanka
Freedom Party.

National Current Affairs 2010

Current Affairs [July 2010]

 Noose tightening for Politicos in Sohrab case

Sohrab case getting murkier with CBI stepping up pressure on top Gujarat IPS Officers
P.C.Pande, O.P.Mathur and Geeta Johri for their suspected involvement in scuttling the probe at
the behest of former Gujarat Minister of State for home Amit Shah. Two Rajasthan BJP leaders
Gulabchand Kataria and Om Mathur are also facing the CBI heat.
Sohrabuddin Sheikh was killed in a fake encounter and his wife who was a witness to her
husband’s abduction was also later eliminated. The agency is investigating the police-politico
nexus behind the killings.
 Chidambaram confident of overcoming maoist problem in three years
Addressing a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for the ministry of home
affairs, P Chidambaram informed that in a meeting of chief ministers of seven Naxal-affected
states on July 14, a decision of unified command was agreed to namely in-- West Bengal, Orissa,
Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand -- for anti-Naxal operations. A two-pronged strategy of initiating
development and police action in the affected areas was designed to overcome Maoist problem
after consultations with the Naxal-affected states
 Grooming for a succession?
Noel Tata, chairman Ratan Tata’s brother has been installed as the chairman and CEO of Tata
Investment Corp and the MD in Tata International while relinquishing his executive position in
Trent Ltd within the last two months. There is speculation that these moves are in line with the
group’s succession plan for top job i.e. the Chairmanship of Tata Sons in 2012 when Ratan Tata
steps down.
 Applaud or embarrassment?
According to top sources from Central Vigilance Commission, fake certificates were being
routinely issued to pass substandard work and material to the vendors of Commonwealth Games
2010 leading to huge gains for the contractors and vendors. All these certificates were issued
without ground verification or technical examination. The compromise, herein, in the quality of
materials and workmanship poses a serious threat to the sports personnel from countries all over
the world lending a shameful picture of India and hence jeopardizing our ability to host such
events in the future.
 Valley stir
Following the imposition of curfew in wake of the protest by Syed Ali Geelani demanding the
release of dozens of arrested separatist leaders, violence was triggered in the valley due to a
spate of civilian killings by security personnel leading to an indefinite curfew being clamped in
Srinagar. Educational institutions, shops, post offices, banks, public transport and other business
establishments were closed as a precautionary measure. The protests are part of the separatists'
'Quit Kashmir' programme.

Current Affairs [June 2010]

 In the Global Peace Index 2010, India ranked at 128.

 2010 Failed State Index- Somalia top the list followed by Zimbabwe, Sudan & Chad. India is
ranked at 87 place out of 177 countries. Norway in ranked at the bottom of the list.
 President Rule imposed in Jharkhand.
 Amar Singh launches a new party ‘Akhil Bhartiya Lok Manch’.
  South African president Jacob Zuma visited India.
 Turkmenistan President Gurbaguly Bardimuhamedov visited India.
 Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited India. India signed 7 pacts with Sri Lanka. India
will assist in building 50000 houses in the northen & eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.
 Bangladesh Govt has requested to rename the train linking West Bengal to Tripura via Banglades
as ‘ Sonar Tori’. Earlier the name of the train as envisaged in the Railway Budget 2010 is ‘Epar
Bangla Opar Bangla’. Sonar Tori is a collection of poems written by Rabindranath Tagore, whose
150th birth anniversary is being celebrated in 2010.
 Maharastra will become first state in the country to have a real estate regulatory authority.
 BWA- Broadband Wireless Access. The BWA spectrum was auctioned by the Govt. BWA
Spectrum is essential for rolling out WiMAX services enabling hand held devices and laptops to
access Intranet. It will allow firms to offer high speed Net, Web telephony & TV Services. The
govt fixed Rs.1750 crore as base rate for BWA license. The auction was held for 117 rounds and
in 16 days. Rs.12848 crore was the pan India BWA license price which was won by Infotel
Broadband services ( in all 22 circles). The Govt auctioned the BWA license for a total of
Rs.38,543 crore. Mumbai had the highest bid of Rs.2293 crore followed by Delhi with Rs.2241
crore respectively.
 India signed Civil Nuclear agreement with Canada. The agreement was signed by Manmohan
Singh and Canada’s PM Stephen Harper. Canada is the 8th nation to enter into such an
agreement with India. Canada served nuclear ties with India in 1974 when India conducted its
first nuclear test at Pokhran in 1974. India’s nuclear power programme is based on the CANDU
( Canada Deuterium Uranium) reactor.
 India become a full fledged member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a 34 member
inter governmental body that devises policies at both national & international levels to combat
money laundering and terrorist financing. FATF membership will enable Indian authorities to
access information on suspect accounts in nations such as Switzerland & UK. India become its
34th member.

Current Affairs [May 2010]

 Naxalites killed 47 people in a landmine blast between Dantewada and Sukma in Chattisgarh.
 Test fire of nuclear capable Agni-II missile was successfully carried out from Wheeler Island off
the coast of Orissa on 17th May. Agni II has a range of 2000Km. It is 20m long two stage solid
propelled ballistic missile. It was developed by Advanced System Laboratories alongwith DRDO
& Bharat Dynamics Ltd.
 Supreme Court in a recent judgement upheld a rule that allows the adjustment of reserved
category candidate SC/ST/OBC against their quota seats even if they manage to qualify an
examination for govt services on merit.
 National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is the monitoring authority for the
Right to Education Act which became effective from April 1, 2010.

Current Affairs [April 2010]

 Naxals killed about 75 CRPF personal at Chintalnar-Tarmetla village in Dantewada distt

,Chhattisgarh. Government appoint E.N. Rammohan, to probe the incident.
 Uninque Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) now known as Aadhaar. It’s Chairman is Nandan
Nilekani. It will assign 16 digit identification number to all residents in India.
 NTRO- National Technical Research Organisation. The organization came to limelight after
allegation of phone tapping of politicians.
 Indian navy commissioned India’s first indigenously built stealth warship ‘ INS Shivalik’. The other
stealth warship to be built are named as ‘INS Sahyadri’ and INS Satpura’.
 Right To Education Act is notified and will become a legally enforceable from 1 April 2010. Key
features of RTE Act are : All children in 6-14 age group must get free and compulsory eduction;
No child shall be held back,expelled or required to pass a board examination till Class VIII; There
 must be 25 % reservation for poor children even in private & minority schools; There must be one
teacher for every 30 students; A child rights commission will look into violations of the RTE law.
 Govt start Census 2011. It is the 15th Census. It is in two phase. The first phase is called –House
listing & Housing Census and the second phase is called decadal headcount which will be held in
Feb 2011. The Registrar General of India is C Chandramouli.

Current Affairs [March 2010]

 Govt launched National Mission for Empowerment of Women aimed at inter-sectoral

convergence of all pro- women programmes.
 Constitution 108th Amendment Bill 2008 commonly known as women’s reservation bill was
passed by Rajya Sabha by 186 in favour 1 against 39 abstained (Current strength of Rajya
Sabha is 233). The bill seeks to reserve a third of the seats on the Lok Sabha and state
assemblies for 15 years on a rotational basis. It was first introduced in 1996. Sharad Joshi, an
independent MP is the only MP which cast vote against the bill. In the present Lok Sabha, there
are 59 women MPs out of 543 MPs. Total MLAs in 29 state assemblies in India are 4093.
 Yamunanagar (Haryana) and Vishakhapatnam (AP) are choosen for a pilot project on saving
household energy by replacing incandescent lamps with CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps).
 Earth Hour 2010 has been celebrated on 27 March organized by World Wide Fund for Nature,
India. Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru are official Earth Hour Cities among 15 Indian cities.
 Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia visit India in March 2010.
 Supreme Court allowed religion based 4 % reservations in Govt jobs & educational institutes in
Andhra Pradesh. It extended the benefit to 14 OBC in muslims in the state. The matter is further
referred to Constitutional bench of Supreme Court.
 ’Bold Kurushetra’ a joint armour exercise between India and Singapore was held at Jhansi(UP).
 Prohibition of unfair practices in technical, medical educational institutions & universities Bill is
passed by Govt. It provided for 3 year imprisonment and a fine of upto Rs 50 lakh for higher
education providers guilty of misleading students.
 Govt approved Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry & Operation) Bill 2010. It
provides foreign universities to set up campuses in India.
 Govt amends Anti Hijacking Act 1982. It now provides for death sentence to the hijackers.
 Govt starts the scheme for creation of the National Population Register (NPR) of Indian residents.
The project will cover an estimated 1.2 billion people and total cost of the project will be Rs.
3539.24 crore.
 India became 1st country in the world to have a ‘manoeuvrable’ supersonic cruise missile, when it
successfully test fired 290 km range Brahmos missile.
 Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu visit India in March 2010.

Current Affairs [February 2010]

 Kirit Parikh committee , set up to review petro pricing regime, submit its recommendation. Its
major recommendation are to deregulate the prices of petrol & diesel as per market prices,
reduce the subsidy on LPG.
 India signed a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with the UK, which became the 8th country
to enter into such a pact, since the lifting of atomic trade embargo in 2008.
 Govt set up a panel under the Chairmanship of former Justice B N Srikrishna which would
consider the demand for splitting Andhra Pradesh.
 India and Denmark signed a social security pact which will relieve their workers from double
taxation and provide for cooperation in areas of labour market expansion and orderly migration.
 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Saudi Arabia in Feb 2010. He was the first Indian PM in
28 years to visit the gulf country. Saudi Arabia is India’s largest supplier of crude oil ( 23 %)
followed by Iran ( 17 %) and Nigeria ( 11 %). India is offering upto 10 % equity to Saudi petroleum
firm Saudi Aramco in a refinery being built in Orissa. PM addressed the Shoura council of Saudi
Arabia.
  Constitution 111th Amendment – Proposes to incorporate a new Part ( Part IX B) in the
Constitution so as to provide for legal framework to regulate the functioning of cooperative
societies. A new Article ( Article 43 B) is also proposed to be inserted in Part IV of the
Constitution (Directive Principles of State Policy) for the States to promote voluntary formation,
autonomous functioning of cooperative societies.
 Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2009 commonly known as Nuclear Liability Bill will be
introduced by Govt in Parliament in Winter session 2010. The draft bill aims at limiting the liability
of a nuclear plant operator to Rs. 300 crore in the eventuality of an accident. The bill provides for
the penalty to be paid by the operator and not the supplier companies which would mainly be
American in this case. India has entered into civil nuclear cooperation agreement with eight
countries so far.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

 Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visit India in Jan 2010. She belongs to Awami League
Party. The two countries signed five agreements – on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters,
on transfer of sentenced persons and on combating international terrorism, organized crime &
illicit drug trafficking besides MOU on cooperation in the power sector and on cultural exchanges.
India give Bangladesh a $ 1 billion line of credit, the biggest it has given to any country so far.
 South Korea President Lee Myung Bak visit India in Jan 2010. The two countries decided to
double the bilateral trade to $ 30 billion by 2014. Four facts were signed between two countries –
cooperation in peaceful use of outer space, IT, science & technology for the year 2010-12 and
transfer of sentenced persons. South Korean President was also the chief guest at 2010 Republic
Day Parade.
 Gujarat Local Authorities Law (amendment) Bill 2009- The Bill makes it the duty of a qualified
voter to vote during elections to local bodies. Voting is compulsory, but the Bill allows voters to
cast their vote in favour of none of the candidates. Election officers will declare those who fail to
vote defaulter, and serve them a notice.
 India and China has decided to start joint military exercise from 2011.
 Najib Razak, Malaysia Prime Minister visit India in Jan 2010.
 Govt launched Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. Key highlights of the mission are :
o To create an enabling policy framework for the deployment of 20,000 MW of solar power
by 2020.
o To create favourable conditions for solar manufacturing capability for indigenous
production and market leadership.
o To promote programmes for off grid applications, reaching 1000 MW by 2017 and 2000
MW by 2022.
o To achieve 15 million sq. meters solar thermal collector area by 2017 and 20 million by
2022.
o To deploy 20 million solar lighting systems for rural areas by 2022.
 New Governors appointed : a) M K Narayanan – West Bengal, b)Shivraj Patil – Punjab, c)
Mohsina Kidwai – Jharkhand, d) Shekhar Dutt – Chhattisgarh, e) E S L Narasimhan – Andhra
Pradesh.
 Govt plans to create a National Gas Highway Development Authority. The present Gas Pipeline
Density in India is 3.29 Km per 1000 Sq.Km.
 Govt plans to set up a National Green Tribunal to control Carbon Emissions and pollution. It will
be responsible for implementing the low carbon roadmap to be set forth in the 12th Five Year
Plan.

Sports Current Affairs 2010

Current Affairs [July 2010]

 Saina Nehwal: A smash hit

The Indian Open Grand Prix Gold, the Singapore Open Super Series and then the Indonesian
Open Super Series at Jakarta have given enough reasons to Saina to celebrate. The World No.3
defeated a fighting Sayaka Sato of Japan 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 in the badminton finals. Just two
notches away from the badminton World No. 1, Saina is now indisputably India's top female
athlete.
 Khel awards
Saina Nehwal to be conferred the country’s top sporting honour-the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
award. While Jhulan Goswami skipper of womens cricket team, boxer Dinesh Kumar and
Sandeep Singh are tipped to receive the Arjuna Awards in recognition of their outstanding
achievements during the last one year, Footballer Sunil Chhetri and Deepak Mondal have also
been nominated for the award that will be given away in Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29th Aug by
President Pratibha Patil.
 World cup for Spain
In a historic football victory Spain lifted their first-ever World Cup after defeating Netherlands 1-0
in Johannesburg. Andres Iniesta secured the only goal of an enthralling final against the
Netherlands four minutes from the end of extra-time on Sunday leading his team to victory.

Current Affairs [June 2010]

 French Open 2010 :

o Men’s singles – Rafael Nadal defeated Robin Soderling. He is the second person after
Bjorn Borg to win 5th French Open titles.
o Women’s singles- Francesca Schiavone (Italy) defeated Samantha Stosur (Australia).
She became first Italian women to won the French open.
o Men’s Doubles- Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic defeated Lukas Dlouhy & Leander
Paes.
o Women’s Doubles- Serena Williams & Venus Williams defeated Kveta Peschke &
Katarina Srebotnik.
o Mixed Doubles – Katarina Srebotnik & Nenad Zimonjic defeated Yavoslava Shvedova &
Julian Knowle.
 Saina Nehwal defeated Choo Wong Mew to win women’s single title in Yonex-Sunrise Indian
Open badminton championship. In the Men’s singles Yunus Alamsyah won the title.
 Saina Nehwal defeated Japan’s Sayaka Sato to win women’s singles title in Indonesian Open
Super Series 2010.
 Indian Ronjan Sodhi won the double trap gold medal at ISSF World Cup in Lonato, Italy.
 India defeated Sri Lanka to won Asia Cup(Cricket) 2010. India won the title after 15 years i.e. it
won the cup in 1995.
 Saina Nehwal won the Women’s singles title in Singapore Super Series badminton championship
2010 defeating China’s Tzu Ying Tai. It was her 2nd consecutive title.
 3000th ODI( One day international) cricket match was played between England & Australia.

Current Affairs [May 2010]

 England won 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating Australia. The tournament
was held at West Indies. Kevin Pieterson of England has been declared as Player of the
Tournament.
 Australia won 2010 Women’s World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating New Zealand.
 India and South Korea were declared joint winner of 2010 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, after
suspension of the final match due to heavy rains.India’s Sardar Singh has been declared as Best
Player of the Tournament. Australia won the Bronze medal. The tournament was held at Ipoh
(Malaysia). India had won the tournament earlier in 1985, 1991, 1995 & 2009.
  China won Thomas Cup ( Men’s Badminton) defeating Indonesia.
 In the World Youth Boxing Championship, held at Baku, Azerbaijan, India won 1 Gold & 1 Silver.
Gold medal was won by Vikas Krishan and Silver medal was won by Shiva Thapa.
 India won bronze medal in the 2nd Asian Paragliding Championship held at Nishiewa, Japan.
 World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand retained his title after defeating Veselin Topalov of
Bulgaria in the World Chess Championship 2010.

Current Affairs [April 2010]

 IPL3 season won by Chennai Super Kings defeating Mumbai Indians.

 Youth Olympics Games 2010 to be held in Singapore in Aug 2010.
 World Youth Championship was held at Baku, Azerbaijan.
 Lawn tennis legend Martina Navratilova diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
 ‘Jumbo’ chosen as 2011 World Cricket Cup Mascot.
 World Kabbadi Cup 2010- India defeated Pakistan to won World Cup Kabbadi 2010 held at
Ludhiana.
 Pankaj Advani won the Asian Billiards Championship defeating Singapore’s Peter Gilchrist for the
consecutive third time.
 Badminton Asia Championship, Delhi :
o Men’s singles – Lin Dan defeated Wang Zhenguing
o Women’s singles-Li Xiurei defeated Liu Xin.

Current Affairs [March 2010]

 Tamil Nadu defeated West Bengal to won Vijay Harare Cricket Trophy.
 Australia won World Hockey Cup 2010 defeating Germany. India ranked at 8th place.
 India won six gold medal in the Commonwealth Boxing Championship held at Delhi.
 Two new IPL teams, Kochi was auctioned for Rs 1533 crore and Pune was auctioned for Rs 1702
crore. Kochi was auctioned to Rendezvous Adventure Sports Ltd. Pune was auctioned to Sahara
Adventure Sports Ltd.

Current Affairs [February 2010]

 Sachin Tendulkar became first player in the world to score a double century in ODI (One day
International). He scored 200 (Not out) against South Africa.
 11th South Asian Games 2010 : Held at Dhaka, Bangladesh from 29 Jan to 8 Feb. Originally
scheduled to take place in 2009, but due to general elections in Bangladesh, the games were
held in 2010. This was the third time that the Dhaka hosted the Games, thus becoming the first
city to hold the games three times. 8 countries participated in the games in 23 different sports,
including T20 cricket, which was introduced for the first time in SAG. The 8 countries included are
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. 1The logo of the
games was ‘Kutumb’, a flying doel , which is the national bird of Bangladesh. The mascot of the
games featured a magpie robin, which was holding the torch to begin the games. The final medal
tally include : India - 1st place with 90 G 55 S 29 B Total 174, Pakistan- 2nd place with 19 G 25 S
36 B Total 80, Bangladesh- 3rd place with 18 G 23 S 56 B Total 97.
 West Zone won Duleep Trophy ( 2009-10) defeating South Zone.
 India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar won the Asian Tour International Trophy 2010. It is his 2nd consecutive
title.
 Euro 2012 to be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine.
 2010 Winter Olympic Games were held at Vancouver, Canada. Mascot of the game was MIGA (a
sea bear), QUATCHI( a sasquatch) and SUMI (animal guardian spirit). The logo of the games
was Ilnaaq meaning Friend in Inuktut. There were 86 events in 7 sports. The games were held
 from 12 Feb to 28 Feb. Final medal tally. Canada- 14 G 7 S 5 B, Germany- 10 G 13 S 7 B, USA-
9 G 15 S 13 B.
 IOC (International Olympic Committee ) has approved ICC (International Cricket Council) bid to
join the Olympic games 2020. The first time cricket was included in the Olympic games was in
Paris Olympic 1900.
 11th World Hockey Cup 2010- To be held in Delhi, India. This is 2nd WHC which India is hosting.
India also hosted the WHC in 1982 at Mumbai. 12 countries participated in the tournament. WHC
is held in the years between two summer Olympics. First WHC was held at Barcelona in 1971.
Pakistan has won the cup four times, Netherland three times, Germany two times, India &
Australia once each. India won the WHC in 1975.
 Commonwealth Shooting Championship was held in New Delhi in Feb 2010. India stood at first
place with 35 Gold 25 Silver and 14 Bronze. England stood at 2nd place with 4 gold and Wales
stood at 3rd place.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

 U-19 World Cup 2010 held in New Zealand from 15 – 30 Jan 2010. Javagal Srinath from India
appointed as one of the match referee for the tournament.
 Australia won the U-19 World Cup for the third time defeating Pakistan. India is placed at 6th
rank. Australia won the cup for the third time.
 Rafael Nadal won the Capitala World Tennis Championsip, held at Abu Dhabi defeating Robin
Soderling.
 Magnus Carlsen becomes the youngest World No.1 chess player at the age of 19 years breaking
the Garry Kasparov’s record when he became the world’s top ranked chess player at the age of
22 years in 1985. Magnus Carlsen is the 5th player after Kasparov, Kramnik, Topalov and
V.Anand (India) to cross the 2800 ELO rating. In the Jan 2010 FIDE ranking, Carlsen stood at 1st
place, Topalov at 2nd place and V Anand at 3rd place.
 Marin Cilic defeated Staniglas Wawrinka to won Men’s singles title of Aircel Chennai Open.
 Pakistan’s cricketer Shahid Afridi was banned for two T20 internationals after he was found guilty
of ball tempering in a ODI against Australia.
 Corus Chess Grandmaster Tournament won by Magnus Carlsen. V.Anand of India ranked at 4th
place. Hopman Cup 2010- Spain defeated Great Britain.
 Australian Open 2010 : Women’s Single- Serena William defeated Justin Henin. It is Serena’s
5th Australian Open title. It is also Serena’s 12th Grand Slam title equaling the record of Billie
Jean King.
 Men’s Single- Roger Federer(Swiss) defeated Andy Murray(Britain). It is Federer’s 4th Australian
Open title. It is Federer’s 16th Grand Slam title.
 Men’s Double- Mike Bryan & Bob Bryan defeated Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic.
 Women’s Double – Serena Williams & Venus Williams defeated Cara Black & L Huber.
 Mixed Double – Laender Paes (India) & Cara Black (Zimbabwe) defeated Ekterina Makasova &
Jaroslav Levinsky. It is Paes’s 11th Grand Slam title.

Persons in News July 2010

 Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro a Cuban revolutionary visited Havana scientific facility; it was his first public
appearance.
The former Cuban President, now 83, who went into seclusion four years back after falling ill
looked healthy said the reports.
 Roman Polanski
The Swiss government rejected US government’s request to extradite Roman Polanski where he
 is charged with unlawful sex with a minor on the ground that the US authorities failed to provide
confidential testimony about Polanski's sentencing procedure in 1977-1978. Polanski, who has
been held under house arrest in Switzerland since December, has been declared a free man by
the Swiss authorities. However, the American prosecutors vowed to continue their pursuit of the
film director.

Persons in News June 2010

 Former CJI K G Balakrishnan is appointed as Chairman of National Human Rights Commission.

 O P Bhatt has been elected as Chairman , Indian Banker’s Association for the year 2010-11.
 Tenzin Norzon, a resident of Varanasi crowned as Miss Tibet 2010.
 J G Farrell won the Lost Man Booker Prize for his novel ‘Troubles’.
 Sachin Tendulkar conferred with Indian Air Force’s honorary rank of Group Captain. Till now 21
persons have been granted honorary ranks by the IAF. The first person was Raja of Jawhar- Raja
Yaswant Rao in 1994. Tendulkar is the first sportsperson to be conferred with this honour.
 Sharad Pawar will be 7th President of ICC. He become 2nd Indian after Jagmohan Dalmia to
occupy the position. He succeeded David Morgan.
 Wrestler and 1970’s Asian Games Gold medalist, Chandagi Ram Kaliram died.

Persons in News May 2010

 Gita Gopinath an Indian origin associate professor at Harvard Univ has been appointed a full
professor, the first Indian woman in the Institution’s history to ge given this appointment.
 Former Vice President of India, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat died.
 Rima Fakih was crowned Miss USA 2010. She became the first ever muslim American Miss USA.
She is of Lebanese muslim descent.
 Singer Christina Aguilera was named Ambassador against hunger by the United Nations World
Food Programme.
 Rushanara Ali became first person of Bangladesh origin to be elected to the British Parliament.
 David Cameron elected Prime Minister of Britain. Nick Clegg became the Dy Prime Minister.
Britain gets first coalition govt since World War-II. It is between Conservative and Liberal
Democrats.
 Justice S H Kapadia sworn as new Chief Justice of India.
 Hari S Bhartia elected as President of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for 2010-11.
 Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail unassisted around the world in a yatch.

Persons in News April 2010

 Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra was sworn in as Judge of Supreme Court of India. She became the
4th women judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court of India.
 Justice S H Kapadia will be next Chief Justice of India.
 Mukul Sangma shown in as Meghalaya Chief Minister.
 Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski died in a air crash at Moscow.
 Juan Antonia Samaranch, Former President of International Olympic Committee (IOC) died.

Persons in News March 2010

 Rajan Bharti Mittal appointed President FICCI.

 Major Dimple Singla became first women army officer in the country who has been sentenced to
imprisonment for corruption.
 Bhubneshwar Kalita has been choosen as the Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent at
Commonwealth Games 2010.
  Cricketer Kapil Dev has been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
 Former Supreme Court judge P V Reddy appointed as Chairman, Law Commission of India.
 Lt Gen V K Singh appointed as new Army Chief.
 Sonia Gandhi appointed head of National Advisory Council. NAC advice the govt on policy
matters, monitor flagship programmes and prepare the ground for other pro-poor legislatures.
 Lyricist Javed Akhtar, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Dr Ram Dayal Munda, Dr Balchandra Mungekar and
Kannada Actress B Jayashree are among other persons nominated to Rajya Sabha.
 Austrian base jumper Felix Baumgartnar will became the first person to leaps from the edge of
space at a height of 37 km above earth’s surface. He become the first man to break the speed of
sound hitting a top speed of about 11000km/hr. He will jump on 11 April 2010.
 Katie Spotz became the youngest person to complete a solo journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
 Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepal Ex Prime Minister died. He was 5th time Nepal PM.

Persons in News February 2010

 Horst Kochler , Germany President visit India in Feb 2010.

 Abdullah Gul, Turkey President visit India in Feb 2010.
 Economist Kokkadan Nandanath Raj, who made a significant contribution in the preparation of
first Five Year Plan(1951-56) died.
 Sharad Chandra Sinha is appointed as Director General of National Investigation Agency(NIA).
 Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President visit India in Feb 2010.
 Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob of Malaysia appointed Chairman, International Atomic Energy
Agency.
 Govt appointed R S Pandey as its mediator for talk with NSCN(IM) in Nagaland to carry forward
the peace process.
 Former Justice P V Reddy will be appointed as Chairman, Law Commission of India.
 Ram Baran Yadav, Nepal President visit India in Feb 2010. It was the first visit by Yadav to any
foreign country after taking over as Nepal’s President. Yadav is the first President of Nepal since
monarchy ended in 2008. India extended $ 250 million soft line of credit to Nepal.
 Rajinder Singh became first non-white and also first Asian member of the right wing British
National Party, after it amended its constitution to allow black and Asian to be its member.
 Amitabh Bachan became the brand ambassador of Gujarat state.
 Amnesty International, the global human right organization has appointed Salid Shetty as its next
Secy General from June 2010. He will be the first Indian to head the organization.
 Shah Rukh Khan & Kajol become the first Indian bollywood actors to ring the opening bell of the
world’s biggest stock exchange’ NASDAQ’.
 Rajiv Satav appointed President, Indian Youth Congress.
 Katrina Kaif awarded with 2009 Excellence in Performing Arts Award established by
ASSOCHAM.
 M H Hussain, famous painter accepted citizenship of Qatar.

Persons in News January 2010

 Billy Arjan Singh, wildlife conservationist and Padma Shri awardee died.
 P D Dinakaran, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court faces impeachement motion. The process
was initiated in the Parliament. He is the first High Court Chief Justice against whom
impeachment motion have been initiated. Justice V Ramaswami is the only judge to have faced
impeachment proceedings in parliament.
 Justice V S Sirpurkar appointed to head a three member panel to look into allegation of land grab
and misconduct against Chief Justice P D Dinakaran in the wake of impeachment motion initiated
against him in Parliament.
 Fahmida Mirza is the first woman Speaker of Pakistan National Assembly.
 Ricky Ponting, Australian cricket team captain, has been named as ESPN Cricinfo Player of the
Decade for 2000.
 Jyoti Basu, former West Bengal Chief Minister, died.
 Mrinal Pande, appointed as Chairman, Prasar Bharti Board.
 Lee Myung Bak, South Korea President was the Chief Guest at 2010 Republic Day Parade.
 Shiv Shankar Menon is appointed as National Security Advisor.
 Vikram Srivastava appointed as Director General of CRPF(Central Reserve Police Force).
 Ranjit Kumar Bhatia appointed as Director General of ITBP (Indo Tibetan Border Police).