Current Events -2

1. Lt Gen Deepak Kapoor is the Vice Chief of Army Staff at the Army HQ, on 01 January 2007.
2. 14TH NATIONAL CHILDREN'S SCIENCE CONGRESS was held in SIKKIM in December 2006
3. Ultra Mega Powwer Projects (UMPPs)- In order to achieve faster capacity addition , Government decided to initiate Ultra Mega Power Projects -4000 MW each
4. Jodhpur has emerged as India’s second largest exporter of handicrafts. It follows Moradabad . Jodhpur has been declared, along with eleven other places in the country, as a “town of export excellence” for handicrafts which entitles entrepreneurs in the city to special facilities for infrastructure and export marketing. Other such towns include Ludhiana (woolen knitwear), Panipat (woolen blanket), Dewas (pharmaceuticals), Kollam (cashew), Alapuzzha (coir), Madurai (handlooms) and Tiruppur (hosiery). Jodhpur is the country’s leading centre of the guar gum manufacturing industry. Guar is a drought-resistant crop from which guar gum is extracted for use as thickener, emulsifier and stabilizer in the food, pharmaceutical, textile, paper, oil drilling and other industries.
5. As per the latest figures available with Agriculture Ministry, wheat and maize have been sown in significantly more area this season as compared to 2005-06. Wheat has covered 263.91 lakh ha so far as compared to 247.25 lakh ha during the corresponding period last year. Maize has been sown in 9.86 lakh ha as against 6.79 lakh ha last year. Higher coverage of wheat has been reported in Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Rabi rice has been sown in 8.81 lakh ha so far as against 7.79 lakh ha during the corresponding period of 2005-06. Coarse cereals have also been sown in more area this year as compared to last year. All Coarse cereals this year cover 66.36 lakh ha area against 62.42 lakh ha at this time last year. However, coverage under jowar has been slightly less (47.298 lakh ha against 47.69 lakh ha last year). As on 28.12.2006 the area coverage under pulses has exceeded that of last year. So far, Rabi pulses have been sown in 124.32 lakh ha as compared to 123.6 lakh ha at this time last year. Area under Rabi oilseeds (90.73 lakh ha), however, is less so far, as compared to last year (98.89 lakh ha) but it is higher than the five year average of area under Rabi oilseeds (83.71 lakh ha). The less coverage this season is attributed to diversion of are of rapeseed and mustard to Bengal gram in Madhya Pradesh and to wheat in Rajasthan and Haryana.
6. December 2006: The Joint India-Myanmar Army Car Rally was `Flagged in’ by the Lt Gen S Pattabhiraman Army’s Vice Chief . The Rally consisted of 27 Indian Army personnel and 12 Myanmar Army personnel. The Rally returned to New Delhi after successfully completing 8,000 Kms journey in India and Myanmar in 25 days. It may be recalled that the rally was flagged off by Mr AK Antony, Defence Minister on 05 Dec 06 from India Gate at New Delhi. The main objectives of the Car Rally was to to pay obeisance at Taukkyan War Cemetery at Yangon in Myanmar which houses a memorial of large No of Indian soldiers who were martyred during World War-II in erstwhile Burma;
   and to provide experience to Army personnel in endurance driving for adventure Motor Car Rallies in future.
7. SAARC Centre for Disaster Management-in recognition of the pioneering role and activities of the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), a SAARC Centre for Disaster Management was established in its premises at New Delhi. The Union Home Minister inaugurated the Centre on 10th October, 2006.
8. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for setting up of the Special Purpose Tea Fund (SPTF) under the Tea Board for funding replantation and rejuvenation activities aimed at improving the age profile of tea plantations.
9. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for setting up of Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Rural Industrialisation (MGIRI), Wardha as an autonomous body registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
   
10. Check this out:

In Parliament, the budget goes through five stages, in the order given below

• presentation of budget with Finance Minister's speech
• general discussions
• voting on demand for grants
• passing of appropriation bills
• passing of finance bill.
  

Of the last three Bills, only the fourth one- appropriation Bills can not be amended. The other two can be. Find out why. After which one of the above stages, does the Parliament go into a month-long recess? And Why?
It is stupid to say that demand for grant’ is a money Bill or non-money Bill !!!!! You answer why.