here - CLAT Gyan

CLATGYAN’S GK COMPENDIUM FROM MARCH 1 TO MARCH 14, 2012
March 1
Pakistan decided to switch to the negative list approach for trade with India. This paves
the way for granting the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India as mandated by
World Trade Organisation (WTO). India granted MFN status to Pakistan in 1996.
North Korea has agreed to halt nuclear activities and implement a moratorium on nuclear
and long-range missile development in exchange for a U.S. package of 240,000 metric
tons of food aid.
Karnataka launched the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics policy. The aim
of policy is to develop animation, gaming segment of the information technology
industry.
CBI will send judicial requests to Bermuda and the United Kingdom for details of the
money trail in the Aircel-Maxis deal
New chairman of Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI)- Vinod Rai
(Comptroller and Auditor General of India)
Taliban negotiators involved in ongoing talks in Doha are seeking dramatic constitutional
changes which would make Mullah Muhammad Omar Afghanistan's supreme religious
and political leader
R. Chidambaram received the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Outstanding Leadership Award-2011' from
the Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India (AGRASRI)
Marc Grossman- the United States' special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
The special CBI court sentenced Abdul Karim Telgi to life imprisonment for his role in
forgery, counterfeiting and cheating in the multi-crore stamp paper scam.
James Murdoch resigned as executive chairman of News International, publisher of The
Times , The Sunday Times and The Sun in the light of allegations that he attempted to
cover-up a scandal on the issue of an employee of News International having hacked the
phones of certain people for a news story.
Chairman, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)- R. V.
Kanoria.

Madhukant Girdharlal Sanghvi will assume charge as Chairman and Managing Director(
CMD) of Syndicate Bank
March 2
India and China have decided to undertake joint operations against pirates and sharing
technological knowhow on seabed research.
Shettihalli Wildlife Sanctuary- located in Shimoga district, Karnataka
Nagarahole National Park, also called the Rajiv Gandhi National Park is located in the
state of Karnataka.
Government sold five per cent stake in ONGC through an auction to partly meet the
disinvestment target of the current fiscal year
A court in Delhi removed Microsoft India from the civil suit against 21 social-networking
websites. The suit was filed alleging that the website was hosting objectionable content
Malik Dinar Juma Masjid- mosque in Kerala- was recently visited by Anwar Ibrahim,
former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
The Indira Gandhi Canal- will remain closed for 90 days from April 1 for extensive repair
work. The Canal provides water for drinking, irrigation and industrial purposes in
Rajasthan.
The bank accounts of GITAM University have been attached by the Employees'
Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for failing to pay PF dues in time
The four-member committee headed by Srishailappa Biradur- to probe the incident of
ministers watching porn in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly
Pritzker Architecture Prize- considered as the Nobel prize in architecture- awarded to
Wang Shu from China
Dakshina Kannada- awarded Nirmal Gram Puraskar- first district in the State to win the
award
Kathryn Bigelow – is shooting a film in Chandigarh on Osama bin Laden's killing in
Abbottabad in the U.S. raid
Torpedo Advanced Light (TAL) - indigenously developed advanced light-weight torpedo
Designed and developed by- The Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL),
Visakhapatnam
(Torpedoes are underwater missiles which are fired from ships, submarines or helicopters
against ships and submarines.)
Akash missile - anti-aircraft defence system

Production agency for the torpedo and akash missile- Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)
U.S. court has dismissed a lawsuit against Mahinda Rajapaksa (President of Sri Lanka) on
grounds that he enjoyed immunity from lawsuits as a head of state. Mr. Rajapaksa was
sued by families of torture victims under the Torture Victim Protection Act.
General Motors (US) is going to take up 7 percent stake in Peugeot Citroen (France)
Microsoft has launched a beta version of its upcoming Windows 8 operating system (OS)
for consumers to install and try out.
Jeevan Vriddhi - a single premium insurance plan launched by LIC (Life Insurance
Corporation of India)
M.C. Mary Kom- India’s Women’s Boxing champion.
March 3
India and Iran have resolved their longstanding issue of payments for export shipments by
agreeing to accept payment in rupee form
Integrated Security System (ISS) – a state-of-the-art system to be set up on railway
stations as a security measure to ensure safety of the travelling public, and avert terror
attacks.
Raspberry Pi - a low-cost mini-PC- developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, UK to
develop coding and programming skills among school students across the globe
One-laptop-per-child project- a non-profit mission run by Nicholas Negroponte
The Bangalore City Railway Station - the first railway station to offer BluFi (a
combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi). It will provide passengers with internet access. The
facility is being jointly provided by TeleBrahma (provides Bluetooth) and Railtel (offers
free Wi-Fi facility).
Madras High Court held that a court cannot issue a writ of quo warranto for removing a
Minister. The prerogative of removing a State Minister has to be that of the Governor and
not that of the High Court.
Justice H.S. Bedi – appointed Chairman of the Monitoring Authority to probe all cases of
fake encounter deaths in Gujarat from 2003 to 2006. Justice Bedi replaced Justice M.B.
Shah.
Andrew Breitbart dies. He was a conservative U.S. blogger and activist. He played key
roles in the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal, the resignation of Shirley Sherrod, and the
ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy.

India-born Engelbert Humperdinck- popularly called the ―King of Romance''- will
represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 to be held in Baku,
Azerbaijan
Prime Minister, Fiji - Commodore Bainimarama
March 4
Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh- to be the next Chief of Staff of the Indian Army. He will succeed
General Vijay Kumar Singh
S. Ayyappan- Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
BP has agreed to pay $7.8 billion in a settlement reached with people affected by the Gulf
of Mexico Oil spill (Bob Dudley- BP CEO)
March 5
Vladimir Putin will succeed Dmitry Medvedev as the President of Russia
A prison in Nebraska, US, is going to use a chemical made in Kashipur, Uttarakhanda for
executing a prisoner.
The Army successfully test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile at Pokhran
Pakistan has requested Interpol to issue a Red Corner notice to arrest and extradite former
president, Pervez Musharraf to the country for his alleged role in the assassination of
Benazir Bhutto.
Barack Obama warned that the U.S. military will destroy Iran's nuclear programme as a
final option, if economic sanctions fail to compel reduce its nuclear activities.
March 6
Khopoli Investments Limited, a subsidiary of Tata Power, has joined hands with Exxaro
Resources Limited (Exxaro) to form a joint venture (JV) to create a new company,
Cennergi (Pty) Limited, to bid for projects in African countries
4 companies- ICICI Bank, Citi Financial, Bank of Baroda and Life Insurance
Corporation (LIC) —joined hands to set up India's first $2 billion Infrastructure Debt
Fund (IDF) to meet the financing needs of infrastructure projects in the country
ICICI Bank CEO and Managing Director - Chanda Kochhar
Chairman, Bank of Baroda-M. D. Mallya

F. M. Ibrahim Kalifulla (Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court)- would
soon become a judge of the Supreme Court
Pakistan test-fired Hatf-II (Abdali ) surface-to-surface ballistic missile
Gopalkrishna Gandhi- new chairman of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla
‘Northeast Trilogy'- a book on north-eastern states- written by Dipti Bhalla and Kunal
Verma
Geir Haarde (ex-Prime Minister of Iceland) went on trial over his role in the 2008
banking sector collapse
March 7
Nirbhay – first sub-sonic cruise missile developed by India- designed by Aeronautical
Development Establishment (ADE)
Tomahawk- a long-range, sub-sonic cruise missile, developed by the U.S.
The DRDO will also soon test-fire Helina (the helicopter-fired version of Nag)- the
third generation anti-tank missile.
The National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) and Nidan (an
organisation that supports unorganised workers) will be awarded the Skoll Award for
Social Entrepreneurship.
Mayawati- first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh to have completed a full five-year
term in
A copper coin dating back to the British era with images of Lord Rama, Sita,
Lakshmana and Hanuman on one side was found at the Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy
shrine in Bhadrachalam.
Iran is going to open up its Parchin military facility for inspections by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to stop others from launching military
strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities.
Lady Gaga has become the first person with more than 20 million followers on
Twitter.
Former dictator of Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, returned to the country
A Pakistani Judicial Commission will visit India to record statements of the
magistrate and others involved in the investigations into the 2008 Mumbai terror
attack.

Tata Motors is aiming to make a car, Tata Megapixel, which can deliver up to 100
kilometres from a litre of fuel (under battery only power).
Australian cricketer Lisa Sthalekar's autobiography ‘Shaker' released
March 8
Byari shared the Best Film Award with Marathi film Deool at the National Film
Awards 2011.
Jallikattu cattle is among the ten livestock breeds indigenous to Tamil Nadu selected
for a conservation project being funded by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development (NABARD).
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has suspended Kingfisher
Airlines from its clearing house that enables airlines to settle inter-line billings
globally for its failure to pay dues.
Two senior journalists at The Sun attempted to commit suicide after being questioned
by police over allegations of phone hacking and bribing public officials for stories. (
head of The Sun-Rupert Murdoch)
Intel Corp launched its newest server chip, Xeon E5.
The International Kabaddi Federation is making serious efforts to see that the sport is
included in the 2020 Olympics, IKF President- J.S. Gehlot
March 9
Committee headed by V.D. Satheesan has found that V.A. Arun Kumar, son of former
Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, was appointed the director of ICT academy in
Kerala through irregular means
Apple's new iPad could be banned in China if it does not resolve a trademark issue
with Chinese technology firm Proview.
Gustavo Kuerten (a three-time Grand Slam title champion and former World No. 1)
from Brazil has been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame
R.G. Vaidyanatha will head the one-man Commission of Inquiry to probe the March 2
violence that erupted at the City Civil Court complex in Bangalore
Pakistan has charged Osama bin Laden's three wives with illegal entry into the
country.

EdServ (Education Services Company) has launched EdServ Training Institute (EDI),
the first-of-its-kind instructor-led-training (ILT) centre. It will offer academic support
and vocational training courses that will include tuition, coaching, test prep, and joboriented
training apart from placement support.
Mahindra Satyam entered into retail and consumer technology by acquiring
vCustomer's international operations.
March 10
Rahul Dravid announced his retirement from cricket
Manohar Parrikar -Goa Chief Minister
Tusha Mittal won the Chameli Devi Jain Award, 2012.
Zaheer-ul Islam is going to become the Director-General of ISI. He will replace
Ahmad Shuja Pasha
An Indian NGO, Chintan has been selected for the U.S.' first Innovation Award for
the Empowerment of Women and Girls for training and organising waste-pickers and
eliminating child labour from recycling.
K. Venkataramanan will take over as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and
Managing Director(MD) of Larsen & Toubro (L&T)
Mercedes-Benz launched the City Bus in India. It also inaugurated its City Bus
manufacturing facility at Chakan in Pune.
March 11
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment
and Forests, which examined ‘The Nuclear Safety Regulatory Bill, 2011,' has suggested
the establishment of a Council of Nuclear Safety (CNS) to oversee and review the
policies related to radiation/nuclear safety in the country.
Jose Mourinho- declared to be the world's highest-paid coach
Three members quit the National Ganga River Basin Authority claiming that it has
become a toothless organisation which has made no changes in the position of Ganga.

National Ganga River Basin Authority- created in 2009 after widespread protests against
the earlier Ganga Action Plan (Phase I) launched by Rajiv Gandhi, in 1986 which had
failed to clean up the river.
The leaders of Kiribati are planning to move the whole population to Fiji fearing that
climate change could wipe out the entire Pacific archipelago. The Cabinet endorsed a plan
to buy nearly 6,000 acres on Fiji's main island, Viti Levu. Kiribati President - Anote Tong
The U.S. and Afghanistan entered into an agreement by which U.S will gradually
transfer control of Parwan (main U.S prison in Aghanistan) to Afghanistan
March 12
The Horticulture Research Station at Thadiyankudisai has been declared as the Nodal
Research Center for ‘hill banana'
A national award for sanitation and water has been constituted in the name of
Maharashtrian saint Sant Gadge Baba.
Amitabh Bachchan, will lend his voice and face to the character of Bheeshma Pitamah
in the animation film Mahabharat .
Darul Uloom Deoband has issued a fatwa against full body scans, ruling that the
exercise is against the Shariyat law.
The Tagore University for the Liberal Arts- first institution to be established under the
Universities for Innovation programme- will be set up in Pune. The aim of the
programme is to establish 14 such Universities for Innovation
An initiative has been launched under the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) to standardise virtual keyboards in Indian languages for use in smart
phones and tablet computers.
March 13
The government proposes to convert the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) into
a National Health Mission to provide health care to the urban poor also
A separate Department of Disability Affairs is proposed to be set up for greater focus
on addressing issues confronting persons with disabilities. At present, the disability sector
is under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and partially under the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Anjana Thomas, an eighth class student, has entered the Indian Book of Records by
performing Kuchipudi dance from Timmapur in Dubbak mandal to Siddipet
Vijay Bahuguna will become the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand
The Sri Lankan Army to produce a film of its own as a result of the publicity for the
sequel to the Channel 4 documentary, Killing Fields
Traces of a Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece has been found on a hidden wall in a
palace in Florence
Durum wheat- wheat that thrives in saline soils has been bred to help feed the world’s
growing population at the time of water shortage and climatic changes.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has appealed in the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Lausanne, against the one-year suspensions
imposed by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on 400m runners Mandeep Kaur
and Jauna Murmu.
March 14
Irom Sharmila has been re-arrested on the charge of attempt to suicide.
Irom Sharmila is Manipur's ‘Iron Lady' who has been on an indefinite fast for the past
11 years
Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana(PMAGY) will be transferred to the Ministry of
Rural Development (MoRD) from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
The PMAGY was announced in 2009-10 for integrated development of all villages
with more than 50 percent scheduled caste population.
India is hoping to activate the Partnership Council which will push forward the India-
Afghan strategic partnership agreement (SPA). The Partnership Council will be
chaired by the foreign ministers of India and Afghanistan.
Planning Commission, Deputy Chairman -Montek Singh Ahluwalia
Hajigak iron ore mine- located in Afghanistan
West Bengal would release 40 prisoners lodged behind bars for more than 18 years in
various correctional homes across the State.
Bandi Mukti Committee- committee formed by West Bengal which recommended the
release of political prisoners
M.S. Reddy committee - to review the safety of the Nagarjunasagar dam

Roopam Sharma took over as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Basketball
Federation of India (BFI)
A decree has been passed making death illegal in Falciano del Massico, a village in
Italy. The decree was passed because the village does not have a cemetery
Bomabay Stock Exchange (BSE) has launched SME Exchange to offer a platform to
small and medium companies to raise capital. BCB Finance Ltd. became the first
company to be listed on the SME platform
National Stock Exchange (NSE) will also launch its SME platform which will be
called, ‘EMERGE'.
Yahoo! has sued Facebook, alleging violations of ten patents
Pepsi is going to launch a T20 football event
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