National

Bezbaruah committee set up to look into concerns of N-E ppl (feb 2014) suggested
amending IPC Sec 153 A ehich deals with punishment for promoting enmity between diff
groups based on place of birth, residence and language to be made more stringent.
intoducing anti racial law

Gopal Subramaniam cas: Tussle between exec and judiciary since the times of
emergency- IB report says his actions were not kosher as he met some poeple while he
was SG whom he should not have met. Questioned his propriety as SG inthe 2G case and
his alleged links with former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia- 1993 SC judgement allows the
govt to return any name and if still SC insisted on the name then govt would have to
accept it!

Rangarajan Committee is to delink estimation of poverty from a fixed level of consumption-
bottom 35 p of rural Indians and 25 p of urbans will be defined as poor- unlike Tendulkar
commottee- no of poors increase


2014
Jan : POSCO gets green clearance for steel plant- received initial clearance from Env
ministry in 2007, final approval in 2011 but permit suspended by NGT in Mar 2012.
Jan : The centre has decided to grant minority status to Jains along with Muslims,
Christians, Buddhists, Parsis and Sikhs.
Jan 13: PM lays foundation for the largest nuclear plant in Gorakhpur village in Haryana
Jan 20: Jind and Karnal added in NCR
2013 State of the year award goes to Madhya Pradesh
Shashi Tharoor named PETA Person of the Year
Center announced a new National Youth Policy- NYP-2014 replacing NYP-2003 with
greater policy intervention
Feb 2: Phillip seymour Hoffman found dead
Feb 4: 7th Pay Commission announced
Feb 5: Juthika Roy, Aadhunik Meera, a fav of gandhi and nehru dead. used to sing
bhajans
Feb 11: Shirley Temple- youngest to win Oscar at 6- died
Feb 19: Special status to Seemandhra for 5 years
Feb 19: India's first Cyber Minority village inaugrated in Chandoli, alwar to provide
computer education to people between 15-59 years of age.
Feb 20: Union cabinet has approved settingup og Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)
on recommendations of the Justice Sachar Committee on Social, economic and
educational status of muslim community in India.
Lanthinite, rare uranium oxide mineral is ddiscovered in Mahbubnagar district of AP.
contains two types of Uranium- U4+ and U6+.
Best heritage city award goes to Tirupati
Feb 26: Largest solar power plant 130 MW of India launched in Neemuch, MP
The National Innovation Council and the Ministry of MSME jointly announced creation of
India Inclusive Innocation Fund- to solve the problems of citizens at the base of the
economic pyramid

Index of Economic Freedom 2014 published by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall
Street Journal- India ranks 120/186 and 25/43 asia pacific region- on the basis of
economic performance such as rule of law, regualtory efficiency, limited government and
open markets
1st week of March: PM attended 3rd BIMSTEC meet in Myanmar
Mar 20: Khushwant Singh passed away
Mar 27: India abstained from voting on US sponsored resuolution against Sri Lanka on
human rights violations issue because it suggested an intrusive approach unlike in 2009,
12 and 13.
PAGE- Partnership for Action on a Green Economy launched by UN in 2013 tries to help
countries "transition towards greener and more inclusive economies" as per Rio+20
declaration.
India- 111/189 in number of women MPs.
Country's largest insurer New India Assurance cut health insurance rates for girl children
by half, restricted to families with only girl children
Under the Gates' Foundation, "reinvent the toilet challenge"- India to get world' first
waterless solar powered toilet taht converts human waste into biochar by high temperature
TRAI announcded guidelines on sp[ectrum trading- specturm leasing is not allowed only
outright transfer of spectrum is permitted- trading permitted only on pan-licensed service
area (LSA) basis not on a part of LSA.
Apr 8: Sun Pharma acquires Ranbaxy
Apr 16: Vijay Seshadri won 2014 Pulitzer Prize for poetry for his anthology "3 sections".
apr 22: SC set up a 3 3-member committee chaired by Justice S Radhakrishnan to
monitor implementation of motor vehicle law and road safety designs
Apr 27: Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha- new CJI
May 7: Sc allows TN to raise the water level of Mullaperiyar dam from 136 to 142 feet
striking a law created by Kerala
SC bans Jallikattu and bullock cart racingin TAmil nadu
May 27: Setting up of a high level SIT to help unearth black money stashed away abroad
Jun 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today scrapped four Standing Committees of the
Cabinet. These are related with Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), World
Trade Organization (WTO) matters, Management of Natural Calamities and Prices.
Jun 11: Asia's Axis of Reform- China, India and Japan (S Korea too); uncoordinated but
each looking for new growth models.
Jun 24: Union Transports Minister Nitin Gadkari today said that the government will speed
up highway construction plans and build 30 kilometres of roads a day in two years from
now. The minister also said that Road projects worth about 60,000 crore rupees are stuck,
mainly due to reasons such as land acquisition, environment and forest clearances
Jun: Former SG Gopal Subramaniam controversy- judiciary’s independence is
being threatened by Modi government which objected to his
elevation based on CBI and IB reports on him.
Jun 26: Denmark high court rejected extradition of Kim Davy,
prime accused in 1995 Purulia arms drops case
Jun 26: Govt to grant ST status to six Assam communities incl Koch
Rajbongshis
Jun 30: ISRO has successfully launched PSLV C-23 carrying
payload of France, Germany, Canada and Singapore
Jul 3: govt brought onions and potatoes under Essential
Commodiies Act 1955 and allows states to impose stock limits-
aimed at empowering states to undertake de-hoarding operations
and control prices
Jul 4: India refuses to ratify Trade Facilitation Protocol protesting
against the imbalance in favour of developed countries at the
ongoing WTO negotiations. India will support it only if there is
progres in mechanisms gor ensuring permanent protection of govt's
MSP against WTO's subsidy caps.
Jul 7: HD Kumarswamy lands in cash for seat row- 25cr for
nomination to Legislative Council seat. He would nominate and
vote for Vijugouda Patil
Jul 14: CJI RM Lodha gives nod to Law Ministry's proposal to
increase strength of High Court judges by 25%.
Jul 14: Sirasanapaali village of Khammsm distt becomes first village
in Telangana to get Community Forest Rights title deed in the gram
sabha's name for its forest boundary.



Fatwa and shariat courts: fatwa is like a lawyer’s opinion which the querist
may or many not act upon; Muslim law neither obliges any person to seek a
fatwa not makes it incumbent upon her to follow it; shariat courts also known
as Dar-ul-Qazas- alternate dispute resolution mechanisms and generally
decide personal law discords of disputants who voluntarily approach them
and agree to abide by their verdicts
Sc verdict: As long as there is legally sanctioned room for settlement of
disputes by non state bodies, the court cannot isolate the mechanism
operation for it in any particular community and order its abolition and also
stated that neither a fatwa nor a Dar-ul-Qaza verdict can be forcibly
implemented by anybody against the wishes of the person who obtained it.


A law under Section 498A was introduced into the IPC in 1983 applicable in
cases where the complainant is a married and subjected to cruelty by her
husband or his relative. 1986- another section was added- 304B that applies
in case of unnatural death, death by burns or bodily injury taking place within
7 years of marriage and where there are allegations of dowry demand- need
for stricter implementation of these provision- SC’s July 3 judgement only
considers one aspect of issue in Batra vs Batra case where it refused to grant
residency rights to the victim in the house belonging to her mother in law.

Jul 4: swiss authorities: no list of indian tax residents holding assets
in swiss fin instis in their own names or thorigh structures
Jul 9: UN tribunal ( the Permanent court of arbitration at Hague)
fixed Indo-Bangladeh maritime border- Bangladesh gets 19467 sq
km out of total 25602 sq km disputed area in Bay of Bengal.
Jul 9: Michael Hudson McHugh agreed to arbitrate RIL-govt
dispute over cost recovery in KG-D6 block.

Jul 11: SC rules that appeals by death row convicts to be heard by 3-
judges bench only.
Jun 26: A major atmospheric Cherenkov experiment(MACE)
gamma ray telescope manufactured by Electronics Corporation of
India Limited Hyd, for Bhabha Atomic research centre is ready to be
dispatched to Ladakh for installation.
NDa achievements till june- given env clearance for projects worth
22000 crore, 8 centres for IT manufacturing setup, raised fares for
long distance trains, asked states to remove fruits and veggies from
APMc act, raised MSP for paddy and raised import duty on sugar to
40p.