2010 Current Affairs and General Knowledge Quiz

World Water Day was observed on March 22, 2010. The Day has been observed since 1993 when the United Nations General Assembly declared March 22 as World Day for Water.

Edward Luce is the author of 'In Spite of the Gods' while 'The Hindus: An Alternative History' has been authored by Wendy Doniger.

The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 that prescribes the liability of an operator in a nuclear accident and relief to the victims in such mishaps, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on May 7, 2010.

Rabey Hasni Nadvi was on March 20, 2010 re-elected President of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board for the third consecutive term at its three-day conference at Lucknow.

The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) in the Ministry of Environment and Forests has been awarded the prestigious Clark R. Bavin Award, 2010 for the exemplary enforcement action and prioritizing wildlife crime in the Ministry and other enforcement agencies on March 18, 2010. The award is given by the Species Survival Network (SSN), an international coalition of over 80 non-governmental organizations, including Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), a non-governmental organization based in the United States of America.

A Supreme Court-appointed committee has described the public distribution system (PDS) in the country as “inefficient and corrupt” plagued by black marketing and diversion involving a “vicious cartel of bureaucrats, fair price shop owners and middlemen”.
The central vigilance committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice D P Wadhwa in its report to the apex court on March 16, 2010 said that the Rs 28,000-crore subsidy annually spent by the Centre was being pocketed by vested interests and suggested drastic action to stem the rot.

South India's first luxury train, Golden Chariot, operated by Karnataka government, started its maiden trip on its newly extended circuit from Bangalore on March 16, 2010. In its extended itinerary of seven nights and eight days the Golden Chariot will take the tourists to some of the ancient temple towns and heritage sites that are situated in and around Chennai, Puducherry, Tanjore, Madurai, Trivandrum, Alapuzha and Kochi. The new circuit of the Golden Chariot is called 'Southern Splendour' and the original circuit is renamed as 'The Pride of the South'.

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on March 19, 2010 passed the Karnataka Samskrita Vishwavidyalaya Bill, 2009, to encourage research in areas and disciplines related to Sanskrit. The Bill envisages systematising the study of Sanskrit, utilising the link between Sanskrit and Kannada for enrichment of both the languages, and providing a platform for scholars in Sanskrit and other related disciplines to exchange ideas.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on March 20, 2010 declared open the world's first green legislature building, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly-Secretariat Complex, on the Omanthoorar Government Estate in Chennai.

The Presidency College, Kolkata becomes Presidency University: The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on March 20, 2010 passed the Bill to confer university status to Presidency College. The institute was originally founded as Hindoo College in 1817 and renamed as Presidency College in 1855.

World Forestry Day was celebrated on March 21, 2010

India's first open jail for women was inaugurated at the Yerwada Central Prison in Pune on March 14, 2010 by Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil.

Actor Amitabh Bachchan was on March 25, 2010 appointed brand ambassador of the “Save our Tigers” campaign initiated by NDTV and Aircel.

Sweden is ranked first on the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) in the Global Information Technology Report 2009-2010, released by the World Economic Forum on Mar 27, 2010. Sweden is followed by Singapore, Denmark, Switzerland, USA, Finland, Canada, Hong Kong, Netherlands and Norway in the top-ten list. India ranks 43^rd - jump of 11 positions from the 54^th rank it held in the previous edition of the report. The report is produced by the World Economic Forum in association with France based international business school INSEAD. Published for the ninth consecutive year with coverage of 133 economies worldwide, the report is the world's most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) on the development process and the competitiveness of nations.

The new rules allow the Union Finance Minister to clear proposals up to Rs 1,200 crore foreign equity without seeking an approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). The department of industry policy and promotion (DIPP) has notified the changes in the foreign direct investment rules on March 26, 2010. Earlier, such proposals above Rs 600 crore were referred to the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs. The CCEA would now consider cases of foreign equity above Rs 1,200 crore.

Low-cost domestic carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet have been granted an in-principle approval to start international flights once they complete the stipulated five year of domestic operations.

The dot-com domain marked its 25^th anniversary on March 15, 2010. The first dot-corn address was registered March 15, 1985, by Symbolics Computer Company of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Symbolics.com was the first domain name registered.

A proposal to ban the export of Atlantic bluefin tuna was rejected at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Doha, Qatar on March 18, 2010. Monaco introduced the proposal arguing that extreme measures for the iconic, migratory fish were necessary because the stocks have fallen by 75 per cent due to widespread overfishing.
A US-backed proposal to ban the international trade of polar bear skins, teeth and claws was also rejected at the Convention. CITES, with 175 member countries, limits or prohibits international trade in endangered and threatened plants and animals. This was the first CITES Conference of the Parties to be held in the Middle East.

The United States was the world's biggest arms supplier while China and India were the biggest importers of conventional weapons, according to data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on March 15, 2010. The US remains the biggest arms supplier, accounting for 30 per cent of weapons exports. The main recipients of American weapons were South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

A Russia-led defence bloc of ex-Soviet states has signed a cooperation pact with the United Nations that is likely to pave the way for the alliance's greater involvement in Afghanistan.

Pakistan Air Force in March 2010 conducted “High Mark 2010” a country-wide exercise aimed at conducting operations in a 'near-realistic tactical environment' and integrating its new acquisitions like the JF-17 Thunder combat jets and Saab 2000 AWACS into its fleet.

Hundreds of early human fossils, artifacts and forensically recreated faces of mankind's prehistoric relatives went on display at the Hall of Human Origins at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington on March 18, 2010.

The Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre of the ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations), New Delhi, was formally inaugurated in Dhaka on March 18, 2010 by ICCR president Karan Singh. The ICCR is providing special scholarships to 100 students from Bangladesh each year to pursue graduate and postgraduate studies in premier institutions in India.

Governments across the world have done well collectively to lift 227 million people out of slum conditions, surpassing the Millennium Development target by 2.2 times, says the UN-HABITAT report on the 'State of the World Cities 2010/2011: Bridging the Urban Divide' released on March 18, 2010.

World Kidney Day was observed on March 18, 2010

Global investment bank Morgan Stanley on March 19, 2010 named P Jayendra Nayak, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Axis Bank, as its new chief executive and country head for India. During his nine-year stint (2000-2009) at Axis, the bank became India's third largest private sector lender.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore granted Qualified Full Banking (QFB) privileges to ICICI Bank on March 23, 2010. This allows India's largest private sector bank to have 25 points-of-presence in Singapore such as branches and ATMs and offer retail banking services and products. ICICI Bank is the second after State Bank of India to get QFB privileges.

The Uttarakhand Government in March 2010 launched the 'Nanda Devi Kanya Yojana' under which a girl child born on or after Jan 1, 2009 in below poverty level (BPL) families would get Rs 5,000 as fixed deposit. Similarly, a special programme 'Monal' has been launched to provide employment and training for teenaged girls.

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has emerged the richest person in the world with $53.5 billion in assets, while Indian industrialist Mukesh Ambani, chief of Reliance Industries, ranks fourth with $29 billion in U.S. magazine Forbes' annual list of the world's top billionaires released on March 19, 2010.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) announced that it had been awarded a contract by the Ministry of Defence for the design and construction of 36 high-speed interceptor boats for the Indian Coast Guard on March 22, 2010. The contract is valued at Rs. 977 crore.

Actor Kushboo joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Chennai on May 14, 2010

The government has approved a new scheme titled “India Statistical Strengthening Project (ISSP)” as a centrally sponsored scheme estimated to cost Rs. 650.43 crore on March 22, 2010.

The food and beverages segment had the highest 14 per cent share of the total advertising volume during 2009, according to an analysis by AdEx released on March 22, 2010. This segment was followed by the personal care and personal hygiene product segment and the services segment with 11 per cent and 6 per cent share respectively.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has included drug maker Cipla in its benchmark 30 share index Sensex by replacing Sun Pharmaceuticals. The change will come into effect from May 3, 2010.

Animal Welfare Fortnight of the Animal Welfare Board of India was observed from January 15 to 31, 2010. Late Rukumini Devi Arundale, Founder Chairpersons, AWBI started the Animal Welfare Fortnight in January 1964.

'Wide Angle'- a book comprising the collection of off-field pictures shot by the former India skipper Anil Kumble was released in Bangalore on March 17, 2010.

The Mumbai-based Ajit Gulabchand promoted Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) acquire a 66 percent stake in Karl Steiner AG (KSAG), a services contractor in the Swiss real estate market, for Swiss Franc 35 million (Rs. 150 crore). KSAG is a 95-year-old private company that specialises in turnkey development of new buildings and refurbishments, and offers services in all facets of real estate construction.

Film personality Tapen Chattopadhyay, famous for his role as Goopi in Satyajit Ray's classic 'Goopi Gayen Bagha Bayen' (Goopi the singer Bagha the drummer), passed away on May 24, 2010.

Central public sector undertakings will now have to ensure that at least 50 per cent of its board members are independent directors.

Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. (PHHL) is jointly owned by the Government of India (78.5%) and Oil & Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) (21.5%).

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure on March 25, 2010 approved establishment of National Knowledge Network (NKN) at an outlay of Rs 5,990 crore.

Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia won the Men's Singles title at the All England Badminton-Championship with a 21-19, 21-19 victory over Japan's Kenichi Tago in Birmingham, England on March 14, 2010

World number one Serena Williams was named the 2009 WTA Player of the Year and shared Doubles Team of the Year with her sister Venus on Mar 25, 2010.

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has joined the league of carmakers producing one million or more units a year on March 23, 2010. Suzuki Motor Corp Chairman Osamu Suzuki was present to see the roll-out of the one millionth vehicle - a red-coloured Swift.

March 20, 2010 was celebrated and marked as World House Sparrow Day. The marking of the day is an international initiative by the Nature Forever Society, in collaboration with the Bombay Natural History Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology (U.S.), Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France), Avon Wildlife Trust (U.K.) and numerous other national and international organisations.

Sitar legend Pandit Ravi Shankar was on March 19, 2010 honoured by the University of Melbourne, with its highest award, the Doctorate Degree of Laws for his “outstanding commitment to music and humanity”.

The Planning Commission on March 20, 2010 reduced the power generation capacity addition target by over 20 per cent to 62,374 MW for the 11^th Plan (2007-12) from the original target of 78,577 MW, in its mid-term appraisal report unveiled recently. During 11^th Plan, 19,207 MW of generation capacity was added till December 31, 2009. During the 10^th Plan, 21,080 MW was added against the target of 41,000 MW.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on March 17, 2010 announced the appointment of US foreign policy expert Antony Lake, who was an adviser to President Barack Obama, as the new Executive Director of UNICEF, Lake will take over as the new UNICEF in May 2010 after incumbent Ann Veneman retires from the post.

Iran and Pakistan have signed an agreement to launch the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline with a provision for India's possible participation in the project at a later date.