april-may 2009
TRANSCRIPT
EVENTS; APPOINTMENTS; ETC.: APRIL-MAY 2009
APPOINTED; ELECTED; Etc.
Jacob Zuma: He has been elected as the President of South Africa.
Dr Manmohan Singh: He has been elected as the Prime Minister of India.
Madhav Kumar Nepal: Veteran Communist leader and former general-secretary
of CPN-UML, he has been elected as the Prime Minister of Nepal.
Naveen Patnaik: He has been elected as the Chief Minister of Orissa. His Biju
Janata Dal has become the first regional party to come to power on its own in
Orissa.
V.S. Sampath: He has been appointed as the Election Commissioner of India.
Pawan K. Chamling: He has been elected as Chief Minister of Sikkim.
D.D. Lapang: He has been elected as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya.
Timothy J. Roemer: He has been appointed as the US Ambassador to India.
Madhu Kannan: He has been appointed as the Managing Director and Chief
Executive Officer of the Bombay Stock Exchange.
J.S. Sarma: TDSAT member, he has taken-over as Chairman of the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), succeeding Nripendra Mishra.
RESIGNED
Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda:Prime Minister of Nepal.
Arun Bhatnagar: Chairman of Prasar Bharti Board.
DIED
Raja Chelliah: Noted economist who led the first tax reforms as India was
undertaking its economic restructuring in early 90s. He was 86.
Vishnu Prabhakar: Renowned Hindi litterateur. He was 97. His famous works
include Awara, Masiha, Pankheen, Jane Anjane, Dhalti Raat, Swapnamayi, Nav
Prabhat and Doctor, besides Ardhanarishwar for which he was awarded Sahitya
Akademi award.
J.G. Ballard: Renowned British author. His novel Empire of the Sun vividly
portrayed his childhood imprisonment in wartime Shanghai and was adapted into
a Hollywood film by Steven Spielberg.
Kamala Das: Well-known writer Kamala ‘Suraiya’ Das , who courted controversy
with her unorthodox views. She was 75.
Feroz Khan: Hindi film actor, who made a place in the hearts of film lovers with
his romantic portrayals. He was 69. He had made his debut in 1960 with Didi.
Baba Bhagat Singh Bilga: He was the only surviving legendary revolutionary of the
Ghadar party and one of the most respected revolutionaries of pre- and post-
Independence era.
Prakash Mehra: Legendry Hindi-film producer-director who gave Amitabh
Bachchan his first success with “Zanjeer”. He was 69.
Robert Furchgott: An American scientist who shared the 1998 Nobel prize for his
work that led to the development of the anti-impotency drug Viagra. He was 92.
UNION COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
Dr Manmohan Singh: Prime Minister
Cabinet Ministers:
Pranab Mukherjee: Finance
P. Chidambaram: Home
A.K. Antony: Defence
Sharad Pawar: Agriculture and Food and Civil Supplies
S.M. Krishna: External Affairs
Mamata Banerjee: Railways
Virbhadra Singh: Steel
Vilasrao Deshmukh: Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
Ghulam Nabi Azad: Health and Family Welfare
Sushil Kumar Shinde: Power
M. Veerappa Moily: Law and Justice
Dr. Farooq Abdullah: New and Renewable Energy
S. Jaipal Reddy: Urban Development
Kamal Nath: Road Transport and Highways
Vayalar Ravi: Overseas Indian Affairs
Dayanidhi Maran: Textiles
A. Raja: Communications and Information Technology
Murli Deora: Petroleum and Natural Gas
Ambika Soni: Information and Broadcasting
Mallikarjun Kharge: Labour and Employment
Kapil Sibal: Human Resource Development
B.K. Handique: Mines and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region
Anand Sharma: Commerce and Industry
C.P. Joshi: Rural Development and Panchayati Raj
Selja: Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Tourism
Subodh Kant Sahay: Food Processing Industries
Dr M.S. Gill: Youth Affairs and Sports
G.K. Vasan: Minister of Shipping
Pawan Kumar Bansal: Parliamentary Affairs
Mukul Wasnik: Social Justice and Empowerment
Kantilal Bhuria: Tribal Affairs
M.K. Azhagiri: Chemicals and Fertilizers
Ministers of State (Independent Charge)
Praful Patel: Civil Aviation
Prithviraj Chavan: Science and Technology; Earth Sciences; Prime Minister’s
Office; Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; and Parliamentary Affairs
Sriprakash Jaiswal: Coal; and Statistics and Programme Implementation
Salman Khursheed: Corporate Affairs and Minority Affairs
Dinsha J. Patel: Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Krishna Tirath: Women and Child Development
Jairam Ramesh: Environment and Forests
Ministers of State
Srikant Jena: Chemicals and Fertilisers
E. Ahamed: Railways
Mullappally Ramachandran: Home Affairs
V. Narayansamy: Planning and Parliamentary Affairs
Jyotiraditya Scindia: Commerce and Industry
D. Purandeswari: Human Resource Development
K.H. Muniyappa: Railways
Ajay Maken: Home Affairs
Panabaka Lakshmi: Textiles
Namo Narain Meena: Finance
M.M. Pallam Raju: Defence
Saugata Ray: Urban Development
S.S. Palanimanickam: Finance
Jitin Prasad: Petroleum and Natural Gas
A. Sai Prathap: Steel
Preneet Kaur: External Affairs
Gurdas Kamat: Communications and Information Technology
Harish Rawat: Labour and Employment
Prof. K.V. Thomas: Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Bharatsinh Solanki: Power
Mahadev S. Khandela: Road Transport and Highways
Dinesh Trivedi: Health and Family Welfare
Sisir Adhikari: Rural Development
Sultan Ahmed: Tourism
Mukul Roy: Shipping
Mohan Jatua: Information and Broadcasting
D. Napoleon: Social Justice and Empowerment
Dr. S. Jagathrakshakan: Information and Broadcasting
S. Gandhiselvan: Health and Family Welfare
Tusharbhai Chaudhary: Tribal Affairs
Sachin Pilot: Communications and Information Technology
Arun Yadav: Youth Affairs and Sports
Pratik Prakashbapu Patil: Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
R.P.N. Singh: Road Transport and Highways
Shashi Tharoor: External Affairs
Vincent Pala: Water Resources
Pradeep Jain: Rural Development
Agatha Sangma: Rural Development
EVENTS
APRIL
13—Eleven CISF jawans and four Maoists are killed in a gunfight in a well-
guarded armoury and bauxite mine of Nalco in Orissa.
14—Notwithstanding opposition from various countries, Pakistan President Asif
Ali Zardari ratifies a regulation for enforcing Islamic Shariah laws in the restive
Swat Valley as part of a peace deal with the Taliban militants.
15—India successfully test fires a version of nuclear-capable Prithvi-II ballistic
missile with a range of 350 km from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur,
off the Orissa coast.
16—In the first phase of elections, about 58-62% of the 14.3 crore voters exercise
their franchise in 124 constituencies across 17 States, even as Naxalites kill 19
people, including 10 security personnel, across Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.
18—A suicide bomber rams his explosive laden vehicle into a police check post
killing 23 people, most of them security personnel, in Pakistan’s troubled NWFP.
20—India successfully launches a surveillance satellite, RISAT-2, built jointly with
Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.
22—Over one lakh Tamil civilians have flee the LTTE-held No Fire Zone (NFZ) amid
intense fighting between the LTTE cadres and the Sri Lankan Army (SLA).
23—Phase II of general elections in 140 constituencies across 12 States is
completed.
26—Governments around the world rush to check the spread of a new type of
swine flu that kills more than 100 people in Mexico.
29—The Pakistan government claims successes in its war against militants in
Buner after capturing strategic points and villages. However, the army action
leads to internal displacement of thousands of people.
30—Nearly 50 per cent of the voters exercise their franchise in the third phase of
the general elections in 107 constituencies spread over nine States and two Union
Territories.
—A wave of ethnic violence sweeps Karachi, Pakistan, killing at least 29 persons,
including Pashtuns and Urdu-speaking supporters of the MQM.
MAY
6—More than 100 civilians are killed in Army strikes on militants in Afghanistan.
7—Polling is held for 85 Lok Sabha seats across eight States.
13—Curtain rings down on the massive exercise of voting in the Lok Sabha
elections with nearly 62 per cent electorate casting ballots in the fifth and final
phase.
16—The first case of swine flu in India is confirmed in Hyderabad by the director-
general of health services in New Delhi. A 23-year-old passenger from Dubai was
suspected of having contracted the virus and quarantined after his samples tested
positive of the H1N1 flu.
18—For the first time in the history of Mumbai Stock Exchange, circuit breaker is
applied to stop trading after just 30 seconds to cool down an over-heated market
as a buying spree pushes the Sensex up by 2000 points.
—President Pratibha Patil dissolves the 14th Lok Sabha, paving way for the
constitution of the 15th Lok Sabha.
—The chief of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), V. Prabhakaran is killed
by Sri Lanka army. Sri Lanka armed forces free the nation from three decades of
LTTE terror.
—In a frenzy unprecedented in the history of Indian stock market, Sensex jumps
up by 2,110.79 points, or 17.3 per cent, following Congress win in Lok Sabha
elections.
19—India successfully test-fires its nuclear-capable ‘Agni-II’ missile with a strike
range of upto 3,000 km from a launch pad of Integrated Test Range at Wheelers
Island near Dhamra, off Orissa coast.
22—Dr Manmohan Singh is sworn-in as the Prime Minister of India for a second
term.
23—Pakiatani security forces enter Mingora, the main city of Swat valley, killing
more than 17 militants and signalling a new phase of their offensive against the
Taliban militants.
24—Curfew is clamped in Jalandhar city in Punjab as tension grips the DOaba
region within hours of attack in the head of Dera Sachkhand Ballan in a temple
shootout in Vienna, Austria.
25—Cyclone “Aila” kills more than 100 people in West Bengal.
—North Korea conducts a second nuclear test, far more powerful than its first
one.
26—North Korea tests two short-range missiles a day after detonating a nuclear
bomb underground, pushing the regime’s confrontation with world powers
further.
27—A massive car bomb rips through headquarters of ISI in Lahore, killing more
than 30 people. It is termed as one of the most devastating suicide attacks by
Taliban elements in Lahore.
MILESTONES
Jose Brasa: of Spain, he has been appointed the chief coach of India’s men’s
hockey team.
Milan Vohra: Mills & Boons, the biggest, most breathless romance publisher in
the world, has completed its search for fresh literary talent and its first writer
from India is Milan Vohra. It was Vohra’s short story, The Love Asana that
impressed the judges.
Shubhra Saxena: of Ghaziabad, she has topped the Civil Services Examination,
2008.