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.

Yelena Isinbayeva: Russian pole vaulter and Olympic gold medallist, she has won

her second Laureus World Sportswmoan of the Year award.

Kavya Shivashankar: Indian-American teenager who won the televised US

National Spelling Bee competition, nailing esoteric words from “hydrargyrum” to

“Laodicean.