Important National / International Events December, 2008 to November, 2009

December 2008th

13th15

th18

th25

India’s t

Mr. Ashok Gehlot is sworn in as the 23rd Chief Minister of Rajasthan.

Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva is elected Prime Minister of Thailand by the House of

Representatives. NRI Industrialist Mr. Swaraj Paul is appointed as Deputy

Speaker of the House of Lords, in U.K. hird generation hit-to-kill

anti tank missile is successfully test fired at Air Force range near Pokhran,

Rajasthan.

January 2009th

5th th6 7

th8

th11

th20

th27

Golden Globe Awards : A.R. Rehman for Best Original

Score for Slumdog Millionaire for the year 2009.

Mr. Omar Abdulla is sworn in as the 11th Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

Ms. Sheikh Hasina is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. The 7th

Edition of Pravasi Bhartiya divas is held at Chennai. Prime Minister

Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurates Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala in Kannur

District of Kerala.

Mr. Barack Obama takes

over as 44th President of U.S.A. Former President Mr. R. Venkatraman dies

at the age of 98 years.

February 2009nd2

nd th2 11

th12

th13

th14

th th24 24th24

th24

Ms. Johanna Sigurdardottir is sworn in as first Woman Prime Minister of

Iceland. Ms. Hillary Clinton sworn in as US Secretary of State. Mr. Morgan

Tsvangirai is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in Harare. Mr. Zillur

Rahman is elected unopposed as the President of Bangladesh. Ms. Suman

Sharma becomes the world's first civilian woman to fly the mighty MiG 35 Fighter

Jet at the Aero Indian Airshow in Bengaluru. Saudi Arabia king appointes

Norah al Faiz first woman minister in the Muslim Kingdom.

Oscar Award’s

A.R. Rehman, Best Original Song (Slumdog Millionaire). A.R. Rehman

and Gulzar, Best Original Song (Slumdog Millionaire). Resul Pookutty along

with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke for Best Sound Mixing (Slumdog Millonaire).

Short documentary from India Titled “Smile Pinki” also wins an Oscar. It

narrates a story based on the life of Nine year old girl Pinki from Mirzapur in U.P.

IMPORTANT EVENTS—2009

March 2009th5

th20st

21

th24

th26th27

th29

Mr. Vivek Kundra is appointed as the Chief Information Officer of Obama

administration. An under sea Volcano erupts about 10 to 12 Km off the Coast of

Tonga. Senior R.S.S. leader Mohan Rao Bhagwat takes over as the new R.S.S.

Sarsangh chalak after outgoing Chief K.S. Sudarshan stepped down due to

prolonged illness. Tata Motors launches the World’s Cheapest Car “Nano” in

Mumbai. Germany born Sister Mary Prema is elected as the new superior

general of the Missionaries of charity, founded by Mother Teresa.

Bollywood

actress Katrina Kaif will be the first Indian face of the legendry doll “Barbie”.

Former

President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdual Kalam is chosen for the prestigious Hoover Medal

Award 2008 for his contribution in the field of community welfare.

April 2009rd th3 6

th17th20

th20

Mr. Najib Tun Razak is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Indian

diplomat Mr. Nirupam Sen is appointed as senior advisor to the President of 192

members UN General Assembly on the world financial and economic crises.

The veteran film actor, director and producer Manoj Kumar is conferred Dada

Sahib Phalke award. ISRO Successfully places two satellites — Radar

Imaging Satellite (RISAT 2) and ANUSAT in desired orbit. A survey in China

finds that the Great Wall of China built over centuries to keep foreign invaders out

of China, stretches over a span of 8851 Km, much more than the common

estimate of 5000 Km.

May 2009th7

th7

th 17

nd th22 25st31

The Defence Research and Development Organization successfully carries

out the flight trial of Astra, beyond visual range Air to Air missile. Maldives

President Mr. Mohammed Nasheed wins 2009 Anna Lindha Prize for his efforts

to fight climate change and for peacefully bringing democracy in his country. st

Ms. Massuma al-mubarak is elected as 1 Woman parliamentarian of Kuwait.

Mr. Manmohan Singh takes oath again as the Prime Minister of India. Mr.

Madhav Kumar Nepal takes oath as the Prime Minister of Nepal. Air Marshal

P.V. Naik becomes the new Air Chief Marshal.

June 2009th4

th18th

24th

25th27

th30

Ms. Meera Kumar is elected unopposed as first woman speaker of 15th Lok

Sabha. Nasa successfully blasts off two probes in space in a landmark

lunar exploration mission. Mr. Hans Raj Bhardwaj is appointed as the th

governor of Karnataka. Michael Jackson dies on 25 June 2009 due to heart

attack. Mr. Ramesh Pokhriyal becomes new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.

Indian Amercian girl Kavya Shiv Shanker wins the prestigious Scripps

spelling award.

nd2 Mr. Hamid Karzai is declared reelected as the President of Afghanistan.

November 2009

July 2009rd

3nd

22

th25

th25

th26

th27

th29

st31

Mr. Yukiya Amano of Japan is elected as the new Director General of the

International Atomic Energy Agency.

Mr. Bill Gates is given the 2007 Indira Gandhi

Peace, Disarmament and development award. Mr. Sushilo Bambang

Yudhoyono is reelected as President of Indonesia. India Joins the elite club of nuclear nations with the launch of INS Arihant, a nuclear capable submarine in

Vishkapattnam. Mr. Syed Sibtey Razi is sworn in as new Governor of Assam

and Mr. Iqbal Singh is appointed as Lt. Governor of Puducherry. Ms. Aung Suu Kyi of Myanmar is conferred Mahatma Gandhi International award for peace

for the year 2009 at Durban. Ms. Nandita Das is appointed as new Chairperson of Children film society.

A total solar eclipse sweeps across a stnarrow swathe of Asian continent . It is the longest during the 21 Century until the

month of June of the year 2132.

August 2009th5

th24

th30st31

Mohmmed Ahmadinejad is sworn in for the second term as President of Iran.

The first indigenously built T-90 tank rolls out from the heavy vehicles factory

in Avadi, Tamilnadu. Mr. Yukio Hatoyama becomes the new Prime Minister of

Japan. ISRO Chief Mr. G. Madhavan Nair is elected as President of the International Academy of Astronautics. He is the First Indian and non American to head the 50 year old organization.

rd3

th7

th7th

18

th20

st21th24

th25

Mr. Nikhil Kumar is appointed as Governor of Nagaland and Dr. Kamla

appointed as the Governor of Tripura. Sam Pitroda is appointed as advisor to Prime Minister to guide the government on infrastructure, Innovation and

Information. Hon'ble President Pratibha Patil presents the 41st Jnanpitha

Award to Hindi poet Mr. Kunwar Narain for 2005. Mr. Mohd. Nasheed, President of Maldives, presides over the world's first under water meet. The meeting is being held to highlight the danger posed to low lying nations by global

warming. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is reelected as President of

Indonesia. Mr. Manna Dey is given the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year

2009. Mr. Ashok Chavan is reeclected as Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Mr. Bhupinder Singh Hooda is reelected as Chief Minister of Haryana and Mr. Dorjee Khandu is reelected as Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh.

October 2009

th18

nd22

th27

India’s first non-stop Delhi bound train “Duronto” is flagged off from Sealdah

by the Railway Minister Ms. Mamta Banerjee. Ms. Irina Bokova becomes world's first Woman to head United Nations Agency for Education, Science and

Culture. Ms. Angela Merkel is elected as the Chancellor of Germany.

September 2009

Important Sports Events December, 2008 to November 2009

December 2008th

18

th28

Tennis Player Sania Mirza is honoured with the degree of Doctor of Letters by MGR Educational and Research institute in Chennai on 18th December 2008.

Jyoti Randhawa won the BILT Open golf tournament on 28th December 2008.

January 2009

Australian Open 2009 — Women's doubles : Venus and Serena Williams win the 2009 Australian Open women's doubles title, beating Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova and Japan's Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-3 on 30th January. Women's Singles : Serena Williams thrashes Russia's Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 on 31st January. Men's Doubles : Bob And Mike Bryan of U.S.A. defeat Mahesh Bhupati (India) and Mark Knowles (Bahamian) 2-6, 7-5, 6-0 on 31st January. Junior Boys : Yuki Bhambari of India defeats Georgoudas of Germany 6-3, 6-1 on 31st January.

February 2009

Australian Open 2009 — Men's Singles : Raffael Nadal captures the Australian Open title with an enthralling 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 win over Roger Federer on 1st February. Mixed Doubles : Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi (India) win the mixed doubles title beating Nathalie Dechy (France) and Andy Ram (Israel) 6-3, 6-1 on 1st

February. Sri Lankan player Muttiah Murlidharan becomes the highest wicket taker in One Day Internationals (505) by overtaking Wasim Akram of Pakistan on 5th

February 2009. Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal is named FIFA World Footballer of

the year for 2008. Mahinder Singh Dhoni leads the team India to most consecutive wins (9 Wins in a row) during the period 14.11.2008 to 5.2.2009.

th5

th5

th5

March 2009th10

th14

st21

nd22

Virender Sehwag of India becomes first Indian batsman to score fastest 100

runs in 60 balls against New Zealand in Hamilton. India defeats New Zealand

3-1 in one day series in 33 years. India defeats New Zealand by 10 wickets to

score its first Test win in New Zealand since 1976. England beats New Zealand

by 4 wickets and lifts Women’s World Cup 2009.

April 2009th6

th7th

10th12

Rahul Dravid becomes the world record holder for most catches 182 in the third

test match against New Zealand. India records their first Test series win in New

Zealand in 41 years at Wellington. Gagan Narang wins Bronze Medal in the

first ISSF World cup of the year at Chongwon in South Korea. India wins the

Azlan Shah Hockey tournament by defeating the host Malaysian team 3-1 in the

final played in Ipoh.

May 2009th9

th24

Ace Indian Archer Jayanta Talukdar completes a Golden double, winning both

Individual and team events at the Archery World Cup stage II in Porec, Coratia. nd

Deccan Chargers win the 2 IPL tournament played in Johanesburg, South Africa.

June 2009

French Open 2009 — Women's Doubles : A. Medina Garriques (ESP) and Virginea Ruana (ESP) defeat Victoria Azarenka (BLR) and Elena Vesnina (Rus) 6-1, 6-1. Women's Singles : Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) defeats Dinara Safina (Rus) 6-4, 6-2. Men's Doubles : Leander Paes (Ind) and Lukas Dlrulia (CZE) defeat Wesley Moodie (South Africa) and Dic Norman (Belgium) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Men's Singles : Roger Federer (SUI) defeats Robin Soderling (Swe) 6-1, 7-6, 6-4. Pakistan defeats Srilanka by 8 Wickets to lift 2009 T 20 World Cup on

th20 June 2009 played at Lords, England. Saina Nehwal of India defeats Lin Wang of China 12-21, 21-18, 21-9 to win Indonesian Super Series played at Jakarta.

th 5

th 6

th 6

th 7

st21

st21

July 2009

Wimbledon 2009 — Women's Singles : Serena Williams defeats Venus Williams 7-6, 6-2 to lift the title. Women's Doubles : Serena and Venus Williams of U.S.A. defeat Samthan Stosur and Rennae Stubbs of Australia 7-6, 6-4.

Men's Singles : Roger Federer defeats Andy Roddick of USA 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14 to lift the cup. Men's Doubles : Danial Nestor (CAN) and Nenad Zemonjic defeat Bob and Milr Brain of USA 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3. Mixed Doubles : Mark Knowles (BAH) and Anna Leena (Ger) defeats Leander Paes (Ind) and Cara Black (Zim) 7-5, 6-3.

th 4

th 4

th 5th 5

th 5

August 2009th16

th28th

29

Usain Bolt of Jamaica wins the gold in men's 100 m race finishing in 9.58 seconds only. Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia broke her own world record in the women's pole vault in Zurich by clearing 5.06 meters. Khel Ratna Award for the year 2008-09 are conferred upon Mr. Vijender Singh Bronz Medalist 2008 Bejing Olympics, Mr. Sushil Kumar - Bronz Medalist 2008 Bejing Olympic and Pin Weight Pugilist M.C. Marry Kom who had earlier won four women world boxing championships.

September 2009th

9th

13th

13

th 14

th 14

rd23

Pankaj Advani wins World Professional championship at leeds, England by defeating Mike Russel of Qutar. US Open 2009 — Women's Singles : Kim Klijsters of Belgium defeats Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5, 6-3. Men's Doubles : Leander Paes (India) and Lukas Dlouhy (Czech Republic) defeat Mahesh Bhupati (India) and Marks Knowles (Bahamans). Men's Singles : Juan Martin del Potro of Argentian defeats Roger Federer (Swiss) 3-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6(4) 6-2. Women's Doubles : Serena Williams and Venus Williams (USA) defeat Cara Black (Zimbabwe) and Liezel Huber (USA). Vijender Singh wins India's maiden World Championship medal at Milan and becomes the World Number One.

October 2009st

1

th5

ICC Awards : Cricketer of the year : Mitchell Johnson (Australia), Test Player of the Year : Gautam Gambhir (India), ODI Player of the year : M.S. Dhoni (India), T-20 Player of the year : Tilakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka), Women Cricketer of the Year : Claire Taylor (England), Emerging Player of the Year : Peter Siddle (Australia), ODI Captain of the Year : Mr. M.S. Dhoni (India), Test Captain of the Year : M.S. Dhoni (India), Associate Player of the Year : William Porterfield (Ireland), Spirit of Cricket Award : New Zealand, Umpire of the Year : Aleem Dar.

Australia defeats New Zealand to retain the Champions Trophy.

November 2009th

5 Sachin Tendulkar becomes the first cricketer in ODI history to cross 17000 runs milestone.

Kirti Chakra Awards, 2009

Naik Tape Yajo, Nitya Nand Bora, Arun Raghonath Chitte, Ambadas Ramchandra Powar, Shashank Chandrasen Shinde and Mukesh Bikaji Jadhav.

Awards

Ashok Chakra Awards, 2009

Chief of Anti Terrorist Squad of Maharashtra — Hemant Karkare, Additional Commissioner of Police — Ashok Kamte, Inspector of Anti Extortion cell of Maharashtra — Vijay Salakar, Assistant Sub Inspector of Police — Tukaram Ombale, Major Sandeep Unikrishnan, Havildar Gajinder Singh, Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, Colonel Jojan Thomas, Havildar Bahadur Singh Bohra, R.P. Diengdoh, P.K. Satapathy.

Padma Vibhushan, 2009

Dr. Chandrika Prasad Srivastava (Civil Services), Sh. Sunder Lal Bahuguna (Environment Conservation) Prof. D.P. Chattopadhyaya (Literature and Conservation), Prof. Jasbir Singh Bajaj (Medicine), Dr. Purshottam Lal (Medicine), Sh. Gobind Narain (Public Affairs), Dr. Anil Kakodkar (Science and Engineering), Sh. G. Mahadevan Nair (Science and Engineering), Sister Nirmla (Social Work), Dr. A.S. Ganguly, (Trade and Industry).

Padma Bhushan, 2009

Sh. G. Sivarama Krishna Murthy alias Krishna (Art), Prof. Ramanlal C. Mehta (Art), Smt. Samshad Bagum (Art), Sh. V.P. Dhananjayan and Smt. Shanta Dhanajayan (Art), Dr. Vidyanathan Ganapathi Sthapati (Art), Sh. S.K. Mishra (Civil Services), Sh. Shekhar Gupta (Journalism), Prof. Alappat Sreedhara Menon (Literature and Education), Sh. C.K. Prahlad (Literature and Education), Sh. D. Jayakanthan (Literature and Education), Dr. Smt. Isher Judge Ahluwalia (Literature and Education), Sh. Kunwar Narain (Literature and Education), Prof. Minoru Hara (Literature and Education), Sh. Ramachandran Guha (Literature and Education), Dr. Brijinder Rao (Medicine), Vaidya Devendra Triguna (Medicine), Dr. Khalid Hameed (Medicine), Lt. Gen. (Retd) National Security Affairs, Dr. Smt. Inderjit Kaur Barthkur (Public Affairs), Dr. Kirti Shantilal Parikh (Public Affairs), Dr. Bhakta B. Rath (Science and Engineering), Sh. Conjeevanram Srirangachari Seshadari (Science and Engineering), Dr. Gurdip Singh Randhawa (Science and Engineering), Sh. Sam Pitroda (Science and Engineering), Prof. (Dr.) Sarvagya Singh Katiyar (Science and Engineering), Prof. Thomas Kailath (Science and Engineering), Dr. (Smt) Sarojini Varadappan (Social Work), Dr. Naganath Nayakawadi (Social Work), Sh. Abhinav Bindra (Sports), Sh. Anil Mani Bhai Naik (Trade and Industry).

Padma Shri, 2009

Sh.Thilakan (Art), Sh. A. Vivekh (Art), Smt. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Art), Sh. Akshay Kumar (Art), Dr. (Ms.) Ammena Ahmed Ahuja (Art), Smt Aruna Sriram (Art), Smt. Devayani Chaymotty (Art), Ms. Geeta Kapur (Art), Sh. Govind Ram Nirmalkar (Art), Sh. Gurumayum Gourakishor Sharma (Art), Sh. Hashmat Ullah Khan (Art), Smt. Helan Khan (Art), Smt. Hemi Bawa (Art), Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar (Art), Sh. Iravatham Mahadaven (Art), Sh. K.P. Udayabhanu (Art), Dr. Kanneganti Brahmamandam (Art), Prof. Kiran Seth (Art), Sh. Kumar Sanu Bhattacharjee (Art), Prof. Dr. (Smt.) Leela Omchery (Art), Sh. Mattannoor Sankarankutty Marar (Art), Sh. Niranjan Goswami (Art), Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa (Art), Ms. Penaz Masani (Art), Sh. Prakesh N. Dubey (Art), Dr. Pratapaditya Pal (Art), Sh. Ram Kishor Chippa (Art), Smt. Saoli Mitra (Art), Late Sh. Skendrowell Syiemlieh (Posthumous) (Art), Dr. Subrahmanyam Krishnaswamy (Art), Sh. Suresh Dutta (Art), Late Sh. Tafazzul Ali (Posthumous) (Art), Sh. Udit Narain (Art), Sh. Vadakka MANALATH Govindan Alias Kalamandalam Gopi (Art), Sh. S.B. Ghosh Dastidar (Civil Services), Sh. Ameen Sayani

(Commentary and Broadcasting), Sh. Abhay Chhajani (Journalism), Dr. A. Sankara Reddy (Literature and Education), Sh. Alok Mehta (Literature and Education), Dr. Bannanje Govindacharya (Literature and Education), Dr. Birendranath Datta (Literature and Education), Prof. Geshe Ngawang Samren (Literature and Education), Prof. Jalees Ahmed Khan Tareen (Literature and Education), Sh. Jayanta Mahapatra (Literature and Education), Dr. John Ralston Marr (Literature and Education), Sh. Lalthanfala Saila (Literature and Education), Sh. Laxman Bapu Mane (Literature and Education), Dr. Mathoor Krishnamoorty (Literature and Education), Sh. Norden Tshering (Literature and Education), Dr. Panchapakesa Jataraman (Literature and Education), Prof. Ram Shanker Tripathi (Literature and Education), Prof. (Dr.) Ranbir Chander Sobti (Literature and Education), Dr. Ravindera Nath Srivastava (Literature and Education), Sh. Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (Literature and Education), Smt. Sashi Deshpandy (Literature and Education), Sh. Sunny Varkey (Literature and Education), Sh. Suresh Chander Amonkar (Literature and Education), Dr. Utpal K. Banerjee (Literature and Education), Dr. A.K. Gupta (Medicine), Dr. Alampur Saibaba Goud (Medicine), Dr. Arvind Lal (Medicine), Dr. Ashok K. Vaid (Medicine), Dr. Ashok Kumar Grover (Medicine), Dr. Balswarup Choubey (Medicine), Dr. D.S. Rana (Medicine), Dr. Govindan Vijayaraghvan (Medicine), Dr. Kalyan Banerjee (Medicine), Sh. P.R. Krishan Kumar (Medicine), Dr. R. Sivaraaman (Medicine), Dr. Shaik Khader Noordeen (Medicine), Prof. (Dr.) Thanikachalam Sadagopan (Medicine), Dr. Yash Gulati (Medicine), Sh. K. Asungba Sangtam (Public Affairs), Dr. (Ms.) Shyamlha Pappu (Public Affair), Prof. Syed Iqbal Hasnain (Research on Himlayan Glaciers) Sh. Goriparthi Narasimha Raju Yadav (Science and Engineering), Prof. Parmood Tandon (Science and Engineering), Sh. Bansi Lal Rathi (Social Work), Begum Biklees I. Latif (Social Work), Sh. Cheril Krishnan Menon (Social Work), Rev. Fr. Joseph H. Pereira (Social Work), Sh. K. Viswanathan (Social Work), Ms. Keepu Tshering Lepcha (Social Work), Prof. Shyam Sunder Maheshwari (Social Work), Sh. Sunil Kanti Roy (Social Work), Sh. Balbir Singh Khullar (Sports), Sh. Harbhanjan Singh (Sports), Sh. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Sports), Sh Pankaj Advani (Sports), Sh. Surinder Mehta (Technology Solutions), Sh. Arunmugam Sakthivel Sakthivel (Trade and Industry), Dr. Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty (Trade and Industry), Sh. R.K. Krishna Kumar (Trade and Industry).

Arjuna Awards

Dronacharya Awards

Instituted in 1961, the Arjuna Awards are given in honour of outstanding performances in sports and games. The government has recently revised the scheme for the Arjuna awards. According to revised guidelines, a sportsperson, in order to be eligible for this award, should not only perform consistently for the previous three years at the international level while excelling for the year in which the award is given, but also exhibit qualities of sportsmanship, leadership and discipline. The award consists of a statuette, a cash award of Rs 3 lakhs, a scroll of honour and a ceremonial dress.

Arjuna Award winners for 2008-09

Mangal Singh Champia (archery), Sinimol Paulose (athletics), Saina Nehwal (badminton), L. Saritha Devi (boxing), Tania Sachdeva (chess), Gautam Gambhir (cricket), Ignatius Tirkey (hockey), Surinder Kaur (hockey), Pankaj Shirat (kabaddi), B. Prabhu (physically challenged), Satish Joshi (rowing), Ranjan Sodhi (shooting), Poulami Ghatak (table tennis), Yogeshwar Dutt (wrestling), G.L. Yadav (yatching).

Instituted in 1985, the Dronacharya Award honours reputed coaches who have successfully coached sportspersons and teams helping them accomplish outstanding results in international competitions. The recipient of this award is given a statuette of Guru Dronacharya, a cash prize of Rs 3 lakhs, a ceremonial dress, and a scroll of honour.

Dronacharya Award winners for 2008-09

Baldev Singh (hockey), Jaidev Bisht (boxing) Satpal (wrestling), Pullela Gopichand (badminton) and Udaikumar (kabaddi).

Abbreviations in NewsICESCR : International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

ICI : Investment Climate Index.

UNHRC : United Nations Human Rights Council.

SAHMAT : The Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust.

C- DAC : Centre for Development of Advance Computing.

AARDO : Afro-Asian Rural Development Organization.

NIA : National Investigation Agency.

UNIDO : United Nations Industrial Development Organisation.

SUF : Slum Upgrading Facility.

INCOIS : Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Service.

Nobel Prize, 2009Peace : Mr. Barack Obama, President of U.S.A.

Physics : Mr. Charles K. Kao (USA), Mr. Willard S. Boyle (USA), and Mr. George E. Smith (USA).

Chemistry : Mr. V. Ramakrishnan (USA), Mr. Thomas A. Steilz (USA) and Ms. Ada Yonath (Israel).

Medicines : Ms. Elizabeth H. Blackburn (USA), Ms. Carol W. Greider (USA) and Mr. Jack W. Szostak (USA).

Literature : Ms. Herta Mueller (Romania).

Economics : Ms. Elinor Ostrom (USA) and Mr. Oliver E. Williamson (USA).

Important Days of the Year

thInternational Women’s Day - 8th

World Disabled Day - 15World Consumer Rights Day -

th15nd

World Day for Water - 22

JanuarythWorld Laughter Day - 10

thNational Youth Day - 12

thArmy Day - 15

FebruarythValentines Day - 14

thNational Science Day - 28

March

AprilthWorld Health Day - 7

thWorld Heritage Day -18

ndEarth Day - 22World Book & Copyright Day -

rd23

stInternational Labour Day - 1thWorld Red Cross Day - 8

ndWorld Mothers’ Day - 2

stAnti Tobacco Day - 31

May

thWorld Environment Day - 5June

July

World Population Day - July th11

thTeachers’ Day - 5th

International Literary Day - 8thWorld Ozone Day - 16

Rose Day (Welfare of Cancer nd

Patients) - 22thWorld Tourism Day - 27

International Friendship Day - rd3

thHiroshima Day - 6Indian Independence Day -

th15 th

Sadbhawna Divas - 20

August

September

International Day for the stElderly - 1

Indian Air Force thDay - 8

thUN Day - 24st

National Integration Day - 31

October

thWorld Aids Day - 1

thNavy Day - 4th

Armed Forces Flag Day - 7Kisan Divas (Farmers’ Day) -

rd23

November

December

thChildren’s Day -14