CURRENT AFFAIRS 2011 PERSONALITY

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2011 PERSONS

JUNE

• Raj Kumar Singh took over as Union Home Secretary of India. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cleared his appointment. Singh succeeded Gopal Krishna Pillai who completed his two-year tenure. 
• Christine Lagarde, French finance minister Christine Lagarde was appointed as the chief of International Monetary Fund. Lagarde became the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund. Lagarde succeeded Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned from the IMF in May to defend him against charges of sexual assault against a New York hotel maid. 
• Jose Graziano da Silva, the former Brazilian Food Security Minister, will be the eighth Director General (DG) of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Jose Graziano da Silva, who has served as a senior regional official for FAO since 2006, will take up the post of DG on January 1 next year. Graziano da Silva is the first person from Latin America to head the United Nation's (UN) global body on agriculture. 
• The Union government appointed M V Tanksale, executive director of the country's No. 2 state-run lender Punjab National Bank (PNB), as the new chairman and managing director of Central Bank of India. He will remain in office till 31 July 2013. 
• Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha- on 27 June 2011,he was appointed Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (CISC). Sinha's name for the post was cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, almost two months after the top tri-services post fell vacant. 
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the appointment of 1974-batch IFS officer Ranjan Mathai, presently Ambassador in Paris, as Foreign Secretary.He will succeed Nirupama Rao, IFS, on her retirement on 31 July 2011 to office for a term of two years. 
• Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, former Rwandan Minister for women's empowerment,became the first woman to be found guilty of genocide and incitement to rape by an international tribunal. Judges at the U.N. court for Rwanda sentenced Pauline Nyiramasuhuko to life in prison for genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and rape. Nyiramasuhuko was found guilty on seven of the 11 genocide charges she faced for atrocities committed in Rwanda's southern Butare region in 1994. 
• Ban Ki-moon-The United Nations General Assembly on 21 June 2011 agreed to appoint former South Korean foreign minister Ban Ki-moon to a second consecutive term as the Secretary-General of the 192-member Organization. Ban’s second term will run from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2016. He has been in office since January 2007. He had succeeded Kofi Annan of Ghana. Ban is the eighth person to serve as UN chief. 
• Prof. Suresh Tendulkar -Eminent economist, who played a significant part in moulding the government’s economic policy, died of a cardiac arrest in Pune on 21 June 2011. At the time of death, he was one of the directors of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India. Prof. Tendulkar was a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) from 2004 to 2008. He was the Chairman of PMEAC from 2008 to 2009 when C. Rangarajan vacated the chief’s position to enter the Rajya Sabha. Prof. Tendulkar’sworked extensively on poverty and estimation of people below poverty line (BPL). In his report submitted in November 2009 as Chairman of an expert group on the methodology for estimation of poverty constituted by the Planning Commission, he estimated that every third Indian is living in poverty and the number of the poor has shot up by nearly 10 per cent to over 37 per cent. 
• Kothapalli Jayashankar- Former Vice-Chancellor of Kakatiya University andideologue for the separate movement died on 21 June 2011. He had been a guiding force for the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in channelising the aspirations of its cadres, particularly the youth, for creation of a separate State of Telangana. He played a key role in the TRS' negotiations with the Centre on 9 December 2009 that led to the announcement by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram that the Government of India would begin the process of creating a separate State. He worked as a member of National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector during 2004–2006. 
• Sheikh Dr. Abu Muhammad Ayman al-Zawahiri –He was appointed as the Amir (supreme leader) of the Al-Qaeda. He was Osama bin-Laden's long-standing lieutenant to lead al-Qaeda. The general command of al-Qaeda announced the appointment and this announcement was made public on 16 June 2011. Ayman al-Zawahiri is a 1959-born former Egyptian surgeon. Saif al-Adel (an Egyptian), the head of the al Qaeda Shura council, was acting as the interim leader of the al-Qaeda; after the death of Osama Bin Laden on 2 May 2011, till the appointment of Ayman al-Zawahiri. 
• M F Husain-Celebrated Indian artist (painter), died in London on 9 June 2011. He was popularly known as MF and was regarded as ‘Picasso of India’. He was 95 years old.M F Husain was born on September 17, 1915 in Pandharpur of Solapur District of Maharashtra. In 1952, MF Husain's first solo exhibition was held at Zurich and soon he became popular in Europe and USA. Husain went on to become one of the highest paid painters in India. His paintings have fetched millions of dollars at the auction. In 1966, MF Husain was honored with Padma Shree by the Government of India. MF Husain’s first film was ‘Through the Eyes of a Painter’ in 1967. The film won a Golden Bear when it was shown at the Berlin Film Festival. He has also made two Hindi movies, (1) ‘Gaja Gamini’ and (2) ‘Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities.’ 
• Nataraja Ramakrishna-Popular kuchipudi classical dancer, known for reviving and introducing Andhra Natyam and Perini Shivatandavam, died on 7 June 2011.Ramakrishna was born in Bali, Indonesia, where his parents had migrated from East Godavari. The family later returned to India and Ramakrishna started showing interest in classical dance forms. At the age of 18, he was given the title of Nataraja in Nagpur, which got added to his name Ramakrishna.He is well known for introducing the dance form of Perini Shivatandavam which highlighted the role of warriors under King Ganapathi Devudu of the Kakatiya dynasty. He was also credited with the revival of the Andhra Natyam dance form, a devotional temple dance tradition performed in Andhra Pradesh for over 400 years until it went virtually extinct.He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1992. He also received a doctorate from the Andhra University and a Bharata Kala Prapoorna apart from the NTR State Award. 
• Suzanne Al Houby-Palestinian-born and UAE-based mother of two, Suzanne Al Houby, on 21 May 2011 became the first Arab woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak. Originally from Jaffa, Palestine, 40-year-old Al Houby reached the 8,848-metre peak at after spending 51 days scaling Mount Everest as part of a four-person team, three of whom successfully reached the summit. Since Mount Everest was first scaled by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, approximately 100 women have accomplished the feat. 
• Devi Prasad-A prominent artist, died in South Delhi on 1 June 2011. He was also a pioneering studio potter, painter, designer, photographer, art educator and peace activist all rolled into one. After completing graduation from Shantiniketan he joined Mahatma Gandhi's Sevagram. He stayed at Sevagram until 1962 where he developed an art school and edited a journal. He was awarded the Lalit Kala Ratna award by Lalit Kala Akademi 2007.

JULY

• ANAND KUMAR ‘Super 30’ founder and mathematician Anand Kumar has been selected from around the world to speak at the University Scholars’ Leadership Symposium, to be held in Thailand from August 1. 
• JUSTICE P.D.DINAKARAN - Sikkim high court Chief Justice PD Dinakaran resigned on 29 July 2011. He was facing impeachment on charges of corruption and judicial misconduct. 61-year-old Dinakaran would have demitted office next in 2012 on attaining the age of 62. He was prior to being transferred to Sikkim High Court, he was the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court. Dinakaran is the third judge of the higher judiciary to face impeachment proceedings. The impeachment motion against Justice V Ramaswamy of the Supreme Court was defeated in the Lok Sabha in mid-nineties. The inquiry report of three- member committee appointed by Rajya Sabha Chairman against Justice Soumitra Sen of Calcutta high court is still pending. 
• NIRMAL KUMAR VERMA - Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Verma took over as theChairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) on 29 July 2011. 
• The Union government on 28 July 2011 appointed IAS officer Pulok Chatterji as principal secretary to the prime minister. Chatterji succeeded T K A Nair who served as Manmohan Singh's principal secretary for more than seven years. 
• Retired Punjab cadre IAS officer T.K.A. Nair was appointed Adviser to the Prime Minister on 28 July 2011. He had served as the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for seven years. He will take charge as Adviser to the Prime Minister from 3 October 2011.Nair, a retired IAS officer of 1963 batch, was given the rank and status of Minister of State in the PMO. 
• The Union government on 23 July 2011 appointed senior advocate Rohinton Nariman as the Solicitor-General, the second senior most law officer of India. Nariman succeeded Gopal Subramanium who resigned from his post in early July 2011. 
• USTAD RAHIM FAHIMUDDIN DAGAR- Dhrupad maestro, died on 27 July 2011 in New Delhi. Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar was a renowned practitioner of Dagarvani style of music that originated from the Vedas. For his outstanding contribution to Hindustani music, he was elected Fellow of Sangeet Natak Akademi (for 2010). He was also honoured with the Padma Bhusan Award. 
• British singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse whose self-destructive habits overshadowed a distinctive musical talent was found dead in London. Winehouse won international acclaim with her albums Frank and Back to Black. She won a several prestigious awards, including five Grammys in 2008. 
• Vasuki Sunkavalli(A.P) has been chosen to represent India at the Miss Universe contest this year. Former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen’s production company Tantra Entertainment holds the I Am She contest to select the Indian representative to the Miss Universe contest. Starting this year the I Am She pageant will also select the contestants for Miss Globe International and Miss Asia Pacific. 
• NR Narayana Murthy was elected the chairperson of Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) on 11 July 2011. He will replace former McKinsey chief Rajat Gupta. Gupta resigned from the PFHI in March 2011 after which YV Reddy took over as the interim chair. Gupta was accused of insider trading in the USA. Murthy will head a governing council including Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Shiv Nadar, Amartya Sen, YV Reddy, Miraj Chatterjee, AK Shiva Kumar and TK Nair.The objective of PHFI is to strengthen training, research and policy development in the area of public health. 
• Pradeep Kumar - a 1972-batch Haryana cadre IAS officer was on 2 July 2011 appointed as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). The appointment followed quashing of the appointment of P J Thomas as CVC by the Supreme Court in March 2011. His name was selected from the four short-listed names by the three-member high-level committee comprising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj. Kumar will have a three-year term as he will have to demit office on attaining age of 65 years under the CVC Act.
• Shashikant Sharma - A 1976 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre on 7 July 2011 was appointed as the new defense secretary succeeding Pradeep Kumar. The position fell vacant after Pradeep Kumar was appointed central vigilance commissioner of India.
• Harun Rashid Khan took over as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India on 4 July 2011 succeeding Shyamala Gopinath who retired in June 2011.Khan has been appointed for a period of three years.
• Nishi Vasudeva - she became the first woman in the history of state-owned oil company to join the board of directors. Vasudeva joined the board of Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), a Navratna PSU, as Director (Marketing).Vasudeva was selected for the board job at HPCL by government headhunter Public Enterprise Selection Board in December 2010. The Cabinet Committee on Appointments (ACC) gave its consent in July 2011.
• B.S.S.RAO - Secretary of Sri Lalithakala Academy Foundation and an art critic, B.S.S. Rao died on 4 July 2011 in Saraswathipuram, Karnataka. He was a patron of classical arts and music and a regular contributor to various newspapers. He took interest in the promotion of classical arts, particularly Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music.
• K. Srinath Reddy - Leading cardiologist, has been awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Scotland's Aberdeen University for his pioneering work in the field of public health. Currently president of the Public Health Foundation of India and a former head of the Department of Cardiology at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, Dr. Reddy is regarded as a global leader in public health.

AUGUST

• Minister for Communications & IT and HRD, Kapil Sibal released a commemorative Postage Stamp on Surendra Nath Jauhar, noted freedom fighter, social worker, industrialist and philanthropist. Jauhar born in 1903 joined the freedom struggle at the age of 16. As a leading Congressman of Delhi, he was thrown behind the bars several times. He became an ardent devotee of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother in 1939. He gave away his land to establish the Sri Aurobindo Ashram – Delhi Branch in 1956, and also became the founder of Sri Aurobindo Education Society, under which he started The Mother’s International School in 1956 and Mirambika in 1982.
• Calcutta judge Soumitra Sen resigned from the position of judge. He submitted his resignation to the President prior to impeachment process scheduled in the Lok Sabha and after the upper House had overwhelmingly voted to declare him guilty of financial misconduct.To complete the impeachment process began against Sen the Lok Sabha had to pass a motion, which was to taken up on 5 and 6 September 2011. 
• Rohit Nandan - a joint secretary in the civil aviation ministry was appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India for a three-year term. Nandan was appointed after removal of Arvind Jadhav from the position of Chairman and CMD. 
• R.S.Sharma - Noted historian and indologist RS Sharma died on 20 August 2011.He taught ancient and early medieval history of India at Patna University, Delhi University and the University of Toronto. He wrote 115 books which have been published in 15 languages around the world. He was the first historian who critically studied the various aspects of early Indian social, economic and political structure and brought into focus the exploitation of weaker sections of Indian society. He was particularly known for his trenchant observations on institutions in ancient Indian society and his report on the Bihar-Bengal boundary dispute. He was the founding chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) in 1972. He also served as President of the Indian History Congress in 1975. He was a recipient of the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award in 1989 and was earlier awarded the Campbell Memorial Gold Medal by the Bombay Asiatic Society in 1987. 
• Madhukar Kashinath Pandhe - veteran trade unionist and Communist Party of India-Marxist Politburo member died of cardiac arrest in New Delhi. 
• The Union government suspended New India Assurance chairman M Ramadoss for alleged violations in issuing insurance cover to an airline during his stint as head of another state-run insurer. 
• Shammi kapoor, Veteran actor and leading star of Bollywood of the 1960s, died in Mumbai. In 1995, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2002 he was honoured Invaluable Contribution to Indian Cinema at the IIFA. He went on to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian cinema at the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) in 2008. Shammi Kapoor was the founder and chairman of Internet Users Community of India (IUCI). He had also played a major role in setting up internet organisations like the Ethical Hackers Association. 
• PC Alexander- a former IAS officer who served in Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s staff died of cancer. He served in the then Madras and Travancore-Cochin states before moving to the Central Government in 1955.P.C. Alexander was at different times Principal Secretary to two Prime Ministers- Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, Indian High Commissioner in the United Kingdom, Governor of Tamil Nadu and, Maharashtra, and even a Rajya Sabha MP.
• D. Subbarao: The Union government on accorded a two-year extension to Reserve Bank of India Governor beyond his term ending September 2011. The extension will be with effect from 5 September 2011 until 4 September 2013.Dr. Subbarao was appointed the 22nd Governor of the apex bank in September 2008, for a three-year term. 
• Justice Shivraj V Patil, Former Supreme Court Judge, was sworn in as the new Lokayukta of Karnataka on 3 August 2011. Justice Patil succeeded Justice N Santosh Hegde who vacated office after completing eventful five-year tenure. Justice Patil headed the one-man committee to inquire into the 2G spectrum allocation issue recently. 
• Norman Anil Kumar Browne took charge as India\'s 23rd Chief of the Air Staff on 31 July 2011. He succeeded Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik. 
• BS Yeddyurappa resigned as Karnataka Chief Minister on 31 July 2011. Karnataka CM B S Yeddyurappa submitted his resignation to the Governor, H R Bhardwaj following his indictment in illegal mining fraud by the Lokayukta. 
• Sucheta(33), an Indian lady from Pune, has successfully crossed the 1,623 km stretch of the Gobi desert, the largest in Asia and the fifth in the world, in a multi-national expedition. Sucheta, who was part of a 13-member team led by Ripley Davenport, accomplished the expedition on 15 July, nine days before the stipulated 60-day deadline, braving rigours and heat of the sands in Mongolia. She became the first Indian woman to cross Gobi desert.

SEPTEMBER

• Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi -Former Indian cricket captain nicknamed Tiger Pataudi died in New Delhi on 22 September 2011. He went on an impaired eye to become a visionary and pioneering captain of the Indian Test team. He was the youngest to become captain at the age of 21.Tiger Pataudi made his debut on 13 December 1961 in the test match against England played in New Delhi. Pataudi played 46 Tests between 1961 and 1975. He was honoured with the prestigious Arjuna Award in 1964. He was conferred upon the Padma Shri in 1967.
• Burhanuddin Rabbani -Former Afghan President was killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul on 20 September 2011. As head of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, Rabbani shouldered responsibility to find a political solution to the 10-year war with the Taliban. Rabbani was given the dangerous and difficult job of guiding the negotiations between the government and its opponents, including the Taliban. Rabbani regained political prominence almost a decade later, when he was named head of President Hamid Karzai's peace council in October of 2010.
• Wangari Maathai- Kenyan environmentalist & Nobel laureate died on 25 September 2011 in Nairobi. The first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize, Wangari Maathai had begun a movement to reforest her country by paying poor women a few shillings to plant trees. The Green Belt Movement organization founded by her in 1977 mentioned that she had been treated for ovarian cancer in the past year. 
• Major General (retd) BC Khanduri was appointed the sixth Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He replaced Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank who resigned on 11 September 2011. Khanduri returned as CM two years after he stepped down following the 2009 general elections, when the BJP lost all five Lok Sabha seats in the state. Khanduri, a former army officer, has the image of an honest leader who commands a lot of respect among retired defence personnel in Uttarakhand.
• Leila Lopes from Angola was crowned Miss Universe on 12 September 2011 in Sau Paulo, Brazil. Lopes, Angola’s first winner, outdid 88 other competitors to win the title during the 60th anniversary of the world’s biggest beauty pageant. She was crowned by Ximena Navarrete of Mexico winner of the 2010 Miss Universe pagant. The first runner-up was 23-year-old Olesia Stefanko of Ukraine and the second runner-up was Priscila Machado of Brazil. 
• Mullapudi Harischandra Prasad died on 3 September 2011. He was the Chairman and Managing Director of Andhra Sugars. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the industry in Andhra Pradesh, Prasad started Andhra Sugars in August 11, 1947 at Tanuku in West Godavari district. Andhra Sugars also contributed to India's space programme. The company developed the propellant fuel for the rocket boosters of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).Harischandra Prasad started Andhra Petrochemicals Limited, which was amongst the first in the chemical sector. Harischandra Prasad served as the President of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI).
• Ganapati Sthapati, Eminent sculptor, died on 6 September 2011 in Chennai. He had sculpted the famous Tiruvalluvar statue in Kanyakumari and Buddha statue in Hussainsagar. 
• Sumanth Misra, Former Davis Cupper and secretary of the All-India Lawn Tennis Association Sumant Misra died on 3 September 2011. Mishra who was India’s first national tennis champion was called Grandfather of Indian tennis.He represented the country at the Davis Cup between 1947- 1956 and also played in the Wimbledon and US Nationals in the pre-Open era in world tennis. Misra was one of the only three Indians to win the national title.
• Nanduri Ramamohan Rao, Senior journalist, the former Chief Editor of Telugu newspaper Andhra Jyothi, passed away. Ramamohan Rao started his journalistic carrier as a sub-editor in Andhra Patrika, a Telugu daily. Later he worked in various Telugu dailies. He authored a series of child stories, Harivillu which were published in Andhra Patrika weekly during 1944-54.He penned several stories like Kanchana Deepam, Esaph stories, Naravatharam, Raju-Peda, Tamstya world tour, Vichitra Vyakthi. Viswa Darshanam and Viswa Rupam are some of his popular writings.

OCTOBER

• Bobby Jindal- Louisiana governor, won re-election on 22 October 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Jindal won 66% of the vote with his nearest challenger, Tara Hollis of the Democratic party, got 18%. On 20 October, 2007, Jindal was elected governor of Louisiana for the first time.Bobby Jindal is the first Indian-American to occupy the post of a governor. His real name was Piyush Jindal. He is 37 years old. Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge. 
• George Varghese Kakkanadan - Eminent Malayalam novelist, who was one of the pioneers of modern Malyalam literature died on 19 October 2011 in Kollam. Known simply as Kakkanadan, he was one of the harbingers of modernism in the genres of Malayalam novel and short story. He won the Central Sahitya Akademi Award, the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and other awards. His work, Orodha won him the 1984 Kerala Sahithya Akademi award.
• Muammar Gaddafi - who ruled Libya for over 40 years, was killed on 20 October 2011 while trying to flee from his hometown, Sirte. Muammar Gaddafi ruled Libya autocratically for 42 years after coming to power in a coup. Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi was born to nomadic parents in the desert region of Sirte in 1942. He remained the autocratic ruler of Libya from 1969, when he seized power in a bloodless military coup that overthrew King Idris I until 2011 when his government was overthrown in a civil war. His 42-year rule prior to the uprising made him the fourth longest-ruling non-royal leader since 1900, as well as the longest-ruling Arab leader. He has several titles to him- the Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution, in 2008 a meeting of traditional African rulers bestowed on him the title King of Kings.
• Fauja Singh(100) - Indian-born, was officially recognised as the oldest person to complete a full-distance marathon after crossing the finish line at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in eight hours, 25 minutes and 16 seconds. The 100-year-old runner of Indian-origin set a Guinness record of being the oldest person to complete a full-distance marathon .Later the sources said he was not entitled to enter into the Guinness record, as he was not able to produce the birth certificate. 
• Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju was appointed as the new chairman of media regulator Press Council of India (PCI) on 5 October 2011. The appointment of Justice Katju, who retired from the apex court on 19 September 2011 was cleared by a committee headed by Vice President Hamid Ansari and included Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. In exercise of the powers conferred by the sub-section (2) of section 5 of the Press Council Act, 1978 (37 of 1978), the Central Government notified his appointment as the Chairman of the Press Council of India.
• Noted economist Vishnudutt Nagar passed away after suffering a heart attack on 10 October 2011 at the ager of 82.Nagar was born on December 16, 1930 at Chanchoda in Madhya Pradesh's Guna district. He played a prominent role in the establishment of an economics department at the Vikram University at Ujjain. Nagar's analytic columns on the general budget in national dailies were well received.
• Veteran ghazal singer Jagjit Singh passed away on 10 October 2011 in Mumbai. He was 70. The veteran singer, popularly known as the Ghazal King had gained acclaim together with his wife Chitra Singh in 1970s and 1980s. He had sung in Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Sindhi and Nepali languages. Moreover, Jagjit Singh is the only singer and composer to have composed and recorded songs written by former Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, in two albums, Samvedna in the year 2002 and Nayi Disha in the year 1999. His music became popular through films such as Prem Geet, Arth and Saath Saath and TV serials Kahkashan and Mirza Galib. Jagjit Singh was awarded Padmabhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour, in 2003. 
• Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was sentenced to 7 years in prison on 11 October 2011 on charges of abuse of office in signing a gas deal with Russia in 2009. Tymoshenko currently the nation’s top opposition leader, denounced the trial as rigged by President Viktor Yanukovych in order to get rid of a popular political opponent. 
• Steve Jobs-co-founder of Apple Inc. died at age 56 from pancreatic cancer on 6 October 2011. Steve Jobs had stepped down as Apple’s chief executive on 24 August 2011. Steve Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976 along with Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak. Steve also co-founded and was the CEO of Pixar Animation Studios, which created animated films. After leaving Apple, Jobs founded NeXT Computer in 1985. Steve Jobs was from California, USA. Steve Jobs helped create the Macintosh, one of the world’s most influential computers. He also reinvented the portable music player with the iPod, launched the first successful legal method of selling music online with iTunes and reordered the cell phone market with the iPhone. Apple is leading the consumer technology world with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, its family of iPod media players and iTunes media store, and its Mac computers and iLife and iWork application suites. Apple recently introduced the iPad, a breakthrough internet and digital media device, in addition to iBookstore, alongside iTunes and the App store.
• Ramya Chinthapally - A teenage Indian girl crossed the English Channel in a relay swim making her among the youngest to undertake the endeavour. She teamed up with five English swimmers.
• U K Bansal -Government appointed secretary (internal security) in home ministry as nextdirector general of the Border Security Force ( BSF). Bansal, a 1974 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, will take charge after present DG Raman Srivastava retires.

NOVEMBER

• B.K. CHATURVEDI-To push through power reforms and unlock the power sector, the UPA-II Government set up an expert group to suggest restructuring of power utilitiesof seven major States, including Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The expert group headed by Planning Commission member (Energy) B. K. Chaturvedi is expected to submit its report by March 2012. The group was entrusted with the responsibility to make an assessment of the cumulative losses of distribution utilities of seven major States, including Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. The plan for reforms follows a recent government report that revealed that the accumulated losses of the power utilities across the country ran into Rs.1.50-lakh crore and annual losses were around Rs.55.000 crore.
• K.V.KAMATH - Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) constituted advisory committee for SEBI Investor Protection and Education Fund. The committee consist of eight member. The committee is to be headed by Infosys chiarman KV Kamath. The committee will recommend investor education and protection activities that may be undertaken directly by the board, or through any other agency, for utilisation of the SEBI Investor Protection and Education Fund for the purposes stated in the SEBI regulations, 2009. The committee will look at investor education and protection activities that SEBI could undertake directly or through any other agency.
• SHIVARAJ PATIL-President Pratibha Devisingh Patil constituted a 12-member committee to study and recommend measures for increasing productivity, profitability and sustainability of the agriculture sector in India. The committee will work under the Chairmanship of Governor of Punjab and Rajasthan, Shivraj Patil. The committee will deliberate on the need for formulating requisite policy initiatives and legislative measures and prospects for investment in the agriculture and allied sectors among others.
• USTAD SULTAN KHAN -Renowned sarangi maestro and singer, died on 27 November 2011. He belonged to the Indore Gharana of singing. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian honour in 2010. He won numerous musical awards including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award that he won twice. He was presented the President's Award, as well as the Gold Medalist Award of Maharashtra and the American Academy of Artists Award in 1998.India lost two other renowned musicians in 2011 with the death of Jagjit Singh and Bhupen Hazarika.
• INDIRA GOSWAMY- Eminent Assamese litterateur and Jnanpith award winner, popularly known as Mamoni Raisom Goswami passed away in Guwahati on 29 November 2011. Dr. Goswami authored several bestseller Assamese novels and short story collections in her lifetime. Goswami had served as a professor of modern Indian languages at Delhi University. Classics such as The Pages Stained with Blood and The Moth Eaten Howdah of a Tusker were written during her stint in Delhi University. Goswami was an expert in Ramayani studies.Her autobiography was Adha Lekha Dastavej. Her treatise Ramayana from Ganga to Brahmaputra is considered a literary masterpiece. She won the Sahitya Akademi Award for her powerful novel Mamare Dhara Tarowal Aru Dukhan Upanyasa in 1982 and the Jnanpith Award in 2000. Dr. Goswami in 2004 mediated between the Centre and the ULFA and succeeded in convincing both the government and the ULFA to come forward for negotiations. Her initiative led to the formation of the Peoples' Consultative Group (PCG) by the ULFA to prepare the ground for peace talks. 
• Sherry Rehman - Former Pakistani Information Minister was on 23 November 2011 designated to become Pakistan’s next Ambassador in the U.S. She succeeded Husain Haqqani who resigned over the Memogate controversy. Analysts perceived her selection for this post as a sign of consensus between the civil and military leadership of the country after a tense week that followed the Memogate controversy.
• Aamir Khan was chosen to be the latest celebrity face of UNICEF in India. The actor is to be appointed the national ambassador of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund on 30 November 2011. UNICEF had earlier appointed Amitabh Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra as the face of the organisation. 
• Cyrus P. Mistry(43) was on chosen to succeed Tata group chairman Ratan Tata as the group’s new chairman in 2012. He has currently been appointed as the Deputy Chairman and will take over when Ratan N Tata formally retires in December 2012 on reaching the age of 75.Youngest son of construction tycoon Pallonji Mistry, Cyrus P. Mistry is currently the Managing Director of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. He is also on the board of Tata Sons, the holding company which controls the Tata Group. Pallonji Mistry owns a significant stake in the Tata Group.For the second time a non-Tata is to take over as the group's chairperson. Before Cyrus Sir Nowroji Saklatwala had been the group's chairman between 1932 and 1938.
• Sukh Ram - A Delhi court on 18 November 2011 held this former telecom minister guilty of misusing his official position when he was a member of the PV Narasimha Rao Cabinet and giving undue favour to a cable supply company. Sukh Ram was awarded five years of rigorous imprisonment for accepting a bribe of Rs. three lakh and showing undue favour to a private firm in 1996. Apart from the five-year jail term, he will also have to pay a fine of Rs. 4 lakh. He was a part of the Congress at the Centre when the scams took place.During his tenure as Telecom Minister in P V Narasimha Rao's Cabinet he had given a contract worth Rs. 30 crore to a private firm, Haryana Telecom Limited (HTL), to supply 3.5 Lakh Conductor Kilometers (LCKM) of Polythene Insulated Jelly Filled (PIJF) cables to the telecom department. 
• Har Gobind Khorana - Pioneering Indian American biochemist, who won the 1968 Nobel Prize for medicine, died in Massachusetts on 9 November 2011. Khorana is known to have revolutionised biochemistry with his pioneering work in DNA chemistry. He had won the Nobel Prize in 1968, sharing it with two others, Robert W. Holley of Cornell University and Marshall W. Nirenberg of the National Institutes of Health, for unraveling the nucleotide sequence of RNA and deciphering the genetic code. He was born on 9 January 1922, in Raipur, Punjab (now in Pakistan).
• Peter Roebuck- Renowned cricket writer and commentator, committed suicide at a hotel in South Africa on 12 November 2011 after being questioned on allegations of sexual assault by the police. England-born Roebuck was in South Africa to cover the ongoing Test series between South Africa and Australia. He would be best remembered in India for his indictment of Ricky Ponting and the Australian team, whom he called a pack of wild dogs, for their behaviour in the controversial Sydney Test in 2008.
• Silvio Berlusconi- Italy's Prime Minister, resigned as on 12 November 2011 after he was stripped of a parliament majority due to his unsuccessful handling of the fierce financial crisis. Berlusconi's latest popularity rating was at an all-time low of just 22 per cent.Economist Mario Monti will head an emergency Italian government following the departure of Silvio Berlusconi. 
• A Telugu speaking NRI Upendra J.Chivukula has been elected to the Legislative assembly of New Jersey, US, for he sixth time. Hailing from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. Mr.Upendra, a candidate of the Democratic Party.
• G.N. Asthana took over as General Manager of the South Central Railway (SCR) on Wednesday. He was the General Manager of west West Central Railway before the new posting. 
• Nabam Tuki- was sworn in as the seventh Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on 1 November 2011. He replaced Jarbon Gamlin. Gamlin resigned from office on 31 October 2011.Gamlin had taken over as chief minister on 5 May 2011 following the death of Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu in a helicopter crash. Arunachal Pradesh went through political instability since July 2011 after a group of Congress legislators led by Tuki revolted against Gamlin's leadership. .
• Otto Perez Molina -Retired general and former intelligence director of the Conservative Patriotic Party of Guatemala won the presidential election on 6 November 2011 by defeating tycoon-turned-political populist Manuel Baldizon of the Democratic Freedom Revival party. Pérez Molina, is the first former military leader elected president in Guatemala in the 25 years after the end of brutal military rule. Otto Perez Molina succeded Álvaro Colom as Guatemala’s President.
• Lucas Papademos -Senior banker, was appointed prime minister of an interim Greek unity government on 10 November 2011. The interim government seeks to cement a European debt deal and ward off national bankruptcy. He replaced outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou midway through a four-year term.His appointment came after four days of power-sharing talks. Papademos following his appointment called for unity and promised to seek cross-party co-operation to keep Greece firmly in the 17-nation eurozone.
• Bhupen Hazarika-Legendary singer-composer and Padma Bhushan awardee Bhupen Hazarika died in Mumbai on 5 November 2011. Hazarika was a multi-talented personality. He was a poet, music composer, singer, actor, journalist, author and filmmaker.Bhupen Hazarika was born on 8 September 1926, in Sadiya, Assam. He was the chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi from 1999-2004.He was chosen as a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly from 1967-72.He was awarded the National Award in 1975 for Chameli Memsaab. He also won the Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1992. The legendary composer was conferred the Indian Music Director award for best music Internationally for the film Rudaali at the Asia Pacific International Film Festival 1993 held in Japan.He won President's medal for his films Shakuntala (1960), Pratidhwani (1964) and Lotighoti (1967). He was also awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987.
• Joe Frazier- the former heavyweight boxing champion died on 7 November 2011 after a battle with liver cancer. Frazier is most famous for defeating bitter rival and another boxing legend Muhammad Ali in the 1971 Fight of the Century. World heavyweight champion, Frazer had started life as a sharecropper’s son growing up in South Carolina and punched meat in a Philadelphia slaughterhouse. Known as Smokin' Joe, he won 32 fights in all, 27 by knockouts, losing four times - twice to Ali in furious bouts and twice to George Foreman. He also recorded one draw.
• Asha Bhosle -Legendary Bollywood playback singer, on 20 October 2011 entered the Guinness World Records for the most number of single studio recordings. Asha recorded up to 11000 solo, duets and chorus backed songs and several others in over 20 Indian languages since 1947.The 78-year-old was conferred with the Guinness honour at the Asian awards function held in London.
• Kamalesh Sharma -Commonwealth Secretary General, was re-appointed to the coveted post on 30 October 2011. The Commonwealth Leaders agreed to re-appoint him at the 21st Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth in Australia. Sharma who served as a veteran Indian diplomat was re-appointed for a four-year term beginning in April 2012.Sharma was first elected to as the Secretary General of Commonwealth during the biennial summit of the 54-nation grouping in Kampala, Uganda, in 2007.
• Ivian Sarcos -A human resources graduate from Venezuela, was crowned Miss World 2011 at the 61st Miss World contest at a glittering beauty pageant at Earls Court exhibition Centre in London on 6 November 2011. The runner-up was Miss Philippines, Gwendoline Ruais, and Miss Puerto Rico, Amanda Perez, claimed third place.

DECEMBER

• Satyadev Dubey (75)-Theatre director, screenplay writer and actor passed away on 25 December 2011. Dubey was called as theatre guru.
• S.Bangarappa -Veteran politician and former Chief Minister of Karnataka who was the Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1990-92 died on 26 December 2011.
• Venkatraman Ramakrishnan - Indian-American Nobel laureate was conferredknighthood by Britain. 
• Vaclav Havel- Former Czech president, who had been suffering from chronic respiratory problems died on 18 December 2011 at the age of 75. He was one of the leading anti-Communist dissidents of the 1970s and 1980s.He was the tenth and last president of Czechoslovakia (1989–92) and the first President of the Czech Republic (1993–2003).He was his country's first democratically elected president after the Velvet Revolution. The non-violent Velvet Revolution ended four decades of repression by a regime which Havel ridiculed as Absurdistan.
• Kim Jong-il- The leader of North Korea passed away on 17 December 2011 after he suffered a massive heart attack on a train. The news of his death was announced by the state television from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang on 19 December 2011. Kim Jong-il led his nation for 17 years and through a devastating famine while frustrating the United States and other global powers with approach to talks on giving up nuclear arms in return for food and other assistance.His longtime pursuit of nuclear weapons and his military’s repeated threats to South Korea and the United States caused worries that fighting might break out again on the Korean peninsula or that North Korea might provide weapons of mass destruction to terrorist movements.
• PK Iyengar- India's top nuclear scientist and nuclear physicist, who designed India’s first atomic bomb and was a staunch opponent of the Indo-US nuclear deal, passed away at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) hospital in Trombay. He was one of the mainstream scientists in the development of India's first nuclear device under the code name Smiling Buddha. 
• MS Reddy -Veteran Telugu film producer and noted lyricist, passed away on 11 December 2011. He was popularly known as Mallemala. Reddy, during a career that spanned about 60 years, produced hit films like Ankusam, Talambralu, Ahuti, Baala Ramayanam, Ankusam, Ammoru, Agraham and the more recent Arundhati. He worked with some of the industry's most popular heroes, including NTR Jr who made his debut in Baala Ramayanam, which Reddy made with 3000 child artistes. The film had bagged the Best Children's Film Award.
• Jacques Chirac - A French court sentenced former French President, to a two-year suspended jail term following his conviction on graft charges. He was held guilty for misappropriation of public funds and embezzlement. This is the first time a French Head of State has been convicted since the trial in 1945 of Marshal Philippe Petain who collaborated with the Nazis. 
• The 85-year-old eminent cartoonist and Padma Bhushan awardee Mario Miranda passed away at Panaji in Goa. He worked for Illustrated Weekly of India, Times of India, Economic Times and Femina. 
• Vinod Rai- The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India was on 8 December 2011 elected chairperson of the United Nations panel of external auditors. Rai succeeded Norbert Hauser, vice-president of Germany's Federal Court of Auditors as chairman of the United Nations panel of external auditors. As chairperson Rai will oversee the audit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), besides setting audit agenda for all UN specialized agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Programme and the World Intellectual Property Organization.
• Dev Anand, an icon of Indian cinema and evergreen star, died at the age of 88 in London on 3 December 2011 (4 December according to IST) after suffering a massive cardiac arrest.
• Mario Miranda, the world renowned cartoonist, died in Goa on 11 December 2011. Miranda was the recipient of the Padma Bhushan (2002) and Padma Shri (1988) awards. He started his career as a cartoonist for the Times of India Group in 1953 and later moved into illustration and fine art. His creations such as Miss Nimbupani and Miss Fonseca which appeared on a regular basis in Femina, Economic Times, and The Illustrated Weekly of India brought him fame.