General Awareness Updates – December 2009

Persons in News

Chief Justice of India K. G. Balakrishnan has said that the Supreme Court Collegium has withdrawn the name of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P. D. Dinakaran (left) from the list of judges who were to be evaluated for appointment to the apex court.

Justice Dinakaran’s name has been reportedly dropped due to the allegations of corruption and land encroachment against him. Earlier, the CJI had sought a report from Tamil Nadu Government on the allegations. The District Collector of Thiruvallur had submitted his report to the apex court, which confirmed that Justice Dinakaran had encroached on 197 acres of public land illegally.

The first day of the new Maharashtra assembly went pretty chaotic, with four Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) legislators being suspended for assaulting Samajwadi Party legislator Abu Asim Azmi, who was taking his oath in Hindi. As Mr. Azmi started to take his oath in Hindi, several MNS members swooped on him and pushed him aside. Even as Mr. Azmi attempted to save himself, MNS member Ram Kadam slapped him and hit him on the face and chest, shocking the 288-member house that had converged for the oath-taking ceremony.

Following this, four MNS legislators – Vasant Geete, Shishir Shinde, Ram Kadam, and Ramesh Wanjale – were suspended for four years by the pro-tem speaker for the violent incident. Earlier, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray had warned the newly elected legislators asking them to take oath only in Marathi.

Union Prime Minister Pranab Mukherjee launched the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), a unique Public-Private Partnership (PPP) enterprise. This has been mandated to skill 30% of the overall target of 500 million people by the year 2022. The Chairman of NSDC is M. V. Subbiah.

Swati Piramal (right), Director of Piramal Healthcare, has become the first woman President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). Ms. Piramal, who replaces Sajjan Jindal, was senior vice-president of the industry body. Harvard-educated Ms. Piramal is also on the boards of several companies, including Piramal Life Sciences, SBI Capital Markets, and Prudential ICICI Management.

The Election Commission of Afghanistan has proclaimed Hamid Karzai (left) as the winner in the presidential elections cancelling a planned run-off and ending a political crisis. The cancellation of the run-off came after one the contenders Abdullah Abdullah announced that he was pulling out of the race.