Current Affairs : March 2012

This post consist of current affairs events which would be relevant from the GD and PI point of view.A student is expected to read more on these topics.

• India hosted the BRICS Summit for the First Time on 29 March 2012
• Supreme Court refused to Pass Order on Clemency Petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana
• National Green Tribunal suspended the Environment Clearance Granted to Posco’s Steel Project
• Fourth BRICS (BRAZIL, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit was held in New Delhi
• Infosys co-founder Narain Murthy named in the Fortune’s List of 12 Greatest Entrepreneurs
• European Union called on North Korea to dismantle its Nuclear Weapons Programme
• Top Maoist Leader Kobad Ghandy absolved of Anti-Terror Law Charges
• Syria accepted the UN Peace Plan to end Violence in Country
• Union Cabinet approved the Marriage laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010
• Results for Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa Assembly Elections declared
• Union Minister Mukul Roy replaced Dinesh Trivedi as the Union Railway Minister
• Prices of Protein Items, Edible Oil Products pushed Retail Inflation to 8.83% in February 2012
• SIPRL Report: India emerged as the Largest Importer of Arms in the World
• Akhilesh Yadav sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
• Union Budget 2012-13: Tax Proposals
• Union Railway Budget 2012-13: Green Initiatives
• Vijay Bahuguna took the Oath as the Seventh Chief Minister of Uttarakhand
• Parkash Singh Badal sworn in as chief minister of Punjab
• Foreign Direct Investment in India increased by 31% to 27.5 billion US Dollars in 2011
• BJP-MGP Alliance won Goa assembly elections 2012, claimed 26 Seats
• Rahul Dravid announced Retirement from International Cricket
• Congress emerged as the Single Largest Party in Uttarakhand Assembly Election 2012
• Shiromani Akali Dal-Bhartiya Janata Party Alliance won Punjab Assembly Election 2012
• Samajwadi Party won the UP Assembly Elections 2012, claimed 224 seats
• UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa recorded the Highest ever Voting Percentage in their History
• North Korea agreed to suspend its Nuclear Programme in Return for US Food Aid

CET 2012 : Online GD Forum – 2

GD topic : Is TV killing Social interaction?

We request you to use the idea generation techniques and post your thoughts on the topic in the comments section of this post.

The content for the above topic would be posted on the following page : CET 2012 : GD Forum  by Thursday 10th May.

Looking forward to a good GD.

CET 2012 : Online GD forum : 1

Topic : India and terrorism

Ways to begin the GD:

1. KWA :define the term terrorism
2. Begin with defining terrorism as internal and external threats

Points to be covered in the GD:

Using the SPELT method

Social

• Internal terrorist organisations:Naxal,LTTE
• External terrorist organisations: sponsored by Pakistan and now also supported by China (name a few groups : Al Quaida,Laskar-e-Toiba etc)
• They are used to create communal violence in the country e.g. Godhra riots,Babri Masjid demolition

Political

• Used by political parties to grind their own axe e.g. Mamta Banerjee used the Maoist during the Singur or KCR used the Maoist to fight the Telangana issue
• Powerful countries to fight their own enemies support these terrorist organisations e.g. US created Taliban to fight Russia, Rajiv Gandhi created LTTE to destabilise SriLanka

Economic

• States which are not economically developed have been a victim of terrorism e.g. Punjab (their demand for Khalistan),North-eastern states (which are not industrially developed),Jammu and Kashmir
• Reason the youth join terrorist organisations is lack of jobs or education opportunities in their state e.g. WB no job opportunities so join the Maoist to fight against the government

Legal

• The slow disposal of any terrorist trial in India e.g. The 91 bomb blast trial went for almost 12 yrs ,the Kasab trial
• The lack of proper legal framework to charge the criminals is another reason for the increased proliferation of terrorist activities in the country

Technical

• Unmanned borders and hostile neighbours are two reasons why ammunition inflow has happened in the country: most of the terrorist activities carried out in India are sponsored by Pakistan and China
• Large population and overcrowded places are another technical problems we face in curbing terrorism
• Lack of proper facilities in terms of manpower, ammunitions and technology to combat terrorism e.g. the carnage at Dantewada ,Kargil also was due to intelligence failure

Any further inputs on the above topic can be posted in the comments section of this post.