Current Affairs: February 22 - 29, 2012

Current Affairs 21 February 2012

Arunachal Pradesh completes 25 years of statehood

• The Union government announced several projects for the infrastructure development of Arunachal Pradesh, on the occasion of its completion of 25 years as a full-fledged state of India.
• Defense Minister announced raising of 2nd Battalion of Arunachal Scouts.
• He also announced the decision to set up the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports at Dirang.
• Describing Arunachal Pradesh as the future power house of the country, Antony said when various power projects become operational over the decade next, the revenue earnings of the State would be to the extent of 10,000 crore rupees annually. This will make Arunachal Pradesh, the richest State in the country in terms of per capita income.

Nationwide Consumer Price Index launched

• The Government has released the nation-wide Consumer Price Index on a monthly basis.
• The objective is to better reflect the retail price movement and help the RBI take effective monetary policy steps to deal with inflation. Please note that new Consumer Price Index will eventually replace the Wholesale Price Index, WPI for policy actions to deal with the price situation.
• As of now, Inflation is calculated on the basis of Wholesale Price Index as the bench mark.
•  WHY CPI was chosen? Consumer Price Index uses defined basket of goods and services that represents purchasing pattern of a particular household. Since this is driven from the consumption side, it provides a relatively realistic view on how consumers are affected. The change in the consumption pattern has been a driving force behind this.

Yemen goes to polls

• Yemen goes to polls to formally elect Vice President Mansur Hadi as its new President.
• Haadi is the sole contender and he has been ruling the country since the ouster of President Saleh. He will be the interim President for two years.

First nationwide retain Inflation Data issued by the Government

• The Government has issued first nationwide retail inflation data.
• As per this data, all India Consumer Price Index stood at 7.65 per cent in January 2012.

2nd National Drinking Water and Sanitation council held in Delhi

• 2nd National Drinking Water and Sanitation council was organized in New Delhi.
• It was chaired by Rural development Minister Jairam Ramesh. He said that government will focus on quality to ensure safe drinking water to rural as well as urban people of the country.

134th birth anniversary of The Mother observed in Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry

• People from across the country thronged the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry and offered prayers on the occasion of the 134th birth anniversary of The Mother.
• They later participated in a mass meditation around the samadhis of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo, her spiritual mentor.

Agriculture Growth 3.5% likely in 11th Five year plan

• As per a recent statement from Dr. Manmohan Singh, the agriculture sector is likely to achieve about 3.5 per cent annual growth in the 11th Five-Year Plan, but stressed on scaling it up to 4 per cent or more in the next Plan, 2012 to 2017.
• He also said that government is committed to at least double the spending on research and development in the farm sector by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan from the existing level of about one per cent of gross domestic product GDP.
• Agriculture sector remained sluggish during the 10th Plan period achieving merely 2.5 per cent expansion.

Mahashivratri Celebrated

• The festival of Mahashivratri is celebrated throughout the country with religious fervour.

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