GAPS: General Agreement of Preference System
GATS: General Agreement on Trade & Practices
MODVAT: Modified Value Added Tax
IFFCO : Indian Farmers Fertilizers Cooperative Ltd
TADP : Tribal Area Development Programme
Awards
56th National Film Awards 2008
The National Film Awards were established in 1954. It is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. These awards are administrated by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973. Read Here
Ved-Vedang Award Winners
Pandit Keshavdas Shastri of Madhya Pradesh, Professor Urajbihari Chaube of Punjab and Shrikrishna Lakshmikant Puranik of Assam to be honored with the national Ved-Vedang Awards for their research and study of 'Vedas'.
Appointments:
Prasar Bharti Chairperson: Mrinal Pandey
Indian television personality, journalist and author, former chief editor of Hindi Daily, Hindustan is appointed as Chairperson Prasar Bharti. by President Pratibha Patil. The Prasar Bharati Board oversees the functioning of state-run All India Radio and Doordarshan. Previous chairperson Arun Bhatnagar had resigned last month.
Events & Happenings:
Netaji's Birth Anniversary:
On January 23, 1897, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was born. Today the nation celebrates 113rd birth anniversary of one of the most beloved leaders. Thousands of people assemble Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's ancestral house at Elgin Road in the southern part of Kolkata. Governor Devanand Konwar unveils a book, Oracle, which is a compilation of a number of lectures on Netaji by various prominent personalities like former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and former Indian ambassador to the US Ronen Sen. West Bengal Government has urges the Centre to declare the birthday of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose as Patriotism Day.
National Updates:
Orissa: Naveen Patnaik re-elected as BJD president
Naveen Patnaik is elected as president of the Biju Janata Dal(BJD) for the fourth consecutive term.
Karnataka: On Biotech Parks & Agriculture:
12 new Biotech Parts coming up in Karnataka, at Shimoga, Belgaum, Bangalore, Mysore, Bidar and other places. Flower auction markets to be set up in Mysore, Hassan, Mandya and Chamarajangara and in K R Nagara. Mango Research Centre in Kolar at the cost of Rs 10 crore to increase Mango yields.
Assembly Bypoll Results:
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Abhey Singh Chautala of INLD wins the Ellenabad by poll defeating nearest rival Bharat Singh Beniwal of the Congress by a margin of 6,227 votes
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Farhan Azmi has lost to Shiv Sena candidate Rupesh Mhatre today in the by-election for Bhiwandi East Assembly seat in Maharashtra.
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Bharatbhai Khorani of BJP wins the Chotila seat in Gujarat.
International :
Joe Biden's visit to Iraq:
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden holds talks with Iraqi political leaders ahead of the March parliamentary election.
On IPCC Report Melting Glaciers:
Chairman of Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change Dr.R K Pachauri admitts the mistake in the panel's report that the Himalayan glaciers will disappear by 2035 due to global warming. He terms the mistake as unfortunate and says its a human error and he will do everything possible to see that such mistakes are not repeated.
The environment ministers of the four BASIC countries meeting in New Delhi on January24, 2010 & will certainly reassess its impact on global warming.
Pakistan : Move to West says Robert Gates
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is on a visit to Pakistan. What he says in an interview with Pakistan Television is noteworthy. He says that Pakistan should shift its military focus to its western border rather than on its frontier with India. Pakistan in its own way faces an existential threat on its western border. Therefore it should commit itself to a greater role there.
Sports Australian Open:
Ace Indian Leander Paes and his doubles partner Lukas Dlouhy enter the pre-quarterfinals of the Australian Open in Melbourne. The Indo-Czech combination defeated the Argentine-Romanian pair of Lucas and Horia Tecau 7-5, 6-3 in a one-sided second round encounter today.
very nice . Serina williams won her 5th or 6th consecutive Australian open title?