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1. National board of exams to be abolished The National Board of Examinations (NBE) will be disbanded and a new council for paramedics will be constituted, as per the proposed National Commission for Human Resources for Health (NCHRH) Bill, 2010. According to the final draft of the Bill, the National Board of Examinations, established in 1860, will be dissolved and its functions taken over by the National Board for Health Education (NBHE) to be set up under the proposed law. The new Board will have a president, two full-time and four part-time members appointed by the Centre on the recommendations of a search-cum-selection committee. The NBHE will promote academic studies and research in emerging areas of health education with a focus on professional health education, and ensure uniform augmentation of trained specialists and super specialists. 2. Orissa tribals to continue opposing Tata Steel project Tribals of the Kalinganagar steel hub in Jajpur district reiterated their resolve to oppose their displacement to make way for a six million-tonne steel plant of Tata Steel in their locality. Hundreds of tribals, who came under the banner of Bisthapan Birodhi Janamanch, renewed their pledge while paying tributes to 14 persons who were killed in police firing while opposing the proposed steel plant project on January 2, 2006. 3. Poor response from male volunteers hits RISUG clinical trial Dismal response from male volunteers has hit the ongoing extended advanced clinical trial of male contraceptive injection, RISUG (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance) in the country. When developed, this will be the first of its kind of birth control method in the world. However, two years on, only 64 volunteers against target 500 participants have registered themselves for the advanced study being conducted by the India Medical Council Research (ICMR) of the Health Ministry in its centres across the country. 4. Cobra getting special assault rifles for war against Naxals The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (Cobra), the anti-Maoist force of the Centre will be equipped with sophisticated assault rifles capable of firing 1000 rounds per minute and khukhris for hand-to-hand combat situations. The Tavor X95 sub-machine guns manufactured by the Israel Weapon Industries is billed as the Special Forces firearm of the next generation and presently used by the Army will now be also used by the anti-Naxal force, official sources said. 5. Supreme Court admits it violated fundamental rights during the EmergencyThirty-four years after the Supreme Court approved of the suspension of fundamental rights in the name of the Emergency, it has admitted that it had committed an injustice on the people of the country. Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had advised President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed in June 1975 to declare a state of emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution. 6. Kumaria takes over as Western Air Command Chief Air Marshal DC Kumaria has taken over as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command (WAC) at Subroto Park in New Delhi. A fighter pilot, Kumaria was commissioned in July 1973 and has flown a number of aircraft, including all versions of the MiG 21 and Jaguar fighters. 7. India to bid again for Gandhi's home India will make another attempt to acquire the house of Mahatma Gandhi in Johannesburg, where he had lived a century ago, to convert it into a memorial. After learning that the house, where Gandhi had stayed from 1908 to 1910 as a young lawyer, was on sale, state-owned Coal India Ltd. attempted to buy it in August 2009 but it was snapped up by a French tourism company in an auction for what was believed at the time to be almost twice the asking price. Union Minister of State for Coal Sriprakash Jaiswal said that despite the auction, the house could not be sold as it was not registered. 8. India joins U.N. Security Council After 19 years, India has joined the U.N. Security Council as a non-permanent member for a two-year term. 9. IAF to acquire C130J aircraft from US The Indian Air Force is acquiring one of the world's most modern heavy lift aircraft C130J from the US and likely to operationalize it under the Western Air Command. This is part of the IAF's major expansion and modernisation plans.

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The Western Air Command has been put on highest priority in terms of air fleet upgradation. Its modernization programme includes acquisition of assets such as more helicopters, transport planes, latest radars and more landing bases along Indo-Pak and the Sino-India borders. 10. India plans power lines via Bangladesh India is exploring the possibility of building transmission lines via Bangladesh to supply power to that country and to transmit electricity between the northeast and the rest of India, union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said. 11. Pakistan government reduced to minority The federal government in Pakistan was reduced to a minority with its biggest ally, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), withdrawing support a week after it pulled out its two Ministers from the Cabinet. However, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and political analysts do not see an immediate threat to the government, primarily because the main opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), has made it clear that it is not interested in pulling down the Pakistan People's Party-led ruling dispensation. 12. Dilma Rousseff takes charge in Brazil Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff began her first full day in office after pledging to build on the policies of her hugely popular predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The 63-year-old divorced grandmother, who was Mr. Lula's former Cabinet chief, assumed the presidency. She is a left-wing former guerrilla who was tortured in prison in the 1970s for opposing the then-military government. 13. UK govt introduces online 'divorce calculator' for couples splitting up The government of the UK has introduced a new 'divorce calculator' that works out the cost of splitting up for couples who wish to go their separate ways. Created by Cambridge-based digital marketing agency Omobono, the 'My Divorce And Separation Calculator' helps couples draw up budgets, a review of debts and post-split financial scenarios. 14. Bank a/c number sole criteria for e-fund transfers Looking to speed up the transfer of funds electronically, banks will henceforth only take into account customers' account numbers for such transactions, ignoring other details like names. The new mechanism is intended to reduce the possibility of any errors and comes into effect from January 1, 2011. 15. RBI to have new round of industry surveys to gauge growth The Reserve Bank will conduct a new round of surveys to gauge the mood of the industry on growth prospects, amid expectations that the Indian economy is poised to clock nine per cent expansion this fiscal. RBI will carry out two surveys -- on industrial outlook and on capacity utilisation by the manufacturing sector. It has mandated two institutions -- Delhi-based Centre for Research Planning and Action (CRPA) and Mumbai-based Centre for Monitoring India Economy (CMIE) -- for the task. 16. Pradeep Vijayakar passes away Noted sports journalist Pradeep Vijayakar passed away at a private clinic in Mumbai. He was undergoing treatment for cancer. Mumbai cricketers, coaches and administrators, hockey and cue sport internationals were present at the Shivaji Park crematorium on Sunday to pay respects to the 59-year-old who is survived by wife and two daughters. 17. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Baliram Bhagat passes away The former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Baliram Bhagat, passed away. He was 89. Mr. Bhagat, who hailed from Bihar, died at a private hospital early morning where he was undergoing treatment for kidney and liver ailments. The veteran Congress leader served as Speaker of the fifth Lok Sabha for about a year during the Emergency after his election to the post on January 6, 1976. Apart from holding several posts in the Union Cabinet, Mr. Bhagat also served as Governor of Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan from 1993-98

10. India plans power lines via Bangladesh India is explorin14. Bank a/c number sole criteria for e-fund transfers Looki