Tomislav Nikolic

A former ultranationalist ally of late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, beat incumbent Boris Tedic for presidency on 20th May. This result could slow down the Balkan country's attempt to join EU and reconcile with wartime foes, including former province of Kosovo that declared indepence in 2008.

The Gregor Telescope

1. It is largest in Europe and is opened in Spain's Canary island.

2. It's mirror diameter is 1.5 m.

3. It will allow study of the sun in unprecedented details.

4. It is mainly built to study physical processes on the surface of the sun.

5. It has retractable roof that prevents air turbulence in it's optical path, which allows it to deliver sharp images.

Suma Chakrabarti

1. First India born to head European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

2. Born in 1969 in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal.

3. He has been serving as a permanent secretary in the UK ministry of Justice since November 2007.

Leela Dube

1. Passed away on Sunday in New Delhi at the age of 89, was one of the early pioneer feminist scholars along with Irawati Karve, Vina Muzumdar and Lotika Sarkar.

2. She was wife of renowned sociologist S. C. Dube.

3. She taught at Sagar University from 1960 - 1975.

4. She was given Lifetime Achievement Award by Indian Sociological Society and was awarded UGC National Swami Premanand Saraswati Award for 2005.

Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP)

1. It is guided by MTP ACT 1971.

2. It's main provisions are:
    a) when the length of pregnancy doesn't exceed 12
        weeks one medical practitioner can perform
        abortion.
    b) when the same exceeds 12 weeks but not 20 weeks
        not less than 2 practitioners should perform
        abortion.

3. It allows abortion in following cases:
    a) when continuance of pregnancy endangers the life
        or physical and mental health of woman.
    b) if it is going to result in genetic abonormality in
        child.
    c) when the pregnancy is caused by rape.
    d) when the pregnancy is caused by failure of any
        family planning device or method adopted by the
        couples.

4. The sex of foetus will not be knoown untill the pregnancy is 12 - 14 weeks.

Grass pea (Khesari dal)

1. It was banned in 1961.
2. It was believed that Beta-N-Oxalylaminoalanine, a Neuro-toxic amino-acid in the legume, caused neurolathyrim or a paralysis of the lower limbs.<br>
3. It is cultivated extensively in central and western India for cattle fodder.
4. Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and West Bengal are the only states where the sale for human consumption was not banned.

National Green Tribunal

1. It is established under National Green Tribunal Act 2010, under constitutional provision of Art. 21 which assures the citizens of India, the right to a healthy environment.

2. It's chairperson is either a judge of Supreme Court or a Chief Justice of High Court. First chairperson is Justice Lokeshwarsingh Panta.

3. Judial members - 10 -20 and Expert members 10 - 20 as speciefied by Central government.

4. Objectives: a) to provide speedy environmental justice. b) to help reduce burden of litigation in the high courts.

5. It is mandated to dispose an application or appeal within 6 months from the date of such application.

6. Period of application is 6 months from the date of action of disput.

7. Principal place of sitting - New Delhi and othe places are Pune, Bhopal, Kolkata & Chennai.

BioDIVA project

1. It is jointly undertaken by German and Indian researchers, is seeking to promote agro-biodiversity, enabling small and marginal communities to preserve their traditional knowledge, make a living and protect environment.
2. It is led by Martina Padmanabhan, a German agricultural sociologist, based at the Institute of Environmental Planning of Leibniz University in Hanover.
3. This project aims to generate knowledge and instruments for a progressive approach in agriculture that strengthens the position of women.

Kaladan Project

1. It is India's main infrastructure project in Myanmar.
2. It connects Sittwe port to Mizoram by road and an inland waterway.

The Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project (BOBMLE)

1. Necessity: Over 400 million people in the Bay of Bengal depend for their food,
livelihood and security on the coastal and marine resources.
2. Objective: To improve lives of coastal population through improved regional
management of Bay of Bengal and it's fisheries.
3. Participating nations: Maldives, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand,
Indonesia and Malaysia.
4. Funding agencies: Global Environment Facility, Norway, the Swedish Internal Development Agency, FAO, Participating governmants, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization.

Missile Defence System of India

1. It is developed by DRDO.
2. It has been successfully tested and can destroy incoming ballistic missile with the range upto 2000 km.
3. It's elements are long range radars, tracking devices, real time data
link and mission control system.
4. It is comparable to U.S. Patriot 3 system.

Xylarium

The word "xylarium" has been originated from Greek word "xylon" meaning "wood" and is used as "wood collection with proven and certified accuracy"