2009 NEWS summary for INDIA

1. The Sri Lankan government finally triumphed in its bid to destroy the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) when its sustained assault on LTTE territory led to the killing of Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran. The bullet-ridden body of the LTTE chief, who was also an accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, was telecast over and over to rub the point home.
2. After the Lok Sabha fiasco, the turmoil in the BJP plumbed to new depths with all-round attacks on L.K. Advani's leadership. The (RSS) Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its chief Mohanrao Bhagwat had to step in for course correction, seeking a return to the core identity of Hindutva.
3. The Congress's good showing in the Lok Sabha polls were reflected in the party's re-election in the assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh. The party, however, could not turn the tide in Sikkim and Orissa, where the Sikkim Democratic Front and the Biju Janata Dal returned triumphant respectively. A few months after scripting the Congress victory in AP, CM Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy died in a helicopter crash along with four others in early September.
4. Pushed to the backfoot by the fast unto death of Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, the Centre finally consented to carving up Andhra Pradesh by creating a separate Telangana state. The move, however, was met with widespread protests from MLAs and MPs from non-Telangana regions. Praja Rajyam Party chief Chiranjeevi added his bit to the united Andhra cause by submitting his resignation form the Tirupati MLA seat.
5. Congress leader Jagdish Tytler was set to contest from Delhi's North-east constituency when journalist Jarnail Singh threw his shoe at Home Minister P. Chidambaram in protest against the injustice to victims of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Tytler's ticket was withdrawn by the Congress along with that of another 84 riots accused MP-nominee Sajjan Kumar.
6. The Supreme Court ordered the Special Investigation Team, led by former CBI chief R.K. Raghavan, to probe the involvement of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers in the post-Godhra riots of 2002. The decision came on the plea of Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was hacked dead by a mob outside Gulbarg Society, Ahmedabad.
7. West Bengal's Lalgarh in West Midnapore district turned into the latest Maoist hotspot when Naxals cashed in on anti-government sentiment following police excesses in a crackdown to ferret out information on attempts to kill Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. Senior Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy was arrested in New Delhi on September 20. The Centre also announced Operation Greenhunt to combat Maoists.
8. The ghosts of the Babri Masjid demolition returned to haunt the BJP again as the Justice M.S. Liberhan Commission of Inquiry's report was leaked in the media just before the Winter Session of Parliament. The report held BJP leaders including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani, M.M. Joshi and others responsible for the act. The report absolved the PV Narasimha Rao government, leading to the BJP questioning the commission's impartiality.
9. Veteran BJP leader Jaswant Singh was expelled from the party for comments praising Pakistan founder M.A. Jinnah in his book Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence.
10. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) got five more years at the country's helm with a good showing at the hustings beating the strong claim of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the General Elections 2009.
11. Bajaj's announcement to shut down its scooter business marked the end of an era for many, especially the older generation. For the company, it was result of a gradual transition from scooters to bikes as part of its plans to cater to the youth. Its advertisement campaign 'Hamara Bajaj' will live long in the memories of the people, although the scooter would fade away.
12. Tata Motors launched its small wonder 'NANO' in March this year. Since its introduction, the Nano has received great media attention - be its low price or its manufacturing address. Originally to be manufactured in West Bengal's Singur district, it got a new home in Gujarat's Sanand district following violent protests that forced Tata Motors to pull out from Singur. Now, Nano owners have to deal with the attention on the roads.
13. In the country's biggest corporate fraud involving Rs 7,000 crore, iconic IT company Satyam was hurtling towards disaster following the shocking disclosure of accounts fudging by its founder Ramalinga Raju, who then quit as chairman - leaving an uncertain future for the company and its 53,000 employees. Raju, who is being housed in Hyderabad's Chanchalguda jail, is facing criminal charges for fraud, forgery, cheating, embezzlement and insider trading.
14. Talks over a proposed partnership between Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN were called off, with Bharti Airtel saying that the South African government is not ready to "accept the deal in its current form."
15. India may boast of a negative or near zero inflation for most part of 2009, but price rise of essential food items made this year the worst for common man. The price situation that was result of worst drought and floods made the cost of living expensive for many. The Congress-led UPA faced the ire of the political parties for the rising cost of living. With rates of essential items still going up, year 2010 will be watched with lot of expectations.
16. When the world was reeling under the worst economy downturn, India emerged as a strong economy. The government announced number of packages this year for the Indian economy to bounce back. It did work, but the recovery has been slow. Whether inflation would hurt the economy or the growth would continue is something that will be keenly followed in 2010.
17. Eyeing the strong Indian auto market, Germany's Volkswagen and Suzuki Motor entered a deal. Under the deal, Volkswagen will buy one-fifth stake in Suzuki for $2.5 billion, tapping the Japanese firm's expertise in small cars and its strong hold in India. They plan to develop a small car for the Indian market. Volkswagen is a new entrant in the Indian market, whereas Suzuki's association with India is very old. It is to be seen how their joint product would do in the competitive Indian market where there are already many small car options to choose from.
18. Jai Ho composed by A.R. Rahman of Slumdog Millionaire becomes the anthem in 2009. The Slumdog Millionaire film won Oscar 'Academy Award' in Best Original Song category for this track. A version featuring the Pussycat Dolls was released with English lyrics.
19. The Bandra Worli Sea Link 'Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link' is a cable-stayed bridge which links Bandra and the western suburbs of Mumbai with Worli and central Mumbai. The bridge was dedicated to the public on June 30, 2009 by Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
20. Singur gained international media attention since Tata Motors started constructing a factory to manufacture their $2,500 car, the Tata Nano at Singur. The small car was scheduled to roll out of the factory by 2008. But the project faced massive opposition from displaced farmers. The unwilling farmers were given political support by West Bengal's opposition leader Mamata Bannerjee.
21. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee introduces Duronto Express trains in her budget speech. These are a set of specialised rail services by Indian Railways like Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi Express trains. These are the non-stop point to point rail services introduced for the first time in the history of India.
22. UID (Unique Identification Number) is an initiative by the government of India to create and manage a centralised identification system for all the adult citizens and residents of India, which can be utilised for a variety of identification purposes. Nandan Nilekani former co-chairman of Infosys has been appointed as the head of Unique Identification Authority of India and will have a ministerial rank.
23. Shedding their reluctance in the face of intense public glare, the Chief Justice of India and all the 20 Supreme Court judges have furnished details of their assets.
24. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is formed after P. Chidambaram takes over as the new home minister. The agency is seen as a tool to pre-empt 26/11-like attacks.
25. The Delhi High Court deliveres a historic judgement to amend a 149-year-old colonial-era law- Section 377 of the IPC - and decriminalises private consensual sex between adults of the same sex.
26. Bollywood's glam couple - Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan - is on a roll. Soon after appearing on Oprah Winfrey's show, they bagged their first endorsement together. Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan featured in a Lux advertisement for a whopping amount of Rs 7.5 crore. Abhi-Ash's new plush contract makes them the highest-paid pair in the Indian ad world. In their first TV campaign, the Bachchans show their never-seen-before mischievous side. The commercial is set to go on air later this month.
27. Aamir Khan was seen in an animated avatar for the first time on television commercial for Coca Cola. Conceptualised by adman-turned-lyricist Prasoon Joshi along with Ashish Chakravarty, the ad has been shot by Abhijit Choudhary for the 'Coca-Cola Open Happiness' communication initiative. The ad showcases two girls searching for their friend (Aamir) who is so engaged in playing video games that he has become a part of the virtual world. But when the girls open a bottle of the aerated beverage, Aamir starts to lose his focus from the game and is tempted to come out in real life. The ad ends with Aamir's rival from the game, another animated character, also stepping into the real world to taste the drink.
28. Swine flu hits various parts of India in 2009. Soon after the outbreak of H1N1 virus in the United States and Mexico in March, the government of India started screening people coming from the affected countries at airports for swine flu symptoms. The rate of transmission of the flu increased in the beginning of August and with the first death due to swine flu in India in Pune, panic began to spread. As of August 14, 2009, 1193 cases of swine flu has been confirmed and 719 people have been discharged with 20 deaths.
29. Two Supreme Court judges, Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice Markandey Katju, withdrew from two separate cases related to the Ambani brothers citing conflict of interest.
30. Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal let the cat loose among the IIT aspirant pigeons when he said the cut-off marks for the IIT entrance test should be increased. Kapil Sibal said, "The present criterion is that students need to secure 60 per cent in Class XII for appearing in IIT-JEE (IIT-Joint Entrance Examination). This is not acceptable. The minimum marks required for IIT-JEE could be raised to 80 to 85 per cent (in the Class XII board examinations). A day later, he changed tack altogether and said the proposal was his "personal view". He said, "The govt has no role to play. The eligibility criteria to appear in the JEE is decided by the IITs themselves."
31. An FIR was filed against the staff of Continental Airlines as they frisked former president Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who was boarding a carrier for Newark, US, for breach of protocol. Faced with criticism the airline apologised to Kalam and said it did not intend to offend the former President or the sentiments of the people of the country.
32. Authorities remain clueless about the glitch in the online Common Admission Test (CAT). The computer crash prevented about 2,000 students from taking the test meant for admissions to the country's leading management institutions. Twenty-four of the 104 CAT centres had reported systems failure.
33. Manu Sharma, the convict in the 1999 murder case of model Jessica Lall, was granted 30-day parole from jail, on the grounds that Sharma needed to attend to his ailing mother. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit came under criticism for granting parole to Manu Sharma after media reports of him visiting night clubs in Delhi emerged. As a result of strong public reaction to Manu Sharma's parole, Delhi Government had to cancel his parole and on November 10, Manu returned to Tihar Jail after violation of his parole was confirmed.
34. The Central Forensic Laboratory in Hyderabad released an information that Aarushi Talwar's vaginal samples were substituted with those of an unknown woman. The correct samples could have helped to establish the killer of the teenager and whether she was sexually assaulted before being stabbed in May, 2008. Delhi Police also recovered the missing mobile phone of Aarushi from Bulandshahr.
35. A Russian woman, aged 25, has alleged that she was raped by a local Congress politician John Fernandes in Goa in the wee hours of December 2, 2009.
36. The bogus employees scam hits the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The biometric attendance system of the civic agency has revealed 22,853 bogus employees, drawing a monthly salary of Rs 17 crore.
37. The Raj Thackeray-led MNS remained in news for all the wrong reasons in 2009. On October 2, 2009, MNS workers disrupted the screening of the film Wake Up Sid on its release in a few Pune and Mumbai theatres, after a rabble-rousing Raj objected to the city being referred to as 'Bombay' instead of Mumbai. On November 9, 2009, during the Oath taking ceremony of the Maharashtra State Legislative Assembly, MLAs from MNS started a physical confrontation with Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi after he began his oath in Hindi instead of Marathi.
38. The year saw the release of the most anticipated movie Delhi-6 starring Junior B. Directed by Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra of Rang De Basanti fame, the movie failed to strike the right chords with the audience. But nevertheless, one of its song Masakkali Masakkali written by Prasoon Joshi & composed by A.R.Rehman became a huge hit.
39. This year began for Big B with Delhi-6, in which he did a cameo. Then came Sujoy Ghosh's Aladin in which Big B played Genius - the Gennie. But sadly, Aladin didn't manage to impress either the young or the old. Then came Paa, Amitabh Bachchan played the role of a 13-year-old boy suffering from progeria. This is undoubtedly Big B's best ever. This movie also showcased the best makeover of any Indian actor in any movie.
40. The former boy-next-door Shahid Kapur has become the pin-up boy of Bollywood post Kaminey. Last year (2008) Shahid had just one film Kismat Konnection, which didn't do well at the box office. The actor bounced back with the release of Kaminey in which Shadid Kapoor played a double role. His six-pack abs became the talk of the town. Girls too couldn't stop raving about Shahid and his new persona. The Dhan-te-nan song written by Ghulzar & composed by Vishal bhardwaj became an instant top-of-charts hit.
41. Bollywood's new lucky boy Abhay Deol stole our hearts as Lucky in Dibakar Banerjee's Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye last year. This year saw Abhay Deol playing a modern day Devdas in Anurag Kashyap's Dev D. The movie was embraced by the media, critics and public alike, and is considered to be amongst path breaking films in Hindi for the way it presented itself. Abhay Deol became the latest sensation in Bollywood with this movie. The Emosanal Atyachaar [Emotional Torture] song penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya, sung by Bony Chakarvarthy & composed by Amit trivedi became an instant hit and a household phrase.
42. Yuki Bhambri is the future of Indian tennis. On January 31, the former world boys No. 1 won the junior title at the Australian Open, becoming the first Indian to win a singles title at the championship. He graduated from juniors to the senior circuit this year, jumping over 800 ranking spots to 337. He's just 17. And while he appears frail compared to the big-boned and powerful Russians and Hispanics, he could well be the singles champions India have long looked forward to.
43. India had a very productive year in tennis. Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza won them the Australian Open mixed doubles. Leander Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy then won the French Open men's doubles. The pair followed that up with the US Open title, beating Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in an emotionally charged pride-at-stake final. Paes is 36, and Bhupathi 35, but given their passion for doubles, you could mark them down for a few more titles in 2010.
44. Adam Gilchrist's Deccan Chargers turned the Indian Premier League upside down in the second edition. As the action shifted to South Africa, the bottom-scraping side from Hyderabad powered into the final against Anil Kumble's Royal Challengers, another side that had staged an against-all-odds recovery. Chargers prevailed by six runs in the May 24 final.
45. Saina Nehwal needed to stamp her authority was a big win. The moment arrived on June 21, when she beat world No. 3 Wang Lin to win the Indonesian Open - India's first Super Series title. The feisty Hyderabadi shuttler is ranked No. 8 at the moment. With another productive year, she could be within sniffing distance of No. 1. The Chinese had better watch out.
46. Some may discredit the Indian football team by saying they play against low-ranked opponents. But Bhaichung Bhutia's men had to punch above their weight to retain the Nehru Cup 2009. Syria, their opponents in the final, were ranked 64 places above India. The final remained goal-less for 114 minutes. Then, Renedy Singh put India in front. Syria equalised seconds before the whistle. In the penalty shootout, goalkeeper Subrata Pal eyeballed the powerful Syrian strikers, standing before them like an inpenetrable wall. His saves won India their second straight Nehru Cup title.
47. There are multiple views on the effectiveness of the Indian cricket team. But even their staunchest critics would agree that MS Dhoni's boys have played some great cricket in recent times. This would be the year that the team became No. 1 in ODIs and Tests, both for the first time. In September during the Champions Trophy, India were No. 1 briefly, before being quickly pushed down to No. 2 by Australia. But they would finish 2009 as the No. 1 Test side after thumping the higher-ranked Sri Lanka 2-0.
48. The Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar completed an incredible 20 years in international cricket on November 15. He promptly followed up that amazing feat with his 17000th run in one-day internationals during a goose bump-inducing knock of 175 against Australia. Days later, he completed 30,000 runs in international cricket. Where would he stop? We can only guess.
49. It's getting harder to find adjectives to describe Virender Sehwag. Genius? Freak? God-man? Madman? On December 3, the India opener Virender Sehwag plundered Sri Lanka for a mind-boggling 284 runs in a day, while we searched for words to describe his audacity. The next day, he fell short of being the first man ever to score three Test match triple hundreds. But here's some consolation: he's the only man since Don Bradman to cross 290 thrice in Tests. Some feat.
50. A video that emerged during the Lok Sabha election campaign allegedly showed BJP leader Varun Gandhi making communal remarks at an election rally following which he was served with an Election Commission notice and was arrested and jailed. The Maya government also slapped the National Security Act (NSA) on him. Later, the NSA was revoked. Varun in the rally had said ‘I; swear by Bhagwad Geeta; will cut the hand that will raise a finger against Hindus’
51. On July 12, 2009, a section of an overhead bridge under construction at Zamrudpur, near East of Kailash, gave way and crushed five workers to death; 15 were injured. The accident took place due to a "problem in the design" of the pillar, according to Delhi Metro officials. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, led by the 77-year-old E. Sreedharan, has enjoyed strong government support so far. Despite the controversy, the Metro entered Uttar Pradesh's Noida in November.
52. The CBI's decision to give a clean chit to Ottavio Quattrocchi in the Bofors scandal triggered a political storm during the election season. The BJP alleged the Congress used the CBI to exonerate Quattrocchi, who is considered close to the Gandhi family.
53. Suresh Kalmadi, who heads the New Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games organising committee, had demanded that the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) should remove its chief executive officer Michael Hooper from his operational role and accused him of being an "impediment to functioning". But CGF rejected this call.
54. On January 24, 2009, activists of the Shri Ram Sene, founded by Pramod Muthalik, barged into a Mangalore pub and beat up a group of young women, claiming that they were 'violating traditional Indian values'. Muthalik also announced an action plan to target couples on Valentine's Day. After this declaration, a group of women calling themselves the consortium of pub-going, loose and forward women launched a campaign to send pink chaddis to Muthalik.
55. Actor Shah Rukh Khan was detained and grilled for at least two hours at the Newark airport in the United States. During his detention, Bollywood star's appeal to allow him to speak to his contacts in the US, was unheard by the authorities. During the episode, it also came to light that former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was also a victim. But Kalam didn't make it an issue and waved it away.
56. Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh stirred the hornet's nest by accusing the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) and Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) respectively of corruption in selection. They have since then made peace with the cricket bodies.
57. Akshay Kumar walked the ramp during Lakme Fashion Week for designer Tarun Tahiliani during which he asked his wife Twinkle Khanna to unbutton his jeans. This act brought in cheers and roar from the crowd but a certain section was shocked and considered it obscene and in bad taste.
58. Differences cropped up between Sanjay Dutt and Priya Dutt during the Lok Sabha elections as Priya is a Congress MP while Sanjay joined the Samajwadi Party (SP). Sanjay tried to contest polls from Lucknow on an SP ticket. The political rivalry took its toll on their relationship.
59. Actor Om Puri publicly lambasted his wife, journo Nandita Puri, for revealing the actor's sexcapades in a tell-all biography titled Unlikely Hero: The Story of Om Puri. Lashing out at her, he said, "My wife has reduced a very important and sacred part of my life to cheap and lurid gossip."
60. Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi was arrested and charged under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, for allegedly making derogatory remarks against UP Chief Minister Mayawati. Ms Joshi criticised the award of 25,000 rupees (£310) each in compensation to several Dalit rape victims in Uttar Pradesh and said that the women should “throw the money at Mayawati’s face and tell her ‘you should also be raped and I will give you ten million rupees’ ”.
61. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah submitted his resignation to Governor N.N. Vohra after PDP leader Muzaffar Beig linked him to the infamous sex scandal that had rocked Srinagar in 2006. The governor, however, refused to accept Omar's resignation. In an emotional outburst in the Assembly earlier, Omar Abdullah said," I can't bear this kind of humiliation. I am innocent until proven guilty."
62. In an unprecedented incident, MNS MLAs attacked Samajwadi Party legislator Abu Azmi inside the Maharashtra Assembly for taking oath in Hindi and not in Marathi. As Azmi continued to take the the oath in Hindi, MNS's Ramesh Banjle uprooted the microphone and threw it away. Other MNS members came and surrounded Azmi, pushed and punched him and an MNS member, Ram Kadam, was seen on live television slapping and hitting him on the chest and shoulders.
63. Legislators of ruling Akali Dal and the opposition Congress party got into scuffle with each other in the State assembly of Punjab over the violence in Ludhiana city. It may be recalled that the industrial town wintnessed violence between migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and locals.
64. Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh got into a scuffle with Bharatiya Janata Party's S.S. Ahluwalia in the Rajya Sabha after some of the BJP members raised slogans like 'Jai Shri Ram'.
65. Congress MP Beni Prasad Verma used unparliamentary language against former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during the debate on Liberhan Commission report. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had to apologise in Lok Sabha for the offensive words Verma used against the BJP stalwart.
66. The usually tranquil Thakur 'Jaswant Singh' first stirred up a hornet's nest in the BJP by shooting off a missive seeking accountability for the Lok Sabha debacle. Then came his book on Mohammad Ali Jinnah, a man who had already claimed one scalp in the BJP in the recent past.
67. In the year gone by, Anil Ambani has gone back to doing what he does best-crying foul over his brother reneging on the family settlement, under which his Reliance Natural Resources is supposed to get gas for 17 years. The two corporate behemoths, controlled by either, are battling it out in courts yet again. With elder brother Mukesh's companies totting up a market capitalisation of $70 billion and Anil's accounting for $22 billion, it's clearly not just about gas.
68. From a labourer in the depths of one of Jharkhand's iron ore mines, Madhu Koda went on to become not just the chief minister of the state but, if the many charges against him turn out to be true, one of the richest men in Jharkhand. Currently lodged in a Ranchi jail on charges of amassing disproportionate assets and committing money laundering worth Rs 4,000 crore, Koda leapt out of his humble origins to script a staggering success story by milking opportunities out of every crisis situation.
69. Since Mohan Bhagwat took over earlier this year as the RSS sarsanghchalak, Bhagwat has said and done things that aim at ideological correction. Three months ago, he created a flutter in the BJP by saying that the party was in urgent need of drastic surgery and asserted that the new party chief would not be from its established leadership. The elevation of Nitin Gadkari as the new party chief not only marks the end of the Vajpayee era, when the RSS played second fiddle to the BJP, but is also proof that Bhagwat means business.
70. Often referred to as a photocopy of his uncle Bal Keshav Thackeray, this Raj Thackeray has clawed his way to legitimacy, with some tacit support from the ruling Congress. Love him or hate him, but you cannot ignore him anymore. With his party winning 13 Assembly seats this year, the Xerox copy has finally got the stamp of approval from the electorate. Large sections of Maharashtra's population, the Marathi manoos, believe that he stands up for their rights.
71. Rakhi Sawant is a perfect example of the marriage of celebrati-obsessed news TV with self-promoting reality shows, Sawant made headlines with every act, whether it was choosing her partner on national TV on Rakhi ka Swayamwar and getting an opening rating of 4.1 TRP, or trying to raise a succession of variously aged dependents on Pati Patni Aur Woh much to Minister of State for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath's ire. She broke up, made up, broke up again with her sometime fiance Elesh Parujanwala, made speaking English in plural a fashion statement, and single-handedly kept afloat the wedding lehenga industry.
72. On the evening of June 14, 2009, actor Shiney Ahuja's maid lodged a complaint with the Mumbai Police alleging that he raped her. The maid further claimed that the actor threatened to kill her if she tried to disclose the incident. Shiney was arrested on June 15, 2009.
73. Manmohan Singh becomes the first Indian Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term in 2009. Under his leadership, the UPA returned to power after securing a little less than majority in the 15th Lok Sabha polls.
74. The 3 most awaited movie releases were: Avatar, 2012 & Transformers
75. TATA's DOCOMO changed the telecom billing market forever by providing it's users a pay-per-second service. DOCOMOis a Tata Teleservices Limited's (TTSL) cellular service provider on the GSM platform-arising out of the Tata Group's strategic joint venture with Japanese telecom giant NTT Docomo in November 2008. Tata Teleservices has received a pan-India license to operate GSM telecom services, under the brand "TATA DOCOMO" and has also been allotted spectrum in 18 telecom Circles. TTSL has already rolled out its services in various circles.
76. the 5 most popular songs of 2009 were
    1. masakali - delhi 6
       
    2. jai ho- slumdog millionaire
       
    3. haule haule - rab ne bana di jodi
       
    4. dhan te nan - kaminey
    5. emosanal atyaachar - dev d
       
77. The 3 controversial & popular book launches were

1. Unlikely Hero: The Story of Om Puri
2. 3 States
3. Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence

75. The major TV shows that ruled the screens were
1. Star Plus' reality show Sach ka Saamna was an adaptation of the internationally-acclaimed show The moment of truth. Sach ka Saamna was a show where people answered some extremely personal questions on aspects of their lives which they had always been silent about. These questions are bound to embarrass them and break the hearts of their loved ones. But if they want to win, they will have to answer the questions. The show's formatt comprises of 21 questions. At each level, the contestant wins money for answering the questions. One thing's for sure, the prize money of one crore, was not an easy earn. But it was difficult to lie, because a lie detector will tell whether the contestant is lying or not. Answering really heart-breaking questions in front of loved ones, certainly shook up both the contestant as well as the audience.
2. Set in rural Rajasthan, the show Balika Vadhu of Colors is a story of child bride Anandi, who is married off to an equally young boy Jagdish. The girl is torn away from the joys of childhood and estranged from her parents, to be bound by her in-laws' customs. The latest Television Rating Points (TRPs) of the show released by TAM reveal that it has notched up an average rating of 4.60 for channel Colors, quite a high TRP for the evening prime time slot from 8 to 8.30 p.m. Normally, in (other) serials, people are scheming and plotting against each other, but in Balika Vadhu everyone is correct in their own light. The characters are very well etched out and they have given a lot of attention to details
3. Dance India Dance is a reality dance show which is known to be India's biggest dance reality show until present. The show is choreographed by some of the most popular Indian choreographers, such as Terrance Lewis, Remo D'Souza and Geeta Kapoor. The Bollywood actor, Mithun Chakraborty was the grandmaster of the show. The show have raw talents of age group 15 to 25 from all over India. Once chosen, the contestants will be trained by professional Bollywood choreographers. Thereafter the participants' will compete against each other. Some of the dances that will be taught to contestants' will be Ballet, Acrobat, Shadow dancing, & Mid-air dancing.
4. Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa is an Indian version of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and ABC's Dancing with the stars. The show's voting pattern follow a 50: 50 ratio for the judges and audience. In the overabundance of reality shows and surplus of celebrity dance shows it is Jhalak Dikhla Ja 3 is a cool breeze. Over the past season this show has maintained its professionalism unlike few others that have crossed all limits to gather publicity.
5. After successfully thrilling your senses with gorgeous beauties, dangerous stunts and a dashing Akshay Kumar, Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi was back with Idea Khatron Ke Khiladi Level 2. The show took a roller coaster ride of extreme stunts, galloping emotions and never before seen action on Indian television.
6. MTV Roadies is a youth-based unscripted popular reality television show on MTV India. The Roadies auditions are held in various major cities in India. People who fill their online form and get short-listed undergo a group discussion, following which, selected candidates are chosen for personal interview conducted by the MTV panel. The MTV panel constitutes of experts from MTV. There is no limit as to how many times a person can audition. The aim of the program was to find a boy or a girl who could be resilient enough in overcoming back-to-back travails of daunting adventures and peer conspiracy. The show brought to us the guile of Nikhil Chinappa, an MTV icon in his own rights, and Raghu Ram, whose fierce eyes and stoic appearance seemed enough to unnerve even Prometheus.
7. After the spectacular success of Rakhi ka Swayamvar, NDTV Imagine brought Pati, Patni Aur Woh, a groundbreaking show that puts the 'real' back into 'reality' programming. This show removed 5 unique celebrity couples from their glamorous lives and thrust them into the 'real' world where they become parents! Pati, Patni Aur Woh is an adaptation of the hit international format by Love Productions called Baby Borrowers and will be produced by BBC Worldwide Productions India.
8. Every boy's dream to have a perfect bride and every mothers dream to have the perfect bahu came alive on Star Plus. Viewers privy to a 13 week journey of 10 beautiful girls and 5 eligible boys as they came together in search of India's Perfect Bride, along with the boy's mother for company. In an attempt to impress the boys and their mothers, the 10 eligible girls best foot forward through tasks that got them closer to winning the coveted title while viewers continued to support them with their votes. The boys also displayed their grit by undergoing various tasks that will test their physical and emotional abilities to win the Perfect Bride. Keeping a close watch on the participants; relationship experts and mentors Amrita Rao, Shekhar Suman and Mallaika Arora Khan were guiding the participants in making key decisions in shortlisting their ideal match, while gorgeous Megha Gupta and handsome Vishal Malhotra anchor the show.
9. Rakhi Ka Swayamwar a reality show broadcast on NDTV Imagine. The show started on 29 June 2009 and was hosted by actor Ram Kapoor. In the final episode Rakhi Sawant selected Elesh Parujanwala, a Canadian businessman from Toronto, as her future bridegroom from among the three finalists. They exchanged garlands and bridal rings, thus being "engaged". Although the show's original premise was that the couple would marry immediately, they have decided in favour of postponing their marriage for an indefinite period of time. The show that traces the journey of a bride-to-be from selecting her groom, to the marriage ceremony and all this will be captured on television!! Well, the lucky girl and the bride in waiting is none other than Rakhi Sawant, and the show was aptly titled, Rakhi Ka Swayamvar. The show promised to reveal a seldom seen side of Rakhi and also provided an insightful glimpse of her life. The ultimate selection of the groom was made by Rakhi herself with the active help and participation of the audiences. 15 prospective grooms were found from across the length and breadth of the country through an extensive search
10. Raaz pichhle janam ka – trying to unravel the past life of people.
11. Bigg Boss, a popular reality TV show whose third edition is currently on air in Colors channel, is drawing closer to a dramatic finish. As the show inches towards an intriguing climax keeping the viewers hooked. And this year, Bigg Boss gets even bigger, with the big boss of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan, playing Pop Philosopher. Season 3 will make its presence felt on television with a special music trailer with a song sung by none other than Amitabh Bachchan.
12. Dance premier League - another dance reaality show
13. India's Got talent - an adaptation of the internationally-acclaimed Got talent
14. Entertainment ke liye kuchh bhi karega - again on the lines of India's Got talent but with the restriction that you have to entertain the audience & the judges within 1 minute.
    

the 4th ACE in Google's pack - NIKESH ARORA - President, Global Sales Operations and Business Development

Recently came across an article in the business magazine Business Today - "Google's 4th ace" It was about NIKESH ARORA - President, Global Sales Operations and Business Development, Google.

Here are excerpts from the article:

Sometime in 2008, Nikesh Arora, then the Head of Google European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) operations, ran into the famed marketing guru Philip Kotler at a seminar in Dubai. Kotler’s 4Ps of marketing — getting the product, pricing, placement and promotion right — is considered a gospel for modern business.

Arora asked him a very fundamental, if not irreverent, question: What happens to the 4Ps principle if three out of the four Ps are zero? Google’s products are free, the company doesn’t advertise (at least didn’t then) and there isn’t any specific placement of its products. The only P Google has is the Product. Kotler apparently brushed aside the query.

If Kotler was flabbergasted at Arora’s question, he isn’t the only one. Google’s single P formula to achieve the two most elusive Ps of business — Popularity (75 per cent share of the Internet search) and Profits ($4.3 billion in 2008 at a margin of almost 30 per cent) — has confounded many.

Arora was perhaps the right person to tickle Kotler, for he is now the man in Google directly responsible for the mother of all Ps — profits. After his success in making Europe a cornerstone of Google’s business, Arora has recently been promoted as President, Global Sales Operations and Business Development. Incidentally, Google has only three “Presidents” — the other two are founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. And here is the surprising bit: Arora has not been a Googler all his working life.

Rather, Arora is more of a journeyman — unsurprising, given that he was brought up in an Indian Air Force family. He credits the Kendriya Vidyalaya system for his upbringing, even though he finished schooling at The Air Force School in New Delhi’s Subroto Park. Electrical engineering at Institute of Technology, Benaras Hindu University, came next, essentially because he followed his best friend there. After that, he took up his only sales job before joining Google— selling Wipro computers to the government. But that was only for a year, after which Arora went to the United States to study management and spent 10 years living in Boston as a student and a consultant.

Then, Arora says he got bored, quit his consultancy job and packed off to London where he set up his own firm offering advice to telecom companies— among them Deutsche Telekom (DT), Germany’s dominant telecom operator. His skills were appreciated and the management at DT asked him to help set up marketing for their newly formed T-Mobile division.

For six years, Arora commuted between London and Germany every week, transforming T-Mobile into Europe’s dominant carrier along the way. It was in this role that he first met Sunil Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Group, at an industry conference. Mittal used to ask for Arora’s counsel, and later, Arora would join the Bharti Airtel board.

In early 2004, Arora got bored yet again. He was on the verge of setting up a mobile value-added services company when a call came from a friend about an opening in Google. Arora seemed intrigued enough to visit Google’s London office, which was in the middle of an industrial park.

He was rather unimpressed, but a few days later, the founders Page and Brin wanted to meet him. Their meeting took place while walking around the British Museum. A few days later, Arora met Schmidt and was soon chosen over 25 others as the new chief of Google’s European operations. In four years, Arora took EMEA’s revenues from under $1 billion to $8 billion, spread Google’s business to over 15 new countries and took the employee count from 1,000 to 3,000.

Google was quick to recognise Arora’s contribution. “Nikesh very quickly brought order to our European sales organisation—hiring great people in many countries where we operate and building close relationships with our local partners. He’s always understood that one size can never fit all, and that you need different strategies in different countries to address local cultural and business nuances,” says Chairman & CEO Eric Schmidt.

Arora saw opportunities for Google that the company itself wasn’t able to spot. His first boss at Google, Omid Kordestani, who built the Google business model and is now senior adviser to the CEO and the founders, says: “When I first met Nikesh, he was impressed with Google’s success in Europe but had bigger aspirations for us. He wanted Google’s business success in the rest of the world to match what he saw at Google’s operations in Silicon Valley and the US. He focussed on building an impressive team of professionals and establishing operational excellence across all regions under his management. He is passionate, intelligent and hard working, with a tireless commitment to getting things right. He applies the same skills to his golf game, though he should not bank on that as a profession!”

A unique strength that Arora brings to the Operating Committee of Google is his global multi-business experience and his “out-of-Mountain View” thinking. This is particularly relevant at a time when Google’s growth has slowed down in mature markets such as the US and Europe and it needs more diversity and balance in its revenue mix (over 80 per cent of its revenue comes from the US and Europe).

Also, Google is entering new areas such as display advertising and developing whole new technologies to take on newcomers as well as continuing to battle away with Microsoft (not in the least by launching a new Operating System—Chrome). This means Arora will have to maintain Google’s tremendous money machine. Google generated $5.5 billion in revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, with a net margin of 26.9 per cent and a market capitalisation of $138 billion.

Arora, therefore, isn’t all that bored anymore. After all, he has a new job. After finishing his India visit recently, during which he also attended the Airtel board meeting, Arora has moved to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, from London. Maybe, that is because there is some great golfing in Northern California.

NIKESH ARORA's professional summary:
* President, Global Sales Operations and Business Development, Google
* Finished schooling at The Air Force School, Subroto Park, New Delhi; did engineering at IT-BHU
* For a year sold Wipro Computers in Delhi, riding on a two-wheeler
* Studied management at Boston’s North Eastern University
* Worked as a telecom analyst before shifting to Europe as a consultant to Deutsche Telekom and finally marketing head of T-Mobile
* Was setting up his own mobile value-added services firm when Google came knocking
* In his interview with Larry Page and Sergey Brin at the British Museum, instead of talking shop, ended up discussing the Rosetta Stone - a stone that allowed archaeologists to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
* Made Google Europe the fastest growing operation in the Google universe
* In his new role, is responsible for all of Google’s revenue and customer operations as well as marketing and partnerships
* Also sits on the board of Bharti Airtel

Current Google TOP 4:

1. Eric Schmidt, Chairman of the Board and CEO


2. Larry Page, Co-Founder & President, Products

3. Sergey Brin,Co-Founder & President, Technology,
4. Nikesh Arora, President, Global Sales Operations and Business Development

Google Inc. is an American public corporation specializing in Internet search. It also generates profits from advertising bought on its similarly free-to-user e-mail, online mapping, office productivity, social networking and video-sharing services. Its headquarters, often referred to as the Googleplex, are in Mountain View, California. As of March 31, 2009 (2009 -03-31), the company had 19,786 full-time employees. It runs thousands of servers across the world, processing millions of search requests each day and about one petabyte of user-generated data each hour. Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while students at Stanford University. It was first incorporated as a privately held company on September 4, 1998. The initial public offering was on August 19, 2004. It raised $1.67 billion, implying a total value of $23 billion. Google's rapid growth has sparked a sequence of new products, acquisitions and partnerships beyond its core search engine. Environmentalism, philanthropy and positive employee relations were from the start assigned an important role in establishing brand image. Google has been repeatedly named Fortune Magazine's Number One Best Place to Work and most powerful brand in the world. Alexa lists Google as the Internet's most visited website.

a speech by former President of India DR. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 's Speech in Hyderabad, India

Why is the media here so negative?

Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our Achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them.

Why?

We are the first in milk production.

We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.

We are the second largest producer of wheat.

We are the second largest producer of rice.

Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a Self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.

I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.

In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime.

Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign T. Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.

Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India. For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.

Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.

Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.

YOU say that our government is inefficient.

YOU say that our laws are too old.

YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.

YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke,

The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.

YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.

YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?

Take a person on his way to Singapore . Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity... In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai . YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah . YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds ( Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.'YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, 'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son.

Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand .

Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston ??? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?

Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay , Mr. Tinaikar , had a point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said. 'And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?

In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job.

Same in Japan . Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.

We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paperand throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.

We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.

This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system?

What does a system consist of ? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.

Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great

deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing J. F.

Kennedy 's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....

'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA

AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA

WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'

Lets do what India needs from us.

Forward this mail to each Indian for a change instead of sending Jokes or junk mails.

Thank you,

Dr. Abdul Kalaam

an email by Narayan Murthy to Infosys staff

Mail sent by Narayan Murthy to all Infosys staff:

It's half past 8 in the office but the lights are still on...
PCs still running, coffee machines still buzzing...
And who's at work? Most of them ??? Take a closer look...
All or most specimens are ??
Something male species of the human race...
Look closer... again all or most of them are bachelors...
And why are they sitting late? Working hard? No way!!!
Any guesses???
Let's ask one of them...
Here's what he says... "What's there 2 do after going home...Here we get to surf, AC, phone, food, coffee that is why I am working late...Importantly no bossssssss!!!!!!!!!!!"
This is the scene in most research centers and software companies and other off-shore offices.
Bachelors "Time-passing" during late hours in the office just bcoz they say they've nothing else to do...
Now what r the consequences...
"Working" (for the record only) late hours soon becomes part of the institute or company culture.
With bosses more than eager to provide support to those "working" late in the form of taxi vouchers, food vouchers and of course good feedback, (oh, he's a hard worker... goes home only to change..!!).
They aren't helping things too...
To hell with bosses who don't understand the difference between "sitting" late and "working" late!!!
Very soon, the boss start expecting all employees to put in extra working hours.
So, My dear Bachelors let me tell you, life changes when u get married and start having a family... office is no longer a priority, family is... and
That's when the problem starts... b'coz u start having commitments at home too.
For your boss, the earlier "hardworking" guy suddenly seems to become a "early leaver" even if u leave an hour after regular time... after doing the same amount of work.
People leaving on time after doing their tasks for the day are labelled as work-shirkers...
Girls who thankfully always (its changing nowadays... though) leave on time are labelled as "not up to it". All the while, the bachelors pat their own backs and carry on "working" not realizing that they r spoiling the work culture at their own place and never realize that they would have to regret at one point of time.
So what's the moral of the story??

* Very clear, LEAVE ON TIME!!!
* Never put in extra time " unless really needed "
* Don't stay back unnecessarily and spoil your company work culture which will in turn cause inconvenience to you and your colleagues.
There are hundred other things to do in the evening..
Learn music...
Learn a foreign language...
Try a sport... TT, cricket.........
Importantly,get a girl friend or boy friend, take him/her around town...
* And for heaven's sake, net cafe rates have dropped to an all-time low (plus, no fire-walls) and try cooking for a change.
Take a tip from the Smirnoff ad: *"Life's calling, where are you??"*
Please pass on this message to all those colleagues and please do it before leaving time, don't stay back till
midnight to forward this!!!
IT'S A TYPICAL INDIAN MENTALITY THAT WORKING FOR LONG HOURS MEANS VERY HARD WORKING & 100% COMMITMENT ETC.
PEOPLE WHO REGULARLY SIT LATE IN THE OFFICE DON'T KNOW TO MANAGE THEIR TIME. SIMPLE !

Regards,

NARAYAN MURTHY.

EPWORTH Slepiness scale. How much are you sleeping ?

& the Nobel Peace Prize goes to...

Nobel Peace Prize one of five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.

Facts & Statistics:
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 89 times to 119 Nobel Laureates between 1901 and 2008 – 96 times to individuals and 23 times to organizations. Since International Committee of the Red Cross was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1917, 1944 and 1963, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1981, that means 96 individuals and 20 organizations have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

List of all Nobel Peace prize Laureats

2009

The prize goes to:

BARACK OBAMA for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.

2008

The prize goes to:

MARTTI AHTISAARI for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts.

2007

The prize goes to:

INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE (IPCC) and ALBERT ARNOLD ( AL) GORE JR. for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.

2006

The prize goes to:

MUHAMMAD YUNUS and GRAMEEN BANK for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.

2005

The prize was awarded jointly to:

INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY and MOHAMED ELBARADEI for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way.

2004

The prize was awarded to:

WANGARI MAATHAI

for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace

2003

The prize was awarded to:

SHIRIN EBADI

for her efforts for democracy and human rights

2002

The prize was awarded to:

JIMMY CARTER JR., former President of the United States of America,

for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development

2001

The prize was awarded to:

UNITED NATIONS, New York, NY, USA

KOFI ANNAN, United Nations Secretary General

2000

The prize was awarded to:

KIM DAE JUNG for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular.

1999

The prize was awarded to:

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES), Brussels, Belgium.

1998

The prize was awarded jointly to:

JOHN HUME and DAVID TRIMBLE for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.

1997

The prize was awarded jointly to:

INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES (ICBL) and JODY WILLIAMS for their work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines.

1996

The prize was awarded jointly to:

CARLOS FELIPE XIMENES BELO and JOSE RAMOS-HORTA for their work towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor.

1995

The prize was awarded jointly to:

JOSEPH ROTBLAT and to the PUGWASH CONFERENCES ON SCIENCE AND WORLD AFFAIRS for their efforts to diminish the part played by nuclear arms in international politics and in the longer run to eliminate such arms.

1994

The prize was awarded joinly to:

YASSER ARAFAT , Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO, President of the Palestinian National Authority.

SHIMON PERES , Foreign Minister of Israel.

YITZHAK RABIN , Prime Minister of Israel.

for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East.

1993

The prize was awarded jointly to:

NELSON MANDELA Leader of the ANC.

FREDRIK WILLEM DE KLERK President of the Republic of South Africa.

1992

RIGOBERTA MENCHU TUM, Guatemala. Campaigner for human rights, especially for indigenous peoples.

1991

AUNG SAN SUU KYI, Burma. Oppositional leader, human rights advocate.

1990

MIKHAIL SERGEYEVICH GORBACHEV , President of the USSR, helped to bring the Cold War to an end.

1989

THE 14TH DALAI LAMA (TENZIN GYATSO) , Tibet. Religious and political leader of the Tibetan people.

1988

THE UNITED NATIONS PEACE-KEEPING FORCES New York, NY, U.S.A.

1987

OSCAR ARIAS SANCHEZ , Costa Rica, President of Costa Rica, initiator of peace negotiations in Central America.

1986

ELIE WIESEL , U.S.A., Chairman of 'The President's Commission on the Holocaust'. Author, humanitarian.

1985

INTERNATIONAL PHYSICIANS FOR THE PREVENTION OF NUCLEAR WAR Boston, MA, U.S.A.

1984

DESMOND MPILO TUTU , South Africa, Bishop of Johannesburg, former Secretary General South African Council of Churches (S.A.C.C.). for his work against apartheid.

1983

LECH WALESA , Poland. Founder of Solidarity, campaigner for human rights.

1982

The prize was awarded jointly to:

ALVA MYRDAL , former Cabinet Minister, diplomat, delegate to United Nations General Assembly on Disarmament, writer.

ALFONSO GARCÍA ROBLES , diplomat, delegate to the United Nations General Assembly on Disarmament, former Secretary for Foreign Affairs .

1981

OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES Geneva, Switzerland.

1980

ADOLFO PEREZ ESQUIVEL , Argentina, architect, sculptor and human rights leader.

1979

MOTHER TERESA , India, Leader of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity.

1978

The prize was divided equally between:

MOHAMED ANWAR AL-SADAT , President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

MENACHEM BEGIN , Prime Minister of Israel.

for jointly negotiating peace between Egypt and Israel.

1977

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL London, Great Britain. A worldwide organization for the protection of the rights of prisoners of conscience.

1976

BETTY WILLIAMS and MAIREAD CORRIGAN Founders of the Northern Ireland Peace Movement (later renamed Community of Peace People).

1975

ANDREI DMITRIEVICH SAKHAROV , Soviet nuclear physicist. Campaigner for human rights.

1974

The prize was divided equally between:

SEÁN MAC BRIDE , President of the International Peace Bureau, Geneva, and the Commission of Namibia, United Nations, New York.

EISAKU SATO , Prime Minister of Japan.

1973

The prize was awarded jointly to:

HENRY A. KISSINGER , Secretary of State, State Department, Washington.

LE DUC THO , Democratic Republic of Viet Nam. (Declined the prize.)

for jointly negotiating the Vietnam peace accord in 1973.

1972

The prize money for 1972 was allocated to the Main Fund.

1971

WILLY BRANDT , Federal Republic of Germany, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, initiator of West Germany's Ostpolitik, embodying a new attitude towards Eastern Europe and East Germany.

1970

NORMAN BORLAUG , Led research at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Mexico City.

1969

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (I.L.O.) Geneva.

1968

RENÉ CASSIN , President of the European Court for Human Rights .

1967-1966

The prize money was allocated to the Main Fund (1/3) and to the Special Fund (2/3) of this prize section.

1965

UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND (UNICEF) New York, founded by U.N. in 1946. An international aid organization.

1964

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. , leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, campaigner for civil rights.

1963

The prize was divided equally between

COMITÉ INTERNATIONAL DE LA CROIX-ROUGE (INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE REDCROSS) Geneva, founded 1863.

LIGUE DES SOCIÉTÉS DE LA CROIX-ROUGE (LEAGUE OF RED CROSS SOCIETIES) Geneva.

1962

LINUS CARL PAULING , California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. Campaigner especially for an end to nuclear weapons tests.

1961

DAG HJALMAR AGNE CARL HAMMARSKJÖLD , Secretary General of the United Nations (awarded the Prize posthumously).

1960

ALBERT JOHN LUTULI , President of the South Africal liberation movement, the African National Congress.

1959

PHILIP J. NOEL-BAKER , Great Britain, Member of Parliament, life long ardent worker for international peace and co-operation .

1958

GEORGES HENRI PIRE , Belgium, Father of the Dominican Order, Leader of the relief organization for refugees, l'Europe du Coeur au Service du Monde.

1957

LESTER BOWLES PEARSON , former Secretary of State for External Affairs of Canada, President 7th Session of the United Nations General Assembly .

1956-1955

The prize money was allocated to the Main Fund (1/3) and to the Special Fund (2/3) of this prize section.

1954

OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES Geneva, an international relief organization, founded by U.N. in 1951.

1953

GEORGE CATLETT MARSHALL , General, President American Red Cross, ex-Secretary of State and of Defense, Delegate to the U.N., Originator of the Marshall Plan.

1952

ALBERT SCHWEITZER , Missionary surgeon, Founder Lambaréné Hospital in République du Gabon.

1951

LÉON JOUHAUX , France, President of the trade union C.G.T. Force Ouvrière. President of the International Committee of the European Council, Vice President of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, Vice President of the World Federation of Trade Unions, member of the ILO Council, delegate to the UN.

1950

RALPH BUNCHE , Professor Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Director of the UN Division of Trusteeship, Acting Mediator in Palestine 1948.

1949

LORD JOHN BOYD ORR OF BRECHIN, Physician, Alimentary Politician, prominent organizer and Director General Food and Agricultural Organization, President National Peace Council and World Union of Peace Organizations.

1948

The prize money was allocated to the Main Fund (1/3) and to the Special Fund (2/3) of this prize section.

1947

The prize was awarded jointly to:

THE FRIENDS SERVICE COUNCIL (The Quakers), London. Founded in 1647.

THE AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE (The Quakers), Washington. The society's first official meeting was held in 1672.

1946

The prize was divided equally between:

EMILY GREENE BALCH, former Professor of History and Sociology, Honorary International President Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

JOHN RALEIGH MOTT Chairman of the first International Missionary Council, President of the World Alliance of Young Men's Christian Associations .

1945

CORDELL HULL Former Secretary of State. One of the initiators of the United Nations.

1944

COMITÉ INTERNATIONAL DE LA CROIX-ROUGE (INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS)

1943-1939

The prize money was allocated to the Main Fund (1/3) and to the Special Fund (2/3) of this prize section.

1938

OFFICE INTERNATIONAL NANSEN POUR LES RÉFUGIÉS (NANSEN INTERNATIONAL OFFICE FOR REFUGEES) an international relief organization in Geneva started by Fridtjof Nansen in 1921.

1937

CECIL OF CHELWOOD, VISCOUNT, (LORD EDGAR ALGERNON ROBERT GASCOYNE CECIL) , Writer, Former Lord Privy Seal. Founder and President of the International Peace Campaign.

1936

CARLOS SAAVEDRA LAMAS Foreign Minister. President of the Société des Nations (League of Nations), Meditator in a conflict between Paraguay and Bolivia in 1935.

1935

CARL VON OSSIETZKY Journalist (with Die Weltbühne, among others), pacifist.

1934

ARTHUR HENDERSON Former Foreign Secretary. Chairman of the League of Nations Disarmament Conference 1932-1934.

1933

SIR NORMAN ANGELL (RALPH LANE) Writer. Member of the Commission Exécutive de la Société des Nations (Executive Committee of the League of Nations) and the National Peace Council. Author of the book The Great Illusion, among others.

1932

The prize money for 1932 was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section.

1931

The prize was divided equally between:

JANE ADDAMS Sociologist. International President of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER President of Columbia University. Promoter of the Briand-Kellogg Pact.

1930

LARS OLOF NATHAN (JONATHAN) SÖDERBLOM Archbishop. Leader of the ecumenical movement.

1929

FRANK BILLINGS KELLOGG Former Secretary of State, Negotiated the Briand-Kellogg Pact.

1928

The prize money for 1928 was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section.

1927

The prize was divided equally between:

FERDINAND BUISSON Former Professor at the Sorbonne University, Paris. Founder and President of the Ligue des Droits de l'Homme (League for Human Rights).

LUDWIG QUIDDEHistorian. Professor at Berlin University. Member of Germany's constituent assembly 1919. Delegate to numerous peace conferences.

1926

The prize was awarded jointly to:

ARISTIDE BRIAND Foreign Minister. Negotiator of the Locarno Treaty and the Briand-Kellogg Pact.

GUSTAV STRESEMANN Former Lord High Chancellor (Reichs-kanzler). Foreign Minister. Negotiator of the Locarno Treaty.

1925

The prize was awarded jointly to:

SIR AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN Foreign Minister. Negotiator of the Locarno Treaty.

CHARLES GATES DAWES Vice-President of the United States of America. Chairman of the Allied Reparation Commission. Originator of the Dawes Plan .

1924-1923

The prize money for 1924-1923 was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section.

1922

FRIDTJOF NANSEN , Norway. Scientist. Explorer. Norwegian Delegate to Société des Nations (League of Nations). Originator of the Nansen passports (for refugees).

1921

The prize was divided equally between:

KARL HJALMAR BRANTING Prime Minister. Swedish Delegate to the Conseil de la Société des Nations (Council of the League of Nations).

CHRISTIAN LOUS LANGE Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Brussels.

1920

LÉON VICTOR AUGUSTE BOURGEOIS, France. Former Secretary of State. President of the Parliament (Sénat). President of the Conseil de la Société des Nations (Council of the League of Nations) .

1919

THOMAS WOODROW WILSON, President of the United States of America. Founder of the Société des Nations (League of Nations)

1918

The prize money for 1918 was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section.

1917

COMITÉ INTERNATIONAL DE LA CROIX ROUGE (INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE REDCROSS) , Geneva.

1916-1914

The prize money for 1916-1914 was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section.

1913

HENRI LA FONTAINE, Belgium. Member of the Belgian Parliament (Sénateur). President of the Permanent International Peace Bureau, Berne.

1912

ELIHU ROOT Former Secretary of State. Initiator of several arbitration agreements.

1911

The prize was divided equally between:

TOBIAS MICHAEL CAREL ASSER, the Netherlands. Cabinet Minister. Member of the Privy Council. Initiator of the International Conferences of Private Law at the Hague.

ALFRED HERMANN FRIED, Austria. Journalist. Founder of the peace journal Die Waffen Nieder (later renamed Die Friedenswarte).

1910

BUREAU INTERNATIONAL PERMANENT DE LA PAIX (PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL PEACE BUREAU) , Bern.

1909

The prize was divided equally between:

AUGUSTE MARIE FRANÇOIS BEERNAERT, Belgium. Former Prime Minister. Member of the Belgian Parliament. Member of the Cour Internationale d'Arbitrage (International Court of Arbitration) at the Hague.

PAUL HENRIBENJAMIN BALLUET D'ESTOURNELLES DE CONSTANT, BARON DE CONSTANT DE REBECQUE, France. Member of the French Parliament (Sénateur). Founder and President of the French parliamentary group for international arbitration (Groupe parlementaire de l'arbitrage international). Founder of the Comité de défense des intérêtsnationaux et de conciliation internationale (Committee for the Defense of National Interests and International Conciliation).

1908

The prize was divided equally between:

KLAS PONTUS ARNOLDSON, Sweden. Writer. Former Member fo the Swedish Parliament. Founder of the Swedish Peace and Arbitration League.

FREDRIK BAJER, Denmark. Member of the Danish Parliament. Honorary President of the Permanent International Peace Bureau, Berne.

1907

The prize was divided equally between:

ERNESTO TEODORO MONETA, Italy. President of the Lombard League of Peace.

LOUIS RENAULT, France. Professor International Law, Sorbonne University, Paris.

1906

THEODORE ROOSEVELT, USA. President of the United States of America. Drew up the 1905 peace treaty between Russia and Japan.

1905

BARONESS BERTHA SOPHIE FELICITA VON SUTTNER née COUNTESS KINSKY von CHINIC und TETTAU, Austria. Writer. Hon. President of the Permanent International Peace Bureau, Berne. Author of Die Waffen Nieder (Lay Down Your Arms).

1904

INSTITUT DE DROIT INTERNATIONAL (INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW) , Gent, Belgium. A scientific society.

1903

SIR WILLIAM RANDAL CREMER, Great Britain. Member of the British Parliament. Secretary of the International Arbitration League .

1902

The prize was divided equally between:

ÉLIE DUCOMMUN, Switzerland. Honorary Secretary of the Permanent International Peace Bureau, Berne.

CHARLES ALBERT GOBAT, Switzerland. Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Berne. Honorary Secretary of the Permanent International Peace Bureau, Berne.

1901

The prize was divided equally between:

JEAN HENRI DUNANT, Switzerland. Founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva; Initiator of the Geneva Convention (Convention de Genève).

FRÉDÉRIC PASSY, France. Founder and President of the first French peace society (since 1889 it has been called the Société Francaise pour l'arbitrage entre nations).

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The Nobel Prize is a Sweden-based international monetary prize. The award was established by the 1895 will and estate of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel.

Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901. An associated prize, The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was instituted by Sweden's central bank in 1968 and first awarded in 1969. The Nobel Prizes in the specific disciplines (Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature) and the Prize in Economics, which is commonly identified with them, are widely regarded as the most prestigious award one can receive in those fields. The Nobel Peace Prize conveys social prestige and is often politically controversial.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel

Alfred Bernhard Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, armaments manufacturer and the inventor of dynamite. He owned Bofors, a major armaments manufacturer, which he had redirected from its previous role as an iron and steel mill. In his last will, he used his enormous fortune to institute the Nobel Prizes. The synthetic element nobelium was named after him. Born at Stockholm, Sweden in 21 October 1833. Died at Sanremo, Italy in 10 December 1896.