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 Tytler's ticket was withdrawn by the Congress along with that of another 84 riots accused MP-nominee Sajjan Kumar.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.