General Knowledge and Current Affairs - 16

• Kolkata Knight Riders win their 1st Indian Premier League (IPL) title.

• The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918.

• The Indian Independence Act, passed by the British Parliament on 18 July 1947.

• Mahmud Ghazni invaded Mathura in 1018.

• RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner, named after the ancient Roman province of Lusitania.

• Kamalesh Sharma is the 5th and current Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations from 2008.

• London Declaration - 28 April 1949.

• Viswanathan Anand wins his 5th World Chess title. Anand has previously won the title in 2000, 2007, 2008 and 2010.

• September 8 - International Literacy Day, recognized by the UN.

• September 11 - World First Aid Day.

• September 27 - World Tourism Day.

• General Bikram Singh - New Chief of the Indian Army (25th), succeeding General VK Singh.

• Kevin Pietersen (England) retires from ODIs, T20s.

• Country's fastest growing states in 2011-12. 

• Bihar - 13.1% 

• Delhi - 11.3% 

• Puducherry - 11.0% 

• Chhattisgarh - 10.8% 

• Goa - 10.7%

• The Chinese Revolution of 1911 ended the 267 years old Manchu rule and the Chinese Republic was established.

• Sachin Tendulkar will take oath as a member of Rajya Sabha.

• Hockey: India wins bronze at Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

• March 27 - World Whisky Day.

• The Portuguese were expelled from Goa, Daman and Diu in 1962.

• On May 30, 1987, Goa became a Union Territory.

• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act is an act of the Parliament of India which was passed in 1985, and it came into effect from November 14, 1985.

• The Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), a new scheme announced by the President, focuses on slum dwellers and the urban poor.

• Vice Admiral DK Joshi named new Navy chief after Admiral Nirmal Verma retires on August 31.

• Google to buy social media startup Meebo.

• Monsoon rains hit Kerala, to progress further normally.

• Railways hike parcel rates by 25% with immediate effect.

• June 8 - World Ocean Day.

• VS Sampath is the new Chief Election Commissioner. 62-year-old Sampath will take over as CEC after incumbent SY Quraishi demits office on June 10.

• The medicine that deals with the structure, function, diagnosis & treatment of diseases of the stomach & intestine is called Gastroenterology.

• Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is a technique that temporarily takes over the function of the heart and lungs during surgery.

• Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi won their maiden French Open mixed doubles title.

• The new Army Chief Bikram Singh lifts ban on Lt. Gen. Suhag.

• Scientists turn human skin cells into functional brain cells.

• New Bajaj Pulsar 200NS launched at Rs 84,096.

• June 14 - World Blood Donor Day.

• India to buy 8 warships from South Korea.

• Beijing University to teach Gujarati.

• India prepares to counter China's clout with INS Satpura.

• Maria Sharapova (Russia) wins French Open title.

• ‎Shehan Karunatilaka, author of 'Chinaman' wins the Commonwealth Book Prize for 2012.

• Rafael Nadal (Spain) won his record 7th French Open men's singles title.

• Presidential poll on July 19, counting on July 22.

• Coal pollution kills 70,000 a year in India: IMF.

• November 14 - World Diabetes Day.

• The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) was established in 1918. Headquarters of IUPAC is located in Zurich, Switzerland.

• The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) was established in 1922 and the first General Assembly was held in 1923 in Paris.

• The International Court of Justice consists of 15 judges chosen by the General Assembly and the Security Council of United Nations Organization.

• The 2012 G-20 Mexico Summit is the 7th meeting of the G-20 heads of govt. Held on June 18-19, 2012 in Los Cabos, Mexico.

• The City of Madurai constituted under the Madurai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1971.

• The Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act - 1994.

• Saina Nehwal overcomes Li Xuerui to lift third Indonesian Open title 2012.

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