The year that was: India
Like every other year, this year, too, India saw its share of highs and lows, an eventful year with a mix of good and bad news. While on one hand there have been many positive developments in India’s international relationship that have made the world stop and take another look at India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the other a few events have left bitter memories in the minds of people.
As the year 2015 comes to a close, let us take a look at the top stories from India that made headlines this year.
Obama’s visit
Possibly amongst the most important events this year, was the US President Barack Obama’s visit to India on January 26 as he is the first US head of state to attend the Indian Republic Day parade. It was also for the first time that a US President visited the country twice during his tenure at the White House.
Gurdaspur terror attack
Terrorists attacked a police station in Gurdaspur district of Punjab on July 27. The attack killed nine people including three terrorists
Chennai floods
The major tragedy this year was the floods that devastated not only the Tamil Nadu state but the whole country. In the recent Chennai floods more than 400 people died, more than 1.8 million people were displaced and damages cost up to Rs. 10,0000 crore (US$15 billion)as of December 10.
Establishment of NITI Aayog
The 65-year-old Planning Commission was scraped and replaced by NITI Aayog. PM Modi’s think tank follows a bottom-up approach in contrast to the traditional top-down decision-making process.
Modi unveils Digital India
The launch of Digital India programme by PM Modi on July 1 was one of the major initiatives launched this year. The initiative aims to improve online infrastructure to internet connectivity to provide government services on electronic platform.
AAP’s victory in Delhi
The biggest cataclysm of the year was the anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) stunning victory in Delhi state elections. Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP secured 67 out of 70 seats and was the first big setback for the BJP since 2014 general election.
Bihar elections
Another biggest political upheaval was seen after the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections. The Nitish-Lalu-Congress alliance recorded a landslide win against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. With 56.8%, the elections also saw the highest ever voter turnout in the state.
Science and technology
ISRO again made its mark in science and technology this year. The highlight of the year was the launch of ASTROSAT—India’s first multi-wavelength space observatory on September 28, which will enable researchers to observe and analyse any celestial body they want.
In other important launches, ISRO launched five UK satellites and GSAT-6. It also placed Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) 1-D satellite in orbit. Among the test firings were the Agni-V missile andBeyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Astra.
Awards/Recognitions
This year India’s highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna was awarded to freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously ) and India’s former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Among the Padma awardees this year were actors Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar, nuclear scientist M.R. Srinivasan, mathematician Manjul Bhargava, computer scientist Vijay P. Bhatkar, Hindu spiritual guru Swami Satyamitranand and Aga Khan IV.
Demises
India’s former President and aerospace scientist Dr APJ Abdul Kalam who was also known as the missile man left for his heavenly abode on July 27.
The legendary cartoonist R K Laxman also passed away on January 26 this year at the age of 93.
The famous writer and academic M. M. Kalburgi was killed this year which initiated the intolerance and ‘Award Wapsi’ debates.
Yakub Memon was executed by hanging this year, who was convicted over his involvement in 1993 bombings in Mumbai.
Other than these,BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya, composer and singer Aadesh Shrivastava and actor Saeed Jaffrey also passed away this year.
Like every other year, this year, too, India saw its share of highs and lows, an eventful year with a mix of good and bad news. While on one hand there have been many positive developments in India’s international relationship that have made the world stop and take another look at India under the...
Like every other year, this year, too, India saw its share of highs and lows, an eventful year with a mix of good and bad news. While on one hand there have been many positive developments in India’s international relationship that have made the world stop and take another look at India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the other a few events have left bitter memories in the minds of people.
As the year 2015 comes to a close, let us take a look at the top stories from India that made headlines this year.
Obama’s visit
Possibly amongst the most important events this year, was the US President Barack Obama’s visit to India on January 26 as he is the first US head of state to attend the Indian Republic Day parade. It was also for the first time that a US President visited the country twice during his tenure at the White House.
Gurdaspur terror attack
Terrorists attacked a police station in Gurdaspur district of Punjab on July 27. The attack killed nine people including three terrorists
Chennai floods
The major tragedy this year was the floods that devastated not only the Tamil Nadu state but the whole country. In the recent Chennai floods more than 400 people died, more than 1.8 million people were displaced and damages cost up to Rs. 10,0000 crore (US$15 billion)as of December 10.
Establishment of NITI Aayog
The 65-year-old Planning Commission was scraped and replaced by NITI Aayog. PM Modi’s think tank follows a bottom-up approach in contrast to the traditional top-down decision-making process.
Modi unveils Digital India
The launch of Digital India programme by PM Modi on July 1 was one of the major initiatives launched this year. The initiative aims to improve online infrastructure to internet connectivity to provide government services on electronic platform.
AAP’s victory in Delhi
The biggest cataclysm of the year was the anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) stunning victory in Delhi state elections. Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP secured 67 out of 70 seats and was the first big setback for the BJP since 2014 general election.
Bihar elections
Another biggest political upheaval was seen after the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections. The Nitish-Lalu-Congress alliance recorded a landslide win against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. With 56.8%, the elections also saw the highest ever voter turnout in the state.
Science and technology
ISRO again made its mark in science and technology this year. The highlight of the year was the launch of ASTROSAT—India’s first multi-wavelength space observatory on September 28, which will enable researchers to observe and analyse any celestial body they want.
In other important launches, ISRO launched five UK satellites and GSAT-6. It also placed Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) 1-D satellite in orbit. Among the test firings were the Agni-V missile andBeyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Astra.
Awards/Recognitions
This year India’s highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna was awarded to freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously ) and India’s former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Among the Padma awardees this year were actors Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar, nuclear scientist M.R. Srinivasan, mathematician Manjul Bhargava, computer scientist Vijay P. Bhatkar, Hindu spiritual guru Swami Satyamitranand and Aga Khan IV.
Demises
India’s former President and aerospace scientist Dr APJ Abdul Kalam who was also known as the missile man left for his heavenly abode on July 27.
The legendary cartoonist R K Laxman also passed away on January 26 this year at the age of 93.
The famous writer and academic M. M. Kalburgi was killed this year which initiated the intolerance and ‘Award Wapsi’ debates.
Yakub Memon was executed by hanging this year, who was convicted over his involvement in 1993 bombings in Mumbai.
Other than these,BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya, composer and singer Aadesh Shrivastava and actor Saeed Jaffrey also passed away this year.
Leave a Comment