What Made the Headlines in 2013!

The year 2013 has been a silent witness to several landmark events. There were several bills passed by the Parliament, a few key court jud ments, nature!s fury and other news that made the headlines. "ver all it was an eventful year. #ere we wrap$up the main events of the year 2013 for you.

Bills Approved
Food Security Bill: The %ndian &ational 'ood (ecurity )ct, 2013, aims to provide subsidi*ed food rains to appro+imately two thirds of %ndia!s 1.2 billion people. Lo pal Bill: The landmark ,an -okpal .ill, also referred to as the /iti*en!s "mbudsman .ill, was finally passed. This is an anti$corruption bill drafted and drawn up by civil society activists in %ndia seekin the appointment of a ,an -okpal, an independent body to investi ate corruption cases. Se!ual Harass"ent o# $o"en %ill: The (e+ual #arassment of 0omen at 0orkplace 1Prevention, Prohibition and 2edressal3 )ct, 2013 has widened the definition of se+ual harassment and its victims. &rdinance on convicted la$"a ers $ithdra$n: The 4nion /abinet on "ctober 2 decided to withdraw the bill that offered protection to convicted 5Ps and 5-)s. The ordinance was controversial and the decision to withdraw it was taken after stron push by President Pranab 5ukherjee and 2ahul 6andhi. Land Ac'uisition Bill: 2i ht to 'air /ompensation and Transparency in -and )c7uisition, 2ehabilitation and 2esettlement )ct, 2013 is a le islation that re ulates land ac7uisition and provides laid down rules for rantin compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement to the affected persons in %ndia. (ension Bill: The Pension 'und 2e ulatory and 8evelopment )uthority 1P'28)3 .ill, 2011, was passed by the Parliament. %t will help e+tend pension cover to more citi*ens of the country throu h P'28)!s &ew Pension (cheme 1&P(3.

)ud*"ents
Ho"ose!uality is still a cri"e! %n a jolt to lesbian, ay, bise+ual and trans ender, the (upreme /ourt held that (ection 399consensual se+ between adults of the same ender is an offence. (ettin aside the 8elhi #i h /ourt verdict of 200:, this jud ment restored the controversial )rticle 399 even after 12 years of le al proceedin s. This was a rude shock to the -6.T community in %ndia. +a"pa +ola +o"pound: %n a major relief to over 100 families at 5umbai!s /ampa /ola society, the (upreme /ourt on &ovember 13 put on hold the demolition of their ille al flats. The housin society in the southern part of 0orli in (outh 5umbai has seven buildin s and is occupied by around 230 families who have been residin there for over 2; years. S+ order on +auvery $ater issue: The (upreme /ourt ordered <arnataka to release 2.== T5/ 1thousand million cubic feet3 of /auvery river water to Tamil &adu for the purpose of irri ation of its standin crops in the delta basin. The ape+ court bench of ,ustice 2.5. -odha passed its order after it received the report of the e+pert committee that had surveyed Tamil &adu

Achieve"ents
,uclear-capa%le A*ni-.. "issile "a es success#ul test run: %ndia test$fired its nuclear$capable ) ni$%% strate ic ballistic missile from a military base in "disha. This was a si nificant achievement that may boost our defense sector.

Man*alyaan/s Mission: %ndia!s ambitious 5ars "rbiter, 5an alyaan successfully was successfully launched by %(2"!s P(-> 5ars rocket from (riharikota. The rocket standin around == meters tall and wei hed around 320 tones. The 5an alyaan!s 5ission will look for the presence of methane, an indicator of life there. This was a successful 5ars mission by %ndia and was hailed by other countries like /hina and the 4(. .AF %i**est aircra#t "a es "aiden landin*: %n (eptember, /$19 6lobemaster %%%, %ndian )ir 'orce!s 1%)'3 bi est transport aircraft, made its maiden landin at ,aisalmer air base as part of the flyin trainin schedule. The aircraft was procured from the 4( under a deal e+pected to be worth over 2s 20,000 crore. #owever, it is believed that aircraft of this si*e would re7uire much bi er and advance runways and air bases. #ence, major work should be undertaken in this arena.

0ecisions
0irect su%sidy trans#er in states: The central overnment started the 2013 by initiatin an ambitious direct cash transfer of benefits, which covered seven welfare schemes in 20 districts across the country, reducin sta erin subsidy bill of 2s.1,?=,000 crore. %t!s first of its kind scheme in %ndia with the poor ettin the cash directly sans middlemen, aimed to remove corruption to some e+tent. 1rain #ares hi ed a#ter a decade: 'or the first time in the span of 10 years, train fares were increased. 2ailway 5inister Pawan <umar .ansal said that this was needed to sustain the world!s second$lar est rail network. )n amount of 2s.?,000 crore is e+pected to be made from the fare hike.

.ndia and the $orld

)apanese 2oyal +ouple in .ndia: ,apanese 2oyal couple, @mperor )khito and @mpress 5ichiko, arrived on a rare visit to %ndia after ;3 years. -ast they had come to %ndia in the year 1:?0, for their honeymoon, as the /rown Prince and Princess. The visit is seen as a stron foundation for makin %ndia$ ,apan relations, one of the major alliances of the near future.