National Events in 2002
Jan • Feb • Mar • Apr • May • Jun • Jul • Aug • Sep • Oct • Nov • Dec
JANUARY
| Jan 1 | Justice M. Jagannatha Rao, is appointed Law Commission Chairman. | Full Story |
| Midnapore, the countrys largest district, in West Bengal is bifurcated. | Full Story | |
| Jan 2 | Militants set off a series of blasts near the J and K Assembly leaving a policeman dead and 20 others hurt. | Full Story |
| Jan 6 | India and the U.K. issue New Delhi Declaration affirming joint commitment to counter terrorism, after the Vajpayee-Blair meeting in the Indian capital. | Full Story |
| Jan 8 | P. S. Ramamohan Rao, is named the Tamil Nadu Governor and Shyamal Dutta, Nagaland Governor. | Full Story |
| Jan 11 | About 70 trucks are gutted after two of the 250 strong convoy carrying ammunition collide in Udasar on the outskirts of Bikaner district, in Rajasthan. | Full Story |
| Jan 15 | The Union Cabinet nod to amend the Flag Code to liberalise rules regarding display of the Tricolour by the public. | Full Story |
| Ms. Poornima Advani, is appointed Chairperson of the National Commission for Women. | Full Story | |
| Jan 16 | China and India should complement and collaborate with each other, not compete, and treble the bilateral trade, says the visiting Chinese Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji, in Mumbai. | Full Story |
| Jan 22 | Gunmen kill four policemen and wound 20 others in front of the American Center on Jawaharlal Nehru Road, in Kolkata. | Full Story |
| Jan 23 | The Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress led by Vazhapadi K. Ramamurthy, returns to the Congress fold after an eight-year break. | Full Story |
| Jan 24 | Insat-3C, is launched from the French Guyanese spaceport of Kourou. | Full Story |
| India rejects the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharrafs proposals for a no-war pact and denuclearisation of South Asia. | Full Story | |
| Jan 25 | Andhra Pradesh Governor, C. Rangarajan, the Attorney-General, Soli Sorabjee among five chosen for Padma Vibhushan awards. | Full Story |
| Former Indian Air Force Chief, Arjan Singh (82), is made the first-ever Marshal of the IAF. | Full Story | |
| Jan 31 | The Jharkhand Governor, Prabhat Kumar, resigns amid a row over his having received pecuniary benefits from an industrialist, Ashok Chaturvedi. | Full Story |
FEBRUARY
| Feb 1 | The Supreme Court stays the implementation of the J and K Resettlement Act, 1982 providing for the resettlement of all those persons who had migrated to Pakistan after March 1947. | Full Story |
| John Hume, the architect of Northern Ireland peace settlement is presented the Gandhi Peace Prize, in New Delhi. | ||
| Feb 5 | The Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment decides to sell 25 per cent equity in VSNL to the Tatas and 35.8 per cent equity in IBP to the IOC. | Full Story |
| The Union Cabinet approves VRS for surplus Central staff. | Full Story | |
| The Centre clears decontrol of sugar. | Full Story | |
| Feb 8 | The UAE deports underworld don, Aftab Ahmed Ansari alias Farhan Malik, prime suspect in the attack near the American Center, Kolkata. | Full Story |
| Feb 11 | V. R. Panchamukhi, is appointed Chairman, Indian Council of Social Science Research. | Full Story |
| Feb 12 | The Tatas take charge of the VSNL. | Full Story |
| R. S. Mooshahary, takes over as the National Security Guards DG. | Full Story | |
| Feb 14 | The Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment clears the sale of Paradeep Phosphates Limited, to Zuari Maroc Phosphates Private Limited. | Full Story |
| Feb 15 | The Government allows 100 per cent FDI in the pharma sector. | |
| Feb 19 | Twentytwo authors from different languages are honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Awards, 2001. | Full Story |
| G. N. Bajpai, LIC Chairman, is appointed Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India. | Full Story | |
| The IOC takes management control of the IBP. | Full Story | |
| Feb 21 | The BJP loses the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. | Full Story |
| The Congress wrests power in Punjab. | Full Story | |
| Congress wins first Assembly Polls in Uttaranchal. | Full Story | |
| Feb 22 | The Cabinet gives its nod for changes in the Industrial Disputes Act to liberalise closure or lay-off in economically unviable private establishments. | Full Story |
| Feb 24 | Jayalalithaa, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, wins the Andipatti byelection by a margin of 41,200 votes. | Full Story |
| Jyotiraditya Scindia, son of Madhavrao Scindia wins the Guna seat by a record margin of over 4 lakh votes. | Full Story | |
| Assamese writer, Indira Goswami is presented with the 36th Bharatiya Jnanpith Award. | Full Story | |
| Feb 27 | Fiftyseven persons, mostly women and children are killed after a mob torches a coach of the Faizabad-Ahmedabad Sabarmati Express carrying Ram Sevaks on the outskirts of the Godhra railway station, 200 km from the Gujarat capital, Gandhinagar. | Full Story |
| The Goa Assembly is dissolved by the Governor, Mohamad Fazal. | Full Story | |
| Amarinder Singh is sworn in the Punjab Chief Minister. | Full Story | |
| The legendary sitar player and composer, Ravi Shankar is honoured with a Grammy for his achievements in world music. | Full Story | |
| Feb 28 | At least 140 people are killed, 60 of them burnt alive in two housing colonies in Ahmedabad during the Gujarat bandh to protest the Godhra carnage. | Full Story |
| The Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha goes on a taxation binge in the 2002-03 general budget. | Full Story |
MARCH
| Mar 1 | The Supreme Court stays implementation of the NCERTs revised curriculum approved by the Centre. | Full Story |
| Mar 2 | Gujarat violence a black mark on the nations forehead and the senseless massacre has lowered Indias prestige in the world, says the Prime Minister, A. B. Vajpayee. | Full Story |
| Eighty-six people die in fresh incidents of violence in the State. | Full Story | |
| The AIADMK General Secretary, Jayalalithaa, is sworn in Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. A 28-member Cabinet also takes oath. | Full Story | |
| The veteran Congress leader, Narain Dutt Tiwari, is sworn in Chief Minister of the first elected Government of Uttaranchal. | Full Story | |
| Mar 3 | The Lok Sabha Speaker, G.M.C. Balayogi (51), dies after the private helicopter in which he was travelling crashes while trying to make an emergency landing at Kovvadalanka village in Kolluru area of Krishna district, in Andhra Pradesh. | Full Story |
| The prime suspect in the Godhra train carnage, Mohammad Hussain Kolota is arrested. | Full Story | |
| The Reliance Industries Limited and Reliance Petroleum Limited merge, in the largest ever merger in the history of corporate India. | Full Story | |
| Mar 5 | The Kanchi Sankaracharya, Jayendra Saraswati persuades the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas and the VHP to give a commitment that they will abide by a final verdict in the Ayodhya case, after a meeting in New Delhi. | Full Story |
| The Union Cabinet approves 100 per cent FDI in films and advertising through the automatic approval route. | Full Story | |
| Mar 6 | No party has a working majority in Assembly, says the Uttar Pradesh Governor, Vishnu Kant Sastri, and recommends Presidents rule. | Full Story |
| K.G. Shah, a retired Gujarat High Court Judge, is named to probe the Godhra carnage and the subsequent outbreak of violence. | Full Story | |
| The Supreme Court jails the Booker Prize Winner, Arundhati Roy for contempt of court. | Full Story | |
| Mar 7 | The Congress leader, Ibobi Singh, is sworn in Manipur Chief Minister. | Full Story |
| The Union Cabinet gives its nod for Presidents rule in U.P. | Full Story | |
| Mar 8 | The Nationalist Congress Party leader, P.A. Sangma, quits the statute panel protesting its refusal to take up the issue of citizens of foreign origin. | Full Story |
| The Presidents rule is imposed in U.P. and the Assembly kept in suspended animation. | Full Story | |
| Medical scientist, Indira Nath, bags the UNESCO/ L' Oreal award for her work in developing medication and vaccines for leprosy treatment. | Full Story | |
| The Domestic Violence Bill is introduced in the Lok Sabha. | Full Story | |
| Mar 9 | Renowned Hindustani vocalist, Pandit Jasraj and acclaimed sitar player, Sudhir Phadke are selected for the Saraswati Award. | |
| Mar 10 | The All India Muslim Personal Law Board rejects the Ayodhya formula worked out by the Kanchi Acharya for resolving the Ram Janmabhoomi tangle. | Full Story |
| Mar 13 | The Supreme Court says no to the Centres plea to permit bhoomi puja at the undisputed site in Ayodhya and orders status quo. | Full Story |
| Mar 15 | The much-publicised shila daan ends peacefully at the Digambar Akhara, more than a km away from the acquired undisputed land in Ayodhya. | Full Story |
| The Delhi High Court acquits the former Prime Minister, P. V. Narasimha Rao and the then Home Minister, Buta Singh in the multi-crore Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MPs bribery case. | Full Story | |
| The Government clears the decks for introduction of Internet telephony. | Full Story | |
| Vijayendra N. Kaul, former Petroleum Secretary, takes over as the Comptroller and Auditor-General. | Full Story | |
| Mar 16 | Around 500 activists of the VHP and the Bajrang Dal storm the Orissa Assembly and indulge in massive vandalism causing extensive damage. | Full Story |
| India signs three loan agreements with the World Bank for $490 millions. | Full Story | |
| Mar 17 | The anti-terrorist squad of the Gujarat police nab Haji Bilal, prime accused in the Godhra carnage. | Full Story |
| Food scientist, M. S. Swaminathan is elected to lead the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs for the next five years. | Full Story | |
| Mar 18 | The Lok Sabha passes the Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002 described by the Opposition as draconian, which walks out calling it a dark day in history. | Full Story |
| Mar 21 | The Rajya Sabha strikes down the POTO Bill. | Full Story |
| Mar 23 | The Centre makes it mandatory for states to clear their long-pending electricity dues of Rs. 36,000 crores to the Central power companies or issue bonds as one-time settlement. | Full Story |
| The President presents Padma Vibhushan awards to the Andhra Pradesh Governor, C. Rangarajan, Attorney-General, Soli Jehangir Sorabjee. K. J. Yesudas and N. Rangabhasyam among Padma Bhushan awardees. | Full Story | |
| Mar 26 | The POTO gets approval in a historic joint sitting of Parliament after a day-long debate. | Full Story |
| The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee clears the release of Bt Cotton for commercial use. | Full Story | |
| Mar 28 | Direct air link is established between India and China with the arrival of the first passenger from China, at IGIA, New Delhi. | Full Story |
APRIL
| Apr 1 | The Centre bans Al-Badar, and the Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen under the POTA. The Delhi High Court declares the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief, Masood Azhar, proclaimed offender in the December 13 attack on Parliament. | Full Story |
| The oil industry moves to a new decontrolled era as the Centre diamantles the administered pricing mechanism. | Full Story | |
| Apr 2 | The President gives his assent to the POTA. | Full Story |
| Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister, Sikander Bakht is appointed Kerala Governor. | Full Story | |
| The Centre gives its nod for the national policy on AIDS prevention and blood transfusion services. | Full Story | |
| Apr 3 | India fully supports the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Indonesia, says the President, K.R. Narayanan, at a banquet in honour of his Indonesian counterpart, Megawati Sukarnoputri in New Delhi. | Full Story |
| The Supreme Court grants bail to Mumbai-based diamond merchant and film financier, Bharat Shah held for his alleged links with the underworld don, Chhota Shakeel. | ||
| The Centre revises rules for conferment of Arjuna awards and scraps those given in the lifetime achievement category. | ||
| Apr 4 | Gujarat events a "blot" on India, saya the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee in Ahmedabad. | Full Story |
| Apr 5 | The Supreme Court rejects the Centre's request for the extension of the January 31 deadline to run diesel buses in New Delhi and imposes hefty fines for non-compliance with directive on switchover to CNG mode. | Full Story |
| Apr 7 | The NBA leader, Medha Patkar is mobbed and journalists injured in police lathicharge as violence breaks out in a peace meeting at Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram, in Ahmedabad. | Full Story |
| Apr 8 | The Centre bans the Al-Qaeda under POTA. | Full Story |
| Justice S.D. Dave, retired judge of the Gujarat High Court, is appointed the one-man enquiry to probe the lathicharge on scribes. | Full Story | |
| Apr 9 | Suspected Al-Qaeda terrorist, Mohammed Afroz Abdul Razak, is released from the Byculla prison in Mumbai following grant of bail by a special court. | Full Story |
| Apr 11 | The Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, rules out lifting the ban on the LTTE. | Full Story |
| An apex court Constitution Bench hearing petitions on the scope of the rights of minorities reframes questions to include "majority" to establish and administer educational institutions. | Full Story | |
| Police arrest top SIMI activist and Godhra carnage accused, Anwar Rashid, in Bhadohi district of U.P. | Full Story | |
| Apr 16 | Bank and PSU staff launch a nationwide strike to protest the Centres anti-labour policies and privatisation drive, causing a loss of Rs. 100 crores. | Full Story |
| To commemorate the 150th year of Indian Railways, a steam engine chugs out of Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus recreating its maiden run from the erstwhile Bori Bunder to Tannah (Thane) on April 16, 1853. | Full Story | |
| Apr 18 | India signs a $146 million arms deal with the U.S. for purchasing eight weapon locating radars. | Full Story |
| The Union Cabinet gives its nod for setting up a panel on delimitation of the Parliamentary and Legislative Assembly Constituencies after 25 years. | Full Story | |
| Apr 19 | The Supreme Court quashes the gift of 51 acres to the Bharat Yatra Kendra Trust headed by the former Prime Minister, Chandra Shekhar by the Bhondsi gram panchayat, Haryana. | Full Story |
| Apr 22 | The Punjab Government cancels 639 Public Service Commission recruitments in the light of the arrest of its chairman, Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu. | Full Story |
| Apr 24 | A Mumbai sessions court convicts Abdul Daud Rauf Merchant in the 1997 murder of the audio cassette producer, Gulshan Kumar but acquits 18 co-accused for want of evidence. | Full Story |
| Apr 27 | The Chairman and CEO of Mindtree Consulting Pvt. Ltd., Ashok Soota, takes over as the Confederation of Indian Industry President and Anand Mahindra becomes the vice-president. | Full Story |
| Apr 29 | The Union Coal Minister, Ram Vilas Paswan quits Cabinet protesting against the Gujarat Governments failure to control communal violence and continuation of Narendra Modi as Chief Minister. | Full Story |
| Abdul Rauf Daud Merchant, gets lifer in the Gulshan Kumar murder case. | Full Story | |
| Apr 30 | The Government wins after chaotic scenes mark the marathon debate on the Samajwadi Party-sponsored censure motion on Gujarat in the Lok Sabha. | Full Story |
| The Minister of State for External Affairs, Omar Abdullah, offers to quit Cabinet. | Full Story | |
MAY
| May 1 | The Prime Minister, A. B. Vajpayee, announces a Rs. 150-crore rehabilitation package for the victims of the communal carnage in Gujarat. | Full Story |
| May 2 | "Terrorism is always wrong whatever it is.... there can be no cause that is to be served by terror," says the U.S. National Security Advisor, Ms. Condoleezza Rice in the course of an interview to The Hindu in Washington. | Full Story |
| The Government agrees to intervene in Gujarat under Article 355 accepting the Opposition sponsored motion in Rajya Sabha | Full Story | |
| Centre appoints former Punjab DGP, K.P.S. Gill as the Security Adviser to the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi. | Full Story | |
| May 3 | A 24-member coalition Government of the BSP, the BJP and the Rashtriya Lok Dal headed by Mayawati is installed in Uttar Pradesh. | Full Story |
| The Centre introduces in Lok Sabha the Delimitation Bill seeking to establish a Delimitation Commission to redraw the boundaries of all constituencies. | Full Story | |
| May 5 | The Medical Council of India comes out with a new code of medical ethics called the Indian Medical Council (Professionals Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002. | Full Story |
| May 6 | Justice Bhupinder Nath Kirpal, is sworn in the 31st Chief Justice of India. | Full Story |
| May 8 | The Justice P. N. Bhagwati Committee recommends greater shareholders role in company takeovers. | Full Story |
| May 10 | Manohar Gajanan Joshi (62), takes over as the Speaker of the 13th Lok Sabha. | Full Story |
| Enforcing hartal by coercion illegal, says the Supreme Court upholding the Kerala High Court order. | Full Story | |
| May 13 | "Basic structure of the Constitution will not be changed", says the Prime Minister, A. B. Vajpayee at a function to commemorate the golden jubilee fete of Parliament, in New Delhi. | Full Story |
| May 14 | A three-member suicide squad of terrorists kill 30 persons, including seven bus passengers and 23 others in the family quarters of the Army, at Kalnchak on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway. | Full Story |
| The Centre extends the ban on the LTTE for two more years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. | Full Story | |
| Parliament passes the long-awaited Patents Bill. | Full Story | |
| The Cabinet Committee on Disinvestments clears a proposal to dilute the Government's stake in Maruti Udyog Limited. | Full Story | |
| May 15 | Bill on right to education is unanimously passed by the Rajya Sabha. | Full Story |
| Parliament approves the Delimitation Bill 2002 that provides for fresh delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly constitutions. | Full Story | |
| May 17 | The Vajpayee Government secures Parliament support for action against Pakistan. | Full Story |
| May 18 | India asks Pakistan to recall its High Commissioner to India, Ashraf Jehangir Gazi. | Full Story |
| The Government approves the sale of its 26 per cent stake in Indian Petro chemicals Corporation Limited to Reliance Industries for Rs. 1,440 crores. | Full Story | |
| May 20 | The countrys first agricultural job portal, agrijobsindia.com, is launched in New Delhi. | Full Story |
| The toll in the heat wave sweeping the nation touches, 734, with Andhra Pradesh alone accounting for 666 deaths. | Full Story | |
| May 21 | The APHC leader, Abdul Gani Lone (70), is shot dead by two unidentified gunmen during a rally to mark the 12th death anniversary of the former Mirwaiz of Kashmir, Maulvi Mohammad Farooq, at Idgah ground, in old Srinagar. | Full Story |
| The Gujarat Government appoints retired Supreme Court judge, Justice G. T. Nanavati to the probe panel on the Godhra carnage. | Full Story | |
| May 24 | Fortytwo persons are burnt alive in a major fire that sweeps through a shoe factory in the Jeon Mandi area in Agra. | Full Story |
| The Government approves proposals for retail marketing of petrol and diesel by private firms, including the Reliance and the Essar. | Full Story | |
| May 28 | India successfully develops a male injectable contraceptive, RISUG (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance). | Full Story |
| May 30 | Suzuki Motor Corporation of India, takes over control of MUL, at a function in New Delhi. | Full Story |
| Vinod Vaish, is appointed Telecom Commission Chairman. | Full Story | |
| The Goa polls throw up a hung Assembly. | Full Story | |
| May 31 | The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act ceases to exist and is replaced by the Foreign Exchange Management Act. | Full Story |
JUNE
| Jun 3 | Manohar Parrikar is sworn in Chief Minister of Goa. | Full Story |
| Jun 4 | Reliance takes charge of IPCL, handing over a cheque for Rs. 1,490.84 crores to the Government. | Full Story |
| The President gives his assent to the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2002, which seeks to bring about a change in the procedure in suits and civil proceedings. | Full Story | |
| Jun 9 | The former All-Party Hurriyat Conference chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his son-in-law, Mohammad Altaf Shah are arrested under the POTA in Srinagar for channelising funds to militants, following IT raids on Geelanis residence. | Full Story |
| Jun 10 | India allows Pakistan over flights and identifies Harsh Bhasin as its new High Commissioner. | Full Story |
| The Delhi High Court quashes the CBI chargesheet against the three Hinduja brothers in the `Rs. 64 crore Bofors pay-off case. | Full Story | |
| The Jammu and Kahsmir Government slaps the official Secrets Act against the Jammat-e-Islami leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani for allegedly passing on classified documents to Pakistan. | ||
| The NDA chooses A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as its presidential candidate. | Full Story | |
| Jun 11 | India extends strong support to the peace process in Sri Lanka after talks between Prime Ministers, Atal Behari Vajpayee and Ranil Wickremesinghe, in New Delhi. | Full Story |
| Sunil Arora, is appointed Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Airlines. | Full Story | |
| Mr. P. D. Patodia is elected president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. | ||
| Jun 12 | The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, quits as the National Conference president, after being at the helm for over two decades. | Full Story |
| The Peoples Front comprising the Left Parties, the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Samajwadi Party is dissolved. | Full Story | |
| Jun 14 | The Left Parties and the Janata Dal (S) decide to field veteran freedom fighter, Lakshmi Sahgal to contest the presidential poll. | Full Story |
| Jun 15 | The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah escapes an attempt on his life after militants fire rifle grenades at the venue of a function at Hamza colony in Bemina near Srinagar. | Full Story |
| Jun 21 | Subir Dutta is appointed Defence Secretary the former Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary, P. Shankar is made Secretary, Planning Commission. | Full Story |
| Jun 22 | Syed Mohammad Rabey Hasani Nadvi, Nadwatul Ulema, Lucknow is elected the new president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, in Hyderabad. | Full Story |
| Jun 23 | No peace without autonomy, says the J and K Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah at a grand convention of the National Conference in Srinagar and hands over party leadership to his son and Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Omar Abdullah. | Full Story |
| Jun 25 | The Union Cabinet clears 26 per cent Foreign Direct Investment in print media. | Full Story |
| Jun 27 | The Centre bans the Dukhtaran-e-Millat, a womens terrorist organisation in Kashmir under the POTA. | Full Story |
| Jun 29 | The Union Home Minister, Lal Krishna Advani, is elevated as Deputy Prime Minister. | Full Story |
| Jun 30 | The Union Health Minister, C. P. Thakur resigns. | Full Story |
JULY
| Jul 1 | Jaswant Singh becomes Finance Minister and Yaswant Sinha Foreign Minister, Jana Krishnamurthi gets Law and Justice in a Cabinet reshuffle which also sees the exit of six Ministers, including Maneka Gandhi. | Full Story |
| Mr. Venkaiah Naidu takes over as the BJP president. | Full Story | |
| Kanwal Sibal is the new Foreign Secretary. | Full Story | |
| Jul 2 | The Tamil Nadu Liberation Army and the Tamil Nadu Retrieval Troops are banned under POTA. | Full Story |
| Jul 3 | The Government orders a probe into Xerox India scam involving improper payments over sale of equipment to official agencies during 2000. | Full Story |
| Jul 5 | A Delhi Court convicts and sentences the former Union Minister of State for Communications, Sukh Ram, to three years RI in the 1993-94 Rs. 1.68- crore telecom scam. | Full Story |
| Jul 6 | M. Rama Jois, a retired Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, is appointed Jharkhand Governor. | Full Story |
| Sukh Ram quits as Himachal Vikas Congress president and names his son, Anil Sharma, Rajya Sabha MP as successor. | Full Story | |
| Jul 8 | The Maharashtra Governor, P.C. Alexander quits. | Full Story |
| An all-party meet rejects the EC norms on assets and antecedents of candidates while filing nominations issued in pursuance of the May 2 apex court order. | Full Story | |
| A special court for POTA cases begins formal trial into the December 13 attack on Parliament. | ||
| Jul 11 | The MDMK general secretary and Sivakasi MP, Vaiko is arrested at the Chennai airport under the POTA for his pro-LTTE speech at a meeting at Tirumangalam near Madurai on June 29. | Full Story |
| Jul 12 | Bofors trial should go on, rules the Supreme Court staying the Delhi High Court verdict quashing the chargesheet against the Hinduja brothers. | Full Story |
| The Centre announces the of a delimitation commission under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court Judge, Kuldip Singh. | Full Story | |
| A special court judge sentences to life Dharmarajan, the key accused in the sensational Suryanelli sex scandal of 1996 in Kottayam, Kerala. | Full Story | |
| Jul 13 | Twenty five slum dwellers are killed as militants strike at a colony near Narwal bypass, Jammu. | Full Story |
| The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee lays down an eight-point agenda to sustain growth at the Economic Advisory Panel meeting, in New Delhi. Subsidies to be reduced and retargeted. | Full Story | |
| Jul 15 | A.P.J. Abdul Kalam wins the presidential polls defeating Lakshmi Sahgal. | Full Story |
| Supercop K.P.S. Gill, quits as security adviser to Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi. | Full Story | |
| Jul 16 | Former Union Law Minister, Arun Jaitley is appointed negotiator for talks on devolution of powers for Jammu and Kashmir. | Full Story |
| A Kollam Court sentences 13 persons to lifer in the Kalluvathukkal-Pallikal-Pallipuram hooch tragedy which claimed 31 lives. | Full Story | |
| A Delhi Court convicts 14 persons in the 1985 Coomar Narain spy case that rattled the Rajiv Gandhi Government. | Full Story | |
| Jul 18 | Yogesh T. Maneklal, the main accused in the Coomar Narain spy case gets 14 years RI and 12 others 10 years RI. | Full Story |
| Jul 19 | The Gujarat Assembly is dissolved and the Governor accepts the Chief Minister, Narendra Modis resignation. | Full Story |
| Jul 24 | Uphold tradition of tolerance, says the President, K.R. Narayanan in his farewell address and cautions citizens against the poison of communalism. | Full Story |
| Jul 25 | A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is sworn in the 12th President and pledges unflinching commitment to secularism. | Full Story |
| The former Maharashtra Governor, P.C. Alexander is elected to the Rajya Sabha with a massive majority. | Full Story | |
| The Delhi High Court suspends sentence against Sukh Ram in the telecom scam and grants him bail. | Full Story | |
| Jul 26 | Lagaan wins eight national awards, Kannada film Dweepa bags the Swarna Kamal and Murali, Shobana and Tabu get the best actors and actresses award at the 49th National Film Awards. | Full Story |
| Jul 27 | The Vice-President, Krishan Kant (75) dies of a massive heart attack at his home, in New Delhi. | Full Story |
| Jul 28 | Kashmir is on international agenda and India should allow outsiders to monitor polls, says the visiting U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, in New Delhi. | Full Story |
| Jul 31 | The Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, announces a new ann antyodaya scheme to reach food for the poorest of the poor in rural areas and a new tax-free savings avenue. | Full Story |
| Mukesh Ambani, is elected Chairman and Managing Director of the Reliance Industries Limited. | Full Story | |
AUGUST
| Aug 1 | Tamil Nationalist Movement leader and LTTE supporter, P. Nedumaran, is held under POTA by the Chennai police. | Full Story |
| Aug 2 | A former CAG, T.N. Chaturvedi, is appointed Karnataka Governor. | Full Story |
| Aug 3 | The Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, launches the countrys first ever railway online booking, in New Delhi which can be accessed through www.iretc.co.in | Full Story |
| A seven-member Committee under the former Union Law Minister, Ram Jethmalani, is formed to hold talks with J&K separatist groups. | Full Story | |
| Aug 5 | The Prime Minister cancels all allotments of petrol pumps, gas and kerosene agencies made since January 2000. | Full Story |
| Aug 6 | Nine Amaranath pilgrims are gunned down by militants at the base camp in Nunwan, Pahalgam. | Full Story |
| Kuttu Bai, commits sati at Patna Tamoli village of Panna district, M.P. | Full Story | |
| Aug 12 | The National Democratic Alliance candidate, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is elected the countrys 12th Vice-President with a resounding margin. | Full Story |
| Aug 14 | India needs a second vision to alleviate poverty, illiteracy and to make it possible, communal and divisive clashes should be eradicated, says President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in his address on the eve of the 55th anniversary of Independence. | Full Story |
| The TMC returns to the Congress fold and G.K. Vasan is made an AICC secretary. | Full Story | |
| The suspended chairman of the Punjab Public Service Commission, Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu, allegedly involved in the cash-for-job scam resigns. | Full Story | |
| Aug 16 | The Election Commission rejects BJP demand for early polls in Gujarat, saying riot wounds have not yet healed. | Full Story |
| Aug 19 | Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (79), is sworn the 12th Vice-President. | Full Story |
| Aug 20 | The Prime Minister accepts the resignation of the Union Power Minister, Suresh Prabhu. | Full Story |
| Aug 25 | The forest brigand Veerappan abducts the former Karnataka Minister of State for Agriculture Marketing, H. Nagappa, from his residence in Kamagere, 15 km from Kollegal taluk. | Full Story |
| Aug 26 | Senior BJP leader from MP, Vikram Verma gets the Youth Affairs and Sports, Uma Bharti given Coal and Mines and Anant Geete becomes Power Minister in a mini reshuffle. | Full Story |
| The Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 2002 comes into force. | Full Story | |
| Aug 28 | The Supreme Court stays the Centres omnibus order cancelling petrol pump dealerships. | Full Story |
| Aug 29 | Bihar police arrest the Ranbir Sena chief, Brahmeshwar Singh Mukhiya who masterminded more than 500 killings, in Patna. | Full Story |
| The J and K Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah, quits politics. | Full Story | |
| Aug 30 | The Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party leader, Shabir Shah says No to polls putting to naught the Ram Jethmalani panels efforts to involve the separatist camp. | Full Story |
| Aug 31 | The Central Government announces a major restructuring of the UTI by splitting the company and directly taking responsibility of the US-64 and all assured return schemes. | Full Story |
| The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference splits with its jailed general secretary expelling Sajjad Lone and Bilal Lone. | Full Story | |
SEPTEMBER
| Sep 1 | Time to review policies, says the Defence Minister, George Fernandes after being elected Samata Party leader at the national executive, in New Delhi. | Full Story |
| Sep 2 | The Supreme Court upholds the poll panels Aug. 16 decision to defer elections in Gujarat and delinks Presidential reference. | Full Story |
| Nine children die at Kolkatas B.C. Roy Memorial Childrens Hospital amid an acute shortage of oxygen, taking to 29 the toll within a week. | Full Story | |
| Sep 3 | The Supreme Court directs Karnataka to release 1.25 tmcft water everyday to Tamil Nadu till the Cauvery River Authority takes a final decision. | Full Story |
| P. Shankar, is sworn in Chief Vigilance Commissioner. | Full Story | |
| The CBI closes probe in Germany into the Rs. 420-crore HDW submarine case. | Full Story | |
| Sep 4 | The Karnataka Government orders release of water to Tamil Nadu. | Full Story |
| The Centre strips the Delhi Government of all legislative and administrative powers. All business to be conducted through the Lt. Governor, Vijay Kapoor. | Full Story | |
| Sep 8 | The Cauvery River Authority directs Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs (0.8 tmcft) of water to Tamil Nadu overriding the apex court decision. | Full Story |
| Sep 9 | Over 100 persons die as the Howrah-Delhi Rajdhani Express crashes through a bridge on the Dhawa river near Gaya in Bihar. | |
| Sep 11 | The Jammu and Kashmir Law Minister, Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, is shot dead by a militant while addressing a public meeting in Kupwara district. | Full Story |
| Sep 12 | The Supreme Court upholds the National Curriculum Framework for Secondary Education. | Full Story |
| The first exclusive 1,060 kg meteorological satellite (METSAT), is successfully launched from the Sriharikota Space Centre, using the PSLV. | Full Story | |
| Sep 13 | "Pakistan is indulging in nuclear blackmail following India's efforts to stampout cross-border terrorism," says the Prime Minister in his address at the 57th U.N. General Assembly session. | Full Story |
| The International Crop Research Institute for semi-Arid Tropics, Hyderabad, develops the first ever transgenic peanut in the world. | Full Story | |
| Sep 22 | The Centre shelves the $1.8 billion Oman-India natural gas pipeline project due to lack of gas reserves. | Full Story |
| Sep 23 | The Goa Governor, Mohammad Fazal, is transferred and appointed Maharashtra Governor, Kidar Nath Sahani is made Goa Governor and V. Rama Rao is appointed to take his place in Sikkim. | Full Story |
| Sep 24 | Twentytine persons die in a terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple of the Swaminarayan sect in the Gujarat capital, Gandhinagar. | Full Story |
| Sep 25 | Temple siege ends and two terrorists holed up inside shot dead by NSG commandos. | Full Story |
| The Mashelkar panel on national auto fuel policy submits final report and moots Euro-III emission norms by 2005. | Full Story | |
| Sep 26 | U.S. pressure on Paksitan not working. Eventually India will have to fight its own war on terrorism, says the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee after attending a function to mark the CSIR diamond jubilee, in New Delhi. | Full Story |
| Sep 27 | The Haryana Police Officer, Ravi Kant Sharma, prime suspect in the murder of the Indian Express correspondent, Shivani Bhatnagar, surrenders in Ambala court. | Full Story |
| Sep 28 | R.K. Somany, is elected Assocham president. | Full Story |
| Interests of labour will be protected, says the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee and seeks consensus on economic reforms at the 38th session of the Indian Labour Conference in New Delhi. | Full Story | |
| Sep 29 | A suspected ISI agent, Imam Ali, the alleged mastermind behind the 1993 blast at the RSS headquarters in Chennai, is killed in an encounter with the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Police, in Bangalore. | Full Story |
| Sep 30 | Terrorism is blasphemy. Bullet cannot defeat the ballot, says the Prime Minister, A. B. Vajpayee at a conference of the heads of the police organisations, in New Delhi. | Full Story |
OCTOBER
| Oct 1 | Terrorists mow down eight bus passengers in the Hiranagar area of Kathua district in Jammu. | Full Story |
| All 12 crew members and three on the ground die as two Navy planes collide mid-air during a function to celebrate the silver jubilee of the Naval Air Squadron 315, in Goa. | Full Story | |
| The Infosys chairman, N.R. Narayana Murthy, is presented with the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration and Management Studies for 2001 by the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in New Delhi. | Full Story | |
| Oct 2 | The Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee stands by policy on disinvestment even as three Senior Ministers (M.M. Joshi, George Fernandes and Ram Naik) want a 'rethink'. | Full Story |
| Oct 3 | Sabotage behind derailment of Howrah-Delhi Rajdhani Express near Gaya in Bihar, says probe. | Full Story |
| India and Ukraine sign an extradition treaty. | Full Story | |
| Oct 4 | The Supreme Court directs Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of water daily to the Mettur dam in Tamil Nadu. | Full Story |
| Oct 5 | Difficult decisions cannot be avoided. Disinvestment of PSUs has to continue, says the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee chairing a meeting of the full Planning Commission, in New Delhi, which gives its nod for the draft Tenth Five-Year Plan. | Full Story |
| The Karnataka Cabinet decides against releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. | Full Story | |
| Brahmins do not have monopoly over temple puja, rules the Supreme Court. | Full Story | |
| The Jayalalithaa Government issues the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Ordinance. | Full Story | |
| Oct 10 | The ruling National Conference is swept out of power in the four-phase J and K polls. Omar Abdullah loses the Ganderbal seat. | Full Story |
| Russian film Letter to Elza wins the Golden Peacock award for the best film by an Asian director, at the 33rd International Film Festival of India, in New Delhi. | Full Story | |
| Mohammad Fazal, is sworn in Maharashtra Governor. | Full Story | |
| Oct 16 | The Centre orders withdrawal of troops from the International Border with Pakistan. | Full Story |
| One of the key accused in the Godhra train carnage, Nanhen Mian is arrested in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. | Full Story | |
| Oct 17 | Governors rule is imposed in Jammu and Kashmir. | Full Story |
| Reforms irreversible, says the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee opening the India ASEAN Business Summit, in New Delhi attended by the Malaysian Premier, Mahathir Mohamad. | Full Story | |
| Oct 19 | The Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee launches BSNL cellular service, in Lucknow. | Full Story |
| Oct 21 | J & K women who marry persons from outside the State will not lose Permanent Resident Status, rules the High Court. | Full Story |
| Oct 24 | The Supreme Court pulls up the Karnataka Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna for non-compliance of orders over Cauvery water release. | Full Story |
| Oct 25 | The apex court upholds the validity of the 1999 amendments to the Civil Procedure Code providing for speedy disposal of civil cases. | Full Story |
| Oct 26 | The Congress and the PDP clinch deal. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to be J and K Chief Minister for first three years. | Full Story |
| Oct 28 | Six-month rule wont apply to dissolved Assemblies, rules the Supreme Court in its opinion on the Presidential reference in the Gujarat polls issue. | Full Story |
| The Karnataka Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, tenders unconditional apology to the apex court, and releases Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. | Full Story | |
| The Union Cabinet gives its nod to amend the SEBI Act, repeal the UTI Act, enabling splitting of the company. | Full Story | |
| Oct 29 | The Union Cabinet approves the Tenth Five-Year Plan. | Full Story |
| Oct 31 | Aided minority institutions subject to regulations, rules the apex court. Unaided ones can have unfettered rights. | Full Story |
| The Tamil Nadu Assembly passes the Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Bill. | Full Story | |
NOVEMBER
| Nov 1 | Developing nations resist pressures on GHG issue; adopt Delhi Declaration at the end of the UN Conference on Climate Change. | Full Story |
| Kamal Pande, takes over as Cabinet Secretary. | Full Story | |
| Nov 2 | Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is sworn in Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Congress leader Mangat Ram Sharma, Deputy Chief Minister. | Full Story |
| Nov 8 | Justice Gopal Ballab Pattanaik, is sworn in Chief Justice of India. | Full Story |
| Nov 9 | The Bangalore City Police effect a huge arms haul and nab five Tamil militants. | Full Story |
| Nov 11 | A senior All Party Hurriyat Conference leader, Yasin Malik is released after eight months detention from the Kot Bhalwal jail, in Jammu. | Full Story |
| Nov 12 | The Microsoft Chairman, Bill Gates pledges Rs. 2,000 crores to India over the next three years. | Full Story |
| Nov 14 | India will use nuclear arms in retaliation, says the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in New Delhi. | Full Story |
| Nov 15 | A Special Court in New Delhi frames charges against the three Hinduja brothers in the Rs. 64-crore Bofors payoff case | Full Story |
| Nov 19 | No power should enforce its will on any country, says the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, in New Delhi. Iraq Must relinquish weapons, if any. | Full Story |
| The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, presents the 2001 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development to the former U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, in New Delhi. | Full Story | |
| Nov 20 | Interlinking of rivers only solution to drought, says the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee in Lok Sabha. | Full Story |
| The Cambodian Patriarch King Norodom Sihanouk is awarded the 2002 Indira Gandhi Peace Prize. | Full Story | |
| Nov 23 | Justice K. Venkataswami, quits Tehelka probe panel and as Chairman, Authority on Advance Rulings of Excise and Customs following criticism in Parliament. | Full Story |
| Nov 24 | Militants attack the Raghunath temple in Jammu for the second time in nine months killing nine persons and injuring 42. Another shrine also targeted. | Full Story |
| Nov 26 | Ban on NSCN (IM) lifted. | Full Story |
| Parliament passes the Securitisation Bill, smoothening the way for banks and FIs in NPA recovery from corporates. | Full Story | |
| Nov 27 | Parliament nod for Constitution 93rd Amendment Bill, making elementary education a fundamental right. | Full Story |
| Lok Sabha passes the SEBI Bill which seeks to give more teeth to the market regulator. | Full Story | |
DECEMBER
| Dec 2 | The Supreme Court stays trial against the three Hinduja brothers in the Rs. 64-crore Bofors payoffs case. | Full Story |
| Malaysian court rejects India's plea to extradite Italian businessman, Ottavio Quattrocchi. | Full Story | |
| Parliament passes the SEBI Bill giving more teeth to the Board to punish market offenders. | Full Story | |
| Dec 4 | The visiting Russian President, Vladimir Putin and the Prime Minister, A. B. Vajpayee sign a "Delhi Declaration" to enhance strategic cooperation. | Full Story |
| Dec 8 | The former Karnataka Minister, H. Nagappa (66), is found dead in Chengadi forest, Kamagere in Kollegal taluk after being held captive for 106 days by the forest brigand Veerappan. | Full Story |
| Dec 9 | The Government announces divestment of HPCL, BPCL. | Full Story |
| Dec 10 | Parliament gives its nod for the Cable TV Bill. | |
| Dec 11 | Biological Diversity Bill gets approval of Parliament. | Full Story |
| Dec 12 | Lok Sabha nod for Bill amending The Representation of the People Act. | Full Story |
| Dec 13 | Producer-director of some of Bollywood's biggest successes, Yash Chopra, selected for the 2001 Dada Saheb Phalke Award. | Full Story |
| The cricket Bible Wisden has rated Sachin Tendulkar as the second greatest Test batsman ever, behind the legendary Sir Don Bradman of Australia. | Full Story | |
| Dec 14 | Chief Justice of India, G. B. Pattanaik, exonerates Justice M L Singhal of charges of "misuse of official position" to get jobs in the Punjab Public Service Commission. | Full Story |
| SPIC Chairman, A.C. Muthiah takes over as FICCI president. | Full Story | |
| Parliament gives nod for Freedom of Information Bill. | Full Story | |
| Dec 15 | BJP scores a resounding victory in the Gujarat Assembly elections with a record haul of 126 seats in the 182-member House, totally crushing the Congress challenge. | Full Story |
| Dec 16 | Caretaker Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, who led the BJP to an impressive victory in the Assembly elections, was today unanimously elected leader of the legislature party. | Full Story |
| Dec 17 | Supreme Court holds that "lawyers have no right to go on strike or give a call for boycott, not even on a token strike". | Full Story |
| Dec 18 | Special POTA court sentences to death S.A.R. Geelani, Shaukat Hussain Guru, and Mohammed Afzal for the December 13 attack on Parliament. | Full Story |
| Dec 19 | The JPC probing stock market scam clears the then Union Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha, but indicts the Ministry for the UTI fiasco, points to nexus between stockbroker, Ketan Parekh, banks and corporate houses. | Full Story |
| Justice Visheshwar Nath Khare, senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, sworn in as 33rd Chief Justice of India succeeding Justice G.B. Pattanaik who retired after a brief tenure of 41 days. Khare has a 16-month tenure. | Full Story | |
| Dec 20 | Strongly indicting the Central Government, the Supreme Court quashes the omnibus notification issued by it on August 9 cancelling all the 3,760 allotments (except 413 cases) of petrol pumps, gas and kerosene dealerships made after January 2000. | Full Story |
| The one-and-a-half month-old coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir suffers a setback when militants shoot dead the People's Democratic Party Member of the Legislative Assembly, Abdul Aziz Mir, in Pampore town of south Kashmir. | Full Story | |
| Dec 21 | The National Development Council approves Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002-2007), envisaging eight per cent growth per annum during each of the five years, and creation of an additional 50 million jobs. | Full Story |
| In a major train accident in Andhra Pradesh in recent years, 20 persons were killed and 80 injured when nine coaches of the Bangalore-bound Kacheguda-Bangalore Express derailed near Pagidirai village in Kurnool district. | Full Story | |
| Dec 22 | Militants kill three children at a village in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. | Full Story |
| Jammu and Kashmir Government releases senior leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference and general secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Bashir Ahmed Bhat. | Full Story | |
| Dec 23 | Delhi court acquits former Congress MP from Outer Delhi, Sajjan Kumar, and a former Congress MLA, Jaikishan, in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. | Full Story |
| Dec 24 | The 8.3-km Shahdara-Tis Hazari Metro corridor of the Delhi Metro Railway inaugurated. | Full Story |
| Dec 26 | India, US sign agreement whereby neither country will surrender persons of the other country to any international tribunal without the other country's express consent. | Full Story |
| Dec 27 | Centre announces it would soon hold a dialogue with the "elected representatives and others" to resolve the crisis in Jammu and Kashmir. | Full Story |
| Vijay Kelkar modifies some tax proposals to provide additional relief to senior citizens and widows while encouraging long-term savings. | Full Story | |
| Dec 28 | Ratan Tata, who turned 65, gives up his executive posts in the Tata empire. He will become the non-executive Chairman. | Full Story |
| Dec 31 | Economic growth to be better this fiscal year. | Full Story |
| New Army Chief takes over. | Full Story |
Jan • Feb • Mar • Apr • May • Jun • Jul • Aug • Sep • Oct • Nov • Dec