Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, guru to the Beatles who introduced the West to transcendental meditation, died in the Dutch town of Vlodrop at the age of 91 years. Maharishi, famous for his Transcendental Meditation centres that sprung up across the world,
was born as Mahesh Srivastava in Jabalpur in 1917 and studied physics at Allahabad University. He became the foremost disciple of the Shankaracharya
of Jyotir Math Swami Brahmanand Saraswati but could not succeed his Guru because he wasn’t a Brahmin; being born in a Kayastha family. Social worker and reformer Murlidhar Devidas Amte, popularly known as Baba Amte, who spent his life serving eprosy patients and working for their rehabilitation at his commune for leprosy patients ‘Anandvan Ashram’ at Warora village in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra passed away at the age of 93. He received many national and international awards, including Padma Vibhushan, Gandhi Peace Prize, Ramon Magsaysay and Templeton Prize.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a slew of development package worth Rs.10000 crore for Arunachal Pradesh that includes a Rs. 5,500-crore 1,840-km trans-Arunachal Pradesh highway; the 3,000-MW Dibang power project, the country’s biggest hydel project; the 110-MW Pare power project and a new airport for the State capital Itanagar.
The Supreme Court has reversed an earlier order banning Jallikattu, a festival involving bull
fighting in two villages near the town of Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The Union govt has issued a notification for implementing the ‘Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act, 2007’ which gives the forest
dwellers exclusive rights over its resources, essentially aims at
providing a framework to recognise these rights. The Karunanidhi government in Tamil Nadu has threatened to take over the plants of the 13 private cement manufacturers in the state if they fail to reduce prices, which are currently ruling between Rs 245
and Rs 260 per 50kg bag. The Karunanidhi government is backing up its threat with plans to import cheap cement which will be sold directly to consumers. The Manmohan Singh Cabinet has approved a central scheme to provide 25 lakh pre-matric
scholarships to students from minority communities in state-run and private institutions for which Rs 1,868.50 crore during the 11th five-year plan has been approved. The Union government will put in 75% while the states are expected to invest 25%.