2. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services revised upwards India’s banking industry country risk assessment (BICRA) to group ‘5’ from group ‘6’, making it part of a group of countries including China, Portugal, Thailand and Turkey.

3. Ministry of Corporate Affairs has proposed the name of former Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla as the next Chairman of the anti-trust watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI), replacing incumbent Dhanendra Kumar.

4. Luther L. Terry Awards are given for Exemplary Leadership in Tobacco Control, given away by American Cancer Society.

5. Special Director General of Border Security Force (BSF) R K Medhekar was today appointed as the new Chief of National Security Guard, the elite commando force deployed for protecting VIPs and swift action in case of hostage crisis.

6. The central government has formally given responsibility to its interlocutor PC Haldar to carry forward the peace process on the basis of the 12 point charter of demands submitted by the pro-talk faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) in Assam.

7. The Election Commission will soon have its Facebook account joining other government departments like the ministry of external affairs in using social networking sites to reach out to people.

8. The petrol prices will be reduced by Rs1.80 per litre before VAT all across India. Reduced petrol prices will be effective from today midnight.

9. State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, reactivated its differential rate of interest (DRI) scheme to provide loans to weaker sections as part of the financial inclusion programme.

10. India on Tuesday sucessfully test fired Agni-IV, nuclear-capable, two-stage missile, one of its longest range 3,500 kilometres missiles, capable of carrying a one-tonne nuclear warhead deep inside China.