11 Mega Events of 2011

World population to touch 7 billion
After touching 6 billion people in 1999, the world will see its population rise by an extra billion in 2011. 1804 was the year when the world saw the first billion people on the planet. Asia will account for 60% of the world’s population, with India and China making up for 40%.

The next addition of a billion will be seen after 14 years, in 2025. While the US expects the seven billionth baby to be born in late 2011, the US Census Bureau expects it much earlier.
 

Census 2011 will tell how many Indians
The gigantic task of population enumeration under the 15th Indian census since 1872, the seventh after Independence, will begin in February 2011. To be conducted simultaneously across the country from February 9 to 28, a five-day revision round will be held between March 1 and 5.

March 25 is the date when the preliminary census results would be declared. District magistrates and collectors will serve as the principal census officers of various districts. For the
first time, NGOs will be involved in this mammoth exercise.

10th Cricket World Cup 
The 10th Cricket World Cup, under the auspices of the International Cricket Council (ICC), will be hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

This will be the first time that cricket’s biggest international event will be hosted by Bangladesh. To be held between February and early April, the first match is scheduled for February 19. Pakistan, which was to co-host the World Cup, was denied the opportunity by the ICC on security concerns after the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.

Ratan Tata to step down
This will be the year when Ratan Tata, chairman of the $71-billion Tata Group, will step down and be replaced by a successor. Founded in 1868, the Tata Group’s flagship companies include Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power and Tata Consultancy Services.

In 2010, it grabbed world headlines when Tata Motors led by a dynamic Ratan Tata stunned the auto industry by launching Nano, the world’s cheapest car. A five-member committee is in place to
select his successor.

Space shuttle to retire
The last of America’s five space shuttles — a ‘re-useable launch system and orbital spacecraft’ pioneered by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) — is set to retire in 2011.

The first orbital test flight of the shuttle took place in 1981, followed by operational flights in 1982. A total of 135 space shuttle launches took place as part of various missions to launch satellites and inter-planetary probes, conduct space experiments, construct and service space stations.

Neptune’s 1st full orbit since 1846
Discovered on September 23, 1846, by the German astronomer, Johann Galle, 2011 will be the year when planet Neptune will complete its first orbit round the Sun since its discovery. Four times the size of Earth, Neptune is a gas giant planet showing a featureless atmosphere.

In 1989, a huge ‘Blue Spot’ was photographed by the spacecraft, Voyager 2, in Neptune’s upper atmosphere. Neptune’s winds travel at supersonic speeds and the planet has 13 moons, the largest one being Triton, with a diameter of 2,700 km.

Southern Sudan’s independence referendum
A referendum on the independence of southern Sudan is scheduled on January 9, 2011, as a part of the 2005 agreement between the central government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.

In case the first referendum sees poor participation, a second exercise will be held after 60 days. An autonomous region in Sudan, bordered by Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Juba is the capital of southern Sudan. The civil war of Sudan is considered as the longest running one in Africa.

All US troops to leave Iraq
Nearly eight years after the US-led forces invaded Iraq in 2003, the last of the American troops are set to leave in 2011. Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki has ruled out any extension to the US troops in his country.

The Christmas that went by is seen as the last one for the remaining 50,000 American troops in Iraq. Under a security agreement between the two countries, the final withdrawal of the forces will take place by the end of 2011.

Wind Power India Expo 
The first-of-its kind international event focused on wind power will take place in Chennai in 2011. The event is a natural successor to the national Wind India exhibition-cum-conclave that was launched in Pune in 2006 by the World Institute of Sustainable Energy (Wise).

India is internationally seen as a global wind energy investment destination with the projection of a 5,000 MW annual wind energy market by 2015. The event will be jointly organised by Wise and the Global Wind Energy Council and the Indian Wind
Turbine Manufacturers’ Association.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s birth centenary
Beginning January 1, a series of cultural programmes will be held in Delhi to mark the birth centenary of great Urdu poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The Safdar Hasmi Memorial Trust will lead the celebrations with the participation of writers and poets from India and Pakistan.

The event will be marked by the screening of a film by his daughter, Muneeza, the launch of a special calendar by artist MF Husain, dance performance by Astad Deboo and a recitation of his poems by Saeeda Hameed, member of the Planning Commission.

Five tablet PCs of 2011
A galaxy of tablet personal computers are set to take the world of gizmos by storm in 2011. These include Motorola’s Xoom, Apple’s iPad2, BlackBerry’s PlayBook, Notion Ink’s Adam tablet and the Asus Eee Pad EP121. The Xoom is being projected as the first Android tablet from a big manufacturer as a 10-inch device with Nvidia Tegra2 processor.

Research in Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook will feature HD videoconferencing and strong wireless data security. The Asus tablet will feature a 12-inch picture display, which is the largest among the five launches.