The year 2012 was an eventful period for India. The year started off on a good note with the successful launch of warhead-enabled Agni-V in April but darkness unfolded towards the end with the brutal gang-rape incident in Delhi.
[PHOTOS OF MOST UNFORGETTABLE EVENTS OF 2012 IN INDIA]
Here we give you the major events that happened in India this year:
India successfully test fired warhead-enabled Agni-V in April this year. Several sections of the media said that the country had joined other elite nations that have Inter-continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capability.
The indigenously built Agni-V with a range of more than 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) was test fired at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast from Integrated Test Range (ITR). It is capable of reaching deep into Asia and Europe.
Chinese researchers claimed that Agni-V has the potential to hit targets 8,000 kilometres away. The Indian government deliberately downplayed the capability of the missile to avoid criticism from other countries.
ICBM should have a range of at least 8,000 kilometres.
The launch of Samsung Galaxy S3 and Apple's iPhone 5 may have stolen the limelight in the world area, but in India it was the Aakash 2 tablet.
The low-cost device meant for students was unveiled by President Pranab Mukherjee on Nov 11 and was showcased as an Indian product at the UN summit event in the last week of November.
DataWind won the contract to deliver the first 100,000 Aakash 2 tablets to the Indian Government. The company joined hands with IIT-Bombay to develop the new edition of Aakash tablets and partnered with Hyderabad-based VMC Systems.
Kingfisher Airlines was branded as the best airlines in India at one point of time but it failed to recover from huge debt, forcing the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to suspend its licence in October.
The debt-ridden airlines was completely grounded since Oct 1 following a massive strike called by engineers and pilots over non-payment of salaries. The problem between the airlines and its employees was solved but flights had still not taken off due to non-payment of debts.
The Vijay Mallya-owned company is encumbered with a loan amount of ₹70 billion in 17 banks and has most of its bank accounts frozen, causing disruptions in the flight schedule. The total debt load reportedly stands at $1.4 billion.
There was huge opposition from several political parties led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) when the UPA government announced its decision to allow 51 percent Foreign Direct Inverstment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail sector.
After much protest, it was tabled before both the Houses of the Parliament for debate in December before the voting by members. The motion moved by the BJP, alleging that the policy would affect small-scale farmers and traders, was defeated in both the houses.
It was a big win for the UPA regarding its policy on FDI, which is one of the government's measures to boost the country's economic growth.
Thousands of north east people left Indian cities like Bangalore, Pune, Chennai and other cities for their home towns following the spread of rumours that they would be attacked after Ramzan. The incident occurred in August.
Sources said miscreants threatened the northeast people staying in Bangalore to leave the city or face violence, thus causing panic. Several threat and assault cases were filed.
The mass exodus came in the backdrop of the clashes between the Bodos and the illegal immigrants in Assam.
The Karnataka government arranged special trains in Bangalore to take people back home to the North East, besides assuring protection by deploying security personnel. It took a few months for the situation to regain normalcy.
UPA-Trinamool Congress Fallout: The Trinamool Congress (TMC), under the leadership of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, walked out of the Congress-led ruling coalition (UPA) in September over the decision of the government to hike diesel prices and open India's supermarket sector to investment from foreign chains.
The pull out of support by TMC came after several disagreements with the Congress party including railway budget, which led to replacement of Dinesh Trivedi by Mukul Roy as the Railway Minister, fuel price hikes, setting up of National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC).
The fallout made the Congress-led rulling coalition a minority but it survived with outside support from the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Presidential Elections: UPA candidate former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma fought for the President of India post. The voting took place on July 19.
Pranab Mukherjee won the election to the top post and was sworn in as the 13th President of India on July 25.
Bollywood's first superstar Rajesh Khanna died on July 18 at his home 'Aashirwad' on Mumbai's Carter Road, shocking the film fraternity and fans across the country.
Rajesh Khanna or Kaka, called so by his friends, was considered the first superstar of Hindi Cinema and worked in more than 160 films.
The legendary actor ruled the film industry during the 1960s and 70s, and some of his notable films include "Raaz", "Do Raaste", "Bawarchi", "Anand" and "Aradhana." He delivered 15 consecutive solo super hits, which is still an unbroken record in the Indian film history.
The actor was last seen in a television ad which was directed by filmmaker R Balki. He is survived by two daughters, Twinkle Khanna and Rinkie Khanna.
Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom: Magnificent Mary (as called by the media) became a national hero by winning a bronze medal for the country at the London Olympics 2012. She displayed an exemplary performance in the 51 Kg category of Women's Boxing, which was introduced in the Olympics for the first time.
The 29-year-old mother of two and five-time world champion from Manipur entered history by becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in women's boxing. She is the third Indian woman after Karnam Malleswari and Saina Nehwal to win a medal.
Sachin Tendulkar: The legendary India cricketer put an end to speculations of his retirement in December by announcing his decision to quit one day internationals (ODI).
The 39-year-old, who was under constant pressure from critics after finest batsmen like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman bid adieu to cricket finally decided to hang his boots after playing cricket for 26 years.
The cricket maestro scored 18,426 runs in 463 one-dayers at an average of 44.83 since making ODI debut in 1989 against Pakistan.
India lowers her head in shame as the year 2012 comes to an end with the Delhi gang-rape case marring the image of the world's biggest democracy. The victim died at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital on Saturday and her mortal remains were cremated the next day.
The 23-year-old medical student was raped, severely beaten and thrown off a moving bus with her male friend by six men on Dec 16, triggering one of the biggest protests in Delhi. The six accused have been arrested and the trial is expected to begin early January.
The rape victim went through multiple organ transplants at Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi, and a major portion of her intestine was removed due to the injuries from the attack. She was airlifted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore in a last-ditch effort to save her.
The horrific gang-rape sparked outrage among people and mass protests were held in Delhi and other parts of the country. The demonstrations led to outbursts of violence between the protestors and police forces. A constable, who was found unconscious at Tilak Marg near India Gate, the epicentre of the protests, was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The Delhi Crime Branch is currently investigating the cause of his death.
