General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2014

Nov 2014

Apr 04, 2024

Boxer and Former Congress Leader Vijender Singh Joins BJP

Vijender Singh, India's first Olympic medallist in boxing and a former Congress leader, joined the BJP.
Singh had fought the 2019 Lok Sabha election unsuccessfully from the South Delhi constituency as a Congress candidate.
Singh comes from the Jat community, which has political influence in a large number of seats in Haryana, the state he comes from, western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Santosh Kumar Jha as New CMD of Konkan Railway Corporation

Santosh Kumar Jha, an Indian Railway Traffic Services (IRTS) officer of the 1992 batch, assumed the role of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. (KRCL).
With 28 years of experience in the industry, Jha has worked in various domains, including Operations, Infrastructure Planning, and Business Development. He has held leadership positions in major divisions of Railways and has led significant business units in the logistics sector.
Jha has been instrumental in setting up Multi-Modal Logistic Hubs, Sidings, and Private Freight Terminals. His experience and expertise in the field make him well-suited for his new role as the CMD of KRCL.
Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. (KRCL) is a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways. With Jha's appointment, KRCL is poised to benefit from his extensive knowledge and leadership abilities.

'One Vehicle, One FASTag' Norm Implemented

State-owned National Highways Authority of India's 'One Vehicle, One FASTag' norm, which aims to discourage the use of single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to a particular vehicle, came into force. NHAI had extended the 'One Vehicle, One FASTag' initiative compliance deadline to March-end, in view of the problems being faced by Paytm FASTag users.
According to an NHAI official, people who have multiple FASTags for one vehicle won't be able to use all of them anymore.
The rationale behind the 'One Vehicle, One FASTag' initiative aims to enhance the efficiency of the electronic toll collection system and ensure smooth movement at toll plazas by discouraging the misuse of FASTags.

Apr 03, 2024

Sheyphali Sharan Takes Charge as Principal Director General, Press Information Bureau

Sheyphali B. Sharan assumed charge as the Principal Director General, Press Information Bureau, upon the superannuation (retirement) of Manish Desai. Sharan is an officer of the 1990 batch of Indian Information Service.
During her illustrious career spanning over three decades, Sharan has held cadre portfolios of largely looking after media publicity work as Press Information Bureau officer for Ministries such as Finance, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. She has also served as the Spokesperson for Election Commission of India.
The Press Information Bureau, commonly abbreviated as PIB, is a nodal agency of the Government of India under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It is based in National Media Centre, New Delhi.
t is available in 14 Indian official languages, which are Dogri, Punjabi, Bengali, Oriya, Gujarati, Marathi, Meitei (Manipuri), Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Konkani and Urdu, in addition to Hindi and English, out of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic.
Press Information Bureau was established in June 1919 as a small cell under Home Ministry under the British government.
In 1941, J. Natrajan became the first Indian to be head the Bureau as Principal Information Officer.

Poll Panel Appoints Special Observers in States

The Election Commission (EC) appointed 17 retired bureaucrats as its special observers in eight states where they would supervise the randomisation of personnel, security forces and EVMs and tackle the influence of money and muscle power during the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
The EC also transferred eight district magistrates and 12 SPs in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The EC also transferred DIG/IG rank officers. The decision was taken at a review meeting chaired by CEC Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and EC Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.

Manmohan Singh Retires From Rajya Sabha

Former and 13th Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and first PM outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to complete a full term in office, completed a remarkable political innings in the Rajya Sabha spanning 33 years.
The architect of India's economic liberalisation and the force behind the 2008 Indo-US nuclear agreement, Singh headed a government that transformed the social welfare framework with a bouquet of rights-based legislation and ushered in a slew of reforms including Direct Benefit Transfer and launched Aadhaar.
Singh entered the Upper House in October 1991, four months after he became the Union Finance Minister in June 1991. He represented Assam for five terms in the Upper House and shifted to Rajasthan in 2019.

Apr 01, 2024

RLD Vice President Shahid Siddiqui Resigns from Party over Alliance with BJP

Shahid Siddiqui, the national vice president of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), tendered his resignation from the party over Jayant Chaudhary's joining hands with the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
The RLD joined the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and declared its candidates for two seats in Uttar Pradesh for the coming Lok Sabha elections. In the 2014 Parliamentary polls, the RLD fought in alliance with the Congress and in 2019, it fought in alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Rajnath Singh to Head BJP's 27-member Manifesto Panel

The BJP constituted its 27-member election manifesto committee under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for the Lok Sabha elections.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was named the convener of the committee and Union Minister Piyush Goyal is the co-convener.
Some of the other members of the committee include Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
The manifesto-preparation exercise will incorporate suggestions from people online and also via the party's offline outreach to voters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced some time ago. The BJP is already in the process of seeking suggestions from different groups and its national president J. P. Nadda had last month flagged off 'Viksit Bharat Modi ki Guarantee' video vans, which are meant to travel across the country to collect people's inputs on the contents of its manifesto.

Mar 29, 2024

Govinda Makes a Political Comeback, Joins Shinde-led Shiv Sena

Bollywood actor Govinda joined Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena.
The actor, who is the former MP from Mumbai North, joined Shinde Sena at Varsha bungalow in the presence of CM Shinde.
Govinda's first stint in politics was from 2004 to 2009.

Indian Parliamentary Delegation Strengthens Ties with Armenia and IPU

The Indian Parliamentary delegation, led by Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh, held a bilateral meeting with their Armenian counterparts on the sidelines of the 148th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) held in Geneva, Switzerland. The Armenian delegation was represented by the Vice President of the National Assembly, Hakob Arshakyan. Harivansh appreciated Armenia's support to India in multilateral initiatives and emphasised the growing partnership between the two countries.
Highlighting the shared democratic values and rich cultural heritage, Harivansh proposed enhancing focus on promoting cultural exchanges, such as art exhibitions, film festivals, and academic collaborations.
He expressed hope for exploring various areas of engagement in parliamentary affairs between India and Armenia.
Harivansh underlined that pluralism and respect for human rights can serve as a foundation for strengthening ties and collaborating on global issues of common concern.
The Deputy Chairman also met with the IPU President, Tulia Ackson, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Tanzania.
He congratulated her on assuming the presidency of the IPU and expressed hope that their meeting will renew their commitment and strengthen collaboration with the IPU and world parliaments.
The Indian delegation comprised five members from Rajya Sabha: S. Niranjan Reddy, Sujeet Kumar, Ashok Mittal, Prashanta Nanda, and Sumitra.

CVIGIL: ECI's App to Monitor Elections

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is keeping a close watch on the election process through the cVIGIL app. The app allows citizens to report violations of the Model Code of Conduct and election expenditures by capturing photos and videos. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that cVIGIL empowers citizens to report violations, with assured action within 100 minutes.
cVIGIL is a user-friendly app that connects vigilant citizens with the District Control Room, Returning Officer, and Flying Squads Teams.
Citizens can immediately report incidents of political misconduct through the app without having to visit the Returning Officer's office.
Upon sending a complaint, the user receives a unique ID to track the status of their complaint on their mobile.
With cVIGIL, the ECI seeks to enhance accountability and build trust among citizens regarding the fairness of the electoral process.

Mar 28, 2024

Hansha Mishra Appointed as Director in UPSC

Hansha Mishra, an officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) from the 2010 batch, was appointed as Director in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Delhi. Her appointment came after she was recommended for central deputation by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
The central government approved Mishra's appointment to the post under the central staffing scheme. Her tenure as Director in the UPSC will be for a period of five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
The UPSC is a prestigious constitutional body responsible for conducting examinations for recruitment to various civil services in the Indian government, including the coveted Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
The central staffing scheme is a mechanism implemented by the government to ensure efficient governance and facilitate the movement of officers between central and state governments. This scheme allows for the deputation of capable officers to various central government organisations, fostering cross-pollination of ideas and experiences.

C. R. Kesavan is New BJP National Spokesperson

C. R. Kesavan, the great grandson of C. Rajagopalachari was appointed as the national spokesperson for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Kesavan switched over to BJP after quitting Congress in 2023.
The saffron party also appointed its Lok Sabha poll in-charges and co-incharges for several states and union territories, drafting in quite a few leaders who did not get tickets to fight the elections. BJP vice president Baijayant 'Jay' Panda is the poll in-charge for Uttar Pradesh but is likely to be busy in campaigning after he was named the party's candidate for Kendrapara constituency in Odisha.

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