General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2014

Nov 2014

Feb 25, 2023

Government Approves Five-year Project on 'Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agricu...

In Jammu and Kashmir, in order to give a huge push to sustainable agriculture in the Union Territory, the Government approved a five-year project on "Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agriculture in J&K".
The project, worth Rs. 463 crore, is aimed at empowering farmers and educated youth through technology driven and inclusive agri-extension services.
One of the critical outcomes of the project would be the creation of two thousand Kissan Khidmat Ghars (KKGs), at the Panchayat level as a hub of convergence of services at the district level they will also serve as a One Stop Centre for extending farmer-oriented services related to agriculture and allied sectors.

Another High Profile Exit from Congress

The Congress witnessed another high profile exit with C. R. Kesavan, the great grandson of the last Governor General of India, C. Rajagopalachari, resigning, citing dissipation of values for which he had joined and served the Congress for over 20 years.
Kesavan, a former AICC secretary, was welcomed in his move by Anil Antony, the son of former Defence Minister and Congress veteran A. K. Antony.
Anil Antony had resigned from the Congress, slamming the party's position on the BBC documentary "India: The Modi question."
Kesavan, who served as vice president of the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development at Sriperumbudur in the rank of a state minister, sent a resignation letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on the eve of the AICC's 85th plenary, being held in Raipur.
The timing of Kesavan's resignation could not be worse for a party seeking to unite the opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi when it has been unable to keep its own flock together.

Feb 24, 2023

Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik André Henrik Christian Pays Five-day Visit to India

Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik André Henrik Christian and Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth paid a five-day visit to India, in the first trip to the country from the Danish Royal family in two decades.
The royal couple visited India at the invitation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
They were accompanied by Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke and Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard.
Earlier, Queen Margrethe II, had visited India in 1963 as Crown Princess.

Feb 23, 2023

Minister of Power R. K. Singh Inaugurates 15th Edition of ELECRAMA 2023

At ELECRAMA 2023, the largest solo electrical exhibition in the world held at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, the Ministry of Power, Government of India displayed a number of advances in the energy sector.
Cabinet Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy R. K. Singh officially inaugurated the Power Pavilion, ELECRAMA 2023, Vivek Kumar Dewangan, Chairman & Managing Director, REC Limited, and other REC representatives were also present at the inauguration.
PSUs in the power sector, such as REC, PFC, NTPC, NHPC, PGCIL, SJVN, and THDC India Limited, participated in the Power Pavilion, which presented a variety of technologies and activities, including e-mobility, energy transition, green financing, RDSS, smart cities, smart grids, and smart metres.
'Re-imagining the Future: Metamorphosis of the Power Sector in India' was the focus theme of the Power Pavilion, ELECRAMA 2023.

External Affairs Ministry's Annual Flagship Event Asia Economic Dialogue in Pune

External Affairs Ministry's annual flagship event on Geoeconomics, Asia Economic Dialogue was held in Pune, Maharashtra. The principal theme for the Dialogue is 'Asia and the Emerging World Order'. The dialogue also discussed themes such as Global Growth Prospects, How the Global South Will Shape the G20 Agenda and the Metaverse.
The Inaugural Session of the dialogue was a conversation between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Bhutan Finance Minister Lyonpo Namgay Tshering and Maldives Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer.

Upendra Kushwaha Quits JD(U), Launches New Political Party

Former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha quit the Janata Dal (United), and floated his own political party, the Rashtriya Lok Janta Dal (RLJD). He was named the national president of the new party.
This is not the first time Kushwaha has parted ways with the JD(U) over differences with Kumar. He left the party in 2007 and 2013 as well and returned in 2009 and again in 2021. Earlier also, he formed a outfit, the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), in 2013 but merged it with the JD(U) in 2021.

Rajeev Raghuvanshi is New DCGI

Rajeev Raghuvanshi is the new Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
He took charge at a time when the pharmaceutical manufacturing and regulatory landscape in India is under the scanner, after multiple reports of sub-standard and contaminated drugs exported to various countries in the globe began doing the rounds last November-December. The DCGI heads the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), which is responsible for ensuring quality supply across the country. Raghuvanshi has worked in various roles at some of India's leading pharmaceutical companies.
A Masters from IIT-BHU, and PhD from the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, Raghuvanshi has worked as the secretary-cum-scientific director of the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, an autonomous institution under the health ministry that sets standards for all drugs manufactured, sold and consumed in India.

AAP's Shelly Oberoi New Mayor of Delhi

Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Shelly Oberoi won the mayoral election, days after the Supreme Court ordered that nominated members will play no role in the voting process. Oberoi received 150 votes as against BJP candidate Rekha Gupta's 116. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia congratulated Shelly Oberoi for winning the mayoral election.
AAP's Aaley Mohammed Iqbal was elected deputy mayor with 147 votes as against BJP's Kamal Bagri who secured 116 votes.

Feb 22, 2023

Himachal Pradesh Government Dissolves State Staff Selection Commission

The Congress government disbanded the Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission whose functioning was suspended after a paper leak was detected in December last year (2022).
The reports of departmental inquiry and vigilance bureau pointed out irregularities and papers were being leaked and sold to selective people for the past three years following which the state government decided to dissolve the commission with immediate effect.
The ongoing recruitment process from HPSSC was transferred to Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC), Shimla, for the convenience of candidates till further alternative arrangements are made or a testing agency is constituted, he said while interacting with media persons.
All examinations would be conducted by HPPSC, and the employees of the Staff Selection Commission were transferred to the "surplus" pool and options will be given to them to join new departments of their choice.

'Goa ki Baat' Programme on 3rd Saturday of every Month

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that his government will start 'Goa Ki Baat' on the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'.
As per Sawant, every minister of his cabinet will speak to the people of the state during this programme. They will speak about the programmes of their departments and will try to reach the message to the public.

Gulab Chand Kataria Sworn in as Assam Governor

Gulab Chand Kataria was sworn in as the 31st governor of Assam at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra.
Kataria, a resident of Udaipur in Rajasthan, succeeded Professor Jagdish Mukhi, who demitted office after completing his term.
Prior to his appointment as the Governor, he had served as the Home Minister of Rajasthan and a leader of opposition in the state assembly there.

Power Minister Launches SADUN to Modernise Power Distribution Utilities in South Asia

R. K. Singh, the Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, launched the South Asia Distribution Utility Network (SADUN), which aims to modernise distribution of utilities in South Asia via knowledge sharing among the region's discoms.
SADUN is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Power, USAID and PFC. Singh said that all the member nations would benefit from the synergy, exchange of experiences and the sharing of vision-enabled by the network.
USAID had conceptualised SADUN in January 2020 based on a consensus among the participants over a need for an initiative which focused on distribution network in the region. Apart from enabling knowledge sharing among discoms and enhancing focus on distribution issues at the regional-level, the network aims to enable utility-to-utility (U2U) connect to reap the benefits of aggregation. USAID has already shared a white paper on SADUN with member nations to get their concurrence on the blueprint of the network and move ahead in the process of implementation.

Feb 21, 2023

B.V.R. Subrahmanyam Appointed NITI Aayog CEO

Former IAS officer B.V.R. Subrahmanyam was appointed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog by the government. He is replacing Parameswaran Iyer, who has been named the Executive Director of the World Bank.
A 1987-batch Chhattisgarh cadre IAS officer who retired as the commerce secretary, Subrahmanyam has also served in the Prime Minister's Office in the past.
Iyer, a retired 1981-batch IAS officer, was appointed as the executive director, World Bank, and will be posted at the multilateral agency's headquarters at Washington DC for a fixed period of three years in place of 1988 Haryana cadre IAS officer Rajesh Khullar.

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