General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2015

May 2015

Oct 22, 2023

Country's Oldest Think Tank USI Holds First Ever Indian Military Heritage Festival

The United Service Institution (USI) of India, the country's oldest think tank organised the first Indian Military Heritage Festival, in association with Network18's television and digital platforms, at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi, on October 21-22, 2023.
Despite a long and glorious military history and strategic culture going back many centuries, the general public is largely unaware of the different facets of India's military history, heritage, and security concerns.
The Indian Military Heritage Festival sought to address this gap in our national discourse and cultural calendar. Its activities were driven towards enhancing our understanding of the country's rich military heritage and traditions; contemporary security and strategy concerns; and the push to achieve self-reliance in military capability through the Atmanirbhar Bharat programmes of the Government of India.

Andhra Pradesh to Launch Backward Classes Caste Census

The Andhra Pradesh government will begin Backward Classes caste census on November 15, aimed at better serving the 139 communities which fall under this category, Minister C. Srinivasa Venugopala Krishna said.
The Backward Classes Welfare Minister noted the government will extensively deploy the village secretariat system for the caste census, along with the volunteer system.
According to the Minister, there are about 139 BC castes in the state and the people from these communities are oblivious to their numerical strength.
The state government has decided to go ahead with the BC caste census which will comprehensively enumerate backward classes region-wise, profession-wise and under other parameters such as the socio-economic status in the state.

Oct 21, 2023

Federal Bank Launches 'Mookkannoor Mission'

On the occasion of the 106th birth anniversary of its visionary founder, K. P. Hormis, the Federal Bank inaugurated the 'Mookkannoor Mission,' a groundbreaking initiative designed to drive change and progress in the village of Mookkannoor, located in the Ernakulam district of Kerala. This initiative is a testament to the bank's commitment to community development, environmental sustainability, and digital transformation, aligning perfectly with the ideals of its illustrious founder.
The 'Mookkannoor Mission' is a grand vision that encompasses a wide range of activities aimed at enhancing the overall well-being of the village. The Federal Bank is committed to executing a comprehensive plan that covers digitization of the entire village, a rigorous cleanliness drive, waste management, tree plantation, community development, and the implementation of renewable energy projects.
The 'Mookkannoor Mission' is designed to be executed in three distinct phases, spread over a span of three years. This meticulous planning ensures that the transformation process is both effective and sustainable.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar Launches Heartland Tripura Project

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of state for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Electronics and Information Technology, inaugurated Heartland Tripura, a project to impart skill development training to the youth, and said it would attract investments and create jobs.
The project is undertaken in partnership with Deloitte India and Agartala's National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology.

Oct 20, 2023

Arunachal Cabinet Approves Amendment of State Industrial & Investment Policy

The Arunachal Pradesh Cabinet approved amendment of the state industrial and investment policy 2020, to make the north-eastern state an investment destination.
The amendment is aimed at imparting latest technology skills and providing a conducive ecosystem for generating employment and balanced regional development.
The policy includes special incentives in the form of amended power subsidy to large-scale industries to attract investors to boost the state's economy.
The policy also includes tax incentives with single window clearance for all mandatory licenses.

President Murmu Launches Agri Roadmap for Bihar

Launching an agricultural roadmap for Bihar, President Droupadi Murmu called for climate-friendly agricultural practices and suggested that the state's farmers take up organic cultivation.
Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav were present at the launch of the fourth agricultural roadmap that will run till 2028.
The President said that it was heartening to learn that the agriculture roadmap provides for mega food parks and export infrastructure. She also praised increased productivity in wheat and maize farming in Bihar and spoke of how the state had become one of the top producers of honey, makhana and fish.

Oct 19, 2023

Raghubar Das New Governor of Odisha

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das and BJP leader Indra Sena Reddy Nallu were appointed as the Governors of Odisha and Tripura, respectively, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communiqué.
Raghubar Das was the Chief Minister of Jharkhand from 2014 to 2019.
Indra Sena Reddy Nallu is a BJP leader from Telangana.

PM Modi Launches 511 Rural Skill Development Centres in Maharashtra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 511 rural skill development centres in the name of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan in Maharashtra via video-conferencing.
These centres are being established across 34 rural districts.
They will conduct skill development training programmes across various sectors to provide employment opportunities to the rural youth.
Each centre will train about 100 youngsters in at least two vocational courses. The training is being provided by empanelled industry partners and agencies under the National Skill Development Council.

AAP to Contest Assembly Elections in Mizoram

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will fight the upcoming Mizoram Assembly election, the party's northeast states in-charge, Rajesh Sharma, said.
Sharma said that during a meeting with AAP's chief Arvind Kejriwal, the decision to expand the organisation and contest elections in the north-eastern states was taken.
Sharma claimed that the people in the Northeast are grappling with various issues, including education, healthcare, inflation, and unemployment, and they believe that the AAP can provide solutions to these problems.

DOLR Signs MoU with NRSC to Monitor Watershed Development Projects

The Department of Land Resources, (DOLR) and National Remote Sensing Centre, (NRSC) signed an MoU for monitoring of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana - Watershed Development Component. It aims to restore the ecological balance by harnessing, conserving, and developing degraded natural resources such as soil and water.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Secretary, Department of Land Resources Ajay Tirkey and Secretary, Department of Space Somanath in New Delhi.
Somanath said that this MoU will aid in better utilization of wasteland and help in ground water recharge.

Oct 18, 2023

Telangana Elections: BRS Betting Big on 'Rythu Bandhu' Scheme for Farmers

As the campaign for Telangana state assembly elections scheduled on November 30 gains momentum, the ruling party Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is counting on its 'Rythu Bandhu' investment support scheme for farmers to woo voters in the state.
BRS MLC and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter K. Kavitha said that the 'Rythu Bandhu', a first-of-its-kind scheme in the country, was appreciated even by the United Nations. It is historic that CM KCR announced increasing the benefit under the scheme incrementally up to Rs. 16,000 per acre in the BRS manifesto released before the state assembly elections, she said.
The scheme was started with Rs. 8,000 per acre. The party has promised the 'Soubhagyalakshmi scheme' to provide 3000 per month to all eligible poor women.

PM Modi to Inaugurate 17km Stretch of Delhi-Meerut Rapid Train

RapidX, India's first regional train service, is set to start on a 17-kilometre stretch from October 20. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the stretch on the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in Ghaziabad. The entire 82-km-long corridor will be functional by 2025.
PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the RRTS project in March 2019. As part of the first phase, five stations, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot, will be operational. The 17-kilometre stretch will reduce the travel time on the 20-kilometre stretch to 12 minutes from the current 35 minutes.
The RapidX trains will look similar to metro trains, but they are equipped with features such as luggage carriers, mini-screens, Wi-Fi and mobile and laptop charging facilities on board.
Once the entire 82-kilometre stretch is operational, the high-speed train will cover the distance between Delhi and Meerut in an hour.

India, UK Hold Inaugural '2+2' Foreign, Defence Dialogue

The inaugural India-UK '2+2' foreign and defence dialogue saw the two sides focusing on ways to boost cooperation in a range of key areas such as trade and investment, defence, critical technologies, civil aviation, health and energy.
At the senior official-level dialogue, the two sides also discussed international developments including in the Indo-Pacific region and considered the possibility of enhancing anti-terror collaboration, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The 2+2 dialogue at the senior official level is a mechanism to discuss and review all aspects of the India-UK comprehensive strategic partnership.
The dialogue took place as the two sides are exploring the possibility of a visit to India by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later this month.
The Indian delegation at the dialogue was co-chaired by Piyush Srivastava, Joint Secretary (Europe West) at the MEA and Vishwesh Negi, Joint Secretary (International Cooperation) at the defence ministry.
The UK delegation was co-chaired by Ben Mellor, India Director at the Indian Ocean Directorate in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Lt General Rob Magowan, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, Finance and Military Capability at the British Ministry of Defence.

Five Central Asian Nations to Join India-Iran-Russia Corridor

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval said that all five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) will become a member of the India-Iran-Russia (International North-South Transport Corridor) corridor.
Inviting all Central Asian neighbours to fully utilise the Shaheed Bahesti terminal in Chabahar, Iran, operated by an Indian company, Doval at the second meeting of the India-Central Asia NSAs held in Kazakhstan solicited support for including the Chabahar Port within the framework of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

August GK, July GK, June GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26