General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - June 2015

Jun 2015

Jan 02, 2023

BJP Will Go it Alone in 2023 Karnataka Assembly Polls

Urging party workers to ensure that BJP forms a government with two-thirds majority in Karnataka, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the party will go alone in the 2023 assembly polls, and said it will be a direct contest as voting for JD(S) is like casting the ballot for Congress.
He also urged people to decide whether they are standing with a party of patriots, referring to the BJP, or with "tukde-tukde gang" under the leadership of Congress.
Karnataka will go to the polls by April-May, 2023.

Tamil Nadu Information Commission Lowest Performing in RTI Responsiveness

The State Information Commission of Tamil Nadu has the lowest performance of responsiveness under the RTI Act concerned, with only up to 14% of the information sought. Maharashtra was second lowest with sharing only 23% of the information asked for.
The report was issued on the Performance of Information Commission (ICs) in India for 2021-22 by Satark Nagrik Sangathan.
Only 10 ICs provided the full information in response to the RTI applications filed as part of this assessment.
These included Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, and the north-eastern states of Tripura, Nagaland, and Sikkim.

Pakistan, India Exchange List of Nuclear Installations, Facilities

Pakistan and India exchanged a list of their nuclear installations that cannot be attacked in case of an escalation in hostilities, as part of an annual ritual that has been in practice between the two neighbours for more than three decades.
The lists of nuclear installation and facilities were exchanged as per the provisions of the Article-II of the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, signed on December 31, 1988 and ratified on 27 January 1991.

India's Second Longest Cable-stayed Zuari Bridge Opens in Goa

Union Minister of Roads Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the country's second longest cable-stayed eight-lane Zuari Bridge in Goa. Right-hand side (4-lane corridor) across the Zuari River and approaches from Bambolim to Verna were thrown open for vehicular traffic. Gadkari also launched the PWD Goa App for integrated operations management. Through the insurance scheme of the Government of Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant gave Rs. 2 lakh each to the families of the workers who died during the construction of the bridge.
The Zuari Bridge is a bridge between North Goa and South Goa, India. It carries the NH 66 over the tidal part of the Zuari River, between the villages of Agaçaim and Cortalim. It is a few metres downstream of the Konkan Railway Bridge. The 640-metre-long bridge and the 13.20 km roads on both sides have been built in 3 phases. The Zuari Bridge work began in June 2016.

India Assume Chairmanship of Wassenaar Arrangement for One Year

India assumed the chairmanship of the plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement for one year. The 42-member Wassenaar Arrangement is a voluntary export control regime that monitors transfers of conventional weapons and dual-use goods. At the 26th annual plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement held in Vienna in December 2022, Ireland's ambassador Eoin O'Leary handed over the chairmanship to India's ambassador Jaideep Mazumdar, who is the permanent representative to the UN and international organisations in Vienna. India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement in December 2017 as its 42nd participating state.
The Wassenaar Arrangement is a multilateral export control regime that works to promote transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies through regular exchanges of information among its members. The regime is aimed at tracking such transfers and preventing "destabilising accumulations" of conventional arms and dual-use goods.
The plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement is the main decision-making body that operates on consensus. As the incoming chair of the body, India "remains ready and committed to work in close cooperation with other members to further the Wassenaar Arrangement goal of contributing to regional and international security and stability", the external affairs ministry said. Membership of the Wassenaar Arrangement has also bolstered India's efforts to gain access to sensitive goods and technologies from leading players in the West.

Assam Merges 4 Districts with 4 Others, Changes Jurisdiction of Villages

The Assam government merged four districts with four others and changed the administrative jurisdiction of a few villages, a day before the Election Commission's freeze on redrawing administrative units came into effect.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the decisions were taken with a heavy heart keeping in mind the interests of Assam, its society and administrative exigencies. He added it was only temporary and did not disclose the reason behind the decisions.
While Biswanath district was merged with Sonitpur, Hojai was merged with Nagaon, Bajali was merged with Barpeta and Tamulpur was merged with Baksa.
The decisions had to be taken at the cabinet meeting as the Election Commission had imposed a ban on creating new administrative units in Assam from January 1, 2023 as the poll panel would undertake the delimitation exercise in the state.

Jan 01, 2023

Election Commission Proposes Remote Voting for Inter-state Migrants

Election Commission proposed introduction of 'remote voting' for domestic migrants, using a multi-constituency electronic voting machine (EVM) that will retain all security features of the EVMs currently in use. This modified form of EVM can handle up to 72 multiple constituencies from a single remote polling booth.
The initiative, if implemented, can lead to a social transformation for the migrants and connect with their roots as many times they are reluctant to get themselves enrolled at their place of work for various reasons such as frequently changing residences.
In this regard, the Commission has invited all Recognised National and State Political Parties on 16th of January next year to demonstrate the functioning of the multi-constituency prototype Remote Electronic Voting Machine. The Technical Expert Committee members will also be present in the meeting.

Dec 31, 2022

MoHUA Launches Initiatives for Ranking Cities Based Beautification

Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri released draft guidelines for a new ranking system of cities based on financial performance and beautification.
City Finance Rankings 2022 aim to evaluate, recognise and reward urban local bodies (ULBs) on the basis of their strength across three financial parameters -- resource mobilisation, expenditure performance and fiscal governance systems.
According to Manoj Joshi, Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, it is also an effort to analyse and help the ULBs in identifying areas in their financial performance where they can make further improvements, to be able to deliver quality infrastructure and services, and hence a good quality of life to its citizens.

India and Cyprus Sign a Number of Agreements

India and Cyprus have signed a number of agreements in various areas including on Defence and Military Cooperation between the two countries.
A Letter of Intent on Migration and Mobility Partnership was also signed to provide a common framework of arrangement and cooperation to facilitate the mobility of students, academics, business people and professionals. It will also help in combating irregular migration.
The agreements were signed following talks between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Foreign Minister of Cyprus.

Tata Sons Chairman to Head Maharashtra's New Economic Advisory Body

Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran will head the new Economic Advisory Council of Maharashtra.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made the announcement in the Legislative Council in Nagpur.
To make Maharashtra a trillion dollar economy, the state government is setting up an Economic Advisory Council, to be headed by Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran.
It will function as a private research organization with focus on issues related to agriculture, banking, engineering and education, among others.

President Murmu Laid Foundation Stone for PRASHAD Project for Two Temples in Telangana

Droupadi Murmu laid the foundation stone of the project 'Development of Pilgrimage Facilities at Bhadrachalam Group of Temples' at Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamivari Devasthanam, Bhadrachalam in Telangana.
The President of India laid the foundation stone for another project called 'Development of Pilgrimage and Heritage Infrastructure of UNESCO World Heritage Site at Rudreshwara Temple in Telangana. These projects were approved under the PRASAD Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
President Droupadi Murmu informed that the famous temples of Telangana are visited by lakhs of pilgrims, and they form the major components of domestic and foreign tourists.
Tourism increases the livelihood opportunities and income of the people.
The President appreciated the Ministry of Tourism for boosting spiritual and cultural tourism by developing pilgrimage sites under the 'PRASHAD' scheme.
The PRASHAD scheme was launched in 2014-15 and aims to provide integrated infrastructure development to pilgrimage and heritage tourism destinations in India.

Dec 30, 2022

Praveen Kumar Srivastava Appointed Acting CVC

Vigilance Commissioner Praveen Kumar Srivastava was appointed as the acting Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC).
Srivastava's appointment came after Suresh N. Patel completed his term as the chief of the anti-corruption watchdog Central Vigilance Commission on December 24.
The commission is headed by a CVC and can have a maximum of two Vigilance Commissioners.
Besides Srivastava, former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Arvind Kumar is the other Vigilance Commissioner.
Mr. Srivastava is a 1988-batch (retired) Indian Administrative Service officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre. He superannuated as Secretary (Coordination), Cabinet Secretariat on January 31, 2022.
Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created in 1964 to address governmental corruption. In 2003, the Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the CVC. It has the status of an autonomous body, free of control from any executive authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of India, advising various authorities in central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.
It was set up by the Government of India Resolution on 11 February 1964, on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by K. Santhanam, to advise and guide Central Government agencies in the field of vigilance.

Amit Shah Launches Mobile App 'Prahari'

Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the 'Prahari' Mobile app and Manual of Border Security Force (BSF) in New Delhi. The Prahari app will enable jawans to access personal information and information related to accommodation, Ayushmann-CAPF, and leaves on their mobile.
The App will also provide access to GPF, Bio Data, or grievance redressal on the 'Centralized Public Grievances Redress and Monitoring System' or Information on various welfare schemes. The app also connects the Jawans with the portal of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Dec 29, 2022

IT minister Launches 'Stay Safe Online' Campaign to Tackle Cybercrime

As part of India's G20 presidency, Electronics & Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched the "Stay Safe Online" campaign and the "G20 Digital Innovation Alliance" (G20-DIA).
The objective of the 'Stay Safe Online Campaign' is to raise awareness among citizens to stay safe in the online world due to the widespread use of social media platforms and the rapid adoption of digital payments.
The exponential increase in the number of internet users in India and the rapidly evolving technology landscape have brought unique challenges. The campaign is expected to make citizens of all age groups aware of the cyber risk and ways to deal with it.
Meanwhile, the G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA) is to identify, recognize, and enable the adoption of innovative and impactful digital technologies developed by start-ups, from G20 nations as well as the invited non-member nations, which can address the needs of humanity in the critically important sectors of agri-tech, health-tech, ed-tech, fin-tech, secured digital infrastructure, and circular economy.

IISc Bengaluru to be G20 Science Working Group's Secretariat

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) will serve as the secretariat for Science 20 (S20), one of the G20's multiple groupings. The G20 is being presided over by India and the theme of the S20 in 2023 is 'Disruptive Science for Innovative and Sustainable Development'. According to the IISc, discussions will take place throughout the year in various regions of India on this wide issue.
According to IISc, the G20 has been working for years to address other global issues as well, such as sustainable development and mitigating climate change. It has established a number of working groups to work toward this goal, including Science 20 or S20.
Three issues will be discussed at the discussions in Agartala, Lakshadweep, and Bhopal: universal holistic health, clean energy for a greener future, and bridging science and society. In addition to the discussions, reportedly there will be an inaugural conference in Puducherry and a summit meeting in Coimbatore.
As per IISc, S20 will play a critical role in resolving global concerns like poverty and bringing together G20 member nations' development efforts.

Centre Signs Peace Pact with Manipur Insurgent Group

The Centre signed a peace agreement with a Manipur insurgent group, which agreed to give up violence and join the democratic process.
The tripartite agreement was signed by the Centre, Manipur government and the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) rebel group, which mostly operated in Manipur.
This is a significant boost to the peace process in Manipur.
The agreement provides for rehabilitation and re-settlement of the armed cadres. A joint monitoring group will be constituted to oversee enforcement of the agreed ground rules.

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