General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - July 2015

Jul 2015

Jul 13, 2021

Newly Inducted Ministers Find Place in Key Cabinet Committees

Union ministers who were sworn in during the expansion and reshuffle of the Union council of ministers have been included in various Cabinet committees that were reconstituted.
Newly inducted Union ministers Bhupender Yadav, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Mansukh Mandaviya have been included in the Cabinet committee on political affairs along with Smriti Irani and Giriraj Singh in place of former ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Harsh Vardhan, and the late Ram Vilas Paswan.
This committee has a key role to play in addressing Centre-state issues and also examines economic and political issues that have no internal or external security implications.
Newly inducted ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narayan Rane and Ashwini Vaishnaw have been included in the committee to oversee investment and growth.
The committee has the task to identify key projects required to be implemented on a time-bound basis, involving investments of Rs.1,000 crore or more, or any other critical projects, as may be specified by the committee, in sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing, and to prescribe time limits for issue of requisite approvals and clearances by the ministries/departments concerned.

Harsh Lodha wins Supreme Court battle

The Supreme Court declined to entertain a special leave petition (SLP) filed by the Birlas against a Calcutta High Court Division Bench order that had dismissed contempt petitions against Harsh Vardhan Lodha for continuing as director and chairman in Birla Corporation, Universal Cables, Vindhya Telelinks and Birla Cable.
The apex court directed Calcutta High Court to dispose of all outstanding appeals and cross-appeals over Lodha holding office as a director in MP Birla Group companies by March 31, 2022.

Jul 12, 2021

India Flags Mutual Recognition of CoWIN Vaccine Certificate with Italy

India has flagged issues such as mutual recognition of CoWIN vaccine certificate, easing of travel restrictions, and portability of social security benefits of Indians working in Italy during an economic cooperation meeting between the two countries.
The issues were raised during the India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation, which was held on July 9 virtually. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy co-chaired the session.
"Indian side raised the issues of mutual recognition of COWIN Vaccine Certificate and opening up of Travel restrictions, longer duration of Business Visas and Portability of social security benefits of Indians working in Italy," the commerce ministry said.
Both the sides held discussions on bilateral trade and investment and economic cooperation in the areas of Food Processing, Textiles, Leather, Railways, Start-ups and promotion of SMEs.

IATA launch global Mobility Aids Action Group

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the launch of a global Mobility Aids Action Group to examine and improve the transport journey of mobility aids, including wheelchairs, with the objective of improving the handling of this vital equipment for travelers with disabilities.
The Action Group will be the first of its kind aimed at tackling issues around the safe and secure transport of mobility aids—an issue of huge importance to a growing number of travelers. It will also provide advice and recommendations to airlines and other stakeholders concerning the establishment of policy, process and standards related to the handling and transport of mobility aids.

India's first Cryptogamic Garden opens in Dehradun

India's first cryptogamic garden housing nearly 50 species of lichens, ferns and fungi was inaugurated in Uttarakhand's Dehradun district.
Located in the district's Chakrata town, the garden was inaugurated by social activist Anoop Nautiyal.
Around 50 species have been grown in the garden at Deoban in Chakrata at a commanding height of 9,000 ft, Chief Conservator of Forest (research) Sanjiv Chaturvedi said.

UP Law Panel Proposes 'two-child' Population Policy

The Uttar Pradesh law commission formulated a proposal for population control and welfare, rewarding couples that adhere to a 'two-child policy'. The UP law commission said that the policy will be voluntary — it will not be enforced upon anyone. However, if any person decides to "voluntarily" keep the number of their family members limited, they will be eligible for government schemes. On the other hand, if someone doesn't follow the policy, they will face restrictions in government jobs, availing ration, and other benefits.
The Uttar Pradesh law commission has made several proposals in the draft population control act. The commission has also sought recommendations for changes to be made in the draft -- which can be sent via e-mail or post by July 19.
"We have proposed that any couple that follows a two-child policy will be given all government benefits," said UP law commission chairman Aditya Nath Mittal. "They will be able to avail all government welfare schemes."
Mittal said that if someone does not follow the 'two-child' policy aimed at population control, they won't be eligible for such government schemes. "Their ration cards will be restricted to four units, they will not be able to apply for government jobs and if they are already government employees, then they won't get a promotion," said the chairman of the UP law commission.

Assam to Create New Department for Indigenous Faith and Culture

The Assam Cabinet announced the creation of an independent department to protect and preserve the "faith, culture and traditions of tribes and indigenous communities" of the state.
"Our tribes and communities have their own set of beliefs, customs and practices…the Department of Indigenous Faith and Culture is aimed to preserve such practices," said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at a press conference here. He added that the finance ministry will allocate a separate budget for it.
Sarma also announced a number of financial reforms. He said that while department heads can green signal projects and schemes worth Rs 2 crore and below, a standing finance committee headed by chief secretary, will take the call on projects worth Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore.

Twitter Names Resident Grievance Officer

After months of back and forth, Twitter has finally appointed an India-based grievance officer, which is mandatory for all social media companies under the new Information Technology (IT) Rules of the country.
The microblogging site has appointed Vinay Prakash as the new Resident Grievance officer. His appointment comes after Dharmendra Chatur, who was Twitter's interim grievance officer, quit less than four weeks after occupying the position.
On Twitter's website, Vinay Prakash is named as its Resident Grievance officer and his e-mail id is also provided on the website. Users can now contact Vinay on 'grievance-officer-in @ twitter.com' for any grievance redressal.
On its transparency centre page, Twitter said, "In compliance with Rule 4(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, we have published our inaugural report on July 11, 2021 for the reporting period from May 26, 2021 through to June 25, 2021."

Nitin Gadkari inaugurates country's First Private LNG plant in Nagpur

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the country's First Private LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) plant in Nagpur. He said, LNG is a clean and cost effective fuel which is capable of decreasing the logistics cost. It has also potential of creating ample job opportunities. LNG is the fuel of the future and will revolutionize the transport sector.
The Country's first LNG facility plant has been set up by Baidyanath Ayurvedic Group on Kamptee Road near Nagpur Jabalpur Highway. Mr.Gadkari also informed that the Central Government is promoting Ethanol, Electric, CNG, LNG gas as an alternative to conventional fuels. He pointed out that the country produces surplus sugar and rice. He suggested that surplus of such products can be used to make biofuels. Experiments were carried out to produce bioethanol from these agricultural products, which have succeeded. Large scale production of bioethanol from Paddy Straw is underway in East Vidarbha which is known for Paddy cultivation.
The Minister also underlined the importance of 'Flex engines' which are capable of using both Petrol and Ethanol for transportation. He said a policy is under consideration by Central Government for mandatory installation of flex engine by automobile manufacturers in India.

Jul 11, 2021

WB Assembly Speaker Appoints Mukul Roy as PAC Chairman

Senior TMC leader Mukul Roy, who switched over to the ruling camp in Bengal after winning the assembly polls on a BJP ticket, was on Friday appointed as the chairperson of Public Accounts Committee in the Assembly by Speaker Biman Banerjee.
BJP MLAs, led by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, staged a walkout in the Assembly, protesting against this decision. "According to conventions, PAC chairman is made from opposition party. But, this tradition was broken by the speaker.
Roy, officially a BJP MLA from Krishnanagar Uttar, joined the TMC last month. He, however, did not resign as an MLA, despite being asked to do so several times by the saffron party.

PM Narendra Modi Speaks to New Vietnam PM Phạm Minh Chính

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and New Vietnamese PM Phạm Minh Chính spoke to each other. The talks came as part of growing engagement between the two countries. This is the first conversation between the two leaders after Pham took charge as the Prime Minister of Vietnam. Phạm Minh Chính took charge in April this year and has served in various positions of the government.
The key focus during the talks were on dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, vaccines, engagement in Indo pacific, and other related areas. Amid the second wave of the COVID pandemic, Vietnam had reached out to India with supplies.
In December of last year, Indian PM Narendra Modi and the then PM of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc held a virtual summit. During the summit, India handed over the first of 12 High-Speed Guard boats to Vietnam under the $100 million Defence Line of Credit extended by New Delhi to Hanoi.

India's First Movable Freshwater Tunnel Aquarium Installed at Bengaluru Station

Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station also known as Bengaluru City Railway Station has become the first railway station in India with a movable freshwater tunnel aquarium. The state-of-the-art aquarium has been jointly opened by the Indian Railway Stations Development Cooperation Limited (IRSDC) in collaboration with the HNi Aquatic Kingdom.
The Aquatic Kingdom aquarium is based on the concept of the Amazon River and is 12-feet long. The entrance of the station now gives a glimpse into marine life, with a beautiful dolphin humbly greeting visitors with a slight bow and a smile. A 3D selfie area, 20 feet of glass periphery are also some attractive features of the new facility.

Jul 10, 2021

Mansukh Mandaviya: India's New Health Minister

Mansukh Mandaviya, Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat, has been appointed as new Health Minister of India in a major cabinet reshuffle.
Mandaviya has replaced Dr Harsh Vardhan who was in charge of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), Ministry of Science & Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences since 2019.
Mandaviya will also be the in charge of Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
Amid the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, Health Ministry was merged with Chemical & Fertilizers Ministry.
Both the ministries were clubbed together with the aim of a better management of supply of medicines, other medical equipment such as oxygen cylinders.
This decision was taken in the aftermath of 2nd wave of covid-19 when thousands of people succumbed because of acute shortage of essential life-saving drugs, oxygen, medical equipment and shortage of beds.

Former IPS Officer K. Annamalai is New Chief of TN BJP

Former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer K. Annamalai was appointed as the new BJP chief of Tamil Nadu, succeeding L. Murugan who was inducted into the Union cabinet.
Murugan has been appointed as Union minister of state for fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying, and information and broadcasting. His elevation is seen as a reward for his work as party chief in the southern state where the BJP won four seats in the recently held assembly elections. The last time the BJP had four lawmakers in the assembly was in 2001 when the party fought in alliance with the DMK. In the next three elections in 2006, 2011 and 2016, the BJP couldn't win a single seat.
Annamalai, a Karnataka cadre IPS officer, resigned from service in 2019 and joined the BJP last year.

Jul 09, 2021

Parshottam Rupala Gets Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying

Senior BJP leader Parshottam Rupala was promoted as a Cabinet minister in the Modi government's major Cabinet reshuffle and given charge of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
Rupala who comes from the influential Kadva Patidar or Patel community in Gujarat, will be in charge of the ministry formed recently in 2019 in order to promote allied farm activities for enhancing farmers' income. Earlier, Rupala was holding charge as minister of state for agriculture in the Union Cabinet.
He will replace his cabinet colleague Giriraj Singh, who has been shifted to the Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.

Sharmila Floats Party in Telangana

Making her foray into active politics, YS Sharmila, sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, officially launched her political outfit-YSR Telangana Party.
Promising "Rajanna Rajyam", a state envisagedby her father and former Chief Minister of AP late Rajasekhara Reddy, in Telangana, she said the YSR Telangana Partys main agenda would be on three issues-Welfare, self-prosperity and equality.
Unveiling the party's agenda and flag in the midst of her followers at a private hall here, Sharmila said she will start her padayatra (footmarch) in the State on the 100th day from today, to interact and understand people's problems.

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