General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

Feb 11, 2020

Web Portal Launched for Star Rating of Mines in India

In order to promote green, safe and sustainable mining practices using technology as a tool, Ministry of Coal (MoC) has launched a web portal for star rating of coal mines. Union Minister for Coal & Mines Shri Pralhad Joshi launched this portal in New Delhi which enables all operational coal mines across India for self-rating, their subsequent validation by Coal Controller's Organization (CCO), further evaluation and finally award of star rating.
Based on the star ratings obtained through a well-defined mechanism on this web portal, the highest scoring mines in the country will be awarded in a public ceremony. Besides, all the mines will be given an official certificate by the CCO mentioning their star rating and the particular reporting year. The mines that score from 91 to 100% will get 5 star, 81 to 90% 4 star, 71 to 80% 3 star, 61 to 70% 2 star, 41 to 60% 1 star and mines that score from 0 to 40% will get No star on the portal as per laid down procedures of the Star Rating Policy for Coal Mines in India.

National conference on e-governance 2020 concludes in Mumbai

National Conference on e-Governance 2020 concluded in Mumbai after two days of rich deliberations on issues, opportunities and challenges in transforming governance using digital technologies. In a keynote address at the valedictory session, E-Governance is the key to the future of India's developmental journey in the 21st century. The minister stated that whether it is e-NAM or Ayushman Bharat, e-Governance is essential to good governance. The Mumbai Declaration on e-Governance has been unanimously adopted on a concluding day.

SC slaps fine of Rs 5 lakh on Centre, States for failing to file reply on PIL for community kitchen

Irked over repeated failures of the Centre and States to file their replies, the Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily and imposed cost of Rs five lakh on them for not complying with its directions to file their affidavits on a PIL seeking setting up of community kitchens across the country.
Punjab, Nagaland, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand -- and Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar, who have filed their responses on the PIL filed by Arun Dhawan, will not pay any fine.
Five months have passed since the apex court had issued notice and except for five states and one union territory, no other states and UTs have filed their response.
69 per cent of children under the age of five who have lost their lives are due to malnutrition and it is high time that States take steps to set up community kitchens.

Bhupesh Baghel inaugurates Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi as Chhattisgarh's 28th district

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday inaugurated Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi as the 28th district of the state.
The new district, carved out of Bilaspur, has three tehsils and three development blocks namely Gaurela, Pendra and Marwahi.
It comprises 166 gram panchayats, 222 villages and two nagar panchayats, with an area of 1,68,225 hectares.
Baghel had made an announcement about the formation of this district last year during his Independence Day speech.

Feb 10, 2020

J&K Services Selection Board Gets New Chairman

Two days after a major reshuffle among police personnel, the Jammu and Kashmir administration ordered postings and transfers of six Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) officers, replacing the incumbent chairman of the Services Selection Board (SSB) and three deputy commissioners. Khalid Jahangir, currently posted as Anantnag deputy commissioner, was transferred and posted as chairman, J&K Services Selection Board, replacing Bashir Ahmad Dar, who will be the new deputy commissioner of Anantnag, an order issued by the General Administration Department said. Angrez Singh Rana, deputy commissioner, Kishtwar, was transferred and posted as member, J&K, Services Selection Board, while Rajinder Singh Tara will be the new deputy commissioner of Kishtwar. On February 7, the Union Territory administration made a major reshuffle with the posting and transfers of 60 police officers, including 14 IPS officers.

Cong, 2 NDA Allies Don't Agree with SC's Quota Ruling

Two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allies, the Lok Janshakti Party and the Janata Dal (United), and the Congress expressed their disagreement with the Supreme Court's ruling that the government is not bound to provide reservation for appointments and promotions to public posts.
The Congress alleged that rights of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are not secure under the BJP. The LJP and JD(U), constituents of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), sought immediate measures to ensure the reservation benefits remain unchanged.

Amid Outbreak, PM Offers Assistance to China

Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to Chinese President Xi Jinping India's readiness to provide assistance to the country in dealing with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
According to the latest data released by Chinese authorities, a total of 811 people have died of the coronavirus infection in China so far while the number of confirmed cases has gone up to 37,198.
The virus has spread to almost every province in China as well as around 25 countries in the world, forcing the World Health Organization to declare it a global emergency.
In his letter to Xi, Modi offered India's assistance to China to deal with the challenge and also conveyed condolences at the unfortunate loss of lives due to the outbreak.

Women's Turnout in Delhi Polls Drops

As the overall voter turnout in Delhi's assembly polls dropped by five percentage points in comparison to the 2015 assembly polls, the turnout of women voters showed an almost equivalent drop.
While the women's voters' turnout was 66.50% in 2015, the state poll body said that 62.55% women voted in the elections, a drop of 3.95 percentage points.
There has been an overall drop in voting turnout. So, an almost 4% drop in women's turnout should not be seen as alarming, since it goes along with the overall drop in turnout.
The Delhi electoral roll has 6,680,277 female and 8,105,236 male voters.

Pension Cost Cut Top on Military Agenda

Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and the three service chiefs are in intensive discussions on reducing the burgeoning pension cost to the exchequer by gradually increasing the retirement age of some non-combatants, prioritising hardware purchases and generating internal resources for military housing in cantonments.
With the military pension budget mounting to Rs. 1.33 lakh crore, or 0.5% of gross domestic product, in fiscal 2020-21, from Rs. 41,000 crore in 2010, and Rs. 6-7,000 crore of expense looming in June for the equalisation of pension under the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme, Gen Rawat is learnt to be in favour of increasing the retirement age of certain classes of non-combatants and medical staff to 58 years from 39 to cut the bill.
In 2019-2020, the pension bill amounted to Rs. 1.13 lakh crore.
Although the military top brass is still to come to terms with the proposal on concerns that it will lead to a greying force, Gen Rawat's move could entail a longer stint in service for around 400,000 non-combatants, saving around ~4,000 crore in pension cost. The plan includes retiring 60 non-combatants in each of the 450 infantry battalions at the age of 58 and the same applies to armoured regiments. The increase in the retirement age to 58 is expected to be gradual.

Feb 09, 2020

Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti Booked Under PSA

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, who have been detained since the nullification of special status to the erstwhile state, have been booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) by the local administration.
Besides the former Chief Ministers, two leaders from their parties – National Conference's Ali Mohammed Sagar and Peoples Democratic Party's Sartaj Madani – were also booked under PSA.

New Delhi Hosts Ministerial-level Defence Dialogue 2020 Between India & South Korea

The Ministerial-level Defence dialogue 2020 between India and South Korea was held at South Block in New Delhi, where Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Jeong Kyeong-doo, Minister of National Defense of South Korea discussed many important issues & affirmed to deepen bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.
As per Rajnath Singh, India made considerable progress in the defense sector along with South Korea in recent years. India's Indo-Pacific policy shares many similarities with South Korea's new southern policy & the unity of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) should be important in developing the Indo-Pacific Vision.
The dialogue saw the participation of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General MM Naravane and Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh.

Feb 08, 2020

PM Modi Announces 15-member Trust for Ayodhya Temple

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in Parliament about the formation of a trust to oversee the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. In this regard, 67.703 acres of land near the temple area was allocated to the trust.
This 15 member's trust will also include a Dalit representative who would be in-charge of the entire land.
The trust has been set up on the lines of Supreme Court direction to the central government in November 2019 to formulate a scheme with necessary provisions for the setting up of a trust within three months for the construction of the temple.

Dissent Brews within K'taka BJP after Cabinet Expansion

Ten new MLAs were inducted into the seven-month -old BS Yediyurappa-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka amid murmurs of discontent from party loyalists even as members officially played down any talk of dissent. All the ten new ministers had shifted from Congress and Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), helping the saffron party topple the 14-month-old coalition government led by HD Kumaraswamy. The BJP had promised the defectors ministerships after they won bypolls.

India-Africa Look to Boost Anti-terror Ties

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that New Delhi looked forward to deepening cooperation with African nations, especially in combating terrorism, extremism, and for strengthening maritime security.
Addressing the first India- Africa Defence Ministers' Conclave held as part of the DefExpo- 2020 in Lucknow, Singh said that India was interested in taking its defence engagements with African countries to the next level. He recalled how this year's African Union theme was in sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision for the India Pacific region.
Spurred by Prime Minister's SAGAR vision, India in recent years has enhanced maritime cooperation with the Indian Ocean littoral states in Africa. Indian Navy has been actively engaged in anti-piracy operations.
Singh's African counterparts also thanked India for taking the initiative in organising the first Indo-African Defence Ministers' Conclave and both India and African nations decided to hold such interactions frequently.

Feb 06, 2020

Madhya Pradesh to Pass Resolution against CAA

Madhya Pradesh Cabinet passed a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre to repeal the new legislation.
Notably, Kerala, Punjab, West Bengal and Rajasthan assemblies have already passed a resolution against the CAA and it is expected that Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh would also pass a resolution against the CAA in the Budget session of its Assembly. The Telangana government has also announced that it will not implement the CAA but the state assembly is yet to pass any resolution against the new legislation.

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