General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

Oct 27, 2019

New History Created in Ayodhya as over Six Lakh Diyas Light up Sarayu's Banks

A new history was created at Ayodhya as a record 6 lakh earthen lamps lit up the Sarayu river bank on the eve of Diwali, days ahead of the Supreme Court verdict on the title suit over the disputed Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid land.
The banks of Sarayu in the temple town Ayodhya were lit up with the sparkling light of lakhs of earthen lamps as people from different walks of life took part in the grand programme and lighted 'diyas' to cherish the moment.
This year's count of the earthen lamps lit on the river bank far surpassed the three lakh-plus number of 'diyas' lit in 2018.
Enthusiasm was palpable among the people and the volunteers at dusk, as they lit the lamps to mark the occasion.

Yogi Adityanath Launches Single Helpline Number 112 in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched single helpline number, Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) -112.
At the event, senior citizen safety initiative 'Savera' was also kick-started.
He even hailed the police over successful completion of Kumbh in Prayagraj, 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Varanasi and Lok Sabha elections.

Disabled Voters, People Older than 80 years can now Vote Through Postal Ballot

The disabled and people over 80 years of age can now cast their vote through postal ballot, the government said, in a move that will help increase voter turnout.
At present, voting through postal ballot is available to armed forces and those assigned poll duties.
On the recommendation of the Election Commission, the Ministry of Law and Justice has amended the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, on October 22, 2019, allowing senior citizens and person with disabilities in the absentee voter list.
The absentee voter refers to a vote cast by someone who is unable to go to the polling station.

Oct 26, 2019

J&K: Govt renames Chenani-Nashri Tunnel after Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee

The government has renamed Chenani-Nashri tunnel on national highway 44 in Jammu & Kashmir as Dr.Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel.
At an event in New Delhi, Road Transport and Highways Minister, NitinGadkari said the renaming of the tunnel is a fitting tribute to Dr.Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who sacrificed his life for the country and has been a source of inspiration for the nation.
He also said the government has undertaken 60,000 crore rupees infrastructure projects in Jammu & Kashmir over the past five years including this Chenani-Nashri tunnel with a cost of 2,600 crore rupees.
He said these infrastructure projects will be major game changers for the people of the state, bringing employment and socio-economic development.
Mr.Gadkari said, the Centre is committed to overall development and prosperity of Jammu & Kashmir and roads play a pivotal role in this.

Odisha Inks LoU with UNICEF to Provide Safe Drinking Water

The Odisha government has signed a Letter of Understanding (LoU) with UNICEF to provide safe drinking water to every household in the state.
The LoU was signed by the state housing and urban development department (HUDD) to provide 24-hour safe drinking water and the project has been named as 'Drink From Tap Mission'.
The project will be launched on a pilot basis for about 1.2 lakh people involving 22,000 families in pockets of Puri and Khurda district, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said.
"Providing safe drinking water to every household in the state is one of the top priorities of the government. Safe drinking water is very helpful for a healthy and strong society," he said at the LoU signing ceremony.

Oct 25, 2019

By-Election Results Throw Up a Rude Surprise For Some Turncoats

Results of the two Lok Sabha and 51 Assembly seats were mixed for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as the Opposition. An undercurrent, however, was some of the turncoats losing in the bypolls.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) retained the Satara Lok Sabha in Maharashtra, while the Lok Janshakti Party, an ally of the BJP, retained the Samastipur seat. NCP's Shriniwas Patil defeated BJP's Udayanraje Bhosale in Satara. Bhosale, a descendant of Maratha warrior king Shivaji, quit the NCP in September 2019 and resigned from his Lok Sabha seat to join the BJP, which fielded him on the seat.
In Gujarat, of the six seats where bypolls were held, the BJP and the Congress were leading on three seats each. The BJP's OBC leader Alpesh Thakor lost from Radhanpur seat. He had won the seat in 2017 Assembly polls on a Congress ticket. His close aide Dhavalsinh Jhala, who too switched over to the BJP, also lost the by-election from Bayad Assembly seat.
The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu won both the seats that went to bypolls on October 21, 2019, while the Congress won the lone seat that went to polls in Puducherry. The AIADMK candidates won the Vikravandi and Nanguneri Assembly seats while the Congress won the Kamaraj Nagar seat in Puducherry. AIADMK candidates won the Vikravandi and Nanguneri seats with healthy margins.
In Bihar, the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had a dismal performance in bypolls to five Assembly seats, which were touted as the "semi-final" before the Assembly polls in 12 months' time. However, Lok Janshakti Party's (LJP's) Prince Raj won the Samastipur Lok Sabha seat comfortably. The AIMIM won the Kishanganj seat, while the Rashtriya Janata Dal has won in Simri Bakhtiarpur and Belhar seats.
There was good news for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, with the party winning seven of the 11 seats that had bypolls, while its ally Apna Dal (Soneylal) won one. The Samajwadi Party won three.
In Telangana, the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) wrested the Huzurnagar seat from the Congress. In Rajasthan, the ruling Congress won the Assembly bypoll to Mandawa seat while the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) retained the Khinwsar constituency. In Sikkim, the BJP won two seats and the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha one.

Haryana Gets Hung Assembly, BJP Needs Six More To Form Govt

Haryana ended up with a hung assembly with the ruling BJP emerging as the largest party with 40 seats, but still six short of the halfway mark needed to form the next government.
The Congress won 31 seats, the Jannayak Janta Party 10, the Indian National Lok Dal and Haryana Lokhit Party one each. The Aam Aadmi Party, which contested 46 seats, was decimated.

Maharashtra Election Results: BJP-Shiv Sena Combine Set To Retain Power; NCP Improves Tally

In the 288-member Assembly, the BJP won 104 seats, while ally Sena bagged 56. The NCP bagged 54 seats and the Congress emerged victorious in 43 seats.
In the 2014 polls, the BJP had won 122 seats, the Sena 63, the Congress 42 and the NCP 41.
The BJP and Sena had then contested separately. The Sena joined the BJP-led government over a month after it was formed.

Oct 24, 2019

Delhi HC Directs Facebook, Google, Twitter To Globally Remove Links To Video Disparaging Ramdev

The Delhi High Court directed social media platforms Facebook, Google, its subsidiary YouTube, and Twitter to forthwith remove, block or disable on a global basis links to a video containing defamatory allegations against yoga guru Ramdev.
Justice Pratibha M Singh held that merely 'geo-blocking' or disabling access to the defamatory content to viewers from India, as agreed to by the social media platforms, would not be sufficient as users residing here can gain access to it by other means.

Govt Sets Up Panel To Resolve MeitY and Niti fight over AI

The government has formed a committee to resolve differences between the Niti Aayog and the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) over who will implement its ambitious artificial intelligence mission.
The committee will be headed by principal scientific advisor K Vijay Raghavan and represented by the secretary in the department of science and technology, the CEO of Niti Aayog and secretary of MeitY.

Government Accords 'Maharatna' Status To Hindustan Petroleum, Power Grid Corp

The government accorded 'Maharatna' status to state-owned Hindustan Petroleum and Power Grid Corporation, thus giving them greater operational and financial autonomy.
Two separate orders to this effect were issued by the Department of Public Enterprises, under the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises.
The grant of Maharatna status to the PSUs will impart enhanced powers to their Boards to take financial decisions.

Union Cabinet Decides To Confer Ownership Rights To 40 Lakh Residents Of Delhi's Unauthorised Col...

The Union Cabinet decided to confer ownership rights to 40 lakh people living in unauthorised colonies in the national capital city.
This decision, which was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will enable the inhabitants to build, sell and conduct all transactions related to their property.

Oct 23, 2019

With 10 Per Cent Of India's Total Crime, UP Tops List

With registration of over three lakh FIRs, Uttar Pradesh topped the crime list in the country, followed by Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Delhi, according to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau for 2017.
Overall, 30,62,579 cases were registered across the country in 2017, up from 29,75,711 in 2016 and 29,49,400 in 2015, according to the annual data which was released after a delay of more than one year.

Maharashtra Assembly Election 2019: State Voter Turnout Is 61.13%, Mumbai's 50.51%

The turnout of the voters in the Assembly polls recorded 61.13% as per the figures released by the Election Commission on 22 October, 2019.
It is exactly two percent less than 2014-Assembly elections which saw the turnout of 63.13%. In Mumbai too, the percentage of the voting was recorded at 50.51%, against the 51.21% in 2014 polls.
Mumbai recorded the turnout of 55.23% in Lok Sabha elections held in April-May 2019.
While the Mumbai turnout is 50.51%, the island City saw 48.3%, and the eastern and Western suburbs saw 51.57% turnout.

Five MLAs from JMM, Congress likely to join BJP

Five legislators belonging to Congress and other opposition parties in Jharkhand are likely to join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, ahead of the assembly elections in the state expected to be held in December in 2019.
Among prominent faces who can join the saffron fold are Congress MLAs Sukhdeo Bhagat and Manoj Yadav and JMM legislators Jai Prakash Bhai Patel, Kunal Sarangi and Chamra Linda. Besides, independent MLA Bhanu Pratap Shahi is also likely to embrace the BJP.

Ex-Congress Rajya Sabha MP KC Ramamurthy joins BJP

Former Congress Rajya Sabha member KC Ramamurthy became the latest politician to jump into the BJP bandwagon.
He joined the saffron party in presence of two senior BJP leaders - Bhupender Yadav and Arun Singh and a senior minister Pralhad Joshi.
Ramamurthy had already resigned from the upper house on October 16, 2019 which is part of a massive rejig to alter BJP's minority status in Rajya Sabha.

Deepika Padukone, PV Sindhu Flag-Bearers Of PM Modi's Bharat Ki Laxmi initiative

Actor Deepika Padukone and shuttler PV Sindhu on October 22, 2019 were named the ambassadors for 'Bharat Ki Laxmi', an initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that aims at bringing commendable work done by women across the nation to light ahead of the Diwali festival.
The prime minister shared a video on the new campaign underscoring the cause of women empowerment.
India's Nari Shakti epitomises talent and tenacity, determination and dedication. Our ethos has always taught us to strive for women empowerment.
Deepika and Sindhu registered their support for the campaign on the microblogging site.

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