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NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

Sep 12, 2019

GeM And Punjab Government Sign MoU For Setting Up Project Management Unit

Government e Marketplace (GeM) under the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Government of Punjab, signed MoU to set up a GeM Organizational Transformation Team (GOTT) Project Management Unit (PMU) in the state.
The MoU was signed by Additional CEO,GeM, S. Suresh Kumar, and Director Industries, Government of Punjab, C. Sibinat Chandigarh on 10th September, 2019.
It is projected that through the initiatives of GOTT PMU, Government of Punjab will be able to transact around Rs 1700 crore in terms of annual Gross Merchandize Value (GMV) on GeM platform in the first year and over Rs 3000 crore per annum, over a period of time.

PM Modi In Mathura

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Mathura for the day to inaugurate several programmes met women who pick up plastic waste from garbage in the city and extended a helping hand to them.
PM Narendra Modi, who is on a mission to completely eradicate single-use plastic waste from the country, was seen segregating plastic from garbage piles along with the women at the 'Swacchata Hi Seva' programme in Mathura.
PM is slated to launch a campaign against single-use plastic products.
PM Modi, also visited a cattle farm and was seen playing with a calf.
Narendra Modi will be launching the 'National Animal Disease Control Programme' as well as the 'National Artificial Insemination Programme'.

400 Punjab Farmers to Participate In National Conference on Crop Residue Management

As many as 400 innovative and progressive farmers from Punjab will participate in National Conference of Farmers on Crop residue Management to be held in New Delhi.
Punjab agriculture department spokesperson said that nearly 1000 farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh would be part of this conference and also share their innovative ideas adopted for in-situ crop residue management.
This conference being organized by the Government of India at NASC Complex, New Delhi would go a long way in mitigating the problem of stubble burning besides creating awareness among farming community.
Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will give inaugural address in this conference.

Sep 11, 2019

IPPB Rolls Out Of Aadhaar-Enabled Payment Services (AePS)

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) said that it has rolled out Aadhaar enabled payment system (AePS) services.
With this, IPPB has now become the single largest platform in the country for providing interoperable banking services to the customers of any bank.
Union Minister for Communications and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad announced the rollout of AePS services on IPPB's first anniversary.

Mumbai Among Top 5 Cities in Knight Frank Co-Living Index

Knight Frank India, the leading international property consultancy, launched a report titled "Insights on Co-living – An Asia-Pacific Perspective."
As per the report, Mumbai is ranked 5th in Knight Frank India's co-living Index that tracks markets' possibility of success as co-living destination.
The report covers twenty major Asia-Pacific cities classified into six key attributes likely to contribute in fostering the growth of Co-living within each Asia-Pacific city like- Tech & Financial Hub, Venture Capital Deals & Growth, Housing Affordability, University Population, General Population & Human Development Index, and Quality of Life.
As compared to 2010-2012, the venture capital deal flow in Mumbai spiked by 288% in the period between 2015-17.

PM To Inaugurate India's Second Multi-Modal Terminal at Jharkhand

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation India's second riverine Multi-Modal terminal (MMT) built at Sahibganj in Jharkhand.
It has been built at a cost of 290 crore rupees in a record time of about two years. Prime Minister Modi had laid the foundation stone of terminal in April, 2017.
The terminal at Sahibganj will open up industries of Jharkhand and Bihar to the global market and provide Indo-Nepal cargo connectivity through waterways route.
Coal, stone chips, fertilizers, cement and sugar are other commodities expected to be transported through the terminal. This is the second of the three Multi-Modal Terminals being constructed on river Ganga under Jal Marg Vikas Project.
Earlier, in November, 2018, the Prime Minister had inaugurated the MMT at Varanasi.

Madhya Pradesh Government to Offer Cows For Adoption Online

The Madhya Pradesh government is going to launch an online service for those wanting to adopt a cow and provide sheds to them at gaushalas (cow shelters) across the State.
While paying for a cow's feed for 15 days would cost ₹1,100, one could take care of its diet for 10 years for ₹3 lakh. Feeding a cow for six months would cost ₹11,100.
Through the service, donors would be able to pick a gaushala from the 626 in the State, and pay the amount to fulfil a cow's diet of half a kilo of grain, five kilos of green feed and 10 kilos of wheat chaff a day, in case of a non-lactating, non-pregnant cow.

Union Territories Of J&K, Ladakh To Have a Common High Court

The Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will have a common high court, State Judicial Academy's Director Rajeev Gupta said.
He also said 108 Central Laws would be applicable for the two UTs while 164 state laws would be repealed and 166 state laws will continue to be applicable.
The Centre had on August 5, 2019 nullified Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of the state.
Parliament approved the resolution in this regard and also passed the bill on the bifurcation of the state into two UTs.
Later on August 9, 2019 President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, bifurcating the two Union Territories, which will come into existence on October 31, 2019.

Sep 10, 2019

Congress to Appoint Preraks

Following a series of electoral setbacks, the Congress would soon have groups of preraks or motivators across the country to envision, design and deliver training skills to its workers as part of efforts to scale-up its mass contact programmes.
The preraks would inspire and inform the workers about the party's ideology and history besides preparing them to engage with the masses on a regular basis.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), has pracharaks or full-time volunteers to take the organisation's ideology to the masses.
Pracharaks organise shakhas (camps) and undertake voluntary social work but are forbidden from participating in electoral politics in principle. The preraks will have no such bar.

Ex-CAG Asks EC to Make Dissent Notes Public

India's former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Vinod Rai, called for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to make dissent notes public in its final Model Code of Conduct orders, and described the controversy that erupted over the issue during the 2019 general elections as avoidable.
In the middle of the Lok Sabha elections, election commissioner Ashok Lavasa recused himself from all ECI meetings on MCC issues, after the poll panel did not include his dissent note in the final orders while clearing top leaders (including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah) of violation charges.
The commission maintained that there was no precedence of making dissent notes a part of the final order as these are not part of quasi-judicial hearings.

Political Parties Urge EC to Retain National Party Status

Three political parties — the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Trinamool Congress (TMC), and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) urged the Election Commission to allow them to retain their national party status, pointing out that they should be given a chance to improve their electoral performance in the upcoming assembly elections in as many as four states.
Assembly elections are due in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Haryana later in 2019 while Delhi will go to polls in January 2020.
Representatives of the three parties also said in 2016, the poll panel had amended its rules, whereby national and state party status of political parties are to be reviewed every 10 years instead of five.

Sep 09, 2019

Amit Shah Chairs NEDA Meet In Guwahati

Union Home Minister and BJP President Amit Shah said that North East Democratic Alliance, NEDA was set up to take NDA to the grass root level.
Addressing the 4th conclave of the Alliance in Guwahati, he said that entire North East has become free from the Congress.
He said that Congress rule in North East didn't do any development works. He said that the Congress party has made the problems in North East more complicated for their personal benefits.
Union Minister for North East, Dr. Jitendra Singh hoped that the North East would be the most visible part of the India.
He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for uplifting the life of the people of North East. He also thanked them for scrapping the Article 370.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal said that the North East Democratic Alliance has united the North East region. Under Narendra Modi, the entire North East is making tremendous progress.

Fourth Conclave Of NEDA Held In Guwahati

The Fourth Conclave of the North East Democratic Alliance, NEDA a constituent of the ruling NDA was held in Guwahati.
BJP President and Union Home Minister Amit Shah took part in the conclave along with Chief Ministers of North Eastern states. Apart from them, senior leaders of NEDA , Ministers and Chairpersons of various corporations of Assam also attended the conclave.
Issues pertaining to strengthening the NEDA were discussed. Apart from that, several other issues including the NRC were discussed in the conclave.

Sep 08, 2019

'Cycle Yatra' From Porbander to Delhi on Mahatama Gandhi's 150th Birth Anniversary

To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a 2000 kilometre long cycle expedition will be flagged off by Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy from Chowpatty Ground in Porbandar.
100 cyclists each from BSF and CRPF, 65 each from Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Central Industrial Security Force, 50 from National Security Guard, 70 from Sahashtra Seema Bal and 50 from Assam Rifles would participate in the 26 day long cycle expedition. The event is being organised to raise awareness about cleanliness and the menace of drugs among the masses.
The cycle yatra will be organised from Porbander to Delhi's Rajghat. The stretch is about 2000 kilometres. Through this expedition, the message of Gandhi ji regarding cleanliness and sanitation will be spread among the masses.

Chhattisgarh Govt To Reduce Land Allotment Rates In Industrial Areas By 30%

In a bid to boost industrial development in the state, the Chhattisgarh government announced that land allotment rates in industrial areas will be reduced by 30 percent.
Additionally, the land would be provided at cheaper rates, capital, interest subsidy, tax rebates and several other benefits would be provided for the establishment of food processing, minor forest produce and herbal-based industries.
The new policy in this regard will be formulated in next two months.
Chhattisgarh government is committed towards the development of industries along with agriculture sector in the state.
The core sector industries, such as steel and cement, would be promoted in the state.
Presently, these industries have been kept in the prohibited list, but soon they would be removed from it.

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