General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

Aug 29, 2019

India Launches World's First Ever Facial Bio-Metric Data Based Seafarer Identity Document

India has become the first country in the world to issue Biometric Seafarer Identity Document (BSID), capturing the facial bio-metric data of seafarers.
Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, MoS (I/C) Shipping and Chemical & Fertilizers launched the project in New Delhi. He also handed over the new BSID cards to five Indian seafarers.
The new facial biometric technology is a marked improvement over the two finger or iris based bio-metric data, with modern security features.
It will make the identification of the SID holder more reliable and efficient, while protecting their dignity and privacy. India had made a presentation on this technology at ILO .

Amit Shah Attends 49th Foundation Day Of BPR And D As Chief Guest

Union Home Minister Amit Shah attended the 49th Foundation Day of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR and D). Shah was the chief guest at the event.
Shah lighted a lamp to inaugurate the event. Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy was also present at the event.

Aug 28, 2019

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan Launches The Commencement Of Work For 10th City Gas Distribution

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan has launched the commencement of work for 10th City Gas Distribution (CGD) bidding round which will cover 50 Geographical Areas (GAs) in 124 districts.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the 10th CGD bidding Round on 22 November 2018.
The petroleum minister had distributed Letters of Intent to 12 successful bidders of the round on 1st March 2019.
After the completion of the 10th round, over 70% of the country's population and 52.73% of the area will be covered under the CGD.
As per the minimum work program approved by the PNGRB for the 10th round, 2.02 crore PNG domestic connections will be provided, 3578 CNG stations will open, and 0.58 lakh Inch-km steel pipeline will be laid.

DDA To Allow Pvt Players To Buy Land For Housing

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has decided to auction land for residential projects to private developers for the first time, in an attempt to meet growing demand for housing in the national capital at a time when some of its more recent projects have drawn a tepid response.
The auction will be of plots that were earmarked as residential zones as per the Master Plan of Delhi, 2021, and the process could start as early as October, 2019.
Such plots were previously meant for Cooperative Group Housing Societies (CGHS) but allotments had been halted since 2005 following irregularities in the process. Bids will also be accepted from CGHS applicants.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Delhi's lieutenant governor Anil Baijal (DDA comes under him) . DDA is in the process of compiling a list of land parcels that will be put on auction, starting with a pilot project in Rohini.
The same model will then be followed in Dwarka and Narela.

Banjari Village Of Katni District To Become Integral Part Of Digital Map Of The Country

In Madhya Pradesh, Banjari village of Katni district will become an integral part of the digital map of the country. It is the first village in the state to be associated with Digital India, the Prime Minister's ambitious project.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology plans to build 1000 digital villages across the country in this phase, starting from Banjari Gram Panchayat of Madhya Pradesh.
In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India campaign, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has envisaged the Digital Village Project.
The digital village will not only help in providing connectivity in every village but it will also help in bridging the digital divide between rural and urban areas.
This will also open new jobs and employment. Akodara village of Sabarkantha district of Gujarat is the first digital village in the country.
In the next five years, under this campaign, one lakh digital villages of this kind will be planned by the ministry.

Delhi's Iconic Feroz Shah Kotla To Be Renamed As Arun Jaitley Stadium

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) decided to rechristen the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium as Arun Jaitley Stadium in the memory of its former president who passed away recently.
The renaming will take place on September 12, 2019 at a function where a stand at the Kotla will be named after India captain Virat Kohli as announced earlier.
The ground will continue to be known as the Feroz Shah Kotla, as it is only the stadium that has been renamed by the DDCA.
Jaitley, during his tenure at DDCA, is credited with renovating the stadium into a modern facility, increasing its capacity to accommodate more fans besides constructing world class dressing rooms.
The function, to be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, will be graced by the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju.
The Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium is the second-oldest cricket stadium in India after Kolkata's Eden Gardens and was established in 1883. The stadium's capacity is currently at over 40,000.
It has played host to 34 Test matches, 25 ODIs and 5 T20Is. Besides that, it also hosts matches for the Delhi cricket team as well as the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals.

Aug 27, 2019

Eight Kargil Leaders Join BJP

A number of prominent leaders from Kargil, including Haji Anayat Ali who is also the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council chairman, joined the BJP.

Besides Ali, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, Executive Councilor Mohammad Ali Hasan and six other leaders met BJP working president J P Nadda and joined the party. Most of these leaders, including Anayat Ali, are from People's Democratic Party.
Welcoming them, Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal said the entire region, which includes Leh and Kargil districts, is happy about the decision of making it a union territory.

Yediyurappa Appoints Three Deputy Chief Ministers In Karnataka

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Karnataka named Govind Karjol, CN Ashwath Nnarayan and Laxman Savadi as deputy chief ministers in a move that caused rumblings of discontent among more senior cabinet colleagues of chief minister BS Yediyurappa.
Seventeen ministers were inducted into the Cabinet. The portfolio allocations were made after more than a week and needed two trips by chief minister BS Yediyurappa to New Delhi for discussions with the party's central leadership.
Karjol was given the sought after public works department, Narayan the higher education portfolio and Savadi transport. The choices also indicates caste combinations that the BJP is trying to cater to, Karjol hails from a scheduled caste community. The other two hail from the dominant castes in the state -- Ashwath Narayan is a Vokkaliga and Savadi a Lingayat.

Cong Gets a New Chief In Jharkhand

Congress president Sonia Gandhi appointed former Union minister and tribal leader Rameshwar Oraon the new party chief in the poll-bound state of Jharkhand.
Oraon, a retired 1972-batch Indian Police Service officer, replaces Ajoy Kumar, his junior of 14 years in the service who resigned from the post on a bitter note.
In his August 9, 2019 resignation letter, 57-year-old Kumar, a 1986 batch IPS officer, levelled allegations against some senior party colleagues, including Oraon, Subodh Kant Sahai, Pradeep Balmuchu and Furqan Ansari.

CM Pinarayi Vijayan Inaugurated New Regional Office Norka Roots

The government has always taken a positive stance when it comes to the welfare of Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs) and it is planning an array of new projects in this regard.

CM Pinarayi Vijayan Inaugurated new office building of Norka, which was set up on the sixth floor of MG Road Metro station.

Norka-Roots has already spent around `25 crore in 2018, under the Santhwana scheme, to provide financial support to NRKs returning to their native place.

Pinarayi also presented the Letter of Award to Thayyil Habeeb for the first commercial venture to be launched under the newly opened Business Facilitation Centre. As per the agreement, Habeeb will open his commercial unit at Edappally station.

Tamil Nadu Rolls Out Amma Patrol Vehicles To Check Crimes Against Women, Kids

In the first phase, the 'Amma Patrol' vehicles have been handed over to the 35 All Women Police Stations in Chennai. The patrol service will be in operation in places like school and colleges, shopping malls, railway stations, bus stops, places of worship, IT companies and beaches.
Decked in pink and white, Toyota Innova cars with 'Amma Patrol' sticker placed on it were launched by Chief Minister K Palaniswami, aimed at ensuring the security of women and children in public places.

Under the Centre's Special Women Safety programme in public places scheme, Rs 425 crore was allocated to the city. Besides, the TN government had purchased the patrol vehicles at a cost of Rs 7.50 crore and they are equipped with state of the art facilities like surveillance cameras, GPS, etc.

Govt To Push Aadhaar Enrolment In Kashmir

The Centre plans to intensify Aadhaar enrolments in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), particularly the Kashmir Valley where the penetration of the unique ID that is the key to government benefits is very low, so as to ensure that benefits of welfare schemes reach to all residents.

The process will accelerate once the bifurcation of the region into two Union Territories is complete on October 31, 2019.
Aadhaar is a successful tool for the transfer of subsidies and implementation of welfare schemes. The government is committed for development of J&K, and Aadhaar will be one of the key tools that will help the Centre in fulfilling its commitment.

Aadhaar enrolment has been happening in J&K but certain areas, mainly in the Valley, need special attention, which can be done through banks, post offices and Common Services Centres (CSCs). The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) is willing to open CSCs at panchayats for this purpose. About 300,000 CSCs help the Centre in implementing its eGovernance programmes throughout the country.

Aug 26, 2019

International Dialogue on South-South and Triangular Cooperation Addressed by Commerce and Indust...

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways, Shri Piyush Goyal addressed the International dialogue on South-South and Triangular Cooperation.
The event was held in New Delhi. The World Trade Organisation(WTO) was the key topic addressed.
South-South and Triangular Cooperation was organised by Research and Information System (RIS) and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation(UNOSSC).
The member countries of WTO have to engage in rule-based, transparent, and non-discriminatory governance required for free trade in a non-discriminatory manner, keeping in mind the interests of member countries with disparate (essentially different in kind) GDP.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is the target by the year 2030.
The term South-South cooperation is used by policymakers and academics to describe the exchange of resources, technology, and knowledge between developing countries, also known as countries of the Global South as it is a broad framework of collaboration among countries in the south.

Aug 25, 2019

Kiren Rijiju, Bhaichung Bhutia flag-off 'Op-Blue Freedom' dive

Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Kiren Rijiju and former Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia made the flag-off dive for Delhi-NCT leg for the Op-Blue Freedom at SPM Swimming Pool Complex.
'Op-Blue Freedom' is a nation-wide Adaptive Scuba Diving Programme for people with disabilities and the able-bodied alike. It comes under the parent project -- Special Forces Adventures. Successful leg of 'Op-Blue Freedom' in Chandigarh was conducted in the last week of July in 2019.
The skill sets those are being imparted by the team hold immense significance for the youths.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

October GK, September GK, August GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services and Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26