General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

Jan 24, 2019

MoU to protect Indian workers in Kuwait

The Union cabinet approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India and Kuwait for cooperation on recruitment and providing stronger safeguards for Indian domestic workers in the Gulf nation.
There are around 3,00,000 Indian domestic workers in Kuwait. This includes around 90,000 women workers.
A joint committee will be set up to implement the terms of the MoU which provides a structured framework for cooperation on matters related to domestic workers.
It provides for stronger safeguards for Indian domestic workers, including women workers.
The MoU is initially valid for a period of five years and incorporates provision for automatic renewal.

Solar Powered Dandi March Memorial at Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi would inaugurate a solar-powered memorial to the 1930 protest march Mahatma Gandhi led against British monopoly over salt in Gujarat's coastal village of Dandi on Gandhi's 71st death anniversary on January 30.
Gandhi began the march against the ban on Indians producing or selling salt from Ahmedabad to Dandi near Surat, over 380 km away, on the Arabian Sea coast on March 12, 1930.
He led his followers in picking up handfuls of salt as a mark of protest against the ban around a month later on April 6, 1930.
The march was among the first protests in Gandhi's civil disobedience movement against the British.
A laser-lit salt making experience has been planned for the visitors at the National Salt Satyagraha Memorial (NSSM).
IIT-Bombay was assigned the task of designing, coordinating and implementing the project under the Central Public Works Department's supervision.
The memorial is spread over 15 acres of land and will be powered by as many as 41 solar panels.

Jan 23, 2019

Mauritius PM to Cooperate with India for Promotion of Hindi

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth said Mauritius would cooperate with India on the promotion of Hindi globally, including in the United Nations, at the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jugnauth held a bilateral meeting on cooperation in trade and investment on the sidelines of the event .
The Mauritian premier lauded India's soft power and said the recognition of the International Day of Yoga by the United Nations was a manifestation of it.

Google to Verify Political Ads

In a bid to ensure transparency in election advertising, internet search giant Google announced that it will introduce an India-specific political advertising transparency report and searchable political advertisement library ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The report and library will provide comprehensive information on who purchases election ads on Google platforms and how much money is being spent.
The report and ads library, which will go live in March 2019, will enable voters to get election-related information.

Muslim-Hindu couple's child has right to share in father's assets

Coming to the help of a man born out of a wedlock between a Muslim man and a Hindu woman, the Supreme Court said that any child born out of such wedlock is legitimate and entitled to claim a share in his father's property.
Supreme Court bench of justices NV Ramana and Mohan M Shantanagoudar held that the marriage of a Muslim man with an idolater or fire-worshipper is neither a valid nor a void marriage, but is merely an irregular marriage. And a child born out of such irregular marriage is entitled to claim a share in his father's property.
Delivering the verdict the bench held that the plaintiff was born out of an irregular marriage. He is the legitimate son of Mohammed Ilias, and consequently is entitled to inherit shares claimed in his father's estate.
Clearing the air surrounding the rights of a woman in a Muslim–Hindu irregular marriage, the court said that the legal effect of an irregular marriage is that in case of consummation, though the wife is entitled to get dower, she is not entitled to inherit the husband's properties.
But the child born in that marriage is legitimate just like in the case of a valid marriage, and is entitled to inherit the father's property.

Jan 22, 2019

Museum on Netaji Bose at Red Fort

A new digitised museum that brings to the fore some unknown and interesting facts about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, as a narrative from his childhood days, to the trials of the personnel of the Indian National Army (INA) — a force Bose had put together to fight the British — is ready for inauguration at Red Fort in the national capital.
The museum is slated to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 23, on the occasion of the 123rd birth anniversary of Bose.
The first floor of the Red Fort barracks, on which the museum is built, is the place from where soldiers of the INA were court martialed and tried by the British. The trials started on November 5, 1945, and continued till January 3,1946.
Four barracks at the Red Fort have been converted into museums for visitors. Besides the museum on Bose, three more museums, including one on the 1857 Revolt, the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre, and contemporary paintings, have come up.
There is also a redesigned museum named Azadi Ke Deewane.
The Red Fort Complex is managed directly by the ASI, which is also responsible for the protection of all national heritage sites in India and Indian cultural properties classified as World Heritage Sites.

Jan 21, 2019

Govt Likely to Auction PM Modi's Gifts at National Gallery

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in New Delhi may this month auction gifts and mementos received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the proceeds from the auction will be used for a noble cause.
Proceeds of the auction will go to Namami Gange, a mission undertaken by the Union Government for conservation and rejuvenation of the Ganga river.
The more than 1,800 items on offer include paintings, photographs, 'pagadis'(turbans), shawls, sculptures and other gifts given to the Prime Minister.
There will be a physical auction that can spread over two days followed by an e-sale of three days.
NGMA, which functions under the ministry of culture, maintains galleries for permanent display and also organises special exhibitions of art. In October last year, NGMA had organised an exhibition of the gifts given to Modi.
A similar auction was held in Gujarat in 2015 with the proceeds going to Namami Gange.

Aadhar Cards Valid for Travelling to Nepal and Bhutan

Aadhaar cards are now valid travel documents for Indians under 15 and over 65 travelling to Nepal and Bhutan, according to a Home Ministry communique.
Indians other than those in the two age brackets will not be able to use Aadhaar to travel to the two neighbouring countries, for which no visas are needed.
Indian citizens going to Nepal and Bhutan don't need a visa if they have a valid passport, a photo identity card issued by the Government of India or an election ID card.
Earlier, persons over 65 and under 15 could show their PAN card, driving licence, Central Government Health Service (CGHS) card or ration card, but not the Aadhaar, to prove their identity and visit the two countries.
The Aadhaar card has now been added to the list.Teens between 15 and 18 years will be allowed to travel between India and Nepal on the basis of an identity certificate issued by the principal of their school in a prescribed form.

Jan 20, 2019

Rail Survey: Shatabdis Cleanest Among Premium Trains

Three Shatabdi trains, including Pune-Secunderabad and Howrah-Ranchi, are the cleanest among 77 premium trains that were surveyed in 2017 by railways while three Duronto trains finished last.
Among 23 Rajdhani trains, Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani was ranked the cleanest while New Delhi-Dibrugarh placed at the bottom.
The 'Train Cleanliness Survey 2018', which covered 210 premium and non-premium trains, showed passengers rating all trains poorly on two parameters — cleanliness of the toilets and cleaning of coaches.
The survey results, which included feedback of over 15,000 passengers, has not been made public so far while the ranking of stations on Swachhta parameters have been publicised by the government.
This was the first such survey by the environment and housekeeping management wing of railways and it had engaged two entities to independently conduct the study.
The assessment methodology included process audit, direct observation and passenger feedback.
Passenger feedback was aimed at assessing the perception on a scale of zero to five and this included cleanliness of toilets, working of housekeeping staff, cleanliness of bed rolls, effectiveness of pest management, availability and cleanliness dustbins.
In the Shatabdi trains category, passenger feedback was low primarily on the parameters of "cleanliness of toilets".
In the case of Duronto trains, passengers gave it a low score for the same reason.

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