General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

May 16, 2018

India Third Largest Solar Market

According to Mercom Communications, India emerged as the third largest solar market in the world in 2017 behind China and the US.

India has grown at a CAGR of approximately 170 per cent since 2010.

The robust growth boosted the country's total solar installed capacity to 19.6 GW as of December 2017.

Bastar to Get Air Connectivity

The Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, battling Maoist insurgency for long, will be on the aviation map of the country from June 15 when Air Odisha begins services from Visakhapatnam to district headquarters of Jagdalpur and Raipur.

Jagdalpur was one of the four cities in Chhattisgarh to get an airport under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) of the Centre.

Karnataka Assembly Elections

No single party was able to win a majority of 113 seats in the Karnataka elections, paving way for frantic negotiations and post-poll alliances . The BJP, which won 104 seats in the 224-member House, emerged as the single largest party but fell short of complete majority. The Congress, with 78 seats, and the JD(S) with 37, together they have 117 seats (with the support of 1 BSP and 1 Independent), rushed to join hands and stake claim to form the government in a bid to keep the BJP out of power in the state.

Counting is complete in 222 of 224 seats. Two of the seats, RR Nagar and Jayanagar, will see repoll on May 28.

Rohatgi Appointed Eminent Jurist

Former Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi has been appointed eminent jurist in the high-profile Lokpal selection committee led by the Prime Minister, which will shortlist candidates for appointment as the anti-corruption ombudsman.

Besides the Prime Minister, the selection committee is composed of the Chief Justice of India and the Lok Sabha Speaker.

May 15, 2018

Reshuffle in the Cabinet

Change at I&B is part of a mini-reshuffle in the Cabinet affected by the PM, who has assigned the vital Ministry of Finance to Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, who will be at the helm of the Ministry of Finance till Arun Jaitley fully recovers after his successful kidney transplant surgery. Ms. Irani helmed the Ministry for little less than 10 months. She had replaced Venkaiah Naidu who resigned after he was elected to the post of Vice-President of India.

This is the second time that Ms. Irani has been divested of an important portfolio. She was appointed Minister for Human Resource and Development in May 2014. After a little over two years, she was replaced by Prakash Javedkar. She remained away from the limelight handling the relatively obscure Ministry of Textiles for over a year before getting I&B in July last year.

May 14, 2018

BJP's Andhra and Jammu and Kashmir Chiefs

BJP president Amit Shah appointed Kanna Lakshminarayana, who had left the Congress to join the party in 2014, as its Andhra Pradesh chief and made Somu Veerraju, also a contender for the post, the state convener of the election management committee. Shah also appointed Ravindra Raina as president of its Jammu and Kashmir unit following the induction of Raina's predecessor Sat Sharma into the PDP-BJP government as a minister.

Repolling in 3 Polling Booths

A day before counting of votes in the Karnataka Assembly elections, repolling is being held in three polling booths. The repolling in the polling booths was necessitated due to technical errors during polling on May 12.

The three booths are number 20 and 21 in Kushtagi constituency and booth number 2 in Hebbala.

Karnataka's 72% Turnout is a Record

The 72.36% turnout in Karnataka's Assembly elections is new record for the State, surpassing the 71.90% polling 40 years ago in 1978. The 2013 Assembly polls recorded a turnout of 71.45%.

Army Finalises Ammunition Project

After years of deliberations, the Army has finalised a mega Rs. 15,000-crore project under which a range of ammunition for its critical weapons and tanks will be produced indigenously to overcome long delays in imports and address the problem of a dwindling stockpile.

As per reports, 11 private firms would be involved in the ambitious project, the implementation of which is being monitored by the top brass of the Army and the Defence Ministry.

May 13, 2018

Rabri Becomes Leader of Opposition

Former Bihar Chief Minister and senior Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Rabri Devi was accorded the status of the Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Council on the basis of her party's enhanced strength in the Upper House. The development followed the recent biennial elections to the Legislative Council after which the RJD's tally rose from seven to nine, required to get the status.

May 12, 2018

Withdrawal of AFSPA in Phases

Citing an improved situation, the Assam government has decided to urge the Centre for withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from parts of the state in phases and not at one go. The Act has been in force in the state for 28 years now.

Assam will become the fourth state after Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya to lift the controversial legislation if the Centre gives its nod to the state government's proposal, which it plans to submit before the expiry of the current six-month period of the Act in August. The Act is also currently enforced in parts of Arunachal and Manipur and the whole of Nagaland.

Himanshu Roy Commits Suicide

Additional Director General of Police and former Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief Himanshu Roy allegedly committed suicide. The former ATS chief allegedly shot himself using his own revolver at his residence.

A 1988 batch IPS officer, Roy played a major role in solving several key cases.

Pokhran Nuclear Test

India marked the 20th anniversary of the Pokhran nuclear tests (on 11th May), covering a journey from being a sanctions-hit country to getting a special waiver from the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group paving the way for signing civil nuclear deals with the US and several other countries.

India had conducted five underground nuclear tests on May 11 and 13, 1998 in Pokhran in the Rajasthan desert and declared it crossed the nuclear threshold.

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