General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

Mar 21, 2018

Union government approves plastic park to be set up in Deoghar, Jharkhand

Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Ananthkumar announced that the Government of India approved the setting up of a Plastic Park in Deoghar District, Jharkhand. The project would be set up at a cost of Rs. 120 crores in an area of 150 acres. Mr. Ananthkumar also announced the setting up of Rs. 3.5 crore Plastic Recycling unit at Deoghar to tackle the menace of plastic waste being generated due to the place being a tourist attraction.

106th Indian Science Congress to be held in Bhopal

General President-elect Manoj Kumar Chakrabarti announced that the 106th edition of the Indian Science Congress will be held in January 2019 at Barkatullah University Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The theme for 2019 ISC will be "Future India: Science & Technology".

India signs double taxation avoidance treaty with Hong Kong

India and Hong Kong signed a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) that seeks to improve transparency in tax matters and help curb tax evasion and avoidance. The agreement between India and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China was signed by Indian Ambassador to China Gautam Bambawale and Hong Kong Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mo-Po in Hong Kong.

Third edition of National Conclave on Mines and Minerals

The Ministry of Mines organized the 3rd National Conclave on Mines and Minerals in New Delhi. The event was inaugurated by the Minister of Mines, Narendra Singh Tomar. Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) has agreed to partner in the event. A portal on Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojna (PMKKKY) scheme was also launched on the occasion.

Mar 20, 2018

Indian Navy to host bilateral exercise 'Varuna' with French Navy

The Indian Navy and the French Navy have conducted bilateral maritime exercises since May 1993. Since 2001, the exercises have been named VARUNA and there have been fifteen editions of the same till date. The last edition of VARUNA was conducted off the French Coast in April 2017. This year to VARUNA-18 would be conducted in three sea areas, namely, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and South Western Indian Ocean. The conduct of VARUNA and the special impetus on taking this Navy-to-Navy cooperative engagement forward was reiterated in the Joint Statement made by the Prime Minister of India and the President of France.

First National workshop on POSHAN Abhiyan held in New Delhi

The first National workshop on POSHAN Abhiyan involving all the states and union territories was held at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, New Delhi. The Ministry of Women and Child Development is organizing the day-long workshop with participation from all the states/UTs. It is been organized to provide a complete orientation on the POSHAN Abhiyan, to explain the key components of the Abhiyaan and to provide hand holding in using the software involved. The Ministry of WCD is also launching five e-ILA (e-Incremental Learning Approach) courses and two ECCE(Early Childhood Care and Education) software modules.

Informal WTO ministerial meeting held in New Delhi

Representatives from 50 countries gathered in New Delhi for a two-day informal World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the informal meeting of ministers will provide an opportunity to engage in free and frank discussions with the hope that it will lead to political guidance on some major issues.

India and EU signed agreement on sharing earth observation data

India and the European Union (EU) have signed an agreement that will enable them to share earth observation data from each other's satellites. The pact was inked in Bengaluru. The Copernicus programme provides a wide range of applications like climate change, land, ocean, and atmosphere monitoring as well as support in forecasting, management and mitigation of natural disasters. Under this arrangement, Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO will share data from its earth observation satellites.

Mar 19, 2018

Navy Chief Sunil Lanba to be on a 5-day visit to USA

Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba is on a five-day visit to the USA. The visit aims to consolidate relations between the Armed Forces of both the nations and to explore new avenues of defense co-operation. During the visit, Admiral Lanba will hold bilateral discussions with US Defence Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer among others. The Admiral will also visit the Pacific Command Headquarters at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii, the Naval Surface Warfare Centre Dahlgren, the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC.

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurates festival of innovation and entrepreneurship

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurates a Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and present Gandhian Young Technological Innovation awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi. The five-day festival is an initiative to recognize, respect, showcase, reward innovations and to foster a supportive ecosystem for innovators. It is being organized by Rashtrapati Bhavan in association with the Department of Science and Technology and the National Innovation Foundation-India.

Mar 18, 2018

Lok Sabha passes Gratuity Amendment Bill

Lok Sabha passed Gratuity Amendment bill. The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 aims at increasing the upper ceiling of the gratuity from the present 10 lakh rupees to 20 lakh rupees for employees in the private sector and in Public Sector Undertakings at par with Central Government employees. The House also passed the Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill, 2017 which seeks to grant a party the right to seek damages from the other side in case of a breach of a business contract and to reduce the discretion of courts in such matters.

Prime Minister inaugurates 105th Indian Science Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 105th session of Indian Science Congress (ISC) at Manipur Central University in Imphal. The focal theme of 5-day ISC is "Reaching the Unreached Through Science & Technology". The ISC 2018 was organized by the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), a premier scientific organization of India. Approximately, 5,000 delegates from all over the country and 2,000 scientists along with four Nobel Laureates are participating in this year mega event.

Mar 17, 2018

Sach-Gaurav: Indias first cloned Assamese buffalo born

The Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) claimed that India's first cloned Assamese buffalo male calf named Sach-Gaurav was born in Hisar, Haryana. It was born to Murrah buffalo, at Hi-Tech Sach Dairy Farm, 100 km from cloning laboratory, making it first buffalo calf to be born.

Sangeeta Bahadur appointed as Next Ambassador of India to Belarus

Sangeeta Bahadur appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Belarus. She is an IFS officer of 1987 batch. She is currently Additional Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs.

NITI Aayog released SATH-E roadmaps

NITI Aayog released comprehensive roadmaps and detailed timelines for its initiative 'Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital in Education (SATH-E)' project. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog released the forward-looking blueprints. These roadmaps, which operate between 2018 to 2020, lay out detailed interventions which will be taken by the three participating States- Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha - aiming to become 'Role Model States' in school education.

LaQshya program launched to improve quality of maternity care

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched LaQshya program aimed at improving quality of maternity care in labour room and maternity operation. It is being implemented to 'fast-track' interventions for achieving tangible results. The program aims to improve quality of care for pregnant. It is implemented at all Medical College Hospitals, District Hospitals and First Referral Unit (FRU) and Community Health Center (CHCs).

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