General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - October 2015

Oct 2015

Apr 12, 2021

India and Netherland Strategic Partnership in Water Sector

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual summit with his Netherlands counterpart Mark Rutte. The leaders agreed to diversify the ties in trade and economy between the countries. They also agreed to expand their relations in smart cities, agriculture, science and technology, healthcare, and space.
A fast-tracking mechanism is to be set up between the two countries to facilitate bilateral trade and resolve issues of the companies in both countries. For the investors in India and Dutch companies, it is to be set up in Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
During the summit, India and Netherlands launched a strategic partnership on water. Under the partnership, the countries agreed to alleviate the joint working group on water to ministerial level. It also aimed to broaden bilateral cooperation in new areas of water.
Under the partnership the countries will focus on water budgeting, converting wastewater to energy and decentralized treatment technologies and cost effective water technologies.
Netherlands is the world leader in water management. One-fourth of Netherlands lies under sea level. Yet, the Dutch have successfully comprehended water related challenges and have tested technologies and solutions in delta management, desalination, flood control.

Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra Set to be Next CEC

As per reports, Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra is set to become the next chief election commissioner.
Going by the convention of appointing the senior-most election commissioner as the CEC, the government is learnt to have cleared his name for the top post at Nirvachan Sadan.
Chandra will assume charge on April 13, a day after incumbent Sunil Arora demits office.
Chandra was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
He would demit office on May 14, 2022.

More ROPAX Ferries and Water Taxis to be Part of Mumbai's Transportation

In order to promote eco-friendly waterways transportation and reduce the traffic load of crowded Mumbai city roads, the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has planned more water taxis and RO-PAX ferries for the city's transportation.
Four new routes for ROPAX-ferry services and 12 new routes of water taxi are likely to be operational by December 2021. It was decided in a meeting chaired by Minister of State (I/C) for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Mansukh Mandaviya, with the senior officials of the Ministry, Chairperson of Mumbai Port and officials of Maharashtra Maritime Board.
Currently, the ROPAX (roll-on/roll-off passenger) service is operational from Bhaucha Dhakka (Ferry Wharf) to Mandwa (Alibag) and reduces the road journey of 110 km to about 18 km by using waterways. It has also reduced the travel time of daily commuters from about 3-4 hours to one hour.

Nirmala Sitharaman Attends 103rd Development Committee Meeting of World Bank-IMF

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 103rd Meeting of the Development Committee Plenary, via video conferencing. During the meeting, she shared the measures taken to combat COVID-19 including social support measures for the poor and vulnerable, and relief measures for firms in statutory and regulatory compliance matters.
World Bank Group (WBG) and International Monetary Fund Support for Debt Relief Under the Common Framework and Beyond;
As a part of the meeting, Sitharaman also informed that the Government of India has announced Aatma Nirbhar Packages of Rs. 27.1 trillion, which amounts to more than 13% of the GDP. These packages would provide social protection to the poor and vulnerable as well as push forward the economic reforms.

Apr 11, 2021

CJI Launches Top Court's AI-driven Research Portal 'SUPACE'

The Supreme Court of India has launched its Artificial Intelligence portal "SUPACE" (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Courts Efficiency). Through this portal, the SC intends to leverage machine learning to deal with the vast amounts of data received at the time of filing of cases.

Odisha to Handover Unused Govt. Properties to Women SHGs

In a significant step towards empowering women-folk in villages, the Odisha government announced to handover all unused government properties in panchayats to women self-help groups (SHGs) federated under Mission Shakti programme.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed district collectors to complete the process of handing over of properties within next two months. "There are many government properties including government building, shopping complex and community ponds lying unutilised in panchayats, blocks and districts. If the properties are given to women, they will use it for social and economic upliftment of the area," said Mr. Patnaik.

Not in Favour of Appointment of Ad Hoc Judges, Centre Tells Supreme Court

The Centre told the Supreme Court that it was not in favour of appointing ad hoc judges in High Courts until recommendations for all regular appointments were not made by Chief Justices of the Courts concerned.
As on April 1, all 25 High Courts in the country had a vacancy of 411 judges, more than a third of the total positions. There were only 669 judges out of the total sanctioned strength of 1,080. Moreover, there have been no recommendations from High Courts for 214 of the 411 vacancies.
The bench was hearing a public interest litigation by NGO Lok Prahari that sought appointment of ad hoc judges to tackle the ever-mounting pendency of cases in the High Courts.
Conveying its views before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India S. A. Bobde, the government said that the constitutional provision regarding appointment of ad hoc judges should be resorted to only after all the sanctioned vacancies in the 25 high courts are filled.

Apr 10, 2021

Andhra High Court Clears Elections to Local Bodies

Elections to 534 Zilla Parishad territorial constituencies (ZPTCs) and 7,621 mandal parishad territorial constituencies (MPTCs) in Andhra Pradesh will be held as scheduled.
A division bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed the interim orders given by the single judge bench of the court stalling the elections to Zilla Parishad and mandal (block) parishads on the ground that the four-week period for the enforcement of model code of conduct was not being followed.

First Online PDOT Programme for Migrant Workers

The first online Pre-Departure Orientation Training, PDOT Programme for migrant workers was launched to supplement physical training being held in PDOT Centres.
The Ministry of External Affairs in association with Protector of Emigrants, Mumbai and other POEs has taken this initiative in view of Covid restrictions and to take advantage of technology. Online PDOT will continue even after COVID restrictions are eased to facilitate prospective migrants, who are not in a position to attend the training in-person, and to expand its reach.
PDO training would help migrant workers to know about the culture, language and regulations of the destination country to ensure their safety and security.
The initiative will provide prospective migrants with better skills and empower them further as they embark on the journey of migration.

Mulayam Singh's Niece Joins BJP

Sandhya Yadav, niece of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and she has been given a ticket for the upcoming District Panchayat elections.
The BJP released the list of candidates for the District Panchayat member, in which Sandhya has been nominated from Ghiror, Mainpuri from ward number 18.
Sandhya is the daughter of Mulayam Singh's elder brother Abhairam Yadav and former MP from Badaun Dharmendra Yadav's elder sister.
Sandhya is a former District Panchayat President of Mainpuri. She was made the District Panchayat president by the Samajwadi Party in 2016, but a family quarrel followed.

Apr 09, 2021

India and Bahrain Agree to Bolster Defence and Security Cooperation

India and Bahrain agreed to strengthen bilateral defence and security cooperation, including through regular consultations in maritime security, combating piracy and counter-terrorism.
This was decided at a meeting of the India-Bahrain high joint commission that was co-chaired in New Delhi by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.
The Bahraini side expressed interest in setting up pharmaceutical and vaccine production units with Indian collaboration, and the Indian side agreed to facilitate dialogue on this issue between relevant stakeholders.
The Indian side also made a request for greater acceptance and market access for Indian pharmaceutical products in the Bahraini market.

Telugu Desam Party Loses its Presence in Telangana Assembly

The Telugu Desam Party, which hitherto had a nominal presence in Telangana, lost its existence in the state assembly completely, with both the MLAs of the party joining the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi.
The two lawmakers – Sandra Venkata Veeraiah from Sattupalli assembly constituency and Mecha Nageshwara Rao from Ashwaraopet constituency (both in Khammam district) – wrote a letter to assembly speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, stating that they were merging the Telugu Desam Legislature Party with the TRS.

Chintan Vaishnav New Mission Director of Atal Innovation Mission

Noted socio-technologist, Chintan Vaishnav has been appointed the mission director of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), the government's flagship initiative under NITI Aayog. Vaishnav will take over from Ramanathan Ramanan later this month. Ramanan has been leading AIM as its first mission director since June 2017. Vaishnav is currently at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), US. He holds a PhD in technology, management, and policy from MIT.
AIM's mission is to create and promote a vibrant ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country. Over the past four years, since its inception, AIM's various initiatives have achieved notable successes. So far, AIM has established 72,59 Atal Tinkering Labs in schools across 650 districts, providing over 3.5 million students access to emerging technologies.

Apr 08, 2021

Former CS Named NGT Member

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan has been appointed as an expert member of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Southern Zone in Chennai. The serving expert member in the Southern Bench Saibal Dasgupta has been sent to Eastern Zonal Bench in Kolkata.
When Girija Vaidyanathan had initially applied for the post, Chennai-based environmental advocacy group Poovulagin Nanbargal had filed a Public Interest Litigation before the Madras High Court challenging it. Admitting the petition, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy had directed the government and Girija Vaidyanathan to file their responses in six weeks.

Road in Ayodhya to be Named after Kothari Brothers

Uttar Pradesh deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said that he will construct a road in Ayodhya in memory of Kothari brothers, who were killed in police firing in Ayodhya on October 30, 1990.
At many times the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, amid the ongoing West Bengal assembly elections, exhorted the voters of the state to remember the sacrifice of Kothari brothers, who had lost their lives while agitating for the holy site in Ayodhya.

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