General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - October 2015

Oct 2015

Jan 04, 2021

Rift Erupts in Maha Vikas Aghadi over Renaming of Aurangabad

The Congress has reiterated its objection to renaming Aurangabad even as its ally Shiv Sena said that the name change would happen soon but the issue would not rock the coalition government in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra minister and state Congress Chief Balasaheb Thorat had said two days ago that he would strongly oppose renaming the Aurangabad city in central Maharashtra as Sambhajinagar.
It was the Shiv Sena, which had first made the demand to rename Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar over two decades ago.

Delhi Govt. Sets up and Notifies Academy to Promote Tamil Language and Culture

The Department of Art, Culture and Language of the Delhi government, under the leadership of Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, set up and notified Tamil academy to promote Tamil language and culture.
The Delhi government has appointed Ex-MCD councillor and current member of Delhi Tamil Sangam N. Raja as the Vice-Chairman of the academy.
According to Sisodia, Delhi is a culturally rich city where people from all parts of the country live and work. It is this diversity that forms Delhi's vibrant and cosmopolitan culture.
Delhi has a large population of people from Tamil Nadu and we want to present a platform to the people of Delhi to get the taste of the art and culture of Tamil Nadu.

Prasar Bharati's Digital Channels Record 100% Growth in 2020

Digital channels of Prasar Bharati have registered more than 100 per cent growth in 2020.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said that the channels across Doordarshan and Akashvani clocked over a billion digital views and over six billion digital watch minutes in the year.
Interestingly during 2020, Pakistan accounted for the second-highest digital audience for DD and AIR content after domestic audience from within India, with the United States close behind.

Two Scindia Loyalists Back as Ministers in MP Cabinet

The Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh Cabinet was expanded with the induction of two loyalists of BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, whose exit from the Congress in March last year triggered the fall of the 15-month-old Kamal Nath-led dispensation in the state.
Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath of office to Tulsiram Silawat and Govind Rajput, who returned to the Cabinet after a gap of more than two months.
With their induction, the current strength of the state Cabinet has gone up to 31. The number of members in the council of ministers in MP cannot exceed 35.

Jan 03, 2021

Suvendu Adhikari's Brother, 14 Councillors of TMC Join BJP

The New Year started on a disappointing note for West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) as another member of Kanthi's influential Adhikari family left the party and joined the BJP.
Soumendu Adhikari, who was removed from the post of Kanthi Municipality administrator by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, joined the BJP following in the footsteps of his elder brother Suvendu Adhikari.
Fourteen others, who were councillors of the municipality having a total strength of 21, also joined the BJP along with Soumendu.

India Begins its Two-year Tenure as Non-permanent Member of UNSC

India, which has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the UN Security Council, began its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the powerful organ of the world body on Friday.
India will sit in the 15-nation United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2021-22 term as a non-permanent member—the eighth time that the country has had a seat on the powerful horseshoe table.
On Friday, India, Norway, Kenya, Ireland and Mexico joined non-permanent members Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam and the five permanent members China, France, Russia, UK and the US.

Jan 02, 2021

Harsh Vardhan Nominated to the Board of 'GAVI', The Vaccine Alliance

Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan was named as the board member of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI). The seat was held by Myint Htwe of Myanmar. Dr. Vardhan will represent the South East Area Regional Office (SEARO)/ Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) constituency on the GAVI Board. Dr. Vardhan assumed the charge with effect from January 1, 2021, and serve till December 31, 2023.
The vaccine alliance GAVI is an international organisation that provides a forum for balanced strategic decision-making, innovation and partner collaboration.
It was created to improve access to new and underused vaccines for numerous vaccine-preventable diseases for children who live in the world's poorest countries.
The GAVI board is responsible for the strategic direction and policy-making oversees the operations of the Vaccine Alliance and monitors programme implementation.

India's First Pollinator Park Opens in Uttarakhand

The country's first pollinator park with over 40 species of butterflies, honeybees, birds and insects has been developed over four acres at Haldwani, Uttarakhand.
The objective behind developing the park is to conserve various pollinator species, create awareness among people in general about the importance of conservation of these species and to promote further research on various aspects of pollination, including a threat to habitat and impact of pollution on pollinators.
There are at present 40 species of pollinators at the park, including common jezebel, common emigrant, red pierrot, common sailor, plain tiger, the common leopard, the common moron, common grass yellow, common blue bottle, common four-ring, peacock pansy, the painted lady, pioneer white, yellow-orange tip and lime butterfly.

Jan 01, 2021

Republic Day Paraded Likely to be Shorter

The Republic Day celebrations at Rajpath next month are likely to witness a number of changes including smaller marching contingents, shorter distance for the parade and fewer spectators compared to the previous years in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
Every year, India displays its military might, rich cultural diversity and socio-economic progress during the Republic Day celebrations at the Rajpath, the city's centrepiece boulevard.
As per reports, around 25,000 spectators will be allowed to witness the celebrations as against a normal crowd of around 100,000 people and that children below 15 years of age will not be allowed entry.
Similarly, the size of the marching contingents is likely to be brought down from around 144 in each contingent to around 96.
The parade is likely to be of shorter distance. It will start from Vijay Chowk and end at the National Stadium instead of the Red Fort.

TMC MPs Seek Removal of Bengal Governor

Trimoonal Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray submitted a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind demanding the immediate removal of West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar.
The other signatories demanding the removal of West Bengal Governor are: Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, MPs Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Derek O'Brien, Kalyan Banerjee, and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar.
The letter said that Dhankar had been inducing divisive politics, because ruling parties at the center and the state are political opponents.

Dec 31, 2020

Odisha 7th State to Complete Ease of Doing Business Reforms

Odisha has become the 7th state in India to successfully undertake the 'Ease of Doing Business' reform stipulated by the Ministry of Finance. The state is now eligible to mobilise additional financial resources of Rs. 1,429 crores through Open Market Borrowings.
The Department of Expenditure gave permission for the same on December 30, 2020. Odisha has now joined the six other states namely, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, who have completed this reform.

Karnataka Rejects Kasturirangan Panel Report on Western Ghats

Karnataka has decided to reject the K Kasturirangan committee report on protecting Western Ghats and will convey the same to the Union government.
"The report is unscientific and there are plenty of ambiguities which makes it difficult to implement. The report is opposed everywhere right from the gram panchayat level to an assembly segment," Revenue Minister R Ashoka said, adding that if the government goes ahead and implements the report, it will create uncertainties for people in the Western Ghat villages.
The cabinet sub-committee formed to study the K. Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats chaired by Forest Minister Anand Singh held its last meeting and decided to outrightly reject the recommendations. The state will now communicate its stand to the Centre as the National Green Tribunal has set December 31 deadline to implement the report.
The report has identified more than 1,500 villages in Karnataka as ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs), and if the government were to implement the Kasturirangan panel recommendations, it would prohibit developmental activities in those villages.

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