General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Sep 09, 2021

India to Host G-20 Summit in 2023

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has been appointed as India's Sherpa for the G20, an influential grouping that brings together the world's major economies.
India will hold the G20 presidency from December 1, 2022, and will convene the G20 leaders' summit in 2023 for the first time.
The next G20 Summit is scheduled to take place from October 30 to 31 under the Italian presidency.
India will be part of the G20 Troika (preceding, current, and incoming G20 Presidencies) from December 1, 2021 till November 30, 2024.
G20 brings together 19 of the world's leading economies and the European Union, with its members accounting for more than 80 per cent of global GDP, 75 per cent of global trade and 60 per cent of the global population.
The G20 member nations are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

BJP Makes Dharmendra Pradhan in Charge of Poll-bound Uttar Pradesh

Ahead of the scheduled Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections next year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appointed Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as the election in-charge for the state.
Union Ministers Anurag Singh Thakur, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Shobha Karandlaje and Annpurna Devi, MPs Saroj Pandey and Vivek Thakur were appointed as the election co-in charge of the UP polls.
Further, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi has been appointed in charge of Uttarakhand for the upcoming Assembly election in 2022 and BJP MP Locket Chatterjee has been appointed as a co-in charge for the polls.
For the assembly polls scheduled in Punjab, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has been appointed as the election in-charge for the state, while Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Meenakshi Lekhi has been appointed as co-in charges.

Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya Resigns

Baby Rani Maurya resigned as Governor of Uttarakhand, almost two years before completing her term.
She is the second woman to be appointed Uttarakhand Governor after Margaret Alva.
Baby Rani Maurya took charge as Uttarakhand Governor in August 2018, succeeding Krishan Kant Paul, who was appointed Governor in January 2015. The only other woman governor of the state, Margaret Alva held the post from August 2009 to May 2012.
Before becoming the Governor of Uttarakhand, Maurya had served on many political and administrative posts. From 1995 to 2000, she was mayor of Agra. In 2001, she was a member of the State Social Welfare Board and a member of the National Women's Commission in 2002. In 1996, she was awarded Samaj Ratna, followed by the Uttar Pradesh Ratna in 1997 and the Nari Ratna award in 1998.

Sep 08, 2021

Indian CAG Elected Chairman of Apex Asian Auditor Body

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India G. C. Murmu was elected Chairman of the Assembly of Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions from 2024-2027 with India set to host the 16th Assembly of ASOSAI in 2024.
After the election, Murmu assured members that during India's three-year term as Chair of the ASOSAI, he would focus on areas of environment audit and develop frameworks to test compliance of organisations to environment policies, in the wake of climate change and carbon emission challenges.
Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions is one of the Regional Groups of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), which aims to promote understanding and cooperation among member institutions through the exchange of ideas and experiences in the field of public audit.

Assam Govt. to Form New Panel for Preparing Roadmap to Implement Assam Accord

The Assam government will form a committee comprising ministers and members of the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) for preparing a roadmap within three months to implement the Assam Accord.
A six-year agitation demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants was launched by the AASU in 1979. It had culminated with the signing of the Assam Accord on August 15, 1985, in the presence of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
After a meeting between the AASU and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma along with senior ministers of the state government, Implementation of Assam Accord Minister Atul Bora said both sides decided to form a committee to implement the pact.
The Assam Accord says, among other things, that names of all foreigners coming to Assam on or after March 25, 1971 would be detected and deleted from electoral rolls and steps would be taken to deport them.

Andhra Appoints Former SBI Chief Rajnish Kumar as Economic Advisor

The Andhra Pradesh government has appointed Rajnish Kumar as its economic advisor. A former SBI chairman, Rajnish Kumar's tenure in the cabinet rank position is for two years.
The appointment comes amid the growing concerns over the state's financial situation which has been badly hit by the Covid pandemic, even as the opposition has been critical over the sops and freebies being distributed by the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led state government.
Rajnish Kumar who had retired as SBI chairman in October 2006, is an independent non-executive director at the HongKong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.

Sep 07, 2021

J&K L-G Launches Portal to Redress Migrants' Property Grievances

The lieutenant governor (L-G) of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha launched an online portal (http://jkmigrantrelief.nic.in) for the registration of complaints by Kashmiri migrants about distress sale, encroachment or other grievances regarding property in the Union Territory.
According to the government, applications filed on the portal will be addressed in a fixed timeframe under the Public Services Guarantee Act, 2011 by the revenue authorities. The district magistrates, who are the competent authority, will have to undertake surveys or field verification of properties and update all registers within a period of 15 days and submit a compliance report to the divisional commissioner.

46% Rise in Complaints of Crimes against Women in 2021

The country saw a rise of 46 per cent in complaints of crimes against women in the first eight months of this year as against the corresponding period of last year, the National Commission for Women (NCW) said. According to data, the NCW received 19,953 complaints of crimes against women from January to August this year. The number is up from the 13,618 complaints reported in the same period of time in 2020. The NCW received as many as 3,248 complaints in the month of July, which is the highest in a month since June 2015.
More than half of these complaints came from the state of Uttar Pradesh alone, the women's body also informed. Among states and Union territories, the highest number of complaints were received from Uttar Pradesh (10,084). It was followed by the national capital with 2,147 complaints. Haryana reported 995 and 974 came from Maharashtra, the commission also said.

Sep 06, 2021

Ex-gratia Amount in Journalist Welfare Scheme to be Reviewed

The government has set up a 12-member committee to review the existing guidelines of the Journalist Welfare Scheme (JWS). The committee, headed by Prasar Bharti Board member Ashok Kumar Tandon, is expected to give its report in two months.
The committee will examine the need for revision of the quantum of ex-gratia payment in death as well as other cases under the JWS. It will also look into the aspect of differentiation and parity between accredited and non-accredited journalists for availing benefits under the scheme.
The committee has also been asked to look into the revision and broad-basing the definition of 'working journalist' for the purpose of the scheme, keeping in view the Occupational, Safety, Health and Working Condition Code-2020 as well as Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
This decision is considered significant in the light of the several changes that have taken place in the media eco-space, including the loss of a large number of journalists due to Covid-19.

Centre Signs a Tripartite 'Karbi Peace Accord'

The government signed a tripartite Karbi Peace Accord in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and the representatives of Karbi outfits in Delhi.
The Karbis are a major ethnic group of Assam, dotted by several factions and splinters. The history of the Karbi group is marked by killings, ethnic violence, abductions and taxation since the late 1980s.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the signing of the Karbi Anglong Agreement marked an historic day for Assam. Under the new pact, the people belonging to the hill tribe are entitled to reservation under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Manipur CM Launches e-ILP Platform to Regulate Entry and Exit

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh virtually launched the e-ILP platform for effective regulation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system in the state.
Singh said the e-ILP platform will play a vital role in regulating the entry, exit and tracking of visitors who are overstaying beyond the permitted duration.
The e-ILP tracking system had been developed to mend the loopholes in the procedures adopted to issue the permit and its tracking system. The system would help in checking whether a person, who had entered the state with a permit, had left or was still staying even after the expiration of the permitted duration.
The authorities, on many instances, had found visitors staying beyond their permit duration without any renewal. The new system will enable mobile tracking of defaulters and help taking necessary action, he added.
He also informed that an Inner Line Permit Monitoring Cell with DIG (Intelligence) as its chairman had been set up to ensure proper reading of entry and exit and to track over stay.

Rajasthan: Congress Bags 231 Panchayat Samiti Seats, BJP 185

The ruling Congress in Rajasthan has won 231 panchayat samiti seats and the opposition BJP 185 out of a total of 1,564 in six districts where polling was held in three phases.
The Congress has also won one seat of Zila Parishad in Jodhpur.
Independents won in 111 seats.

Sep 05, 2021

Goa Becomes First State in Country to Give Free Water to People

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that the state is the first state in the country to supply water free of cost to its citizens.
Sawant launched the 'Save Water to Get Free Water' scheme under which households in the state will not be charged for consumption up to 16,000 litres.
From September 16,000 litres of water will be given free of cost. Those living in flats or complexes will be able to utilise the scheme.
He also announced that small businesses and restaurants will be transferred from the industrial to commercial segment for water billing, due to which, they also will be able to avail the benefit of this scheme.

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