General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Jan 28, 2021

Govt. to Launch CES Survey with Revised Methodology

The government is planning to launch the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) with a revised methodology for FY22, after the previous survey in FY18 was discarded due to data quality issues.
The CES data is used to calculate poverty and inflation levels, as well as to track economic progress in rural and urban India.

Karnataka Deputy CM Seeks UT Status for Mumbai

Karnataka deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi said Mumbai should be made part of the state and urged the Centre to declare it a Union Territory until then, as he hit back at Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray for raking up the border issue with a similar demand.
From now on, he said the people would start demanding that Mumbai should be made part of Karnataka as they too had a share in it.

Jan 27, 2021

SC Gives Green Signal to Local Elections in AP, Poll Panel Revises Schedule

In a setback to the Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh, the Supreme Court gave the green signal to state election commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar to conduct gram panchayat elections in the state in February.
A two-member division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Hrishikesh Roy dismissed the special leave petition filed by the Jagan government seeking to stall the process initiated by the SEC for the gram panchayat elections in the state.
The apex court ordered that the elections for the gram panchayats in the state be held as scheduled and there was no need for postponing the elections indefinitely on the pretext of Covid-19 vaccination drive.

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray Launches Jail Tourism Project

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray launched a jail tourism initiative in the state with an aim to help students and other citizens experience "vignettes from history". People will be able to understand the struggles of freedom fighters by visiting jails under the new initiative.
The initiative was launched from the 150-year-old Yerawada prison in Pune, where several freedom fighters, including Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Sarojini Naidu and Subhas Chandra Bose, had been imprisoned under the British rule.

Nitish Kumar's JD(U) Rejigs over 40 District Units in Party Overhaul

The Janata Dal (United), following its poor performance in the assembly elections, effected the first major organisational re-structuring and revamped 41 district units of the party.
Newly appointed state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha announced the names of 41 new district presidents.
The state JD(U) has 51 district units.
The organisational re-structuring was on cards following the feedback collected by senior party leaders over the last past one month.
During the party's state executive committee meeting also, party leaders and office-bearers had demanded that the party organisation should be revived to face the new challenges at the ground level.

Indian Railways' Longest Freight Train 'Vasuki' Sets a New Record

The South-East Central Railways (SECR) zone in Chhattisgarh broke its own previous record by successfully operating the longest ever freight train by amalgamating five rakes of goods trains as one unit of around 3.5 km. Named as 'Vasuki', it covered the distance of 224 km between the railway stations of Bhilai and Korba and took about seven hours. The 'Vasuki', comprising 300 wagons of long haul rake of five goods trains, ran with the help of one pilot, one assistant loco pilot and a guard.
South East Central Railway (SECR) zone has also operated two freight trains recently. These freight trains got attention due to their length. The two freight trains were 'Sesh Naag' and 'Super Anaconda'. Super Anaconda was a fully loaded three rake combined freight trains. 'Sesh Naag' was a 2.8 km long four empty BOXN rakes train combined.

Sikkim Goes Back to Non-partisan Polls after more than a Decade

Tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim is all set to return to non-partisan form of elections after more than a decade.
While political parties contested the municipal polls in the eastern state for the first time in 2010, they contested the panchayat polls for the first time in 1997. Before that, Sikkim used to hold non-partisan elections.
The election for the municipalities on non-partisan lines would be held either by the end of March or early April this year. The required amendments have already been made through the state assembly.

Consistently Supported Palestinian Nation-building Efforts, Says India at UNSC

India has reiterated its position on the Israel-Palestine conflict and pointed out its consistent support to 'Palestinian nation-building efforts' during a discussion on the issue at the United Nations Security Council.
Speaking at the meet, India's envoy to the UN, T.S. Tirumurti highlighted New Delhi's human resource development and institutional building for Palestine and has currently undertaken several projects in many sectors, including health, education and technology of around USD 72 million.
India has also provided over 250 scholarships for Palestinian youth and officials on an annual basis. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Tirumurti said, "India has supplied critical life-saving drugs and medical equipment to Palestine as assistance".

Jan 26, 2021

Arjun Munda Virtually Launches "Shramshakti" Portal

The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda has launched a National Migration Support Portal "ShramShakti", during a virtual programme organised at Panjim, Goa. The portal will help the government in smooth formulation of state and national level programs for migrant workers.
Shram Shakti portal will address the data gap and empower migrant workers who generally migrate in search of employment and income generation. The government would also be able to link the migrant population with existing Welfare Scheme- under Atam Nirbhar Bharat.
The minister also launched "ShramSaathi", a training manual for migrant workers, to ensure that the process of livelihood migration is safe and productive. Apart from this, a dedicated Migration cell was also launched in Goa to facilitate and support migrants who come from different States to Goa. This makes Goa the first destination state of India to set up a dedicated migration cell to address diverse issues of migrant workers.

Jan 25, 2021

Centre Gives Green Light to Underwater Study to Determine Ram Setu Origins

The government has approved an underwater research project to ascertain the origins of the Ram Setu — a 48-km-long chain of shoals between India and Sri Lanka.
Talking about the aim of the exploration, Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Prahlad Singh Patel, said, "The world should get to know about the Ram Setu through evidence based on scientific research."
Ram Setu, also known as Adam's Bridge or Nala Setu, holds religious significance because of the Ramayana.
The government has approved an underwater research project to ascertain the origins of the Ram Setu — a 48-km-long chain of shoals between India and Sri Lanka.
Talking about the aim of the exploration, Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Prahlad Singh Patel, said, "The world should get to know about the Ram Setu through evidence based on scientific research."
Ram Setu, also known as Adam's Bridge or Nala Setu, holds religious significance because of the Ramayana.

Jan 24, 2021

Abbas Siddiqui Floats New Political Party in Bengal

A young and popular Muslim cleric in West Bengal, Abbas Siddiqui, has floated a new political outfit — the Indian Secular Front -- in the poll-bound state.
Siddiqui, who has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, recently held a meeting with Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM).
As per Siddiqui, the party has been formed so that everybody can enjoy social justice and constitutional democracy can be protected.

India Willing to Support Colombia in its Journey Towards Peace, Progress

Commending the remarkable progress in the process of peacebuilding in Colombia, India said that it is willing to support Bogota in its journey towards peace, progress, and prosperity.
Speaking at United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) meeting on Colombia, TS Tirumurti, Indian Ambassador to the United Nations, said democracy in Colombia is deepening through increased political participation and applauded the efforts of the people and the Government of Colombia in realising the achievements of the last four years.
A peace deal was signed between the previous Colombian government of Juan Manuel Santos and the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in November 2016. The deal was meant to put an end to a bloody 50-year armed conflict that killed over 260,000 and displaced millions in Colombia.

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