General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Dec 14, 2020

Telangana CM KCR Seeks Sanction from Centre for Six New Airports in State

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao requested the Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri to speed up the process to build six more airports in the state.
Rao requested the Ministry of Civil Aviation to kindly expedite finalising the sites and getting all statutory clearances on a single-window basis so that the government can commence the infrastructure work.
Telangana had proposed new airports to be built at Basantnagar (Peddapally district), Mamnoor (Warangal urban), Adilabad, Jakranpally (Nizamabad), Devarkadra (Mehboobnagar) and Bhadradri Kothagudem.
Following discussions with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), it was decided that only no-frills airports for smaller aircraft will be developed, which may be expanded in the future for commercial operations depending on demand.

BJP, UPPL and GSP Join Hands for Formation of Bodoland Territorial Council

The BJP decided to join hands with the United Peoples' Party Liberal (UPPL) and the Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) to jointly form the next Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) after the just concluded polls resulted in a hung House. The 40-member new Council will be headed by UPPL Chief Promode Bodo, Sonowal.
The decision was taken following deliberations among North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor and minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, state BJP President Ranjit Dass, BJP National General Secretary and Mangaldoi MP Dilip Saikia, UPPL Chief Promode Bodo and GSP Chief and Kokrajhar MP Naba Kumar Sarania.

Dec 13, 2020

Rivals Congress, BJP Join Hands at Two Places, Ditch Own Allies

In unlikely collaborations, rivals Congress and BJP came together at two places in Rajasthan to thwart local Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) leaders in the elections for zila pramukhs and panchayat samiti pradhans.
The BTP, a Congress ally which supported Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot during the revolt in his party earlier this year, is upset that the ruling party candidates chose the BJP over it in the tribal Dungarpur district, where the small outfit is trying to expand its influence.
The opposition BJP did not help its ally, Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal's RLP, bag a village head's post in Nagaur district. Instead, its candidates went for an independent nominee, supported also by the Congress.

India and Nepal Inching Closer to Finalise Cross Border Electricity Sales Regulatory Modality

India and Nepal are inching closer to finalize the regulatory modality for allowing Nepali power producers access to Indian power market which will provide an outlet for Nepal's surplus power in the coming months.
The power/energy secretaries of India and Nepal co-chaired the 8th meeting of Joint Steering Committee (JSC) on cooperation in the Power sector that was held through video conference.
Both sides discussed, inter alia, development of suitable rules and guidelines for allowing access to Nepali power producers to Indian markets, development of energy banking mechanism, development of cross border high voltage transmission lines as well as reviewing the progress of the SJVN Limited- developed 900MW Arun-III Hydro Electric Project in Nepal and agreeing to further facilitate its expeditious implementation.

Dec 12, 2020

Govt. Launches Program for Socio-economic Profiling of PM SWANidhi Beneficiaries

The Centre launched a programme for socio-economic profiling of the beneficiaries of the PM Street Vendor's Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) and their families. Based on the socio-economic profiling of PM SVANidhi beneficiaries and their families, various other central schemes will be extended to them according to their eligibility. States and Union territories can also make use of the profiles to facilitate better access to their respective schemes.
Quality Council of India (QCI) has been appointed as the implementing partner for the programme. Before the programme is rolled out in all 125 cities a test program will be conducted in six select cities of Gaya, Indore, Kakching, Nizamabad, Rajkot and Varanasi.

India and Uzbekistan Ink 9 Pacts

India and Uzbekistan signed nine MoUs along with confirmation of a $448 million line of credit during a virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Uzbekistan in-principle agreed to join the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), promoted by India, Russia and Iran, which is handicapped by less use. Uzbekistan's use of the corridor would add to the overall improvement of connectivity in the larger Eurasian space.
Uzbekistan has proposed a trilateral dialogue among India, Iran and Uzbekistan to promote connectivity through the India-operated Chabahar port, Joint Secretary (Eurasia) in the Ministry of External Affairs Adarsh Swaika told newspersons. Mirziyoyev wanted to explore the possibility of implementing priority development projects in Uzbekistan as part of the $1billion line of credit offered by India for Central Asian countries during the second meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue.

UP Government to Have Directorate of Religious Affairs Department

Uttar Pradesh government announced setting up a directorate of Religious Affairs Department (Dharmarth Karya Vibhag) for the 'smooth functioning of religious activities' in the state.
As per reports, the headquarters of the directorate will be set up in the building provided by Kashi Vishwanath Distinguished Area Development Council in Varanasi district, while another sub-office will be situated in Kailash Mansarovar Bhawan in Ghaziabad.
In the last three and a half years, the state government has made several efforts in giving special recognition to the religious places as well as providing convenience to the devotees.

Uttar Pradesh's Republic Day 2021 Tableaux to Showcase Ayodhya Ram Temple

At the Republic Day Parade in Delhi the tableau of Uttar Pradesh will showcase the upcoming Ram temple in Ayodhya as well as the culture, tradition and art related to the temple town.
As per a release from the state government, the tableaux theme for the 2021 is titled 'Ayodhya: Cultural Heritage Uttar Pradesh'.
It will also exhibit a glimpse of the 'Deepotsav' in Ayodhya. The proposal sent from the Uttar Pradesh government was approved during a meeting held in Delhi regarding the Republic Day parade.
This year, the tableau of the state tied with Odisha's tableaux and was based on the theme 'Sarva Dharma Samabhav'. It mirrored the cultural and religious tourism of Uttar Pradesh.

Dec 11, 2020

India Extends Support to Bangladesh Candidature for WHO Post

India has extended its support to Bangladesh's candidature for the post of executive director (ED) of South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Newly appointed Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Doraiswami conveyed this support when he paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Assam NRC Published Last Year Not Final

The historic National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam published in August last year was only a "supplementary list" and the final document is yet to come out, state coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma has told the Gauhati High Court. In the "supplementary list" of the NRC, over 10,000 names were either wrongly included or excluded and necessary orders have been issued to delete nearly 4,800 "ineligible persons" from the document, Sarma said in an affidavit to the High Court.

J&K Fifth Phase of DDC Election Ends

According to State Election Commissioner (SEC) K.K. Sharma, the fifth phase of District Development Council (DDC) election in Jammu and Kashmir ended with 51.2 per cent voting. The voting across 37 seats passed off peacefully across Jammu and Kashmir.
The voting for sixth phase will take place on December 13.

Dec 10, 2020

India-Uzbekistan Virtual Summit, a First with Central Asian Nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will hold a virtual summit on December 11. This is the first such virtual summit with a Central Asian country, and the 7th in the series of a new format of diplomatic engagement amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
PM Modi has already had virtual summits with his counterparts from--Australia, EU, Sri Lanka, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg. More such meets are on the anvil.
Both countries have had close ties and a high-level of engagements. Prime Minister Modi had visited the doubly landlocked central Asian country in 2015 and 2016, followed by visits of Uzbek President Mirziyoyev to India in 2018 and 2019.

Asom Gana Parishad to Contest Assembly Polls in Alliance with BJP

Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) announced that it will contest next year's assembly polls in alliance with BJP.
AGP is a partner in the ruling BJP led coalition in Assam. AGP believes in the politics of alliance.
A section of AGP has proposed that AGP must fight 2021 polls separately. AGP is yet to start seat sharing negotiation with BJP. AGP has worked on building organisations in the last five years.
Regional party AGP was formed after a six year long anti-foreigners movement in 1985.
Prior to assembly polls in 2016 BJP in Assam stitched grand alliance which included AGP and Bodoland People's Front (BPF).

Lakshadweep Declared 100% Organic

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer's welfare has declared the Union Territory of Lakshadweep as Organic Agricultural Area by. The UT is second after Sikkim to achieve the status of 100% organic region. It is first in the Union Territories of India to achieve the status.
The entire 32 sq km area of the UT has been certified as organic under the Union Government's Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (organic farming improvement programme). Lakshadweep has been separated from the main stream India geographically. There has been no shipment of chemicals and fertilizers to the island group for the last 15 years. The UT administration has been practicing farming only using inputs like compost, poultry manure, green leaf manure. The UT has not made any expenditure for procurement of chemicals.

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