General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Dec 04, 2020

Postage Stamp on Gujral's 101st Birth Anniversary

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu virtually released a commemorative postage stamp on former Prime Minister IK Gujral on his 101st birth anniversary. Born on December 4, Gujral passed away on November 30, 2012.
As former Union Minister and ambassador, he was best known for the "Gujral doctrine" which is being pursued by the current neighbourhood as the "Neighbourhood First Policy".
The 'Gujral doctrine' had triggered a turnaround in ties with at least four neighbours – Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka – though the trend did not sustain.

Annual Ranking of Police Stations

The Ministry of Home Affairs recently released the annual ranking of police Stations in India. The annual ranking is being done since 2015.
Nongpok Sekmai Police Station in Thoubal district of Manipur was ranked as the best performing police station in the country.
The All Women Police Station of Suramangalam in Salem city of Tamil Nadu was ranked second in the list.
Kharsangh Police Station of Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh ranked third.
There are more than 16,671 police stations in the country. The top 10 police stations are shortlisted based on various performance parameters such as crime against women, weaker section, property offences. In 2020, the Government of India had introduced 3 new parameters namely unidentified found person, missing persons and unidentified dead bodies.

Rajinikanth Enters Political Fray, to launch a political party in January

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth alias Shivaji Rao Gaekwad has finally shrugged off his Hamletian procrastination with the announcement of his much-awaited decision to take a real plunge into Tamil Nadu politics in January 2021.

Dec 03, 2020

Telugu NRI Organisations Push for Bharat Ratna for P. V. Narasimha Rao

As many as 81 Telugu Non-Resident Indian organisations across the world have launched a joint campaign for mobilising public support to request the Government of India to confer the country's highest civilian award - Bharat Ratna - on former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao, whose birth centenary is being celebrated this year.
Under the banner of Mythri International, USA, these organisations including Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, Telugu Association of North America (TANA), North American Telugu Association (NATA), American Telugu Association (ATA) etc, started a signature campaign in October through various for appealing that Rao be conferred with Bharat Ratna. The campaign concludes in the first week of December.

India Forms High-level Committee to Implement Paris Agreement Targets

The Centre has constituted a high-level ministerial committee for the implementation of the targets under the Paris agreement on the climate crisis.
The high-level inter-ministerial Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA) is under the chairmanship of Secretary, MoEFCC.
The purpose of AIPA is to generate a coordinated response on climate change matters that ensures India is on track towards meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement including its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
The high-level committee of senior officials from 14 ministries will oversee the progress in the implementation of India's NDC and receive periodic information updates to monitor, review and revisit climate goals to fulfill the requirements of the agreement.
Another key function of AIPA would be to operate as a national authority to regulate carbon markets in India under the agreement.

Suresh Kumar India's New Charge d' Affaires (CDA) in Islamabad

Pakistan has sent approval for the appointment of India's new Charge d' Affaires (CDA) at its mission in Islamabad. India had proposed the name of Suresh Kumar for CDA or deputy high commissioner and is soon expected to take charge.
Suresh had served on the Pakistan desk of India's Ministry of External Affairs. Gaurav Ahluwalia is the current Indian Charge d' Affaires or top diplomat at the Indian mission in Pakistan.
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs had sent the name of Jayant Khobragade, whose name was earlier proposed by New Delhi in June. Islamabad had rejected Khobragade's name, giving the rationale that he was senior for the post.

India Invites Boris Johnson as Republic Day Chief Guest

India has invited UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to be the chief guest for its 2021 Republic Day.
As per reports, the invite was extended on 27th November during a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Johnson.
However, there was no confirmation from the British High Commission on this with officials reportedly saying that Johnson was keen to visit India as soon as possible.
Johnson, on his part, invited Modi to the G-7 summit in the United Kingdom next year.
If Johnson accepts the invite, he would become the first British Prime Minister to grace the parade at Rajpath in nearly three decades.
The last UK premier to be the chief guest at the 26th January parade was John Major in 1993.

Centre Sends Notice to Wikipedia, Orders it to Remove Link Showing Incorrect Map of J&K

The Centre issued an order directing Wikipedia to remove a link from their platform that has shown the wrong map of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT has issued the order under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 for showing the incorrect map of India.

Dec 02, 2020

Tamil Nadu to form Committee to Collect Caste-wise Data

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced that a commission would be set up to examine methodologies to collect caste-wise data and submit a report to the Government.
It is notable that this announcement comes after Anbumani Ramadoss of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and other leaders of that party met the Chief Minister and submitted a memorandum for reservation for Vanniyars.
The PMK, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) are part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition that was formed to face the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

India and the US to Share Operational Intelligence on Narcotics

The US and India discussed initiatives to strengthen India's regional leadership role in building capacity for counter-narcotics initiatives in South Asia.
They also resolved to enhance sharing of operational intelligence to counter regional cross-border drug trafficking and crime during the first inaugural meeting of the Indo-US Counternarcotics Working Group (CNWG).
The CNWG was discussed and approved as part of an expanded agenda for bilateral cooperation at the third Indo-US two-plus-two meeting held between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Ministers S. Jaishankar and Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper in October.
Both India and the US see a link between the trade in narcotics and financing of armed, anti-state activities.
The Indian delegation was led by Sachin Jain, Deputy Director General, Narcotics Control Board, while the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's Kemp Chester, Department of State's Jorgan Andrews, and Department of Justice's Jennifer Hodge jointly led the US team at the virtual interaction.

Former IAS Joins Kamal Haasan's MNM Party

Ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections slated to be held in 2021, actor turned politician Kamal Haasan inducted former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Santhosh Babu, as the General Secretary of his Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) party.
Santhosh Babu has worked with the state administration as an IAS officer for nearly 25 years.
He will be responsible for making the party manifesto for upcoming state elections, along with other headquarter operations.

Urmila Matondkar Joins Shiv Sena

Urmila Matondkar joined Shiv Sena in presence of party president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Matondkar had unsuccessfully contested last year's Lok Sabha polls on Congress ticket from Mumbai North constituency.
Matondkar had last year resigned from the Congress party, a key ally of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra. She had cited inaction on the part of key functionaries of Mumbai Congress as the reason of her resignation.
As per reports, the Sena has already proposed Matondkar's name for one of the 12 Governor-nominated seats in the state legislative council.

Dec 01, 2020

Centre Forms Panel to Oversee Construction of new Parliament Building

The Centre has formed a five-member committee to oversee construction of the new Parliament house and to ensure heritage and aesthetics of the complex are maintained. The committee was formed after a request from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla who was given a presentation of the project by the Central Public Works Department, the nodal agency for construction.
The presentation facilitated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs saw design elements, construction work, transplantation of trees, shifting of statues and other issues discussed. Representatives from design consultant for the project HCP and Tata Projects, which has been awarded the contract for building the new Parliament, attended the presentation.
The committee will comprise joint secretaries from the Lok Sabha Secretariat, CPWD and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Apart from the three officers, there will be representation from Tata Projects and HCP. The committee would act as the bridge between the Lok Sabha Secretariat and private contractor.

Uttar Pradesh: Voting for 11 MLC Seats

The voting for 11 MLC seats in Uttar Pradesh started December 1. Elaborate security arrangements have been made in Lucknow to hold the election in free and fair manner.
As per reports, only 1,000 people will be allowed to cast vote at a particular booth.
The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council has 100 seats, of which 11 fell vacant in May. The 11 seats are six teacher constituencies and five graduate constituencies.

Hardeep Puri among 10 MPs Administered Oath

Lok Sabha Speaker appointed former Uttrakhand IAS officer Utpal Kumar Singh as the next Secretary General of the House. He replaces Snehlata Srivastava completed her term on Monday.
Singh, who retired from the service last year, has been serving as the Secretary in the Lok Sabha Secretariat since August 2019. He brings to office 34 years of administrative experience.
The 10 newly-elected members were administered oath or affirmation as members of the Rajya Sabha by Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu. These include Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Neeraj Shekhar, Ram Gopal Yadav Geeta alias Chandraprabha and former DGP Brij Lal from Uttar Pradesh. One member each from Karnataka, Naryana Koragappa and Naresh Bansal from Uttrakhand also took oath.

Nov 30, 2020

Ayodhya Airport to be Renamed as Maryada Purushottam Sri Ram Airport

Uttar Pradesh Cabinet led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has cleared the proposal to rename the Ayodhya airport as Maryada Purushottam Sri Ram Airport, Ayodhya. In a statement issued in Lucknow on Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh Government said that the state cabinet had cleared the proposal to name the airport in Ayodhya as Maryada Purshottam Shriram Airport, Ayodhya.
This decision was taken to bring this proposal for passage in the UP Legislative Assembly, and send it to the Union Civil Aviation Ministry.

UP Governor Promulgates Ordinance Against Forcible Religious Conversions

Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel gave assent to an ordinance against forcible or fraudulent religious conversions that provides for imprisonment up to 10 years and a maximum fine of Rs 50,000 under different categories.
The promulgation of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, came four days after the Yogi Adityanath government had approved the draft of the legislation which also curbs religious conversions only for the sake of marriage.

GMRT Accorded Prestigious IEEE Milestone Status

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) has been selected as a 'Milestone' facility by the U.S.-based Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), which is the world's largest technical professional organisation dedicated to advancing technology in all areas related to electrical and electronics engineering.
The IEEE Milestones programme honours significant technical achievements which have global or regional impact. This is only the third such IEEE 'Milestone' recognition for an Indian contribution. The previous two Indian IEEE Milestones were for the pioneering work done by Sir J.C. Bose to demonstrate the generation and reception of radio waves in 1895 (recognised in 2012), and for the Nobel Prize-winning (in 1930) 'scattering of light' the phenomenon observed by Sir C.V. Raman in 1928.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

September GK, August GK, July GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26