General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Oct 22, 2020

Eknath Khadse Resigns from BJP, to Join NCP

Veteran Maharashtra BJP leader Eknath Khadse will join the NCP ending days of speculation around his recent flirtations with the Sharad Pawar-led outfit.
Khadse had to resign as cabinet minister from the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government in Maharashtra in 2016 over allegations of graft and was later denied a ticket to run for Assembly election.
NCP leader and state minister Jayant Patil said that Khadse had resigned from the BJP and would be joining the NCP soon.
Patil is currently Water Resources Minister in Maharashtra.

Bimal Gurung's Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Pulls Out of NDA Alliance

In a major blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, an electoral ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), pulled out of the alliance. Party president Bimal Gurung announced the move in Kolkata.
Gurung said that Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is walking out of NDA as BJP-led dispensation did not fulfil its promises. In 2021 Bengal Assembly elections, will support Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and fight against BJP.
Three terms we have helped them win. Our vision is to get Gorkhaland and whoever will support the Gorkhaland we will support that party.

Union Cabinet Approves MoU between India and Malaysia

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Memorandum of Understanding signed between The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The agreement enables the qualified Chartered Accountants of the countries to join other institutes based on their qualification.
Based on the agreement, the countries will exchange information on material changes, continuing professional development policy and other relevant matter.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India is a statutory body that was established under the Chartered accountants act, 1949. It regulates the profession of Chartered Accountants in India.

Shayara Bano Gets Minister Rank in Uttarakhand Government

Anti-triple talaq crusader Shayara Bano, who recently joined the BJP, has been given minister of state status by the Uttarakhand Government.
The move comes just 10 days after Bano, who was the first Muslim woman to question the constitutionality of the practice of triple talaq in the Supreme Court, joined the BJP here in presence of party's state unit president Bansidhar Bhagat and a host of other leaders.
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat's media coordinator Darshan Singh Rawat said that Bano was among three women, who were appointed vice-presidents of the State Women's Commission besides being accorded MoS status.
The other two women appointed to the post are Jyoti Shah from Ranikhet in Almora district and Pushpa Paswan from Chamoli district.
The three posts in the commission had long been vacant.
Bano was the first to challenge the constitutionality of the practice of triple talaq in the apex court in 2014, four months after being divorced by her husband through speed post.

Oct 21, 2020

India's First Multi Modal Logistics Park in Assam

The Union Minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone of the first multi modal Logistic Park of India in Assam. The park is being developed under the ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojana.
The park is to be constructed at Rs. 690 3.97 crore. It will provide direct connectivity through rail, road, air and water ways to the people.
These parks are being developed by the ministry of road transport and highways in selected locations of the country under the Logistic efficiency enhancement programme. This was launched to lower the overall bright cost, reduce vehicular pollution and congestion and cut warehousing cost.

FICCI to be National Industry Partner of Third Edition of 'Make in Odisha'

The state government signed an agreement with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) as its national industry partner for the third edition of 'Make in Odisha' conclave.
The agreement was signed on a virtual platform, in presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik between the state owned IPICOL, the nodal investment promotion and industrial facilitation agency and FICCI for investment promotion and investor outreach activities to be undertaken leading up to the next edition of 'Make in Odisha' Conclave.
The previous Make in Odisha Conclaves in 2016 and 2018 have brought a significant increase in the quantum of new investments to Odisha and helped create a diversified industrial base in the state.
Naveen Patnaik said that Odisha has established itself as one of the premier investment destinations in the country.

Punjab Passes Bills to Bypass Central Farm Laws

In a historic move, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha unanimously passed three Bills to counter the contentious farm laws enacted by the Union Government last month. Among other things, the Bills make buying wheat and paddy below minimum support price (MSP) a punishable offence.
There is also a provision to levy fee on corporate houses making purchases outside mandis. The fee will be used for the welfare of farmers.
After passing the Bills, a joint delegation of the Congress, AAP, SAD and Lok Insaaf Party, led by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, met Governor VP Singh Badnore, seeking his approval to the Bills before sending these to the President.
Amarinder Singh asked the Centre to annul these laws and bring an ordinance making procurement of farm produce at MSP a statutory right of farmers and continue procuring grain through the FCI and other agencies.

Oct 20, 2020

Cultivation of Heeng in the Indian Himalayas

Asafoetida, or heeng, is a common ingredient in most Indian kitchens –– so much so that the country imports Rs 600 crore worth of this pungent flavoured herb every year.
Now, scientists at CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource, Palampur (IHBT), are on a mission to grow heeng in the Indian Himalayas.
The first sapling has been planted in Himachal Pradesh's Kwaring village in Lahaul valley.

FSSAI's New Platform to Become Operational Across India

Food regulator FSSAI said its Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) will become operational in the entire country from November 1, 2020.
The system is operational in nine States/UTs -- Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Odisha, Chandigarh, Goa, Manipur, Puducherry and Ladakh since June.
It said since 2011, its online FLRS (Food Licensing and Registration System) is the soul of the licensing ecosystem.
It is operational in all states and 70 lakh licences/ registrations have been issued till date while over 40 lakh licensees/ registrants are actively transacting on it.

Stellapps Launches 'mooPay' for Dairy Farmers in Rajasthan

Digital technology solutions provider Stellapps announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind, fully-automated direct payment platform — 'mooPay' — for dairy farmers in Rajasthan.
The platform is one of the fintech solutions the company has developed for dairies and dairy farmers.
mooPay acts as a payment gateway for dairies to make payments to every registered farmer, removing the risks and costs of transferring money to hundreds of thousands of farmers in hundreds of villages.
mooPay enables dairy officials to transfer milk payments digitally to member farmers from the dairies' existing bank account to farmers' savings bank account.

Oct 19, 2020

PFC Signed Agreement for Liquidity Infusion Scheme

PFC has signed/exchanged agreement for Liquidity Infusion Scheme under "Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan" for UT of J&K.
PFC has sanctioned Rs. 2790 crore to JKPCL for clearance of outstanding dues of CPSU, GENCOs & TRANSCOs, IPPs and RE Generators as on 31st March 2020.
The exhange agreement was signed in the presence of Shri Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary, PDD Along with senior officers from JKPDD, KPDCL, JPDCL, PFC & REC.

Oct 18, 2020

Govt. Extends Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla's Tenure

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension in service of Bhalla as Home Secretary beyond the date of his superannuation, i.e. November 30, 2020 up to August 22, 2021.
He would have superannuated next month.
Bhalla, a 1984-batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, was in August 2019 appointed as the Home Secretary.

Assam Government-run Madrassas to be Converted into High Schools

According to Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, all government-run madrassas and Sanskrit schools will be closed down by the Assam government and the notification to this effect will be issued in November.
The State Madrassa Education Board, Assam will be dissolved and all the government-run madrassas will be converted into high schools. New admissions will be held for the existing students as regular ones. The final-year students will be allowed to pass out but those taking admission in these schools in January next year will have to study as regular students.
The Sanskrit schools will be handed over to Kumar Bhaskarvarma Sanskrit University and these will be converted into centres of learning and research where Indian culture, civilisation and nationalism will be studied.
The step has been taken by the government to ensure that students get a regular education under the Secondary Education Board of Assam (SEBA). The examinations conducted by the madrassas and the Sanskrit tols are different and their students do not appear for the matriculation examination conducted by the SEBA.

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