General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Aug 12, 2020

Govt Abolishes Cotton Advisory Board

On the lines of Government of India vision of "Minimum Government and Maximum Governance", the Ministry of textiles has abolished it's another advisory body, Cotton Advisory Board (CAB), and notified that all eight Textiles Research Associations (TRAs) have ceased to be "affiliated bodies" of the ministry.
Hereafter, TRAs will be approved bodies for conducting testing, research and developmental activities related to the textiles sector.
Any disposal/sale/transfer of assets created out of the central government grant shall require prior specific approval of the ministry.
The eight associations are: Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (Atira) in Gujarat, Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA) in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA), Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh (UP), South India Textile Research Association (SITRA), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Synthetic & Art Silk Mills Research Association (SASMIRA), Mumbai, Maharashtra, Man-Made Textile Research Association (MANTRA), Surat, Gujarat, Wool Research Association (WRA), Thane, Maharashtra and Indian Jute Industries Research Association (IJIRA), Kolkata, West Bengal.

IC-IMPACTS 2020 Research Conference Held Virtually

IC-IMPACTS (the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability) 2020 Research Conference held Virtually on Aug 6-7, 2020 to discuss the ways to elevate the inter-country cooperation to the next Level by strengthening existing international connections, sharing best practices in multiple areas, and initiating new collaborations in government and institutions. The Conference was organised by IC-IMPACTS.
The major focus areas of research cooperation under the IC-IMPACT are as follows:
Green buildings and smart cities; occupants' survivability in buildings during fires; integrated water management & safe and sustainable infrastructure; and health problems arising from water-borne and infectious diseases.
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has been working with IC-IMPACTS for research partnerships since 2013.
This partnership aimed to work hand-in-hand with communities in both countries creating community-based solutions to the most urgent needs.
This year (2020) Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition has been introduced to create opportunities for students and HQP (Highly Qualified Personnel)to network with like-minded innovation leaders.

Agriculture Minister Tomar Launches ICAR's Data Recovery Centre Krishi Megh

To protect the precious data of the government's premier research body ICAR, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched a data recovery centre 'Krishi Megh' set up in Hyderabad.
Currently, the main data centre of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is at the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI) in the national capital.
The data recovery centre has been set up at National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM), Hyderabad.
Krishi Megh has been set up under the National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP), funded by both the government and World Bank.
"NAARM, Hyderabad has been chosen as it lies in a different seismic zone with regard to the Data Centre at ICAR-IASRI in New Delhi. Hyderabad is also suitable as skilled IT manpower is available along with other suitable climatic conditions such as low humidity level which is controllable in the data center environment.
The data recovery centre at NAARM is synchronised with the data centre at IASRI, It has been built to mitigate the risk, enhance the quality, availability and accessibility of e-governance, research, extension and education in the field of agriculture in India.

Rajasthan Crisis Ends, Pilot Returns after Meeting Rahul

The month-long crisis in the Rajasthan Congress ended with rebel Sachin Pilot calling a truce with the party and dissident MLAs heading home.
The state government was marked safe ahead of the August 14 Assembly session after Pilot, who had rebelled against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi here and buried the hatchet.
The Congress later said the two leaders had a "frank, open and conclusive discussion and Pilot committed to working in the interest of the Congress and the party government in Rajasthan". Party chief Sonia Gandhi spoke to Gehlot this evening and decided to set up a three-member panel comprising Priyanka Gandhi, Ahmed Patel and KC Venugopal to "address the issues raised by Pilot and the aggrieved MLAs". Pilot met the panel members late in the evening.
What was immediately clear was that CM Gehlot had succeeded in the battle of nerves with young Pilot, who ran out of options and decided to return.
As Pilot bought peace with the Congress, rebel party lawmakers began returning to Jaipur today and meeting Gehlot, who recently said he would do whatever the central leadership decided in respect of dissidents.
The first rebel to resurface in Jaipur after days of staying at a resort in BJP-ruled Haryana was Bhanwar Lal Sharma.

Aug 11, 2020

Jagdalpur Country's First Municipal Corporation to Provide Forestland Right Certificates to Peopl...

Chhattisgarh's Jagdalpur has become the first municipal corporation in the country where people of an urban area have been provided forest land right certificates.
On the occasion of the International Day of World's Indigenous Peoples, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel commenced the distribution of forestland right certificates by giving away the certificates to four beneficiaries of Jagdalpur via video conferencing.
Jagdalpur is among the few municipal corporations, jurisdiction areas of which includes forestlands. Nearly 1,777 applications have been received for forestland right certificates, which will be resolved as per the rules.
Baghel said the Forest Rights Act has the provision of allotting forestland lease to the eligible forest dwellers in forestland of urban areas. But till date, this provision was not enacted.
Enactment of this provision has started in Chhattisgarh in public interest.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister approved sanction of Rs. 6 crores and allotment of 5 acres of land to the Koya Kutma community on the request of MLA Chitrakote Rajman Benham.
He also approved a community hall for Koya Kutma community and a museum for preserving the historical and archaeological heritages, art and culture of Bastar.

Modi Launches Submarine Optical Fibre Cable to Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a submarine optical fibre cable connecting Andaman & Nicobar Islands with the mainland that would give residents of the islands faster Internet connection.
At the launch held through videoconferencing, he said the connectivity enabled by the cable would bring new opportunities for the islands' residents. The laying of the 2,300-km-long cable before the deadline of the project deserved praise.
The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the project in Port Blair on December 30, 2018.
The Indian Ocean and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands had been important centres for trade and strategic cooperation. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands had an important role to play in India's "Act East" policy.

Shah Faesal Quits as Chief of J&K People's Movement

Former bureaucrat-turned-politician Shah Faesal resigned as president of J&K People's Movement, a political party which he launched in 2019 after quitting as an IAS officer.
Businessman and party's VP Peerzada Feroze was nominated as interim president. Faesal's resignation comes at a time when New Delhi, with the appointment of a new Lieutenant Governor in Manoj Sinha, has hinted at resuming J&K's political process.
Incidentally, the Centre hasn't yet accepted Faesal's resignation from the IAS. Faesal himself has remained tightlipped about his future course of action after being released in June this year. But his frequent trips to New Delhi over the past few weeks hints at his efforts to chalk out a strategy for his future endeavours.

Aug 10, 2020

Government Forms Panel Under RoDTEP Scheme for Exporters to be Headed by G. K. Pillai

The Government of India under the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue has set up a three-member committee headed by Secretary (retired) G. K. Pillai for determination of ceiling rates under Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme.
The two other members are Y. G. Parande, retired Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs member and Gautam Ray, retired chief commissioner of custom and central excise.
The Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme aims to reimburse taxes and duties incurred by exporters such as Duty on power charges, Value Added Tax on fuel in transportation, farm sector, captive power generation, mandi tax, stamp duty and central excise duty which are not compensated under any other scheme.
It is a World Trade Organization (WTO) compliant scheme.

Meghalaya Cabinet Approves Policy on Reservation of Seats for Women in Village Employment Councils

Conrad Kongkal Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya informed the cabinet's approval for the passage of the "Policy on Reservation of seats for Women in Village Employment Councils(VECs)", the policy of reserving 50% seats for women in the village level community institutions.
This policy ensures the empowerment of Women by establishing a forum for women to exercise their leadership and freedom.
The VECs are a political organisation established to implement the works of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Under MGNREGA, in 2006 VECs were constituted in Every village of the state.
The VECs consist of all male and female heads of every household with a headman as a head of the council.
The available data states that only a few VEC's have female members in chairperson Secretaries positions (112 and 260 respectively).

Rajnath Singh Bans Import of 101 Defence Items,

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that India is now ready for the big push to the atma nirbhar or self-dependent initiative announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The defence ministry has decided to put 101 items put on embargo to boost indigenisation of defence production.
The embargoed items include high technology weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, and transport aircraft.
The list of items was prepared after consultations with the armed forces, state-owned and private companies to assess current and future capabilities of the Indian industry for manufacturing various ammunition & equipment within India.

Aug 09, 2020

Centre to Introduce New Law to Protect Land Rights of J&K Natives

The Centre is considering to bring a law to protect the land rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. As per reports, the new law is expected to be enacted in the Parliament.
A bill to this effect will be introduced in Parliament as there is no legislature in the newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir because no election was held since the bifurcation of the erstwhile state.
The fears of Jammu and Kashmir domicile people about the settlement of outsiders in the Union Territory arose after the government abrogated Article 370 on August 5, 2019, which ended the exclusive rights of locals over lands or immovable property and jobs.

Indus Water Treaty: World Bank Expresses Inability to Appoint Neutral Expert or Court of Arbitration

The World Bank has expressed its inability to take an independent decision on the appointment of a neutral expert or a Court of Arbitration for the settlement of a long-pending water dispute between India and Pakistan, saying the two countries will have to bilaterally choose one option.
India and Pakistan signed the treaty in 1960 after nine years of negotiations, with the Washington-based World Bank being a signatory.
The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers. However, there have been disagreements and differences between India and Pakistan over the treaty.
"Both India and Pakistan should come together as to which option to take forward," Patchamuthu Illangovan, the World Bank's former Country Director of Pakistan, said.
Pakistan had made a request for the appointment of a Court of Arbitration (COA) while India had sought a neutral expert to resolve the dispute on two hydroelectric projects.

Aug 08, 2020

Centre Engages NSCN-IM in the Last Leg of Naga Peace Talks

The Centre resumed negotiations with the NSCN (IM) leadership as part of the last leg of talks for Naga peace, as the efforts are on to resolve the three contentious issues — flag, constitution and territory — and ink a final settlement before Independence Day.
As per reports, the talks between the senior officials and the NSCN-IM leaders, led by its 86-year-old general secretary Thuengaleng Muivah, are being held at an undisclosed location in the national capital, where representatives of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal were also present.
The NSCN-IM has all along been demanding for territorial integration of all Naga inhabited areas of the North East region of the country.
The Naga National Political Groups (NNPG), a conglomerate of seven other organisations, which is also part of the dialogue process, has successfully closed its negotiations with the Centre.

Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under NEP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the inaugural address at the Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under National Education Policy. The conclave has been organised by Ministry of Education along with the University Grants Commission (UGC). The Prime Minister joined the conclave through video-conferencing.
The Prime Minister urged all to work towards implementation of new national education policy.
Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and Union Minister of State for Communications Sanjay Dhotre participated in the event along with a number of dignitaries, including, Chairman and Members, Committee for Draft NEP as well as eminent academicians/scientists.
PM Modi in his inaugural address said that today the new education policy is widely discussed across the country. People from different fields, ideologies are giving their views and reviewing the policy. This is a healthy debate that will benefit the country's education system. National Education Policy has been approved after a long brainstorming session with millions of suggestions and after 3-4 years of extensive deliberations.
Talking about the multi-disciplinary programmes and multiple entry and exit options, the PM said that every student should get an opportunity to follow their passion. They can pursue any degree or course and can leave according to their convenience and requirement without any loss of credits.

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