General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - July 2016

Jul 2016

Mar 27, 2021

Rajnath Singh Inaugurates Indo-Korean Friendship Park

An Indo-Korean friendship park was jointly inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of National Defence of South Korea Suh Wook at Delhi Cantonment.
The park has been built to commemorate the contribution of Indian peacekeeping force during the Korean war of 1950-53.
Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General M M Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria were present on the occasion.

US, India Agree to Revive High-level Trade Talks

India and the US resolved to bolster a neglected leg of their bilateral cooperation by agreeing to hold a meeting of the Trade Policy Forum (TPF), which will be chaired by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and newly confirmed US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
The Indian readout of the meeting described the meeting as "productive" and the US readout underlined the importance of cooperation on a broad set of issues, including digital trade, intellectual property, agriculture, labor, and climate and the environment. It said both sides resolved to resolve the pending legacy issues through mutual dialogue and discussion.
They also agreed to work constructively to resolve key outstanding bilateral trade issues and to take a comprehensive look at ways to expand the trade relationship.

Mar 26, 2021

DU Inaugurates Bhagat Singh Smarak

Delhi University organised a programme to commemorate 90 years of martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru at which Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank" paid homage to Bhagat Singh in the chamber located in the basement of the Viceregal Lodge of the University where he was imprisoned.
Shaheed Bhagat Singh Smarak was inaugurated by the Minister virtually and an existing collection of books on freedom fighters has been converted into "Shaheed Smriti Pustakalaya" to be accessed by students and teachers of the university.
The Bhagat Singh Smarak shall remain open to students and the university community to inculcate values of freedom and sacrifice.

US Govt. to Resume Homeland Security Dialogue with India

The US President Joe Biden administration has decided to re-establish the Homeland Security Dialogue with India which was earlier discontinued by the former President of US Donald Trump.
The decision comes a day after the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas spoke to the Ambassador of India to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The Homeland Security Secretary expressed his desire to further strengthening the partnership between the department and India.
The first Homeland Security Dialogue between India and the United States took place in 2011 while the second one was held in Washington DC in 2013, between the then Home Minister of India Sushil Kumar and Ms. Napolitano.

Ten Addl. Judges Made Permanent Judges of Allahabad High Court

The Law Ministry notified the elevation of 10 additional judges of the Allahabad High Court as permanent judges while another seven new additional judges were appointed to the country's biggest High Court.
The Ministry also appointed two additional judges to the Karnataka High Court that has a strength of 62 including the additional judges.
The latest appointments are aimed at addressing the issue of large number of vacancies in higher judiciary that is often cited as one of the primary reasons for the delay in judicial decisions.

India Justifies Designs of Pakal Dul, Lower Kalnai Hydro Projects in J-K

Pakistan raised objections to the designs of Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai hydropower plants in Jammu and Kashmir and sought more information on the projects in Ladakh sanctioned after the abrogation of Article 370 as the Indus Commissioners of the two countries.
On its part, India justified its stand on the designs.
The Pakal Dul Hydro Electric Project (1,000 MW) is proposed on the Marusudar River, a tributary of the Chenab River, in Kishtwar district in Jammu and Kashmir. The Lower Kalnai project is proposed in Kishtwar and Doda districts.
The Indian delegation was led by PK Saxena, India's Indus Commissioner, and his team from the Central Water Commission, the Central Electricity Authority and the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation.
The Pakistani delegation was led by its Indus Commissioner Syed Muhammad Meher Ali Shah.

Mar 25, 2021

Cabinet Approves MoC Signed between India & Japan in Water Resources Field

The Cabinet was apprised of a Memorandum of Cooperation signed between India and Japan, aimed at achieving water security, improved irrigation facility and sustainability in water resources development.
"The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was apprised of the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) signed between Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India and Water and Disaster Management Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan in the field of Water Resources," a statement said.
This MoC was signed for development of a long-term cooperation in the field of water and delta management, and water technology in order to increase the exchange of information, knowledge, technology and scientific allied experience, as well as implementation of joint projects between the two countries.

Maratha Quota Granted by Maharashtra Govt. Constitutional

Maharashtra has the legislative competence for granting reservation quota to Marathas and its decision is Constitutional as the 102nd amendment does not denude a state of the power to declare its list of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC), the Centre told the Supreme Court.
The 102nd Constitution amendment Act of 2018 inserted Articles 338B, which deals with the structure, duties and powers of the National Commission for Backward Class (NCBC), and 342A dealing with power of the President to notify a particular caste as SEBC as also of Parliament to change the list.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that in its view the SEBC Act, 2018, of Maharashtra granting reservation to people of the Maratha community in the state in jobs and admissions is Constitutional.

Mar 24, 2021

CJI Bobde Recommends Justice NV Ramana as his Successor

Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde sent a letter to the government recommending the appointment of Supreme Court Judge Justice NV Ramana as the next CJI and handed over a copy of the recommendation to Justice Ramana.
CJI SA Bobde is due to retire on April 23.
The development comes after the Centre asked the CJI to recommend his successor with a little less than a month before his retirement.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will put the CJI's recommendation before PM Modi, who will advice the President in the matter of appointment.
Justice NV Ramana is the senior-most judge in the top court after Chief Justice Bobde and has a tenure till August 26, 2022. He is scheduled to take over charge as the 48th CJI on April 24.

Arindam Bagchi Takes Charge as MEA Spokesperson

Arindam Bagchi, an officer of the 1995 batch of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), has assumed charge as the new spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He replaced Anurag Srivastava, an officer of the 1999 batch of IFS.
Before this, Bagchi was serving as the joint secretary (north) at the MEA headquarters. He was an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer from the 1995 batch. In past, he has served as India's ambassador to Croatia from November 2018 to June 2020. He was also India's deputy high commissioner to Sri Lanka.

Mar 23, 2021

BJP Wins Goa Municipal Elections

Hailing the BJP's win in the Goa municipal elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the results show the people's appreciation towards the party's development agenda.
The ruling BJP won a majority in five out of six municipal councils in Goa where elections were held on March 20.
The party also won a majority in the Corporation of City of Panaji (CCP) where the election was held on the same day.

UP and MP Sign Deal on Linking of Two Rivers

Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for starting work on country's first major project interlinking two rain-fed rivers, Ken and Betwa, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even as environmental activists said the project would spell doom for the Panna tiger reserve which is known for its critically endangered white-rumped vultures besides a thriving big cat population.
The MoA was signed 18 years after the project was first conceived as a part of country's ambitious programme to interlink rivers to provide water to areas facing scarcity. Officials said the delay was because of no agreement between the two states on sharing of water during the lean supply months, November to April.
According to the project report, 2,800 MCM of water will be diverted from the Ken basin to the water-deficit Betwa basin through a 73.8 meter high dam proposed on Ken at Daudhan in MP's Chhattarpur district.

NITI Aayog Forms Task Forces on Enforcement of Contracts, Conciliation Mechanism

In order to lay emphasis on Enforcement of Contracts and Conciliation Mechanism, NITI Aayog has constituted two task forces.
The Task Force for Enforcement of Contracts will give its recommendation for a policy framework for Enforcement of Contracts and the Task Force on Conciliation Mechanism will give its recommendation for an effective Conciliation Mechanism.
The Task Force for Enforcement of Contracts has been constituted with the participation from key Ministries and Departments of the Government and certain State Chief Secretaries.
The Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog will be the Chairman of the Task force and CEO, NITI Aayog will be the Member Secretary of the Task Force.
The Task Force will submit its report within six months of its constitution.

Trouble Mounts for Arvind Kejriwal as Centre Passes NCT Bill in Lok Sabha

In a major setback to Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi, the centre passed the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the Lok Sabha.
The NCT Bill seeks to provide far-reaching powers to the Lieutenant Governor in the union territory.
The Bill proposes that the 'government' referred to in any law passed by the legislative assembly would refer to the Lieutenant Governor.
According to the Bill, the Delhi government must obtain the opinion of the LG before implementing any policy decision.

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