General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - July 2016

Jul 2016

Mar 07, 2021

India and Nigeria Resolve to Step up Cooperation in Combating Terrorism

India and Nigeria vowed to enhance cooperation against all forms of terrorism, reaffirming their firm belief that there can be no justification for the menace.
At the invitation of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, his Nigerian counterpart Major General (retd.) Babagana Monguno visited New Delhi for the first Strategic and Counter-Terrorism Dialogue between India and Nigeria at the level of NSA from March 4 to 5.
Within the framework of the close and strategic partnership between India and Nigeria, the national security advisors held in-depth discussions on the threats and challenges faced by democratic societies from terrorism, extremism, radicalisation including through cyberspace, as well as from international crime, arms and drug smuggling and piracy.

PM Narendra Modi Addresses Top Military Leadership Conference

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a conference of the county's top military leadership in Gujarat's Kevadia which also saw the participation of jawans and junior commissioned officers (JCOs) for the first time.
NSA Ajit Doval, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General M.M. Naravane, Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and senior officials of the Defence Ministry and the armed forces were present at the conference.
The agenda of the meet was to review the working of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), from the unification of the three armies and the creation of theatre command.
The annual Combined Commanders Conference was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2014, the CCC meet had taken place for the first time, it was only then that the three forces suggested the conference to be moved out of Delhi.

Mar 06, 2021

Delimitation Commission Gets One Year Extension to Conclude its Task in J&K

The Delimitation Commission, a panel for redrawing the parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, has got a one-year extension, a move indicating that the Assembly polls in the Union Territory would not be held anytime soon.
A gazette notification issued by the government said that the panel, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, will get one more year for completing its task in the Union Territory, which came into existence on October, 2019 after the Centre abrogated the special status of the erstwhile state in August that year and announced its reorganization.
The panel was set up last year to redraw the electoral constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir and four northeastern states — Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. However, the one-year extension is only for Jammu and Kashmir.

Former TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi Joins BJP

Dinesh Trivedi, the former TMC MP who resigned from Rajya Sabha in February, joined Bharatiya Janata Party.
Dinesh Trivedi joined BJP in presence of party president JP Nadda, Union Minister Piyush Goyal and BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra at party headquarters in New Delhi.

Centre forms 259-member Committee

The Centre formed a 259-member committee to commemorate the 75 years of India's independence which falls on August 15, 2022.
The committee, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will include former President Pratibha Patil, former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and HD Devegowda, several Ministers, leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and LK Advani, artists, sportspersons, among others.
The committee will provide policy direction and guidelines for formulation of programmes for the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence, at the national and international levels.
Earlier, a National Implementation Committee (NIC), under the chairmanship of the Home Minister, had been constituted for the commemoration, to guide the policies and programs to be undertaken by various Ministries.

Modi and Swedish PM Discuss Defence

Amid interests shown by Swedish company Saab to manufacture its Gripen fighter aircraft in India, Prime Ministers of the two countries noted defence is an important area of a long-standing collaboration.
Saab, a global defence and security giant, has been eyeing the Indian market for its Gripen fighter aircraft for a long time and has made a strong pitch on multiple occasions in the recent past that it is completely aligned with the 'Make in India' policy of the government here and is ready to build products and solutions in India, by Indians, for India and for export.
Noting that Gripen is already operational in Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary, Thailand and South Africa among other countries, Saab had said its offer was moulded to meet all the requirements of the Indian Air Force and the defence and security needs of the country in general.
Saab's portfolio includes combat aircraft, surveillance solutions, electronic warfare, avionics, weapon systems, sensors, commercial aeronautics, training, service and support.

Mar 05, 2021

Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal Top in NCAER Survey on Land Record Digitization

With the central and state governments striving to digitise all land records in the country, online accessibility of data has improved in 2020-21 over the last year.
The latest edition of National Land Records and Survey Index (N-LRSI), formulated by Delhi-based think tank National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER), show while some states like Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha have improved their records over the last year and held on to the top spots, some states/UTs like Ladakh, J&K, Sikkim and a few other North-Eastern states have a long way forward.

BJP to Finalise Seat-sharing for Assam

The seat-sharing arrangement for the Assam assembly elections between the ruling BJP and its allies– AGP, UPPL and GSP -- would be finalised in Delhi in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda.
After the Bodoland Territorial Council polls in December last year the BJP had forged an alliance with the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) and the Gana Suraksha Party (GSP), discarding its old ally Bodoland People's Front (BPF).
Sarma, convener of the BJP-backed regional body Northeast Democratic Alliance (NEDA), said that major issues about seat-sharing have been agreed upon with the AGP, UPPL and GSP and the remaining issues will be discussed in the Delhi meeting.

Ease of Living Index 2020

Among Indian cities with a population of over a million, the ease of living is the highest in Bengaluru, Pune and Ahmedabad while it is the lowest in Bareilly, Dhanbad and Srinagar, according to the Ease of Living Index 2020 prepared by the ministry of housing and urban affairs.
In cities with population less than a million, Shimla was ranked the highest while Muzaffarpur in Bihar was had the lowest score.
The first edition of the index was launched in 2018. It was based on indicators across 15 evaluation criteria, including governance, identity and culture, education, health, safety and security, economy, affordable housing, land use planning, public open spaces, transportation and mobility, assured water supply, waste-water management, solid waste management, power, and quality of environment.

Deal between Nepal Govt. and Radical Maoist Group

Nepal's government signed a peace agreement with a banned radical Maoist group, which was involved in violent attacks, extortion and bombings targeting infrastructure projects in the country.
According to the three-point agreement signed between the government and the outlawed Communist Party of Nepal-Chand, the government will lift the ban, release all their party members and supporters in jail and drop all legal cases against them.
On its part, the rebel communist group will address all its political issues through dialogue and carry out all political activities in a peaceful manner.

Mar 04, 2021

Trinamool Congress MLA Jitendra Tiwari Joins BJP

- In yet another setback to the Trinamool Congress party in West Bengal, party MLA Jitendra Tiwari joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
- He joined BJP in the presence of party state chief Dilip Ghosh at a programme in Sreerampur in Hooghly district.
- Tiwari is a two-time MLA from Pandabeswar in Paschim Barddhaman district and former mayor of Asansol.
- Tiwari had resigned from the post of the chairman of the Board of Administrators of Asansol Municipal Corporation in December last year.

Nawada Tops Aspirational Districts Ranking in January

Nawada in Bihar has topped the list of aspirational districts ranked by government think tank Niti Aayog in January. Kiphire (Nagaland) and Namsai (Arunachal Pradesh) are at the second and third positions, respectively.
Hailakandi (Assam) and Chandel (Manipur) are at the fourth and fifth places, respectively.
The delta rankings took into account incremental progress made by over 112 aspirational districts across six developmental areas in December 2020.
Health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion, skill development and basic infrastructure were the development areas that were taken into consideration for the ranking.
Aspirational districts programme, launched in January 2018, aims to transform districts that have shown relatively lesser progress in key social areas.

Gujarat Local Body Polls: BJP Records Massive Victory

The ruling BJP recorded a massive victory in the local body polls in Gujarat by winning a clear majority in all 31 district panchayats as well as in 196 out of 231 taluka panchayats and 74 out of 81 municipalities.
The Congress, the main opposition party in the state, won a clear majority in only one municipality and 18 taluka panchayats, while AIMIM and AAP also made their presence felt.
In six municipalities and 15 taluka panchayats, no party has got a clear majority.

Govt. Amends Rules to Bring Insurance Brokers within Ombudsman Ambit

The government has amended insurance ombudsman rules, bringing insurance brokers within their ambit and also allowed policyholders to file online complaints.
The amended rules have enlarged the scope of complaints to ombudsmen from only disputes earlier to deficiencies in service on the part of insurers, agents, brokers and other intermediaries.
Under the amended rules, the timeliness and cost-effectiveness of the mechanism has been substantially strengthened.
Policyholders will now be enabled for making complaints electronically to the ombudsman and a complaints' management system will be created to enable policyholders to track the status of their complaints online. Further, the ombudsman may use video-conferencing for hearings.
Further, insurance brokers have been brought within the ambit of the Ombudsman mechanism, by empowering the Ombudsmen to pass awards against insurance brokers as well.

Karnataka Minister Jarkiholi Resigns

Karnataka Water Resources Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi sent his resignation letter to Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa following allegations of sexual harassment against him.
The development comes a day after purported video clips showing Jarkiholi getting intimate with an unidentified woman, were widely aired by Kannada news channels.

Mar 03, 2021

Centre Merges Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Television Channels

The government merged two Parliament channels - Lok Sabha TV and the Rajya Sabha TV, which will now be called Sansad TV.
The government also said that retired IAS officer Ravi Capoor has been appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Sansad TV for a period of one year or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

India Falls Two Places in Democracy Index's Global Ranking

India slipped two places to the 53rd position in the 2020 Democracy Index's global ranking, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit, which said that the democratic backsliding by authorities and crackdowns on civil liberties has led to a further decline in the country's ranking. However, India is ranked higher than most of its neighbouring countries.
India's overall score fell from 6.9 in 2019 to 6.61 in the index that provides a snapshot of the current state of democracy worldwide for 167 countries.
Norway topped The Economist Intelligence Unit's latest Democracy Index report titled Democracy in sickness and in health, with Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Canada making up the top five.

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