General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - July 2016

Jul 2016

Mar 02, 2021

India to Provide Assistance to Madagascar

India announced that it will deliver a consignment of 1,000 metric tonnes of rice and 100,000 tablets of Hydroxychloroquine as a humanitarian assistance to the drought-hit Madagascar in line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of SAGAR.
The humanitarian assistance will be delivered by the Indian Naval Ship Jalashwa. This consignment is being sent to the Madagascar after the government of Madagascar appealed for the international solidarity and assistance to tackle the humanitarian crisis in South of Madagascar.
INS Jalashwa will also carry an Indian Naval training team which will be deployed in Madagascar for the purpose of capacity building and training of Malagasy Special Forces for two weeks.
The southern part of Madagascar is undergoing the challenge of drought for the three consecutive years.
The drought has damaged the harvests and has hampered access to food for the people amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Hunger has increased in the southern Madagascar because of drought. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the "famine-like conditions" in southern Madagascar have increased the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance by two folds, to more than 1.3 million.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman Virtually Attends G20 Central Bank Governors' Meet

Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman participated virtually in the First G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under the Italian Presidency to discuss policy actions for transformative and equitable recovery.
The other issues on the agenda included global economic outlook, financial sector issues, financial inclusion and sustainable finance.
Sitharaman spoke about India's policy response to the pandemic. She said that India's domestic policies have been based broadly on supporting citizens through measures such as credit guarantees, direct transfers, food guarantees, economic stimulus packages and accelerating structural reform.
During this meeting, G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors also discussed the implications of climate change on global growth and financial stability.

AIMIM to Contest Tamil Nadu Polls

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has announced that his party will contest the April 6 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.
Owaisi elaborated saying that he was looking at expanding the reach of his party at a national level.
The party has already won some seats in Maharashtra and Bihar.
The party gains strength from the fact that some AIMIM candidates won in Gujarat local body polls.
Uttar Pradesh would also be on the list for contesting the next elections.

Bengali Actor Srabanti Chatterjee Joins BJP

In the latest defection to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bengali actor Srabanti Chatterjee joined the party ahead of West Bengal Assembly elections. The actor joined the party in the presence of state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh and party's election in-charge in the state, Kailash Vijayvargiya.
Elections to the 294 assembly seats in the state, where the ruling Trinamool Congress is looking to retain power amid a strong challenge from the BJP, will go to the polls in eight phases. Voting will be held on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29 and the votes will be counted on May 2.

Trinamool Congress Forms 12-member Committee for West Bengal Polls

The Trinamool Congress announced a 12-member election committee that will look into the selection of candidates and plan a campaign for the upcoming assembly polls.
The panel will be headed by West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, party's secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said after its core committee meeting.
Subrata Bakshi, Abhishek Banerjee, Sudip Banerjee, Derek O Brien, Sougata Roy and C M Jatua are members of the election panel.
Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, Partha Chatterjee Chandrima Bhattacharya and Aroop Biswas are also part of the team.
As per reports, the TMC leaders had extensively discussed the issues related to the selection of candidates and planned for the campaign.

Mar 01, 2021

SL Air Force's 70th Anniversary Celebrations

Suryakirans, Sarang and Light Combat Aircraft Tejas will participate in an air show in Colombo from March 3 to 5 as part of the 70th anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lankan Air Force.
The IAF's aerobatic display teams, the fixed wing 'Suryakirans' and rotary wing 'Sarang', along with Tejas arrived at Colombo.
Suryakirans, Sarang and LCA Tejas will participate in an air show at Galle Face, Colombo, scheduled from March 3 to 5 as part of the 70th anniversary celebrations of SLAF.

PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates India Toy Fair

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India Toy Fair 2021 via video conferencing.
Toys play a significant part in the development of a child's mind and also help improve psychomotor and cognitive skills in children. In his Mann ki Baat address in August 2020, the Prime Minister had said that toys not only augment activity, but also give flight to aspirations.
The Fair will be held from February 27 to March 2, 2021.
The fair aims to bring together all stakeholders including buyers, sellers, students, teachers, designers etc. on a virtual platform to create sustainable linkages and encourage dialogue for the overall development of the industry.

India-Bangladesh Hold High Level Talks to Discuss Security Issues

India and Bangladesh discussed early completion of the pending fencing work along the international border they share as they reiterated their commitment to address issues related to terrorism and extremism during the home secretary-level talks.
The 19th edition of the dialogue was held online in the backdrop of 'MujibBarsho', 50 years of the Bangladesh Liberation War and establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla led the Indian side, while the Bangladeshi delegation was headed by senior secretary, public security division of the neighbouring country's ministry of home affairs, MostafaKamal Uddin.
India and Bangladesh attach the highest importance to their bilateral relations. Both secretaries reiterated their commitment to further expand and strengthen mutual cooperation in the security and border related issues.
"Both sides reaffirmed not to allow the territory of either country to be used for any activity inimical to each other's interests.

CJI Bobde Inaugurates New Patna High Court Centenary Building

Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde called for reducing dependence on courts by encouraging parties to opt for pre-litigation mediation which has a way of solving problems, both civil and criminal, which arise from similar dispute.
He made the remarks in Patna while addressing a function where he inaugurated a new "centenary building" of the Patna High Court, in the presence of a host of dignitaries, including Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Chief Justice Sanjay Karol, among others.

Opposition Parties in Bengal Welcome Eight-phase Elections

The opposition parties in West Bengal welcomed the eight-phase elections in the state announced by the Election Commission with the BJP saying that it was hopeful about the polls being free and fair.
The state Congress said that it was looking forward to an election in 10 to 12 phases, while the CPI(M) maintained that the number of phases does not matter if the elections are held violence-free.
Elections for the West Bengal assembly will be held in eight phases, beginning with polling for 30 seats on March 27. Votes will be counted on May 2.

Feb 28, 2021

17 NGOs Get FCRA Licence

The Home Ministry has granted FCRA licences to 17 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including Dr. Aabaji Thatte Seva Aur Anusandhan Sanstha (ATSAS) and Grameen Foundation for Social Impact (GFSI). Last year, the Foreigners Contribution Registration Act (FCRA), 2010 was amended to tighten the limit of "administrative expenses" and exclude public servants from the list of entities eligible to receive funds from abroad.
FCRA licenses are mandatory for NGOs who want to receive foreign funding. In 2020, the ministry licensed 165 organisations and in 2019 683 NGOs.
According to FCRA, foreign funding can be obtained for cultural, economic, educational, religious or social programs after seeking government approval or FCRA registration.

President's Rule Imposed in Puducherry

President's Rule was imposed in Puducherry following a recommendation by the Union Cabinet after a Congress-led government lost power in the Union Territory in a vote of confidence.
The notification, signed by President Ram Nath Kovind, said that the decision was taken after the President received a report from the administrator of the Union Territory of Puducherry earlier this week.
It said after considering the report and other information received by him, the president was satisfied that a situation had arisen in which the administration of the Union Territory of Puducherry could not carry on in accordance with the provisions of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 (20 of 1963).

Feb 27, 2021

Jaishankar and Wang Discuss 'Moscow Pact'

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar spoke to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and discussed the implementation of their 'Moscow Agreement' on the border standoff in eastern Ladakh as well as reviewed the status of disengagement.
A five-point agreement was reached between Jaishankar and Wang at a meeting in Moscow on September 10 on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave.
The pact included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the Line of Actual Control.

Govt. Tightens Grip over OTT Content

OTT platforms should self-classify the content into five age based categories --- U (Universal), U/A, (people above 7 years), U/A above (13 years), U/A (above 16 years), and A (all the adults), said the government while announcing guidelines for these platforms.
Platforms would be required to implement parental locks for content classified as U/A 13+ or higher, and reliable age verification mechanisms for content classified as A.
The publisher of online curated content would also be required to display the classification rating specific to each content or programme together with a content descriptor informing the user about the nature of the content, and advising on viewer description (if applicable) at the beginning of every programme enabling the user to make an informed decision, prior to watching the programme.
The government also said OTT platforms must have self-regulatory body/ies, and it must be headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court, a High Court or independent eminent person and have not more than six members.

Feb 26, 2021

Former India Player Ashoke Dinda Joins BJP

Former India player Ashoke Dinda joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, hours after another cricketer Manoj Tiwary was included in the Trinamool Congress.
Ashoke Dinda began his political journey in the presence of Union Minister Babul Supriyo and West Bengal BJP vice-president Arjun Singh.
Ashoke Dinda and Manoj Tiwary's political innings begin months ahead of the West Bengal assembly election, which is likely to take place in April or May.

Union Cabinet Approves President's Rule in Puducherry

The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to impose President's Rule in Puducherry, after the Congress-led government in the union territory lost a vote of confidence motion in Puducherry Assembly.
Announcing the Cabinet's decision, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the decision was taken as no party had claimed to form a government following the resignation of Chief Minister V. Narayansamy.

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