General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - July 2016

Jul 2016

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.

Oct 17, 2020

PM Narendra Modi Greets NSG Personnel

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished National Security Guard (NSG) personnel and their families on their 36th Raising Day, saying that NSG plays a crucial role in India`s security apparatus.
Established in 1984, NSG is popularly known as the Black Cats -- is an elite striking force in the country -- trained and equipped to handle situations like a terrorist attack, hijacking, and hostage captivity.

Ex-judge MB Lokur One-man Panel to Monitor Steps to Prevent Stubble-burning

The Supreme Court appointed Justice (retd) Madan B. Lokur as a one-man committee to monitor the measures taken by states of Punjab, Haryana, UP and Delhi to prevent farmers from resorting to stubble-burning that turns the entire NCR into a virtual gas chamber during October-November.
As per a a bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, it is necessary that there must be some monitoring of stubble-burning with a view to its prevention before it assumes abnormal proportions.
It directed chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, UP and Delhi and EPCA to assist the committee in physical surveillance of fields where stubble was likely to be burnt and to devise additional means/methods for preventing it.

Oct 16, 2020

Six Parties Join Hands to Restore J&K's Status

Six political parties of Jammu and Kashmir formed a formal alliance pledging to work for the restoration of the UT's pre-August 5, 2019, constitutional status.
The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration consists of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, People's Conference, JK People's Movement, CPM and Awami National Conference.
The alliance was formalised at a meeting held at Jammu and Kashmir National Conference's patron and Chief Farooq Abdullah's Gupkar residence in Srinagar.
The alliance has been named as "The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration".

NBA Hails BARC Decision

The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) welcomed the decision of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to suspend the measurement of television viewership ratings of news channels for a period of twelve weeks.
The NBA, which represents the news broadcasters, believes that the suspension is an important step in the right direction.
BARC which measures TV viewership on behalf of broadcasters, advertisers, and advertising agencies, should use these twelve weeks to completely overhaul its systems and restore the credibility of the information it collects about What India Watches.
NBA is the premier association of private news and current affairs broadcasters. IBF is the apex grouping of the Indian broadcast industry. IBF owns a 60% interest in BARC, which measures TV viewership ratings. The Indian Society of Advertisers and The Advertising Agencies Association of India own 20% each.

India and France Get Re-elected in ISA

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy announced that India was re-elected as President of International Solar Alliance (ISA). Along with India, France was also re-elected as the Co-President of the alliance in the ISA's Third Assembly. The tenure for both the countries would be of two years.
The Third Assembly of ISA was attended by 34 ISA Member Ministers, 53 member countries besides the 5 signatory and prospective member countries.
The Third Assembly further approved the initiatives of the ISA Secretariat to institutionalise the International Solar Alliance's engagement with the public and private corporate sector. They will also collaborate for the Sustainable Climate Action (CSCA).
At the assembly, 10 public sector organisations from India presented cheques of USD 1 million.
The solar awards were distributed for the first time to the countries where institutions and regions are working for solar power.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

September GK, August GK, July GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26