General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - July 2016

Jul 2016

Sep 11, 2020

Shipping Minister Launches 'SAROD-Ports' for Disputes of Maritime Sector

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has launched a dispute redressal mechanism named "SAROD-Ports" (Society for Affordable Redressal of Disputes-Ports) to facilitate affordable and timely resolution of disputes for the maritime sector.
SAROD-Ports will advise and assist in settlement of disputes through arbitrations in the maritime sector, including ports and shipping sector in Major Port Trusts, Non-major Ports, including private ports, jetties, terminals and harbours.
The mechanism is similar to provision available in the highway sector in the form of SAROD-Roads constituted by NHAI. It has been established under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 for affordable and timely resolution of disputes in a fair manner.

Sep 10, 2020

India's Child Mortality Rate Declined between 1990 and 2019: UN

According to the new UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) report, India's child mortality rate declined substantially between 1990 and 2019 but the country, along with Nigeria, still accounted for almost a third of all under-five deaths last year.
The 'Levels & Trends in Child Mortality' Report 2020 said that the number of global under-five deaths dropped to its lowest point on record in 2019 - down to 5.2 million from 12.5 million in 1990.
Over the past 30 years, health services to prevent or treat causes of child death such as preterm, low birth weight, complications during birth, neonatal sepsis, pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria, as well as vaccination, have played a large role in saving millions of lives.

Thaawarchand Gehlot Inaugurates R&D Building of ALIMCO

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot inaugurated the Research and Development (R&D) Building of Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), Kanpur under DEPwD, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment through virtual mode.
Gehlot said that the state of the art facilities in the Research & Development (R&D) Building shall immensely improve the capability of ALIMCO in upgradation of the existing product & development of new aids & assistive device in house as well in collaboration with prestigious organisation such as IIT Kanpur.

SC Stays Reservation for Maratha Community in Govt. Jobs and UG Admissions in Maharashtra

The Supreme Court put interim stay on reservation for Maratha community in government jobs and educational institutions for undergraduate courses in Maharashtra.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice L. Nageswara Rao stayed the Maharashtra State reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act (SEBC Act) while referring the case to a larger bench to consider larger question of whether reservations in public service and educational institutions can exceed the 50 per cent cap laid down by the Supreme Court in its 1992 judgment of Indra Sawhney v. Union of India.
The SEBC Act originally provided 16 per cent reservation for Maratha community in educational institutions and government jobs.
The law was challenged before Bombay High Court which in June 2019 upheld its validity but reduced the quota to 12 per cent in educational institutions and 13 per cent in jobs.
Appeals were filed before Supreme Court stating that the reservation would lead to breach of the 50 per cent cap prescribed by Indra Sawhney.

Harivansh NDA Pick for Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman's Post

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fielded its ally Janata Dal (United) Harivansh for the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman's post.
Harivansh filed his nomination in the presence of Rajya Sabha Leader Thawarchand Gehlot and BJP's ally SAD leader Naresh Gujral. Among the proposers were BJP president JP Nadda and LJP's Ram Vilas Paswan.
Harivansh was elected to the post in 2018 and the post fell vacant after his retirement. He was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha during biennial elections this summer.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's tally stands at 116 in the 245-member House, which has an effective strength of 244.

Sep 09, 2020

CM Yediyurappa Launches Country's First Fixed-wing Air Ambulance

Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa launched the country's first integrated air ambulance services. Air ambulance firm International Critical Air Transfer Team (ICATT) will run the services in collaboration with aviation technology firm Kyathi from the HAL airport in Bengaluru. This will also be the first air ambulance based out of South India, providing services for medical emergencies. Equipped with state-of-the-art German isolation pod, the service will enable transportation of critical Covid-19 patients as well.

BJP Opposes Telangana Government's Move to Scrap VRO System

As the Telangana Cabinet approved the Revenue Bill 2020, the state unit of the BJP has termed the scrapping of the Village Revenue Officer system as a hasty step that is against the fundamental rights of the VROs.
BJP has called for an all-party meeting to discuss the issue before discussing the Bill in the House.
It may be recalled that Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar through an order earlier this month had stopped all the registration processes in the state and had directed the VROs to deposit all records to the respective District Collectors.

Modi Inaugurates Patrika Gate in Jaipur

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Patrika Gate in Jaipur through video conference. PM also released the Samvad Upanishad and Akshar yatra books written by the Patrika Group Chairman Shri Gulab Kothari.
The Prime Minister said that the Gate reflects the culture of Rajasthan and shall turn into a major domestic and international tourist attraction.
Referring to the two books, the Prime Minister said that they are a true representation of Indian culture and philosophy and that authors play a great role in educating the society.
He lauded the Patrika Group for its efforts in the preservation of Indian culture, Indian civilisation, values.
The Prime Minister lauded the founder of Patrika Group, Karpoor Chandra Kulish's contribution to journalism and the way the latter tried to spread the knowledge of Vedas in the society.
The PM congratulated the Patrika group for starting the International Journalism Award in the honour of Karpoor Chandra Kulish.

India and Angola Hold 1st Joint Commission Meet

India and Angola held the first Joint Commission Meeting during which the two sides agreed to diversify their trade relationship and discussed cooperation in health, pharmaceuticals, defence, agriculture, food processing, digitisation and telecom.
The meeting was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Angola counterpart Tete Antonio.
In the 1st India-Angola Joint Commission Meeting with FM Tete Antonio, comprehensive review of bilateral issues was done. Discussed cooperation in health, pharmaceuticals, defence, agriculture, food processing, digitisation and telecom.

Sep 08, 2020

Sanjay Raut Shiv Sena's New Chief Spokesperson

The Shiv Sena appointed its Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut as the chief spokesperson of the party.
Raut, who is also the executive editor of Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', has been engaged in a war of words with actor Kangana Ranaut after she likened Mumbai to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Besides, Lok Sabha members Arvind Sawant and Dhairyasheel Mane, Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi, Maharashtra ministers Uday Samant, Anil Parab, Gulabrao Patil, MLAs Sunil Prabhu and Pratap Sarnaik, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar and senior leader Neelam Gorhe have been nominated as the party's spokespersons.

Atal Innovation Mission Partners with Freshworks to empower AIM Startup Innovators

To provide robust support to innovators and entrepreneurs in India, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, has partnered with Freshworks Inc., a customer-engagement software company.
The collaboration aims to increase the efficacy of the institutions and startups in the AIM portfolio and foster innovation and entrepreneurship among startup innovators.
Under this partnership, Freshworks will provide credits for its suite of products to AIM and its beneficiaries, which will empower startups to function efficiently while keeping a tab on costs in related activities. The credits offered to the beneficiaries are related to Freshsales—Sales CRM Software, Freshdesk—Customer Support Software, Freshchat—Customer Messaging Software, Fresh Release—Agile Project Management Software, Freshcaller—Cloud Telephony Software, Freshmarketer—Marketing Automation Software, Freshteam—HR Management Software, Freshservice—and IT service management software.
According to the Statement of Intent (SoI), Freshworks will do a white-glove onboarding for startups, which includes functional training in sales, marketing, and customer support use of cloud technology for providing better customer experiences.
Resources and mentorship to startups in Freshworks' area of expertise will also be made available, including access to virtual or physical office hours to interface with functional leaders from Freshworks and an extended mentor network.
Various webinars will be organised with AIM, including workshops, training of modules and other relevant topics.

Literacy Rate: Kerala Tops the Chart

With 96.2% literacy, Kerala has once again emerged as the most literate state in the country, while Andhra Pradesh featured at the bottom with a rate of 66.4%, showed a report based on National Statistical Office (NSO) survey.
The report on 'Household Social Consumption: Education in India as part of 75th round of National Sample Survey - from July 2017 to June 2018' provides for state-wise detail of literacy rate among the persons aged seven years and above.
According to the study, after Kerala, Delhi has the best literacy rate at 88.7%, followed by Uttarkhand's 87.6%, Himachal Pradesh's 86.6% and Assam's at 85.9%.
On the other hand, Rajasthan is the second worst performer with literacy rate at 69.7%, followed by Bihar at 70.9%, Telangana at 72.8%, Uttar Pradesh at 73% and Madhya Pradesh at 73.7%.
The study has pegged the overall literacy rate in the country at about 77.7%. In rural areas, the literacy rate is 73.5% compared to 87.7% in urban areas of the country.

IAS Officers' Body Drops Colonial-era Reference from Name, Rechristens it as IAS Association

Shedding the colonial tag, the Indian Civil & Administrative Services (Central) Association has been renamed as IAS Association. The new nomenclature -- which drops the reference to the colonial-era ICS (Indian Civil Services) -- for the association of IAS officers highlights Indian ethos.
Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra, also the President of the association, said that the new name was unanimously decided at the association's Annual General Body Meeting.
The name is symbolic, which aptly represents all IAS officers across the country. The change in nomenclature is a historic and significant decision as it will help in shedding the perceived baggage of colonial-era Indian Civil Service (ICS). The new name -- IAS Association -- also highlights the Indian ethos.
There are 5,205 IAS officers working across the country. The IAS association is an organisation of both the serving and retired members of the service.

Sep 07, 2020

India and Russia Explore Partnership in Agri, Health, IT, Arctic and Connectivity Projects

India and Russia apart from traditional pillars of partnership are exploring potential areas of cooperation in including agriculture, coking coal, pharma & health sector, digital & IT sectors besides connectivity projects.
"Apart from the traditional pillars, we are working together to explore potential areas of cooperation in areas like agriculture, coking coal, pharma & health sector, digital & IT sectors, exchange of skilled manpower, cooperation between the regions including in the Far East, cooperation in the Arctic, logistics and connectivity. Our joint efforts towards gradual reduction of trade barriers and forging free trade agreements would have a multiplier effect in this direction," suggested MoS External Affairs V. Muraleedharan in his message for India-Russia Young Scholars International Conference.

Jitin Prasada & Raj Babbar Out of Key Congress Panel for 2022 UP Polls

Former MP Jitin Prasada, and ex-UP Congress committee chief Raj Babbar were not included in four core committees announced by the party keeping in mind the 2022 UP elections.
The two were among 23 senior Congressmen who wrote a letter last month to the party chief Sonia Gandhi, dragging her attention towards the uncertainties about the leadership. Former MP RPN Singh is also among prominent leaders from the state who could not make it to these committees.
Total 27 senior Congress members were included in these committees.

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