General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - July 2016

Jul 2016

Jul 25, 2020

India Elects First Lawmaker of African Origin

An activist in India became the first person from a tiny African-origin ethnic group to become a legislator in the country.
Shantaram Siddi is from the Siddhi community - descendants of Africans who travelled to India as merchants or slaves from the 17th century onwards. Only about 50,000 remain.
Shantaram Siddi was appointed to the assembly in the state of Karnataka. He is also the first college graduate from his community.
He said that he would continue to work for the rights of India's tribes.

Hyderabad Tops the Public Surveillance chart in India

Hyderabad has emerged as the city with the highest number of surveillance cameras in the country, thereby improving crime detection and remote traffic management.
According to Comparitech, a UK based organisation, that surveyed various cities across the globe, it found that Hyderabad ranked 16th globally and No. 1 in India. It estimates that the city has over three lakh surveillance cameras.
As per the report, 18 out of the top 20 cities under surveillance are in China, and London and Hyderabad are the only cities outside of China to make the top 20.
Giving out details the Comparitech report says London was placed in the third slot and Hyderabad the 16th among the most-watched places in the world.
The report took into consideration data from several sources that included government reports, police websites, and news articles for 150 cities worldwide.

Jul 24, 2020

Modi Lays Foundation Stone for Manipur Water Supply Project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Manipur Water Supply Project, through video conferencing Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, under the Jal Jeevan Mission designed to provide Freshwater Household Tap connections (FHTCs) to the rural households of Manipur.
The Manipur Water Supply Project is aimed to achieve the goals of Jal Jeevan Mission "Har Ghar Jal" by 2024 benefitting the people of Manipur.
The outlay of the project with a loan component funded by New Development Bank is about Rs. 3000 crore.
The externally funded project will provide the FHTCs to the remaining households in the Greater Imphal Planning area, 25 towns and for the 1,731 rural regions in the 16 districts of Manipur covering 2,80,756 households.

Government Approves Permanent Commission for Women in Army

Five months after the Supreme Court ruled that women officers, who have joined the Indian Army through Short Service Commission (SSC), are entitled to a permanent commission, the defence ministry issued a formal sanction letter in this regard. The order will pave the way for empowering women officers to shoulder larger roles in the organisation.
The board will be scheduled as soon as the SSC women officers exercise their option and complete the requisite documentation. The army is committed to providing equal opportunities to all personnel including women officers to serve the country.
The Centre got a one-month extension earlier this month to implement the Supreme Court's verdict after it moved an application before the apex court seeking the extension of the deadline by another six months citing the Covid-19 pandemic.
The army, in May, made the Battle Physical Efficiency Test (BPET) mandatory for all women officers including those commissioned before 2009 and over the age of 35 (these officers were previously exempt). In March, it made a junior command course at Army War College, mandatory for women officers. There are around 600 women officers eligible for permanent commission, and a third of them are over the age of 40.

Gogoi on External Affairs Panel of Parliament

Former Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, was made a member of Parliament's standing committee on external affairs while NCP leader Sharad Pawar entered another key House panel, defence, in a massive rejig to accommodate 65 MPs of the Rajya Sabha.
Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu also nominated former union minister and BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia in the human resource development panel which will have BJP's Vinay Sahasrabuddhe as the new chairman. The rejig in the HRD panel comes at a crucial time when the Covid-19 pandemic has altered the traditional education landscape, forced millions of students to go online, deferred key competitive exams and also when the NDA government is set to unveil its new education policy.
The Indian Parliament has 24 standing committees of which 8 are headed by Rajya Sabha members while the remaining 16 are led by lawmakers from Lok Sabha. Every member is entitled to be a member of a standing committee.

Jul 23, 2020

India and the US Set Up Industry Collaboration Forum

The US and India have set up an industry collaboration forum under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI). The DTTI is tasked with co-development of military technologies.
The forum will have a standing mechanism for developing and sustaining dialogue between the Indian and US industry on defence technology and industrial cooperation.
US Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord said that it would open many possibilities for the two countries. The forum will provide an opportunity to individual members of the private sector to provide facts, data, expertise, or other relevant information on possible projects to the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and also to the US Department of Defence (DoD).
The forum aims at facilitating dialogue between government and industry on issues that may relate to availability of critical and sensitive material and foreign direct investment.

New Rajya Sabha Members Take Oath

Rajya Sabha chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu administered the oath of office to 45 of 61 newly elected members at the first such ceremony in the Upper House's chambers during inter-session amid the Covid pandemic. The remaining lawmakers will be administered the oath at a later date.
Eighteen Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members, including Jyotiraditya Scindia, were among those who took oath.
The BJP's strength in the House has gone up from 75 to 85 even though it is still short of a majority in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress has 40 members in the Upper House.
Naidu said that the new members should reflect on their role and responsibility and not fall for the temptation of disrupting the House for short-term gains.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the BJP MPs who were administered the oath to be updated with the latest policy issues and be effective on the floor of the House.

Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant-3 Achieves Criticality

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated nuclear scientists as the Kakrapar atomic power plant-3 achieved criticality, and said that the indigenous reactor is a shining example of the 'Make in India' campaign.
The 700 MW power plant in Gujarat achieved criticality, meaning it reached the normal operating condition of a reactor. It indicates that the plant is now set to generate power.
Kakrapar is part of India's pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) portfolio. Of India's 22 commercial nuclear power reactors with an installed capacity of 6,780 megawatts (MW), which are run by state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), there are 14 units of 220MW PHWRs each, making it one of the largest fleets of such reactors.

Jul 22, 2020

Union HRD Minister Launches MANODARPAN to Provide Psychosocial Support to Students

The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' launched MANODARPAN initiative of HRD Ministry virtually in New Delhi. The initiative provides psycho-social support to students, teachers and parents and addresses their issues related to mental health and emotional wellbeing.
It is a part of the 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan', to strengthen human capital and increase productivity and initiatives in the education sector.
Components included in MANODARPAN are:
Advisory Guidelines for students, teachers and faculties
Web page on the MHRD website carries advisory, practical tips, videos, FAQs and an online query system.
National Toll-free Helpline: 8448440632 accessible from 8 AM to 8 PM. It is managed by experienced counselors/Psychologists and other mental health professionals.
Handbook on Psychosocial Support: Enriching Life skills & Wellbeing of Students to be published online. The booklet will cover ways to manage emotional and behavioural concerns during the pandemic and beyond.

Jul 21, 2020

Odisha Government Includes Transgender Community under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana

The official notification of The Department of Social security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) informed that, Odisha Government has included the transgender community under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana(MBPY), a social security scheme by amending to Rule 6 of the Madhu Babu Pension Rules 2008.
In addition to transgenders women, those who are fighting divorce cases in courts are also included.
Under this scheme, about 6,000 transgenders will receive Rs. 500, Rs. 700 and Rs. 900 per month as a pension under various categories depending on their age.
To avail the benefit of the scheme the transgenders should possess a certificate issued under Section 6 of the Transgender Persons(Protection of Rights) Act 2019.
MBPY is initiated under SSEPD. It was launched in Odisha in 2008 by merging the two pension schemes: Revised Old Age Pension Rules, 1989 and Disability Pension Rules, 1985.

Ladakh and Gujarat Get New BJP Chiefs

BJP president J. P. Nadda appointed party's young first-term MP from Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, the party chief in the key Union Territory and C. R. Patil the chief of the party's Gujarat unit.
The post of the BJP president in Ladakh was lying vacant following the resignation of Chering Dorjay in May from the primary membership of the party. Dorjay, who was appointed the chief of the party's Ladakh unit in March, resigned to protest the failure of the UT Administration to evacuate Ladakhi passengers, patients, pilgrims and students stranded at various places in the country.
Patil, a third-term MP from Navsari, replaced Jitendrabhai Vaghani as the Gujarat party chief. Patil used technology to push development works in his constituency and is someone considered close to PM Modi.

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