General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2016

Sep 2016

Aug 16, 2024

India Announces Key Appointments: Govind Mohan as Home Secretary and Rahul Navin as ED Director

Ahead of the 78th Independence Day, the Indian Union Government announced the new Union Home Secretary-designate and the new director of the federal anti-money laundering agency Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Govind Mohan, a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, was appointed as the Union Home Secretary-designate. Meanwhile, former Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) officer Rahul Navin was appointed as the new ED chief.
Mohan, a 1989-batch IAS officer of Sikkim cadre, was moved from the Ministry of Culture, where he was secretary.
He succeeded incumbent Ajay Kumar Bhalla, a 1984-batch IAS officer. Bhalla was to retire in November 2020, but his tenure was extended multiple times — in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Sixth India-Australia Maritime Dialogue & Fourteenth Counter-Terrorism Meeting

India and Australia held two significant bilateral meetings to enhance their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Australia hosted the 6th India-Australia Maritime Security Dialogue in Canberra, while India hosted the 14th India-Australia Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism in New Delhi. Both dialogues were aimed at strengthening cooperation in maritime security and counter-terrorism.
Indian delegation at the India-Australia Maritime Security Dialogue was led by Ms. Muanpuii Saiawi, Joint Secretary, Disarmament & International Security Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and the Australian delegation was led by Ms. Sarah Storey, First Assistant Secretary South Asia & Central Asia Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Mr. Bernard Philip, First Assistant Secretary of International Policy, Department of Defence
Led by K.D. Dewal, Joint Secretary for Counter-Terrorism, Ministry of External Affairs
The 14th India-Australia Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism was Led by K. D. Dewal, Joint Secretary for Counter-Terrorism, Ministry of External Affairs and Australia was led by Richard Feakes, Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

P. Harish India's New Envoy at UN

India appointed Parvathaneni Harish, a 1990-batch IFS officer, as the next Permanent Representative to the United Nations at New York.
Harish is presently the Ambassador of India to Germany and will take up the assignment at New York shortly. The post at New York fell vacant after Ruchira Kamboj retired on May 31.
Harish assumed charge as India's ambassador to Germany on November 6, 2021.
Previously, he was the additional secretary (economic relations) in the MEA.
Harish served in the Indian missions in Cairo and Riyadh and also as India's representative to the Palestinian Authority.
For a period of five years since 2007, Harish was the joint secretary and officer on special duty to the Vice President of India.
Harish was India's ambassador to Vietnam from April 2016 to June 2019.

Aug 15, 2024

National Institute for MSME (NI-MSME), Hyderabad Awarded Accreditation Certification as 'UTKRISHT'

National Institute for MSME (NI-MSME), an organisation of Ministry of MSME, Government of India, was awarded with Accreditation Certificate on the successful completion on National Standards for Civil Services Training Institutions (NSCSTI) process in recognition of excellent services in the field of promotion and development of MSMEs.
The assessment was made based on the inspection of all standard operating procedures and methodologies followed by the Institute at different levels. The team from Capacity Building Commission (CBC) & ICARE conducted On-site assessment and awarded the Certificate of Accreditation with the grading of UTKRISHT, a 3 Star Rating.

BJP's Jagdambika Pal to Head Joint Panel on Waqf Bill

Senior BJP Lok Sabha member Jagdambika Pal was named chairperson of the joint committee of Parliament, which will examine the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
A Lok Sabha notification said Speaker Om Birla appointed Pal as the head of the 31-member committee.
Amid protests by the opposition in the Lok Sabha on its provisions, the government had decided to refer the bill to a joint committee of the two Houses.
The joint panel has 31 members, 21 from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha, and will submit its report by the next session.

Sandeep Poundrik Assumes Role as Secretary of the Ministry of Steel

Sandeep Poundrik officially took over as the Secretary of the Ministry of Steel, succeeding in his role at Udyog Bhawan. A 1993-batch IAS officer from the Bihar cadre, Poundrik was welcomed by senior officials of the Ministry upon his appointment.
Poundrik's extensive background includes serving as Additional Chief Secretary in the Industries Department of the Bihar government, with additional responsibilities in various other governmental roles. He also has experience as an Advisor in the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under the Ministry of Home Affairs and as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Aug 14, 2024

Delhi LG nominates AAP Minister Kailash Gahlot for Flag Hoisting Ceremony

While Kejriwal had earlier said that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Minister Atishi would do the honours in his absence, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V. K. Saxena nominated Delhi Home Minister Kailash Gahlot to hoist the flag at the Independence Day celebrations.
In a written communication to Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, the LG's secretary Ashish Kundra said, "The Lieutenant Governor is pleased to nominate Minister (Home), GNCTD, Kailash Gahlot to unfurl the National Flag at the State level Independence day celebrations at Chhatrasaal Stadium."

President Murmu Opens Amrit Udyan in Rashtrapati Bhavan

A stone abacus, sound pipe and music wall are among the key attractions in the famed Amrit Udyan inside the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which opened for public viewing.
Visitors to Amrit Udyan were also given 'seed papers', a unique and eco-friendly memento, infused with seeds of Tulsi plant.
President Murmu inaugurated Amrit Udyan and the garden will remain open for public viewing till September 15.
Amrit Udyan is spread over a vast expanse of 15 acres in the Rashtrapati Bhavan — the office and residence of the President of India.

Aug 13, 2024

Bihar Government Mandates Registration of Temples, Mutts, and Trusts

The Bihar government mandated registration of temples, mutts and trusts, and directed all District Magistrates in the State to ensure that the bodies are registered and details of their immovable assets are submitted to the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts (BSBRT) soon. The BSBRT operates under the State's Law Department and its records say there are about 2,512 unregistered temples and mutts across the State owning 4,321.64 acres of land.

Vinay Mohan Kwatra Assumes Charge as India's New Ambassador to the US

Vinay Mohan Kwatra assumed charge as Indian ambassador to the US.
He succeeded Taranjit Singh Sandhu, who retired from the Foreign Service early this year (2024) and served as India's top diplomat in the US from 2020 to 2024.
Mr. Kwatra, previously served as Minister of Commerce in the Indian Embassy in the US.
He was also India's Ambassador to France and Nepal, after which he was appointed as the foreign secretary.

Aug 12, 2024

Somanathan, Who Cleaned up Finances of Govt, is New Cabinet Secretary

The government appointed 1987-batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer TV Somanathan as the next Cabinet Secretary of India. He will have a two-year tenure beginning August 30. He will take over the charge from Rajiv Gauba, a 1992-batch IAS officer, who has been the Cabinet Secretary since 2019.
Somanathan, who is presently the Finance Secretary in charge of the Department of Expenditure, will be the Officer on Special Duty in the Cabinet Secretariat till he takes over as the Cabinet Secretary.
Somanathan has worked closely with M Karunanidhi for three years from 2007 to 2019, when the latter was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He had a ring side view of how the veteran DMK leader pushed through politically some tough economic reforms such as increasing power tariff.

India-New Zealand Sign Bilateral Customs Cooperation Agreement

President Droupadi Murmu held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Vinston Peters at Government House in Wellington. Discussions were held on wide range issues including customs co-operation, traditional medicine and renewable energy. The bilateral engagements between President Droupadi Murmu and leaders of New Zealand ended on positive note. India and New Zealand inked the bilateral customs cooperation arrangement which is expected to ease trade between the two countries.

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