General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2016

Nov 2016

Jun 17, 2023

Tamil Nadu Withdraws General Consent Granted to the Central Bureau of Investigation

The Tamil Nadu government withdrew its general consent for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The government's move came amidst the ruling DMK's criticism against the BJP government at the Centre that it is misusing central agencies to silence opposition leaders.
The central probe agency will now have to obtain permission from the Tamil Nadu government before conducting any investigation in the state. Tamil Nadu became the tenth Indian state to withdraw its general consent for investigations by the CBI.
The other nine states which had withdrawn their general consent to the CBI to probe cases include Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal.
However, despite the withdrawal of general consent by the Tamil Nadu government, the CBI can continue to probe old cases until the consent is specifically taken back by the state government. Further, the probe agency can also continue to investigate cases that were given to it by a court order.

Jun 16, 2023

Women 20 Summit Concludes at Mahabalipuram

Women 20, the official engagement group of G20, held its Jan Bhagidari (Citizens' Connect) event in Mahabalipuram. The summit concluded on June 16. The theme of the summit was 'Women-Led Development- Transform, Thrive and Transcend'.
The citizen connect event on the theme - 'The Journey of Empowerment,' was supported by the National Rural Livelihood Mission, Tamil Nadu Department of Rural Development and Central Ministry of Rural Development.
The Women 20 came into force in 2015 under Turkey's Presidency of G20 in 2015, with the objective of focusing on gender equity, women empowerment, advocating for the rights of women and raising women's voices in society.
As per Sandhya Purecha, chair, W20, the key focus areas of the W20 India summit were entrepreneurship, bridging the gender digital divide, women and girls' participation in climate action, education and skill development and grassroots leadership. She added that the grouping has been working with 21 knowledge and network partners for the same.

Jun 15, 2023

India to Host IIAS Conference on Administrative Reforms in 2025

India will host the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) Annual Conference 2025 in February in Kochi, the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions announced.
The government's decision was conveyed to IIAS' Council of Administration in a virtual meeting by V. Srinivas, Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
The annual conference will be attended by 30 countries, 18 national sections, and over 50 IIAS universities/ institutes of public administration. The DARPG proposed the theme of the annual conference as "Next Generation Administrative Reforms - Empowering The Citizens And Reaching The Last Mile".
India has always viewed the IIAS as an important institution for international relations in public administration. The IIAS 2025 Conference in Kochi would represent a significant milestone for India's pursuit of next-generation administrative reforms.
The IIAS is a federation of member states, national sections, and academic research centres which elaborates on public administration solutions to policy challenges. Established in 1930, it is headquartered in Brussels. The Council of Administration manages the affairs of the institute, decides its program of activities, and establishes the annual budget.

Cluster-Based Training of Trainers Project Certifies 98 Trainers under the SANKALP Programme

The Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) successfully certified 98 trainers who participated in the cluster-based Training of Trainers (ToT) project. This initiative was carried out in collaboration with the Automotive Sector Development Council (ASDC), GIZ-IGVET, and the Maharashtra State Skill Development Mission (MSSDS). The project, developed as part of the National component of Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP), aimed to enhance the skills of trainers in various trades such as Advanced Welding, CNC operations, Robotics, Quality Control, and Advanced Automotive Technology.

Jun 14, 2023

Second Summit of Supreme Audit Institutions of G20 Countries Concludes in Goa

The second summit of the Supreme Audit Institutions of G20 countries concluded in Goa. In his valedictory address, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, Girish Chandra Murmu highlighted that the SAIs have collectively chartered a path to heighten efficiency, accountability and transparency in Blue Economy and Artificial Intelligence. Murmu said that there was a consensus that SAI20 summit represented an action-oriented forum to collaborate on sharing of the best practices, capacity building and development of appropriate auditing guidelines and actionable tool kits for auditing national priorities. This was also reflected in the SAI20 Communique adopted during the summit.
As per reports, 85 national and International delegates from G20 SAIs, Guest SAIs, Invited SAIs, International Organizations and other Engagement Groups attended the event. The SAI20 members deliberated according to the SAI20 group a distinct, independent and institutional track in the G20 structure.

Jitan Manjhi's Son Resigns from Nitish Cabinet

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, a new political development is taking shape in Bihar. In a sudden move, Jitan Ram Manjhi's son and Bihar minister for SC and ST welfare, Santosh Suman resigned from the Nitish Kumar cabinet. Former Bihar CM Manjhi's party Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) is an alliance partner of Mahagathbandhan in Bihar that includes Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United).
Santosh Suman sent his resignation to the Chief Minister. Suman said that his party received a proposal to merge with the JDU but the HAM MLAs and party workers are against the merger. He said that the merger proposal came from the JDU. Suman said that while he respects the sentiments of JDU, his party (HAM) was formed to fight for some issues and thus they will continue their fight and have chosen the path of struggle.

Sudhansh Pant new Union Health Secretary, Chanchal Kumar Aviation Secretary

Senior IAS officer Sudhansh Pant was named as the new Union Health Secretary as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre.
Pant, a 1991-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Rajasthan cadre, is currently the Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
He was appointed as the Officer on Special Duty in the Department of Health and Family Welfare.
Chanchal Kumar, Managing Director of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd was named as the new Civil Aviation Secretary.

Padma Awardees from Haryana to Get Monthly Rs. 10,000

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced a monthly pension of Rs. 10,000 for the Padma awardees from the state.
Besides the monthly pension, the Chief Minister also announced a free travel facility in the 'Volvo bus' service of the state government for Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awardees from Haryana.
The Chief Minister made this announcement during his visit to Karnal.

Jun 13, 2023

Uttarakhand Public Service Commission Chairman Rakesh Kumar Resigns

Uttarakhand Public Service Commission Chairman Rakesh Kumar resigned within 18 months of appointment citing personal reasons.
Kumar, a retired IAS officer, was appointed in December 2021 for a six-year term. His short tenure was full of challenges with three examinations conducted by the Commission being cancelled over paper leak allegations.
Kumar tendered his resignation and it was accepted by Governor Lt Gen (retd) Gurmit Singh.
It was during his tenure that the Commission was assigned the additional responsibility of conducting Group C recruitment examinations which were earlier under the ambit of the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) after the latter got embroiled in the paper leak cases.

India Appoints Vipul as its New Ambassador to Qatar

Seasoned diplomat Vipul was appointed India's new ambassador to Qatar, an influential country in the Gulf region.
Vipul, a 1998-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, is presently serving as the joint secretary in the Gulf division at the headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Delhi.
Shilpak N. Ambule, an IFS officer from 2002 batch, was appointed India's next High Commissioner to Singapore.

India, ADB Sign $130 Million Loan Agreement to Boost Horticulture in HP

The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a loan agreement worth $130 million in order to increase agricultural productivity, improve access to irrigation and promote horticulture agribusinesses to raise farmers' income in Himachal Pradesh. The project builds upon a pilot financed by ADB's project readiness facility which demonstrated the subtropical horticulture production over 200 hectares and prepared the draft water user association (WUA) act and the draft state horticulture development strategy.
The project interventions will help increase the income and resilience to the effects of climate change of at least 15,000 farm households across seven districts of the state namely Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Sirmour, Solan, and Una.
These households have stopped farming or have reduced their farming areas because of a lack of irrigation facilities and crop damage by wild and stray animals.
The project will improve on-farm irrigation and water management in about 6,000 hectares of farmland by rehabilitating or building new irrigation schemes and strengthening the capacity of WUAs for micro-irrigation management through joint efforts from the state's Jal Shakti Vibhag (Water Resources Department) and Department of Horticulture (DOH).

Amit Agrawal is UIDAI CEO, Subodh Kumar Singh Named DG NTA

Senior IAS officers Amit Agrawal and Subodh Kumar Singh were appointed as CEO Unique Identification Authority of India and Director General of the National Testing Agency, respectively, as part of a bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre. Both Agrawal (1993 batch) and Singh (1997 batch) are Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers of the Chhattisgarh cadre.
Agrawal, additional secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has been appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Unique Identification Authority in the rank and pay of additional secretary to the Government of India.

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