General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2016

Nov 2016

Sep 22, 2022

Maharashtra Government to Establish a NITI Aayog-like Body

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that an institute on the lines of NITI Aayog would be set up in Maharashtra for comprehensive data analysis and to make studied decisions on various sectors.
Fadnavis said that the institute would be named Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA), "which would be another milestone in the journey of fostering cooperative federalism under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
NITI Aayog has also carried out an extensive study on similar issues and developed a tool, where inter-related data from various departments is collectively analysed for a better decision-making process.

Bru Agreement

The Central Government agreed to extend the deadline for the resettlement of Bru while reviewing the implementation of the Bru agreement.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the implementation of the Bru agreement with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha.
They found significant progress being made in the resettlement process of Bru people, who were displaced from Mizoram, in Tripura.
Under the agreement, the Bru community currently living in temporary relief camps in Tripura will be settled in the state.
The Bru, who returned to Mizoram in the eight phases of repatriation since 2009, cannot return to Tripura under this agreement.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Signs 5 'Non-controversial' Bills

Amidst escalating tussle with the Kerala government, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan signed five Bills passed by the Assembly, but left out the contentious ones, including the Lok Ayukta (Amendment) Bill.
As per reports, the files which Khan signed were "non-controversial" ones.
He did not give his nod to the University Laws Amendment Bill, which aims at curtailing the powers of Governor as the Chancellor of universities.
After the conclusion of the Assembly session, a total of 11 Bills, including the contentious Lok Ayukta (Amendment) Bill and University Laws (Amendment) Bill, were sent for the Governor's assent.

Sep 21, 2022

Footballer Bhaichung Bhutia Becomes New President of Hamro Sikkim Party

Legendary footballer Bhaichung Bhutia was elected as the new president of the Hamro Sikkim Party (HSP).
The former India captain was elected unanimously by party leaders and members at a national conference.
The HSP is confident that Bhutia will now carry the mantle of leading the fight to rid Sikkim of the present corrupt misrule and provide a transparent and responsive government to the people if elected to power in the future.

V.K. Singh Assumes Charge as Ex-Servicemen Welfare Secretary

Senior bureaucrat Vijoy Kumar Singh assumed charge as Ex-Servicemen Welfare Secretary.
Singh, a 1990-batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre, has an experience of more than 32 years in administration.
Singh served as special secretary in Ministry of Textiles. Prior to this appointment, he had served as joint secretary in Department of Personnel & Training.

Ratan Tata, Former SC Judge among Newly Appointed Trustees of PM CARES Fund

Eminent personalities, including industrialist Ratan Tata, former Supreme Court Judge K.T. Thomas, and former deputy Lok Sabha speaker Kariya Munda were nominated as trustees of the PM CARES Fund.
The announcement came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the board of trustees meeting that was attended by the newly appointed members, along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman.
Former Comptroller and Auditor General Rajiv Mehrishi, former Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murthy and Teach for India co-founder Anand Shah were nominated into the advisory board of the Fund.
The PM CARES Fund was created as part of emergency relief measures during the Covid-19 pandemic that broke out in 2020. The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairperson and all contributions are fully exempt from income tax.

Sep 20, 2022

Shashi Tharoor Set to Run for Congress President

Former career diplomat at the UN and current member of the pro-reform G-23 grouping in the Congress Shashi Tharoor is all set to run in the upcoming election for the post of Congress president signalling an interesting fight ahead for the top job.
Thiruvananthapuram MP Tharoor met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and discussed with her his intentions to run for the party chief's post.
Sonia is, however, learnt to have told Tharoor that she would maintain a "neutral position" in the event of an election for the party president's post and "the party will not officially back anyone."
The remarks came amid talks that the Gandhi family favoured Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot as a non-Gandhi contestant with Rahul Gandhi reluctant to run.

Amarinder Singh Joins BJP, Merges Punjab Lok Congress with Saffron Party

Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh joined the BJP in the presence of senior party leaders Narinder Singh Tomar and Kiren Rijiju, and merged his Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) with the saffron party.
He lauded the BJP for its commitment to national security and said this was one of the reasons of joining the ruling party at the Centre.
Singh's son Raninder Singh and daughter Jai Inder Kaur also joined the BJP.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands Become India's First Swachh Sujal Pradesh

In a major development, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat declared Andaman and Nicobar Islands as India's first Swachh Sujal Pradesh. He handed over the certificate to Lieutenant Governor Admiral D.K. Joshi. All the villages of the state were certified as Har Ghar Jal and ODF plus.
The Union Minister congratulated everyone on the island for this noteworthy success and emphasised how everyone worked together to get this accreditation.

Manipur CM Biren Singh Launches Portal to Address Public Grievances

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh launched a web portal to enable people to redress their grievances, and provide a platform to raise corruption-related issues.
Three phone numbers, including two meant for the anti-corruption cell, has been made available on the portal 'CM da Haisi' (Let's inform the CM).
This will further enable the government to bring transparency and accountability in governance and delivery of public services.

Sep 19, 2022

PM Modi Launches National Logistics Policy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the National Logistics Policy that seeks to address challenges facing the transport sector and bring down the logistics cost of businesses from 13-14 per cent to a single digit.
Speaking at the launch programme, he that said it was an important step towards the making of a developed India. He further called the policy a solution for many problems, and said that it would lead to improvements of all our systems.

India, Singapore Hold Maiden Multi-ministerial Roundtable

India and Singapore discussed fintech, investment opportunities and regulatory cooperation at their first ever multi-ministerial roundtable.
The Indian side was represented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. The Singapore delegation was led by its Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong and comprised Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong and Transport Minister S. Iswaran.
The India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable is a new ministerial to boost economic cooperation between the two countries.

J&K LG announces Decision to Declare Maharaja Hari Singh's Birthday a Public Holiday

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has decided to declare Maharaja Hari Singh's birth anniversary a public holiday.
The announcement was made by lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha following his meeting with a delegation comprising prominent political leaders, members of the Yuva Rajput Sabha, civil society members, including head of J&K transport union, at the Raj Bhavan.
Maharaja Hari Singh was a great educationist, progressive thinker, social reformer and a towering man of ideas and ideals. The public holiday will be a fitting tribute to Maharaja Hari Singh.

MP Raghav Chadha Appointed AAP's Gujarat Co-incharge for State Polls

The Aam Aadmi Party appointed its Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha as the AAP's Gujarat co-incharge for the state Assembly elections due later this year.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP had earlier appointed Rajya Sabha member Sandeep Pathak at its Gujarat in-charge.
Chadha had also held the responsibility of the party as Punjab affairs co-incharge, ahead of the Assembly elections in that state held earlier this year.
The AAP had won the Punjab polls.
It has now positioned itself as the main rival of the BJP which has governed Gujarat for 27 years.

Former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh to Join BJP

Former Chief Minister and Punjab Lok Congress chief Amarinder Singh will join the BJP.
Singh will also merge his newly formed party with the BJP.
Singh had floated the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) last year after quitting the Congress following his unceremonious exit as Chief Minister. He will join the BJP in the presence of party president J.P. Nadda and other leaders in Delhi.

Sep 18, 2022

Telangana CM KCR Decides to Name New Secretariat after B. R. Ambedkar

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao decided to name the State's new Secretariat, which is under construction, after B. R. Ambedkar.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, CPI and CPI(M) welcomed the decision while State BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that Rao should also keep his promise made during the separate Telangana agitation that a Dalit leader would be made Chief Minister of the new State.
Following Rao's decision, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar issued a government order (GO) naming the Secretariat after Ambedkar.

Sunil Barthwal is New Commerce Secy, Vivek Bhardwaj is Mines Secy

Senior IAS officers Sunil Barthwal and Vivek Bharadwaj were named as the Commerce and Mines Secretary, respectively, as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle.
Barthwal, a 1989-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Bihar cadre, is currently Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment.
Barthwal will take over as the Commerce Secretary succeeding B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, who superannuates on September 30.
Vivek Bhardwaj, a 1990-batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre, would be the new Mines Secretary upon superannuation of Alok Tandon, in September end.

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