General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2016

Dec 2016

Jul 16, 2020

Anji Khad Bridge: Indian Railways' 1st Cable-stayed Rail Bridge

According to Minister of Railways, Piyush Vedprakash Goyal, India's first cable-stayed Indian Railways bridge namely "Anji Khad Bridge" being developed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), a Government of India undertaking, is all set to connect Katra and Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The cable-stayed railway bridge is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, which passes through the Young Himalayas.
The USBRL project also involves the Chenab River Bridge. The Chenab Bridge once completed, will become the world's highest rail bridge.
The total length of the Anji Khad Bridge is 473.25 metres.

Congress Dissolves District, Block Committees in Rajasthan

The Congress dissolved its all district and block committees in Rajasthan in a bid to revamp the state unit of the party. Announcing the decision, AICC general secretary in-charge for the Rajasthan Congress Avinash Pande said that new committees will be formed soon.
The decision came in the wake of Sachin Pilot's sacking as the Deputy Chief Minister and the state Congress Chief. The move is considered a step forward in removing all Pilot's men holding party positions at the grassroots level.

Simanchala Dash Gets Extension as Principal Special Director, Enforcement Directorate

Senior revenue service officer Simanchala Dash was given one-year extension as Principal Special Director, Enforcement Directorate.
Dash is an Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) officer of 1988 batch.
Dash, former Private Secretary to then Finance Minister (late) Arun Jaitley, was in March 2018 appointed as the Principal Special Director, a newly created post then.
His appointment was for two years in the Central probe agency, tasked with investigating money laundering among other related offences.
Sanjay Kumar Mishra, IRS (Income Tax) officer of 1984 batch, is the chief of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Jul 15, 2020

Number of Malnourished Falls by 60 mn: UN

According to a UN report, the number of undernourished people in India has declined by 60 million, from 21.7 per cent of the population in 2004-06 to 14 per cent in 2017-19.
As per the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, there were less stunted children, but more obese adults in India.
The report said the number of undernourished people in India declined from 249.4 million in 2004-06 to 189.2 million in 2017–19.
The two sub-regions showing reductions in undernourishment — eastern and southern Asia — are dominated by the two largest economies of the continent — China and India.
Despite different conditions, histories and rates of progress, the reduction in hunger in both countries stems from long-term economic growth, reduced inequality and improved access to basic goods and services.

UNICEF, India Joins Hands with FICCI to Initiate "#Reimagine Campaign"

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) India joined hands with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's (FICCI) to initiate UNICEF's "#Reimagine Campaign" for the support of most vulnerable populations and children during the ongoing COVID-19 response and its aftermath in India. Their action plan will be based on the document that is being developed jointly by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and UNICEF for governments and businesses on the measures they can take to support the post-pandemic recovery.
Ogilvy, a New York (United States) based advertising agency is offering free of charge support in developing the creative narrative for the campaign.
FICCI-Socio Economic Development Foundation (SEDF) will reach out to its membership base to garner support for the campaign and leverage its resources like cash and core assets to mobilise funds.
The partnership will also help to avoid potential long-term damage to business operations and employment pipelines, and their most important resource, their personnel, their children and their families.

Guidelines to States, UTs Regarding Education of Migrant Workers' Children

The HRD Ministry issued guidelines to states and union territories regarding education of migrant workers' children who have returned home during the COVID-19 pandemic, asking them to ensure that their names are not struck off the school rolls.
According to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), the states have been asked to prepare a database of children who have left the local area for their homes in other states or other parts of the same state. Such children should be noted in the database as migrated or temporarily unavailable.
The ministry has suggested the state government may direct all schools to give admission to any child who has recently returned to village without asking for any other documents, except for some identity proof.

Sachin Pilot Sacked as Rajasthan Deputy CM, State Congress President

The Congress sacked Sachin Pilot as the Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and the state party chief. Along with Pilot, two other Rajasthan ministers who had revolted against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and supported Pilot have also been fired from the cabinet.
The decision to sack Pilot was announced by Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjeawal during a press conference. The Congress decided to show the door to Tonk MLA after he skipped a second meeting of Congress Legislative Party in Jaipur.
Former president of Sikar Congress Govind Singh Dotasra was appointed as the new chief of Rajasthan Congress. Dotasra is also a Minister of State in CM Gehlot's cabinet. Young MLA Ganesh Gogra has been appointed as the new president of Youth Congress.

Jul 14, 2020

NITI Aayog Presents India's 2nd Voluntary National Review at UN's High-Level Political Forum

NITI Aayog presented India's second Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the United Nations High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, 2020.
The HLPF is the foremost international platform for follow-up and review of progress on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, presented the VNR. The India VNR 2020 report titled 'Decade of Action: Taking SDGs from Global to Local' was released by NITI Aayog officials – Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, Dr. V. K. Paul, Member, Amitabh Kant, CEO, and Sanyukta Samaddar, Adviser (SDGs).
At the HLPF this year, which is being hosted virtually in the aftermath of the COVID-19, 47 Member States are set to present their VNRs between July 10-16, 2020.
Under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN, the HLPF meets in July for eight days every year.
India presented its VNR along with other second time presenters like Bangladesh, Georgia, Kenya, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, and Uganda.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan Allocates portfolios to New Ministers

Madhya Pradesh (MP) Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan allocated portfolios among 28 new ministers, who were inducted in the cabinet earlier this month , and five others inducted earlier, with senior BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia's imprint being visible in the exercise.
The current strength of the Chouhan cabinet is 34, including the CM, while one ministerial berth is still vacant. In the first cabinet expansion exercise carried out on April 21, almost a month after Chouhan assumed office for a fourth term, five ministers were inducted including two Scindia loyalists, Tulsiram Silavat and Govind Singh Rajput. The others inducted were Narottam Mishra, Kamal Patel and Meena Singh.

Jul 13, 2020

Chhattisgarh Organises India's First E-Lok Adalat

Chhattisgarh State Legal Service Authority and the High Court organised India's first e-Lok Adalat to ensure the administration of justice and to solve the financial crisis of the parties and lawyers amid COVID-19 pandemic. High Court Chief Justice P. R. Ramchandra Menon inaugurated the e-Lok Adalat through video conferencing.
Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute grievance mechanisms or a forum where pending cases or disputes in the court of law are settled or compromised whereas e-lok adalat will be handled virtually.

Jul 12, 2020

Man Held for Opening Duplicate SBI Bank Branch

An alleged attempt by a 19-year-old man to open a branch of the State Bank of India at Panruti, Tamil Nadu was arrested for forgery.
The man, son of retired SBI employees, had readied fake seals and challans of the public sector lender, and had other paraphernalia like a cash counting machine needed "to run a bank branch," on an upper floor of his residence at Panruti.
The man's late father had worked for SBI and his mother had retired from the same bank some time back.

Hardik Patel Appointed Working President of Gujarat Congress

Patidar leader Hardik Patel was appointed the new working president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee.
Congress president has approved the proposal of the appointment of Hardik Patel as the working president of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect.
Mr. Patel rose to prominence when he led an agitation by the Patidar community in 2015, demanding that the community should get benefits of the quota for backward castes.
He joined the Congress on March 12, 2019, but did not contest the Lok Sabha election that year due to his conviction in a case.
Amit Chavda is the president of the state unit, which already has two working presidents -- Tushar Chaudhary and Karsandas Soneri.

Parliament Panel to Review Border Road Construction in Ladakh

In the wake of the recent violent clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in eastern Ladakh, the parliament's PAC meeting decided to review the construction of border roads at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and procurement of high-altitude clothing for the armed forces, and may call the Defense Secretary and other top officials to be briefed on the same.
The meeting of the 22-member Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chaired by the leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was attended by 17 out of the total 20 members.
Members of the PAC, in which BJP enjoys majority and is led by senior party leader Bhupender Yadav, thwarted Mr Chowdhury's attempt to select the PM Cares Fund for examination, saying its amount was not sanctioned by the parliament and therefore, it cannot be taken up by the committee.
MPs from BJD and JD(U) also supported the BJP on the issue.
Meanwhile, the PAC has decided to examine various subjects with special focus being given to the CAG report number 5 of 2017, a performance audit of the Sino-India Border Roads, and CAG report number 13 of 2019 which is on the provisioning and procurement of high altitude-clothing, equipment, ration and housing for soldiers.

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