General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2016

Dec 2016

Jun 26, 2020

Maharashtra Appoints Current Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar as Chief Secretary

Maharashtra government has appointed the current Additional Chief Secretary, Sanjay Kumar as its Chief Secretary. He succeeded Ajoy Mehta. Ajoy Mehta has been named as the Principal Advisor to the Chief Minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray and will take this position on July 1.
Sanjay Kumar will hold the post of the Additional Chief Secretary in the housing department till his term ends on February 28, 2021. He also holds the additional charge of the home department.
Sanjay Kumar is the 1983 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.
Ajoy Mehta is a 1984-batch IAS officer. He assumed the office as the chief secretary on May 10, 2019 & was supposed to retire on September 30, 2019, but received a couple of term extensions.

Kempegowda International Airport Becomes the 1st Airport in India to Get AWMS at Both Ends of the...

Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/ BLR Airport) became the 1st airport in India to get an indigenously-developed Aviation Weather Monitoring System (AWMS) at both ends of the runway. AWMS is installed by Bangalore International Airport (BIAL). The technology is developed by Bengaluru-based CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL).
The AWMS sensor has been installed on a 10 meters mast which is a 1st of its kind, designed by NAL.
It has many unique features including eco-friendly, light weight & has a life span of over 60 years. The sliding mechanism enables easy maintenance.

MSDE & IBM Joins Hands to Launch SkillsBuild Reignite and SkillsBuild Innovation Camp

Directorate General of Training (DGT), under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Technology giant IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) India Private Limited,have jointly launched free digital learning platforms 'SkillsBuild Reignite' and 'SkillsBuild Innovation Camp' to provide more new resources to job seekers and business owners in India through BharatSkills learning platform (https://bharatskills.gov.in) of DGT.
This initiative has been launched to facilitate free online coursework such as financial management, business strategy, digital strategy, legal support & advice to job seekers and entrepreneurs with the aim to help them take their careers as well as businesses forward.
Under this learning platform, Personal coaching for entrepreneurs, mentoring to help small businesses establish or restart their small businesses again as they begin to focus efforts to emerge from the situation arising from the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic.
It is a 10-week training program, under which 100 hours of structured learning will be provided to learners interested in gaining practical project experience to boost their learning & aims to build their network as well as increasing their employability.

Jun 25, 2020

Dr. Jitendra Singh Inaugurates Devika and Puneja Bridges

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated two bridges Devika and Puneja in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur and Doda districts, respectively through a virtual platform.
After inaugurating the 10-meter-long Devika Bridge in Udhampur district, Singh said that with the construction of this bridge, traffic issues of the region will be resolved and this will also help in smooth passage of army convoys and vehicles.
The bridge was built in about one-year time span.
The Union Minister also inaugurated 50-meter-long Puneja Bridge constructed by BRO at a cost of Rs. 4 Crore at Bhaderwah in Doda district.

India Retains its Position as 3rd-largest Economy on PPP Basis for 2017

In accordance with the World Bank Data under the International Comparison Program (ICP), revealed by India's National Statistical Office (NSO) of Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in 2020, India has retained its position as the third-largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) for 2017 as it accounted for 6.7% or $8,051 billion out of world total of $119,547 billion of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
India has followed China (16.4%) and the United States (16.3%) which ranked 1st and 2nd, respectively.
On the other hand India is followed by Japan, Germany, and the Russian Federation at 4th, 5th and 6th position, respectively.

Rohini Commission Gets Six Month Extension

The Centre has extended the tenure of the OBC Commission by six months. The panel will submit its report to the government by January 31, 2021.
The tenure of the Commission was to end on July 31.
This is the 9th extension given to the OBC Commission.
The decision to extend the OBC Commission's tenure was taken during the Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Commission was constituted under Article 340 of the Constitution after the approval of the President on October 2, 2017. The Commission headed by Justice G. Rohini (retd) commenced functioning in October 2017 and has since interacted with all the states/UTs which have subcategorised OBCs, and the State Backward Classes Commissions.

Cabinet Approves Declaration of Kushinagar Airport in U.P. as International Airport

The Union Cabinet approved the declaration of the airport in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar as an international airport, and stated that it will offer improved connectivity to the important Buddhist pilgrimage site. Kushinagar is the mid-point of the Buddhist circuit. It has pilgrimage sites in Lumbini, Shravasti, Kapilvastu nearby it. A little farther, it has sites in Sarnath and Gaya.
Around 200-300 devotees from Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Myanmar, etc come to offer prayers at Kushinagar on any given day.
Kushinagar is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Gautama Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana after his death.

Jun 24, 2020

Setback to RJD, 5 MLCs Join JD(U)

In a major jolt to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) ahead of Legislative Council polls in Bihar, five sitting party MLCs joined Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) or JD(U). The assembly polls in the state are also due in October-November this year.
The RJD, which has eight MLCs, is now left with only three MLCs. The MLCs who defected to JD(U) are Radha Charan Shah (2015), Sanjay Prasad (2015), Dilip Rai (2015), Md Kamar Alam (2016) and Ranvijay Kumar Singh (2016).
All the MLCs who joined the JD(U) do not face the anti-defection law as they form the two-third of the total number of MLCs of the RJD. A letter about formal joining of the RJD MLCs was forwarded by chief whip of the JD(U) Reena Devi to acting chairman of the legislative council.
Tuesday's development has made the JD(U) with 21 MLCs as the single largest party in the 75-member council, which presently has a strength of 46 as 29 seats are lying vacant. The BJP has 16 MLCs in the council and also has the support of an independent MLC. The polling for nine seats is schedule in July 2020.

India Asks Pakistan to Reduce High Commission Staff

India asked Pakistan to reduce its staff in its High Commission by half within the next seven days and announced a reciprocal trimming of Indian strength in Islamabad, in a significant downgrading of diplomatic ties.
The Ministry of External Affairs said that the Charge d' Affaires of Pakistan High Commission was summoned and informed about the decision which was based on instances of alleged involvement of Pakistani officials in "acts of espionage" and dealings with terrorist organisations.

Jun 23, 2020

India Gets Permanent Signatory Status of Washington Accord

The Union HRD Minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank informed that India has got the Permanent Signatory status of Washington Accord for 6 more years.
In the Washington Accord, India is represented by the National Board of Accreditation.
The membership of the Washington Accord is an international recognition of the quality of undergraduate engineering education offered by the member country and is an avenue to bring it into the world-class category.
It encourages and facilitates the mobility of engineering graduates and professionals at the international level.
Earlier in 2014, India had become a permanent signatory of the Washington Accord.

Finance Ministry Clears Way for Individual, Institutional Contributions to NDRF

The Finance Ministry cleared the way for individual and institutional contributions to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), nearly 15 years after it was set up.
The letter from the Department of Expenditure, Finance Ministry addressed to Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on the issue of contributions or grants by individuals and institutions under Section 4(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act, said that it has no objection to the proposal.
The matter has been consulted with the Budget Division of the Department of Economic Affairs and the department has no objection to the proposal of contributions/grants from individuals/institutions towards the NDRF as per Section 46(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Rajasthan Signs Pact With POWERGRID & EdCIL

As per Rajasthan Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasara, the Rajasthan government signed a tripartite agreement with the Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) and the Educational Consultants India Limited (EdCIL) to set up smart classrooms in 100 schools with a cost of Rs. 1.85 crore.
The initiative is to promote online education during COVID-19 lockdown.
E-content syllabus will be available for students from classes 1 to 12. In each schools 4 teachers will be trained to teach in the smart classrooms
The priority for establishing the smart classrooms will be given to schools located in remote areas where computer teachers and laboratory assistants have already been appointed.

Jun 22, 2020

Govt. Plans to Cut Import Dependence

The government is working on a sectoral strategy to reduce import dependence by building local capacity, creating value chains and quickly attaining self-reliance in at least half-a-dozen areas ranging from footwear and furniture to technical textiles and medical equipment to electronics and defence production.
The sectors will receive fiscal incentives credit support and tariff protection from an influx of cheaper imports, particularly from China.
All custom duty exemptions would be comprehensively reviewed and many of them will go as they are hurting domestic manufacturing.
The sectors are being identified carefully on the basis of availability of supply chains and skilled workers, besides their potential to create job opportunities.

MoHUA Signs MoU to Engage SIDBI as Implementation Agency for PM SVANidhi

Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to make latter as the implementation Agency for Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) – a Special Micro-Credit Facility for Street Vendors.
The MoU was signed Sanjay Kumar, Joint Secretary on behalf of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Shri V. Satya Venkata Rao, Deputy Managing Director, SIDBI, in the presence of Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge) MoHUA during a meet in New Delhi.
SIDBI will implement the PM SVANidhi Scheme under the guidance of MoHUA.
It will manage the credit guarantee to the lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).
It will develop and maintain a customised and integrated IT Platform providing end-to-end solutions through a Portal and a Mobile App, to ensure engagement and information flow between Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), Lending Institutions, Digital Payment Aggregators and other stakeholders.

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