General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2016

Dec 2016

Mar 15, 2020

Ropax Ferry Service between Mumbai and Mandwa

A roll on-roll off cum passenger ferry service, also called 'Ropax', between Mumbai and Mandwa near Alibaug, was launched in the presence of Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya and Maharashtra port and maritime board officials.
The launch ceremony was a low-key one due to state government restrictions on such mass gatherings given the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The vessel, built in Greece, can carry 200 cars and 1,000 passengers, and is capable of plying even during monsoon.
While Mumbai Port Trust built the jetty facilities at Ferry Wharf in the metropolis at the cost of Rs. 31 crore, the ropax jetty and terminal at Mandwa has been built by Maharashtra Maritime Board at the cost of Rs. 135 crore.

Narendra Modi Proposes SAARC Fund to Tackle Coronavirus

Making a strong pitch for SAARC nations to jointly combat coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday proposed setting up a COVID-19 emergency fund with India committing USD 10 million initially for it, and asserted that the best way to deal with the pandemic was by coming together, and not growing apart. Apart from Modi, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, Bhutanese premier Lotay Tshering, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister on Health Zafar Mirza, participated in the video conference.
The underlying message of the video conference was unitedly taking on the pandemic, but Pakistan used the occasion to raise Kashmir, with Mirza calling for the "lockdown" to be eased in Jammu and Kashmir to deal with the coronavirus threat.

Ordinance for Recovery of Damage to Public Property during Violent Protests

The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet passed the 'Recovery of Damage to Public Properties Ordinance 2020' for recovery of losses due to damage to public property during violent protests.
The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Cabinet has approved the Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Ordinance, 2020 for effective prevention of loss of public property in the state.
As many as 15 people had died in the violence that took place across Uttar Pradesh during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December 2019.
Adityanath had earlier said that the damages in the violence will be recovered from the rioters.

Delhi Resolution Calls for Withdrawal of NPR, NRC

The Capital's legislative assembly passed a resolution against the National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying the majority community of Hindus would suffer the most because of a lack of documents.
The resolution, which urged the central government to stick to the 2010 NPR format if it went ahead with the process, was passed with a voice vote in the 70-member assembly in a special one-day session.
It came a day after Union home minister Amit Shah told Parliament that no documents would be required in the NPR, which is a biometric database of "usual" Indian residents, and that the process would be voluntary.

Mar 14, 2020

Anil Chaudhary Delhi Congress President

In an attempt to revamp the party unit in Delhi, the Congress appointed 44-year-old former legislator Anil Chaudhary as the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief.
Congress party's interim chief Sonia Gandhi also named five vice-presidents to assist Chaudhary in the state unit. Sitting councillor and Congress candidate in the 2020 state elections from Kasturba Nagar Abhishek Dutt, senior Congress leader JP Agarwal's son Mudit Agarwal, former MLA Jaikishan, the son of former Congress MLA from Mustafabad Hasan Ahmed, Ali Hassan, and the daughter of former Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra, Shivani Chopra have been chosen as vice-presidents of the Delhi Congress.
Last chief of the Delhi unit Subash Chopra had quit in February after the Congress failed to win even a single seat in the 2020 Delhi assembly elections.

UP to Depute 'Arogya Mitras' at PHCs

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said one 'Arogya Mitra' each will be deputed at all primary health centres in the state to inform people about health-related schemes being run by the government.
Adityanath was addressing a gathering after inaugurating 'Kaushal Satrang' programme organised by the Department of Vocational Education and Skill Development and Labour and Employment Exchange Department.
The 'Kaushal Satrang' programme is dedicated to generate employment and self-employment opportunities for the youth of the state.

Government Nominates Debasish Panda to RBI's Board

The Reserve Bank said that the Central Government has nominated Debasish Panda, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, New Delhi as a Director on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India vice Rajiv Kumar.
The nomination of Panda is effective from March 11, 2020 and until further orders.

Mar 13, 2020

Suspension Order of Seven Congress MPs Revoked

The Lok Sabha passed a motion to revoke the suspension of seven Congress members with immediate effect.
The seven Congress members — Gaurav Gogoi, T N Prathapan, Dean Kuriakose, R Unnithan, Manickam Tagore, Benny Behanan and Gurjeet Singh Aujla — were suspended on March 5 for the remaining period of the Budget session for gross misconduct.
The motion was moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal and passed by a voice vote.

Maharashtra Govt. Approves Auto Rickshaws "Happy Hours",

The Maharashtra Government approved the implementation of "happy hours" for auto rickshaws, reducing 15% of fare prices from 12 pm to 4 pm, barring the minimum fare for first 1.5 km, as recommended by Khatua panel.
The decision will not be applicable to local taxis and app based taxis.
The panel also recommended a new concept will turn lean hours to happy hours, for housewives and senior citizens who normally don't have a fixed schedule for their outings.
The auto rickshaw union has indicated that they will oppose the move while the citizens appreciated the move.

India Post Launches India's 1st Digital Parcel Locker Service in Kolkata, West Bengal

For the 1st time in India, the Department of post (DoP), Kolkata (West Bengal circle), launched free digital parcel locker service in 2 post offices (the Nabadiganta IT post office in Sector 5 of Salt Lake City & at the post office in New Town's Action Area I).
Under this service, customers will be able to collect their parcel from the post office according to their convenience. This facility is quite popular in European countries but is starting for the first time in India.
This service has been done for such people of working class, who do not have to receive any parcel at home. Such people can take their parcel and letters addressed to them from the kiosks at 24×7.

Ministry of Home Affairs Constitutes Two Special Committees to Fasten CAPF Works

Two special committees were formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to deal with the issues and approvals related to the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF). The two new panels will deal with decision until to find the right resolution.
The first committee will be chaired by the Home Secretary and will deal with issues that need to be decided between Home Ministry and CAPFs.
The second committee will be headed by the Secretary (Border Management) and will solve only the procurement matters.
These committees will also deal with the issues of Assam Rifles even though it is not a part of CAPF.
Issues dealt by the Committee: It deals with the CAPF issues like, anti-Naxal operations, border security, procurement of modern assault weapons, surveillance technology and other gadgetry, anti-terror preparedness, VIP security.

Mumbai Central Station to be Renamed after Nana Shankarsheth

The Maharashtra cabinet approved a proposal to rename Mumbai Central station in the city as "Nana Shankarsheth Mumbai Central Railway Station".
The proposal to rename the station would now be sent to the Railway Ministry.
Jagannath (Nana) Shankarseth (1803-1865) was a Maharashtrian philanthropist and educationist who contributed a lot to the development of Mumbai. The first Indian to be nominated to erstwhile Legislative Council of Bombay, he was also instrumental in the formation of the Indian Railway Association, which had pushed efforts to bring railways to the country. The Nana Chowk in South Mumbai is named after him. A marble status has been erected in his honour at the Asiatic Society of Mumbai.

Mar 12, 2020

ITBP Chief SS Deswal Gets Additional Charge of BSF DG

Director General Indo-Tibetan Border Police S. S. Deswal was given the additional charge of the DG Border Security Force (BSF) after the repatriation of incumbent Vivek Johri to his parent cadre Madhya Pradesh.
"Consequent upon repatriation of Vivek Johri, (1984, IPS officer of MP cadre), Director General (DG) Border Security Force (BSF) to his parent cadre, competent authority has approved that S. S. Deswal (1984-batch IPS officer of the Haryana cadre), DG, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) shall hold additional charge of the post of DG BSF, Vivek Johri till the appointment and joining of the successor or until further order, whichever is earlier.

Scindia Joins BJP

Former Union minister, four-time parliamentarian, a pillar of the Congress's younger generation of leaders and a key figure in Madhya Pradesh (MP) politics, Jyotiraditya Scindia, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a day after his sudden resignation from the Congress party brought the Kamal Nath-led government in MP precariously close to a collapse.
Just hours after his entry, the BJP nominated Scindia as the party candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections from MP. Three seats for the upper house fall vacant in the state.

RS Approves Minor Changes in Bill to Include Tribal Communities of Karnataka in ST Category

The Rajya Sabha approved some minor changes made by Lok Sabha in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order Amendment Bill, 2019.
Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda moved the amendments made by Lok Sabha in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2019 for consideration.
The motion was adopted with voice vote in the Upper House. The amendments are replacing the word 'seventieth' to 'seventy-first' and figure '2019' to '2020' at line one in first page.
The bill seeks to include Parivara and Talawara tribal communities of Karnataka in ST category to ensure they get the reservation and other benefits provided by the government.

Mar 11, 2020

Odisha Becomes the 1st State to Introduce Department for SHGs: "Mission Shakti"

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that Odisha is the 1st state to own a separate department for Self Help Groups named "Department of Mission Shakti". It is created for the development of women & is dedicated to all the women of Odisha.
Mission Shakti and Mamata Scheme combinedly benefit 70 lakh women in the state.
50% reservation in Panchayati Raj has created a new era for the socio-economic development of women.
Earlier in the state budget, it has introduced an independent Nutrition Budget, whose primary focus will be on mother-child nutrition.

Gujarat Tops in Domestic Solar Rooftop Installations in 2020

Gujarat ranked first in the list for domestic solar rooftop installations, throughout the country with 64 per cent of domestic solar installations. Nearly 50,915 domestic solar rooftops have been fixed in the state of Gujarat with a capacity of 177.67 MW on 2nd March 2020.

Karnataka Scraps Shaadi Bhagya Scheme

The BJP government in Karnataka scrapped the Shaadi Bhagya Scheme that was launched by Congress government in the state in 2013.
Under the scheme, Rs. 50,000 was given to Muslim brides for marriage expenses after they submitted their Aadhar and BPL cards.
While the previous coalition government had allocated Rs. 60 crore budget for the scheme, the BJP government decided to discontinue the scheme. Congress called the move by the state government as anti-minority.

Andhra Pradesh Ranks First in the Country for Overall Implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan

Andhra Pradesh (AP) ranked 1st in the country for overall implementation of POSHAN (Prime Minister's Overreaching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment) Abhiyaan as per September 2019 progress report of NITI Aayog, "Transforming Nutrition in India: POSHAN Abhiyaan". The 2nd anniversary of POSHAN Abhiyaan was recognized by celebrating Poshan Pakhwada from 8th-22nd March 2020.

Punjab Launches Mobile App to Spread Awareness on Coronavirus

The Punjab government launched a mobile application to spread awareness about the precautions to be taken against coronavirus.
The "Cova Punjab" app has been developed by the Department of Government Reforms and Public Grievances in consultation with the Health and Family Welfare Department.
The application, launched by Punjab Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh, will spread awareness among people by sharing travel and preventive care advisories.
The chief secretary said the mobile application provides options to check for symptoms as provided by the government from time to time and follow the advice given thereafter.
The application also suggests the nearest hospital where people can report in case they show symptoms of the virus.

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