General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2016

Dec 2016

Oct 06, 2018

SC Dismisses Petition for Full Delhi Statehood

The Supreme Court dismissed a plea seeking full statehood for Delhi saying it has become infructuous in view of the Constitution Bench verdict which had held that Delhi cannot be accorded the status of a state. The matter came up for hearing before a Bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur, S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta.

India Deals to Procure S-400 from Russia

Ignoring threat of US Sanctions, India went ahead with the deal to procure the S-400 "Triumf" air-defence missile system from Russia. India is buying S-400 air defence missile systems from Russia for around $5.4 bn (Rs. 40,000 crore approx).

S-400 is Russia's most advanced long range surface-to-air missile defence system, with a 400 km range over which its radar can track targets. It will provide India 'umbrella coverage' against air-borne threats, including nuclear missiles, stealth aircraft, jets, missiles, UAVs etc. S-400 Triumf air-defence missile system can track 300 targets, and can shot down 36 of them simultaneously.

This is the biggest ever-contract between Russia and India and the largest in the history of Rosoboronexport. Delivery is expected to begin within 24 months of signing the contract

Konkan Alphonso Gets GI Tag

The Alphonso mango from Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and adjoining areas of Konkan region in Maharashtra has finally got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. Called the king of mangoes, Alphonso has long been one of the world's most popular fruits and is exported to various countries including Japan, Korea and Europe.

The first product to get a GI tag in India was Darjeeling tea in 2004.

Oct 05, 2018

Government Unveils Digi Yatra

Travellers will soon be able to enter airports in the country with facial recognition biometric under the government's Digi Yatra initiative.

The facial recognition biometric feature would be optional for air passengers. Digi Yatra initiative seeks to promote paperless and hassle-free air travel.

The Digi Yatra central platform would be operational by end of February 2019.

R. N. Ravi Becomes Deputy National Security Advisor

The government redesignated R. N. Ravi as deputy national security advisor (internal affairs) from his earlier assignment as the chief of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC).

But he will continue to be the centre's interlocutor for Nagaland.

Ravi will be third deputy to NSA Ajit Doval after former Research and Analysis Wing chief Rajinder Khanna and serving diplomat Pankaj Saran.

Oct 04, 2018

India Eyeing T-14 Armata

Indian Army is now planning to procure Russia's multi-purpose future ready combat vehicles (FRCV) T-14 Armata to replace its ageing T-72 main battle tanks (MBTs).

According to reports, the Indian Army hopes to buy 1,770 multi-purpose T-14 Armata FRCVs from Russia which is likely to cost USD 4.5 billion.

Metro Projects in Bhopal and Indore

The cabinet approved Metro Rail projects in Bhopal and Indore.

The project in Bhopal would be a 50-50 arrangement between the central and the state government and the line would run for 27.87 kilometres.

The project in Indore would be longer - at 31.55 kilometres and would cover most of the city.

Punjab Comes Up with Own IELTS

Hoping to tap into the emigration craze, the state Education Department has come up with a plan to improve their English skills by launching a programme called the 'IELTS'. Only in this case it stands for "Interactive English Language Training for Students".

Coaching for the IELTS exam has become a roaring industry in the state.

The free coaching is set to start for class XI and XII students in around 1,000 government senior secondary schools from November 1.

Astra BVR Air-to-Air Missiles

The Indian Air Force has successfully tested Astra Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air missiles.

The testing was primarily to judge Astra's capability in engagement of pilotless target in different modes of manoeuvring, off-boresight, medium and long ranges. Astra has now been through six test phases with different launch conditions and ranges each time as part of the final development trial.

Himachal High Court Gets New Chief Justice

Justice Surya Kant has been appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

The post of Chief Justice of the High Court had been lying vacant since April, 2017.

Kant was the Advocate General of Haryana till his elevation as a permanent judge to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in January, 2004.

Oct 03, 2018

CBI Gets Cadre Officer as Joint Director

After a hiatus of almost nine years, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has got a joint director (JD) who has risen from the ranks.

Deputy inspector general (DIG) N. M. Singh has been promoted to the rank of JD (equivalent to an inspector general).

Singh joined the CBI as a directly recruited deputy superintendent of police (DySP) in the early 1990s. He is the first officer from the CBI cadre to be promoted as JD after M Narayanan, who held the same rank and retired in January 2009.

Reshuffle in IAF

The government has made a major reshuffle in the top Indian Air Force (IAF) positions with Air Marshal V. R. Chaudhari taking over as the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff and Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar taking over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Eastern Air Command.

Air Marshal Amit Dev has been appointed as the Director General Air (Operations) and Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora has been named the new South Western AOC-in-C.

Garg Gets Additional Charge

Sudhir Garg, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, has assumed charge as interim CMD of National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC).

Garg has been given additional charge of the post from October, for a period of three months or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Oct 02, 2018

Candidates Allowed to Withdraw from Exams

The UPSC for the first time has decided to allow candidates to withdraw from the examination if they wish to.

This is because only half of the over 10 lakh aspirants who apply for civil services exam actually write the test.

Odisha Bans Plastic in Six cities

A ban on storage and sale of plastic bags is all set to come into force in six urban centres of Odisha, coinciding with the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The government will restrict the indiscriminate use of certain types of plastic products in the territorial jurisdiction of five municipalities and municipal corporations, including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Rourkela and Sambalpur, and in the pilgrim town of Puri.

Stockists and manufactures have been given one month time to dispose of their stocks.

Priya Dutt No more AICC secretary

Senior Congress leader and former Lok Sabha member Priya Dutt has been relieved of her duties as secretary, All India Congress Committee (AICC).

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