General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2016

Dec 2016

Sep 26, 2018

First World-class Educational Institute to be Built in Alwar

As per Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the foundation stone of the first world-class educational institute for poor, backward and minorities will be laid at Alwar in Rajasthan in October. He also said that the educational institution will start functioning in 2020.

Waiting Period for Bail Reduced

The Allahabad High Court has amended a three decade old rule which provided that bail could not be granted on an application unless 10 days had expired as prior notice of application is given to government advocate.

The High Court issued a notification earlier this month amending the rule, thereby allowing the grant of bail in two days after notice of bail application is given to the government advocate.

After the notification, no arrested person applying for bail in UP will have to compulsorily suffer 10 days of imprisonment.

Committee to Look into Jail Reforms Constituted

The Supreme Court constituted a three-member committee, headed by its former judge Justice Amitava Roy, to look into jail reforms across the country and suggest measures to deal with them.

The panel will look into various matters including over-crowding in prisons and the issues concerning women prisoners.

Best States to Live

According to the "Ease of Living Index" released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Andhra Pradesh topped the chart in terms of ease of living followed by Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.

The three states were awarded as the best performing states at the National Dissemination Workshop on Ease of Living Index 2018.

Ankit Agarwal Gets UN Invite

Ankit Agarwalof Kanpur is among the 17 young leaders from across the globe selected by the United Nations for its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiative-2018.

He and the others have been invited for the ongoing Social Good Summit that began in New York.

Agarwal, the co-founder of HelpUsGreen, earned the UN invite for his work in using floral waste to manufacture incense sticks and generating employment for marginalised women. His venture is a social enterprise that has pioneered India's flower-recycling technology to prevent the river Ganges from becoming a sewer.

Sep 25, 2018

Sikkim's First Airport at Pakyong

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Sikkim's first airport at Pakyong and said that it is the development of the 100th airport.

Pakyong Airport is also one of the five highest airports in India.

Pakyong project is one of the tallest reinforced soil structures in the world.

Abhilash Tomy Rescued

Injured Commander and Golden Globe Race (GGR) skipper Abhilash Tomy has been rescued by a French vessel. Tomy is in a conscious state and has been shifted to the French Fishing Vessel Osiris.

Golden Globe Race is a sailing race around the world that started on July 1 from France.

The naval officer is the only Indian to have circumnavigated the globe non-stop on the legendary sail Yacht INSV Mhadei. He was awarded Kirti Chakra in 2013 by the then President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. He is also a recipient of the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award.

Instagram Co-founders Resign

Co-founders of Facebook Inc`s Instagram, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, have resigned as chief executive officer and chief technical officer, respectively.

Systrom and Krieger did not specify a reason for their departure.

Zika Virus in Rajasthan

After the first case of zika virus infection was confirmed in Jaipur and a spurt in seasonal diseases, health minister Kali Charan Saraf called a meeting to review the status of seasonal diseases.

He directed the department officials to keep a watch on seasonal diseases and cancelled leaves of all medical personnel across the state.

There have been 1,539 cases of swine flu and 152 deaths between January 1 and September 23. Also, 2406 cases of dengue cases, 3056 cases of malaria, 147 cases of chikungunya and 832 cases of scrub typhus have been confirmed.

Pension Scheme for Elderly Spinsters

The Madhya Pradesh cabinet approved a pension scheme for elderly women who are unmarried in order to provide them with financial assistance.

The Shivraj Singh Chauhan government cleared the way for an amount of Rs. 300 to be given as pension to unmarried women between the ages of 50 and 79 while those above 80 years of age would be entitled to get Rs. 500 as pension.

Apart from the pension scheme called 'Mukhya Mantri Avivahit Yojna', a number of other proposals were cleared by the state cabinet as well.

Sep 24, 2018

Interceptor Missile Tested Successfully

India successfully conducted an interceptor missile test off the Odisha coast, achieving a major milestone in developing a two-layer Ballistic Missile Defence system.

This Prithvi Defence Vehicle (PDV) mission is for engaging the targets in the exo-atmosphere region at an altitude above 50 km of the earth's atmosphere.

Both the PDV interceptor and the target missile were successfully engaged.

Ayushman Bharat Scheme Launched

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his government's flagship Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY) billed as the world's largest public health insurance scheme in Ranchi.

Modi who also launched 10 wellness centres in Jharkhand and laid the foundation stones of medical colleges in Chaibasa and Koderma.

India and Egypt Defence Cooperation

As per reports, India and Egypt have decided to ramp up their defence and security ties which will include boosting counter-terror cooperation and carrying out joint exercises by their militaries.

Sep 23, 2018

Rural Gujarat Still Needs Lakhs of Toilets

According to a reply to an RTI query, months after being declared as 'Open Defecation Free' (ODF), Gujarat still has requirement of lakhs of toilets in rural households.

Parliament Nod for Triple Talaq Bill

Days after the promulgation of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights of Marriage) Ordinance, 2018, Prime Minister has announced that the NDA government would soon get the triple talaq Bill approved by Parliament.

Sep 22, 2018

Olympiad for Teachers

The fourth edition of the CENTA Teaching Professionals Olympiad (TPO) 2018, a national competition to recognise and reward teachers, will be held in December in 45 cities across the country.

TPO now has more subjects tracks and language mediums. The test is available in 20 subject tracks across different school levels from the Primary to Senior Secondary level in English medium. Teachers could take up test in four regional languages �" Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu �" in the Primary level.

Nearly 20,000 teachers across the country may participate this year.

Hotline in Delhi to Talk to Pakistan Rangers

The Border Security Force (BSF) has opened a new hotline in Delhi to communicate with the Pakistan Rangers. It was set up last month after the BSF was unable to reach its counterpart through the existing hotline in Jammu in June when four BSF personnel were killed. This year, 12 BSF personnel had been killed along the 192-km International Border in Jammu, the highest death toll in five years.

Karnataka Rejects Centre's Plan

The Union environment ministry will be soon issuing a draft notification declaring the Western Ghats as eco-sensitive area (ESA) for a second time after a similar draft in 2014 expired due to a lack of consensus among states and the Centre. Karnataka, one of the six states to be affected, has already said it will not accept the fresh notification as "it will have an adverse effect on state's economy".

The affected states that also include Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat will have 60 days time to respond to the draft.

Governments had No Say in Rafale Offset Decision

India is verifying a report that claimed former French President Francois Hollande saying that Dassault Aviation was given no choice but to partner with Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence for the offset clause in the Rafale fighter jet deal. The Ministry of Defence spokesperson, however, reiterated that neither India nor the French government had any say in the commercial decision.

India seeks Russia's Help for Gaganyaan Mission

India has sought cooperation from Russia in specific areas of its manned space programme, life-support systems, crew modules and training of astronauts, to fulfil its mission of putting an Indian in space by 2022.

India plans to complete Gaganyaan, the country's first manned space mission, in the next four years.

If successful, India will be the fourth country in the world to launch a manned space mission after Russia, the US and China.

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