General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2017

Feb 2017

Dec 21, 2021

Diplomat Pradeep Rawat Made Next Envoy to China

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that diplomat Pradeep Kumar Rawat will be India's next Ambassador to China. Rawat, who will succeed Vikram Misri, had earlier served in Hong Kong and Beijing.
At present, Rawat, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of 1990 batch, is serving as the Indian ambassador to the Netherlands.
Rawat's appointment comes in the midst of a lingering dispute with China along the border in eastern Ladakh.
Rawat had served as ambassador of India to Indonesia and Timor-Leste from September 2017 to December 2020.

CM Patnaik Inaugurates Odisha's Longest Bridge over Mahanadi

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the state's longest bridge over Mahanadi River at Gopinathpur in Cuttack district.
The 3.4-km-long bridge, connecting Singhanath Pitha and Baideswar in Cuttack district, reduces the distance by 45 km, benefitting around five lakh people.
The bridge, constructed in T-shape, is built at a cost of Rs. 111 crore.
Patnaik had laid the foundation stone of the bridge on February 28, 2014.

Nagaland Assembly Unanimously Adopts Resolution Demanding Repeal of AFSPA

The Nagaland Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution demanding that the Government of India repeal the AFSPA from the Northeast, especially Nagaland, while also urging the negotiators of Indo-Naga political dialogue to bring the talks to their logical conclusion for peace to prevail in the restive state.
The resolution moved by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio was adopted by voice vote during the one-day special session of the Assembly held to discuss the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958, and its application to Nagaland in the aftermath of the killing of 14 civilians by security forces earlier this month.

Dec 20, 2021

TMC Appoints Pawan Varma as National Vice-president

The Trinamool Congress appointed former Janata Dal (United) MP Pawan Varma as its national vice-president.
Mr. Varma was an adviser to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, but parted ways with the JD(U) in 2020 and later joined the TMC.
He was also a former Indian Foreign Service officer.

India's First International Arbitration and Mediation Centre Opens in Hyderabad

India's first International Arbitration and Mediation Centre (IAMC) was jointly inaugurated by Chief Justice of India, N.V. Ramana, and Telangana Chief Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao in Hyderabad.
Life trustee of the centre, Justice R.V. Raveendran, Supreme Court judges L. Nageswara Rao, Hima Kohli and judges from the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh high courts attended the event.

Congress Announces Pre-poll Alliance with GFP

The Congress and the Goa Forward Party (GFP) announced a pre-poll alliance for the upcoming state Assembly elections due in February next year. Notably, the GFP had earlier shared power with the BJP in Goa, but withdrew its support in July 2019 after its all three MLAs, including party president Vijai Sardesai, who was then Deputy Chief Minister in the Pramod Sawant-led government, were dropped from the cabinet.
All India Congress Committee in-charge for Goa, Dinesh Gundu Rao said that he is confident the Congress-GFP alliance will oust BJP in the state.

Dec 19, 2021

Mohit Jain is Indian Newspaper Society President

Mohit Jain of The Economic Times was elected as president of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) at its 82nd Annual General Meeting (AGM).
He succeeded Lakshmipathy Adimoolam of Health & The Antiseptic.
K. Raja Prasad Reddy (Sakshi) is the Deputy President, Rakesh Sharma (Aaj Samaj) is the Vice President and Tanmay Maheshwari (Amar Ujala) is the Honorary Treasurer of the Society for 2021-22. Mary Paul is the Secretary-General.

BJP Announces Alliance with Amarinder Singh for Punjab Assembly Polls

Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Amarinder Singh announced his party's alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the 2022 Assembly polls in Punjab.
The election in Punjab is expected to be held in February-March next year along with the Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa.
Earlier, after its alliance broke up with its oldest alliance partner, the BJP has announced to contest all the 117 assembly seats in Punjab.
Singh is a big name and has an impact on state politics. An alliance with him (Singh) will surely benefit the BJP in upcoming assembly polls.

India to Host Central Asian Foreign Ministers

India will host a meeting of Central Asian Foreign Ministers from December 18 to 20.
The third meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue has an added significance because External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is expected to discuss the invitation to their heads of government for attending the next year's Republic Day celebrations.
The ministers are expected to discuss further strengthening of relations with particular focus on trade, connectivity and development cooperation as also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Farmer Leader Gurnam Chaduni Floats Political Party to Fight Punjab Polls

Farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni floated his political party Sanyukt Sangharsh Party saying it will contest the next year's Punjab Assembly polls.
Chaduni is a member of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of 40 farm unions that led an over a year-long farmers' agitation against three central agri laws, which have been repealed.
The Sanyukt Sangharsh Party will be a secular one, and would work for the welfare of all sections of society.

Union Cabinet Clears Proposal to Raise Marriage Age of Women

The Union Cabinet on approved the proposal to increase the age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years. This came a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement during his Independence Day address from Red Fort in August 2020.
At present, the minimum age of marriage for men is 21 and for women is 18. Now, the government will bring amendments to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, Special Marriage Act and Hindu Marriage Act to give the new proposal a shape.
The proposal was recommended by the task force headed by Jaya Jaitley in Niti Aayog.
The task force was constituted in June 2020 and gave its report in December the same year. The task force had said that the minimum age of women at the time of giving birth to their first child should be 21.

MIS Portal for Rankings of States & UTs in Land Acquisition Projects

Union Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Giriraj Singh, launched MIS (Management Information System) portal for ranking of States/UTs in Land Acquisition Projects.
With the launch of this portal, states/UTs will be ranked in Land Acquisition Projects under RFCTLARR Act, 2013, which is dubbed as "Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013".
Based on the ranking and performance, the top 3 States and top 3 districts will be awarded.
MIS portal is dubbed as a 'Vikas Portal'. Portal will not only show data and figures but also the speed of development in India. It is a result of the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide impetus to the Gati Shakti Mission.

Dec 18, 2021

Metro Man Sreedharan Retires from Active Politics

Less than a year after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala, 'Metro Man' E. Sreedharan announced his retirement from active politics, much to the surprise of the party's state unit.
Celebrated as a chief architect of the Konkan Railway as well as of the Delhi and Kochi Metros, Sreedharan lost the Palakkad seat to sitting MLA Shafi Parambil by 3,859 votes in the Assembly elections in April 2021.

India, Taiwan Start Talks on Free Trade Agreement

India and Taiwan began talks on a free trade pact and creating a semiconductor manufacturing hub in the country as part of efforts to meet the burgeoning demand for the chips needed for products ranging from cellphones to cars.
The two sides set up four groups earlier this year that are focusing on creating a semiconductor manufacturing hub, education and training of highly specialised manpower needed for the industry, a bilateral investment agreement and a free trade agreement.

Arvind Kumar Joins Software Technology Parks of India as DG

Arvind Kumar joined as Director General of Software Technology Parks of India. Software Technology Parks of India is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology Government of India. STPI is fuelling the culture of tech entrepreneurship and innovation in the country by launching 25 + Centres of Entrepreneurship in emerging technology domains.
Currently, STPI-registered units have reached IT/ITeS/ESDM exports of over Rs. 5 lakh crores. STPI is one of the largest tech incubators in India with an area of approx.13 lakh square feet spread across various Tier 1/2/3 cities. STPI is also assisting in the formulation of India BPO Promotion Scheme 2.0. Further to strengthen the electronics sector, STPI has undertaken rolling out of the Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme.

Dec 17, 2021

SC Collegium Approves Appointment of 3 Permanent Judges for Bombay HC

The Supreme Court Collegium approved the proposal for appointment of three additional judges of the Bombay High Court as permanent judges.
The Collegium headed by Chief Justice N. V. Ramana, in a meeting, took the decision and the resolution was uploaded on the apex court website.
The three additional judges of the Bombay High Court whose names have been approved are Madhav Jayajirao Jamdar, Amit Bhalchandra Borkar and Shrikant Dattatray Kulkarni.
In another decision, the Collegium approved the proposal for appointment of additional judge Justice Aniruddha Roy of the Calcutta High Court as permanent judge of that High Court.

Bhutan Confers Highest Civilian Award on PM Modi

Bhutan honoured PM Modi with its highest civilian award, Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo. The honour came as an appreciation for India's friendly approach to Bhutan under PM Modi's governance. During the pandemic, India had extended support to the neighbouring country in the form of vaccines, medicines and other emergency services.
According to PMO Bhutan, 'Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has played an unconditional friendship over the years and has helped immensely during the Coronavirus Pandemic. Before this, the current Prime Minister of India had been accorded the respective top honours of Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Russia, the Maldives, Palestine and Bahrain.

Defence Minister Issues Commemorative Stamp on 50th Vijay Diwas

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh issued a commemorative stamp on the occasion of Swarnim Vijay Diwas at the National War Memorial in the national capital.
Swarnim Vijay Varsh commemorates 50 years of India's victory in the 1971 war and the formation of Bangladesh.
President Ram Nath Kovind witness Bangladesh's 50th Victory Day celebrations in Dhaka as a guest of honour.

Foundational Literacy Index: West Bengal Tops Chart

West Bengal topped the chart and Bihar languished at the bottom in the 'large states' category on the 'Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy', an indicator of literacy among children below 10 years. In the 'small states' category, Kerala grabbed the top spot and Jharkhand was adjudged the worst performer on the index.
There are four categories in which regions have been divided -- large states, small states, Union Territories and North East.
Lakshadweep and Mizoram are top-scoring regions in the Union Territory and Northeast state category, respectively.
The report on the 'Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy' was prepared by 'Institute for Competitiveness' and released by Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) chairman Bibek Debroy.

Sidharth Chattopadhyaya Punjab's New GDP

The Punjab Government appointed Sidharth Chattopadhyaya as Director-General of Police (DGP). The decision to appoint Chattopadhyaya as the new DGP of Punjab, replacing IPS Iqbal Preet Sahota, comes ahead of the Assembly polls in the state.
Siddharth Chattopadhyaya, IPS (PB:1986) DGP, PSPCL, Patiala shall look after the work of Director General of Police, Punjab (HoPF) in addition to his present duties until a fresh appointment is made to the post of Director General of Police, Punjab (HoPF) as per prescribed procedure.

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