General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2017

Feb 2017

Oct 21, 2020

India's First Multi Modal Logistics Park in Assam

The Union Minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone of the first multi modal Logistic Park of India in Assam. The park is being developed under the ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojana.
The park is to be constructed at Rs. 690 3.97 crore. It will provide direct connectivity through rail, road, air and water ways to the people.
These parks are being developed by the ministry of road transport and highways in selected locations of the country under the Logistic efficiency enhancement programme. This was launched to lower the overall bright cost, reduce vehicular pollution and congestion and cut warehousing cost.

FICCI to be National Industry Partner of Third Edition of 'Make in Odisha'

The state government signed an agreement with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) as its national industry partner for the third edition of 'Make in Odisha' conclave.
The agreement was signed on a virtual platform, in presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik between the state owned IPICOL, the nodal investment promotion and industrial facilitation agency and FICCI for investment promotion and investor outreach activities to be undertaken leading up to the next edition of 'Make in Odisha' Conclave.
The previous Make in Odisha Conclaves in 2016 and 2018 have brought a significant increase in the quantum of new investments to Odisha and helped create a diversified industrial base in the state.
Naveen Patnaik said that Odisha has established itself as one of the premier investment destinations in the country.

Punjab Passes Bills to Bypass Central Farm Laws

In a historic move, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha unanimously passed three Bills to counter the contentious farm laws enacted by the Union Government last month. Among other things, the Bills make buying wheat and paddy below minimum support price (MSP) a punishable offence.
There is also a provision to levy fee on corporate houses making purchases outside mandis. The fee will be used for the welfare of farmers.
After passing the Bills, a joint delegation of the Congress, AAP, SAD and Lok Insaaf Party, led by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, met Governor VP Singh Badnore, seeking his approval to the Bills before sending these to the President.
Amarinder Singh asked the Centre to annul these laws and bring an ordinance making procurement of farm produce at MSP a statutory right of farmers and continue procuring grain through the FCI and other agencies.

Oct 20, 2020

Cultivation of Heeng in the Indian Himalayas

Asafoetida, or heeng, is a common ingredient in most Indian kitchens –– so much so that the country imports Rs 600 crore worth of this pungent flavoured herb every year.
Now, scientists at CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource, Palampur (IHBT), are on a mission to grow heeng in the Indian Himalayas.
The first sapling has been planted in Himachal Pradesh's Kwaring village in Lahaul valley.

FSSAI's New Platform to Become Operational Across India

Food regulator FSSAI said its Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) will become operational in the entire country from November 1, 2020.
The system is operational in nine States/UTs -- Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Odisha, Chandigarh, Goa, Manipur, Puducherry and Ladakh since June.
It said since 2011, its online FLRS (Food Licensing and Registration System) is the soul of the licensing ecosystem.
It is operational in all states and 70 lakh licences/ registrations have been issued till date while over 40 lakh licensees/ registrants are actively transacting on it.

Stellapps Launches 'mooPay' for Dairy Farmers in Rajasthan

Digital technology solutions provider Stellapps announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind, fully-automated direct payment platform — 'mooPay' — for dairy farmers in Rajasthan.
The platform is one of the fintech solutions the company has developed for dairies and dairy farmers.
mooPay acts as a payment gateway for dairies to make payments to every registered farmer, removing the risks and costs of transferring money to hundreds of thousands of farmers in hundreds of villages.
mooPay enables dairy officials to transfer milk payments digitally to member farmers from the dairies' existing bank account to farmers' savings bank account.

Oct 19, 2020

PFC Signed Agreement for Liquidity Infusion Scheme

PFC has signed/exchanged agreement for Liquidity Infusion Scheme under "Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan" for UT of J&K.
PFC has sanctioned Rs. 2790 crore to JKPCL for clearance of outstanding dues of CPSU, GENCOs & TRANSCOs, IPPs and RE Generators as on 31st March 2020.
The exhange agreement was signed in the presence of Shri Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary, PDD Along with senior officers from JKPDD, KPDCL, JPDCL, PFC & REC.

Oct 18, 2020

Govt. Extends Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla's Tenure

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension in service of Bhalla as Home Secretary beyond the date of his superannuation, i.e. November 30, 2020 up to August 22, 2021.
He would have superannuated next month.
Bhalla, a 1984-batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, was in August 2019 appointed as the Home Secretary.

Assam Government-run Madrassas to be Converted into High Schools

According to Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, all government-run madrassas and Sanskrit schools will be closed down by the Assam government and the notification to this effect will be issued in November.
The State Madrassa Education Board, Assam will be dissolved and all the government-run madrassas will be converted into high schools. New admissions will be held for the existing students as regular ones. The final-year students will be allowed to pass out but those taking admission in these schools in January next year will have to study as regular students.
The Sanskrit schools will be handed over to Kumar Bhaskarvarma Sanskrit University and these will be converted into centres of learning and research where Indian culture, civilisation and nationalism will be studied.
The step has been taken by the government to ensure that students get a regular education under the Secondary Education Board of Assam (SEBA). The examinations conducted by the madrassas and the Sanskrit tols are different and their students do not appear for the matriculation examination conducted by the SEBA.

Oct 17, 2020

PM Narendra Modi Greets NSG Personnel

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished National Security Guard (NSG) personnel and their families on their 36th Raising Day, saying that NSG plays a crucial role in India`s security apparatus.
Established in 1984, NSG is popularly known as the Black Cats -- is an elite striking force in the country -- trained and equipped to handle situations like a terrorist attack, hijacking, and hostage captivity.

Ex-judge MB Lokur One-man Panel to Monitor Steps to Prevent Stubble-burning

The Supreme Court appointed Justice (retd) Madan B. Lokur as a one-man committee to monitor the measures taken by states of Punjab, Haryana, UP and Delhi to prevent farmers from resorting to stubble-burning that turns the entire NCR into a virtual gas chamber during October-November.
As per a a bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, it is necessary that there must be some monitoring of stubble-burning with a view to its prevention before it assumes abnormal proportions.
It directed chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, UP and Delhi and EPCA to assist the committee in physical surveillance of fields where stubble was likely to be burnt and to devise additional means/methods for preventing it.

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