General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2017

May 2017

Jun 25, 2023

Indian Railways, USAID/India Indian Sign MoU for Renewable Energy

Indian railways signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with United States Agency for International Development/India (USAID/India) for collaboration on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The Ministry of Railways said that through MoU, technical assistance and support would be provided to Indian Railways.
The MoU broadly includes long-term energy planning including clean energy for railways and technical support for addressing regulatory and implementation barriers.
The MoU is expected to assist in the development of an energy efficiency policy and action plan for IR buildings along with planning for clean energy procurement to achieve the railways' net-zero vision.
It will also support railways in the promotion of e-mobility.
The collaboration of Indian Railways with USAID will also support railways in the promotion of e-mobility and to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2030.

Coal Ministry Initiates Star Rating Registration Process for Coal, Lignite Mines

In order to foster competitiveness among mines and recognise their outstanding performance based on compliance of statutory provisions, adoption of advanced mining technology and economic achievements, the Ministry of Coal announced the commencement of Star Rating Registration process of coal and lignite mines for the financial year 2022-23.
The Star Rating policy aims to evaluate mines based on various factors across seven key parameters namely, Mining Operations, Environment-related parameters, Adoption of Technologies, Best Mining Practices, Economic performance, Rehabilitation & Resettlement, Worker-related Compliance and Safety & security.

Jun 24, 2023

Centre Allocates Rs. 145 cr to Nagaland for Setting up Unity Mall

The Central government has allocated Rs. 145 crore to Nagaland for the construction of a Unity Mall in Dimapur. This funding is part of the Union Budget 2023-24, which has set aside Rs. 5,000 crore for the establishment of Unity Malls across the country. The mall in Nagaland aims to promote and showcase the state's One District One Product (ODOP) offerings, highlighting the unique products and industries of the region.

India, US Agree to End 6 Trade Disputes at WTO

India and the US agreed to end six trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation while New Delhi will also remove retaliatory customs duties on 28 American products such as almonds, walnuts and apples.
This came amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi's State Visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.
In 2018, the US imposed 25 per cent and 10 per cent import duties on certain steel and aluminium products respectively on grounds of national security. In retaliation, India in June 2019 imposed customs duties on 28 American products, including chickpeas, lentils, almonds, walnuts, apples, boric acid and diagnostic reagents.

Jun 23, 2023

Retired Allahabad HC Judge Umesh Kumar Appointed Chairman of DERC

Former Allahabad High Court judge Umesh Kumar was appointed the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission chairman by the President, a move likely to fuel a fresh tussle between the LG and the AAP government as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had suggested another retired judge for the post.
According to a statement issued by the lieutenant governor's office, Justice Umesh Kumar (retired) was appointed the DERC chairman by President Droupadi Murmu in the exercise of powers conferred by Section 45(b) of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, read with sub-section 2 of Section 84 of the Electricity Act, 2003.
Chief Minister Kejriwal had in January recommended the name of retired High Court judge Rajeev Kumar Srivastava for appointment as the chairperson of the power regulator.

Two- day G-20 Labour Engagement Summit Concludes in Bihar

In Bihar, the capital city Patna hosted a two-day G-20 Labour Engagement summit on June 22 and 23. The Arts and Culture Department of the State was the nodal agency for this mega event, which witnessed participation of around 180 delegates of G20 member countries.
As per the nodal officer, the government of Bihar took this occasion as privilege to showcase its rich arts, cultural heritage and tourism to visiting delegates.
During the two-day mega event, representatives from trade unions and officials of G-20 countries brainstormed over the issues of labour and skill in the sectors of agriculture, energy, employment, environment and allied areas.

Jun 22, 2023

Yoga Day Event Organised in Surat Sets new Guinness World Record

The Yoga Day event organised in Gujarat's Surat set a new Guinness World Record for the largest gathering for a yoga session in one place with 1.53 lakh people joining the program. The previous world record was set in 2018 in Kota city of Rajasthan when 1,00,984 people participated in a Yoga Day session in one place.

Hasmukh Adhia New Chairman of GIFT City

Senior retired bureaucrat and former Union Finance Secretary & Revenue Secretary, Hasmukh Adhia, was appointed Chairman of GIFT City Ltd, the entity responsible for developing India's first smart city Gujarat International Finance-Tec City in Gandhinagar. As GIFT City Chairman, Adhia replaced Sudhir Mankad, former chief secretary of Gujarat.
Besides GIFT City, Adhia was also been appointed Director and Chairman of the boards of State public sector undertakings Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd (GACL) and Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (GMDC) with immediate effect.

NHAI Launches 'Knowledge Sharing Platform' to Share Best Practices for Infrastructure Growth

The National Highway Authority of India launched the 'Knowledge Sharing' platform to encourage the inclusive development of national highways, as mentioned by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway. The platform is designed to facilitate the sharing of ideas and knowledge by experts and citizens in the fields of road design, safety, construction, environmental sustainability, and other related fields.
This platform will motivate people to share the best ideas and practices from around the globe, which will help in the development of the infrastructure of the National Highways in the country.
The platform 'Knowledge Sharing' seeks to strengthen the engagement and collaboration of ideas and thoughts among experts and citizens, allowing them to contribute their best practices as a part of the nation-building process.

UNDP Partners with DAY-NULM Towards Empowering Women Entrepreneurs

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) entered into a collaborative partnership aimed at empowering women to make well-informed career choices in the field of entrepreneurship.
The partnership will provide support for women looking to start and expanding their own enterprises, particularly in sectors such as care economy, digital economy, electric mobility, waste management, food packaging and more. Focused on fostering entrepreneurship development and accelerating enterprise growth, the three-year project, extendable beyond 2025, will cover eight cities in the initial phase.

G20 Tourism Working Group and Tourism Ministerial Meetings Concludes in Goa

The concluding and last G20 Tourism Working Group meeting along with the Tourism Ministerial Meeting concluded in Goa. Union Minister For Culture, Tourism And Development Of North Eastern Region (DoNER) G. Kishan Reddy addressed first session of "Making Cruise Tourism a Model for Sustainable and Responsible Travel', in which he highlighted the immense growth potential of the Indian cruise industry. He said that with 7500 km of coastline and a vast river system, India is one of the potential cruise tourism destinations with many of its best tourist destinations yet to be disclosed to the world.
The two key deliverables of the Tourism Working Group were Goa Roadmap for tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals and G20 Tourism Ministers' Declaration. The Ministry of Tourism has made positive progress on finalizing these two key deliverables. The G20 Tourism Working Group meeting and Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Goa aim to strengthen economic growth, preserve cultural heritage, and promote sustainable development of the region.

Jun 20, 2023

UP Prisons to Be Known as 'Reform Homes'

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, made a significant decision to reform the prison system in the state. During a high-level meeting where he reviewed the conditions of the current prisons, Adityanath issued crucial guidelines that emphasised the importance of prisoner rehabilitation.
One of the most notable guidelines was the renaming of Uttar Pradesh's prisons to 'Sudhaar Grah' or Reform Homes.
This move implied a shift from the current approach to prisons, as it went beyond the mere detention of prisoners and aimed to foster a culture of reform and rehabilitation.
By renaming Uttar Pradesh's prisons as 'Reform Homes,' Chief Minister Adityanath signalled his commitment to a novel approach to criminal justice that prioritised rehabilitation and reform above mere retribution.
The chief minister also announced that the state government has introduced a new parole policy that will enable more inmates to be released from prison on parole, subject to certain conditions.
The policy aims to reduce overcrowding in prisons and enable more prisoners to be rehabilitated into society.

India, Philippines Ink MoU for Fintech Cooperation

After having inked a deal for the BrahMos missile systems, India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to further financial technology (fintech) cooperation with the Philippines. The MoU was signed by Ambassador of India Shambhu Kumaran and Benjamin E. Diokno of the Philippines Department of Finance.
The MoU envisages the constitution of a Joint Working Group (JWG) co-chaired by Finance Ministries of both countries and comprising senior representatives from Foreign and IT Ministries, central banks, financial sector regulatory institutions and other related agencies as members.
The JWG will identify concrete measures for partnership in innovative technologies, fintech industry, digital governance, payment linkages, creation of interoperable APIs, financial inclusion and other related areas.
This MoU would serve as an enabler in building such a partnership by providing an institutional framework for cooperation on three key areas: digitalisation of payments, direct benefit transfer using national ID and financial inclusion.

Jammu and Kashmir Completes 5-year Central Rule

Jammu and Kashmir completed five years without an elected government, prompting a scathing attack from the mainstream National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party over the delay in restoration of democracy in the Union Territory.
On August 5, 2019, the Centre revoked Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into two Union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti resigned from the post of the Chief Minister on June 19, 2018 after alliance partner BJP withdrew support to her coalition government.

Jitan Ram Manjhi's Ham Announces Withdrawal of Support to Nitish Govt.

Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) withdrew its support to the Nitish Kumar government in the state and a letter to the effect was handed over to Governor Rajendra Arlekar. Manjhi, who met the governor along with his son Santosh Suman, the national president of HAM, also said that he will be in Delhi for the next few days during which he will try to meet leaders of the NDA, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, to explore future options.

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