General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2017

Dec 2017

Oct 26, 2023

PM Modi Hails Cabinet Nod to Jamrani Dam Multipurpose Project's Inclusion under PMKSY-AIBP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the Union Cabinet's approval to the inclusion of the Jamrani Dam Multipurpose Project of Uttarakhand under the accelerated irrigation benefit programme, saying it is a significant stride towards a prosperous and sustainable Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
The government approved the inclusion of the project under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana-Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (PMKSY-AIBP), which will cost Rs. 2,584 crore.
The project envisages the construction of a dam near Jamrani village across River Gola, a tributary of River Ram Ganga in Nainital district of Uttarakhand. The dam will feed the existing Gola barrage through its 40.5 km length of canal system and 244 km long canal system completed in 1981.

India Resumes Some Visa Services in Canada Month after Suspending Them

India partially resumed visa services in Canada, closed last month (September) amid a diplomatic row, the Indian High Commission in Ottawa said. Services resumed for entry visa, business visa, medical visa, and conference visa, the High Commission said.
The visa services were suspended towards September-end as ties between the two nations faced severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of potential involvement of Indian agents in the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force and one of India's most-wanted terrorists.

Rajkummar Rao is Election Commission's National Icon

The Election Commission appointed actor Rajkummar Rao as its national icon, ahead of assembly elections in five states.
More than 161 million people in five states across India will vote in assembly elections next month (November 2023).
Mizoram will vote on November 7, Chhattisgarh, which has a 90-member assembly, will be held in two phases on November 7 and 17, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana will go to the polls on November 17 and 30 , respectively and Rajasthan, which was earlier scheduled to go to polls on November 23, will now go to polls on November 25.
The votes will be counted on the 3rd of December.

Oct 25, 2023

Sushilkumar Shinde Announces His Retirement

Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and senior Congress leader Shinde announced his retirement from electoral politics ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The former Chief Minister also wished for his daughter, Praniti Shinde, to contest the Lok Sabha elections from his erstwhile seat of Solapur.
Shinde, a three-term MP from the Solapur Lok Sabha seat, was Maharashtra Chief Minister for a short period during January 2003 and November 2004. Later, he was also appointed as Andhra Pradesh governor and continued in the post until 2006.
He was the Minister of Home Affairs, and Minister of Power in the Manmohan Singh government, and the Leader of the House in Lok Sabha until 26 May 2014.

Amit Shah Inaugurates India's First Liquid Nano DAP Fertiliser Plant

Ahead of the 2024 polls, Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated India's first liquid nano diammonia phosphate (DAP) plant of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) in Kalol, Gujarat.
Aimed at making India self-reliant in the field of fertilisers, IFFCO's Nano DAP (Liquid) contains 8 percent of nitrogen and 16 percent of phosphorus. This can replace a 50 kg bag of traditional DAP is currently priced at Rs 1,350 for farmers. "This would not only cut India's fertilisers import dependence, but also boost wheat, sugar and potato farmers' income significantly.

Oct 24, 2023

Former Minister Rustam Singh Resigns from BJP Ahead of MP Assembly Polls

Senior BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh minister Rustam Singh resigned from the party, ahead of the state Assembly polls scheduled next month.
Rustam Singh's son Rakesh Singh was fielded by the Bahujan Samaj Party from Morena seat. Since then, there was speculation that Rustam Singh may leave the ruling BJP to campaign for his son in Morena.
An influential Gurjar leader from the Gwalior-Chambal region, Rustam Singh resigned from the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 2003 and joined the BJP.
He was an MLA for two terms, from 2003-2008 and 2013-2018.
Rustam Singh served as a minister for two terms from 2003-2008 and 2015-2018.

Ex-secretary to Odisha CM, V. K. Pandian Gets Cabinet Minister Rank

V. K. Pandian, the former aide to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, was appointed Chairman 5T (Transformational Initiatives) with the rank of a cabinet minister.
The development came less than 24 hours after Pandian took voluntary retirement from government service.
Pandian joined the CMO in 2011 and since has been Patnaik's private secretary.
After Patnaik became the chief minister for the fifth time in 2019, Pandian was given additional responsibility of '5T secretary' to implement some transformational initiatives in government departments.

President Accepts Credentials from 5 Envoys

President Droupadi Murmu accepted credentials from the envoys of Cyprus, Bulgaria, the European Union, France and Moldova at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Those who presented their credentials were Evagoras Vryonides (Cyprus), Nikolay Hristov Yankov (Bulgaria), Herve Delphin (the European Union), Thierry Mathou (France) and Ana Taban (Moldova).

Oct 23, 2023

Piyush Goyal Launches Website of 'Kasturi Cotton Bharat'

India has taken a significant step to enhance the quality and traceability of its cotton by launching the official website of 'Kasturi Cotton Bharat.' The initiative, unveiled by Union Minister Piyush Goyal, aims to strengthen India's competitiveness in the global cotton market and create a sustainable ecosystem for all stakeholders involved.
Kasturi Cotton Bharat is a collaborative effort involving the Ministry of Textiles, the Cotton Corporation of India, trade bodies, and the textile industry. It operates on the principles of self-regulation, where stakeholders take responsibility for branding, traceability, and certification of Indian cotton. This approach seeks to position Indian cotton as a premium and trusted product in international markets.

India to Host the World's Largest Textiles Event, Bharat Tex 2024

The Indian textile industry, in collaboration with industry bodies, is set to host 'Bharat Tex 2024', heralded as the world's largest textiles event.
This mega exhibition is scheduled to take place from February 26 to February 29, 2024, in New Delhi. Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal, unveiled the event during a curtain raiser at Vanijya Bhavan, New Delhi.
The initiative marks India's dedication to becoming a global textile powerhouse, combining innovation, collaboration, and the 'Make in India' spirit.
Bharat Tex 2024 represents India's 5F vision, encompassing Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign.

Oct 22, 2023

Country's Oldest Think Tank USI Holds First Ever Indian Military Heritage Festival

The United Service Institution (USI) of India, the country's oldest think tank organised the first Indian Military Heritage Festival, in association with Network18's television and digital platforms, at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi, on October 21-22, 2023.
Despite a long and glorious military history and strategic culture going back many centuries, the general public is largely unaware of the different facets of India's military history, heritage, and security concerns.
The Indian Military Heritage Festival sought to address this gap in our national discourse and cultural calendar. Its activities were driven towards enhancing our understanding of the country's rich military heritage and traditions; contemporary security and strategy concerns; and the push to achieve self-reliance in military capability through the Atmanirbhar Bharat programmes of the Government of India.

Andhra Pradesh to Launch Backward Classes Caste Census

The Andhra Pradesh government will begin Backward Classes caste census on November 15, aimed at better serving the 139 communities which fall under this category, Minister C. Srinivasa Venugopala Krishna said.
The Backward Classes Welfare Minister noted the government will extensively deploy the village secretariat system for the caste census, along with the volunteer system.
According to the Minister, there are about 139 BC castes in the state and the people from these communities are oblivious to their numerical strength.
The state government has decided to go ahead with the BC caste census which will comprehensively enumerate backward classes region-wise, profession-wise and under other parameters such as the socio-economic status in the state.

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