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NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2017

Dec 2017

Sep 18, 2022

Telangana CM KCR Decides to Name New Secretariat after B. R. Ambedkar

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao decided to name the State's new Secretariat, which is under construction, after B. R. Ambedkar.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, CPI and CPI(M) welcomed the decision while State BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that Rao should also keep his promise made during the separate Telangana agitation that a Dalit leader would be made Chief Minister of the new State.
Following Rao's decision, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar issued a government order (GO) naming the Secretariat after Ambedkar.

Sunil Barthwal is New Commerce Secy, Vivek Bhardwaj is Mines Secy

Senior IAS officers Sunil Barthwal and Vivek Bharadwaj were named as the Commerce and Mines Secretary, respectively, as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle.
Barthwal, a 1989-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Bihar cadre, is currently Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment.
Barthwal will take over as the Commerce Secretary succeeding B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, who superannuates on September 30.
Vivek Bhardwaj, a 1990-batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre, would be the new Mines Secretary upon superannuation of Alok Tandon, in September end.

Sep 17, 2022

Jharkhand Ups Reservations for SC, ST, and Others

Jharkhand Government agreed to the proposal for granting 77 per cent reservation in state government jobs for the SC, ST, Backward Classes, and OBC and further economically weaker sections. The Chief Minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren hiked the OBC reservation to 27 per cent which was earlier 14 per cent. The Jharkhand Government also accepted the proposal to use the 1932 land records to determine those who are local inhabitants.

Telangana Assembly Passes Resolution on Renaming New Parliament Building

The Telangana state Assembly unanimously passed two resolutions urging the Centre to withdraw the new Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 proposed by the Centre keeping in mind the interests of farmers and poorer sections and name the new Parliament building in New Delhi after Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

Sep 16, 2022

Sanjay Kumar Rakesh, former IAS, Named Managing Director of CSC e-Governance SPV

Sanjay Kumar Rakesh, a former IAS officer, was named Managing Director of the CSC e-Governance India SPV, which is run by the central government. The appointment followed Dinesh Tyagi's resignation from the position, who was instrumental in increasing the number of CSCs from 60,000 in 2014 to over 5 lakh at the moment.
He has approximately 30 years of experience working for the government in a variety of capacities.
He is an IAS officer from the Tripura cadre, class of 1990.
Sanjay Kumar Rakesh served as the additional chief secretary in Tripura before joining the CSC.

Indore Becomes India's First 'Smart City' with 'Smart Addresses'

The city of Indore signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the firm Pataa Navigations to implement a fully digital addressing system, making it the first city in India to do so. The MoU is signed by Rajat Jain, co-founder of Pataa Navigations, and Rishav Gupta, CEO of Indore Smart City.
Pataa developed patented technology for the system and is working with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to develop a digital addressing system for the nation.
Pataa is a brief and distinctive code that would help the user find the specific geotagged location. Users of the Pataa App can upload images of their homes, landmarks, etc. along with their addresses in the full text.
Additionally, the user has the option to record voice instructions, which eliminates the need to repeat the address over the phone and makes it simpler for the guest to find the location.
According to reports, India is reportedly losing an estimated Rs. 75,000 crore annually as a result of its complicated addressing system.

Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk Meets with PM Modi in Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wanghchuck, the King of Bhutan, and discuss bilateral ties and ways to strengthen relations between the two countries.
Diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan were established in 1968 after the then Indian government established a special office in Thimphu. There are a number of institutional and diplomatic mechanisms in areas like security, border management, trade and water resources.
Bhutan ratified the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement, providing an action-oriented, member-driven, collaborative framework for increased implementation.
Ambassador of Bhutan to India Maj Gen Vetsop Namgyel handed over the instrument of ratification to Secretary E.R. Dammu Ravi, in the presence of DG International Solar Alliance.

Sep 15, 2022

Govt. Clears Proposal to Grant ST Status to Several Communities in 5 States

The Union Cabinet cleared the proposal to notify several tribal communities under the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category in Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.
Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said that these proposals were lying pending for several years.
The Cabinet approved the ministry's proposal for the inclusion of Narikoravan, along with the Kurivikkaran, community of Tamil Nadu under ST category through the introduction of a Bill in Parliament to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.
Similarly,it granted ST status to the Betta-Kuruba community as a synonym of Kadu Kuruba of Karnataka. This also would be done through the introduction of a Bill in Parliament to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.

Prakash Chand Appointed as Indian Ambassador to Eritrea

Prakash Chand was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Eritrea.
Chand, a 2004 IFS officer, is Consul General, Consulate General of India, in Indonesia's Bali.
He is expected to take up the assignment shortly.
Prior to his assignment in Bali, he was working as Director (Consular) in the Consular, Passport & Visa Division in the Ministry of External Affairs.
He also served as First Secretary (Consular) in the Philippines from 2010 to 2014. Just before that he worked as Deputy Chief of Protocol (Conferences/Facilities) from 2008 to 2010 in New Delhi.

Election Commission Delists 86 Parties, Declares 253 Inactive

The Election Commission ordered the delisting of 86 registered unrecognised political parties it found to be non-existent and declared 253 others inactive.
The commission, comprising Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey, acted against the 253 parties based on reports by Chief Electoral Officers of Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.
These 253 [parties] were declared inactive, as they have not responded to the letter/notice delivered to them and have not contested a single election either to the General Assembly of a State or the Parliament Election 2014 and 2019," the EC said. Among these were at least 14 from Tamil Nadu, 34 from Uttar Pradesh, 33 from Delhi, 9 from Telangana and 6 from Karnataka.

Sep 14, 2022

Sibi George Appointed India's Next Ambassador to Japan

Senior diplomat Sibi George was appointed as the next Indian ambassador to Japan.
George, a 1993-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently the Ambassador of India to Kuwait. He will replace Sanjay Kumar Verma as India's envoy to Japan.
Notably, India and Japan share a very Special Strategic and Global Partnership and the two sides continue to maintain the momentum in diverse areas to advance their partnership for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.

National Maritime Heritage Complex to be Built in Gujarat

Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is building the National Maritime Heritage Complex at the historic Indus Valley civilization region of Lothal in Gujarat with a total cost of Rs. 3500 crore. The first-of-its-kind complex in India, this centre will showcase India's rich and diverse maritime heritage. The foundation stone for the NMHC project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the consent for the master plan was given in March 2019.
The project is planned to be completed in different phases. In phase 1A, a museum will be built with 5 galleries and a naval gallery on 35 acres of land at an investment of Rs. 774.23 crore.
In phase 1B, the remaining portions of the museum will be built, including galleries, lighthouse, 5D dome theatre, Bagicha Complex and other infrastructure. This phase is proposed to be developed under EPC mode.
Phase 2 will consist of state pavilions, Lothal city, Maritime Institute including hostel, eco-resorts, maritime & naval theme park, climate change theme park, monument theme park and adventure & amusement park. Components under this phase shall be executed under PPP mode.

International Conference on Green Ship Recycling & Vehicle Scrapping

The Union Shipping Ministry hosted an international conference on green ship recycling and vehicle scrapping in Gandhinagar, Gajarat. The conference was organised by Ministry of Shipping, Ports & Waterways along with Gujarat Maritime Board and FICCI to showcase the status of the ship recycling industry in Alang and exploring synergies of Alang's ship recycling industry with the vehicle scrapping industry.
Union Minister for Shipping, Ports & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the international conference in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel at Mahatma Mandir. The conference showcased the current status of the ship recycling industry in Gujarat and the adoption of HKC Convention compliances. It will facilitate a discussion on how the European Union shipping industry can take advantage of the ship recycling facilities in Gujarat and explore partnerships with EU member countries.

Uttar Pradesh Tops in Country, 8462 Lakes Developed under Mission Amrit Sarovar

Uttar Pradesh topped the states in the country with the construction of 8,462 Amrit Sarovars (lakes), while implementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious Mission Amrit Sarovar, aimed at conserving water for the future. Madhya Pradesh was ranked second, Jammu and Kashmir third, Rajasthan fourth and Tamil Nadu fifth in the mission implementation.
Within Uttar Pradesh, Lakhimpur Kheri secured the first position by constructing 256 Amrit Sarovars, while Gorakhpur and Pratapgarh got second and third positions, with 244 and 231 lakes, respectively.

A.N. Shamseer Elected as Kerala Assembly Speaker

CPI(M) legislator and the candidate of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) A. N. Shamseer was elected Speaker of the Kerala Assembly.
Shamseer defeated Congress MLA and United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate Anwar Sadat by 96 to 40 votes in the ballot held at the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
Shamseer succeeded his party colleague M. B. Rajesh as the Speaker. The post fell vacant after the latter replaced M. V. Govindan as Minister for Local Self Government following a rejig in the Pinarayi Vijayan Ministry.

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