General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - January 2018

Jan 2018

Dec 23, 2024

India, Kuwait Sign Pact to Strengthen Cultural, Defence Cooperation

India and Kuwait signed four MoUs in the areas of defence, sports and cultural cooperation during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Gulf nation.
These MoUs are expected to deepen the multifaceted bilateral relationship as well as open avenues for newer areas of cooperation.
Following the delegation level talks, four bilateral documents were signed during the visit. The first one is a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation, the second one is a Cultural Exchange program for the years 2025-2029, the third is an executive program on cooperation in the field of sports for the period 2025- 2028.

The 55th GST Council Meeting

The 55th GST Council meeting was chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Chief Ministers of Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya and Odisha; Deputy Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana; besides Finance Ministers of States & UTs (with legislature) and senior officers of the Ministry of Finance & States/ UTs.
The GST Council inter-alia made recommendations relating to changes in GST tax rates, provide relief to individuals,measures for facilitation of trade and measures for streamlining compliances in GST.

Dec 22, 2024

ADB Approves $42M Loan for Coastal Protection in Maharashtra

The Central government of India partnered with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to enhance coastal protection in Maharashtra, involving a $42 million loan aimed at improving resilience against environmental challenges faced by coastal communities. The initiative is crucial for restoring the coastline and safeguarding local livelihoods.
The signatories to the loan agreement for the Maharashtra Sustainable Climate-Resilient Coastal Protection and Management Project were Ms. Juhi Mukherjee, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, for the Government of India, and Ms. Mio Oka, Country Director of ADB's India Resident Mission, for ADB.

Dec 21, 2024

The 38th Annual General Meeting of NWDA Society and 22nd Meeting of Special Committee for Interli...

The 38th Annual General Meeting of NWDA Society and 22nd Meeting of Special Committee for Interlinking of Rivers (SCILR) were held under the chairmanship of C. R. Patil, Minister for Jal Shakti. C. R. Patil mentioned about the recent progress made upon MPKC (Modified Parbati Kalisindh Chambal) and Ken Betwa Link Project. He also apprised about recent program organized in Jaipur for the inauguration of various projects of Rajasthan along with declaration of signing of the MoA upon MPKC link project by Prime Minister of India. At the same time, he requested other States to make consensus upon their respective link projects for further progress in the development of our country.

Dec 20, 2024

'One Nation, One Poll' Panel Gets More Members After Some Parties Object

The Joint Parliamentary Committee to review the One Nation One Election bill will have eight more members. Now it will have 27 members from Lok Sabha and 12 from Rajya Sabha, instead of 21 members from the Lower House and 10 from the Upper House, as was initially declared. The number was increased after former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray and a few other parties pointed out that none of their members were included in the committee.

India, France Sign Pact for Grand Museum in North, South Blocks

India and France signed an agreement towards the adaptive reuse of the North and South Blocks for the ambitious new national museum project, dubbed to be the largest museum in the world. It is a part of the Central Vista Redevelopment Project and is set to span approximately 1.55 lakh square metre, overtaking The Louvre in Paris, presently the world's biggest.
It will be implemented in two phases, the first comprising the retrofitting of North Block into a museum space, with an estimated deadline of June 2026.
Under the Central Vista plan, the North Block, which currently houses the offices of Ministries of Finance and Home Affairs, and the South Block are set to be moved to the Common Central Secretariat (CCS) buildings on Janpath. The North Block is likely to be vacated by March 2025, while the South Block, which houses the Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of External Affairs office, will be vacated and readied in due course.

Dec 19, 2024

85th Meeting of Network Planning Group

The 85^th meeting of the Network Planning Group (NPG) evaluated five projects (2 railways and 3 projects of highway development) for their conformity to principles of PM GatiShakti NMP: integrated development of multimodal infrastructure, last-mile connectivity to economic and social nodes, intermodal connectivity, and synchronised project implementation. These projects are anticipated to play pivotal roles in national development by boosting logistical efficiency, reducing travel times, and delivering substantial socio-economic benefits to the regions they serve.
The meeting was chaired by Joint Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Surendra Ahirwar.

India's First Indigenous Anti-Pesticide Bodysuit

Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, launched Kisan Kavach, India's first indigenous anti-pesticide bodysuit. Developed by BRIC-inStem, Bangalore, in collaboration with Sepio Health Pvt. Ltd, the suit aims to safeguard farmers from pesticide-induced health risks.
The launch aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of leveraging science and technology to empower India's agricultural community.

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