General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2018

Mar 2018

Jan 01, 2023

Election Commission Proposes Remote Voting for Inter-state Migrants

Election Commission proposed introduction of 'remote voting' for domestic migrants, using a multi-constituency electronic voting machine (EVM) that will retain all security features of the EVMs currently in use. This modified form of EVM can handle up to 72 multiple constituencies from a single remote polling booth.
The initiative, if implemented, can lead to a social transformation for the migrants and connect with their roots as many times they are reluctant to get themselves enrolled at their place of work for various reasons such as frequently changing residences.
In this regard, the Commission has invited all Recognised National and State Political Parties on 16th of January next year to demonstrate the functioning of the multi-constituency prototype Remote Electronic Voting Machine. The Technical Expert Committee members will also be present in the meeting.

Dec 31, 2022

MoHUA Launches Initiatives for Ranking Cities Based Beautification

Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri released draft guidelines for a new ranking system of cities based on financial performance and beautification.
City Finance Rankings 2022 aim to evaluate, recognise and reward urban local bodies (ULBs) on the basis of their strength across three financial parameters -- resource mobilisation, expenditure performance and fiscal governance systems.
According to Manoj Joshi, Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, it is also an effort to analyse and help the ULBs in identifying areas in their financial performance where they can make further improvements, to be able to deliver quality infrastructure and services, and hence a good quality of life to its citizens.

India and Cyprus Sign a Number of Agreements

India and Cyprus have signed a number of agreements in various areas including on Defence and Military Cooperation between the two countries.
A Letter of Intent on Migration and Mobility Partnership was also signed to provide a common framework of arrangement and cooperation to facilitate the mobility of students, academics, business people and professionals. It will also help in combating irregular migration.
The agreements were signed following talks between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Foreign Minister of Cyprus.

Tata Sons Chairman to Head Maharashtra's New Economic Advisory Body

Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran will head the new Economic Advisory Council of Maharashtra.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made the announcement in the Legislative Council in Nagpur.
To make Maharashtra a trillion dollar economy, the state government is setting up an Economic Advisory Council, to be headed by Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran.
It will function as a private research organization with focus on issues related to agriculture, banking, engineering and education, among others.

President Murmu Laid Foundation Stone for PRASHAD Project for Two Temples in Telangana

Droupadi Murmu laid the foundation stone of the project 'Development of Pilgrimage Facilities at Bhadrachalam Group of Temples' at Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamivari Devasthanam, Bhadrachalam in Telangana.
The President of India laid the foundation stone for another project called 'Development of Pilgrimage and Heritage Infrastructure of UNESCO World Heritage Site at Rudreshwara Temple in Telangana. These projects were approved under the PRASAD Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
President Droupadi Murmu informed that the famous temples of Telangana are visited by lakhs of pilgrims, and they form the major components of domestic and foreign tourists.
Tourism increases the livelihood opportunities and income of the people.
The President appreciated the Ministry of Tourism for boosting spiritual and cultural tourism by developing pilgrimage sites under the 'PRASHAD' scheme.
The PRASHAD scheme was launched in 2014-15 and aims to provide integrated infrastructure development to pilgrimage and heritage tourism destinations in India.

Dec 30, 2022

Praveen Kumar Srivastava Appointed Acting CVC

Vigilance Commissioner Praveen Kumar Srivastava was appointed as the acting Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC).
Srivastava's appointment came after Suresh N. Patel completed his term as the chief of the anti-corruption watchdog Central Vigilance Commission on December 24.
The commission is headed by a CVC and can have a maximum of two Vigilance Commissioners.
Besides Srivastava, former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Arvind Kumar is the other Vigilance Commissioner.
Mr. Srivastava is a 1988-batch (retired) Indian Administrative Service officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre. He superannuated as Secretary (Coordination), Cabinet Secretariat on January 31, 2022.
Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created in 1964 to address governmental corruption. In 2003, the Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the CVC. It has the status of an autonomous body, free of control from any executive authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of India, advising various authorities in central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.
It was set up by the Government of India Resolution on 11 February 1964, on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by K. Santhanam, to advise and guide Central Government agencies in the field of vigilance.

Amit Shah Launches Mobile App 'Prahari'

Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the 'Prahari' Mobile app and Manual of Border Security Force (BSF) in New Delhi. The Prahari app will enable jawans to access personal information and information related to accommodation, Ayushmann-CAPF, and leaves on their mobile.
The App will also provide access to GPF, Bio Data, or grievance redressal on the 'Centralized Public Grievances Redress and Monitoring System' or Information on various welfare schemes. The app also connects the Jawans with the portal of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Dec 29, 2022

IT minister Launches 'Stay Safe Online' Campaign to Tackle Cybercrime

As part of India's G20 presidency, Electronics & Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched the "Stay Safe Online" campaign and the "G20 Digital Innovation Alliance" (G20-DIA).
The objective of the 'Stay Safe Online Campaign' is to raise awareness among citizens to stay safe in the online world due to the widespread use of social media platforms and the rapid adoption of digital payments.
The exponential increase in the number of internet users in India and the rapidly evolving technology landscape have brought unique challenges. The campaign is expected to make citizens of all age groups aware of the cyber risk and ways to deal with it.
Meanwhile, the G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA) is to identify, recognize, and enable the adoption of innovative and impactful digital technologies developed by start-ups, from G20 nations as well as the invited non-member nations, which can address the needs of humanity in the critically important sectors of agri-tech, health-tech, ed-tech, fin-tech, secured digital infrastructure, and circular economy.

IISc Bengaluru to be G20 Science Working Group's Secretariat

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) will serve as the secretariat for Science 20 (S20), one of the G20's multiple groupings. The G20 is being presided over by India and the theme of the S20 in 2023 is 'Disruptive Science for Innovative and Sustainable Development'. According to the IISc, discussions will take place throughout the year in various regions of India on this wide issue.
According to IISc, the G20 has been working for years to address other global issues as well, such as sustainable development and mitigating climate change. It has established a number of working groups to work toward this goal, including Science 20 or S20.
Three issues will be discussed at the discussions in Agartala, Lakshadweep, and Bhopal: universal holistic health, clean energy for a greener future, and bridging science and society. In addition to the discussions, reportedly there will be an inaugural conference in Puducherry and a summit meeting in Coimbatore.
As per IISc, S20 will play a critical role in resolving global concerns like poverty and bringing together G20 member nations' development efforts.

Centre Signs Peace Pact with Manipur Insurgent Group

The Centre signed a peace agreement with a Manipur insurgent group, which agreed to give up violence and join the democratic process.
The tripartite agreement was signed by the Centre, Manipur government and the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) rebel group, which mostly operated in Manipur.
This is a significant boost to the peace process in Manipur.
The agreement provides for rehabilitation and re-settlement of the armed cadres. A joint monitoring group will be constituted to oversee enforcement of the agreed ground rules.

Dec 28, 2022

FSSAI Gives Five-star Rating to UP's Bulandshahr Prison for Food Quality

The Bulandshahr prison of Uttar Pradesh was awarded a five-star rating and the tag 'Eat Right Campus' by the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI).
The FSSAI team inspected the kitchen's food quality, storage and hygiene on stringent measures, based on which the Bulandshahr prison was given a five-star rating, the 'Eat Right Campus' tag in addition to the remark of 'Excellent' by the FSSAI.
Bulandshahr Jail is the second prison after Farrukhabad jail to get this tag from Uttar Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh Govt. to Build Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Grand Memorial in Gwalior

According to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a huge statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be installed and a research centre will be built as part his grand memorial in Gwalior. The announcement was made on December 26 at the 'Gwalior Gaurav Diwas' function to mark the late leader's 98th birth anniversary. The event was also attended by Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia and Narendra Singh Tomar. Vajpayee was born in Gwalior on December 25, 1924.
The Madhya Pradesh government allotted nearly 4,050 hectares of land in Sirol area of Gwalior to build a memorial of Vajpayee, according to Gwalior Divisional Commissioner Deepak Singh. On the occasion, noted sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, eminent scientist Dr. V.K. Saraswat, cardiologist Dr. Jamal Yusuf, international hockey player Ishika Chowdhary and educationist O. P. Dixit were awarded the 'Gwalior Gaurav Samman', while renowned poet Hariom Pawar was presented the 'Atal Kavi Samman'.

Home Ministry Gives NOC for Name Change of 2 Places in Uttar Pradesh

The Union Home Ministry gave its consent to change the names of two places in Uttar Pradesh following recommendations from the state government.
The 'no-objection' certificates were issued by the ministry for changing the name of municipal council 'Mundera Baazar' in Gorakhpur district to 'Chauri-Chaura' and that of 'Telia Afghan' village in Deoria district to 'Telia Shukla'.
The Home Ministry considers proposals for name change according to the existing guidelines, in consultations with agencies concerned.
It gives a 'no-objection' certificate to change the name of any place after taking consent from the Ministry of Railways, Department of Posts and the Survey of India.

BJP to Field Rekha Gupta for Delhi Mayor Polls

The BJP decided to field its Shalimar Bagh councillor Rekha Gupta as its Delhi Mayor candidate to challenge AAP's Shelly Oberoi in the January 6 elections.
The BJP has also named Kamal Bagri as deputy mayor candidate as well as Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Gajendra Daral and Pankaj Luthra for standing committee member posts.
The AAP has a clear majority in the 250-member Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House.
Some party leaders claimed that an intense contest could be witnessed for the mayor as well as deputy mayor posts since the anti-defection law does not apply to the MCD and floor crossing could be possible.

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