General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2018

May 2018

Mar 31, 2023

World Bank Grants $363m Loan to Karnataka for Clean Drinking Water Supply

The World Bank's Executive Board of Directors approved a USD 363 million loan to Karnataka to provide clean drinking water supply to two million rural households in the state through a piped water connection in their homes. Through the programme, the World Bank and the state of Karnataka seek to demonstrate 24/7 water supply service in at least 500 Gram Panchayats. The programme will develop an advanced sector monitoring system for rural water service delivery and provide on-the-job skills training to around 3,000 rural women to be employed as plumbers. The USD 363 million loan from the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), uses the Program-for-Results (PforR) financing instrument that links the disbursement of funds directly to the achievement of specific program results. The loan has a maturity of 13.5 years including a grace period of two years.

The First G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group Meeting Held in Gandhinagar

The First G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group meeting under India's G20 Presidency was held in Gandhinagar, in Gujarat. Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister P. K. Mishra and Minister of State for Communication Devusinh Chauhan, inaugurated the meeting. As per Member Secretary, of National Disaster Management Authority Kamal Kishore, five priority areas were identified for the meeting which included:
Global coverage of Early Warning Systems
Increased commitment towards making infrastructure systems – disaster resilient
Stronger national financial frameworks for DRR
Strengthened national and global disaster response system
Increased application of ecosystems-based approaches to DRR

Mar 30, 2023

AFSPA to be Extended in 8 Assam Districts

The Assam government will extend the 'disturbed area' tag under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) for another six months in eight districts of the state from April 1.
It will be extended for Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao, according to a notification issued by the state home and political department.
The Centre had earlier announced removal of AFSPA from April 1, 2022 from the entire state of Assam barring nine districts and a sub-division of Cachar district.
The state was declared a 'disturbed area' under AFSPA during the intervening night of November 27-28, 1990, and this has been extended every six months since then.
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958 is an act of the Parliament of India that grants special powers to the Indian Armed Forces to maintain public order in "disturbed areas".

Karnataka Assembly Elections to be Held in May

The Election Commission (EC) announced the Assembly election dates for Karnataka. The elections will be held on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that the notification for the elections to the 224-member assembly will be issued on April 13 and the last date for filing nomination papers will be April 20.
The nomination papers will be scrutinised on April 21 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations will be April 24.

Giriraj Singh Launches 'Captive Employment' Initiative

Union Minister for Rural Development Giriraj Singh onboarded 19 captive employers as part of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) in New Delhi.
The objective is to provide them with the target of training and providing gainful employment to 31,067 rural poor youths under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) with a minimum salary of 10,000 per month for a minimum period of six months.

Mar 29, 2023

First G20 Trade and Investment Working Group Meeting in Mumbai

The first Trade and Investment Working Group meeting under India's G20 presidency was held in Mumbai.
Union commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal welcomed all 70 delegates who converged for the meet in Mumbai. Regional groupings and international organizations engaged in deliberations to accelerate global trade and investments.
The aim of India's G20 Presidency is to build a shared understanding of the challenges being faced in accelerating global trade and investment, and how existing opportunities can be harnessed to formulate human-centric concrete outcomes and deliverables.
The deliberations during the three-day meeting facilitated cooperation on trade and investment in view of India's G20 Presidency priorities.
So far under India's G20 Presidency which assumed on December 1, 2022, two Ministerial, one Sherpa, 23 Working Groups, 20 Engagement Groups, and one Curtain Raiser were held.

Second G20 Infrastructure Working Group Meeting in Visakhapatnam

The second G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting under G20 Indian Presidency was held in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh for two days.
The conference was in Visakhapatnam under the theme of 'Economic Cities of Tomorrow'.
The first G-20 IWG summit was held in Maharashtra's Pune.
Out of a total of 8 sessions, four sessions were on the first day and the rest of the sessions on the second day.
As per reports, 63 representatives of G-20 countries and other invited organizations, ADB and World Bank had enrolled their names for this conference.

Nagaland Assembly Resolves to Repeal Nagaland Municipal Act

Bowing to public pressure, the Nagaland assembly resolved to repeal the Nagaland Municipal Act of 2001 with immediate effect. The assembly will enact a fresh law to govern urban local bodies.
Tribal bodies, civil society organizations and various sections of society have been protesting against the law, which they said went against the spirit of Article 371A of the Constitution that guarantees precedence to customary law and social or religious practices of the Nagas.

World Bank Approves $108 Million Loan for Assam's Flood Management Project

The World Bank gave nod to provide a loan of $108 million (about Rs. 889 crore) to assist Assam in its efforts to improve its disaster preparedness and enhance flood forecasting. The multilateral bank stated that around six million individuals will benefit from this project, which is part of a larger investment program worth $500 million for the state. The main aim of the Assam Integrated River Basin Management Project is to build eco-friendly infrastructure in the Beki and Buridehing river basins to lessen the impact of floods and river erosion on the state, ultimately safeguarding around one lakh individuals.

Mar 28, 2023

Baghel Attends All India Steel Conclave

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel attended the All India Steel Conclave at Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh and appreciated the performance of the state industries during the covid pandemic.
Bhupesh Baghel said the steel industry is the backbone of Chhattisgarh's economy.

EC Chooses Transgender Manjamma Jogati as Poll Icon for the Community

The Election Commission (EC) in the Indian state of Karnataka selected Manjamma Jogati, a transgender folk dancer, as a poll icon to encourage more members of the transgender community to register and vote. Alongside Jogati, several other individuals, including cricketer Rahul Dravid and Jnanapeeth awardee Chandrashekar Kambar, were also chosen as poll ambassadors.

Mar 27, 2023

Sushma Swaraj's Daughter Takes Political Plunge

Bansuri Swaraj, the daughter of late Sushma Swaraj, entered into active politics as she was appointed as co-convener of the legal cell of the Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, in his first appointment in the state unit after taking over as full-time state president, appointed Swaraj as co-convener of the legal cell.
Bansuri Swaraj practices law in the Supreme Court.
Swaraj enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 2007 and has 16 years of experience in the legal profession.

India to Host SCO Summit in Delhi in July

India will be hosting its first Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Delhi in July.
India became an SCO member in 2017 and this is the first time it will host the heads of state summit in July and will fulfil the role of an active and constructive member of the organisation.
As per reports, for the upcoming Foreign Ministers meet, however, confirmation from foreign ministers of China and Pakistan is awaited.

Finance Secretary T. V. Somanathan to Head Panel on Pension Schemes

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the formation of a committee to look into improving the system of pension for government employees, a move that came against the backdrop of at least five opposition-ruled states adopting the Old Pension Scheme.
The committee, which will be headed by Finance Secretary T. V. Somanathan, will work on an approach that will strike a balance between employees' needs and fiscal prudence, with any changes proposed to be adopted by both Central and state governments.

Andhra Pradesh Passes Resolution to Provide SC Status for Dalit Christians

In a unanimous resolution passed, the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly supported the inclusion of Dalit Christians in the Scheduled Castes list, saying that the State government was of the opinion that their socio-economic status was at par with that of Dalits who practise Hinduism.
Passing the resolution, the Legislature resolved to request the Union Government to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 accordingly and include Dalits who have converted to Christianity in the SC list.
As per the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, only Dalits who practise Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism are eligible to be categorised as SC. There are a batch of petitions currently pending in the Supreme Court of India challenging this part of the Order and seeking the inclusion of Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims in the SC list.

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