General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2018

May 2018

Feb 05, 2023

India Welcomes Congo into International Solar Alliance

India welcomed Congo to International Solar Alliance. Ambassador of Republic of Congo, Raymond Serge Bale signed the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement in the presence of Joint Secretary (Economic Diplomacy).
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an action-oriented, member-driven, collaborative platform for increased deployment of solar energy technologies. Its basic motive is to facilitate energy access, ensure energy security, and drive energy transition in its member countries. The ISA was conceived as a joint effort by India and France to mobilize efforts against climate change through deployment of solar energy solutions.
A total of 107 countries have signed the ISA Framework Agreement.
Out of 107 nations, 86 have signed and ratified the ISA Framework Agreement.

MP Government Changes the Name of Bhopal's Islam Nagar Village to 'Jagdishpur'

The Madhya Pradesh government announced that Islam Nagar village, situated in the Bhopal district, was renamed as Jagdishpur. The MP administration, in an official release, declared the changes and mentioned the change in the name with immediate effect.
According to several accounts, the name of Islam Nagar used to be Jagdishpur 308 years ago.
Bhoapl's Islam Nagar (now Jagdishpur) is famous for its fort and is a place of tourist interest.
I n February 2021, the CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government had renamed Hoshangabad as Narmadapuram and Nasrullahganj was renamed as Bhairunda.

Feb 04, 2023

CM Dhami Announces Rs. 50,000 to Each Uttarakhand Tableau Artist

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced a reward money of Rs. 50,000 each to the artists of Uttarakhand tableau which was awarded the top prize at this year's (2023) Republic Day parade on Kartavya Path.
Uttarakhand's 'Manskhand' tableau showcased religious places and the progressive developments of the state during the 74th Republic Day parade.
The tableau on Manaskhand was proposed after the guidance of Chief Minister Dhami.

India Flags WB Move on Indus Row

India questioned the World Bank's decision to appoint a Court of Arbitration and a neutral expert under two separate processes to resolve differences between New Delhi and Islamabad over the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in J&K.
India had issued a notice to Pakistan seeking a review and modification of the 62-year-old Indus Waters Treaty for management of cross-border rivers following Islamabad's intransigence in handling disputes.
India took the significant step of sending the notice to Pakistan conveying its intent to amend the treaty months after the WB announced appointing a neutral expert and a chair of Court of Arbitration to resolve differences over Kishenganga and Ratle projects. New Delhi has been particularly disappointed over the appointment of the Court of Arbitration.

Assam Hosts First Day of G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group Meeting

The first day of the G20 meeting- the Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) meeting successfully concluded. Assam hosted its first G20 meeting from February 2 and 3.
The meeting was inaugurated by Union Minister of AYUSH and Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal where he welcomed the delegates and highlighted the diverse ethnicity and culture of Guwahati.
The 1st SFWG meeting was attended in person by 95 delegates from G20 member countries, 10 invitee countries and 14 international organisations.
Many international organisations joined the meeting virtually. The G20 SFWG aims to mobilise sustainable finance to help ensure global growth and stability and promote the transition towards a greener, more resilient, and inclusive societies and economies.
The G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) in Guwahati discussed how to mobilise finance for tackling climate change, how to fund newly developed low-carbon technologies, identify instruments to finance Sustainable Development Goals including nature and biodiversity as well as discuss ways and means to increase the capacity of countries to understand and mobilise sustainable finance.

Feb 03, 2023

Don't Issue Birth, Death Certificates to Undocumented Immigrants

The Mizoram government issued an order directing authorities against issuing birth and death certificates to refugees and undocumented immigrants from countries such as Myanmar to ensure there are no claims of citizenship from them.
The order came amid an influx of refugees from Myanmar since March last year (2022) following the military coup in that country. Around 40,000 people from Myanmar are estimated to be living in the state. Hundreds of refugees from Bangladesh have also recently entered Mizoram.

Feb 02, 2023

Karnatak Gets Rs. 5,300 crore Funds for Upper Bhadra Project

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing Rs. 5,300 crore funds for the Upper Bhadra project of the state in the Union Budget 2023.
CM Bommai-led BJP government in Karnataka had been putting pressure on the Central leadership to announce the Upper Bhadra project as the national project. The implementation of the project will change the fate of the central Karnataka districts in the state.
The project would irrigate 2.25 lakh hectares of land in Chikkamagalur, Chitradurga, Davangere and Tumakuru districts. It would provide 19 TMC of water for irrigation. The project aims to increase the capacity of Vani Vilasa reservoir and fill more than 350 tanks.

Bengaluru to Host First G20 Energy Transition Working Group Meeting under India's Presidency

The first G20 Energy Transition Working Group (ETWG) meeting under India's presidency will be organised in Bengaluru from February 5-7.
The meeting will have over 150 participants including G20 member countries, nine special invitee guest nations – Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, the UAE and Spain.
In addition, international organizations such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Energy Agency (IEA), Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Solar Alliance (ISA), among others will be part of the meeting.

BJP Announces Candidates for West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh Bypoll

The Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released a list of candidates for the upcoming bye-elections to be held in West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh.
The party decided to field Tsering Lhamu from Arunachal Pradesh's Lumla (ST) seat and Dilip Saha from West Bengal's Sagardighi seat.
Earlier in January, the Election Commission announced the schedule for the bye-elections to six assembly seats across five states.
Bye-elections to one assembly constituency, each in Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and two assembly constituencies in Maharashtra will be held on February 27. The parliamentary constituency of Lakshadweep will also vote in bypolls on February 27.
The counting of votes to all bypolls will be held on March 2.

First G20 Education Working Group Meeting Held in Chennai

The first G20 Education working group was held in Chennai from Feb 1 to 2, 2023.
Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr. L. Murugan inaugurated the session where deliberations took place on carrying forward the resolutions passed during the last summit.
Discussions were on K 12 education, tech-enabled learning and skill development.

Punjab Removes Women Commission Chief

The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab removed State Women Commission Chairperson Manisha Gulati by withdrawing a September 2020 letter through which she was granted an extension of three years.
The Social Security and Women and Child Development Department withdrew the letter dated September 18, 2020.
Additional Chief Secretary Kirpa Shankar Saroj said that issuing the letter granting her extension was a bonafide mistake.
She had been appointed in March 2018 as the Commission chairperson during the Congress government headed by Amarinder Singh.

Feb 01, 2023

Nirmala Sitharaman Sixth Finance Minister to Present budget 5 Times in a Row

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman became the sixth minister in independent India to present five consecutive budgets.
Sitharaman's budget for the fiscal year starting April 2023 was her fifth straight since 2019.
Other ministers who have presented five straight annual financial statements are Arun Jaitley, P. Chidambaram, Yashwant Sinha, Manmohan Singh and Morarji Desai.
After taking charge of the Finance Ministry in the Modi government in 2014, Jaitley presented five budgets in a row from 2014-15 to 2018-19.

Visakhapatnam to be Capital of Andhra Pradesh

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said that Andhra Pradesh's capital would be shifted to Visakhapatnam in a few months. The statement assumes significance in the wake of cases on the capital issue pending in the Supreme Court.
He made these remarks at a curtain-raiser programme for the Global Investors Summit, scheduled to be organised at Visakhapatnam in March.

Assam Cabinet Nod for Floriculture Mission

Assam's cabinet approved a state floriculture mission with an initial investment of Rs. 150 crore, covering 20,000 farmers.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that in view of the huge demand for flowers in Assam, which is currently met with supply from West Bengal's capital Kolkata and even Thailand, a State Floriculture Mission has been approved.
Under it, the area of flower cultivation will be expanded from 2,200 hectares to 3,288 hectares within three years.

Centre Forms Committee to Draft Rules, Standards for Mediation in India

The Law and Justice Ministry constituted a working committee for the drafting of rules and standards for mediation in India under the chairmanship of former Law Secretary P. K. Malhotra.
The committee would provide drafts of the rules and regulations as envisaged under the Mediation Bill/Act and also to provide suggestions regarding the setting of various standards including, certifications, accreditation, grading, criteria etc, for various stakeholders under the Mediation Bill.
The committee is further directed to refer to the subject mentioned and to say that the Mediation Bill, 2021 through its objectives, promotes institutional mediation provides for enforcement of a mediated settlement agreement, promotes training through Mediation Institutes and emphasizes ODR [Online Dispute Resolution] and community mediation. The Bill also provides for the establishment of the Mediation Council of India, said Centre communication to Committee members.

UPSC Recommends Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi as Drugs Controller General of India

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) recommended the name of Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi as the new Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). The UPSC had conducted interviews for the appointment of the DCGI.
In November 2022, V. G. Somani's term as DCGI was extended for three months. This was done for the second time, as he had also got an extension in the month of August 2022.
V. G. Somani was appointed as the Drugs Controller General of India in the month of August 2019.
DCGI heads the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), which is responsible for ensuring the quality of drug supply across the country. It also has the authority to give approval to new drugs and regulate clinical trials.

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