General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2018

May 2018

Jan 16, 2023

PM Modi Announces 'Aarogya Maitri' Project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new 'Aarogya Maitri' project under which India will provide essential medical supplies to any developing country affected by natural disasters or humanitarian crisis and proposed to set up a 'centre of excellence' to facilitate development solutions to these countries.
In his opening address at the concluding session of the Voice of Global South virtual summit, Modi also said that India will launch a 'science and technology initiative' to share its expertise with other developing nations. He announced that New Delhi will institute new scholarships for students from developing countries to pursue higher education in India.
The Prime MinIster said India will launch the Global South Science and Technology Initiative to share its expertise in areas such as space technology and nuclear energy, and establish the Global South Centre of Excellence for research on development solutions that can be scaled up and implemented around the world.
PM Modi also suggested a Global South Young Diplomats Forum that will help connect youthful officers to the Foreign Ministries.

G20's First Infrastructure Working Group Meeting Held in Pune

Pune hosted the first G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting under the Indian Presidency on January 16 and 17. The forum brought together the IWG member countries, guest countries and international organisations invited by India to discuss the 2023 infrastructure agenda under the Indian G20 Presidency.
The meeting was hosted by the department of economic affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India along with Australia and Brazil as the co-chairs.
The Indian G20 Presidency's theme of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' sets the tone for the 2023 infrastructure agenda under the 2023 Indian G-20 Presidency. The theme underlined the message of equitable growth and aptly ties up with the central agenda of the discussions which is building resilient, inclusive and sustainable urban infrastructure.
In the Pune meeting, discussions focused on the agenda for the infrastructure working group under the Indian Presidency. The flagship priority discussed in this meeting was "Financing Cities of Tomorrow: Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable".

Rajasthan First State to Implement Blindness Control Policy

In a first in the country, the Rajasthan government implemented a policy for blindness control with the objective of 'Right to Sight'. The Department of Medical and Health, on the direction of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, released the policy document for the prevention of blindness.
The policy was introduced with the aim to bring light to the lives of more than three lakh people suffering from visual impairment in the state. The prevalence rate of blindness in the country was 1.1 per cent in 2020 and work would be done to bring it down to 0.3 per cent through the blindness control policy.
Under the policy, the Rajasthan government will mandatorily run Keratoplasty Centres and Eye Banks at all the government medical colleges. Also, cornea collected by private organisations and NGOs getting financial help from the government will have to be provided to the government institutions on priority.

'Soul of Steel' Challenge Launched in India

The Indian Army decided to back an initiative aimed at promoting adventure sports in the mountains of Uttarakhand, for which it signed an MoU with CLAW (Conquest Land Air and Water) Global, which held the first edition of the 'Soul of Steel' challenge on January 14.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with several other ministers and Army veterans, launched the 'Soul of Steel' challenge in Dehradun on the occasion of Armed Forces Veterans Day.
The 'Soul of steel' challenge is based on the lines of the 'Ironman triathlon', a long-distance triathlon held in Europe which tests an individual's physical capabilities. The CLAW Global was set up in January 2019 by Major (retd) Vivek Jacob, a retired para special forces officer.
The initiative is aimed at enabling life skill training and youth development. It is also expected to boost global promotion of adventure tourism in Uttarakhand.

Jan 15, 2023

Ahead Of Crucial Polls, Rajasthan Chief Minister's Big Social Security Pitch

Less than ten months from the Rajasthan Assembly elections, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot proposed a social security act to provide a safety net across the country. He was speaking at the All India Conference of Presiding Officers in Jaipur. Gehlot had in December 2022 as well reiterated his long-standing demand for a pan-India social security cover.
Referring to welfare measures launched in the two UPA regimes under Manmohan Singh -- like the Right to Education, Right to Information, MGNREGA, and the Food Security Act -- he had in February last year asked the Centre to bring a legislation to give a guarantee of social security to people.
Pointing out that social security is a policy norm across the world, he urged the centre to take responsibility for needy families by bringing a social security act.

Tamil Nadu Assembly Unanimously Adopted a Resolution, Urging the Centre to Immediately Implement ...

Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Union Government to immediately come forward to implement the Sethusamudram project without any further delay and promised all cooperation for its implementation by the state government.
The main opposition AIADMK and its ally BJP also supported the resolution but urged the government to study the pros and cons of its implementation because it was a shallow area and required constant dredging.
The Sethusamudram project is essential to strengthen the economic development of Tamil Nadu and India.

Jan 14, 2023

Odisha Govt's CAMPA Steering Committee Approves Rs. 1,086 crore Action Plan for 2023-24

Odisha government's state level steering committee for CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management & Planning Authority) approved an annual plan of Rs 1,086 crore for 2023-24 fiscal with focus on reducing man-animal conflict.
Chief Secretary S.C. Mohapatra chaired the meeting which approved the annual plan. Mohapatra raised the issue relating to wildlife management activities which are being extensively being carried out through CAMPA funds.
He said afforestation programmes are also to be monitored using CAMPA tracker and through satellite in every six months and to be verified in the field though frequent inspection by senior officers.

Amit Shah Inaugurates Jai Hind- The New Light and Sound Show

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the 'Jai Hindi' Light and Sound Show at Red Fort, in New Delhi. At the inaugural ceremony of 'Jai Hindi' Light and Sound Show, Union Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Cultures, Meenakshi Lekhi, Lt Governor of Dekhi VK Saxena, Minister of State, and Several other dignitaries were present.

Jan 13, 2023

Vice President Inaugurates 83rd Conference of All India Presiding Officers' in Jaipur

Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated the two-day-long 83rd conference of All India Presiding Officers in Jaipur. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Speakers and Deputy Speakers of various Legislative Assemblies including the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman were present in the conference.

Prime Minister Addresses 'Voice of Global South' Summit

In his opening remarks at the Voice of Global South Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the "world is in a state of crisis" and told the leaders of developing countries "your voice is India's voice" and "your priorities are India's priorities".
Global South refers to the developing and the less-developed countries of the world.
The Summit envisaged 10 sessions—four would be held on January 12, and six sessions on January 13. Each session witnessed the participation of leaders and ministers from 10-20 countries.
The inaugural and concluding sessions were at the Head of State/Government level, and were hosted by PM Modi. The theme of the Inaugural Leaders' session was "Voice of Global South – for Human-Centric Development" and that of the Concluding Leaders' session was "Unity of Voice-Unity of Purpose".

Jan 12, 2023

DPIIT Organises Start-up India Innovation Week from 10th to 16th January 2023

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry is organising Start-up India Innovation Week from January 10 to 16, 2023 to celebrate the Indian start-up ecosystem as well as National Start-up Day (January 16 2023).
Start-up India Innovation Week 2023 aims to engage start-up ecosystem stakeholders across the nation during the Start-up India Innovation Week and spur the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation in India.

Santhi Kumari Takes over as New Telangana Chief Secretary

Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer A. Santhi Kumari was appointed as Telangana Chief Secretary.
The development came a day after the Telangana High Court set aside the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order (Hyderabad bench) and directed shifting of senior IAS officer and state Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar from Telangana cadre to Andhra Pradesh, as allotted by the Centre during the bifurcation of combined Andhra Pradesh state in 2014.
Kumari, who is the 1989-batch officer, took charge as new Chief Secretary, relieving Kumar. She is the first woman Chief Secretary of Telangana.

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Allots Portfolios

The newly-inducted ministers of the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Himachal Pradesh cabinet were allotted portfolios with former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh getting the public works, youth, and sports departments and Dhani Ram Shandil getting the charge of the health and family welfare. While Vikramaditya the youngest member of the cabinet, Shandil is said to be the eldest. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar distributed the portfolios on the advice of CM Sukhu.
Sukhu retained the finance, general administration, home, planning, personnel portfolios, and all other departments not allotted to any minister.

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