General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2018

May 2018

Jan 16, 2022

World's Largest khadi National Flag on display in Jaisalmer

The Monumental National Flag, which is the world's largest national flag made of Khadi fabric, was put on a grand public display along the India Pakistan border in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan to celebrate "Army Day".
The Monumental National Flag was displayed at Longewala, which was the center stage of the historic battle between India and Pakistan in 1971.
This was the fifth public display of the National Flag since its unveiling in Leh on October 2, 2021. It was, later on, displayed at Hindon Airbase on the occasion of Air Force Day on October 8, 2021 and at the Red Fort on October 21, 2021, that marked the completion of 100 crore Covid-19 vaccinations in India. On December 4, 2021, the Monumental National Flag was displayed at the Naval Dockyard near the Gateway of India in Mumbai to celebrate Navy Day.

Defence Ministry Launches Raksha Pension Shikayat Nivaran Portal

The Defence Ministry set up an online portal 'Raksha Pension Shikayat Nivaran Portal' to resolve pension-related grievances of ex-servicemen (ESM) and their dependents.
The portal will allow them to lodge grievances directly with the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW.
An application of the portal will auto-generate and forward SMS and email to the applicants on their registered number and email, intimating confirmation and tracking status.

Jan 15, 2022

Indian Railways Re-designate Post of 'Guard' as 'Train Manager'

The Indian Railways re-designated the post of 'guard' as 'train manager'. Senior officials in the railway ministry said that the issue was being demanded for quite some time.
The revised designation is more in consonance with their existing duties & responsibilities and will improve the motivation level of Guards now 'Train Manager.'
According to the revised designation document, dated January 13, assistant guard will now be 'assistant passenger train manager', goods guard will be 'goods train manager', a senior passengers' guard will be 'senior passenger train manager' and mail or express train guard will be mail/express train manager.

Congress Appoints Mohan Prakash as its Senior Observer for Uttarakhand Polls

The Congress appointed senior party leader Mohan Prakash as observer for overseeing its election campaign management in Uttarakhand.
Prakash, a former general secretary of the AICC, will discharge his duties in close coordination with the AICC in-charge for Uttarakhand Devendra Yadav.
Uttarakhand goes to polls in a single phase on February 14 and the results will be out on March 10.

Now, Republic Day Celebrations to Start from January 23

Republic Day celebrations will begin every year from January 23 instead of January 24 to include the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
This is in line with the Modi government's focus on celebrating/commemorating important aspects of our history and culture.
The Narendra Modi-led government had earlier announced that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary would be celebrated as Parakram Divas.
The other such days, which have become an annual affair, are:
August 14 — Partition Horrors Remembrance Day
October 31 — Ekta Divas or National Unity Day (The birth anniversary of Sardar Patel)
November 15 — Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (The birthday anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda)
November 26 — Constitution Day
December 26 — Veer Baal Divas (A tribute to the four Sahibzadas)

Jan 14, 2022

Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar (SVP) 2021 - 2022

Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar launched the Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar (SVP) 2021 - 2022 virtually while stressing on the importance of water sanitation, and hygiene and the role these factors play in determining the health of the students, attendance, dropout rate, and learning outcomes. He added that having the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools secures a healthy school environment and protects children from illness and exclusion.

Lovlina Borgohain Appointed by the Assam Government as DSP

Champion boxer and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain was appointed by the Assam government as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the state police force.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma presented the boxing star with an appointment letter at a ceremony in Guwahati. He assured her of a monthly sum of Rs. 100,000 - apart from her salary - that is meant to cover requirements for training. Sarma also said a road in Guwahati would soon be named after her.
Borgohain is the second sportsperson from the state to be appointed a DSP in Assam Police as per a new sports policy. In February last year, top sprinter Hima Das was given the same honour.

Goa Assembly Polls 2022: BJP to Contest All 40 Seats

Ahead of the 2022 Goa Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has shortlisted the names of candidates for 40 seats for recommendation to the party`s parliamentary board.
The BJP leader also announced that the final list of candidates will be declared by the BJP parliamentary board in Delhi soon.
Notably, Goa will go to the polls on February 14. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.

Assam, Meghalaya Reach Understanding on 6 Disputed Areas

Assam reached an understanding with Meghalaya on resolving six of the 12 areas of dispute along the border between the states and will sign a memorandum of understanding later this month, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in Guwahati after a meeting with his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma.
Last year, the two chief ministers agreed to sort out the differences in a phased manner and decided to first focus on six of the 12 disputed areas along the inter-state border.
The six areas that were taken up first for resolution are Tarabari, Gizang, Hahim, Boklapara, Khanapara-Pilangkata and Ratacherra. The areas fall in Kamrup, Kamrup (Metropolitan) and Cachar districts of Assam and West Khasi Hills, Ri Bhoi and East Jaintia Hills districts of Meghalaya.

Jan 13, 2022

S. Somanath New ISRO Chief

S. Somnath, an eminent rocket scientist, was appointed as the chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). K Sivan, the outgoing chairperson, will be completed his extended term.Sivan was appointed as the ISRO chief in January 2018 and was given a one-year extension till January 14, 2022.
Somanath's appointment as the Space secretary and the Space Commission Chairman is for a combined tenure of three years from the date of joining of the post, inclusive of an extension in tenure beyond the age of superannuation in public interest.

NCP to Ally with SP for UP Polls; Contest in Goa, Manipur

In a significant political development, Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar announced that his party would contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Manipur.
While the NCP would be joining the SP-led alliance in Uttar Pradesh, in Manipur, the party is cobbling up an understanding with the Congress, with which it shares power in Maharashtra's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

Indu Malhotra to Head SC Panel to Probe PM's Security Breach

The Supreme Court appointed a five-member committee headed by former apex court judge Justice Indu Malhotra to probe the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab.
The bench also appointed the Inspector General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Director General of Police of Chandigarh, the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Additional DGP (Security) of Punjab as members to the panel.
The top court's order has come on the plea of an organisation, Lawyers Voice, seeking a thorough investigation into the breach in Modi's security in Punjab to ensure there is no such incident in the future.

Jan 12, 2022

Kevadia Railway Station Renamed as Ekta Nagar Railway Station

From now, Indian Railways' Kevadiya station to be known as Ekta Nagar railway station! The Ministry of Railways has approved the renaming of the Statue of Unity's Kevadiya railway station. This Gujarat's railway station which falls under the Vadodara division has been renamed as 'Ekta Nagar' railway station. The station code of Ekta Nagar railway station will be EKNR and the numerical code of the station will be 08224620.

S. Jaishankar Speaks with Counterparts from Poland and Portugal

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar spoke to his counterparts from Poland and Portugal, focusing on ways to expand overall bilateral cooperation.
After the phone talks with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, Jaishankar said that the focus was on the importance of more political exchanges, expanded trade and smoother travel.
Following his talks with Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva, Jaishankar said that India counts on Portugal's strong support for expanding its relations with Europe.
In the last few days, Jaishankar spoke to his counterparts from the US, Russia, the UK, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Nigeria.

Registered Unrecognised Political Parties Doubled in 2010-2021

As per poll rights group Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the number of registered unrecognised political parties increased more than twice between 2010 and 2021 and disproportionately during the year of parliamentary elections.
Either newly registered parties or those which have not secured enough percentage of votes in assembly or general elections to become a state party, or those which have never contested elections since being registered are considered unrecognised parties.
In a new report, the ADR said from 1112 parties in 2010, the number spiked to 2,301 in 2019 and now in 2021, the number rose to 2,858.

Goa Minister Govind Gaude Resigns as Independent MLA

A day after two BJP MLAs resigned from the party, Govind Gaude, an independent legislator and the state's Art and Culture Minister resigned as MLA and said that he would be joining the Bharatiya Janata Party later in the day.
While four MLAs have quit the BJP so far over the last one month, three sitting MLAs namely Ravi Naik (Congress), Rohan Khaunte (Independent) Jayesh Salgaokar (Goa Forward) have so far joined the BJP.

ICHR Gets New Chairman

Raghuvendra Tanwar, a professor emeritus and former registrar of the Kurukshetra University, was appointed as chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), New Delhi.
Prof. Tanwar's tenure as ICHR chairman is for three years.
Tanwar served the KU history department for 42 years and held very important positions including the chairperson, dean of the faculty, dean of students welfare, and professor emeritus.
He was appointed the director of Haryana Academy of History and Culture in 2016. He also served as a UGC national fellow, a prestigious position in academia, from 2002-2005.
Prof. Tanwar is a world-renowned expert in the field of partition studies and Jammu & Kashmir and has published a large number of books and research papers in the national and international journal in these areas.

NCP to Contest Assembly Polls in Goa, UP, Manipur

Nationalist Congres Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar announced that his party will contest the forthcoming assembly elections in Goa, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur.
The NCP chief said that the party is going to contest elections with Samajwadi Party and other smaller parties in Uttar Pradesh.

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