General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2018

May 2018

Jan 02, 2022

India to Chair Counter Terrorism Committee of UNSC in January 2022

India will chair the Counter-Terrorism Committee of UNSC in January 2022 after 10 years. The Counter-Terrorism Committee was established by Security Council resolution 1373 adopted unanimously on 28 September 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US. The Committee was tasked with monitoring the implementation of resolution 1373 which requested countries to implement a number of measures aimed at enhancing their legal and institutional ability to counter terrorist activities at home and around the world.
Work of Counter-Terrorism Committee of UNSC:
This includes taking steps to criminalize the financing of terrorism, freezing any funds related to persons involved in acts of terrorism, denying all forms of financial support for terrorist groups, suppressing the provision of safe haven, sustenance or support for terrorists and sharing information with other governments on any groups practising or planning terrorist acts.
Besides, the Committee monitors steps taken to cooperate with other governments in the investigation, detection, arrest, extradition and prosecution of those involved in terror acts and criminalizes active and passive assistance for terrorism.

Anna Roy among Top 30 Fintech Influencers

NITI Aayog senior advisor Anna Roy was named among 30 top fintech influencers by a consulting and advisory firm, Digital Fifth.
Zolve founder Raghunandan G, Reserve Bank Innovation Hub CEO Rajesh Bansal, Amrish Rau CEO, Pine Labs, Ravi Kumar co-founder Upstox and Yashish Dahiya Chairman and CEO Policybazar were among the other fintech influencers.

Jan 01, 2022

PM Modi Inaugurates Bina (MP)-Panki (UP) Multiproduct Pipeline Project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 356 Km long Bina Refinery (Madhya Pradesh)- POL Terminal at Panki (Kanpur, UP) Multiproduct pipeline project ( capacity of 45 million metric tonnes per annum) with an outlay of Rs. 1524 crore (Rs. 1227 crore in UP and Rs. 297 crore in MP). The project has been completed and commissioned one month ahead of the approved completion schedule of December 2021 (3 years from PNGRB authorisation) and within the approved cost. It will provide for safe and efficient evacuation of products from Bina Refinery and also improve the availability of products in Eastern U.P, Central U.P., Northern Bihar and Southern Uttarakhand.

Dec 31, 2021

Anupam Ray India's New Permanent Representative at UN Conference on Disarmament

Senior diplomat Anupam Ray was appointed as India's next permanent representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
Mr. Ray, a 1994-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as a joint secretary in the MEA's headquarters in Delhi.
Mr. Ray will succeed Pankaj Sharma.
Mr. Sharma, a 1991-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, has been appointed as India's next ambassador to Mexico.

Tamil Nadu Appoints Sivarajah Ramanathan as Tansim CEO

The government of Tamil Nadu has appointed Sivarajah Ramanathan, an IT and social entrepreneur, as the new chief executive officer of Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (Tansim)
Tansim, also known as Startup TN, works towards making Tamil Nadu an innovation-driven economy. Tansim's mission is to be the driving force for startups and to build a strong, viable and vibrant start-up ecosystem that creates employment and develops economic growth.

Samajwadi Party Leader Shatarudra Prakash Joins BJP

In a setback to the Samajwadi Party (SP), its MLC and former Uttar Pradesh minister Shatarudra Prakash joined the BJP at the saffron party's state headquarters.
A socialist since his student days, Mr. Prakash joined the BJP in the presence of the party's state unit chief Swatantra Dev Singh.
Mr. Prakash, who joined politics while studying in the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly for the first time in 1974 from Varanasi Cantonment as a Socialist Party nominee. Three years later, he was again elected from the same constituency as a Janata Party candidate.
Mr. Praksh won the polls as a Lok Dal candidate in 1985 and as a Janata Dal nominee in 1989. He was a cabinet minister in the Uttar Pradesh government headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Dec 30, 2021

IAS Officer Durga Shankar Mishra Next UP Chief Secretary

The government issued an order to repatriate senior IAS officer and Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra to his parent cadre Uttar Pradesh, as he has been proposed to be appointed as the Chief Secretary of the state. Mishra, a 1984-batch IAS officer, was due to superannuate on December 31.
At present, Rajendra Kumar Tiwari, 1985-batch IAS officer, is the UP Chief Secretary. Tiwari is due to retire in February 2023. The DoPT had in an order on December 27 named Manoj Joshi as Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary in place of Mishra. Joshi, a 1989-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Jhansi Railway Station to be Renamed as Veerangana Lakshmibai Railway Station

Jhansi Railway Station to be Renamed as Veerangana Lakshmibai Railway Station
Jhansi Railway Station will be known as Veerangana Laxmibai Railway Station in the coming days.
The Uttar Pradesh government issued a notification to rename Jhansi Railway Station as Veerangana Lakshmibai Railway Station. Earlier, the Centre had accepted the proposal to change the name of Jhansi Railway Station.
Several local public representatives, including BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Prabhat Jha, had demanded that Jhansi station be named after Rani Laxmibai in a railway meeting held in the city a few years ago.

Extension of AFSPA in Nagaland

The Central government declared entire Nagaland as a "disturbed area" for six more months, under the AFSPA Act.
This declaration will be in effect, starting from December 30, 2021.
Government has also termed the state's condition as "disturbed and dangerous".
This decision was taken days after the central government constituted a high-level committee for examining the possibility of withdrawal of controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from Nagaland.
AFSPA has been operational in Nagaland for decades.
Central government exercised the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 to declare entire Nagaland as 'disturbed area'.

Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad Inaugurates Road Named after Prime Minister Modi

A second road linking Tsomgo Lake and Nathula border pass with Gangtok -- christened as 'Narendra Modi Marg' -- was officially inaugurated by Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad. The older route is called Jawaharlal Nehru Road.
The alternative double-lane road at 51 Kyongasala gram panchayat unit (GPU) -- spanning 19.51 km -- has been operational for almost a year now.

Praveen Kumar is DG & CEO of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs

Govt. of India approved the appointment of Praveen Kumar, IAS, Former Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship to the post of Director General & Chief Executive Officer, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA). The proposal for setting up IICA was approved by Planning Commission in the year 2007. It was established in 2008 at Manesar, Haryana.
Praveen Kumar is a 1987 batch retired IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, and a former Secretary, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.

Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin to Attend Vibrant Gujarat Summit in January

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Russian minister for Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic Alexei Chekunkov and governors of Russian Far East will participate in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit that will take place in Gandhinagar next month. Four governors of Far East Provinces of Russia will participate in the summit that will take place from January 10 to 12.

Dec 29, 2021

Khattar Government Inducts Two Ministers in Haryana

The Manohar Lal Khattar-led Haryana's council of ministers was expanded with the induction of BJP's Kamal Gupta and Jannayak Janata Party's (JJP) Devendra Babli as Cabinet ministers.
The induction took the strength of Khattar's council of ministers to 14, comprising the Chief Minister and his deputy Dushyant Chautala.
Governor Bandaru Dattatraya administered the oath of office and secrecy to them at the swearing-in ceremony held at Raj Bhavan.

Manipur Govt. Likely to Propose to Lift AFSPA from State

In view of the persistent demand from various parties, including the ruling allies, the BJP government in Manipur is likely to propose to the Centre to withdraw the Armed Forces (Special Power) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) from the entire state.
Ruling BJP's two vital allies -- Naga People's Front (NPF) and National People's Party (NPP) -- and the main opposition Congress in Manipur have been demanding to withdraw AFSPA from entire Manipur.

SEBI Names Aarati Krishnan as a Member of MF Advisory Panel

Aarati Krishnan, Editorial Consultant with BusinessLine, was inducted as a member of the Securities & Exchange Board of India's Advisory Committee on Mutual Funds. The committee, chaired by Usha Thorat, former Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, advises SEBI on matters related to mutual fund regulation to ensure investor protection, development of the industry and disclosure requirements. It suggests measures required to be taken to render the legal framework for mutual funds transparent and simple for investors and constituents.
The committee has 24 members comprising CEOs of leading mutual fund houses as well as representatives from academia, exchanges, consumer interest groups, fund trustees, rating agencies, distribution firms and media.

Punjab Cabinet Nod to Amend Coop Audit Service Rules

Keeping in view the larger interest of employees and the administrative need of the Cooperation Department to ensure efficiency in its functioning, the Punjab Cabinet today approved amendment to the Punjab Cooperative Audit (Group-B) Service Rules, 2016.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by CM Charanjit Singh Channi.
The amendment to the provisions due to the restructuring of the department would provide for direct/promotional avenues to the posts of audit officer, superintendent grade 2, senior auditor, inspector audit and senior assistant. After the approval of the officer committee, the restructuring of the department was approved during a Cabinet meeting on December 30, 2020, in which the posts of inspector were reduced from 774 to 654, while those of senior auditor were increased from 32 to 107.

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