General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2018

May 2018

Dec 18, 2021

Metro Man Sreedharan Retires from Active Politics

Less than a year after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala, 'Metro Man' E. Sreedharan announced his retirement from active politics, much to the surprise of the party's state unit.
Celebrated as a chief architect of the Konkan Railway as well as of the Delhi and Kochi Metros, Sreedharan lost the Palakkad seat to sitting MLA Shafi Parambil by 3,859 votes in the Assembly elections in April 2021.

India, Taiwan Start Talks on Free Trade Agreement

India and Taiwan began talks on a free trade pact and creating a semiconductor manufacturing hub in the country as part of efforts to meet the burgeoning demand for the chips needed for products ranging from cellphones to cars.
The two sides set up four groups earlier this year that are focusing on creating a semiconductor manufacturing hub, education and training of highly specialised manpower needed for the industry, a bilateral investment agreement and a free trade agreement.

Arvind Kumar Joins Software Technology Parks of India as DG

Arvind Kumar joined as Director General of Software Technology Parks of India. Software Technology Parks of India is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology Government of India. STPI is fuelling the culture of tech entrepreneurship and innovation in the country by launching 25 + Centres of Entrepreneurship in emerging technology domains.
Currently, STPI-registered units have reached IT/ITeS/ESDM exports of over Rs. 5 lakh crores. STPI is one of the largest tech incubators in India with an area of approx.13 lakh square feet spread across various Tier 1/2/3 cities. STPI is also assisting in the formulation of India BPO Promotion Scheme 2.0. Further to strengthen the electronics sector, STPI has undertaken rolling out of the Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme.

Dec 17, 2021

SC Collegium Approves Appointment of 3 Permanent Judges for Bombay HC

The Supreme Court Collegium approved the proposal for appointment of three additional judges of the Bombay High Court as permanent judges.
The Collegium headed by Chief Justice N. V. Ramana, in a meeting, took the decision and the resolution was uploaded on the apex court website.
The three additional judges of the Bombay High Court whose names have been approved are Madhav Jayajirao Jamdar, Amit Bhalchandra Borkar and Shrikant Dattatray Kulkarni.
In another decision, the Collegium approved the proposal for appointment of additional judge Justice Aniruddha Roy of the Calcutta High Court as permanent judge of that High Court.

Bhutan Confers Highest Civilian Award on PM Modi

Bhutan honoured PM Modi with its highest civilian award, Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo. The honour came as an appreciation for India's friendly approach to Bhutan under PM Modi's governance. During the pandemic, India had extended support to the neighbouring country in the form of vaccines, medicines and other emergency services.
According to PMO Bhutan, 'Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has played an unconditional friendship over the years and has helped immensely during the Coronavirus Pandemic. Before this, the current Prime Minister of India had been accorded the respective top honours of Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Russia, the Maldives, Palestine and Bahrain.

Defence Minister Issues Commemorative Stamp on 50th Vijay Diwas

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh issued a commemorative stamp on the occasion of Swarnim Vijay Diwas at the National War Memorial in the national capital.
Swarnim Vijay Varsh commemorates 50 years of India's victory in the 1971 war and the formation of Bangladesh.
President Ram Nath Kovind witness Bangladesh's 50th Victory Day celebrations in Dhaka as a guest of honour.

Foundational Literacy Index: West Bengal Tops Chart

West Bengal topped the chart and Bihar languished at the bottom in the 'large states' category on the 'Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy', an indicator of literacy among children below 10 years. In the 'small states' category, Kerala grabbed the top spot and Jharkhand was adjudged the worst performer on the index.
There are four categories in which regions have been divided -- large states, small states, Union Territories and North East.
Lakshadweep and Mizoram are top-scoring regions in the Union Territory and Northeast state category, respectively.
The report on the 'Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy' was prepared by 'Institute for Competitiveness' and released by Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) chairman Bibek Debroy.

Sidharth Chattopadhyaya Punjab's New GDP

The Punjab Government appointed Sidharth Chattopadhyaya as Director-General of Police (DGP). The decision to appoint Chattopadhyaya as the new DGP of Punjab, replacing IPS Iqbal Preet Sahota, comes ahead of the Assembly polls in the state.
Siddharth Chattopadhyaya, IPS (PB:1986) DGP, PSPCL, Patiala shall look after the work of Director General of Police, Punjab (HoPF) in addition to his present duties until a fresh appointment is made to the post of Director General of Police, Punjab (HoPF) as per prescribed procedure.

Dec 16, 2021

Amarinder's Punjab Lok Congress Appoints 6 more Districts Presidents

Punjab Lok Congress, Captain Amarinder Singh's new party appointed six more district presidents.
The party had announced 10 district presidents and three spokespersons.
These districts include Barnala, Ferozepur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Hoshiarpur, Sri Muktsar Sahib and Malerkotla.
Gurdarshan Singh Brar has been appointed president from Barnala, Gurcharan Singh Nahar from Ferozepur, Sandeep Singh Bal from Fatehgarh Sahib, Gulshan Rai Passi from Hoshiarpur, Sukhjinder Singh Chahal from Muktsar Sahib and Amjal Ali from Malerkotla.

Noida to Get India's Largest Heliport

The Uttar Pradesh Govt. gave approval for the construction of the upcoming Noida Heliport that is said to be the largest helicopter port in the country under the PPP model. Noida Authority has been working on the project for five years now and its CEO Ritu Maheshwari confirmed the development, saying that the heliport will be based on the upcoming Jewar Airport which will be few kilometres away from the Noida Heliport.

Centre Okays India, Poland Treaty over Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters

India and Poland treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters was approved by the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It will enhance capability and effectiveness of both countries in investigation and prosecution of crimes, including crimes related to terrorism through mutual legal assistance.
The treaty aims to enhance effectiveness of both the countries in investigation and prosecution of crime, through cooperation and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.

Dec 15, 2021

Piyush Goyal Calls for Enhancing Economic Ties between India and Southern African Customs Union

Calling upon neighbouring countries to work together to transform the subcontinent, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that India is becoming the global hub for innovation with the third-largest startup ecosystem.
Addressing "CII: Partnership Summit -Ministerial Meeting" virtually, Goyal said that India is looking for FTAs with like-minded nations with transparency and mutual benefit and growth as key pillars.
He added that India is also reviewing existing Free trade Agreements (FTA)with ASEAN, Japan, Korea to strengthen them and forging enhanced trade alliances with countries like UAE, EU, UK, Israel, Australia, Canada, Russia, Oman and the GCC.
The union minister called for enhancing India's economic ties with the nations of the Southern African Customs Union which consists of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho.
Goyal said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, India has emerged as a source of resilience and a trusted Partner and added that we had tried to the best of our ability to meet all our international service commitments.

Dec 14, 2021

India Retains Membership of International Maritime Organization Council

India retained its membership of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) council and secured 133 votes for it. The membership is for category B which includes 10 countries- Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates. Sates in Category B are with largest interest in international seaborne trade.
The council was elected by the 32nd assembly of IMO, which is being held in London at its headquarters. All 175 Member States and three Associate Members were entitled to attend the IMO Assembly.
India's neighbour Pakistan also stood for the council seat for the first time but failed to garner any support.

Uttar Pradesh has Highest Number of EV Vehicles

Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Karnataka emerged as top three states in terms of registration of electric vehicles in India.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that 870,141 electric vehicles have been registered in India.
Uttar Pradesh (255,700) has the highest registered electric vehicles, followed by Delhi (125,347) and Karnataka (72,544) come in that order.
The fourth and fifth spots are grabbed by Bihar (58,014) and Maharashtra (52,506).
The Ministry of Heavy Industries formulated a scheme namely Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) Scheme in 2015 to promote adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles in the country with an aim to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.

Congress Appoints Navjot Singh Sidhu as Election Committee Chairman

Ahead of the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, Congress named Party`s state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu as the chairman of its Pradesh Election Committee.
The committee includes Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and all the ministers in his government.
Ambika Soni has been appointed as the chairperson of the Election Coordination Committee.

Govt. Opens Helpline to Report Atrocities on SC, STs

The Union government launched the National Helpline Against Atrocities (NHAA) to ensure the proper implementation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and to report any violations.
The toll-free and round-the-clock helpline was launched by Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar.
The helpline will be available in Hindi, English and the regional languages of the respective states and Union territories. The helpline number is 14566.

Himachal Govt. Set up General Category Commission

Himachal Pradesh Govt. announced setting up a Commission for upper castes, on the lines of Madhya Pradesh. The Commission, to be named as 'Samanya Varg Aayog', will be formalised through a legislative enactment in three months' time when the state assembly meets next in February-March 2022 for the budget session of the House. A Scheduled Caste Commission is already in operation in Himachal Pradesh and is chaired by former Shimla MP Virendra Kashyap.

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