General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2018

Nov 2018

Mar 01, 2023

Karnataka and Gujarat are among the Major States Making the Most Progress in Transition to Clean ...

According to a recent assessment from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and Ember, Gujarat and Karnataka are two states that are progressing the fastest in terms of overall preparedness and commitment for the switch to clean electricity.
The paper examines 16 Indian states across four dimensions, which together supply 90% of the nation's yearly electricity needs. The aspects measure a state's readiness to move away from fossil fuel-based energy, its capacity to encourage greener market participation, the dependability of its power system, and its policies supporting the decarbonisation of the power sector. The States' Electricity Transition (SET) scoring system, which evaluates how well each state is doing in making the switch to clean electricity, was created by the report's authors using the results of this investigation.

UK Foreign Secretary in India, to Launch Scheme for Young Professionals

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on 1 March, 2023 held a bilateral meeting with UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, holding discussions on the commencement of the Young Professional Scheme.
During a visit to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi on 1 March, 2023, the Foreign Secretary marked the opening of the Young Professionals Scheme, an ambitious new partnership between the UK and India which allows up 3,000 Brits and 3,000 Indians a year the right to live and work in the other country for up to two years, read a release from the UK Embassy.

Feb 28, 2023

Karnataka, Gujarat Make most Progress in Clean Energy Transition

According to a new joint report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and Ember, Karnataka and Gujarat are the Indian states making the most progress in overall preparedness and commitment in the transition to clean electricity.
The report analysed 16 Indian states, which together account for 90 per cent of the country's annual power requirement, across four dimensions.
The dimensions track a state's preparedness to shift away from fossil fuel-based power, its ability to incentivise greener market participation, its power system's reliability and policies pushing for power sector decarbonisation.

Shailesh Pathak Appointed FICCI Secretary General

Former bureaucrat Shailesh Pathak was appointed as the new Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). He will take charge from March 1.
In a career spanning 37 years, Pathak has spent time in government as an IAS Officer as well as helmed large companies in the private sector. His extensive international exposure includes an Eisenhower Fellowship in 2000 as an emerging Indian Leader, an EU Visitor Program hosted by the European Commission 2003, and a Chevening scholarship at the University of Oxford in 2011.
FICCI also announced that Arun Chawla, Director General, will superannuate on June 30, 2023.
Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by G.D. Birla and Purshottamdas Thakurdas, it is the largest, one of the oldest and the apex business organisation in India. It is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation.

Union Government Approves Renaming of Aurangabad & Osmanabad in Maharashtra

The Modi government's nod to the Maharashtra government's proposal to formally rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad is likely to help the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena score points ahead of civic polls in some of the state's major cities including Aurangabad, scheduled later this year.
The state government had proposed that Aurangabad and Osmanabad — named after Islamic rulers Aurangzeb and Mir Osman Ali Khan — be renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv, respectively.
The move came days after the Election Commission (EC) officially recognised the Shinde-faction as 'Shiv Sena' and allotted it the party's traditional 'bow and arrow' symbol.

Feb 27, 2023

Bhopal Gets State's First Women and Child-friendly Police Station

Madhya Pradesh's first women and child-friendly police station was set up in Jahangirabad, Bhopal.
The newly designed police station has all the basic requirements.
This police station building has been re-designed, with arrangements like a waiting room, reception window, feeding room and place for children to play have been made in the garden for visitors.
This is the first women and child-friendly police station in that state, that provides all the facilities to a mother and her child.

Kerala, UN Women Sign Pact to Boost Women-friendly Activities in Tourism

The Kerala government entered into an agreement with the United Nations (UN) Women to boost women-friendly activities in the State's tourism sector.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Kerala Tourism and UN Women India agreed to work towards promoting gender-inclusive tourism sites in the state.
The MoU was signed by Kerala Tourism Director P. B. Nooh and UN Women India representative Susan Ferguson and it would be implemented by the Responsible Tourism Mission.
As per the pact inked at the first-ever Global Responsible Tourism Summit in Kumarakom, both parties will promote women-friendly tourism in Kerala.

In Nagaland, PM Narendra Modi's 3P Formula for State's Development

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a poll rally in Chumoukedima district to campaign for the February 27 Nagaland assembly elections. The Prime Minister lashed out at the Congress and said that the grand old party remote-controlled Nagaland from Delhi and used the north-eastern states like an ATM.
As per PM Modi, BJP's mantra for Nagaland has been - peace, progress and prosperity and this is the reason why people's trust in BJP is rising. He said that the NDA is striving to bring permanent peace in Nagaland so that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 is completely lifted from the state.

Aramane Giridhar Gets Extension as Defence Secretary

Defence Secretary Aramane Giridhar was given extension in service. Giridhar is a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved his extension in service as Secretary, Department of Defence, beyond the age of superannuation for a period up to October 31, 2024
He was due to retire in June after completing 60 years of superannuation.

Union Minister Inaugurates International Biotech Conclave in Northeast

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh inaugurated the "International Biotech Conclave", the first-ever in Northeast, of such high scale and such futuristic as well as global themes.
He said that for the first time since Independence, the North Eastern Region organised an event involving over 700 International and national delegates, representing over 35 countries from across the world.
"International Bio-resource Conclave" along with the 22nd Congress of the International Society for Ethno-pharmacology and the 10th Congress of Society for Ethno-pharmacology (ISE SFEC-2023) was held from February 24-26, 2023 at the City Convention Centre, Imphal, Manipur with the theme "Reimagine Ethnopharmacology: Globalisation of Traditional Medicine".

Feb 26, 2023

Churchgate Railway Station in Mumbai will Now be Known as First Indian RBI Governor C. D. Deshmukh

The Churchgate railway station in Mumbai will soon be called as 'Chintamanrao Deshmukh station', named after the first governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) C. D. Deshmukh.
The decision was taken at Shiv Sena's national executive meeting where chief minister Eknath Shinde was also appointed the party's mukhya neta.
The move is being perceived as Shinde's attempt to appropriate the legacy of Deshmukh, who was described by Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray as "the only Maharashtra leader in Delhi with self-respect" for stepping down in protest against a Union government proposal to move a bill in Parliament bifurcating Bombay State into Gujarat and Maharashtra, and making the city of Bombay a Union Territory.
As per experts, by renaming Churchgate station after Deshmukh, Shinde wants to send out a loud political message that he cares for the cause of Mumbai and Maharashtra, and is not a pawn in the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government.

NTPC Ranks Top Independent Power Producers

State-run NTPC Limited, which is India's largest power generating company, was ranked top independent power producers and energy traders globally in the S&P Global Commodity Insights Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings-2022.
These rankings are based on four key metrics- asset worth, revenues, profits and return on investment.
With a share of 17 per cent of the installed capacity, NTPC currently contributes 24 per cent of the total electricity produced in India.

Namami Gange Executive Committee Approves 9 Projects

The Namami Gange Executive Committee approved nine Projects, worth over one thousand two hundred Crore rupees for Pollution abatement in Ganga Basin and Ghat Development. Out of these projects, seven pertain to the abatement of pollution in the Ganga Basin and two to ghat development. The decision was taken during the 47th meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under the chairmanship of NMCG Director General G. Asok Kumar.
As per the Ministry of Jal Shakti, under the approved projects various sewage treatment plants and other work will be done to clean the River Ganga, in several states, including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Ghat development in Bihar, one project for the development of Atal Ghat Manjhi, Saran, Bihar was approved at an estimated cost of ten crore rupees.

Feb 25, 2023

Government Approves Five-year Project on 'Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agricu...

In Jammu and Kashmir, in order to give a huge push to sustainable agriculture in the Union Territory, the Government approved a five-year project on "Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agriculture in J&K".
The project, worth Rs. 463 crore, is aimed at empowering farmers and educated youth through technology driven and inclusive agri-extension services.
One of the critical outcomes of the project would be the creation of two thousand Kissan Khidmat Ghars (KKGs), at the Panchayat level as a hub of convergence of services at the district level they will also serve as a One Stop Centre for extending farmer-oriented services related to agriculture and allied sectors.

Another High Profile Exit from Congress

The Congress witnessed another high profile exit with C. R. Kesavan, the great grandson of the last Governor General of India, C. Rajagopalachari, resigning, citing dissipation of values for which he had joined and served the Congress for over 20 years.
Kesavan, a former AICC secretary, was welcomed in his move by Anil Antony, the son of former Defence Minister and Congress veteran A. K. Antony.
Anil Antony had resigned from the Congress, slamming the party's position on the BBC documentary "India: The Modi question."
Kesavan, who served as vice president of the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development at Sriperumbudur in the rank of a state minister, sent a resignation letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on the eve of the AICC's 85th plenary, being held in Raipur.
The timing of Kesavan's resignation could not be worse for a party seeking to unite the opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi when it has been unable to keep its own flock together.

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