General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2018

Nov 2018

Sep 30, 2022

Cabinet Approves MoU with Bangladesh on Water Withdrawal

The Union Cabinet gave its ex post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bangladesh on withdrawal of up to 153 cusecs of water by both the countries from the border River Kushiyara.
The MoU was signed earlier in September between the Ministry of Jal Shakti and Bangladesh's Ministry of Water Resources on withdrawal of water during the dry season from November 1 to May 31 for their consumptive water requirement.
The MoU would enable Assam to withdraw water from the common stretch of the river.

Amit Shah Attends Formation Day of National Disaster Management Authority

Union Home Minister Amit Shah attended the 18th Formation Day of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The Home Minister was the chief guest at the event held at Vigyan Bhawan where he addressed the gathering of NDMA officers and others. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla was also present at the event.
On December 23, 2005, the Government of India enacted the Disaster Management Act which envisaged the creation of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the Prime Minister, and State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) headed by respective Chief Ministers, to spearhead and implement a holistic and integrated approach to Disaster Management in India.

Sep 29, 2022

Govt. Bans PFI, 8 Associates for Five Years

The Centre banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) for five years under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA, accusing the Islamic outfit of having "links" with global terror groups such as the ISIS and and trying to spread communal hatred in the country.
The PFI's eight associates--Rehab India Foundation, Campus Front of India, All India Imams Council, National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation, National Women's Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala -- were also placed in the list of the organisations outlawed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The ban for alleged terror activities came after the National Investigating Agency(NIA), the Enforcement Directorate(ED) and various state police forces carried out raids in a massive pan-India crackdown on the PFI twice in the recent days.

R. Venkataramani is as New Attorney General of India

Senior advocate R. Venkataramani was appointed as the new Attorney General (AG) of India by President Droupadi Murmu for a period of three years. Venkataramani succeeded K. K. Venugopal, whose term came to end on September 30.
With over four decades of practice at the Supreme Court, Mr. Venkataramani has specialised in Constitutional law, law of indirect taxes, human rights law, civil and criminal law.
His appointment came just days after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi declined the government's offer to become the next AG.
Rohtagi had earlier served the post for three years and stepped down in June 2017. K. K. Venugopal had succeeded him and was appointed for a three-year term.

Himachal Congress President Harsh Mahajan Joins BJP Ahead of Assembly Polls

Already battling a leadership crisis, the opposition Congress got a shock in poll-bound Himachal as Harsh Mahajan, a former cabinet minister and currently the state working president, quit the party and joined BJP.
Mahajan, broke off half-a-century old association with Congress, joined the saffron party in Delhi where he was welcomed by BJP national president JP Nadda in presence of Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
Mahajan, who inherited politics from his father Des Raj Mahajan, a former Vidhan Sabha speaker and cabinet minister, joined Congress back in 1972.

Sep 28, 2022

Chandigarh Airport to be Named after Bhagat Singh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Chandigarh airport would be renamed after Shaheed Bhagat Singh as a tribute to the great freedom fighter. Punjab & Haryana governments had last month (Aug 2022) agreed to name the airport after freedom fighter Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh. The Rs. 485-crore airport project is a joint venture of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), and the governments of Punjab and Haryana.

Vinayak Godse to Take over as New CEO of Data Security Council of India

Premier industry body Data Security Council of India (DSCI), setup by NASSCOM, promoted its senior vice president Vinayak Godse and appointed him as the new CEO. Godse would be taking over from Rama Vedashree who led DSCI for more than six years. Vedashree was also part of the Justice B.N. Srikrishna committee which was appointed to recommend a framework for the Personal Data Protection Bill in the country.
Godse will be taking over as the CEO from October 1. The decision was taken by a selection committee of the DSCI Board chaired by former DSCI chairman N. Balakrishnan, current chairman Rajendra S Pawar, NASSCOM President, and other board members.
Godse has been associated with DSCI since inception and has over 27 years experience in information security, IT transformation, intelligent networking, and telecom infrastructure.

Indian Govt. Appoints Bandaru Wilsonbabu as Indian Ambassador to Madagascar

IFS officer Bandaru Wilsonbabu, presently joint secretary in the ministry of external affairs, was appointed as the next ambassador of India to the Republic of Madagascar.
Wilsonbabu would replace ambassador Abhay Kumar.
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately 400 kilometres off the coast of East Africa across the Mozambique Channel. At 592,800 square kilometres Madagascar is the world's second-largest island country, after Indonesia.

Sep 27, 2022

Chhattisgarh Government to Launch a Campaign 'Hamar Beti - Hamar Maan'

The Chhattisgarh government announced that it will launch a special campaign for protection and safety of girls and women and provide them essential services. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said a campaign called 'Hamar Beti – Hamar Maan' (our daughters, our honour) will be launched.
Under the campaign, lady police officers and personnel will visit schools and colleges in the state to hold discussions and give guidance on legal rights, good touch-bad touch and preventive measures against sexual harassment and exploitation, cybercrime and social media-related crime, to girl students.
A helpline number will also be issued under the Hamar Beti Hamar Maan campaign. Details on the women's safety app and its use will also be shared with the school- and college-going girls.

Rural Development Ministry Develops "JALDOOT App" to Measure Water Level of Wells

Ministry of Rural Development has developed "JALDOOT App" that will be used across the country to capture the water level of selected wells in a village.
The JALDOOT App will enable Gram Rojgar Sahayak (GRS) to measure the water level of selected wells twice a year (pre-monsoon and post-monsoon). In every village, adequate number of measurement locations (2-3) shall need to be selected. These will be representative of the ground water level in that village.
The country has taken many steps for improvement of water management both in the rural and urban areas, through watershed development, afforestation, water body development and renovation, rainwater harvesting and so on.

Azad Launches 'Democratic Azad Party'

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad launched his regional party called the Democratic Azad Party (DAP) and appealed the people in both Jammu division and the Kashmir Valley to dismantle artificial walls being created between them, as they have depended on each other for centuries.
Azad, who quit the Congress exactly a month ago, said that programmes and policies of his party will get people freedom from corruption, unemployment and nepotism.

Centre Launches Indigenously-developed Aviation Fuel AVGAS 100 LL

The government launched the indigenously-developed AVGAS 100 LL, a special aviation fuel meant for piston engine aircrafts and unmanned ariel vehicles.
It has been developed by Indian Oil Corporation.
Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, launched the fuel at Hindon air base.
Currently, India is importing this product from European countries.
The domestic production of AVGAS 100 LL, produced by Indian Oil at its Gujarat refinery will make flying training more affordable in India.

Sep 26, 2022

Senior IAS officer Rajendra Kumar Appointed ESIC Director General

Senior bureaucrat Rajendra Kumar was appointed the director general of the Employees' State Insurance Corporation, as part of a senior-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre.
Kumar, a 1992-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, is currently an additional secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Sanjai Kumar Appointed as New Chairman & MD of Railtel

RailTel Corporation of India announced that its board approved the appointment of Sanjai Kumar as chairman & managing director of the company.
Sanjai has over 29 years of experience of working as an officer of IRSSE including over 20 years of experience of managing projects and marketing departments in the company.
He is an officer of the Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE1). He was currently working as director of networking, planning & marketing at the company.

K. Raja Prasad Reddy Elected INS President

K. Raja Prasad Reddy of Telugu media group Sakshi was elected president of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for 2022-23. He succeeded Mohit Jain of the Economic Times. INS, the apex body of publishers of newspapers, magazines and periodicals in the country, also elected Aaj Samaj's Rakesh Sharma as deputy president and Mathrubhumi Arogya Masika's M. V. Shreyams Kumar as vice-president. Amar Ujala's Tanmay Maheshwari was named the honorary treasurer of the Society for 2022-23.
The secretary general of the society is Mary Paul.

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