General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2018

Nov 2018

Aug 01, 2022

Bengal Inks MoU with Maharashtra to Prevent Migration, Trafficking of Women

The West Bengal government inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government to prevent migration and trafficking of women since a lot of movement of people takes place between the two states.
West Bengal Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Minister Dr. Shashi Panja said that to help save children from being trafficked and fall prey to other forms of cyber abuse, the state is telling students and heads of colleges and universities to build awareness about the online menace of cyberbullying, trafficking and other forms of abuses among the students.

Pranay Kumar Verm Named as New High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh

Pranay Kumar Verma, an experienced diplomat and IFS official from the 1994 batch, was named as India's next High Commissioner to Bangladesh. He is currently the ambassador of India to Vietnam. The Delhi-based Ministry of External Affairs made this announcement.
Verma will succeed incumbent Vikram Doraiswami.
Doraiswami is set to assume charge as Indian High Commissioner to the UK.
Indian High Commissioner to the UK Gaitri Issar Kumar retired from service on 30 June. Sandeep Arya, presently serving as additional secretary in the MEA, was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Vietnam.

West Bengal to Get 7 New Districts, Total Tally Reaches 30

Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, announced that the state would get 7 new districts. With this, the total number of districts in West Bengal has now gone up to 30.
Earlier there were 23 districts in Bengal, now it has been increased to 30. The seven new districts include Sunderban, Ichhamati, Ranaghat, Bishnupur, Jangipur, Behrampur, and one more district will be named.
The announcement about the formation of seven new districts came while the chief minister declared that a reshuffle was on the cards, with four to five new faces expected to get inducted into the council of ministers.

Public Grievance Redressal Time Reduced to 30 Days

Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that the time for redressal of public grievances received on an online portal was reduced from 45 to 30 days.
This decision was taken in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's emphasis on effective implementation of public grievance redressal mechanism with disposal of grievance within minimum possible time, but with maximum possible satisfaction of the complainant.
An order issued by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievance (DARPG) also stated that a complaint received from a citizen would not be closed until an appeal filed against it is disposed of.

Amit Shah Inaugurates Development Projects, Attend National Conference on Drug Trafficking

Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the two-day-long NCB national conference on Drug Trafficking and National Security at Punjab Raj Bhavan, Chandigarh. Shah also inaugurated several developmental projects.
The national conference was addressed by Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Union Territory Administrator Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Ministers of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.
As a part of the conference, NCB destroyed thousands of kilograms of drugs at its various centres.

Kerala Tops in Holding Assembly Sittings in 2021

Kerala, which slipped to the eighth slot in holding the sittings of the State Assembly during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, got back to the first place in 2021, with its House sitting for 61 days, the highest for any State.
The southern state's showing in 2021 was impressive as the year saw the more virulent second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, between 2016 and 2019, it had the distinction of remaining at the top with an average of 53 days.
Making the findings in its study on the functioning of State Assemblies for 2021, the PRS Legislative Research (PRS), stated that for the year in question, Odisha followed Kerala with 43 sitting days; Karnataka - 40 and Tamil Nadu - 34 days. But for the top three states, the average number of sitting days of State legislatures would have been far lower than the present figure of 21 days. Of the 28 State Assemblies and one Union Territory's legislature, 17 met for less than 20 days. Of them, five — Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Delhi — met for less than 10 days.

Point 5140 at Dras sector named as Gun Hill to Mark Victory of Indian Armed Forces during Operati...

To mark the victory and sacrifices of the Indian Armed Forces during Operation Vijay, Point 5140 at Dras in Kargil sector was renamed as Gun Hill.
Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army, with lethal and accurate firepower, was able to have a telling effect on the enemy troops and their defences including Point 5140, which was the key factor in the early completion of operations.
On behalf of the Regiment of Artillery, a wreath was laid by Lieutenant General TK Chawla, Director General of Artillery at Kargil War Memorial, Dras, along with Veteran Gunners who had participated in the operation.
The ceremony was conducted in the presence of Veterans from all Artillery Regiments, which got the honour title "KARGIL" in Operation Vijay. Serving Officers of the Gunner fraternity were also present on the occasion.

Chhattisgarh CM flags off 'Mukhyamantri Mahtari Nyay Rath' to Make Women aware of Rights

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on flagged off the 'Mukhyamantri Mahtari Nyay Rath' with the aim of making the women of the state aware of their constitutional rights and laws.
The CM also administered the oath of protection, justice and empowerment of women on this occasion. The chariots flagged off will travel through the districts informing people about legal provisions of women, constitutional rights etc through shorts films, brochures.
Each chariot will have two lawyers, who will listen to the grievances of women and provide information and advice. Women will also be able to submit their applications for resolution of their grievances to the Women's Commission through these chariots.

Jul 31, 2022

Government Eyes Guinness Record with 'Azadi Mahotsav'

From August 1, all 1.6 lakh post offices in India will facilitate the sale of the Tricolour. The government aims for at least 20 crore, nearly 65 per cent of Indian households, to hoist the flag on their residential premises between August 13 and 15 under the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign. Private flag hoisting by citizens is a major part of the government's push for a Guinness World Record for the ongoing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.
The government issued a circular saying spending by companies for Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, including on mass scale production, procurement, supply of the national flag, outreach and related activities would qualify as Corporate Social Responsibility activities under the Companies Act, 2013.

Delhi's Each Assembly Constituency to be Divided into Minimum 3 Wards during Delimitation

Each assembly constituency in Delhi will be divided into a minimum of three wards during the delimitation exercise to be carried out in the national capital before the municipal polls are conducted.
Officials said that the estimated population in each ward after the delimitation is likely to be between 65,000 and 67,000.
The three erstwhile municipal corporations in Delhi comprised 272 wards – 104 each in the North and South corporations, and 64 in the East. According to civic officials, on average there used to be four wards in each assembly constituency earlier.
As per Delimitation Committee Chairman Vijay Dev, the process of delimitation of 250 wards in Delhi has been undertaken based on the 2011 census data.

Jul 30, 2022

Govt. Launches 11th Agricultural Census 2021-22

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the eleventh agricultural census to collect data on various parameters, including operational holdings.
For the first time, the data would be collected through smartphones and tablets.
The fieldwork of the Eleventh Agricultural Census (2021-22) will start in August 2022, said the agriculture ministry.
Agriculture Census is conducted every 5 years, which is being undertaken now after a delay due to corona pandemic.
The ministry is implementing an agriculture census scheme from 1970-71. The tenth edition of the census was conducted with the reference year 2015-16.

Those above 17 Years but Not yet 18 can Register to be Voters

In an effort to ensure greater participation of youth in polls, the Election Commission has decided that those above 17 years of age can now apply in advance to register as voters once they turn 18.
Till recently, people turning 18 on or before January 1 of a particular year were eligible to enrol themselves in the voters' list. Those turning 18 after January 1 had to wait for one whole year to register as voters.
Following change in election law, people can resister as voters on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 on turning 18.
According to an EC statement, the poll panel led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey has directed the poll machinery in the states to work out tech-enabled solutions to facilitate those above 17 years of age (but not yet 18) to file their advance applications.

Punjab, WB, Kerala among 9 States to Refuse Consent to CBI

Nine states, including Punjab, have not given general consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register and investigate offences. The other states were Mizoram, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Jharkhand and Meghalaya, Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh said in the Rajya Sabha in reply to a question by Shiv Sena MP Anil Desai.
The Maharashtra leader had asked whether prior consent of the state government was necessary for each and every crime that the Union Government proposed to hand over to any central agency. He had also sought details of the number of states that had agreed or disagreed. Jitendra Singh said the CBI had the power to investigate offences notified in the union territories only and the Centre could extend the jurisdiction to other areas, including railway areas and states. But states had to give consent.
However, in case the Supreme Court and High Courts entrusted matters for investigation to the CBI, there was no requirement for any notification conveying consent.

Jul 29, 2022

Hundreds Join Naga Solidarity Walk for Unity and Peace

Hundreds of Nagas from different states – Assam, Arunachal, Manipur and Nagaland joined the Global Naga Forum (GNF) organised two-day "Naga Solidarity Walk", on the theme "One People, One Destiny".
The walk commenced from Kohima, and culminate in Senapati Town in Manipur covering a distance of 81 km.
Addressing the flagging off programme, Adviser of GNF and President Overseas Naga Association, Dr. Visier Sanyu said while Naga people are deeply divided, the walk is a common journey to unite the Nagas as one and to defend the Naga history and land with the right spirit.
This is the first leg of a people's relay for unity and peace among Nagas, while GNF will conduct more such walks to reach out to Nagas in other states and country.

European Investment Bank Joins India-led Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union (EU), joined the India-led Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) as part of efforts to limit damage caused by climate change.
EIB will work with national governments, UN agencies, multilateral development banks and the private sector that are part of CDRI to promote the rapid development of infrastructure resilient to climate change and natural disasters around the world.
The European development bank intends to work with CDRI members to take forward EU initiatives to achieve sustainable global connectivity, such as the Global Gateway, and climate action initiatives such as the EU Green Deal. EIB also announced plans to double its annual investments in India in the next two years.

Jul 28, 2022

MHA Launches Common Web Portal for Recommendation of Awards

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) launched a common portal for recommendations and nominations of all official awards, including the Padma awards, to ensure transparency and partnership.
The "Rashtriya Puraskar" portal facilitates every citizen or organisation to nominate for various awards instituted by the Government of India.
The portal has been developed to bring all awards of various ministries, departments and agencies of the Government of India on a common platform to ensure transparency and public partnership.

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