General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2018

Nov 2018

Jun 27, 2022

Parameswaran Iyer, Force Behind Swachh Bharat Success, Named NITI Aayog CEO

After a six-year-long stint, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant is set to leave the government policy think tank at the end of June. He will be replaced by former Secretary of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation Parameswaran Iyer, who spearheaded the government's Swachh Bharat Mission.
Iyer's initial tenure will be for two years, according to a notification issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.
A 1980-batch retired IAS officer (Kerala cadre), Kant took over as the NITI Aayog CEO in 2016 — he last got an extension, by a year, in June 2021. During his time at the organisation, Kant drove the policy push in areas related to industrial development, technology and investment. He is seen as having played a key role in the government's flagship 'Make in India' scheme and was also behind the Aspirational Districts Programme, which was targetted at improving the socio-economic outcomes in some of the most backward districts.

BJP's Tripura Ally IPFT to Merge with Tipra Motha ahead of Assembly Polls

The Indigenous People's Front of Tripura, an ally of the BJP in the North-eastern state, will merge with a regional political party Tipra Motha on July 2 ahead of the State Assembly elections due next year.
The Tipra Motha, headed by royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, demands a separate state for the indigenous people of Tripura.
IPFT vice-president Jibanjoy Reang said that after a long discussion, we have decided to merge with Tipra Motha at a programme in Agartala on July 2 to realise the dream of achieving Greater Tipraland.
The Tipra Motha, formed early last year, swept the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections took place in April 2021, winning 18 of the 28 seats over the 'Greater Tipraland' demand in a direct contest with the ruling BJP-IPFT alliance.

Govt. Issues New ad for Chief of Oil Regulator PNGRB, Vacant since Dec. 2020

The government for a second time in as many years re-advertised the post of chairman of oil and gas regulator PNGRB, which has been lying vacant since December 2020.
The oil ministry issued an advertisement inviting applications for the post of chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).
The post of chairman of PNGRB has been lying vacant since December 4, 2020, when Dinesh K. Sarraf completed his three-year term.

Eknath Shinde-led Rebel MLAs Name their Faction 'Shiv Sena Balasaheb'

The Shiv Sena rebel MLAs of Eknath Shinde faction named their group as 'Shiv Sena Balasaheb'.
Former Minister of State for Home and rebel MLA Deepak Kesarkar told that Eknath Shinde-led MLAs formed a new group 'Shiv Sena Balasaheb'.
The decision came at a time when Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was holding the executive meeting of Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government continues to be in a combative mode with 38 of its rebel MLAs camping in Guwahati.

Tapan Kumar Deka Made IB Chief, Samant Goel Gets another Year as R&AW Chief

Senior IPS officer Tapan Kumar Deka was appointed Intelligence Bureau chief, replacing Arvind Kumar whose extended tenure ends on June 30.
Deka, who has been handling the operations wing of the IB, takes over as the new chief for two years, according to an official order issued by the Personnel Ministry. He is a 1988 batch officer from the Himachal Pradesh cadre.

Jun 26, 2022

Shyam Saran is President of India International Centre

Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran took over as the new president of the India International Centre. He succeeded N. N. Vohra.
The President of the India International Centre is elected once in five years from among the Life Trustees following the time-honoured principle of rotation of the presidency. N. N. Vohra completed his five-year presidential tenure in June. Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran, Life Trustee, who was next in line in the inter se seniority of Life Trustees, was unanimously elected by the Board as the new President.
Saran has also served as Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Nuclear Affairs and Climate Change. Saran was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award of India, in 2011 for his contributions in the field of civil service.

Ranjit Bajaj Named as Chairman of the Advisory Committee Overseeing AIFF

Entrepreneur Ranjit Bajaj was named chairman of advisory committee to assist the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) which is running the day-to-day affairs of All India Football Federation (AIFF). Bajaj, who owned former I-League club Minerva Punjab before it was sold to RoundGlass in 2020, will be the chairman of the advisory committee and integrity matters.
The 12-member advisory committee was appointed by the CoA to oversee the day-to-day matters of various departments of the AIFF. The advisory committee will send regular reports to all the members of the CoA for their information and approvals, if required.
The CoA took charge of the AIFF last month after the Supreme Court removed the Praful Patel-led office bearers for not holding elections on time. Patel had exceeded his tenure of 12 years as AIFF chief.
The CoA has been tasked to amend the AIFF constitution in line with the National Sports Code and hold elections.
A seven-member joint team of the world football governing body FIFA and its Asian unit AFC is currently visiting India to help find a solution to the impasse.

AIIMS Delhi Director Randeep Guleria Gets another Three-month Extension

The tenure of AIIMS New Delhi director Dr. Randeep Guleria was extended by another three months.
Dr. Guleria was appointed as the director for a term of five years on March 28, 2017.
Before his tenure was to end on March 24, it was extended by three months till June 24.

India, China Discuss Return of Students, Resumption of Direct Flights

India and China discussed the return of thousands of Indian students stranded at home for two years due to Beijing's COVID-19 bans and resumption of direct flights disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The vexed issue of the return of the Indian students figured in the talks between Indian Ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Foreign Minister Wang also referred to discussions on the resumption of direct flight connectivity between the two sides.

Jun 25, 2022

J&K to Host G-20 Meeting in 2023

In a significant development, Jammu and Kashmir will be hosting the 2023 meetings of G-20, an influential grouping that brings together the world's major economies, with the Union Territory government setting up a five-member high level committee for overall coordination.
This will be the first major international summit to be held in Jammu and Kashmir after the erstwhile state's special status guaranteed under Article 370 of the Constitution was withdrawn and it was divided into two union territories in August 2019.
India will hold the G20 presidency from December 1, 2022, and will convene the G20 leaders' summit in 2023 for the first time.

Rajasthan Takes Pole Position for Health Insurance Coverage

The Rajasthan government's focus on the health sector took the state to top position in the country in regard to health insurance coverage.
The National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) states 88 per cent of the households have at least one member covered by a health scheme or health insurance in Rajasthan. The national figure is 41 per cent.
In NFHS-4 (2015-16), the health insurance coverage of households in Rajasthan was 19 per cent while it was 29 per cent for India.
This happened mainly due to the initiative of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, whose priority is to ensure all citizens of the state can avail themselves of free treatment at a hospital near them. He launched a health insurance scheme called Mukhyamantri Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojna on May 1, 2021.

Suspend Fencing: Manipur to Centre after Protests on Myanmar Border Demarcation

The Manipur government asked the Union Home Ministry to suspend the border fencing project on a stretch of the Indo-Myanmar border after fresh protests near Kangla Fort in state capital Imphal over the boundary demarcation between border pillars (BP) 81 and 82.
He also asked the Centre to depute a team of officials from the home ministry and Survey of India to hold a thorough discussion regarding position of the disputed BPs while border fencing continues in other undisputed areas.

Jun 24, 2022

PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates Vanijya Bhawan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new premises of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Vanijya Bhawan in the national capital. The Vanijya Bhawan, which is constructed near the India Gate, is designed as a smart building which incorporates the principles of sustainable architecture with a special focus on energy saving. It will serve as an integrated and modern office complex that will be used by the two Departments under the Ministry, the Department of Commerce and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
As per reports, the Prime Minister also launched a new portal-- National Import-Export Record for Yearly Analysis of Trade (NIRYAT).
NIRYAT is developed as a one-stop platform for the stakeholders to get all the necessary information related to India`s foreign trade.

Delhi LG Vinai Kumar Saxena Suspends Deputy Secretary in CM Arvind Kejriwal's Office, 2 SDMs

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena ordered the suspension of the deputy secretary in Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal`s office and two sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) over corruption charges. Prakash Chandra Thakur posted as deputy secretary in the Chief Minister`s office, Vasant Vihar SDM Harshit Jain, and Vivek Vihar SDM Devender Sharma were suspended and disciplinary proceedings were ordered against them. The lieutenant governor had ealier also suspended two assistant engineers of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) after finding lapses in the construction of EWS flats in Kalkaji Extension.

Jun 23, 2022

Ration Card Portability Implemented across India with Assam Being Last to Operationalise

The government's 'One Nation, One Ration Card' (ONORC) programme was successfully implemented across the country, with Assam being the last state to operationalise the service. Under ONORC, beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) can get their quota of subsidised foodgrains from any electronic point of sale device (ePoS)-enabled fair price shops of their choice by using their existing ration cards with biometric authentication.
According to the Food Ministry, ration card portability has significantly contributed in ensuring subsidised foodgrains to NFSA beneficiaries, especially migrant beneficiaries, during the last two years of Covid-19 pandemic.
Currently, a monthly average of about 3 crore portable transactions are being recorded, delivering the subsidised NFSA and free PMGKAY (Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana) foodgrains with anywhere flexibility to the beneficiaries.

Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Heading Towards Dissolution

Amid the intensifying political crisis in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut hinted at the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly.
Back-to-back meetings of Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP are taking place in Mumbai over the rapidly changing political developments in the state.
This came after 40 Maharashtra MLAs including 33 Shiv Sena and seven independent MLAs exhorted their support to rebel Shiv Sena leader and state Cabinet Minister Eknath Shinde by signing a letter.

R. Kavita Rao Appointed as Director of NIPFP

Eminent economist R. Kavita Rao took charge as the director of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) for a five-year term.
Rao replaced Pinaki Chakraborty.
Rao was working as a professor at NIPFP. She holds a Masters in Economics degree from Delhi School of Economics and a PhD from Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Calcutta.

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