General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2018

Dec 2018

Aug 23, 2021

Country's Highest Herbal Park Inaugurated in Uttarakhand

India's highest altitude herbal park situated at a height of 11,000 feet was inaugurated at Mana village close to the Indo-China border in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district.
Mana is the last Indian village in Chamoli bordering China and is adjacent to the famous Himalayan temple of Badrinath.
The research wing of Uttarakhand's forest department has developed the park over three acres of land given by Mana Van panchayat, under the central government's CAMPA, or Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, scheme.
The herbal park has around 40 species found in high altitude alpine areas in the Himalayan region.

Hisar Airport Renamed as Maharaja Agrasen International Airport

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar renamed the Hisar Airport as Maharaja Agrasen International Airport. The Hisar Airport is a domestic airport and the first DGCA licensed Public Aerodrome of the State. This airport is presently under up-gradation to be transformed as an international airport by 30 March 2024.

Tripura Congress Chief Withdraws Resignation

Tripura state Congress president Pijush Kanti Biswas, who earlier resigned and announced to quit politics "for the time being", withdrew his resignation following the request of the party high command.
Congress Working Committee Member and party's Tripura in-charge Ajoy Kumar spoke to Biswas and requested him to withdraw his resignation letter.
Biswas, who was appointed Tripura state president in December 2019 after the former state chief quit the party, intended to quit the Congress six days after the All India Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev left the party and joined Trinamool Congress on August 16.

La Ganesan is Governor of Manipur

Senior BJP leader and former RSS Pracharak La Ganesan was appointed as the Governor of Manipur.
Ganesan is currently a member of BJP`s National Council. He has previously held several posts in BJP including General Secretary of Tamil Nadu BJP unit. Before that, he was an RSS Pracharak.
He is the 17th Governor of Manipur.
The Manipur Governor`s post had fallen vacant after the retirement of Najma Heptulla on August 10. Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad was given additional charge of the state.

Aug 22, 2021

U. Raja Babu is Director of Hyderabad-based Research Centre Imarat

An Outstanding Scientist and Programme Director U. Raja Babu has been appointed as Director of the Hyderabad-based Research Centre Imarat (RCI). RCI is the premier avionics laboratory of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Missile Complex of DRDO in Hyderabad. Raja Babu is renowned for his significant contribution as Programme Director at RCI.
He provided necessary thrust to the design, development and successful demonstration of Ballistic Missile Defence system capabilities. Strengthening indigenous defence capabilities, India's first Anti Satellite Missile Test (A-SAT), 'Mission Shakti' has been successfully demonstrated under his leadership.

Amarinder and Sidhu Agree on 10-member Policy Group

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu agreed to set up a 10-member 'Strategic Policy Group' to ensure better coordination between the ruling party and the state government and to further expedite the implementation of the various government programmes and reform initiatives.
To be headed by the CM, the group constitutes of Local Government Minister Brahm Mohindra, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Social Security Minister Aruna Chaudhary, along with Sidhu and the four working presidents of the party- Kuljit Singh Nagra, Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Sangat Singh Gilzian and Pawan Goel, as well as Pargat Singh.
The 10-member group will hold weekly meetings, in consultation with other ministers, experts etc as may be required.

Aug 21, 2021

Apurva Chandra is Next I&B Secretary

Apurva Chandra, a 1988-batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, has been appointed the secretary of information and broadcasting ministry.
Chandra will succeed Amit Khare, the current higher education secretary who holds the additional charge of the post of I&B secretary. Khare is scheduled to retire in September.
Chandra, a post-graduate in Structural Engineering from IIT Delhi, currently holds the post of labour & employment ministry secretary. "He has a long experience of dealing with issues relating to industries while working in Government of Maharashtra and Government of India.

Supreme Court Collegium Approves Six Permanent Judges of Karnataka HC

The Supreme Court Collegium has approved the proposal for appointment of six Additional Judges of the Karnataka High Court as Permanent Judges.
The Collegium headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana in a meeting okayed the proposal.
The judges who have been made permanent are — Justices Neranahalli Srinivasan Sanjay Gowda, Jyoti Mulimani, Nataraj Rangaswamy, Hemant Chandangoudar, Pradeep Singh Yerur and Maheshan Nagaprasanna.
The present Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court is Abhay Shreeniwas Oka.

Hyderabad to Have 1st Arbitration Centre

An international arbitration and mediation centre, a first in the country, is being set up in Hyderabad. The Centre will undertake commercial arbitration and mediation for which the trust deed was executed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana.

Aug 20, 2021

Cabinet Approves Ratification of Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol

Months ahead of major climate change talks in UK, the Union Cabinet has approved ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol - a major step towards for phase down of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) substances that are known to add to green house gas emissions.
The amendment -which India will now ratify - was adopted by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on October, 2016 at 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol held in Kigali, Rwanda.
The Kigali Amendment aims to phase-down hydrofluorocarbons(HFCs) by curbing both their production and consumption. Though HFCs don't impact the ozone layer, they are powerful greenhouse gases. HFCs are used as replacements for hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are ozone-depleting gases.
The amendment entered into force on 1 January 2019.
With the Kigali Amendment, the Montreal Protocol will be an even more powerful instrument against global warming. The amendment aims to achieve over 80% reduction in HFC consumption by 2047, which will curb a global increase of temperature by up to 0.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

India-Bangladesh: Cabinet Approves MoU on Disaster Management

Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Disaster Management between India and Bangladesh that was signed in March, 2021.
MoU was signed between National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Ministry of Home Affairs of India and Ministry of Disaster Management & Relief of Bangladesh.
MoU involves Cooperation in the field of Disaster Management, Resilience and Mitigation.
MoU was signed to put in place a system where both India and Bangladesh will be benefited from Disaster Management mechanisms of each other. MoU will help in strengthening preparedness, response and capacity building in the area of Disaster Management.

Aug 19, 2021

Aligarh to be Renamed Harigarh

Uttar Pradesh city Aligarh may soon have a new name if a proposal of the district panchayat is accepted by the Uttar Pradesh government. The Zila Panchayat during a meeting unanimously passed a proposal to rename the city to Harigarh.
The president of the district unit of Uttar Pradesh Kshatriya Mahasabha, Shailendra Pal Singh, had presented the resolution demanding Aligarh's name change.

Envoys of 4 Nations Present Credentials to President Kovind

President Ram Nath Kovind received credentials from four envoys, including those of Austria and the Republic of Korea, in a virtual ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated the envoys on their appointment and conveyed his good wishes to them for a successful tenure in India.
Those who presented their credentials were Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See, Ahmed Sule, High Commissioner of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Katharina Wieser, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria, and Chang Jae-bok, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea.
President Kovind noted that India enjoyed close ties with all of them and shared a common vision of peace and prosperity.

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