General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2018

Dec 2018

Aug 18, 2021

J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha Launches PROOF App

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha unveiled a mobile application named PROOF, to bring more transparency and accountability in the governance system. PROOF stands for 'Photographic Record of On-site Facility'. The main objective of this app is to monitor the work progress of all the projects allocated to different departments of the UT and ensure timely completion of these projects.
The app will give a complete pictorial view of the work along with its geographical coordinates, i.e. latitude and longitude and user comments on work progress
As per the new rules of the UT government, no bills shall be entertained in the treasury unless photographs of projects are uploaded.
In order to get the bills passed, it will be mandatory to upload geo-tagged photographs to bring in more transparency and accountability in the system.

Sonia Appoints Netta D'Souza as Acting Chief of Women Wing

A day after Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev quit the party and joined the Trinamool Congress, Sonia Gandhi appointed Netta D'Souza as acting president of the party's women wing.
Dev resigned two days after she met Sonia Gandhi and former party chief Rahul Gandhi along with the newly appointed Assam Congress team.
Dev is daughter of former Union Minister late Santosh Mohan Dev. She was elected to the Lok Sabha from Silchar parliamentary constituency in 2014.

India Welcomes ASEAN Consensus on Myanmar

India chaired a closed UN Security Council meeting on Myanmar and welcomed the ASEAN five-point consensus.
The ASEAN five-point consensus states that there shall be an immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar and all parties shall exercise utmost restraint; constructive dialogue among all parties concerned shall commence to seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people.
It said a special envoy of the ASEAN Chair shall facilitate mediation of the dialogue process, with the assistance of the secretary-general of ASEAN; ASEAN shall provide humanitarian assistance through the AHA Centre (ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management); and the special envoy and delegation shall visit Myanmar to meet all parties concerned.

Evacuation of Embassy Personnel from Kabul to India Completed

India said that the evacuation of its embassy staff from Kabul has been completed and the focus now would be to ensure the safe return of all Indian nationals from the Afghan capital in view of the prevailing situation in the country.
India has brought back the Indian ambassador and all staff members from its embassy in Kabul in two military transport aircraft in the wake of escalating tension and deteriorating security situation in the Afghan capital after its takeover by the Taliban.
As per the MEA, the immediate priority for the government is to obtain accurate information about all Indian nationals currently staying in Afghanistan.

Collegium Recommends 9 Names to Centre for Appointment as SC Judges

The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana ended the nearly-two-year-long logjam by recommending nine names for appointment as judges in the apex court.
With the retirement of Justice RF Nariman in August, the strength of judges in the top court had come down to 25 as against the sanctioned strength of 34, including the CJI. Significantly, no appointment has been made after the superannuation of the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi on March 19, 2019.
The five-member collegium, which also comprises Justices UU Lalit, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao, has sent three names of woman judges, including Justice BV Nagarathna from the Karnataka High Court who could become the first woman CJI.
Besides Justice Nagarathna, two other women judges picked for the appointment are Justice Hima Kohli, the Chief Justice of Telangana High Court, and Justice Bela Trivedi, a Gujarat High Court judge.
The other names are Justices Abhay Shreeniwas Oka (Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court), Vikram Nath (Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court), Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari (Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court), CT Ravi Kumar (a judge in Kerala High Court) and MM Sundersh (also a judge in Kerala High Court).

Retired Colonel Ajay Kothiyal AAP's CM Candidate in Uttarakhand

Retired colonel Ajay Kothiyal will be Aam Aadmi Party's Chief Ministerial candidate in Uttarakhand where assembly election is due early next year, announced AAP covener Arvind Kejriwal.
Kejriwal said that the decision to pick Kothiyal as the party's CM face was based on the feedback received from people who were fed up with politicians helming the state.
Colonel Ajay Kothiyal, KC, SC, VSM (Retd) is a former officer of the Indian Army. He has a non-profit trust, "Youth Foundation" which trains young boys and girls from Uttarakhand to join the Indian army.

Aug 17, 2021

HCL Foundation Launches 'My e-Haat' Portal to Empower Artisans

HCL Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of HCL Technologies has launched an online portal, 'My e-Haat', to empower artisans and strengthen the value chain of the handicraft sector in the country. The platform will enable artisans and primary producers to conduct their business, by listing and showcasing their products directly to customers, thereby minimising the informal intermediaries and the long supply chains. Currently, more than 30 partners from eight states with over 600 products are listed on the portal.
The My E-Haat initiative will be a one-of-a-kind model (A2C) where artisans will directly connect with the customer for years to come. This portal would help in bringing the talent of skilled craftsmen from across the country to the world. It will also increase their recognition, appreciation and remuneration.

Congress Leader Sushmita Dev Quits

Congress leader and the party's women's wing chief Sushmita Dev has quit the party and sent her resignation letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi.
Soon after submitting her resignation, former party MP Sushmita Dev joined Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal.
She was inducted to the party in the presence of TMC leaders and MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O'Brien.

Narendra Singh Tomar Inaugurates World's Second-largest Refurbished Gene Bank

Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the world's second-largest refurbished state-of-the-art National Gene Bank at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Pusa, New Delhi.

Navjot Singh Sidhu Appoints Pargat Singh as PPCC General Secretary

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Navjot Singh Sidhu appointed Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh as Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) general secretary (Organisation). The announcement of Singh's appointment comes days after Sidhu appointed four advisors.
Former hockey captain-turned-politician Pargat Singh, who is considered a close confidant of Sidhu, was earlier associated with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which he quit to join the Congress.

Afghanistan Crisis: India Introduces New Emergency X-Misc Visa

The Government of India (GoI) has introduced a new category of electronic visa called "e-Emergency X-Misc Visa" to fast-track visa applications for entry into India amid the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.
The announcement was made two days after the Taliban captured power in Afghanistan. Thousands of Afghans had rushed into Kabul's main airport, some so desperate to escape the Taliban that they held onto a military jet as it took off and plunged to their deaths.

Aug 16, 2021

BJP to Fight Gujarat Elections under CM Vijay Rupani's Leadership

Amid speculation over a change of leadership in the Gujarat government, state unit president of the ruling BJP, C. R. Paatil, said that the party will contest the next year's Assembly elections under the leadership of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel.

Chhattisgarh to Have 4 New Districts

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel greeted people on the country's 75th Independence Day and announced the creation of four new districts in the state as well as development of parks exclusively for women in all districts of the state.
The CM also said that steps taken to curb the Naxal menace in the state were "showing encouraging results".
"Taking the process of decentralisation further, four new districts will be created - namely Mohla-Manpur, Sakti, Sarangarh-Bilaigarh and Manendragarh, while 18 new tehsils will also be formed", Baghel said.
The four new districts will take the total number of administrative districts in the state to 32.

Panel Shortlists 48 SC Lawyers for Posts of HC Judge

A committee set up by the Supreme Court Bar Association has shortlisted names of 48 lawyers of the top court to be considered for elevation as judges to 17 High Courts.
The panel has shortlisted nine names for the Allahabad High Court; six for the Punjab and Haryana HC; five each for the Patna HC and the Calcutta HC; three each for the HCs of Delhi, Gauhati, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand; two each for the Bombay HC and the Madras HC; and one each for the HCs of Manipur, Kerala, Rajasthan, Telangana, Orissa, Karnataka and J&K.
The entire exercise was conducted over six meetings via videoconferencing in which names of 69 advocates were considered and finally 48 of them were shortlisted.

Meghalaya Home Minister Resigns

After the encounter of a former leader of banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), Meghalaya Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui resigned from his post.
He was appointed Home Minster in February 2020.

Aug 15, 2021

Kamlesh Kumar Pant is New NPPA Chairman

Kamlesh Kumar Pant, a 1993-batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as the new chairman of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) by the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet. The pharmaceutical pricing agency was currently headed by IAS officer Shubhra Singh, who was appointed to the post in 2018. Singh has been repatriated to her cadre state Rajasthan, according to an order of the personnel ministry.
Pant, formerly the Principal Secretary (Revenue) in the government of Himachal Pradesh and also the Financial Commissioner (Appeals) at Himachal Pradesh and the head of the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, has taken charge of NPPA with immediate effect.

Chhattisgarh Becomes 1st State to Recognise Forest Resource Rights in Urban Region

Chhattisgarh became the first state to recognise Community Forest Resource Rights in an urban area, with the state government recognising rights of residents of Dhamtari district over 4,127 hectares of forests.
Community resource rights over 5,544 hectares of forest within the core area of the tiger reserve area were also recognised.
Under Forest Rights Act, 2006, Community Forest Resource Rights give gram sabhas the right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any forest resources used by the entire community, or village.

Independence Day 2021: INDIA Gets Official Website for Celebrations

The central government has revealed a new website for the 75th Independence Day celebrations this year -- indianidc2021.mod.gov.in. The website was launched by defence secretary Dr Ajay Kumar on August 3 to mark the upcoming Independence Day 2021 celebrations. The website will serve as a platform to connect Indians all over the world to celebrate the national festival, the release stated, adding that a mobile app for the Independence Day Celebrations (IDC), 2021, will soon be launched as well.

Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad Gets Additional Charge of Manipur

Sikkim governor Ganga Prasad Chaurasia was sworn in as the governor of Manipur at a ceremony held at the Durbar Hall of Raj Bhavan, Imphal.
Manipur High Court Chief Justice P. V. Sanjay Kumar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Ganga Prasad.
Sikkim governor will take charge of Manipur as well during the absence of Dr. Najma Heptulla who is on leave.

Government Launches Fit India Freedom Run

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Thakur, launched a nationwide programme of Fit India Freedom Run 2.0 in August 2021 to celebrate the Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav.
According to Union Sports Minister, programme has been launched at 75 'iconic' locations.
In the freedom run 1.0, about 5 crore people had joined. While, this year, the number has increased to 7.5 crore people.
Fit India Freedom Run 2.0 was flagged off from Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi.

Aug 14, 2021

India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Meeting in September

India and Australia are expected to hold their first minister-level 2+2 meeting in September 2021.
This first ever meeting between Foreign and Defence Ministers will be held as a part of bilateral plan to upgrade Secretary-level 2 plus 2 interactions.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter is to visit India and Indonesia in September.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is also expected to attend a Quad summit level meeting the line of U.N. General Assembly in September in New York.
This meeting was planned during a virtual meeting between Ms. Payne and S. Jaishankar amid covid-19 pandemic.
Besides the Quad initiative, Australia and India also have to deal with travel restrictions, placed because of covid-19 pandemic.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton is also expected to invite India to join next round of Talisman Sabre exercises in Queensland.

UP Renames Kakori Train Conspiracy to Kakori Train Action

Uttar Pradesh government has renamed a landmark freedom movement called "Kakori Train Conspiracy" as "Kakori Train Action" and paid tributes to the revolutionaries who were hanged for robbing a train at Kakori in Uttar Pradesh.
Revolutionaries had robbed the train in order to buy weapons in 1925.
Family members of the freedom fighters were also honoured on this occasion.
Those revolutionaries were some passionate people who were having a single goal of independence of India from British rule. So, name was changed considering that, they did not commit any conspiracy as they were fighting for freedom.
Freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh were hanged to death on December 19, 1927 for their involvement in Kakori robbery.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla Gets One Year Extension

Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla was given a one year extension, beyond his present tenure that was to end next week.
Bhalla, a 1984 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, was appointed as the Home Secretary in August 2019.
His tenure was extended till August 22, 2021 in October 2020.

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