General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2018

Dec 2018

Jun 24, 2021

Ajit Doval Meets Russian NSA Nikolai Patrushev

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev in Dushanbe ahead of a meeting of national security chiefs of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation that will also feature their counterparts from China and Pakistan.
The two sides exchanged opinions on the situation in Afghanistan and the Asia-Pacific region.
Patrushev and Doval discussed in detail further plans of the Russia-India interaction in the security sphere, cooperation among the security and law-enforcement agencies.

Mukul Roy among Nominees for Bengal Assembly PAC Membership

Senior TMC leader Mukul Roy was among the 14 MLAs who filed nominations for memberships of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the West Bengal assembly amid speculations that he may be appointed its chairman.
Roy, officially a BJP MLA from Krishnanagar Uttar, switched over to the TMC last week but did not resign from the assembly or disqualified under the anti-defection law.
The BJP has also submitted a list of six names for PAC memberships.

Business Standard among the Top 10 Trusted Media Brands in India

According to a survey by The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Business Standard is one of the top 10 trusted media brands in India.
The survey also said amid the coronavirus pandemic, legacy print brands and government broadcasters, DD News (Doo¬rdarshan) and All India Radio, retained high levels of trust among consumers in India. Print brands, in general, are more trusted than television brands, it added. Reuters Institute said that the pandemic stoked hunger for trusted news, and a clear majority of people want media organisations to be impartial and objective. The Times of India topped the list, followed by DD News, AIR, BBC and The Indian Express. Others in the top 10 include The Economic Times, Hindustan Times, The Hindu and CNN.

Rangasamy Submits List of Council of Ministers

After dissension among the principal allies over sharing of power played out over seven weeks since Puducherry's first NDA government was elected to power in May, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy submitted the list of the Council of Ministers to Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan. The AINRC and the BJP were unable to come to an agreement on sharing of Cabinet berths all these weeks.
The convention is for the Lt. Governor to forward the list to the Union Home Ministry, which would seek the President's nod.
Meanwhile, the Lt. Governor said the Cabinet headed by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy is scheduled to be sworn in on June 27.

Jun 23, 2021

Assam Govt. Signs MoU with Survey of India

The Assam government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Survey of India for implementing the Svamitva scheme in the state, which aims to provide an integrated property validation solution for rural areas.
The MoU was signed between Assam, Director of Land Records and Surveys, Shantanu P Gotmare and Director Assam and Nagaland, Survey of India.
The Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj, and Assam Government's Department of Revenue and Disaster Management will implement the scheme with the support of the Panchayat and Rural Development.
Survey of India, as the technology partner, will take steps for survey of inhabited rural land by drone as well as establishment of ground based control stations to enable a detailed spatial database of properties in rural areas.
The Svamitva scheme was launched on a pilot basis on April 24, 2020, on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day, and was rolled out across India on April 24 this year.

EAM Jaishankar Addressed UNSC Debate on Afghanistan

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar addressed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) debate on Afghanistan.
Earlier, India had noted the United States' decision to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan and had expressed concerns over the probable increase in the violence and targeted killings in the war-torn country.

India Ranks Higher than US in Report on Media Trust

India ranked at 31 when it came to "trust in news" out of the 46 media markets surveyed by the Reuters Institute.
The findings of the online survey were published in the 10th edition of Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism's (RISJ) Digital News Report 2021. The Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) provided logistical support for surveying the Indian market.
The researchers found trust in news has grown across the world on an average, only 38 per cent in India said they trusted news overall. In India, legacy print brands and government broadcasters scored high on trust levels among news consumers. Finland had the highest levels of overall trust in news with 65 per cent, while the US had the lowest levels of trust at 29 per cent.

Gupkar Alliance to Attend Centre's All-party Meeting

The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) will attend the all-party convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The announcement came after PAGD leaders met at Abdullah's residence to discuss the Centre's invitation.
The leaders of the constituent parties, including Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti and CPI(M) leader M. Y. Tarigami who is also the National Conference president.

Jun 22, 2021

NHRC Constitutes Committee to Enquire into Complaints of Post Poll Violence in West Bengal

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) set up a seven-member committee headed by its member Rajiv Jain to enquire into complaints of post-poll violence in West Bengal hours after the Calcutta High Court rejected a plea by the Mamata Banerjee government to recall its order on setting up such a mechanism.
The committee was formed in accordance with the orders of the Calcutta High Court.
The committee, formed by the NHRC chairperson, will be headed by Rajeev Jain.
The other members are Atif Rasheed, Vice Chairperson, National Commission for Minorities, (Dr.) Rajulben L. Desai, Member, National Commission for Women, Santosh Mehra, Director General (Investigation), NHRC, Pradip Kumar Panja, Registrar, West Bengal State Human Rights Commission, Shri Raju Mukherjee, Member Secretary, West Bengal State Legal Services Authority and Manzil Saini, DIG (Investigation), NHRC.

BJP's North Bengal Leader, Seven others Join TMC

In yet another jolt to the BJP, the party's Alipurduar district president, Ganga Prasad Sharma, joined the TMC, as senior leader of the state's ruling party Mukul Roy, who also switched sides two weeks ago, claimed that this was the beginning of the saffron party's end in the state.
Seven other BJP leaders from the region, too, followed in Sharma's footsteps and joined the Mamata Banerjee camp.

ECI Releases Atlas on 2019 General Elections

Election Commission of India released 'General Elections 2019: An Atlas'.
Atlas was released by Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey.

Jun 21, 2021

Tamil Nadu Ranks 2nd after AP in New Job Creation under IBPS Scheme

The India Business Process Outsourcing Promotion Scheme (IBPS) launched by the Centre has facilitated expansion of several IT and BPO companies in tier-II and III cities across the country and Tamil Nadu has become the second State in new job generation, the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) said.
Under the IBPS Scheme, Andhra Pradesh is the highest in employment generation by creating 12,234 new jobs followed by Tamil Nadu at 9,401, while remaining was spread across Punjab, Odisha, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Bihar.
STPI, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, is the executing agency for India BPO Promotion Scheme.

India to Hold 2-day BRICS Meet on Green Hydrogen Initiatives

India is set to host a two-day summit on Green Hydrogen initiatives involving the BRICS nations.
The event offers a platform to share their respective Green Hydrogen initiatives and views on how to take it to the next level in their own countries.
The online event will be held via a video conference and will conclude on June 23.
The event will be anchored by India's state-run power major NTPC.

A. K. Sharma is UP BJP's Vice President

The Uttar Pradesh unit of Bhartiya Janata Party appointed its state MLC A. K. Sharma, a former IAS officer, as its state vice president.
The announcement of the new appointment was made by the BJP state unit's president Swatantra Dev Singh.
Singh also announced the appointments of Archana Mishra from Lucknow and Amit Valmiki from Bulandshahr as secretaries of the state unit.
BJP MLC A. K. Sharma is also considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Jun 20, 2021

Political Parties in Kashmir Welcome PM's Initiative of Calling All-Party Meet

The political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have welcomed the Prime Minister's Initiative of calling an All-Party meet. The meeting is to be held on the 24th of June 2021. All the regional and national parties of Jammu and Kashmir have welcomed this step and said that dialogue is the only way forward.
This is the first time New Delhi has initiated a political process in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of article 370. The UT has been under President's rule since.

India Abstains from Voting on UN's Myanmar Resolution, Supports ASEAN Initiative

India abstained from voting on the United Nations General Assembly's (UNGA's) resolution for an arms embargo against Myanmar, saying its views were not reflected in the draft resolution before the Assembly passed it. The UN's resolution demonstrated widespread global opposition to the Myanmar military and demanded that the country's democratic transition be restored.

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