General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - July 2019

Jul 2019

Jan 19, 2021

Narendra Modi Named Somnath Temple Trust Chairman

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was appointed the new chairman of the trust which manages the world-famous Somnath Temple at Prabhas Patan town in Gujarat's Gir-Somnath district, becoming the second PM to hold the post. PM Modi, one of the trustees of the Shree Somnath Trust, was elected to the top post unanimously.
After former PM Morarji Desai, Narendra Modi is the second Prime Minister who has been appointed the chairman of the temple trust. As per trust records, PM Modi has become the eighth chairman of the trust.
The post of the Somnath Trust's chairman fell vacant after the death of the incumbent, former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, in October 2020. Patel had served as the chairman for 16 years (2004-2020).

At UNSC, India Welcomes Abraham Accords and Lauds Role of Arab League

At the United Nations Security Council, India has welcomed the concluded Abraham accords that saw several countries in West Asia establishing ties with Israel. Calling the signing of 'Abraham accords' a 'positive development', India's envoy to the United Nations TS Tirumurti said, "We welcome these agreements regarding normalization of relations between Israel and other countries, which, we believe will contribute to peace and stability in West Asia."
The accords signed in 2020 saw UAE, Bahrain establishing ties with Israel. The development comes after more than 2 decades, since the last time any Arab country recognized Israel, which was -- Jordan in 1994 and Egypt in 1979.

Jan 18, 2021

Dogri, Kashmiri Used for First Time in Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha has seen a phenomenal rise in the use of regional languages over recent years with Sanskrit emerging the fifth most-spoken scheduled language in the House after Hindi, Telugu, Urdu and Tamil.
An analysis by the Rajya Sabha of the languages members used in proceedings from 2018 to 2020 shows while Dogri, Kashmiri, Konkani and Santhali were used for the first time since the Upper House came into existence in 1952, Assamese, Bodo, Gujarati, Maithili, Manipuri and Nepali were used after a long gap.

Shiv Sena takes Major Decision on West Bengal Assembly Election

Ahead of the upcoming West Bengal Assembly election, the Shiv Sena announced a major decision on the state assembly election.
Raut asserted that after discussion with Maharashtra Chief Minister and party supremo Uddhav Thackeray, the party has decided to contest the West Bengal Assembly Election.
He, however, didn't specify the number of seats the Sena will contest in West Bengal. Elections to the 294-member assembly are due in April-May in 2021. The Shiv Sena is in power in Maharashtra along with the NCP and Congress under the aegis of Maha Vikas Aghadi.
This comes on the heels of the Left Front and the Congress asserting that they will jointly fight the BJP and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. They said that their seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming state assembly elections will be finalised by the end of January.

Jan 17, 2021

Rajnath Singh Unveils India's First Indigenously Developed Driverless Metro Car

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled the country's first indigenously designed and developed Driverless Metro Car at the BEML manufacturing facility in Bengaluru.
According to BEML, state-of-the-art driverless metro cars, being manufactured at the company's Bangalore Complex, are made up of stainless-steel body with a capacity of carrying 2280 passengers in six-cars Metro train-set.
BEML bagged a total order of 576 cars for Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)'s MRS1 project and the supply is scheduled progressively up to January 2024.
BEML recently opened its Depot office at Charkop Metro Depot, MMRDA, Mumbai for commissioning, testing and round-the-clock services for Driverless Metro cars.

BSP to Go Alone in UP, Uttarakhand Polls

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati announced that her party would contest the state elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand next year on its own.
Mayawati said that the BSP in both these states, unlike Bihar (2020 Assembly elections) and Lok Sabha polls (2019), will not have any understanding with any other party.
She appealed to her party workers not to celebrate her 65th birthday owing to the pandemic and instead help those in need in whatever way they can. She also released her book titled "A travelogue of My Struggle Ridden Life and BSP movement" on the occasion.

India and Nepal Commit to Early Completion of Boundary Works

Eight months after the boundary row erupted between India and Nepal, Foreign Ministers of the two countries discussed the issue and expressed the commitment to early completion of the boundary works in the disputed areas.
Visiting Nepal Foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali also said that the two sides are mindful that they should not let any outstanding issue be there forever and become irritant in an otherwise friendly relationship.
Asked about China's influence, he said that Nepal has always ensured their soil is not misused against any of its neighbours.
After the bilateral meeting with External Affairs minister S. Jaishankar, Gyawali said that we discussed the boundary matters. We both are committed to finalise it at the earliest." He was responding to a question at an interaction organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs.

Jan 16, 2021

India, Oman Hold Discussions on Bilateral Cooperation

A meeting of the India-Oman Strategic Consultative Group (IOSCG) was held, wherein both sides participated in bilateral discussions pertaining to many issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to an official release by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), during the IOSCG both sides reviewed the entire spectrum of the India-Oman relationship including in political, energy, trade, investment, defence, security, space, mining, S&T, culture and consular fields. It was agreed that the two sides will pursue various agreements and MOUs in these areas for a future-oriented relationship.
The Indian delegation was led by Sanjay Bhattacharya, Secretary (CPV&OIA), MEA while the Omani delegation was led by Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali al-Harthy, Undersecretary for Diplomatic Affairs, Foreign Ministry.

AK Sharm Joins BJP in UP

Gujarat cadre IAS officer AK Sharma, who recently took voluntary retirement from service, formally joined the BJP. He joined the party in Lucknow.
Sharma joined the BJP at a time the party is finalising candidates for elections to the 12 seats of the Legislative Council on January 28. The last date for filing of nominations is January 18.

Jan 15, 2021

PM Modi to Address Startup India International Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address participants from over two dozen countries at the two-day Prarambh: Startup India International Summit.
Over 200 global speakers will be involved in the summit with 24 sessions. The summit is focussed on enhancing multilateral cooperation and engagement with countries globally to collectively develop and strengthen the startup ecosystems.
The Union commerce ministry's promotion of industry and internal trade department is organising the event. The two-day Summit is being organised as a follow up of the announcement made by the Prime Minister at the fourth BIMSTEC [Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation] Summit held in Kathmandu in August 2018 wherein India committed to host the BIMSTEC Startup Conclave.

No Boundary Talks During Nepal Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali's Visit

In a subtle message ahead of the Nepal Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali's visit to India for the India-Nepal Joint Commission Meeting (JCM), Delhi has made it clear that boundary issues will not be discussed.
Gyawali arrived in the national capital on a three-day visit during which he will co-chair the JCM with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and is expected to discuss COVID-19-related cooperation while reviewing the entire gamut of bilateral relations.
This is the first high-level visit from Kathmandu in over a year and comes in the backdrop of India-Nepal row over the new map issued by the KP Sharma Oli government. The new Nepali map showed Indian territories of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as Nepali territories drawing the ire of New Delhi which dismissed the "Unjustified Cartographic Assertion".

Congress Promises NYAY Scheme in Manifesto for Kerala Assembly Election

Ahead of Kerala Assembly polls, the United Democratic Front (UDF) released salient features from the draft of the upcoming Election Manifesto with NYAY scheme proposed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the Lok Sabha election included in it.
We will be implementing NYAY scheme proposed by Rahul Gandhi in Kerala when UDF comes to power. Every deserving family will be given Rs. 6,000 per month which will be Rs. 72,000 annually," said Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala.
Ramesh said that draft of people's manifesto is getting ready and the final manifesto will come after receiving opinions from people.
The manifesto is being prepared by the UDF committee after taking opinions from people. Salient features include secular values, equality and will lay emphasis on issues of farmers, women, children and youths.

Former Surat Collector Appointed BJP's State Unit Vice-president

Gujarat BJP president C. R. Paatil made nine more appointments in the party's organisation. Significant among the appointments are Mahendra Patel, a retired Gujarat-cadre IAS officer, as vice-president, and Yamal Vyas as party's chief spokesperson.
A 2003-batch IAS officer, Patel is also a former collector of Surat district who has also been appointed as executive director of the Metro Rail Project in Surat. During Covid-19 pandemic, he was appointed as an officer on special duty and was made the in-charge of Covid-19 related activity in Surat district. He also held the post of commissioner of municipalities administration in Gandhinagar.

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