General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2019

Nov 2019

Jan 14, 2020

Dharmendra Pradhan flags off 3,121st Bulk LPG Tanker Truck

The Special National Vendor Development Program (NVDP) on Petroleum and Steel sectors for SC/ST Entrepreneurs was held on 13 January 2020. It was organized by the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI). The Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan flagged off 3121st Bulk LPG Tanker Truck during the program.
The measures taken by GoI for the SC/ST community including National Infrastructure Pipeline and Ujjwala connections were discussed.
♦ The government initiated an Rs.100 lakh crore worth of National Infrastructure Pipeline to open 75,000 petrol pumps. Out of the total, 25,000 pumps have been reserved for the SC/ST community.
♦ Out of a total of 8 crore Ujjwala connections, over 3 crore connections are handed over to the SC/ST community.
Participants:
Around 700 SC/ST medium and small enterprises from across the country participated in the Special NVDP.

Jan 13, 2020

PM Launched Multimodal Development Projects For Kolkata Port

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched projects worth Rs.600 crore during the grand Sesquicentenary Celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust on 12 January 2020. PM announced that the Kolkata Port Trust is to be renamed as Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port after Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee to mark the on 150th-year celebrations of Kolkata Port Trust.
The Multimodal development projects include upgraded Ship repair facility at Netaji Subhash Dry Dock, upgraded railway infrastructure of Kolkata dock system for smooth cargo movement and riverfront development scheme of the Kolkata Port.
GoI is taking several other measures to expand the inland waterways connectivity through an integrated transport policy.
It is also modernizing old Ports and developing new Ports through the Sagarmala project.
Various projects are being carried out for the expansion of water-based tourism in the country.
He released a commemoratives stamp on the 150th years of the Kolkata Port Trust.

UP To Build Rs 234-Crore Zoo Named After Ashfaqullah Khan

The UP Cabinet approved a proposal to set aside Rs 234 crore for construction of a zoological garden named after Shaheed Ashfaqullah Khan in Gorakhpur. The zoo will come up across over 121 acres.
The objective was to attract tourists and increase employment opportunities.Freedom fighter Ashfaqullah Khan was sentenced to death along with Ram Prasad Bismil for the Kakori train robbery, commonly known as the Kakori conspiracy of 1925.
In an another significant decision, the Cabinet also approved the rules for settlement of retail shops of cannabis (bhaang). There was already a provision under the Excise Policy 2019-2020 to allot cannabis retail shops through e-lottery, which would now be undertaken in keeping with specific rules for the same.

Home Minister Amit Shah Launches Country's First Cyber Crime Prevention Unit AASHVAST In Gandhinagar

Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated various people centric projects of Gujarat Police and Indian Postal Department at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Shah called for effective use of technology to keep law and order situation in control. He said the two projects VISWAS and AASHVAST will play a key role in preventing crimes in the state.
The projects include Video Integration and StateWide Advance Security-VISWAS project, 'Netrang' project to establish Command and Control Room in 33 districts, online portal to pay E Challan and Cyber Crime Prevention Unit-AASHVAST which will have a dedicated service helpline for victims of cyber crimes.

Jan 12, 2020

MHA Says 34 Lakh OCI Cards Issued

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has stated that more than 34 lakh Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) registrations had been done but declined to divulge information relating to the number of persons whose OCI cards had been cancelled, citing non availability in a "consolidated form."

Naga People's Front Suspends MP Kenye For Voting In Favour Of CAA

The Opposition Naga People's Front (NPF) has suspended Rajya Sabha member K.G. Kenye from primary membership of the party almost a month after he voted in favour of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
The NPF is no longer a friend of the BJP in Nagaland but is part of the BJP-headed coalition government in adjoining Manipur.

Dharmendra Pradhan Unveils Mission Purvodaya

Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched 'Mission Purvodaya' which aims at accelerated development of eastern India through integrated steel hub. The eastern belt has the potential to add more than 75 per cent of the country's incremental steel capacity envisioned by the National Steel Policy, he said adding it is expected that out of the 300 million tonne capacity by 2030-31, over 200 million tonne can come from this region alone.
The mission will drive India's march towards USD 5 trillion economy set by the government.

Jan 11, 2020

Amit Shah Inaugurates State-Of-The-Art Portal To Tackle Cyber Crimes

Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the state-of-the-art Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal through which people can report cyber crimes online.
The portal will let all cyber crime related complaints be accessed by the law enforcement agencies in the states and union territories to take action as per the law.
So far, more than 700 police districts and more than 3,900 police stations have been connected to the portal - www.cybercrime.gov.in <http://www.cybercrime.gov.in> - which is a citizen-centric initiative that will let people report cyber crimes online.

Malappuram Tops List Of World's Fastest-Growing Urban Areas

Malappuram in northern Kerala is the world's fastest-growing city, according to a chart put out by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Three Indian cities figure among top ten, and all of them are in Kerala. Malappuram saw its population rise 44% between 2015 and 2020. Kozhikode ranks fourth on the global chart, while Kollam is tenth, with respective population growth figures of 35% and 31%. The EIU has compiled this list on data provided by the United Nations Population Division. In all, six Indian cities figure on the list of 30.

Government Releases State Energy Efficiency Index 2019

Union Government released the State Energy Efficiency Index 2019, which tracks the progress of Energy Efficiency initiatives in 36 States and Union Territories. Power Minister R K Singh released the index in New Delhi.
The index is developed by Bureau of Energy Efficiency in association with Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy.
It will help states to contribute towards national goals on energy security and climate action by helping drive Energy Efficiency policies and programmme implementation at the state and local level.

Crime In India Increased By 1.3% In 2018: NCRB

Crime in India has increased by 1.3% in 2018 compared to 2017 with the registration of over 50 lakh cognisable crimes, reveals 2018 edition of 'Crime in India' statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
As per the NCRB, which works under the Ministry of Home Affairs, a total of 50.74 lakh crimes, including 31.32 lakh under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 19.41 under the Special Local Laws (SLL) was registered in 2018.

Gujarat Agro Industries Launches Imported Water-Soluble Fertilisers

In a bid to encourage use of high-grade agri-inputs, the Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation (GAIC) has launched imported water-soluble fertilisers in Ahmedabad.
The state agency, which promotes agro-based industries in Gujarat, has already imported 300 tonnes of water-soluble fertilizers from China.
GAIC's role will be to import, package and sell the imported water-soluble fertilisers to the farmers through its network of dealers across the State. The new-generation fertilizers will be sold in the market under its brand - 'AGRO'. It also plans to launch customised grades of stage-specific and crop-specific fertilizers.

Jan 10, 2020

PDP Expels Leaders for Meeting Envoys

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) expelled its eight leaders, including those who met a group of foreign diplomats in Srinagar.
The diplomats interacted with security officials, politicians and civil society representatives in Srinagar as part of the first such government-organised visit since the Constitution's Article 370 was nullified to end the state's special status in August 2019 and it was split into Union territories.
Mufti and two other former chief ministers, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, were detained along with hundreds of others to prevent protests against the change in the region's status. An information blackout and a lockdown were also imposed. Most of the restrictions have since been eased but politicians including the three former CMs remain under detention.

Sonia Gandhi to Take Final Call on Fielding Former MPs

Congress party interim Chief Sonia Gandhi will take a call on whether senior leaders who contested the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi last year will be fielded in the state elections this time or not.
Senior leaders of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) said that the screening committee has started meeting senior leaders of the state unit to narrow down the list of probable candidates.
However, this committee is not considering names of those who had already contested in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

Gujarat Government to Bring Pro-CAA Resolution

The BJP government in Gujarat will bring a resolution in the assembly during its day-long session , welcoming and supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, whose passage in Parliament last month triggered widespread protests across the country.
The special house session has been convened to approve a constitutional amendment bill recently passed by Parliament to give a 10-year extension to reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
The government-sponsored resolution on CAA, which is to be discussed for about 120 minutes before passing it, congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for their bold and historic decision in bringing the legislation.

Envoys Begin two-day J&K Tour

A group of 15 envoys and diplomats interacted with security officials, politicians and civil society representatives in Srinagar as part of the first such visit organised by the government since Jammu & Kashmir's special status was revoked in August 2019, restrictions on movement and communication imposed, and many political leaders detained.
The group, which is making a two-day visit to Jammu & Kashmir to assess the ground situation, includes US ambassador Kenneth Juster, South Korean envoy Shin Bong-kil and Norwegian envoy Hans Jacob Frydenlund. The diplomats had frank interactions during their meetings.
The diplomats went to 15 Corps headquarters, where security officials and army commanders briefed them on the situation in Kashmir after Article 370 of the Constitution was nullified last August, and the challenges in maintaining security, including the threat of terrorism and the situation along the Line of Control (LoC).

Ex-bureaucrats Write against New Law on Citizenship

A group of around 100 retired civil servants released an open letter, asking people to insist that the government withdraw recent amendments to the Citizenship Act and scrap the plan to build an all-India National Register of Citizens.
The retired civil servants, who have come together under the aegis of the Constitutional Conduct Group, also countered the government's latest effort to delink the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the ongoing National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC).
"The three issues are linked," it said in the open letter designed to "acquaint people with the facts" and "emphasise why these measures need to be resolutely opposed".
The open letter has the names of 106 retired civil servants, including around 25 former secretaries to the central government.

World's Highest Rail Bridge To Connect Kashmir To Rest Of India By 2021

Soon, Kashmir to be connected by Indian Railways to the rest of India! By December 2021, Kashmir will be connected to the rest of the country through the Indian Railways network as the government has set a new deadline for completion of the world's highest railway bridge – Chenab bridge.
The Chenab railway bridge will be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
According to Konkan Railways, it is the most challenging project in the post-independent history of the national transporter.

Census India-2021 to begin on 1st April

Census India-2021 will begin on 1st of April this year and will end on 30th of September. Census India-2021 will be conducted through a mobile phone application, moving away from the traditional pen and paper.
Enumerators of the census will seek the information of mobile number of the head of the family, information related to toilets, TV, Internet, vehicles owned, source of drinking water besides asking other questions during the house listing phase of the exercise.

Shoaib Iqbal Joins AAP

Former Matia Mahal MLA Shoaib Iqbal, who represented three different parties in the Delhi Assembly at various points between 1993 and 2013, joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
It was the AAP that had ended Iqbal's victory streak in the 2015 polls when he lost the Old Delhi constituency to Asim Ahmed Khan, present MLA of Matia Mahal.
Iqbal joined AAP for its "pro-people initiatives" and schemes for the welfare of all communities.
He joined the AAP in presence of Delhi chief minister and the party's national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

Arunachal Assembly Adopts New Logo

The Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly adopted a new logo, reflecting the distinct identity and culture of the state.
Speaker Pasang Dorjee Sona had circulated pictures of the new logo among the members of the House.
The new logo consists of the national emblem and foxtail orchid (Rhynchostylis Retusa), the state flower.
The symbol of national emblem signifies the federal system of the Indian Constitution while the foxtail orchid represents the state, its people and culture as a whole, while the blue colour denotes the autonomy of the assembly secretariat.

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