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NATIONAL AFFAIRS - January 2020

Jan 2020

Jan 03, 2022

India, Pakistan Exchange List of Nuclear Installations, Prisoners

Pakistan and India exchanged a list of their nuclear installations that cannot be attacked in case of an escalation in hostilities, as part of an annual ritual that has been in practice between the two neighbours for more than three decades.
The two countries also exchanged lists of prisoners held in each other's prisons, which include civilians, defence personnel and fishermen.
The lists of nuclear installation and facilities were exchanged as per the provisions of the Article-II of the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, signed on December 31, 1988 and ratified on January 27, 1991.

Vinay Kumar Tripathi is New Chairman of Railway Board

The Ministry of Railways appointed Vinay Kumar Tripathi as new chairman-cum-CEO of Railway Board with immediate effect after obtaining approval from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
Vinay Kumar Tripathi, prior to be appointed as new chairman of railway board was working as General Manager of North Eastern Railway in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has not only approved the appointment of Tripathi for six month from Janaury 1 but also further granted extension of his tenure till 31 December in 2022.

Odisha Launches Digital Life Certificate System for Pensioners 2022

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched an online service for the verification of identity and submission of life certificates for pensioners of the state government. The Chief Minister virtually launched the new initiative while attending the orientation programme for newly recruited 153 officers of Odisha Civil Services.
Under the Digital Life Certificate system:
Identification and life certificates can now be submitted by the pensioners using an artificial intelligence-based video-verification process.

Sushmita Dev Sole Woman on Panel to Review Bill to Enhance Legal Age of Marriage

Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev is the only woman in the 31-member parliamentary panel assigned to examine the bill which seeks to raise the legal age of marriage for women to 21.
The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha during the winter session. It was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports.
The bill seeks to increase the legal age of marriage of women from 18 to 21.
According to the members' list of the parliamentary standing committee, led by senior BJP leader Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, available on the Rajya Sabha website, TMC MP Sushmita Dev is the only woman among the 31 members.

Jan 02, 2022

India to Chair Counter Terrorism Committee of UNSC in January 2022

India will chair the Counter-Terrorism Committee of UNSC in January 2022 after 10 years. The Counter-Terrorism Committee was established by Security Council resolution 1373 adopted unanimously on 28 September 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US. The Committee was tasked with monitoring the implementation of resolution 1373 which requested countries to implement a number of measures aimed at enhancing their legal and institutional ability to counter terrorist activities at home and around the world.
Work of Counter-Terrorism Committee of UNSC:
This includes taking steps to criminalize the financing of terrorism, freezing any funds related to persons involved in acts of terrorism, denying all forms of financial support for terrorist groups, suppressing the provision of safe haven, sustenance or support for terrorists and sharing information with other governments on any groups practising or planning terrorist acts.
Besides, the Committee monitors steps taken to cooperate with other governments in the investigation, detection, arrest, extradition and prosecution of those involved in terror acts and criminalizes active and passive assistance for terrorism.

Anna Roy among Top 30 Fintech Influencers

NITI Aayog senior advisor Anna Roy was named among 30 top fintech influencers by a consulting and advisory firm, Digital Fifth.
Zolve founder Raghunandan G, Reserve Bank Innovation Hub CEO Rajesh Bansal, Amrish Rau CEO, Pine Labs, Ravi Kumar co-founder Upstox and Yashish Dahiya Chairman and CEO Policybazar were among the other fintech influencers.

Jan 01, 2022

PM Modi Inaugurates Bina (MP)-Panki (UP) Multiproduct Pipeline Project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 356 Km long Bina Refinery (Madhya Pradesh)- POL Terminal at Panki (Kanpur, UP) Multiproduct pipeline project ( capacity of 45 million metric tonnes per annum) with an outlay of Rs. 1524 crore (Rs. 1227 crore in UP and Rs. 297 crore in MP). The project has been completed and commissioned one month ahead of the approved completion schedule of December 2021 (3 years from PNGRB authorisation) and within the approved cost. It will provide for safe and efficient evacuation of products from Bina Refinery and also improve the availability of products in Eastern U.P, Central U.P., Northern Bihar and Southern Uttarakhand.

Dec 31, 2021

Anupam Ray India's New Permanent Representative at UN Conference on Disarmament

Senior diplomat Anupam Ray was appointed as India's next permanent representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
Mr. Ray, a 1994-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as a joint secretary in the MEA's headquarters in Delhi.
Mr. Ray will succeed Pankaj Sharma.
Mr. Sharma, a 1991-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, has been appointed as India's next ambassador to Mexico.

Tamil Nadu Appoints Sivarajah Ramanathan as Tansim CEO

The government of Tamil Nadu has appointed Sivarajah Ramanathan, an IT and social entrepreneur, as the new chief executive officer of Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (Tansim)
Tansim, also known as Startup TN, works towards making Tamil Nadu an innovation-driven economy. Tansim's mission is to be the driving force for startups and to build a strong, viable and vibrant start-up ecosystem that creates employment and develops economic growth.

Samajwadi Party Leader Shatarudra Prakash Joins BJP

In a setback to the Samajwadi Party (SP), its MLC and former Uttar Pradesh minister Shatarudra Prakash joined the BJP at the saffron party's state headquarters.
A socialist since his student days, Mr. Prakash joined the BJP in the presence of the party's state unit chief Swatantra Dev Singh.
Mr. Prakash, who joined politics while studying in the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly for the first time in 1974 from Varanasi Cantonment as a Socialist Party nominee. Three years later, he was again elected from the same constituency as a Janata Party candidate.
Mr. Praksh won the polls as a Lok Dal candidate in 1985 and as a Janata Dal nominee in 1989. He was a cabinet minister in the Uttar Pradesh government headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Dec 30, 2021

IAS Officer Durga Shankar Mishra Next UP Chief Secretary

The government issued an order to repatriate senior IAS officer and Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra to his parent cadre Uttar Pradesh, as he has been proposed to be appointed as the Chief Secretary of the state. Mishra, a 1984-batch IAS officer, was due to superannuate on December 31.
At present, Rajendra Kumar Tiwari, 1985-batch IAS officer, is the UP Chief Secretary. Tiwari is due to retire in February 2023. The DoPT had in an order on December 27 named Manoj Joshi as Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary in place of Mishra. Joshi, a 1989-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Jhansi Railway Station to be Renamed as Veerangana Lakshmibai Railway Station

Jhansi Railway Station to be Renamed as Veerangana Lakshmibai Railway Station
Jhansi Railway Station will be known as Veerangana Laxmibai Railway Station in the coming days.
The Uttar Pradesh government issued a notification to rename Jhansi Railway Station as Veerangana Lakshmibai Railway Station. Earlier, the Centre had accepted the proposal to change the name of Jhansi Railway Station.
Several local public representatives, including BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Prabhat Jha, had demanded that Jhansi station be named after Rani Laxmibai in a railway meeting held in the city a few years ago.

Extension of AFSPA in Nagaland

The Central government declared entire Nagaland as a "disturbed area" for six more months, under the AFSPA Act.
This declaration will be in effect, starting from December 30, 2021.
Government has also termed the state's condition as "disturbed and dangerous".
This decision was taken days after the central government constituted a high-level committee for examining the possibility of withdrawal of controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from Nagaland.
AFSPA has been operational in Nagaland for decades.
Central government exercised the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 to declare entire Nagaland as 'disturbed area'.

Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad Inaugurates Road Named after Prime Minister Modi

A second road linking Tsomgo Lake and Nathula border pass with Gangtok -- christened as 'Narendra Modi Marg' -- was officially inaugurated by Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad. The older route is called Jawaharlal Nehru Road.
The alternative double-lane road at 51 Kyongasala gram panchayat unit (GPU) -- spanning 19.51 km -- has been operational for almost a year now.

Praveen Kumar is DG & CEO of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs

Govt. of India approved the appointment of Praveen Kumar, IAS, Former Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship to the post of Director General & Chief Executive Officer, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA). The proposal for setting up IICA was approved by Planning Commission in the year 2007. It was established in 2008 at Manesar, Haryana.
Praveen Kumar is a 1987 batch retired IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, and a former Secretary, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.

Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin to Attend Vibrant Gujarat Summit in January

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Russian minister for Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic Alexei Chekunkov and governors of Russian Far East will participate in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit that will take place in Gandhinagar next month. Four governors of Far East Provinces of Russia will participate in the summit that will take place from January 10 to 12.

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