General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2022

May 2022

Aug 25, 2023

The 26th National Conference on e-Governance Held in Indore

The 26th National Conference on e-Governance was held in Indore to deliberate on providing better facilities to the citizens. The conference was inaugurated by MP Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Science & Technology Minister Om Prakash Sakhalecha. Tulsi Ram Silavat, Minister of Water Resources, Fishermen Welfare and Fisheries Development Department of Madhya Pradesh was also present on this occasion.
The two-day conference was organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in collaboration with the Government of Madhya Pradesh. The conference was brainstormed on the topic 'Developing India: Empowering Citizens'. Representatives from 28 states and 9 union territories as well as industry participated in the conference. Eleven themes including district-level initiatives, emerging technologies for providing citizen centric services, role of R&D in citizen centric services were discussed in the conference. National e-Governance Awards 2023 in 5 categories were presented during the conference.

Aug 24, 2023

Panel Formed For 'Restructuring and Redefining' Role of DRDO

The Ministry of Defence decided to revamp India's premier defence research agency, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), known more for its delayed projects, cost overruns than the advances made in actual technology other than the missile programme.
As per reports, the ministry set up a nine-member committee under the chairmanship of K. Vijay Raghavan, the former principal scientific advisor to the government.
The panel members include former Army deputy chief Lt. Gen. Subrata Saha (retd.), the prime mover behind Army's reach out to the Indian defence industry.
Other members are Vice-Admiral S. N. Ghormade (retd.), former chief of Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) Air Marshal B. R. Krishna (retd.), J. D. Patil of Larsen and Toubro, and Mahindra Group's S. P. Shukla who is also the president of SIDM, an industry grouping of Indian defence companies, Sujan R. Chinoy, head of the MP-IDSA think tank and Manindra Agarwal of IIT-Kanpur, S. Unnikrishnan Nair, Distinguished Scientist, ISRO, and Defence Ministry's Financial Advisor Rasika Chaube are part of the panel.
Starting with only 10 laboratories in 1958, DRDO has grown into a giant organisation with a network of over 50 laboratories and establishments spread across the country. It, however, has not been able to produce a single technologically contemporary or futuristic platform or capability for the Indian armed forces on its own.

Aug 23, 2023

Axis Bank's Neelkanth Mishra is Part-time Chairperson of UIDAI

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the nodal body in charge of issuing Aadhaar numbers, appointed Neelkanth Mishra as its part-time chairperson. Mishra is the Chief Economist and Head of Global Research at Axis Bank Ltd.
Prior to Axis Bank, Mishra worked for two decades at Zurich-based Credit Suisse, where his roles included co-head of APAC Strategy, India Equity Strategy Head, and Head of Research, India. He specialises in metals and mining, Indian pharmaceuticals, Taiwan IC design, semiconductor foundries, and Asian tech strategy research.
The UIDAI board consists of a chairperson, two part-time members, and the CEO, who also serves as the member-secretary.

Mizoram Becomes First State to Launch ABDM Microsite

Mizoram became the pioneer state in India to activate an ABDM Microsite in its capital city, Aizawl. The 100 Microsites initiative was introduced by the National Health Authority (NHA), aimed to speed up the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) nationwide.
As part of this effort, all medical establishments, including private clinics, small hospitals, and laboratories in the area, will integrate ABDM technology, providing patients with digital healthcare services.
The 100 Microsite project under ABDM is a very important initiative for reaching out to the bulk of small and medium scale healthcare providers from the private sector. The concept of Microsites was envisaged to provide a strong impetus to healthcare digitisation efforts across the country. The efforts by Mizoram team have resulted in Aizawl becoming the first ABDM Microsite in India.

Three-day National Thematic Workshop on Localization of Sustainable Development Goals in Panchaya...

A three-day workshop on Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) in panchayats was held in Srinagar.
The Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh virtually inaugurated the three-day workshop in the presence of Lt Governor Manoj Sinha.
The main objective of the workshop was to exhibit the best strategies, approaches, innovative models in the context of capacity building and training; best practices; monitoring framework, incentivisation and reflection of themes of SDGs into Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).
'Meri Panchayat Mobile app' developed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj was released during the inaugural session of the National Workshop.
Elected representatives and functionaries of Panchayati Raj Institutions from across the country including Jammu and Kashmir attended the National Workshop. Panchayats that have taken initiatives in thematic areas were invited to participate in the workshop.

Sachin Tendulkar to Bat for Greater Voter Turnout as 'National Icon' for EC

Cricket legend and Bharat Ratna awardee Sachin Tendulkar began a new innings - as the 'National Icon' for voter awareness and education for the Election Commission of India (ECI).
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with Sachin Tendulkar for three years at an event to be organised at Rang Bhavan, Akashvani, New Delhi in the presence of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel.
The collaboration marks a significant step towards leveraging Tendulkar's impact with the youth demographic for increasing voters' participation in the upcoming elections, especially in general elections 2024.
ECI, through this partnership, aims to bridge the gap between citizens, especially youth and urban populations and the electoral process, thereby, trying to address the challenges of urban and youth apathy.

Biden to Attend G20 Summit in India in September

US President Joe Biden will travel to India from September 7 to 10 to attend the G-20 Leaders' Summit.
President Biden and G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues, including the clean energy transition and combatting climate change, mitigating the economic and social impacts of the Ukraine conflict, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Aug 22, 2023

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Inaugurates 9th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Rajasthan's U...

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla inaugurated the ninth India Region Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in Rajasthan's Udaipur.
The theme of the two-day conference was 'Strengthening Democracy and Good Governance in the Digital Age'.
The India Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) comprises 31 legislatures from across the country and has the second largest number of member branches after the African Region.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi, CPA Chairperson Ian Liddell-Grainger and other dignitaries were present at the inaugural event.
During the conference, presiding officers of state legislatures brainstormed on how to make public representatives more effective/efficient in encouraging good governance through digital empowerment and the role of public representatives in strengthening the nation through democratic institutions.
Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra addressed the valedictory session.

Higher than Umling La, World's Highest Motorable Road Coming Up in Eastern Ladakh

Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has started the construction of 64-km long Likaru-Mig La-Fukche road close to Hanle in Eastern Ladakh's Demchok sector. Once completed, it will be the world's highest motorable road at a height of 19,400 ft in Mig La.
Currently, Umling La in Ladakh at a height of 19,024 ft holds the record of being the highest motorable road in the world. It is a 52-km road that connects Chishumle to Demchok, which is right on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and a friction point between India and China.
The new road, connecting Likaru with Fukche, will play a crucial role in accessing the LAC for the armed forces to be deployed all along the Indus valley in Fukche, right up to Demchok.

India Announces Green Hydrogen Standard

India announced the definition of Green Hydrogen. The Green Hydrogen Standard for India sets a criterion of 2 kg CO₂ equivalent per kg H2 as a 12-month average emission threshold. It is a significant move for the progress of the National Green Hydrogen Mission. The guidelines established by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, delineate the emission benchmarks that must be fulfilled for hydrogen production to qualify as 'Green', signifying its origin from renewable sources.

Nitin Gadkari Launches Bharat New Car Assessment Programme

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari launched the much-awaited Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP), a step forward in the government's commitment to improve road safety through raising the safety standards of motor vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes in India.
The programme aims to provide a tool to the car customers to make a comparative assessment of crash safety of motor vehicles available in the market. Under this, car manufacturers can voluntarily offer their cars tested as per Automotive Industry Standard 197.
Based on the performance of the car in the tests, car will be awarded star ratings for Adult Occupants (AOP) and Child Occupant (COP). Potential car customers can refer to these star ratings to compare the safety standards of different vehicles and accordingly make their purchase-decision.

Jaishankar, Derek, 7 Others Take Oath as RS Members

External Affairs Minister and BJP leader S. Jaishankar and TMC's Derek O'Brien were among nine newly elected Rajya Sabha members from Gujarat and West Bengal to take oath in the Upper House chamber.
The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. Besides Jaishankar, other BJP members who took oath were Nagendra Ray (West Bengal), Kesridevsinh Digvijaysinh Jhala (Gujarat) and Babubhai Jesangbhai Desai (Gujarat).
Jaishankar took the oath in English. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat in 2019 for the first time when he became a part of the Union Cabinet. The TMC members included Dola Sen, Sukhendu Shekhar Ray, Prakash Chik Baraik and Samirul Islam, besides Derek O'Brien. All of them were elected from West Bengal. Derek, Sen and Ray took the oath in Bengali.

Aug 21, 2023

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Launches the Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH)

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launched the Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH), a World Health Organization (WHO)-managed network, with the aim of consolidating the evidence and amplifying the gains in global digital health.
The GIDH will promote equitable access to digital health by addressing challenges such as duplication of efforts and "products-focused" digital health transformation. Its key components will leverage existing evidence, tools and learnings and will be co-created through a transparent and inclusive process.
Eventually, the GIDH will aim to align efforts to support the Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020–2025 (an ongoing WHO project), quality-assured technical assistance to develop and strengthen standards-based and interoperable systems aligned to global best practices, and facilitate the use of quality assured digital transformation tools that enable governments to manage digital health transformation.

Sukhu Declares Entire State as Natural Calamity-affected Area

The Himachal Pradesh government declared the massive damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity.
The entire hill state was declared as a 'natural calamity affected area' in view of the damage caused to human life and property due to heavy rains, a government notification said even as Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu claimed that they were awaiting a response from the Centre to declare the disaster Himachal Pradesh as a national calamity.
Principal Secretary (Revenue) Onkar Chand Sharma said that after the weather becomes normal and accessibility is improved, a complete assessment of the losses incurred by the hill state would be conducted and the report will be submitted to the Centre for recovery and reconstruction efforts.

'India's First Village Atlas' is of Maem in Goa

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant released a biodiversity atlas of Maem village in North Goa, which he termed as "India's first village atlas".
This atlas gives a socio-cultural history of Maem village that dates back to 12th century.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant made a heartfelt plea to the younger generation, urging them to step up in safeguarding biodiversity, and provided reassurance of the state government's support in accomplishing this vital objective.

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