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NATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2022

May 2022

Jun 23, 2023

Retired Allahabad HC Judge Umesh Kumar Appointed Chairman of DERC

Former Allahabad High Court judge Umesh Kumar was appointed the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission chairman by the President, a move likely to fuel a fresh tussle between the LG and the AAP government as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had suggested another retired judge for the post.
According to a statement issued by the lieutenant governor's office, Justice Umesh Kumar (retired) was appointed the DERC chairman by President Droupadi Murmu in the exercise of powers conferred by Section 45(b) of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, read with sub-section 2 of Section 84 of the Electricity Act, 2003.
Chief Minister Kejriwal had in January recommended the name of retired High Court judge Rajeev Kumar Srivastava for appointment as the chairperson of the power regulator.

Two- day G-20 Labour Engagement Summit Concludes in Bihar

In Bihar, the capital city Patna hosted a two-day G-20 Labour Engagement summit on June 22 and 23. The Arts and Culture Department of the State was the nodal agency for this mega event, which witnessed participation of around 180 delegates of G20 member countries.
As per the nodal officer, the government of Bihar took this occasion as privilege to showcase its rich arts, cultural heritage and tourism to visiting delegates.
During the two-day mega event, representatives from trade unions and officials of G-20 countries brainstormed over the issues of labour and skill in the sectors of agriculture, energy, employment, environment and allied areas.

Jun 22, 2023

Yoga Day Event Organised in Surat Sets new Guinness World Record

The Yoga Day event organised in Gujarat's Surat set a new Guinness World Record for the largest gathering for a yoga session in one place with 1.53 lakh people joining the program. The previous world record was set in 2018 in Kota city of Rajasthan when 1,00,984 people participated in a Yoga Day session in one place.

Hasmukh Adhia New Chairman of GIFT City

Senior retired bureaucrat and former Union Finance Secretary & Revenue Secretary, Hasmukh Adhia, was appointed Chairman of GIFT City Ltd, the entity responsible for developing India's first smart city Gujarat International Finance-Tec City in Gandhinagar. As GIFT City Chairman, Adhia replaced Sudhir Mankad, former chief secretary of Gujarat.
Besides GIFT City, Adhia was also been appointed Director and Chairman of the boards of State public sector undertakings Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd (GACL) and Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (GMDC) with immediate effect.

NHAI Launches 'Knowledge Sharing Platform' to Share Best Practices for Infrastructure Growth

The National Highway Authority of India launched the 'Knowledge Sharing' platform to encourage the inclusive development of national highways, as mentioned by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway. The platform is designed to facilitate the sharing of ideas and knowledge by experts and citizens in the fields of road design, safety, construction, environmental sustainability, and other related fields.
This platform will motivate people to share the best ideas and practices from around the globe, which will help in the development of the infrastructure of the National Highways in the country.
The platform 'Knowledge Sharing' seeks to strengthen the engagement and collaboration of ideas and thoughts among experts and citizens, allowing them to contribute their best practices as a part of the nation-building process.

UNDP Partners with DAY-NULM Towards Empowering Women Entrepreneurs

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) entered into a collaborative partnership aimed at empowering women to make well-informed career choices in the field of entrepreneurship.
The partnership will provide support for women looking to start and expanding their own enterprises, particularly in sectors such as care economy, digital economy, electric mobility, waste management, food packaging and more. Focused on fostering entrepreneurship development and accelerating enterprise growth, the three-year project, extendable beyond 2025, will cover eight cities in the initial phase.

G20 Tourism Working Group and Tourism Ministerial Meetings Concludes in Goa

The concluding and last G20 Tourism Working Group meeting along with the Tourism Ministerial Meeting concluded in Goa. Union Minister For Culture, Tourism And Development Of North Eastern Region (DoNER) G. Kishan Reddy addressed first session of "Making Cruise Tourism a Model for Sustainable and Responsible Travel', in which he highlighted the immense growth potential of the Indian cruise industry. He said that with 7500 km of coastline and a vast river system, India is one of the potential cruise tourism destinations with many of its best tourist destinations yet to be disclosed to the world.
The two key deliverables of the Tourism Working Group were Goa Roadmap for tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals and G20 Tourism Ministers' Declaration. The Ministry of Tourism has made positive progress on finalizing these two key deliverables. The G20 Tourism Working Group meeting and Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Goa aim to strengthen economic growth, preserve cultural heritage, and promote sustainable development of the region.

Jun 20, 2023

UP Prisons to Be Known as 'Reform Homes'

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, made a significant decision to reform the prison system in the state. During a high-level meeting where he reviewed the conditions of the current prisons, Adityanath issued crucial guidelines that emphasised the importance of prisoner rehabilitation.
One of the most notable guidelines was the renaming of Uttar Pradesh's prisons to 'Sudhaar Grah' or Reform Homes.
This move implied a shift from the current approach to prisons, as it went beyond the mere detention of prisoners and aimed to foster a culture of reform and rehabilitation.
By renaming Uttar Pradesh's prisons as 'Reform Homes,' Chief Minister Adityanath signalled his commitment to a novel approach to criminal justice that prioritised rehabilitation and reform above mere retribution.
The chief minister also announced that the state government has introduced a new parole policy that will enable more inmates to be released from prison on parole, subject to certain conditions.
The policy aims to reduce overcrowding in prisons and enable more prisoners to be rehabilitated into society.

India, Philippines Ink MoU for Fintech Cooperation

After having inked a deal for the BrahMos missile systems, India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to further financial technology (fintech) cooperation with the Philippines. The MoU was signed by Ambassador of India Shambhu Kumaran and Benjamin E. Diokno of the Philippines Department of Finance.
The MoU envisages the constitution of a Joint Working Group (JWG) co-chaired by Finance Ministries of both countries and comprising senior representatives from Foreign and IT Ministries, central banks, financial sector regulatory institutions and other related agencies as members.
The JWG will identify concrete measures for partnership in innovative technologies, fintech industry, digital governance, payment linkages, creation of interoperable APIs, financial inclusion and other related areas.
This MoU would serve as an enabler in building such a partnership by providing an institutional framework for cooperation on three key areas: digitalisation of payments, direct benefit transfer using national ID and financial inclusion.

Jammu and Kashmir Completes 5-year Central Rule

Jammu and Kashmir completed five years without an elected government, prompting a scathing attack from the mainstream National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party over the delay in restoration of democracy in the Union Territory.
On August 5, 2019, the Centre revoked Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into two Union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti resigned from the post of the Chief Minister on June 19, 2018 after alliance partner BJP withdrew support to her coalition government.

Jitan Ram Manjhi's Ham Announces Withdrawal of Support to Nitish Govt.

Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) withdrew its support to the Nitish Kumar government in the state and a letter to the effect was handed over to Governor Rajendra Arlekar. Manjhi, who met the governor along with his son Santosh Suman, the national president of HAM, also said that he will be in Delhi for the next few days during which he will try to meet leaders of the NDA, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, to explore future options.

Jun 19, 2023

Centre Unveils Dugdh Sanakalan Sathi Mobile App

Union Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey launched the groundbreaking 'Dugdh Sanakalan Sathi Mobile App' in Mussorie, Uttarakhand.
The app, developed by Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited (REIL), a 'Mini Ratna' Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, aims to bring about a significant transformation in the Indian dairy industry by addressing key challenges in the milk collection process.
This mobile app aims to improve the quality of milk, foster transparency among stakeholders, and streamline operations at the grassroots village level, including milk cooperative societies.
As per Mahendra Nath Pandey, through this App Ministry of Heavy Industry has taken a revolutionary step towards realizing the commitment of government of India to digitize the process and facilitate Direct Beneficiary Transfer to milk producers.

PM Modi Proposes Full G20 Membership for African Union

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to the leaders of the G20 nations proposing the African Union be given full, permanent membership of the diplomatic group at its September summit in India.
Modi's proposal to grant the African Union full membership in the G20 demonstrates India's commitment to strengthening Africa's representation and partnership in shaping global affairs.
The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies. The members represent around 85% of global GDP, over 75% of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
The grouping comprises 19 countries and the European Union.

G20 Agriculture Ministers Meeting Adopts 'Outcome Document'

The three-day G20 Agriculture Ministers Meeting that concluded adopted an 'Outcome Document and Chair's Summary', which reiterated its commitment to food security and nutrition for all while also calling for action on food security and nutrition.
Describing the consensus in adopting the document as historical, an official release said that it was reached after deliberations on various issues centred around the agriculture sector wherein leadership of G20 developing countries was envisaged.
The meeting was attended by the 20 member countries of the grouping, the invited countries and representatives of 10 international organisations.

Jun 18, 2023

West Bengal Govt. Challenges Deployment of Central Forces in Panchayat Polls

West Bengal government filed a review petition in Calcutta High Court against the deployment of Central Forces in all districts of the state for panchayat polls.
In response to the escalating tensions, there was substantial deployment of security forces in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Various regions, particularly the Bhangar block, witnessed clashes between supporters of the ruling TMC and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) led by Naushad Siddiqui over two days.
Following incidents of violence during the nomination process for the upcoming Panchayat elections in West Bengal, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court led by the Chief Justice issued an order for the deployment of Central Paramilitary forces in all districts of the state.

Ratnesh Sada Takes Oath as Bihar Minister

Ratnesh Sada, the Janata Dal-United MLA from the Sonbarsa assembly seat, took oath as a minister in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's cabinet. The oath of office and secrecy was administered to Sada by Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan.
Sada is a three-time MLA from the Sonbarsa (SC) seat. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and several other dignitaries were present at the swearing-in ceremony. Santosh Kumar Suman, the son of former CM and Hindustani Awam Morcha HAM(S) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi, had quit the Nitish Kumar cabinet paving the way for Sada's induction.

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