General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - June 2023

Jun 2023

Apr 07, 2024

Ikshvaku-era Coins Unearthed at Telangana's Buddhist Heritage Site

Telangana's Department of Heritage, in April 2024, unearthed a coin hoard at Phanigiri, a renowned Buddhist heritage site located 110 km away from the state capital of Hyderabad.
The lead coins were found in an earthen pot during the ongoing excavations in Telangana's Suryapet district by a team led by director N Sagar and co-excavator B Mallu. The coins numbering 3,730 bore an elephant symbol on the obverse and a Ujjain symbol on the reverse.
Studies concluded that the coins belong to the Ikshvaku period, said principal secretary Sailaja Ramaiyer and department's director Bharathi Hollikeri after visiting the site.

Apr 06, 2024

Meenesh Shah Elected as Chairman of NCDFI

The National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India Ltd. (NCDFI), the national-level apex dairy cooperative, elected its new Board of Directors. In the elections held, Meenesh Shah was unanimously chosen as the new Chairman of the organisation.
The election process was conducted by Praveen Chaudhary, IAS, the District Collector of Anand, who served as the Returning Officer. Prior to the Board elections, the NCDFI General Body had elected eight directors to the Board in an unopposed process.
NCDFI is the national-level apex dairy cooperative, registered on December 7, 1970 based at Anand, Gujarat. It operates under the provisions of the Multi State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023. The organisation has 20 Regular Members, 14 Associate Members, and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) as its Institutional Member.

Delhi High Court Appoints Retired Justice Najmi Waziri as Head of Committee to Protect Delhi's Fo...

The Delhi High Court appointed its former judge, Justice Najmi Waziri as the head of the internal departmental committee tasked with protection of forests in the national capital.
Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said that even though the forest officials are making efforts to protect forests and 'deemed forests' from further incursions and denudation of the forest trees, the land owning departments are not serious on the issue.
The Court noted that the land-owning agencies are not assisting the internal department committee, constituted on the Court's order, in collating the necessary documents, maps and other records.
Justice Waziri is known as the 'Green Judge' because of orders passed by him to increase the green cover in the city.

Union Health Ministry Launches myCGHS iOS App

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare introduced the myCGHS app for iOS, delivering enhanced healthcare accessibility and digital experiences to Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) beneficiaries. The app prioritizes user safety with robust security measures.
The myCGHS app is an essential leap for CGHS in the realm of healthcare services. It empowers CGHS beneficiaries with convenient access to essential healthcare features right at their fingertips. This initiative aligns with the government's vision of leveraging technology to enhance the quality and accessibility of healthcare services.
The myCGHS iOS app is developed by the technical teams of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) Himachal Pradesh and NIC Health Team. It is a convenient mobile application offering features aimed at enhancing information and accessibility for CGHS beneficiaries.

Apr 05, 2024

EC Ropes in Ayushmann Khurrana to Urge Youth to Vote

The Election Commission of India (ECI) roped in popular actor Ayushmann Khurrana to encourage the youth to exercise their franchise in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The 39-year-old actor features in the ECI's campaign video that urges youngsters to vote in the upcoming elections.
Santosh Ajmera, Director of Voter Education at ECI, New Delhi, praised Khurrana for supporting the ECI's campaign, aimed at addressing urban and youth apathy in electoral participation.

Home Ministry Cancels Registration of Five NGOs for 'Violation' of FCRA

The Home Ministry cancelled the FCRA registration of the NGOs for allegedly utilising funds for works that were not in their mandate.
The Union Home Ministry has cancelled the registration of at least five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) for alleged violation of various provisions, sources said Wednesday.
"With the cancellation of their FCRA registration, these NGOs will no longer be able to receive foreign contributions nor utilise the existing available funds," sources said.
The five NGOs are: Voluntary Health Association of India, CNI Synodical Board of Social Services, Indo-Global Social Service Society, Church's Auxiliary for Social Action, and Evangelical Fellowship of India.

After 25 Years in Lok Sabha, Sonia Gandhi Begins New Journey in Rajya Sabha

Having completed 25 years in the Lok Sabha, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi started her fresh innings in the Rajya Sabha after she took oath as a member of the Upper House.
She will represent Rajasthan in the Council of States by filling the seat that fell vacant after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh completed his tenure.
Sonia Gandhi is the second member of the Gandhi family to enter the Rajya Sabha after former prime minister and her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi, who had a two-and-a-half-year tenure (from August 1964 to February 1967) as a member of the Upper House.

Apr 04, 2024

Boxer and Former Congress Leader Vijender Singh Joins BJP

Vijender Singh, India's first Olympic medallist in boxing and a former Congress leader, joined the BJP.
Singh had fought the 2019 Lok Sabha election unsuccessfully from the South Delhi constituency as a Congress candidate.
Singh comes from the Jat community, which has political influence in a large number of seats in Haryana, the state he comes from, western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Santosh Kumar Jha as New CMD of Konkan Railway Corporation

Santosh Kumar Jha, an Indian Railway Traffic Services (IRTS) officer of the 1992 batch, assumed the role of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. (KRCL).
With 28 years of experience in the industry, Jha has worked in various domains, including Operations, Infrastructure Planning, and Business Development. He has held leadership positions in major divisions of Railways and has led significant business units in the logistics sector.
Jha has been instrumental in setting up Multi-Modal Logistic Hubs, Sidings, and Private Freight Terminals. His experience and expertise in the field make him well-suited for his new role as the CMD of KRCL.
Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. (KRCL) is a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways. With Jha's appointment, KRCL is poised to benefit from his extensive knowledge and leadership abilities.

'One Vehicle, One FASTag' Norm Implemented

State-owned National Highways Authority of India's 'One Vehicle, One FASTag' norm, which aims to discourage the use of single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to a particular vehicle, came into force. NHAI had extended the 'One Vehicle, One FASTag' initiative compliance deadline to March-end, in view of the problems being faced by Paytm FASTag users.
According to an NHAI official, people who have multiple FASTags for one vehicle won't be able to use all of them anymore.
The rationale behind the 'One Vehicle, One FASTag' initiative aims to enhance the efficiency of the electronic toll collection system and ensure smooth movement at toll plazas by discouraging the misuse of FASTags.

Apr 03, 2024

Sheyphali Sharan Takes Charge as Principal Director General, Press Information Bureau

Sheyphali B. Sharan assumed charge as the Principal Director General, Press Information Bureau, upon the superannuation (retirement) of Manish Desai. Sharan is an officer of the 1990 batch of Indian Information Service.
During her illustrious career spanning over three decades, Sharan has held cadre portfolios of largely looking after media publicity work as Press Information Bureau officer for Ministries such as Finance, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. She has also served as the Spokesperson for Election Commission of India.
The Press Information Bureau, commonly abbreviated as PIB, is a nodal agency of the Government of India under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It is based in National Media Centre, New Delhi.
t is available in 14 Indian official languages, which are Dogri, Punjabi, Bengali, Oriya, Gujarati, Marathi, Meitei (Manipuri), Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Konkani and Urdu, in addition to Hindi and English, out of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic.
Press Information Bureau was established in June 1919 as a small cell under Home Ministry under the British government.
In 1941, J. Natrajan became the first Indian to be head the Bureau as Principal Information Officer.

Poll Panel Appoints Special Observers in States

The Election Commission (EC) appointed 17 retired bureaucrats as its special observers in eight states where they would supervise the randomisation of personnel, security forces and EVMs and tackle the influence of money and muscle power during the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
The EC also transferred eight district magistrates and 12 SPs in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The EC also transferred DIG/IG rank officers. The decision was taken at a review meeting chaired by CEC Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and EC Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.

Manmohan Singh Retires From Rajya Sabha

Former and 13th Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and first PM outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to complete a full term in office, completed a remarkable political innings in the Rajya Sabha spanning 33 years.
The architect of India's economic liberalisation and the force behind the 2008 Indo-US nuclear agreement, Singh headed a government that transformed the social welfare framework with a bouquet of rights-based legislation and ushered in a slew of reforms including Direct Benefit Transfer and launched Aadhaar.
Singh entered the Upper House in October 1991, four months after he became the Union Finance Minister in June 1991. He represented Assam for five terms in the Upper House and shifted to Rajasthan in 2019.

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