Important Events of
January,
February & March 2015
Around India [Jan – Mar, 2015]
66th Republic Day Function of India
Ø Chief
Guest: Mr. Barack Obama (President of USA)
Ø Theme:
Women’s Power or Nari Shakthi
Ø For
the first time featured all-women contingents of the three Services march
across Rajpath
Ø While
Captain Divya Ajith of the Corps of
Army Air Defence lead the Army contingent, the Navy contingent was led by
Lieutenant Commander Sandhya Chauhan
and Air Force contingent was led by Squadron Leader Sneha Shekhawat.
Ø Wing
Commander Pooja Thakur: she became
the first woman officer to command the tri-service guard of honour for a
visiting head of state (US President)
Ø New-born
state Telangana, made its Republic Day debut showcased its illustrious festival
'Bonalu', celebrated to worship Mahakali goddess in the month of Ashada
Ø Prime
Minister Narendra Modi gifted President Barack Obama a piece of India-U.S.
history, a copy of the first telegram from the United States to India’s
Constituent Assembly in 1946. [The telegram was sent by the then Acting
Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, to Sachchidananda Sinha, provisional Chairman
of the Constituent Assembly.]
India’s first digital Village
Ø Akodara
(Sabarkantha Dt) in Gujarat
Ø Associated
Bank: ICICI
Ø Concept
of digital Akodara is based on three “Cs”: Cashless, Connected and
Comprehensive
Varanasi – Kyoto Pact: 5 areas
identified
Ø Union
Government identified five areas for rejuvenating the holy city under the
Kyoto-Varanasi partnership deal [signed between India and Japan in August 2014].
Ø Japan
will extend its expertise to help in rejuvenating Varanasi under the
Kyoto-Varanasi partnership deal. The identified areas include:
•
Solid-liquid waste management
•
Transport management
•
Developing the Buddhist tourist circuit in and around Varanasi
•
Industry-university interface
•
Setting up of a convention centre on public-private partnership basis for
giving a fillip to the cultural activities in the city
Ø The
Varanasi-Kyoto partnership deal is a part of Sister City Cooperation that was
signed between India and Japan during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s five-day
visit to Japan in August 2014.
Ø Prime
Minister Narendra Modi is a Member of Parliament from Lok Sabha seat of
Varanasi.
Ø Varanasi
and Kyoto are one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world.
Ø Varanasi
on the one hand is called the cultural capital of India and is the oldest
living city in the world.
Ø On
the other hand, Kyoto is a place of ancient temples and shrines and practically
called the cultural centre of Japan. It has been the Capital of Japan till the
end of Nara Period (794 AD) after which the emperor moved to Tokyo.
India’s first 100% broadband coverage
District
Ø Idukki
Dt in Kerala
Ø With
the commissioning of the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN), the Idukki
district of Kerala has become the first in India to be connected with the high
speed broadband for all the areas of the district.
NJAC Bill, 2014
Ø President
gave his assent to the Bill
Ø Also
called as 121st Constitutional Amendment Bill
Ø Gives
NJAC (National Judicial Appointments Commission) a Constitutional Status for
appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts
Ø Specifies
amendments to Articles 124 (2) and 127 (1)
Ø NJAC
comprises of CJI (Chairperson) + 2 Senior most SC Judges + Union Law Minister +
2 Eminent Personalities
India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO)
Ø Union
Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved to set up the
India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Tamil Nadu
Ø Will
be set up near Pottipuram village in the Bodi West Hills of Theni district in
Tamil Nadu.
Ø The
project is at an estimated cost of 1500 crore rupees.
Ø Project
will be jointly supported by the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department
of Science and Technology.
Ø INO
Project Director is Naba Mondal
Ø Political
Parties in Tamil Nadu; now the case is in Court
EU decided to lift ban on Indian
Mangoes
Ø European
Union (EU) decided to lift a seven-month-long ban on the import of mangoes from
India
Ø The
decision to lift the ban was made after India, the world’s biggest producer of
Mangoes made significant improvements in plant health controls and
certification system.
Ø European
Union issued a temporary ban on import of Indian mangoes on 1 May 2014 after
fruit flies and other quarantine pests were found in 207 consignments
NITI Aayog
|
NITI
Aayog
|
|
|
Chairman
|
Mr. Narendra Modi
|
|
Vice Chairman
|
Mr. Arvind Panagariya, Economist
|
|
Full-Time Members
|
Mr. Bibek Debroy, Economist
|
|
|
Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Former Secretary Defence R&D
|
|
Ex-Officio Members
|
Mr. Rajnath Singh, Union Minister
|
|
|
Mr. Arun Jaitley, Union Minister
|
|
|
Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister
|
|
|
Mr. Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister
|
|
Special Invitees
|
Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister
|
|
|
Mr. Thawar Chand Gehlot, Union Minister
|
|
|
Mrs. Smirti Zubin Irani, Union Minister
|
|
CEO
|
Ms. Sindhushree Khullar
|
MADAD
Ø Government
of India launched a new website known as 'MADAD'. This website will provide a
platform for Indian citizens living abroad to file consular grievances online.
Ø The
tagline is Because You Are Us
Ø It was launched as
a pilot project for seven countries. These included the six Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) countries including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and
Bahrain, and Malaysia.
Nitish Kumar – CM of Bihar
Ø Change
of Guard in Bihar once again
Ø Nitish
Kumar replaced Jitan Ram Manjhi as the State Chief Minister
Maharashtra gives green signal for GM
food trials
Ø Maharashtra
Government granted No Objection Certificates (NOC) for open field trials of
genetically modified (GM) lines of rice, chana (chickpeas), maize, brinjal and
cotton
Ø With
this permission, Maharashtra became the fourth state after Punjab, Delhi and
Andhra Pradesh to approve open field trials in GM crop
14th Finance Commission
Ø Union
Government accepted the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission
Ø 14th
Finance Commission covers the periods of 2015-2020
Ø 14th
Finance Commission was headed by Dr. Y. V. Reddy
Ø
Accepting
recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, Prime Minister Modi wrote to
all state governments saying the Centre has decided to devolve maximum money to
states and allow them the required freedom to plan the course of states'
development.
Ø
Addressing
the chief ministers, the Prime Minister said his government has been working to
strengthen India's federal polity and promote cooperative federalism
Delhi
Assembly Election
Ø Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) headed by Arvind Kejriwal secured absolute majority in the
assembly by winning 67 seats in the house of 70 seats.
Ø BJP’s
Chief Ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi lost to AAP
Ø Congress
secured zero
Delhi Dialogue Commission
Ø A
thinktank launched by AAP’s Aravind Kejriwal in Delhi
Ø To
implement the party’s 70-point agenda of governance
Justice K S Radhakrishnan Panel
Ø Supreme
Court (SC) appointed panel on road safety headed by Justice (retd) KS
Radhakrishnan submitted its report before the apex court.
Ø In
its report, the panel has recommended for ban on sale of alcohol on highways,
both National and State highways, to curb the menace of road accident
National Food Security Bill
Ø The
National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) has deemed to have come into force on
05.07.2013.
Ø 11
States/Union Territories (UTs) implement this scheme: Bihar, Chandigarh,
Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan
Bills Passed in Parliament
Ø Citizenship
(Amendment) Bill, 2015
Ø Insurance
Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015
Ø Coal
Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015
Ø Land
Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, 2015
Ø Mines
and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015
Ø Motor
Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015
Ø Warehousing
Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2015
Ø Repealing
and Amending Bill, 2014
Ø Andhra
Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2015
Modi reviews Project Sagarmala
Ø Project
Sagarmala: to improve the Indian Major ports
Ø Union
Cabinet gave its ‘in-principle’ approval for the concept and institutional
framework of the Project
Ø Project
Sagarmala: originally started by the then PM Vajpayee
Ø PRAGATI:
Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation
Ø PRAGATI is a
unique integrating and interactive platform. The platform is aimed at
addressing common man’s grievances, and simultaneously monitoring and reviewing
important programmes and projects of the Government of India as well as
projects flagged by State Governments
Ø The
PRAGATI platform uniquely bundles three latest technologies: Digital data
management, video-conferencing and geo-spatial technology.
Ø It also offers a
unique combination in the direction of cooperative federalism since it brings
on one stage the Secretaries of Government of India and the Chief Secretaries
of the States
Ø Union
Ministry of Food Processing Industries sanctioned 17 Mega Food Parks (MFPs).
Ø These
parks are aimed at creating state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities to
reduce food wastage and create value addition.
Ø Kerala,
Telangana, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu were sanctioned two MFPs
each ; Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar were
sanctioned one MFP each
Ø The
Scheme was launched in 2008 by UPA Government. Its focus is to overcome the
bottlenecks in the food supply chain due to which around 33 percent food is
wasted in India making it the largest food waster in the world. A Mega Food
Park entails an area of a minimum of 50 acres and works in a cluster based
approach based on a hub and spokes model. Union government provides a financial
assistance of up to 50 crore rupees to set up a MFP
Operation Smile & Operation Milap
Ø The
Ghaziabad Police, Uttar Pradesh launched an operation named ‘Operation Smile’ in the month of
September, 2014 to identify, track, locate, rescue and rehabilitate children
who went missing and found to be subjected to abuse and exploitation.
Ø Till
date 553 children from various parts of the country have been recovered and
most of them have been handed over to their parents by the Ghaziabad Police.
Ø Thereafter,
Government of Uttar Pradesh implemented a similar operation throughout the
State.
Ø Delhi
Police have also launched a special drive `Operation
Milap’ to reunite missing children with their parents through the Anti
Human Trafficking Units (AHTU).
Ø In
this special drive, all the Children Homes in Delhi are checked for matching
the records of the children inmates with the available data of
missing/kidnapped children.
Meenakumari Report
Ø Expert
Committee constituted under the Chairpersonship of Dr. B. Meenakumari for
comprehensive review of deep-sea fishing Policy and Guidelines has been
received in the Ministry of Agriculture in August 2014.
Ø Representations
from some quarters have been received on the report. The report has been placed
on the website of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries
inviting comments from all stakeholders.
PCPIRs
Ø PCPIR:
Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Regions
Ø Government
of India has approved setting up four PCPIRs in the states of
1) Andhra
Pradesh (Vishakhapatnam – Kakinada)
2) Gujarat
(Dahej)
3) Odisha
(Paradeep) and
4) Tamil
Nadu (Cuddalore – Nagapattinam)
Project Mausam
Ø Government
has proposed to establish cross cultural linkages and to revive historic
maritime cultural and economic ties under ‘Project Mausam’ with 39 Indian Ocean
countries.
Ø The
39 countries include Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Iraq,
Mauritius, Singapore, Thailand, Yemen, South Africa, Philippines, Pakistan
among others.
Ø Project
‘Mausam’ was launched in the 30th Session of World Heritage Committee meeting
which was held at Doha, Quatar in June, 2014 and since then it has received
positive response from countries such as China, UAE, Qatar, Myanmar, Iran and
Vietnam.
Debroy Panel
Ø The Bibek Debroy-headed
panel set up to suggest ways to restructure railways has recommended drastic
reforms such as allowing private players to run passenger as well as freight
trains, producing coaches, wagons and locomotives and switching over to
commercial accounting of railway functions.
Ø Chief
Minister Chandrababu Naidu has zeroed in on `Amaravati' as the name of the new
capital of Andhra Pradesh. The spelling
of `Amaravati' as spelt in English with three As would mark it as different
from the Amravati district and town in Maharashtra.
Ø Naidu
is believed to have selected Amaravati, on the banks of the river Krishna,
based on the fact that this would connect a modern city with its ancient past.
Ø Around
2,000 years ago, Amaravati was a major Buddhist centre, the archaeological
remains of which are barely 32 km from the core capital region.
Ø Gujarat
Assembly passed the landmark Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime
Bill 2015.
Ø The
new Bill is a re-worked version of the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Bill
(GUJCOC), 2003, which was earlier rejected twice by the President due to some
of its contentious provisions.
Ø The State
government passed the Bill amid strong opposition
Ø Indian
Government’s combat operation in evacuating its citizens from Yemen
Ø INS
Sumidhra
Ø Minister
Gen V K Singh deployed directly
Ø India
not only evacuated its citizens but also foreign nationals of several countries
Ø India’s
evacuation operation received positive responses from various countries like US
and European countries
Ø India
scored 100% in its humanitarian diplomacy
Ø Indian
Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)
Ø PSLV
- C27
Ø From
Sriharikota
Ø IRNSS
will have a total of 7 satellites; so far 4 launched
Ø SC
declared Section 66A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 as
unconstitutional and struck it down.
Ø The
section empowers law enforcement agencies to arrest those who post objectionable
content online and provides for a three-year jail term
Ø SC
said that, the section 66A violates the citizens fundamental right to freedom
of speech and expression provided in the Article 19 (1)(a), not saved by
Article 19(2), of the Constitution of India
Ø PIL was filed by
Shreya Singhal in 2012
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