Category: All Current Affairs

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev resigns

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the entire Russian government is stepping down after President Vladimir Putin proposed constitutional reforms that would weaken his successor.

The move could signal a power shift as the president will not be able to reject parliament’s choice of prime minister, deputy prime ministers and federal ministers in future administrations.

Putin’s critics have suggested that he is considering various scenarios to remain in power after 2024, including the option of becoming prime minister with extended powers. Russian President asked Medvedev’s Cabinet to keep working until the new Cabinet is formed.

Mega campaign ‘Saksham’ launched by Petroleum Ministry

Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas Dr. M M Kutty inaugurated fuel conservation mega campaign ‘Saksham‘ in New Delhi on 16 January 2020. The campaign was organized by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA). The campaign will be held for a month.

The annual event of Saksham aims at creating mass awareness among the public about conventional fuel conservation. On the occasion, the Secretary also flagged-off the publicity vans of PCRA which will visit states spreading the message of fuel conservation.

Highlighting the major advantages of fuel conservation, Mr Kutty stated, it will help in progressively reduction of carbon footprint and lead to fulfilling government’s commitment for greener environment. He said, foreign exchange can also be saved with this move.

Lucknow: 7th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference 2020 inaugurated

Lucknow hosted the 7th Conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region inaugurated by Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla. The conference was held with the theme of “Role Of Legislators“. CPA India Region conferences are held once in two years and the 6th conference was held in 2018.

During the two-day Plenary Sessions, delegates will discuss the Capacity Building of Legislators for Scrutinizing Budgetary Proposals and Enhancing Focus of Legislators on Legislative Business.

‘Indian Heritage in Digital Space’ exhibition inaugurated by Prahlad Singh Patel

‘Indian Heritage in digital Space’ exhibition was inaugurated by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture and Tourism, Prahlad Singh Patel in New Delhi on Wednesday, 15th January 2020, which will remain open for public till the 15th February 2020.

The month-long exhibition is a first of its kind in India in which the latest interventions from the cultural heritage domain are showcased with the technologies that are developed under the Department of Science and Technology’s initiative of India Digital Heritage (IDH). The exhibition aims to reach people in a way that they get a chance to know andunderstand the unseen aspects of heritage sites.

It introduces the history and features of heritage through the use of technology. The visitors will be able to see the recreations of the socio-cultural life and traditions of Hampi, architectural and conjectural reconstructions of several important structures and experience demystification of many murals in the exhibition.

MS Dhoni dropped from BCCI central contracts list 2019-20

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is most prominent omission from BCCI’s central contracts list for 2019-2020. The contracts for the October-September cycle are awarded by a three-member committee consisting of the BCCI president, secretary and chief selector based on the performance during the last cycle. Skipper Virat Kohli, his white-ball deputy Rohit Sharma and top pacer Jasprit Bumrah were retained in the highest A bracket of seven crore rupees.

Among others, batsman L. Rahul has been promoted from ‘B’ grade to ‘A’ category. Test opener Mayank Agarwal has been included in the Grade ‘B’ category, which also features Hardik Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal along with two others. Pacer Navdeep Saini and T20 specialist Washington Sundar are new entrants in Grade ‘C’ alongside Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur.

Veteran Cricketer Mithali Raj was demoted to Grade ‘B’ from ‘A’ while Radha Yadav and Taniya Bhatia were elevated to the middle bracket. T20 skipper Harmanpreet Kaur retained her ‘A’ category contract alongside Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav. Players getting a central contract for the first time are 15-year-old opener Shafali Verma and Harleen Deol.

CARA celebrates its 5th Annual Day in New Delhi

Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) celebrated its 5th Annual Day in New Delhi on 15 January 2020. Secretary WCD, Rabindra Panwar along with other senior officials of the Ministry, its associated Statutory/ Autonomous Bodies and representatives from the States and Union Territories participated in the function. Souvenirs to commemorate the Annual Day was unveiled during the event. 

CARA is an apex body of the Government of India. It was established in 1990. It promotes and facilitates In-country Adoption. The designated Central Authority for regulating Inter-country Adoption was designated as a Statutory Body on 15 January 2016, under the provisions of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. It gives emphasis to the rehabilitation of older and special needs children in various Child Care Institutions across the country.

The 6th National Standards Conclave being held in New Delhi.

The 6th National Standards Conclave is being held in New Delhi on 15-16 January. At the Conclave, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the new BIS Act will relook at all standards for goods and services to balance the interest of consumers. He also stated that India would not allow the imports without the specific HSN (internationally recognised identification code for specific products) codes.

The conclave is organised by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Export Inspection Council of India (EIC), National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) and the Centre for Research on International Trade.

Renewable Energy Investors’ Meet 2020 held in New Delhi

Renewable Energy Investors’ Meet 2020 was held on 9 January in New Delhi. The meet was organized by Indian Railways and Railway Energy Management Company Ltd. (REMCL). The Investors’ Meet aimed to disseminate information about the opportunities available under renewable energy in Indian Railways. 

Various experience of developers with Railways and key benefits of partnering with Indian Railways was showcased during the meet. The investors shared their expectations of being partners in the journey of renewable energy of Indian Railways. 

The participants acknowledged the efforts of Indian Railways in leading the development of renewable energy. They re-affirmed their strong support to Indian Railways on the path of going green and achieving the net-zero carbon emissions target by 2030.

Chhattisgarh: Rojgaar Sangi mobile app connects trained candidates with jobs

The Chhattisgarh State Skill Development Authority (CSSDA) has launched a mobile phone app – ‘Rojgaar Sangi’. The app has been developed with the help of National Informatics Centre (NIC).

The mobile application aims to connect trained candidates with the jobs and also help start-up companies to hire an office staff. It will increase accessibility for skilled and trained candidates which in turn will increase job opportunities.

The app is expected to benefit 7 lakh students who were trained under the courses offered by CSSDA. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) institute is part of the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s Department.

CCI orders anti-probe against Amazon, Flipkart

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) ordered a probe into alleged competition law violations by Amazon and Walmart Inc.-owned Flipkart over allegations that the e-commerce majors promoted and gave discounts to ‘preferred’ sellers, entered into exclusive partnerships with smartphone brands and abused their dominant position.

CCI noted four alleged practices on both the marketplaces – exclusive launch of mobile phones, preferred sellers on the platforms, deep discounting and preferential promotion of private labels. The order follows a complaint filed by Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, whose members comprise many traders dealing in smartphones and related accessories.

The anti-trust body said such exclusive arrangements between smartphone or mobile phone brands and e-commerce platforms or select companies selling exclusively on either of the platforms merits an investigation. The Competition Commission has asked the Director General to complete the investigation and submit a report within 60 days.