Posts Tagged: General Knowledge

Skill-development Scheme for Maoist-hit Areas

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In an effort to reach out to the youth in Maoist-hit regions, the Central Government on June 7, 2013 launched a new scheme. The placement-linked skill-development scheme, named Roshni, targets rural men and women, mostly tribals, in the Maoist-affected areas. Launching the scheme, Union Rural Development Minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh announced that Rs. 100 crore […]

Central Government Decontrols Sugar Industry

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The Central Government on April 4, 2013 decontrolled the Rs. 80,000-crore sugar industry. Through this decision, the government allowed market forces to come into play by abolishing the monthly release mechanism and doing away with sugar mills obligation to supply levy sugar for subsidised distribution under the public distribution system (PDS). The government said that […]

India Fares Poorly in UNDP’s Human Development Index

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The Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was released on March 14, 2013. India was ranked 136th among 187 countries in the HDI, which measures progress in life expectancy, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living or gross national income per capita. The index puts India’s HDI value […]

President Gives His Assent To National Food Security Ordinance

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Hon’ble President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the National Food Security Ordinance on July 5, 2013, two days after the Union Cabinet approved a proposal for promulgating an ordinance on the politically crucial Bill. The much-hyped Bill seeks to legally entitle 67 percent of the country’s total population to subsidised food grains every […]

SIPRI’s Latest Update On Global Nuclear Arsenals

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Sweden-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released on June 2, 2013 a host of statistics on the latest global nuclear arms scenario. As per the study, each of India, Pakistan and China added 10-20 nuclear weapons to its arsenal in 2013. The top four nuclear nations – the US, Russia, the UK and France […]

Formation of National Capital Region Transport Corporation Limited (NCRTC)

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The Union Cabinet today approved constitution of National Capital Region Transport Corporation Limited (NCRTC) under the Companies Act, 1956 with initial seed capital of Rs.100 crore as per Company Act, 1956 for designing, developing, implementing, financing, operating and maintaining Regional Rapid Transit system (RRTS) in National Capital Region (NCR) to provide comfortable and fast transit […]

Block Institutes of Teachers Education to be Established in 196 SC/ST/Minority Concentrated Districts

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The HRD Ministry has approved setting up of Block Institutes of Teachers Education in 196 districts during the current Five Year Plan. These institutes will be opened in SC/ST/Minority concentrated districts. More than 690 crore rupees have been approved with 1/3rd of this investment being made in 8 high deficit states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, […]

Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) in the XIIth Five Year Plan

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The Government of India has accorded a high priority to the Sanitation Sector. In the 12th Plan an outlay of Rs. 34,377 crores has been provided for rural sanitation as compared to Rs. 6540 crores in the 11th Plan, which is a significantly higher allocation (425% higher than the 11th Plan). The goal is to […]

Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga designated as WHO Collaborating Centre in Traditional Medicine (YOGA)

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The Department of Yoga Therapy and Training of MDNIY has been designated as WHO Collaborating Centre in Traditional Medicine for a period of four years recently. This is the result of the efforts initiated in 2008 when MDNIY started collaborating with WHO Country Office under the biennium programme of traditional medicine and developed Yoga Resource […]