CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
MoD sets up a committee to review the AFHQ CS cadre
- To enhance the military’s combat potential and rebalancing the defence expenditure, a three member committee has been set up by the Ministry of Defence.
- This is in line with the recommendation of the Lt Gen DB Shekatkar (retd) committee and its main task is to review the utilisation of the Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Services (AFHQ CS) cadre.
- The other two members include R Chandrashekhar, a retired AFHQ cadre officer and AN Das from the MoD finance wing.
- It is expected to conduct a study and identify appointments in Service HQs and Inter-Service Organisations (ISO) which could be falling within the domains of AFHQ CS officers. And which have been recognized in the report by the committee of experts due to their longer tenures and expertise.
- This three member committee is expected to interact with other branches, directorates of the service Headquarters and ISOs for their study. The report of the study carried out is expected to be submitted in November.
About MoD
- Defence Minister of India: Rajnath Singh
- Constituency: Lucknow, UP
Cabinet Approves Mission Karmayogi – National Programme For Civil Services Capacity Building
- The Union Cabinet approved Centre’s Mission Karmayogi for Civil Servants aimed at bringing post-recruitment reforms in government.
- The mission seeks to reincarnate the civil servants as an ideal servant to the nation.
- Mission Karmayogi which is the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building will lay the foundation for capacity building for Civil Servants so they remain entrenched in Indian culture while they learn from best practices across the world.
- It aims to prepare Indian Civil Servants for future by making them more creative, constructive, imaginative, innovative, proactive, professional, progressive, energetic, enabling, transparent and technology-enabled.
The key highlights of the programme are:
- Prescribe annual capacity building plan for all departments and services
- Monitor the implementation of the capacity building plan
- Massive capacity building initiative to ensure efficient service delivery
- Promotes technology driven learning pedagogy
- Strengthen common foundations and remove departmental silos
- Set benchmark for learning in public servants
- Democratization of learning to cover all categories
Ladakh, Lakshadweep join Centre’s ration card portability scheme
- Ladakh and Lakshadweep have the joined the Centre’s ration card portability scheme ‘One Nation-One Ration Card’, taking the total number of states and Union territories linked with the scheme to
- Under the scheme, eligible beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) will be able to avail their entitled foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS), also called ration shops, in the country using the same ration card.
- The integration of Ladakh and Lakshadweep with the national portability network was approved recently in a review meeting chaired by Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
- Remaining states are targeted to be integrated in the scheme by March 2021.
- The other 24 states/UTs which have joined the ration card portability network are — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
About Ladakh
- Lieutenant Governor: Radha Krishna Mathur
- Capital: Leh, Kargil
About Lakshadweep
- Capital: Kavaratti
- Administrator: Dineshwar Sharma IPS
Qutub Minar illuminated in red and white to mark Poland’s Solidarity movement
- Embassy of Poland and Polish Institute in Delhi illuminated Qutub Minar in Poland’s national colours, white and red, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the creation of Poland’s Solidarity movement.
- This year, 2020, marks the 40th anniversary of the creation of Solidarity.
- The Solidarity movement of Poland is a trade union based on Gandhian principles of non-violence that fought for civil rights in the country during the communist rule.
- Solidarity was originated in Gdańsk, Poland on 31 August 1980 and in a short time gathered 10 million members.
- The Chief Guest at the Qutub Minar function is Dinesh K Patnaik who is the Director General of the Indian Council of International Relations.
About Poland
- Capital: Warsaw
- Currency: Polish złoty
Cabinet approves signing of MoU between India and Japan for improving quality of Indian textiles for Japanese market
- Cabinet has approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between India and Japan for improving quality and testing of Indian textiles and clothing for the Japanese market.
- The MoU would enable M/s Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan in assigning Textile Committee as their cooperative Testing and Inspection service providers in India for Textiles and Apparel products.
- Government has also approved an MoU between India and Finland for cooperation in the field of Geology and Mineral Resources.
- The MoU facilitates cooperation in the field of geology, training, mineral prognostication and suitability analysis with the intent of reinforcing and strengthening scientific links.
About Japan:
- Capital: Tokyo
- Currency: Japanese yen
