Revamped Aadhaar Toll-Free Helpline Number 1947 Launched
- The UIDAI, launched a revamped version of its Toll-free helpline number 1947, to help residents get quick access to information about Aadhaar on November 14, 2016.
- The free of cost helpline 1947 will be available 24×7 throughout the year on IVRS mode, while Call-Centre agents will be available from 7 am to 11 pm (Monday to Saturday). On Sundays, agents will answer calls from 8 am to 5 pm. On an average the helpline number handles about 1.5 lakh calls per day. The Aadhaar toll-free helpline 1947 will among other things, enable residents to locate an Aadhaar Enrolment Centre, know generation status of an Aadhaar number (after enrolment) and help retrieve Aadhaar details of any person who has lost his/her Aadhaar or hasn’t received it through post.
Second Visitor’s Conference Commenced
- The President of India, Pranab Mukherjpe launched the National Student Startup Policy on the opening day of the second Visitor’s Conference on November 16, 2016.
- The National Student Startup Policy, formulated by AICTE, aims to create 100000 technology based student startups and a million employment opportunities within the next 10 years.
- The policy plans on achieving this by developing an ideal entrepreneurial ecosystem and promoting strong inter-institutional partnerships among technical institutions. It emphasises the much-desired need for an appropriate startup policy to propel the youth of India through and beyond the 21st century.
Government Extended AFSPA to Check Naga Factions
- The Union government extended the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in three districts of Arunachal Pradesh on November 11, 2016.
- One of the primary reasons cited by the Centre is extortion and intimidation’ by the cadres of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), who are “contriving to dominate areas hitherto occupied by NSCN (Khaplang)”.
- After decades of violence, the NSCN-IM had entered into a ceasefire agreement with India in 1997. The largest group representing the Nagas has demanded a ‘Greater Nagalim’ or a contiguous land for the Nagas, across the States of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram.
Government Launched World’s Largest Nation-Building Digital Initiative
- The Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the world’s largest digital national building initiative Smart India Hackathon 2017 on November 11, 2016.
- Through Smart India Hackathon 2017, HRD Ministry is keen on reaching out to all technology institutions in India and challenge students to offer innovative solutions to some of the daunting problems faced by our nation.
- All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), University Grants Commission (UGC), i4c, MyGov, NASSCOM, Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini and Persistent Systems joined hands to organise this ambitious ‘Smart India Hackathon 2017’ under the aegis of Ministry of Human Resource Development.
- ‘Smart India Hackathon 2017’ will harness creativity & technical expertise of over 30 lakh students from technology institutes in remotest parts of India, to spark several institute-level hackathons countrywide and help build a funnel for ‘Startup India, Standup India’ campaign.
Blacklisting Policy for Tainted Defence Deals Approved
- The government approved the long- pending policy for blacklisting firms involved in corruption in arms purchases on Novemer 8, 2016.
- The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) also accorded approval to begin the procurement process for fighter jets, tanks and attack helicopters cumulatively worth over Rs 82000 crore, all produced domestically.
- An AON is the first step in the long process of acquisition under the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP).
- The government has also re-designated the two projects under the recently created Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured (IDDM) category under the DPP.
India Hosted the 7th Session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP7)
- Seventh session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP7) held in India from November 7 to 12, 2016. The meetings, jointly organised by the government of India and the Convention Secretariat.
- It will bring together the WHO FCTC’s 180 Parties -which includes almost every country in the world, as well as regional economic integration organizations like the European Union.
- It is the first occasion that a CoP meeting is being held in India and signals a strong and generous commitment J of the government of lndia to increase international cooperation and awareness of the WHO FCTC globally and especially in the WHO South-East Asia Region.
