General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2015

May 2015

May 04, 2021

Central Vista Project: Construction of PM's Residence to be Completed by Dec. 2022

The construction of the Prime Minister's residence under the ambitious Central Vista project will be completed by December 2022, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has informed a government-appointed expert panel, which has given its nod to the project.
The CPWD, which is the project developer, informed the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) that the expansion of the Parliament building and the construction of a new Parliament building will be done by November 2022 and the prime minister's residence will be constructed by December 2022.
The Ministry of Environment has already granted the clearance for the expansion and renovation of the existing Parliament building, which is part of the Rs. 13,450 crore Central Vista Redevelopment Project.

In Assam, BJP Tasked with Striking Balance

Assam may have given the BJP a lot to cheer, but it is still facing a tricky challenge to strike the right balance of power between its two Assam strongmen — Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma.
While incumbent CM Sonowal is credited with helping the BJP retain Assam on account of his work, popularity and clean image, Sarma is seen as someone who helped the party gain strength ever since he joined in 2014. Speculation is rife over Sarma being shifted to the Centre and Sonowal being anointed the CM, or vice-versa.
Observers say much can be deciphered from the party's hesitancy in naming its Chief Minister's face in the run-up to 2021 Assembly polls.

Justice Prafulla Chandra Pant Appointed as the Acting Chairperson of the NHRC

The National Human Rights Commission appointed NHRC member Justice (retired) Prafulla Chandra Pant as the acting chairperson of the Commission.
A former Supreme Court judge, Justice Pant was appointed member of the NHRC in April 2019. The post of chairperson has been vacant since Justice H.L. Dattu, a former Chief Justice of India, completed his tenure on December 2, 2020.

Pinarayi Vijayan Submits Resignation to Kerala Governor

Pinarayi Vijayan who led the ruling CPI(M)-headed LDF in Kerala to a resounding victory in the April 6 Assembly polls, resigned from the post, ahead of the new ministry formation.
Vijayan submitted his resignation letter to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.
Vijayan has been asked to continue as Chief Minister till the new government is sworn in.

India-UK Close to Signing Migration and Mobility Partnership

As per reports, India and the UK are close to signing a "migration and mobility partnership", which could see thousands more Indian students enrol at UK universities in exchange for illegal Indian migrants being sent back.
The partnership forms part of a wider set of agreements in the pipeline during the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, invited by his UK counterpart Dominic Raab as a guest at the multilateral G7 Foreign and Development Ministers meeting this week.
A bilateral meeting between Raab and Jaishankar is scheduled for Thursday at Chevening in Kent, south-east England.

May 03, 2021

S. Jaishankar on Four-day Visit to London for G7 Foreign Ministers' Meet

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is on a four-day visit to London primarily to attend a meeting of Foreign Ministers of Group of Seven (G7) rich nations. The United Kingdom has invited India for an in-person G7 Foreign Ministers meeting, for which FMs of Australia, South Korea, South Africa, and the Chair and Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have also been invited.
External Affairs Minister will be visiting London from 3-6 May 2021 to participate in the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting, at which India has been invited as a guest country. He will thereafter undertake a bilateral visit to the UK.

Assembly Election 2021 Results

The official results for the high-stakes assembly elections held in four states and one Union Territory are almost out now for the majority of the constituencies and barring West Bengal, the predictions of exit polls remained more or less close to the actual results and trends in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
As per reports, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) has retained power in West Bengal for the third consecutive time, whereas, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) headed by Pinarayi Vijayan has made the first re-election in 44 years. In Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has dethroned incumbent Edappadi K Palaniswami's All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), while the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliances (BJP) have won in Assam and Puducherry.
The LDF broke Kerala's record of voting out every incumbent government for the past four decades and made the first re-election in over 44 years.

May 01, 2021

UP CM Yogi Adityanath Replaces his Team-11 with Team-9

Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath replaced his "Team-11", a group of officials tasked with managing the crises, with a new nine-member set of ministers and bureaucrats.
Opposition parties have been slamming Adityanath and Team-11 for their alleged failure to control the pandemic in the country's most populous state.
The CM was also accused of relying too much on bureaucrats, an allegation levelled also by an MLA from the ruling BJP itself.
Unlike Team-11, the new group called "Team- 9" also has two ministers. The nine members head their own committees or departments involved in fighting the pandemic.
"The CM has constituted a new Team-9 for effective management of COVID-19 and related work. This team will directly report to the CM and carry out important work in different fields.

Karnataka Urban Local Body Polls Results 2021

The opposition Congress in Karnataka has trounced the ruling BJP by winning 120 out of the 263 wards in 10 local bodies across eight districts that went to the polls on April 27.
Surprisingly, even the Janata Dal (S) performed better than the BJP by winning 66 seats as against the saffron party`s 57 seats.

Apr 30, 2021

Last Phase of Bengal Polls

Roughly 76% of the electorate voted in the final phase of the West Bengal assembly election, ending a month long poll season that began with a tense political battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) but was quickly overshadowed by surging Covid-19 infections.
Voting in three districts and a part of Kolkata saw stray violence in some areas but a sharp spike in Covid cases kept many voters indoor. The provisional turnout of 76.07 % is the lowest of eight phases and came on a day the state posted its highest cases and deaths, 17,403 and 89, respectively.
Results will be declared on May 2, along with those for Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry, where polls ended on April 6.
The number of candidates and voters in the last phase was 2,116 and 72, 811, 254, (number seems wrong) respectively. The turnouts for the first to the seventh phases were 84.63%, 86.11%, 84.61%, 79.90%, 82.49%, 82% and 76.90%, respectively.

Interpol again Refuses Red Notice against Zakir Naik

Interpol has for the third time rejected India's request for a Red Notice (RN) to provisionally arrest controversial television evangelist Zakir Naik while questioning the very basis of invoking money laundering and hate speech charges against Naik in the country.
The fact that he raised money from his religious teachings and spent it is irrelevant and cannot amount to money laundering, Interpol's adjudicating panel noted in its order.
Dismissing the evidence furnished by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the provisional arrest of Naik for extradition to India, the commission for the control of Interpol's files noted that asking for donations during speeches and the recording or diffusion of speeches were not in itself a criminal act that could constitute the component of criminal offence for money laundering.

Apr 29, 2021

Arun Raste New MD & CEO of NCDEX

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has given approval to the appointment of Arun Raste as MD and CEO of National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) for a period of 5 years.
Raste is currently associated with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) as an Executive Director and prior to NDDB, he has worked with organisations like IDFC First Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NABARD, ACC Cement, and a non-profit NGO IRFT.

T V Somanathan Finance Secretary

Expenditure Secretary T V Somanathan has been appointed as the finance secretary.
Somanathan, a 1987 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, took charge as the finance secretary, a position earlier held by Ajay Bhushan Pandey who superannuated in February.
The senior-most officer among all the secretaries in the finance ministry is designated as the Finance Secretary.

L-G Baijal Now 'Government' in Delhi

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021, which gives primacy to the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) over the elected government in the city, has come into force.
According to the legislation, the "government" in Delhi means the "Lieutenant Governor" and the city government will now have to seek the opinion of the L-G before taking any executive action.
Parliament had passed the bill last month -- Lok Sabha on March 22 and Rajya Sabha on March 24.
When the bill was passed by Parliament, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had termed it a "sad day for Indian democracy".

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