General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

Mar 17, 2020

Sikkim Bans Entry of Domestic Tourists, Migrant Workers

The Sikkim government announced a ban on the entry of domestic tourists and migrant workers starting Tuesday, 10 days after it banned the entry of foreigners, in view of the novel coronavirus disease outbreak. The state will also seal three of its five borders.
Making the announcement, Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang said that domestic tourists will not be allowed entry and those who are already in the state will be asked to leave immediately.
The Chief Minister said that out of five entry points, two that connect Sikkim with West Bengal and one that connects it with Nepal, have been sealed.
Only goods vehicles, carrying essential items and food from West Bengal, will be allowed through the Melli and Rangpo entry points but screening will be intensified.

New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur Signal Thaw in Ties

India and Malaysia signalled a thaw in ties with the new Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein receiving Indian high commissioner Mridul Kumar and describing the meeting as an important point in India-Malaysia relations.
The meeting between Kumar and Hussein comes after a testy period in ties between the two countries during the prime minister ship of Mahathir Mohamad, who was seen as leaning towards Pakistan and critical of India on issues such as Kashmir and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA.

Government Nominates Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi to Rajya Sabha

The government nominated former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to Rajya Sabha.
A notification to this effect was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The vacancy was created due to retirement of KTS Tulsi.
Gogoi headed a five-judge bench that gave the verdict on the sensitive Ayodhya land dispute in November 2019.
He retired as CJI later in November 2019.
He also headed the benches that ruled on matters like entry of women in Sabarimala temple and Rafale fighter jet deal.

Meghalaya Resolution Seeks Exemption for State

The Meghalaya Assembly passed a resolution urging the Centre to exempt the entire state, including the areas not covered under the Sixth Schedule, from purview of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019.
The resolution was moved by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma during the second day of the assembly's budget session.
The Chief Minister informed the House that 23 municipal wards out of 27 are under the Sixth Schedule areas, while the remaining four covering an area of 2 square kilometers (out of 23,000 sq.km) fall outside it. The areas under the Sixth Schedule do not fall in the ambit of CAA.
"To ensure that the entire state is exempted, the state government has taken additional measures to protect the indigenous people of the state by passing a resolution to urge the Government of India to exempt the entire state, including the 2 sq.km not covered under Sixth Schedule from the purview of the CAA."

India Bans Entry of Indians from EU, Turkey and the UK

India further extended its ban on arriving international passengers and said that it would not provide entry to even Indian passport holders residing in the United Kingdom, Turkey and whole of Europe till the end of March.
According to aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), travel of passengers from member countries of the European Union, the European free trade association, Turkey and the United Kingdom to India is prohibited with effect from March 18, 2020. No airline shall board passengers from these nations to India with effect from 1200 GMT on March 18, 2020. The airline shall enforce this at the port of initial departure. Both these instructions are temporary measures and shall be in force till March 31, 2020, and will be reviewed subsequently.
This ban follows a recent ban on entry foreign passport holders and Overseas Indian Citizen (OCI) cardholders into the country starting Friday last week. However, Indian passport holders were allowed to enter India.
This ban is set to impact flight operations of many airlines, who will now have to cancel flights into India till the end of this month.

Rajasthan Govt. Moves SC Challenging Validity of CAA

The Congress-ruled Rajasthan government moved the Supreme Court challenging the validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, saying it was violative of "basic structure of secularism" and fundamental rights of equality and life.
It became the second state after Kerala to move the top court invoking Article 131 of the Constitution under which a state is empowered to directly move the top court in case of a dispute with the Centre.
Article 13 of the Constitution, under which the CAA is sought to be held as unconstitutional, says any law "inconsistent with or in derogation of the fundamental rights" can be held unconstitutional to the extent of its contravention of fundamental rights.

Parliament Nod for Three Central Sanskrit Universities

Parliament passed a bill to upgrade three deemed Sanskrit universities into central universities. The Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, 2019 was passed by voice vote in Rajya Sabha. Earlier the bill was passed by Lok Sabha.
The Bill seeks to upgrade three deemed to be universities in Sanskrit -- Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, and Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth Tirupati -- into central universities.
The bill was moved in Rajya Sabha by Human Resource Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

Mar 16, 2020

Bhim Army Chief Azad Launches Political Party

On Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder Kashi Ram's 86th birth anniversary, Azad announced the launch of the Bhim Army's political party— the Azad Samaj Party (ASP).
Addressing a gathering of over 2,000 of his supporters, Bhim Army and ASP chief Chandra Shekhar Azad said that since scheduled castes do not have many job opportunities in the country, they should join politics to rule the country.
The launch was attended by 98 leaders from other political parties, including the Samajwadi Party, BSP, Congress and Rashtriya Lok Dal.

Speaker Accepts Resignations of 6 MP Cong MLAs

Madhya Pradesh assembly speaker NP Prajapati accepted the resignations of six ministers from the assembly amid a continuing political standoff between the Congress state government and the opposition BJP over the status of 22 lawmakers of the ruling party.
The six ministers and 16 other MLAs had sent their resignations to the speaker earlier during the week.

Baseer Ahmed Khan Fourth Advisor to Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant Governor G. C. Murmu

Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Baseer Ahmad Khan was appointed as Advisor to Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Girish Chandra Murmu.
The letter added that the appointment will be effective from the date from which he assumes charge.
Former CRPF DG Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar, a 1983-batch officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, was earlier appointed as the advisor to the Lt Governor in January 2020, while another IPS officer Farooq Khan and IAS officer K. K. Sharma were retained as advisors after Murmu took over as the first Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.

MNRE Launches its New Website to Keep Pace with Time

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy launched its new website to meet requirements of stakeholders about new schemes and projects particularly. The key feature of the website includes optimized user interface and enables ease of access from various devices including mobile phones.
The website has additional portals such as 'Akshay Urja Portal' and 'India Renewable Idea Exchange' (IRIX).
"Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy R. K. Singh launched the new website of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
The minister directed that sectoral updation of the site should be personally ensured at senior level so that it maintains pace with time.
The new website is developed looking into the present need of quick and accurate information dissemination needs of the Ministry with latest techniques to make it more informative, interactive and user friendly including persons with visual disabilities.

Mar 15, 2020

Ropax Ferry Service between Mumbai and Mandwa

A roll on-roll off cum passenger ferry service, also called 'Ropax', between Mumbai and Mandwa near Alibaug, was launched in the presence of Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya and Maharashtra port and maritime board officials.
The launch ceremony was a low-key one due to state government restrictions on such mass gatherings given the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The vessel, built in Greece, can carry 200 cars and 1,000 passengers, and is capable of plying even during monsoon.
While Mumbai Port Trust built the jetty facilities at Ferry Wharf in the metropolis at the cost of Rs. 31 crore, the ropax jetty and terminal at Mandwa has been built by Maharashtra Maritime Board at the cost of Rs. 135 crore.

Narendra Modi Proposes SAARC Fund to Tackle Coronavirus

Making a strong pitch for SAARC nations to jointly combat coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday proposed setting up a COVID-19 emergency fund with India committing USD 10 million initially for it, and asserted that the best way to deal with the pandemic was by coming together, and not growing apart. Apart from Modi, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, Bhutanese premier Lotay Tshering, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister on Health Zafar Mirza, participated in the video conference.
The underlying message of the video conference was unitedly taking on the pandemic, but Pakistan used the occasion to raise Kashmir, with Mirza calling for the "lockdown" to be eased in Jammu and Kashmir to deal with the coronavirus threat.

Ordinance for Recovery of Damage to Public Property during Violent Protests

The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet passed the 'Recovery of Damage to Public Properties Ordinance 2020' for recovery of losses due to damage to public property during violent protests.
The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Cabinet has approved the Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Ordinance, 2020 for effective prevention of loss of public property in the state.
As many as 15 people had died in the violence that took place across Uttar Pradesh during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December 2019.
Adityanath had earlier said that the damages in the violence will be recovered from the rioters.

Delhi Resolution Calls for Withdrawal of NPR, NRC

The Capital's legislative assembly passed a resolution against the National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying the majority community of Hindus would suffer the most because of a lack of documents.
The resolution, which urged the central government to stick to the 2010 NPR format if it went ahead with the process, was passed with a voice vote in the 70-member assembly in a special one-day session.
It came a day after Union home minister Amit Shah told Parliament that no documents would be required in the NPR, which is a biometric database of "usual" Indian residents, and that the process would be voluntary.

Mar 14, 2020

Anil Chaudhary Delhi Congress President

In an attempt to revamp the party unit in Delhi, the Congress appointed 44-year-old former legislator Anil Chaudhary as the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief.
Congress party's interim chief Sonia Gandhi also named five vice-presidents to assist Chaudhary in the state unit. Sitting councillor and Congress candidate in the 2020 state elections from Kasturba Nagar Abhishek Dutt, senior Congress leader JP Agarwal's son Mudit Agarwal, former MLA Jaikishan, the son of former Congress MLA from Mustafabad Hasan Ahmed, Ali Hassan, and the daughter of former Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra, Shivani Chopra have been chosen as vice-presidents of the Delhi Congress.
Last chief of the Delhi unit Subash Chopra had quit in February after the Congress failed to win even a single seat in the 2020 Delhi assembly elections.

UP to Depute 'Arogya Mitras' at PHCs

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said one 'Arogya Mitra' each will be deputed at all primary health centres in the state to inform people about health-related schemes being run by the government.
Adityanath was addressing a gathering after inaugurating 'Kaushal Satrang' programme organised by the Department of Vocational Education and Skill Development and Labour and Employment Exchange Department.
The 'Kaushal Satrang' programme is dedicated to generate employment and self-employment opportunities for the youth of the state.

Government Nominates Debasish Panda to RBI's Board

The Reserve Bank said that the Central Government has nominated Debasish Panda, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, New Delhi as a Director on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India vice Rajiv Kumar.
The nomination of Panda is effective from March 11, 2020 and until further orders.

Mar 13, 2020

Suspension Order of Seven Congress MPs Revoked

The Lok Sabha passed a motion to revoke the suspension of seven Congress members with immediate effect.
The seven Congress members — Gaurav Gogoi, T N Prathapan, Dean Kuriakose, R Unnithan, Manickam Tagore, Benny Behanan and Gurjeet Singh Aujla — were suspended on March 5 for the remaining period of the Budget session for gross misconduct.
The motion was moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal and passed by a voice vote.

Maharashtra Govt. Approves Auto Rickshaws "Happy Hours",

The Maharashtra Government approved the implementation of "happy hours" for auto rickshaws, reducing 15% of fare prices from 12 pm to 4 pm, barring the minimum fare for first 1.5 km, as recommended by Khatua panel.
The decision will not be applicable to local taxis and app based taxis.
The panel also recommended a new concept will turn lean hours to happy hours, for housewives and senior citizens who normally don't have a fixed schedule for their outings.
The auto rickshaw union has indicated that they will oppose the move while the citizens appreciated the move.

India Post Launches India's 1st Digital Parcel Locker Service in Kolkata, West Bengal

For the 1st time in India, the Department of post (DoP), Kolkata (West Bengal circle), launched free digital parcel locker service in 2 post offices (the Nabadiganta IT post office in Sector 5 of Salt Lake City & at the post office in New Town's Action Area I).
Under this service, customers will be able to collect their parcel from the post office according to their convenience. This facility is quite popular in European countries but is starting for the first time in India.
This service has been done for such people of working class, who do not have to receive any parcel at home. Such people can take their parcel and letters addressed to them from the kiosks at 24×7.

Ministry of Home Affairs Constitutes Two Special Committees to Fasten CAPF Works

Two special committees were formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to deal with the issues and approvals related to the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF). The two new panels will deal with decision until to find the right resolution.
The first committee will be chaired by the Home Secretary and will deal with issues that need to be decided between Home Ministry and CAPFs.
The second committee will be headed by the Secretary (Border Management) and will solve only the procurement matters.
These committees will also deal with the issues of Assam Rifles even though it is not a part of CAPF.
Issues dealt by the Committee: It deals with the CAPF issues like, anti-Naxal operations, border security, procurement of modern assault weapons, surveillance technology and other gadgetry, anti-terror preparedness, VIP security.

Mumbai Central Station to be Renamed after Nana Shankarsheth

The Maharashtra cabinet approved a proposal to rename Mumbai Central station in the city as "Nana Shankarsheth Mumbai Central Railway Station".
The proposal to rename the station would now be sent to the Railway Ministry.
Jagannath (Nana) Shankarseth (1803-1865) was a Maharashtrian philanthropist and educationist who contributed a lot to the development of Mumbai. The first Indian to be nominated to erstwhile Legislative Council of Bombay, he was also instrumental in the formation of the Indian Railway Association, which had pushed efforts to bring railways to the country. The Nana Chowk in South Mumbai is named after him. A marble status has been erected in his honour at the Asiatic Society of Mumbai.

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