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NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

Dec 08, 2019

Centre Likely to Extend Forest Clearances

  • Forest clearances for over 40 mines on which leases are set to expire on March 31, 2020, are likely be extended for new lessees that will take over the mines. The environment ministry drafted a policy of extending forest clearances for non-captive mines that have been already operating for the past 50 years.
  • The policy is now awaiting approval from the ministry of law and justice.
  • According to senior officials in the environment ministry, the extension of green clearances is necessary to avert major disruptions in the mining industry. Environmental activists and researchers warned that a transfer of clearances would pose the risk of past violations of by mining companies.

Lobbying for Major Portfolios by Disqualified MLAs

  • Disqualified MLAs, who contested bypolls from the BJP, have already begun intense lobbying for key portfolios in the promised Cabinet expansion after the bypoll results. Several leaders made a beeline to Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa's residence in the city to hold talks with him.
  • Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj K.S. Eshwarappa's statement that only those who win the bypolls will make it to the Cabinet seems to have created jitters among some disqualified MLAs who are not sure of their victory.
  • However, the Chief Minister is said to have promised ministries to a few "key candidates", whatever be the result. The assurance has been to make them MLCs and induct them into the Cabinet.

Elections in 27 Districts in TN on December 27, 30

  • The Tamil Nadu State Election Commission announced elections to rural local bodies in 27 districts of the state in two phases.
  • This follows a Supreme Court order, which gave the government four months' time to complete delimitation of its nine reconstituted districts and conduct elections.
  • In the first phase, on December 27, areas covering 156 panchayat unions will go to the polls to elect 260 ward members of district panchayats, 2,546 members of panchayat unions and 37,830 members of panchayats. The second phase, on December 30, will witness elections in areas covering 158 panchayat unions. The electors will choose 255 ward members of district panchayats, 2,544 members of panchayat unions and 38,916 members of village panchayats.

India Hires Lobbying Firm to Boost Ties with US, Provide Strategic Counsel

  • India hired a second lobbying firm to negotiate the complex US decision-making system and to influence outcomes, filling a void left two years ago by a firm that had collapsed under scrutiny of a special counsel's investigation into Russian meddling in American elections in 2016.
  • Cornerstone Government Affairs, a Washington DC firm with offices in multiple states, registered itself as a representative of the Republic of India with the US justice department under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, a requirement for Americans representing foreigners.
  • Cornerstone Government Affairs replaces the Podesta Group, which shut down in 2017 after its work for the government of Ukraine came under scrutiny of Special Counsel Robert Muller in relation to the investigation into Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. No charges were filed against Podesta Group.

Dec 07, 2019

Booth App to Show Voter Turnout in Delhi

  • Delhi will be the first place in which the Booth App, a mobile application by the Election Commission of India, will inform voters about the turnout in their polling stations.
  • The app will provide the status of electors waiting in queue to the public, who can plan their visit to the polling station accordingly as per their convenience. The app will also provide voter turnout on a real time basis on polling day.

Rajya Sabha Discusses Bill to Scrap Poll Spend Limit

  • The Rajya Sabha discussed a private member's Bill that proposed to amend the Representation of the People Act to remove the limit on expenditure by candidates during an election. The Bill was opposed by the BJP MPs, who said the proposed change would only work to the advantage of wealthy candidates.
  • The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2014 was introduced by Congress MP Rajeev Gowda on the ground that the ceiling on election expenses ends up being counterproductive and encourages candidates to under-report their expenditure.
  • A candidate contesting Lok Sabha polls can spend up to Rs. 70 lakh and up to Rs. 28 lakh in an assembly election depending on the state in which he/she is contesting polls.

POCSO Convicts Should Not be Allowed Mercy Petition

  • According to President Ram Nath Kovind, those convicted under the POCSO Act should be deprived of their right to mercy petition.
  • It is for Parliament to take a decision on the matter and make necessary constitutional amendments.
  • The President said that women safety is a very serious issue and a lot of work has been done on this, but much remains to be done.

PMs of India and Japan to Hold Annual Summit

  • India said that the annual summit of the Prime Ministers of India and Japan will be held during December 15-17 but other details such as the venue and the agenda for the meeting were not announced.
  • The meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will be held in Guwahati city and the two leaders will also travel to the Manipur capital Imphal to visit the Peace Museum, which commemorates on the fiercest battles of World War 2 in 1944 in which thousands of Japanese troops were killed.

Dec 06, 2019

No Subsidised Food in House Canteens

  • The much-debated food subsidy in Parliament canteens is set to be abolished from the budget session of Parliament next year after Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla got full backing of party leaders on this issue. The MPs will be given food cards linked to their bank accounts, which can be swiped at canteens to pay bills.
  • The subsidy in Parliament canteens, run by the Northern Railways, came up during a meeting of party leaders chaired by Birla.

No Pension for Govt. Staff Who Resign

  • An employee becomes ineligible for pension under the Central Civil Services Pension Rules (CCS Pension Rules) when he resigns because he forfeits his past service, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled.
  • The apex court made a distinction between voluntary retirement and resignation which impacts pensionary benefits under the Rules while deciding a case relating to resignation of an employee of BSES Yamuna Power Limited.
  • The CCS Pension Rules apply to government servants including civilian government servants in the Defence Services appointed before December 31, 2003.
  • As per the rules, an employee forfeits his past service upon resignation, consequently disentitling him to pension. However, an employee who has completed 20 years of service can voluntarily retire from service, which will enable him to avail of pensionary benefits.

Mumbai Court Declares Nirav Modi a Fugitive Economic Offender

  • A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court declared diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is wanted in connection with a $2 billion fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB), a fugitive economic offender (FEO), empowering investigators to start seizing his assets in India, the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates.
  • Special judge for PMLA cases, V. C. Barde, declared Modi an FEO on a plea by the Enforcement Directorate, which investigates money laundering offences. Under the FEO Act, which came into force in August 2018, a person can be declared a fugitive economic offender if a warrant has been issued against him or her for an offence involving Rs. 100 crore or more, and he or she has left the country and refuses to return to face the law.

Ajit Pawar Gets Clean Chit

  • Maharashtra's anti-corruption bureau (ACB) cleared Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar of allegations in connection with an irrigation scam in the state, according to an affidavit filed in the High Court last month.
  • The affidavit was filed in Bombay high court in November, in the middle of a tug-of-war for power between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a coalition of opposition parties including Pawar's NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena.

Northeast Chief Ministers Soften Stand on CAB

  • Most of the Chief Ministers of the Northeast have softened their stands on the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), set to be introduced in Parliament soon. This is a departure from their earlier stands, when they unequivocally opposed the legislation granting Indian citizenship to undocumented individuals from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians.

Dec 05, 2019

Delhi Govt. to Start Wi-Fi Hot Spots in City

  • Delhi Chief Minister announced his government would launch free Wi-Fi hot spots across Delhi from December 16, 2019. While the first 100 hot spots will be launched on December 16, 500 more will be added every week.
  • Providing free Wi-Fi was a key poll promise in AAP's manifesto ahead of the 2015 assembly elections.

Modi Govt. Set to Extend Reservation For SC/ST And Anglo-Indians

  • The Narendra Modi-led government is set to renew the reservation provided to the marginalised communities like Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Anglo-Indians in the Parliament and the state legislatures. The government is likely to further amend Article 334 of the Constitution which proposes to extend the reservation for these marginalised sections for another ten years.
  • The Centre is preparing the Bill to extend the 10 year period of reservation provided to the marginalised communities. The need for an extension of the law was felt as the current reservation provision will end on January 26, 2020, and the government wants to get the approval of the Parliament ahead of the deadline. This move is expected to have massive ramifications on the nation's political landscape. The step will be significant as the BJP is often portrayed as the party against reservation.

N-E Groups Divided over Exemption of Areas under ILP and Sixth Schedule

  • The Centre's move to exempt states with inner line permit (ILP) regime and areas under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution from the purview of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 evoked a mixed response.
  • Civil society groups in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh said that they will continue to protest against the divisive provisions, while an influential Mizo group said that they have no further concerns about the proposed law.
  • Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and most of Nagaland barring Dimapur are protected by an ILP regime -- under which non-locals need permission to visit these areas -- while certain areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura are protected under the Sixth Schedule, which applies to tribal-dominated autonomous regions.

Dec 04, 2019

President of India Paid Homage to Dr Rajendra Prasad on his Birth Anniversary

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, paid homage to Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, on his birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (December 3, 2019). The President as well as officers and staff of the President's Secretariat, paid floral tributes before a portrait of Dr Rajendra Prasad in the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

India inaugurated its Gandhi-themed pavilion at COP 25

  • New Delhi, Dec 3 (PTI) India Pavilion of the theme ''150 years of Mahatma Gandhi'' was inaugurated at the 25th session of Conference of Parties under the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC COP25) in Madrid.
  • Union Environment Secretary C K Mishra, who inaugurated the pavilion, said the theme was chosen to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi this year and spread his teachings of simple and sustainable living.
  • "The India Pavilion was designed to depict this theme, in particular Mahatma Gandhi''s life and messages around sustainable living," Mishra was quoted as saying in a press note issued by the ministry.
  • The Indian pavilion has a conceptual model of Gandhi Ji''s ashram, where his philosophy of minimising wants and living with simplicity is espoused.
  • "The pavilion also depicts the present and traces the arc into the future of the country, where Government of India is implementing ambitious solutions to deal with the issue of climate change, inspired by the teachings of the Mahatma, and our cultural underpinnings based on the principles of sustainable consumption and production.

ECI to roll out Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System

 The Election Commission of India reviewed the system and process of registration of political parties, is going to roll out Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System (PPRTMS) through an online portal. The registration of Political Parties is governed through the provisions of section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The move comes to facilitate tracking of status of application by applicants.
The new guidelines that have been hosted on the official website of the commission, i.e. https://eci.gov.in., will be put to force from 1st January, 2020.
The Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System, will help the applicant (who is applying for party registration from 1st January, 2020 onwards) to be able to track the progress of his/her application. They will be shared the status update through SMS and e-mail. 

Power ministry unveiled norms for allocating coal linkage to plants without PPAs

  • Power plants not having power purchase agreements (PPAs) will start getting coal supplies or linkages under auctions from Coal India LtdNSE -1.61 % and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd in few months, which would help reduce stress in the sector.
  • According to methodology issued in this regard by the Union power ministry, Coal India Ltd (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) will earmark coal mines for supply to such power plants and auctions would be done every would be done every quarter.
  • Earlier, PPA was a pre-requisite for getting coal linkage. But, the government relaxed the norms under SHAKTI, or the Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala (Coal) Transparently in India, policy this year in March.

President of India Paid Homage to Dr Rajendra Prasad on his Birth Anniversary

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, paid homage to Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, on his birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (December 3, 2019). The President as well as officers and staff of the President's Secretariat, paid floral tributes before a portrait of Dr Rajendra Prasad in the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Government launched drive on fundamental duties

  • The Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a yearlong programme to make citizens aware of their fundamental duties. Activities such as online quizzes, competitions, essay competitions and preamble pledge signing contest will be organised to educate them about their constitutional responsibilities.
  • The emphasis on "duties" is part of the yearlong celebrations of the 70th anniversary of Constitution Day that was celebrated on November 26. DOJ, a part of Union Ministry of Law and Justice, has outlined which duties should be handled by each ministry and asked them to prepare a calendar of activities.

Himachal Pradesh approved to sell Yamuna water

  • The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet  approved signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to sell Yamuna water from the State's share at Tajewala corridor.
  • The State government would earn ₹21 crore per annum from the sale of water.
  • In a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, the State cabinet gave its consent to signing of the MoU to sell the Yamuna water from the State's share at Tajewala corridor.
  • He, however, did not provide details of whom the water would be sold to and with whom this MoU would be signed.
  • The Cabinet also decided to fill up 3,636 posts of teachers of Junior Basic Training (JBT), Classical and Vernacular (C&V) and Trained Graduate Teacher (TGT) categories in the elementary education department.
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