General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

Dec 03, 2019

India and Sweden Resolve to Expand Overall Ties

Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf held extensive talks with President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expand overall bilateral cooperation in diverse areas including in trade and investment, innovation and culture.
The two sides inked three pacts providing for cooperation in polar science, innovation and research and in maritime spheres.

TN Rural Civic Polls

According to the Election Commission, the long-awaited elections to rural local bodies in Tamil Nadu will be held in two phases on December 27 and 30, 2019.
The model code of conduct comes into force immediately in local bodies that go to elections and the poll notification will be issued on December 6.
The nominations can be filed from December 6 to December 13 and the scrutiny will be taken up on December 16. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is December 18. The counting of votes will be taken up on January 2.

Chief of Defence Staff to Come under RTI Act; NSA-led Panel Submits Report

A high-level committee headed by NSA Ajit Doval to finalise responsibilities and enabling framework for the proposed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has submitted its report to the government.
The government is likely make an announcement to appoint the CDS who will be the single-point military adviser to the government as suggested by the Kargil Review Committee in 1999.
Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said in the Rajya Sabha that the CDS would come under the ambit of the Right to Information Act.
In a landmark military reform, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15 announced that India will have the CDS as head of the tri-services.
Official sources said the Army, the Navy and the Indian Air Force have already recommended to the defence ministry names of their senior-most commanders for the top position.
The main task of the CDS will be to ensure jointmanship among the three services which will include powers to work on setting up of few theatre commands as well as to allocate military assets among the services to synergise their operations.

Govt. Launches 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, outlined which duties should be handled by each ministry and asked them to prepare a calendar of activities.
Each ministry has been asked to undertake the task to hold workshops, seminars or competitions for educating the public about the duties. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) too has been involved in the drive. The department will place the preamble to the Constitution at all its national monuments so that the tourists get to read it. The preamble can be referred to as the preface, which highlights the entire Constitution.

Dec 02, 2019

Nana Patole Elected as Maharashtra Assembly Speaker

Senior Congress MLA Nana Patole was elected speaker of the Maharashtra legislative assembly.
Pro-tem speaker Dilip Walse Patil made the announcement after BJP candidate Kisan Kathore withdrew his nomination.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and some senior MLAs then escorted Patole to the Speaker's chair.
Thackeray and BJP legislature party leader Devendra Fadnavis lauded Patole's work as legislator and farmers' leader.
Patole succeeded Haribhau Bagade of the BJP, who was speaker during 2014-2019 when Fadnavis was the CM.

Bar Council Panel Recommends De-recognition of 25 Law Colleges

A Bar Council of India (BCI) panel recommended de-recognition of 25 law colleges after it found that they were enrolling students without proper teaching staff in violation of the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines.
The panel found that the colleges were not paying their faculty members as per the UGC norms, which has also led to their understaffing.
The Bar Council of India, which is the regulator for legal education in the country, also directed all law colleges to transfer salaries to their teachers electronically to stop the practice of underpaying them.
Private colleges account for 75% of 1,500 law colleges across the country.

India, Japan ask Pakistan to take Concrete Action against Terror Infrastructure

In their inaugural foreign and defence ministerial dialogue, India and Japan voiced serious concern over the threat posed to regional peace and security by terror networks operating from Pakistan and asked it to take "resolute and irreversible" action to contain terrorism.
The two countries, under the new framework of two-plus-two dialogue, discussed a raft of strategic issues including the latest developments in the disputed South China Sea, evolving security scenario in the Indo-Pacific region and ways to boost bilateral cooperation in co-development of military hardware, officials said.
Acknowledging the emerging security challenges, the two sides specifically decided to further expand maritime security ties and expressed satisfaction over the progress made in the negotiations for the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) which would allow the two countries to use each other's military logistics.
While deliberating on security challenges facing the region and beyond, the two countries specifically referred to the threat posed by terrorist networks operating out of Pakistan and asked it to "fully comply" with its international commitments to deal with terrorism including implementing the steps mandated by Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-terror watchdog.

Solution to Naga Political Issue Likely Soon

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio greeted people on the occasion of the 57th Statehood Day, contending that the long-awaited solution to the vexed Naga political issue might be in sight.
Addressing people at Khouchiezie (Kohima local ground), where the India Reserve Battalion had organised a programme on the occasion, he said that negotiations between Naga Political Groups and the Centre have concluded and people of the state were set to witness history very soon.
Maintaining that agriculture continued to be the main occupation of the Nagas, he said that the government had been promoting organic farming in the state as it would double the income of the famers.

India Becomes 1st Country to Make Entire Haj Process Digital

India became the first country to make the entire process for pilgrims going on Haj completely digital, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi after signing the bilateral agreement for next year's pilgrimage with the Saudi Haj Minister in Jeddah.
An online application, e-visa, Haj mobile app, "e-MASIHA" health facility, "e-luggage pre-tagging" providing all information in India itself regarding accommodation and transportation in Mecca and Madina will be provided to 2 lakh Indian Muslims going for Haj in 2020.

Dec 01, 2019

Lokpal Paying Rs. 50 lakh every Month in Rent

In the absence of a permanent office in the national capital, the country's apex anti-corruption body, Lokpal, set up to look into complaints against public servants, pays a monthly rent of Rs. 50 lakh to government-owned Hotel Ashoka for the office space it occupies in the five-star luxury hotel.
A reply under the Right to Information Act, disclosed that "Lokpal is provisionally operating from the Ashoka Hotel. Total monthly rent is around Rs. 50 lakh and Rs. 3 crore 85 lakh has been paid till now ( from March 22, 2019 to October 31, 2019) for rent fixed by the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT).
In March this year, former judge of the Supreme Court, PC Ghose, was appointed by the government as India's first Lokpal. Besides him, the government also appointed four judicial and four non-judicial members to all the nine posts in the office of Lokpal. Since then, the office of the Lokpal has been functioning from the second floor in Ashoka Hotel and has 12 rooms for its office space.

Uddhav Wins Trust Vote

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra won the trust vote in the state Assembly amid a ruckus and walkout by the opposition BJP. Of the 288 members in the Assembly, 169 members voted in favour of the government while four abstained. The 105 BJP MLAs walked out during voting with former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accusing the government of violating rules while convening the Assembly session.
Two MLAs from the All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), and one legislator each from the CPI-M and the MNS abstained. Pro Tem Speaker Dilip Walse Patil carried out a headcount. In his speech shortly before the walkout, Fadnavis said the session was not being held as per the constitutional norms. He hit out at the government for replacing Kalidas Kolambkar with Dilip Walse Patil as Pro Tem Speaker.
Never in the history of India has Pro Tem Speaker ever been changed. Why was this done? Never in the history of the Maharashtra Assembly was a trust vote conducted without the Speaker getting elected first.

State Orders Idol Wing Special Officer to Hand over All Records

The Tamil Nadu government issued an order asking A.G. Ponn Manickavel, Special Officer, Idol Wing CID and retired Inspector General of Police(IG) to hand over all records/ details pertaining to cases and work done by him and by the special investigation team, to the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of the special wing.
On the date of his retirement last year, the Madras High Court reappointed Mr. Manickavel, former Inspector General(IG) of Police, as a special officer for a period of one year to conduct a probe after being impressed with his work during his tenure as IG. His appointment was challenged by the State government in the Supreme Court. The apex court also confirmed his appointment as special officer.
The State government has moved Supreme Court opposing the reappointment of Mr. Manickavel since his one-year extension term ends Saturday. The government also asked the Court to order the special officer to hand over all records. It is learnt that the Supreme Court has adjourned the case to December 2.

Northeastern States to be Shielded from Citizenship Law Impact

Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured civil society and political representatives from the northeastern States that tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura, and States protected by the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system — Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland — would be shielded from the impact of the proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), 2019.
The exemption will mean that undocumented non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who acquire Indian citizenship under the new law, will not be allowed to settle in these areas and States, but can do so in other parts of the country. Civil society groups and political representatives from the region met Mr. Shah in Delhi as part of a consultative process on the CAB, which is expected to be introduced in the ongoing Parliament session. Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Director, Intelligence Bureau Arvind Kumar were also part of the consultative process.

Nov 30, 2019

Rural ministry sanctions over 18,000 houses for Tripura under PMAY-Gramin

Union Ministry of Rural Development sanctioned additional houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) for Tripura for the financial year 2019-20.
The Ministry sanctioned 18,338 additional houses for the state.
In accordance with the sanction, the first installment of the Central share of Rs 109.10 crore was also released for the construction of the additional houses.
The PMAY is a housing initiative of the Government of India launched in 2015 to provide affordable housing to the urban and the rural poor.
The target of PMAY is to build 20 million affordable houses by March 2022.

Srinagar-Jammu metro project to start operations by Sep 2024

The Jammu and Kashmir government has set a September 2024 deadline to start operations on the Rs 9,590 crore metro project for twin cities of Jammu and Srinagar, an official spokesperson said on Friday. Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu chaired a meeting to review the proposed Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) and the Light Rail Projects for Jammu and Srinagar.
Dheeraj Gupta, principal secretary, Housing and Urban Development department gave a detailed presentation on the Light Rail Projects in Jammu and Srinagar.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Flags Off 100 Standard Floor Buses

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off 100 standard floor buses equipped with hydraulic lifts, CCTV cameras and panic button under the cluster scheme.Earlier this month, the Delhi government had rolled out another 100 standard buses.
With the addition of 100 new buses on Thursday, the cluster bus fleet operated by the Delhi Integrated Multi Modal System (DIMTS) has gone up to 2,000.

Nov 29, 2019

Trinamool Sweeps W. Bengal Bypolls

West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress defeated the BJP in all three assembly seats to which by-elections took place on November 25, 2019 claiming that the outcome was a vote against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) championed by the BJP-led government at the Centre.
The by-elections were the first held in Bengal since the BJP made inroads into the state in the Lok Sabha elections.

Uddhav Sworn in as Maharashtra CM

Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray took oath as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra in Mumbai's Shivaji Park, bringing the curtain down on over a month of political uncertainty that saw a rival government collapse barely 80 hours after a dramatic swearing-in ceremony.
He also announced the first decision of his government – Rs. 20 crore to conserve legendary Maratha king Chatrapati Shivaji's capital at the Raigad Fort – and said a comprehensive relief package for farmers was in the works.
Along with Thackeray, six ministers – two from each party – took oath but their portfolios were not specified: Sena's Eknath Shinde and Subhash Desai, NCP's Jayant Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal, and Congress' Balasaheb Thorat and Nitin Raut. The government has to prove its majority on the floor of the assembly by December 3, 2019.

Emblem Misuse to Be Punished by Jail, Rs. 5 lakh Fine

The government has proposed increasing the fine for illegal and improper use of national emblems for commercial gains from Rs. 500 to Rs. 1 lakh — the suggested change also includes jail time and a fine of Rs. 5 lakh for repeat offenders — in an attempt to crack down on misuse.
The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, restricts the use of the national flag, the coat-of-arms used by a government department, the official seal of the President or governor, the pictorial representation of Mahatma Gandhi and the Prime Minister, and the Ashoka Chakra.
The other change being considered is that in case of a prosecution, the onus to prove that the alleged contravention was lawfully authorised shall be on the violator. Right now, the onus is on the state.

Parliament Clears Chit Fund Bill

The Parliament passed a bill which seeks to raise the monetary limits for chit funds and commission for foreman.
The Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed by voice vote in Rajya Sabha. The bill got Lok Sabha's nod earlier this month.
The maximum chit amount is proposed to be raised from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh for those managed by individuals or less than four partners, and from Rs. 6 lakh to Rs. 18 lakh for firms with four or more partners.
The maximum commission for foreman, who is responsible for managing the chit, is proposed to be raised from 5 per cent to 7 per cent. The bill also allows the foreman a right to lien against the credit balance from subscribers.
The bill also introduces words such as fraternity fund, rotating savings and credit institution to make chit funds more respectable.

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