General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

Nov 28, 2019

AP to Raise Income Limit for BPL Category

In a major decision which is likely to impact welfare schemes and programmes, the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet decided to enhance the income limit for the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category. A family with an annual income of Rs. 1.20 lakh in rural areas will now fall under the BPL category and in urban areas, the upper limit is Rs. 1.44 lakh per annum. The government will issue new ration cards in line with the new BPL criteria.
Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) said that the Cabinet decided to bifurcate the Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (APSPDCL) into the Andhra Pradesh Southern Distribution Company Limited and the Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Company Limited.

NCP to Get Deputy CM Post, Speaker to be from Congress

The Nationalist Congress Party will get Deputy Chief Minister's post in the new Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government.
The Congress will get Assembly Speaker's post while the NCP will get Deputy Speaker's post.
Along with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, who will be sworn in as Chief Minister, one or two members of each of the three parties will take oath as ministers.
There will be only one Deputy CM's post in the government.
Maharashtra can have a maximum of 43 ministers as the size of council of ministers cannot exceed 15 per cent of the total number of MLAs, which is 288 in the state.

Nov 27, 2019

Uddhav Thackeray Formally Chosen as New Maharashtra CM

Shiv Sena President Uddhav B. Thackeray was unanimously elected as chief of the 'Maha Vikas Aghadi', paving the way for his becoming the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Thackeray's name was proposed by Nationalist Congress Party state President Jayant Patil and Congress state President Balasaheb Thorat at a meeting of all the parties in the 'Maha Vikas Aghadi'.
The fast-paced developments came barely hours after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar abruptly resigned, a day before the special session of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly was to be convened as ordered by the Supreme Court.

Lokpal Logo and Motto Released

Anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal got its logo and motto after receiving over 6,000 entries through an open competition.
A total of 2,236 entries were received for logo and 4,705 for motto or slogan from people of varied age group and from different parts of the country in response to the open competition.
While the design of the logo was selected from among the entries, the personnel ministry said that none of the entries for motto or slogan were found suitable and it was selected by the Lokpal itself.
On the basis of a three-stage selection process, the design of Prashant Mishra from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh was selected for adoption as the logo of Lokpal.
The logo is based upon the literal meaning of Lokpal -- 'Lok' meaning people and 'pal' meaning caretaker, i.e. caretaker of people.
The logo symbolises how Lokpal protects and cares for the people of the country by establishing justice as per law.

Government Plans to Merge 2 UTs

The government introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to merge two Union Territories -- Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli into one.
The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy.
The move comes three months after Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two UTs -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The merged Union Territory is likely to be named as Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and its headquarters could be Daman and Diu.
The country currently has nine Union Territories after the creation of the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. However, with the merger of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, the number of UTs will come down to eight.

I&B Ministry Plans Law to List News Websites with RNI

The Union Information and Broadcasting ministry is planning to bring in a legislation that will make it mandatory for news websites to get themselves registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of India (RNI).
According to a draft of the "Registration of Press and Periodicals (RPP)" Bill 2019 — put up by the I&B ministry on its website — "publishers of news on digital media shall register themselves with the Registrar of Newspapers of India in such manner and giving such particulars as may be prescribed".
The bill does not specify if it will require websites of newspapers registered with RNI to be registered separately. It defines "news on digital media" in a broad manner as any news content that "can be transmitted over the internet, computer or mobile networks and includes text, audio, video and graphics".
Among other provisions, the act mandates that there will be a Press Registrar General.
The Press Registrar General would empowered to obtain annual statements from a printer and a periodical to verify the circulation figures and also to revise, revoke or suspend registration of a periodical.

Nov 26, 2019

J&K Leaders Refuse to Sign Release Bonds

The Jammu and Kashmir administration opened channels of communication with 32 detained political prisoners of the regional parties, but put riders on their release. Meanwhile, two leaders, Jammu and Kashmir People Democratic Front's Hakeem Yaseen and Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) Mohammad Ashraf Mir, were released, indicating a move to release the leaders in a phased manner.
In the past 10 days, a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM)-level officer visited senior leaders of the National Conference (NC), the PDP, the Peoples Conference (PC) and the J&K Peoples Movement (J&KPM) more than three times and discussed ways and means to ensure their release.As per Mr. Sagar and Mr. Akhtar, told the government point man that such bonds were aimed at "curtailing the rightful political space of regional players, discredit the local leadership in front of the eyes of the locals and were being publicised later only to add to the political vacuum post August 5."
The bonds, which the leaders were being asked to sign, reads: "He/she will not make any comment or issue statement or make public speeches or participate in the public assembly related to recent event for a period of one year from the date of signature of the bond."

Centre Introduces Bill to Amend SPG Act in Lok Sabha

Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy introduced the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019, amid din in the Lok Sabha as the House erupted in protests against political developments in Maharashtra.
The statement of objects and reasons of the Bill said that it is "considered to amend the Act to focus on core mandate, as the security of the Prime Minister, as Head of the Government, is of paramount importance for Government, governance and national security."
As per the Bill, "SPG shall provide proximate security to the Prime Minister and his immediate family members residing with him at his official residence."
The SPG Act was enacted in 1988 to provide for the constitution and regulation of the SPG as an armed force to provide proximate security to the Prime Minister and his/her immediate family members. The Act was amended in 1991, 1994, 1999 and 2003 to extend SPG cover to former Prime Ministers and their immediate family members for different periods of demitting office.

Jagan Launches Anti-corruption Helpline

In a bid to encourage people to report corruption cases, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government launched a dedicated call centre to receive complaints regarding corruption in the state.
Lauding the move, Anti-Corruption Bureau Director General, Kumar Vishwajeet, urged people to come forward with complaints and "make Andhra Pradesh a corruption-free state".
The Chief Minister launched a toll-free number -- 14400 -- to receive complaints related to corruption. Anyone in the state can call on this number and report about any corruption related activity in any government department.
The government has also taken a progressive step by roping in IIM Ahmedabad, which is going to do a study on several departments. Their procedural aspects will be taken into account and all the loopholes in the system will be closed so that corruption does not take place.

Nov 25, 2019

Ban on Bodo Insurgents Extended

The central government issued orders to extend the ban on Assam-based Bodo insurgent group National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) by another five years, citing that the terrorist outfit had continued to indulge in illegal and violent activities intended to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.
The NDFB, formed in 1986, seeks to obtain a sovereign Boroland for the Bodo people.
The ministry has extended the ban on NDBF under the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.The ministry said the unlawful activities perpetrated by the NDFB had been "undermining the authority of the government, spreading terror and panic among people, causing carnage and ethnic violence, resulting in killings and destruction of properties of non-Bodos, inhabiting the Bodo-dominated areas in Assam". "For the aforesaid reasons", it added, "the central government is of the opinion that the NDFB's activities are detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India and that it is an unlawful association".

NSO Survey Debunks Swachh Bharat Claims

The latest National Statistical Office (NSO) survey on sanitation debunked the claims of an open defecation-free or ODF India made by the Centre's flagship Swachh Bharat scheme, although it did record great progress in toilet access and use in rural areas.
The survey showed that about 71% of rural households had access to toilets at a time the Centre was claiming 95%. On October 2, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that the whole country was ODF with complete access to toilets.
The NSO survey was carried out between July and December 2018, with a reference date of October 1. Large States which had been declared ODF – that is, 100% access to toilets and 100% usage – even before the survey began included Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Others which were declared ODF during the survey period included Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
According to the NSO, almost 42% of rural households in Jharkhand had no access to a toilet at that time. In Tamil Nadu, the gap was 37%, followed by 34% in Rajasthan. In Gujarat, which was one of the earliest States declared ODF, back in October 2017, almost a quarter of all rural households had no toilet access, the NSO data showed. The other major States listed also had significant gaps: Karnataka (30%), MP (29%), Andhra Pradesh (22%) and Maharashtra (22%).

Nov 24, 2019

Leh Coldest Recorded Place In Ladakh, Mercury Marks Improvement In Kashmir

Leh town of Ladakh was the coldest recorded place at a low of minus 6.3 degrees Celsius, while the mercury in most parts of Jammu and Kashmir marked an improvement after plummeting several degrees below season's average over the past couple of days.
However, Jammu city recorded a dip in the maximum and minimum temperature as sun played hide and seek during the day.
Besides Leh, the nearby Kargil town and the famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir also recorded sub-zero night temperatures of minus 3.8 and minus 1.3 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Law Students To Learn Indian Art Of Advocacy

Students enrolled in the bachelors laws programme at the Maharashtra National Law University in Nagpur will soon learn the ancient Indian logic of arriving at truth in a lawsuit. After decades of imparting legal knowledge sourced from ancient Greek and Latin principles, this is the first time any school here will attempt to teach aspiring lawyers how to apply Indian logic to analyse legal propositions.
Ancient Indian logic takes within its sweep the Baudhic and Jain knowledge systems that prescribe ways to arrive at the truth. A separate department called the Centre for Shastric Studies and Research in Law has been set up at the university to identify the principles to be included in various subjects such as the Indian Evidence Act, Administrative Law, Company Law, even the Indian Constitution.
Senior Supreme Court advocate P Narasimha, who is closely associated with the school, said principles of ancient Indian law will be an additional source of knowledge.

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