General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

Jul 03, 2019

Rajasthan Panchayat Samiti Bypolls

After failing to win even a single seat in the recently held Lok Sabha poll, the ruling Congress in Rajasthan performed very well in the panchayat samiti and zila parishad bypolls, held in 26 of 33 districts in the state. The bypolls were held on June 30.
Of the 74 panchayat samiti seats, the results of which were declared, the Congress managed to win 39, while BJP ended at second place with 29 seats.
Six seats were won by independent candidates. A total of 15 candidates, including 8 from the Congress, 2 from the BJP and 5 independents were elected unopposed.
In the zila parishad bypolls, the Congress bagged seven of the nine seats, while the BJP managed to claim only one seat. The remaining one seat was won by an independent candidate.
No candidate contested from Jhadol panchayat samiti in Udaipur and the seat remained vacant.
The names of elected 48 sarpanches from 22 districts were announced by Election Commission.

Bengal Approves 10% EWS Quota

The West Bengal government approved 10% reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the economically weaker sections (EWS) from general category.
West Bengal was among the few states that had not implemented the 10% EWS quota introduced by the Centre though a Constitutional amendment earlier this year.
While the Trinamool Congress government's move was welcomed by all three opposition parties in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress, they also expressed concerns over the process of identifying the potential beneficiaries.
Currently, West Bengal has 22% reservation for those belonging to the scheduled castes, 6% for scheduled tribes and 17% for other backward classes (OBC), taking the total quota to 45%.

Congress Seeks Leader of the Opposition Post

Renewing the Congress's call for the post of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the party's chief whip in the House, Kodikunnil Suresh, said that it was technically eligible for the post, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should accord it the position if he was sincere about his comments on the Opposition.
Mr. Modi had said on the first day of the 17th Lok Sabha that a vibrant Opposition, notwithstanding its numbers, was important in a parliamentary democracy.
As per Mr. Suresh, the Congress had so far not demanded the post, though technically it was eligible, both as the second largest party in the Lok Sabha and as leader of the United Progressive Alliance which had 92 seats.
By norms, the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest party that has not less than a tenth of the total strength of the House.
The total strength of the Lok Sabha is 545, so any party that has 55 members can get the post.
The Congress, which is the second largest party in the House after the BJP, has only 52 members, which is three short of the figure.

Jul 02, 2019

Center Extends AFSPA in Nagaland

The Centre once again declared the entire state of Nagaland as a disturbed area and extended the imposition of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the region for six months. The order will remain effective till December, 2019.
The decision was taken in view of incidents of killings, loot and extortion in various parts of the state.
There have been demands of repealing AFSPA from various organisations in the Northeast.
The Act was in force in Nagaland for decades. It was not withdrawn even after a framework agreement was signed on August 3, 2015 by Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah and government interlocutor R. N. Ravi in the presence of PM Narendra Modi.

One Month Extension to Complete Enumeration of NRC

The Centre was given one month extension to complete the enumeration process for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam by July 31, 2019 when the final list of the state's residents will be published.
As per a notification by the Registrar General of India, the decision was taken as the exercise to enumerate citizens in the NRC, a list of Assam's residents, could not be completed within the specified date of June 30, 2019.
On December 6, 2013, the government had issued the first notification setting a deadline of three years for completion of the entire NRC process.
However, since then, six extensions were given by the government in regular intervals as the exercise has not yet been completed.

Release Indians in Jails

India demanded the early release of its nationals held in Pakistani prisons, including missing defence personnel, 10 civilians and 124 fishermen, as the two countries exchanged lists of prisoners in each other's jails in line with an agreement signed in 2008.
The two countries exchanged the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen in their custody through diplomatic channels simultaneously in New Delhi and Islamabad.
This was done in keeping with the provisions of the Agreement on Consular Access, under which such lists are exchanged on January 1 and July 1 every year.
India handed over a list of 256 Pakistani civilian prisoners and 99 fishermen in its custody. Pakistan provided a list of 52 prisoners and 209 fishermen in its custody who are Indians or believed-to-be Indians.
The Indian government called for the early release and repatriation of civilian prisoners, missing Indian defence personnel and fishermen along with their boats.

Jul 01, 2019

Nagaland to Carry Out its Own Version of NRC

According to a notification by the home commissioner, the Nagaland government is set to prepare a list of all indigenous inhabitants of the state.
According to the notification, the exercise to prepare the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) would begin on July 10, 2019 and would be completed within 60 days.
The exercise is being undertaken to stop issuance of the Indigenous Inhabitant Certificate (IIC) to ineligible persons.
The exercise would be conducted through an extensive survey of residents in every village and ward in the state and will be based on existing official records.
The survey would take into account whether an indigenous inhabitant is residing in his/her permanent residence or has moved elsewhere. Aadhar numbers, wherever applicable, would also be recorded.
Once the data of all residents is compiled, provisional lists of indigenous inhabitants will be published and authenticated by village and ward authorities.

Jun 30, 2019

Delhi Congress Dissolves 280 Block Committees

Based on a report submitted by a five-member committee formed to assess the party's performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls, Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit dissolved the party's 280 block committees.
The three-time former chief minister announced the dismissal of the 280 block committees with immediate effect and said that the party is also on its way to form a Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) for Delhi to strengthen operations before the upcoming assembly elections.
The Delhi Congress had formed the five-member committee to assess reasons for the defeat of the party in all seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi in the Lok Sabha elections. The committee submitted its report earlier in June 2019.

India Seeks Kartarpur Talks

After weeks of an impasse on the Kartarpur corridor, the government has written to Pakistan, proposing the next round of talks to be held from July 11 to 14 on the Pakistani side of the Attari-Wagah border.
The meeting would discuss the draft agreement on the modalities for movement of pilgrims along the Kartarpur corridor and resolve outstanding technical issues related to alignment and infrastructure along the corridor.
The government's decision to propose the fourth round of talks came a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to his Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan. Mr. Modi wrote that India was keen on seeing the corridor completed in time for the 550th birth anniversary of Sikh founder Guru Nanak in November 2019.
The talks had been put off as India had sought clarifications on several issues including whether to build a bridge or a causeway over the Ravi, proposed caps on pilgrim numbers, and the presence of Khalistani separatists in key posts of the gurdwara committee in Pakistan.

Jun 29, 2019

Chhattisgarh Congress Chief

Kondagaon MLA Mohan Markam was appointed as the president of the Congress's Chhattisgarh unit. He replaces Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who was holding the post.
The notification announcing Mr. Markam's appointment said that he was being appointed by the Congress president. Many are reading this as a sign that Rahul Gandhi may continue as the party chief.
Mr. Markam's constituency, Kondagaon, falls under the Bastar LS constituency, one of the two seats that the Congress won in the State in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

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