General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

May 25, 2019

SKM Set to Take Power in Sikkim

The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), which won 17 out of the 32 Assembly seats in Sikkim, is all set to form the next government in the State but suspense remains over who will be the next Chief Minister.
As per SKM spokesperson Jacob Khaling, party president P.S. Golay will head the government in the State.
Prem Singh Tamang (Golay), who set up the SKM in 2013 after breaking away from the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front, is, however, facing a legal hurdle. He was convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act and was acquitted only after serving a jail term in August 2018.
While the SKM maintains that the case against its president was a result of "political vendetta", his conviction can come in the way of him becoming the Chief Minister.

Ahead of Forming New Govt. Modi Submits Resignation

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was re-elected with a thumping majority, the process of putting in place the new government began, with Ministers of the Union Cabinet meeting and passing a resolution to dissolve the 16th Lok Sabha and tendering their resignations.
A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique confirmed that Mr. Modi called on President Ramnath Kovind and handed over his resignation, along with that of the Union Cabinet.
The resignations were accepted and Mr. Modi has been asked to continue till a new government, again under him, takes charge.

Sena to Demand Extra Central Berths

With the two saffron NDA partners putting in a strong showing in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena is likely to demand three ministerial berths at the Centre.
Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray would travel to New Delhi to demand two additional Ministries for his party, one of Cabinet rank and the other of Minister of State (MoS).
The party has already shortlisted the names of the three candidates, which includes the party's Rajya Sabha member Anil Desai.
The other two names are from the MPs who have repeated their 2014 performance.
The Sena currently holds a single Cabinet berth, Anant Geete, who is the Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Sector Enterprises.
The Sena had rejected the BJP's offer for another MoS berth in 2014, but is unlikely to do so this time around, if offered.

Election Results 2019

The final result for national election is out. Voters across India gave a clear mandate and chose the 542 parliamentarians who will form the 17th Lok Sabha.
As national election results are declared, the BJP emerged as the single largest party winning 303 seats. The Opposition Congress won 52 seats.
TMC in Bengal and YSRC in Andhra Pradesh won 22 seats each. While some places saw a neck and neck competition, other places saw a clear winner, registering victory with huge margins.
The BJP has made a clean sweep in Gujarat, Delhi and Rajasthan winning all seats.
In Uttar Pradesh, BJP won 64 seats while the BSP and SP alliance won 15 seats.
The mandate is in favour of the BJP and PM Modi is set to become the Prime Minister for the second term.

TSEC Defers Counting of ZPTC, MPTC Votes

The counting of votes in the elections to the zilla parishad (ZPTCs) and mandal parishad territorial constituencies (MPTCs) slated for May 27 has been postponed.
The Telangana State Election Commission has taken a decision to this effect following representations made by representatives of the Opposition parties.
In the representations submitted to the TSEC, the Opposition parties expressed concern that the long gap between counting of votes on May 27 and the indirect elections for the chairpersons of ZPTCs and presidents of Mandal Praja Parishads on July 5 was likely to result in huge horse trading.
They urged the commission to either advance the date of indirect election or defer the counting process to avoid scope for horse trading.
TSEC secretary M. Ashok Kumar, in the order issued on 17 May , said there was considerable truth in the representations made by the political parties.

May 24, 2019

BJP Sweeps Most of India

Riding on a massive saffron surge sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP-led NDA government looks set to become the only non-Congress government to return to power in the Indian political history.
After Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Narendra Modi is also the third Prime Minister of India who has been able to retain power for a second term with full majority in Lok Sabha.
Repeating its near improbable feat of landslide victory in North and West India with a vote share of nearly 50 per cent, the NDA has taken a massive lead over the Congress-led UPA.
The alliance has crossed the majority mark of 272 and is moving towards 350 seats mark out of the total 542 Lok Sabha seats.

First Assembly Election Win for BJP in Arunachal Pradesh

After two stints in power, the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Chief Minister Pema Khandu won its first Assembly election in Arunachal Pradesh.
The BJP had approached the election with an advantage, three of its candidates won unopposed before the polling was held on April 11.
The BJP won 11 seats in the 60-member Assembly in 2014. Mr. Khandu has been heading a BJP government since December 31, 2016.
But the BJP had taken over from the regional People's Party of Arunachal after almost two years of political instability that led to the fall of Nabam Tuki's elected Congress government.

May 23, 2019

AFT Asks Defence Ministry to Produce Original Records

The Armed Forces Tribunal asked Defence Ministry to produce original records relating to the navy chief's appointment while hearing a petition by Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, who has challenged appointment of his junior Vice Admiral Karambir Singh to the top job.
Verma's lawyer Ankur Chhibber said that the matter would come up for hearing on May 29, three days before current navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba retires. The AFT is hearing the matter after the Defence Ministry last week rejected Verma's statutory complaint challenging Singh's appointment as the next chief.

Senior NCP Leader Quits Party

Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA from Beed and former minister Jaydutta Kshirsagar joined Shiv Sena in the presence of president Uddhav Thackeray at Sena Bhavan. Mr. Kshirsagar was a minister of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) in the previous Congress-NCP government.

Centre Clears Names of Four Judges

The Centre cleared the names of four judges to be elevated to the Supreme Court, a week after the collegium disagreed with the department of justice for the second time in a year over the issue of judicial appointments.
With the appointments of justices Aniruddha Bose, A. S. Bopanna, B. R. Gavai and Surya Kant, the number of judges in the apex court will go up to a full strength of 31.

May 22, 2019

Nitish Revives Special Category Status Demand

Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, said that the demand for special category status was a key concern for the state and his JD(U) was committed to pursuing it, despite the Centre declaring it a closed chapter on the basis of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations. It has remained an important agenda for us, since 2006.
The demand has been unanimously endorsed by both houses of the state legislature.

Proposal to Fill 45 District Judge Vacancies

The State government has accepted a proposal submitted by the Registrar General of the Madras High Court in April to promote 45 Senior Civil Judges in the State to the cadre of District Judges (Entry Level) with effect from the day they assume charge of the new posts.
According to a Government Order issued by the Public department, Senior Civil Judges C. Buvaneswari, R.K.P. Tamilarasi, K. Karunanithi, L.S. Sathiyamurthy, M. Ilangovan and 40 others now serving as Sub Judges and Chief Judicial Magistrates across the State would henceforth be elevated to the post of District Judge.
The promotions would fill up 65% of vacancies on the basis of merit-cum-seniority. As per rules, the rest 10% should be filled only on the basis of merit and 25% should be filled through direct recruitment.

May 21, 2019

EC Appoints Five Observers

As preparations for the counting on May 23 are underway, five observers for nine assembly constituencies have been appointed by the Election Commission of India.
Under the vigil of five IAS-rank election officials, counting will take place in Gurugram, Pataudi, Sohna, Badshahpur, Nuh, Ferozepur Jhirka, Punhana, Bawal, and Rewari.
The district election office said that 25 rounds of vote counting would take place for Punhana and Badshahpur constituencies, while 23 rounds would take place for Gurugram.
In Bawal, 19 vote counting rounds will take place, followed by 18 in Rewari, Pataudi, and Firozpur Jhirka and 17 in Sohna. A minimum of 14 rounds will take place in Nuh constituency.

India Cuts Off UN Panel

Reacting angrily to a submission from the Geneva-based Human Rights Council (HRC) on the alleged violations in Jammu and Kashmir, India has informed the United Nations body that it will no longer entertain any communication with the HRC's Special Rapporteurs on its report.
The report from the UN body came at the same time a report from two NGOs in the State on the alleged cases of torture was released in Srinagar, which was endorsed by a former UN Special Rapporteur.
The current Special Rapporteurs on Extrajudicial Executions, Torture, and Right to Health, Agnes Callamard, Dainius Puras and Nils Melzer, had referred to a June 2018 report of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) and written to the government in March 2019, asking about steps taken by New Delhi to address the alleged human rights violations listed in the report.
In addition, the Special Rapporteurs had listed 13 cases of concern from 2018 alone, in which four children were among eight civilians killed by members of the security forces.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

October GK, September GK, August GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services and Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26