General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2015

Sep 2015

Aug 11, 2018

Resolution to Treat SCs, STs Equally Across States

A private resolution seeking an amendment to the Constitution for equal treatment of SCs and STs across the country was negated in Rajya Sabha.
The resolution sought amending the Constitution to ensure that persons belonging to SCs and STs in one state should be regarded the same across the country to avail the benefits of reservation.
The resolution, moved by Vishambhar Prasad Nishad (SP), was put to vote, as many as 66 members voted against it as against 32 in favour.

Team to Monitor Shelter Homes

In the wake of sexual exploitation cases in shelter homes in Muzaffarpur and Deoria, the Rajasthan government has set up a special team to monitor all child care centres in the state.
The state-level task force will monitor all such centres by August 30 and submit a report to the state government.
A Child Welfare Committee and officials of other department will conduct the inspection in the supervision of collectors in districts. The team members will talk to children and if any irregularity is found, necessary action will be taken.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Bill Passed

A bill to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016, allowing home buyers to be treated as financial creditors and seeking to set up a special dispensation for small sector enterprises, was passed by the Parliament.
The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha in July.

Delhi Gets an All-women SWAT Team

Delhi Police inducted 36 women as part of an all-women Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team to fight against terrorists.
This is the first time that any police force in the country has created an all-women SWAT team.

Aug 10, 2018

Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma Gets Additional Charge

Bihar Education Minister Krishnanandan Prasad Verma has been given the additional charge of the Social Welfare Department, a day after Minister Manju Verma resigned from the post in connection with the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case.

Bail Provision in Triple Talaq Bill

The government approved inclusion of a provision of granting bail to men accused of giving instant triple talaq to their wives. The approval came at the meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While the offence will remain non-bailable, the latest provision makes it permissible for a magistrate to grant bail to the accused.
The Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill, cleared by the Lok Sabha, is pending in the Rajya Sabha, where the government lacks numbers and the provision of bail was one of the demands of the Opposition.

Four More NDRF Battalions

The government approved a proposal of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to raise four more battalions of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), each comprising 1,000 recruits.
Two of the four battalions will initially be raised in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and one each in the Border Security Force (BSF) and Assam Rifles.

Bill to Collect DNA Samples

A new Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha that allows law enforcement agencies to collect and store DNA samples in banks for crime investigations and identification of missing persons and unidentified deceased people.
The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018, seeks to create, for the first time in India, a legal mechanism to regulate and use DNA technology for establishing the identity of victims of crimes, offenders (first and repeat), suspects, undertrials, missing people and victims of disasters.
The Bill was introduced by Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan.

Harivansh is RS Deputy Chairman

The BJP-led NDA nominee and JD-U leader Harivansh Singh was elected Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. He defeated Opposition nominee and Congress leader B. K. Hariprasad by 20 votes.

Aug 09, 2018

Arms Licence

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has exempted ex-servicemen and senior citizens from undertaking mandatory dope test for issuance and renewal of their arms licences.

The Chief Minister has taken the decision in response to a request from ex-servicemen and senior citizens' groups.

The decision comes about six months after the state government decided to make it mandatory for all applications to undergo a compulsory dope test to qualify for a weapon licence.

India and Myanmar Open First 2 Land Crossings

The entry exit checkpoints were formally opened in presence of enthusiastic crowds at the land boundary at Tamu/Moreh bordering Manipur and Rihkhawdar/Zokhawthar bordering Mizoram.

The two countries had inked the landmark land border crossing agreement in May this year. The opening of these check posts is expected to facilitate travel on both sides.

Asia's Biggest Data Centre in Maharashtra

Asia's biggest data centre is set to open at Sawantwadi in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district.

The data centre costing Rs. 5,000 crore will be set up by a private company, Streamcloud, belonging to the Streamcast group. The data centre will be linked with another one in Malta.

NGT Orders Closure and Action on 124 Industries

The National Green Tribunal ordered closure and registration of cases against 124 industrial units which are polluting the Kali, Krishna and Hindon Rivers in six districts of western Uttar Pradesh.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the district magistrates of these six districts to submit an action plan for providing potable water to the villagers in a time bound manner.

Aug 08, 2018

LCA Tejas Mk1A with BVR Missiles, AESA Radar

The indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A fighters with enhanced capabilities including Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles, Self-Protection Jammer (SPJ) and Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR) will soon join the Indian Air Force (IAF). The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had in late 2017 cleared the acquisition of 83 LCA Tejas Mk1A aircraft for which quotation has already been submitted by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The 83 Tejas Mk1A will cost the IAF almost Rs. 50,000 crore and help the force in shoring up the depleting number of fighter squadrons.

Madhya Pradesh Civic By-polls

Months ahead of the assembly election scheduled for the end of the year, the Congress won 9 of 14 municipal seats in Madhya Pradesh for which by-polls were held, gaining three seats. The ruling BJP won only four and one seat went to an independent.

Former Tamil Nadu CM Passes Away

M. Karunanidhi, DMK president and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, died at a private hospital in Chennai. He was 94.

Karunanidhi was first elected to the Tamil Nadu assembly in 1957 and last served as Chief Minister at the age of 82 in 2006 when the DMK-Congress alliance swept to power. He never lost an election.

Aug 07, 2018

Death to Child Rape Convicts Bill Passed

The Rajya Sabha passed by a voice vote a legislation prescribing death penalty to those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years and making the law against such sexual offences more stringent.
The Bill replaces the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance promulgated on April 21, following an outcry over the rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and the rape of another woman at Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

Bill to Grant Constitutional Status Passed

The Rajya Sabha passed a bill to provide constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes, with many MPs urging the Union government to make public the findings of the caste census and implement the reservation policy accordingly.

'Doctor of Humane Letters' Degree to First Indian

Founder of Serum Institute of India, Cyrus Poonawalla, was felicitated by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar for being the first Indian to be conferred with the binary of 'Doctor of Humane Letters' degree by the University of Massachusetts earlier this year for his outstanding contribution to the field of vaccination.

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