General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - October 2015

Oct 2015

May 08, 2021

Election Commission Panel Counsel in Supreme Court Resigns

Advocate Mohit D. Ram, the panel counsel representing the Election Commission of India, tendered his resignation, saying "my values are not in consonance with the current functioning of the commission".
Mohit D. Ram had been the panel counsel representing ECI in the Supreme Court since 2013.
He described representing the Election Commission "a cherishing milestone" of his career.
Ram's resignation comes after the Election Commission fought a case in the Supreme Court requesting that the media be stopped from reporting court observations. The Election Commission's objection involved the Madras High Court recently commenting that the poll body was singularly responsible for the Covid surge and "should be booked for murder" for not stopping election rallies in the last two months. The comment was not in the final order.

Tripura: INPT Merges with Pradyot Kishore Deb Barman's TIPRA

A month after their alliance won the state tribal council polls, the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT), the oldest tribal party in the state, has merged with the Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) to achieve their "common goal of Greater Tipraland".
The merger was announced by TIPRA chairman Pradyot Kishore Deb Barman.
The TIPRA and the INPT had contested the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) polls as alliance partners on April 6 and won 18 out of the total 28 seats.
This merger is for the unity of the entire tribal community of the state. We want other tribal parties also to unite to achieve their common goal.

May 07, 2021

Rangasamy to be Sworn in as Puducherry CM

AINRC chief N Rangasamy will be sworn in as Chief Minister of Union Territory of Puducherry at a brief ceremony.
Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan would induct Rangasamy as Chief Minister at a brief session on the precincts of Rajnivas.
Official sources said that Rangasamy alone would be inducted as Chief Minister although he would be heading an NDA dispensation which has the BJP as the other constituent.
As per reports, the swearing in of other ministers, including those from BJP will take place in the next few days.
Usually, the strength of a ministry in Puducherry would be six, including the Chief Minister.
There is however a reported move to have one Deputy Chief Minister now although there is no precedent in this regard.
A Namassivayam, who joined the BJP in January after quitting the Congress is tipped for the post of Deputy Chief Minister.

India and EU Likely to Resume Free Trade Talks

As per reports, India and the European Union (EU) are expected to announce the resumption of the stalled free trade talks during the India-EU leaders' meeting.
The two sides will resume the talks after eight years, and pick up from where they had left, one of two officials cited above told reporters during a virtual briefing from Brussels.
While the emphasis was on bilateral ties, there was also a subtle reference to a more robust cooperation between the two sides in view of the rise of an unpredictable China.

EC Panel Counsel in Supreme Court Resigns

Advocate Mohit D Ram, who has been panel counsel for the Election Commission in the Supreme Court since 2013, resigned due to incompatibility of his personal values with those of the poll panel.
As per Ram, his values are not in consonance with the current functioning of the ECI and hence, withdraw himself from the responsibilities of its panel counsel before the Supreme Court of India.

May 06, 2021

EC Postpones Bypolls to 3 Lok Sabha, 8 Assembly Seats

The Election Commission decided to defer proposed bypolls to three Lok Sabha and eight assembly seats in view of the prevailing coronavirus situation in the country.
The Commission said that vacancies have been notified in three parliamentary constituencies of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh) and Mandi (Himachal Pradesh).
Also, there are eight vacancies in state assemblies—Kalka and Ellenabad in Haryana; Vallabhnagar in Rajasthan; Sindgi in Karnataka; Rajabala and Mawryngkneng in Meghalaya, Fatehpur in Himachal Pradesh and Badvel in Andhra Pradesh.

May 05, 2021

UP Panchayat Polls

The BJP has won just eight out of the 40 zila panchayat seats in Ayodhya, a disappointment for the ruling party in the district on which the Centre and the state government have lavished much attention. The opposition Samajwadi Party claimed to have made major gains in the panchayat elections held last month, saying candidates it backed won 22 district level seats here. The Bahujan Samaj Party claimed its candidates won four zila panchayat seats in Ayodhya.

DMK Chief Stalin Elected as Legislature Party Leader

DMK president M K Stalin was unanimously elected as legislature party leader and he is to be sworn-in as Chief Minister on May 7.
The meet to elect him was held at headquarters 'Anna Arivalayam' and it witnessed participation of 133 DMK MLAs, which includes eight from alliance parties like the MDMK.
Stalin had already said that the ceremony shall be held in a simple manner in the Raj Bhavan premises here. The DMK top leader is expected to call on Governor Banwarilal Purohit and stake claim to form the government.

Modi, Johnson Hold Virtual Summit; UK PM Announces 1 bn Pound Trade Deal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual summit with his British counterpart Boris Johnson with an aim to further bolster bilateral ties in a range of areas including healthcare and trade, as the UK Prime Minister announced GBP 1 billion worth of UK-India trade and investment.
According to a statement from Johnson's office, "more than 6,500 new jobs will be created around the UK thanks to the one billion pounds of new UK-India trade and investment announced by the Prime Minister."
The package contains over 533 million pounds of new Indian investment into the UK, which is expected to create more than 6,000 jobs in vital and growing sectors such as health and technology, Downing Street said.

May 04, 2021

Central Vista Project: Construction of PM's Residence to be Completed by Dec. 2022

The construction of the Prime Minister's residence under the ambitious Central Vista project will be completed by December 2022, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has informed a government-appointed expert panel, which has given its nod to the project.
The CPWD, which is the project developer, informed the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) that the expansion of the Parliament building and the construction of a new Parliament building will be done by November 2022 and the prime minister's residence will be constructed by December 2022.
The Ministry of Environment has already granted the clearance for the expansion and renovation of the existing Parliament building, which is part of the Rs. 13,450 crore Central Vista Redevelopment Project.

In Assam, BJP Tasked with Striking Balance

Assam may have given the BJP a lot to cheer, but it is still facing a tricky challenge to strike the right balance of power between its two Assam strongmen — Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma.
While incumbent CM Sonowal is credited with helping the BJP retain Assam on account of his work, popularity and clean image, Sarma is seen as someone who helped the party gain strength ever since he joined in 2014. Speculation is rife over Sarma being shifted to the Centre and Sonowal being anointed the CM, or vice-versa.
Observers say much can be deciphered from the party's hesitancy in naming its Chief Minister's face in the run-up to 2021 Assembly polls.

Justice Prafulla Chandra Pant Appointed as the Acting Chairperson of the NHRC

The National Human Rights Commission appointed NHRC member Justice (retired) Prafulla Chandra Pant as the acting chairperson of the Commission.
A former Supreme Court judge, Justice Pant was appointed member of the NHRC in April 2019. The post of chairperson has been vacant since Justice H.L. Dattu, a former Chief Justice of India, completed his tenure on December 2, 2020.

Pinarayi Vijayan Submits Resignation to Kerala Governor

Pinarayi Vijayan who led the ruling CPI(M)-headed LDF in Kerala to a resounding victory in the April 6 Assembly polls, resigned from the post, ahead of the new ministry formation.
Vijayan submitted his resignation letter to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.
Vijayan has been asked to continue as Chief Minister till the new government is sworn in.

India-UK Close to Signing Migration and Mobility Partnership

As per reports, India and the UK are close to signing a "migration and mobility partnership", which could see thousands more Indian students enrol at UK universities in exchange for illegal Indian migrants being sent back.
The partnership forms part of a wider set of agreements in the pipeline during the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, invited by his UK counterpart Dominic Raab as a guest at the multilateral G7 Foreign and Development Ministers meeting this week.
A bilateral meeting between Raab and Jaishankar is scheduled for Thursday at Chevening in Kent, south-east England.

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