General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2015

Dec 2015

May 10, 2021

IAF operates Covid Air Support Management Cell

The Indian Air Force is operating a Covid Air Support Management Cell to efficiently coordinate for the distribution of all the relief aid coming from foreign countries. Defence Ministry said, the Air force is operating this Management Cell at Palam Air Base since 27th of last month. The cell is operational round the clock.
The Ministry said, One C-130 and two AN-32 transport aircraft are operating at Palam to air lift load on short notice across the country. The Ministry said, communication links with all important stakeholders like Union Health Ministry, Hindustan Latex Limited and the Indian Red Cross Society have been established for seamless flow of information and to reduce time delays.

Himanta Biswa Sarma takes oath as 15th Chief Minister of Assam

Himanta Biswa Sarma swearing-in Live: BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma has been sworn in as the 15th chief minister of Assam at the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra.
Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi administered oath of office and secrecy to Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The BJP leader was elected leader of both the BJP and NDA Legislature Party and then called on the Governor at Raj Bhawan and submitted a list of elected legislators owing allegiance to the NDA.
Notably, former CM Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh, National Vice-President and Party In-charge Assam, Baijayant Jay Panda, state party President Ranjeet Kumar Dass, AGP leaders Atul Bora and Keshab Mahanta and UPPL leader Pramode Boro accompanied Sarma to the Raj Bhawan.

May 09, 2021

Sonowal Tenders Resignation

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal tendered his resignation to Governor Jagadish Mukhi prior to a meeting of the BJP legislature party which is expected to elect the next Chief Minister of the state.
As is the tradition, the Governor asked Sonowal to continue in office till the formation of the new government.
The party's central leadership had summoned Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, both contenders for the top post, to New Delhi for discussions on the formation of the next government in the state.

India-EU Resume Trade Talks, Strengthen Bilateral Cooperation

India and the European Union (EU) announced their decision to resume negotiations for a balanced and comprehensive trade agreement after a gap of eight years.
During the first-ever India + 27 EU member states summit, an ambitious connectivity partnership was unveiled during the virtual meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of the member nations.
India and the EU also agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation on digital and emerging technologies such as 5G, AI, Quantum and High-Performance Computing including through the early operationalization of the Joint Task Force on AI and the Digital Investment Forum.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited the EU to support a proposal by India and South Africa to waive patents on COVID-19 vaccines so that there can be equitable vaccine access for the entire world, officials said.
However, there was no concrete decision on the matter from the EU side.

India Extends Support to Maldives Post Attack on Former President

India has been in touch with the Maldives authorities in the aftermath of the attack on the former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed.
Nasheed who is the current speaker of the Maldives Parliament was injured in a bomb blast.
As part of the engagement between Male and Delhi, help in the form of security resources continues from the Indian government.
India, a close ally of Maldives was the first country to react after the attack, with External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar expressing his concern.

Biman Banerjee New Speaker of West Bengal Assembly

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Biman Banerjee was elected as Speaker of West Bengal Legislative Assembly for the third time.
West Bengal witnessed a fierce contest between the ruling TMC and BJP across eight phases. The Samyukta Morcha comprising the Congress, Left parties and ISF has also tried to put up a strong fight. The BJP has made a concerted attempt to dislodge the TMC.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) won 213 seats in the just concluded state assembly elections. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, garnered 77 seats in the 294-seat state assembly.

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.

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