General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Nov 19, 2020

Ajit Pawar's Call to Include Karnataka Districts in Maharashtra

Pawar sparked a controversy, when he called the incorporation of Belgaum (Belagavi), Karwar and Nipani areas of Karnataka into Maharashtra a "dream" of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, as he paid tributes to the leader on his eighth death anniversary.
The controversy comes weeks after the Maharashtra government asked all its ministers to wear black bands on November 1, celebrated in Karnataka as Rajyotsava or state Formation Day, to express support for Marathi-speaking people in the region.

Nov 18, 2020

India and Kazakhstan Sign MoU

India and Kazakhstan held the seventh round of foreign office consultations via video conference. The countries signed the "Indian Grant Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Projects in Kazakhstan".
During the consultations, the countries reviewed their bilateral cooperation within the framework of their strategic partnership. The consultations covered economic, political, defence, energy, space, cultural matters. Also, the countries shared their experiences in combating COVID-19 pandemic.
The countries also agreed to enhance their cooperation in multilateral forums including the forthcoming term of India as a member of United Nations Security Council for the period 2021-22.
Kazakhstan sources 80% of India's Uranium needs. Under India-Kazakhstan nuclear deal, so far Kazakhstan has supplied 9,000 tonnes of Uranium to India. In 2019, India and Kazakhstan renewed their nuclear deal for a period of 2020-24.

Not Part of J&K Alliance: Congress

Hours after Home Minister Amit Shah questioned the Congress over its truck with the PAGD, the party said it was not part of the alliance and did not subscribe to any foreign intervention on the Kashmir issue.
"The Congress believes in democratic elections in J&K and is participating in the district development council poll to expose nefarious designs of the BJP," said party media head Randeep Singh Surjewala.

Bihar Portfolio Allocation

A day after taking oath as Bihar CM, Nitish Kumar announced the portfolio allocation. He retained Home Department, General Administration and Vigilance. One of the two Deputy CMs, Tarkishore Prasad, got Finance, Urban Development. The other Deputy CM Renu Devi got Panchayati Raj, Backward Caste Upliftment and Industry.
Mukesh Sahni got Animal Husbandry and Fishery, Mangal Pandey got Health and Art and Culture and Bijendra Yadav got Energy, Planning and Food and Consumer Affairs.
JDU leader Mewa Lal Choudhary has been given the education ministry in the NDA government, Sheila Kumari has been handed the transport ministry.
BJP's Ram Surat has been handed the revenue ministry and law ministry while Jivesh Kumar has been given the tourism department and labour department.

Nov 17, 2020

Draft Electoral rolls for Tamil Nadu Released

The Election Commission of India released the draft electoral rolls for Tamil Nadu, which is headed for Assembly polls in 2021.
According to the statistics mentioned in the draft electoral rolls for Tamil Nadu, there are about 6.10 crore voters in total and this comprises 3.09 crore women, 3.01 crore men and 6,385 transgenders.
In terms of new electors or first-time voters, there are a total of 2.08 lakh voters, which comprises of 1.06 lakh females, 1.01 lakh males and 132 transgenders.
The number of voters above the age of 80 is 13.75 lakh.

PM Unveils Statue of Peace in Rajasthan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the 'Statue of Peace' in Rajasthan to mark the 151st Birth Anniversary celebrations of Jainacharya Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwer Ji Maharaj.
PM Modi paid tribute to Jainacharya and the spiritual leaders present on the occasion.
Prime Minister also said that India has always shown the path of peace, non-violence and friendship to the world.
The 151-inch tall statue has been made from Ashtadhatu, i.e. 8 metals, with copper being the major constituent, and was unveiled by PM Modi via video conferencing. It has been installed at the Vijay Vallabh Sadhana Kendra, Jetpura, in Pali.

Nitish Kumar Takes Oath as Bihar Chief Minister

Nitish Kumar took oath as the 37th Chief Minister of Bihar at a simple ceremony in Patna's Raj Bhavan that was attended by Union Minister Amit Shah, Bharatiya Janata Party chief JP Nadda and other leaders.
Two BJP leaders, Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers and 14 other ministers took oath, five from the Janata Dal (United), seven from the BJP, and one each from Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).
This is Kumar's fourth consecutive term as Chief Minister.

Nov 16, 2020

Calcutta HC Stays Probe Against Kailash Vijayvargiya, other BJP Leaders for 'Unlawful Assembly'

The Calcutta High Court has stayed a police investigation in an FIR filed by Kolkata Police against Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya, Mukul Roy and other party leaders.
The FIR lodged at Hasting Police station named 24 people, including party MPs Arjun Singh and Locket Chatterjee, and booked them for "unlawful assembly having their common object to approach Nabanna i.e. high security zone". The FIR was filed during West Bengal BJP's march to State Secretariat (Nabanna) on October 8, 2020.

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee Joins Hand with Gupkar Alliance

The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) formally joined the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), an amalgam of several parties in the union territory seeking restoration of the erstwhile state's special status.
Two Congress leaders participated in a meeting of the alliance at PDP president Mehbooba Mufti's 'Fairview' residence at Gupkar. The meeting was called to discuss the District Development Council (DDC) elections and to finalise the list of candidates to contest in the rest of the eight-phased polls.
Asked whether there were any differences between the alliance partners, Monga said that there is no disagreement and a healthy discussion took place.
NC provincial president, Kashmir, Nasir Aslam Wani, said that the Congress has assured it will be part of the alliance and part of the seat-sharing arrangement for the DDC elections.
Congress has joined the alliance. Their leader has talked to (Farooq) Abdullah. Two of their senior leaders also joined the meeting. They have assured they will be part of the alliance and part of the DDC elections (seat-sharing arrangement) also.
The Congress, which was originally a signatory of the 'Gupkar Declaration' - a resolution passed by various mainstream political parties on August 4 last year vowing to protect the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir - had maintained a distance from the grouping after it was given a formal shape in October this year.

Forest Rights Claims of Nearly 1,200 Tribals in Hunsur Rejected

Nearly 1,200 tribals in Hunsur taluk of Mysuru district stare at an uncertain future, as their review petition for recognition of their claims over forest land under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, was rejected by the local authorities.
NGOs fighting for tribal rights fear more applications may be rejected and are bracing for a showdown with the authorities on the grounds that the review was done cursorily.
In Mysuru, 7,275 tribals had originally sought benefits under the forest rights Act (FRA), of which 755 were approved and 6,459 rejected.
The review of their claims followed a State government directive which was warranted as a consequence to a Supreme Court order on a case questioning the validity of the FRA.

Labour Ministry Seeks Feedback on Draft Rules Under Code on Social Security

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has sought feedback from stakeholders on draft rules under the Code on Social Security, 2020.
The feedback is required to be provided within 45 days from November 13, 2020.
The draft rules provide for operationalization of provisions in the Code on Social Security, 2020 relating to Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), gratuity, maternity benefit, social security and cess in respect of building and other construction workers, social security for unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers.

Nov 15, 2020

All Kerala Police Stations to Become Child-friendly

In a bid to create an atmosphere where children can lodge complaints without fear, Kerala Director General of Police Loknath Behera virtually inaugurated child-friendly centres at 15 police stations in the state.
Behera said that the Kerala Police are trying to create an atmosphere in the police stations where children can come to lodge complaints without any fear. The event was also attended by other senior police officials thorough video conferencing.
The concept of child-friendly police stations was launched in 2006 with the aim of making those children happy who accompany people coming to police stations for various purposes. Such centres will help children and others to understand the workings of police stations and the work of police officials and to avoid the gap between police, children and the community.
At present, 85 police stations in the state have such children-friendly centres.

Akhilesh Yadav Makes Big Announcement about 2022 UP Assembly Election

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav revealed his party's strategy for 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, saying the SP would not seal alliance with any major parties for the crucial election. Akhilesh's announcement sends a message that the SP is unwilling to enter into an alliance with the Congress with which it fought the 2017 Assembly election.
Samajwadi Party will try to form an understanding with smaller political parties but no alliance with any big political parties. Pragatisheel Party will also be adjusted and Jaswantnagar has already been left for their leader and in times to come, we will also give cabinet berth to him.

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