General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2016

Dec 2016

Nov 16, 2019

Delhi Polls: Postal Ballots for Senior Citizens and Disabled

According to chief electoral officer of Delhi, Ranbir Singh, Delhi in its upcoming assembly elections in 2020 would become the first state in India to allow Persons with Disabilities (PWD) and senior citizen voters above the age of 80 to cast their vote through postal ballots.
Singh said that the facility will first be rolled out on a pilot basis in a few constituencies in Jharkhand during the upcoming Assembly elections scheduled to be held between November 30 and December 20, 2019. At present, casting votes through postal ballots are available only to armed forces and officials assigned poll duties.
After the pilot project in Jharkhand, Delhi will be the first state to go hold elections in which the postal ballot will be made available in all 70 constituencies.

Centre Puts Citizenship Bill on Agenda of House

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government has officially informed Parliament that it wants to amend the Citizenship Act in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament, a move that promises to trigger protests by many Opposition parties and make for a lively session.
The controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill, which accelerates the process under which non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan can get Indian citizenship, figures in the tentative list of 35 bills the parliamentary affairs ministry has sent to the legislative branch of the Lok Sabha.
The list, provided by the Lok Sabha secretariat, also includes the industrial relations code — one of the four key labour reforms the government wants to legislate — and laws replacing two ordinances, one banning e-cigarettes and the other lowering corporate tax rates.

Panel to Divide Assets between J&K and Ladakh

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on home affairs was informed that situation in the newly-created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir was returning to normal and though assured that the detained political leaders, which includes three former Chief Ministers, would be released, no deadline for it was specified.
The Centre has also constituted a three-member committee for division of assets between the two UTs, the committee was told.
The committee has been constituted under Section 84 of the J-K Reorganisation Act for division of assets, rights and liabilities between the two UTs. While former defence secretary Sanjay Mitra would be the chairman of the committee, retired IAS officer Arun Goyal and retired Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) officer Giriraj Prasad Gupta would be its members.
The 14th Finance Commission award was apportioned between the two UTs in the ratio of 70 per cent for J&K and 30 per cent for Ladakh for the remaining five months of the 2019-20 fiscal. Recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission have been approved for government employees of the UTs of J-K and Ladakh.

Punjab Farmers Compensated for Not Burning Stubble

The Punjab government has disbursed Rs. 19 crore among 29,343 non-basmati cultivating small and marginal farmers who did not burn paddy residue.
The government has decided to give Rs. 2,500 per acre as compensation to small and marginal farmers who have refrained from burning paddy straw, a major contributor to air pollution in the region.
Agriculture secretary Kahan Singh Pannu said that the compensation was released directly to the bank accounts of the farmers as per the list supplied by the field officers.
As many as 85,000 applications have been received till now, the last date for submission of these applications is November 30, 2019.

India and US Close to Signing Initial Trade Deal

India and the US are set to finalise an initial trade agreement soon in what could pave the way for a larger deal, including a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), at a later stage.
An American delegation is scheduled to travel to India in November 2019 to put the final touches to the deal, following productive conversations between commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and his US counterpart Robert Lighthizer.
The two countries are looking at a near-term deal and a long-term version later, according to Indian and US officials.

Nov 15, 2019

UP Govt Launches e-Ganna App, Web Portal

Uttar Pradesh government has launched a dedicated web portal and a mobile application, e-Ganna App, for sugarcane farmers of the state. Cane supply slip will now be issued to the farmers by sugar mills online.
Launching the facilities at a function in Lucknow, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said his government is relentlessly pursuing the goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to double farmers' income.

Rajnath Singh To Inaugurate Sisseri River Bridge In East Siang

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is on a two-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh, will inaugurate the Sisseri River Bridge on the Pasighat-Ranaghat-Roing Road in East Siang District.
Mr Singh attended the Maitree Diwas celebration at strategically important Tawang District along the Indo-China Border.

Nov 14, 2019

Andhra Sand Shortage

The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet decided to impose a fine of Rs 2 lakh coupled with two-year imprisonment to those found guilty of hoarding sand in the state.
The cabinet also approved a 'Sand Week' program which began on November 14, 2019 to ensure availability of at least two lakh tonnes of sand per day in the state.
Apart from this, a decision to set up ' Andhra Pradesh Environment Management Corporation' to curb pollution and to declare 2000 of the 9000 industries in the red category was also taken.

6th World Congress on Rural and Agricultural Finance held in New Delhi

The 6th World Congress on Rural and Agricultural Finance was held in New Delhi on November 12 and 13, 2019.
The Congress was jointly hosted by Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Ministry of Agriculture Farmers Welfare and Cooperation.
The headquarter of APRACA is at Manila, Philippines.

Chief Justice of India's office under RTI Act

The Supreme Court has held that office of the Chief Justice of India is a public authority under the transparency law, the Right to Information Act.
"Transparency doesn't undermine judicial independence," the Supreme Court said in a unanimous verdict as it upheld the Delhi High Court judgment which ruled that office of the Chief Justice comes under the purview of RTI.
The five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi who retires on November 17, 2019, also dismissed the three appeals filed by secretary general of the SC and the Central Public Information officer of the apex court.
Other members of the bench included Justices NV Ramana, DY Chandrachud, Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna.

Nov 13, 2019

Agencies Bat for FEMA To Be Made Criminal Act

A multi-agency group, comprising various revenue intelligence and investigative agencies and the RBI, recently met in Delhi and deliberated on the feasibility of making violations under Foreign Exchange Management act (Fema) a criminal offence in view of huge trade-based money laundering, hawala transactions (illegal remittances) and smuggling of foreign currency out of the country.
Currently, Fema violation is a compoundable offence where an accused can get away on payment of penalty. The agencies are in favour of making it a criminal offence like the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and allowing them to prosecute offenders.

SC to Pronounce Verdict on Pleas Seeking Rafale Judgment

he Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on November 14, 2019 its verdict on petitions seeking a review of its judgment giving a clean chit to the Modi government in the Rafale fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation.
On May 10, 2019, the apex court had reserved the decision on the pleas, including one filed by former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph is likely to pronounce verdicts on three review petitions filed by the trio, lawyer Vineet Dhandha and Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Sanjay Singh.

Prez Rule Imposed in Maharashtra

In a notso-unexpected development, Maharashtra was placed under central rule after governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari made a recommendation to the effect, citing the inability of political parties to form a government. Koshyari's recommendation came after the NCP, which had been asked to produce proof of having the requisite numbers.
While it was the third time President's rule was imposed in the state, it was the first time it was done because of the inability of political parties to form a government after an election.
The newly elected legislative assembly will be kept under suspended animation for now. The assembly may be revived and President's rule lifted as and when some party works out a combination that is able to offer a stable government.

President's Rule Should Be Based Only On 'Objective Material'

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's recommendation for President's rule in the State under Article 356 (1) of the Constitution should have been based on "objective material" and not on a political whim or fancy, if one goes by the Supreme Court verdict in the 1994 S.R. Bommai case.
A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the court in the Bommai case, which is the reigning authority on the use and misuse of Article 356, had held that political whim or fancy cannot form the basis for the President to proclaim central rule in a State.
Such objective material may be available in the report sent to the President by the Governor or otherwise or both from the report and other sources. Once such material is shown to exist, the satisfaction of the President based on the material is not open to question.
Article 356 (1) has been deliberately drafted in a narrow language by the Founding Fathers so that political parties in the Centre does not misuse it to subvert federalism, it had noted.

Ayodhya Land Exempted in Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act

The Supreme Court has made it clear that its Ayodhya judgment will not act as a precedent to justify communal mobilisations against places of worship of other faiths.
The Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has dealt with this apprehension by referring to Section 5 of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991.
Section 5 had uniquely exempted the "place of worship — commonly known as Ram Janma Bhumi-Babri Masjid" from the ambit of the 1991 Act, which prohibits the conversion of any place of worship.
The 1991 Act bans conversion of religious places of worship and further provides "for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto".
The court highlighted that the express prohibition on conversion in the Places of Worship Act "speaks to the future by mandating that the character of a place of public worship shall not be altered".

Speaker's Disqualification Of 17 Karnataka MLAs Upheld

The Supreme Court upheld the disqualification of 17 dissident Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) legislators by then Karnataka Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law), but held their ouster is no bar from contesting re-polls.
The court said Section 36 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 does not contemplate such disqualification. It further referred to the provisions introduced in the 91st Constitutional Amendment.
The court said they were brought in specifically to ensure that a legislator disqualified for defection is not appointed as a government Minister or to any remunerative post from the date of his disqualification either till the expiry of his term of office or till he is re-elected to the legislature, "whichever is earlier".
In short, the Supreme Court has, with this judgment, paved the way for the ousted legislators to contest the coming by-polls in December 2019 and face their electorate with the "taint" of disqualification on them.
The judgment was based on separate petitions filed by the disqualified legislators against their ouster by Mr. Kumar.

Higher Penalty for Misuse of PM, Prez pic

Improper or unauthorised use of photograph of Prime Minister or President for promotion of trade and business may soon attract fine of Rs 1 lakh and repeat offence Rs 5 lakh and up to six months jail. Currently, the penalty for such offences including the improper use of national emblems such as the National Flag, Ashok Chakra, official seal of Parliament, Supreme Court etc is merely Rs 500 and there is no provision for higher fine for repeat offence.
The consumer affairs ministry proposed these changes in the Emblem and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act. The current provision of meagre penalties for misuse of the emblems and names had hit the headlines after Paytm and Reliance Jio had used PM Modi's photograph in their advertisements.
The proposed changes also put the onus on the defendant to prove that any contravention or alteration was authorised by a competent authority. The changes will be made through rules after considering suggestions and objections.

Progressive Electoral Trust is Top BJP Donor In 2018-19

The Tatas-controlled Progressive Electoral Trust contributed ₹356 crore to the BJP in the financial year leading up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, making it the top donor to the party in 2018-19 among those listed as having contributed more than ₹20,000 that the BJP had submitted to the Election Commission of India. The BJP's contribution report, submitted on October 31, 2019 and made public by the ECI shows the ruling party received a cheque of ₹356,53,55,172 from the Mumbai-based trust.
Prudent Electoral Trust, which includes contributions from DLF Limited, Bharti Airtel, GMR Airports, DCM Shriram Ltd. and Jubilant Foodworks Limited, gave the BJP a total of ₹54.25 crore in nine cheques over the financial year.

Haryana Sets Up Economic Advisory Council For 5 Years To Promote Industries

Haryana government led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has constituted an Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to promote industries in the state and address issues related to various issues and policies of economic development.
EAC will comprise membership-based advisory panel and will be headed by the Chief Minister, while various representatives of the government, industry and academia sector have also been included in the panel.

Nov 12, 2019

MoEFCC To Conduct Mass Cleaning Drive At 10 Indian Beaches

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) plans to organize a mass cleanliness-cum-awareness drive in 50 identified beaches under the Swachh-Nirmal Tat Abhiyaan.
The Ministry will award the best three beaches along with a Certificate of Appreciation for all the participating Eco-clubs.
The campaign will be held from 11-17 November 2019. The aim is to clean the beaches and creates awareness amongst citizens about the importance of coastal ecosystems.
MOEFCC has identified a few beaches that are in 10 coastal States/Union Territories (UTs) for the cleaning.
The beaches are from Gujarat, Daman & Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. The beaches were selected after the consultation with the States/UTs.

Haryana Police Launches Month-Long Drive Against e-Cigarettes

The Haryana Police launched a month-long special drive to keep a check on the availability and usage of e-cigarettes and all other forms of electronic nicotine delivery systems across the state.
He said that all Commissioners of Police and District Superintendents of Police have been directed to ensure enforcement of provisions of the Centre's recent ordinance prohibiting e-cigarettes in their respective jurisdictions.
The drive will last up to December 10, 2019.

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