General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2016

Dec 2016

Aug 02, 2019

India Conveys Concerns F-16 Assistance to Pakistan

India registered a strong protest over the US approving a proposed military sale worth $125 million for Pakistan's F-16 combat jet fleet.
Days after the meeting between Imran Khan and Donald Trump, the Pentagon announced that the state department had approved the proposed deal for "24/7 enduse monitoring" of the F-16s.
As per the US side, the proposed sale does not indicate any change in the US policy of maintaining a freeze in military assistance to Pakistan.

Free Electricity in Delhi up to 200 Units

As per reports, residents of Delhi would not have to pay anything for consuming up to 200 units of power.
If a consumer uses 201 units, he will have to pay the full charge.
For consumption of electricity between 201 and 400 units, about 50 per cent of subsidy would be provided.

Jaishankar Holds Meetings with World Leaders

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from China, Japan, Britain, New Zealand and other countries.
Jaishankar is in the Thai capital to attend a number of conferences, including the ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting, the 9th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the 26th ASEAN Regional Forum and the 10th Mekong Ganga Cooperation Ministerial Meeting.

Aug 01, 2019

Fight against Centre's Move to Scrap Article 35A

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti urged all parties to unite and fight against the Centre's reported move to scrap Article 35A in the state.
The PDP chief said that there are rumours that Article 35A can be scrapped. With regards to that, we all should unite at the moment, not only political leaders but all political workers, from National Conference, Congress or PDP should go to every household and urge everyone to collectively fight against any attempt to scrap Article 35A in J&K.
The PDP leader said that everyone should be ready to make sacrifices to defend Article 35-A.

India's Best Student City

Bengaluru was rated as the best student city in India and London the world's best based on a ranking that focuses on the number and performance of universities, employers hiring, the city's affordability, desirability and quality of life, and the diversity of student body.
London is the world's best student city for the second consecutive year, according to the sixth edition of the QS Best Student Cities Ranking compiled by global consultancy QS Quacquarelli Symonds.
The 2019 global rankings of 120 top student cities released include the following four Indian cities: Bengaluru (81st), Mumbai (85th), Delhi (113th) and Chennai (115th).

Vishweshar Hegde Elected Karnataka Assembly Speaker

Karnataka BJP MLA Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri was elected as the speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly. He had filed his nomination for the post of the Assembly Speaker on Tuesday.
Kageri, who represents the Sirsi constituency was accompanied by Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa and other senior party leaders during filing of nomination. The six-time MLA has also in past held the charge of Karnataka`s education minister.
He began his political career with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and was elected to the Assembly for the first time from the Ankola constituency in 1994, which he represented thrice till 2008.

Increasing Strength of Supreme Court Judges

Against the backdrop of rising cases in the Supreme Court, the Union Cabinet approved increasing the number of judges in the top court from the present 31 to 34, including the Chief Justice of India.
At present, the sanctioned strength of the apex court is 31.
Once the bill to increase the number of judges gets parliamentary nod, the number of judges would go up to 34, including the CJI.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 was last amended in 2009 to increase the judges' strength from 25 to 30 (excluding the CJI).
The decision of the Cabinet came days after Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase the number of judges in the top court.

Muslim MLA in Assam Becomes Deputy Speaker of Assembly

Aminul Haque Laskar, the lone Muslim legislator from Bharatiya Janata Party in Assam, was elected unopposed to the post of deputy speaker of the state legislative assembly.
Besides his own party, Laskar, who represents the Sonai constituency, had the support of Asom Gana Parishad and Bodo People's Front, the two parties who are partners in the BJP-led ruling coalition in Assam.
The opposition parties including Congress and All India United Democratic Front did not name any candidate for the post which had become vacant after former deputy speaker Kripanath Mallah of the BJP won the Karimganj Lok Sabha seat.

Jul 31, 2019

Sanjay Singh quits Cong and RS

In a setback to the Congress, Sanjay Singh, Rajya Sabha member and a close associate of the Gandhi family, resigned from the party and the Upper House, saying that he would join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and support Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the entire country is behind the latter.

Assam Government to Release 335 Foreigners

The Assam government is set to release 335 people who have spent more than three years in detention centres after being declared foreigners.
This follows the May 10 order of the Supreme Court to conditionally release such people lodged across six central jails – also serving as detention centres – and the Centre's message on July 23 that the Foreigners' (Tribunal) Order of 1964 need not be amended to proceed.
Replying on behalf of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to a question in the 126-member Assembly, Assam Industries Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said that 1,145 people declared foreigners by 100 Foreigners' Tribunals across the State were lodged in the detention centres till July 9 this year.

BJP Tells J& K Unit to Prepare for Polls

The national leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi told the Jammu and Kashmir core group of the party to start preparing for the Assembly election in the State.
BJP working president J.P. Nadda chaired a meeting of State unit leaders in New Delhi, along with Jitendra Singh, BJP general secretary in charge of Jammu and Kashmir and Minister of State at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Jul 30, 2019

Goyal Backs Out of RCEP Meeting in China

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal backed out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Intersessional Ministerial meet in China in order to participate in the extended session of Parliament that would now run till August 7, 2019.

Goa Dy Speaker in Citizenship Row

Isidoro Fernandes, newly elected deputy Speaker of the Goa legislative assembly denied claims that he is a Portuguese citizen after a purported copy his birth certificate being registered in Portugal emerged online and sparked a controversy.
Fernandes said that there was no truth in the allegations and claims that he was a Portuguese citizen were false.
The deputy Speaker's denial came after lawyer-activist Aires Rodrigues produced a copy of the registration of Fernandes' birth in Portugal and alleged that he was a Portuguese citizen
As per Rodrigues, the current Canacona MLA had obtained Portuguese Nationality on 22nd April 2014 and demanded that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant should immediately drop Fernandes if he does not resign on his own.

Yediyurappa Wins Trust Vote

The three-day-old BJP government in Karnataka headed by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa proved its majority with ease in the Assembly by winning the confidence motion by voice vote.
Soon after the trust vote and the passage of the Finance Bill for a period of three months along with the supplementary budget, Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar, who had disqualified 17 rebel MLAs of the Congress and the JD(S) over the last few days, tendered his resignation.

Karnataka Speaker Resigns

Karnataka Assembly Speaker K. R. Ramesh Kumar announced his decision to step down moments after the state's freshly-minted Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa cleared the trust vote by a voice vote.
Kumar's announcement came a day after he disqualified 14 more lawmakers from the assembly on petitions filed by the Congress and the Janata Dal Secular.
In all, Ramesh Kumar disqualified 17 rebel lawmakers who had attempted to exit the assembly which led to the collapse of the H. D. Kumaraswamy government.

New Governors Take Charge

Former Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel took oath as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, replacing Ram Naik.
Lalji Tandon assumed charge as the new Governor of Madhya Pradesh.
Lalji, who was earlier the Governor of Bihar, vacated his position for Phagu Chauhan, who was sworn-in as the 40th Governor of Bihar.
Former BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh, Anusuiya Uikey assumed charge as the Governor of Chhattisgarh.
She replaced newly-appointed Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel who was holding additional responsibility of Chhattisgarh. Patel was given the charge of Chhattisgarh following the death of Governor Balram Das Tandon in 2018.
Seven-times MP from Chhattisgarh's Raipur Ramesh Bias took the oath as the 18th Governor of Tripura.

Farooq Abdullah Warned the Centre

Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah warned the Centre against any move to abrogate Articles 35A and 370 that accord special status to the state and its people.
The former CM and National Conference leader said that Articles 35A and 370 should not be removed. It forms our foundation. There is no need to remove it. We are Hindustani but they (Article 35A & Article 370) are important for us.
This comes days after another former CM Mehbooba Mufti warned that any attempt to tinker with the special status of Jammu and Kashmir would blow up in its face
The comments of top leaders come came after a central government order allowed additional 100 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to be deployed in Jammu and Kashmir to reinforce counter-insurgency operations and maintain law and order.

Jul 29, 2019

Speaker Disqualifies 14 more Karnataka Rebels

Karnataka speaker KR Ramesh Kumar disqualified 14 rebel lawmakers whose decision to skip a trust vote last week toppled the state government, a ruling that came a day ahead of a floor test where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is widely seen to have the edge.
Kumar said that the 14 legislators, 11 from the Congress and three from its ally, the Janata Dal (Secular), stood disqualified until the term of the current assembly, due to end in 2023, and could not even contest bypolls. The decision also forecloses the possibility of any of the rebel legislators being named as ministers in the new government. He said, however, that they would be free to contest if fresh assembly elections were called.
The rebels said they would move the Supreme Court on Monday against this "unconstitutional" decision, and some constitutional experts said the ruling, including the decision to bar them from contesting in bypolls, was based on Kumar's interpretation of Article 164 1(b) of the Constitution, which deals with disqualification, and was bound to be challenged.
Kumar, who disqualified three other rebel MLAs last Thursday, stressed that he had been impartial but had to hurry because he was asked to preside over Monday's floor test.

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