General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2016

Dec 2016

Feb 08, 2019

Pension for Freedom Fighters to be Hiked

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced that the pension for freedom fighters would be increased to Rs. 25,000 and the medical allowance to Rs. 5,000 per month.
He said that the pension for soldiers and war widows of World War-II would be more than doubled, from Rs. 4,000 per month to Rs. 10,000.

JMM and Congress Seal Alliance

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren sealed the alliance between both parties ahead of the Lok Sabha poll and for the next Assembly elections.
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi's Jharkhand Vikas Morcha and the Rashtriya Janata Dal will also be part of the alliance.
However, the parties had not finalised the number of seats to be contested by the alliance partners. There are 14 Lok Sabha seats in the State.

IAS Officers in Rajasthan

Nineteen IAS officers were transferred or assigned additional charge of other departments in Rajasthan. Bhaskar A. Sawant was shifted to Urban Development and Housing Department as Principal Secretary.
Hemant Gera, Navin Jain, Shuchi Sharma are among other officers who were transferred.

Airport Security May be Outsourced

As per reports, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry has commissioned a survey to find out what kind of security jobs at airports can be outsourced to private agencies in an effort to cut costs.
Security at 61 of at least 100 operational airports is provided by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is the nodal force for aviation security.
However, most of the smaller airports under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) are secured by the local police which, experts say, compromises security.
The point of the study is to have clarity on which non-core jobs can be done by private guards, so the CISF can be withdrawn.

Feb 07, 2019

Centre Bans Kashmir Outfit

The Union Home Ministry has banned the Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for promoting terrorism and radicalising and recruiting youth for terrorist activities in India.
Set up in the 1990s, TuM claims to be fighting for the liberation of Kashmir.
The TuM carried out a number of terrorist attacks besides subversive acts, namely grenade attacks, weapons snatching incidents, supporting other terrorist outfits such as Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), etc.

Feb 06, 2019

SC Raps Centre on NRC

The Supreme Court came down heavily on the Centre over the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) process and said that it is hell-bent on not allowing the work to continue.
The top Court rapped the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for its plea, seeking to stall the NRC work for two weeks, keeping in mind the role of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in the election duty.
Reiterating that the July 31 deadline for the completion of NRC exercise will not be extended, a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that the Centre is not cooperating in the NRC process and it seems the entire effort of the MHA is to destroy the NRC process.
The apex court asked the Election Commission to consider exempting certain state officers from election duty to ensure that the NRC process continues.

Anna Hazare Ends Fast

Terming the Centre's assurances over appointing a Lokpal and resolving farmer issues as satisfactory, anti-graft activist Anna Hazare finally ended his week-long fast following a closed-door meeting with Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Union Ministers Radha Mohan Singh and Subhash Bhamre.
As per Mr. Hazare, the demand was that an ombudsman was not being appointed despite the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act being passed in 2013.
A letter from the Prime Minister's Office has assured that steps were being taken in this direction as per the Supreme Court's directives.
The activist further said that Chief Minister Fadnavis had assured that a new Lokayukta Act for Maharashtra would be passed by the time of the next Budget Session of the State Legislature and that a joint drafting committee would soon be constituted for the same.

India Obtains Consular Access

India obtained consular access to 117 of the 129 Indian students detained in the United States for enrolling in a fake university and legal assistance is being extended to them.
According to US government statistics, 129 Indians were administratively arrested as on January 31 in connection with their enrolment at the "university".
Efforts for consular access to the remaining 12 are continuing. Assistance is being extended to the Indian students in obtaining legal advice and connecting them to community support services.

Feb 05, 2019

Mamata Makes History

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee became the first head of a government in the country to hold a cabinet meeting in a traffic police outpost on a pavement in the heart of Kolkata to pass the state budget.
The full cabinet comprising more than 50 ministers huddled in the room as the cabinet led by the Chief Minister passed the budget in a few minutes. The budget was later placed in the state Assembly in the absence of the Chief Minister.

Feb 03, 2019

Party Manifesto in Braille

Congress president Rahul Gandhi may consider a request by a Delhi University student to print the party manifesto in Braille for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
If printed, it will be the first time a political party will be releasing its manifesto in Braille.
The interaction was part of the youth outreach campaign -"Apni Baat, Rahul ke Saath" – during which Gandhi will have a series of interactions on different issues with students from across the country.

Mughal Gardens at Prez House Opens for Public

Delhi's royal Mughal Gardens at Rashtrapati Bhavan are set to open for public viewing from February 6.
President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the annual 'Udyanotsav' on February 4, 2019. The gardens will remain open for the general public from February 6 to March 10 (except on Mondays, which are maintenance days) between 9am and 4pm.
The public will also be able to visit the Spiritual Garden, Herbal Garden, Bonsai Garden and Musical Garden
Around 10,000 tulips of various, vivid colours, especially cultivated in the Mughal Gardens are expected to bloom in phases during February.
Flower carpets in magnificent designs will also be on display at the Central Lawns. The dominant colour scheme of this year's ornamental flowers is white, yellow, red and orange.

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