Punjab Assembly Passes Resolution Seeking Transfer of Chandigarh to State
Except the BJP, members of all political parties including the AAP, Congress, SAD and the lone BSP legislator came out in support of the resolution and dubbed the Centre's move as dictatorial and autocratic. The one-day special session comes amid a political row sparked by Union Home Minister Amit Shah's announcement that central service rules will apply to the employees of Chandigarh.
Chandigarh is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.
Rajya Sabha Bids Farewell to 72 Retiring MPs
The Prime Minister said that experience has its own importance, and the MPs should take it forward in the service of the nation. Rajya Sabha bade farewell to 72 members retiring this year as Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed their contribution and MPs fondly reminisced on their experiences. He said knowledge alone can't bring about the change that the combined force of knowledge and experience can, which many senior retiring members brought to the House.
The 72 Rajya Sabha members are set to retire between March and July. Sixty-five of them represent 19 states while seven are nominated members.
Shah Announces Reduction of Areas under AFSPA in Nagaland, Assam, Manipur
In a major outreach to the Northeast, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced reduction of the disturbed areas imposed under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Nagaland, Assam and Manipur after decades.
The decision does not imply that the AFSPA has been completely withdrawn from the three insurgency-hit states but will continue to be in force in some areas of the three states.
The AFSPA has been in force for decades in the three Northeastern states to assist the armed forces operating there to tackle insurgency.
The AFSPA empowers security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone without any prior warrant besides giving immunity from arrest and prosecution to the security forces if they shoot someone dead.
Apr 01, 2022
DMRC Inaugurates First Interchange Station at Punjabi Bagh
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation inaugurated a new interchange station at Punjabi Bagh which connects the green and pink lines of the Delhi Metro. Meanwhile, the platforms of the two operational corridors are connected with a 212 metre-long footover bridge. This is for the first time that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has built such a station which connects two operational corridors. The two lines earlier crossed each other but there was no halt facility. However, there were demands from the people to provide an interchange provision at the intersection.
Mar 31, 2022
Vikas Kumar Appointed New DMRC Chief after Centre's Nod
The Centre approved the appointment of Vikas Kumar as Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)'s new managing director (MD) for a period of five years. He replaced Dr. Mangu Singh, who demitted office on March 31, 2022. Kumar is an officer from the 1988 batch of the Indian Railway Traffic Service. Kumar's name emerged for the top post two weeks ago after he was picked by the selection committee from a shortlist of 26 candidates. The file was then sent to the Union government for final approval.
The selection committee was chaired by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and included Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot, an additional chief secretary of the Delhi government, and an independent expert.
Supreme Court Strikes Down 10.5% Reservation for Vanniyars in Tamil Nadu
The Supreme Court struck down the 10.5 per cent reservation provided to Vanniyars, a Most Backward Community (MBC) in Tamil Nadu, in government jobs and admission to educational institutions.A bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and B. R. Gavai upheld the Madras High Court order which had quashed the reservation.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly had in February last year passed the then ruling AIADMK-piloted bill providing internal reservation of 10.5 per cent for Vanniyars, with the incumbent DMK government issuing an order in July 2021 for its implementation. It had split the aggregate 20 per cent reservation for MBCs and denotified communities into three separate categories by regrouping castes and provided a 10 per cent plus sub-quota for Vanniyars, formerly known as Vanniakula Kshatriyas.
Eight-time MLA Satish Mahana is New Speaker of UP Assembly
Eight-time BJP MLA Satish Mahana was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Leader of Opposition Akhilesh Yadav hailed his election and promised to positively contribute to the functioning of the House.
Indian Railways is on a mission mode to electrify its entire Broad Gauge network to provide environment friendly, green & clean mode of transport to its people under the 'Mission 100% Electrification - Moving towards net Zero Carbon Emission' plan. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi congratulated the Konkan Railway team for the remarkable success of 'Mission 100% Electrification' and for setting new benchmarks of sustainable development.
The electrification project has been challenging due to the difficult terrain of the Konkan Railway & non-conducive atmosphere due to Covid - 19 Pandemic. Konkan Railway being one of the biggest railway routes on the Indian Railway network, the train operations with electric traction will be implemented on the newly electrified KR route in a phased manner.
Mar 30, 2022
Delhi Assembly Becomes Paperless, Only E-documents Will be Tabled
The Delhi Legislative Assembly became paperless and only e-documents would be tabled in the House from now. MLAs were given tablets to ensure working of the Assembly in paperless mode and they will now receive necessary information regarding Assembly proceedings online. The Assembly took up an automation project which will allow all 70 MLAs to work digitally. From submitting questions to tabling the bills in the Assembly, all work would be done online.
This web-based solution would not only help speed up the official processes in the assembly but would also save tonnes of papers being used in proceedings.
Assam, Meghalaya Sign 'Historic' Agreement to End 50-year Border Dispute
The Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to resolve long-pending border dispute between the two states in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The MoU was signed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Kongkal Sangma to resolve six of the 12 sore border points between the two states. Assam would keep 18.51 square kilometres of land, and would give Meghalaya 18.28 square kilometres of land, according to the MoU signed for the 36.79 square kilometres of land.
Earlier, the Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya had submitted a draft resolution to the Union Home Minister Shah for examination and consideration by the MHA, which comprised of six of the 12 "areas of difference" along the 884-kilometre boundary.
Meghalaya was carved out of Assam in 1972, which is when the dispute arose. As a result of different readings of the demarcation of boundaries in the initial agreement for Meghalaya's creation, border issues were created.
Mar 29, 2022
Centre Drops Par-Tapi-Narmada Project in Gujarat after Protests from Tribals
After strong protests from tribals in south Gujarat, the Centre applied the brakes on the Par-Tapi-Narmada river-link project that was proposed in the Union budget. Earlier, more than 5,000 tribals had gathered in State capital Gandhinagar to oppose the proposed Par-Tapi-Narmada river link project, which the local communities fear will displace residents in south Gujarat.
Proposed by the Centre, the project is meant to transfer water from the water-surplus regions of Western Ghats to the water-deficit regions of Saurashtra and Kutch through the Sardar Sarovar Project. The controversial project seeks to link three rivers — Par, which originates from Nashik in Maharashtra and flows through Valsad in Gujarat, Tapi from Saputara that flows through Maharashtra and Surat in Gujarat, and Narmada originating in Madhya Pradesh and flowing through Maharashtra and Bharuch and Narmada and Vadodara districts in Gujarat.
Zoji La Tunnel to Open for Army by September '24
Authorities are on an overdrive to build a strategic Zoji La tunnel in Kashmir to reduce travel time to Ladakh, where China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is aggressively pushing its territorial claims along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The need for Zoji La tunnel was first felt during the 1999 Kargil war, and the recent incursions by China made it an urgent necessity
The tunnel will provide logistics flexibility and operational mobility to the Army. It could be one of the very few development projects in India to be completed ahead of its deadline fixed for November 2026. Officials say the tunnel will be opened for movement of the armed forces in September 2024 in case of any emergency.
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