SC Stays Allahabad HC Order Asking UP Govt to Hold Polls without OBC Quota
The Supreme Court stayed the Allahabad High Court order directing the Uttar Pradesh government to hold urban local body polls without reservation for the OBCs.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud and Justice P. S. Narasimha took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state government, and directed that a panel appointed by the state government will have to decide the OBC quota related issues for the local bodies' poll by March 31, 2023.
The top court permitted the state government to appoint administrators to run the affairs of the local bodies after the expiry of the tenure of the elected representatives.
It, however, said that the administrators will not be empowered to take major policy decisions.
PM Modi to Launch World's Longest River Cruise "Ganga Vilas"
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the world's longest luxury river cruise, 'Ganga Vilas', from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi to Dibrugarh in Assam on January 13. The cruise will cover 3,200 kilometres in 50 days. Passing through the rivers of India and Bangladesh, the cruise will be covering 27 different river systems and will stop at over 50 tourist sites, including world heritage.
This will be the largest river journey by a single river ship in the world and would put both India and Bangladesh on the river cruise map of the world. The Ganga Vilas cruise, which will start from Varanasi, will pass through prominent cities like Kolkata and Dhaka before reaching Bogibeel in Dibrugarh district of Assam on March 1.
The river cruise will be operated by private players Antara Luxury River Cruises and JM Baxi River Cruises along with the governmental partnership from the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). The luxury river cruise vessel, Ganga Vilas, have 18 cabins/suites and all other associated facilities.
President Droupadi Murmu Inaugurates Samvidhan Udyan in Jaipur
The President of India Droupadi Murmu inaugurated Samvidhan Udyan, Mayur Stambh, National Flag Post, statue of Mahatma Gandhi, and Maharana Pratap at Raj Bhavan, Jaipur. The President of India virtually inaugurated the Transmission System for Solar Energy Zones in Rajasthan and laid the foundation stone for the 1000 MV Bikaner Solar Power Project of SJVN Limited.
Yogi Calls for '5E' Formula to Curb Road Accidents
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked officials to follow the '5E' formula of education, enforcement, engineering, emergency care and environment to curb road accidents.
He also termed as "worrying", the fact that while Covid claimed 23,600 lives over three years, road accidents led to loss of 21,200 lives in just one year 2022.
The state government started a month-long campaign on road safety from January 5 to February 4.
Jan 04, 2023
Election Commission Launches 'Mission-929' to Take Voter Turnout in Tripura to over 90%
The Election Commission (EC) is focusing on 929 polling booths across Tripura, setting a target of 92 per cent voter turnout in the assembly elections due early this year (2023). These booths recorded a voter turnout of less than 89 per cent, which was the average across 3,328 booths in the 2018 assembly polls. The EC is also working on 'Mission Zero Poll Violence' to make the assembly elections peaceful.
The Tripura Legislative Assembly has 60 seats. The election to constitute the 12th Legislative Assembly of Tripura was held on February 18, 2018. The 12th legislative assembly term will end on March 22, 2023. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had emerged as the single largest party with 36 seats and it formed the government for the first time in Tripura.
Rajnath Singh Inaugurates Steel Arch Siyom Bridge
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated Siyom Bridge and 27 other infrastructure projects in Arunachal Pradesh. The 100-metre 'Class-70' steel arch superstructure on the Aalo-Yingkiong road between West Siang and Upper Siang districts, is one of the 28 projects completed by the BRO at a cost of Rs. 724.3 crore to bolster border infrastructure.
'Class-70' refers to the capability of the bridge to withstand movement of vehicles weighing 70 tonnes. This means that armoured columns along with artillery can easily move through the bridge.
Jan 03, 2023
Election Commission Appoints Maithili Thakur as Bihar's State Icon
Folk singer Maithili Thakur was appointed the state icon for Bihar by the Election Commission.
Thakur, trained in Indian classical and folk music, was selected for the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar of the Sangeet Natak Akademi for her contribution to the folk music of Bihar for 2021.
According to the state election commission, the singer will create awareness among the voters for their participation in the electoral process.
India's First Underwater Metro to Become Operation by December 2023
In a first, Kolkata will soon have India's first underwater metro service. The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) said that the East-West Metro Corridor project is expected to be completed by December 2023.
The underwater metro which will run through the Hoogly River will be connecting Howrah and Kolkata and reduce the travel time from 90 minutes to 40 minutes. The metro trains that will use the underwater track will take just 45 seconds to cross the 520-meter tunnel. The Kolkata metro tunnel in Kolkata is 13 metres below the riverbed and 33 metres below the ground.
PM Modi Addresses 108th Indian Science Congress
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 108th Indian Science Congress through video conferencing and gave an address on the theme "Science and Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment." He pointed out that the efforts of science can bear fruit only when they are taken from labs to the land.
The 108th Indian Science Congress was hosted by Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU) at its Amravati Road Campus. The event was held after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid pandemic. The previous edition of the Indian Science Congress, a key event in the science calendar, was held in Bengaluru in January 2020.
President Murmu Inaugurates Constitution Park at Rajasthan Raj Bhavan
President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the newly-constructed Constitution Garden and beautification works related to it at Rajasthan Raj Bhavan.
On this occasion, she also interacted with Kathodi and Sahariya tribals.
Governor Kalraj Mishra, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Assembly Speaker Dr C.P. Joshi, Urban Development and Housing Minister Shanti Dhariwal and other dignitaries will be present at the programme.
On the innovative initiative of the Governor, Rajasthan became the first state in the country where a Constitution Garden has been established at the Raj Bhavan to create constitutional awareness among the common people.
Jan 02, 2023
BJP Will Go it Alone in 2023 Karnataka Assembly Polls
Urging party workers to ensure that BJP forms a government with two-thirds majority in Karnataka, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the party will go alone in the 2023 assembly polls, and said it will be a direct contest as voting for JD(S) is like casting the ballot for Congress.
He also urged people to decide whether they are standing with a party of patriots, referring to the BJP, or with "tukde-tukde gang" under the leadership of Congress.
Karnataka will go to the polls by April-May, 2023.
Tamil Nadu Information Commission Lowest Performing in RTI Responsiveness
The State Information Commission of Tamil Nadu has the lowest performance of responsiveness under the RTI Act concerned, with only up to 14% of the information sought. Maharashtra was second lowest with sharing only 23% of the information asked for.
The report was issued on the Performance of Information Commission (ICs) in India for 2021-22 by Satark Nagrik Sangathan.
Only 10 ICs provided the full information in response to the RTI applications filed as part of this assessment.
These included Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, and the north-eastern states of Tripura, Nagaland, and Sikkim.
Pakistan, India Exchange List of Nuclear Installations, Facilities
Pakistan and India exchanged a list of their nuclear installations that cannot be attacked in case of an escalation in hostilities, as part of an annual ritual that has been in practice between the two neighbours for more than three decades.
The lists of nuclear installation and facilities were exchanged as per the provisions of the Article-II of the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, signed on December 31, 1988 and ratified on 27 January 1991.
India's Second Longest Cable-stayed Zuari Bridge Opens in Goa
Union Minister of Roads Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the country's second longest cable-stayed eight-lane Zuari Bridge in Goa. Right-hand side (4-lane corridor) across the Zuari River and approaches from Bambolim to Verna were thrown open for vehicular traffic. Gadkari also launched the PWD Goa App for integrated operations management. Through the insurance scheme of the Government of Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant gave Rs. 2 lakh each to the families of the workers who died during the construction of the bridge.
The Zuari Bridge is a bridge between North Goa and South Goa, India. It carries the NH 66 over the tidal part of the Zuari River, between the villages of Agaçaim and Cortalim. It is a few metres downstream of the Konkan Railway Bridge. The 640-metre-long bridge and the 13.20 km roads on both sides have been built in 3 phases. The Zuari Bridge work began in June 2016.
India Assume Chairmanship of Wassenaar Arrangement for One Year
India assumed the chairmanship of the plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement for one year. The 42-member Wassenaar Arrangement is a voluntary export control regime that monitors transfers of conventional weapons and dual-use goods. At the 26th annual plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement held in Vienna in December 2022, Ireland's ambassador Eoin O'Leary handed over the chairmanship to India's ambassador Jaideep Mazumdar, who is the permanent representative to the UN and international organisations in Vienna. India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement in December 2017 as its 42nd participating state.
The Wassenaar Arrangement is a multilateral export control regime that works to promote transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies through regular exchanges of information among its members. The regime is aimed at tracking such transfers and preventing "destabilising accumulations" of conventional arms and dual-use goods.
The plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement is the main decision-making body that operates on consensus. As the incoming chair of the body, India "remains ready and committed to work in close cooperation with other members to further the Wassenaar Arrangement goal of contributing to regional and international security and stability", the external affairs ministry said. Membership of the Wassenaar Arrangement has also bolstered India's efforts to gain access to sensitive goods and technologies from leading players in the West.
Assam Merges 4 Districts with 4 Others, Changes Jurisdiction of Villages
The Assam government merged four districts with four others and changed the administrative jurisdiction of a few villages, a day before the Election Commission's freeze on redrawing administrative units came into effect.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the decisions were taken with a heavy heart keeping in mind the interests of Assam, its society and administrative exigencies. He added it was only temporary and did not disclose the reason behind the decisions.
While Biswanath district was merged with Sonitpur, Hojai was merged with Nagaon, Bajali was merged with Barpeta and Tamulpur was merged with Baksa.
The decisions had to be taken at the cabinet meeting as the Election Commission had imposed a ban on creating new administrative units in Assam from January 1, 2023 as the poll panel would undertake the delimitation exercise in the state.
Jan 01, 2023
Election Commission Proposes Remote Voting for Inter-state Migrants
Election Commission proposed introduction of 'remote voting' for domestic migrants, using a multi-constituency electronic voting machine (EVM) that will retain all security features of the EVMs currently in use. This modified form of EVM can handle up to 72 multiple constituencies from a single remote polling booth.
The initiative, if implemented, can lead to a social transformation for the migrants and connect with their roots as many times they are reluctant to get themselves enrolled at their place of work for various reasons such as frequently changing residences.
In this regard, the Commission has invited all Recognised National and State Political Parties on 16th of January next year to demonstrate the functioning of the multi-constituency prototype Remote Electronic Voting Machine. The Technical Expert Committee members will also be present in the meeting.
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