General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2018

Dec 2018

Dec 06, 2020

First Time after Independence, Waqf Boards to be Established in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh

As per Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Waqf Boards will soon be established in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and the process for it has already started.
After chairing a Central Waqf Council meeting, Naqvi in a statement said that Waqf Boards will be established in the Jammu-Kashmir and the Leh-Kargil areas for the first time since Independence. It has become possible to do so only after the revocation of Article 370, he said and added that the Waqf Boards in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will ensure proper utilisation of Waqf properties for the welfare of society.
The central government will provide adequate financial assistance to construct infrastructure for socio-economic and educational activities on Waqf properties in the Union Territories under the 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karykram (PMJVK).

SC Rejects Plea for Appointment of Govt. Nominees in Trust for Ayodhya Mosque

The Supreme Court rejected a PIL seeking directions for nominating Central and state government representatives to the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation trust for building a mosque in Ayodhya.
A Bench headed by Justice RF Nariman rejected the PIL filed by two lawyers who said that apart from private individuals and members of state Sunni Wakf Board, the presence of Central and state government representatives was essential to ensure proper management of funds.
The Sunni Waqf Board had in July declared creating a trust under the title of "Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation" for building a mosque, cultural and research centre and public utility facilities including a community kitchen, a hospital and a library within 5 acres land allotted to it.

Dec 05, 2020

BJP Loses Varanasi in UP local Elections

The BJP has won three seats in the UP Legislative Council, of the six where results have been announced. All these six seats are in the teachers' constituency. While the BJP won in Lucknow, Meerut and Bareilly, it lost in Varanasi, PM Modi's Lok Sabha constituency.

TRS Emerges as Single Largest Party, BJP Clinches Second Spot

The ruling TRS in Telangana emerged as the single largest party in the 150-ward Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) election, winning 55 wards.
BJP bagged 48 wards and the AIMIM of Asaduddin Owaisi secured 44. Congress could win only two wards.
While the election was held for 150 wards, the results of 149 were announced as counting of votes had to be stopped in a ward as per a High Court order. Counting had to be stopped in Neredmet ward as marks other than the standard Swastik symbol (crossed arrow mark) were in majority.
Though the ruling TRS emerged as the single largest party, the mayoral election depends on the votes that include co-option members such as MLAs, MLCs and MPs belonging to the GHMC area, besides 150 elected members.

Centre Approves Creation of New Post of Deputy Chief for Military Operations and Strategic Planni...

In a major move, the Defence Ministry has approved the creation of a new post of deputy chief for military operations and strategic planning in the Army as part of mega reforms in the Army headquarters. The ministry has also completed formalities for creation of another new post of director-general of information warfare.
The ministry had given in-principle approval for creation of both the posts last year as part of the first batch of reforms in the Army, and now the formal process for it has been completed.
The post of deputy chief of the Army staff (strategy) has been created to deal with military operations, military intelligence, strategic planning and operational logistics. It will be the third post of deputy chief in the Army.
Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Paramjit Singh is set to become the first deputy chief of Army staff (strategy).
The new post of director-general of information warfare has been created in keeping with the needs of the future battlefield, hybrid warfare and social media realities.

Dec 04, 2020

Postage Stamp on Gujral's 101st Birth Anniversary

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu virtually released a commemorative postage stamp on former Prime Minister IK Gujral on his 101st birth anniversary. Born on December 4, Gujral passed away on November 30, 2012.
As former Union Minister and ambassador, he was best known for the "Gujral doctrine" which is being pursued by the current neighbourhood as the "Neighbourhood First Policy".
The 'Gujral doctrine' had triggered a turnaround in ties with at least four neighbours – Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka – though the trend did not sustain.

Annual Ranking of Police Stations

The Ministry of Home Affairs recently released the annual ranking of police Stations in India. The annual ranking is being done since 2015.
Nongpok Sekmai Police Station in Thoubal district of Manipur was ranked as the best performing police station in the country.
The All Women Police Station of Suramangalam in Salem city of Tamil Nadu was ranked second in the list.
Kharsangh Police Station of Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh ranked third.
There are more than 16,671 police stations in the country. The top 10 police stations are shortlisted based on various performance parameters such as crime against women, weaker section, property offences. In 2020, the Government of India had introduced 3 new parameters namely unidentified found person, missing persons and unidentified dead bodies.

Rajinikanth Enters Political Fray, to launch a political party in January

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth alias Shivaji Rao Gaekwad has finally shrugged off his Hamletian procrastination with the announcement of his much-awaited decision to take a real plunge into Tamil Nadu politics in January 2021.

Dec 03, 2020

Telugu NRI Organisations Push for Bharat Ratna for P. V. Narasimha Rao

As many as 81 Telugu Non-Resident Indian organisations across the world have launched a joint campaign for mobilising public support to request the Government of India to confer the country's highest civilian award - Bharat Ratna - on former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao, whose birth centenary is being celebrated this year.
Under the banner of Mythri International, USA, these organisations including Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, Telugu Association of North America (TANA), North American Telugu Association (NATA), American Telugu Association (ATA) etc, started a signature campaign in October through various for appealing that Rao be conferred with Bharat Ratna. The campaign concludes in the first week of December.

India Forms High-level Committee to Implement Paris Agreement Targets

The Centre has constituted a high-level ministerial committee for the implementation of the targets under the Paris agreement on the climate crisis.
The high-level inter-ministerial Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA) is under the chairmanship of Secretary, MoEFCC.
The purpose of AIPA is to generate a coordinated response on climate change matters that ensures India is on track towards meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement including its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
The high-level committee of senior officials from 14 ministries will oversee the progress in the implementation of India's NDC and receive periodic information updates to monitor, review and revisit climate goals to fulfill the requirements of the agreement.
Another key function of AIPA would be to operate as a national authority to regulate carbon markets in India under the agreement.

Suresh Kumar India's New Charge d' Affaires (CDA) in Islamabad

Pakistan has sent approval for the appointment of India's new Charge d' Affaires (CDA) at its mission in Islamabad. India had proposed the name of Suresh Kumar for CDA or deputy high commissioner and is soon expected to take charge.
Suresh had served on the Pakistan desk of India's Ministry of External Affairs. Gaurav Ahluwalia is the current Indian Charge d' Affaires or top diplomat at the Indian mission in Pakistan.
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs had sent the name of Jayant Khobragade, whose name was earlier proposed by New Delhi in June. Islamabad had rejected Khobragade's name, giving the rationale that he was senior for the post.

India Invites Boris Johnson as Republic Day Chief Guest

India has invited UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to be the chief guest for its 2021 Republic Day.
As per reports, the invite was extended on 27th November during a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Johnson.
However, there was no confirmation from the British High Commission on this with officials reportedly saying that Johnson was keen to visit India as soon as possible.
Johnson, on his part, invited Modi to the G-7 summit in the United Kingdom next year.
If Johnson accepts the invite, he would become the first British Prime Minister to grace the parade at Rajpath in nearly three decades.
The last UK premier to be the chief guest at the 26th January parade was John Major in 1993.

Centre Sends Notice to Wikipedia, Orders it to Remove Link Showing Incorrect Map of J&K

The Centre issued an order directing Wikipedia to remove a link from their platform that has shown the wrong map of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT has issued the order under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 for showing the incorrect map of India.

Dec 02, 2020

Tamil Nadu to form Committee to Collect Caste-wise Data

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced that a commission would be set up to examine methodologies to collect caste-wise data and submit a report to the Government.
It is notable that this announcement comes after Anbumani Ramadoss of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and other leaders of that party met the Chief Minister and submitted a memorandum for reservation for Vanniyars.
The PMK, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) are part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition that was formed to face the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

India and the US to Share Operational Intelligence on Narcotics

The US and India discussed initiatives to strengthen India's regional leadership role in building capacity for counter-narcotics initiatives in South Asia.
They also resolved to enhance sharing of operational intelligence to counter regional cross-border drug trafficking and crime during the first inaugural meeting of the Indo-US Counternarcotics Working Group (CNWG).
The CNWG was discussed and approved as part of an expanded agenda for bilateral cooperation at the third Indo-US two-plus-two meeting held between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Ministers S. Jaishankar and Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper in October.
Both India and the US see a link between the trade in narcotics and financing of armed, anti-state activities.
The Indian delegation was led by Sachin Jain, Deputy Director General, Narcotics Control Board, while the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's Kemp Chester, Department of State's Jorgan Andrews, and Department of Justice's Jennifer Hodge jointly led the US team at the virtual interaction.

Former IAS Joins Kamal Haasan's MNM Party

Ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections slated to be held in 2021, actor turned politician Kamal Haasan inducted former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Santhosh Babu, as the General Secretary of his Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) party.
Santhosh Babu has worked with the state administration as an IAS officer for nearly 25 years.
He will be responsible for making the party manifesto for upcoming state elections, along with other headquarter operations.

Urmila Matondkar Joins Shiv Sena

Urmila Matondkar joined Shiv Sena in presence of party president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Matondkar had unsuccessfully contested last year's Lok Sabha polls on Congress ticket from Mumbai North constituency.
Matondkar had last year resigned from the Congress party, a key ally of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra. She had cited inaction on the part of key functionaries of Mumbai Congress as the reason of her resignation.
As per reports, the Sena has already proposed Matondkar's name for one of the 12 Governor-nominated seats in the state legislative council.

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