General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2018

Dec 2018

Dec 12, 2019

Gujarat Government Gets Clean Chit in 2002 Riots

The final report of the Commission of Inquiry headed by retired Supreme Court judge, Justice G. T. Nanavati, probing the Godhra train burning incident of February 2002 that left 59 'kar sevaks' dead, the subsequent communal riots that broke out in Gujarat over the following three months, and the role of the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, along with other ministers and the police, was tabled in the state assembly, and found no pre-meditation or conspiracy in the riots that left over 1,200 people dead.
Giving a clean chit to the current Prime Minister, the 2500-page, nine-volume report stated: "There is no evidence to show that these attacks were either inspired or instigated by any minister of the state."

Parl Panel: New Car Owners Must Prove Parking Space

In view of the increasing pressure on Delhi's roads by private vehicles, a parliamentary committee recommended that registration of such vehicles be allowed only after owners dispose of their old vehicles, and show that they have parking space.
The panel also suggested that insurance premiums be linked to drivers' traffic violation record, which would entail a higher premium for each offence on the roads.
The 31-member department-related parliamentary standing committee on home affairs, headed by Rajya Sabha member Anand Sharma submitted its report titled 'The Management of Worsening Traffic Situation in Delhi' with 107 recommendations to make the city's roads safer for commuters.

Chhattisgarh to Withdraw Cases against Tribals in Maoist-hit Areas

The Chhattisgarh government decided to withdraw over 300 cases pending in different courts against tribals in the Maoism-affected areas of the state.
The ruling Congress had accused the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government of implicating innocent tribals in false cases.
The move comes after recommendations by a high-level committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice A. K. Patnaik.
Based on the recommendation of the committee, the Chhattisgarh government's Law and Legislative Affairs department decided to withdraw the prosecution after reviewing the cases registered against the Scheduled Tribe (ST) people in eight Maoism-affected districts.

Green Signal to Tamil Nadu Civic Polls

The decks for elections to the local bodies in Tamil Nadu have been cleared by the Supreme Court's order to hold the December 27 and 30 polls as per the 2011 census.
The opposition parties in Tamil Nadu led by the DMK had petitioned the Supreme Court seeking postponement of the civic polls alleging the state Election Commission had used 1991 census data for the delimitation and other poll-related determinations like reservations in wards etc, when the 2011 census data should have been used.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde gave the nod to elections after the Tamil Nadu government confirmed using the 2011 census figures for all relevant exercises linked to the upcoming panchayat elections in the state.
This order would serve the ends of justice and the cause of free and fair local bodies' elections in the state.

Manipur Comes under Inner Line Permit Regime

The government notified the extension of the inner line permit (ILP) regime to Manipur, seeking to blunt opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in the north-eastern state.
The extension was announced by Home Minister Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha.
CAB is not applicable in states that come under the ILP regime. To visit such states, outsiders, including people from other states of the country, need to take permission. Such states also provide protection for locals in terms of land, jobs, and other facilities.
Manipur is the fourth state after Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram where the ILP regime is applicable. The objective of the ILP system is to prevent settlement of other Indian nationals in the states that come under it so as to protect the indigenous population.

Dec 11, 2019

EU Hopes Data Bill Will Converge with European Norms

As per EU ambassador to India Ugo Astuto, the European Union is hoping that India's proposed law on handling digital data will converge with European regulations so that the free flow of data can continue between the two sides.
Astuto also said that the two sides would be well served by starting talks on an investment protection agreement even as they try to move forward with talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) that have been stalled for almost six years.

Free Trade Pacts with ASEAN Countries

The government informed the Rajya Sabha that India would review lopsided trade agreements with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and secure better deals and that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) failed to address India's concerns on trade deficit, which forced the country to not join the pact.
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Goyal cited growing trade deficit with ASEAN countries during 2010-11 until 2018-19 to state that the earlier trade pacts had been asymmetrical.
A major reason has been that India gave much larger market access to some of these countries but received less in return.

J&K Administration to Decide on Leaders' Release

Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that the situation in the Kashmir valley is normal and maintained that a decision on releasing detained political leaders will be taken by the local administration.
Shah's assertion that the central government will not interfere in the matter came after Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury asked the government when political leaders, including sitting Lok Sabha member and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, would be released.

Relief for BJP in Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh Speaker Narmada Prajapati restored the membership of BJP legislator Prahlad Lodhi, who was convicted by a special court in Bhopal, for attacking government official. The Speaker took the decision after the Supreme Court last week upheld the stay granted by the High Court on his conviction.
Lodhi is the BJP MLA from Pawai constituency in Panna district.

Dec 10, 2019

BJP Sweeps By-elections to Assembly Constituencies in Karnataka

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept by-elections to assembly constituencies in Karnataka, winning 12 of the 15 seats. This means the BJP government in the state is safe — the party needed to win six of the 15 to stay in power. This also means the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) have clearly lost ground in the state. All 15 constituencies were won by the two parties in 2018, with the Congress winning 12 and the JD(S) three seats. This time the Congress won two, and the JD(S) none.

UP Government Extends Municipal limit of Ayodhya

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, approved the extension of the boundaries of Municipal Corporations of several districts including Ayodhya, Gorakhpur and Firozabad. The cabinet decided to give nod to the proposal of including 41 villages in Ayodhya district.
Apart from this, approval was also given for the creation of 16 new Nagar Panchayats, four Nagar Panchayats and one Nagar Palika Parishad in the state.
Accordingly, Banda in Shahjahanpur, Payagpur in Bahraich, Itwa, Bharatbhari and Badhanichafa in Siddharthnagar, Dahgawan in Badayun, Karba Musanagar in Kanpur Dehat, Ate in Jalaun, Chowmukha in Gorakhpur, Lohta in Varanasi, Fazilnagar and Dudahi in Kushinagar, Daranagar Kadadham in Kaushanbi, Gaighat in Basti, Nawabganj in Farrukhabad, Makhanpur in Firozabad got the cabinet nod as new Nagar Panchayats.

India and Australia Negotiations for Military Cooperation

India and Australia have almost concluded negotiations on an agreement for reciprocal access to military facilities for logistics support that is expected to be signed during Prime Minister Scott Morrison's visit in January 2020.
The proposed Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) figured in the third "2+2" or combined dialogue of the Indian and Australian foreign and defence secretaries in New Delhi.

Northeastern States Up in Arms against Legislation

The passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), 2019, in the Lok Sabha led to a fresh round of protests against the controversial legislation in three northeastern states — Assam, Manipur and Tripura.
States in northeast such as Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, which have inner line permit (ILP) regime, and Sixth Schedule areas in Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya have been kept outside the ambit of CAB. The entire northeast will witness a shutdown on Tuesday due to an 11-hour general strike called by North East Students Organisation (NESO), which comprises main student bodies of seven states in the region.

Dec 09, 2019

Assam Up in Arms against CAB

Protests over the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), which is expected to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday, have intensified in Assam, prompting chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal to call for peace.
The bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution there. It proposes to make people from Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi faiths who entered India till December 31, 2014, eligible for citizenship.

Terrorism Hindered Realising Full Potential of SAARC: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that an atmosphere of threats and acts of terrorism have impeded the realisation of the full potential of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
In a letter sent to the SAARC secretariat, extending his greetings to the people of member countries on the occasion of the grouping's 35th Charter Day on Sunday, Modi recalled that the organisation was set up to build a connected and integrated South Asia, and aimed at promoting the development and progress of all countries in the region.

Now, MP Temples to Get Qualified Priests

Being a pure vegetarian, with no criminal record, minimum class 8 pass and having knowledge of the ved puranas; these are some of the qualifications for a temple priest and head of a math (a religious institution) in Madhya Pradesh.
The department, which finalised the rules, had started formulating them in February 2019 to end disputes related to the appointment of head in a math and priest of government controlled temples of the state to save the sanatan dharma.

Dec 08, 2019

Centre Likely to Extend Forest Clearances

Forest clearances for over 40 mines on which leases are set to expire on March 31, 2020, are likely be extended for new lessees that will take over the mines. The environment ministry drafted a policy of extending forest clearances for non-captive mines that have been already operating for the past 50 years.
The policy is now awaiting approval from the ministry of law and justice.
According to senior officials in the environment ministry, the extension of green clearances is necessary to avert major disruptions in the mining industry. Environmental activists and researchers warned that a transfer of clearances would pose the risk of past violations of by mining companies.

Lobbying for Major Portfolios by Disqualified MLAs

Disqualified MLAs, who contested bypolls from the BJP, have already begun intense lobbying for key portfolios in the promised Cabinet expansion after the bypoll results. Several leaders made a beeline to Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa's residence in the city to hold talks with him.
Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj K.S. Eshwarappa's statement that only those who win the bypolls will make it to the Cabinet seems to have created jitters among some disqualified MLAs who are not sure of their victory.
However, the Chief Minister is said to have promised ministries to a few "key candidates", whatever be the result. The assurance has been to make them MLCs and induct them into the Cabinet.

Elections in 27 Districts in TN on December 27, 30

The Tamil Nadu State Election Commission announced elections to rural local bodies in 27 districts of the state in two phases.
This follows a Supreme Court order, which gave the government four months' time to complete delimitation of its nine reconstituted districts and conduct elections.
In the first phase, on December 27, areas covering 156 panchayat unions will go to the polls to elect 260 ward members of district panchayats, 2,546 members of panchayat unions and 37,830 members of panchayats. The second phase, on December 30, will witness elections in areas covering 158 panchayat unions. The electors will choose 255 ward members of district panchayats, 2,544 members of panchayat unions and 38,916 members of village panchayats.

India Hires Lobbying Firm to Boost Ties with US, Provide Strategic Counsel

India hired a second lobbying firm to negotiate the complex US decision-making system and to influence outcomes, filling a void left two years ago by a firm that had collapsed under scrutiny of a special counsel's investigation into Russian meddling in American elections in 2016.
Cornerstone Government Affairs, a Washington DC firm with offices in multiple states, registered itself as a representative of the Republic of India with the US justice department under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, a requirement for Americans representing foreigners.
Cornerstone Government Affairs replaces the Podesta Group, which shut down in 2017 after its work for the government of Ukraine came under scrutiny of Special Counsel Robert Muller in relation to the investigation into Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. No charges were filed against Podesta Group.

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