General Awareness

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES - January 2019

Jan 2019

Dec 03, 2019

Parliament Passes Bill to Ban E-cigarettes

The Lok Sabha passed a bill which seeks to prohibit the production, trade, transport, storage and advertisement of electronic cigarettes in the country.
The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Bill, 2019, was passed in Rajya Sabha with voice vote. The bill was passed in Lok Sabha.
The government had issued ordinance to ban e-cigarettes in September 2019. The new law would replace the ordinance.
The bill provides for imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine of up to one lakh rupees, or both to a first time violator.
For any subsequent offence, it says that the crime will be punishable with an imprisonment of up to three years, along with a fine of up to five lakh rupees.

Andhra CM Launches Post-Operative Sustenance Allowance

Chief Minister Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy launched Dr. YSR Aarogyasri Aasara aimed at providing Post-Operative Sustenance allowance of Rs. 225 per day or Rs. 5000 per month during the recuperative period after treatment at the Guntur General Hospital in Guntur.
It is estimated that almost 4.5 lakh people will get this benefit per annum. The scheme came into existence from December 1, 2019.

Punjab to Create Rural Land Banks

The Punjab cabinet gave in-principle approval to amend the Punjab Village Common Land (Regulation) Rules, 1964, to create land banks in rural areas to boost industrial development in the state.
The cabinet cleared the proposal of the rural development and panchayats department for insertion of Rule 12-B in the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Rules, 1964, to provide special provision for transfer of shamlat land, or common land, for development of industrial infrastructure projects, to be implemented by industries department and Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC).
Shamlat land is the land which does not come under habitation and cultivation and is considered as consolidated land holdings for common use.

Lok Sabha Passes the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019

The Lok Sabha passed the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 to replace the September 20 ordinance that sharply reduced corporate tax rates after a stormy debate in the House during which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the decision was aimed at attracting investment to spur growth and create jobs.
She said that the decision to reduce corporate tax was a strategic one — to make India a competitive investment destinations for multi-national companies looking for an alternative to China amid the ongoing Sino-US trade war.

Nov 30, 2019

Ministry Of Shipping Approves Loktak Inland Waterways Project In Manipur

Union Ministry of Shipping approved the long pending demand of Manipur government for the development of Loktak Inland Waterways project in the state.
According to an official statement, L Susindro Meitei, Chairman of Loktak Development Authority and MLA Khurai in Manipur, had requested for the development of this project.
Northeast is a beautiful region with stunning landscapes and holds a lot of opportunity for tourism purposes. the Ministry of Shipping has approved the long pending demand of Government of Manipur for development of Loktak Inland Waterways improvement project under the central sector scheme at the estimated cost of Rs 25.58 crore.

Nov 29, 2019

Industrial Relations Code Bill in Lok sabha

Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar introduced the Industrial Relations Code, 2019 in the Lok Sabha, which combined three labour laws—the Trade Union Act, Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act and Industrial Disputes Act—into one single legislation.
The code introduces the concept of fixed-term employment. Opposition members including Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, N. K. Premachandran of the RSP and Suagata Roy of Trinamool Congress opposed the introduction of the bill, demanding that it be sent to the standing committee on labour.
As per the bill, there will be flexibility to exit provisions and retrenchment for which the threshold limit of employees for advance approval from a government authority has been kept unchanged at 100 employees.

Lok Sabha Passes Bill to Regularise Delhi Colonies

The Lok Sabha passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Bill, 2019. This will pave the way for recognising the property rights of residents living in unauthorised colonies by securing the rights of ownership or transfer or mortgage in favour of the residents.
Unauthorised colony is a colony or development comprising of a contiguous area, where no permission has been obtained for approval of layout plan or building plans.

Govt. Extends Ban on Insurgent Outfit ULFA by Five Years

The Centre extended the ban on the Assam-based insurgent outfit ULFA for five years for continuing subversive activities, including killings, kidnapping and extortions.
The Home Ministry said that the ULFA has aligned itself with other unlawful associations of Northeastern region to secede Assam from India and in pursuance of its aims and objectives, engaged in several unlawful and violent activities during the currency of its declaration as an unlawful association.

Nov 28, 2019

Lok Sabha Passes Bill to Merge 2 UTs

A Bill which seeks to merge two Union Territories Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli into one was passed by Lok Sabha.
The Bill was passed by voice vote with the government asserting that the merger will fast-track development of the two union territories.

Lok Sabha Passes SPG Bill

The Lok Sabha passed a bill to amend the Special Protection Group (SPG) Act.
The amendment says the SPG will now protect only the Prime Minister and members of his immediate family residing with him at his official residence.
The bill was passed amid a walkout by the Congress. Several opposition members also wanted changes in the bill which were defeated by voice votes.
It will also provide security to former prime ministers and their immediate family members staying with them at the residence allotted for a period of five years from the date on which they cease to hold the office.
The BJP-led central government recently removed the elite cover given to the Gandhi family and replaced it with Z+ security, which created a controversy and saw protests by Congress workers.
In a debate in the Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the elite protection unit was raised for securing only the Prime Minister and amendments brought in by the government will restore the original intent of the Act. He accused the previous governments of diluting the law governing the SPG.

Nov 27, 2019

Transgender Persons Rights Bill Passed in RS

The Rajya Sabha passed a bill which seeks to provide a mechanism for social, economic and educational empowerment of transgenders.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, was moved for consideration and passage in Rajya Sabha by Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot on November 20, 2019.

At the time of introduction, Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan had requested for the revision of the bill, saying that it segregates transgender from other people.

The bill seeks to define the expression "transgender person", prohibit discrimination against them, confer them right to self-perceived gender identity and provide that no establishment shall discriminate against them in matters of employment, recruitment, promotion and other related issues.

It also provides for grievance redressal mechanism, establishing a National Council for Transgender Persons and providing punishment for contraventions of the provisions of the proposed legislation.

The bill was first introduced in Lok Sabha in July 2019 and was passed on August 5, 2019.

National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill Gets Nod

The parliament gave its nod to a Bill which seeks to declare four National Institutes of Design in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Haryana as institutions of national importance.
Several amendments to the Bill moved by opposition members were defeated by voice vote.
The National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed by the Lok Sabha by a voice vote.
The Rajya Sabha had cleared the Bill during the previous session. Earlier, these institutes came under the Societies Registration Act and did not have the power to issue degrees or diplomas.

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