General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2019

Nov 2019

Jan 19, 2020

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat Calls for Population Control Law

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat pressed for a law for controlling the burgeoning population of the country, reigniting a debate that the lawmakers should bring a legislation in Parliament in this regard.
The Sangh Parivar chief said at a meeting of about 40 senior RSS functionaries that this law will not have any relation to any particular religion and will be applicable to all.
Bhagwat's remark has triggered speculation that a law making the two-child norm mandatory, not temples in Varanasi and Mathura, are next on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) agenda.
Addressing a gathering at the Moradabad Institute of Technology (MIT), Bhagwat said that RSS will support any law that calls for two children only.

Punjab Assembly Passes Resolution against CAA

Punjab Assembly passed a resolution against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act that was cleared by Parliament last month, the second assembly after Kerala to call for scrapping the law.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh later told that his government would also move the Supreme Court against the CAA. Kerala had earlier this week joined the 60-odd petitioners who have already approached the top court against the law that lets the government fast-track citizenship request of people on grounds of religion.

SC Clears Way for International Airport at Goa's Mopa

The Supreme Court gave the go-ahead for the construction of an international airport at Goa's Mopa by lifting the suspension it had imposed on its environmental clearance (EC) in March 2019. It ordered that the construction should be subject to strict compliance with the conditions recommended by the Union environment ministry's expert appraisal committee (EAC). The construction should be done under the supervision of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).
The work on the Rs. 3,000 crore project for building the second international airport in Goa over 2,131 acres at the foothills of the Western Ghats was halted for nine months. Officials are hoping the work would soon be resumed and say they can set a revised deadline of early 2022 for the completion of the project's first phase. The project was initially scheduled to be completed by September 2020.

Jan 18, 2020

Banned NDFB Unit in Assam Calls Truce

Banned National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), an insurgent group active in Assam, signed an agreement with the government for suspension of operations.
According to the pact, the NDFB, under the leadership of its 'president' B. Saoraigwra, will abjure violence and join in peace talks with the government. The tripartite agreement was signed by representatives of the NDFB and the central and Assam governments.
Active members of the NDFB including Saoraigwra were brought back from Myanmar earlier in January 2020.

BJP Names 57 of 70 Candidates for Delhi Polls

The BJP announced the names of 57 candidates for the Delhi assembly elections that will take place on February 8, 2020.
Out of the 57 names, 11 are from SC community, while four are women. The AAP has already announced the names for all the 70 seats.
The BJP, however, did not name its candidate against AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Non-BJP States Object to Methodology of NPR

A few states that are not ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) objected to some aspects of the new National Population Register (NPR) at a meet convened by the Union home ministry to discuss the house-listing phase of Census 2021 and NPR.
While some states have protested the NPR, West Bengal and Kerala said that they will not participate in the exercise as it is a stepping stone to a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC). The states said that the combination of the proposed nationwide NRC and an amended citizenship law is divisive in nature. The government said that the objective of NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of all usual residents.

Merger Plan of RSTV and LSTV in Final Stages

The merger of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha Television is in its final stages, with the six-member Committee expected to submit its final report in two weeks time, i.e. by Febrauary. There has been overwhelming demand that live transmission of the proceedings of the two houses should not be disrupted.
The Committee was constituted on November 7, 2019 and consists of Prasar Bharati Chairman Surya Prakash; Additional Secretary to the RS Secretariat A. Rao; the Lok Sabha Secretariat's Ganpati Bhatt; Financial Advisor to RS TV Shikha Darbari; and CEOs of RS TV and LS TV, Manoj Kumar Pandey and Aashish Joshi, respectively. The mandate laid down for the Committee was "to work out the modalities and prepare the guidelines for pooling resources, manpower and technology for the merger of the two channels".

CAT Quashes Appointment of Dinkar Gupta as Punjab Police Chief

The central administrative tribunal (CAT) quashed the appointment of Dinkar Gupta as the Punjab Director General of Police (DGP).
The CAT directed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and empanelment committee to prepare a list of three officers strictly in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment in Prakash Singh's case and complete the exercise.
A 1987-batch IPS officer, Gupta succeeded Suresh Arora as the Punjab DGP in February 2019, superseding five senior officers.

Jan 17, 2020

Limit Time to Apply Under CAA: Assam

The Assam government requested the Union Home Ministry to impose a three-month time limit to apply under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, and not keep it open ended.
As per a government source, since the CAA rules are yet to be framed, the Assam government asked the Centre to consider relaxing the norms and introducing a three-month period, beyond which no one could benefit under the Act.

IUML Plea to Stay CAA Implementation

Indian Union of Muslim League (IUML) moved a plea in the Supreme Court to stay the operation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 which got notified on 10 January this year.
It has also moved a separate application to direct the Union of India to clarify as to whether the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) are linked and to further clarify as to whether a pan India NRC will be prepared and its exercise be implemented across India.
If the operation of the Amendment Act is not stayed, the issue will become 'fait accompli' as once the citizenship is given to a person under the legislation, it cannot be taken away.
Therefore since the Amendment Act is pending adjudication before this court, it would be in the interest of justice, that the operation of the Amendment Act, including such procedures under the Amendment Act for granting citizenship to illegal migrants be stayed until the matter is decided by the court.

Agreement Signed to End the Bru-Reang Refugee Crisis

Union Home Minister Amit Shah presided over the signing of an agreement between the central government and the governments of Tripura and Mizoram and Bru-Reang representatives under which around 34,000 internally displaced people will be settled in Tripura.
Shah said that around 34,000 Bru refugees will be settled in Tripura under the new agreement and the state would be given a package of around Rs. 600 crores for their rehabilitation.
They would get all the rights that normal residents of the states get and they would now be able to enjoy the benefits of social welfare schemes of Centre and state governments.
The agreement was signed in front of Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and Bru refugee representatives.

India to Invite Imran for Shanghai Council Meet

There could be a fresh beginning between India and Pakistan at diplomatic level later this year when India plays host to Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that India will extend invitation to all heads of state including Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan for the SCO meet.
The meeting is held annually at the prime minister's level and it discusses the SCO's program and multilateral economic and trade co-operation," Raveesh Kumar told mediapersons in New Delhi.
The SCO head of state meeting is expected to be held in the second half of the year. This is the first instance when India will be hosting the meeting of the council of heads of government of the SCO.
Dominated by China, the SCO has emerged as a significant grouping of emerging economies. It was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001. Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are the founding members.
India became part of the SCO as "observer" in 2005 and got full membership of the grouping in 2017.

Jan 16, 2020

Postal Ballot now for PwDs and super Senior Citizens too

Person with disabilities(PwDs) and people over 80 years of age can now cast their vote in Delhi Assembly Election through postal ballot.
For the first time, Delhi Metro, Northern Railway Employees and media persons covering polling can also use postal ballot facility to cast their votes.
Till now, voting through postal ballot was available to armed forces and those assigned in poll duties. The employee of essential service can fill the form 12(D) and submit before 19th of this month to avail the postal ballot facility. Nodal officers have been deployed for this process for essential service employees.

Budget Session of Parliament to commence on January 31

The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on January 31 and subject to the exigencies of government business, is likely to conclude on April 3 with a recess in between, an official communication.
President Ram Nath Kovind will address a joint sitting of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in the central hall of Parliament at 11 am on January 31.
The President has summoned the Rajya Sabha to meet, January 31, 2020, at New Delhi.

Centre accepts Justice Dhingra committee report on Delhi Police's role in 1984 anti-Sikh riots

Central government told the Supreme Court that it has accepted Justice Dhingra committee report into the role of Delhi Police in 1984 anti-Sikh riots and that it will take action accordingly.
A Bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde has allowed the petitioner S Gurlad Singh Kahlon, a member of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, to file suggestions on the report submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The petition has sought an inquiry into the role of 62 policemen named in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
The apex court had in January 2018 constituted the SIT, headed by former Delhi High Court judge Justice SN Dhingra and comprising retired IPS officer Rajdeep Singh and serving IPS officer Abhishek Dular, to supervise further probe into the 186 riots cases, in which closure reports had been filed earlier.

Jan 15, 2020

Housing Ministry Launched e-Commerce Platform For Real Estate Sector

To bring the trust back in the real estate sector, housing ministry launched an e-commerce platform to facilitate homebuyers in identifying genuine properties.
The online platform is for projects that have received occupancy certificates (OCs) and is expected to create a seamless, safe and transparent home-buying experience for home buyers. The ministry official said that it will create positive sentiment for the real estate industry, boosting confidence and faith amongst home buyers, enhancement of liquidity flow in the industry and contributing to growth of the economy.
After the launch, the portal will be open for one month only for the real estate developers to register their projects following which the portal will be opened for home buyers with a 45-day sale peridot starting February 14, 2020.

CM Thackeray To Launch First Girder Of MTHL

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will launch the first girder of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) corridor, aimed at providing improved connectivity between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai.
The girder, a support beam used in construction, will be installed near a temporary access bridge near Sewri Fort.
The MTHL corridor, first planned in 1967, had failed to take off for want of approvals from the Centre. The BJP-Shiv Sena government started work on the project in 2017 after receiving necessary clearances. MMRDA said currently, 22 per cent of the work has been completed.

Register Drones By January 31 Or Face Action: Aviation Ministry

The Aviation Ministry announced a scheme providing a window up to January 31, 2020 for voluntary registration of all drones and their operators, days after top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone attack.
Those who fail to register will face action under the Indian Penal Code and the Aircraft Act.

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