General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2019

Nov 2019

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.

Dec 07, 2019

Booth App to Show Voter Turnout in Delhi

Delhi will be the first place in which the Booth App, a mobile application by the Election Commission of India, will inform voters about the turnout in their polling stations.
The app will provide the status of electors waiting in queue to the public, who can plan their visit to the polling station accordingly as per their convenience. The app will also provide voter turnout on a real time basis on polling day.

Rajya Sabha Discusses Bill to Scrap Poll Spend Limit

The Rajya Sabha discussed a private member's Bill that proposed to amend the Representation of the People Act to remove the limit on expenditure by candidates during an election. The Bill was opposed by the BJP MPs, who said the proposed change would only work to the advantage of wealthy candidates.
The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2014 was introduced by Congress MP Rajeev Gowda on the ground that the ceiling on election expenses ends up being counterproductive and encourages candidates to under-report their expenditure.
A candidate contesting Lok Sabha polls can spend up to Rs. 70 lakh and up to Rs. 28 lakh in an assembly election depending on the state in which he/she is contesting polls.

POCSO Convicts Should Not be Allowed Mercy Petition

According to President Ram Nath Kovind, those convicted under the POCSO Act should be deprived of their right to mercy petition.
It is for Parliament to take a decision on the matter and make necessary constitutional amendments.
The President said that women safety is a very serious issue and a lot of work has been done on this, but much remains to be done.

PMs of India and Japan to Hold Annual Summit

India said that the annual summit of the Prime Ministers of India and Japan will be held during December 15-17 but other details such as the venue and the agenda for the meeting were not announced.
The meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will be held in Guwahati city and the two leaders will also travel to the Manipur capital Imphal to visit the Peace Museum, which commemorates on the fiercest battles of World War 2 in 1944 in which thousands of Japanese troops were killed.

Dec 06, 2019

No Subsidised Food in House Canteens

The much-debated food subsidy in Parliament canteens is set to be abolished from the budget session of Parliament next year after Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla got full backing of party leaders on this issue. The MPs will be given food cards linked to their bank accounts, which can be swiped at canteens to pay bills.
The subsidy in Parliament canteens, run by the Northern Railways, came up during a meeting of party leaders chaired by Birla.

No Pension for Govt. Staff Who Resign

An employee becomes ineligible for pension under the Central Civil Services Pension Rules (CCS Pension Rules) when he resigns because he forfeits his past service, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled.
The apex court made a distinction between voluntary retirement and resignation which impacts pensionary benefits under the Rules while deciding a case relating to resignation of an employee of BSES Yamuna Power Limited.
The CCS Pension Rules apply to government servants including civilian government servants in the Defence Services appointed before December 31, 2003.
As per the rules, an employee forfeits his past service upon resignation, consequently disentitling him to pension. However, an employee who has completed 20 years of service can voluntarily retire from service, which will enable him to avail of pensionary benefits.

Mumbai Court Declares Nirav Modi a Fugitive Economic Offender

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court declared diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is wanted in connection with a $2 billion fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB), a fugitive economic offender (FEO), empowering investigators to start seizing his assets in India, the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates.
Special judge for PMLA cases, V. C. Barde, declared Modi an FEO on a plea by the Enforcement Directorate, which investigates money laundering offences. Under the FEO Act, which came into force in August 2018, a person can be declared a fugitive economic offender if a warrant has been issued against him or her for an offence involving Rs. 100 crore or more, and he or she has left the country and refuses to return to face the law.

Ajit Pawar Gets Clean Chit

Maharashtra's anti-corruption bureau (ACB) cleared Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar of allegations in connection with an irrigation scam in the state, according to an affidavit filed in the High Court last month.
The affidavit was filed in Bombay high court in November, in the middle of a tug-of-war for power between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a coalition of opposition parties including Pawar's NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena.

Northeast Chief Ministers Soften Stand on CAB

Most of the Chief Ministers of the Northeast have softened their stands on the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), set to be introduced in Parliament soon. This is a departure from their earlier stands, when they unequivocally opposed the legislation granting Indian citizenship to undocumented individuals from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians.

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