General Awareness

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES - December 2019

Dec 2019

Dec 22, 2021

Lok Sabha Refers Biological Diversity Bill to Joint Committee of Parliament

The Lok Sabha referred the Biological Diversity Bill to a Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament.
Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav moved the motion to refer the Bill to the Joint Committee with 21 members of the Lok Sabha and 10 members from the Rajya Sabha.
The Committee is expected to submit its report to the House by the last day of the first week of the next session.
The bill seeks to relax certain rules in the Biodiversity Act 2002 in order to fast track research and patenting as well as empower local communities to be able to utilise resources, particularly of medicinal value, such as seeds.

Rajya Sabha Passes Electoral Reforms Bill

Parliament passed a Bill to link electoral roll data with the Aadhaar ecosystem with Rajya Sabha passing it by voice vote amid a walkout by the opposition.
The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which was passed in Lok Sabha, seeks to weed out fake voters from electoral rolls.
The opposition parties were demanding a division of votes as they had moved a motion to send the Bill to a select committee, which was rejected by voice vote.

Dec 21, 2021

Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to Launch Unique Housing Scheme 'Jagananna Sampoorna Gruha Hakku'

In a unique housing scheme of its kind, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched 'Jagananna Sampoorna Gruha Hakku' (One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme) in Tanuku, West Godavari district, where registration with full rights on their house were given to over 52 lakh beneficiaries.
The Andhra Pradesh government brought this novel scheme, where all the loans and their interest on the government-sanctioned homes will be waived off and will provide full right over the property with just a nominal amount, even those properties that cost up to Rs. 20 lakh.
Under this OTS scheme, the state government will be providing permanent ownership to the beneficiaries for their houses constructed under various government schemes, which will cost the exchequer an expenditure of Rs. 16,000 crore, including the loan waiver and exemption of registration fees.
The beneficiaries can avail this scheme by paying nominal amounts of Rs. 10,000 in villages, Rs. 15,000 in municipalities and Rs. 20,000 in municipal corporations.

Lok Sabha Passes Electoral Reforms Bill that Links Aadhaar to Voter ID

The Lok Sabha passed a bill to link electoral roll data with the Aadhaar ecosystem amid protests by opposition members over the issue, who said it would "potentially give voting rights to non-citizens".
The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021, piloted by Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, was passed by a voice vote after a brief discussion during which some opposition members demanded that it be referred to a parliamentary panel.
However, Rijiju said that various proposals which are part of the bill have already been suggested and recommended by the Standing Committee of Law and Personnel. The minister added the bill will cleanse the election system.

Karnataka Cabinet Clears Anti-conversion Bill

Despite opposition from various quarters, the Karnataka cabinet cleared the controversial Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill 2021, more commonly known as the anti-conversion bill.
The draft bill proposes a maximum punishment of 10 years of imprisonment for forcible conversion of persons from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe communities, minors and women, to another religion.
The anti-conversion law, which the Karnataka government is likely to amend, is similar to laws brought by the BJP in some other states, including in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Dec 20, 2021

Jharkhand CM launched SAHAY Scheme for Maoist-hit Areas

The Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren launched a Sports Action toward Harnessing Aspiration of Youth (SAHAY) scheme aimed at nurturing young sporting talents in maoist-hit districts of the state. This scheme was launched to curb the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) which affected 19 of the state's 24 districts. Boys and girls in the 14-19 age group from villages to ward level will be registered under the scheme and would be given opportunities to display their skills in basketball, volleyball, hockey and athletics.
In order to instil a culture of sports and identify talent in the state, CM Hemant Soren had earlier given directions to sports department officials to work on a special sports scheme named SAHAY for youth from Naxalite-affected areas.

Dec 19, 2021

Parliament passes Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019

Parliament passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019, with Lok Sabha passing it with voice vote amid a protest by opposition members demanding the removal of Ajay Mishra as Union Minister in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Last week, Rajya Sabha passed the bill after amendments, and returned it to Lok Sabha.
The bill aims to constitute a National Surrogacy Board and state surrogacy boards, and appoint appropriate authorities for regulation of the practice and process of surrogacy.

Haryana Launches 'Khel Nursery Scheme'

Haryana government started 'Khel Nursery Scheme 2022-23' to promote sports in the state, under which sports nurseries would be started in government, private educational institutions and private sports institutions.
For this, applications have been invited by the department till January 20, 2022. He said with this scheme, sports talent would get an opportunity to emerge at the grassroots level. Under the scheme, sports nurseries are being opened for the sports included in the Olympic, Asian and Commonwealth Games.

Dec 18, 2021

Govt. Introduces Bill in LS to Amend Laws Governing CAs, Company Secretaries

The government introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the laws governing chartered accountants, cost accountants, and company secretaries in order to mainly strengthen the disciplinary mechanisms in place at the respective institutes.
Chartered accountants, cost accountants and company secretaries come under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 and the Company Secretaries Act, 1980, respectively.
The amendments to the Acts have been proposed on the basis of recommendations made by a high-level committee that was set up by the corporate affairs ministry to examine the existing provisions in the Acts for dealing with the cases of misconduct in the three professional institutes.

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