General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - January 2020

Jan 2020

Dec 10, 2020

India-Uzbekistan Virtual Summit, a First with Central Asian Nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will hold a virtual summit on December 11. This is the first such virtual summit with a Central Asian country, and the 7th in the series of a new format of diplomatic engagement amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
PM Modi has already had virtual summits with his counterparts from--Australia, EU, Sri Lanka, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg. More such meets are on the anvil.
Both countries have had close ties and a high-level of engagements. Prime Minister Modi had visited the doubly landlocked central Asian country in 2015 and 2016, followed by visits of Uzbek President Mirziyoyev to India in 2018 and 2019.

Asom Gana Parishad to Contest Assembly Polls in Alliance with BJP

Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) announced that it will contest next year's assembly polls in alliance with BJP.
AGP is a partner in the ruling BJP led coalition in Assam. AGP believes in the politics of alliance.
A section of AGP has proposed that AGP must fight 2021 polls separately. AGP is yet to start seat sharing negotiation with BJP. AGP has worked on building organisations in the last five years.
Regional party AGP was formed after a six year long anti-foreigners movement in 1985.
Prior to assembly polls in 2016 BJP in Assam stitched grand alliance which included AGP and Bodoland People's Front (BPF).

Lakshadweep Declared 100% Organic

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer's welfare has declared the Union Territory of Lakshadweep as Organic Agricultural Area by. The UT is second after Sikkim to achieve the status of 100% organic region. It is first in the Union Territories of India to achieve the status.
The entire 32 sq km area of the UT has been certified as organic under the Union Government's Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (organic farming improvement programme). Lakshadweep has been separated from the main stream India geographically. There has been no shipment of chemicals and fertilizers to the island group for the last 15 years. The UT administration has been practicing farming only using inputs like compost, poultry manure, green leaf manure. The UT has not made any expenditure for procurement of chemicals.

Dec 09, 2020

China Cancels Commemorative Stamps with India

China has cancelled plans to jointly launch commemorative stamps with India, an apparent reflection of strained relations over a military standoff at the Asian neighbours' border.
China's State Post Bureau had planned with India to jointly launch a stamp in April commemorating 2020 as the 70th year of bilateral relations and a special stamp showing the Mogao Caves, a renowned site in China's Gansu province where the Buddhist grottoes reflect the two countries' cultural links.

Govt. to Set up National Advisory Board for Road and Vehicle Safety

For the first time in India, the Narendra Modi-led NDA government will set up an Advisory National Road Safety Board that will work to promote road and vehicle safety.
The Advisory National Road Safety Board will consist of experts and professionals who will guide and advise the government on issues of road and vehicle safety. The move is being seen as the Modi govt's yet another push for Road Safety Reform.
The government has also proposed to set a National Road Safety Board and has issued a draft notification to establish National Road Safety Board.
The proposed Safety Board will consist of a Chairman and a maximum of 7 other members.

Dec 08, 2020

Rajasthan Panchayat Election Results 2020

The BJP won 1,835 of the 4,371 Panchayat Samiti constituencies in Rajasthan and managed to cross the majority mark on its own in 11 Zilla Parishad seats, winning 312 of the 636 Zilla Parishad seats. The result is based on the data published by the Rajasthan State Election Commission website.
In 222 Panchayat Samitis in Rajasthan, the BJP has won 1,835 wards while the Congress has managed to win 1,718 wards. Independent candidates won in 422 constituencies while the RLP has bagged 56 constituencies. The CPM managed to win in 16 constituencies, the BSP three.

Sushil Kumar Modi Elected Unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Bihar

Senior Bihar BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi was declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha in a by-poll that was necessitated by the death of Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party founder Ram Vilas Paswan.
In addition to the former deputy chief minister a lone Independent candidate, Shyam Nandan Prasad had filed his nomination papers which were rejected during scrutiny.
Sushil Modi was handed over his certificate in the presence of a host of dignitaries, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, with whom he is known to enjoy an excellent rapport, his successors as deputy chief minister Tar Kishore Prasad and Renu Devi and state BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal.

Dec 07, 2020

Vijayashanti Quits Congress to Join BJP

Actress-turned-politician Vijayashanthi resigned from the Congress party and is set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Vijayashanthi had joined the Congress in 2014. The former MP, a senior Congress leader, has not been active in the party's activities in Telangana for the past few months.
Vijayashanti, who began her political career with BJP, joined TRS Party and switched loyalties to Congress in 2014 before the formation of Telangana state.

In West Bengal, BJP Says Citizenship Amendment Act Rollout by January-end

BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has said that the Citizenship Amendment Act rules will be framed in the next one month, after which the Act will be ready for implementation in the state.
Accusing the TMC government of not being sympathetic to the refugees' cause, he said that the CAA will change the lives of many members of the Matua, Namasudra and Rajbhanshi communities who do not have citizenship of India, despite having come here many years ago.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act that seeks to grant citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi refugees, who have come to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before 31st December, 2014, was passed by Parliament in December last year and also notified, but the Centre is yet to frame rules under the Act.
In August, the government applied for a three-month extension. BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda had cited the Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for the delay.

Dec 06, 2020

First Time after Independence, Waqf Boards to be Established in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh

As per Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Waqf Boards will soon be established in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and the process for it has already started.
After chairing a Central Waqf Council meeting, Naqvi in a statement said that Waqf Boards will be established in the Jammu-Kashmir and the Leh-Kargil areas for the first time since Independence. It has become possible to do so only after the revocation of Article 370, he said and added that the Waqf Boards in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will ensure proper utilisation of Waqf properties for the welfare of society.
The central government will provide adequate financial assistance to construct infrastructure for socio-economic and educational activities on Waqf properties in the Union Territories under the 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karykram (PMJVK).

SC Rejects Plea for Appointment of Govt. Nominees in Trust for Ayodhya Mosque

The Supreme Court rejected a PIL seeking directions for nominating Central and state government representatives to the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation trust for building a mosque in Ayodhya.
A Bench headed by Justice RF Nariman rejected the PIL filed by two lawyers who said that apart from private individuals and members of state Sunni Wakf Board, the presence of Central and state government representatives was essential to ensure proper management of funds.
The Sunni Waqf Board had in July declared creating a trust under the title of "Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation" for building a mosque, cultural and research centre and public utility facilities including a community kitchen, a hospital and a library within 5 acres land allotted to it.

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