General Awareness

NATIONAL AFFAIRS - January 2023

Jan 2023

Jan 02, 2023

BJP Will Go it Alone in 2023 Karnataka Assembly Polls

Urging party workers to ensure that BJP forms a government with two-thirds majority in Karnataka, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the party will go alone in the 2023 assembly polls, and said it will be a direct contest as voting for JD(S) is like casting the ballot for Congress.
He also urged people to decide whether they are standing with a party of patriots, referring to the BJP, or with "tukde-tukde gang" under the leadership of Congress.
Karnataka will go to the polls by April-May, 2023.

Tamil Nadu Information Commission Lowest Performing in RTI Responsiveness

The State Information Commission of Tamil Nadu has the lowest performance of responsiveness under the RTI Act concerned, with only up to 14% of the information sought. Maharashtra was second lowest with sharing only 23% of the information asked for.
The report was issued on the Performance of Information Commission (ICs) in India for 2021-22 by Satark Nagrik Sangathan.
Only 10 ICs provided the full information in response to the RTI applications filed as part of this assessment.
These included Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, and the north-eastern states of Tripura, Nagaland, and Sikkim.

Pakistan, India Exchange List of Nuclear Installations, Facilities

Pakistan and India exchanged a list of their nuclear installations that cannot be attacked in case of an escalation in hostilities, as part of an annual ritual that has been in practice between the two neighbours for more than three decades.
The lists of nuclear installation and facilities were exchanged as per the provisions of the Article-II of the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, signed on December 31, 1988 and ratified on 27 January 1991.

India's Second Longest Cable-stayed Zuari Bridge Opens in Goa

Union Minister of Roads Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the country's second longest cable-stayed eight-lane Zuari Bridge in Goa. Right-hand side (4-lane corridor) across the Zuari River and approaches from Bambolim to Verna were thrown open for vehicular traffic. Gadkari also launched the PWD Goa App for integrated operations management. Through the insurance scheme of the Government of Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant gave Rs. 2 lakh each to the families of the workers who died during the construction of the bridge.
The Zuari Bridge is a bridge between North Goa and South Goa, India. It carries the NH 66 over the tidal part of the Zuari River, between the villages of Agaçaim and Cortalim. It is a few metres downstream of the Konkan Railway Bridge. The 640-metre-long bridge and the 13.20 km roads on both sides have been built in 3 phases. The Zuari Bridge work began in June 2016.

India Assume Chairmanship of Wassenaar Arrangement for One Year

India assumed the chairmanship of the plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement for one year. The 42-member Wassenaar Arrangement is a voluntary export control regime that monitors transfers of conventional weapons and dual-use goods. At the 26th annual plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement held in Vienna in December 2022, Ireland's ambassador Eoin O'Leary handed over the chairmanship to India's ambassador Jaideep Mazumdar, who is the permanent representative to the UN and international organisations in Vienna. India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement in December 2017 as its 42nd participating state.
The Wassenaar Arrangement is a multilateral export control regime that works to promote transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies through regular exchanges of information among its members. The regime is aimed at tracking such transfers and preventing "destabilising accumulations" of conventional arms and dual-use goods.
The plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement is the main decision-making body that operates on consensus. As the incoming chair of the body, India "remains ready and committed to work in close cooperation with other members to further the Wassenaar Arrangement goal of contributing to regional and international security and stability", the external affairs ministry said. Membership of the Wassenaar Arrangement has also bolstered India's efforts to gain access to sensitive goods and technologies from leading players in the West.

Assam Merges 4 Districts with 4 Others, Changes Jurisdiction of Villages

The Assam government merged four districts with four others and changed the administrative jurisdiction of a few villages, a day before the Election Commission's freeze on redrawing administrative units came into effect.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the decisions were taken with a heavy heart keeping in mind the interests of Assam, its society and administrative exigencies. He added it was only temporary and did not disclose the reason behind the decisions.
While Biswanath district was merged with Sonitpur, Hojai was merged with Nagaon, Bajali was merged with Barpeta and Tamulpur was merged with Baksa.
The decisions had to be taken at the cabinet meeting as the Election Commission had imposed a ban on creating new administrative units in Assam from January 1, 2023 as the poll panel would undertake the delimitation exercise in the state.

Jan 01, 2023

Election Commission Proposes Remote Voting for Inter-state Migrants

Election Commission proposed introduction of 'remote voting' for domestic migrants, using a multi-constituency electronic voting machine (EVM) that will retain all security features of the EVMs currently in use. This modified form of EVM can handle up to 72 multiple constituencies from a single remote polling booth.
The initiative, if implemented, can lead to a social transformation for the migrants and connect with their roots as many times they are reluctant to get themselves enrolled at their place of work for various reasons such as frequently changing residences.
In this regard, the Commission has invited all Recognised National and State Political Parties on 16th of January next year to demonstrate the functioning of the multi-constituency prototype Remote Electronic Voting Machine. The Technical Expert Committee members will also be present in the meeting.

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