(Current Affairs) National Events | August: 2014

National Events

First CM of Telangana

  • Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) chief K Chandrashekhar Rao was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Telangana, which became the 29th state of India.
  • Eleven ministers have also taken oath in K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Cabinet in the new state of Telangana.
  • Rao hoisted the tricolour and took salute at an impressive parade held at Parade Grounds, Secunderabad.
  • In his first public address as the CM, Rao vowed to make Telangana a model state in all respects and said that welfare and development would be the two driving forces of his government.
  • The Telangana government would maintain cordial relationship not only with the Centre but also neighbouring states.
  • Rooting out “political corruption” would also be top on his agenda to ensure transparent governance.

Road safety in India

  • Every four minutes a life is lost in a road accident in India with 1,40,000 deaths recorded in 2012 alone. In the past decade, over a million people have lost their lives in road accidents in the country and over 5 million have been left seriously injured or permanently disabled.

  • According to Save LIFE Foundation, an advocacy group which aims to reduce the high number of road accident deaths in India through rapid emergency care for injured victims, “road safety has been a victim of India’s policy paralysis since 2001".

  • The World Health Organization 2013 Global Status Report on Road Safety indicates that worldwide the total number of road traffic deaths remain unacceptably high at 1.24 million per year.

  • Only 28 countries, covering 7 per cent of the world’s population, have comprehensive road safety laws on five key risk factors: drinking and driving, speeding, and failing to use motorcycle helmets, seat-belts, and child restraints.

  • For India, the report notes the rising fatalities in road accidents – rising from 8 deaths per lakh of population to nearly 12 in 2010. Sixteen per cent of all such deaths occur in four wheeled cars and 32 per cent in two or three wheelers.

Execution of death row convict Yakub Memon

  • The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of death row convict Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, a key conspirator along with Dawood Ibrahim in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
  • The mercy plea of Memon was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee on May 21.
  • The decision was taken by the President following recommendations of the Maharashtra government and the Union home ministry that the mercy petition of Memon be rejected.
  • A bench comprising justice JS Khehar and justice C Nagappan issued a notice to the Maharashtra government and others on the plea of Memon and said “execution proceedings will remain stayed”.
  • The court also referred to a Constitution Bench a plea of Memon that review petitions in death penalty cases should not be heard by the apex court in chamber proceedings and be decided in open court.

Sumitra Mahajan

  • Eight-term member Sumitra Mahajan was unanimously elected Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha, becoming the second woman presiding officer of the Lower House after her predecessor Meira Kumar.
  • 71-year-old Mahajan, the longest-serving woman MP, was elected after a motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seconded by BJP veteran L K Advani was adopted by voice vote called by Protem Speaker Kamal Nath.
  • 13 similar motions proposed and seconded by several parties in the ruling NDA as also in the opposition supporting Mahajan were also approved by the House.
  • An active parliamentarian, she has not only headed important committees, but has also been a keen debater and avid questioner inside the House, often seen putting ministers on the mat with her calm but firm interventions.
  • The mild-mannered Mahajan has over the years emerged as a force to reckon with in Indore where she never lost since she first became an MP in 1989 and a generation of opposition leaders have been waiting to trounce her.
  • She, however, had lost the Indore Assembly election thrice before becoming an MP.
  • Ms. Mahajan won her Lok Sabha seat for the eighth consecutive time in this election by an impressive margin of 4.67 lakh votes.
  • Within the BJP, Ms. Mahajan has grown from being President of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Madhya Pradesh in 1990 to being the national general secretary in 1998.

Demise of Union Minister Gopinath Munde

  • President Pranab Mukherjee has condoled the untimely demise of Union Minister Gopinath Munde and said the country has lost a veteran leader who always worked for the common man.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was extremely saddened by the demise of his “friend” and cabinet colleague Gopinath Munde, whom he hailed as a “true mass leader.”
  • The party and government, he said, stands by the bereaved family members of the 64-year-old leader.
  • The President, expressing his shock, grief and sorrow over the death of Munde, said that his passing away is a huge loss for the people of Maharashtra and India. Munde, the Rural Development Minister and the OBC face of BJP in Maharashtra, died apparently of shock and cardiac arrest suffered during a road accident.
  • Munde, who made his entry into the Union Cabinet for the first time after the Lok Sabha polls, was on his way to the airport when his car was hit by another vehicle.

LoP in Rajya Sabha

  • Ghulam Nabi Azad is set to become Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha after his appointment as leader of Congress in the Upper House.
  • Anand Sharma was made deputy leader of the party.
  • Since Congress has the requisite number to claim the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House, Mr. Azad would be the natural choice.

Four Cabinet panels dissolved

  • Ten days after ‘abolition’ of all Group of Ministers (GoMs) and Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoMs) ‘for greater accountability and empowerment’, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced discontinuation of four Standing Committees of the Cabinet.
  • A statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said the functions of Cabinet Committee on Management of Natural Calamities which stands discontinued will be handled by the Committee under the Cabinet Secretary whenever natural calamities occur.
  • Functions of Cabinet Committee on Prices will be handled by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs; of the Cabinet Committee on World Trade Organisation Matters by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and, whenever necessary, by the full Cabinet and on the Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India related issues it said that major decisions in this area have already been taken and the remaining issues will be brought to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

First session of 16th Lok Sabha

  • The first session of the 16th Lok Sabha adjourned sine die after the adoption of the motion of thanks to the President’s address.
  • With very little disruption of proceedings, all the business listed for this short session was transacted on schedule. This included the swearing-in of the newly election members, the election of Speaker and adoption of the motion of thanks.

Four new ordinances

  • Four pending ordinances will be passed in the budget session of Parliament

  • While two of the ordinances were promulgated by the previous UPA Two government, two more were cleared by the BJP-led NDA government — that was sworn in on May 26 — in quick succession on May 28 and May 29.

  • The two that the NDA government inherited relate to amendments to strengthen the provisions of The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Securities and Exchange Board Act, while the ones promulgated by the current government are The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014 and The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014.

  • If the TRAI (Amendment) Ordinance cleared on May 28 ensured that the government could appoint Nripendra Misra as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, the AP ordinance was promulgated on May 29, ahead of the official division of the state on June 2.

  • In promulgating the TRAI ordinance, the Modi-led NDA government has reversed a decision taken in 2000 by the Vajpayee-led NDA administration: the TRAI Act had been amended in 2000 to bar the TRAI chairman from taking up future government assignment.

Mukul Rohatgi

  • Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi was recently appointed as the new Attorney General (AG) and will have a tenure of three years.
  • The Law Ministry issued a formal notification appointing him as the top law officer of the NDA government.
  • The government has already appointed Ranjit Kumar as the Solicitor General. Six Additional Solicitors General have also been appointed.
  • Mr. Rohatgi took over from G.E. Vahanvati as the 14th AG of the country. Mr. Vahanvati had resigned following a change of the government at the Centre.

No special category status for Seemandhra

  • The residual Andhra Pradesh, known as Seemandhra, can’t be accorded the status of special category State to provide extra Central aid under the current norms, the Planning Commission has said.
  • “Andhra Pradesh (Seemandhra) does not meet National Development Council criteria (for special category state),” the Commission said in its presentation to Planning Minister Inderjit Singh Rao.
  • This point is significant because the Union Cabinet headed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on March 2 had directed the Commission to accord special category status to the successor of Andhra Pradesh (Seemandhra) for five years.
  • Singh had even announced in the Rajya Sabha on February 21 that special category status would be extended to Seemandhra for five years.
  • The Commission, however, has intimated to Rajasthan, Odisha and Jharkhand that they are eligible for getting SCS as per the criteria.
  • About according SCS to Seemandhra, the Commission pointed out to the Minister that any such proposal would have to be endorsed by the country’s apex planning body National Development Council (NDC) headed by the Prime Minister with Cabinet Ministers and all Chief Ministers on its board.
  • As per the Gadgil—Mukherjee formula for devolution of Central assistance for state plans, 30 per cent of the total funds is earmarked for Special Category States.
  • As against the composition of Central assistance of 30 per cent grant and 70 per cent loan for major States, special category states receive 90 per cent plan assistance as grant and just 10 per cent as loan.
  • The special category status to various States in accorded by the NDC based on consideration of a set criteria.

Bill banning dance bars

  • Dance bars are set to be banned once in Maharashtra, with both houses of the state legislature passing a bill to this effect . The ban will be extended from beer bars to three and five star hotels, which were spared earlier.

  • The bill proposes a fine of upto Rs 5 lakhs and imprisonment of upto 3 years against those who violate the ban. The license such establishments will also be cancelled.

  • This comes almost a year after the Supreme Court had lifted the ban on the state’s dance bars, calling it a violation on the dancers’ fundamental right to earn a living. The apex court had also objected to luxury hotels being selectively excluded from the ban.

  • Initially, the Maharashtra government planned to refer the bill to a Select Committee, but finally ended up tabling it in the State Assembly, where it was passed unanimously without much debate. The State Council too passed the bill unanimously.

  • The Maharashtra government had banned dance bars in the state in 2005. In 2006, the Bombay High Court struck down the ban as unconstitutional. This stand was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2013.

  • The new bill however, allows dancing in cultural events and festivals even if they are held in luxury hotels. Dancing in gymkhanas and theatres will also be permitted.

  • Meanwhile, women’s groups have already said they will approach the court against the bill, saying it discriminates against the rights of the dancers to earn a living in the entertainment industry.

Secure sea lanes and India’s growth story

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi has conveyed his government’s sharp focus on modernising the country’s defence infrastructure and tying maritime security to India’s growth story.
  • Advocating infusion of new technology and indigenisation to produce weapons and platforms, Mr. Modi signalled that Indian-produced military hardware could find a niche in countries belonging to the global South.
  • By choosing the giant aircraft carrier as his first outing to a defence establishment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to convey that India’s long-held aspiration of establishing a footprint in the Indian Ocean — which was drawing several competing powers — had not been extinguished.

Government to rectify Lokpal selection process

  • The Narendra Modi government, which charged the erstwhile UPA government with framing rules for the Select Committee to choose the Lokpal against the letter and spirit of the law, has set in motion the process to ‘rectify’ the situation.The Finance Minister and the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley informed the House last week that the rules framed by the Manmohan Singh government for the Selection Committee were contrary to the Act with the ulterior motive of controlling the Lokpal.

  • According to officials in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) work has begun to effect changes in the rules on the mandate of the search committee which will be notified soon.As per existing rules, an eight-member search committee is tasked with drawing up a panel of persons for consideration by the selection committee led by Prime Minister. These persons have to be chosen from among the panel provided by the DoPT, the rules say.

  • However, the government will now empower the search committee to include people from outside the list provided by DoPT for consideration by the committee, the sources said.Besides, the DoPT has written to the Law Ministry to vet rules formed on filing of property returns by government employees under the Lokpal regime.

  • As per the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, every public servant shall make a declaration of his or her assets and liabilities.The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act provides for the establishment of a Lokpal for the Union and Lokayuktas for the States to enquire into corruption charges against public functionaries.

  • Outlining Narendra Modi government’s road map, President Pranab Mukherjee last week in his address to the Joint Session of Parliament said that the government “is committed to providing a clean and efficient administration focused on delivery. “

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