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NITI
Aayog replaces Planning Commission
India
> NITI
Aayog > Jan 01
The socialist-era Planning
Commission was today replaced by a new think-tank called the NITI
Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India). The new body
will be headed by the Prime Minister and will have all Chief
Ministers as members in a broad-based Governing Council to involve
states in contributing towards national development goals. The body
will have a Vice Chairperson and a CEO in addition to five full-time
members and two part-time members, while four union ministers would
serve as ex-officio members. Noted economist Arvind Panagariya will
be the first Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog. Regional councils will be
formed to address specific issues and contingencies impacting more
than one state. The NITI Aayog will also have experts, specialists
and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special invitees
nominated by the Prime Minister. The body will serve as a ‘Think
Tank’ of the government, as “a directional and policy dynamo”
and would provide the central and state governments with strategic
and technical advice on key policy matters including economic issues
of national and international importance.
Two
Pakistani vessels with terror designs intercepted in the Arabian Sea
India
> Terrorism > Jan 04
In the early hours of Friday
1st January, 2015 two suspicious looking boats were intercepted by
the Indian coast guard in the Arabian Sea. Wireless communication
interception made Indian authorities believe the boats were being
occupied by terrorists, as the handlers were trying to communicate
with their contacts in Pakistan including Pakistan’s maritime
authorities and the Pakistan army. One of the boats got away as it
was travelling in internationals waters, but the second one after
being followed by the coast guard, blew up as it was carrying
explosives. India's security forces and the government claimed that
it had averted a 26/11-style attack.
India’s defence minister
Manohar Parikkar has confirmed that the boat indeed was being handled
by terrorists and not smugglers as claimed by authorities in
Pakistan. He further said everything will be confirmed after the
complete analysis of the incident. The ruling BJP party further
slammed the Congress for questioning the defence ministry’s claim
that it had averted a terror attack. It accused the Congress of doing
politics over terror and said that the Congress was trying to
demoralize the security forces of the country. The BJP’s sharp
reaction came after Congress raised doubts over the Pakistani boat
incident and told the government to come clean and name the terrorist
organization involved in the incident.
PIOs
to get life-long visas as President signs Citizenship Ordinance
Politics
& Government >
Visa for
PIOs > Jan 06
The government has passed an
ordinance that aims at merging Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and
Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) schemes, by which PIOs will also
get life-long Indian visa. The Citizenship Ordinance has been signed
by Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India.
The ordinance will give them
benefits like life-long visa and exemption from appearing before the
local police station on every visit. The government had received
complaints from PIOs regarding stringent visa norms that debarred
them from buying property in India, in comparison to those holding
Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card. PIO cardholders were eligible
for only 15-year visas in comparison to lifelong visas given to those
having OCI cards. The ordinance keeps Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
promise to the crowd of Indian origins in New York of merging the two
schemes.
US
denies reports of disbursement of aid to Pakistan on the Kerry Lugar
act
World
> Pakistan > Jan 06
The US recently denied
Pakistan’s reports that the U.S. Congress had cleared $532 million
to Pakistan on the Kerry Lugar Act that needs certification on action
against terror groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and
Jaish-e-Mohammad. It was also suspected that under the Kerry-Lugar
Bill, Washington is pumping in more civilian aid to Islamabad. The
reports had triggered negative response from India. According to US
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki, no aid has been disbursed to
Pakistan since 2013. Psaki further said the Congress was neither
notified of the request nor it approved of any request.
Mr. Kerry is going to attend
the Vibrant Gujarat summit this weekend, and is expected to meet PM
Modi separately as well.
Others
Thousands
flee border villages in J & K to escape Pakistani firing
India
> Indo-Pak
Border Firing > Jan 06
Fresh rounds of firing
around the international border by Pakistani rangers have forced
thousands of villagers to abandon their homes and flee to makeshift
shelters set up by the government. Mortars and shells were raining
down on the border villages of Galaad, Bain, Pahad Pur, Boiobian and
Pansar and the police were trying to get as many people out to safer
places as they could in their bullet proof cars. Reports said the
number of people who have abandoned their homes in border villages
has already crossed 10,000. India and Pakistan accuse each other of
violating the 2003 ceasefire agreement which intensified after the
BJP-led government at the Centre called off its foreign
secretary-level talks with Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Border
Security Force (BSF) has foiled another attempt, fifth such attempt
since New Year’s Eve, by Pakistan-based militants to infiltrate
into Jammu and Kashmir, under the cover of dense fog and firing by
the Pakistani army.
Jagtar
Singh ‘Tara’, former Punjab CM Beant Singh’s assassin, arrested
from Thailand
India
> Jagtar
Singh Tara > Jan 06
Jagtar Singh 'Tara', former
Punjab CM Beant Singh's assassin, was arrested in Thailand on Monday.
Tara was nabbed by Thai authorities on a tip-off about his movements
by the Punjab Police. As per reports, he was arrested from the house
of a man who was sheltering Tara at the behest of Pakistan's
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. Jagtar Singh 'Tara', who
broke away from the Babbar Khalsa to form his own terror outfit
'Khalistan Tiger Force', was one of the masterminds in the brutal
assassination of Beant Singh by a human bomb outside Punjab
Secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995. Besides Beant Singh, 17
others had lost their lives in the blast. Tara and other assassins -
Paramjit Singh Bheora and Jagtar Singh Hawara, along with their
accomplice Dev Singh made a sensational escape from high-security
Burail jail in Chandigarh in 2004. They reportedly dug a nearly 100
feet long tunnel with their bare hands from their barrack to a spot
outside the jail. While Hawara and Bheora were later nabbed from
Nepal, Tara and Dev Singh had slipped into Pakistan. Dev Singh is
still believed to be in Pakistan.
Sunanda
Pushkar's murder case gets a 'politically motivated' twist
India
> Sunanda
Pushkar > Jan 06
The New Delhi police have
registered a case of murder against unknown persons in the death of
Sunanda Pushkar, the wife of then minister of state for human
resource development, Shashi Tharoor.
According to a medical
report from AIIMS, she was poisoned and the poison was either
administered to her by mouth or injection. A recent report from AIIMS
states that the intake of acetaminophen (a paracetamol) with alcohol
resulted in the death of Sunanda. The doctors claim that the
administration of the drug can be suicidal as well as homicidal and
it was up to the police to come out with the truth. As per the
preliminary report by AIIMS, Sunanda's body had 15 injuries, all of
them caused within 12 hours before her death. All the injuries were
caused by blunt force.
BJP
MP Sakshi Maharaj says every Hindu woman must produce four kids to
protect Hindu religion
Politics
& Government >
BJP > Jan 06
The controversial statements
made by some hardliners associated with BJP have overshadowed Modi's
agenda to push through reforms to boost economic growth of India. BJP
had to face considerable flak in both houses of Parliament for its
alleged involvement with right-wing organisations like the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh ( RSS) in the 'ghar wapsi' programme.
On a recent occasion, while
addressing a gathering on the occasion of Sant Samaagam Mahotsava,
BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj sparked a new controversy by saying that the
concept of four wives and 40 children will not work in India and that
all Hindu women must produce at least four children in order to
protect Hindu religion. He further added that punishment of death
must be given to those involved in conversion and a law will be
passed in Parliament in which anyone indulging in cow slaughter and
conversion will be punished with the death sentence.
He was previously condemned
for supporting the killer of Mahatma Gandhi, Nathuram Godse. Sakshi
Maharaj called Nathuram Godse a nationalist while mentioning at the
same time that Gandhiji also did a lot for the nation. However, as a
row emerged, Sakshi quietly backtracked and denied calling Nathuram a
patriot.
Those
born in Nagaland will not get Tatkal passport
Those born in Nagaland
cannot apply for a Tatkal passport and if they already have a
passport under general category, they will be called by the Nagaland
police to sign some documents.
The FAQs section of the
“Tatkal Passports” states that the Indian citizens of J&K and
Nagaland will require additional processing time. Additionally, it
says J&K residents who have lived outside the state for five
years or more and who have valid migration certificates can apply
under Tatkal. But "Naga origins residing outside Nagaland"
can't get this facility. The chief passport officer and a senior
official in the ministry of external affairs were not aware of the
technical aspects of this rule, when asked for an explanation for the
rule.
Punjab
HC grants inmates the right to have sex with their partners
India
> Others > Jan 07
In a landmark judgement, the
Punjab and Haryana high court has granted jail inmates the right to
have sex with their legal partners. According to the court, where in
today's society issues such as gay rights and the recognition of a
third gender are widely debated and held important, the issue of
inmates having the right to indulge in conjugal visits for the sake
of childbirth is also valid. The court however, has set certain
conditions to such conjugal visits and ordered prison authorities to
keep a check.
PM
Modi calls for swift response and legal action against offenders to
stop pollution of the Ganga
Politics
and Government >
Namaami Gange
Project > Jan 07
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
chaired a high-level meeting to focus on the ‘Namaami Gange’
project, undertaken to conserve the Ganga, and called for strict
legal action against industrial units polluting the river. The PM
also stressed on time-bound and swift action to stop pollution of the
river. The PM said that the project should focus primarily on two
main areas - urban sewage and industrial effluents to control
pollution at the source. A total of 764 grossly polluting industrial
units have been identified along the stretch of the Ganga. Tanneries,
pulp and paper and sugar industries comprise three-fourth of this
number. Mr. Modi said that industries should be motivated to recycle
industrial waste and stop pollution, failing which action should be
initiated against them. The PM also mooted the idea of setting up
modern, environment-friendly crematoria along the Ganga, through
private initiative and enterprise. Steps were underway to
operationalize the Ganga Vahini – a group of volunteers to help end
pollution of the river. The NDA has submitted a three phase plan
spanning for nearly 18 years at `51,000 crore to clean the river. The
short-term plan is slated to take off in the next six months.
'Every
child is born Muslim' says AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi
India
> AIMIM
Leader > Jan 07
AIMIM leader Asaduddin
Owaisi hit out at right-wing Hindu outfits, stirring the controversy
over ‘ghar wapsi’ programme. Owaisi said that “Every child is
born a Muslim. His parents and society convert him to other
religions,” Owaisi’s statement is seen as a payback to Hindu
organisations which have been claiming that ancestors of all Indians
were Hindus. Some political parties reacted strongly to Owaisi's
statement calling it a “stunt” to get votes. On receiving the
criticism, he said that his comments are a part of his “belief
system” and in a democratic system he was free to express his
views.
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