Instituted in 1995 by GoI

in Commemoration of 125^th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi

Various verdicts in Romesh Thappar, Kanahiya Kumar case redefined a seditious act only if it had essential ingredients as:

o   Disruption of public order,

o   Attempt to violently overthrow a lawful government,

       o  Threatening the security of State or of public

ü  The Bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to provide that ‘persecuted’ non- Muslim minorities (Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi & Christian communities) from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who have arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014 & living in India without valid travel documents to obtain Indian citizenship, will not be treated as illegal migrants.

ü  However, to get this benefit,they must also be exempted from provisions of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, and

ü  the Foreigners Act, 1946 by the central government

• Citizenship by naturalization:

ü  reduces the aggregate period of residential qualification for acquiring citizenship from 11 years to 6 years, along with continuous stay for last 12 months.

• Cancellation of registration of Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs): Bill adds one more provision for cancellation of registration of OCIs for violation of any law in the country

The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019 (124th Constitution Amendment Bill

ü  (EWS) among those who are not covered under any reservation plan

ü  amends Article 15- enable the government to take

special measures (not limited to reservations) for the

advancement of “economically weaker sections” (EWS).

ü  not apply to minority educational institutions

ü  adds Article 16(6)- reserve up to 10% of all posts for the

“economically weaker sections” of citizens

1st used in 1982 Kerala Assembly elections

RP Act 1951 was amended in 1988 to allow usage of EVMs.

• In 1999, they were used for the 1st time in the entire state for

Goa Legislative Assembly elections.

• In 2004, EVMs were used for the 1st time in Lok Sabha

Elections

In Subramaniam Swamy vs ECI (2014), SC said

VVPAT is necessary for transparency in voting and

must be implemented by ECI. In General Elections

2019, VVPATs will be used in all the constituencies

ü  constituted as autonomous districts, each of which has an

autonomous district council consisting of 30 members. Currently, there are 10 such councils

The first organized labour movement in India was in 1884 by N. M. Lokhande, who was a factory worker in Bombay

ü  It provides for the constitution and registration of trade unions in India.

ü  It permits any association of seven workers to be registered as a union.

ü  The Act extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

ü  Government Servants cannot form trade unions under the Trade Unions Act, 1926

ü  main objective :to provide assistance to the children, youth rendered orphan and destitute in communal, caste, ethnic or terrorist violence for their rehabilitation.

ü  promotes communal harmony and national integration through various activities.

ü  conducts different activities for the promotion of communal harmony and strengthening of national integration.

ü  The survey will be conducted through the National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi.

 The survey is aimed

1. To understand public perceptions about Police

2. To gauge the level of non-reporting of crimes or incidents to Police

3. To assess the position on ground relating to crime reporting & recording, timeliness and quality of police response and action,

4. To assess citizens’ perception and experience about women and children‘s safety

Union Home Ministry has approved the UP government’s proposal to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj

i.  mandatory to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Union Home Ministry by the respective state government.

ii. Union Home Ministry considers the proposals of name change in consultations with Ministry of Railways, Department of Posts and Survey of India.

iii. These organisations have to confirm that there is no such city, town or village in their records with a name similar to the proposed one

ü  e.g Salary to government employees, loan interest payments, subsidies, pension payments etc

ü  The Union Budget is nothing but a projected income and expenditure statement for the coming year.

ü  As per the Constitution, all the revenue received and the loans raised by the Union government are parked in the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI).

ü  Article 266 mandates that Parliamentary approval is required to draw money from the CFI

ü  So the Budget has to be approved by Parliament before the commencement of the new financial year.

ü  But the discussion and passing of Budget generally goes beyond the current financial year.

ü  Reserved symbols are allotted to candidates sponsored by recognized state or national parties.

ü  Similarly a list of free symbols is prepared by ECI for independent candidates or those from unrecognized

ü  parties.

ü  These candidates have to choose three symbols from the list at the time of submission of nomination papers.

ü  One of the three will be allocated to him.

ü  Any choice other than from the list will be summarily rejected.

ü  Two or more recognized political parties can have the same symbol provided they are not contenders in the same State or Union Territory.

The Bill sought to increase the retirement age of High Court judges to 65.

ü  retain the existing judges, which in turn would help in reducing both vacancy and pendency of cases in short run.

ü  The Law Ministry replied that there was no proposal as of now to increase the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 and of High Court judges from 62 to 65.

 The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs constitutes Consultative Committees of Members of both the Houses of

Parliament for different ministries.

ü  The Minister in-charge of the Ministry concerned acts as the chairman of the Committee.

ü  main purpose of these Committees is to provide a forum for informal discussions between the Government and Members of Parliament on policies and programs of the Government and the manner of their implementation.