1. Portugal PM Antonio Costa party wins Parliamentary majority
Tags: International News
Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Socialist party has won an absolute majority in the recently held parliamentary election in the country. It won 117 seats in the 230 seat parliament.
The parliament of Portugal, officially called The Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da República in Portuguese, is a unicameral legislature.
- Portugal is a European country and is a member of the 27 member European bloc, the European Union.
- The currency of Portugal is Euro.
- The capital of Portugal is Lisbon.
2. Mentally retarded child entitled to family pension
Tags: National News
As per Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions mentally retarded child of a deceased Government employee/Pensioner is entitled to Family Pension.
- Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said, “this reiteration in public was necessitated by the fact that it has come to the notice of the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare that in some cases the Banks are not allowing Family Pension in respect of a mentally retarded child through the person nominated by the Pensioner or his/her spouse and they insist for a Guardianship Certificate issued by a Court of Law.”
- The minister also asked the Chairman and Managing Directors of all Pension Disbursing Banks not to insist on a Guardianship Certificate issued by the Court of Law in such cases.
3. Telecom companies to store call details for two years
Tags: National News
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communication has directed the telecom communication (telcos) to store data of international calls, satellite phone calls, conference calls and messages over normal networks and on the Internet for a period of at least two years.
- This follows the DoT amendment in the unified telecom licence in December which mandated the storage of call data as well as internet log data to 2 years from the previous one year.
- The latest directive includes voicemail, audiotex and unified messaging service.
- The telecom companies which hold unified licenses in India are Vodafone-Idea, Reliance Jio, Airtel and BSNL. They have been ordered by the government to keep the record for two years and after that they can destroy the data.
- But they will have to keep the data for a longer period if the government orders them to do so in the name of national security.
Union Telecommunication Minister: Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw
4. SPMCIL sets up New Bank Note Printing Lines each at Currency Note Press, Nashik and Bank Note Press, Dewas
Tags: National News
Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL) under its modernization initiatives has set up New Bank Note Printing Lines each at Currency Note Press (CNP), Nashik and Bank Note Press(BNP), Dewas.
SPMCIL, a Government of India owned Miniratna company, is engaged in the manufacture/production of Currency and Bank Notes, Security Paper, Non-Judicial Stamp Papers, Postal Stamps, Passport, Visa, Cheques, Bond, Warrant, Special Certificates with security features, Security Inks, Circulation & Commemorative Coins, Medallions
Chairman and Managing Director, SPMCIL - Smt. Tripti Patra Ghosh
There are four currency note printing presses in India.
- Two of the currency note printing presses are owned by The Government of India, which are situated at Nasik(Western India) and Dewas(Central India).
- The other two are owned by the Reserve Bank, through its wholly owned subsidiary, the Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Ltd.(BRBNML),which are situated at Mysore(Southern India) and Salboni(West Bengal).
Coins are minted in four mints owned by the Government of India.
- The mints are located at Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Noida.
5. India-Israel agree to further enhance cooperation in the agricultural sector
Tags: National News
Israeli ambassador to India Shri Naor Gilon called on the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar at Krishi Bhawan on 27th January 2022.
- India and Israel have completed 30 years of diplomatic relations.
- India and Israel signed a three-year work programme for cooperation in Agriculture.
- In the agriculture sector,India and Israel had bilateral relations since 1993.So far, 4 action plans have been completed and this one is 5th Indo-Israel Agriculture Action Plan(IIAP)
- The aim of the work programme is to grow existing Centres of Excellence(CoE) by.
- Establishing new centres
- Increasing CoE’s value chain
- Bringing the Centres of Excellence into self-sufficient mode
- Encouraging private sector companies and collaboration
INDO-ISRAEL Villages of Excellence
- The “INDO-ISRAEL Villages of Excellence”, is a new concept aimed at creating a model ecosystem in agriculture across 8 states,alongside 13 Centres of Excellence within 75 villages.
- 29 operational Centers of Excellence in 12 States of India are producing more than 25 million vegetable plants, over 387 thousand quality fruit plants and train more than 1.2 lakh farmers per year aboot the latest technology in the field of horticulture.
Union Minister Shri Tomar informed that it has been decided to convert 150 villages around the Centers of Excellence into Villages of Excellence with technical assistance from Israel.
Out of which 75 villages are being taken up to convert into 'Villages of Excellence' to commemorate the 75th year of India's independence.
6. Supreme Court judgement on reservation in Promotion
Tags: National News
The Supreme Court on 28 January 2022 delivered its judgement on the issue relating to the reservation in promotions for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes.
A three judge bench of Justice L Nageswara Rao, Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai gave its judgement on a petition by the Central and State government to settle the confusion regarding the norms for reservation in promotion for Scheduled Caste(SC) and Scheduled Tribes(ST) .
The main points of the judgement are as follows:
- The court cannot lay any yardstick to determine the inadequacy of representation of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe in the services of the states.
- It is the duty of the State to collect the quantifiable data before providing for reservation in promotion for SC/ST employees.
- Cadre should be the unit for the collection of quantifiable data for reservation. The collection cannot be with respect to the entire class/group, but it should be relatable to the Grade/Category of post to which promotion is sought.
- It also held that collection of information regarding inadequacy of representation of SCs and STs cannot be with reference to the entire service or ‘class’/‘group’ but it should be relatable to the grade/category of posts.
- It also declared that the Supreme Court judgement in the M Nagaraj case 2006 , which had laid down conditions like collections of quantifiable data, adequacy of representation and overall impact on efficiency of administration, for granting reservations in promotion in government would be applied prospectively.
- The court also declared the judgement of the Supreme Court in the B K Pavitra II 2019 case, which had allowed the collection of data on the basis of groups not cadres, as null and void.
7. Release of a pictorial book on India’s Women Unsung Heroes of Freedom Struggle as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav
Tags: National News
Union Minister of State for Culture Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi released a pictorial book on India’s Women Unsung Heroes of Freedom Struggle as part of Azadi ka Mahotsav, in New Delhi on 27th January.
The book has been released in partnership with Amar Chitra Katha which is a household name in India.
The Ministry of Culture has decided to release pictorial books on 75 Unsung Heroes of the Freedom Struggle in partnership with Amar Chitra Katha.
The second edition will be on 25 unsung Tribal Freedom Fighters which is under process and will take some time.
The third and final edition will be of 30 unsung heroes drawn from other areas.
- This book celebrates the lives of some of the women who led the charge and lit the flame of protest and rebellion throughout the country.
- It contains the stories of queens who battled colonial powers in the struggle against imperial rule and women who dedicated and even laid down their lives for the cause of the motherland.
8. Supreme Court quashes the suspension of 12 BJP MLA from Maharashtra Assembly
Tags: National News
In a significant judgement the Supreme Court on 28 January 2022 has set aside the Maharashtra Assembly's decision to suspend 12 legislators of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a one-year period beginning July 5, 2021.
- A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar said the MLAs cannot be suspended beyond the session.The apex court held that the suspension beyond the remainder of the session of the Assembly was substantially unconstitutional and irrational.
- Reinstating them, the court held that the resolutions passed by the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly were illegal and it was beyond the powers of the assembly .
- The court held that the suspended 12 MLAs will now be entitled to all consequential benefits after the conclusion of the session in July, last year.
- The legislators were suspended for a year for allegedly misbehaving with Bhaskar Jadhav, the presiding officer in the Assembly.
Kindly also see 12 January 2022 post on the issue
9. EU launches WTO action against China over Lithuania disputes
Tags: International News
The European Union has filed a case against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for targeting Lithuania over its stance on Taiwan.
The move has angered China, which does not recognise Taiwan as a state and considers the self-ruled democratic island a rebellious territory of the mainland.
This European Union move comes after Lithuania complained that China is blocking its imports and putting up a number of restrictions on economic ties between the two countries.
Background to the issue
- In July 2021, Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a diplomatic mission in its capital Vilnius in Taiwan's name instead of Chinese Taipei which many countries do to avoid angering China.
- It enraged China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province of China and opposes any country which seeks to establish relations with Taiwan.
- In November 2021, China retaliated and downgraded its diplomatic ties with Lithuania and stopped issuing visas there in protest at Vilnius' decision to allow Taiwan to open the representative office under its own name.
- The European Commission handles trade policy for the EU’s 27 member states and takes the lead on conflicts at the WTO in Geneva, even if they involve a single state.
- According to the WTO rules, both sides have 60 days to resolve the issue through talks and if they fail to resolve the issue then it will be taken up by the dispute panel of the WTO.
Lithuania
It is a European country and is the member of 27countries European Union bloc.
Capital: Vilnius
Currency: Euro
President: Gitanas Nauseda
10. India - Central Asia first Summit Meeting
Tags: National News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the first India Central Asian summit meeting in a virtual mode to commemorate the establishment of 30 years of diplomatic relationship on 27 January 2022.
The meeting saw the participation of the five Presidents of the Central Asian Republics namely; Kazakhstan’s Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbekistan’s Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan’s Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan.
Speaking on the occasion Prime Minister Modi outlined three main objectives of the summit;
First, the cooperation between India and Central Asia is vital for the security and prosperity of the region.
Secondly, to set up an effective structure of cooperation between the two for regular interactions at various levels
Thirdly, to create an ambitious roadmap for cooperation between India and Central Asia.
Important highlights of the meeting:
- The leaders agreed to hold such a summit meeting every two years.
- They also agreed on regular meetings of Foreign Ministers, Trade Ministers, Culture Ministers and Secretaries of the Security Council to prepare the groundwork for the Summit meetings.
- An India-Central Asia Secretariat in New Delhi would be set up to support the new mechanism.
To further cooperation between the two they agreed to:
- set up a Joint Working Groups at senior official level on Afghanistan and use of Chabahar Port of Iran
- To organise Buddhist exhibitions in Central Asian countries
- To commission an India-Central Asia dictionary of common words;
- To hold joint counter-terrorism exercises;
- To organise the visit of a 100 member youth delegation annually from Central Asian countries to India.
The Central Asian Presidents were to be the chief guest at the 73 Republic day celebration 2022 but due to covid pandmeic their visit was cancelled.
