Current affairs : August 12, 2016
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 sent to Joint Committee:
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Rajnath Singh sent to Joine to Joint committee after resistance from the Opposition parties. The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Highlights:
The Bill amends the Act to provide that that the following groups of persons will not be treated as illegal migrants:
(i) Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan,
(ii) who have been exempted from provisions of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, and the Foreigners Act, 1946 by the central government. The 1920 Act mandates foreigners to carry passport, while the1946 Act regulates the entry and departure of foreigners in India.
Maternity Benefit (Amendment)
Bill, 2016 :
Rajyasabha passed Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 on
August 11, 2016
Highlights of the bill:
- The Act states that every woman will be entitled to maternity benefit of 12 weeks. The Bill increases this to 26 weeks.
- Under the Act, this maternity benefit should not be availed before six weeks from the date of expected delivery. The Bill changes this to eight weeks.
- The Bill introduces a provision that states that an employer may permit a woman to work from home.
- The Bill introduces a provision which requires every establishment with 50 or more employees to provide crèche facilities within a prescribed distance. The woman will be allowed four visits to the crèche in a day. This will include her interval for rest.
- Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Bill would vault India to the third position in terms of the number of weeks allowed for maternity leave, behind Norway (44) and Canada (50). He said the Bill was aimed at increasing women’s participation in the workforce which is “decreasing day-by-day.”
Mahadayi tribunal term extended:
The government has issued a notification extending the term of Mahadayitribunal for a year. This could prolong the dispute between Karnataka and Goa
over river water sharing.
- An extension of term is provided in the normal course if the tribunal’s work is not completed within the stipulated period. Under proviso to Section 5 (2) of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, the power is vested in the government which appointed the tribunal to extend its tenure.
Ministry wants SEZs’ tax sops to continue:
The Commerce Ministry has raised with the Finance Ministry the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) sector’s concerns about the lack of clarity in the proposed Goods & Services Tax (GST) regime on the continuation of tax & duty exemptions.
The Commerce Ministry has raised with the Finance Ministry the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) sector’s concerns about the lack of clarity in the proposed Goods & Services Tax (GST) regime on the continuation of tax & duty exemptions.
Gujarat’s new land acquisition Bill approved
by the President of India
The Gujarat Land Acquisition Bill 2016, that dilutes the Centre’s
stringent provisions of the Land Acquisition Act 2013, has been given approval
by the President and will take effect on August 15th.
Should the Indian Standard Time (IST) be
advanced to 6 hours?
Experts have proposed advancing the Indian Standard Time (IST) by
half an hour. Stating that such a change is the need of the hour, scientists
have said that advancing the IST by half an hour will save energy by upto three
billion units every year.
Ex-chief of isro named in antrix charge sheet
The
Central Bureau of Investigation filed a charge sheet against former ISRO
Chairman G. Madhavan Nair and other senior officials in the Antrix-Devas deal case for allegedly facilitating a wrongful gain of Rs.578 crore to Devas
Multimedia Private Limited.
Krishna
Pushkaralu-2016:
The
Krishna river is the fourth largest river, which is about 1,300 kilometers
long. It originates from Mahabaleswar of Maharashtra and exits into the Bay of
Bengal at Hamsaladeevi. The river flows through Karnataka and ends its journey
in Andhra Pradesh before reaching its final destination viz., Bay of Bengal.
- Krishna Pushkaralu is a festival of River Krishna which normally occurs once in 12 years. The Pushkaralu is observed for a period of 12 days from the time of entry of Jupiter into Virgo (Kanya rasi).
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to Vijay Mallya:
The Enforcement Directorate has readied a formal request to be sent to the United Kingdom under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) for the “transfer” of Kingfisher Airlines promoter Vijay Mallya to India in the Rs. 900 crore IDBI Bank loan default case.
Person in News:
1. Yadhati Kasipathi :
- Eminent journalist and orator, Yadhati Kasipathi, who was a sympathiser of the then People’s War Group, passed away
- He worked for the Telugu daily ‘Andhra Prabha’ and given his flair for writing in English, his news items were also published in The Indian Express .
- He initially worked for the Youth Congress as a National Council member and also with the Red Cross Society of India.
2. Hanif Mohammad:
- Pakistan’s legendary batsman and Former Captain of Pakistan passed away.
- He held the rcord for the longest innings of test cricket (970 minutes) in 1952 against West Indies.
