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Pb. Current Affairs

January 15, 2019

Topic: Polity

News:- Punjab Govt to seek consensus on CAA in House.

Context:-The Congress government today said it would go by the will of the House on the way forward with respect to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR).

About Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA):-

It seeks to allow illegal migrants from certain minority communities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship by amending the Citizenship Act of 1955.
It seeks to grant citizenship to people from minority communities —Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians —after 6 years of stay in India even if they do not possess any proper document. The current requirement is 12 years of stay.
The Bill provides that the registration of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders may be cancelled if they violate any law.

About National Register of Citizens (NRC):-

The NRC is the list of Indian citizens and was prepared in 1951, following the census of 1951.
The process of NRC update was taken up in Assam as per a Supreme Court order in 2013.
In order to wean out cases of illegal migration from Bangladesh and other adjoining areas, NRC updation was carried out under The Citizenship Act, 1955, and according to rules framed in the Assam Accord.

What is the Assam Accord?

The agreement between the Centre and the protesters is called the Assam Accord. It was signed on the Independence Day in 1985. In the 15 clauses of the Assam Accord, the key focus areas were:

Foreigners issue
Economic development
Restricting the acquisition of immovable property by foreigners
Prevention encroachment of government lands
Registration of births and deaths

This was done to ensure the protection of the political, social, economic and cultural identity of the local people.

About National Population Register (NPR):-

It is a Register of usual residents of the country.
It is being prepared at the ground level (Village/sub-Town), sub-District, District, State and National level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
It is compulsory for every usual resident of India to register in the NPR.

(Source:- The Hindu & Tribune)

Topic:- Important Personality

News:-Dr Dalip Kaur Tiwana, eminent novelist and short story writer, has been admitted to a private hospital’s ICU in Mohali.

About Dr Dalip Kaur Tiwana:-

Dr Dalip Kaur Tiwana is a foremost novelist and short-story writer of contemporary Punjabi literature. She has won awards, both regional and national, and is a widely translated author. She has retired as Professor of Punjabi, and Dean, Faculty of Languages, from Punjabi University, Patiala.
The Padma Shri and Sahitya Akademi awardee.

(Source:- The Tribune)

New Program from Agriculture in Punjab:-

The Water Resources Department, Punjab has announced the Rotational Programme of canals for irrigation in the Rabi Season from 15th to 22nd January 2020. The channels and branches off-taking from Ropar Head Works would run on the priority basis from Sidhwan Branch, Bathinda Branch, Bist Doab Canal, Patiala Feeder and Abohar Branch respectively.