DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 18 November 2021
India Gets its First Gay Judge
- The senior advocate Saurabh Kirpal could be India’s first openly gay judge. After deferment for four times, the Supreme Court Collegium has finally recommended his name as judge of the Delhi High Court.
- Although conflict of interest was claimed as the excuse for deferment, it has been a popular argument in legal circles that the delay in recommending his name was due to his sexual orientation.
- If selected, his elevation will mark a key turning point in LGBTQ rights. LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning.
- Earlier, the European Parliament had declared the European Union an “LGBTIQ Freedom Zone”
‘Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv’
- Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the three-day ‘Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv’ in Jhansi on November 17, 2021. The festival will culminate on the birth anniversary of Rani of Jhansi Laxmi Bai on 19th November. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will dedicate/launch several new initiatives of Ministry of Defence to the Nation in a grand ceremony being organised in the precincts of Jhansi Fort on November 19, 2021.
- Speech Highlights:
- Bolstering national security apparatus is of paramount importance to us
- Government leaving no stone unturned to create a modern & well-equipped military and an equally capable & self-reliant defence industry
- India cannot fulfill its strategic & security needs by relying on other countries
- Government constantly striving to achieve ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’
- Our focus is ‘Make in India, Make for the World’
‘Water Heroes – Share Your Stories’ Contest
- One of the primary objectives of the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti is to make water conservation a people’s movement and strengthen the water consciousness in the country. For furthering this objective, the Department has launched the ‘Water Heroes – Share Your Stories’ Contest from December 1, 2021, with an aim to reach out to people on the important subject of water conservation and management.
- Through this Water Heroes Contest, the department aims to encourage and collect best practices in water conservation and management from across the nation. It also aims to encourage such efforts across India so as to boost transformational action in the water sector. Every month (from December 2021 onwards) entries would be invited for consideration of awards. Every month a maximum of 10 entries can be considered for the awards. All selected entries will be awarded a cash prize of Rs. 10,000/- each and a certificate.
- To take part in the contest, the participants will have to post their success stories on water conservation & management through a specially made video of 1–5-minute duration (along with a write-up of up to 300 words and some photographs/pictures) depicting the efforts and significant contributions to conserve and manage water resources.
SAI Institutional Awards
- Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Anurag Thakur conferred the first ever SAI Institutional Awards to 246 athletes and coaches today in New Delhi.
- A total of 162 athletes and 84 coaches have been conferred awards in the Outstanding Award and Best Award category for their performance in national and international competitions, with cash awards amounting to a total of Rs 85.02 Lakhs during the ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.
- The awards acknowledge the exceptional performance of the SAI athletes and coaches under the various sports promotion schemes at the national and international level from 2016. The awards thus have been granted to the deserving candidates for the years of 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Pakistan Parliament passes bill to give Kulbhushan Jadhav right to appeal against conviction
- Pakistan’s Parliament in its joint sitting today enacted a law to give Indian death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav, the right to file a review appeal against his conviction by a military court. India had approached the International Court of Justice, ICJ against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence. After hearing both sides, the Hague-based ICJ issued a verdict in July 2019, asking Pakistan to give India consular access to Jadhav and ensure review of his conviction. The ICJ ruling had directed the Pakistan assembly to give it an effective review and reconsideration.
- Kulbhushan Jadhav, a 50-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017.
All India Presiding Officers’ Conference
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that democracy is not just a system for our country, it is ingrained in our nature and part of life in India. Addressing the inaugural session of 82nd All India Presiding Officers’ Conference in Shimla today via video conferencing, the Prime Minister stressed that we have to take the country to newer heights, achieve extraordinary goals in the years to come.
- These resolutions will be fulfilled only by ‘Sabka Prayas’. And in democracy, in the federal system of India, when we talk about ‘Sabka Prayas’, then the role of all the states is a big basis for that.
- Continuing with the importance of ‘Sabka Prayas’, the Prime Minister said, whether it is finding solutions to the decade old problems of the Northeast or completion of all the big projects of development that have been stuck for decades, many such works in the country have been done in the past years, it has been done by everyone’s efforts
REVIEW QUESTIONS
- Judge of a High Court is appointed by
- President
- Governor
- Prime Minister
- Chief Minister
ANSWER: A
- ______ states that the Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President.
- Article 217
- Article 317
- Article 226
- Article 326
ANSWER: A
- The Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the_______
- Chief Justice of India (CJI)
- Governor of the State
- Chief Justice of the Concerned High Court
- All the Above
ANSWER: D
- ______of the Constitution empowers the Hon’ble High Courts to exercise power through issuance of writs.
- Article 226
- Article 227
- Article 228
- Article 32
ANSWER: A
- The _______ introduced the Collegium system, holding that “consultation” really meant “concurrence”.
- First Judges Case
- Second Judges Case
- Third Judges Case
- None
ANSWER: B
- A High Court (HC) collegium is led by_____
- Chief Justice and four other senior most judges of that court
- Governor and Chief Justice of HC
- State Law Minister and Four Senior most Judges
- Chief Minister and Governor along with Chief justice
ANSWER: A
- The SC decriminalized homosexuality by striking off parts of _______ the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
- Section 377
- Section 370
- Section 480A
- Section 420
ANSWER: A
- The SC decriminalized homosexuality after the
- National Legal Services Authority Vs. Union of India (2014)
- Kesavananda Bharti Case (1973)
- Navtej Singh Johar vs. Union of India (2018)
- Naaz Foundation Vs Union of India (2009)
ANSWER: C
- Shafin Jahan v. Asokan K.M. and others (2018) case, the SC observed
- choice of a partner is a person’s fundamental right
- pre-eminence of Constitutional morality & its need
- restoring ‘inclusiveness’ of LGBTQ Community is must
- sexual orientation and gender identity as part of Human Rights
ANSWER: A
- GoI passed The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act in
- 2018
- 2019
- 2020
- 2021
ANSWER: B
ALSO READ:
- Latest Daily Current Affairs and Defence Updates
- Monthly Current Affairs October 2021 With Video Lecture [Download PDF]
- Monthly Current Affairs September 2021 With Video Lecture [Download PDF]
- Monthly Current Affairs August 2021 With Video Lecture [Download PDF]
- Monthly Current Affairs July 2021 With Video Lecture [Download PDF]
