Sikh Gurdwaras Amendment Bill, 2016

The Rajya Sabha has passed the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2016 without any discussion. The Bill proposes to amendment the some provisions of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 retrospectively with effect from October, 2003.

Key facts:

• Amendment bill removes the exception given to Sahjdhari Sikhs in 1944 to vote in the elections to members of the Board and the Committees constituted under this parent Act.


• The proposed amendment was carried out by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ Notification dating October 2003 that had debarred Sahjdhari Sikhs voting rights.


• The notification was issued in exercise of the powers conferred by the Parliament under the section 72 of Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966.


• Amendment Bill was proposed after the MHA’s notification was quashed by the High Court of Punjab & Haryana.


• Since 1949, Sehajdhari Sikhs are continuously exercising their voting rights in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections.

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Sikh Gurdwaras Amendment Bill, 2016

Lin Dan wins All England Badminton title 2016

Lin Dan from China has won the All England Badminton title 2016 in the men’s singles category. In the final match played at Birmingham, England he defeated Chinese teammate Tian Houwei by 21-9, 21-10 score. It was his overall 6th All England badminton title and earlier he had won it in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012. Other category winners Women’s singles category:

Nozomi Okuhara (Japan) won the title by defeating Wang Shixian (China) by 21-11, 16-21 and 21-19 score. Men’s Doubles category: Russian pair Vladimir Ivanov & Ivan Sozonov won the title by defeating Japanese pair Hiroyuki Endo & Kenichi Hayakawa by 21-23, 21-18, 21-16 score.
Women’s Doubles category: Japanese pair Misaki Matsutomo & Ayaka Takahashi won the title by defeating Chinese pair Tang Yuanting & Yu Yang by 21-10 and 21-12 score.

Mixed Doubles category: Indonesian pair Praveen Jordan & Debby Susanto won the title by defeating Denmark pair Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen by 21-12 and 21-17 score.
About All England Open Badminton Championships:

• All England Open Badminton Championships is one of the oldest as well as the prestigious badminton tournaments of the world.


• The 1st tournament was held in 1898 in Guildford, since then it is played annually. Initially the championship was started in only 3 categories- Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles & Mixed Doubles.


• But later in 1900 individual Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles titles were added.


• Indian badminton legends Prakash Padukone (in 1980) and P Gopichand (in 2001) have won this title in Men’s Singles category.

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Lin Dan wins All England Badminton title 2016

2016 Iran Parliamentary & Assembly of Experts Election results declared

2016 Iran Parliamentary & Assembly of Experts elections results were declared. The elections were held for 290 parliamentary seats in which 146 seats are needed for the majority.

In the election claimed to be a fight between the hardliners & reformists led by the President Hassan Rouhani, no other party was able to prove majority. The election, 1st in Iran after 2015 nuclear deal and lifting of international sanctions, that was held on held on 26th February 2016.

Final results showed seats being shared 3 ways between Rouhani’s reformist and moderate allies, conservatives and independents. But the tallies suggested that the President would be able to muster support from key backers & create a working majority. This can happen as moderates & the moderate conservatives won the enough seats to obtain a coalition majority over the hard line bloc.

In the fight between the reformists and hardliners, the hardliners also lost their seats in the country’s 88 members Assembly of Experts (that will choose country’s next supreme leader once Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dies during its 8 year term).

The results of the election & coalition majority once proved will help Iran to fetch a good image in the international arena. It will also help the nation in bringing in gradual changes in its nuclear programme, brokered by the President Barack Obama and criticised by his American political adversaries.

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2016 Iran Parliamentary & Assembly of Experts Election results declared

Lok Sabha passes Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Lok Sabha has been passed Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to grant voting rights to people who became citizens of India following the exchange of enclaves between India & Bangladesh. The bill seeks to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Delimitation Act, 2002. These Acts regulate allocation of seats to the Lok Sabha and state legislatures and delimitation of parliamentary or state assembly constituencies.
Key facts:

• This bill aims to empower the Election Commission of India to carry out delimitation in areas that were affected by the enactment of the Constitution (100th Amendment) Act, 2015.


• Under the 2015 Act, enclaves were exchanged between India & Bangladesh. India received 51 enclaves from Bangladesh and transferred 111 enclaves to Bangladesh in July 2015.


• The bill empowers ECI to amend the delimitation order for:


• (i) Include in the relevant constituencies the Bangladeshi enclaves that were transferred to India.


• (ii) Exclude of relevant constituencies in the Indian enclaves that were transferred to Bangladesh.


• The RPA, 1950 and Delimitation Act, 2002 provide the ECI the responsibility to maintain up-to-date delimitation orders. Delimitation orders specify the boundaries of territorial constituencies.

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Lok Sabha passes Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Reserve Bank of India rates unchanged in Sixth bi-monthly monetary policy review for year 2016

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its 6th bi-monthly monetary policy review for year 2016 has maintained status quo in key policy interest rate.Key policy interest rates were kept unchanged on the basis of an assessment of the current & evolving macroeconomic situation in the country. Reserve Bank Of India has kept its stance on the credit policy accommodative.
Key policy rates are Repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF):

unchanged at 6.75%.
Reverse repo rate under the LAF:

Unchanged at 5.75 %. Marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate has unchanged at 7.75%.
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks:

• Unchanged at 4.0 % of net demand and time liability (NDTL). Continuation of liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25 % of bank wise NDTL at the LAF repo rate.


• Continuation of liquidity under 14 day term repos as well as longer term repos of up to 0.75 % of NDTL of the banking system through auctions.


• RBI projections In Financial Year (FY) 2016 growth will be at 7.4% with downward bias and FY17 growth at 7.6 Percent despite headwinds.


• Inflation will be around 5 percent for FY 16-17 due to good monsoon projections that can pull the inflation down.


• The inflation rate has evolved closely along the trajectory set by the monetary policy stance of Reserve Bank Of India.

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Reserve Bank of India rates unchanged in Sixth bi-monthly monetary policy review for year 2016