Daily Current Affairs and GK | 13 April 2024

Topic: Defence

1. Defence Ministry issued a tender to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for purchasing made-in-India 97 LCA Mark 1A fighter jets.

• This tender worth Rs 65,000 crore is set to be the largest order for indigenous military hardware.
• The tender has been issued to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited by the Defence Ministry and they have been three months to respond to it.
• The LCA Mark 1A fighter jets will replace the MiG- 21s, MiG-23s and MiG-27s.
• The indigenous fighter aircraft programme will promote indigenisation as well as give major business to small and medium enterprises.
• HAL has bagged orders for building all types of indigenous fighter aircraft, helicopters along with engines.
• The decision to buy 97  LCA Mark 1A fighter jets came after a review meeting of the indigenous fighter jet programme.
• The LCA Mark 1A plane have more advanced avionics and radars than the earlier 40 LCAs being supplied to the Air Force.
• The HAL is also set to bag deals for buying over 200 LCA Mark 2s.

Topic: Science and Technology

2. A new AI tool can predict Fatal Heart Rhythms accurately.

• As per a study, an AI tool named VA-ResNet-50 could be used to detect the risk of a deadly cardiac rhythm disorder called ventricular arrhythmia (VA).
• This study has been conducted at the University of Leicester’s Department of Cardiovascular Sciences and the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.
• Holter electrocardiograms (ECGs) from 270 adults have been analysed as part of their routine NHS care between 2014 and 2022.
• Dr. Barker, along with Dr. Xin Li from the School of Engineering have developed this tool.
• This tool examined the normal heart rhythms of patients to determine their risk of lethal arrhythmia.
• Ventricular arrhythmia is a serious heart rhythm disorder that can lead to sudden loss of consciousness and death.
• Dr Barker has been given Geest Foundation Award and Heart Rhythm Society Scholarship for his work.

Topic: National Appointments

3. Sachidananda Mohanty has been appointed as a member of UGC.

• Sachidananda Mohanty former Vice­ Chancellor of Central University of Odisha, has been appointed as a member of the University Grants Commission (UGC)
• He has been appointed for three years with immediate effect.
• In this career of more than four decades, he has received many distinctions in the field of education and culture, nationally and internationally.
• He also served as a former Professor and Head of the Department of English, University of Hyderabad.
• He was a member of India’s Education Commission to the UNESCO and Governing Board member of Auroville Foundation.

Topic: Space and IT

4. Plans to send Japanese astronauts to the Moon announced by the United States and Japan.

• On April 10, President Joe Biden announced that Japanese astronauts would join future NASA lunar missions, a move intended to signal stronger economic and defense ties between the two countries.
• In the future, two Japanese astronauts will join NASA's lunar missions, and one of them will become the first non-American to land on the Moon.
• The pledge marks Washington's latest move to use the space program to bring allies on board and compete with China in the race to the moon.
• Japan's astronauts will take part in the Artemis program, a NASA-led effort to return astronauts to the Moon as early as 2026, more than half a century after the last Apollo mission.
• In September 2023, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington, both countries also announced that NASA would work with India's space agency on a joint mission to the International Space Station.
• In addition, New Delhi agreed to sign the Artemis Accords, a US-backed project, to establish guidelines for activity on the Moon and elsewhere in space.
• Japan and India are among three dozen countries to sign the Artemis agreement, with Greece and Uruguay signing in February.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Rankings

5. India has been ranked 10th in cyber crime, with Russia topping the list followed by Ukraine.

• According to new research surveying cybercrime experts from around the world, India ranked 10th in cybercrime, with fraud involving people asking for advance fee payments as the most common type.
• An international team of researchers has prepared a 'World Cyber Crime Index' which ranks nearly 100 countries.
• It identifies major hotspots according to different categories of cybercrime, including ransomware, credit card theft, and scams.
• The major categories the researchers identified included technology products and services such as malware and compromised systems and attacks and extortion, including ransomware.
• It also includes scams such as hacking, compromised accounts, theft of data and identity, including credit cards, and advance fee fraud and money laundering involving illicit virtual currency.
• Russia and Ukraine are highly technical cybercrime hubs, while Nigerian cyber criminals are engaged in less technical forms of cybercrime.
• India was found to be an "specialize" in scams.
• Furthermore, while Romania and the US were found to "specialize" in both high-tech and low-tech crimes, India was found to be a "balanced hub", "specializing" in mid-tech crimes.
• Top 10 countries as per the research published in the journal PLoS ONE:

Topic: International Appointments

6. India's Jagjit Pavadia re-elected to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) for a third term.

• Mr Pavadia was re-elected by secret ballot for a third term for five years from March 2025-2030, receiving the highest number of votes in the highly competitive election.
• With 41 votes, Mr Pavadia won a landslide victory in a tough election, while the second-placed candidate got 30 votes.
• Since 2015, Mr. Pavadia has been a member of the International Narcotics Control Board.
• She was re-elected by the council in May 2019 for a five-year term from 2020 to 2025. She served as the Chairman of the Board in 2021-2022.
• Founded in 1968, the INCB is the independent and quasi-judicial monitoring body for the implementation of the United Nations international drug control conventions.
• Elected by the Economic and Social Council, it consists of 13 members who serve in their personal capacity and not as government representatives.
• Three members with medical, medicinal or pharmaceutical experience are selected from a list of individuals nominated by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• While 10 members are selected from the list of persons nominated by the governments.
• India has been elected to several key bodies at the United Nations:

Topic: Indian Economy

7. India's retail inflation fell to a 10-month low of 4.85% in March.

• On an annual basis, India's retail inflation declined to 4.85% in March from 5.09% in the previous month.
• A Reuters poll had projected that number would fall to 4.91%.
• The number remains within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) tolerance band of 2-6%.
• Citing the National Statistical Office (NSO), PTI reported that inflation in the food basket stood at 8.52% in March, down from 8.66% in February.
• Meanwhile, industrial output rose to a four-month high of 5.7% in February, up from 4.2% in the previous month.
• Official data has not been released yet by the government.
• There has been a delay in the data coming due to waiting for the approval of the Election Commission.

Topic: State News/ Gujarat

8. The world's largest renewable energy park built by the Adani Group in Gujarat.

• The world's largest renewable energy park has been built in the Khavda region of Gujarat by multi-billionaire Gautam Adani's group in a remote area bordering Pakistan.
• It has a huge capacity of 45 GW to generate electricity mainly from solar energy.
• The construction of the project was started in 2022, marking the beginning of a comprehensive infrastructure development initiative.
• Initially, the land was barren, with little vegetation due to its highly saline soil and no human settlements nearby.
• However, boasting the second-best solar radiation in the country after Ladakh and wind speeds five times that of the plains, it presented an ideal location for a renewable energy park.
• Just 18 kilometers from the airstrip is the Khavda Renewable Energy Park, which is spread over 538 square kilometers, almost five times the size of Paris.
• Approximately Rs 1.5 lakh crore will be invested by India's largest renewable energy company, Adani Green Energy Limited, to generate 30 MW of clean power in Khavda, Kutch, Gujarat.
• At its peak, Khavda will produce 81 billion units which can power entire countries like Belgium, Chile, and Switzerland.
• The 30 GW planned in Khavda will include 26 GW of solar and 4 GW of wind capacity.
• AGEL's current operating portfolio comprises 7,393 MW of solar, 1,401 MW of wind, and 2,140 MW of wind-solar hybrid capacity.

Topic: Defence

9. Fifth edition of the ‘Dustlik’ Joint Military Exercise will start in Termez District, Uzbekistan.

• ‘Dustlik’ Joint Military Exercise between India and Uzbekistan is set to begin in Termez District, Uzbekistan, from April 15.
• It will be conducted at Termez District, Uzbekistan from 15 to 28 April 2024.
• Contingents from the Indian Armed Forces and Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan will participate in this exercise for collaboration & future military interactions.
• 45 soldiers from each side will participate in the exercise. It will promote positive relations between the armies of both nations.
• Indian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan will conduct comprehensive joint training sessions.
• The fourth edition of the ‘Dustlik’ joint military exercise was held on February 20 in 2023 at the Foreign Training Node, Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand.
• The first edition of the Dustlik Joint Military Exercise was held in Uzbekistan in November 2019.

(Source: DD News)

Topic: Indian Economy

10. Moody’s revised Real GDP Growth Projection of India to 8%.

• Rating agency Moody’s predicted stable outlook for India. India’s fiscal metrics will continue to gradually improve.
• The long-term and short-term ratings of the government of India has been pegged at Baa3 and P-3, respectively.
• Moody’s has revised India’s real GDP growth projection to 8 per cent for the 2024-25. The first three quarters of financial year 2023-24 shows strong growth numbers.
• Moody’s projected that economic growth will remain above 6 per cent over the next two fiscal years.
• As per the Moody’s, in 2024-25, India’s economic growth will remain above G20 peers emerging countries.
• India’s GDP grew at a massive 8.4% during the October-December quarter of the current financial year 2023-24.
• India’s economy grew 7.2% in 2022-23 and 8.7% in 2021-22, respectively.

Topic: Important Days

11. International Day of Human Space Flight 2024: 12 April

• Each year on 12 April, International Day of Human Space Flight is observed.
• The day is celebrated the beginning of the space age for mankind, the contribution of space science and technology and ensuring the preservation of outer space for peaceful purposes.
• The theme of International Day of Human Space Flight 2024 is 'Encourage Scientific Curiosity'.
• In its resolution of April 2011, UN General Assembly declared 12 April as the International Day of Human Space Flight.
• Soviet citizen Yuri Gagarin carried out first human space flight on 12 April 1961.
• Sputnik I, the first man-made Earth satellite, was launched into orbit on October 4, 1957.
• On June 16, 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to orbit the Earth.
• On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the Moon's surface.
• On 10 October 1967, the "Magna Carta of Space" came into force.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: International Appointments

12. The first woman High Commissioner to India appointed by Britain.

• The former CEO of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, Lindy Cameron, will take charge as Britain's first woman High Commissioner to India.
• She replaced Mr Alex Ellis CMG, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Ellis will be Britain's next ambassador to Spain.
• Ms Cameron will take up her appointment on April 2024.
• The appointment of Cameron comes amid a rapid improvement in bilateral relations.
• India is Britain's 12th largest trading partner.
• Trade has increased, although the two countries are negotiating a free trade agreement that could be signed in 2024.

Topic: India and its neighbours

13. India has signed a protocol to amend the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Mauritius.

• The amended pact has introduced the Principal Purpose Test (PPT). It aims to curtail tax avoidance by ensuring that treaty benefits are only granted for transactions with a bona fide purpose.
• This amendment will apply to all incomes like capital gains, dividends, and fees for technical services.
• Principal purpose test (PPT) will decide whether a foreign investor is eligible to claim treaty benefits.
• Article 27B has been introduced in the treaty defining the ‘entitlement to benefits’.
• Amendment to the India-Mauritius treaty was signed on March 7 at Port Louis.
• FPI investment from Mauritius had stood at Rs 3.25 lakh crore. It was FPI investment at Rs 4.19 lakh crore at the end of March 2024.
• In 2016, India and Mauritius signed a revised tax agreement. It gave India the right to tax capital gains in India on transactions in shares routed through Mauritius.

Topic: National Appointments

14. The US-India Tax Forum has appointed Tarun Bajaj as its new head.

• The US-India Tax Forum is an US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) initiative.
• Tarun Bajaj is the former Revenue Secretary and Secretary of Economic Affairs to the Government of India.
• He joined USISPF as an advisor to the Board of Directors in January 2024.
• He is a 1988 batch IAS of Haryana Cadre.
• US-India Tax Forum is a tax policy-dedicated forum to encourage the development of a strong partnership between India and US.
• It was launched on 25 February 2020 as an independent not-for-profit institution.