Daily Current Affairs and GK | 14 August 2024

Topic: State News/Madhya Pradesh

1. Madhya Pradesh became the first state to provide money to girl’s students to buy sanitary napkins.

• Madhya Pradesh government will provide three hundred rupees to each girl’s student annually to buy sanitary napkins.
• Under the Sanitation and Hygiene Scheme, the amount will be transferred to each girl student’s account.
• This initiative will benefit around 19 lakh students from class seventh to twelfth.
• More than 57 crore 18 lakh rupees have been transferred to the accounts of more than 19 lakh girl students.
• Some states like Karnataka, Rajasthan and Delhi, provide free sanitary napkins that are given to students.
• Chief Minister Dr. Mohan also announced the inclusion of Rani Durgavati in the curriculum of state government schools.
• The Chief Minister also felicitated the girl’s students who performed well in international and national level competitions in sports activities.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

2. Neelakurinji officially becomes a ‘threatened species’.

• Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) has been included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) official Red List of threatened species.
• This is the first-ever Global Red List assessment for this flagship species.
• Neelakurinji blooms once in 12 years. The mass blooming of the flower is a huge tourist attraction.
• As per the latest global assessment, it has threatened status in the Vulnerable (Criteria A2c) category of the IUCN.
• Strobilanthes kunthiana is an endemic shrub of three meters in height. It is found in high-altitude shola grassland ecosystems.
• Neelakurinji is threatened mainly due to conversion for tea and softwood plantations, and urbanization.
• Almost 40% of the habitat of Neelakurinji has been lost, and the remaining is under pressure from the invasion of exotic species such as eucalyptus and black wattle.
• The actual area of occupancy of Neelakurinji is 220 sq km. This species has 34 subpopulations within 14 ecoregions of the high-altitude mountain ranges.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

3. Operational Guidelines for Implementation of Model Solar Village under PM-Surya Ghar-Muft Electricity Scheme has been released by Government on 12 August.

• Under this scheme, emphasis has been laid on creating one Model Solar Village per district across India.
• It aims to promote the adoption of solar energy and make rural communities self-reliant in meeting their energy requirements.
• A total financial outlay of Rs 800 crore has been allocated for this component, out of which Rs 1 crore will be provided to each selected model solar village.
• For a village to be considered for competition, it must be a revenue village with a population of more than 5,000 (2,000 for special category states).
• The selection process involves a competitive mode.
• Villages are evaluated by a District Level Committee (DLC) based on their overall distributed renewable energy (RE) potential within 6 months of announcement of potential candidature.
• The winning village with the highest renewable energy potential in each district will be given a Central Financial Assistance grant of Rs 1 crore.
• The scheme will be implemented by the State/UT Renewable Energy Development Agency under the supervision of the District Level Committee (DLC).
• This will effectively transform the selected villages into solar powered communities and serve as a model for other villages in the country.
• On 29 February 2024, the Government of India has approved the PM-Surya Ghar: Free Electricity Scheme.
• It aims to increase the share of solar rooftop capacity and empower residential households to generate their own electricity.
• The scheme has an outlay of Rs 75,021 crore and will be implemented by FY 2026-27.

Topic: Biotechnology and Dieases

4. Mpox has been declared a public health emergency by the Africa CDC.

• Due to an expanding mpox outbreak across the continent, the African Union's health inspector has declared a public health emergency.
• This declaration is not a mere formality but a clear call to action.
• According to CDC data as of August 4, there have been 38,465 cases of ampox and 1,456 deaths in Africa since January 2022.
• Mpox is spread through close contact and causes rashes, flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions.`
• The disease can be dangerous for children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems.
• Outbreaks have spread to several African countries, notably the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the virus was first discovered in humans in 1970.
• The outbreak, which has now spread to neighbouring countries, began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade 1.
• But the new variant, known as clade 1b, appears to spread more easily through regular close contact.
• More than 15,000 ampox cases and 461 deaths have been recorded on the continent so far this year, representing a 160% increase compared to the same period last year.

Topic: Government Schemes and Intiatives

5. 'Amrit Gyan Kosh' and 'Faculty Development' portals launched by Dr. Jitendra Singh under Mission Karmayogi.

• On August 12, the ‘Amrit Gyan Kosh’ portal and ‘Faculty Development Portal’ launched by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh at the Public Service Training Institute Conference at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
• Dr Jitendra Singh noted the journey of the National Capacity Building Commission and Mission Karmayogi Bharat.
• It marks a paradigm shift in the approach to civil service training and envisions a future-ready civil service based on Indian ethos with a global perspective.
• He announced that under this, 31 lakh government employees will be trained every year.
• Apart from this, Dr. Jitendra Singh also launched the 13th Quality Improvement Plan (QIP), which is a roadmap for continuous improvement of training institutes.
• At the conference, five Civil Services Training Institutions were recognised with the highest IGoT courses in particular.
• These are: Institute of Secretariat Training and Management (132), National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research, Innovation and Training (67), Rafi Ahmad Kidwai National Postal Academy (41), National Institute of Communication Finance (39) and SVP National Police Academy (20).

Topic: Important Days

6. Partition Horrors Remembrance Day 2024: 14 August

• Every year on 14 August, Partition Horrors Remembrance Day is observed.
• In 2021, PM Modi announced that August 14 will be observed as 'Partition Horrors Remembrance Day'.
• The day will remind of the pain and suffering faced by the people of India during the partition. It will be observed in the memory of the struggles and sacrifices of people.
• Millions of people were displaced and many lost their lives due to the partition. The partition was outlined in the Indian Independence Act 1947.
• During the partition, British India was divided into two independent Dominions: India and Pakistan. The Bengal and Punjab province was divided based on the non-Muslim or Muslim population.
• The border between India and Pakistan was drawn by a boundary Commission which was led by British lawyer Cyril Radcliffe.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Committees/ Commissions/Taskforces

7. RBI has formed an expert committee to benchmark its statistics.

• The committee has been constituted by RBI under the chairmanship of deputy governor Michael Debabrata Patra.
• It has been constituted for benchmarking the statistics regularly disseminated by RBI against global standards.
• The Expert Committee has been constituted for following purposes.
  • Benchmark the statistics regularly disseminated by it against global standards / best practices
  • Study the quality of other regular data, where such benchmarks do not exist (e.g., sectors of national priority)
  • Provide guidance on the scope for any further data refinement
• The Committee is expected to submit its report by the end of November 2024.
• The Committee has 10 members. The members of the committee include R. B. Barman, Sonalde Desai, Partha Ray, Bimal Roy, Paul Schreyer, Sudarshan Sen, Bruno Tissot, Muneesh Kapur and O.P. Mall.

Topic: Defence

8. DRDO successfully conducted maiden test flight of Long Range Glide Bomb (LRGB), GAURAV.

• The successful maiden test flight was conducted from Sukhoi-30 MK-I of the Indian Air Force.
• The test was carried out off the coast of Odisha. GAURAV is an air-launched glide bomb.
• It is one thousand-kilogram class glide bomb. It is capable of reaching and hitting targets at long distances.
• Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad has been designed and developed it indigenously.
• At the time of the flight test, the target was erected at Long Wheeler’s island. The glide bomb hit the target with pinpoint accuracy.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

9. Union Minister released version 2.0 of 'FloodWatch India' mobile application.

• The upgraded version of the 'FloodWatch India' mobile application aims to provide a comprehensive and detailed overview of flood conditions across the country.
• This new version of the 'FloodWatch India' app has been developed by the Central Water Commission (CWC).
• The earlier version was providing flood forecasts from 200 monitoring stations.
• Version 2.0 of the app provides information to the additional 392 flood monitoring stations. The total number of stations reached to 592.
• The latest version mobile app also provides additional information regarding the storage positions of 150 major reservoirs in the country.
• It uses advanced technologies such as satellite data analysis, mathematical modelling and real-time monitoring to deliver accurate and timely flood forecasts.
• This app will provide information in 2 languages - English and Hindi.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. 'Jiyo Parsi' scheme portal has been launched by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju.

• 'Jiyo Parsi' scheme portal would enable Parsis to apply, check the status of their application and to receive financial assistance online through direct benefit transfer mode.
• The Ministry of Minority Affairs is implementing the Jiyo Parsi scheme to reverse the declining trend of the Parsi population.
• Under this scheme, the declining trend of the Parsi population is trying to be reversed by adopting a scientific protocol and structured interventions to stabilise their population.
• This scheme provides financial assistance to Parsi couples for medical treatment under standard medical protocol and child care.
• It also provides financial assistance to dependent elderly people.

Topic: State News/Bihar

11. The registration of temples, mutts, and trusts has been made compulsory by the Bihar government.

• The Bihar government has directed all district magistrates of the state to ensure that the bodies are registered and details of their immovable properties are submitted to the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts (BSBRT) immediately.
• The BSBRT functions under the State’s Law Department.
• As per the Bihar Hindu Religious Trust Act, 1950, all public temples, mutts, dharamshalas, and trusts must be registered with the BSBRT.
• According to BSBRT records, there are 2,512 unregistered temples and mutts in Bihar that own 4,321.64 acres of land and 2,499 registered temples that own 18,456 acres of land.
• There are the highest number of unregistered temples in Vaishali district (438), followed by Bhabua (307), West Champaran (273), Bhagalpur (191), Begusarai (185), Saran (154), Gaya (152), and Khagaria (100).
• The state government will take strict action against those involved in illegal transactions of properties owned by registered temples, mutts or trusts, as well as unregistered entities.

Topic: Art and Culture

12. Ancient Maharashtra rock art declared a 'Protected Monument'.

• On August 11, the geoglyphs and petroglyphs in Ratnagiri were declared 'protected monuments' by the Maharashtra government under the Maharashtra Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1960.
• According to a notification issued by the Culture Department, the group of petroglyphs at Deud in Ratnagiri dates back to the Mesolithic Age (about 20,000–10,000 years ago).
• Geoglyphs and petroglyphs are different types of ancient art.
• They involve the creation of images or designs on the surface of the earth or on a rock surface.
• According to the notification, the petroglyphs depict rhinoceros, deer, monkey, donkey and footprints.
• In the Konkan region, the petroglyphs group is important as they depict the works of Mesolithic man.
• In Maharashtra and Goa, the geoglyphs are spread over a 900-kilometer area of ​​the Konkan coast.
• Ratnagiri alone has more than 1,500 such artworks at 70 sites, seven of which are on UNESCO's tentative World Heritage List.

Topic: Science and Technology

13. IITGN and IIT Indore have jointly set up cNARMADA to assess the river ecosystem.

• The Centre for Narmada River Basin Management (cNARMADA) has been set up at the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN).
• IITGN has joined hands with the Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IITI) to conduct the Condition Assessment and Management Plan (CAMP) of the Narmada River basin.
• cNARMADA was inaugurated to assess and identify existing conditions affecting the river ecosystem.
• It will also prepare a road map for comprehensive rejuvenation and conservation of the riverine ecosystems.
• Narmada and its tributaries will be studied using a basin-wide approach considering major human activities.

Topic: International Appointments

14. Rwanda’s Kagame has been sworn as president for the fourth term.

• Rwandan President Paul Kagame has been sworn in for a fourth term with more than 99 per cent of the vote.
• Heads of state and other dignitaries from different African nations attended the inauguration ceremony.
• Kagame took the oath of office before Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo.
• He won 99.18 per cent of the ballots cast to secure another five years.
• Democratic Green Party leader Frank Habineza received second place with 0.5 per cent of the votes.
• Rwanda is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa. It is the fifth-most densely populated country in the world.