Daily Current Affairs and GK | 15 and 16 September 2024

Topic: Awards and Prizes

1. 76^th Emmy Awards ceremony took place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

• Shogun bagged the Outstanding Drama Series award while Hacks was named ‘Outstanding Comedy Series’.
• The award ceremony was hosted by Eugene Levy and Dan Levy.
• Four awards in the limited series or TV movie category were awarded to “Baby Reindeer.”
• Christopher Storer won the award for Best Directing in comedy.
• Jodie Foster won the Emmy award for Lead Actress in Limited Series.
• Richard Gadd won his first Emmy for writing Baby Reindeer.
• Hiroyuki Sanada won the Outstanding Lead Actor award in a Drama Series.

Topic: Important Days

2. National Engineer's Day: 15 September

• National Engineer's Day is observed to mark the anniversary of Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya.
• He played a key role in shaping modern India through his innovative projects and vision for infrastructure development.
• Visvesvaraya was an eminent engineer, scholar and statesman.
• He is also considered the 'Father of Indian Engineering' for his achievements.
• Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya served as the 19th Diwan of Mysore.
• He is also a recipient of India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.
• The first National Engineers Day was celebrated in 1968.

Topic: State News/ Rajasthan

3. Medical education in Hindi medium started by the Rajasthan Government.

• The state medical colleges in Rajasthan will now offer the medical education curriculum in Hindi as well.
• The Medical Education Department announced the launch of medical education in Hindi, on the occasion of Hindi Diwas on September 14.
• In the first phase, this facility has been started at Dr. Sampurnanand Medical College, Jodhpur, and Barmer Medical College affiliated with Marwar Medical University.
• Students taking admission in these two medical colleges in the academic session 2024–25 will get the option to pursue education in English or Hindi medium depending on their preference.
• Students coming from rural background or studying in Hindi medium faced difficulties in studying medical courses offered in English medium.
• Keeping this in mind, it has been announced in the budget to start these courses in Hindi medium.
• Soon this facility will be started in other medical colleges as well.

Topic: Art and Culture

4. The most auspicious day of Onam, Thiruonam was celebrated by Keralites on September 15.

• Thiruonam is the 10th and the most auspicious day of Onam, the biggest cultural festival of the State.
• Keralites all over the world, irrespective of their religious beliefs, celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm.
• The festival marks the homecoming of the great ruler of the kingdom, King Mahabali, and showcases the unique customs, traditions and cuisine of the kingdom.
• Kerala's harvest festival Onam is celebrated in the Malayalam month of Chingam (August to September).
• The kingdom is believed to have had its golden age during the reign of King Mahabali, and his annual visit to meet his subjects marks the Onam festival.
• Onam is associated with the famous Onasadya, Onakodi, Ujjayattam, Pulikalli, Vallamkalli etc.

Topic: National News

5. Operation Sadbhav launched by India to provide humanitarian assistance to the countries affected by Typhoon Yagi.

• Operation Sadbhav will provide humanitarian assistance to typhoon Yagi-affected countries – Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.
• An urgent relief material sent by India to Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam to assist them in dealing with the impact of the major typhoon.
• These three countries are facing severe floods after Asia's most powerful storm this year hit these countries.
• 10 tonnes of aid including dry rations, clothes and medicines was sent to Myanmar on board Indian Naval ship INS Satpura.
• Similarly, a military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force is carrying 35 tons of relief material for Vietnam and 10 tons for Laos.
• These include gensets, water purification materials, hygiene materials, mosquito nets, blankets and sleeping bags.
• Operation Sadbhav is part of a broader effort to contribute to HADR in the ASEAN region, in line with India's 'Act East Policy'.

Topic: Sports

6. In the Diamond League, Neeraj Chopra finished second, lagging behind by just 1 cm.

• On September 14, javelin throw star Neeraj Chopra missed out on reclaiming the Diamond League trophy, finishing just one centimetre behind the champion at the Diamond League Final in Brussels.
• In the third attempt, Chopra's best throw of 87.86 m came, falling behind Grenada's Anderson Peters, who clinched the title with an 87.87 m throw in his first attempt.
• Julian Weber of Germany finished third with his best throw of 85.97m.
• Neeraj finished runner-up at the Diamond League for the second consecutive year, having earlier lost to Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic in 2023 when he threw 83.80m while Vadlejch's winning throw was 84.24m.
• Neeraj Chopra had won the Zurich Diamond League Final 2022 in Switzerland.
• Recently, Neeraj Chopra had also won the silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

7. The fourth RE-INVEST inaugurated by PM Modi at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.

• He also flagged off the 2nd phase of the Ahmedabad Metro linking Ahmedabad to Gandhinagar and GIFT City.
• PM interacted with the beneficiaries of the PM Suryaghar Muft Bijali Yojana.
• He inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for projects worth more than 8,000 crore rupees.
• These projects include India’s first Vande Bharat Metro train between Ahmedabad and Bhuj.
• Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is organising the 4th edition of the Global Renewable Energy Investors Meet and Expo (4th RE-INVEST) from 16th to 18th September, 2024.
• The meet will highlight India’s progress in renewable energy manufacturing and deployment.
• Germany, Australia, Denmark and Norway are taking part in the event as partner countries.
• The valedictory session of the meet will be on September 18.
• Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar will be the Chief Guest for this session.
• The first RE-INVEST India was held in 2015. The second and third RE-INVEST India were held in 2018 and in 2020.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

8. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) will launch BHASKAR.

• Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR) is a digital platform aimed at strengthening India’s startup ecosystem.
• BHASKAR initiative is designed to centralize, streamline, and enhance collaboration among stakeholders of entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• BHASKAR will bridge the gap between investors, startups, mentors, and other stakeholders.
• The Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR) is an initiative under the Startup India program.
• BHASKAR provides a one-stop digital platform to address the challenges of entrepreneurs and investors.
• BHASKAR’s primary goal is to build the world’s largest digital registry for stakeholders within the startup ecosystem.
• The key features of BHASKAR are given below.
  • Networking and Collaboration
  • Providing Centralized Access to Resources
  • Creating Personalized Identification
  • Enhancing Discoverability
  • Supporting India’s Global Brand

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

9. Switzerland topped in the ‘Best Countries Ranking 2024’.

• Switzerland has secured first position in the Best Countries Ranking 2024 for the third consecutive year.
• This survey has assessed 89 countries based on 10 differentially weighted sub-rankings such as adventure, agility, heritage, entrepreneurship, quality of life, cultural purpose and more.
• These sub-rankings are made up of 73 different attributes.
• India has secured 33rd position in this ‘Best Countries Ranking 2024’. Its position has declined three spots as compared to the previous year.
• India's highest ranking was in the field of 'movers’ (number 7) and heritage (number 10). ‘
• Switzerland has been ranked higher on the parameters of quality of life and openness to business, its lowest ranking was in the field of heritage.
• Switzerland is followed by Japan, the United States of America, Canada and Australia.
• The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are the only two Middle Eastern countries in the top 25.
• Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea are the only countries in the top 25 from Asia.
• The Best Countries Ranking 2024 has been released by the US News & World Report.

Topic: International News

10. India and Argentina hold the 7th round of Foreign Office Consultations in Buenos Aires.

• The seventh round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOCs) between India and Argentina was held in Buenos Aires.
• The Indian delegation was led by Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East) of the Ministry of External Affairs, while Argentina was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Leopoldo Francisco Sahores.
• Both sides reviewed their relationship and focused on political, trade, and economic ties.
• Both sides’ delegations also reviewed other key areas of cooperation, including Healthcare and Pharma, Energy, Mining, defense, Railways, etc.
• India-Argentina bilateral trade has doubled to USD 6.4 billion from 2019 to 2022.
• In, 2021 and 2022, India was Argentina's 4th largest trading partner.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

11. The agreement for the Zika vaccine was signed by Indian Immunologicals and ICMR.

• A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) has been signed by vaccine manufacturer Indian Immunologicals (IIL) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for the clinical development of the country's first codon de-optimised live-attenuated Zika vaccine.
• Under the agreement, ICMR will fund the costs of Phase-I clinical trials, including costs related to the conduct, investigation, and monitoring of the clinical trials.
• The trial will be conducted at ICMR network sites in India.
• ICMR's Phase I trial network, to be launched in 2023, facilitates first-in-human safety studies for innovative and affordable frontier medical technologies, including small molecules, biologics, and vaccines.
• With four Phase-I sites—ACTREC-Mumbai, KEM Hospital-Mumbai, SRM-Chennai, and PGIMER-Chandigarh—becoming fully operational, Indian investigators no longer need to go abroad for Phase-I trials.
• Zika is a viral infection, primarily spread by mosquitoes. There is currently no vaccine available against Zika.

Topic: National News

12. India has reached Tier 1 in the Global Cyber ​​Security Index 2024.

• India has jumped to Tier 1 in the 2024 Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), for its exemplary role-modeling in cybersecurity commitments and impacts.
• The ‘GCI 2024’ used a new five-level analysis, a change that allows for a greater focus on each country’s progress with cybersecurity commitments.
• According to the report, 46 nations are ranked in Tier 1, the highest of the five categories, which is reserved for "role modelling" nations that exhibit a strong commitment to each of the five cybersecurity pillars.
• India ranked highest in adopting measures such as legal, technical, capacity development, and cooperation as relative strong areas.
• Organisational measures were listed as areas of potential development for the country.
• ITU cybersecurity projects and programmes are supporting national efforts to manage cyber threats more effectively.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

13. RINL received the prestigious CII-GBC National Energy Leader Award for the Sixth Consecutive time.

• Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) has bagged the prestigious National Energy Leader Award from the Confederation of Indian Industry – Green Business Centre (CII-GBC).
• The prestigious awards were received by Sri K Sudhakaron on the behalf of RINL from Sri Milind Deora.
• RINL has also achieved the “Excellent Energy Efficient Unit Award for an impressive eighth consecutive year.”
• RINL has made consistent efforts toward energy conservation, including initiatives such as Harnessing waste heat recovery systems, Pulverized Coal Injection (PCI) in blast furnaces, and Waste recycling and Energy benchmarking.
• RINL focuses on enhancing energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprints, and embracing innovative technologies for sustainable growth.
• Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) is a Navratna PSU. It runs the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

14. India’s second-largest butterfly species has been discovered in Madurai.

• Southern Birdwing, India’s second largest butterfly species, has been discovered between Chathirapatti and Kadavur on New Natham Highway in Madurai district.
• Southern Birdwing was India’s largest butterfly species from 1932 to 2020.
• This is mainly found in the Western and Eastern Ghats regions. It has a wingspan of 190mm.
• It moved to second position after a British Brigadier William Harry Evans recorded a butterfly species named Golden Birdwing with a wingspan of 194mm. 
• Golden Birdwing is widely found in the Himalayan region.
• September is the migratory season for butterflies, the species travels for the purpose of breeding.