Daily Current Affairs and GK | 19 November 2024

Topic: Space and IT

1. The satellite GSAT 20 successfully launched by ISRO on board SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in US.

• On November 18, the most sophisticated communication satellite, GSAT 20, was successfully launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on board SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, US.
• This satellite will provide broadband services in remote areas and in-flight internet services in passenger aircraft.
• It will be operational for 14 years. This is the first time ISRO, through its commercial arm New Space India Limited (NSIL), has launched a satellite on a SpaceX rocket.
• GSAT-20 weighs 4,700 kg and is one of India's heaviest communication satellites.
• GSAT-20 is too heavy for India's own rocket, LVM-3, known as 'Bahubali', so SpaceX was chosen for the launch.
• India had till now relied on French launch service provider Arianespace for such heavy satellite launches, but the company currently has no operational rockets, and the only credible option India had was to go with SpaceX.
• SpaceX's heavy-lift Falcon-9 rocket can launch a payload of 8,300 kilograms or 8.3 tonnes into geostationary transfer orbit.

Topic: Summit/Conference/Meeting

2. Golden Jubilee edition of All India Police Science Congress inaugurated by Amit Shah in Gujarat.

• On November 19, the Golden Jubilee edition of the All India Police Science Congress was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the National Defence University in Gandhinagar.
• Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel also attended this program.
• Mr. Shah, who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, also attended several major programs in Gujarat.
• The All India Police Science Congress 2024 is an important event to discuss the future of Indian policing, global best practices and technology based reforms.
• During the two-day conference, issues related to the use of forensics and technology in new criminal law, use of AI in the criminal justice system, role of police in disaster risk reduction, and future of blockchain technology in policing were discussed.
• During the conference, challenges in tracing money trails in cyber frauds and strategies to tackle radicalisation in prisons also discussed.
• In the event, around 250 participants from central and state police forces, forensic experts, and academia attended.

Topic: National Appointment

3. K Sanjay Murthy appointed as the new Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

• Sanjay Murthy, a 1989 batch IAS officer, has been appointed as the new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India by President Draupadi Murmu.
• Currently, Murthy is the Secretary, Department of Higher Education in the Union Ministry of Education.
• He replaced Girish Chandra Murmu, who retired on November 20.
• Girish Chandra Murmu assumed office on August 8, 2020.
• Before becoming CAG, Murmu was the first Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG):

• It is an independent authority established under Article 148 of the Indian Constitution.
• CAG is appointed by the President of India.
• He is the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department.
• He can be removed from office in like manner and on like grounds as a Judge of Supreme Court.
• He is entrusted with responsibility to audit the accounts and activities of Central, State and local government.
• CAG reports are laid in the Parliament and state assembles.

Topic: National News

4. With a 7% GDP growth forecast for 2024, India leads the G20.

• India is leading the G20 with a forecasted GDP growth rate of 7% in 2024.
• Indonesia is in second place with 5%, followed by China in the third position with a growth rate of 4.8%.
• With a predicted GDP growth rate of 3.6%, Russia is ranked fourth on the list, followed by Brazil in fifth place with a 3% growth rate.
• The African region comes next with 3%. The US is ranked seventh with a projected GDP increase of 2.8%.
• With a predicted growth rate of zero, Germany is regarded as the worst performer among the advanced countries.
• Canada and Australia are predicted to grow at 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively.
• The EU, the UK, and France are all classified as having modest growth rates of 1.1%.
• Italy and Japan are predicted to expand at even slower rates of 0.7% and 0.3, respectively.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

5. At the 19^th G20 Summit, G20 leaders issued the Rio de Janeiro Declaration.

• G20 leaders have demanded action on the hostilities in West Asia and Ukraine as well as on climate change.
• In addition to tackling significant global issues and crises, the Declaration aims to advance robust, inclusive, and sustainable growth.
• In order to better represent the under-represented and unrepresented regions and communities, the declaration called for an expanded Security Council composition.
• All kinds and expressions of terrorism were denounced in the declaration.
• The declaration underlined how vital it is to strengthen civilian safety and increase the flow of humanitarian aid.
• It urged attempts to handle crises through conversation and diplomacy as well as the peaceful settlement of disputes.
• The strong commitment to multilateralism was reaffirmed in the declaration.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

6. On November 18, the Global Freight Summit 2024 started in Dubai.

• Since its launch in 2022, this was its third edition. The summit is scheduled to conclude on November 20.
• Over 5,000 business executives from 155 nations are attending the three-day event, which is organised by DP World.
• They represent a variety of industries throughout the global supply chain.
• "Acting today to reach the opportunities of tomorrow" is the theme of this year's summit.
• Implementing workable digital solutions while addressing potential obstacles in the technological shift is a major topic of discussion this year.
• The conference gives business executives, trade associations, and government representatives a forum to establish strategic alliances and have significant conversations.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

7. Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve, Chhattisgarh has been notified as the 56th Tiger reserve of the country.

• It is the third largest tiger reserve in the country after Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh and Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam. It is spread over 2,829 sq km.
• On advice of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the Government of Chhattisgarh notified the Guru Ghasidas - Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve.
• It is spread over Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur, Korea, Surajpur and Balrampur districts of Chhattisgarh.
• It includes a core tiger habitat of 2049.2 sq. kms, comprising the Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary. It has a buffer of 780.15 sq. kms.
• The newly notified tiger reserve is contiguous with the Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
• It is connected to the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh to the West and Palamau Tiger Reserve in Jharkhand to the East.
• NTCA has given final approval for notifying the Guru Ghasidas- Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve in October, 2021.
• It lies in Chota Nagpur plateau and partly in Baghelkhand plateau. Chhattisgarh is now home to 4 Tiger Reserves.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

8. 11^th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus in Lao PDR will be attended by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh.

• Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh will be on official visit to Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) from November 20-22, 2024.
• He will attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus).
• During the meeting, he will address the forum on Regional and International Security Issues.
• Lao PDR is the chair and host of 11th ADMM-Plus.
• ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN.
• ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN member states and its eight Dialogue Partners to strengthen security and defence cooperation.
• India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992.
• The first ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 12, 2010.
• Since 2017, ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually.
• ASEAN member states are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• Its eight Dialogue Partners are India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
• Laos is officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR). It is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia.

Topic: National News

9. National Youth Festival 2025 will be celebrated in January 2025.

• In 2025, the National Youth Festival will be celebrated as “Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue” on 11th and 12th January.
• This platform will provide an opportunity for the youth Shakti of the country to interact and present their views before Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The aim of this dialogue is to identify and nurture talent among the youth across the country, as well as provide them an effective platform to share their vision for a developed India.
• During this, the platform will connect youth with top decision-makers and eminent global and national personalities.
• Vikasit Bharat Youth Leaders Dialogue is a revamped version of the National Youth Festival that includes the Vikasit Bharat Challenge, a four-stage competition to inspire youth participation in shaping the future of India.
• Various theme-based state level teams will participate in the National Youth Festival competition on 11th and 12th January, 2025.
• The winning teams will present their vision and ideas on building a developed India before PM Modi.
• National Youth Festival is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of youth icon Swami Vivekananda.
• The birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda is also celebrated every year as National Youth Day on 12 January.

Topic: Important Days

10. World Toilet Day 2024: 19 November

• Every year on 19 November, World Toilet Day is celebrated.
• The theme of World Toilet Day 2024 is “Toilets - A Place for Peace.”
• World Toilet Day is being celebrated every year since 2013.
• UN General Assembly adopted World Toilet Day on 24 July 2013.
• According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2023, approximately 1,000 children under the age of five die every day due to unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene.
• Improved sanitation could potentially save 1.4 million lives annually, making it clear that urgent action is needed in this area.
• 2.2 billion people still lack access to safely managed drinking water, and 2 billion lack basic sanitation services, including 653 million living without any facilities.
• In 2024, India is going to launch the “Our Toilets: Our Dignity” campaign, which will begin on November 19 and end on December 10, 2024, on Human Rights Day.
• This will link sanitation to human rights and the global need for dignity and privacy, especially for women and girls.
• Since its launch in 2014, the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has transformed sanitation in India, building over 11.73 crore household toilets and achieving 5.57 lakh ODF Plus villages under SBM-Grameen.
• The initiative has also improved public health, with the WHO reporting 300,000 fewer diarrhoea deaths by 2019 compared to 2014..

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

11. The 19^th G20 Summit started on 18th November 2024 at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro of Brazil.

• PM Modi reached Rio de Janeiro to participate in the 19th G20 summit.
• The 19th G20 summit began with the theme of “Building a just and sustainable world”.
• On first day, the global leaders had discussion on the “Global Alliance on Hunger and Poverty” during the inaugural session.
• The “Global Alliance on Hunger and Poverty” is an initiative taken under the Brazilian Presidency.
• The second session will be on “Reforms of Global Governance Institutions”.
• India’s Sherpa to 19th G20 Amitabh Kant talked about the importance of the Global Alliance against hunger and poverty.
• The 18th edition of G20 summit was held between 9 to 10 September 2023.
• It was organized at Bharat Mandapam International Exhibition-Convention Centre, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Indian Economy

12. Vision Next program has been introduced by central government to provide an impetus to the Textiles Manufacturing Industry.

• Union Minister for Textiles Giriraj Singh said this recently.

• He said the value of the textile designing Industry in India has increased to 176 billion dollars.
• The Minister said that the industry will reach 350 billion dollars in 2030.
• He was interacting with media after the review meeting at the National Institute of Fashion Technology in Chennai.
• He said that Tamilnadu is an important player in the Textile Industry in India.
• The Minister said funds have been allocated by Union Government to create a Textile Park in the Virudhunagar district.
• Textile Industry presently employs 4.6 crore people. The Minister said this number is expected to grow to six crores in 2030.

Topic: Geography

13. In Philippines, Man-yi has made landfall in Catanduanes in the Bicol region of Luzon.

• Man-yi is moving toward regions that have been severely impacted by the five overlapping typhoons since last October.
• In less than a month, this is the sixth major storm to strike the country.
• Other five are Tropical Storm Trami and Typhoons Kong-rey, Yinxing, Toraji and Usagi.
• In the Philippines, Typhoon Man-yi is known as Super Typhoon Pepito. It is a tropical cyclone.
• The Philippines experiences 20 typhoons on average per year. 
• With over a dozen active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes, it is one of the most disaster-prone nations in the world.
• A tropical cyclone is called a ‘hurricane’ in the American continent. In the Philippines and Japan, it is called a ‘typhoon’. In Australia, tropical cyclones are called willy-willy.

Topic: Sports

14. Jyothi Surekha Vennam won gold medal in women’s archery compound event at GT Open.

• In Archery, present Asian Games champion Jyothi won the gold medal in the women’s compound event at the GT Open in Luxembourg.
• Jyothi was competing in the GT Open for the first time.
• Jyothi secured the title with a 147-145 win against Sarah Prieels of Belgium on 17 November 2024.
• In the men’s compound event, Abhishek won the silver medal.
• His opponent, Mike Schlosser of the Netherlands, secured the top spot.

(Source: News on AIR)