Daily Current Affairs and GK | 2 and 3 June 2024

Topic: International News

1. Claudia Sheinbaum is set to become Mexico's first female president.

• Claudia Sheinbaum is likely to become Mexico’s first female president with a landslide victory.
• Provisional results show that Sheinbaum is leading with 59% of the vote, versus 29% for Galvez.
• Sheinbaum would be the first woman to win a general election in the United States, Mexico or Canada.
• Claudia Sheinbaum is from the ruling leftist Morena party.
• The third candidate is Jorge Alvarez Maynez, the youngest in the race to become President.
• The main challenge for the new president will be tense negotiations with the United States on migrants and drug trafficking.
• His next task will be to resolve electricity and water shortages. Sheinbaum has promised to expand welfare programs.

Topic: Sports

2. Dinesh Karthik officially announced retirement from all forms of cricket.

• The veteran wicketkeeper-batter, Dinesh Karthik, officially announced retirement from all forms of cricket.
• He represented in 180 games across three formats. He scored 3463 runs with one Test hundred and 17 half-centuries
• He made his India debut when he was 19 in an ODI against England at Lord’s in September 2004.
• He played his last match in the 2024 edition of the IPL against Rajasthan Royals on May 22.
• Karthik also had 172 dismissals to his credit. He played for as many as six teams in the IPL.

Topic: State News/ Sikkim

3. SKM won the elections by winning 31 out of 32 seats, SDF got 1 seat.

• The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) led by Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang is set to return to power in the Himalayan state.
• The party easily crossed the majority mark in the results declared by the Election Commission.
• 147 candidates were in the fray from 32 assembly constituencies.
• Opposition leader and Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) supremo, former CM Pawan Kumar Chamling, has lost both seats, and his party only managed to secure one seat in the election.
• The SKM contested the 2024 assembly elections alone as the BJP decided to break the alliance with it.
• On 19 April, the Assembly elections were held along with the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

Topic: Sports

4. On June 1, India's Tanvi Sharma won the women's singles title of the Bonn International badminton tournament in Germany.

• The young Indian shuttler defeated Wang Pei Yu of Taiwan in straight sets 21-19, 22-20.
• 15-year-old Tanvi won her first senior title.
• In 2019, the tournament was organized for the first time.
• Winner list:

Topic: Space and IT

5. China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe successfully landed on the far side of the Moon.

• China's state news agency Xinhua reported on June 2 that China's Chang'e-6 spacecraft successfully landed on the far side of the Moon to collect samples.
• Chang'e-6 landed in the vast South Pole-Aitken basin, one of the largest impact craters known in the Solar System.
• This is the first time that samples will be collected from a rarely explored region of the Moon.
• Started on May 3, Chang'e-6 is on a technically complex 53-day mission.
• The two methods will be used by the probe for sample collection: a drill to collect samples from below the surface and a robotic arm to take samples from the surface.
• The United States also plans to send astronauts back to the Moon by 2026 through its Artemis 3 mission.

Topic: Important Days

6. World Bicycle Day 2024: 3 June

• Every year on 3 June, World Bicycle Day is observed.
• The theme of the World Bicycle Day 2024 is "Promoting Health, Equity, and Sustainability through Cycling."
• In April 2018, UN General Assembly declared 3 June as World Bicycle Day.
• The idea behind this is to inform people about the health benefits from cycling.
• Bicycle is an environmentally sustainable means of transport.
• The initiative to establish World Bicycle Day was led by Turkmenistan with the support of several other countries.

Topic: State News/Arunachal Pradesh

7. BJP won 46 seats in the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh Assembly.

• National People’s Party (NPP) won five seats. The Conrad Sangma-led NPP is part of the NDA alliance.
• The People’s Party of Arunachal won two seats and the NCP won three seats.
• The Congress won one seat. Independent candidates won three seats.
• BJP has returned to power in Arunachal Pradesh for the third time in a row.
• Counting of votes was held for 50 Assembly seats. The rest 10 seats were won by BJP uncontested.
• Out of 50 seats, 36 seats were won by the BJP. Chief Minister Pema Khandu is one among the ten candidates who won unopposed. The BJP had won 41 seats in 2019.

Topic: Indian Economy

8. According to government data, India got highest FDI from Singapore in 2023-24.

• However, FDI from Singapore has declined by 31.55% to $11.77 billion in 2023-24.
• FDI inflows into India declined by about 3.5% due to global economic uncertainties.
• In FY24, FDI equity inflows declined from countries like Mauritius, Singapore, the U.S., the U.K., UAE, Cayman Islands, Germany, and Cyprus.
• Investments increased from the Netherlands and Japan.
• Since 2018-19, the largest source of FDI investments for India has been Singapore.
• In 2017-18, India received the maximum FDI from Mauritius.
• FDI equity inflows in India decreased 3.49% to $44.42 billion in 2023-24.
• The total FDI decreased marginally by one per cent to $70.95 billion during 2023-24.
• The total FDI includes equity inflows, reinvested earnings and other capital. 
• In 2021-22, India got the highest ever FDI inflows of $84.83 billion.
• FDI inflows declined in sectors like services, computer software and hardware, trading, telecommunication, automobile, pharma and chemicals.
• Construction (infrastructure) activities, development and power sectors have recorded growth in inflows.
• FDI from Mauritius declined to $7.97 billion in the last fiscal. Mauritius was the second biggest investor.
• The U.S. was the third largest investor in India in 2023-24. It was followed by the Netherlands, Japan, the UAE, U.K., Cyprus, Germany, and Cayman Islands.
• Mauritius’ share in total FDI received by India during April 2000 to March 2024 is 25%. Singapore's share is 24%. The U.S. accounted for 10%.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

9. Adani Ports signed a 30-year pact to operate the Dar es Salaam Port terminal in Tanzania.

• Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) wholly owned subsidiary Adani International Ports Holdings Pte Ltd (AIPH) signed a 30-year concession agreement with the Tanzania Ports Authority.
• The pact will enable AIPH to operate and manage Container Terminal 2 at the Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania.
• The Dar es Salaam Port is a gateway port with a well-connected network of roadways and railways.
• APSEZ will be the controlling shareholder and will consolidate EAGL on its books.
• East Africa Gateway Ltd (EAGL) has been incorporated as a joint venture of AIPH, AD Ports Group, and East Harbour Terminals Ltd (EHTL).
• Container Terminal 2 has an annual cargo handling capacity of 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

Topic: Science and Technology

10. Scientists have developed a way of generating non-infectious Nipah virus-like particles (VLPs) in the laboratory.

• Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV), Thonnakkal, scientists have developed a way of generating non-infectious Nipah virus-like particles (VLPs) in the laboratory.
• This new method offers an alternate, safe and effective platform for developing neutralising antibodies against Nipah virus (NiV) in a biosafety level-2 (BSL) laboratory.
• IAV scientists generated “HiBiT-tagged” Nipah virus-like particles (NiV-VLPs) using plasmid-based expression systems with the NiV structural proteins G, F, and M.
• With this new technique, conducting tests crucial for developing vaccines in biosafety level-2 labs will be possible.
• Now, such tests are done only in biosafety level-4 labs, because of the extreme precautions required.
• Virus neutralisation assays are important for the development and evaluation of vaccines and immunotherapeutics.
• The zoonotic virus Nipah is a highly pathogenic paramyxovirus. It has a fatality rate of up to 80% in affected humans.

Topic: Sports

11. Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has joined World Boxing.

• On May 31, the Indian Boxing Federation joined the breakaway World Boxing Federation to "counter the threat" to the sport's Olympic future.
• Recently, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has warned national federations aligned with the International Boxing Association (IBA) that they will not be able to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics if boxing is included in their programme.
• In June 2023, the IOC stripped the IBA of its accreditation, saying it had failed to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues.
• The IOC is organising a boxing tournament at the Paris Olympics, but there are fears the sport could be excluded from future Olympics, as boxing is not on the initial programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
• BFI is headquartered in New Delhi.

Topic: National News

12. The gratuity limit of employees has been increased by the government when dearness allowance reaches 50%.

• The recent announcement by the Central Government to increase the Dearness Allowance of its employees by 4% to 50% has brought about significant adjustments in various allowances, especially retirement gratuity.
• The maximum limit of retirement gratuity and death gratuity has been increased by 25% from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh from January 1, 2024.
• Dearness Relief (DR) and Dearness Allowance (DA) were increased by 4% by the Central Government in March 2024.
• This was a big relief for lakhs of central government employees and retirees.
• The 50% increase in DA also resulted in an increase in other parts of the central government employee's salary.

Topic: Space and IT

13. Wipro 3D and ISRO joined hands for sustainable space exploration through additive manufacturing.

• Wipro 3D in association with ISRO achieved a milestone in space technology with the successful manufacturing of the PS4 3D-printed rocket engine.
• The PS4 3D-printed rocket engine powers the 4th stage of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
• The PS4 engine was being traditionally manufactured through conventional machining and welding.
• It has been redesigned through Additive Manufacturing technology.
• Wipro 3D and ISRO used Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) and Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) technology to consolidate the multiple and diversified into a single unified production unit.
• The 3D-printed PS4 engine has been developed with minimal material waste and post-print machining operations.
• ISRO's adoption of additive manufacturing offers superior precision, minimal resource utilization, and significant reductions in material wastage.
• The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is used to place earth observation and scientific satellites.

Topic: State News/ Assam

14. Railways is planning to build canopy bridges across the track in Hollangapar Gibbon Sanctuary.

• The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) will construct canopy bridges for apes to move across a railway track that bifurcates Hollangapar Gibbon Sanctuary in Assam.
• These canopy bridges will be designed by the Wildlife Institute of India in association with the Northeast Frontier Railway.
• Canopy bridges will be constructed in such a way that the bridges look as natural as possible.
• A 1.65-km-long track is set to be doubled and electrified, and it divide the 2,098.62-hectare Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in the Jorhat district.
• Hollangapar Gibbon Sanctuary has the largest concentration of the hoolock gibbon.
• The gibbon spends more of its time on the upper canopy of tall trees. The fragmentation of the forest along the track has disturbed the habitat of gibbons.