Daily Current Affairs and GK | 21 September 2024

Topic: International News

1. Jordan became the first country to eliminate leprosy.

• Jordan has received official verification from the World Health Organisation (WHO) of completely eliminating leprosy.
• This milestone reflects Jordan's commitment to eradicate this disease.
• Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae.
• It affects the skin, nerves, and respiratory tract. It has long carried a social stigma.
• The Jordanian Ministry of Health in partnership with the WHO and other international organizations has worked to provide multi-drug therapy (MDT) and spread awareness about leprosy.
• WHO’s verification process is rigorous and requires meeting specific criteria.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

2. Kerala secured first spot in the 2024 State Food Safety Index (SFSI).

• Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Jammu & Kashmir are the top 3 performers on the State Food Safety Index 2024.
• State Food Safety Index (SFSI) has been released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
• Gujarat and Nagaland got special mentions and acknowledgement in the State Food Safety Index.
• The report has been unveiled at the inaugural session of the Global Food Safety Regulators Summit.
• FSSAI noted that Kerala has achieved more than 100 per cent of its inspection target in FY24.
• The index evaluates state and union territories on five parameters: Human Resources and Institutional Data, Compliance, Food Testing-Infrastructure and Surveillance, Training and Capacity Building, and Consumer Empowerment.
• This Index was created in 2018-19 to create a competitive and positive change in the food safety ecosystem in the country.
• FSSAI has also launched the Food Import Rejection Alerts (FIRA).
• It is an online portal to notify the public and relevant food safety authorities about food import rejections at Indian borders.

Topic: Sports

3. Jasprit Bumrah became the 10th Indian bowler to reach 400 international wickets.

• On September 20, Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah completed 400 wickets in international cricket and became the 10th bowler from India to achieve this feat.
• Bumrah achieved this feat during India's first Test match against Bangladesh in Chennai.
• With this achievement, Bumrah's tally of international wickets has now reached 401 in 196 matches.
• Jasprit Bumrah has taken 149 wickets in 89 ODIs, 89 wickets in 70 T20Is, and 163 wickets in 37 Tests.
• Anil Kumble (953 wickets), Ravichandran Ashwin (744 wickets), and Harbhajan Singh (707 wickets) are India's top three wicket-takers in international cricket.

(Source: DD News)

Topic: Government Scheme and Initiatives

4. An online vaccine management portal, U-WIN, will be launched by PM Modi in October.

• On September 20, Union Health Minister J P Nadda said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the online vaccine management portal U-WIN, which is currently operating on a pilot basis, in October.
• This portal has been developed to maintain a permanent digital record of vaccinations and medicines for pregnant women as well as children from birth to the age of 17 years under the Universal Immunization Programme.
• The citizen-centric services of the digital platform include ‘Anytime Access’ and ‘Anywhere’ vaccination services, self-registration by citizens using the U-WIN web portal or the U-WIN citizen mobile application, and automated SMS alerts.
• It also offers a universal QR-based eVaccination Certificate and the utility to create an Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) ID for themselves and a Child ABHA ID for their children.
• In addition, Shri Nadda said that as per the recent announcement regarding expansion of Ayushman Bharat PMJAY scheme, it has been extended to cover all senior citizens of 70 years and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status.
• The expanded scheme will benefit an estimated six crore citizens from about 4.5 crore families.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: National News

5. Rajnath Singh received the flag off the first-of-its-kind open water swimming expedition to 21 islands of Andaman & Nicobar archipelago named after Param Vir Chakra awardees in New Delhi.

• The 21 largest unnamed islands of Andaman & Nicobar were named after PVC award winners by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on the occasion of Parakram Diwas on 23 January 2023 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
• To celebrate the first anniversary of the new naming, the tri-service Andaman & Nicobar Command launched 'Abhiyan Paramveer'.
• It involved a team of personnel from the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Indian Coast Guard swimming to all the 21 islands and hoisting the national flag on each island as a tribute to the valour and sacrifice of the 21 gallantry award winners.
• The 11-member expedition team was led by Wing Commander Paramvir Singh, a renowned open water swimmer and Tenzing Norway National Adventure Award winner.
• The expedition was formally flagged off on March 22, 2024 on the occasion of World Water Day by Sincan with the inaugural swim from Sri Vijayapuram to Netaji Subhas Chandra Island.
• The swimming team swam across all 21 islands, covering over 300 kilometres, over a period of five months.
• The expedition ended on August 15, 2024, the 78th Independence Day.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Important Days

6. International Day of Peace 2024: 21 September

• On 21 September, the International Day of Peace is celebrated.
• It is celebrated to strengthen the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and people.
• The theme of International Day of Peace 2024 is “Cultivating a Culture of Peace.” 
• This year marks the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace by the United Nations General Assembly.
• The United Nations Declaration and Plan of Action was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 13 September 1999.
• International Day of Peace was started in 1981.
• In 2001, it was designated as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.
• The United Nations General Assembly has declared it a day dedicated to strengthening the ideals of peace through 24-hour non-violence and observance of ceasefire.
• The day promotes global solidarity to build a peaceful and sustainable world.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. IndiaAI Innovation Challenge has been announced by the government.

• The IndiaAI Independent Business Division, under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has announced this challenge.
• The challenge comes under the Applications Development Initiative within the IndiaAI Mission.
• Innovation Challenge is open to Indian innovators, startups, students, and academic and research and development organizations.
• 30th September is the deadline for application submission for this challenge.
• The winners will get up to one crore rupees in the form of award.
• They will have an opportunity to show their solutions at national level.
• The goal of the innovation challenge is to advance significant AI technologies that will facilitate socioeconomic change.
• This challenge focusses on healthcare, better governance, agriculture, learning disability assistive technology, climate change, and disaster management.
• The goal of the AI India Mission is to create and implement Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in vital industries.

Topic: Economy/Banking/Finance

8. Biometric authentic solution for Card Payments has been launched by PayU.

• Flash Pay is the biometric authentic solution for card payments.
• It was unveiled by PayU at the Global FinTech Festival (GFF) 2024.
• Flash Pay is designed to improve security and to make the payment experience simple. It is also designed to increase transaction success rates.
• Advanced device-based biometric technologies, such fingerprint or face recognition, are used by Flash Pay to quickly and securely authenticate payments.
• Customers are no longer dependent on conventional OTP-based authentication because transactions are processed in less than ten seconds.
• This eliminates the need to wait for the delivery of the OTP, lowers the possibility of manual errors, and removes the possibility of fraud related to OTP sharing.
• Across all major card networks, Flash Pay offers merchants a single point of contact for card payment authentication.
• Advanced security features like device binding and jailbreak detection are also included in Flash Pay.
• At GFF 2024, FlashPay was effectively demonstrated in collaboration with South Indian Bank.
• PayU is one of India's leading digital financial services providers with Prosus as an investor.

Topic: Indian Economy

9. India economy to be third-largest by 2030-31: S&P Global

• As per S&P Global India, India to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030–31.
• India is projected to grow at an annual rate of 6.7 per cent.
• India emerged as the fastest-growing large economy with gross domestic product (GDP) growth at the rate of 8.2 per cent in the financial year (FY) 2024.
• S&P Global research further stated that India must develop infrastructure and geopolitical strategies regarding its extensive coastline.
• Around 90 per cent of India's trade is seaborne which required robust port infrastructure to manage increasing exports.
• As per the World Bank and S&P Global’s Container Port Performance Index 2023, only three Indian ports found a place among the top 50.
• India's medium-term prospects are healthy and filled with opportunities in multiple sectors.

Topic: National Appointments

10. Anurag Garg takes became the new NCB Director General.

• Anurag Garg has become the new Director General of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
• He was serving as the Additional Director General in the Border Security Force (BSF).
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Anurag Garg.
• The Narcotics Control Bureau is an Indian central law enforcement and intelligence agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• It was established in 1986 with the responsibility to combat drug trafficking and the use of illegal substances under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Topic: Summit/Conference/Meeting

11. 2^nd edition of Global Food Regulatory Summit 2024 Inaugurated by Health Minister JP Nadda on 20 September.

• The summit organized by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare from 20th to 21st September.
• The summit was organized along with the World Food India 2024 program organized by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
• It aims to establish a global platform for food regulators to exchange insights on strengthening food safety systems and regulatory frameworks across the entire food value chain.
• In line with the vision of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – One Earth, One Family, One Future”, the first Global Food Regulators Summit was launched as a co-branded event with the G20 Summit in 2023.
• A new website for Food Import Clearance System 2.0 (FICS 2.0) was also unveiled at the summit.
• This is an upgraded version of the Food Import Clearance System for faster processing and transparency, addressing the limitations of the earlier system by providing a complete online solution with new features, automation, and integration with other relevant portals.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: National News

12. The centenary celebrations of ICAR-NISA inaugurated by President Draupadi Murmu.

• On 20 September, the centenary celebrations of the ICAR- National Institute of Secondary Agriculture (NISA) addressed by President Droupadi Murmu at Namkum, in Ranchi.
• The institute has efficiently carried out research and development work related to agriculture and has also ensured that such research reaches the grassroots level.  
• ICAR-NISA has made a unique contribution in increasing lac production in the country. Jharkhand produces 55 percent of the country's lac.
• The President stressed on promoting agriculture based industry to increase the income of farmers and advised scientists to make farmers aware about secondary agriculture.
• President Murmu said that the use of waste materials by farmers will also help them become economically strong.
• Lac is a natural resin secreted by tiny insects called lac insects (Kerria lacca), found mainly on trees in tropical and subtropical regions.
• Lac is used in the manufacture of toys, jewellery, electrical insulating materials, varnishes, polishes, lithographic inks, shoe polish, sealing wax, etc.

Topic: State News/Maharashtra

13. PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Park foundation stone is laid in Amravati.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Park in Maharashtra’s Amravati.
• It is spread over 1000 acres and is being developed by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).
• The central government had approved setting up 7 PM MITRA Parks for the textile industry.
• PM Modi also launched the “Acharya Chanakya Skill Development Centre” scheme of the Maharashtra government.
• Under this scheme, Skill development training centres will be established in renowned colleges across the state to provide training to youth aged 15 to 45.
• PM Modi also launched the “Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Women Startup” Scheme.
• Under this scheme, financial assistance of up to Rs 25 lakh will be provided to women-led startups.

Topic: Agriculture and allied sectors

14. Institutional credit to agriculture reached to all-time high of ₹25.10 lakh cr in FY24.

• According to RBI Deputy Governor Swaminathan J, Institutional credit to agriculture reached to all-time high of ₹25.10 lakh cr.
• RBI Deputy Governor Swaminathan J highlighted that Indian agriculture is going through a demographic challenge.
• The average age of farmers now at 50.1 years. He underscored the need to attract younger generations to the agriculture sector.
• Swaminathan said about 7.4 crore active Kisan Credit Cards have become important tools for timely and flexible credit.
• He noted that climate change and sustainability are two critical issues.
• Sustainable agriculture means agricultural practices that fulfil today’s food needs while at the same time preserving resources for future generations.