Daily Current Affairs and GK | 24 and 25 November 2024

Topic: International News

1. UN General Assembly committee adopted a resolution on the first-ever treaty on crimes against humanity.

• UN General Assembly committee adopted a resolution to negotiate a first-ever treaty on preventing and punishing crimes against humanity.
• The resolution has been approved through consensus by the assembly’s legal committee.
• The resolution calls for a time-bound process with preparatory sessions in 2026 and 2027 and three-week negotiating sessions in 2028 and 2029 to finalise a treaty on crimes against humanity.
• This resolution will send a clear message that impunity for the kinds of crimes inflicted on civilians in Ethiopia, Sudan, Ukraine, southern Israel, Gaza and Myanmar will not go unheeded.
• The International Criminal Court was established to punish major perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
• ICC says crimes against humanity are committed as part of a large-scale attack on civilians, it has listed 15 forms of crimes against humanity.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

2. COP 29 fixed a target to raise $300 billion annually by 2035.

• During COP 29 in Baku, nations agreed to a $300 billion annual global financing target to assist developing countries in addressing the effects of climate change.
• India objected to the agreement, saying it was insufficient for developing countries.
• Developing nations opposed the agreement's adoption procedure. They were also against the agreed upon sum.
• The main objective of COP 29 was to bring together almost 200 nations in Baku and come to a historic agreement that would increase public funding for poor nations by thrice, from the initial target of $100 billion per year to $300 billion per year by 2035.
• Countries will coordinate efforts from all stakeholders to increase public and private funding for developing nations to $1.5 trillion annually by 2035.
• The COP29 agreement stipulates that progress will be assessed on a regular basis, with a decision review in 2030 and important reports in 2026 and 2027.
• The true test of progress will be the national climate plans that are due in 2025.
• Furthermore, by 2035, the UK wants to cut emissions by 81% from 1990 levels.
• A deal on government-to-government carbon markets was reached at COP29.
• The next Conference of Parties (COP) to UNFCCC, COP30, will be organized in Belem, Brazil, in November 2025.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

3. JSW Steel replaced by Zomato in BSE Sensex from December 23.

• JSW Steel replaced by Zomato in BSE Sensex as part of the index reconstitution which came into effect from December 23.
• Reconstitution of several indices has been announced by BSE's wholly-owned subsidiary Asia Index Private Ltd.
• These indices included BSE 100, BSE Sensex 50 and BSE Sensex Next 50.
• Six stocks found their way into the BSE 100 index. These are given below.

• There are three additions to BSE Sensex 50. These are Zomato, Jio Financial Services and PSU Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL).
• These will replace HDFC Life Insurance Company, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and LTIMindtree.

Topic: Sports

4. Anders Antonsen defeated Jonatan Christie to win China Masters 2024.

• Denmark’s Anders Antonsen secured the men’s singles title at the China Masters Badminton 2024 in Shenzhen, China.
• South Korea’s Se Young An secured the women’s singles title at the China Masters Badminton 2024 in Shenzhen, China.
• In the final, Antonsen performed better than Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in straight sets.
• Se Young An won over China’s Fang Jie Gao to claim the women’s singles title.
• In the doubles events, South Korean pair of Yong Jin and Seung Jae Seo clinched the men’s doubles title.
• They defeated Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani.
• In women’s doubles, Sheng Shu Liu and Ning Tan won over their compatriots Xu Min Luo and Yi Jing Li.
• In mixed doubles, China’s Yan Zhe Feng and Dong Ping Huang won over Malaysia’s Su Yin Cheng and Pang Ron Hoo.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

5. Global Cooperative Conference inaugurated by PM Modi in New Delhi.

• On November 25, the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) Global Co-operative Summit 2024 was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi, and the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives 2025 was also launched.
• In the 130-year history of ICA, the apex organization of cooperatives at the global level, the ICA Global Cooperative Conference and ICA General Assembly are being organized in India for the first time.
• The global conference is being organized by Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) in collaboration with ICA, the Government of India, and Indian cooperatives AMUL and KRIBHCO.
• It will be held from November 25-30.
• The theme of the conference is “Cooperatives Build Prosperity for All,” which is in line with the vision of the Government of India, “Sahkar se Samriddhi” (Prosperity through Cooperation).
• The Prime Minister also launched the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives 2025, which focuses on the theme “Cooperatives Build a Better World.”
• On this occasion, PM Modi released a commemorative postage stamp for the International Year of Cooperatives 2025.
• The year 2025 will be a global initiative aimed at demonstrating the power of cooperative enterprises to tackle the world's biggest challenges.
• In 1895, the International Co-operative Alliance was founded.
• It represents three million cooperative enterprises worldwide and has over one billion cooperative members.

Topic: Indian Polity

6. NDA won in Maharashtra, and the India Bloc retained its victory in Jharkhand.

• In the Assembly Election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance has won a landslide victory in Maharashtra, the results of which were declared on November 23.
• Whereas India Block retained its victory in Jharkhand in the assembly elections.
• In Maharashtra, the NDA, popularly known as Mahayuti, has crossed the mark of 236, while the BJP has registered its best performance in the state with 132 seats in the 288-member House.
• In Jharkhand, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led India Block retained power in the 81-member Assembly by winning 56 seats.
• India Bloc's allies in Jharkhand include JMM, Congress, CPI(ML)L and RJD.
• In addition, The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) also won assembly bypolls in Bihar and Assam, while the Trinamool Congress dominated by-elections in West Bengal.
• Priyanka Gandhi Vadra won her maiden election in the Wayanad parliamentary bypoll.
• The BJP-led NDA won seven out of nine seats in the by-elections held in Uttar Pradesh.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. Government launched National Campaign “Ab Koi Bahana Nahi” in New Delhi on 25 November 2024.

• In order to eradicate gender-based violence, the campaign urges the general public, the government, and important stakeholders to take concrete action.
• With assistance from UN Women, it is a joint endeavour by the Ministries of Rural Development and Women and Child Development.
• A movie about Ab Koi Bahana Nahi was released during the campaign.
• This was made public to highlight the need for accountability from all parties involved, including every individual, in order to commit to preventing gender-based violence.
• To guarantee a broad dissemination of the call to action to eradicate gender-based violence, the campaign was launched concurrently with the Nayi Chetna 3.0 campaign.
• Every year on November 25, the world observes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Topic: Sports

8. The 40th All India Governor's Gold Cup International Football Tournament came to an end in Gangtok.

• The 40th All India Governor's Gold Cup International Football Tournament 2024 was won by North East United Football Club.
• Paljor Stadium in Gangtok hosted the competition on November 24, 2024.
• In the tie-breaker, North East United FC won against Gangtok Himalayan Sporting Club.
• The chief guest was Governor Om Prakash Mathur. As the Guest of Honour, Chief Minister PS Tamang accompanied him.
• Gangtok Himalayan SC only scored three goals out of five penalty shots in the tie-breaker, whereas North East United FC scored goals on all four penalty shots.
• The exhibition match between GTA XI and Chief Minister XI, in which GTA XI defeated Chief Minister XI by a score of 4-3 goals, was another highlight of the final game.
• This football competition, which lasted for two weeks, involved sixteen teams.
• On November 8th, the competition started. Four international clubs from Nepal, Bhutan, Dubai, and Malaysia participated in the competition.
• The Sikkim Football Association organised this India's most important football competition. 
• The event was held after a five-year break, with the most recent edition taking place in 2019.

Topic: Indian Polity

9. Winter Session of the Parliament started on 25 November.

• The government has listed 15 bills, including one to amend the Waqf law and five new ones, to be presented in this session.
• The Merchant Shipping Bill will also be introduced to ensure compliance with India’s obligation under maritime treaties.
• The Coastal Shipping Bill and the Indian Ports Bill will also be introduced in the Parliament.
• The Session will have 19 sittings over 26 days.
• This winter session of the Parliament will conclude on 20th December.
• The Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, the Railways (Amendment) Bill, the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, and the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill will be also tabled by the government during this session.

Topic: Sports

10. Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in the history of IPL auction.

• Rishabh Pant has been purchased by the Lucknow Super Giants with a bid of ₹27 crore in the ongoing players auction.
• Pant was with the Delhi Capitals for many years.
• Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer has been acquired by Punjab Kings (PBKS) for ₹26.75 crore.
• Ravichandran Ashwin returned to Chennai Super Kings for 9.75 crore.
• Yuzvendra Chahal went to Punjab Kings for ₹18 crore and KL Rahul was purchased by Delhi Capitals for ₹14 crore.

Topic: International Appointment

11. Abdoulaye Maiga appointed Prime Minister by Mali's ruling junta.

• On November 21, Mali's ruling junta appointed its spokesman, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister, while Choguel Maiga, who had criticized the administration the day before, was dismissed.
• Choguel Maiga was quoted at the weekend as saying the junta had denounced its failure to hold elections as promised within 24 months for a return to democracy - a statement that angered the ruling generals.
• The military rulers, who seized power through successive coups in 2020 and 2021, had promised to hold elections in February but have postponed the vote indefinitely, blaming technical issues.
• Choguel Maiga is a civilian who was appointed Prime Minister by the military junta in 2021.
• Choguel Maiga's dismissal comes amid signs of growing frustration and division among Malian politicians, even those who initially supported the coup and worked with the junta.

Topic: Banking System

12. The transaction limit for UPI 123Pay increased from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 by the RBI.

• This change will benefit millions of feature phone users across India who have limited access to the Internet.
• UPI 123Pay is a unique service that allows digital payments on feature phones without the need for internet connectivity.
• As per instructions from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), this update, which is already effective, requires full compliance by January 1, 2025.
• Transactions of up to ₹10,000 are aimed to be enabled by this update, enhancing access to digital payments in these underprivileged areas.
• In areas with unreliable internet access, UPI 123Pay offers offline functionality through methods like Interactive Voice Response (IVR), missed calls, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) apps, and even voice technology for payment processing.
• This increase in transaction limits means that farmers, small traders, and microenterprises can now carry out large transactions digitally, reducing their dependence on cash.

Topic: India and its Neighbours

13. India and Maldives signed a pact for cross-border transactions in local currencies.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost the use of local currencies.
• This framework will enable exporters and importers to invoice and settle in their respective domestic currencies.
• It will facilitate the development of trading in the INR-MVR pair in the foreign exchange market.
• The use of local currencies will optimise costs and reduce settlement time for transactions.
• This MoU will promote the use of INR and MVR in current account transactions.

Topic: MoUs /Agreements

14. UN sustainable tourism declaration has been signed by more than 50 countries.

• More than 50 governments have signed the UN Sustainable Tourism Declaration to make tourism more climate-friendly around the world.
• The global tourism industry contributes around 3% of global GDP and is the source of 8.8% of greenhouse emissions.
• The declaration has been adopted with different other initiatives such as a framework presented by the hotel industry body World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance.
• The countries that have signed the Enhanced Climate Action on Tourism have taken a pledge to consider the need of tourism while drafting climate plans such as their Nationally Determined Contributions.
• Tourism has a large share in the government's hard currency revenues, particularly in emerging countries.
• The collated data would help the tourism industry and travellers understand their impact.