Daily Current Affairs and GK | 25 and 26 July 2021

Topic: Important Days

1. Kargil Vijay Diwas: 26 July

• Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year on 26 July. It is celebrated to honour the Kargil War's Heroes.
• On 26 July 1999, Indian armed forces had defeated Pakistan. India had launched 'Operation Vijay' to clear the Kargil sector of infiltration by Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants.
• The Kargil War took place between May 3 and July 26, 1999, in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LOC).
• Kargil War was the first war between India and Pakistan after 1971.
• India lost more than 500 military soldiers in the Kargil war. It is one of the biggest high-altitude warfare of the recent time.

Topic: Sports

2. Mirabai Chanu becomes 1st Indian weightlifter to win silver in Olympics.

• Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won a Silver medal in women's 49-kg weightlifting at the Tokyo Olympics.
• She became the first Indian weightlifter to win the silver medal at the Olympic Games. She is also the first Indian to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
• China's Zhihui Hou won the gold medal in the women's 49-kg weightlifting by lifting a total weight of 210 Kg. Indonesia's Windy Cantika Aisah won the bronze medal.
• Mirabai Chanu creates a new Olympic record by lifting 115kg in clean and jerk.
• Earlier, Mirabai Chanu won the gold in world championships in 2017 and Commonwealth Games in 2018.
• Karnam Malleswari is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics.

Topic: Art and Culture

3. Kakatiya Rudreshwara Temple inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple at Palampet, Mulugu district, near Warangal in Telangana has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The decision was taken at the 44^th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO on 25 July 2021.
• The temple was proposed by the government as its only nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site tag for the year 2019. India has now got its 39^th World Heritage Site.
• On the occasion, PM Modi congratulated everyone and said that Ramappa Temple showcases the outstanding craftsmanship of the great Kakatiya dynasty.
• Union Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Sri G Kishan Reddy stated that there were 21 Members in the World Heritage Committee with China currently as the Chair of the Committee.
• The Minister observed that World Heritage Committee’s meeting could not be conducted in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. Nominations for 2020 and 2021 were discussed in online meetings that are currently underway.
• The discussion on Ramappa Temple took place on 25^th July 2021.

Topic: Sports

4. Indian junior wrestler Priya Malik wins gold medal at 2021 World Cadet Wrestling Championship.

• Indian junior wrestler Priya Malik has won the gold medal in the 73-kg category at 2021 World Cadet Wrestling Championship held in Budapest, Hungary.
• Priya had won gold at the Khelo India youth games in Pune in 2019. She had won gold at the 17^th School Games held in Delhi.
• Jaskaran Singh won a silver medal in the 60-kg freestyle category. He lost to Kamronbek Kadamov of Uzbekistan. India Women's Wrestling team also won silver.
• Tannu, Komal, Aman Gulia, Sagar Jaglan, Chirag and Jaideep also won gold along with the Freestyle Team. Ankit Gulia, Varsha, and Sahil had to settle for bronze.
• Indian wrestling contingent won 13 medals at 2021 World Cadet Wrestling Championship.
• The World Cadet Championship is a tournament in which the best Greco-Roman, Freestyle and Women wrestlers worldwide below the age of 17 compete.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Defence

5. Defence Minister flags in Army skiing expedition along China border.

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has flagged in ARMEX-21, an Indian Army Skiing Expedition.
• ARMEX-21 has been organized to promote adventure activity in the country and the Indian Army. It was conducted in the mountain range of the Himalayas.
• The expedition was started at Karakoram Pass on 10^th March and concluded on 6^th July at Malari in Uttarakhand. It covered around 1660 km.
• Indian Army will plan such more expeditions in coordination with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and other mountaineering institutes.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices

6. NITI Aayog and IEA launched ‘Renewables Integration in India 2021’ report.

• NITI Aayog and IEA have jointly launched the ‘Renewables Integration in India 2021’ report.
• It is based on the outcomes of the workshops organized with the Governments of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat.
• It highlighted that how India’s power system can efficiently integrate renewables (175 GW by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030). It also states that integration will require the identification of resources and proper planning, regulatory, policy, and institutional support.
• Renewable energy integration is a major issue and it could be resolved only through supply and demand-side measures.
• Renewable energy Integration can start with proper resources planning and better implementation of technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Base Power System Management and Smart Grid.
• Smart meters, Time of the Day tariff, and overall demand response program can play a key role in RE load management.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

7. Vice Admiral Vinay Badhwar conferred Alexander Dalrymple award.

• Vice Admiral Vinay Badhwar has been conferred with the prestigious Alexander Dalrymple award by the British government.
• He was awarded for his remarkable work in the areas of hydrography and nautical cartography.
• The award was announced in 2019 but the award ceremony was not organized due to Covid pandemic.
• He has been awarded for his unparalleled dedication, professionalism, and leadership in the disciplines of hydrography and nautical cartography.

Topic: International News

8. US secretary of state Antony Blinken will be on two-day visit of India from 27 July.

• The United States secretary of state, Antony Blinken will be on two-day visit to India from 27 July.
• He will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister S Jaishankar on 28 July. He will also meet national security advisor Ajit Doval.
• Many issues including cooperation on Covid-19, Indo-Pacific engagement, Afghanistan, and cooperation in the UN issues will be discussed during his two-day visit.
• This is Antony Blinken's first visit to India after taking over as US Secretary of State.
• Both countries will review the India-US bilateral relationship and discuss on the potential for consolidating them further.

Topic: Space and IT

9. SpaceX and NASA signed a contract for launching mission to Jupiter’s moon ‘Europa’.

• SpaceX has got a contract of $178 million for launching the Europa Clipper mission. It will be launched to probe Jupiter's moon Europa.
• Europa Clipper mission is scheduled to be launched in October 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
• Europa Clipper mission will conduct a detailed survey of Jupiter's moon and it is equipped with high-resolution cameras and spectrometers.
• It will gather information on the ongoing geological activity on Europa's surface, thickness of the moon’s icy shell, and subsurface lakes.
• Earlier, this mission was scheduled to take off from Nasa's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
• Falcon Heavy rocket is being used since 2018 for carrying commercial and government missions.

Topic: Personality in News

10. Noted Marathi poet Satish Kalsekar passes away.

• A Renowned Marathi poet Satish Kalsekar died at the age of 78.
• He was awarded with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2014 for his collection of essays ‘Vachanaryachi Rojanishee’.
• He was famous for his poetry works and ‘Indriyopnishad’, ‘Sakshat’ and ‘Vilambit are some popular poems collection of him.
• He had contributed in the field of poetry, translation, prose writing, and editing. He was a Marathi-language poet and essayist.

Topic: State News/ Arunachal Pradesh

11. IIM Shillong becomes official think tank of Arunachal Pradesh.

• The Arunachal Pradesh government has signed an MoU with IIM Shillong for making it “official think tank and knowledge partner”.
• It is first-of-kind agreement between the institute and any state government in the Northeast.
• Under this MoU, Arunachal Pradesh will recognize Dr. APJ Centre of IIM Shillong as an official think tank and knowledge partner of the state.
• IIM Shillong will help the state government in developing policies and a roadmap for business development in the handloom, horticulture, tourism, logistics, and BPO sectors.
• IIM Shillong will also organize managerial capacity-building programs for the state’s newly-recruited officers.
• A knowledge center will be also established in Itanagar which will impart training to youth for entrepreneurship development.