Daily Current Affairs and GK | 27 August 2024

Topic: State News/Maharashtra

1. Maharashtra became the first state to adopt the Unified Pension Scheme for its employees.

• The Maharashtra government has decided to implement the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). It will become effective from March 2025.
• UPS will offer 50% of an employee's average salary for the last 12 months as a pension.
• The Maharashtra Cabinet also approved several other initiatives, including a ₹7,000 crore Nar-Par-Girna river linking project.
• The river linking project will benefit agricultural land in Nashik and Jalgaon districts by providing irrigation to around 50,000 hectares.
• The state government will also raise ₹5,000 crore through equity and bonds for the Thane project.
• Cabinet also approved projects like a medicity, mangrove park, chemical hub, and digital university, requiring a combined expenditure of ₹10,000 crore.

Topic: State News/ Assam

2. Mithun is officially recorded for the first time in Assam.

• The Mithun (Bos frontalis) have been recorded for the first time in Assam.
• As per the last livestock census conducted in 2019, there were 386,311 Mithuns in the country.
• Mithun is the state animal of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. It is also found in some parts of Mizoram and Manipur.
• Arunachal Pradesh has the largest population of Mithun, followed by Nagaland with 23,123, Manipur with 9,059, and Mizoram with 3,975.
• During earlier livestock censuses, the enumerators recorded it as an animal in the column of "others.”
• A team of scientists had spotted the animal during a visit to the three remote villages of Laisong, Langting, and Thaijuwari in Dima Hasao, Assam.
• Assam mithun appears not similar to Nagaland mithun.
• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has recognized Mithun as a meat animal.

Topic: Banking System

3. Unified Lending Interface will be launched by RBI to provide 'frictionless credit'.

• The Reserve Bank is testing an application called Unified Lending Interface (ULI) for hassle-free lending.
• Governor Shaktikanta Das said that it will soon be launched across the country and that it will become UPI in terms of loans.
• The aim of this new technology is to reduce the time taken for assessment, especially for small borrowers in rural areas.
• ULI facilitates a seamless and consent-based flow of digital information, including land records, from various data providers to lenders.
• Its infrastructure is designed for a plug-and-play approach to enable quick access.
• ULI improves digital access for lenders from diverse sources.
• This ecosystem is based on the consent of potential borrowers, and data privacy is protected.

Topic: National News

4. The Ministry of Education defined 'literacy' and 'full literacy'.

• In a letter to all states, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has defined 'literacy' and explained what it means to achieve 'full literacy'.
• This comes in the wake of renewed efforts for adult literacy under the New India Literacy Program (NILP).
• The NILP is a five-year program (2022–27) aimed at covering one crore learners above the age of 15 per year across all states and union territories.
• Literacy can be understood as the ability to read, write, and compute with comprehension, encompassing the skills to identify, understand, interpret, and create, along with critical life skills such as digital literacy and financial literacy.
• Achieving 95% literacy in a State or Union Territory may be considered equivalent to full literacy, representing a standard of 100% literacy.
• As per the above definition, a non-literate person can be considered as literate under NILP if he/she is declared literate after passing the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT).
• In 2024–25, the Ministry of Education has allocated a budget of Rs 160 crore for NILP.

Topic: Summit/Conference/Meeting

5. India and Singapore focused on new pillars of cooperation to elevate Strategic Partnership.

• On August 26, 2024, the 2nd India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable Conference (ISMR) was held in Singapore.
• It focused on reviewing the progress made under their strategic partnership and exploring new avenues of cooperation.
• This ISMR was a significant moment in the bilateral relations between the two countries.
• During the discussions, the two sides reviewed the progress made since inauguration of ISMR in New Delhi in September 2022.
• They evaluated developments in key sectors such as digitalization, skill development, sustainability and healthcare and medicine.
• These pillars have helped guide cooperation between India and Singapore and advance initiatives that benefit both countries.
• An important outcome of this roundtable was the decision to expand the partnership by adding two new pillars: Advanced Manufacturing and Connectivity.
• The inclusion of Advanced Manufacturing reflects growing industrial cooperation between the two countries, aimed at enhancing technological innovation and production efficiency.
• The focus on Connectivity aims to improve infrastructure connectivity and facilitate trade, investment, and movement of people between India and Singapore.

Topic: National Appointments

6. Sanjeev Raina appointed Additional Director General (ADG) in ITBP.

• This is for the second time that a non-IPS officer has been promoted to the ADG post in ITBP.
• This is the second highest post in the force after DG. Sanjeev Raina is a 1987 batch ITBP officer.
• Raina will serve in the new post for over a month. He is due to retire next month.
• Raina is serving for the ITBP's central sector headquarters in Bhopal as an Inspector General (IG).
• According to an order from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Raina is being promoted to the rank of ADG for the panel year 2024, apart from another officer IG Jaspal Singh.
• Raina is currently assigned to the ITBP's Chandigarh headquarters as the ADG (western command).

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

7. A six-month global plan has been launched by WHO to combat Mpox outbreak.

• This plan aims to curtail human-to-human transmission of Mpox.
• For this, the plan involves coordinated global, regional, and national efforts.
• The plan will start from September 2024 to February 2025. It envisions 135 million U.S. dollars in funding.
• The plan includes strategic vaccination efforts for those at highest risk to interrupt the transmission chain.
• Healthcare personnel and close contacts of recent cases are examples of this.
• Mpox was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 14th August.
• The World Health Organisation reports that since 2022, 208 deaths and over 99 thousand cases of mpox have been documented worldwide from 116 different countries.

Topic: MoUs /Agreements

8. Department of Posts has signed a MoU with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).

• This MoU has been signed to establish a standardized, geo-coded addressing system in India.
• This MoU was signed before the maiden National Space Day on August 23, 2024.
• Under this partnership, a standardised, geo-coded addressing system will be developed in India to simplify the citizen-centric delivery of public and private services.
• The Department of Posts and the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) will transform the addressing system in India.
• The geo-coded addressing system will make tracking easier, streamline delivery services and optimize delivery routes.
• This initiative is a significant milestone in India’s journey towards digital transformation and geospatial excellence.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Space and IT

9. In the last 10 years, ₹20,000 crore has been contributed by the Space Sector to India’s GDP.

• In the last decade, India’s space sector has directly contributed about $24 billion (₹20,000 crore) to India’s Gross Domestic Product.
• It has supported 96,000 jobs in the public and private sectors.
• Over the last decade, $13 billion has been invested in the space sector.
• India has the 8th largest space economy (in terms of funding) in the world.
• The Indian space sector now has 700 companies including 200 start-ups.  
• Satellite communications contributed 54% to the space economy, followed by navigation (26%) and launches (11%).
• The space sector mainly supported telecom, information technology and administrative services.

Topic: International News

10. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unveiled new 'suicide drone.'

• Suicide drones are unmanned drones carrying explosives that are designed to be deliberately dropped on enemy targets, effectively functioning as guided missiles.
• According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report, Mr Kim said that "in addition to strategic reconnaissance and multi-role attack drones, it is necessary to develop and produce more suicide drones."
• North Korea's growing drone fleet, armed with nuclear weapons, will be used "at various strike ranges to strike any enemy targets on land and at sea."
• On August 24, all of the drones tested by North Korea “accurately identified and destroyed the designated targets after flying different pre-determined routes.”
• This suicide drone can fly a distance of more than 1,000 km (600 miles).
• It resembles the Israeli-made “Harop” suicide drone, the Russian-made “Lancet-3” and the Israeli-made “Hero 30”.

Topic: Summit/Conference/Meetings

11. Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira arrived in India on 25 August.

• On August 27, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira will co-chair the 9th India-Brazil Joint Commission meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
• The Foreign Minister of Brazil is on an official visit to India from 25-28 August.
• Foreign Minister Vieira's visit will further boost the strategic partnership between India and Brazil.
• Foreign Minister Vieira's upcoming visit will provide an opportunity to further strengthen the strategic partnership established in 2006.
• It will explore new avenues of cooperation in bilateral, regional and multilateral arenas in diverse areas.
• Notably, Brazil holds the G20 presidency until November 2024.
• The G20 Troika during Brazil’s G20 presidency in 2024 will consist of India, Brazil and South Africa.
• On November 18-19, Brazil will host the G-20 leaders summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Topic: State News/Ladakh

12. Government announced five new districts of Ladakh.

• The central government announced the formation of five new districts in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
• Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra, and Changthang are the new districts.
• These new districts would help to bring government services and opportunities closer to the residents.
• At present, Ladakh has only two districts Leh and Kargil.
• Each district is governed by its own autonomous district council.
• Before 2019, Ladakh was part of the Jammu and Kashmir state.
• Ladakh was separated from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir when the Centre revoked Article 370 in August 2019.

Topic: National Appointments

13. Arun Agarwal appointed as the chairman of TEDC board of directors.

• Dallas-based Indian-American entrepreneur Arun Agarwal as the chairman of the Texas Economic Development Corporation's (TEDC) board of directors.
• TEDC is responsible for marketing Texas as the top US state for business, both domestically and globally.
• Arun Agarwal has extensive experience in business, philanthropy, and international relations.
• He is also the chairman of the National Cricket League (NCL), USA.
• Additionally, he serves as co-chair of the Indian American CEO Council.
• He is also a board member of several prestigious organizations, including the US-India Friendship Council.