Daily Current Affairs and GK | 27 July 2023

Topic: Defence

1. India is indigenously developing Long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) defence system.

• To promote self-reliance in the defence sector, India is developing a three-layered long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) defence system.
• It could strike down enemy missiles and aircraft up to 400 km range. It will have three layers of surface-to-air missiles.
• The estimated cost of the project is about $2.5 billion.
• With the LRSAM defence system, India will become one of the country with the capability to efficiently eliminate hostile aerial threats at such ranges.
• The proposal to develop three layered long-range surface-to-air-missile systems is at the advanced stage.
• The indigenous LRSAM system will be par with the S-400 air defence system which was procured from Russia.
• Currently, three squadrons of the S-400 are deployed and operationalised in India.
• The Indian Navy changed the name of its indigenous LRSAM system to MRSAM after the LRSAM project was taken up by the DRDO.

Topic: Sports

2. India has come in second place on the medals tally at the ISSF Junior Shooting World Championships 2023.

• Indian shooters won 17 medals. These medals include 6 Gold, 6 Silver, and 5 Bronze.
• In the championships, 90 Indian shooters competed for medals in pistol, rifle, and shotgun competitions in the under-21 age category.
• Seven Indians won more than one medal. Abhinav Shaw and Kamaljeet won two golds each.
• Sainyam won three medals. Sainyam won gold in the 10m air pistol women and a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team and women's team events.
• China topped the medal tally. It won 28 medals, which include 12 Golds, 9 Silver and 7 Bronze.
• ISSF Junior Shooting World Championships 2023 was organized from July 16 to 24 in Changwon, South Korea.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Geography

3. Typhoon Doksuri moves towards China after causing damage in the Philippines.

• Typhoon Doksuri caused widespread destruction in the northern Philippines on 26 July 2023 and left tens of thousands displaced.
• Typhoon Doxuri was named Super Typhoon Ege in the Philippines.
• It is the third typhoon of the 2023 Pacific typhoon season.
• It started as a low pressure area in the Philippines. It started far off the coast of Mindanao. Mindanao is the second-largest island in the Philippines.
• It intensified into a typhoon prior to reaching close to the Babuyan Islands, an archipelago in the Philippines.
• The name Doksuri was submitted by South Korea and means “eagle” in Korean.

Topic: State News/Ladakh

4. First women police station has been opened in Kargil, Ladakh.

• Additional Director General of Police, Ladakh, S D Singh Jamwal inaugurated the police station.
• The police station will specifically deal with crimes against women.
• It will function round the clock and ensure immediate help and support for women in need.
• It will also act as a resource centre, which will provide counseling services for women facing challenging situations.

Topic: National News

5. 1.25 lakh PM Kisan Samridhi Kendra (PMKSKs) dedicated by PM Modi to the nation at Sikar in Rajasthan on 27 July.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a visit to Sikar district of Rajasthan on 27 July.
• These PMKSKs will provide farmers with agriculture-related inputs (fertilizers, seeds, equipment), testing facilities for soil, seeds, and fertilizers, and provide information about various government schemes.
• Modi laid the foundation stone and inaugurated various development projects in the public program.
• He also launched 'Urea Gold', which is a new variety of sulfur-coated urea that will help to remove sulfur deficiency in the soil.
• The PM launched the inclusion of around 1500 Farmer-Producer Organizations (FPOs) in the Open Network of Digital Commerce (ONDC).
• In February 2020, the FPO initiative was launched with a total budget of Rs 6,865 crore to set up 10,000 new FPOs over the next five years.
• Shri Modi released an amount of about 17,000 crore rupees in the form of 14^th installment of PM-KISAN to more than 8.5 crores beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer.
• The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of seven medical colleges and inaugurated five new medical colleges in Rajasthan.
• Shri Modi also inaugurated six Eklavya Model Residential Schools and Kendriya Vidyalaya in the state.
• PM-KISAN scheme:
  • It was launched on 24 February 2019. It was announced during the interim budget of 2019.
  • It is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
  • The PM-KISAN scheme provides eligible farmer families with a financial benefit of Rs. 6,000 each year, payable in three equal installments of Rs. 2,000.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Nagaland

6. On 25 July, BJP’s S Phangnon Konyak became the first woman MP from Nagaland to preside over Rajya Sabha.

• On 17 July, She became the first woman member to be appointed to the panel of Vice-Chairpersons of Rajya Sabha.
• In April 2022, she became the first woman to be elected to the Rajya Sabha from Nagaland.
• She also became the second woman from the northeastern state to be elected to either the House of Parliament or the State Legislative Assembly.
• Three other women members- PT Usha, Fauzia Khan (NCP), and Sulata Deo (BJD) have been also appointed to the panel of Vice-Chairpersons.
• Notably, all the women nominated to the panel are first-time parliamentarians.
• This is the first time in the history of the Upper House that equal representation has been given to women members in the panel of Vice chairpersons.
• The other panel members are V Vijayasai Reddy, Ghanshyam Tiwari, L Hanumanthaiah, and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar initiative as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav on 27 July.

• Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar is a pan-India initiative of the Ministry of Culture under the National Mission on Cultural Mapping.
• He also launched the virtual platform for the Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar (MGMD) initiative during a grand projection mapping show at the Qutub Minar.
• The virtual platform will connect people with villages of India.
• MGMD project was initiated by the Ministry of Culture under National Mission on Cultural Mapping in coordination with Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
• The key objective of the MGMD project is to culturally map India's 6.5 lakh villages, spanning 29 States and 7 Union Territories on a virtual platform.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

8. 8th India-Australia Defence Policy Talks held at Canberra in Australia on 24-25 July 2023.

• During the talks, India and Australia reaffirmed their commitment to fully implement the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
• Both sides also reviewed the bilateral defence cooperation.
• They explored new initiatives to further strengthen and deepen bilateral defence engagements.
• Special Secretary in Ministry of Defence Nivedita Shukla Verma and Acting Deputy Secretary in the Department of Defence, Australia Steven Moore co-chaired the talks.
• During the discussion, the focus was also on identifying ways to strengthen partnerships in the co-development and co-production of defence equipment.
• India and Australia are having a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership since June 2020. Defence is an important pillar of this partnership.

Topic: International Appointments

9. James Skea elected as the new chair of IPCC.

• James Ferguson ‘Jim’ Skea of the United Kingdom has been elected as the new chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Nairobi, Kenya.
• He defeated his nearest rival Thelma Krug of Brazil by 90-69.
• South African Debra Roberts and Belgian Jean-Pascal van Ypersele were the other candidates in the race.
• The election for the chair was held at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi.
• The elections for the IPCC Bureau and Co-Chairs of the IPCC Working Groups will take place from 26-28 July.
• James Skea is a Professor of Sustainable Energy at Imperial College in London.
• IPCC Bureau will have 34 members including the chair. The Seventh Assessment Report of IPCC is expected to be completed in five to seven years.
• 12 members will be also elected as the members of the Task Force Bureau on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change:
  • It is a UN body for assessing the science related to climate change.
  • The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established the IPCC in 1988.
  • It informs governments about the state of climate change.
  • Its headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Topic: Indian Polity

10. Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023 has been introduced in Lok Sabha.

• The government tabled the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha on 26th July.
• It will mandate the use of the Aadhar number for birth certification. It will help in streamlining the processes for registering births and deaths.
• The bill proposed to collect Aadhaar numbers of parents and informant, if available, in case of birth registration.
• It is a step towards generating digital birth certificates which will be used during admission to educational institutions, applications for driving licences, government jobs, etc.
• It will do away with the need for multiple documents to prove the date and place of birth.
• As per the bill, States have to register births and deaths on the Centre’s Civil Registration System (CRS) portal and share the data with the Registrar General of India.
• A Centralized register will help in updating other databases which will help in efficient and transparent delivery of public services and social benefits.
• The database could be also used to update the National Population Register (NPR), ration cards, and property registration records.

Topic: Indian Economy

11. National Coal Index has shown a decline of 33.8% in May 2023.

• The National Coal Index has shown a decline of 33.8% to 157.7 points in May, 2023 as against 238.3 points in May, 2022.
• This is indicative of a strong supply of coal in the market with sufficient availability to meet the growing demands.
• Similarly, for non-coking coal, the NCI for May 2023 stood at 147.5, a decline of 34.3% over May 2022.
• The Coking Coal index also declined by 32.6% in May 2023 to 187.1 points.
• In June 2022, the highest point of NCI was recorded, when it reached 238.8 points.
• However, it registered a decline in the subsequent months, indicating the availability of sufficient quantity of coal in the Indian market.
• National Coal Index (NCI) is a price-based index that incorporates coal prices from all modes of sale including notified prices, auction prices and import prices.
• NCI was established with the base year of 2017-18.
• It acts as a reliable indicator of market dynamics, providing valuable insight on the movement of coal prices.
• India's coal industry confirms substantial reserves, with coal companies holding impressive reserves.
• The decline in the National Coal Index signifies a more balanced market, aligning supply and demand.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Bihar

12. On 24 July, Ashwamedh Devi has been appointed by Bihar government as Chairperson of State Women Commission.

• She is a former JDU MP from Samastipur parliamentary constituency.
• This appointment has been made for a maximum of three years.
• The State Government has also appointed new members in the State Commission for Women.
• The other appointments on the panel are Academician Professor Geeta Yadav, Prabhavathi Manjhi, Dr. Sujata Sumbrui, Rabia Khatoon, Sunita Kushwaha, Shweta Biswas, and Sulochana Devi. 
• The reconstitution of the State Women's Commission was pending for a long time.
• The Bihar State Women Commission is a statutory body constituted in 1993.
• It was set up to deal with issues relating to crime against women in the state of Bihar.
• The Bihar Government set up the commission for the welfare of women in the state as a quasi-judicial body.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

13. A national conference on “Moving Mental Health Beyond Institutions” has been inaugurated in New Delhi.

• On 26th July, Minister of State for Health Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar inaugurated a national conference on “Moving Mental Health Beyond Institutions”.
• The main objective of this conference is to discuss the challenges in the implementation of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017.
• The way forward on the resolution of mental health issues will be also discussed during the conference.
• Minister of State for Health Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar said that mental health is an integral part of our health.
• She said that mental health has been given a lot of importance by the government which is demonstrated by the passing of the landmark Mental Healthcare Act 2017.
• Mental health has been also included in the flagship Ayushman Bharat scheme.
• One out of 10 people is suffering from one or different kinds of mental disorders.

Topic: National News

14. India’s first fisheries Atal incubation centre will be established at the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies.

• NITI Aayog has granted ₹10 crore to Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (Kufos) to establish India’s first Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) in fisheries.
• It will foster innovation and technological advancement in the fisheries sector.
• Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) is part of the Atal Innovation Mission. It promotes innovation and entrepreneurship across various sectors.
• Radhika Rajasree, head of the Department of Fish Processing Technology, will lead the project as principal investigator.
• Atal Incubation Centre will act as a hub for innovation and encourage young minds to develop new technologies and solutions for marine ecosystems and fishing communities.
• The AIC will foster collaborations between academia, industry, and the government. It will also encourage knowledge transfer and commercialisation of research outcomes.