Daily Current Affairs and GK | 27 July 2024

Topic: State News/ Odisha

1. Odisha government presented a budget of Rs 2.65 lakh cr budget for FY25.

• This year's budget of the Odisha government was more focused on agriculture and women's empowerment.
• The budget for FY25 is around 15 per cent more than the budgetary estimate of Rs 2.30 lakh crore for 2023–24.
• Rs 33,919 crore has been allocated for agriculture, which is about 36 per cent more than the allocation made in the previous year.
• Rs 5,000 crore has been allocated for the “Samrudha Krushak Yojana” for farmers.
• A new scheme ‘CM Kisan’ for farmers with an outlay of Rs 1,935 crore has been announced in the budget.
• The state government has decided to implement the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).
• The government renamed ‘Biju Setu Yojana’ as ‘Setu Bandhan Yojana’, while ‘Make in Odisha’ was changed to ‘Utkarsh Utkal’.
• The government has renamed many schemes like KALIA, ‘Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana’ (BSKY) and ‘Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana’ (BPGY).
• The state government has renamed the KALIA scheme as ‘CM-KISAN’.
• A corpus fund of Rs 500 crore has been created for the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).

Topic: Banking System

2. RBI introduced the PCA framework to improve the financial conditions of UCBs.

• For weak urban cooperative banks (UCBs), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved a Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework.
• This Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework will be applicable to urban co-operative banks (UCBs), with deposits above ₹100 crore.
• Under the PCA framework, a financially unsound and ill-managed UCB can be brought under this.
• If a UCB breaches the risk thresholds related to capital and profitability, then it can be brought under the PCA.
• Currently, there are 1500 UCBs in the country, which are categorized into four tiers.
• The main objective of the PCA is to enable supervisory intervention at an appropriate time.
• The provisions of the PCA Framework will be effective on April 1, 2025.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

3. A Cultural Property Agreement signed between India and USA to repatriate stolen Indian artifacts on 26 July.

• The first ever 'Cultural Property Agreement' was signed to prevent and curb illegal smuggling of antiquities from India to the US.
• This agreement was signed at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on the occasion of the 46th World Heritage Committee meeting.
• According to the agreement, the two countries will work together to prevent and prohibit the illicit trade, import, export and smuggling of archaeological and ethnographic materials.
• This is India's first cultural property agreement with the US.
• The Cultural Property Agreement (CPA) is in line with the 1970 UNESCO Convention on Means of Preventing and Prohibiting the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, to which both countries are parties.
• A large number of antiquities were smuggled out of Bharat before the ratification of the 1970 UNESCO Convention, and are now housed in various museums, institutions and private collections around the world.
• 358 antiquities have been returned to India since 1976, of which 345 have been brought back after 2014

Topic: International News

4. The first sweeping climate change law passed by South Africa.

• A broad Climate Change Act has been signed into law by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
• It would set limits on large emitters and require every city and town to publish an adaptation plan.
• The aim of the climate change bill is to enable South Africa to meet its emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement.
• South Africa, the world’s most carbon-intensive major economy and one of the top 15 greenhouse gas emitters, is on track to miss these targets due to its heavy reliance on coal for electricity.
• Every high-emitting government sector, including industry, transportation, and agriculture, will have emissions targets set, and each relevant ministry will need to enact measures to meet them.      

Topic: Sports

5. Paris Olympics 2024 started in France on July 26 2024.

• The Paris Olympics 2024 will be held from July 26 to August 11.
• The 2024 Summer Olympics is the 33rd edition of the Olympics games. The Phrygian caps are the mascots of Paris 2024.
• This is the first time in the history of the Summer Olympics that athletes sail through a river to enter the Olympics ceremony event.
• India's star shuttler PV Sindhu and table tennis legend Sharath Kamal led the Indian contingent as flag bearers at the opening ceremony of Paris Olympics 2024.
• The Indian contingent at the Paris 2024 Olympics will comprise 117 athletes, including 70 men and 47 women, across 16 sporting disciplines.
• In the last edition of the Games, India had their best ever performance with 7 medals, including the coveted gold medal for javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra.
• Paris, which previously hosted in 1900 and 1924, becomes the second city to host the Summer Olympics three times after London, which hosted the 1908, 1948 and 2012 Games.

Topic: Important Days

6. World Hepatitis Day 2024: 28 July

• Every year on 28 July, World Hepatitis Day is observed.
• This day is observed to raise awareness and encourage global action against hepatitis viral.
• The theme of the World Hepatitis Day 2024 is "It's time to act."
• The World Hepatitis Alliance was established in 2007, which organized the first community-driven World Hepatitis Day in 2008.
• It is also celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Dr. Baruch Blumberg.
• In 1967, he discovered the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and developed a diagnostic test and vaccine for the virus.
• Initially, World Hepatitis Day was observed on May 19 but was later shifted to July 28 in 2010.
• Around 1.34 million get affected by this disease every year. WHO aims to reduce new hepatitis infections by 90% and deaths by 65% between 2016 and 2030.
• Hepatitis:
  • It is an inflammation of the liver that is caused by a variety of infectious viruses and noninfectious agents.
  • There are five main strains of the hepatitis virus – A, B, C, D, and E. The most common causes of death are Hepatitis B and C.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Geography

7. Typhoon Gaemi brought strong winds and rain to cities in China's Fujian province.

• This is the strongest storm to hit China this year. Thus far, the typhoon has had an impact on about 630,000 people in Fujian, China.
• It intensified the seasonal rains in the Philippines and stormed across Taiwan earlier this week, killing hundreds of people.
• On July 25, Gaemi landed in Putian, Fujian. Due to the decreasing wind speeds, Gaemi has been downgraded to a tropical storm.
• Its large-scale cloud bands pose a serious risk of flooding. Efforts must be made to prevent flooding of major rivers.
• Scientists have warned that tropical storms are becoming less frequent but more powerful due to global warming.
• 32 people were killed by the storm in the Philippines, where the capital city of Manila declared a "state of calamity" due to extensive flooding.
• Typhoon Gaemi:
  • Typhoon Gaemi is an active tropical cyclone that is also referred to as Super Typhoon Carina in the Philippines.
  • In Korean, gaemi means "ant." It's the second typhoon and third named storm of the 2024 season.

Topic: National News

8. India has assumed the Chair of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC).

• As a representative of the Government of India, Rajendra Singh, a Member, of the National Disaster Management Authority assumed the Chair of ADPC.
• He assumed the ADPC Chair from China for the year 2024-25 in Bangkok, Thailand. 
• ADPC is an autonomous International Organization for cooperation in and implementation of disaster risk reduction and building climate resilience in Asia and the Pacific region.
• It was established in 1986 as a regional disaster preparedness center (DMC) in Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok, Thailand. It is headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand.
• India and eight neighbouring countries are the founding members of ADPC.
• These countries are Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

9. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar participates in ASEAN foreign ministers meetings.

• External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar participated in the ASEAN foreign ministers meetings from July 25 to 27 in Vietnam, Laos.
• The meeting has been organized under the ASEAN framework.
• He will also attend meetings in the format of ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit (EAS), and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
• This year is being commemorated as a decade of India’s Act East Policy. This policy was announced at the 9th East Asia Summit in 2014.
• India’s engagement with ASEAN has progressed greatly, including the announcement of a real-time payment linkage system with Singapore.
• Jaishankar also held a meeting with his counterpart from Brunei, Dato Haji Erywan.
• Both leaders launched the logo to celebrate 40 years of diplomatic relations between India and Brunei.
• Jaishankar also discussed the bilateral cooperation and issues of trafficking of Indians with the Prime Minister of Laos.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

10. 9th governing council meeting of NITI Aayog is chaired by PM Modi.

• The meeting is focused on making India a developed country. The theme of this year’s meeting is Viksit Bharat@2047.
• In the meeting, the Vision Document on Viksit Bharat has been discussed.
• The main aim of the Governing Council meeting is to foster participative governance and collaboration between the Centre and State Governments.
• In the meeting, detailed deliberations on the role of states in achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat will be also discussed.
• The Prime Minister is the Chairperson of the NITI Aayog. Suman Bery is currently Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog.
• NITI Aayog was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet on 1 January 2015.

Topic: Art and Culture

11. Charaideo Maidam of Assam has been included in UNESCO World Heritage List.

• Charaideo Maidam, also spelled Moidam, located in eastern Assam, has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list under the category of cultural property.
• Similar to the Egyptian pyramids, the maidams are earthen burial mounds of members of the Ahom royal family, whose 600-year rule came to an end due to British occupation of the region.
• Charaideo Maidam is the first site in the Northeast in the category of cultural property and the 43rd site in India to be recognised as a World Heritage Site.
• Assam has two other such sites in the natural category - Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park, both upgraded to tiger reserves.
• Apart from the mortal remains of the Ahom rulers, their belongings are also kept in maidams.
• After the 18th century, the Ahoms adopted the Hindu method of cremation and started burying the bones and ashes after cremation in a Maidam at Charaideo.

Topic: State News/ Ladakh

12. Shinkun La Tunnel construction launched by PM Modi.

• On July 26, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas, the construction work of the Shinkun La Tunnel project launched by PM Modi, which will be the highest tunnel in the world.
• At an altitude of about 15,800 feet, the 4.1-km-long twin-tube tunnel will be constructed on the Nimu-Padum-Darcha road.
• At a cost of Rs 1,681 crore, this tunnel will be constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
• The construction of the Shinkun La tunnel with cross-passages every 500 metres is estimated to be completed in two years.
• Currently, the route remains covered with snow for at least five months every year.
• The tunnel will boost economic development in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh and aid military operations along the China border amid ongoing tensions in eastern Ladakh.
• The tunnel was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by the Prime Minister in February 2023.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

13. India’s first Integrated Agri-Export facility has been approved for Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

• India’s first Integrated Agri-Export Facility will be set up at Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai.
• It will increase the agricultural export and import capabilities of India.
• The government has approved the project of the development of an export-import cum agricultural Agricultural processing and storage facility in a public-private partnership mode worth more than 284 crore rupees.
• This facility will cater to the export of prominent items like non-basmati rice, maize, spices, onions, and wheat.
• It will reduce waste and provide better prices for agricultural products.
• MoPSW is also developing one of the biggest ports in the country, the Vadhavan Port.
• JNPA is one of the leading container ports among the top 100 global ports.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Awards and Prizes

14. ‘Rajbhasha Gaurav Samman’ has been awarded to PSUs located in Visakhapatnam.

• Town Official Language Implementation Committee (TOLIC) awarded ‘Rajbhasha Gaurav Samman’ for the year 2023-24 to the PSUs located in Visakhapatnam.
• It has been awarded for exemplary performance in the field of Official Language implementation.
• ‘Nagar Rajbhasha Samman’ has been provided to the Hindi Officers & Coordinators of the respective organizations.
• In category-I, HPCL-Visakha Refinery, NTPC Simhadri and Airport Authority of India were awarded First, Second and third prizes, respectively,
• In category -II, GAIL, HPCL-Visakha Regional Office, SAIL – Branch Transport & Shipping Office and FCI-Regional Office were awarded First, Second and third prizes respectively.
• In category -III, MSTC, HPCL LPG and ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India) secured positions 1st, 2nd & 3rd.