Daily Current Affairs and GK | 3 August 2024

Topic: Environment and Ecology

1. Six new lineages of bent-toed geckos have been discovered from the Northeast.

• Scientists from India and the United Kingdom have discovered six new species of bent-toed geckos from Northeast India.
• Researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) and Natural History Museum London (NHM) have discovered two species from Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland each.
• The other two species have been discovered in Manipur and Mizoram.
• Bent-toed geckos have about 346 species across different biogeographic zones in Peninsular India.
• The Namdapha bent-toed gecko has been discovered from the Namdapha Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Scientists have discovered the Ngengpui bent-toed gecko from the Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary of Lawngtlai district in Mizoram.
• Scientists have collected species samples from 22 locations between 2018 and 2022.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

2. Rashtriya Hindi Vigyan Sammelan 2024 was organised from 30-31 July.

• It was organised by the Council of Scientific and industrial Research-Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (CSIR-AMPRI), Bhopal, in collaboration with other organisations.
• These organisations include Vijnana Bharati Madhya Bharat Province, the Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Bhoj (Open) University, Bhopal.
• Other collaborating organisations were CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR), New Delhi, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hindi University, Bhopal.
• This was the fourth edition of the conference, Rashtriya Hindi Vigyan Sammelan.
• Its aim was to offer a platform for researchers to present and discuss their work in Hindi.
• Dr. Mohan Yadav, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh inaugurated the event.
• The conference featured six sessions on various topics of Science, Technology, Engineering, Ayurveda, and Science Communication.
• The Vigyan Kavi Goshti took place on July 30, 2024. It was a special event that was organised by CSIR-NIScPR in association with other co-organisers of the conference.

Topic: Indian Economy

3. Up to July 31st, a record 7.28 crore income tax returns (ITRs) were filed for the fiscal year 2024–25.

• As per the Finance Ministry, this is 7.5% more than the total income tax returns for 2023–2024 filled till July 31, 2023.
• This year, a growing percentage of taxpayers have chosen the New Tax Regime.
• 5.27 crore of the 7.28 crore ITRs filed for year 2024–25 were filed under the New Tax Regime, compared to 2.01 crore under the Old Tax Regime.
• Approximately 72% of taxpayers have chosen to use the new tax regime, with the remaining 28% still using the old tax regime.
• On July 31 this year, nearly 69.92 lakh ITRs were filed in a single day, marking the peak of ITR filing activity.
• Additionally, up till July 31st, the Department received 58.57 lakh ITRs from first-time filers. This suggests that the tax base is getting broader.
• To motivate taxpayers to file their ITRs as soon as possible, targeted outreach activities were conducted on social media.
• Digital platforms featured educational videos in twelve regional languages, in addition to Hindi and English.

Topic: Indian Economy

4. Government allowed automatic 100% foreign direct investment in aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO).

• The government has declared that imports of aviation parts, testing equipment, tools, and toolkits will be subject to a standard 5% IGST rate.
• This will apply regardless of their HSN categorization as long as certain specified conditions are met.
• Government has extended the period for export of goods imported for repairs from six months to one year.
• Additionally, the period of time that items may be reimported for warranty repairs has been increased from three to five years.
• Royalties were abolished in the New MRO Guidelines, which went into effect on September 1, 2021.
• These guidelines made the land allotments for MROs in AAI airports more transparent and definite.
• Beginning on April 1, 2020, the GST rate on MRO has been lowered from 18% to 5% with a full Input Tax Credit.
• Beginning on April 1, 2020, subcontracts from overseas original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to domestic MRO are regarded as "exports" and are subject to zero-rated GST.

Topic: Summit/Conference/Meetings

5. On August 2, the two-day conference of Governors inaugurated by President Draupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.

• Many such topics were discussed in the conference which not only play an important role in shaping the Centre-State relations but are also important for promoting welfare schemes for the common man.
• Inaugurating the conference, the President said that the enactment of three new laws relating to criminal justice has ushered in a new era of justice delivery in the country.
• The conference had separate sessions, with sub-groups of governors discussing each agenda item.
• Apart from governors, Union ministers and officials from the concerned ministries also attended such sessions.
• The comments and suggestions of the sub-groups were presented before the President, Vice President, Prime Minister and other participants during the closing session on August 3.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

6. 8 important National High-Speed Road Corridor Projects has been approved by the Cabinet.

• The projects with a length of 936 km at a total capital cost of Rs 50,655 crore are aimed at improving logistics efficiency, reducing congestion and enhancing connectivity across the country.
• Implementation of these 8 projects will generate around 4.42 crore man-days of employment directly and indirectly.
• The brief description of the project is as follows:

Topic: Space and IT

7. Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force has been chosen as the lead astronaut for the Indo-US mission to the ISS.

• For its Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), Axiom Space Inc., USA, and the Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) of ISRO have agreed into a Space Flight Agreement (SFA).
• For this mission, two Gaganyatris have been recommended as the prime and backup mission pilots by the National Mission Assignment Board.
• Among them are Group Captains Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair (Backup) and Shubhanshu Shukla (Prime).
• The Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP) will ultimately grant the allocated crew members permission to travel to the International Space Station.
• The Gaganyaan project aims to send a three-person crew into a 400-kilometer orbit in order to demonstrate human spaceflight capability.
• Gaganyaan project envisages launching them under a 3-day mission and bringing back to earth, by landing in Indian sea waters.
• The Gaganyaan mission is India’s first human space flight program.
• The Gaganyaan mission will be launched by an LVM3 rocket.
• India's current aims are to launch the first Indian astronaut to the moon by 2040 and establish "Bharatiya Antariksha Station" by 2035.

Topic: Sports

8. Lakshya Sen became the first male Indian shuttler who qualified for the semi-finals of an Olympics.

• In the 2024 Paris Olympics quarterfinals, he defeated Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei to reach this historic milestone.
• The two Indian male shuttlers who have historically had the best results in the Olympic men's singles badminton competition are Parupalli Kashyap (London 2012) and Kidambi Srikanth (Rio 2016).
• Kidambi Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap reached to the quarterfinals.
• On August 4, Sen will play against either Singapore's Loh Kean Yew or Denmark's Viktor Axelsen in the semifinals.
• Lakshya Sen is an Indian badminton player from Uttarakhand. He is a former world junior No. 1.

Topic: Science and Technology

9. Indian scientists have developed an enhanced genome-editing system.

• CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, Scientists have developed an enhanced genome-editing system that can modify DNA more precisely and efficiently.
• This is more efficient than the existing CRISPR-based technologies.
• As a part of the immune system, CRISPR occurs naturally in some bacteria that limit infection by recognising and destroying viral DNA.
• Scientists have developed an approach for editing the genomes of higher-order organisms.
• With the help of CRISPR-Cas9, researchers can add, remove or alter specific DNA sequences in the genome of animals.
• This system has been used in various fields, including in agriculture and healthcare.
• The CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool uses a guide-RNA (gRNA) designed to find and bind to a specific part of the target genome.
• Cas9 recognizes and binds to the PAM sequence, and acts as a molecular scissor that snips some damaged DNA.
• Cas9, called FnCas9, is highly precise, it has a low efficiency as well.

Topic: Defense

10. Indian Naval Ship Tabar conducted Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with the Russian naval ship.

• Indian Navy’s frontline frigate INS Tabar reached in St. Petersburg, Russia on 25 Jul 24 for a four-day visit to participate in 328th Russian Navy Day Parade celebrations.
• INS Tabar participated in the Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with the Russian Navy Ship Soobrazitelny on 30 Jul 2024.
• The Maritime Partnership Exercise included a series of complex naval manoeuvers, including communication drills, Search & Rescue tactics and Replenishment at Sea serials.
• Ships from both sides demonstrated high levels of professionalism and interoperability.
• The Indian Navy is committed to fostering partnerships with navies across the world.
• The MPX with the Russian Navy reinforced the strong bilateral naval ties. It will enhance cooperation in the maritime domain.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Summit/Conference/Meeting

11. 32^nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE) inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi on 3 August.

• On August 2, this triennial conference began and will conclude on 7 August.
• After 65 years, the International Association of Agricultural Economists (ICAE) is being held in India.
• This year, the theme of conference is "Transformation Towards Sustainable Agri-Food Systems."
• The aim of this conference is to address the urgent need for sustainable agriculture in the face of global challenges such as climate change, depletion of natural resources, rising production costs and conflict.
• ICAE 2024 will serve as a platform for young researchers and leading professionals to present their work and network with global peers.
• It aims to enhance research collaborations, shape policy, and highlight India’s agricultural advancements, including digital and sustainable practices.
• About a thousand delegates from around 75 countries are participating in the conference.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

12. Version 4.0 of Price Monitoring System (PMS) Mobile App launched by the Minister of Food and Consumer Affairs, Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi.

• Shri Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi said that the Department of Consumer Affairs of the Government has included 16 additional items under price monitoring from August 1, 2024.
• Already 22 commodities are covered under daily price monitoring. Now prices of total 38 commodities will be monitored.
• The Department is monitoring daily prices from 550 centres across 34 States/UTs.
• The price data monitored by the department provides advance information to the government, RBI and analysts for policy decision on CPI inflation.
• 38 items have a share of about 31% in the total CPI weight, while 22 items have a CPI weight of 26.5%.
• The 16 newly added items include bajra, jowar, ragi, semolina (wheat), maida (wheat), gram flour, ghee, butter, brinjal, egg, black pepper, coriander, cumin, red chilli, turmeric powder and banana.
• Increasing the coverage of food items under daily price monitoring will play a vital role in policy measures to stabilise price volatility in food items and control overall inflation.
• This initiative reflects the Government's commitment to address the issues of availability and affordability of essential commodities for consumers.

Topic: National News

13. India is the 2^nd largest aluminum Producer in the World.

• India is the 2nd largest aluminum producer, 3rd largest lime producer and 4th largest iron ore producer in the world.
• As per the data, primary aluminium production in FY 2024–25 (April-June) registered a growth of 1.2% over the corresponding period last year.
• The production of iron ore has increased from 72 MMT in FY 2023–24 (April-June) to 79 MMT in FY 2024–25 (April-June).
• Limestone production increased from 114 MMT in FY 2023–24 (April-June) to 116 MMT in FY 2024–25 (April-June).
• The production of manganese ore has increased by 11% to 1.0 MMT in FY 2024–25 (April-June).
• Iron ore and limestone account for about 80% of the total MCDR mineral production by value.
• In FY 2023–24, Production of iron ore was 275 million metric tons (MMT) and limestone was 450 MMT.

Topic: Important Days

14. National Watermelon Day: 3 August

• National Watermelon Day is celebrated on August 3.
• This day is observed to celebrate delicious and refreshing fruit that has a long history dating back to Ancient Egypt.
• Its cultivation dates back to 2000 B.C. The First watermelon was harvested approximately 5,000 years ago in Egypt.
• Earlier, watermelon seeds were sold to traders passing through the trade routes in the Kalahari Desert in Africa.
• Watermelon has 92% of water content. More than 1,200 different types of Watermelon are present.