Daily Current Affairs and GK | 31 July 2024

Topic: National News

1. India has been elected as Vice-Chair of the Supply Chain Council.

• Under the landmark Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Agreement relating to Supply Chain Resilience, India and 13 other Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) partners have established three supply chain bodies.
• The inaugural virtual meetings of the Supply Chain Council (SCC), Crisis Response Network (CRN), and Labor Rights Advisory Board (LRAB) are an important step toward cooperation among partner countries.
• Through these inaugural meetings, 14 IPEF partners reaffirmed their commitments to facilitate closer cooperation.
• Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal along with Ministers from other IPEF partner countries signed the first-of-its-kind IPEF Supply Chain Resilience Agreement.
• Its main objective is to make IPEF supply chains more resilient, robust and well-integrated.
• It contribute towards economic development and progress of the Indo-Pacific region as a whole.
• During the meetings, each of the three supply chain bodies elected a Chair and Vice Chair.
  • Supply Chain Council: USA (Chair) and India (Vice Chair)
  • Crisis Response Network: Republic of Korea (Chair) and Japan (Vice Chair)
  • Labor Rights Advisory Board: USA (Chair) and Fiji (Vice Chair)

Topic: International News

2. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran, said Hamas.

• Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, described the strike as a severe escalation.
• The death of Haniyeh was confirmed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
• Haniyeh attended swearing in ceremony for Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian.
• Haniyeh has served as the face of the Palestinian organisation in foreign affairs.
• In 2017, Haniyeh was chosen to succeed Khaled Meshaal as the head of the Hamas political bureau.
• Following the October 7 attack that claimed 1,195 lives, Israel pledged to kill Ismail Haniyeh and destroy the Hamas organisation.
• At least 39,400 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel's military campaign in Gaza in retaliation.

Topic: National Appointments

3. Preeti Sudan will assume charge as UPSC Chairman on 1 August.

• Preeti Sudan is former union health secretary. She is currently a member of the Commission.
• Her tenure will be till April 2025, when she turns 65.
• She is a 1983 batch (retired) IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.
• She will take over from Manoj Soni. He resigned due to “personal reasons”.
• UPSC is a constitutional body. It is headed by a Chairperson. It can have a maximum of 10 members.
• Article 315 to Article 323 of the Indian Constitution deals with Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States.
• The chairman and other members of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) are appointed by the President of India.
• The members of UPSC hold officer for a term of six years or till they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Topic: Sports

4. Following his exit from the 2024 Paris Olympics, Rohan Bopanna announced his retirement from Indian tennis.

• On 28 July 2024, both Sumit Nagal and the duo of Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji were defeated in their respective opening-round matches.
• With this, India's campaign in tennis at the 2024 Paris Olympics ended.
• The Indian pair of Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji lost 7-5, 6-2 to French duo of Gael Monfils and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
• However, Bopanna will continue to play for India in ATP Tour events.
• Bopanna has already declared his retirement from the Davis Cup.
• After his victory with partner Matthew Ebden at the Australian Open, Bopanna became the oldest player to win a Grand Slam championship in the Open Era of tennis at the beginning of 2024.
• Bopanna's victory at the Australian Open was his second Grand Slam victory. In 2017, he won the mixed doubles title at the French Open.

Topic: Banking System

5. Chatbot ‘Seva’ for investors unveiled by SEBI.

• In order to protect investors, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has launched an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based conversation platform – Virtual Assistant (Seva) for investors.
• The Beta version of the chatbot includes features such as citations for generated response, speech-to-text and text-to-speech functionality for accessibility and follow-up questions.
• Currently, the chatbot is capable of answering queries related to general information on securities market, latest master circulars and grievance redressal procedure.
• SEBI said in a statement that additional areas will be added to the chatbot based on the feedback received from users.
• The beta version of the chatbot is available on SEBI's investor website and Sarathi mobile app.

Topic: Government Schemes and Intiatives

6. The 4^th anniversary of National Education Policy 2020 celebrated by Ministry of Education with week-long campaign, “Shiksha Saptah”.

• This week-long campaign was organized from 22 July to 28 July.
• On the seventh day of the campaign, schools across the country emphasized on community participation in education through Vidyanjali and Tithi Bhojan initiatives.
• PM Narendra Modi introduced Vidyanjali, a school volunteer management program, on September 7, 2021.
• Vidyanjali is administered by the Department of School Education & Literacy of the Ministry of Education.
• The aim of this program is to strengthen schools and improve the quality of education through partnership with the community, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and private sector across the country.
• Schools are focusing on onboarding themselves on Vidyanjali Portal and identifying local volunteers to provide support.
• In this campaign, community awareness activities like rallies, street plays, poster-making and chart-making about volunteer activities were also organised.
• The aim of these activities is to create a strong support system for students and teachers and create a better learning environment by bringing together schools, volunteers and the community through the Vidyanjali portal.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Art and Culture

7. Sado gold and silver mines in Japan have become part of UNESCO World Heritage List.

• The mines were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List after South Korea dropped objections to their listing.
• South Korea opposed the proposal because of the use of involuntary Korean labour at the time of World War II, when Japan ruled the Korean peninsula.
• The mines are now a tourist attraction. It is believed that they began operations as early as the 12th century and continued to produce till the end of World War II.
• On July 27, the Beijing Central Axis was also added to the list. It is a collection of former imperial palaces and gardens in the Chinese capital.
• At its current committee meeting in New Delhi on July 27, UNESCO confirmed the listing of the mines. The UNESCO committee meeting ends on July 31.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

8. National Apprenticeship and Training Scheme 2.0 Portal has been launched by Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan.

• He disbursed 100 crore rupees stipends to apprentices through the DBT mode.
• NATS Portal 2.0 is a significant effort to democratise apprenticeship, and bridge the skills gap.
• It is also an effort to fulfil youth aspirations and make them future-ready.
• Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan appealed to all educational institutions and industries to join NATS 2.0 portal.
• NATS 2.0 portal has been developed in-house by the Ministry of Education with the support of AICTE and Board of Apprenticeship Training / Practical Training (BOAT/BOPT).
• It is used by students, industries, institutions as well implementing bodies.

Topic: MoUs /Agreements

9. Defence Ministry and the National Stock Exchange joined hands to help MSMEs in the Defense sector.

• To support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and emerging companies in the defence sector, the Defense Ministry signed a MoU with the National Stock Exchange.
• The Memorandum of Understanding has been signed to facilitate capital market access for MSMEs.
• Its main aim is to facilitate MSMEs in the defence sector to raise productive capital for their growth.
• The MoU was signed by the additional secretary of the Department of Defense Production (DDP) and the managing director, of NSE.
• The NSE will also help MSMEs connect with intermediaries like merchant bankers, registrars, transfer agents, depositories, etc.
• This MoU will help MSMEs and emerging companies in the defence sector.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

10. V. Vedachalam won the V Venkayya Epigraphy Award 2024.

• V. Vedachalam, an eminent Tamil epigrapher and historian, has received the V Venkayya Epigraphy Award for 2024.
• Dr. Vedachalam has written more than 25 books on subjects like epigraphy, numismatics, temple art, religion, and society.
• The award is named after V. Venkayya, the first Indian Chief Epigraphist to the government of India.
• Sunitha Madhavan instituted this annual award in association with the Tamil Heritage Trust.
• It commemorates the pioneering epigrapher and honors exceptional contributions to epigraphy in any Indian language.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

11. The GEEF Global WaterTech Award honored to CWS at the Global Water Tech Summit 2024.

• The GEEF Global Watertech Award was presented to the Central Water Commission (CWC) under the ‘Water Department of the Year’ category at the prestigious Global Water Tech Summit 2024.
• The Global Energy and Environment Foundation (GEEF) organized  the Global Water Tech Summit 2024 in New Delhi.
• The Global Awards recognise major achievements in the water sector, honoring innovation, technology, conservation, and sustainable development across water, sewage, and desalination fields.
• The Global Energy and Environment Foundation acknowledged the important role of the Central Water Commission (CWC) in hydro-meteorological data collection, flood forecasting, reservoir storage monitoring, water quality monitoring, and resolution of inter-state water issues.
• In addition, the Foundation recognized several initiatives of CWC, such as interaction with Water Resources/Irrigation/Jal Shakti Departments of all States/UTs to enhance synergy between the work being done by CWC and the States/UTs in various areas related to water resources.

Topic: Sports

12. India's star shooter Manu Bhaker has made her name in history by winning her second bronze medal at the Paris Olympics 2024.

• Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh won a bronze medal in mixed 10 m air pistol after defeating their Korean rivals Oh Ye Jin and Lee Wonho at the Paris Olympics 2024.
• With this feat, she became the first Indian athlete since independence to win two medals at the same Summer Olympic Games.
• At the 1900 Summer Olympics, British-Indian athlete Norman Pritchard won silver medals in both the men's 200-meter race and the 200-meter hurdles.
• On July 28, the 22-year-old Manu won her first bronze medal in the women's 10 metre air pistol event.
• In this way, Bhaker has become the second Indian female athlete after PV Sindhu to win two Olympic medals. Wrestler Sushil Kumar is the only male athlete to do so.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Uttar Pradesh

13. UP Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion (Amendment) Bill included a broader definition of "love jihad".

• Uttar Pradesh proposed significant amendments to the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion (Amendment) Bill in the state Assembly.
• This bill has now included a broader definition of "love jihad".
• It proposed life imprisonment for the 'love jihad' accused.
• The punishment for crimes previously defined in the Bill has been doubled.
• At present, the punishment for conversion ranges from one to 10 years.
• The earlier bill had declared conversions done solely for marriage as invalid and considered conversion by lying and cheating a crime.
• In the case of voluntary conversion, individuals have to inform the magistrate two months in advance.
• The Bill's main aim is to ensure that no person can convert another directly or indirectly.

Topic: Indian Economy

14. Engineering exports in June 2024 have grown 10.27% (year-on-year) to $9.39 billion.

• This increase is due to rise in shipments of electrical machinery, motor vehicles, products of iron and steel, auto components and parts, and Industrial machinery.
• Cumulative exports in April-Jun 2024-25 increased 4.34% to $27.92 billion.
• India’s overall goods exports in June 2024 rose at 2.6% (year-on-year) to $35.2 billion.
• In the April-June 2024-25, goods exports increased 5.84% to $109.96 billion.
• North America (21% share) and the EU (17% share) were India’s topmost destinations for engineering exports. 
• In April-June 2024-25, the US, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Singapore, the UK, and Mexico were the export destinations that have shown growth.
• Exports to Germany, Italy, Korea Rep, Nepal and Bangladesh have shown a decline during the same period. 
• In June 2024, exports of iron and steel, non-ferrous products, other products including industrial boilers and office equipment, declined.