Daily Current Affairs and GK | 7 and 8 July 2024

Topic: State News/ Uttar Pradesh

1. UP government formed a 3-member judicial commission for Hathras Stampede.

• The Uttar Pradesh government constituted a three-member judicial inquiry commission to probe the Hathras stampede in which 123 people died.
• This commission will be headed by Justice Brijesh Kumar Srivastav, the retired judge of Allahabad High Court.
• Retired IAS officer Hemant Rao and retired IPS officer Bhavesh Kumar will be the other members of this commission.
• This judicial commission will summit its report in two-months.
• It has been formed on the recommendations of state Governor Anandiben Patel.
• It will investigate whether the organisers accepted the conditions of the permission received from the district administration, complied with it or not.
• It will also check that whether stampede was an accident or a conspiracy.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

2. First Secretary-level meeting between Defence Ministries of India & Democratic Republic of Congo held in New Delhi.

• The Defence Ministries of India and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) secretary level meeting held in New Delhi on July 05, 2024.
• The Indian delegation was led by Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane while the Congolese delegation was led by DRC Major General Lukuikila Metikwiza Marcel.
• Both countries delegates discussed ways to promote cooperation in training and defence industry.
• The Indian delegation highlighted the significant progress India has made in defence manufacturing capability.
• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) delegation shared the need for modernisation of their Armed Forces.
• They suggested areas of co-production and co-development with India and the shown the confidence in the capability of the India defence industry.

Topic: Agriculture

3. In 2024, Global grain production will touch an all-time high of 2,854 million tonnes.

• The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has revised its projection for the world's cereal production in 2024, estimating it at a record-breaking 2854 million tonnes.
• On June 5, FAO released a brief report on cereal supply and demand.
• The report said that the expected better maize harvests in Argentina and Brazil, as well as Turkey and Ukraine, were responsible for its higher forecasts, which would offset downgrades in forecasts for Indonesia, Pakistan and several southern African countries.
• Wheat production forecasts have improved due to strong production in Asia, particularly Pakistan, offsetting declines in the Russian Federation caused by early-season poor weather.
• Global rice production is estimated to reach a record 535.1 million tonnes.
• Total world cereal consumption is projected to increase to 2,856 million tonnes in 2024/25, up 0.5% from the previous year, with rice and coarse cereals contributing the most.
• World cereal reserves are projected to increase by 1.3% in 2025, leaving the global cereal stocks-to-use ratio virtually unchanged at 30.8% in 2024/25.
• FAO's forecast for international trade in total cereals remains unchanged at 481 million tonnes, reflecting a decline of 3.0% from 2023/24.

Topic: State News/ Jharkhand

4. Mica mines in Jharkhand declared 'child labour free' by NCPCR.

• The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on July 5 declared at a grand function held in Koderma that mica mines in Jharkhand are now “child labour free”.
• With this incredible achievement, the state's 20-year campaign to stop child labour from mica mining has finally reached its last phase.
• The NCPCR announced that all child labourers from the mines have been withdrawn from their employment and are now enrolled in schools.
• This is the first successful attempt to clean up the supply chain of child labour in mica mining through collaboration between state, district and local governing bodies under the 'Child Labour Free Mica' programme.
• It is noteworthy that a research conducted by Bachpan Bachao Andolan in 2004 found that more than 5,000 children were engaged in mica mining and collection.
• This number had increased to over 20,000 by 2019.

Topic: Defence

5. India's own modern light tank "Zoravar" unveiled by DRDO.

• Aiming to further the indigenisation and modernisation efforts of the Indian armed forces, state-owned DRDO on July 6 unveiled the “Zoravar” light tank at its plant in Hazira, Gujarat.
• The Light Tank, a 25-tonne vehicle, has been designed and developed in a record 2 years through a public-private venture between DRDO and Larsen & Toubro (L&T).
• The prototype light tank is powered by a 750 hp Cummins engine, which will be replaced by a domestically developed engine in future units.
• It has a sophisticated 105mm rifled gun-mounted turret that is designed by the Belgian company John Cockerill.
• During the Galwan Valley standoff with the Chinese military, the Indian military forces felt the need for such light tank platforms in high-altitude regions as they carry effective firepower while operating suitably in such terrains with great mobility.
• The tank has been named “Zoravar”, a tribute to General Zorawar Singh, a famous general from the Dogra dynasty of Jammu.
• General Zorawar led several successful conquests in Ladakh and Baltistan, earning him the titles “Napoleon of India” and “Conqueror of Ladakh”.
• This tank will be tested multiple times in the next 12 to 18 months and the estimated timeline for its development is stated to be 2027.
• After this, it will be ready for induction and deployment in the desired operational areas, especially in the high altitude areas of Ladakh, Sikkim or Kashmir.

Topic: National Appointment

6. On July 5, Justice Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi sworn in as the Jharkhand High Court's 15th Chief Justice.

• Justice Sarangi sworn in at Ranchi's Raj Bhavan by Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan.
• Cabinet Secretary Vandana Dadel read out the warrant of appointment issued by President Draupadi Murmu.
• After Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra retired on December 28, 2023, the position of Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court was left vacant.
• On July 3, the Union Ministry of Law and Justice released a notification regarding Justice Sarangi's appointment to the position of Chief Justice of the High Court.

Topic: National News

7. On July 8, Prime Minister Modi left for his official three-day visit to Russia and Austria.

• For the 22nd Annual Summit between India and Russia, PM Modi will be in Moscow. 
• PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss bilateral issues, such as military, commerce, investment, energy cooperation, education, culture, and people-to-people contacts, during annual summit.
• Additionally, PM Modi will lay a wreath at the Kremlin's "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier."
• He will go to the Rosatom Pavilion at the exhibition venue in Moscow.
• On the Chancellor of Austria's invitation, PM Modi will be in Austria from July 9 to July 10.
• The prime minister will be visiting Austria for the first time. Austria is a nation in central Europe.
• Excellent opportunities for bilateral collaboration in the fields of infrastructure, renewable energy, high technology, start-ups, media, and entertainment are provided by Austria.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Corporates/Companies

8. LIC started the "Jeevan Samarth" project to address the changing needs of its clients.

• In order to carry out the transformation project, LIC has teamed up with A T Kearney.
• For carrying out this project, LIC will review its current agency architecture from beginning to end.
• LIC hopes to change its agency ecosystem through this project so that it may better serve the continually changing demands of millions of Indian families.
• In addition, LIC wants to offer them pension plans, ULIPs, health insurance, protection, and appropriate long-term savings.

Topic: National News

9. Bharatiya Antariksh Hackathon has been launched by ISRO chairman.

• As part of National Space Day 2024 celebrations, ISRO chairman S. Somanath has launched the Bharatiya Antariksh Hackathon.
• Twelve problem statements in the geospatial domain, space science, image processing, and AI/ML areas have been identified for the hackathon.
• A team of three to four students can participate in this hackathon and address the challenges with innovative solutions.
• Initially, 100 teams will be selected based on their ideas, and later, 30 teams will be shortlisted by an expert committee for the final.
• This hackathon programme is being organized to create more and more application-driven ecosystems. It will bring innovation to space-based applications.
• National Space Day is celebrated every year on August 23rd.

Topic: National News

10. FSSAI mandates the display of nutritional information on the labels of packaged food items.

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) approved a proposal to display nutritional information like total sugars, salt and saturated fat in big and bold letters on the labels of packaged food items.
• In the 44th meeting of the FSSAI, the decision to make amendments to the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 regarding nutritional information labelling was taken.
• The draft notification for the amendment will now be put in the public domain for further suggestions and objections.
• This amendment will help make consumers more aware of their healthier choices.
• The amendment will help in lowering the occurrence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Topic: Personality in News

11. On 3 July, veteran actress Smriti Biswas passed away at the age of 100.

• Veteran actress Smriti Biswas, who has appeared in several Hindi, Marathi and Bengali films, died at her residence in Maharashtra's Nashik city.
• On 17 February 2024, Smriti Biswas celebrated her 100th birthday.
• She began her career as a child artist and acted in films by notable filmmakers such as Guru Dutt, V. Shantaram, Mrinal Sen, Bimal Roy, BR Chopra and Raj Kapoor.
• She made her film debut with the Bengali film Sandhya (1930). Model Girl (1960) was her last Hindi film.

Topic: Important Days

12. World Zoonoses Day 2024: 6 July

• Every year on 6 July, World Zoonoses Day is observed to raise awareness about those diseases that can spread from animals to humans.
• On 6 July 1885, World Zoonoses Day was started to raise awareness about zoonotic diseases.
• Louis Pasteur successfully administered the first vaccine against Rabies virus on 6 July 1885.
• A study conducted by the CDC showed that about 60% of all diseases known to exist today are zoonotic in nature, and about 70% of emerging infections originate in animals.
• It is important to understand the impact of zoonotic diseases on human health and take the necessary precautions.
• Zoonoses Diseases:
  • They are the diseases that can transmit from animals to humans. They are caused by viruses, parasites, bacteria and fungi.
  • Zoonotic pathogens spread to humans through direct contact or through food, water, or the environment.
  • The most common zoonoses diseases are Plague, Rabies, Tuberculosis, Scabies, Roundworms, etc.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

13. Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) and TransUnion CIBIL launched the SEHER program.

• Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) and TransUnion CIBIL have launched the Society for Empowerment of Human Resources (SEHER) ​​programme.
• It will empower women entrepreneurs in India with financial literacy content and business skills.
• The Women Entrepreneurship Platform's (WEP) aim is to create an enabling ecosystem for women entrepreneurs in India. It is a public-private partnership platform incubated at Niti Aayog.
• SEHER program is part of WEP’s Financing Women Collaborative (FWC), which is a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at accelerating access to finance for women entrepreneurs.
• India has 63 million micro, small, and medium enterprises, of which 20.5% are women-owned.
• Rural areas have a slightly higher share of women-owned enterprises (22.24%) compared to urban areas (18.42%).
• In the last five years (FY 2019 – FY 2024), TransUnion CIBIL data indicated that demand for business loans by women has grown 3.9X.
• TransUnion CIBIL provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for people in India.
• By accelerating women's entrepreneurship, India could create over 30 million new women-owned enterprises, potentially creating 150 to 170 million more jobs.

Topic: Sports

14. Neeraj Chopra will lead the Indian track and field contingent at Paris Olympics.

• The Athletics Federation of India announced that the 28-member Indian track and field contingent for the 2024 Paris Olympics will be led by Neeraj Chopra.
• Neeraj Chopra made history three years ago by becoming the first Indian track and field athlete to win a gold medal at the Olympics.
• The track and field competition will be conducted at the Stade de France between August 1 to August 11.
• Jyothi Yarraji will be the first Indian 100-meter hurdler to compete in the Olympics.
• The Olympic Games will take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024, in Paris.
• The official theme song of the 2024 Paris Olympics is "Parade," composed by Victor Le Manse.