Daily Current Affairs and GK | 8 and 9 September 2024

Topic: State News/Tamil Nadu

1. Tamil Nadu unveiled its Cyber Security Policy 2.0.

• The Cyber Security Policy 2.0 has been released by the Tamil Nadu government.
• The main aim of the policy is to protect the information assets of the government (infrastructure, software, citizen services).
• It has listed steps for ensuring the protection of assets of the government through guidelines, and standard operating procedures (sop) for audit, compliance and monitoring of cyber threats and attacks.
• It will develop a comprehensive security risk reduction strategy, establishing security capabilities and infrastructure for layered security of mission-critical systems and data.
• The Cyber Security Policy 2.0 will supersede the Tamil Nadu Cyber Security Policy 2020.
• The latest policy has incorporated inputs from the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M), and the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency.
• This policy has given the mandate to all state government departments to nominate officials to coordinate with the Cyber Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT).

Topic: Reports and Indices/Rankings

2. In the Union Environment Ministry's Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2024, Surat city achieved first place.

• Union Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav named it the nation's "National Clean Air City" in Jaipur.
• The award comes with a cheaque of Rs 1.5 crore. Mayor Daxesh Mawani and Surat Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agrawal received it.
• Surat came in at number thirteen in Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2023, with Indore at the top.
• Last year, Surat city topped the list of the nation's cleanest cities.
• Cities under "category 1" of the Swachh Vayu Survekshan survey have a population of above ten lakh people.
• Surat topped the list this year with 194 points out of 200, followed by Jabalpur and Agra.
• Similarly, Ferozabad topped the list of category 2 cities (those with a population of three to ten lakh), followed by Amravati and Jhansi.
• Rae Bareli, Nalgonda, and Nalagarh took the top three spots among Category 3 cities (population less than 3 lakh).

Topic: Indian Economy

3. By 2030, technical textiles exports will surpass $10 billion annually.

• This was stated by Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh at the opening of a technical textiles conference and exhibition in New Delhi.
• The Indian Technical Textiles Association, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the Ministry of Textiles organized the conference.
• The National Technical Textiles Mission and the PLI Scheme for apparel, technical textiles, and man-made fibers (MMF) have been introduced by the government.
• Under the Mission, the government has approved 156 research projects.
• Technical textile commerce is valued at over $300 billion worldwide.
• India has a $25 billion domestic market size and $2.6 billion worth annual exports.
• Technical textiles are textile materials that are produced more for their functional properties and technical performance than for their decorative or aesthetic qualities.
• Agrotech, Oekotech, Buildtech, Meditech, Geotech, Clothtech, Mobiltech, Hometech, Sportstech, Indutech, Protech, and Packtech are the twelve main categories into which these items are generally divided.

Topic: State News/Odisha

4. Odisha will be the site of the first silicon carbide manufacturing facility in India.

• The establishment of the facility will require Rs. 620 crore expenditure over a three-year period.
• Mohan Charan Majhi, the chief minister of Odisha, graced the facility's groundbreaking ceremony.
• The facility at Bhubaneswar's EMC Park, Infovalley, will be developed by RIR Power Electronics Limited.
• The construction of RIR Power Electronics Limited's facility, according to CM Majhi, is another important milestone in our continuous effort to build Odisha as a premier semiconductor hub in India.
• Across all levels, this facility will generate roughly 500 new jobs.

Topic: National Appointment

5. IAS officer Tuhin Kant Pandey has been appointed as the Finance Secretary.

• On September 7, senior bureaucrat Tuhin Kant Pandey was named as the new Finance Secretary by the Central Government.
• Pandey, a 1987 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Odisha cadre, was till now posted as Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
• The post of Finance Secretary fell vacant after the appointment of TV Somanathan as Cabinet Secretary in August.
• Tuhin Kant Pandey is known for his role in the privatization of Air India and the country's biggest IPO brought by LIC.
• Before joining the Finance Ministry, he worked as Principal Secretary in his home cadre Odisha.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: National News

6. IEPFA celebrated its 8th Foundation Day with emphasis on investor education and protection.

• On 7th September, the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), in collaboration with the National Council of Applied Economic Research, celebrated its 8th Foundation Day.
• The occasion highlighted the ongoing efforts of IEPFA to promote a more resilient and informed investor community across the country.
• The theme of the conference was "Empowering Investors: Financial Literacy as the Key to Combat Fraud and Digital Scams."
• The theme reflects the growing need to equip investors with the knowledge and tools needed to protect themselves in an increasingly complex financial landscape.
• In 2016, IEPFA was constituted under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Sports

7. Jannik Sinner won his second Grand Slam title of the year in the US Open Tennis.

• Jannik Sinner won over American Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in the final.
• Earlier in the year, Jannik Sinner had already won at the Australian Open.
• He became the first Italian guy to win the US Open, making history.
• Sinner won his sixth championship of the year and his 55th match overall with the victory.
• At the 2024 US Open, Aryna Sabalenka was victorious in the women's singles tennis competition, defeating American Jessica Pegula 7–5, 7–5.
• It was her third significant singles victory. The first female Belarusian winner of the US Open was Sabalenka.
• At the 2024 US Open, Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson were victorious in the men's doubles tennis tournament over Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz.
• At the 2024 US Open, Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko were victorious in the women's doubles tennis tournament, defeating Kristina Mladenovic and Zhang Shuai in the final.
• In the mixed doubles tennis final at the 2024 US Open, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori won over Donald Young and Taylor Townsend.
• US Open Tennis Championships, commonly known as the US Open, is a hardcourt tennis tournament.
• It is organized by the United States Tennis Association. It is held annually in Queens, New York City.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

8. Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar is in Riyadh for the first India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

• Building stronger connections between India and the Gulf countries is the goal of the first India-GCC Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
• The goal of the first-ever GCC Foreign Ministers meeting is to improve collaboration in a number of areas, such as energy, trade, and investment.
• With the GCC region hosting around 8.9 million Indian expats, India's foreign policy greatly benefits from this diplomatic engagement.
• Dr. Jaishankar is anticipated to have bilateral discussions with his counterparts from the GCC member nations.
• On the first day of his two-day tour in Saudi Arabia, he went to some of the city's most important cultural landmarks.
• He visited the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (DARAH), Murabba Palace and the Saudi National Museum.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

9. Government has decided to launch rankings for working women’s hostels.

• The government will launch a ranking system based on the security of working women’s hostels nationwide.
• This step has been taken after cases of violence against women, including the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata.
• The rankings would be a one-stop portal of all working women hostels in the country.
• This will ensure better female workforce participation, especially in urban areas.
• This portal would give a ranking of all existing hostels run by private players, institutions, and central and state governments in each city.
• The Quality Council of India (QCI) would develop certain parameters for the ranking of hostels.
• The guidelines would be based on security, cleanliness and other desired facilities in such establishments.
• The portal would also show rankings of all creches in each city of the country.
• An existing scheme of the Central Government called 'Sakhi Niwas' was launched under Mission Shakti, which provides hostel facilities for working women.

Topic: Sports

10. India ended its historic campaign at the Paris 2024 Paralympics with 29 medals.

• India won 29 medals, including seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
• India surpassed its medal tally of 19 medals at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
• India crossed the total 50-medal milestone in the history of the Paralympic Games.
• A total of 84 Indian para-athletes participated across 12 disciplines at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
• Some Important achievements:
  • Avani Lekhara became the first Indian woman to win two Paralympic gold medals.
  • Harvinder Singh became India’s first Paralympic or Olympic archery champion.
  • Mariyappan Thangavelu became the first Indian athlete to win medals at three consecutive Paralympic Games.
  • Preethi Pal won India’s first medal in a Paralympic track event.
  • Sheetal Devi became the youngest Indian Paralympic medalist at the age of 17.

Topic: Miscellaneous

11. IIT Delhi opened its first international campus in Abu Dhabi with a batch of 52 students.

• The Abu Dhabi campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi was officially inaugurated by Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
• The first batch of graduating students receiving B.Tech degrees in Energy Engineering and Computer Science & Engineering were welcomed by the Crown Prince.
• This first batch of 52 students was selected through the JEE Advanced exam and the recently introduced Joint Entrance Entrance Test (CAET) for international candidates.
• The graduating batch is diverse, comprising Indian, Emirati and global students. It is IIT Delhi's first international campus.
• IIT Delhi is one of the 23 institutes in India that is renowned for producing skilled engineers, entrepreneurs, and innovators.
• In July 2023, an agreement between the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge, IIT Delhi, and the Ministry of Education of India formalized the establishment of IIT-Delhi Abu Dhabi.

Topic: Reports and indices/Rankings

12. India has emerged as the largest plastic polluter in the world.

• A new study by the University of Leeds, published in the journal Nature, has revealed that India is the biggest contributor to plastic pollution.
• 57 million tons of plastic pollution are produced each year, spread to every surface on Earth – from the deepest trenches, mountain peaks to the human brain.
• The researchers gave an example to explain the massive scale of plastic waste production.
• The annual global plastic waste is enough to fill New York City's Central Park and stack up to 157 Empire State Buildings.
• Nearly two-thirds of this pollution is generated by uncollected and improperly disposed waste.
• This is because around 15% of the world lacks access to proper waste collection services.
• This leads to haphazard disposal of waste that continues to grow.
• India topped the list, generating 9.3 million tonnes of plastic waste, double the amount generated by more populous countries like China, Nigeria and Indonesia.
• Earlier, China had generated plastic waste at a higher level but it later improved and generated 2.8 million tonnes, a significant improvement from its previous record.

Topic: State News/ Rajasthan

13. 33% quota for women in police force has been approved by the Rajasthan government.

• Rajasthan government has approved 33% reservation for women in the police force by amending the Rajasthan Police Subordinate Service Rules, 1989.
• It will help in creating more employment opportunities for women.
• The state government has also decided to add the names of especially abled children and siblings and the dependent parents in the pension payment order (PPO) of the government employees.
• The state government has also decided to amend Rules 67 and 87 of the Rajasthan Civil Services Pension Rules, 1996.
• The government also made an announcement of giving a 5 per cent additional allowance to pensioners of 70 to 75 years of age
• The state government also allotted land for a 3,150 MW solar power project.

Topic: International News

14. India and the EU are looking to expand existing defense cooperation.

• India and the European Union aim to establish more permanent staff-to-staff interactions to expand existing defence cooperation.
• It will boost joint operational effectiveness in tackling challenges faced at sea, on land and in cyberspace.
• Indo-Pacific region is an important hub of strategic importance for both India and the EU.
• A group of Defence Ministry and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials were in Europe on a three-day visit.
• Indian officials have learned about the EU’s security and defence mechanisms while exploring potential cooperation in Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions.
• Maritime security is a common focus for cooperation between the EU Naval Force (NAVFOR) Atalanta and the Indian Navy respectively.