Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 27th April 2024

International News 

1. 26th World Energy Congress held in Rotterdam, Netherlands 

• For 100 years, the World Energy Congress has leveraged the collective power of the world energy community to transform inspiration into action. The 26th edition of the Congress is being held in Rotterdam, Netherlands from 22-25 April 2024. 
• Under the theme of this global event ‘Redesigning Energy for People and Planet’ they will come together to enable solutions and deliver impact. It was co-hosted by the World Energy Council and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy of the Netherlands. 
• The event brought together approximately 5,000 delegates and 18,000 total attendees, including 70 ministers and 250 C-suite speakers over four days. India at World Energy Congress 2024: Power Secretary and Indian Ambassador to the Netherlands inaugurate the India Pavilion.
• The UAE National Committee for the World Energy Council was awarded “Driving Impact and Amplification” recognition for its extraordinary efforts and positive impact on the energy landscape. 
• The 25th World Energy Congress took place in St. Petersburg, Russia from 24-27 October 2022. The 24th World Energy Congress was held from 9-12 September 2019 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates. The World Energy Congress was the first to be hosted by a Middle Eastern country. 
• In India, it was organized in New Delhi in the year 1983, whereas in the year 2026, it will be organized in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

World Energy Council 

• Is a global body established in 1923 with the aim of promoting the sustainable supply and use of energy. WEC India is one of the earliest countries of the World Energy Council, having joined the Council in 1924. The credit for its establishment goes to Scotsman Daniel Dunlop. WEC India functions under the auspices of the Ministry of Power, Government of India and in collaboration with the Ministries of Coal, New and Renewable Energy. Petroleum and Natural Gas and Foreign Affairs. 

2. Rocket Lab successfully launches new NASA solar-sailing technology and South Korean Earth-observation satellite

• Rocket Lab launched the South Korean Earth-observation satellite 'NEONSAT-1' and the new NASA solar-sailing technology based 'Advanced Composite Solar Sail System - ACS3' from New Zealand on Rocket Lab's Electron vehicle. 
• NEONSAT-1 was an Earthobservation satellite developed by the Satellite Technology Research Center at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. NEONSAT-1 will use a high-resolution camera and artificial intelligence technology to monitor and track natural disasters along the Korean coastline. 
• Other NEONSAT spacecraft to join the constellation will launch in 2026 and 2027, which explains the "beginning of the swarm" nickname. 
• ACS3, or Advanced Composite Solar Cell System, is a 12U CubeSat developed at NASA's Ames Research Center using a bus provided by NanoAvionics. After post-launch checkout, the spacecraft will deploy a solar sail with an area of 80 square meters. 
• The primary purpose of ACS3 is to test a deployment system for a new, lighter boom and sail made of composite materials, but if the sail is successfully hoisted the spacecraft will also test its ability to perform maneuvers using it. 

Rocket Lab 

• "Beginning of the Swarm" was Rocket Lab's fifth orbital launch of 2024 and 47th overall. 
• The company's four liftoffs to date have been from its New Zealand site on the Mahia Peninsula of the North Island; Others have flown from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Rocket Lab is working to make the 59-foot-tall (18-meterlong) Electron first stage reusable. 
• Its founder Peter Beck founded it in June 2006 in Long Beach, California, USA. 

3. Antarctica's Mount Erebus is a gold erupting volcano. 

• A recent study showed that Mount Erebus in Antarctica spews out gas containing about 80 grams of crystallized gold per day, worth about US$6,000. 
• According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Observatory, it can be said that Mount Erebus in Antarctica is showering gold on the Earth. Mount Erebus is the highest active volcano (12,448 feet) in Antarctica.
• Mount Erebus and Deception Island are the only two active volcanoes out of a total of 138 in the Antarctic. The wind carries this shining treasure for hundreds of miles, traces of which can be found up to 621 miles away. 
• It has been in a state of constant eruption, a fiery anomaly amid the frozen continent since at least the year 1972. Mount Erebus's eruptive style is known as a Strombolian eruption. These explosions are of medium intensity, in which gas and ash explode towards the sky. 
• It is the southernmost active volcano on Earth. It is located on Ross Island in Antarctica. 
• It is a stratovolcano, characterized by its conical shape and layers of hardened lava, tephra and volcanic ash. Mount Erebus is known for its continuous lava lake. 

State News 

4. 3730 coins of Ikshvaku period found in Hyderabad, Telangana 

• The Archeology Department of Telangana discovered a hoard of 3,730 lead coins in an earthen pot at Phanigiri, a famous Buddhist heritage site located 110 km from Hyderabad. A circular vessel of 16.7 cm diameter and 15 cm height was found in the southernmost monastery chamber at a depth of 40 cm from ground level. 
• The mouth of the pot was covered on the outside by a shallow pitcher and on the inside by a broken bowl base and contained 3730 coins weighing an average of 2.3 grams. 
• Archaeologists conclude that all the coins, which are similar in appearance and made of lead, with the elephant symbol on the forearm and the Ujjain symbol on the reverse part, belong to the Ikshvaku period (3rd-4th century AD) based on the level graphical and typological studies. 
• Phanigiri is believed to be one of the important Buddhist monasteries strategically located on a hilltop on the ancient trade route (Dakshinapatha) connecting the west and east coast of the Deccan. 
• These excavations at Phanigiri brought to light a Mahastupa, semicircular chaitya graha, votive stupa, pillared congregation hall, vihara, platforms with stairs at different levels, octagonal stupa chaitya. 
• A 24-pillared mandapa, a circular chaitya, and other cultural materials including terracotta beads, semi-precious beads, iron objects, shell and bangle fragments, coins, plaster figures, Brahmi label inscriptions and a sacred casket relic were also found.
• Phanigiri village is situated on the left bank of the Bikkeru River, a tributary of the Musi River in Hyderabad. 
• It is one of the important Buddhist monasteries situated on a hilltop on the ancient trade route (Dakshinapatha) connecting North to South. 

5. IUCN representative to be an Observer in Nilgiri Tahr survey 

• With a resolve to remove the Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) from the endangered status, the Tamil Nadu government will conduct a synchronized survey of the State animal from April 29. 
• The three-day exercise is being done to estimate the population of the Tahrs, which once roamed the length and breadth of the Anamalai and Nilgiris landscape. The animal is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and protected under Schedule-I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. 
• There are around 3,000 Tahrs in the Western Ghats, according to a report released by the World Wildlife Fund India in 2015, and a sizable number of them is concentrated in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR). 
• In 2020, the Nature Conservation Foundation found around 510 individuals in the ATR, which houses the second-largest population of the species after the Eravikulam National Park in Kerala. "We have roped in WWF and the Wildlife Institute of India for the population estimation. The third is IUCN, whose country director will be an observer in the exercise," said Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary to the Department of Environment, Change and Forest. 
• There are around 3,000 Tahrs in the Western Ghats, according to a report released by the World Wildlife Fund India in 2015. 
• For the purpose of the survey, being done in coordination with Kerala's Forest Department, the habi- tats in Tamil Nadu have been divided into 13 forest divisions, 100 forest beats, and 140 feasible blocks. Emphasis has been given to areas along the Kerala border, Ms. Sahu said.

Defence News 

6. Germany lets India buy small arms from its firms 

• In a major relaxation, Germany has granted a license to India to purchase small arms from German companies. 
• It has also significantly simplified the licensing requirements for the sale of military equipment to India, sources in the know said, stressing that this emphasizes the importance Germany attaches to its relationship with India. 
• Germany is also looking at ways to scale up defense cooperation with India, with several military-to-military engagements lined up in the next few months. "Beginning of April, Germany granted a small arms license to India. which is a huge exception. The request from India was for spare parts and accessories for the National Security Guard," sources said. 
• Germany for some time has had a bar on the sale of small arms to third countries. 

Ranks & Reports News 

7. India exported maximum pharmaceutical products to USA in FY24 

• The country's pharmaceutical exports increased by 9.67 percent year-on-year to US $ 27.9 billion in the financial year 2023-24. Earlier in the financial year 2022-23, the country's pharmaceutical export was $ 25.4 billion. 
• The top destination countries for Indian pharmaceutical exports during this period were: United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, South Africa and Brazil. America's share in India's total pharmaceutical exports in the financial year 2023-24 was more than 31 percent. 
• In 2023-24, outbound shipments also entered new geographies such as Montenegro, South Sudan, Chad, Comoros, Brunei, Latvia, Ireland, Chad, Sweden, Haiti and Ethiopia. 
• Industry experts believe that India's pharmaceutical industry turnover could exceed US$130 billion by 2030. This will be possible on the basis of increasing market opportunities and increasing demand in foreign markets. The turnover was to exceed US$ 50 billion in the financial year 2022-23. 
• According to industry experts, growing market opportunities and demand in countries like the US are helping exports register growth on a monthly basis. India exports pharmaceutical products worth an average of two to three billion dollars every month. 
• India's pharmaceutical industry is the third largest in the world by volume. Whereas in terms of value it is the 13th largest industry in the world. India's pharmaceutical industry produces more than 60,000 generic drugs across 60 therapeutic categories. 
• The Government of India has launched two Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes to promote domestic manufacturing of key pharmaceutical ingredients and generic drugs. 

8. Study says solar radiation available for producing power falling in India 

• The quantity of solar radiation available that can be economically converted by solar panels to electricity is showing an "alarming decreasing trend" in several locations in India, says an analysis by scientists at the of India Meteorological Department (IMD) and published this month in the organization's in-house scientific journal Mausam. 
• While increased aerosols load fine particles from carbon emissions, fossil fuel burning and dust and clouding are said to be causative factors, installing more efficient solar panels could help counter this, the scientists say in their paper. 
• Aerosols absorb the sunlight and deflect it away from the ground and they can also precipitate the formation of dense clouds that again block sunlight. The efficiency of solar panels are significantly influenced by the amount of sunlight falling on them. For the study, the scientists looked at radiation trends at 45 in-house stations, which have instruments to measure solar radiation but used data from only 13 to compute the changes in solar photovoltaic (SPV) potential as they were the only ones with a continuous record from 1985 to 2019. SPV is the amount of radiation that may be practically available to be converted to electricity by panels. 
• SPV potential showed a general decline in all sta- tions which included Ah medabad, Chennal, Goa, Jodhpur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Pune, Shillong, Thiruvananthapu-Visakhapatnam. India's largest solar parks are located in the north-west of the country, particularly Gujarat and Rajasthan, and cities in both these States are also showing a decrease in SPV potential. As of today, India's installed solar power capacity is about 81 GW (1 GW is 1,000 megawatt), or roughly 17% of the total installed electricity. 
• India has ambitious plans of sourcing about 500 GW, nearly half its requirement of electricity, from non-fossil fuel sourc- es by 2030. This would mean at least 280 GW from solar power by that year or at least 40 GW of solar capacity being annually added until 2030. In the last five years, this has barely crossed 13 GW though the government has claimed that COVID-19 affected this trajectory, and the country was on track to add between 25-40 GW annually in the coming years. 
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier this year also announced a major initiative to fund rooftop solar installation in at least one crore houses across the country. 
• While the role of aerosols in blocking sunlight available on earth has been apparent since the 1980s, several studies have shown that there are variations both over time and location. 
• Global solar radiation. showed a generally decreasing trend from 1981-2006. 1971-2000 showed greater dimming compared to 1981-2006. However, on the whole, there was a reversal in trends after 2001 with the exact causes unclear. 

Sports News 

9. Yuki Bhambri becomes the first Indian to win the doubles title of BMW Open Tennis 

• Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri and his French partner Albano Olivetti won the title of 2024 BMW Open tennis tournament. The BMW Open Tennis Title, also known as the Bavarian International Tennis Championships, is an ATP 250 event played on clay courts.
• In Munich, the pair of Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti defeated German pair Andreas Mies and JanLennard Struff 7-6(6), 7-6(5) in one hour and 51 minutes. 
• The BMW Open is held in Munich, Germany. Yuki Bhambri also became the first Indian tennis player to win the Bavarian International Tennis Championships, which has been held since 1899. This was the first ATP title for Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti as a pair.
• The BMW Open title was Yuki Bhambri's second ATP Tour title. Last year he won the Majorca Open doubles title, which was also a tournament ranked 250 ATP. 
• This win has given Yuki Bhambri valuable ranking points. He has reached his career-best world ranking of 56 in the ATP doubles rankings. 
• 33-year-old German Jean-Lennard Struff won his first singles ATP title by defeating Taylor Fritz of the United States in the final of the BMW Open tennis title. 

Tennis game 

• It originated in England where the British elite played the game on grass, lawns or in gardens. Therefore this game is also called lawn tennis. International tennis tournaments are played on three types of surfaces – grass, clay and hard courts. Grass court is a traditional tennis court. Many tennis tournaments, including Wimbledon, are played on grass. 
• Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Serena Williams, Margaret Court and Billie Jean King have excelled on grass courts. 
• Clay courts are made of crushed shell stone or brick, clay courts are more common in Europe and South America. 
• The French Open is played on red clay courts. Rafael Nadal is considered the champion of clay courts, he has won 14 French Open titles. 
• Hard courts are typically made of synthetic or acrylic layers over a concrete or asphalt foundation. The US Open and Australian Open are played on hard courts. Novak Djokovic is considered the best hard court player. 

10. Saudi company Aramco will sponsor FIFA tournaments till 2027 

• World football governing body FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) announced a major sponsorship deal with Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco on 25 April 2024. Under the deal, Aramco Company will sponsor major FIFA tournaments until 2027. 
• The Saudi Arabian government has criticized FIFA's deal with the Saudi company as sportswashing. Saudi Arabia has been accused by critics of using sports to deflect criticism from its poor record on human rights violations, its involvement in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, abuses of women's rights in the country, restrictions on free speech, and war. Has gone.
• The Saudi government is investing heavily in sports around the world to improve its image in the world – a process popularly referred to as 'sportswashing'. 
• Under the FIFA deal, Aramco Company will sponsor several FIFA events including the 2026 Men's World Cup and the 2027 Women's World Cup. The 2026 Men's World Cup will be co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico. The host country of the Women's World Cup 2027 has not been decided yet. 
• The Aramco company has also signed a sponsorship agreement with the FIA to sponsor Formula 1 motor car racing and is a partner of the International Cricket Council. 
• Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 Asian Games in its capital Riyadh. These Games will feature more sporting events than the Summer Olympics. 

Tennis 

• The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has signed a strategic agreement with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. 
• PIF will now become the official naming partner of the men's ranking and the ATP tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing, the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin and the Next Gen ATP Finals to be held in Saudi Arabia. 

Obituary News 

11. "Father of Indian Psychology" Sudhir Kakkar passes away 

• Sudhir Kakkar, a renowned writer, cultural critic and "Father of Indian Psychology", passed away at the age of 85. Born in Nainital, Uttarakhand in 1938, Kakkar devoted his career to exploring the intersection of psychoanalysis with Indian culture, mythology and religion. 
• His groundbreaking work, "The Inner World: A Psychoanalytic Study of Childhood and Society in India" questioned the traditional Western psychoanalytic approach, providing unique insight into the Indian psyche. 
• Apart from his contributions to psychoanalysis, Kakkar was a prolific writer and cultural critic. His fictional works, such as "The Seeker" and "A Book of Memory", highlight the complexities of Indian society and the human experience. 
• Kakkar's exploration of Indian sexuality was a groundbreaking work. He delved deeply into the history and cultural attitudes towards intimacy and sexual expression in Indian society, delving into a topic that is rarely discussed and exploring the impact of religion, social norms and colonial legacy on intimate relationships . 
• Kakkar received a doctorate in economics from the University of Vienna and later trained in psychoanalysis at the Sigmund Freud Institute in Frankfurt. He taught at prestigious institutions like Harvard University. 
• He received numerous awards and accolades, including the Cardiner Award (Columbia University), the Boyer Award of the American Anthropological Association (for psychological anthropology), the Goethe Medal (Germany), and the Order of Merit (Germany's highest federal award).