Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 21st July 2024

 

National News 

1.Dehradun opens state’s first Bird Gallery near Jolly Grant Airport 

• The state’s first bird gallery was recently opened in Dehradun near Jolly Grant airport by the research wing of the forest department. 
• The gallery aims to enlighten visitors about the region’s rich avian biodiversity and the critical role birds play in the delicate Himalayan ecosystem. 
• The gallery is a part of the Nature Education Centre, an important component of the forest department’s research efforts. 
• Visitors can view over 250 photographs of the state’s bird species. The gallery also features recorded chirping sounds from Uttarakhand’s forests. 

About Uttarakhand 

• Capital – Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer) 
• Chief Minister – Pushkar Singh Dhami 
• Governor – Gurmit Singh

 2.IRCTC upgraded as Schedule “A” CPSE 

• Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a Mini-Ratna PSU under the Ministry of Railways, announced that the status of the company has been upgraded from Schedule B to Schedule A. 
• The Ministry of Railways announced the upgrade of IRCTC from ‘Schedule B’ to ‘Schedule A’ Category, Central Public Sector Enterprises. 
• This recognition reflects positively on IRCTC’s management, operations, and contribution to the hospitality, travel, and tourism sectors under the Ministry of Railways. It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved with IRCTC over its 25-year journey.

 3. Two different income tests to decide creamy layer among OBC candidates 

• A series of contradictory positions taken over the past few years has obscured how the Union go vernment determines which candidates from Other Backward Class (OBC) communities can be allowed to claim reserva- tions for jobs in civil services. 
• When the OBC quota was introduced in 1993, a guiding charter was creat ed to exclude candidates whose families had accum- ulated certain social and economic privileges over the years, known as the creamy layer. This will then allow reservation be nefits only for those de clared as "non-creamy layer", or NCL, candidates, based on several criteria, including a crucial income or wealth test. 
• Now, it has emerged that the Department of Personnel and Training has been applying two dif ferent income tests to diffe rent categories of OBC candidates.
• The tangle of regula tions governing the OBC quota has come into the spotlight with the current row over Puja Khedkar whose OBC-NCL certificate has come under scrutiny. Given that she is a medical doctor and her father is a retired civil servant who contested the recent Lok Sabha election, filing a can didate affidavit which va lued his assets at over 40 crore, questions have ari sen about how she could be given "non-creamy layer" status. In the wake of this case, several OBC candidates have taken to social media to highlight how they were denied reservation bene fits because of irregulari- ties in the application of the income test. 
• The DoPT's 1993 charter had declared some OBC fa- milies ineligible based on their occupations. Thus, children of people in con stitutional posts, senior Central and State govern ment employees, mem- bers of the armed forces, and property owners sup posedly could not get the Several OBC candidates have highlighted how they were denied reservation benefits. OBC quota for civil servic- es. 
• Exceptions were carved out of these exclusions: for instance, children of MPs and MLAs; government of ficials who have been pro- moted, not hired, into se nior positions; owners of unirrigated agricultural land, and others are all now eligible for OBC quo- tas, subject to a parental annual income limit of 28 lakh or the prescribed wealth test.
• However, the DoPT has discriminated in terms of how this income test is ap plied. Only the exempted cases mentioned above are allowed to exclude their parents salaries and agri cultural income from the prescribed limit. For other OBC candidates whose pa- rents are salaried profes- sionals, business owners, farmers, or simply not part of the initial exclusions, the 28 lakh limit includes parental salaries. The DoPT explained these dual standards in an October 2020 affidavit filed in the Supreme Court. 
• This seems to contradict what the Social Justice Mi- nistry told Parliament in December 2019 that there is only one income test for OBC candidates, which ex cludes income from salar ies and agriculture. In De cember 2021, the government told the Su- preme Court that the OBC income test excluded such income for all candidates while arguing that the in- come test for the economi- cally weaker section quota was more stringent. 
• The court is yet to de- cide whether the DoPT's explanation on excluding parents' salaries and agri cultural income applies to the income test for catego ries of OBCs. The next hearing is on August 22.

 4. AAI signs MoU with Rajasthan govt for developing greenfield airport at Kota 

• Airports Authority of India has signed an agreement with Urban Development Department, government of Rajasthan, and the Civil Aviation Department, for the development of Kota Greenfield Airport in Rajasthan. 
• As per the MoU, the government of Rajasthan will provide land for the development of the greenfield airport and AAI will be responsible for the construction, development, and operation of the airport. 
• The Greenfield airport at Kota will be constructed on 440.086 hectares of land for which a Detailed Project Report (DPR) is being prepared by the Airports Authority of India. 

About Rajasthan 

• Capital – Jaipur 
• Chief Minister – Bhajan Lal Sharma (replace Ashok Gehlot) 
• Deputy Chief Minister – Diya Kumari and Premchand Bairwa 
• Speaker of Rajasthan Assembly – Vasudev Devnani 
• Governor – Kalraj Mishra 

International News 

5. Gevra & Kusmunda coal mine included in World’s 10 largest coal mines 

• Two coal mines in Chhattisgarh, Gevra and Kusmunda, have been included in WorldAtlas.com’s top ten coal mines of the world. 
• Gevra mine has an annual production capacity of 70 MT. The mine produced 59 MT of coal in FY24. While Kusmunda produced over 50 MT of coal. Both are open-cast mine projects. 
• Gevra and Kusmunda coal mines have secured the 2nd and 4th spot in the list of the world’s 10 largest coal mines released by WorldAtlas.com. 
• Indonesia dominates the top ten coal mines list, with four mines, and the United States Black Thunder Mine has been ranked the world’s largest coal mine. 
• China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, and India is the second largest producer. 
• The United States of America has the largest known coal reserves in the world. 

 Awards 

6. Sri Kurumba Trust wins Global CSR ESG Award 2024 

• Sobha Group’s CSR wing, Sri Kurumba Educational and Charitable Trust has been honoured with the “Best Child and Women Development Initiatives of the Year 2024″. 
• This esteemed accolade was presented at the Global CSR, Sustainability, and ESG Awards 2024, at the Hyatt Regency, Gurgaon. 
• The event was organised by Marketing and Brand Honchos and brought together industry leaders and champions of social responsibility.

 About Global CSR & ESG Awards 2024

• The Global CSR & ESG Awards 2024 are designed to recognise and honour social and visionary leaders, organisations, and individuals involved in acts of humanity or social welfare that bring positive change or impact to society. 
• The award ceremony celebrates various dignitaries, guests of honour, social activists, volunteers, corporates, institutes, organisations, and distinguished individuals from various walks of life from the global arena. 

Science News

 7. China launches new Earth observation satellite 

• China sent a new Earth observation satellite into space from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China’s Shanxi Province. 
• The Gaofen-11 05 satellite was launched by a Long March-4B carrier rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully. 
• The satellite will be used in a variety of fields including land surveys, urban planning, road network design, and crop yield estimation. It will also help in land ownership verification and even aid in disaster prevention and mitigation. 
• The launch marked the 528th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series. 

Important day 

8. 20 July – International Moon Day 

• International Moon Day is observed annually on 20 July.
• This day is celebrated to commemorate the anniversary of the first human landing on the surface of the Moon. 
• Neil Armstrong was the first man to step on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission. ● Theme 2024 – Illuminating the Shadows 
• On December 9, 2021, the United Nations General Assembly recognized a resolution submitted by the Moon Village Association and other groups. 
• The moon day of 2022 was the first lunar day celebrated by the global community. 
• The application was submitted to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) to celebrate International Moon Day. 

Miscellaneous News

 9. DOPT denies service allocation to scientist with muscular dystrophy who cleared UPSC exam

•  A 28-year-old scientist with muscular dystrophy who cracked the Civil Services Examination on four occa sions has moved the Cen tral Administrative Tribu nal (CAT) after the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) de clined to allocate any ser vice to him. 
• The DoPT in formed the tribunal that the candidate does not ful- fil the physical standards required for the service. Kartik Kansal, who works for the Indian Space Research Organisation, has been using a wheelchair since the age of 12 and taught himself to write after his muscles weakened. Mr. Kansal is a resident of Uttarakhand and a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. (IIT), Mr. Kansal's case is in stark contrast to that of trainee Indian Administra tive Service (IAS) officer Puja Khedkar who faces a criminal case for allegedly forging documents and misusing the quota available to people with bench mark disabilities (PwBD) to get into the service. 
• Ms. Khedkar could continue in her job despite a Central Administrative Tribunal ruling in 2023 that her can didature was liable to be cancelled as she failed to appear before a Medical Board at the AIIMS, Delhi, on six occasions to confirm her disability under "vi sually impaired and men tal illness" criteria. 
• She ap peared for the examination again in 2022, secured a rank of 821 and got entry into the IAS by changing the disability cri teria to "visually impaired and hearing loss". A Medical Board at the AIIMS de clared her disability to be 47% above the 40% crite ria after which the DoPT allotted her the IAS. 
• The DoPT was a respondent in the CAT petition filed by Ms. Khedkar. According to the CSE-2021 notification for which Mr. Kansal ap peared, 22 out of total 712 vacancies were reserved for PwBD candidates. In 2021, Mr. Kansal se cured a rank of 271, yet he was denied service, though according to the petition he was eligible to be allot ted the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax). Sanjeev Gupta, a retired IAS officer who is pursuing Mr. Kansal's case with the Kartik Kansal authorities, said "grave in- justice" had been done.
• "The Medical Board at Al- IMS certified 90% muscu lar dystrophy in the certifi cate that was sent to the DoPT. However, after Mr. Kansal moved CAT when he was denied any service allocation, the DoPT res ponded that he had cere bral palsy and does not ful- fil the physical eligibility criteria. He met the 'sit ting, seeing, reading, writ- ing and communication criteria for the IRS. The DoPT should correct its mistake and not drag the case to the tribunal as it has erred in reading the documents," he said. The CAT is expected to hear the petition in August.