Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 14th August 2024

 Man from Bangladesh first in NE to get citizenship under CAA 

• A Hindu man from Bangladesh, living in southern Assam's Silchar since June 5, 1988, has become the first person in northeast India to get citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019. 
• The applicant, who agreed to give only his surname as Das, was a resident of Borogram in Bangladesh's Sylhet district. 
• He received an email from the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday saying his application on April 1, 2022, had been approved under Section 6B of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1955. 
• "The CAA of 2019 grants citizenship to eligible individuals with retrospective effect, deeming them Indian citizens from the date of their entry into India. The CAA also closes any legal proceedings against them related to illegal migration or citizenship," Silchar-based lawyer Dharmananda Deb told The Hindu. 
• Mr. Das came to India more than 35 years ago. He married an Assam-based woman and the couple has two sons. 
• Two siblings of Mr. Das, who followed him to India, are also in the process of applying for citizenship under the CAA. No member of their family is in Bangladesh now. 

Malaysian PM, Japanese Ministers set to visit New Delhi next week 

• M Minister Prime Anwar Ibrahim will visit New Delhi next week, in a visit that is expected to strengthen India-Malaysia ties in strategic, trade and defence cooperation, and discuss major developments in Bangladesh, Gaza, and Iran as well. 
• With the Parliament session over, the visit is one of a number of upcoming diplomatic outreaches. New Delhi is set to host the India-Japan 2+2 with Foreign and Defence Ministers, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will then travel to Poland and Ukraine. 
• Mr. Ibrahim's visit to India from August 19 to 21 is his first since winning elections and taking over as Prime Minister in 2022. His visit will also attempt to smooth over some of the irritants between previous Malaysian governments and India that led to tensions in ties. 
• Mr. Ibrahim, seen as a moderate reformer, was in Delhi in 2019 as a member of the previous government of Mahathir Mohamad and president of the ruling party, when he had advocated stronger bilateral ties. 
• Mr. Mohamad had, however, raised many issues with India, publicly criticising the Modi government over the changes in Jammu and Kashmir and the crackdown on those protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. 
• Mr. Mohamad's government also refused to hand over Zakir Naik, the preacher wanted in India on charges of terror activities. India cancelled palm oil imports from Malaysia in retaliation. 
• In 2020, New Delhi's decision to detain 2,500 fo- reigners from 45 countries, largely from Malaysia and Indonesia, who had come to Delhi for the "Tablighi Jamaat" conference had also ruined ties. However, with Mr. With Ibrahim's win, the two countries have essayed new ties, including earlier this year, when External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Kuala Lumpur and and hailed Mr. Ibrahim's "vision" for an ambitious bilateral agenda. 
• Coinciding with Mr. Ibrahim's visit, Mr. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will hold the India-Japan 2+2 talks with their counterparts Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defence Minister Minoru Kihara in Delhi. 
• The two sides, which last met for the 2+2 in 2022 will discuss India-Japan strategic ties, as well as Indo-Pacific and Quad cooperation on August 20. They are also expected to discuss the situation in Bangladesh, where India and Japan have coordinated closely on several infrastructure projects as part of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's "Future of the Indo-Pacific" strategy. While a Quad summit in the next few months appears difficult given Mr. Kishida's own leadership battle within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party at the end of September, and U.S. elections in early November, the 2+2 is expected to discuss the earliest possible dates for India to host the summit. 
• Meanwhile, the government is finalising plans for Mr. Modi's upcoming visit to Poland and Ukraine, his first since the Russian inva- sion in 2022, a visit that comes weeks after his visit to Moscow. 
• Mr. Modi is expected to travel to Warsaw from August 21-22 for bilateral talks with the Polish leadership, and Kyiv on August 23, which is the Ukrainian "Day of the National Flag". In Kyiv, he will hold talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had sharply criticised Mr. Modi's Moscow trip, and the visit is expected to refute the perception in Ukraine as well as in the U.S. and Europe that India is taking a partisan position on the war. 

Kiren Rijiju launches portal for Jiyo Parsi Scheme 

• Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday launched the portal for the Jiyo Parsi Scheme, a Central sector scheme to arrest the population decline of the Parsi community in India. 
• Emphasising the rich heritage and culture of the community, the Minister said the Parsi population is decreasing and this needs to be addressed. 
• He added that the government's intervention in the form of the Jiyo Parsi Scheme is expected to help the community in the future. "I request the eligible Parsi couples to avail the benefits of the scheme and help the government in building a stronger nation," said the Minister. 

Centre opens application process for Haj 2025 

• Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday opened the process for applying for the Hajj pilgrimage in 2025 through the Haj Committee of India. 
• For the first time, applications have been invited on the Haj Suvidha App in addition to the website of the Haj Committee of India. 
• Briefing about the Haj, the Ministry said a quota of 1,75,025 has been allotted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to India for the pilgrimage next year. 
• "The Government of India has been continuously striving to make the Hajj pilgrimage easier for the Indians," the Ministry said in a communique. 

National News 

Madhya Pradesh govt gives cash to girl students to buy sanitary napkins 

• Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in the country to give money to girl students to buy sanitary napkins. 
• In some states like Karnataka, Rajasthan and Delhi, free sanitary napkins are given to students but cash is being given only in Madhya Pradesh. 
• Under the Sanitation and Hygiene Scheme, an amount of three hundred rupees has been transferred in each girl student’s account for one year. 
• This amount has been given to around 19 lakh students from class seventh to twelfth. 

About Madhya Pradesh 

• Capital – Bhopal 
• Chief Minister – Dr Mohan Yadav (replace Shivraj Singh Chauhan) 
• Deputy CM – Jagdish Devda & Rajendra Shukla 
• Speaker of Madhya Pradesh Assembly – Narendra Singh Tomar 
• Governor – Mangubhai C. Patel 
• Lok Sabha Seats – 29 
• Rajya Sabha Seats – 11 
• Legislative Assembly Seats – 230 

Bihar government mandates Registration of Temples, Mutts, And Trusts 

• The Bihar government mandated registration of temples, mutts and trusts, and directed all District Magistrates in the State to ensure that the bodies are registered and details of their immovable assets are submitted to the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts (BSBRT) soon. 
• The BSBRT operates under the State’s Law Department and its records say there are about 2,512 unregistered temples and mutts across the State owning 4,321.64 acres of land. 
• According to the Bihar Hindu Religious Trusts Act, 1950 all public temples, mutts, Dharmashalas and trusts must be registered with the BSBRT”. 
• According to BSBRT records, Bihar has 2,512 unregistered temples and mutts owning 4,321.64 acres of land and 2,499 registered temples with 18,456 acres of land. 

About Bihar 

• Capital – Patna 
• Chief Minister – Nitish Kumar (9th time) 
• Deputy CM – Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha 
• Governor – Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar 
• Rajya Sabha – 16 seats 
• Lok Sabha – 40 seats 

Appointments 

Rana Ashutosh appointed as MD of SBI 

• Rana Ashutosh Kumar Singh has taken over as Managing Director in charge of State Bank of India’s (SBI) risk compliance and stressed assets resolution group (SARG) departments. 
• Gajendra Singh Rana, former chief general manager of the Mumbai circle has taken over from Singh as the deputy managing director (DMD) retail and real estate for the nation’s largest lender. 
• For now he has taken over the departments which were handled by former MD Alok Choudhary. 

Recent Appointment in Banking & Insurance Sector 

• MD & CEO of MCX – Praveena Rai’s 
• Chairman of SBI – Challa Sreenivasulu Setty (replace Dinesh Khara for 3 years) 
• MD & CEO of Unity Small Finance Bank – Inderjit Camotra’s 
• MD of National Housing Bank – Sanjay Shukla 
• CMD of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) – Manoj Mittal (replace S Ramann) 

Awards 

National Institute for MSME (NI-MSME), Hyderabad awarded Accreditation Certification as “UTKRISHT” 

• The National Institute for MSME (NI-MSME), an Organisation of the Ministry of MSME GoI, has been awarded with Accreditation Certificate on the successful completion of the National Standards for Civil Services Training Institutions (NSCSTI) process in recognition of excellent services in the field of promotion and development of MSMEs. 
• The assessment was made based on the inspection of all Standard Operating Procedures and Methodologies followed by the Institute at different levels. 
• The team from Capacity Building Commission (CBC) & ICARE conducted On-site assessment and awarded the Certificate of Accreditation with the grading of UTKRISHT, a 3 Star Rating. 
• For providing a pro-business environment to foster the progress of MSMEs towards success and prosperity. The Institute is associated with prestigious world bodies such as UNIDO, UNDP, DCAC, UNESCO, ILO, CFTC, UNICEF, AARDO, and GIZ. 
• NRCD has intervened in the development of more than 150 clusters. The institute has recently established two new Centers of Excellence namely FinRISE (Financial Research & Innovation for Sustainable Enterprises) and Biochar Unit. 

Science 

Dhruva Space join hands with Zero-Error Systems to enhance satellite OBC subsystems 

• An Indian space engineering solutions provider, Dhruva Space has collaborated with Singaporean space semiconductor maker Zero-Error Systems (ZES) to improve its onboard computer (OBC) subsystem. 
• The collaboration will deploy ZES’ highly efficient LDAP-IC-ZES100 in Dhruva Space’s OBC for future flights to safeguard commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) electronics from radiation, induced micro-SEL/SEL. 
• This strategic partnership entails the incorporation of semiconductor technology advancement into the OBC subsystem of Dhruva Space that oversees the running of satellites as well as controls the payload 

Important day 

GoI declared August 23rd as National Space Day 

• The Government of India has declared August 23rd as “National Space Day” to celebrate the remarkable success of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission, which accomplished safe and soft landing of the Vikram Lander and deployed the Pragyaan rover on the lunar surface near the South Pole. 
• This historic achievement places India among an elite group of space faring nations, making India the fourth country to land on the Moon and the first to do so near the south pole of the Moon. 
• This achievement is being celebrated across the country during July and August 2024, with the goal of engaging and inspiring the younger generation in the field of Space Science and Technology. 
• To commemorate the remarkable success of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission, the Department of Fisheries is organising a series of seminars and demonstrations on,“Application of Space Technologies in Fisheries Sector” in coastal States and UTs under the guidance of Dr. Abhilaskh Likhi. 
• These seminars and demonstrations are being organised across 18 locations, covering topics such as Space Technology in Fisheries – An overview, the Communication & Navigation System for the marine domain, space-based observation. 

ECONOMY 

Rural Youth Employment Report – 2024 

• Nearly half of rural youth in India’s primary source of income was from sales of agricultural produce. 
• It is followed by daily wage labour and retail or wholesale trade 
• Majority (70% - 85%) of those currently engaged in the workforce in some capacity said they were looking for a change in work. 
• Driver or electrician job were popular among men respondents. 
• Tailoring (64.6%) and beauty (23%) were popular among women respondents. 
• 55% men and 40% women currently owning businesses also wanted to transition to a salaried job. 
• Over 60 per cent male and 70 per cent females preferred to find work in or close to their villages, even when income was 20-30 per cent lower. 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

 Pyrocumulonimbus Cloud 

• The wildfires currently raging in the United States and Canada are so intense that they have created ‘pyrocumulonimbus’ clouds. 
• They have the potential to spit out thunder and spark more fires. 
• Before 2023, 102 pyrocumulonimbus were recorded globally in a single year on average - 50 of them were seen in Canada. 
• They occur only when there is an extremely hot wildfire. 
• Volcanic eruptions can also lead to the formation of pyrocumulonimbus clouds. 
• For instance, these clouds were formed during the Australian bushfires of 2019-2020 when temperatures crossed 800 degrees Celsius. 
• These clouds can reach heights of 50,000 feet and generate their own systems of thunderstorms. 
• These clouds can produce lighting, but do not generate much rain. 
• As a result, they can spark new wildfires many kilometres away from the main blaze. 

REPORTS AND INDICES 

Fortune’s Global 500 list for 2024 

• Reliance Industries has improved its ranking in Fortune’s Global 500 list for 2024 to 86 from 88. 
• The company has gained 69 places in the last three years from 155 of 2021. 
• India has nine companies in the Fortune’s Global 500 list this year. 
• Five of them are from the public sector – IOCL, LIC, ONGC, BPCL and SBI – and four from the private sector. 
• Walmart topped the list for the 11th consecutive year. 

PERSONALITIES, AWARDS, AND EVENTS 

Nobel Prize-Winning Physicist Tsung-Dao Lee 

• Chinese-American physicist Tsung-Dao Lee passed away recently. 
• He has developed a model for studying various quantum phenomena known as the “Lee model”. 
• In 1957, Prof. Lee was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics together with Chen-Ning Yang. 
• He became the second-youngest scientist to receive a Nobel Prize. 
• He won many other accolades including the Albert Einstein Award in Science, the Galileo Galilei Medal and the G. Bude Medal. 

IITGN and IIT Indore have jointly set up cNARMADA to assess the river ecosystem. 

• The Centre for Narmada River Basin Management (CNARMADA) has been set up at the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN). 
• IITGN has joined hands with the Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IITI) to conduct the Condition Assessment and 
• Management Plan (CAMP) of the Narmada River basin. 
• CNARMADA was inaugurated to assess and identify existing conditions affecting the river ecosystem. 
• It will also prepare a road map for comprehensive rejuvenation and conservation of the riverine ecosystems. 
• Narmada and its tributaries will be studied using a basin-wide approach considering major human activities. 

Ancient Maharashtra rock art was declared a 'Protected Monument'. 

• On August 11, the geoglyphs and petroglyphs in Ratnagiri were declared 'protected monuments' by the Maharashtra government under the Maharashtra Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1960. 
• According to a notification issued by the Culture Department, the group of petroglyphs at Deud in Ratnagiri dates back to the Mesolithic Age (about 20,000-10,000 years ago). 
• Geoglyphs and petroglyphs are different types of ancient art. 
• They involve the creation of images or designs on the surface of the earth or on a rock surface. 
• According to the notification, the petroglyphs depict rhinoceros, deer, monkey, donkey and footprints. 
• In the Konkan region, the petroglyphs group is important as they depict the works of Mesolithic man. 
• In Maharashtra and Goa, the geoglyphs are spread over a 900-kilometre area of the Konkan coast. 
• Ratnagiri alone has more than 1,500 such artworks at 70 sites, seven of which are on UNESCO's tentative World Heritage List. 

The Union Minister released version 2.0 of 'FloodWatch India' mobile application. 

• The upgraded version of the FloodWatch India' mobile application aims to provide a comprehensive and detailed overview of flood conditions across the country. 
• This new version of the 'FloodWatch India' app has been developed by the Central Water Commission (CWC) 
• The earlier version was providing flood forecasts from 200 monitoring stations. 
• Version 2.0 of the app provides information to the additional 392 flood monitoring stations. The total number of stations reached 592. 
• The latest version mobile app also provides additional information regarding the storage positions of 150 major reservoirs in the country. 
• It uses advanced technologies such as satellite data analysis, mathematical modelling and real-time monitoring to deliver accurate and timely flood forecasts. 
• This app will provide information in 2 languages - English and Hindi. 

DRDO successfully conducted the maiden test flight of Long Range Glide Bomb (LRGB), GAURAV. 

• The successful maiden test flight was conducted from Sukhoi-30 MK-1 of the Indian Air Force.. 
• The test was carried out off the coast of Odisha, GAURAV is an air-launched glide bomb. 
• It is a one thousand-kilogram class glide bomb. It is capable of reaching and hitting targets at long distances.
• Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad has been designed and developed indigenously. 
• At the time of the flight test, the target was erected at Long Wheeler's Island. The glide bomb hit the target with pinpoint accuracy. 

Mpox has been declared a public health emergency by the Africa CDC. 

• Due to an expanding mpox outbreak across the continent, the African Union's health inspector has declared a public health emergency. 
• This declaration is not a mere formality but a clear call to action, 
• According to CDC data as of August 4, there have been 38,465 cases of ampox and 1,456 deaths in Africa since January 2022. Mpox is spread through close contact and causes rashes, flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions." 
• The disease can be dangerous for children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems. 
• Outbreaks have spread to several African countries, notably the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the virus was first discovered in humans in 1970. 
• The outbreak, which has now spread to neighbouring countries, began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade 1, 
• But the new variant, known as clade 1b, appears to spread more easily through regular close contact.. 
• More than 15,000 ampox cases and 461 deaths have been recorded on the continent so far this year, representing a 160% increase compared to the same period last year. 

Neelakurinji officially becomes a 'threatened species'. 

• Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) has been included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) official Red List of threatened species. 
• This is the first-ever Global Red List assessment for this flagship species. 
• Neelakurinji blooms once in 12 years. The mass blooming of the flower is a huge tourist attraction. 
• As per the latest global assessment, it has threatened status in the Vulnerable (Criteria A2c) category of the IUCN. 
• Strobilanthes kunthiana is an endemic shrub of three metres in height. It is found in high-altitude shola grassland ecosystems. 
• Neelakurinji is threatened mainly due to conversion for tea and softwood plantations, and urbanisation. 
• Almost 40% of the habitat of Neelakurinji has been lost, and the remaining is under pressure from the invasion of exotic species such as eucalyptus and black wattle. 
• The actual area of occupancy of Neelakurinji is 220 sq km. This species has 34 subpopulations within 14 ecoregions of the high-altitude mountain ranges.