Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 7th September 2024

1. Star Health launched India’s first health insurance policy in Braille. 

• Star Health and Allied Insurance has introduced an insurance policy in Braille. 
• Its main aim is to empower visually impaired individuals in India. 
• It will allow blind people to access health insurance information independently. 
• The policy has been designed to fulfil the specific needs of people with 40% or more disability, including physical, sensory, or cognitive impairments. 
• Star Health has also launched an initiative for visually impaired individuals to become health insurance agents. 
• The initiative will focus on training and up-skilling of marginalized groups. It will allow them to generate income while working from home. 
• The Braille policy has been developed in partnership with the National Association of the Blind (NAB). 

2. Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu inaugurated the Digi Yatra facility at nine more airports. 

• Union Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu inaugurated the Digi Yatra facility at Visakhapatnam International Airport and other eight airports. 
• The launch covered eight other airports managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), including Coimbatore, Dabolim, Indore, Bagdogra, Ranchi, Patna, Raipur, and Bhubaneshwar. 
• DigiYatra was introduced in December 2022 at three airports—New Delhi, Varanasi, and Bengaluru. 
• The total number of Digi Yatra-enabled airports rises to 24. 
• DigiYatra is a digital initiative by the government to improve passenger experience through Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). 
• It will allow travellers to pass through airport checkpoints with contactless and paperless processing. 

3. Preeti Pal and Harvinder Singh will be the country's flag bearers in the closing ceremony of the Paris Paralympic Games. 

• On September 8, gold medal-winning archer Harvinder Singh and sprinter Preeti Pal will be the country's flag-bearers during the closing ceremony of the Paris Paralympic Games. 
• On September 6, this was announced by Satya Prakash Sangwan, Chief de Mission of India's Paris 2024 Paralympic contingent. 
• A history was created by Harvinder by becoming the first Indian archer to win a gold medal at the Paralympics 2024. 
• At the same time, Preeti created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win two medals at the Paralympics. 
• She won bronze medals in the women's T35 100m and 200mevents. 
• The Paralympic Games 2024 in Paris began on August 28 and will end on September 8. 

4. On 6 September, 5th Defense Cooperation Dialogue held by India and Maldives in New Delhi. 

• Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane led the Indian delegation, while the Maldives delegation was led by Chief of Defence Force General Ibrahim Hilmy. 
• The meeting provided an opportunity for both sides to discuss matters relating to bilateral defence cooperation. 
• This included expediting the implementation of various ongoing defence cooperation projects. 
• The two sides also discussed some other areas of mutual interest such as high-level exchanges and capacity building projects. 
• It also discussed aspects of participation in the upcoming bilateral military exercises. 
• In the Indian Ocean region, Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours and overall bilateral relations, including in the areas of defence and security, witnessed growth during the tenure of the previous Maldives Government. 

5. India overtook China in MSCI's Emerging Markets Investable Markets Index. 

• India has overtaken China in terms of its weightage in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Emerging Markets Investable Market Index as per the Morgan Stanley report. 
• India's weightage in the MSCI EM IMI stood at 22.27% compared to China's 21.58%. '
• This significant change in the market scenario happened earlier this week, when India's weighting in the emerging markets index came close to becoming possibly the largest. 
• The MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index (EM IMI) is a comprehensive index that includes large, mid, and small-cap stocks from 24 emerging market countries. 
• With a total of 3,355 constituents, the index roughly represents approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each of the included countries. 
• Several key factors have contributed to this favorable trend. 
• These include a remarkable 47% increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the early months of 2024, a decline in Brent crude prices, and substantial foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in Indian debt markets.

6. Super Typhoon Yagi hits southern China. 

• On September 6, powerful storms and heavy rains generated by Super Typhoon Yagi drenched southern China, causing schools to close for a second day and flights to be cancelled. 
• The typhoonis set to make landfall on the tropical coast of Hainan, one of the most powerful storms to hit Asia this year.
• With maximum sustained winds of 245 kph (152 mph) near its centre, Yagi ranks as the world's second-most powerful tropical cyclone on record so far in 2024, after Category 5 Atlantic Hurricane Beryl. 
• Having more than doubled in strength since wreaking havoc in the northern Philippines earlier this week, Yagi is expected to hit China's coast from Wenchang on Hainan Island to Leizhou in Guangdong Province. 
• After this, it is estimated that this storm will reach Vietnam and Laos. 
• Yagi isthe strongest storm to hit Hainan since 2014, when Typhoon Rammasun made land fall on the island province as a category five tropical cyclone. 
• From 1949 to 2023, Hainan was struck by 106 typhoons but only nine were classified as super typhoons. 

7. Agni-4 Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha. 

• The test metall operational and technical requirements. 
• The test launch was conducted under the supervision of the Strategic Forces Command. 
• TheAgni-4 is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile. 
• It has arange of 4,000 kilometres. It is capable of carrying nuclear warheads. 
• This launch follows the successful test of the new-generation ballistic missile, Agni-Prime, in April. 
• The Agni-Prime test was carried out from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha. 
• In March, the DRDO carried out the first test of the MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle)-equipped Agni-5 missile. It has a range of 5,000 kilometres. 

8. Project NAMAN 

• The Indian Army launched the first phase of Project NAMAN. 
• It is designed to provide dedicated support and services to Defence pensioners, veterans, and their families. 
• In the first phase of Project NAMAN, 14 Common Services Centres have been established at key locations across India. 
• It is including New Delhi, Jalandhar, Leh, Dehradun, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and etc. 
• The project is set to expand significantly and aims to establish approximately 200 centres nationwide over the next 2 to 3 years. 

9. NEOWISE Telescope 

• Nasa’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) has concluded its mission. 
• It was launched in 2009, to explore the universe’s farthest reaches, observing distant galaxies, supermassive black holes, and more. 
• Over the decades, it catalogued more than 44,000 solar system objects, including the first known Earth Trojan asteroid. 
• Previously orbiting at 310 miles above Earth, it now resides at just 217 miles. 

10. Uttar Pradesh government bagged the "Top Achiever" status in two categories of BRAP 2022. 

• Uttar Pradesh has been adjudged “top achiever” in two business-centric and one citizen-centric area under BRAP 2022. 
• This recognition is the state’s efforts to reduce industrial bottlenecks and to enhance ease of doing business. 
• There form sin states have streamlined administrative processes and made it easier for businesses to operate. 
• Invest UP is the nodal agency responsible for the implementation of the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) in Uttar Pradesh 
• A total of 352reforms have been recommended under BRAP 2022. 
• The Uttar Pradesh government has implemented all the reforms prescribed under the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) 2022. 
• One of the key areas of reform was land administration and transfer. 
• Uttar Pradesh digitized land records and introduced online land allotment systems. 
• Uttar Pradesh has simplified various laws and introduced online registration and renewal of licenses. 

11. In the Under-20 World Championship, wrestler Jyoti Berwal won the gold medal. 

• In wrestling, in the women's 76kg freestyle category, Jyoti Berwal won the gold medal at the Under-20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. 
• On 5 September, Jyoti won the title by defeating Ukraine's Mariya Orlevich in the final without allowing her to score a single point. 
• Jyothi defeated Mongolian, Chinese, and Turkish rivals on her way to the final. 
• This was India's second consecutive World Under-20 title in women's 76kg after Priya Malik claimed it in the 2023 edition. 
• Indian wrestlers won two more medals in the same category. 
• Komal won the bronze medal in 59kg, and Shrishti won the bronze medal in 68 kg. 

12. US, UK, and EU signed the world's first AI treaty. 

• OnSeptember5,the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom took a historic step by signing the first legally binding international treaty on artificial intelligence (AI). 
• The treaty was signed during the Council of Europe conference held in Vilnius, Lithuania. 
• This ground breaking agreement, known as the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law, is an important milestone in global efforts to regulate AI technologies. 
• It underlines the need to balance innovation with the protection of human rights and democratic values. 
• The AI conference is the result of years of negotiations between 57 countries. 
• It includes major AI developers like the US, UK, and EU, as well as participants from Japan, Canada, Israel, Australia, and many others. 
• The treaty focuses on addressing the potential risks posed by AI technologies while promoting responsible innovation. 
• A Strasbourg-based international organisation founded in 1949, the Council of Europe took the initiative to ensure that AI systems align with fundamental human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. 

13. 1,700 ancient and unknown virus species 

• Researchers have discovered over 1,700 virus remnants buried deep within a glacier in western China. 
• Many of these viruses being previously unknown to science. 
• The oldest of this date back more than 40,000 years. 
• They were extracted from a 1,000-foot ice core from the expansive Guliya Glacier on the Tibetan Plateau 

14. 10-day Onam festival started with Atham. 

•  At ham has been celebrated to mark the beginning of the ten-day Onam festivities. 
• The 10-dayfestival at Thrikkakara Temple begins with kodiyettam. 
• The famous Athachamayam procession, which features various cultural displays and traditional art forms held at Thripunithura was organized.
• Onam festival will conclude with Thiruvonam. 
• The other key days include Chithira, Chodi, Vishakam, Anizham, Thriketa, Moolam, Pooradam, and Uthradom. 
• Onam is celebrated across Kerala in the month of Chingam, as per the Malayalam calendar. 

15. Arnoux’s Beaked Whales 

• The Researchers found several rare Arnoux’s beaked whales in the coast of Antarctica. These whales hadn’t been seen for decades. 
• They are known for their brilliant diving abilities and can measure up to around 30 feet long. 
• In the 11 expeditions conducted in the area between 1988 and 2018, scientists had never spotted the whales. 
• They were discovered in 1851 and are elusive marine animals mostly found in the Southern Hemisphere.