Daily Current Affairs 19 July 2024, MPSC Exam Current Affairs

Daily Current Affairs for MPSC Exam

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International

Kagame wins 4th term in landslide Rwanda presidential election

• For the fourth time, Paul Kagame will lead the Republic of Rwanda for a five-year term beginning in 2024 and ending in 2029. Since April 2000, he has presided over Rwanda as its president.
• After leading the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) political party, Kagame secured 7,099,810 votes (99.15%) out of a total of 9,071,157 votes to win the 2024 presidential election.
• With 38,301 votes (0.53%), Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party came in second, and Phillipe Mpayimana of the same party came in third with 22,753 votes (0.32%).
• A Constitutional Amendment (CA) passed in 2015 reduced Rwanda's seven-year presidential term to five years, starting in 2024.

• Since the end of the 1994 genocide, Paul Kagame, 66, a politician and former military officer from Rwanda, has held the position of de facto leader of his country.
• 98.63% of the votes cast went to him in the 2017 Rwandan presidential election.
• He was able to run in the current election because of a 2015 constitutional amendment that allowed him to run for three more terms. In 2017, it made Kagame's seven-year term possible. New Collaboration for
• In addition to chairing the East African Community (EAC) from 2018 to 2021, he presided over the African Union Development Agency Africa's Development (AUDA-NEPAD) from 2018 to 2019.

• Capital - Kigali
• Currency - The Rwandan franc (Rwf)
• President - Paul Kagame
• Prime Minister (PM) - Édouard Ngirente

National

Reconstituted NITI Aayog consists of 15 Union Ministers, including allies of the NDA and four full-time members

• The revised composition of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) has been approved by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi. It includes four full-time members and fifteen Union ministers, including ex-officio members and special invitees who are allies of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
• At NITI Aayog, the PM will continue to serve as chairwoman, and economist Suman K. Bery will serve as vice-chairperson.
• The Government of India's (GoI) top policy think tank, NITI Aayog, took over as the Planning Commission's successor in 2015 after 65 years of operation.

• Chairperson: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
• Vice-Chairperson: Economist Suman K Bery

• Agricultural Economist Ramesh Chand
• Macro Economist Dr. Arvind Virmani
• Missile Scientist V. K. Saraswat
• Paediatrician Vinod K. Paul
• Members ex officio four:-

• Nirmala Sitharaman, the Ministry of Finance (MoF), and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).
• Amit Shah, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and the Ministry of Cooperation (MOC);
• Raj Nath Singh, the Ministry of Defence (MoD);
• Shivraj Singh Chauhan, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), and the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD)

• Nitin Jairam Gadkari, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH);
• Jagat Prakash Nadda, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW), and the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (MoC&F);
• H. D. Kumaraswamy, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI), and the Ministry of Steel;
• Jitan Ram Manjhi, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME);
• Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), and the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAHD);
• Virendra Kumar, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJ&E);
• Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA);
• Jual Oram, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA);
• Annpurna Devi, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD);
• Chirag Paswan, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI)
• Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State (MoS) (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), MoS (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning, and MoS in the Ministry of Culture (MoC).

Maharashtra

Chief Minister Tirtha Darshan Yojana

• Maharashtra Government has announced 'Mukhyamantri Tirthadarshan Yojana'.
• Under this scheme, citizens above 60 years of age will be given visits to as many as 66 pilgrimage sites across the country.
• Passengers availing the benefit of this scheme will also get a subsidy of up to 30 thousand.

• The 'Mukhyamantri Tirtha Darshan Yojana' has been launched to fulfill the desire of the senior citizens of all religions of the state, i.e. those aged 60 years or above, to visit pilgrimage sites in India. The main objective of launching the 'Mukhyamantri Tirtha Darshan Yojana' is to provide free pilgrimage to the senior citizens of the state.

• Beneficiary must be a resident of Maharashtra state
• Senior citizens aged 60 years and above
• The annual income of the beneficiary family should not exceed 2.50 lakhs.

• Capital :- Mumbai
• Chief Minister :- Eknath Shinde
• Governor :- Ramesh Bais

Economic

ADB approves USD 240.5 mn loan for rooftop solar systems in India

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has authorized loans totaling USD 240.5 million to support rooftop solar power systems throughout India, supporting the government's efforts to increase access to renewable energy sources for energy. The Multitranche Financing Facility (MFF) Solar Rooftop Investment Program includes this funding.
• With a focus on residential solar rooftop deployments, ADB's financing will support the MFF Solar Rooftop Investment Program's tranches two and three.

• ADB authorized the MFF Solar Rooftop Investment Program in 2016, and it underwent a reorganization in 2023.
• The Prime Minister (PM) Surya Ghar program (PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana), which aims to encourage the mass adoption of rooftop solar systems throughout India, will benefit from ADB's financing.
• India aims to achieve worldwide pledges to reduce carbon emissions by using non-fossil fuel energy sources for 50% of installed electrical power capacity by 2030.
• Installing rooftop solar systems would be financed by loans from State Bank of India (SBI) and the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) to developers and end users across the country.
• The ADB's Clean Technology Fund (CTF) will provide USD 90.5 million to the SBI;
• USD 150 million will be given to NABARD; USD 80 million will come from ADB's regular capital resources and USD 70 million from CTF.
• By lessening the technical and operational load on the electricity distribution system, rooftop solar installation improves the system as a whole.
• It lessens the need for long-distance power supplies by producing electricity close to places of consumption.
• It reduces interruptions to the power supply and offers a certain level of energy independence.

• Established :- 1966
• Headquarters- Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines
• President- Masatsugu Asakawa

Appointment

Congress appoints Gaurav Gogoi as deputy leader in Lok Sabha and K. Suresh appointed chief whip

• Assam Congress erupted into celebrations following the appointment of Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi as the deputy leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha for a second consecutive term.
• Gaurav, a three-time MP, is the son of three-time Assam CM Tarun Gogoi.
• The announcement sparked optimism among Congress supporters in Assam, signaling trust in Gaurav's capability to represent their interests effectively.
• Virudhunagar MP Manickam Tagore and Kishanganj MP Mohammad Jawed will be the party's whips in the Lok Sabha.
• Rahul Gandhi has already been appointed as the leader of opposition.

Science & Technology

Zen Tech launches four AI powered anti-drone products

• Four new anti-drone products have been introduced by Zen Technologies Limited (ZEN), a provider of defense training solutions and anti-drone technology, and its subsidiary AI Turing Technologies, based in Pune, Maharashtra. The products are intended to improve the tactical supremacy and operational effectiveness of defense forces.
• Hawkeye, Barbarik - Ultralight Remote Control Weapon Station (URCWS), Sthir Stab 640, and Prahasta, a robot driven by artificial intelligence (AI), are the four products.

• Modern anti-drone system Hawkeye has multiple sensor detection modules.
• With its 15 km all-weather drone tracking range, it guarantees continuous danger detection and enhanced security.
• The world's lightest remote-controlled weapon station, the Barbarik-URCWS, is helpful for both ground vehicles and naval vessels. It offers precise targeting in calibres ranging from 5.56mm to 7.62mm.
• It lowers personnel risk and improves efficacy in the combat.
• The recent fire test at the Armoured School Ahmednagar and Infantry School Mhow in Maharashtra proved their exceptional performance.
• Armoured vehicles, Infantry Combat Vehicles (ICVs), and boats are the target market for the Sthir Stab 640. It is equipped with an advanced fiber optic gyro-stabilized system that offers superior situational awareness in addition to autonomous search and tracking capabilities.
• It works with 20mm, 30mm, 12.7mm, and 7.62mm weapon mounts.
• Prahasta is an autonomous quadruple that provides real-time 3D terrain mapping for unmatched mission planning, navigation, and threat assessment using Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) and reinforcement learning.
• It can save lives by being equipped with weapons of different calibres for commando operations like the 26/11 counter-insurgency raids.
• The quadruple can be equipped with guns of many calibers, including 5.56mm, 7.62mm, and 9mm.

• Incorporated :- 1993
• Headquarters :- Hyderabad, Telangana
• CMD  :- Ashok Atluri

Sport

The first-ever K-pop idol to carry the torch for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris is BTS Jin

• • BTS member Kim Seokjin, popularly known as Jin, became the first-ever Korean singer or K-Pop idol to carry the Olympic torch for the 2024 Paris Games to the Louvre Pyramid Museum in Paris, France, on July 14, 2024.

• The Olympic torch was first lit on April 16, 2024, at Olympia, Greece, and is scheduled to arrive in Paris for the 2024 Olympic opening ceremony on July 26, 2024.

• The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are scheduled to start on July 27 and run through August 11 of that year.
• More than fifteen thousand competitors from 206 nations will compete in 329 events across 32 sports at the Paris Olympics this year.
• Former Olympic torchbearers include David Beckham, a highly regarded international football player, and Muhammad Ali, a well-known boxer, who carried the torch during the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Defence

INS Delhi gets Best Ship of Eastern Fleet award

• The renowned Fleet Awards Function, held at Visakhapatnam on July 14, 2024, was held to recognize the outstanding operational accomplishments of the Eastern Fleet during the previous year. INS Delhi's exceptional performance and operational skill earned it the title of Best Ship in the Eastern Fleet.

• One guided-missile frigate of the Delhi class, INS Delhi, was notable for its mission success and strategic aptitude. Aside from recognizing INS Kavaratti as the Best Ship among LSTs, OPVs, and Corvettes, the ceremony also honored INS Shivalik, INS Sumedha, and INS Sumitra for their enthusiastic service to the Sunrise Fleet.
• Vice-Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar, the chief guest, and Rear Admiral Rajesh Dhankhar, the flag officer commanding the Eastern Fleet, honored the occasion, showcasing the fleet's accomplishments and unified effort.
• Every year, the ceremony was organized to recognize many ships for their exceptional achievements in various categories.

• The Indian Navy received INS Delhi, a guided-missile frigate, on November 15, 1997.
• It was designed by the Directorate of Naval Design of the Indian Navy and constructed by Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Limited. It is the Delhi class's lead ship.
• This 163-meter-long vessel can carry about 6,200 tons of cargo.
• With a main gun, anti-submarine torpedoes, surface-to-air missiles, and surface-to-surface missiles among its various armaments, the INS Delhi is a formidable vessel in military conflict.
• The ship also features sophisticated sensor and electronic warfare capabilities that increase its usefulness in a range of marine scenarios.

Book

PM signs copy of Dr R Balasubramaniam’s book ‘Power Within: The Leadership Legacy of Narendra Modi’

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi met Dr R Balasubramaniam today and signed a copy of his book ‘Power Within: The Leadership Legacy of Narendra Modi’.

• The book captures Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership journey and interprets it through Western and Indic lenses, amalgamating them to provide a roadmap for those who aspire to a life of public service.

• It's not simply another political biography, "Power Within." It offers a distinctive paradigm for analysis, looking at Prime Minister Modi's leadership from two perspectives:
• Western Leadership Theories: These emphasize the significance of "being a leader" and usually center on trait-oriented methodologies.
• In contrast, Indic Leadership Perspectives draw on India's vast civilizational wisdom to focus on the "exercise of leadership."
• Dr. Balasubramaniam provides readers with a thorough and nuanced knowledge of Modi's leadership style and its effects on Indian governance and society by combining these two points of view.

Miscellaneous

Coal Ministry Signs Agreements for Three Coal Mines

• The Ministry of Coal (MoC) inked agreements for the development and production of coal on July 15, 2024. Three coal mines in the Angul district of Odisha were put up for auction as part of the second attempt of the 7th Round.
• Of the three mines up for auction, one is fully explored while the other two are only partially explored.
• In the coal industry, this program represents a major step toward Atmanirbharta, or self-reliance. It will help to guarantee the nation's energy security and promote economic growth and job creation.

• NLC India Limited, formerly known as Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited, was the winning bidder for the Machhakata (revised) coal mine.
• Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Limited was the bidder for the Kudanali Lubri coal mine.
• B. Sakhigopal The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited was the bidder for the Kakurhi coal mine.
• If production at the combined peak-rated capacity of these three coal mines is attained, the commercial auction is expected to yield an annual revenue of about Rs 2,991.20 crore .
• It is anticipated that when these mines start producing, they would create about 40,560 direct and indirect jobs. However, to put these coal mines into production, a total investment of almost Rs 4,500 crore is needed.

• Cabinet Minister :- G. Kishan Reddy
• Minister of State :- Satish Chandra Dubey