Daily Current Affairs for MPSC Exam

Click Here To Download Daily Current Affairs 6 July 2024 PDF In English

International

Belarus officially joins the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as its tenth member

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a political, economic, international security, and defense organization centered on Eurasia, officially welcomed the Republic of Belarus as its tenth permanent member.

• In the SCO, Belarus joined as a discussion partner in 2010 and as an observer state in 2015. Following the 16 September 2022 SCO CHS meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, a paper was signed to begin Belarus's full membership process.
• On July 4, 2024, at the 24th SCO Council of Heads of State (SCO-CHS) Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, the leaders of the SCO member nations signed a resolution of the SCO CHS, finalizing Belarus's entrance and bestowing full member status.
• China, Russia, India, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are the other permanent members of the SCO.
• India held the 23rd SCO-CHS meeting virtually on July 4, 2023. Iran joined the SCO as its ninth member during the conference.
• India relinquished the SCO chairmanship to Kazakhstan in July 2023.

• • The 24th SCO-CHS Summit was held in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, on July 3–4, 2024, under the auspices of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the SCO's 2024 Chair.
  • Themes: "Strengthening Multilateral Dialogue- Striving for Sustainable Peace and Development".
  • This is Kazakhstan's fourth hosting of the SCO Summit. Before that, the meeting was held in Kazakhstan in 2005, 2011 and 2017.
  • The Astana SCO Declaration, the SCO Development Strategy until 2035, the Energy Cooperation Development Strategy until 2030, and Separatism and Extremism for 2025–2027 are significant texts debated during the summit.
  • Kazakhstan put out an effort on global unity for just peace and harmony.
  • China took over the SCO's rotating presidency in 2024–2025 after the meeting.
• India was represented in the summit by Union Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs (MEA).

• Established :- 15th June 2001
• Headquarters- Beijing, China
• Secretary-General- Zhang Ming

National

• The 'Sampoornata Abhiyan' is a three-month initiative sponsored by NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) that aims to achieve 100% saturation of 12 key social sector indicators across all Aspirational Districts and Aspirational Blocks (6 each).
• The campaign will run from July 4, 2024, to September 30, 2024.
• Launch Event: Throughout India, all 112 Aspirational Districts and 500 Aspirational Blocks hosted launch events for the Sampoornata Abhiyan.

• The aim of the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) and Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) is to achieve saturation in specific metrics in order to accelerate development in underdeveloped districts and blocks.

• The campaign will include awareness-raising events focusing on the 12 indicators, organized by elected people's representatives, district and block officials, and other stakeholders.
• There will be awareness marches and rallies in addition to health camps, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) camps, Nukkad Natak, Paushtik Aahar Mela, and Gram Sabhas.
• The districts and blocks will create a three-month action plan to fully implement the campaign. This plan will include tracking monthly progress toward saturation, implementing awareness and behavior change campaigns, and conducting field visits by district officials to ensure that the campaign is successfully implemented.
• For the swift development of these districts and blocks, NITI Aayog would work with Central Ministries, Departments, State Governments, and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure efficient planning, capacity building, and sustainable service delivery.

• NITI Aayog formed :- 1 January 2015.
• Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi
• Chairman- Narendra Modi (Prime Minister of India)
• Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- B.V.R. Subrahmanyam

Economic

LIC launches agency transformation initiative 'Jeevan Samarth'

• The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) initiated the "Jeevan Samarth" agency transformation initiative to prepare its workforce of 14 lakhs (1.4 million) agents for the future and satisfy changing client demands.
• To tackle the transformation project, LIC has teamed up with A. T. Kearney, a worldwide strategy consulting firm, and will be examining the organization's current agency structure.

• In the face of India's shifting regulatory environment and the insurance business, the initiative calls for modernizing agency operations at the Branch, Division, and Zonal levels and adopting international best practices.
• The project's goal is to match Indian families' changing requirements with the agency environment.
• Its main goals will be to offer appropriate pension, health, unit-linked insurance plans (ULIP), protection, and long-term savings options.
• With a more robust ecosystem and more tools and talents available to each dedicated LIC agent, this change will ensure profitable growth for the Corporation.

• Established-1956
• Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairperson- Siddhartha Mohanty

Appointment

Hemant Soren Takes Oath as 13th CM of Jharkhand

• Hemant Soren, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) party's executive president, took the oath of office on July 4, 2024, to become Jharkhand's thirteenth chief minister (CM) for the third term.
• At a ceremony held at Ranchi, Jharkhand's Raj Bhavan, Soren was given the oath of office and secrecy by Governor CP Radhakrishnan.
• After serving as Jharkhand's 12th chief minister for five months beginning in February 2024, Champai Soren tendered his resignation on July 3, 2024.

• Hemant Soren is the son of Shibu Soren, the JMM party president and a former chief minister of Jharkhand. Since 2005, he has been a member of the Jharkhand Assembly.
• He was first elected from the Barhait constituency to the Jharkhand Assembly in 2005, and in 2009, he joined the Legislative Assembly (MLA).
• From 2009 to 2010, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha. He was Jharkhand's deputy chief minister in the Arjun Munda cabinet from 2010 until 2013.
• He assumed office in 2013 as the youngest chief minister of Jharkhand for the first term, and he was named leader of the opposition in the Jharkhand assembly in 2014.
• He began his second term as the chief minister of Jharkhand in 2019. He left his position as CM in January 2024, and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him shortly after.

• • Capital:– Ranchi
• Governor:- C. P. Radhakrishnan

Defence

IAF chief inaugurates newly established weapon systems school

About News:-

• To reorient the Indian Air Force (IAF) and make it a force focused on the future, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) of the IAF, opened the Weapon Systems School (WSS) at Air Force Station (AFS) Begumpet in Hyderabad, Telangana.

• This comes after the IAF approved the Weapon System (WS) branch in 2022 as a new branch of officers.
• The WSS seeks to give officers of the recently established WS branch modern, effect-based training.
• The new branch will consist of four streams: mission commanders and operators for Surface-to-Surface and Surface-to-Air weapon systems; intelligence stream for handling space-based intelligence and imagery; flying stream for operating the weapons and systems in airborne platforms such as the Sukhoi-30 MKI and C-130J; and remote stream for operating remotely piloted aircraft.

Award

Agri-entrepreneur Sopna Kallingal secures Spice Award

• Agriculturist Sopna Kallingal of Kallingal Plantation in Thrissur was recently presented with the esteemed Spice Award 2024. She received this award from the Indian Institute of Spices Research (ICAR) in recognition of her exceptional achievements in integrated crop management and company diversification.

• The Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) created the Spice Award to honor and encourage innovative farming techniques that are more climate-friendly for India's spice industry.
• This award is intended to recognize businesses and individuals who employ safe and efficient farming practices that significantly contribute to the expansion of the sector.

• Under Ms. Kallingal's leadership, Kallingal Plantation served as an excellent model of long-term, multifaceted growth.
• In addition to its major crop of nutmeg, the farm does a fantastic job at growing other crops.
• To maximize its space and produce, the farm grows nutmeg trees, coconut palms, areca nuts, and black pepper vines.

Report

Hong Kong is an expensive city for expatriates; Mumbai tops the list in India, and New Delhi follows

• Mumbai, Maharashtra, is the most expensive city in India out of all the Indian cities included in Mercer's most recent "Cost of Living City Ranking 2024" study.
• Mumbai is now ranked 136th overall in the survey, up 11 places from 2023.

• For the second year in a row, Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region (SAR) in China, Singapore, and Zurich, Switzerland, were the world's top three most expensive cities in 2024, coming in first, second, and third, respectively.
• The top three least costly cities in the world, according to the research, are Islamabad, Pakistan (ranked 224th), Lagos, Nigeria (ranked 225th), and Abuja, Nigeria (226th).
• The study conducted surveys in over 226 cities throughout the globe to gather data on global mobility.
• It included more than 200 cost components, including lodging, transportation, food, clothes, and entertainment. To keep consistency, it selected New York City as its base city and kept the currency in US dollars.

• Established- 1945
• Headquarters- New York, the USA
• President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Pat Tomlinson

Science  & Technology

First-ever domestic chip-based 4G station from Signaltron is introduced by the Army

• With the purchase of Sahyadri Long-Term Evolution (LTE) base stations from Signaltron Systems Pvt Ltd, a Bengaluru, Karnataka-based provider of wireless communications solutions, the Indian Army has deployed its first-ever indigenous chip-based 4G mobile base station via the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.

• A fabless semiconductor business called Signalchip produced the 4G and 5G chips that are utilized in base stations.
• This is the first time the army has used an Indian system for sophisticated communication technology that is powered by an Indian chip.
• Weighing under 7 kg, the Sahyadri NIB provides secure wireless connectivity for data, video, and audio applications.
• It is compatible with both IP and traditional analog telephone systems, and it can function in both solo and cellular modes.
• In 2023, the Indian Army submitted a bid on GeM for the provision of a 4G LTE Network In a Box (NIB) system.

Miscellaneous

Global IndiaAI Summit 2024 to be held in New Delhi

• The "Global IndiaAI Summit" was organized by the Government of India (GOI) and took place at Bharat Mandampam in New Delhi, Delhi, from July 3rd to 4th. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity), Government of India, organized the summit.
• India's steadfast dedication to the responsible development, application, and uptake of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is reflected in the summit's mission to promote cooperation and knowledge sharing among international AI players.

• Over 10,000 AI enthusiasts participated virtually in the 12 sessions that the Meity arranged on the sidelines of the summit. 2,000 worldwide AI experts, policymakers, and practitioners attended in person.
• The main goals of the summit were to further the development of AI in several important areas, such as computer capacity, safe AI, future skills, datasets, foundational models, application development, and startup financing. These are the India AI Mission's seven main pillars.

• Union Minister- Ashwini Vaishnaw (Rajya Sabha member- Odisha)
• Minister of State (MoS)- Jitin Prasada (Lok Sabha constituency- Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh)

Important Day

International Day of Cooperatives 2024

• Like every year, the International Day of Cooperatives will be celebrated across the world on the first Saturday of July, which falls on July 6, 2024.
• Coops Day 2024 marks the 102nd anniversary of this globally recognized event, highlighting the contributions of cooperatives to society.

• The history of cooperatives dates back to the earliest earliest recorded cooperative in Scotland on March 14, 1761. Since then, they have had a pivotal role in social and economic development. In 1895, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) was formed, giving a global identity to this movement.
• According to the ICA website, a Cooperative is ‘an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.’