Daily Current Affairs 12 July 2024, OPSC Exam Current Affairs

Daily Current Affairs for OPSC Exam

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UU Lalit to head the Committee on Appointment of VC in Bengal

• The Supreme Court has appointed the former Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit as the chairman of the search and selection committee for the appointment of vice-chancellor in all the state-run universities of West Bengal.
• A division bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice K V Vishwanatahn passed this order on 9 July 2024. The two-judge bench passed the order on a special leave petition filed by the West Bengal government under Article 138 of the constitution.
• The two-judge division bench observed that both the office of the governor of West Bengal and the state government have agreed to form the search and selection committee.
• The bench ordered the constitution of a six-member committee within two weeks.

Adani Group announced as Principal Sponsor for Indian Team at 2024 Paris Olympics

• Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group, has announced that the conglomerate will be sponsoring the Indian team travelling to Paris for the 2024 Olympics Games.
• With the Indian contingent in the last leg of its preparations for the 2024 Olympics, the Adani Group has pledged its whole-hearted support to the champions of the nation through a campaign with the theme #DeshkaGeetAtOlympics.
• The campaign centres around the athletes, who have spent hours and years in training to win and hear the national anthem after the victory
• The social media campaign has been launched even as the Indian sportspersons continue to put in the hard yards before flying out to Paris for the Olympic Games set to be held from July 26 to August 11.
• Since 2016, the Adani Group has supported more than 28 athletes in sports like boxing, wrestling, tennis, javelin throw, shooting, running, shotput, brisk walking, archery, and more

Rajasthan to become first State to adopt a road safety action plan for 10 years

• Rajasthan will shortly become the first State in the country to adopt an action plan for road safety for the next 10 years.
• The action plan, to be accompanied by a government policy, will be aimed at reducing road accidents in the State by 50% till 2030.
• Its first phase focuses on safety audits of 500km of state highways and major district roads
• A pilot project for the development of dedicated two-wheeler lanes/cycle lanes on state highways is also planned.
• The policy draft also mentions that a pilot speed management programme will be conducted for high-risk corridors in the state, along with piloting improvement works for 25 high-priority black spots.

Punjab gets its first Plant Clinic & Soil Testing Laboratory in Moga

• In Punjab, the first plant clinic and soil testing laboratory of the state has been established in Moga, with a grant from the NITI Aayog.
• The clinic will provide free soil testing and plant disease diagnosis services to farmers. Moga district is among the aspirational districts of the country and this clinic equipped with modern equipment is a part of development by NITI Aayog in the area.
• The clinic has been set up with a total cost of Rs. 1 crore 25 lakh. The latest machine here can analyze soil samples and provide detailed reports on nutrient content, pH levels, and other parameters.

Tasnim Mir & Mannepalli won singles title at 2024 BWF Reunion Open

• The Indian badminton players dominated the 3rd BWF Saint-Denis Reunion Open 2024 by winning both the men’s and women’s singles titles.
• However, India had to settle for a silver in the men’s doubles.
• Tharun Mannepalli of Telangana won the men’s singles title by defeating Yudai Okimoto of Japan in straight sets 21-15, 21-15 in the final.
• It was the second international title for Tharun Mannepalli. Earlier, he had won the singles title of the Kazakhstan International Challenge held in April 2024.
• Women’s badminton single player Tasnim Mir of Gujarat defeated Rakshitha Sree of India in straight sets 21- 15, 21-19 in the final to lift the single titles.
• The 2024 Saint-Denis Reunion Open Badminton title was the third challenger title for Tasnim Mir and her first since 2022.
• The Saint-Denis Reunion Open 2024 was held in Saint-Denis, the capital of the French overseas département of Réunion in the Western Indian Ocean.

Mutual Recognition Agreement between India and Taiwan for Organic Products

• India and Russia have announced an initiative to develop strategic areas of economic cooperation to achieve a bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2030.
• In addition, India and Russia signed a number of MoUs between institutions on climate change, polar research, legal arbitration and pharmaceutical certification and other issues.
• Earlier, addressing about 500 members of the Indian diaspora in Russia, Mr. Modi announced that Russia had agreed to India’s request to open two new consulates in Kazan and Yekaterinburg to help facilitate services for the growing community.

Central Asian countries conduct first war games without Russia or China

• The Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) for organic products between India and Taiwan has been implemented during the 9th Working Group on Trade Meeting with Taiwan at New Delhi.
• The implementation of the MRA between India and Taiwan is a landmark achievement as it is the first bilateral agreement for organic products.
• The implementing Agencies for the MRA are Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India and Agriculture and Food Agency, Ministry of Agriculture (AFA) Taiwan.
• The MRA will pave the way for the export of major Indian organic products such as Rice, Processed Food, Green/Black and Herbal Tea, Medicinal plant products etc to Taiwan.
• The mutual recognition will ease the export of organic products by avoiding dual certifications; thus, reducing compliance costs, and enhancing trade opportunities in the organic sector.

EAM Jaishankar to host BIMSTEC foreign ministers

• The BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' meeting was held in New Delhi today i.e. on 11 July. This meeting will last for two days.
• Foreign Ministers of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan are participating in it.
• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) brings together seven countries of South and Southeast Asia for multi-faceted cooperation.
• Secretary General of the BIMSTEC Indra Mani Pandey

• It is a regional organization of countries bordering the Bay of Bengal. It includes seven countries and Pakistan is kept out of it.
• It was formed in 1997 under the Bangkok Declaration. Following the inclusion of Myanmar on 22 December 1997 during a special Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok, the Group was renamed ‘BIMST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation).
• In 1998, Nepal became an observer.
• In February 2004, Nepal and Bhutan became full members. The first edition of the BIMSTEC foreign ministers' retreat was held in Bangkok on 17 July, 2023

Bangladesh Joins Colombo Security Conclave as 5th Full Member States

• Bangladesh officially joined the Colombo Security Conclave as its fifth full member during the 8th Deputy National Security Adviser (DNSA) level meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC)on 10 July 2024 .
• Bangladesh joins India, Mauritius, Maldives and Sri Lanka as the members of the Colombo Security Conclave, Bangladesh earlier had an Observer status at the Colombo Security Conclave.
• At present, Seychelles has an Observer status at the Colombo Security Conclave.
• Mauritius host the 8th DNSA meeting of the CSC The 8th Deputy National Security Adviser (DNSA) level meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) was hosted by Mauritius virtually.
• Deputy National Security Adviser (Internal Affairs) Pankaj Kumar Singh represented India at the meeting.
• The meeting decided that the next 7th National Security Advisor level meeting will be held in India later this year.

• The Colombo Security Dialogue is a security-focused group of countries in the Indian Ocean.
• Its origins lie in the 2011 India-Sri Lanka-Maldives maritime security dialogue.
• In 2020, the group was renamed the Colombo Security Conclave.Later, Mauritius was made the fourth member of the Colombo Security Conclave.
• In March 2022, the five pillars of the Colombo Security Conclave were adopted. They are:
• maritime safety and security,
• countering terrorism and radicalisation;
• combating trafficking and transnational organised crime;
• cybersecurity and protection of critical infrastructure and technology; and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief
• Secretariat: In 2021, the Colombo Security Conclave's secretariat was established in Colombo, Sri Lanka

India will not travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy

• The Indian cricket team will not travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
• Instead, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) plans to request the International Cricket Council (ICC) to relocate their matches to either Sri Lanka or Dubai, newswire ANI reported, quoting BCCI sources.
• The ICC Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan between February and March 2025.
• Due to strained political relations, India has not played cricket in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup.
• The Pakistan Cricket Board proposed that India play all its matches in Lahore.
• However, the BCCI is not interested in travelling to Pakistan.
• In May, BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla said that the Indian team would visit Pakistan for the tournament only if the Central government allowed it.Pakistan won the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 when it was last held.
• In 2002, India and Sri Lanka were declared joint winners of the ICC Champions Trophy after the Match Day and the Reserve Day had been washed out due to rain. India beat England in 2013 to win the trophy for the second time.

National Fish Farmer’s Day

• National Fish Farmer’s Day is celebrated on 10th July every year to recognize and appreciate the invaluable contributions of fish farmers, aquaculture industry professionals and other stakeholders towards ensuring a sustainable and thriving fisheries sector.
• It is celebrated to honour and commemorate the contribution of Professor Dr. Hiralal Chaudhury and his colleague Dr. K. H. Alikunhi, in the Indian fisheries sector who had guided induced breeding and reproduction in Indian Major Carps by Hypophysation technique, on this day in 1957, which eventually lead to a revolution in Inland Aquaculture.

• Every year since 1990, 11 July has been observed as World Population Day around the world .
• The day seeks to focus the attention of global stakeholders on the issues of population growth, their relations to the environment and development and related issues.
• The 2024 World Population Day theme is “To Leave No One Behind, Count Everyone” .
• This year's theme highlights the importance of collecting, analysing, and using population data to deliver health care globally.
• Global Population and Its Growth According to the United Nations, the global human population crossed the billion milestone in 1804, and it took another 126 years to reach the 2 billion population mark in 1930.
• It crossed the 3 billion mark in the next 30 years, 4th billion in the next 14 years and the 5th billion in the next 13 years.
• In 2011, the world's human population crossed 7 billion.
• On 15 November 2022, the global human population crossed 8 billion.
• The United Nations expect the human population to reach around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.9 billion in 2100.

Most and least Populous Country in the World According to the United Nations

• India became the most populous country in the world in April 2023, overtaking China.
• Least Populated Country Vatican City is the least populated country in the world, with an    estimated population of 526, according to the World Population Review.
• After Vatican City, the tiny Pacific country of Tuvalu is the second least populated country in the world, and then another Pacific Ocean island country, Nauru, is in third place.