Daily Current Affairs 12 June 2024, OPSC Exam Current Affairs

Daily Current Affairs for OPSC Exam

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time MLA Mohan Majhi is new Odisha CM

• BJP Tuesday announced Mohan Charan Majhi, a four-time MLA from Keonjhar and a tribal face, as the new Chief Minister of Odisha.
• Majhi will take oath on Wednesday along with two Deputy Chief Ministers — K V Singh Deo and Pravati Parida – at a grand event which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The 52-year-old Majhi, who rose from the grassroots, was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP Legislature Party at a meeting held in the presence of Union Ministers and party observers Rajnath Singh and Bhupender Yadav here on Tuesday. After the meeting, Majhi met Governor Raghubar Das to stake claim to form the government.
• Majhi, who has no previous experience of discharging duty as a minister, emerged as the surprise choice for the top post, beating several heavyweight leaders such as Manmohan Samal and Suresh Pujari to the post.
• The BJP’s choice to pick a tribal face as its Chief Minister in Odisha is seen as an attempt by the party to consolidate its support base among the tribals, who comprise around 23% of state’s total population.
• A law graduate, Majhi was a teacher in Saraswati Sishu Mandir. He started his political career as a sarpanch in 1997 and was elected to the Assembly for the first time in 2000 from Keonjhar . He was re-elected from the seat again in 2004 and became the deputy chief whip from 2005 to 2009 in the BJD-BJP coalition government.
• After losing two elections in 2009 and 2014, Majhi was again elected from the seat in 2019 and retained the seat in 2024. In the previous Assembly, Majhi was the opposition chief whip, who led the BJP’s charge of attack against the Naveen Patnaik government on many crucial issues.
• In 2022, he was also appointed as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

KV Singh Deo, Pravati Parida to be new Deputy Chief Ministers

• Among the Deputy Chief Ministers, Singh Deo is a six-time MLA from Patnagarh and belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Patnagarh in western Odisha .
• He had also served as a minister in the erstwhile BJD-BJP coalition government. His uncle Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo is a former CM of Odisha.
• Pravati Parida is a first-time MLA from Nimapada in coastal Odisha . Prime Minister Narendra Modi, top BJP leaders and the party Chief Ministers will attend the swearing-in event of the CM and his ministers, to be held at the Janta Maidan in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.

• No Constitutional Basis: Article 164 (1): The Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the Governor shall appoint the other Ministers on the advice of the Chief Minister. Therefore there is no mention of a Deputy Chief Minister.
• The post of Deputy CM is understood as being equivalent in rank to that of Cabinet Minister (in the state). The Deputy CM enjoys the same pay and perks as a Cabinet Minister.
• The first leader to hold the post of deputy CM in independent India was the Congress’s Anugrah Narayan Sinha.
• He was one of the tallest leaders to emerge from Bihar, termed the “mason of modern Bihar and its politics”.
• Later on, Karpoori thakur became deputy CM in 1967.
• Subsequently more states began to follow this pattern
• The appointment and removal of a deputy chief minister is entirely at the discretion of the chief minister.
• The chief minister may appoint more than one deputy chief minister, as is the case in some states like Uttar Pradesh.
• The chief minister may also reshuffle or drop a deputy chief minister at any time, as per their political calculations.
• The position of deputy chief minister is used to bring political stability and strength to a coalition government. It is also a way of rewarding loyal and influential leaders of the ruling party or alliance.
• The Deputy CM acts as the chief minister’s deputy and assists them in the administration and governance of the state.
• In some cases, the Deputy CM may act as a bridge between the ruling party and its allies, or between different regions or communities within the state.
• The Deputy CM may be seen as a potential successor to the Chief Minister.
• The Deputy CM may also perform some of the functions of the chief minister in their absence, such as presiding over cabinet meetings, attending official functions, or representing the state in inter-state or national forums.
• What is Special Category Status (SCS)?
• In 1969, the Fifth Finance Commission of India introduced the mechanism of SCS to assist certain states in their development and fast-tracking growth if they faced historical economic or geographical disadvantages.
• Factors such as difficult and hilly terrain, low population density and/ or a sizable tribal population, strategic location along borders, economic and infrastructural backwardness, and non-viable nature of state finances were typically considered to accord SCS.
• The system was scrapped on the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission, which suggested that the resource gap of the states should be filled by increasing the devolution of tax to 42% from the existing 32%.
• SCS was accorded to 11 states, including the entire Northeast, and the border hill states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. Subsequently, other states too demanded SCS — including Naidu’s AP; Bihar, whose Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is another key NDA ally; and Odisha, where the BJP will now form the government.
• Eleven States including Assam, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Uttarakhand and Telangana have been accorded the special category state status.
• Telangana, the newest State of India, was accorded the status as it was carved out of another state Andhra Pradesh. In the past, SCS states used to receive approximately 30% of central assistance, determined by the Gadgil-Mukherjee formula.
• The Centre pays 90% of the funds required in a CentrallySponsored Scheme to special category status states as against 60% or 75% in case of other states, while the remaining funds are provided by the state governments.
• Unspent money in a financial year does not lapse and is carried forward. Significant concessions are provided to these states in excise and customs duties, income tax and corporate tax.

• When undivided AP was bifurcated to create Telangana in 2014 through the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, the UPA government at the Centre had promised to grant SCS to AP to compensate for the loss of revenue, and of Hyderabad, where much of the development was concentrated

• Economic Disparities: Bihar faces significant economic challenges, including a lack of industrial development and limited investment opportunities. The bifurcation of the state resulted in the shifting of industries to Jharkhand, exacerbating the employment and economic growth issues in Bihar.
• Natural Calamities : The state grapples with natural calamities like floods in the northern region and severe droughts in the southern part. Bihar has a high poverty rate, with a significant number of families living below the poverty line

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has signed the release of the 17th installment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN Nidhi) scheme.
• The move will benefit more than 93 million farmers by disbursing more than Rs 20,000 crore. The 16th Installment of the PM KISAN scheme was released on 28th February 2024.

• PM-KISAN Nidhi is a central government scheme launched in December 2018 to support the income of farmers by providing an annual financial assistance of Rs 6,000.
• The money is given in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 every four months directly into the beneficiaries’ bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer.
• More than 93 million farmers had received Rs 2000 as the 16th instalment of PM Kisan Yojana
• The PM was also approved a proposal for constructing three crores more houses under the PMAY. The government is implementing Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) since 2015-16 to provide assistance to the eligible rural and urban households for construction of houses with basic amenities. Under PMAY, 4.21 crore houses have been completed for eligible poor families under the housing schemes in the last 10 years. All the houses constructed under PMAY are provided other basic amenities such as household toilets, LPG connection, electricity connection, functional household tap connection and so forth.

Centre releases ₹ 1.39 lakh crore to States

• The Union Government released over ₹ 1.39 lakh crore to the States under the devolution mechanism.
• Based on the Finance Commission’s formula, 41 per cent of the Centre’s tax revenue is given to the States through the devolution mechanism.
• Uttar Pradesh got the highest share with more than ₹ 25,000 crore, followed by Bihar ( ₹ 14,000 crore) and Madhya Pradesh (over ₹ 10000 crore). The Interim Budget 2024-25 has a provision of over ₹ 12 lakh crore towards devolution of taxes to States. With this release, the total amount devolved (for FY 2024-25) to States till June 10, 2024, is over ₹ 2.79 lakh crore.

BRICS Foreigners Ministers meeting held in Russia

• BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) Foreign Ministers meeting begins in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod.
• The two-day meeting chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov comes ahead of the BRICS Summit slated to be held this October.
• This is the first meeting of foreign ministers since the expansion of BRICS in 2023.
• The 10 full members of the association include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa with new members Egypt, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia joining the grouping in 2023. Russia took over the chairmanship of BRICS on January 1, 2024.

Prem Singh Tamang sworn in as Sikkim CM for 2nd time

• Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) supremo Prem Singh Tamang took oath as the Chief Minister of the Himalayan state for the second consecutive term.
• The 56-year-old politician was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya at a function held in Paljor Stadium in Gangtok.
• Twelve ministers, including the chief minister, were also sworn in. According to the constitution, the maximum strength of the Sikkim Council of Ministers shall be twelve.
• The SKM was swept back into power in the recently concluded state legislative assembly election by winning 31 out of 32 seats of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly.

• Capital - Gangtok
• Chief Minister - Prem Singh Tamang (2nd time)
• Governor - Lakshman Prasad Acharya

Indian Navy gets its first Woman Helicopter Pilot

• Sub Lieutenant Anamika B. Rajeev became the Indian Navy’s first woman helicopter pilot during a passing out parade held in the naval air station INS Rajali at Arakkonam in Ranipet district.
• A total of 21 officers were awarded the prestigious ‘Golden Wings’ by Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar, Flag Officer Commandingin-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.
• The trainees completed an intensive 22-week training programme encompassing rigorous flying and ground training at the Indian Naval Air Squadron 561, the alma mater of all helicopter pilots of the Indian Navy

SEBI bags ‘Best Conduct of Business Regulator’ award

• SEBI has been given ‘Best Conduct of Business Regulator’ award in Asia Pacific by The Asian Banker for its role in enhancing the regulatory framework for securities markets in India.
• The award was received by Sebi’s Whole Time Member Kamlesh Chandra Varshney in a ceremony held in Hong Kong.
• This move has provided investors with faster access to their funds following trade execution and settlement, enhancing market efficiency and liquidity. SEBI has been actively working towards instantaneous settlement.
• In 2021, T+1 settlement was introduced in a phased manner, which was fully implemented from January 2023.

Sumit Nagapal wins his 6th ATP Challenger Tennis Title

• T he Indian men’s tennis player Sumit Nagpal won the men’s singles title at the Heilbronn Neckarcup 2024 ATP Challenger Tennis tournament in Germany.
• It was the sixth ATP Challenger title for India’s top ranked men’s tennis singles player.
• In the final, Sumit Nagpal defeated Alexander Ritschard of Switzerland in three sets 6-1, 6(5)-7(7), 6-3.
• This win will improve the ATP ranking of Sumit Nagpal making him eligible for the 2024 Summer Paris Olympics.
• The ATP Challenger Tour Tennis Tournament is organised by the apex men’s professional tennis organisation, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

UP to organize 2025 edition of MotoGP Bharat in Noida

• MotoGP India will be held in Buddha Circuit, Greater Noida Gautam Buddha Nagar from 2025 to 2029.
• The Uttar Pradesh government will sign a contract with Dorna Sports and its Indian partner, Fairstreet Sports, to organize the MotoGP event in Noida.
• To organize the event through its Invest UP department, the state government will raise crore.

Saurabh Sharma strikes Twin Gold in World Para Athlete Grand Prix

• Saurabh Sharma, an athlete from Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur district, has won two gold medals in the ongoing World Para Athlete Grand Prix in the Nottwil city of Switzerland.
• Sharma emerged victorious in 155-metre and 5000-metre races. Sharma, who hails from Ropa Khayah village of Nadaun area in Hamirpur district, is representing the Indian team in the T12 category. He had earlier won seven gold medals at the national level.

Max Verstappen won Canadian Grand Prix 2024

• Dutch-Belgian racing driver Max Verstappen of Red Bull has won the Canadian Grand Prix 2024. Verstappen’s triumph at the Canadian Grand Prix 2024 marked his 60th Formula 1 win and his sixth victory in nine races this season.
• McLaren’s Lando Norris secured an impressive second-place finish, while Mercedes’s George Russell clinched the third spot, achieving the team’s first Grand Prix podium finish for the 2024 Formula 1 season.
• The Canadian Grand Prix 2024 is also known as the AWS GRAND PRIX DU CANADA 2024

International Day of Play

• International Day of Play is observed on 11 June. This year, It is the first edition of International Day of Play.
• The Day of Play on 11 June was added to the list of global annual observances recognized by the United Nations, following a successful campaign by Save the Children, the LEGO Group and the LEGO Foundation and other partners, to recognize play as a critical developmental activity for children.
• Children have a right to play under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, yet around 70% of adults aren’t aware of this right, according to toy manufacturer LEGO’s global Play Well Study 2024, underscoring the need for an international day.