Daily Current Affairs 19 July 2024, OPSC Exam Current Affairs

Daily Current Affairs for OPSC Exam

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Jyotiraditya Scindia launches NE-RACE portal, mobile app for farmers in northeast

• Union Minister for the Development of the North East Region Jyotiraditya Scindia launched the North East Region Agri Commodity E-Connect (NERACE) designed to benefit the farmers of the region and help position it as a hub of high-value horticultural products in the international market.
• The NERACE app is intended to support agricultural and horticultural products such as spices, fruits, vegetables, pulses, cereals, and minor forest products.
• Furthermore, the NE-RACE App is designed to promote Northeast as a reliable partner in the international agricultural value chain.
• The Department of Posts will be organizing 5,000 Dak Chaupals across the country in 100 days. “This initiative aims to bring essential government and citizen-centric services directly to rural areas, improving accessibility and convenience.
• Dak Chaupals will serve as vital links between rural residents and government functions. Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra Scheme is set to bolster rural exports by supporting small-scale exporters.
• This initiative provides essential services including documentation assistance, market information, bar-coded label printing, and paperless customs clearance.

ADB approved USD 240.5 million in loans for rooftop solar system in India

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sanctioned a loan of $240.5 million to fund rooftop solar systems in India, bolstering the nation’s renewable energy expansion efforts.
• This financing will support the second and third tranches of the Multitranche Financing Facility (MFF) Solar Rooftop Investment Program, initially approved by ADB in 2016.
• In 2023, the program was restructured to concentrate on deploying residential solar rooftop systems.
• India aims to achieve about 50 per cent of cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel energy sources by 2030 , which is in line with its global commitments to reduce carbon emissions.

Asian Paralympic Committee appoints Deepa Malik as representative for South Asia

• India’s first woman Paralympic medallist Deepa Malik has been named sub-regional representative for South Asia by the Asian Paralympic Committee (APC).
• This appointment, which was confirmed during the 34th Executive Board meeting of the APC, signifies a significant step forward for gender diversity and athlete-centric leadership in para-sports.
• The former Paralympic Committee of India chief’s appointment brings the number of female representatives on the APC Executive Board to five, making it the highest female representation on the board in the history of the organization.

• Formation- 30 October 2002
• Headquarters – Dubai, UAE
• Members – 45
• President – Majid Rashad

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

• The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi met Dr R Balasubramaniam 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.
• “Power Within” is not just another political biography. It presents a unique analytical framework, examining Prime Minister Modi’s leadership through a dual lens.

Shaurya Bawa won bronze at World Junior squash

• India’s Shaurya Bawa signed off with a bronze medal after going down 0-3 to Egyptian top seed Mohamed Zakaria in the boys’ singles semifinal of the World Junior Squash Championships in Houston.
• Bawa lost 5-11 5-11 9-11 to last year’s runner-up Zakaria in a thrilling 41-minute semifinal contest. Bawa is only the second Indian male after Kush Kumar (in 2014) to reach the World Junior semifinals.

India Shines at 35th International Biology Olympiad 2024 in Kazakhstan

• The Indian team, which participated at the 35th International Biology Olympiad (IBO) 2024 achieved remarkable success, with one student winning a GOLD medal and three students securing SILVER medals.
• Vedant Sakre from Mumbai, Maharashtra won a gold medal

ADB maintains India’s GDP growth forecast at 7% for FY25

• Asian Development Bank (ADB) has retained India’s GDP forecast at 7 per cent for fiscal year 2024-25.
• This is at par with International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) projection of 7 per cent, but lowers than the Reserve Bank of India’s estimate of 7.2 per cent.
• ADB has also maintained its growth forecast at 7.2 per cent for fiscal year 2025-26.
• India’s industrial sector is projected to grow robustly, driven by manufacturing and strong demand in construction.
• Agriculture is expected to rebound amid forecasts for an above normal monsoon, while investment demand remains strong, led by public investment.

Maharashtra govt launched scheme to boost youth employability

• The Government of Maharashtra has unveiled the Mukhyamantri Yuva Karya Prashikshan Yojana (Chief Minister Youth Work Training Scheme) aiming to provide valuable internship opportunities, equipping young individuals with essential skills and enhancing their employability in a competitive job market.
• The government has made provision of ₹ 5,500 crore for the scheme.
• Candidates aged between 18 to 35 years and residing in Maharashtra are eligible to apply under the scheme.
• Minimum educational qualifications range from 12th pass to post-graduation, ensuring a broad spectrum of youth can benefit from practical training opportunities.
• Industries and establishments operating within Maharashtra, registered with the Department of Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, are also encouraged to participate.
• Key features of the scheme include a six month internship duration and a stipend structure designed to support interns based on their educational qualifications.

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde announces Ladka Bhau Yojana for Youths

• Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced a new scheme, 'Ladka Bhau' Yojana, on 17 July 2024 for the unemployed youth of the state.
• He announced the scheme during his visit to Pandharpur in Solapur district in Ashadhi Ekadashi.
• The announcement of the scheme follows the 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin’ announced for women in the 2024-25 state government budget.
• Maharashtra will go to polls to elect a new legislative assembly as the term of the current assembly is scheduled to end in November 2024.
• According to tradition, every year, on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi, the Maharashtra chief minister visits the famous temple in Pandharpur, dedicated to Lord Vitthal and the goddess Lakshmi, to offer prayers
• The Ladka Bhau Yojana is a job training and stipend scheme for unemployed male youth.
• An unemployed youth will join as an apprentice in the industrial, nonindustrial, government and semi-government establishments.
• The youth will be paid a stipend from the state government during the training.
• The 12th-pass apprentice will receive Rs 6,000, the diploma holder Rs 8,000, and those with a bachelor's degree Rs 10,000 per month.
• According to CM Shinde, the unemployed youth will gain skills while doing apprenticeships, which will help them secure a job in the future. The industrial and non-industrial establishments will get trained manpower.

Nelson Mandela International Day

• Nelson Mandela International Day is observed on July 18 every year to celebrate the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa.
• Mandela was elected South Africa’s first democratically elected President on May 10, 1994.
• He is referred to as the ‘Father of the Nation’ in South Africa.
• Theme 2024 – Combatting poverty and inequality is in our hands.
• Nelson Mandela International Day was officially declared by the United Nations in 2009.
• The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/64/13, which marked July 18 as Nelson Mandela International Day to recognise his contribution to peace and culture.
• The first Mandela Day was held on July 18, 2010

World Listening Day

• World Listening Day is observed on every year on 18 July.
• The purpose of celebrating World Hearing Day is to feel connected to the environment around us, society and culture through listening.
• Theme 2024 – Listening to the Weave of Sound
• This day also marks the birthday of Canadian composer and environmentalist Raymond Murray Schafer, who was also the founder of acoustic ecology

• Project 2025 was created by the Heritage Foundation think tank and runs for nearly 900 pages . Led by former Trump administration officials, it calls for the sacking of thousands of civil servants, expanding the power of the president, dismantling the Department of Education, sweeping tax cuts, a ban on pornography, halting sales of the abortion pill, and a whole lot more.
• There is substantial agreement between many parts of the official Republican Party platform and Project 2025, although the think-tank document is much more detailed and in some policy areas and goes much farther than the party line.
• The conservative Heritage Foundation first produced policy plans for future Republican administrations in 1981, when Ronald Reagan was about to take office.
• It has produced similar documents in connection with subsequent presidential elections, including in 2016, when Trump won the presidency.
• A year into his term, the think-tank boasted that the Trump White House had adopted nearly two-thirds of its proposals.
• The Project 2025 report was unveiled in April 2023, but liberal opposition to the document has ramped up now that Trump has extended his polling lead.

• Project 2025 proposes that the entire federal bureaucracy, including independent agencies such as the Department of Justice, be placed under direct presidential control - a controversial idea known as "unitary executive theory".

• Increased funding for a wall on the US-Mexico border - one of Trump's signature proposals in 2016 - is proposed in the document.
• Project 2025 also proposes dismantling the Department of Homeland Security and combining it with other immigration enforcement units in other agencies, creating a much larger and more powerful border policing operation.

• The document proposes slashing federal money for research and investment in renewable energy, and calls for the next president to "stop the war on oil and natural gas". Carbon-reduction goals would be replaced by efforts to increase energy production and energy security.

• Project 2025 does not call outright for a nationwide abortion ban. However, it proposes withdrawing the abortion pill mifepristone from the market, and using existing but little-enforced laws to stop the drug being sent through the post.

• Under the proposals, pornography would be banned, and tech and telecoms companies that allow access would be shut down. The document calls for school choice and parental control over schools, and takes aim at what it calls "woke propaganda".