Current Affairs 2024

Assam Cattle Preservation Bill 2021 [12 Jul 2021]

Assam Chief Minister Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma table in the State Assembly the Assam Cattle Preservation Bill 2021 that proposes to prohibit inter-state as well as with in the state transport of cattlewithout valid documents, selling and buying of beef in areas inhabited by non-beef eating communities as well as within a radious of 5 km of any temple.

Indian stem cell & developmental biologist part of WHO advisory committee on human genome editing [12 Jul 2021]

Indian stem cell and developmental biologist Prof. Maneesha S Inamdar has been part of the WHO Expert Advisory Committee on Developing Global Standards for Governance and Oversight of Human Genome Editing, which released two new companion reports providing the first global recommendations to help ensure that human genome editing is used for public health, with an emphasis on safety, effectiveness, and ethics. The reports, released on July 12, 2021, contained a forward-looking Governance Framework for oversight mechanisms for research into and potential application of human genome editing technology at institutional, national, regional, and international levels. Professor Maneesha S Inamdar, along with her group, is conducting research at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru, an autonomous Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) that uses gene-editing tools to manipulate stem cells in vitro. This can generate disease models for scientific insight into human development and devising therapeutic strategies. She pioneered human embryonic stem cell derivation and use in India and has contributed significantly to national and international stem cell guidance documents, ethics committees, and training programs.

As part of the WHO Committee, she contributed scientific knowledge and perspective to provide guidance, expertise, and support throughout the project for the conceptualization and development of the WHO Governance Framework and Recommendations on Human Genome Editing. Representing the LMIC countries in Asia, she contributed with the Committee towards ensuring that in addition to scientific considerations, procedural and substantive values and principles such as inclusiveness, diversity, equity, and global health justice identified by the Committee, informed decisions. She is a member of the Education, Engagement, and Empowerment (3E) subgroup of the Committee, and as part of the committee, she was also involved in making recommendations to the Secretariat and WHO Director-General on global governance structures for human genome editing, considering the relevant broader issues associated with oversight and governance of emerging technologies.

Euro 2020: Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma named player of the tournament [12 Jul 2021]

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has been named Uefa's player of the tournament for Euro 2020. The 22-year-old, who is set to join Paris St-Germain from AC Milan, saved two penalties in the Azzurri's shootout win over England, which gave them a first European title since 1968.

Wimbledon 2021: Novak Djokovic beats Matteo Berrettini for 20th Grand Slam title [12 Jul 2021]

Novak Djokovic won his sixth Wimbledon title to equal Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's record of 20 men's Grand Slam victories after fighting back to beat Italy's Matteo Berrettini. Top seed Djokovic has now won all three Grand Slam men's titles in 2021.

UEFA Euro 2020 Final: Italy crowned European champions after shootout win over England [12 Jul 2021]

Italy won the European Championship for the first time since 1968 as Gianluigi Donnarumma saved two England penalties en route to a 3-2 shootout win after the teams had fought out a 1-1 extra-time draw at a raucous Wembley.

Sirisha Bandla: India celebrates woman who flew on Virgin Galactic [12 Jul 2021]

Indians are celebrating Sirisha Bandla's flight to the edge of space on billionaire Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic rocket plane. Ms. Bandla is the second woman born in India to go to space after Kalpana Chawla who died when the Columbia Space Shuttle crashed at re-entry in 2003. The rocket flew high above New Mexico in the US before returning to Earth just an hour after leaving the ground.

Argentina win Copa America Cup 2021 [11 Jul 2021]

Lionel Messi ended his wait for a first major international title as Argentina beat Brazil in the Copa America 2021 final in Rio's Maracana stadium.

21st Session of India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation [10 Jul 2021]

21st Session of India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) was held on 09th July 2021 virtually. Mr. Piyush Goyal, Commerce & Industry Minister, and Mr. Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy co-chaired the Session. Both sides held extensive discussions on bilateral trade and investment and economic cooperation in the areas of Food Processing, Textiles, Leather, Railways, Startups, and the promotion of SMEs which play a crucial role in economic growth and employment generation. The bilateral market access issues and non-tariff barriers were also discussed to facilitate trade and investment. The progress on the outcomes of the India-EU leaders Summit in Porto, Portugal was also reviewed. Indian side also raised the issues of Mutual recognition of the COWIN Vaccine Certificate and opening up of Travel restrictions, longer duration of Business Visas, and Portability of social security benefits of Indians working in Italy. Following the India-Italy JCEC G2G Meeting, a G2B Session focusing on Energy partnership was held virtually in the presence of the two Ministers. During the meeting, 3 Indian companies (Indian Oil Corporation, Adani Solar, ReNew Power) and 3 Italian companies (Enel Green Power, Snam, Maire Tecnimont) made presentations focusing on the areas of green economy, clean technology, and promotion of the use of renewable energy for grid-based multi-energy systems. 

Justice Gita Mittal becomes 1st Indian to receive Arline Pacht Global Vision awards for 2021 [10 Jul 2021]

Justice Gita Mittal, former Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir High Court received the Arline Pacht Global Vision Award for 2021 by the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ). She becomes the first Indian Judge to receive the honour. She was declared as on of the recipients of the award. She shared the award with Justice Margarita Luna Ramos of Mexico.

Ashleigh Barty from Australia wins the Wimbledon 2021 women's single title [10 Jul 2021]

The world's No 1 Ashleigh Barty from Australia wins the Wimbledon 2021 women's singles title, defeating Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7 (4),6-3 to claim her second Grand slam title at the All England Club.

Samir Banerjee(17) wins the Wimbledon 2021 junior men's title [10 Jul 2021]

Samir Banerjee(17) wins the Wimbledon 2021 junior men's title, beating Victor Lilov of US 7-5,6-3. He becomes the first Indian-American to bag a Grand Slam boy's singles title.

Novak Djokovic beats Nick Kyrgios for 7th Wimbledon title [10 Jul 2021]

Serbia's Novak Djokovic beats Australia's Nick Kyrgios to win the final of the men's single for the 7th Wimbledon title. It is Djokovic’s 21st Grand Slam title overall, putting him one behind record-holder Rafael Nadal. Only Roger Federer has won more Wimbledon titles, with eight. Kyrgios was playing in his first Grand Slam final.

Indian economist Kaushik Basu honoured with Humboldt Research Award [06 Jul 2021]

Indian economist and professor at Cornell University Kaushik Basu has been awarded the Humboldt Research Award for Economics. Professor Kaushik Basu had earlier been conferred with the Padma Bhushan -- the third-highest civilian award in India. He was nominated for the Humboldt Research Award by Professor Dr Hans-Bernd Schäfer of Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany. Sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation based in Germany, the Humboldt Research Award recognises excellence throughout one's entire career and offers research collaboration opportunities.

A native of Kolkata, Kaushik Basu had served as the senior vice president and chief economist at the World Bank from 2012-2016 and as the chief economic advisor to the Government of India for three years from 2009 to 2012.

The President of India appoints/Transfer following Governor in various states [06 Jul 2021]

The President of India has made the following appointments/Changes of Governor:-

  • Shri P.S. Sreedharan Pillai, Governor of Mizoram is transferred and appointed as Governor of Goa.
  • Shri Satyadev Narayan Arya, Governor of Haryana is transferred and appointed as Governor of Tripura.
  • Shri Ramesh Bais, Governor of Tripura is transferred and appointed as Governor of Jharkhand.
  • Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot as Governor of Karnataka.
  • Shri Bandaru Dattatraya, Governor of Himachal Pradesh is transferred and appointed as Governor of Haryana.
  • Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati as Governor of Mizoram.
  • Shri Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel as Governor of Madhya Pradesh.
  • Shri Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar as Governor of Himachal Pradesh.

The above appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.

Mr. Pushkar Singh Dhami takes oath as the 11th Chief Minister of Uttarakhand [04 Jul 2021]

Mr. Pushkar Singh Dhami, two-time MLA, takes oath as the 11th Chief Minister of Uttarakhand with 11 members of his cabinet. At 45, he is the youngest CM in the 21-year history of the state.

China's Astronauts Carry out second Spacewalk in its History [04 Jul 2021]

Chinese astronauts successfully carried out the second spacewalk in the country's history as two of its three astronauts stepped out of the orbiting space station core module for seven hours and completed the designated tasks, China's space agency said. China's first spacewalk was conducted during the Shenzhou 7 manned mission in 2008. This mission was also China's first spacewalk outside the space station. China launched three male astronauts - Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo into space in June. Boming and Hongbo, stationed in the space station core module Tianhe, ventured outside to conduct the first extravehicular activities (EVAs) of their current mission with the support of a robotic arm, while Nie stayed in the cabin to command and assist them to conduct the tasks.

Construction of the world's largest Radio Telescope [01 Jul 2021]

Construction of the world's largest Radio Telescope, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory(SKAO), headquartered in the United Kingdom begins. Once fully operational by 2029, the SKAO will generate astronomical data measuring 700 Petabytes Annually.

Archer Deepika Kumari regains World number one ranking [01 Jul 2021]

Archer Deepika Kumari regained the World number one ranking in the latest world rankings after the third stage World Archery Championship held in Paris. The 27 yrs old archer created a new record by winning three gold medals in a single day along with winning her fourth at an individual recure event. Deepika is the only female archer to represent the country at the Tokyo Olympics.

Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari PVSM AVSM VM assumes charge as Vice Chief of the Air Staff [01 Jul 2021]

Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari PVSM AVSM VM took over as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff on 01 Jul 21. The Air Marshal was commissioned in the Fighter Stream of the IAF on 29 Dec 82. The Air Officer has a flying experience of more than 3800 hrs on a wide variety of fighter and trainer aircraft, including missions flown during Op-Meghdoot and Op-Safed Sagar. He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy and Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.

Abhimanyu Mishra becomes youngest Grandmaster in Chess [30 Jun 2021]

Indian-American Abhimanyu Mishra has become the youngest chess Grandmaster in history. The 12 yrs old scored his third GM norm in Budapest, having already cross the required 2500 Elo rating barrier. Abhimanyu broke GM Sergey Karjakin's record that was standing for 19 yrs.

Cabinet approves MoU between India and Myanmar in the field of health research [30 Jun 2021]

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was apprised of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India and the Department of Medical Research (DMR), Ministry of Health and Sports of Myanmar signed on February 2020 at New Delhi. The objective of this MoU is to build on the health research relationship in the topics of mutual research. The main objectives are:

  • Elimination of infectious diseases (to be decided mutually)
  • Development of network platform of emerging and viral infections
  • Training /capacity-building in research methodology management, clinical trials, ethics, etc.
  • Harmonization of regulatory mechanism

Rahi Sarnobat clinches gold medal in 25m pistol event [30 Jun 2021]

India's ace shooter Rahi Sarnobat clinches gold medal with the highest 39 points in the women's 25m pistol event final at the ISSF World Cup in Osijeck, Croatia.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju inaugurates KICE in rowing in Srinagar [29 Jun 2021]

Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju inaugurated the Khelo India Centre of Excellence in Rowing in Srinagar. The training centre situated in Dal Lake comes under the Jammu & Kashmir Sports Council was upgraded with modern facilities and equipment.

India wins one Gold two Bronze medals in Asian Wrestling Championship [28 Jun 2021]

In Wrestling, Sarita Mor stamped her authority in the Asian Wrestling Championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan by defending the womens 59kg title. Indian women also won two bronze medals through Seema and Pooja besides Sarita's Gold.

Piyush Goyal appointed leader of House in Rajya Sabha [28 Jun 2021]

Union Minister Piyush Goyal has become the leader of the House in Rajya Sabha. He replaced Thaawarchand Gehlot, who is now the Governor of Karnataka. Minister Goyal had been deputy leader of Rajya sabha under Mr. Gehlot.

DRDO successfully flight tests New Generation Agni P Ballistic Missile [28 Jun 2021]

Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested a New Generation Nuclear-Capable Ballistic Missile Agni P from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha, Balasore. Various telemetry and radar stations positioned along the eastern coast tracked and monitored the missile. The missile followed textbook trajectory, meeting all mission objectives with a high level of accuracy. Agni P is a new generation advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles. It is a canisters missile with a range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 km.

Shri Justice Ravi Vijaykumar Malimath appointed as the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court [28 Jun 2021]

President of India, in the exercise of the powers conferred by Article 223 of the Constitution of India, appointed Shri Justice Ravi Vijaykumar Malimath, senior-most Judge of Himachal Pradesh High Court, to perform the duties of the office of the Chief Justice of that High Court with effect from 1st July 2021 consequent upon the retirement of Shri Justice Lingappa Narayana Swamy, Chief Justice, Himachal Pradesh High Court.

The World Health Organization declares China free of malaria [28 Jun 2021]

The World Health Organization declares China free of malaria after a seven-decade-long campaign against the disease. Thus, China becomes the first country in the WHO's Western Pacific region to be awarded a malaria-free certificate in more than three decades.

Smart City Awards 2020 [24 Jun 2021]

Union Housing and Urban Development Minister Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri announces the third edition of the Smart City Awards 2020, in which Surat (Gujarat) and Indore (Madhya Pradesh) bag the Best Awards for their overall performance among 100 smart cities. Uttarpradesh wins the Best Award in the category of states introduced for the first time.

Microsoft joins Apple in $2 trillion market cap club [24 Jun 2021]

Microsoft took its place in the history books as it hit $2 trillion in value. The only other member of the $2 trillion club being Apple. Saudi Aramco touched the threshold briefly in December 2019.

Career Opportunities in Sports Management

IntroductionAre you passionate about sports but don't see yourself as an athlete? Do you find the business side of sports fascinating? A career in sports management could be your winning ticket! This field combines business, sports, and management, offering dynamic roles that go far beyond the field →

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

Foundation Date: December 8, 1991 Headquarters: The Republic of Belarus Executive Secretaries: Sergei Lebedev Member Countries: 12 Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was established on December 8, 1991, and the leaders of the Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine signed an a →

What is Bitcoin?

In 2009, an unknown programmer by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto put forward a whitepaper that proposed a creation of new form of digital currency - cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency functions the same way as regular currencies do in that its used as a means of exchange, unit of account and a store of va →

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

Headquarter: New Delhi Function and Objective of the Organization: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)has been established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto handled food-related issues in various Ministries →