DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 27-12-2024

Shankar School of Banking December 27 , 2024 112

NATIONAL NEWS

Defence Ministry Launches Rashtraparv Website and Mobile App

The Union Defence Ministry launched the Rashtraparv Website and Mobile App on 25 December 2024 on the occasion of Good Governance Day.

Since 2014 the government of India has observed Good Governance Day on the birth anniversary of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The Rashtraparv Website and Mobile App was launched by Defence Secretary Rajesh Singh in New Delhi on 25 December 2024.

The Rashtraparv Website and Mobile App will provide information to the users on;

Information related to the organisation of national events organised by the ministry like Republic Day, Beating Retreat Ceremony, Independence Day, etc.

It will also livestream such events, provide a facility to purchase tickets for such events, provide information related to seating arrangements & route maps of events, etc.

It will host a Tableau Management Portal to facilitate States/ UTs and Union Ministries/ Departments in designing and finalizing their tableaux for the Republic Day event.

 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ISRO to Investigate Crop Growth in Space with PSLV C60 Mission

Of the total 24 PS4-Orbital Experiment Module (POEM-4) payloads which will be flown onboard the PSLV-C60 SpaDeX mission, 4 have been developed by Karnataka-based academia and start-ups.

The PSLV-C60 SpaDeX mission is likely to be launched by ISRO by the end of this month from Sriharikota.

RVSat-1 Payload: Developed by R.V. College of Engineering, Bengaluru. It will conduct a microbiological experiment on Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron under microgravity conditions to aid in astronaut health and develop antibiotics.

BGS ARPIT (Amateur Radio Payload for Information Transmission) Payload: Developed by SJC Institute of Technology, Chickballapur. It is an amateur radio transmitter that communicates using FM modulation and the VHF band.

RUDRA 1.0 HPGP: Developed by Bellatrix Aerospace. It aims to demonstrate a high-performance green propulsion system.

GLX-SQ Payload: Developed by GalaxEye Space Solutions. It will demonstrate the generation, capture, and processing of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images in space.

The mission is designed to advance various space technologies such as green propulsion, space debris capture, and space-based SAR monitoring.

It will contribute to ISRO's mission to demonstrate space docking technologies and grow space-based plant systems.

PSLV-C60 Mission Goals:The PSLV-C60 mission will also place two satellites, 'Chaser and Target,' to demonstrate space docking technologies essential for India’s future space station.

Indian Space Research Organisation and European Space Agency

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have signed an agreement to collaborate on astronaut training, mission implementation, and research experiments.

The agreement was signed by ISRO Chairman Somanath and ESA Director General Dr. Josef Aschbacher.

The cooperation will focus on astronaut training, experiment development and integration (including the use of ESA facilities on the International Space Station), human and biomedical research experiments, and joint educational outreach initiatives.

For the Axiom-4 mission, ISRO's Gaganyatri and an ESA astronaut will be part of the crew.

The agencies are collaborating to implement experiments proposed by Indian Principal Investigators for the ISS.

ISRO and ESA are working on human physiological studies, technology demonstration experiments, and joint educational outreach activities.

ISRO's roadmap for human spaceflight activities includes the development of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), which offers opportunities to develop interoperability between human spaceflight platforms.

 

BANKING

Central Bank of India Marks 114th Foundation Day Celebration

The Central Bank of India (CBI) Regional Office in Ranchi celebrated the 114th Foundation Day of the bank.

The program began with Regional Head Sunil Kumar garlanding the portrait of Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala, the founder of the bank.

The Central Bank of India, established on December 21, 1911, by Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala, is the first indigenous bank in India.

The bank’s mission was to connect Indian citizens, particularly those deprived of banking services during British rule, to banking operations.

The bank has around 5,000 branches across India, with 75% of these located in rural and semi-urban areas.

The bank provides various public utility and attractive deposit and loan products that benefit the population, especially in remote areas.

The Sukhdev Nagar branch was inaugurated in a new building by Regional Head Sunil Kumar.

Certificates were awarded to branch managers for outstanding performance in various banking parameters in the current financial year.

A total loan amount of approximately ₹52 crores was sanctioned by branches under the regional office.

The event included colorful programs such as songs and music, celebrating the bank’s legacy and progress.

The officers and employees of the Ranchi Regional Office played a significant role in the successful conduct of the event.

 

DEFENCE

Indo-Sri Lankan Naval Ex-SLINEX 2024 Concludes at Visakhapatnam

The 11th edition of the annual India-Sri Lanka Naval exercise SLINEX 24 concluded at Visakhapatnam on 20 December 2024.

 The Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy organised the annual SLINEX exercise from 17-20 December 2024 at Visakhapatnam and in the Bay of Bengal.

Visakhapatnam is the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command.

The SLINEX exercise is an exercise which is conducted in two phases: the Harbour phase and the Sea Phase.

Harbour Phase - The main aim of the Harbour phase of the Naval exercise is to strengthen the bonding between the Naval personnel of the participating Navies. During this phase, the personnel of both the Navies engaged in cultural activities, sports activities, etc.

Sea Phase - During the sea phase of the exercise both Navies engage in warship training by deploying their ships, use of live ammunition testing their naval strategies.

In SLINEX 24 Special Forces of both navies participated in the sea phase of the exercise, tested their communications procedures, seamanship as well as navigation evolutions and helicopter operations.

 

AWARDS & PRIZES

Kuwait Confers Its Highest Honour on Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Kuwait has awarded its highest accolade, the Order of Mubarak Al-Kabeer, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership and dedication to strengthening relations between India and Kuwait.

The Order of Mubarak Al-Kabeer is a prestigious knighthood order instituted in 1974.

It was presented by Kuwait’s Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah at the Bayan Palace in Kuwait.

PM Modi’s visit marks the first by an Indian Prime Minister to Kuwait in 43 years.

The award underscores the depth of historic ties and ongoing collaboration in key sectors between India and Kuwait.

It is a testament to the mutual respect and growing partnership between the two nations.

 

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

9th Chairperson of NHRC

President Droupadi Murmu appointed former Supreme Court judge V Ramasubramanian as the 9th Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

President Droupadi Murmu also appointed Priyank Kanoongo and Dr. Justice Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi (Retd.) as Members of the NHRC.

Justice (retd) V Balasubramanian will succeed Vijaya Bharathi Sayani, who was performing the duty of acting chairperson of the NHRC.

Under the provisions of the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993, the government of India established the National Human Rights Commission of India on 12 October 1993.

Similarly, every state government has also set up the State Human Rights Commission under the provisions of the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993.

The NHRC consists of a Chairperson who has been a retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or a retired Judge of the Supreme Court.

President of Moldova

Ms Maia Sandu was sworn in as the President of the European country of Moldova for her second term of four years on 24 December 2024.

Ms Maia Sandu first became the President of Moldova in 2020. She is the first woman to become the President of the country after it gained Independence in 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

According to the constitution of Moldova, a person can be the President of the country for two terms of four years each.

During her rule, the country moved away from Russia and sought closer ties with the European Union. In 2022, Moldova applied for membership in the 27-nation European Union.

The presidential election was held in Moldova on 20 October 2024. Along with the Presidential election, a referendum was also held in the country on whether to join the European Union.

50.35%, of the voters, favoured joining the European Union.

However, no candidate was able to secure a 50% vote in the Presidential election. Hence a run-off election was held in November 2024, contested by the top two candidates.

In the run-off election, 52-year-old former World Bank advisor Maia Sandu of the Action and Solidarity party was declared elected with 55.33% of the vote.

 

SPORTS

ACC Women's U19 Asia Cup 2024

The Indian women's cricket team led by Niki Prasad won the inaugural Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Women's U19 Asia Cup 2024 title by beating Bangladesh’s team by 41 runs in the final.

The final of the tournament was played on 22 December 2024 at the Bayuemas Cricket Oval, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

The Indian women’s team avenged the defeat of the Indian men's team which lost the final of the 11th ACC U19 Men’s Asia Cup to Bangladesh.

All matches of the tournament were played at the Bayuemas Oval cricket ground in Kuala Lumpur.

India won the match with 41 runs.

Player of the final Match: Gongadi Trisha

2024 Sr National Badminton Champion

Karnataka's M.Raghu and Haryana’s Devika Sihag won the men’s and women’s singles title respectively, at the 86th Senior National Badminton Championships 2024.

The 86th Senior National Badminton Championships was organised by the Badminton Association of India and hosted by Karnataka Badminton Association in Bengaluru, Karnataka from 20-24 December 2024.

In the 77th Inter-Zonal Badminton Championships 2024, the men’s title was won by Karnataka while Haryana won the women’s title.

In the final Karnataka team defeated Railways 3-1 to bag the Ibrahim Rahimtoola Cup. It was the second title for Karnataka after a gap of 47 years.

In the women’s final Haryana beat Gujarat 3-2 in the final to lift the Gulab Rai Chadha Cup.

 

IMPORTANT DAYS

Good Governance Day

Good Governance Day 2024 is observed on the 25th of December 2024.

Good Governance Day 2024 is observed for the birth anniversary of Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a former prime minister, and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya were both named as recipients of the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honor, on December 23, 2014.

Following the declaration, the newly-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that December 25 would be observed as Good Governance Day.

Three times, Atal Bihari Vajpayee led India as prime minister.

In 1996, his first term lasted just 13 days.

He completed his second term from 1999 to 2004 after serving it for a total of thirteen months from March 1998 to April 1999. In 1962, he made his debut appearance in the Rajya Sabha. He won seven elections for the Lok Sabha.

Vajpayee received the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honor in India, in 2015.

 

 

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