Current Affairs 8^th|9^th|10^th June 2024

This week has been packed with news, both domestically and internationally. From Narendra Modi’s historic third term as Prime Minister of India to the formation of a new Biopharmaceutical Alliance with key world players, stay informed with our roundup of Current Affairs for June 8th, 9th, and 10th, 2024. We’ll delve into the major headlines, including economic updates, international relations, and significant appointments. So, dive in and get up to speed on the week’s most noteworthy events!

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

MoM Signs MoU with Central TB Division To Collaborative On Tuberculosis Elimination by 2025

The Ministry of Mines (MoM) and the Central Tuberculosis (TB) Division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together to eliminate tuberculosis in India by 2025.

Signatories: The MoU was signed by Farida M. Naik, Joint Secretary, MoM, and Dr. K. K. Tripathy, Economic Advisor, MoHFW, Government of India (GoI), in the presence of officials from both Ministries.

This cooperation intends to engage the MoM’s Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), attached offices, subordinate offices, and autonomous entities in joint field operations such as webinars and other awareness-building programs under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP).

This project would also assist in the capacity building of health functionaries at Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) hospitals and health facilities for specialist TB eradication campaigns at the grassroots level.

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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India Participated in the Inaugural IPEF Clean Economy Investor Forum held in Singapore

India took part in the inaugural Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Clean Economy Investor Forum, which was held in Singapore from June 5th to 6th, 2024.

The Indian delegation to the meeting was led by Sunil Barthwal, Secretary (Commerce) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

A corporate delegation led by Invest India also attended the Forum.

Key Points:

• During the first IPEF Investor Forum, the IPEF partners and the Private Infrastructure Development Group announced the IPEF Catalytic Capital Fund’s operational start.
• Ten Indian startups and companies were chosen for the Climate Tech Track to present their creative ideas, technology, and solutions that help to mitigate or adapt to climate change.
• 4 Indian firms were chosen for the sustainable infrastructure track to present their ideas to global investors on energy transition, transportation and logistics, and waste management/waste to energy.

About the Republic of Singapore:

• Prime Minister (PM)- Lawrence Wong
• Capital- Singapore City
• Currency- Singapore Dollar (SGD)

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UNICEF Child Nutrition Report 2024: 1 in 4 Children Globally Live in Severe Child Food Poverty

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)’s 2024 Child Nutrition Report titled “Child Food Poverty: Nutrition Deprivation in Early Childhood,” 1 in 4 children (27%) worldwide are experiencing severe child food poverty in early childhood, which equates to approximately 181 million children under the age of five.

These youngsters are 50% more likely to suffer from wasting, a kind of malnutrition defined by a poor weight-for-height ratio.

For the first time, this analysis looks at food deprivation among the world’s youngest people in over 100 nations and across all economic levels.

About the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF):

UNICEF was founded in 1946 as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). It was renamed the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 1953.

• Executive Director– Catherine M. Russell
• Headquarters– New York, The United States of America (USA)

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UN Report: Global Public Debt Reached a Record of USD 97 Trillion in 2023

According to the United Nations (UN) assessment study, “A World of Debt 2024: A Growing Burden to Global Prosperity,” worldwide public debt (including domestic and foreign borrowing by governments) reached USD 97 trillion in 2023, up USD 5.6 trillion from 2022.

Developing countries account for 30% of total global debt, and their debt growth rate is double that of industrialized ones.

The study was created by the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Global Crisis Response Group technical team, which is led by Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan.

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WMO Climate Update (2024-2028): Global Temperature Likely to Temporarily Exceed 1.5°C in Next 5 Years

According to the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) annual report, “WMO Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update (2024-2028),” there is an 80% possibility that the average global temperature will rise by 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels for at least one of the following five years (2024-2028).

Predictions for global mean near-surface temperature vary from 1.1°C to 1.9°C over the 1850-1900 baseline for each year between 2024 and 2028.

There is an 86% possibility that at least one of these years will establish a new temperature record, perhaps topping 2023, the current hottest year.

About World Meteorological Organization (WMO):

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a United Nations specialized body in charge of encouraging worldwide collaboration in atmospheric research and meteorology.

• Secretary-General– Professor Celeste Saulo
• Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
• Established in 1950

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Peru & Slovakia Becomes the 41st and 42nd Signatories to the Artemis Accords

Peru and Slovakia signed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) ‘Artemis Accords’ on May 30, 2024, establishing a practical set of standards for peaceful space research and utilization.

Signatories:

Peru: Peru’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Javier González-Olaechea, signed the Accords on behalf of Peru.

Slovakia’s Minister of Education, Research, Development, and Youth, Tomáš Drucker, signed the Accords on behalf of Slovakia.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and the US Department of State sponsored the signing ceremony at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., USA.

Points to note:

Slovenia became the 39th country to join the Artemis Accords on April 19, 2024, during a strategic conversation between the United States and Slovenia in Ljubljana. Slovenia was represented by State Secretary Matevž Frangež of the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism, and Sport in signing the Accords.

On May 15, 2024 (in conjunction with Vilnius Space Days), Lithuania became the 40th nation to join the NASA Artemis Accords. Aušrinė Armonaitė, Lithuanian Minister of Economy and Innovation, signs the Artemis Accords in Vilnius, Lithuania.

About Artemis Accords:

• NASA and the US Department of State together introduced the Artemis Accords in 2020, with the goal of enhancing bilateral and multilateral space collaboration among signatories.
• It was formally signed on October 13, 2020, by the eight founding countries: Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States of America.
• The Artemis Accord is a non-binding pact that has no financial obligations.
• It defined the principles for peaceful space travel, drawing on the Outer Space Treaty (1967) and other accords such as the Registration Convention and the Rescue and Return Agreement.

42 Signatories of Artemis Accords (as of May 30th 2024):

Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom (UK), the United States, and Uruguay.

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India, South Korea, USA, Japan & EU Launches Biopharmaceutical Alliance

India, South Korea, Japan, the United States of America (USA), and the European Union (EU) formed an alliance to collaborate on building a robust supply chain in the biopharmaceutical industry.

The Biopharmaceutical Alliance conducted its maiden meeting in San Diego, California, USA, at the BIO International Convention 2024, the world’s biggest biopharmaceutical exhibition, which ran from June 3 to 6, 2024.

The first summit was attended by representatives and government officials from India, South Korea, the United States, Japan, and the European Union.

Background:

South Korea (formally known as the Republic of Korea – ROK) and the United States resolved to join an alliance during the ROK-USA Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET) Dialogue in Seoul, South Korea in December 2023, which was later expanded to include India, Japan, and the European Union.

Key Points:

• The biopharmaceutical alliance was formed in response to drug supply difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The participants emphasized the significance of a dependable and sustainable supply chain and pledged to coordinate their respective nations’ bio regulations, legislation, and R&D assistance activities.
• They noticed that the production of important raw materials was concentrated in a few countries and agreed to work together to produce a comprehensive pharmaceutical supply chain map.

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Russian Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko Becomes the First Person to Spend 1,000 Cumulative Days in Space

Oleg Dmitriyevich Kononenko, a Russian cosmonaut, became the first person to spend 1,000 cumulative days in space. He is now working on the International Space Station (ISS).

He set the space-time record after five missions to the International Space Station since 2008.

His current mission to the ISS began on September 15, 2023, when he launched with NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and colleague Nikolai Chub.

In February 2024, he broke Gennady Padalka’s 2015 record of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes, and 48 seconds for the most time spent in space.

If Kononenko’s mission finishes as planned on September 23, 2024, he will have spent 1,110 days in orbit.

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BANKING & FINANCE

SEBI Introduced Financial Disincentives Framework for MIIs for Surveillance-Related Lapses in Stock Markets

On June 6, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) established a framework for Financial Disincentives for Surveillance Related Lapses (FDSRL) for Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) such as stock exchanges, clearing corporations, and depositories in the event of surveillance-related lapses in stock markets.

The framework includes a provision for MIIs to face penalties ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore for any case of surveillance-related breach throughout the fiscal year.

The framework goes into effect on July 1, 2024.

Key Features:

The financial disincentives for surveillance-related lapses are determined using the total yearly income of MIIs and the number of lapses in a fiscal year.

MIIs’ framework defines market surveillance as monitoring daily market activity such as trading, margining, settlement, demat transactions, and holdings.

To monitor the behavior of market intermediaries by generating and processing alerts.

To explore trading logic, do snapshot analysis, and report any anomalous or suspicious activity.

urveillance-related failures can be divided into three types.

We monitor execution gaps: missing, incomplete, or late decisions, and regulator non-notification.

Any lapse in carrying out surveillance actions within the agreed-upon scope and timetable.

Any incomplete or failure to report surveillance-related behavior within the required time frame.

• The framework has established penalties for the first, second, and third instances of surveillance-related failures, based on the yearly turnover of MIIs.
• If MII’s annual turnover is less than Rs 1000 crore, the penalties for the first, second, and third instances will be Rs 25 lakh, Rs 50 lakh, and Rs one crore, respectively.
• If MII’s annual turnover is less than Rs 1000 crore and up to Rs 300 crore, the penalties for the first, second, and third occurrence will be Rs 5 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, and Rs 20 lakh, respectively.
• If MII’s annual turnover is less than Rs 300 crore, the penalties for the first, second, and third occurrence will be Rs 1 lakh, Rs 2 lakh, and Rs 4 lakh, respectively.
• If a penalty is imposed, the relevant MII must deposit the penalty with SEBI’s Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF) within 15 days.

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PhonePe Partners with PickMe To Enable UPI Payments For Indian Tourists in Sri Lanka

PhonePe, a renowned Fintech startup, has teamed with PickMe, a Sri Lankan ride-hailing platform, to enable Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based payments for Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka.

Note: In May 2024, PhonePe collaborated with LankaPay to enable UPI payments in Sri Lanka, and in April 2024, PhonePe signed an agreement with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to enable UPI payments for Indian visitors to Singapore.

Key Points:

About Sri Lanka:

• Prime Minister (PM) – Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena
• Capital – Colombo (executive and judicial capital); Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative capital)
• Currency – Sri Lankan Rupee

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APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Sameer Bansal Appointed as MD & CEO of PNB MetLife

PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited, a private life insurer, has named Sameer Bansal as its Managing Director (MD) and CEO. He will take up the position on July 1, 2024.

He replaces Ashish Srivastava, MD of MetLife Inc.’s Global Shared Services unit in India.
Bansal joined PNB MetLife in 2007 and is now Chief Distribution Officer and a part of the executive team.

MetLife India has collaborated with Punjab National Bank (PNB), which is now known as PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited. PNB acquired a 30% stake in MetLife India.

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ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

NCLT Grants Approval for Vistara-Air India Merger

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) accepted Vistara’s merger with Air India, allowing Vistara to be dissolved within nine months.

The merger formed one of the world’s largest airline corporations.

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have also approved the merger plan.
• DGCA transfers Vistara staff, ops, aircraft to Air India; others clear FDI, Singapore Airlines’ stake.

• Ensuring compliance with Ministry of Civil Aviation’s CARs, DGCA grants permission.

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Click here to read: Current Affairs 7th June 2024

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

TRISHNA: ISRO’s Joint Endeavour with France’s CNES to Monitor Earth Temperature

On World Environment Day 2024 (5th June), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced the details of Mission TRISHNA (Thermal Infra-Red Imaging Satellite for High-Resolution Natural Resource Assessment), a collaboration with the French space agency CNES.

TRISHNA monitors Earth’s surface temperature to combat climate change.

About TRISHNA:

Primary Objectives:

• Monitoring the continental biosphere’s energy and water budgets to determine terrestrial water stress and consumption.
• High-resolution monitoring of water quality and dynamics in coastal and inland areas.

Secondary objective:

• We can analyze heat islands, detect volcanic anomalies, and monitor snowmelt.

• This will also provide information on aerosol optical depth, atmospheric water vapor, and cloud cover.

Key Features:

• TRISHNA satellite carries two key payloads: TIR for thermal & VNIR-SWIR for visible & near-infrared.

• CNES equips TIR with a four-channel long-wave infrared sensor for high-resolution surface temperature mapping.
• ISRO developed VNIR-SWIR, which covers seven spectral bands for monitoring biophysical and radiation factors.
• A sun-synchronous orbit at 761 km carries the satellite, yielding 12:30 PM local time at the equator.
• Orbits resolves land/coast at 57m, oceans/polar at 1km.

Significance:

Supporting global initiatives like GEOGLAM, SDGs, and Water Watch, the mission gathers crucial agricultural, sustainability, and water data.

The mission data will assist policymakers, watershed managers, and farmers in implementing sustainable solutions in India. As a result, contribute to addressing water and food-related issues.

Mission advances remote sensing to monitor Earth’s conditions.

About Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO):

• Chairman– Sreedhara Panicker Somanath
• Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
• Established– 1969

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SPORTS

Indian Footballer Sunil Chhetri Retires from International Football

Sunil Chhetri (39 years old), a great Indian footballer and captain of India’s national football team (nicknamed “the Blue Tigers”) since 2012, resigned from international football on June 6, 2024, following India’s FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying match against Kuwait.

India faced Kuwait in a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier ending in a 0-0 draw.

About Sunil Chhetri:

Sunil Chhetri (Secunderabad) started pro in 2002 (Mohun Bagan), ending his 19-year India career with 151 games and 94 goals.

In the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Afghanistan, he played 150 games and scored his 94th international goal.

• He made his senior debut for India in June 2005, scoring his first international goal against Pakistan.
• JCT FC, East Bengal FC, Dempo SC, and Chirag United all saw him on their roster in the past.
• In the Indian Super League (ISL), he joined Mumbai City FC in 2015 and 2016 before moving to Bengaluru FC in 2017.
• With 61 goals in 155 matches, he is the greatest Indian goal scorer in the Indian Super League and the first Indian to achieve a hat-trick.

Career Highlights:

• He was a member of the Indian squad that won the Nehru Cup for the first time in 2007.
• He went on to win two more Nehru Cup championships for India in 2009 and 2012.
• Sunil topped the scoring charts in 2011, 2021 & 2023 SAFF Championships
• He was the first Indian player to play on three continents (Asia, America, and Europe).
• In 2011, joining the Kansas City Wizards, he became the third Indian footballer abroad.
• He has also appeared three times for Sporting CP, a Lisbon-based Portuguese sports team.
• Chhetri spearheaded India’s 2008 Challenge Cup win, securing their Asian Cup return after 27 years.

Awards:

• Government honored him with Arjuna Award (2011) followed by Padma Shri (2019) and Khel Ratna (2021).
• Winning India’s top sports honor, the Khel Ratna, he became the first footballer to be recognized.
• Reigning supreme, he claimed the AIFF Player of the Year award seven times (2007-2022).

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IMPORTANT DAYS

World Food Safety Day 2024 – June 7

Every June 7th, the UN observes World Food Safety Day, urging action on global food safety issues.

WFSD also seeks to motivate efforts to avoid, identify, and control foodborne hazards, therefore promoting food security, human health, and economic success.

WFSD’s 2024 theme is “Food safety: prepare for the unexpected,” and its tagline is “Food safety is everyone’s business.”

Background:

• On December 20, 2018, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) passed resolution A/RES/73/250, designating June 7 as World Food Safety Day.

• Absolutely, here’s the active voice version of the sentence: On June 7, 2019, the inaugural World Food Safety Day held to highlight safe food’s advantages.

About World Health Organization (WHO):

• Director General– Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
• Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
• Founded in 1948

Click here to read from source

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