Current Affairs Lecture PDF (7thJan, 2024) by Saurabh

Kr. Pandey

Italy withdraws from China's Belt and Road project

Italy has formally withdrawn from China's vast Belt and Road infrastructure
initiative, more than four years after becoming the only G7 nation to sign up. In
2019, Italy became the first major Western nation to participate in the
programme, despite US concerns about China gaining control over crucial
technologies and infrastructure.
The “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) initiative, also known as the “Belt and
Road Initiative” (BRI), is a large-scale infrastructure and economic
development project initiated by China in 2013, announced by Chinese
President Xi Jinping. The Belt and Road plan proposes massive investments in
infrastructure such as roads, bridges and ports to recreate the ancient Silk Road
trade routes linking China with Central Asia, Europe, and Indo-Pacific
countries. It covers primarily Asia and Europe, encompassing around 60
countries.
This policy has two components:
Belt– The “One Belt” refers to the land-based “Silk Road Economic Belt”.
Here China aims to connect the country’s underdeveloped hinterland to Europe
through Central Asia.
Road – The “One Road” references the ocean-going “Maritime Silk Road”. It
is to connect the fast-growing Southeast Asian region to China’s southern
provinces through ports and railways.
The plan is to connect the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. This will
connect the Chinese coastline with SE Asia, South Asia, the Gulf, and the East
Coast of Africa. China will build hard and soft maritime infrastructure. It will
include custom coordination, the formation of SEZ, new ports, e-commerce,
trade liberalization, and policy coordination.
The geographical stretch of OBOR makes it comparable with the Silk Road or
Silk Route, an ancient network of trade routes connecting the East and West
around 120 BCE to 1450s CE that is famous for the profitable silk (and horses)
trade. That is why it is also called as “New Silk Road” initiative.
India’s position regarding One Belt One Road

India is opposed to the Chinese One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative since the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes through the Indian territory.
Indian government stated that connectivity cannot undermine the sovereignty of
other nations. India has also refused to attend the 1 st Belt and Road Summit
which is going to happen in China in May 2017.
Bangladesh Becomes World’s First Country to Eliminate
Visceral Leishmaniasis (or Kala Azar)
Bangladesh has become the first country globally to be validated by the World
Health Organization for the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis or kala azar, as
a public health problem.
It is a life-threatening neglected tropical disease (NTD) caused by a parasite
transmitted by sandflies, affects some one million people worldwide every
year, mostly in Southeast Asia and North Africa.
Bangladesh, India, and Nepal accounted for 70% of the global cases between
2004 and 2008. By 2016, Bangladesh and Nepal brought down the number of
cases drastically while the burden in India remains relatively high while death
rates are relatively low.
Kala-azar leads to symptoms such as fever, weight loss, spleen and liver
enlargement, and, if left untreated, can prove fatal in over 95% of cases.

PM Modi inaugurated Surat Diamond Bourse

PM Narendra Modi on December 17 inaugurated Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB)
located at Khajod village near Surat city, the world’s largest and modern centre
for international diamond and jewellery business, at a time when the diamond
industry is passing through its worst crisis due to global economic slowdown
and G7 countries’ tough stand on Russian diamonds.
The SDB building is the world’s largest office complex with over 67 lakh
square feet of floor area spread in nine 15-storey interconnected towers aimed
at shifting the diamond trading business from Mumbai to Surat, which is the
hub of diamond cutting and polishing with thousands of factories across the
city.

Webb Telescope Discovers Tellurium, a Rare Cosmic

Element from Star Merger
Using an incredibly bright gamma-ray as a guide, the James Webb Space
Telescope (JWST) has detected the heavy element tellurium around the site of a
stellar-corpse collision. The discovery brings scientists a step closer to
understanding where the universe's heaviest elements come from.
It is Webb’s study of the second-brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen reveals
tellurium. A team of scientists has used multiple space and ground-based
telescopes, including NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s Fermi
Gamma-ray Space Telescope, and NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, to
observe an exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst, GRB 230307A, and identify
the neutron star merger that generated an explosion that created the burst.
This explosion unleashed a burst of gamma rays more than one million times
brighter than the Milky Way. Gamma-ray bursts are short emissions of the most
energetic form of light. This explosion blasted material into space that formed
the rare element tellurium and others known as actinides and lanthanides.

Vision India@2047: Transforming the Nation's Future

In early 2024, the Prime Minister is expected to unveil a road map to transform
the country into a developed nation with a USD 30 trillion economy by the time
it completes 100 years of Independence.

Vision India@2047 is a project initiated by the NITI Aayog, the apex policy
think tank of India, to create a blueprint for India’s development in the next
25 years. The project aims to make India a global leader in innovation and
technology, a model of human development and social welfare, and a
champion of environmental sustainability.
The Vision India@2047 plan has been in the works for nearly two years with
officials across ministries brainstorming on how to take the country from its
current level of development to where it aspires to be. The NITI Aayog, in the
process of giving this vision document a final shape, will soon run its central ideas
and goals past top minds across sectors, including World Bank President Ajay
Banga, Apple chief Tim Cook, as well as Indian industrialists and thought leaders,
to finetune them and factor in any blind spots.

Objectives:
 Achieving a USD 30 trillion economy with a per-capita income of USD
18,000-20,000 and strong public finances and a robust financial sector.
 Building world-class infrastructure and facilities in both rural and urban
areas.
 Eliminating unnecessary interference by the government in the lives of
citizens and promoting digital economy and governance.
 Developing 3-4 global champions in every sector by merger or
restructuring and boosting indigenous industry and innovation.
 Becoming self-reliant in defence and space sectors and enhancing India’s
role in the world.
 Fostering green growth and climate action by increasing renewable
energy capacity and reducing carbon emissions.
  Empowering the youth with skills and education and creating more
employment opportunities.
 Partnering with foreign R&D organizations to build top 10 labs in the
country and bringing at least 10 Indian institutions among the top 100
globally.
Note:-
India is currently estimated to be the fifth largest economy in Nominal terms
and 3rd largest in PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) terms.
By 2022, the size of Indian GDP had already become larger than the GDP of the
UK and also France.
Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar
Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar (MGMD) is a pan-India initiative of Ministry of
Culture under National Mission on Cultural Mapping and was launched on 27th
July 2023.
The main objective the project is to culturally map India's 6.5 lakh villages,
spanning 29 States and 7 Union Territories, on a comprehensive virtual
platform. Through MGMD, people will get an opportunity to immerse
themselves in the diverse and vibrant cultural heritage of India. The core idea
behind this project is to encourage appreciation for India's culture and traditions,
paving way for economic growth, social harmony, and artistic development in
rural communities.
This comprehensive portal showcases essential information about each village,
including its geographical location, demographic aspects, and description of
traditional dresses, ornaments, arts and crafts, temples, fairs, festivals, and much
more. It serves as a one-stop destination for discovering, exploring, researching,
and virtually visiting every village in the country. Moreover, users have the
opportunity to earn incentives and takeaways as they embark on their digital
village journeys.

Arvind Panagariya: 16th Finance Commission Chairman

In Dec, 2023, Government appointed former Niti Aayog vice chairman and
Columbia University professor Arvind Panagariya as the chairman of the 16th
Finance Commission (2026-31), which will recommend the tax revenue sharing
formula between the Centre and the States for the five-year period beginning
April 2026. Finance Commission (Article 280) is a constitutional body
appointed by the President of India, to give suggestions on Centre-state Tax
Revenue & financial relations.
As per the terms of reference of the 16th Finance Commission, apart from
recommendations on the tax sharing formula between the Centre and the States,
it has been tasked with reviewing the present arrangements for financing
Disaster Management initiatives and mooting measures to augment States’
consolidated funds in order to supplement resources available with Panchayats
and Municipalities.
Note:
1st Finance Commission Chairman (1952-57): K C Neogy
15th Finance Commission Chairman (2020-25): N K Singh
Angola leaves OPEC
Angola leaves the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
over a disagreement regarding production quotas, a move that will bring the
OPEC members group down to 12 members.
Angola, which first joined OPEC in 2007, has struggled to meet production
quotas over the past several years. The country is joining others, such as Qatar
and Ecuador, that have left OPEC in the past decade. Oil and gas make up about
90 percent of Angola’s exports and are a crucial economic lifeline for the
country. Without Angola, OPEC countries will produce about 27 million barrels
of oil per day, about 27 percent of the global supply.
But while Angola was a relatively small player in OPEC, the country’s
departure has raised larger questions about the future of the organisation. OPEC
and its allies in OPEC+ have agreed to cut production to prop up oil prices.
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC):
OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organization of oil-exporting countries.
It was established in 1960 by the five founding members Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.
Currently, it has 12 members, including Algeria, Congo, Equatorial Guinea,
Gabon, Libya, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates
Headquarters: Vienna (Austria)
OPEC Mission: To coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member
Countries. Ensure the stabilization of oil prices in the international oil markets,
with a view to eliminating harmful and unnecessary fluctuations.
OPEC+:
It is a group of 23 oil-exporting countries which meets regularly to decide how
much crude oil to sell on the world market.
These nations aim to work together on adjusting crude oil production to bring
stability to the oil market.
At the core of this group are the 13 members of OPEC (the Organization of the
Oil Exporting Countries), which are mainly Middle Eastern and African
countries.
Members: It comprises 13 OPEC countries plus Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei,
Kazakhstan, Russia, Mexico, Malaysia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Oman.
India re-elected to International Maritime Organisation
India was re-elected to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council
with the highest tally. India's re-election falls under the Category of 10 states
with "the largest interest in international seaborne trade", alongside Australia,
Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the
United Arab Emirates (UAE).
India secured the large-scale support of the international community at the
International Maritime Organisation for India to continue to serve the global
maritime domain. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is the leading
authority that regulates the maritime industry, which supports global trade,
transportation, and all marine operations.
The Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 has also set goals to strengthen India’s global
maritime presence. There are 43 initiatives identified as part of Amrit Kaal
Vision 2047 Action Plan of which, the key initiatives focus on strengthening our
global maritime presence which includes dedicated IMO cell in India,
appointment of a permanent representative at IMO headquarters at London,
implementation of BIMSTEC Master Plan, creating a robust BIMSTEC
institutional structure to ensure implementation of regional projects in a
coordinated & timely manner etc.
Note:-
The International Maritime Organization is a specialised agency of the United
Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following
agreement at a UN conference held in Geneva in 1948 and the IMO came into
existence ten years later, meeting for the first time on 17 March 1958.
H.Q.:- London

Transporter-9 Mission
SpaceX launched its Transporter-9 mission on 11th Nov,2023, a 'rideshare' flight
that lofted 90 payloads into orbit. Transporter-9 is the 82nd orbital mission for
SpaceX in 2023, extending the company's record for a single year. (The
previous mark, 61 launches, was set in 2022.) Most of this year's missions have
been devoted to building out Starlink, SpaceX's internet megaconstellation,
which currently consist of more than 5,000 operational satellites.
SpaceX's Transporter-1 mission holds the mark, sending 143 satellites to orbit in
January 2021. And Transporter-6, which lifted off this past January, was also
more prolific, carrying 114 satellites aloft.
Note:-
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an
American spacecraft manufacturer, launch service provider, defense contractor
and satellite communications company headquartered in Hawthorne, California.
Founder: Elon Musk, Tom Mueller

Mars Sample Return Mission

NASA's ambitious Mars Sample Return mission, which is one of the most
complex space endeavours, is in jeopardy due to financial Concerns. The Mars
Sample Return mission aims to collect rock samples from Mars using
unmanned probes and robot rovers, which will be sent back to Earth for analysis
to search for signs of life. The mission involves the first-ever space launch from
another planet and the first-ever rendezvous in orbit around another planet. It
relies on the robot rover Perseverance, which is already on Mars collecting rock
samples. These samples will be stored in titanium tubes and, in a few years, a
lander will be sent to Mars to collect the tubes and place them in orbit around
Mars.
An Earth return orbiter, built by the European Space Agency, will then ferry the
samples back to Earth.
Recently, An independent review panel, set up by NASA, found that the
mission's budget expectations were "unrealistic". It warned that the mission,
whose cost was originally estimated at $4.4 billion, is likely to rise to $8-11
billion. This, it said, could put other NASA missions at risk of cancellation.
The rising costs have already led to the postponement of other NASA-funded
projects, including the Veritas mission to study Venus and the Geospace
Dynamics Constellation mission to study the upper atmosphere.

Least developed countries (LDCs) set expectations for

COP28 with Dakar Declaration
Ministers from the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDC) issued a
joint Dakar Declaration on Climate Change 2023 outlining their expectation and
priorities for 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Dakar Declaration called for urgent global emissions reductions, increased
climate finance, a strong outcome operationalising the new Loss and Damage
Fund and an ambitious Global Stocktake to close the gaps in global climate
action. The COP28 was conducted between November 30, 2023 to December
12, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
While LDCs account for more than 14 per cent of the global population, they
only account for about 1 per cent of emissions from fossil fuels and industrial
processes. In addition, the countries bear the least historical responsibility for
climate change, are forced to adapt beyond their capabilities and are at the
forefront of the climate crisis.
It also emphasised the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change’s Synthesis Report for the Sixth Assessment Reports cycle (IPCC AR6),
which show that global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have continued to rise
and that global warming is rapidly approaching 1.5°C.
They urged all Parties, particularly major emitters, to reduce GHG emissions
urgently and significantly. Parties must also revisit and strengthen the 2030
targets in their NDCs in order to align them with their fair share of the global
effort required to limit warming to 1.5°C.
According to the declaration, developed countries must present a clear road map
for at least doubling adaptation finance delivered by 2025 through public, grant-
based financing. A New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance should
provide new and additional resources and should be many times greater than the
current $100 billion per year floor.The UNFCCC centralised carbon market
mechanism must also be operationalised by 2024, including the recognition of
the specific needs and special circumstances of LDCs, as well as the
implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement's capacity building
programme.
Note:-
Dakar Declaration on Road Safety: April, 2023
Dakar Declaration’ was adopted by 21 African countries committing to
strengthening reporting on road crash fatalities, enhancing data capture,
analysis, sharing, and coordination to shape better road safety policies.
It is being conducted at the first African sub-regional conference on
implementing the Global Plan for Road Safety in Dakar, Senegal.

Sahitya Akademi Awards 2023

Sahitya Akademi has announced its annual Sahitya Akademi Awards in 24
languages. 9 books of poetry, 6 of novel, 5 of short stories, 3 Essays and 1
Literary Study have won the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2023.
The Award containing an engraved copper-plaque, a shawl and an amount of Rs.
1,00,000/- towards cash content each will be presented to the awardees at the
award presentation function which will be held on 12 March 2024.
Note:-
Neelum Saran Gour (English)
Sanjeev (Hindi)

National Sports Awards 2023

List of the National Sports Awards winners released recently by the Ministry of
Youth Affairs and Sports.
The Hon'ble President of India will confer the National Sports Awards 2023 on
the 9th of January, 2024.
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2023:
Badminton Player Shri Rankireddy Satwik Sai Raj and Shri Chirag
Chandrashekhar Shetty selected for 2023.
The recipient(s) is/are selected by a committee constituted by the Sports
Ministry and is honoured for their “spectacular and most outstanding
performance in the field of sports over a period of four years” at international
level. It is India’s highest Sporting Honour
Arjuna Awards 2023
The Arjuna Award for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the
second-highest sporting honour of India. It is given for good performance
over a period of the previous four years and for showing qualities of leadership,
sportsmanship and a sense of discipline.
A total of 26 sportspersons are going to receive the Arjuna Awards for their
outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2023.

Ms Aditi Gopichand Swami for Archery

Shri Ojas Pravin Deotale for Archery

Ms Parul Chaudhary for Athletics

Shri Sreeshankar M for Athletics

Shri Mohameed Hussamuddin for Boxing

Shri Mohammed Shami for Cricket

Ms R Vaishali for Chess

Ms Divyakriti Singh for Equestrian Dressage

Shri Anush Agarwalla for Equestrian

Ms Diksha Dagar for Golf

Ms Pukhrambam Sushila Chanu for Hockey

Shri Krishan Bahadur Pathak for Hockey

Ms Ritu Negi for Kabaddi

Shri Pawan Kumar for Kabaddi

Ms Nasreen for Kho-Kho

Ms Pinki for Lawn Bowls

Ms Esha Singh for Shooting

Shri Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar for Shooting

Shri Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu for Squash

Ms Ayhika Mukherjee for Table Tenis

Ms Antim for Wrestling

Shri Sunil Kumar for Wrestling

Ms Naorem Roshibina Devi for Wushu

Ms Sheetal Devi for Para Archery

Shri Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy for Blind Cricket

Ms Prachi Yadav for Para Canoeing

Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches 2023

The award is conferred to coaches for demonstrating outstanding work
consistently and for making it possible for sportspersons to ace in International
events.
Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement 2023
The award is conferred to honor the sportspersons who have actually
contributed to the field of sports through their performance, and who contribute
to sports even post-retirement.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy 2023:
The award is given to the overall high-performing university in inter-university
tournaments.
Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar for Overall winning university

Some Important Current Affairs Points

 Dr Akshata Krishnamurthy, ‘first Indian citizen’ to operate rover on Mars.
She works on multiple space missions, including the Perseverance rover,
collecting samples to bring back to Earth. She shared her inspiring
journey of getting into MIT and landing a job at Nasa.
 Iran's navy adds sophisticated cruise missiles 'Talaeieh and Nasir.
Talaeieh has a range of more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and called
it “fully smart.” It is capable of changing targets during travel. Nasir has a
range of 100 kilometers (62 miles) and can be installed on warships.
 Khelo India Youth Games 2024 to start on January 19. It will be held
across four cities in Tamil Nadu and its mascot is the Veera Mangai Velu
Nachiyar.
 On 2nd April 2020, India launched Aarogya Setu mobile App for helping
augment the efforts of limiting the spread of COVID19, with an objective
of enabling Bluetooth based contact tracing, mapping of likely hotspots
and dissemination of relevant information about COVID19. Aarogya
Setu is an Open Source, Digital Platform developed by the National
Informatics Centre under the Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology (MeITy)
 CoWIN is an Indian government web portal for COVID-19 vaccination
registration, owned and operated by India's Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare. It displays booking slots of COVID-19 vaccine available
in the nearby areas and can be booked on the website. Co-WIN, was
developed by using open source software. This type of software allows
users to modify the source code and distribute it.
 DigiLocker uses the following tools, APIs & services for providing its
document sharing & verification capability. ownCloud is free, open
source software that provides universal access to your files through a web
 interface. User accounts and document uploading in DigiLocker is based
on ownCloud. DigiLocker is a digitization service provided by the
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under its Digital
India initiative. DigiLocker allows access to digital versions of various
documents including driver's licenses, vehicle registration certificates and
academic mark sheets etc.
 DIKSHA stands for Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing. It is a
National digital Platform for Teachers. It is an initiative of the National
Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) under the aegis
of the Ministry of Education. DIKSHA is built on open source
technology, Sunbird, which is Made in India and Made for India. It
incorporates internet-scale technologies and enables several use-cases and
solutions for teaching and learning.