1st August, 2024 Current Affairs

NATIONAL

India is the 2nd Largest Aluminium Producer in the World

• Production of key minerals in the country, such as iron ore and limestone, has continued to show robust growth in Q1 of FY 2024-25, after reaching record production levels in FY 2023-24. Iron ore and limestone account for about 80% of the total MCDR mineral production by value. Production of iron ore was 275 million metric ton (MMT) and limestone at 450 MMT in FY 2023-24.
• As per provisional data, in the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production in FY 2024-25 (April-June) posted a growth of 1.2% over the corresponding period last year, increasing to 10.43 lakh ton (LT) in FY 2024-25 (April-June) from 10.28 LT in FY 2023-24 (April-June).
• India is the 2nd largest Aluminium producer, 3rd largest lime producer and 4th largest iron ore producer in the world. Continued growth in production of iron ore and limestone in the current financial year reflects the robust demand conditions in the user industries viz. steel and cement. Coupled with growth in Aluminium, these growth trends point towards continued strong economic activity in user sectors such as energy, infrastructure, construction, automotive and machinery.
• The production of iron ore has increased from 72 MMT in FY 2023-24 (April-June) to 79 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-June), showing 9.7% growth. Limestone production rose from 114 MMT in FY 2023-24 (April-June) to 116 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-June), with 1.8% growth. Production of manganese ore has jumped by 11% to 1.0 MMT in FY 2024-25 (April-June) from 0.9 MMT over the corresponding period of previous year.

ADB Provides $200 Million Loan for Solid Waste Management in India

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has committed a $200 million (approximately Rs 1,700 crore) loan to improve solid waste management and sanitation in 100 cities across eight states in India. This funding is part of the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 – Comprehensive Municipal Waste Management in Indian Cities Program.
• The loan agreement was signed by Juhi Mukherjee, Joint Secretary of the Finance Ministry, and Mio Oka, Country Director for ADB – India Resident Mission. The program aims to support the goals of the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission – Urban 2.0 by enhancing infrastructure for waste segregation, collection, and disposal.
• The support will upgrade and establish solid waste processing facilities, including bio-methanation plants, composting plants, managed landfills, material recovery facilities, and plastic waste processing facilities.

Indian Army Launches E-SeHAT Tele-Consultancy for Veterans

• The Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) has introduced the Electronic Services e-Health Assistance and Tele-consultation (E-SeHAT) module as of July 30, 2024. This initiative allows ECHS beneficiaries to receive online medical consultations from their homes, eliminating the need to visit ECHS Polyclinics. The E-SeHAT module offers structured, video-based consultations, aiming to enhance healthcare delivery for veterans by providing timely and quality medical care remotely.
• The E-SeHAT module complies with telemedicine practice guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in consultation with NITI AAYOG in March 2020. To support this initiative, IT hardware and equipment have been distributed to all 427 ECHS Polyclinics, and staff members have received training to conduct online consultations.

INTERNATIONAL

32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE-2024)

• India will host the 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE) in New Delhi from August 2-7, 2024, marking a 66-year hiatus since its last hosting in 1958. The conference, held every three years, will take place at the Pusa Institute and focus on “Transformation Towards Sustainable Agri-Food Systems.”
• The conference is organized by the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) in collaboration with several key institutions, including the Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research.
• The International Conference of Agricultural Economists was first established in 1929 by Leonard Elmhirst in Devon, England. It aims to bring together top agricultural economists and scholars to discuss global agricultural issues.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
AstroSat exposes the mystery of vampire star rejuvenation

• Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery of a vampire star in the star cluster M67 located in the constellation Cancer, that has been rejuvenating its youth by sucking up material from a companion.  The study provides rare insights into the binary star evolution process and provides an important missing link in the rejuvenation in these stars.
• Vampire stars, known to astronomers as blue straggler stars (BSS), are identified easily in star clusters. These stars defy simple models of stellar evolution and show many characteristics of younger stars. This anomalous youth is explained   theoretically as due to rejuvenation by eating up material from a binary stellar companion. Star clusters are useful test-beds to test this theory as they host a large number of binary stars, some of which can lead to the formation of vampire stars. Once rejuvenated, these stars follow a different path of evolution when compared to Sun-like single stars. So far, detection of sucked up material along with the sighting of their remnant binary companion was elusive.
• Recently, a team of astronomers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India made a groundbreaking discovery of a vampire star in M67, that sheds light on a complex rejuvenation process, known as mass-transfer in a binary system.
• The star bears the chemical imprint of recently sucked barium rich material from its binary companion and unambiguously detected emission from dead-remnant of its companion. The key to this detection was data from the UltraViolet Imaging Telescope, on board AstroSat, India’s first dedicated space observatory. This finding to be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, is an important missing link in the rejuvenation of these stars and provides rare insights into the binary star evolution process.

SPORTS
Swapnil Kusale Secures Bronze Medal in 50m Rifle 3 Positions at Paris Olympics

• In a thrilling display of marksmanship, 28-year-old Swapnil Kusale has secured India’s third medal at the Paris Olympics. Kusale clinched the bronze medal in the 50m rifle 3 positions final, adding to India’s growing tally in the shooting events.
• Gold: Y.K. Liu
• Silver: Serhiy Kulish
• Bronze: Swapnil Kusale
• Kusale’s impressive performance saw him accumulate a total of 451.4 points, narrowly missing out on the silver medal. The gold medalist, Y.K. Liu, amassed 463.6 points, while Ukrainian Serhiy Kulish secured the silver with 461.3 points.