25th November, 2024 Current Affairs

NATIONAL 
Govt Should Include Coking Coal in Critical Minerals List: NITI Aayog.
•    The NITI Aayog has recommended adding coking coal to India’s critical minerals list, emphasizing its importance in steel production and infrastructure development. This aligns with global trends, such as the European Union’s declaration of coking coal as a critical raw material. India’s heavy reliance on imports (85% of its coking coal) underscores the need to enhance domestic production.
•    The report “Enhancing Domestic Coking Coal Availability to Reduce the Import of Coking Coal” advocates for policy changes to leverage India’s 16.5 billion tonnes of medium coking coal reserves and achieve self-reliance while adhering to Net Zero commitments by 2070.
•    Coking coal constitutes 42% of steel production costs, which is crucial for infrastructure and job creation. Despite having 5.13 BT of prime coking coal reserves, India imported 58 MT of coking coal worth ₹1.5 lakh crore in FY 2023-24.
•    Public-sector washeries have low capacity utilization (32%) and clean coal yields (35-36%), compared to private washeries with 75% capacity utilization. The government should allow joint ventures to sell washeries’ byproducts to lower clean coal costs.

INTERNATIONAL
UK and India to Relaunch FTA Talks in Early 2025: Strengthening Bilateral Ties.
•    UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the resumption of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with India, set to restart in early 2025. This decision follows a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where both leaders emphasized strengthening their strategic partnership, which covers key sectors such as security, defense, technology, climate, health, and education. The bilateral trade between the two countries stands at GBP 42 billion annually.
•    The resumption of the FTA negotiations is a significant step in the trade relations between the two nations, following a pause due to elections in both countries. The talks will pick up from the progress made in the 14th round of discussions.
•    India and the UK began FTA talks in January 2022. The UK India Business Council (UKIBC) has stated that a substantial number of chapters have already been discussed, and both sides aim to close the deal by addressing the remaining gaps.

Mali’s Junta Replaces Prime Minister Choguel Maiga with Abdoulaye Maiga.
•    The political landscape of Mali witnessed another significant shift on November 21, 2024, as the ruling military junta announced the dismissal of Prime Minister Choguel Maiga. 
•    This decision comes amid growing criticism of the junta’s handling of the promised transition to democracy and signs of rising tensions within the country’s political circles.
•    The junta’s decision to fire Choguel Maiga reflects growing internal divisions, even among those who initially supported the military’s rise to power. According to sources close to Choguel Maiga, his open condemnation of the junta’s decision-making process and governance style—particularly regarding the indefinite postponement of elections—had alienated him from the ruling generals.
•    Mali’s military junta first seized power in 2020 through a coup and solidified its control with a second coup in 2021. Following these events, the junta pledged to return the country to civilian rule through elections within 24 months. However, as February 2024 approached—the deadline for the promised elections—the junta announced an indefinite postponement, citing technical challenges as the primary reason.

ECONOMY 
Gwalior Unveils India’s First Self-Sufficient Gaushala with a State-of-the-Art CBG Plant.
•    Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first modern, self-sufficient gaushala in Laltipara, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. 
•    The gaushala, named Adarsh Gaushala, houses a state-of-the-art Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) plant, marking a major milestone in India’s journey toward achieving sustainable development and promoting green energy solutions.
•     This project reflects Modi’s vision of turning “Waste to Wealth”, highlighting how organic waste can be transformed into valuable resources.
•    The Adarsh Gaushala is operated by the Gwalior Municipal Corporation and is home to over 10,000 cattle. It stands out as a self-reliant model, utilizing cattle dung and organic waste to generate compressed biogas and organic manure.
•    The project reduces the emission of potent greenhouse gases, contributing significantly to climate change mitigation. By turning cow dung into energy, the plant offsets the need for fossil fuels, offering an eco-friendly alternative while reducing carbon emissions.

SPORTS 
Reetika Hooda Strikes Gold at World Military Championships.
•    Reetika Hooda clinched the gold medal in the women’s 76kg category at the World Military Championships, becoming the second Indian woman to win gold at the event. This achievement comes on the heels of Jyoti Sihag’s triumph in the 55kg category, marking a momentous debut for India’s women’s contingent at the prestigious tournament.
•    2024 marked the first year India sent a women’s team to the World Military Championships.
•    This follows the Armed Forces’ decision to recruit sportswomen into their ranks.