WEEKLY

CURRENT
AFFAIRS

JULY, 2024
Week-1
01-07 July, 2024

Useful for
CSE, ESE, PSUs, State Services Exams,
SSC and Banking Exams
2 Week-1 1st July - 7th July

• The appointment is based on seniority, experience,

   1st JULY 2024
and suitability for the role.
• The COAS retires after three years of appointment or
Financial Services Institution Bureau at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.
(FSIB) • The COAS exercises command and control over the
• Context: Recently, the Financial Services Institution entire Indian Army. This involves strategizing and
Bureau (FSIB) has selected Challa Sreenivasulu Setty planning military operations, ensuring preparedness
as the next chairman of State Bank of India (SBI). for any contingencies, and maintaining operational
readiness.
About the Financial Services Institution Bureau
• It is an autonomous body of Government of India     2nd JULY 2024
for developing and implementing appropriate
methodologies for making recommendations for
Rudram-1
appointments, extension and termination of members
• Context: India successfully test-fires new generation
of the Boards in the institutions specified in the
anti-radiation missile ‘Rudram-1’
Government of India gazette notification.
• It was established to replace the Banks Board Bureau About Rudram-1
(BBB). • It is the first indigenous anti-radiation missile
• Its primary mandate is to recommend candidates developed by the DRDO for the Indian Air Force
for appointment as whole-time directors and non- (IAF).
executive chairpersons on the boards of financial • Key Features:
services institutions.  Launch Platform: Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets
• Additionally, the FSIB aims to advise on personnel  Guidance System: Inertial Navigation Systems
management matters within these institutions. (INS)-GPS navigation and Passive Homing Head
for final attack
 Range: 100-250 km
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS)
 Speed: Up to Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound)
• Context: General Upendra Dwivedi took over as the
30th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) from General
Key highlights
Manoj Pande who superannuated after more than
• Rudram-1 allows the IAF to conduct Suppression of
four decades of service.
Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) operations deep within
enemy territory, neutralizing critical air defense
About Chief of the Army Staff (COAS)
installations and paving the way for other aircraft to
• The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) holds a pivotal
operate safely.
role in overseeing the Indian Army.
• The missile acts as a force multiplier by enhancing
• COAS is appointed by the Appointments Committee
the survivability and effectiveness of air operations.
of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by the Prime Minister of
India.
• The COAS is typically a four-star general and is
Project Nexus
appointed from among the senior-most officers in the • Context: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has joined
Army. Project Nexus.
 1st July - 0th July Week-1 3

About Project Nexus • BharatNet: It has laid 6.83 lakh kilometres of optical
• Project Nexus is conceptualised by the Innovation fibre network, enough to circle the Earth over 17
Hub of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). times.
• It is the first BIS Innovation Hub project in the • Over Nine crore FASTags issued it’s almost equal to
payments area to move towards live implementation. the number of vehicles manufactured worldwide in
• It seeks to enhance cross-border payments by 2023.
connecting multiple domestic instant payment • BHIM: It is a UPI-based payment app that simplifies
systems (IPS) globally. digital transactions.
• BIS will facilitate central banks and IPS operators  It has empowered millions of users to send and
of India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and
receive money seamlessly.
Thailand as they work towards live implementation
 There has been more than 535 lakh crore rupees
in the next phase, with Bank of Indonesia as special
of UPI transactions.
observer.
• The platform is expected to go live by 2026. • Jan Dhan Yojana: It has facilitated the opening of bank
accounts for millions of unbanked individuals. The
program also encourages digital payments, reducing
    3rd JULY 2024
the reliance on cash transactions.

Digital India Initiative

• Context: Recently, Digital India initiative successfully Li-Fi Technology
completed nine years of launch. • Context: Recently, the Ministry of Defence, under the
Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative,
About Digital India Programme granted the Li-Fi Technology to address the Indian
• It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Navy’s communication challenges.
on July 01, 2015 with an aim to transform India
into a knowledge-based economy and a digitally About Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) Technology
empowered society by ensuring digital services,
• It is a wireless communication technology that uses
digital access, digital inclusion, digital empowerment
visible light to transmit data.
and bridging the digital divide.
• Unlike traditional radio frequency-based Wi-Fi, which
• It is coordinated by MeitY with the Ministries and
relies on radio waves, Li-Fi leverages Light-emitting
Departments in the Central and State Governments
partnering it in their respective domain areas. Diodes (LEDs) to create a high-speed, secure, and
energy-efficient communication channel.
• Digital India symbolises an empowered India which
boosts Ease of Living and transparency.
Key facts
Major Achievements • Li-Fi uses LEDs to transmit data. These LEDs can be
• Financial Inclusion: Due to the Digital India campaign, modulated at high speeds to encode information.
over 11 Crore farmers now receive money directly in • Devices equipped with photodetectors (such as
their bank accounts. smartphones, laptops, or IoT devices) receive the
• Ayushman Bharat: It leverages digital platforms to modulated light signals. The photodetectors convert
provide health insurance coverage to vulnerable the received light into electrical signals, which are
sections of society. Over 34.6 crore Ayushman Cards
then processed as data.
were created.
4 Week-1 1st July - 7th July

Advantages     4th JULY 2024

• High Speed: Li-Fi can achieve data rates of several
gigabits per second (Gbps), surpassing traditional
Cabinet Committees
Wi-Fi.
• Context: The Government has re-constituted 8
• Security: Since Li-Fi operates within the visible light
Cabinet Committees with the Prime Minister heading
spectrum, it does not penetrate walls, making it
six of them.
inherently secure against eavesdropping.
• No Interference: Li-Fi does not interfere with radio Key Facts
frequencies used by Wi-Fi or cellular networks.
• The Eight Cabinet Committees are:
• Energy Efficiency: LEDs are energy-efficient,
 Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
contributing to overall energy savings.
 Cabinet Committee on Accommodation
Challenges and Considerations  Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
• Line of Sight: Li-Fi requires a direct line of sight between  Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs
the transmitter (LED) and receiver (photodetector).
 Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs
• Indoor Use: Li-Fi is ideal for indoor environments,
 Cabinet Committee on Security
such as offices, hospitals, and smart homes.
• Integration: Integrating Li-Fi with existing infrastructure  Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth
and devices remains a challenge.  Cabinet Committee on Skill, Employment and
Livelihood
Colombo Process • Six Committees are headed by Prime Minister of
• Context: India chaired its first meeting as Chair of the India, Except Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary
Colombo Process at the Permanent Representative Affairs (by Defence Minister) and Cabinet Committee
Level Meeting in Geneva. on Accommodation (Home Minister).

About Colombo Process About Cabinet Committees

• It is a Regional Consultative Process comprising 12 • Cabinet Committees are an organizational device to
Member States from Asia, which primarily serve as
reduce the enormous workload of the Cabinet. They
countries of origin for migrant workers.
also facilitate in-depth examination of policy issues
• It provides an important platform for consultations
and effective coordination.
on the management of overseas employment and
contractual labour. • They usually include only Cabinet Ministers. However,
the non-cabinet Ministers are not debarred from their
• It is non-binding and decision-making is by
consensus. membership.

• It is coordinated through Permanent Missions of

Member States at the UN in Geneva. Technology Development Fund (TDF)
• India has been a member of Colombo Process since Scheme
its inception in 2003. • Context: Technology Development Fund (TDF)
• In May 2024, India assumed the chair of the Colombo scheme playing a crucial role in promoting ‘Atma
Process for the first time since its inception. Nirbharta’ in defence.
 1st July - 0th July Week-1 5

About Technology Development Fund (TDF) About Smart Cities Mission

scheme • Smart Cities Mission is an initiative of the Union Housing
• The TDF scheme is a flagship programme of the and Urban Affairs Ministry, launched in 2015. The
Ministry of Defence executed by Defence Research Mission is operated as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the • It aims to promote cities that provide core
‘Make in India’ initiative. infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment
• It aims to provide Grant in Aid to Indian industries, and give a decent quality of life to their citizens
including MSMEs & start-ups, as well as academic through the application of ‘smart solutions’.
and scientific institutions for the development of • 100 cities have been selected to be developed as
defence and dual use technologies that are currently Smart Cities through a two-stage competition for five
not available with the Indian defence Industry. years.
• Objectives:
 To engage with the private industries, especially Sampoornata Abhiyan
MSMEs and start-ups, to bring in the culture of • Context: Recently, NITI Aayog has launched the
Design & Development of Military Technology and ‘Sampoornata Abhiyan’ with the aim of achieving
support them with Grant in Aid. saturation in key indicators across Aspirational
 To focus on Research, Design & Development of Districts and Blocks.
Niche technologies which are being developed for
the first time in the country. About Sampoornata Abhiyan
 To create a bridge amongst the Armed Forces, • It is a three-month campaign, running from July to
research organisations, academia and qualifying/ September 2024, seeking to uplift the relatively
certifying agencies with private sector entities. backward and remote areas of the country.
• It focuses on six critical Key Performance Indicators
    5 JULY 2024th (KPIs) in both Aspirational Districts and Aspirational
Blocks.
Smart Cities Mission • NITI Aayog collaborates with Central Ministries,
• Context: The Union government has extended the State Governments, and Union Territories to ensure
Smart Cities Mission (SCM) till March 31, 2025. effective development. The focus lies on improved
planning, capacity building, and sustainable service
Key Features delivery.

• The SCM had two main aspects: area-based

development consisting of three components — Aditya-L1 Spacecraft
redevelopment (city renewal), retrofitting (city • Context: India’s first solar mission, the Aditya-L1
improvement), and green field projects (city spacecraft, has completed its first halo orbit around
extension); and pan-city solutions based on ICT. the Sun-Earth L1 point.
• These further comprised some six categories that
would include e-governance, waste management, Key Facts
water management, energy management, urban • Aditya-L1 is the first space-based Indian observatory
mobility, and skill development. to study the Sun. It was launched on September 2,
• Four pillars: Social Infrastructure, Physical Infrastructure, 2023 by the PSLV-C57. It was inserted in its targeted
Institutional Infrastructure, Economic Infrastructure. halo orbit on January 6, 2024.
6 Week-1 1st July - 7th July

• The Aditya-L1 spacecraft in the halo orbit takes 178

    6th JULY 2024
days to complete a revolution around the L1 point.
• The Solar observatory is placed at Lagrangian
point L1 for “Observing and understanding the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
chromospheric and coronal dynamics of the Sun” in • Context: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar
a continuous manner. represented India at the Shanghai Cooperation
• It is equipped with seven payloads (instruments) Organisation (SCO) Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.
on board with four of them carrying out remote
sensing of the Sun and three of them carrying in-situ
Key Facts
observation. • Belarus joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
(SCO), becoming its 10th member state.
About Lagrange Point • Belarus became a dialogue partner in the SCO in
2010 and an observer state in 2015.

About Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

• The SCO is an intergovernmental organization
founded in 2001 with six members.
• Objective: To enhance regional cooperation for efforts
to curb terrorism, separatism, and extremism in the
Central Asian region.
• Members: China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran.
• Secretariat: Beijing
• Official languages: Russian and Chinese.
• Observer status: Afghanistan and Mongolia.

Australia-India Strategic Research Fund

• Context: Recently, India unveiled the results of the
15th round of the Australia-India Strategic Research
• Lagrange points are positions in space where objects
Fund (AISRF).
sent there tend to stay put. At Lagrange points, the
gravitational pull of two large masses precisely equals
About the Australia-India Strategic Research
the centripetal force required for a small object to
Fund (AISRF)
move with them.
• It is jointly administered and funded by the
• There are five Lagrange points, three are unstable
governments of Australia and India. Its primary
and two are stable. The unstable Lagrange points are
objective is to facilitate collaborative research
labeled L1, L2 and L3. The stable Lagrange points
projects between Australian and Indian partners.
are labeled L4 and L5.
• It provides grants for collaborative research projects
• The L1 point of the Earth-Sun system affords an
with Indian partners.
uninterrupted view of the sun and is currently home
to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite  the minimum grant amount is $500,000;
SOHO.  the maximum grant amount is $1,000,000;
 one must complete its project within 3 years.
 1st July - 0th July Week-1 7

Priority Areas (Round 15) • It reflects the growing cooperation between the
• Indo-Australian Science and Technology Fund two space agencies and underscores India’s
(administered by the Department of Science and commitment to human spaceflight.
Technology in India) • The selected astronauts aim to follow in the footsteps
 Artificial intelligence and machine learning; of Rakesh Sharma, who became the first and only
Indian to travel to space back in 1984 aboard a
 New and renewable energy technologies
Russian spacecraft.
(particularly ultra-low-cost solar and clean
hydrogen);
 Urban mining and electronic waste recycling.
About Gaganyaan Mission
• The Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of
• Indo-Australian Biotechnology Fund (administered
human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of
by the Department of Biotechnology in India)
three members to an orbit of 400 km for a three-day
 Antimicrobial resistance
mission and bringing them back safely to earth, by
 RNA vaccines and therapies.
landing in Indian sea waters.
• Gaganyaan astronauts are poised to contribute to
    7th JULY 2024 scientific research, international collaboration, and
the advancement of space exploration.
Axiom-4 Mission
• Context: The Indian Space Research Organisation
SEHER Programme
(ISRO) has shortlisted two of its four trained
• Context: Recently, Women Entrepreneurship
Gaganyaan astronauts for a mission to the
Platform and TransUnion CIBIL Partner launched
International Space Station (ISS) in collaboration with
the SEHER Program to empower women
United States’ NASA later this year.
entrepreneurs.

Key facts
About SEHER Programme
• The selected astronauts will be part of the Axiom-4
• It is a credit education initiative aimed at empowering
mission, which represents the fourth private astronaut
women entrepreneurs in India by providing essential
mission conducted by NASA in partnership with
financial literacy content and business skills to
Axiom Space, a private US company.
women business owners.
• The mission is scheduled to take place ‘no earlier than
• It facilitates better access to credit and financial
October 2024’, and is expected to spend up to 14 days
resources for women-led businesses.
docked to the space station during the mission.
• It provides women entrepreneurs with knowledge
• This collaboration between ISRO and NASA marks
about credit scores, loan eligibility, and financial
a significant milestone in India’s space exploration
planning.
journey.