Daily Current Affairs- 16 June 2024

Daily Current Affairs- 16th June 2024

INTERNATIONAL

Cyril Ramaphosa secures second term as South African President

• Cyril Ramaphosa has secured a second term as the President of South Africa after he was elected by the South African Parliament in a late night sitting on 14 June 2024.
• Cyril Ramaphosa was re-elected after a deal was signed between his African National Congress (ANC) Party and the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) and other smaller parties to form a coalition government, Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as the President of South Africa for the first time on 15 February 2018. 

Egypt and Bahrain Joins China to Build Hyperspectral Camera - Chang’e-7 Mission

• Egypt and Bahrain have joined China as international partners to develop and deliver scientific instruments for the Chang’e-7 mission, the Chinese lunar mission aimed at searching for water ice at the moon’s South Pole in 2026, according to a report in South China Morning Post (SCMP).
• Last week, the Egyptian Space Agency, Bahrain’s National Space Science Agency, and the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics signed a cooperation agreement for the joint development of a hyperspectral camera.
• The China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced that the camera will image and analyse lunar surface materials from orbit, including the Moon’s polar regions. 

Minda Corporation signs JV agreement with Taiwan based HCMF for Sunroof systems

• Minda Corporation signed a joint venture agreement with HSIN Chong Machinery Works Co. (HCMF) from Taiwan, a leading global manufacturer of Automotive Sunroof and Closure systems.
• This partnership is a 50:50 Joint venture between Minda Corporation and HCMF, aims to provide cutting edge technology backed by state-of-the-art manufacturing of sunroof and closure technology products for passenger cars by localisation in India. 

APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Tarun Kapoor, architect of key energy and infrastructure policies, gets second stint at PMO

• Tarun Kapoor, a seasoned IAS officer of the 1987 batch from the Himachal Pradesh cadre, was re-appointed as advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). This will be his second stint in the PMO after his first appointment as advisor to the Prime Minister in May 2022. Kapoor handles economic matters.
• Advisors in the PMO provide strategic counsel, policy insights, and operational assistance to the Prime Minister, aiding in decision-making, policy formulation, and implementation of government initiatives. The re-appointment of officers including PK Mishra as principal secretary and Amit Khare as advisor suggests the PMO is poised to undertake further reforms, building on their previous work and continuity of approach. 

IMPORTANT DAYS

Father's Day or World Father's Day

• Every year, the third Sunday in June is celebrated as Father's Day in several countries around the world. On this day, the importance of fathers and their contribution to a child's life is highlighted, Father's Day 2024 will be celebrated on June 16.
• The first ever official Father’s Day was thus celebrated on 19 June 1910 at the YMCA in Washington. The credit for this idea however still goes to Clayton as she was the first one to light this spark. 

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

2024 Kavli Prize Awarded in Astrophysics, Nanoscience And Neuroscience

• The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has announced the 2024 Kavli Prize Laureates in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience.
• Sara Seager, Prof. Robert Langer and Prof. Nancy Kanwisher have been awarded the 2024 Kavli Prize for their work in the three award categories: astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience, respectively.
• This year, eight scientists were selected for the Kavli Prize for outstanding research “that has broadened our understanding of the big, the small and the complex,” according to a press release. The laureates in each field will share a $1 million prize. 

Subbiah Nallamuthu announced as winner of V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award

• The 18th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) is honoring the illustrious wildlife filmmaker Shri Subbiah Nallamuthu by conferring upon him the much-coveted V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award, announced Dr. L. Murugan, the Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting. 

Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar :2024

• Dr Sutapa Chakraborty from Silchar bags the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar, 2024. The literary award is conferred by the Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters. Established in 2011, the annual award to young writers aged 35 or below is conferred for their outstanding works in the field of literature. Awarded in 23 languages including Assamese, Bengali, English, this is a noteworthy fruition. 

RANKING

Gujarat ranks first in highest wind power installed capacity: MNRE

• Gujarat bagged the “1st Rank” award for highest wind power installed capacity at a ceremony held in New Delhi under the aegis of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, after the state over took Tamil Nadu.
• At the end of May 2024, Gujarat had 11,823 MW of installed wind power capacity as of May 2024, while Tamil Nadu had 10743 MW. Karnataka is ranked third with 6312 MW. 

BANKING AND ECONOMY

ACME ties up Rs 5,600 cr loan for green energy project in Andhra Pradesh

• ACME Cleantech has arranged a Rs 5,600-crore loan from Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to build a round-the-clock nationwide renewable energy supply project that will be located in Andhra Pradesh.
• It won the project under a tender process that was conducted by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in April last year, in which the government agency had floated a tender for development of 1.2 gigawatt of hybrid renewable energy projects with a combination of wind and solar power generation backed by battery storage.