Current Affairs 2024 – Daily, Weekly, Monthly And Yearly PDF
Day of the Year
World Plant Milk Day
- Founded in 2017 by Robbie Lockie, who is a co-creator of Plant Based News. The idea for the day is to encourage people to consider plant-based alternatives to dairy milk.
- A year after its founding, World Plant Milk Day was connected to the ProVeg campaign which is a global food awareness organization. The purpose is to replace animal based products with plant based products. The reduction of animal product consumption is not only helpful to the individual animals, but also acts as a way for humans to live more sustainably on the planet.
Latest Updates
PM begins Poland visit, says it will help forge more vibrant relations
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Warsaw on Wednesday, the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Poland in 45 years.
- Mr. Modi expressed confidence that the visit will serve as a “natural continuation of extensive contacts” between the two countries and help create the foundation for stronger and more vibrant relations in the years ahead. He will visit Ukraine next.
- “My visit to Poland comes as we mark 70 years of our diplomatic relations. Poland is a key economic partner in Central Europe. Our mutual commitment to democracy and pluralism further reinforces our relationship. I look forward to meeting my friend Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda to further advance our partnership. I will also engage with the members of the vibrant Indian community in Poland,” Mr. Modi said in a statement before he emplaned for Poland.
News Capsule
After ‘manifesto moment’, budgetary disappointment
- Following a “manifesto moment” in the lead-up to the 2024 general election where several major political parties pledged support for the LGBTQ+ community, the 2024 Union Budget has dashed the hopes of queer Indians yearning for recognition in national politics.
- A transformative overhaul of the government’s approach towards LGBTQ+ rights was never expected — especially given the Solicitor General’s vehement opposition to marriage equality before the Supreme Court of India last year. Yet, the mention of transgender rights in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s own manifesto had sparked a glimmer of hope for progress under a Modi 3.0 government.
Power play
Hydropower projects must factor in the environmental costs too
- While Wayanad in Kerala limps back to normal life after the devastating landslide last month, a landslide on Tuesday in Sikkim caused damage to six houses and a building of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) at its Teesta-5 hydropower station in Gangtok.
- There is no comparison of the impact of the event in both places, as there was no loss of lives or injuries reported in Sikkim. However, the cause for concern is that this is the second natural-disaster-led assault on a hydropower project along the Teesta.
- A deluge from the South Lhonak glacier in North Sikkim last October washed away the Chungthang dam that was critical to the Teesta-3 power station (which is not operated by the NHPC). The Teesta-3 (1,200 MW) power project was the largest hydroelectric power project in the State until it was effectively grounded after the outburst. Only a tenth of the power originally being supplied by the project is now available. The Teesta-5 project, at 510 MW, has also been made non-functional since the glacial lake outburst.
Imports weaken Indian pharma
- Ensuring the affordability of pharmaceuticals is essential for controlling healthcare costs, especially in India, where out-of-pocket health expenditures accounted for nearly 47.1% of the total health expenditure in 2021. While the Drugs Price Control Order, 2013, aims to regulate the prices of existing medicines, a better option is to establish a competitive environment for critical medicines by promoting local production. However, the government has taken two initiatives to meet domestic requirements through imports, which could have a chilling effect on the domestic industry.
- The first was a Department of Expenditure (DoE) order permitting the Ministry of Health to procure 120 medicines through global tenders to supply Union government schemes. This list includes several top-selling anti-diabetes medicines and anti-cancer drugs.
SC to decide if LMV licence includes transport vehicles
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud reserved its judgment on the question whether a person holding a driving licence for a light motor vehicle (LMV) is entitled to drive a transport vehicle with an unladen weight not exceeding 7,500 kg. The reference to the five-judge Bench followed disputes over payment of claims by insurance companies in accident cases involving transport vehicles being driven by those possessing licences to drive LMVs. The courts have been adopting a pro-insured approach while deciding insurance claim disputes, the insurance firms have said.