Daily Current Affairs for TNPSC Group Exams, Upsc Exams, SSC, RRB, BANK & All Government Exams – The Hindu – 14 July 2022

1. Ranil becomes Acting President as Gotabaya flees to Maldives

Front Page.
IR.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the island nation and took refuge in the Maldives early on Wednesday, ahead of his promised resignation, appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as Acting President, the Parliamentary Speaker said.

2. India ranks 135 out of 146 in Gender Gap Index

Front Page.
Women Related Issues, Gender, Fundamental Rights.
India ranks 135 among a total of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index, 2022, released by the World Economic Forum on Wednesday. The country is the worst performer in the world in the “health and survival” sub index in which it is ranked 146.

3. Panel revamps plan to curb pollution

Page 3.
Environmental Pollution and Degradation.
Emergency measures to control air pollution in Delhi NCR will now be implemented based on predictions of worsening of air quality, three days in advance, rather than after the air quality deteriorates beyond a particular threshold. The new measures also include a proposal to ban BSIV diesel four-wheelers if the air quality index (AQI) turns “severe”.

4. Kerala mission to provide 20 lakh jobs

Page 5.
Education.
The second phase of the Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission’s project to provide jobs to 20 lakh educated unemployed is under way in Kerala. In this phase, jobseekers whose basic details have been collected by the Kudumbashree will be registered on a digital platform.

5. Staying watchful

Page 6.
Economy.
The concerted efforts made by the Reserve Bank &the Union government to contain inflation appear to be having some impact, albeit marginal, in slowing the pace of price gains, the latest retail inflation data show.
While an appreciable softening in global crude oil prices in recent sessions offers some respite, the rupee’s sharp depreciation against the dollar means India will continue to face the spectre of ‘imported inflation’ as the bill for imports, including crude, keeps rising.
The decision of the GST Council to raise tariffs on a range of goods including some items of mass consumption is also bound to add upward pressure on prices.

6. Scale up the India-South Korea bilateral partnership

Page 6.
IR.
Indo-Pacific turbulence has reached an all-time high, to the point where it rivals the diverse foreign policy challenges across the United States and Europe.
At a time when the international rules-based order is getting increasingly contested, the options available to governments in the foreign, economic, and security policy areas (including maritime security), are under serious stress.

7. The President is not a mere rubber stamp

Page 7.
Polity, Constitution, Executive.
India is going to elect its new President on July 18. The new President will be sworn in on July 25. Choosing the presidential candidate is an intensely political exercise. It is an indirect election in the sense that the people do not directly elect the President.
Under Article 54, the President is elected by an electoral college consisting of only the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the State and Union Territory Assemblies.

8. A diminishing demographic dividend

9. In high-res: unfolding mysteries of the night sky

Page 8.
Space, Science and Technology.
As light travels with a velocity of about 3,00,000 km per second, light from a distant object will take time to reach us on Earth. Hence, when we see a distant stellar object, we see it as if it were far back in time. To collect more light, we need giant infrared telescopes. JWST is the biggest infrared telescope ever built.
The first five images released are — the deep field image of the SMACS 0723 cluster of galaxies which date back to times when the first stars were born, the Carina Nebula vividly showing the birth of new stars, the Southern Ring Nebula which details a dying star, the
Stephan’s quintet where we can see the cataclysmic cosmic collision of galaxies and finally the WASP-96 b, an exoplanet (a planet orbiting a distant star). The spectroscopic observation of JWST reveals that there is a considerable amount of water vapour in the WASP-96 b’s atmosphere.
However due to the blistering heat, WASP -96 is unlikely to host life.

10. India, China talks to be held on July 17

Page 10.
IR.
India and China are scheduled to hold the 16th round of Corps Commander talks on July 17 on the Chinese side at Moldo as part of efforts to take forward the stalled process of disengagement and de-escalation in eastern Ladakh.

11. Assessing juvenility, a ‘delicate task’: SC

Page 12.
Judiciary.
The “delicate task” of deciding whether juveniles aged between 16 and 18, accused of heinous offences such as murder, can be tried like adults should be based on “meticulous psychological investigation”
rather than be left to the discretion and perfunctory “wisdom” of juvenile justice boards and children’s courts across the country, the Supreme Court held in a judgment.

12. India has achieved clean energy targets 9 years before deadline

Page 12.
Energy, Resources, Conservation, Growth and Development.
India has achieved clean energy targets nine years ahead of schedule. The energy crisis that has gripped the world has been “sometime in the making” &
not only due to the Russia-Ukraine war but because of the “cartelisation in the fossil fuel industry.”

13. Push for wider use of genomics in all countries

Page 12.
Health and Infrastructure.
The World Health Organization’s Science Council, in its first report, has called for accelerating access to genomics across the world. The report argues that it is not justifiable ethically or scientifically for countries with lesser resources to gain access to such technologies long after the rich countries do. The field of genomics tries to use human genetic material to study and research cures and treatments for medical conditions, and is used in a wide range of applications in animal sciences, and agriculture.

14. The rise and fall of Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Page 13.
IR.
The family’s unravelling began in April, when growing protests forced three Rajapaksa relatives, including the Finance Minister,
to quit their Cabinet posts and another to leave his ministerial job. In May, government supporters attacked protesters in a wave of violence that left nine dead. The anger of the protesters turned against Mr. Mahinda, who was pressured to resign as Prime Minister and took refuge on a heavily fortified naval base.

15. India’s imports from China rose to a record in firsthalfof 2022

Page 14.
Economy, Growth and Development.
India’s imports from China reached a record $57.51 billion in the first half of the year, according to China’s trade figures released on Wednesday.
Imports of Chinese goods are on track for yet another record year & set to surpass last year’s $97.5 billion figure.

The Hindu – 14 July 2022 – Daily Current Affairs