DAILY GK 17-18 DEC 2024
1. MOHFW ANNOUNCES SNAKE
BITE A NOTIFIABLE DISEASE
·
The
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) announced
snakebite cases as a “Notifiable Disease” in India.
·
It mandates all the government and public health facilities to report such cases and deaths.
·
This
aligns with the National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite
Envenoming (NAPSE), launched by the MoHFW in March 2024.
·
The plan
aims to reduce snakebite fatalities by 50% by 2030.
·
A notifiable disease is
any disease that must be reported to
public health authorities by law.
·
Some of the notifiable diseases in India are
Leprosy, Tuberculosis (TB), Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS),
Cholera, Hepatitis, etc.
·
In India, around 50,000 deaths occur annually from an estimated 3-4 million
snake bites, accounting for about 50% of global
snakebite fatalities.
·
And only about 10% of snakebite cases are
recorded.
2.
16TH UNCCD CONFERENCE
OF THE PARTIES (COP16) IN RIYADH
·
·
The
conference was based on the theme – Our
Land. Our Future ,saw the participation of nearly 200 countries.
·
The
conference aimed to renew global
commitment to enhance investment and action to restore land and boost
drought resilience for the benefit of people and planet.
·
This was
the first UNCCD COP being held in the Middle East and North Africa
region and the largest multilateral conference ever hosted by
Saudi Arabia.
·
India
presented the Aravalli Green Wall Project (AGWP). The
Aravali project aims to revive over 1.1 million hectares of the hills across
Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Delhi by 2027.
·
According to the Global Threat
of Drying Lands: Regional and global aridity trends and future projections launched
by UNCCD Science-Policy Interface (SPI), around 77.6% of Earth’s land have
become drier during the three decades up to 2020 compared to the previous
30-year period.
·
UNCCD Headquarters –
Bonn, Germany
·
Founded–
1994
3.
UK BECOMES THE 1ST EUROPEAN COUNTRY TO
JOIN CPTPP
·
The United Kingdom (UK) has
officially became the 1st European country to join the Comprehensive & Progressive Agreement
for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an important trade bloc in the Indo-Pacific region.
·
With this, the UK has become the 12th member of the CPTPP as well as the 1st non-founding member to join this
trade bloc.
·
CPTPP has succeeded the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), a
trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim countries, after the United States of
America (USA) formally withdrew from the TPPA in 2017.
·
It is a Free
Trade Agreement (FTA) signed by the 11 countries including: Australia,
Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand,
Singapore and Vietnam, on March 8, 2018.
·
Initially, the pact came into force on December
30, 2018 only for 6 member countries i.e. Australia, Canada, Japan,
Mexico, New Zealand, and Singapore.
4. WHO
REPORT 2024: 38% DROP IN THE GLOBAL DROWNING DEATHS
·
The World
Health Organization (WHO) published its
first-ever “Global
Status Report on Drowning Prevention 2024”, providing a comprehensive analysis of drowning deaths
worldwide.
·
The
report was released at an event in Geneva, Switzerland and
highlights the global burden of drowning, key statistics and strategies for
prevention.
·
According
to the report, the drowning death rate
has dropped by 38% worldwide since 2000, marking
a major health achievement.
·
The
report reveals that drowning remains a
significant public health issue, with over 3 lakh drowning
deaths recorded in 2021 alone.
·
The WHO’s
South-East Asia Region (includes India)
saw 83,000 deaths of the global burden.
·
WHO reports that more than 30 people drown
every hour, resulting in an estimated 300,000 deaths annually.
·
More than
7.2 million people, mainly children, could die by drowning by the year 2050 if
current trends continue.
5. UNEP
CHAMPIONS OF THE EARTH AWARD 2024
·
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has
announced the winners of the ‘2024 Champions of the Earth Award’,
the UN’s highest environmental honor to
recognize individuals and organizations
·
Indian
ecologist Madhav Gadgil was awarded with the Champions of Earth award by the United
Nations (UN).
·
Madhav
Gadgil, along with Brazilian Sonia
Guajajara, Lu Qi of China, Amy Bowers Cordalis of the USA, Gabriel Paun of România, and the Egyptian environmental organisation Sekem,
has been chosen for this year ‘Champions
of the Earth’ award in various categories.
·
Award was established in 2005
·
UNEP Headquarters–
Nairobi, Kenya
·
Established–
1972
6. FICCI
DRONE AWARD 2024
·
Karnataka
State Police (KSP) was awarded the
inaugural Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)
Drone Award in the “Training
and Capacity Building” category in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
·
This
award, instituted by the FICCI to recognizes the innovative use of drone technology by government and private
organizations.
·
The KSP
was recognised for its Remote Pilot
Training Institute (RPTI) which was established in 2023 under the Centre
for Counter Terrorism, Internal Security Division (ISD).
7.
NATIONAL PANCHAYAT AWARDS
·
The Hon’ble President of India Droupadi Murmu
conferred National Panchayat Awards 2024 upon 45 awardees
including 42 Panchayats and 3 Capacity
Building Institutes
·
This year total 1.94 lakh Gram
Panchayats (GPs) participated in the competition.
·
Among 42 award-winning Panchayats, 42% are being led by women.
·
Total Rs 46 crore was
distributed as prize money to 45
awardees, with amount directly transferred to their respective bank
accounts.
8. 2024 UNESCO
ASIA-PACIFIC AWARDS FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION
·
United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) announced
the winners of 2024 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for
Cultural Heritage Conservation also known as Heritage Awards at
its regional office in Bangkok, Thailand
(UNESCO Bangkok).
·
This year
total 8 projects from 5 different
countries of Asia-Pacific region: India(2), Thailand(1), China (3), New Zealand(1) and Japan(1)
were honored with the UNESCO’s prestigious Heritage awards.
·
Inari-yu Bathhouse
Restoration Project in Tokyo Japan, has won the Award of Excellence, the highest honour of UNESCO heritage
awards.
·
Abathsahayeshwarar Temple in
Tamil Nadu (TN) was honoured with “Award
of Distinction” and Sir
Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Parsee Charitable Institution (BJPCI
Conservation Project) in Maharashtra received “Award of Merit”.
·
UNESCO Director-General (DG)- Audrey
Azoulay
·
Headquarters– Paris,
France
·
Member Nations- 194
·
Established–1945
9. AIR
INDIA WINS GOOD DESIGN AWARD
AUSTRALIA 2024
·
Air India Limited, India’s leading airline based in New Delhi
has received two distinguished global accolades, highlighting its ongoing
transformation and dedication to service excellence.
·
The
airline’s Vista Verve in-flight product was honoured with the Good Design Award
Australia 2024, recognising its outstanding innovation and design.
·
Air India
also won three APEX Awards at the Future Travel
Experience (FTE) Awards in Singapore, highlighting its leadership in global passenger experiences
10.
2024 JAMSETJI TATA AWARD
·
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw,
Chairperson of Biocon Group, was conferred the 2024 Jamsetji Tata
award by the Indian Society for Quality (ISQ) at ISQ Annual
Conference 2024 held in Bengaluru,
Karnataka.
·
This award was presented to her for being a
pioneer in the bioscience movement in
India since 1978, a first-generation entrepreneur to establish Biocon Limited
and associated companies to serve customers in India and across the world.
·
She has been awarded with two of India’s
highest civilian honours, the Padma Shri in 1989 and the Padma
Bhushan in 2005.
·
In 2020, she has been conferred with the
Order of Australia, Australia’s highest civilian honour in 2020 and named EY
World Entrepreneur of the Year.
·
This award is named after Jamsetji Tata,
who is known as the ‘Father of Modern Indian Industry’.
11.
JC
DANIEL AWARD 2023
·
Veteran
filmmaker Shaji N Karun has been selected for the prestigious JC
Daniel Award 2023 for his lifetime contributions
to Malayalam cinema.
·
The JC Daniel Award is the highest honor for a filmmaker in Kerala
and is presented by the state government to recognize excellence and
long-lasting contributions to the film industry.
·
The award includes a purse of Rs 5 lakh, a citation, and a statuette.
12.
GLOBAL
SUSTAINABILITY FILM AWARD
·
The Indian film “The Kumbaya Story” has achieved international recognition by
winning the Transforming Society Short
Film category at the 13th tve Global
Sustainability Film Awards (GSFA).
·
The event was held at the iconic BAFTA venue in London.
13.
WORLD MALARIA REPORT 2024
·
The World Health Organization (WHO) released
its “World Malaria Report 2024 : Addressing
inequity in the global malaria response”, highlighting a concerning increase in the global malaria cases.
·
This year’s report provides an up-to-date
summary to control and eliminate the
disease in 83 countries worldwide.
·
India had
exited the High Burden to High Impact
(HBHI) group due to significant progress in 2024.
·
Between
2017 and 2023, malaria cases
in India decreased by 69%, from 6.4 million to 2 million while deaths reduced by 68%
from 11,100 to 3,500.
·
The majority of malaria deaths occurred
in 4 countries: Nigeria (30.9%),
the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(11.3%), Niger (5.9%) and Tanzania (4.3%)
·
As of November 2024, 44
countries and one territory (Cabo Verde) have
been certified malaria free by WHO, with several others on track to achieve
this status.
14.
BLOOMBERG WORLD’S RICHEST FAMILIES 2024
·
·
The Al Nahayan Family (United
Arab Emirates) (USD 323.9 billion) secured the 2nd spot
followed by the Al-Thani Family (Qatar) (USD 172.9 billion)
gained the 3rd spot on the list.
·
Amongst the Indian families, the Ambani
family (USD 99.6 billion) and Mistrys of Shapoorji
Pallonji (USD 41.4 billion) family have secured spots in this global
ranking at 8th and 23rd respectively.
·
The report showed that the world’s
billionaires gained a collective USD 406.5 billion in wealth.
·
The net worth of the Walmart family has
surpassed the individual net worth of Elon Musk and the combined wealth of
royal families in the Middle East.
·
Gautam Adani was omitted as
first-generation wealth and single-heir fortunes were excluded from this
ranking.
15.
FORBES’ 2024 WORLD’S 100 MOST POWERFUL
WOMEN LIST
·
·
Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman,
Ministry of Finance, MoF and Ministry of Corporate Affairs(MCA)(ranked at 28th spot) has topped among the 3 Indian women featured on the
list.
·
She is followed by Roshni Nadar Malhotra,
Chairperson of HCL Technologies; and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw,
Founder and Executive Chairperson of Biocon India Private Limited ranked
at 81st and 82nd spot on the list
respectively.
·
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission(EC)
has topped the list for the 3rd consecutive year, followed by Christine Lagarde, President of
European Central Bank (ECB); Georgia Meloni, President of Italy
ranked at 2nd and 3rd position respectively.
·
This latest edition of the rankings has
represented women on the list into 6
main categories: business, technology, finance, media & entertainment,
politics & policy, and philanthropy.
·
Caitlin
Clark (22 year old), an American
Basketball player who ranked at 100th spot has become the youngest person to be featured on
Forbes’ 2024 MPW list.
