Daily Current Affairs 4th July 2023

Daily Current Affairs 4th July 2023

National News

The Union Minister has launched a campaign to convert 75 lighthouses into tourist attractions.

• Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on July 01 launched a drive to convert 75 lighthouses from Dwarka in the state of Gujarat into the country’s largest and most iconic tourist destination.
• The initiative aims to boost the local economy by promoting tourism and showcasing the rich culture and significance of these magnificent structures to the world.

It has entered into an MoU with the Indian Navy and Indian Port Railway and Ropeway.

• The Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy entered into an MoU with the Indian Port Railway and Ropeway Corporation Limited on July 2, 2023.
• The MoU is for planning, development, construction and operation of a Gallery on the theme “Evolution of Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard” at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It will also be built at the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) in the historic Indus Valley Civilization site of Lothal (Gujarat), the Indian Navy said.

A Memorandum of Understanding has been entered into between NADA India and SARADO.

• NADA, the National Anti-Doping Agency, has signed an MoU with SARADO comprising the Anti-Doping Organizations of Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka at the NADA India – SARADO Collaboration Meeting held in New Delhi on July 03.
• The MoU aims to increase and strengthen regional cooperation in anti-doping in sports.

State news

Ajit Pawar takes over as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

• As many as nine MLAs from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), including senior leader Ajit Pawar, were surprisingly sworn in as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government on July 02.
• Ajit Pawar has been sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister. It is significant that this is the third time he has taken office as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state in four years.

Periyar University has entered into an MoU with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

• A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and Salem Periyar University in June 2023 to facilitate postgraduate research.
• The agreement aims to carry out accurate seasonal forecasting for crops, joint curriculum development, key molecule identification, and drug design.

The Sugarcane Breeding Institute has entered into an MoU with the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

• A Memorandum of Understanding between the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and the Sugarcane Breeding Institute was signed in June 2023 to facilitate research by undergraduate and postgraduate students.
• The agreement aims to carry out variety development, tissue culture techniques, advanced clonal expression, mass propagation of seedlings of Elite clones and genome editing.

Startup 20 Shikhar Summit has started in Haryana.

• India’s G20-led Startup20 Shikhar Summit commenced on July 02, 2023 in Gurugram, Haryana. It is a two-day conference.
• The summit is being held under the theme How to Address Mass Inadequacy in Startups and the Startup 20 Report has been released during the summit. It is notable that the G20 urged the leaders of the countries to increase the global collective investment of one trillion US dollars in the global startup ecosystem by 2030.

Appointments

Vice Admiral Anand will take charge as Additional Secretary, DMA.

• The Indian Navy has announced that Vice Admiral Atul Anand will take charge as Additional Secretary, Department of Military Affairs (DMA) on July 03, 2023.
• He succeeds Lt. Gen. Anil Puri who retired on February 28, 2023.

Lt Gen MU Nair sworn in as new National Cyber Security Coordinator

• The central government appointed Lt. Gen. MU Nair as the new National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) in July 2023.
• He was a Signal Officer at the Army Headquarters before this appointment and with this appointment, he became the third person to hold the post after Lt Gen (retd) Dr Rajesh Pant and Dr  Gulshan Rai.

Archaeological discovery

Vembakkottai Excavations unearth various ancient objects including “conical lamps”.

• The second phase of excavation work has been going on since April 6 in an area called Uchimedu under Vijayakarisalkulam panchayat near Vembakottai in Virudhunagar district in Tamil nadu. It is significant that more than 2 thousand ancient objects have been found so far in this excavation.
• In this case, a circular Agal lamp, a flint pot and a conical lamp with beautiful carvings were found on July 01. Archaeologists have said that through this discovery, our ancestors may have set up pottery and made artistic items.

Discovery of oldest Arikandam statue near Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu.

• In June 2023, archeologists discovered an idol of Arikandam, which is almost a thousand years old, in an excavation near Sivaganga.
• Excavators have said that the statue was found in the temple of Pitari Amman on the way from Cholapuram to Nalukottai. This statue dates back to AD 11th century and Excavators have said that it may belong to the and near this statue there is also a Hero stone statue with three warriors standing in a row on a kolam.

Awards

The prestigious Mark Shunt Award has been presented to an Indian filmmaker.

• King Charles III and Queen Camilla presented the prestigious Mark Shunt Award and Tara Award to Oscar-winning Indian filmmaker Kartiki Gonsalves and a wildlife conservation group from India at the 2023 awards ceremony in London, England.
• Karthiki, director of The Elephant Whisperer, and a forester from Tamil Nadu have been honored by the Royals of England on June 28 with this award for their significant contribution to human-wildlife coexistence.

Sports news

 Aryan Nehra has won gold in the Senior National Aquatic Championship.

• Aryan Nehra of Gujarat won the men’s 400m freestyle gold in 3:52.55 minutes at the Senior National Aquatics Championship at the Aquatics Complex, Gachibowli Grounds on July 02.
• Delhi’s Kushagra Rawat (3:55.45) and Karnataka’s Anish S. Gowda (3:57.86) won successive silver and bronze medals respectively and in the women’s 200m category, Karnataka’s A.K Linesha clocked 2:37.35 to win the gold.

Yuki Bhambri has won the ATP Doubles title in Spain.

• Yugi Bambri won his first title on the 2023 ATP World Tour in Spain in July.
• He and South African Lloyd Harris won the doubles trophy at the Mallorca Championships, defeating the Dutch and Austrian pair of Robine Hasse and Philipp Oswald 6–3 6–4 on grass.

Max Verstappen has won the Austrian GP 2023 series.

• Formula One reigning and reigning champion Max Verstappen has won the Austrian Grand Prix 2023 with his impressive performance.
• It is notable that with this victory, he has taken his fifth consecutive victory in nine races in the current year’s series and demonstrated his dominance.

Obituary

Internationally renowned wildlife photographer Jayaram passed away in Coimbatore.

• Considered a pioneer in macro photography in India, renowned wildlife photographer K. Jayaram died in Coimbatore on July 02 due to pro-longed illness.
• A recipient of various international and national awards, he has dedicated his life to nature photography. It is also notable that he discovered a new species of frog (Raorchestes jayarami) and a spider found in Valparai and named them (Myrmarachne jayaramani) and his history was documented in a film titled ‘Insects to infinity’.

Important day

 International plastic bag free day 2023

• International No Plastic Bag Day is celebrated every year on July 3 to raise awareness about the environmental damage caused by single-use plastic bags.
• There is no specific Theme for this day. It is celebrated with the aim of taking action to reduce dependence on plastic bags and promote sustainable alternative solutions instead.