Current Affairs Daily Digest – June 14 & 15 2024. Read and Download daily, the latest Current Affairs Quiz 2023 for competitive exams like UPSC, SSC, IBPS, SBI etc,. Download month-wise Daily Current affairs 2023 PDF and Current affairs quiz PDF .

---

Current Affairs Daily Digest – June 14 & 15 2024

1. 2024 Kavli Prize Awarded In Astrophysics, Nanoscience & Neuroscience

The 2024 Kavli Prize winners were announced, honoring great work in neuroscience, astrophysics, and nanoscience. Eight well-known scholars from well-known American colleges were recognized for their groundbreaking work in these areas.

Origins of The Prize

A Norwegian-American businessman and philanthropist named Fred Kavli created the Kavli Prize because he wanted to support scientific study that could make people’s lives better.

After getting $340 million for his company Kavlico in 2000, Kavli started The Kavli Foundation. The foundation’s main goal is to advance science for the good of all people. It also works to help people understand and support experts and their work.

2024 Kavli Prize Winners

ASTROPHYSICS: David Charbonneau and Sara Seager were given awards for their groundbreaking work in finding exoplanets and figuring out what their atmospheres are like. Their methods have made it easier to look for life in galaxies other than our own.

NANOSCIENCE: Robert Langer, Armand Paul Alivisatos, and Chad Mirkin were honored for making important contributions to nanotechnology. Langer’s work on nanoengineering materials for drug delivery systems, Alivisatos’s creation of quantum dots for bioimaging, and Mirkin’s work on sphere nucleic acids all show how nanoscience has changed medicine and technology.

NEUROSCIENCE: Nancy Kanwisher, Winrich Freiwald, and Doris Tsao made big steps toward understanding how facial recognition works in the brain. This gave scientists new information about how the brain works and how we think.

2. India Surpasses Hong Kong to Reclaim Fourth Spot in Global Equity Market

India’s stock market has once again surpassed Hong Kong’s, making it the fourth biggest in the world by market capitalization. India’s market value has risen to $5.2 trillion, thanks to a 10% rise after the elections.

It is now worth more than Hong Kong, which has lost 5.4% of its value since its peak this year and is now worth $5.17 trillion. This is a big change in the global market rankings, which shows how strong India’s economy is and how confident investors are in the country.

How India’s Market Works

• India’s rise is due to a growing number of individual investors, strong corporate earnings, and positive policy changes that have made the country an even better place to spend.
• With a forward P/E ratio of 20x and a price-to-book ratio of 3x, the country’s stock market shows that it has a lot of room to grow even though the world is unsure.

3. India is the World’s Second Largest Emitter of Nitrous Oxide

India is the second biggest source of nitrous oxide (N2O) in the world. N2O is a greenhouse gas that warms the air much more than carbon dioxide. Nearly 11% of these man-made emissions around the world in 2020 came from India.

China had the most, at 16%. A study of N2O emissions around the world, which came out in the journal Earth System Science Data on June 12, says that fertilizer use is the main source of these emissions.

Details and a Report

The study said that the amount of N2O in the air, which is the third most important greenhouse gas, is rising faster than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) thought it would.

In 2022, the concentration hit 336 parts per billion, which is 25% more than it was before industrialization and a lot faster than the IPCC thought it would rise.

Over the past ten years, world carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and changes in land use have stayed pretty stable. On the other hand, global N2O emissions keep going up, mostly because of food production.

The five countries that put out the most manmade N2O in 2020 were China (16.7%), India (10.9%), the US (5.7%), Brazil (5.3%), and Russia (4.6%).

4. G7 Agrees $50bn Loan for Ukraine Using Russian Assets

The G7 has decided to use Russian assets that have been frozen to get Ukraine a $50 billion loan to help it defend itself against a Russian invasion.

President Vladimir Putin called it theft, while US President Joe Biden said it was a strong stand against Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and President Biden signed a 10-year security deal in Italy at the G7 meeting.

Ukraine will get military and training help as part of this deal, but US troops will not be sent there. Its goals are to improve Ukraine’s defenses and make sure that its economy and energy supply are safe.

5. A Book titled “A Fly on the RBI Wall” Authored by Alpana Killawala

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s marketing department was just starting to take shape when Alpana Killawala started working there.

During her more than 20-year career, Alpana not only saw how the RBI’s communication methods changed over time, she also helped make those changes.

Her book, A Fly on the RBI Wall: An Insider’s View of the Central Bank, tells a fascinating story about her life and how the bank has changed over the past 25 years.

The Beginning

When Alpana joined the RBI, it started a new era for the bank’s marketing department. A former executive director said that Alpana was “integral to the evolution of the RBI’s communication.”

Her story is linked to the bank’s efforts to control its public image and internal communications.

6. Mumbai, Delhi Luxury Real Estate Among Top 5 Globally: Knight Frank

Knight Frank’s new study, “Prime Global Cities Index January–March 2024,” says that Mumbai and Delhi have become the best places in the world to buy a luxury home.

House prices went up a lot in both cities, putting them in the top five places in the world for prime residential price growth.

Key points

• During the January–March 2024 quarter, Mumbai’s prime home prices rose 11.5% year-over-year (YoY). This put the city third in the world, up from sixth during the same time period in 2023.
• The house prices in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi went up 10.5% year over year, moving it from sixteenth place to fifth.
• Bengaluru, on the other hand, fell from 16th to 17th in the ranks, even though home prices rose 4.8% year over year.

Prices went up 26.2% in Manila, which was at the top of the measure. They went up 12.5% in Tokyo, which was next. Tokyo has grown a lot because mortgage rates are low and more foreign investment is coming in.

7. World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2024 Observed on 15 June

Every year on June 15, people all over the world celebrate World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) to bring attention to the mistreatment of older people.

WEAAD was created by the UN in 2011 to bring attention to the worldwide issue of elder abuse and to protect the rights and well-being of older people.

A Look at How Common Elder Abuse Is

Abuse of older people is a big problem that affects millions of people around the world.

Abuse can come in many forms, such as neglect and abandonment, as well as physical, mental, sexual, and financial abuse. Elder abuse has very bad effects, including mental and physical health problems, being cut off from others, and even dying too soon.

Theme of WEAAD 2024: Spotlight on Older Persons in Emergencies

8. 2024 Global Peace Index

Since 2006, the Global Gender Gap Index has been one of the most important ways that people around the world try to keep track of gender imbalance.

This index looks at how far 146 countries have come in gaining equal rights for women and is updated every year. In four important areas, it looks at economic participation and chance, education level, health and survival, and political power.

There is still a long way to go before every country has fully equal rights for men and women, but many are getting there.

With 93.5% of the gap between men and women closed, Iceland is in first place. The Netherlands, Finland, and Norway are also very close behind. Greater progress has been made in some places, like Europe and North America. For instance, North Africa and the Middle East get the worst grades.