CURRENT AFFAIRS 17 August, 2024

CURRENT AFFAIRS 17 August, 2024

1. SIX NEW PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES FOR 2024-25: LOK SABHA SPEAKER CONSTITUTES –

• The Lok Sabha speaker on August 17, named the constituents of the six new Parliamentary Committees including the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which examines government expenditure.
• Ganesh Singh, BJP MP from Satna, Madhya Pradesh has been appointed as the chairperson of the Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes.

Six New Parliamentary Committees for 2024-25

1. Public Account committee
2. Committee on Public Undertakings
3. Committee on Estimates
4. Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
5. Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes
6. Committee on Public Accounts

• The Committee was first established in 2012 and its functions include, considering reports from the National Commission for Backward Classes and reviewing welfare measures for OBCs.
• BJP Lok Sabha MP from Mandla constituency Dr Faggan Singh Kulaste has been appointed as the chairperson of the committee on the Welfare of scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• Similarly, a BJP Lok Sabha MP from Odisha’s Kendrapara, Baijyant Panda has been appointed as the chairperson of the committee on Public undertakings.

2. UN HUMAN RIGHTS TEAM TO VISIT BANGLADESH TO INVESTIGATE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS –

• A human rights team from the United Nations will visit Dhaka next week to discuss with the Bangladesh interim government, investigations into the human rights violations during the recent unrest in Bangladesh.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk discussed with Bangladesh interim leader Muhammad Yunus a comprehensive range of support that the UN Human Rights Office could provide to the interim government and the transition, including on accountability issues.
• The team visiting Bangladesh will discuss with the interim government areas of support and the modalities for an investigation of human rights violations in the context of the recent violence and unrest, Haq said.
• Turk said in a statement issued in Geneva that a comprehensive, impartial, and transparent investigation into all human rights violations and abuses that have occurred will be a critical first step.

3. ISRO LAUNCHED SSLV-D3-EOS-08 –

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the SSLV-D3-EOS-08 mission. This mission launched a small satellite designed to observe Earth.
• It follows the success of the earlier SSLV-D2-EOS-07 mission, which was launched in February 2023.
• The SSLV-D3-EOS-08 is the third flight in ISRO’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) series. This mission completes the development phase of this new rocket. Earlier in 2024, ISRO successfully launched two other missions: PSLV-C58/XpoSat in January and GSLV-F14/INSAT-3DS in February.

4. INDIA ADDS THREE NEW WETLANDS TO ITS RAMSAR LIST –

• India added three new wetlands to its Ramsar Sites list, making a total of 85. These new sites are the Nanjarayan Bird Sanctuary and Kazhuveli Bird Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu, and Tawa Reservoir in Madhya Pradesh. This shows India’s commitment to protecting important natural areas.
• Ramsar Sites are special wetlands recognized internationally for their importance, especially for water birds. These sites are protected under an agreement called the Ramsar Convention, which was signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. The goal is to protect wetlands that are vital for the environment.
• India joined the Ramsar Convention in 1981 and has been adding more sites since then. By 2024, India’s Ramsar Sites cover around 1,358,068 hectares.

5. WORLD’S OLDEST CALENDAR DISCOVERED –

• Archaeologists at Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey have discovered what is thought to be the Earth’s oldest known Sun-and-Moon calendar, carved into a large stone pillar. This discovery, reported in a study on July 24, offers new insights into the development of early timekeeping methods.
• The pillar, estimated to be nearly 13,000 years old, is adorned with 365 V-shaped symbols, each likely representing a single day.
• This design reflects an advanced understanding of both solar and lunar cycles. The calendar includes 12 lunar months plus an additional 11 days, indicating that ancient societies had a sophisticated grasp of time.