Current Affairs GK 20 July 2024

CURRENT AFFAIRS 20 July, 2024

1. MANOJ SONI, UPSC CHAIRMAN CONFIRMS RESIGNATION –

• UPSC Chairman Manoj Soni has submitted his resignation citing personal reasons. Manoj Soni’s resignation has not been accepted yet. The resignation of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) chairperson comes five years before the termination of his tenure and a year after taking charge. His tenure is slated to end in 2029.
• Manoj Soni, 59, an alumnus of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara. A student of Political Science with specialisation in International Relations Studies, he taught International Relations at Sardar Patel University (SPU), Vallabh Vidyanagar between 1991 and 2016.
• In 2013, Soni was conferred with the rare honour of “Honorary Mayor-President of the City of Baton Rouge” by the Mayor-President of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A., “for his exemplary leadership in empowering disadvantaged sections of society with IT literacy”, as per UPSC.
• In 2015, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, London, U.K., honoured Dr. Soni with the World Education Congress Global Award for Distance Learning Leadership. Dr. Soni has in the past served on the Boards of Governors of several institutions of higher education and public administration.
• Manoj Soni reportedly became a Member of the Commission in 2017 and took oath to office as the Chairperson on May 16 last year.

2. VINAY KWATRA APPOINTED AS INDIA’S NEW AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S. –

• Former Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra has been appointed as India’s next Ambassador to the United States, as confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Kwatra will assume his new role shortly, filling the position that has been vacant since Taranjit Sandhu’s retirement in January 2024.
• Kwatra, who served as the Foreign Secretary of India from May 1, 2022, to July 14, 2024, brings a wealth of diplomatic experience to his new role. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1988 and has held various significant positions throughout his career.
• Kwatra started his career in India’s Permanent Mission in Geneva and worked as a desk officer in Delhi handling UN matters.
• He served in South Africa and Uzbekistan and was a key figure at the Indian Embassy in Beijing as counselor and deputy chief of mission.

3. SURYAKUMAR YADAV NAMED INDIA’S NEW T20I CAPTAIN –

• Suryakumar Yadav is appointed captain for the T20 International series against Sri Lanka with Shubman Gill as vice-captain. Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, and Rishabh Pant returned to the squad.
• Rohit Sharma will lead the ODI squad, with Shubman Gill as vice-captain. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will play together after retiring from T20Is.

4. APOLLO 11 ANNIVERSARY –

• NASA’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history on July 20, 1969, when they landed on the moon. One of the most important parts of this task was planting the American flag, which has come to represent national pride and success ever since.
• Matthew Ward, a history professor, says that the American flag has been an important symbol in times of both joy and sadness in the country’s past. Its part in showing American ambition and exploration is shown by the fact that it was there during the Apollo moon landings.
• Anne Platoff, a professor at the University of California, looked into what the flags on the moon meant. The United States signed the United Nations Treaty on Outer Space, which says that acts like this are illegal. So, the flag-raising wasn’t designed to claim territory.

5. JOE BIDEN WITHDRAWS FROM US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS –

• On July 21, 2023, US President Joe Biden revealed that he was dropping out of the race for president. This came after a lot of talk and pressure from well-known Democrats. Concerns about Biden’s age and ability were raised by his recent debate performance against Republican Donald Trump. This made party members less confident in his campaign.
• Biden tried to calm people’s worries about his age during the debate, but he made them worse instead. Concerns about his ability to stay in the race were raised by instances of him messing up his speech.
• Now that Biden has quit, the Democratic Party has the very important job of finding a good candidate. Several possible options have come forward, and each has their own set of skills and problems to solve.