29th December Daily Current Affairs – English

PSLV C-60 takes off:

• The PSLV C-60 rocket takes off from the 2nd stage of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
• ISRO had earlier said that the fourth stage (Boyam-4) of the PSLV C-60 rocket to be launched for the SPEDEX project will carry 24 research instruments.
• It said that 14 of these research instruments were manufactured by ISRO and 10 were manufactured by educational institutions and innovation organizations.
• As part of the SPEDEX project, ISRO was also conducting studies on the work of integrating spacecraft in space called space docking.
• The Indian government is planning to set up a space exploration center by 2035.
• Prior to this, ISRO is going to implement a project called SPEDEX as a production project.

All Awards 2024:

• President Droupadi Murmu presented the Khel Ratna award to two badminton players, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy.
• The ICC’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award for 2023 was presented to Virat Kohli.
• Lokesh Raghuram from Tamil Nadu was awarded the Sahitya Akademi’s Yuva Puraskar award for his short story ‘Vishnu Avatar’.
• The country’s first ‘Vignan Ratna Award’ was presented to biochemist Govindarajan Padmanaban.
• Former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president Kumari Ananthan was presented the Thagaisal Tamizhar Award for 2024 by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.
• The best Tamil film was Ponniyin Selvan 1 directed by Mani Ratnam, music composed by A.R. Rahman (Background Music), actress Nithya Menen (Thiruchittrampalam) and others were awarded.
• The Kalaignar Memorial Kalaithurai Vithakar Award for the year 2023 was given to film singer P. Susheela and poet M. Mehta.
• Professor AR. Venkatachalapathy’s book ‘Tirunelveli Ezhuchiyum Vaa Vuu Ciyum 1908’ was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award.

Prime Minister’s Emergency Fund:

• The contribution to the Prime Minister’s Emergency Fund (PM CARES Fund) has fallen to Rs 912 crore.
• The central government created the PM CARES Fund scheme during the height of the Corona pandemic.
• The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) was created on 28 March 2020 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• This fund was created to deal with emergency or crisis situations like Corona and to provide relief to the affected people.
• The Prime Minister of India is the chairman of the PM-CARES Fund. The Prime Minister has the power to appoint the members.
• The other members of the PM CARES Fund are the Minister of Defence, the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Finance.

Important Facts:

1. The Indian Army has installed a statue of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the banks of Pangong Lake, located at an altitude of 14,300 feet near the Line of Control with China in eastern Ladakh.
2. Lieutenant General Hitesh Bhalla, Commander of the ‘14 Corps’ Army Division based in Leh, Ladakh, inaugurated the statue.
3. Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the first indigenous fast-track power plant for generating 500 MW in Kalpakkam, the first of its kind in the country, in March 2024.
4. The ‘Tamil Puthalvan’ scheme provides Rs 1,000 per month to 3 lakh college students studying in government schools from class 6 to plus 2 and joining higher education.
5. The 2024 award for outstanding social service to the third gender was given to Sandhya Devi, a ward member of Thovalai panchayat in Kanyakumari district.
6. The Red Fort in Villupuram district has been recommended for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
7. On November 8, the Tamil Nadu government declared snakebite a notifiable disease.
8. Chief Minister MK Stalin will launch the ‘Pudhumai penn’ expansion scheme in Thoothukudi on December 30, under which Rs 1,000 will be provided to girl students studying in government-aided schools and going on to higher education.
9. Chief Minister MK Stalin will inaugurate the Mini Tidal Park in Thoothukudi on December 29.
10. The Pudhumai penn scheme was launched on September 5, 2022.
11. President Emmanuel Macron appointed Gabriel Atal as the new Prime Minister of France.
12. Sweden was admitted to the NATO military alliance.
13. The World Meteorological Organization announced that 2024 was the warmest year in the 174 years since records began.
14. Claudia Sheinbaum was elected as Mexico’s first female president.
15. Harini Amara Suriya took office as Sri Lanka’s first female prime minister, succeeding Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
16. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached by parliament over his declaration of a state of emergency.