Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs | 14 June 2024 | Download PDF

• A Group of Seven (G7) summit opened Thursday with agreement reached on a U.S. proposal to back a $50 billion loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets as collateral.

About G7:

• Formation and Members:
  • Formed in 1975.
  • Members: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States.
  • The European Union is also represented.
• Purpose:
  • Forum for discussing economic policy.
  • Addresses issues such as global economic governance, international security, and energy policy.
• Annual Summits:
  • G7 leaders meet annually.
  • The presidency rotates among member countries.
  • The host country sets the agenda.
• The G7 was formerly referred to as the G8 until Russia was suspended from the group in 2014 after illegally annexing Crimea.

• Central government reappoints Ajit Doval as National Security Advisor.

About NSA:

• Role and Position: The National Security Advisor (NSA) is the chief advisor to the Prime Minister of India on national security policy and international affairs.
• Establishment: The position was established in 1998 by the Government of India.
• Reporting: The NSA reports directly to the Prime Minister and is a key figure in the formulation of security policies.
• Key Functions:
  • Chairing the National Security Council (NSC), which is responsible for advising the Prime Minister on national security and strategic interests.
  • Leading the Strategic Policy Group (SPG), which includes the heads of key ministries and departments related to national security.
  • Coordinating intelligence sharing between the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and other intelligence agencies.
• The NSA is appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) and serves at the discretion of the Prime Minister of India.

• The Telangana High Court has ruled against a taxpayer against whom the revenue department had invoked General Anti-avoidance Rule (GAAR).

About GAAR:

• GAAR stands for General Anti-avoidance Rule.
• It is a set of rules enacted to prevent tax avoidance.
• It is framed by the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.
• It is targeted at arrangements or transactions made specifically to avoid taxes.
• Purpose:
  • To curb aggressive tax planning and schemes that exploit loopholes in the tax laws.
  • To ensure that businesses and individuals pay their fair share of taxes.

• The newly formed Indian cabinet consists of 30 Union ministers, only two of these ministers are women.
• The number of ministers in the central council has reduced from 10 in the previous government to seven in the current one.

About Gender Gap Report 2024:

• The World Economic Forum (WEF) released the Global Gender Gap Report 2024, which underscores the ongoing gender inequality worldwide.
• Iceland continues to be the most gender-equal country for the 14th year in a row, boasting a gender gap score of 91.2%.
• Other Nordic countries, including Norway, Finland, and Sweden, also feature prominently in the top five.
• India’s rank in this year’s index is 129, a slight drop from the previous year.
• The minor regression in India’s ranking is primarily due to slight decreases in ‘Educational Attainment’ and ‘Political Empowerment’, even though ‘Economic Participation and Opportunity’ saw a minor improvement.
• Among South Asian economies, India ranks third-lowest, performing worse than Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.

• An elephant that participated in the historic Mysuru Dasara celebrations recently passed away due to electrocution.
• The incident occurred near the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve in Karnataka.

About Nagarahole Tiger Reserve:

• Location: Located in the Kodagu (Coorg) and Mysore districts of Karnataka.
• Establishment: Established as a wildlife sanctuary in 1955 and declared a tiger reserve in 1999 under Project Tiger.
• The name ‘Nagarahole’ translates to ‘serpent stream’ in Kannada, named after a small river that flows through the park.
• The reserve is part of the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and forms a critical connecting habitat for tigers and elephants to other areas of the Western Ghats through the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary and to the Eastern Ghats through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve.

• Ranendra Pratap Swain, the Athagarh MLA, has been sworn in as the Pro-tem Speaker of the Odisha Assembly. 
• The oath of office was administered by Odisha Governor Raghubar Das in a ceremony attended by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at Raj Bhawan in Bhubaneswar. 

Pro-tem Speaker:

• As per the second provision to article 94 of the Constitution, the office of the Speaker becomes vacant immediately before the first meeting of the new Lok Sabha. 
• In that case, the duties of the Speaker are to be performed by a Member of the House appointed for this purpose by the President as Speaker pro tem.

• The Kichakeswari temple in Mayurbhanj district, Odisha, suffered partial damage due to a lightning strike. 
• The incident resulted in the dislodging of a part of the temple’s Kalash (finial), Trishul (a metallic 3-pronged spear), and a flag from the top dome. 

About:

• The Maa Kichakeswari Temple of Khiching, Mayurbhanj, stands as the largest temple in the ancient capital of the Mayurbhanj kingdom, once known as Khijingokota. 
• Constructed with black granite stone in the Rekha style of Kalinga temple architecture, akin to the Lingaraj and Bramheswar Temples in Odisha, the Maa Kichakeswari Temple lacks the porch typically found in temples of this architectural style. 
• This unique design is also known as the Kiching style of missing porch temple architecture.
• The main temple, or bada deula, stands at a towering height of 100 feet. 
• Originally built in the 9th century, the temple suffered a collapse due to a weak foundation. Following its rediscovery in the 18th century by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the temple premises were excavated, revealing remnants of the main temple, the deity, other small temples, and a Buddhist complex.
• To preserve the archaeological findings, a museum was constructed, and a new temple was built in the 19th century by King Pratap Chandra Bhanja Deo. 

• The upcoming budget for 2024-25 in Odisha is eagerly awaited as it will be the first under the BJP government. 
• The previous interim budget presented by the Naveen Patnaik government allocated Rs 1.18 lakh crore for the first four months of the fiscal year. 
• The total budget size for 2024-25 was set at Rs 2.55 lakh crore, marking an 11% increase from the previous year.

Key points:

• Some of the key promises include the Subhadra Yojana, which will provide a cash voucher of Rs 50,000 to women, the Mission Swasthya Odisha to strengthen healthcare facilities, the Mukhyamantri Sahayata Yojana to provide a monthly pension of Rs 3,000 to vulnerable groups, and financial incentives for tribal students to encourage school attendance.

• • Defined under Article 116 of the Indian Constitution.
  • A grant in advance allowing the Central government to meet short-term expenditures for a few months until the new financial year begins.
  • It provides interim permission from Parliament to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India for essential expenditures until a new government is formed.
  • Typically covers essential expenditures like salaries of central government employees and ongoing projects.
• Valid for two to four months.

Interim Budget:

• Contains both revenue and expenditure details until the new government presents a full budget.
  • Includes the current state of the economy, plan and non-plan expenditures, receipts, changes in tax rates, revised estimates of the current financial year, and estimates for the next financial year.
• Valid for the entire year.

All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Adda247.