Current affairs 01 August 2024

Australia aided India's Clean Energy Transition with Critical Minerals.

• Australia and India are enhancing cooperation in critical minerals, crucial for transitioning to clean energy.
• Australia boasts large deposits of lithium, cobalt, and rare earth minerals.
• The Australia-India Critical Minerals Research Hub, a joint initiative between IIT-Hyderabad and Monash University, focuses on sustainable extraction, processing practices, and supply chain analyses.

Delhi country’s 3rd most polluted city in 1st half of 2024: CREA data.

• Delhi was the third most polluted city in India with an average PM 2.5 level of 102µg/m3, behind Byrnihat in Meghalaya (140µg/m3) and Faridabad (103µg/m3), according to CREA data for January to June 2024.
• Other highly polluted cities included Gurugram, Bhagalpur, Greater Noida, Muzaffarnagar, etc. exceeding national PM 2.5 standards.
• 163 out of 256 cities analyzed exceeded PM 2.5 standards.

Nita Ambani inaugurated India House at Paris 2024 Olympics.

• Nita Ambani, IOC member and founder of Reliance Foundation, inaugurated India House at the Paris 2024 Olympics, marking India's first-ever country house at the Olympic Games.
• She emphasized India House as a symbol of India's Olympic aspirations and a step towards hosting the Olympics in India.
• The event was attended by notable figures including PT Usha, Jawed Ashraf, Jay Shah, Abhinav Bindra.

ICG launched "Suvidha Software" to Boost Training Consistency.

• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) launched Suvidha Software Version 1.0 at the Annual Operational Sea Training Conference in Visakhapatnam to enhance training protocols and ensure consistency across all platforms.
• Senior officers discussed best practices, shared insights, and aligned strategies to address maritime security, demonstrating ICG's commitment to operational training excellence.

Karnataka Assembly opposed Delimitation, One Nation-One Election, NEET.

• The Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed a resolution against constituency delimitation based on the 2026 census, advocating for the 1971 census to be used for determining Lok Sabha and Assembly seats.
• The Assembly opposed the One Nation, One Election proposal, stating it threatens India's federal structure.
• It also adopted a resolution against the NEET, reflecting local concerns.