Current Affairs 21st Aug 2024 for UPSC Prelims Exam

StudyIQ offers Daily Current Affairs and Important News for the UPSC Exam 2024. Check here for Current Affairs of 21st Aug 2024 for the UPSC Exam and State PSC Exam.

Table of Contents

Rights Issue

Context: Recently SEBI has released a consultation paper on the Rights Issue of shares proposing some changes

About Rights Issue

A rights issue is when a company invites its current shareholders to buy more shares at a discount.
Existing Shareholders get rights to purchase these new shares at a lower price than the market rate, which helps the company raise more money without bringing in new outside investors.
Only the existing shareholders of the company would have the right to buy the shares.

Related Important Financial Market Terms

Initial Public Offers (IPOs): Process by which a company issues shares for the first time to raise money.
Offer for Sale (OFS): Enables promoters of a company to sell their shares; No new issuance of shares.
Private Placement: Raise capital from certain selected investors only.

Civil Services Board

Context: Karnataka HC questions the State Government for not setting up a civil services board even 10 years after the SC directive.

About Civil Services Board (CSB)

The Civil Services Board (CSB) is a panel formed to regulate transfers and postings of higher-ranking civil services officers in the country.
It is headed by the cabinet secretary at the national level and chief secretaries at the state level.
The Department of Personnel Rules 2016 made it mandatory for all states to set up such boards, following the recommendations of the Hota Committee (2004), 2nd ARC and SC judgement in T S R Subramanian and others v. Union of India case, 2013.
The CSB provides for the state to follow Centre’s guidelines on giving a fixed tenure of at least two years for cadre officers.
If anyone recommends the transfer of the officers before the completion of tenure, then the board will examine and effect it. The final authority in this regard is the Chief Minister.

UPSC PYQ

Q. Consider the following statements: (2015)

The Executive Power of the Union of India is vested in the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: D

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission

Context: Jupiter probe to stage first lunar-earth double fly-by manoeuvre.

About JUICE Mission

Juice is Europe’s first dedicated robotic mission to Jupiter launched from French Guiana.
It is due to reach the planet in July 2031 after performing an incredible flight path through the Solar System.
The spacecraft was constructed by Airbus Defence and Space, a division of the Airbus group.

Main objective of the Mission

To create detailed maps of the moons’ surfaces and look beneath them to probe the potential habitable environments by analysing the water bodies underneath.
To create a comprehensive picture of Jupiter by trying to understand its origin, history, and evolution.

About Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun at a distance of about 778 million km.
It is the largest planet in the solar system – more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined.
- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are called Jovian or Gas Giant Planets. These have thick atmospheres, mostly of helium and hydrogen.
Jupiter has more than 75 moons. (Ganymede – the largest moon in the Solar System)