GK June, 2024

 

Awards

The Indian author who has been awarded the 12th Vishwa Hindi Samman in a Hindi Samvad event organised by Embassy of India in Nepal recognising her contribution in development of Hindi literature – Dr. Usha Thakur

Booker Prize winning Indian author and political activist who has been awarded the 2024 PEN Pinter Prize – Ms. Arundhati Roy

 

Defence

The indigenously developed "suicide drones," manufactured by Economic Explosives Limited (EEL), a subsidiary of Solar Industries which have been handed over to the Indian Army are named – Nagastra-1

The eighth edition of bilateral Japan - Indian maritime exercise held at Yokosuka, Japan is named – JIMEX 2024

The multinational military exercise being conducted by the USA at Eielson AF base in Alaska from 30 May (with participation of India) is named – Exercise Red Flag

 

Persons

The new Chief of Army Staff (30th) who has taken over from General Manoj Pande, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, who superannuated on 30 Jun 2024 – General Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM

The leader of the African National Congress who has been re-elected the President of South Africa for the second term – Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa

The Indian classical musician and sarod maestro recipient of Padma Shri (2019) who passed away on 11 June 2024 – Pandit Rajeev Taranath

The Indian businessman, media proprietor and film producer (owner of the world's largest film production facility Ramoji Film City, Eenadu newspaper, ETV Network of TV channels) who passed away on 08 June 2024 – Shri Ramoji Rao

 

Sports

The Australian bowler who has become the first player to register a hat-trick in consecutive ICC Men's T20 World Cup matches (against Bangladesh and Afghanistan respectively) – Pat Cummins

The Indian batsman who has become the first in the world to hit 200 sixes in T20Is (in a match against Australia in T20 World Cup 2024) – Rohit Sharma

The Spanish professional football club which has won the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League defeating Borussia Dortmund in the finals – Real Madrid

 

Places

The railway station in West Bengal near which a train accident involving Kanchenjunga Express resulted in the death of several passengers – Rangapani, Darjeeling

The venue of G7 Summit 2024 held from June 13 to June 15, 2024 – Fasano in Apulia (Italy)

The place in Kuwait at which a fire accident resulted in deaths of over 50 Indians and injuries to many other Indians – Mangaf

 

Countries

The South American nation which has joined the International Solar Alliance as its 100th full member – Paraguay

The country for whose nationals India has announced to launch an e-medical visa facility – Bangladesh

The central Asian country with predominant Muslim population which has passed a law to ban hijab terming it as alien to its culture – Tajikistan

 

Miscellaneous

The public sector undertaking which has been accorded Miniratna Category-I status at its Golden Jubilee celebrations on June 26 – Central Electronics Limited (CEL)

The MSP (Minimum Support Price) for common variety of paddy for marketing season of 2024-25 has been raised by the Union Cabinet from Rs. 2183/- to – Rs. 2300/-

The two bird sanctuaries on human-made wetlands in Bihar which have been designated as the 81st and 82nd Ramsar sites in India – Nagi and Nakti Bird Sanctuaries

The premier Telecom R & D centre of the Government of India which has been awarded UN’s WSIS 2024 “Champion” Award for the project “Mobile-Enabled Disaster Resilience through Cell Broadcast emergency Alerting” – Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT)

Mumbai International Film Festival 2024

Main Venue: Mumbai (screenings also held at Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Pune)

Dates held: June 15 to 21, 2024

MIFF, the oldest and largest film festival dedicated to documentary, short fiction, and animation films in South Asia. It was established in 1990 and is organized biennially, by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and executed by its nodal agency, National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).

Opening Film: Billy & Molly, an Otter Love Story directed by Charlie Hamilton James

Closing Film: Golden Thread

V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award: Shri Subbiah Nallamuthu.

6 films showcased under the Special Theme "India in Amrit Kaal" - 1. Ajay Dhawaja, 2. Onake Obavva, 3. Everywhere, 4. India - Hopes' 24, 5. Moringa - Nature's Panacea and 6. Bigari Kaamgar

Indian film The Golden Thread, directed by Nistha Jain bagged the Golden Conch award for the Best Documentary at MIFF 2024.

Estonian film Sour Milk wins Silver Conch for Best International Short Fiction

Polish Film Zima wins Silver Conch for Best International Animation

6-A Akash Ganga gets Silver Conch for Best Indian Documentary Film

 

New Chief Ministers

The following have been appointed as the new Chief Ministers of their respective states after the recent Assembly elections.

Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu: Andhra Pradesh

Shri Pema Khandu: Arunachal Pradesh

Shri Mohan Charan Manjhi: Odisha

Shri Prem Singh Tamang: Sikkim

 

French Open 2024

Title	Winner	Runner-up
Men’s Singles	Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)	Alexander Zverev (Germany)
Women’s Singles	Iga Swiatek (Poland)	Jasmine Paolini (Italy)
Men’s Doubles	Marcelo Arevalo (El Salvador) and Mate Pavic (Croatia)	Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori (Italy)
Women’s Doubles	Coco Gauff (USA) and Katerina Siniakova (Czechia)	Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini (Italy)
Mixed Doubles	Laura Siegemund (Germany) and Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France)	Desirae Krawczyk (USA) and Neal Skupski (UK)

 

Important Days of June 2024

Global Day of Parents: 01 June 2024

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

First observed: 2012

Theme: The promise of playful parenting

World Milk Day: 01 June 2024

Designated by: Food and Agricultural Organisation

First observed: 2001

International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression: 04 June 2024

Designated by: UN General Assembly

First observed: 1983

World Environment Day: 05 June 2024

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

First observed: 1974

Host Country: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Theme: Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience

World Food Safety Day: 07 June 2024

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

First observed: 2019

Theme: Food Safety: Prepare for the unexpected

World Ocean Day: 08 June 2024

Designated by: UN General Assembly

First Observed in: 2009

Theme: Catalyzing Action for Our Ocean & Climate

World Day Against Child Labour: 12 June 2024

Designated by: International Labour Organization

First Observed in: 2002

Theme: Let’s act on our commitments: End Child Labour!

World Blood Donor Day: 14 June 2024

Designated by: World Health Organisation

First Observed in: 2004

Slogan: 20 years of celebrating giving: thank you blood donors!

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: 15 June 2024

Designated by: UN General Assembly

First Observed in: 2012

Theme: Spotlight on Older Persons in Emergencies

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought: 17 June 2024

Designated by: UN General Assembly

First Observed in: 1995

Theme: United for Land. Our Legacy. Our Future.

International Day for Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict: 19 June 2024

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

First Observed in: 2015

World Refugee Day: 20 June 2024

Designated by: UN General Assembly

Theme: For a World Where Refugees Are Welcomed

First Observed in: 2001

International Day of Yoga: 21 June 2024

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

First Observed in: 2015

Theme: Yoga for Self and Society

Olympic Day: 23 June 2024

Designated by: International Olympic Committee

First Observed in: 1948

Observed to: Celebrate the foundation of the International Olympic Committee at the Sorbonne, Paris, on 23 June 1894.

International Widows Day: 23 June 2024

Designated by: United Nations General Assembly

First Observed in: 2011

International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking: 26 June 2024

Designated by: UN General Assembly

First Observed in: 1988

Theme: Invest in Prevention

 

2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup

Held from 01 to 29 June 2024

Hosts: West Indies and United States

Participants: 20 (Canada, India, Ireland, Pakistan, USA, Australia, England, Namibia, Oman, Scotland, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, Netherlands, South Africa and Sri Lanka)

First match played between: Canada and USA at Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas

Final match played between: India and South Africa at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados

Winners: India (India won by 7 runs)

Runners-up: South Africa

Player of the series: Jasprit Bumrah (India)

Most runs: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (281) (Afghanistan)

Most wickets: Fazalhaq Farooqi (17) (Afghanistan) and Arshdeep Singh (17) (India)

 

New Cabinet 2024

The following have been appointed as the new Cabinet Ministers after the recent Lok Sabha elections.

Minister of Home and Minister of Cooperation: Shri Amit Shah

Minister of Defence: Shri Rajnath Singh

Minister of Road Transport and Highways: Shri Nitin Gadkari

Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers: Shri JP Nadda

Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Minister of Rural Development: Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan

Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs: Smt Nirmala Sitharaman

Minister of External Affairs: Shri Subramanya Jaishankar

Minister of Railways, Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Minister of Electronic and Information Technology: Shri Ashwinin Vaishnaw

Minister of Education: Shri Dharmendra Pradhan

Minister of Commerce and Industry: Shri Piyush Goyal

 

Other Posts

Speaker: Shri Om Birla

Protem Speaker: Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab