1 Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi to be next Army Chief
The central government has appointed Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi as the new Army Chief . He will replace the current Army Chief General Manoj Pandey . Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi will take charge on June 30. The current Army Chief General Manoj Pandey is retiring on the same day. Lieutenant General Dwivedi will take charge as the 30th Army Chief. Prior to this, he has served the country as Vice Chief of Army, Northern Army Commander, DG Infantry and many other command appointments in the Army.
2 Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu will take oath as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu will take oath as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh . Many dignitaries including Union Home Minister Amit Shah will attend the ceremony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many other dignitaries are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Mr Naidu met Governor S Abdul Nazir and staked claim to form the government.
3 BJP leader Mohan Charan Majhi will be the new Chief Minister of Odisha
Mr Mohan Charan Majhi will be the new Chief Minister of Odisha . The Bharatiya Janata Party Legislature Party in the state unanimously elected Mr Majhi as its leader. Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Bhupendra Yadav were present on the occasion as central observers. 52-year-old Mr Majhi has been elected MLA four times from Keonjhar Assembly seat. He was elected from this constituency in 2000, 2004, 2019 and 2024. After being elected as the leader of the Legislature Party, Mr Majhi said that his government will make every effort to fulfill the aspirations of the people of the state. The BJP has also decided to make Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida Deputy Chief Ministers in the state. Mr Singh Deo is a former minister and represents Patnagarh Assembly constituency, while Mrs Parida is a first-time MLA and represents Nimapara Assembly constituency.
4 Non-citizens allowed to join armed forces in Australia
Australia will allow non-citizen permanent residents who have been living in Australia for at least 12 months to join the Australian Armed Forces from July 2024. The aim is to achieve Australia’s recruitment target for its army. Citizens of Five Eyes countries will be given priority to join it. Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance that includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States . These countries are in favor of the multilateral UK-USA agreement. Australia wants to strengthen its army due to the growing threat from China and by increasing the number of defense personnel currently around 90,000.
5 India will get back the 500 year old statue
On June 10, Oxford University in Britain has announced to return a 500-year-old bronze statue to India after an internal investigation . This statue is of Saint Tirumankai Alwar , which was stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu during the 16th century . Saint Tirumankai Alwar was the last of the 12 Alvar saints of South India . One has to pay around Rs 1800 to see this statue. This statue of Saint Tirumankai Alwar is 60 cm high. It was placed in Oxford University by Dr. J.R. Belmont in 1967. The Indian High Commission in Britain gave evidence to Oxford University on 11 March 2024 that the statue belongs to a temple in Tamil Nadu. The statue was confirmed by the bronze of 1957 found in the temple of Tamil Nadu. Now this statue will be placed before the Charity Commission, which will take the final decision on it.
6 Joint naval exercise between India and Japan JIMEX-24 started in Yokosuka, Japan
The joint naval exercise between India and Japan – GIMEX-24 has started in Yokosuka, Japan . According to the Indian Navy, during this exercise, the navies of both the countries will demonstrate their war skills at sea. The Indian Navy’s indigenous warship INS Shivalik and Japan’s warship Destroyer JS Yugiri are participating in this joint exercise. The Indian Navy has said that this joint maritime exercise also confirms the shared commitment of both the countries towards maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.
7 18th Mumbai International Film Festival to be held in Mumbai from June 15 to June 21, 2024
The 18th Mumbai International Film Festival-MIFF will be held in Mumbai from June 15 to June 21, 2024. Apart from Films Division-NFDC in Mumbai, MIFF will also be screened at Sirifort Auditorium in Delhi, Tagore Film Centre in Chennai, NFAI Auditorium in Pune and SRFTI Auditorium in Kolkata. A record number of 1 thousand 18 films have been entered for the competition sections. 102 films have been selected by 3 selection committees of eminent film experts for the International and National Competition sections. This year the festival features a total of 314 films in 61 languages from 59 countries. There will be 8 world premieres, 5 international premieres, 18 Asia premieres and 21 India premieres. The opening film of the 18th MIFF will be “ Billy and Molly, An Otter Love Story ”.
8 India welcomes new member countries participating for the first time in BRICS meeting hosted by Russia
India has extended a warm welcome to the representatives of the new member countries – Egypt, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia – participating for the first time in the BRICS meeting hosted by Russia . The meeting in Nizhny Novgorod was the first ministerial meeting of the foreign ministers of the organization after the expansion of BRICS in 2023. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE have joined the BRICS grouping as full members. D Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, led the Indian delegation at the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting. Usually, the Foreign Minister attends such meetings. Dr. S Jaishankar was reappointed as the Foreign Minister only after the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, so he could not reach Russia to attend the meeting.
9 Madhya Pradesh: PM Shri Tourism Air Service of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board will start from June 13
Dr Mohan Yadav ‘s government in Madhya Pradesh is completing its six-month term on June 13. The present government assumed power on December 13 last year. On this occasion, the Chief Minister, while describing the achievements of his government, told reporters that from now on, no green tree will be cut in the state, rather it will be planted at another place. Dr. Yadav informed that the PM Shri Tourism Air Service of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board will start from June 13 and PM Shri Religious Tourism Heli Service will start between Ujjain-Omkareshwar-Indore-Bhopal from June 16. On this occasion, the Chief Minister also digitally launched the flight booking website for PM Shri Tourism Air Service. In the first phase, air taxis will start operating between Bhopal-Singrauli-Jabalpur-Rewa.
10 World Wealth Report, 2024
According to the Capgemini World Wealth Report , the number of India’s High Net -Worth Individuals (HNWI) increased by 12.2% in 2023 compared to 2022. The country now has 3.589 million high net-worth individuals. The financial assets of India’s HNWIs increased by 12.4% to US$1,445.7 billion in 2023 from US$1,286.7 billion in 2022. Globally, HNWI wealth and population are projected to grow by 4.7% and 5.1% respectively in 2023. India’s unemployment rate declined to 3.1 percent in 2023 from 7 percent in 2022. Market capitalization increased by 29.0%, while it increased by 6% in 2022. The country’s national savings as a percentage of GDP is set to rise to 33.4 percent in 2023 from 29.9 percent in 2022. HNWIs are those who own investable assets of US$1 million or more, excluding their primary residence, collectibles, consumables, and consumer durables.
11 India will host the Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup
On June 11, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced the host country for the Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2025 in Switzerland . FIH made India the host country for the World Cup . For the first time, 24 teams will participate in the World Championship. The World Championship will start from December 2024. India has hosted the event in Delhi in 2013 , Lucknow in 2016 and Bhubaneswar in 2021. The last Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup was held in Malaysia , which was won by Germany .
12 Sangram Singh will become the first Indian man to join MMA
On June 11, according to PTI , former Commonwealth heavyweight champion Sangram Singh will join Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) . After Pooja Tomar, Sangram Singh will become the second Indian fighter to join MMA . Sangram Singh is the first Indian male wrestler to join MMA . 38-year-old Sangram recently returned to wrestling after 6 years at the International Pro Wrestling Championship in Dubai. In International Pro Wrestling, Sangram defeated Pakistan’s Muhammad Saeed by a score of 30-23. MMA started in Greece in 648 BC. Those training then had to face boxing and karate without gloves.
13 Manu Bhaker selected in two categories for Paris Olympics
On June 11, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) announced the 15-member Indian rifle and pistol team for the Paris Olympics . Women’s pistol shooter Manu Bhaker has been selected in two categories . The Indian team for the Paris Olympics consists of 8 rifle shooters and 7 pistol shooters. Manu won gold in the women’s 25m pistol category at the Asian Games 2023. She won bronze in the 25m pistol at the Cairo World Championship in 2022. India has secured 21 quotas for shooting at the Paris Olympics . The Olympic Games 2024 will be held in Paris from 26 July to 11 August.
14 India’s Gulveer Singh won silver medal in 5000m race at Portland Track Festival High Performance Meet, also set national record
India’s Gulveer Singh won the silver medal in men’s 5000m race at the Portland Track Festival High Performance Meet in Athletics in the USA . Asian Games bronze medalist Gulveer Singh also became the fastest Indian in men’s 5000m race . Gulveer set a national record of 13 minutes 18.92 seconds and surpassed Avinash Sable’s record of 13 minutes 19.30 seconds set last year . With this achievement, Gulveer has now set national records in both 10,000m and 5000m races. In this competition , America’s Dylan Jacobs won the gold medal and his compatriot Eric van der Els won the bronze medal.