Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2024

Notes:
A hidden chamber was recently discovered beneath the inner layers of Ghodbunder Fort during restoration work. Ghodbunder Fort, located in Thane, Maharashtra, on the Ulhas River, was built by the Portuguese and completed in 1730. Initially used for horse trading, it was later occupied by the Marathas and the British. The fort features a Portuguese church from the early 16th century and various historical structures.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet approved the development of the Greenfield Major Port at Vadhavan, Maharashtra. To be constructed via a Special Purpose Vehicle by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority and Maharashtra Maritime Board, this all-weather deep draft port supports the PM Gati Shakti program. Located in Palghar District and built through PPP on a landlord model, it will have a 20-meter draft, 23.2 million TEUs capacity, and boost EXIM trade via IMEC and INSTC.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has granted India a significant loan of USD 170 million (approximately Rs 1,418 crore) to enhance its healthcare system’s readiness and response capabilities for future pandemics. Aligned with India’s National Health Policy 2017, the policy-based loan aims to improve governance and policy frameworks essential for achieving universal healthcare coverage. Key initiatives include strengthening disease surveillance networks nationwide through interconnected laboratories, enabling quicker responses to infectious disease threats across cities, states, and union territories.

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The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) signed an agreement to upgrade the Biocontainment Facility at Chaudhary Charan Singh National Institute of Animal Health (CCSNAIH), Baghpat. The project, costing ₹160 crores, will take 20 months. CCSNAIH, an apex lab since 2010, conducts quality control testing for veterinary vaccines, including HS and RD. The agreement was signed in the presence of Secretary Alka Upadhyaya.

Notes:
On June 25, the Madhya Pradesh cabinet decided that state ministers must pay their own income tax, reversing a 1972 rule where the state government covered these taxes. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced the decision, emphasizing the end of the state’s financial responsibility for ministers’ income tax on salaries and perks.

Notes:
Russia has approved a draft logistics agreement with India, advancing military cooperation under the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS). This agreement aims to streamline logistics support for joint military operations, providing facilities for troops, warships, and aircraft during peacetime and wartime missions. It enhances India’s maritime influence, supports Arctic research collaboration, and helps balance logistics agreements with Quad countries, countering regional influences from the US and China.

Notes:
India’s largest leopard safari has opened at Bannerghatta Biological Park, Karnataka. Covering 20 hectares, the safari houses eight leopards, with plans to increase this number. The area is secured with railway barricades and enclosed with 4.5-meter-tall chain-link mesh and mild steel sheets to ensure the leopards remain within the boundaries.

Notes:
After 164 years, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India opened its first museum at Chadwick House in Shimla. Inaugurated by CAG GC Murmu, the museum highlights India’s federal audit heritage. Chadwick House, where Mahatma Gandhi stayed during the 1946 Cabinet Mission, also housed the first training school for Indian Audit and Accounts Service probationers in 1950. Exhibits include Chanakya writing the Arthashastra.

Notes:
An advanced AI system for early forest fire detection has deployed at Pench Tiger Reserve. Located across Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, Pench is known for its diverse forest types including Tropical Moist Deciduous and Teak. The reserve, designated a National Park in 1975 and Tiger Reserve in 1992, is divided by the Pench River and hosts a rich biodiversity featuring tigers, leopards, and diverse flora like Mahua and Salai.

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Finland is the first country to offer preemptive bird flu vaccinations to specific workers exposed to animals. Vaccines will target workers at fur and poultry farms, lab technicians, veterinarians, and those in bird sanctuaries and animal by-product plants, aged 18 and over. Finland secured vaccines for 10,000 people through an EU procurement of 40 million doses from CSL Seqirus. Vaccinations start next week, following past bird flu outbreaks in fur farms.