Today in History (June 8^th, 1658)

On 8th June 1658, Aurangzeb gained control of Agra and had his father Shah Jahan imprisoned in the Agra Fort, right across the Taj Mahal he had built for his deceased Queen Mumtaz Mahal.

Let’s revise

A) Nata Pratha/practice is associated with _________

1. Sale of girls
2. Widow remarriage
3. Sale of animals for sacrifice
4. Sale of boys for marriage

Ans. (1)

B) Who is the current chief of National Human Rights Commission?

1. Arun Kumar Mishra
2. Rajiv Kumar
3. Vivek Amin
4. Nagendra Sharma

Ans. (1)

C) The voter turnout in 2019 Lok Sabha Election was _______

1. 67.4%
2. 89%
3. 90%
4. 98%

Ans. (1)

D) The other election commissioners are____________

1. Gyanesh Kumar & Sukhbir Singh Sandhu
2. Rajiv Goyal and Manohar Singh
3. Ajay Anand & Vijay Monah
4. Rakesh Lal and Munesh Mohan

Ans. (1)

E) Under the scheme annual MPLADS fund entitlement per MP constituency is Rs._______

1. 18 Crore
2. 20 crore
3. 5 Crore
4. 5 Lakh

Ans. (3)

F) Who is current Chief Information Commissioner?

1. Heeralal Samariya
2. Rohan Malviya
3. Lakshmiraman Nareshan
4. Munish Ahamad

Ans. (1)

Summary of Today’s News

President invites Modi to form new government

• President Droupadi Murmu has officially invited Narendra Modi to form the next government, marking the beginning of his third consecutive term as Prime Minister. This follows the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) Parliamentary Party electing him as their leader. The new government will be sworn in on Sunday.
• Key NDA leaders, including N. Chandrababu Naidu, Nitish Kumar, and Eknath Shinde, have shown their support by submitting letters to the President. During the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting, Modi emphasized the importance of coalition governance and consensus in decision-making, underscoring the NDA’s commitment to the “nation first” principle.
• Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh proposed Modi as the leader of the Parliamentary Party and the Lok Sabha, with support from other senior leaders. Modi highlighted mutual trust within the alliance and the good governance record of NDA members, who are in power in 22 states. He also criticized the Congress for its inability to secure a significant number of seats despite being in opposition for a decade.
• Modi’s allies praised his vision, execution, and contribution to India’s global prestige. Naidu particularly commended Modi as a leader with a perfect execution of plans, describing him as “the right man at the right time.”

No change in Repo Rate by RBI and GDP growth rate forecast to 7.2%

• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to keep the repo rate steady at 6.5% for the eighth consecutive time, maintaining its focus on controlling high inflation. Additionally, the MPC has revised its GDP growth forecast for the financial year 2024-2025 from 7% to 7.2%.
• The committee aims to withdraw accommodation measures to prevent inflation from rising while also supporting economic growth. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das emphasized that these decisions align with the goal of achieving a medium-term consumer price index (CPI) inflation target of 4%, with a tolerance band of +/- 2%.
• The MPC was not unanimous in its decision: Governor Das and members Shashanka Bhide, Rajiv Ranjan, and Michael Debabrata Patra voted to keep the rate unchanged and maintain the current stance. Conversely, members Ashima Goyal and Jayanth R. Varma voted to reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points and shift to a neutral stance.

Percentage of NOTA votes decreased nationally but increased in Northeast.

• In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the percentage of votes for NOTA (‘none of the above’) decreased nationwide to 0.99%, down from 1.06% in 2019. However, the Northeast region of India saw an increase in NOTA votes, rising from 0.71% in 2019 to 0.81% in 2024.
• This indicates voter dissatisfaction with the candidates in the Northeast, possibly due to frequent party switching by MLAs and unmet development promises. Notably, Assam constituencies Dibrugarh, Kaziranga, and Darrang-Udalguri recorded the highest NOTA votes, despite BJP candidates winning there.

Health experts call for very high precaution and alertness against spread of H5N1 virus during Bakrid.

• Health experts from various continents have warned the global Muslim community about the potential spread of the avian flu virus H5N1 during the Haj and Id-ul-Adha celebrations. Id-ul-Adha involves the sacrifice of around 143 million animals and coincides with the Haj pilgrimage, which will see about four million Muslims gathering in Makkah in the third week of June.
• Dr. N.M. Mujeeb Rahman highlighted the high risk of H5N1 transmission from animals to humans, noting over 800 human cases globally, with half resulting in death, mostly in countries with large Muslim populations. The experts, led by Shahul H. Ebrahim, emphasized that while Saudi Arabia has measures to reduce health risks by centralizing animal sacrifices during Haj, the risk remains significant in community settings worldwide due to mass animal importation and herding, which could facilitate viral transmission and adaptation to humans, similar to COVID-19.