June 4'th Week
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1. International News
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1.1 Botswana
- Botswana has become the first country in Africa, and notably the first high-burden HIV country worldwide, to be awarded the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Gold Tier status for the elimination of vertical (mother-to-child) transmission of HIV.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) awards Gold Tier status to countries that have: Fewer than 250 new HIV infections per 100,000 live births and at least 95% of pregnant women receive antenatal care.
1.2 SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Qingdao, China
- Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh will lead a highlevel Indian delegation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) About the SCO:
- SCO is an intergovernmental organisation established in 2001.
- India became a full member in 2017 and assumed the rotating Chairmanship in 2023.
- The SCO membership includes Kazakhstan, China,
Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Belarus, besides India. - China has assumed the Chair of the SCO for 2025
- Theme: – ‘Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move’.
1.3 Bloomberg Philanthropies Award
- India’s Health Ministry get Bloomberg Philanthropies Award for Global Tobacco Control.
- 675+ Tobacco Cessation Centres across district hospitals
- 1.35 million counselling sessions in FY 2023–24
1.4 NATO Summit 2025
- The 2025 NATO Summit meeting was held in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 24 and 25, 2025.
- The Hague Summit was chaired by the current Secretary-General, Mark Rutte, a former Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
- Turkiyee will host the 2026 NATO Summit meeting.
- NATO countries agreed to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.
NATO: –
- Examination Coverage: Civil Services, Engineering Services, Indian Forest Service (IFS), Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), Combined Defence Services (CDS), Medical Services, Geoscientist, and Indian Economic Service/Indian Statistical Service (IES/ISS) are included exams.
- Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
- Secretary General: Mark Rutte
1.5 Bangladesh Declares August 8 as ‘New Bangladesh Day’
- Bangladesh will observe August 8 as ‘New Bangladesh Day’ to mark the anniversary of swearing-in of the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus who took over three days after the fall of Sheikh Hasina government on August 5 last year, following a student-led uprising.
2. National News
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2.1 First ‘Make in India’ Locomotive export to Guinea from Marhowrah Factory
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the export of the first made-in-Bihar locomotive to the African country of Guinea on 20 June 2025.
- The locomotives have been manufactured at the Marhowrah Diesel Locomotive Plant in Bihar’s Saran district.
2.2 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited bags transfer of technology of SSLV from ISRO for ₹511 crore
- The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has bagged a Transfer of Technology (ToT) deal, valued at ₹511 crore, from the Indian Space Research Organisation, to build and operate Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLVs).
- The SSLV is a three-stage vehicle to launch satellites that weigh less than 500 kg into the Lower Earth Orbit (LEO).
- The Indian National Space Promotion and
Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACE) on Friday announced the HAL as the winning bidder among three shortlisted bidders. - The deal will enable the commercialisation of SSLV launches.
2.3 ‘Pratibha Setu’
- UPSC launches ‘Pratibha Setu’ to connect top talent with employers, including the private sector.
- UPSC’s ‘Pratibha Setu’, which was earlier known as Public Disclosure Scheme (PDS), provides access to the details of non-recommended willing candidates who cleared all stages of exams conducted by it but didn’t make it to the final merit list.
- The campaign, led by the Department of Environment and Climate Change, was announced by Minister Pankaja Munde.
4.2 Nakshatra
- Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research (DHR) and Director General, of the New Delhi (Delhi) based Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), inaugurated India’s first High Performance Computing (HPC) facility named ‘Nakshatra’ at the ICMR-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV), Pune, Maharashtra.
- The facility has been developed under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM ABHIM) to strengthen India’s capacity for genomic surveillance, pandemic preparedness, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled research in
public health.
3. State News
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3.1 Two new rhino rehabilitation areas to be set up in UP’s Dudhwa
- The Department of Forest and Wildlife, Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) establishment of two new Rhino Rehabilitation Areas (RRA-3 and RRA-4) in Dudhwa National Park (DNP), situated in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh.
3.2 Tripura
- Tripura becomes the third state in the country, after Mizoram and Goa, to achieve Full Functional Literacy.
- Achieving a literacy rate of 95.6%, as announced by the Chief Minister (CM) of Tripura Dr. Manik Saha, during an event at Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhavan in Agartala, Tripura.
- The declaration aligns with the criteria set by the Government of India (GoI), where any State or Union Territory (UT) achieving over 95% literacy is granted the status of ‘Fully Literate’.
- The Government of India (GoI) has set a target to achieve full literacy across India by the year 2030.
- This milestone was achieved through the successful implementation of the ULLAS (Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society) – New India Literacy Programme (NILP), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) launched in 2022 by the Ministry of Education (MoE) in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
3.3 Aralam to become Kerala’s first butterfly sanctuary
- The Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary, nestled in the verdant folds of the Western Ghats, is poised to earn a new title—Kerala’s first official butterfly sanctuary.
5. Economic
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5.1 National Time Release
- Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman released the fifth edition of the National Time Release Study (NTRS), during the CBIC Conclave held in New Delhi on 20 June 2025.
- Time Release Study (TRS) is a performance measurement tool that provides a quantitative assessment of the time taken for cargo release, helping to evaluate the efficiency of the clearance process.
- Since 2019, TRS has been conducted at 15 major locations, including seaports, Air Cargo Complexes (ACCs), Inland Container Depots (ICDs), and Integrated Check Posts (ICPs).
- In the import segment, Average Release Time (ART) declined between 2023 and 2025 across seaports (~6 hours), ACCs (~5 hours), and ICPs (~18 hours), while ICDs saw an increase of around 12 hours.
5.2 RBI Cuts Small Finance Banks’ Priority
Sector Lending Mandate
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the mandatory priority sector lending requirement for small finance banks (SFBs) to 60% from the financial year 2025-26 onwards, as against the existing requirement of 75%.
- 40% must still go to core PSL sub-sectors (agriculture, MSMEs, housing, etc.)
- 20% can be flexibly allocated to any PSL sub-sector where the bank has a competitive advantage
Maharashtra
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4.1 Majhi Vasundhara 6.0
- The Maharashtra government will launch Majhi Vasundhara Campaign 6.0 across 28,317 local selfgovernment bodies from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, to strengthen environmental conservation efforts.
6. Appointment
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6.1 Jahnavi Dangeti
- A 23-year-old Analog Astronaut, Jahnavi Dangeti, has been selected as an Astronaut Candidate (ASCAN) for the space mission of Titan Space Industries (TSI), a U.S.-based private agency engaged in space research.
- Born in Palakollu, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh
- First Indian to complete NASA’s prestigious International Air and Space Program (IASP) at the Kennedy Space Centre.
8. Obituary
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8.1 Vivek Lagoo passes away at 74
- Veteran actor-director Vivek Lagoo, who has worked in both Marathi and Hindi films, passed away on June 20, 2025 at the age of 74. His last rites will be performed at the Oshiwara crematorium in Mumbai.
- Vivek Lagoo was part of various film and television productions in different genres and languages. His films include ‘Godawari Ne Kaay Kele,’ ‘Ugly,’ ‘What About Savarkar?’ and ’31 Divas.’
- He was also a popular name in Marathi theatre and television, which demonstrates his range as an artist and a narrator.
7. Sport
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7.1 Chennai to host Hockey India Masters Cup from June 18 to 27
- It will host the inaugural edition of the Hockey India Masters Cup for men (40+ age group) and women (35+ age group) from June 18 to 27 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan hockey stadium.
7.2 Maaya Rajeshwaran
- In Tennis, India’s Maaya Rajeshwaran has clinched the women’s singles ITF J200 Gladbeck title in Germany.
- The 16-year-old defeated Switzerland’s Noelia Manta 6-2, 6-4 in the final. This triumph marks Maaya’s maiden ITF Junior title on European clay.
7.3 Lalit Upadhyay retires from international hockey
- Veteran Indian hockey forward Lalit Upadhyay has called time on his illustrious international career, drawing curtains on over a decade-long journey that saw him be a part of the teams that won bronze medals in the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games.
- In recognition of his contributions to Indian hockey, Lalit was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2021.
7.4 Neeraj Chopra
- Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra won the javelin throw title at the Ostrava Golden Spike 2025 meet with a best throw of 85.29 metres during the one-day competition held on Tuesday On 24 June 2025.
- Neeraj, who made history by winning India’s first Olympic gold medal in athletics at Tokyo 2020 and a silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics, has been in fine form this season. After winning the Paris Diamond League, he was keen to extend his winning streak in
Ostrava—and he did just that. - The idea for International Olympic Day was first proposed in 1947 during the 41st Session of the IOC in Stockholm.
- Dr. Gruss, an IOC member from Czechoslovakia, envisioned a day dedicated to promoting Olympic ideals.
- This proposal was approved in 1948 during the 42nd IOC Session in St. Moritz.
- On June 23, 1948, the first Olympic Day was celebrated in nine countries, including Greece, Portugal, and Canada.
10.3 International Day against Drug Abuse
and Illicit Trafficking – 26 June
- International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, observed annually on 26 June, stands as a worldwide expression of the collective resolve to combat the growing menace of drug abuse and trafficking.
- The theme is “The Evidence is Clear: Invest in Prevention”.
9. Book
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9.1 “The One: Cricket, My Life and More”
- Shikhar Dhawan released his autobiography titled “The One: Cricket, My Life and More” in June 2025, published by HarperCollins India.
10. Important Day
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10.1 International Day of Yoga – 21 June 2025
- It was established by the United Nations in 2014; this day underscores yoga’s universal appeal and its role in promoting a harmonious lifestyle.
- The theme for the 2025 International Day of Yoga is “Yoga for One Earth, One Health.”
- The inception of the International Day of Yoga traces back to December 11, 2014, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proposed by India, recognizing yoga’s universal appeal.
- The inaugural celebration on June 21, 2015, witnessed unprecedented global participation, setting two Guinness World Records for the largest yoga session and the most nationalities participating.
- Often referred to as the “Father of Yoga,” the sage Patanjali systematized its principles in the Yoga Sutras, laying the foundation for various yoga traditions practiced today.
10.2 International Olympic Day – 23 June 2025
- Every year, International Olympic Day is observed on June 23 to commemorate the birth of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the modern Olympic Games.