DAILY GK 29-30 JUNE 2026
1.
PRESIDENT OF COLOMBIA
·
Jaime Abelardo de la
Espriella, a political newcomer backed by the Defenders of the Homeland alliance, won Colombia’s
presidential runoff election, defeating
left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda to become the President-elect
of Colombia for the 2026–2030 term.
·
José
Manuel Restrepo Abondano was elected as Vice President of Colombia.
2.
VIKRAM SARABHAI SPACE CENTRE
DIRECTOR
·
Dr. U.P. Rajeev was
appointed as Director of the Vikram
Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
·
VSSC Established in 1963 as the Thumba
Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), it was later renamed VSSC. Headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
3.
CBDT CHAIRMAN
·
The Appointments Committee of the
Cabinet (ACC), chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra
Modi, approved the re-appointment of Ravi
Agrawal as Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on
contract basis for another 6 months, starting from July 1, 2026.
·
CBDT is
the apex body for direct tax administration under the Department of Revenue,
Ministry of Finance (MoF). It was established in 1964 and is headquartered in
New Delhi.
4.
RBI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
·
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
appointed Ravi Shankar as Executive Director (ED).
·
He will oversee the Department of Statistics
and Information Management (DSIM).
·
RBI Established
in 1935 under the RBI Act, 1934, RBI is India’s central
bank responsible for monetary policy, currency management and regulation of the
financial system.
·
RBI Structure: RBI
has 15 EDs and 1 Chief Financial
Officer (CFO) overseeing key departments, with Gunveer Singh
recently appointed as ED of the Department of Payment and Settlement Systems (DPSS).
5.
51ST VICE CHIEF OF AIR
STAFF
·
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit,
former Chief of Integrated Defence Staff
(CISC), assumed charge as 51st Vice Chief of Air Staff (VCAS)
of the Indian Air Force (IAF) at Air Headquarters, New Delhi.
·
He
succeeded Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor.
6.
‘BORJULI SITE’ DECLARED BIODIVERSITY
HERITAGE SITE
·
The National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA),
under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoAFW), announced that
the Borjuli site in Sonitpur district, Assam,
has been notified as a Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS) by
the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA).
·
As of
July 2026, Assam has three officially
notified BHS: Majuli BHS, Borjuli Wild Rice BHS, and Hajong Tortoise Lake
BHS.
7.
THE SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT
RATINGS 2026 BY THE
·
Times Higher Education (THE)
released the 8th edition of Sustainability Impact Ratings
2026, with the University of Manchester, UK
secured the top position overall and
Manipal Academy of Higher Education
(MAHE) has secured 1st
rank in SDG-5 (Gender Equality) retaining its place in the 101–200 global
band.
·
The results were announced at the Global
Sustainable Development Congress in Jakarta, Indonesia.
·
This is
the only global ranking measuring how institutions worldwide advance
sustainability in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
·
New Countries: The 2026 edition also marked the debut of
Mali, Nicaragua, Niger and Tajikistan in the global rankings.
8.
PM
NARENDRA MODI VISIT TO SEYCHELLES
·
Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook
a 3-day official visit to Seychelles at the invitation of Dr.
Patrick Herminie, President of Seychelles.
·
PM Modi attended the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the National
Day of Seychelles, marking the 50 years of the island nation’s
independence, as the Guest of Honour, in
Victoria, Mahe.
·
PM Narendra Modi was honoured with the
honorary “Guardian of the Blue Horizon” title, the
highest distinction of Seychelles for leadership in environmental conservation
and sustainable development India and
Seychelles signed a total of 9 key
Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) covering sectors like: defence,
healthcare, digital payments, agriculture, maritime cooperation, space and
infrastructure.
9.
IMO PRIZE
·
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced
the 71st International Meteorological
Organization (IMO) Prize to French Meteorologist Dr.
Florence Rabier.
·
She
will receive the IMO Prize and deliver the IMO Prize Lecture at the 20th World
Meteorological Congress (Cg-20) in 2027.
10. WORLD’S
BEST SCHOOL PRIZES 2026
·
World’s Best School Prizes
2026, organised by T4 Education (UK),
shortlisted seven Indian schools across the
different categories, marking the highest
number of shortlisted schools from any country in a single year since the
awards were launched in 2022.
·
PCMC
Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj English Medium School, Pune and Army Goodwill School, Wuzur, Anantnag,
Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), were recognised in the Innovation category.
·
Healthy
Planet TGA Early Years School, Noida Uttar Pradesh (UP), Inventure Academy, Bengaluru, Karnataka
and Seth M.R. Jaipuria School,
Lucknow, UP were recognised in the Community
Collaboration category.
·
Euro
School Bannerghatta, Bengaluru, Karnataka, was recognised in the
Environmental Action category.
·
Seth Anandram Jaipuria School, Lucknow, (UP) was recognised in the Supporting Healthy Lives category.
11. GREEN
OSCAR AWARDS
·
Two Indian women conservationists, Parveen Sheikh and Barkha Subba, among
6 who were honoured with 2026 Whitley Award often
known as “Green Oscar”.
·
The
awards were officially presented by Princess Anne, at the Royal Geographical
Society in London, the United Kingdom
·
Each
winner receives £ 50,000 in project funding over one
year.
·
Other Key Winners: Moreangels Mbizah
(Zimbabwe); Issah Seidu (Ghana); Marina Kameni (Cameroon); Paola Sangolqui
(Ecuador) and Farwiza Farhan (Whitely Gold Award).
12. HP
SECURES 8 NEW GI TAGS
·
Himachal Pradesh (HP)
secured Eight New Geographical Indication (GI)
registrations, taking the total number
of GI-tagged products in the state from 9 to 17.
·
The
newly registered products include Seabuckthorn (Chharma) of Spiti, Salooni
Safed Makka (White Maize) of Chamba, Chamba Metal Art, Sirmauri Loiya, Kinnauri
Topi, Kinnauri Apple, Kinnauri Jewellery, and Sepuvadi of Mandi.
