Nobel Prizes 2024

• General Information:
  • Started in 1901 for Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, and Peace.
  • Economics prize established in 1968, first awarded in 1969.
  • Awarded by Royal Swedish Academy of Science (except Peace).
  • Peace Prize awarded in Norway, others in Stockholm, Sweden.
  • Awarded on December 10 (death anniversary of Alfred Nobel).
• Physiology/Medicine (2024):
  • Recipients: Garry R. Ruvkun and Victor Ambros.
  • Reason: Discovery of microRNA.
  • 1901 Recipient: Emil Adolf von Behring.
• Physics (2024):
  • Recipients: Jeffrey E. Hinton and John J. Hopfield.
  • Reason: Related to neural networks.
  • 1901 Recipient: Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (for X-rays).
• Chemistry (2024):
  • Recipients: David Baker, John Jumper, and Demis Hassabis.
  • Reason: Protein structure prediction.
  • 1901 Recipient: Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff.
• Literature (2024):
  • Recipient: Han Kang (South Korea).
  • Reason: Literature confronting historical traumas and highlighting the fragility of human life.
  • 1901 Recipient: Sully Prudhomme.
• Peace (2024):
  • Recipient: Nihon Hidankyo group (a group of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan).
  • Reason: Efforts to prevent the future use of nuclear weapons.
  • 1901 Recipients: Henry Dunant and Frédéric Passy.
• Economics (2024):
  • Recipients: Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson.
  • Reason: Demonstrating the importance of social institutions for national prosperity.
  • 1969 Recipients: Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen.

Indian Nobel Laureates

• Literature: Rabindranath Tagore (1913) for Gitanjali.
• Physics: C.V. Raman (1930) for Raman Effect (light scattering).
• Medicine: Har Gobind Khorana (1968) for genetic code.
• Peace: Mother Teresa (1979) for aiding the poor and suffering.
• Physics: Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1983) for stellar structure and evolution (Chandrasekhar Limit).
• Economics: Amartya Sen (1998) for welfare economics.
• Literature: V.S. Naipaul (2001) for "In a Free State."
• Chemistry: Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (2009) for ribosome structure.
• Peace: Kailash Satyarthi (2014) for Bachpan Bachao Andolan, shared with Malala Yousafzai, for protecting children's rights.
• Economics: Abhijit Banerjee (2019) for approaches to reducing poverty.

Modi Cabinet 3.0 (Key Appointments)

• Narendra Modi: Prime Minister; Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space.
• Rajnath Singh: Defence Minister.
• Amit Shah: Home Minister.
• Nitin Gadkari: Minister of Road Transport & Highways.
• J.P. Nadda: Health Minister.
• Shivraj Singh Chauhan: Minister of Agriculture.
• Nirmala Sitharaman: Finance Minister.
• S. Jaishankar: External Affairs Minister.
• Manohar Lal Khattar: Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs; Minister of Power.
• H.D. Kumaraswamy: Minister of Heavy Industries; Minister of Steel.
• Piyush Goyal: Minister of Commerce & Industry.
• Dharmendra Pradhan: Minister of Education.
• Jitan Ram Manjhi: Minister of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.
• Lalan Singh: Minister of Panchayati Raj; Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.
• Sarbananda Sonowal: Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways.
• Virendra Kumar: Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment.
• Ram Mohan Naidu: Minister of Civil Aviation (Youngest Minister in Modi Cabinet 3.0).
• Pralhad Joshi: Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
• Juel Oram: Minister of Tribal Affairs.
• Giriraj Singh: Minister of Textiles.
• Ashwini Vaishnaw: Minister of Railways; Minister of Information & Broadcasting.
• Jyotiraditya Scindia: Minister of Telecommunications; Minister of Development of North Eastern Region.
• Bhupender Yadav: Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.
• Gajendra Singh Shekhawat: Minister of Culture; Minister of Tourism.
• Annapurna Devi: Minister of Women & Child Development.
• Kiren Rijiju: Minister of Minority Affairs; Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.
• Hardeep Singh Puri: Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
• Mansukh Mandaviya: Minister of Labour & Employment; Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports.
• G. Kishan Reddy: Minister of Coal; Minister of Mines.
• Chirag Paswan: Minister of Food Processing Industries.
• C.R. Patil: Minister of Jal Shakti.

Daily Current Affairs (August 2025)

• Tuvalu Population Relocation: Tuvalu is moving its population to Australia as the world's first planned migration due to climate change. The "Falepili Union Treaty" (2023) ensures full rights for Tuvaluan migrants in Australia. Tuvalu's 9 coral islands are only 2 meters above sea level.
  • Venezuela: Lost 100% of its glaciers.
  • Yala Glacier (Nepal): Declared a "dead glacier."
  • First Glacier Conservation Day: March 21.
  • World Water Day 2025 Theme: Glacier Conservation.
• New Income Tax Bill (India): A new Income Tax Bill has been passed, replacing the 1961 Act, to be implemented from April 1, 2026. The bill, proposed by a committee headed by Vjayant Panda, reduces sections from 819 to 536 and chapters from 47 to 23. The tax year is defined as starting on April 1 and lasting 12 months. Income tax is a direct tax. As per the 2025-26 budget, income up to ₹12 lakh is tax-free.
• Chess Grandmaster: Rohit Krishna (Chennai, Tamil Nadu) became India's 89th Chess Grandmaster.
  • First Grandmaster: Viswanathan Anand (1987).
  • 88th Grandmaster: Divya Deshmukh (Maharashtra), who defeated Koneru Humpy in the Women's Chess World Cup in Georgia.
  • 87th Grandmaster: Harikrishnan (Tamil Nadu).
• World Organ Donation Day 2025: Celebrated on August 13. This date marks the world's first successful kidney transplant in 1954 (Ronald Lee Herrick donated to his brother), performed by Dr. Joseph Murray (Nobel Prize in Medicine 1990).
  • National Organ Donation Day (India): August 3.
  • World's first bladder transplant: USA.
  • World's first heart transplant: Christiaan Barnard (1967, South Africa).
  • India's first heart transplant: Dr. P. Venugopal (1994).
  • August 14: India observes "Vibhajan Vibhishika Smriti Diwas" (Partition Horrors Remembrance Day).
  • August 12: 106th birth anniversary of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai (Father of India's Space Program). Chandrayaan-3's lander 'Vikram' is named after him.
• India's Second Largest Cricket Stadium: A new stadium with a capacity of 80,000 spectators will be built in Sur City, Bangalore, approved by CM Siddaramaiah. This decision follows a stampede during IPL 18th edition victory celebrations at Chinnaswamy Stadium, which was investigated by the Justice Michael Cunha Commission. The largest stadium in India is the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
  • IPL 18th Edition Winners: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
  • Orange Cap: Sai Sudarshan (Gujarat).
  • Purple Cap: Prasidh Krishna (Gujarat).
• Shreshtha Index: The "State Health Regulatory Excellence Index" (Shreshtha) was launched by the Union Health Secretary. Prepared by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), its aim is to enhance drug safety and quality standards across states.
• ICC Men's Player of the Month (July 2025): Shubman Gill was chosen, marking his fourth such award. He is the current Test Captain of India and the first Indian captain to score a double century in England.
  • Sara Tendulkar is the brand ambassador for Australian Tourism.
• Security Drills:
  • Suraksha Chakra: First integrated multi-state mock drill conducted by the Indian Army in Delhi NCR, for disaster management in preparation for Independence Day.
    • Disaster Management Act 2005 led to the establishment of NDRF in 2006.
    • Sendai Framework (Japan) is a global initiative for disaster management.
    • Delhi NCR includes New Delhi (capital), Delhi (entire territory), and parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
  • Operation Alert: Launched by BSF along the India-Pakistan border (Rajasthan) and India-Bangladesh border (Meghalaya) to ensure strict security before Independence Day.
  • Operation Falcon: Started in Assam to curb the illegal poaching of rhinos.
• Brand Ambassadors:
  • Madhuri Dixit: Appointed by the Odisha Government as the brand ambassador for its handicraft industry during the "Ekta" textile exhibition. She wore a traditional "Bomkai Saree."
  • Shah Rukh Khan: Brand ambassador for Zomato in India.
• Tendong Lho Rum Fa Festival 2025: Celebrated by the Lepcha Tribe in Sikkim. It's Sikkim's oldest and most important festival, starting with prayers on Tendong Mountain (meaning "raised horn mountain").
• Humanitarian Aid: India sent 5 tonnes of cowpea seeds as humanitarian aid to Fiji.
• Other Mentions:
  • Sangatiil Manvi Vyavasthapan (Book): Written by Nitin Gadkari.
  • King Charles III's knighthood: Awarded to David Beckham.
  • Daulajali Hading (Assam): Site of recent discovery of Neolithic objects.
  • Justice K.S. Hegde Award: Received by Sudha Murty for her book "Dollar Bahu."
  • King Charles III: Awarded knighthood to David Beckham.
  • First Under-Water Museum (India): To be established in Maharashtra (IAS Guldaal).
  • First E-commerce company to receive non-banking financial company license from RBI: Flipkart.
  • Bangladesh: Removed its founding father's portrait from currency notes and abolished his title.
  • Government-supported indigenous AI model (India): Bharat JAI.
  • Pakistan: 2024-25 UN Security Council temporary member.
  • International Glacial Conservation Conference: Held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
  • COTPA Act 2024: Tobacco buying age increased from 18 to 21 years in Karnataka.
  • Tata Airbus Helicopter Assembly Line: To be started in Karnataka.
  • King Charles III's Knighthood: David Beckham (footballer) awarded.
  • First foreign bank to launch green bonds in GIFT IFSC: DFCFC Bank (Sri Lanka).
  • UEFA Nations League 2024-25 winner: Portugal.
  • Strawberry Moon: Rare lunar event (June 10-11) after 18 years.
  • New motto of Lokpal: "Strengthen citizens, expose corruption."
  • Heat-tolerant pigeon pea (arhar) variety (ICPB 2544): Developed by ICRISAT.
  • Shankardev Award 2023 (Assam): Awarded to Sonal Mansingh (Bharatnatyam & Odissi dancer).
  • Rudraksha VTOL Drone (Indian Army): Successfully tested in Rajasthan.
  • MI6's first female head: Blejmetarvali (England).
  • Gopinath Bordoloi Award (International Architecture Award for airport): Guwahati International Airport.
  • Nelco (Tata Group) and Eutelsat (France): Partnership for OneWeb Leo Satellite connectivity in India.
  • Under 19/Under 22 Boxing (2024): India won 27 medals.
  • Rare Blue Pinkgill Mushroom: Discovered in New Zealand.
  • National e-Governance Award 2025 (Gram Panchayat Digital Governance): Rohini Gram Panchayat (Maharashtra) ranked first.
  • Vande Ganga Water Conservation Campaign: Started in Rajasthan.
  • PM's Economic Advisory Council Chairman: Mahendra Dev.
  • PM's Economic Advisory Council Chairman: Mahendra Dev.
  • King Charles III: Knighted David Beckham.