Daily Current Affairs and GK | 26 July 2024

Topic: Sports

1. Ajinkya Naik became the youngest president of Mumbai Cricket Association at the age of 37.

• On 23 July, Ajinkya Naik became the youngest president of the Mumbai Cricket Association after defeating Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar's candidate Sanjay Naik by 107 votes in a one-sided election.
• Ajinkya got 221 votes while Sanjay got 114 votes.
• Ajinkya was serving as the secretary of the association under Amol Kale.
• After Kale's death last month, MCA had to hold elections for the post of president.
• Ajinkya, a former school and club cricketer,  served as a member of the MCA Apex Council in 2019 and was later elected as the Secretary of the MCA in 2022.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

2. A customized gold coins have been honoured to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan by the Grevin Museum in Paris.

• With this, Shah Rukh Khan became the first Indian actor to get a coin of his name in the Grevin Museum.
• The museum is known for its wax figures of celebrities. There is also a wax statue of Shahrukh Khan in the Grevin Wax Museum.
• After only Mahatma Gandhi, Shah Rukh Khan is the second Indian to be honoured with a coin at the Grevin Museum.
• In addition, the superstar will also be honoured with the Career Achievement Award by the Locarno Film Festival for his outstanding career spanning over 100 feature films in Indian cinema.
• The 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival will be held from August 7 to 17 in Locarno, Switzerland.
• The award will be presented to him on August 10 in the open-air venue at Piazza Grande.

Topic: National News

3. Rashtrapati Bhavan's Durbar Hall and Ashok Hall have been renamed.

• President Droupadi Murmu has decided to rename Durbar Hall as ‘Ganatantra Mandap’ and ‘Ashok Hall’ as Ashok Mandap.
• The decision has been taken to make the ambience of Rashtrapati Bhavan reflecting Indian cultural values and ethos.
• Rashtrapati Bhavan is the official residence of the President of India.
• "'Durbar Hall' is the venue of important ceremonies and celebrations such as the presentation of National Awards.
• The term Durbar refers to courts and assemblies of Indian rulers and the British.
• "Ashok Hall" was originally a ballroom. The word Ashok refers to ‘free from all sufferings’.
• ‘Ashok Hall’ as ‘Ashok Mandap’ will bring uniformity in language.

Topic: Important Days

4. Kargil Vijay Diwas: 26 July

• Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed on 26 July to pay tribute to the Soldiers who fought the Kargil War.
• This year will be the 25th anniversary of the Kargil War.
• It also commemorates India victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War of 1999 and marks the successful culmination of Operation Vijay.
• The Kargil War was fought for over 60 days and ended with India gaining control of all the territories.
• The Kargil War took place between May 3 and July 26, 1999, along the Line of Control (LOC). India lost more than 500 military soldiers in the Kargil War.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Drass in Ladakh on July 26 to honour the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas.