Top 5 Current Affairs: 8 June 2020

Javed Akhtar became first Indian to bag Richard Dawkins Award 2020

Writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar has become the first Indian to be awarded with the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award 2020. He was conferred with the award for humanist value, critical thinking and advancing human progress. The Richard Dawkins Award is bestowed every year to a distinguished individual from the field of entertainment, scholarship, science, and education.

Garisain declared as summer capital of Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand Government has declared Bhararisen, also known as Garisain, as new summer capital of Uttarakhand. Garisain is located in the Chamoli district of the state. With this, Uttarakhand becomes the second state or UT after the Jammu & Kashmir to have two capitals - Summer and Winter. The another capital of Uttarakhand is Dehradun.

New Zealand declared as COVID-19 free

New Zealand on June 8, 2020 declared itself COVID-19 free following the recovery of its last patient. The country has not reported any new Coronavirus positive case in last 17 days. With this, all the restrictions imposed across the country will be lifted off including social distancing. However the country will continue to follow strict border controls.

Solar Eclipse 2020: Know date & time

On the longest day of the year, June 21, an annual solar eclipse will be seen from many parts of North India for around 6 hours. The solar eclipse happens when moon passes from between the Sun and the earth. During the June-July 2020 eclipse season, India will witness three eclipses in a line. The next annual solar eclipse is expected to occur on June 10, 2021.

India to soon set up Coal Exchange

India will soon set up a Coal Exchange for trading of coal. India is gearing up to allow commercial mining in the coal sector. Once it comes into effect, the coal will be trade on the ‘Coal Exchange’ platform across the country. The coal trading platform will be set up online.