Latest Current Affairs

Latest Current Affairs - July 2024

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3 new criminal laws - Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam replaced Indian Penal Code 1862 (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (CrPC), and Indian Evidence Act 1872 respectively, effective from 1 July 2024. Key highlights from new laws (Passed in Dec 2023) -
1. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 -
  1. It will replace Indian Penal Code 1860.
  2. Key Changes include -
    1. Offences against the body: The IPC criminalises acts such as murder, abetment of suicide, assault and causing grievous hurt. BNS retains these provisions. It adds new offences such as organised crime, terrorism, and murder or grievous hurt by a group on certain grounds.
    2. Sexual offences against women: The IPC criminalises acts such as rape, voyeurism, stalking and insulting the modesty of a woman. BNS2 retains these provisions. It increases threshold for victim to be classified as a major, in the case of gangrape, from 16 to 18 years of age. It also criminalises sexual intercourse with a woman by deceitful means or making false promises.
    3. Sedition: BNS removes the offence of sedition. It instead penalises the following: (i) exciting or attempting to excite secession, armed rebellion, or subversive activities, (ii) encouraging feelings of separatist activities, or (iii) endangering the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India. These offences may involve exchange of words or signs, electronic communication, or use of financial means.
    4. Terrorism: Terrorism includes an act that intends to: (i) threaten the unity, integrity, security or economic security of the country, or (ii) strike terror in the people or any section of people in India. Punishment for attempting or committing terrorism includes: (i) death or life imprisonment, and a fine, if it results in death of a person, or (ii) imprisonment between five years and life, and a fine.
    5. Organised crime: Organised crime includes offences such as kidnapping, extortion, contract killing, land grabbing, financial scams, and cybercrime carried out on behalf of a crime syndicate. Attempting or committing organised crime will be punishable with: (i) death or life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10 lakh, if it results in death of a person, or (ii) imprisonment between five years and life, and a fine of at least five lakh rupees.
    6. Mob lynching: BNS adds murder or grievous hurt by five or more people on specified grounds, as an offence. These grounds include race, caste, sex, language, or personal belief. The punishment for such murder is life imprisonment or death.
    7. Rulings of the Supreme Court: BNS confirms to some decisions of the Supreme Court. These include omitting adultery as an offence and adding life imprisonment as one of the penalties (in addition to the death penalty) for murder or attempt to murder by a life convict.
    8. New Law also exemps Doctors from criminal prosecution in alleged medical negligence cases when a patient dies during medical proceedings.
2. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 -
  1. It will replace Criminal Procedure Code 1973 (CrPC), which provides for procedure for arrest, prosecution, and bail.
  2. Key features of CrPC include -
    1. CrPC classifies offences into two categories: cognisable and non-cognisable. Cognisable offences are those in which the police can arrest and initiate an investigation without a warrant. Non-cognisable offences require a warrant, and in some cases, a complaint by the victim or a third party.
    2. CrPC deals with various types of criminal offences, ranging from traffic violations to murder. It distinguishes between bailable and non-bailable offences, specifying the offences for which an accused has the right to bail from police custody.
  3. Key changes included in new Bill -
    1. Detention of undertrials: As per CrPC, if an accused has spent half of maximum period of imprisonment in detention, he must be released on personal bond. This does not apply to offences punishable by death. BNSS2 adds that this provision will also not apply to: (i) offences punishable by life imprisonment, and (ii) persons against whom proceedings are pending in more than one offence.
    2. Medical examination: CrPC allows medical examination of accused in certain cases, including rape cases. Such examination is done by a registered medical practitioner on the request of at least a sub-inspector level police officer. BNSS2 provides that any police officer can request such an examination.
    3. Forensic investigation: BNSS mandates forensic investigation for offences punishable with at least 7 years of imprisonment. In such cases, forensic experts will visit crime scenes to collect forensic evidence and record the process.
    4. Signatures and finger impressions: CrPC empowers a Magistrate to order any person to provide specimen signatures or handwriting. BNSS expands this to include finger impressions and voice samples. It allows these samples to be collected from a person who has not been arrested.
    5. Timelines for procedures: BNSS prescribes timelines for various procedures.
      1. For instance, it requires medical practitioners who examine rape victims to submit their reports to the investigating officer within seven days.
      2. Other specified timelines include: (i) giving judgement within 30 days of completion of arguments (extendable up to 45 days), (ii) informing the victim of progress of investigation within 90 days, and (iii) framing of charges by a sessions court within 60 days from the first hearing on such charges.
    6. Hierarchy of Courts: CrPC establishes a hierarchy of courts for adjudication of criminal matters in India.
      1. These courts include: (i) Magistrate’s Courts: subordinate courts responsible for the trial of most criminal cases, (ii) Sessions Courts: presided over by a Sessions Judge and hear appeals from Magistrate’s Courts, (iii) High Courts: have inherent jurisdiction to hear and decide criminal cases and appeals, and (iv) Supreme Court: hear appeals from High Courts and also exercise its original jurisdiction in certain matters.
      2. CrPC empowers state governments to notify any city or town with a population of more than one million as a metropolitan area. Such areas have Metropolitan Magistrates. BNSS removes the classification of metropolitan areas and Metropolitan Magistrates.
    7. Notably, the New Bill expands powers of the police, related to detention, police custody and use of handcuffs.
3. Bharatiya Sakshya Bill 2023 -
  1. It will replace Indian Evidence Act 1872 (IEA). It retains most provisions of the IEA including those on confessions, relevancy of facts, and burden of proof.
  2. New Law retains most of the provisions of the IEA, including -
    1. Admissible evidence: Parties involved in a legal proceeding can only present admissible evidence. Admissible evidence can be classified as either ‘facts in issue’ or ‘relevant facts’. Facts in issue refer to any fact that determines the existence, nature, or extent of any right, liability, or disability claimed or denied in a legal proceeding. Relevant facts are facts that are pertinent to a given case. The IEA provides for two kinds of evidence – documentary and oral evidence.
    2. A proved fact: A fact is considered proven when, based on the evidence presented, the Court believes it to either: (i) exist, or (ii) its existence so likely that a prudent man should act as if it exists in circumstances of the case
    3. Police confessions: Any confession made to a police officer is inadmissible. Confessions made in police custody are also inadmissible, unless recorded by a Magistrate. However, if a fact is discovered as a result of information received from an accused in custody, that information may be admitted if it distinctly relates to the fact discovered.
  3. Key changes in New Law include -
    1. Documentary evidence: Under IEA, a document includes writings, maps, and caricatures. BSB2 adds that electronic records will also be considered as documents. Documentary evidence includes primary and secondary evidence.
      1. Primary evidence includes the original document and its parts, such as electronic records and video recordings. Secondary evidence contains documents and oral accounts that can prove the contents of the original. The BSB2 retains this classification.
    2. Oral evidence: Under IEA, oral evidence includes statements made before Courts by witnesses in relation to a fact under inquiry. BSB2 allows oral evidence to be given electronically. This would permit witnesses, accused persons, and victims to testify through electronic means.
    3. Admissibility of electronic or digital records as evidence: Documentary evidence includes information in electronic records that have been printed or stored in optical or magnetic media produced by a computer.
      1. BSB2 provides that electronic or digital records will have the same legal effect as paper records. This will also include records on emails, server logs, smartphones, locational evidence and voice mails.
    4. Secondary evidence: BSB2 expands secondary evidence to include: (i) oral and written admissions, and (ii) the testimony of a person who has examined the document and is skilled to examine the documents.
    5. Joint trials: A joint trial refers to the trial of more than one person for the same offence. IEA states that in a joint trial, if a confession made by one of the accused which also affects other accused is proven, it will be treated as a confession against both. BSB2 adds an explanation to this provision. It states that a trial of multiple persons, where an accused has absconded or has not responded to an arrest warrant, will be treated as a joint trial.
Misc. Science News (Jul 2024) -
1. US-based Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA) and Blue Origin named India as a partner nation in their human spaceflight programme, in a bid to democratise space.
  1. SERA will offer citizens from India a seat on Blue Origin’s future mission of reusable rocket New Shepard on an 11-minute journey past Karman line (100 km), the internationally-recognised boundary of space.
2. India's Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) partnered with India-based MosChip Technologies, and Japan-based Socionext Inc, for development of a High-Performance-Computing (HPC) Processor AUM based on high-performance Arm Neoverse V2 CPU platform and built on TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited) 5nm technology node.
3. Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) Researchers recorded a new species of forest-dwelling horned frog from Talle Wildlife Sanctuary in Lower Subansiri district (Arunachal Pradesh), named Xenophrys apatani. It has been named after Apatani community in recognition of their ingenuity in conservation of wild flora and fauna.
4. ISRO's inaugural solar mission Aditya L1 completed its first halo orbit around Sun-Earth L1 point, making transition into 2nd halo orbit.
  1. Aditya-L1 solar observatory was launched in Sep 2023, with a mission life of 5 years.
  2. It is orbiting the sun at about 1.5 million km from Earth in a halo orbit around Lagrange point 1 (L1), to study solar atmosphere, solar magnetic storms, and their impact on environment on Earth.
5. NASA's Parker Solar Probe attained speed of 635266 km per hour, making it fastest human made object ever.
  1. Launched in 2018 with mission of making observations of outer corona of the Sun, It will approach to within 9.86 solar radii (6.9 million km) from center of Sun, and by 2025 will travel, at closest approach, as fast as 690,000 km/h.
  2. Protected by a 4.5-inch-thick carbon-composite barrier, it can withstand temperatures up to 1377 Celsius.
6. China built world’s first passenger train made from carbon fibre, a material that makes it much lighter (50 %) and more energy efficient than conventional trains.
  1. The metro train, known as Cetrovo 1.0 or the Carbon Star Rapid Transit, was unveiled in Qingdao (Shandong Province).
7. AI chatbot ChatGPT's developer OpenAI announced development of an AI-powered search engine called SearchGPT.

World Bank Update on classification of world’s economies into 4 income groups - low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high (updated each year on July 1), based on GNI per capita.

GNI measures are expressed in USD, using conversion factors derived according to Atlas method, which in its current form was introduced in 1989.

Updated Income criteria -

	Low Income	Lower Middle Income	Upper Middle Income	High Income
July 1, 2024 (for FY 25)	upto 1145	1146-4515	4516-14005	> 14005
July 1, 2023 (for FY 24)	upto 1135	1136-4465	4466-13845	> 13845

Notably -
1. Bulgaria, Palau and Russia moved from upper-middle-income to high-income category.
2. Algeria, Iran, Mongolia and Ukraine moved up from lower-middle-income to upper-middle-income category.
3. India has been named in Lower Middle Income category.

Misc. Appointments (July 2024) -
1. RBI named Charulatha S Kar & Arnab Kumar Chowdhury as Executive Directors on RBI Board.
2. Dhirendra K Ojha has been named new Director General of Press Information Bureau (PIB), termed as principal spokesperson of Central govt.
3. Govt named Soumya Swaminathan (Former chief scientist at World Health Organization) as Principal Adviser for National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme.
  1. Notably, India aims to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) by 2025, five years earlier than global target of 2030.
4. Govt named Robert Jerard Ravi as new CMD of Telecom PSU Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
5. Paul Kagame has been re-elected as President of Rwanda (East Africa), for his 4th consecutive term.
6. RBI approved appointment of Krishnan Venkat Subramanian as MD&CEO of Federal Bank.
Observations on July 1 -
1. July 1 is Observed as GST (Goods & Services Tax) Day. GST regime came into Force on July 1 2017, unifying indirect taxes in India into One.
2. July 1 is observed as Doctors Day in India. This day honours legendary physician and second Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy.
3. July 1 is observed as Chartered Accountants Day In India.
4. July 1 is Observed as National Postal Worker Day in India.
5. July 1 is observed as Foundation Day of SBI, India's Largest Bank. On 1 July 1955, Imperial Bank of India became State Bank of India.
India prepared checklist of its entire fauna, covering 104561 species, becoming first such country to prepare such a list.
1. It was launched on occasion of foundation day of Zoological Survey of India (Established on July 01, 1916).
Obituaries (Jul 2024) -
1. Bhupinder Singh Rawat - Former Indian Footballer.
2. Rajavarothiam Sampanthan - Noted Sri Lankan politician and exponent of Sri Lankan Tamils' Rights.
3. Jon Landau - Noted Oscar Winning American film producer, best known for producing Titanic & Avatar.
4. Võ Văn Thưởng - Former president of Vietnam.
5. M S Valiathan - Noted Padma Vibhushan Awardee Indian cardiac surgeon.
6. C T Kurien - Noted Indian Economist.
7. Anshuman Gaekwad - Former Indian cricketer and Indian national cricket coach.
Misc. Financial / Economy News (Jul 2024) -
1. Union Bank of India opened Premier branches for high-value customers in rural and semi-urban sectors.
2. ICICI Bank launched Student Sapphiro Forex Card, as a Visa-powered premium forex prepaid card crafted specifically for students going abroad for higher education.
3. RBI cancelled Banking licence of -
  1. Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) based Banaras Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited.
  2. Maddur (Karnataka) based Shimsha Sahakara Bank Niyamitha.
  3. Uravakonda (Anantapur District), Andhra Pradesh based Uravakonda Co-operative Town Bank Ltd.
  4. Tezpur (Assam) based Mahabhairab Cooperative Urban Bank Ltd.
4. Notable Penalties imposed by RBI -
  1. Visa - 2.4 Crores
  2. Ola Financial Services - 87.55 Lakh
  3. Manappuram Finance - 41.5 Lakh
  4. Punjab National Bank - 1.32 Crores
5. Paytm introduced Health Saathi as an affordable healthcare and income protection plan tailored for merchant partners, to support well-being of Paytm’s network of merchants.
6. Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd rebranded itself as Sammaan Capital Ltd.
7. ICICI Lombard launched Elevate, as a pioneering health insurance product integrating AI technology.
8. Kotak Mahindra AMC launched BSE PSU Index Fund, as a passive equity scheme mirroring BSE PSU Index comprising 56 PSU stocks.
9. Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched Safety Ring security feature, as an additional layer of protection against unauthorized access, aimed at minimizing potential financial losses for users.
10. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund launched India's first exchange-traded fund (ETF) specifically focused on oil and gas sector, designed to track performance of Nifty Oil & Gas TRI.
11. India GDP Growth Forecasts (Jul 2024) -
  1. FICCI - 7% in FY25 (2024-25).
  2. As per IMF World Economy Outlook July 2024 Update -
    1. Globally, Growth is projected to stay 3.2 % in 2024 & 3.3% in 2025.
    2. Growth in Other notable regions -
      1. India - Set to fall from 7.8 % in 2023 to 7.0% in 2024 & 6.5% in 2025.
        Notably, IMF has revised 2024 growth forecast for India from 6.8 % earlier (Apr 2024 update) to 7.0 % now.
      2. US - 2.6 % (2024), 1.9 % (2025)
      3. China - 5.0 % (2024), 4.5 % (2025)
12. Jio Financial Services received RBI approval to become a Core Investment Company (CIC).
  1. A CIC is a specialised Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) with assets over 100 crores.
  2. A CIC's primary responsibility is to purchase shares and securities subject to specific restrictions.
  3. At least 90% of CIC's net assets must be invested in bonds, debentures, equity shares, preference shares, debt, or loans made to group firms.
13. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) signed Bancassurance agreement with IDFC First Bank, under which the bank will promote and sell Insurer's products to its customers.
14. Mankind Pharma acquired 100 % stake in Bharat Serums and Vaccines (BSV), from private equity firm Advent International, for 13630 crores.
15. Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy launched SIMS 2.0, as upgraded Steel Import Monitoring System (launched earlier in 2019), to provide and aggregate detailed steel import data to the domestic industry.
16. SEBI increased threshold for the Basic Service Demat Account (BSDMA) to ₹10 lakh from current ₹2 lakh, to boost participation of small investors in securities market.
17. RBI permitted banks to use ratings of Brickwork Ratings India Private Limited, for risk weighting their claims for capital adequacy purposes, for loans not exceeding 250 crores.
18. Aditya Birla Group's UltraTech Cement acquired 32.72% equity stake in India Cements, for 3945 crores.
19. Paytm launched India’s first NFC Card Soundbox, combining NFC technology with mobile QR payments.
  1. Notably, Axis Bank had recently launched NFC Soundbox in collaboration with Mastercard, as India's first all-in-one solution allowing Bharat QR, UPI, Tap & Pay and Tap + Pin payments from a sinlge device.
20. Chennai-based Shriram Group received RBI approval to venture into Asset reconstruction (ARC) and wealth management business.
Misc. MOUs (Jul 2024) -
1. Between Ministry of Defence & Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited, to establish 3 state-of-the-art testing facilities in Chennai under Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor - one each in Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), Electronic Warfare (EW) and Electro Optics (EO) domains.
2. Between Ministry of Commerce & Industry's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), for development of Framework & Assessment of Logistics Cost in India.
3. Between Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) & EESL Subsidiary Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), to help facilitate Sustainable Transport for Rural Entrepreneurs through Electric Bicycles (STREE) program for Self Help Group (SHG) Women under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
4. Agreement signed between Indian Railways’ Vadodara based Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV) and Aircraft Manufacturer Airbus, to significantly strengthen Indian aviation sector through joint aerospace teaching and research.
  1. An MOU was earlier signed in this regard, in Sep 2023.
5. Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) for organic products signed between India and Taiwan.
6. Between Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) & Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru (IISc), for establishment of BIS Standardization Chair Professor at IISC.
7. Between govt's Telecom R&D centre Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) & IIT Roorkee and IIT Mandi, for development of Cell-Free 6G Access Points.
8. Letter of Intent signed between Between World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) & India's NITI Aayog, aimed at building programs for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Intellectual Property (IP) for countries in Global South.
9. Between Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) based Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GBPUAT), to facilitate development of first of its kind Standardized Agriculture Demonstration Farm (SADF) in India.
  1. It will enhance agricultural practices by integrating Indian Standards, benefiting farmers and advancing agricultural innovation.
10. Between Ministry of Defence flagship initiative Innovations for Defence Excellence-Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO), and Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), for launch of Medical Innovations and Research Advancement (MIRA).
  1. It aims to foster innovation and research in developing novel medical technologies and their induction into Armed Forces.
11. Between Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) PSU National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and Netflix India, to launch The Voicebox, an upskilling program for voice-over artists in India.
  1. It will offer Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) training for voice-over artists focusing on English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Gujarati languages.
  2. Voicebox program is sponsored by Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, which has dedicated $100 million a year over 5 years, to setting underrepresented communities up for success in TV and film industries globally.
Misc. Sports News / Events (Jul 2024) -
1. Indian Chess Player Viswanathan Anand (Former world chess champion) won Leon Masters chess championship 2024 (his 10th title), by defeating Jaime Santos Latasa of Spain, in Leon (Spain).
2. India finished on top at Under 23 Asian Wrestling Championship 2024 in Amman (Jordan), winning 8 medals (4 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze).
3. Noted England Cricketer James Anderson announced his retirement from all forms of International Cricket.
  1. Known among greatest bowlers ever in Cricket, he holds record for most wickets taken by a fast bowler in Test cricket (704 wickets).
4. India won World Championship of Legends 2024 (1st edition), defeating Pakistan in Final. It was hosted in UK.
5. Noted German Footballer Thomas Müller announced his retirement from international football.
6. IPL Franchise Chennai Super Kings opened its 3rd international Academy in Sydney (Australia), after Dallas (USA), and UK.
7. International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced to host inaugural Olympic Esports Games 2025 in Saudi Arabia.
8. International Olympic Committee named French Alps (France) as host for 2030 Winter Olympic Games.
  1. Notably, 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo (Italy).
9. Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has set up National basketball academy in Mumbai, in collaboration with Corvuss American Academy.
Misc. / Industrial Awards (Jul 2024) -
1. Writer & feminist activist P Geetha has been awarded 1st K. Saraswathi Amma Award, instituted by WINGS (Women’s Integration and Growth Through Sports) Kerala.
2. India's Sundergopal Sridhar (CSIR Indian Institute of Chemical Technology Hyderabad chief Scientist) has been named as a Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), London (UK).
3. Tamil author Sivashankari has been honored with Dr. C. Narayana Reddy National Literary Award.
  1. The Award is conferred by Sushila Narayana Reddy Trust, and carries prize money of 5 Lakh.
4. Noted victimology expert K. Chockalingam has been named winner of Hans von Hentig award 2024.
  1. Award has been named after noted German criminal psychologist Hans von Hentig.
5. Maharastra has been named Best Agriculture State by Agriculture Leadership Awards Committee 2024, headed by Justice P Sathasivam (former Chief Justice of India).
  1. Also, Nagaland won Best State in Horticulture Award.
6. Indian Actor Shah Rukh Khan has been honoured with customised gold coins by Grevin Museum in Paris (France), as first Indian actor to receive this honor.
7. Union Minister Jitendra Singh has been conferred Lifetime Achievement Award, for his exemplary dedication to advancement of diabetology, diabetes care and diabetes research.
  1. He has also been named Lifetime Pattern of RSSDI (Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India), the largest academic association of Diabetologists.
8. India's Central Water Commission (CWC) has been honoured with GEEF Global WaterTech Award under category Water Department of the Year, at Global Water Tech Summit 2024 organized by Global Energy and Environment Foundation (GEEF) in New Delhi.
9. Noted Tamil epigraphist and historian V. Vedachalam received V Venkayya Epigraphy Award 2024.
Misc. Defence News (Jul 2024) -
1. DRDO tested its light battle tank Zorawar, developed Jointly with Larsen & Toubro. It will be used in eastern Ladakh sector against Chinese deployment.
2. Birlestik 2024 Joint Army exercise of Central Asian Nations Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan held in Kazakhstan's Mangystau Region.
3. DRDO successfully flight-tested Phase-II Ballistic Missile Defence System, demonstrating India’s indigenous capability to defend against Ballistic Missiles of 5000 km class.
  1. The Target Missile was intrercepted by indigenously developed Phase-II AD Endo-atmospheric missile.
4. Ministry of Defence approved setting up 3 state-of-the-art testing facilities under Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC).
  1. One facility will be established in Lucknow in Mechanical & Material (M&M) domain, and two in Kanpur - one each in Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and Communications domains.
5. Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) launched Electronic Services e-Health Assistance and Tele-consultation (E-SeHAT) Tele-consultancy module, which would enable ECHS beneficiaries in obtaining online Tele-consultation for medical treatment from their homes, without visiting the ECHS Polyclinic.
6. Indian Coast Guard (ICG) launched Suvidha Software Version 1.0, during its 1st Annual Operational Sea Training Conference at Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
  1. This software is a cutting-edge tool designed to enhance training protocols and ensure consistency across all ICG platforms.
Misc. Notable Infra Projects (Jul 2024) -
1. India acquired operational rights of a terminal at Bangladesh’s Strategic Mongla port, to counter China’s growing influence in Indian Ocean.
  1. Mongla port is Bangladesh’s second-largest seaport after Chittagong.
  2. It marks India’s third successful bid to manage overseas ports in recent years, following Chabahar in Iran and Sittwe in Myanmar.
2. To help boost India's agricultural export and import capabilities, Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways approved Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA)'s Development of Export-Import cum Domestic Agricultural Commodity-Based Processing & Storage Facility at Mumbai, as India's First Integrated Agri-Export Facility.
3. India’s first deep water Container Transhipment Porta at Vizhinjam (Kerala) began commercial operations, after receiving first Mother Ship MV San Fernando.
  1. Vizhinjam Port near Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) is first Greenfield port project in India, initiated by Kerala govt with investment over 18000 crores.
Jul 2 is observed as -
1. World Sports Journalists Day.
2. World UFO (Unidentified Flying Objects) day, observed since 2001. In some places, it is observed on June 24, the date on which 9 unusual objects were saw flying over Washington (USA) in 1947.
As per Brand Finance India Top 100 Ranking 2024 -
1. Top 5 Indian Brands -
  1. Tata Group ($28 Billion)
  2. Infosys ($14 Billion)
  3. HDFC Group ($10 Billion)
  4. LIC ($10 Billion)
  5. Reliance Group ($8 Billion)
Challa Sreenivasulu Setty has been named new Chairman of State Bank of India (SBI), succeeding Dinesh Kumar Khara.
Govt named Ravi Agrawal as new chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), succeeding Nitin Gupta.
RBI joined Project Nexus, a multilateral international initiative to enable instant cross-border retail payments by interlinking domestic Fast Payment Systems (FPS) of various countries.
1. Nexus has conceptualised by Innovation Hub of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
2. To Start with, It will connect FPSs of 4 ASEAN countries (Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand) and India.
3. The platform is expected to go live by 2026. It can be extended to more countries, going forward.

2024 BRICS Games (Kazan, Russia) -

2851 athletes from 53 nations participated in events held in 27 sports.

Medal Table -

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Russia	266	142	101	509
2	Belarus	55	85	107	247
3	China	20	24	18	62
4	Uzbekistan	17	39	58	114
5	Brazil	8	20	23	51
6	Iran	4	12	20	36
7	Azerbaijan	4	9	21	34
8	India	3	6	20	29
9	Kyrgyzstan	2	11	38	51
10	Kazakhstan	2	11	17	30

India ranked 8th, with 29 medals (3 Gold, 6 Silver and 20 Bronze).
1. Indian Gold Medalists -
  1. Aparna Dahiya - Women's 48kg category in Wushu Sanda (Chinese martial art).
  2. Minakshi - Women's 48 kg Boxing.

Indian Navy tested and certified a new explosive with a lethality 2.01 times greater than standard TNT (Trinitrotoluene), developed domestically by nagpur based Solar Industries subsidairy Economic Explosives Limited (EEL).
1. Named SEBEX 2, the explosive is now among most powerful non-nuclear explosives in world.
2. Notably, performance of explosives is measured by their TNT equivalence. Currently, most potent conventional explosive used in India has a TNT equivalence of around 1.50.
As per Lancet Global Health Report -
1. India has 12th highest prevalence of insufficient physical activity among 195 countries.
2. Half the adult Indian population does not meet World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guidelines on sufficient physical activity. More women (57 %) than men (42 %) are physically inactive.
3. Prevalence of insufficient physical activity among Indian adults has risen from 22.3 % in 2000 to 49.4 % in 2022.
Noted Indian Author Arundhati Roy has been awarded PEN Pinter Prize 2024.
1. The Prize is conferred by English PEN in honour of late Nobel Literature Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter. It is given to a writer from UK, Ireland and the Commonwealth.
2. The Prize is shared with an International Writer of Courage, selected in consultation with annual Prize winner (Arundhati Roy this year), announced during an award ceremony held at British Library, on or around 10 October (anniversary of Pinter's birth).
Expert Committee on Climate Finance submitted its report on Transition Finance to International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).
1. It was formed to recommend a regulatory framework for transition finance instruments and measures to promote transition finance through GIFT IFSC. It was chaired by Dhruba Purkayastha (India Director for Climate Policy Initiative).
2. Transition finance means providing financial services to high-carbon-emitting industries to help them transition to decarbonization.
Dick Schoof has been named new Prime Minister of The Netherlands.
Japan launched new series of banknotes, with significant redesign of ¥10,000, ¥5,000, and ¥1,000 notes.
1. It incorporates advanced anti-counterfeiting technologies and features prominent historical figures, as a measure to enhance security and usability.
2. It marks first such use of holography globally, that creates a 3D rotating effect on portraits, significantly elevating notes’ security features.
Air India announced to establish South Asia's largest flight training school at Belora Airport in Amaravati (Maharashtra), to graduate 180 pilots annually.
1. To be opened by June 2025, it will be first of its kind school operated by an Indian airline.
Jul 3 is observed globally as Plastic bag free day.
24th Meeting of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) Council of Heads of State summit 2024 held in Astana (under presidency of Kazakhstan).
1. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar attended the summit on India's behalf.
2. Notably -
  1. Belarus joined as new full member of SCO.
    1. SCO Members - China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran & Belarus.
    2. Observers - Afghanistan & Mongolia.
  2. China took over SCO chairmanship fr0m Kazakhstan.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) organized Global IndiaAI Summit 2024 at Bharat Mandapam (New Delhi), as a platform for leading international AI (Artificial intelligence) experts to share insights on key AI issues and challenges.
1. Also -
  1. 6th meeting of GPAI (Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence) Ministerial Council was also held along, with India as GPAI Lead Chair in 2023-24.
  2. Serbia has been named GPAI Lead Chair for 2024-25.
2. Notably -
  1. Cabinet had recently Approved over 10000 crores for IndiaAI Mission, to catalyse various components of IndiaAI Mission over next 5 years.
    1. Notable components include IndiaAI Compute Capacity, IndiaAI Innovation Centre (IAIC), IndiaAI Datasets Platform, IndiaAI Application Development Initiative, IndiaAI FutureSkills, IndiaAI Startup Financing, and Safe & Trusted AI.
    2. IndiaAI compute pillar will build a high-end scalable AI computing ecosystem to cater to increasing demands from India’s AI start-ups and research ecosystem. The ecosystem will comprise AI compute infrastructure of 10,000 or more Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), built through public-private partnership.
NITI Aayog launched Sampoornata Abhiyan, as a 3-month campaign (4th July – 30th September 2024), to undertake a sustained effort to achieve saturation in each of 6 identified indicators in 112 Aspirational Districts and 500 Aspirational Blocks across country, under Aspirational Districts / Aspirational Blocks Programme. Key Indicators are as mentioned under -
1. Aspirational Blocks -
  1. Percentage of pregnant women registered for Antenatal Care (ANC) within the first trimester
  2. Percentage of persons screened for Diabetes against the targeted population in the Block
  3. Percentage of persons screened for Hypertension against the targeted population in the Block
  4. Percentage of pregnant women taking Supplementary Nutrition under the ICDS Programme regularly
  5. Percentage of Soil Health Cards generated against the soil sample collection target
  6. Percentage of SHGs that have received a Revolving Fund against the total SHGs in the block
2. Aspirational Districts -
  1. Percentage of pregnant women registered for Antenatal Care (ANC) within the first trimester
  2. Percentage of pregnant women taking Supplementary Nutrition under the ICDS Programme regularly
  3. Percentage of children fully immunized (9-11 months) (BCG+DPT3+OPV3+Measles 1)
  4. Number of Soil Health Cards distributed
  5. Percentage of schools with functional electricity at the secondary level
  6. Percentage of schools providing textbooks to children within 1 month of the start of the academic session
Hungary assumed rotating presidency of Council of the European Union for 6 months (upto 31 Dec 2024).
Newly elected Andhra Pradesh govt led by CM N Chandrababu Naidu (Telugu Desam Party) implemented first of its pre-election promises, by launching NTR Bharosa pension scheme.
1. Under it, enhanced pension will be given to various sections of people in state, ranging 4000-10000 monthly.
July 4 marks US Independence Day, commemorating Declaration of Independence of United States on July 4, 1776.
Govt named Rajinder Khanna as Additional National Security Adviser (Formerly Deputy NSA) and T V Ravichandran and Pavan Kapoor as Deputy NSAs.
1. Notably, NSA Ajit Doval will now be assisted by Rajinder Khanna as additional NSA & 3 Deputy NSAs - Pankaj Kumar Singh, T V Ravichandran and Pavan Kapoor.
Bajaj Auto launched world's first CNG motorcycle, named Freedom, priced between 95000 - 110000.
1. With a 2 KG CNG Capacity, it promises over 200 KM Range and over 50 % savings on fuel compared to conventional petrol 2-wheelers.
Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran's presidential elections, held after earlier president Ebrahim Raisi died in an accident.
Keir Starmer has been elected as new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, succeeding Rishi Sunak, who served as 1st Indian-Origin PM of UK.
Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) and TransUnion CIBIL jointly Launched SEHER Program, which aims to empower women entrepreneurs in India with financial literacy and business skills, helping them in accessing financial tools needed to drive further growth.
1. Notably, WEP is a public-private partnership platform incubated at Niti Aayog. It aims to create an enabling ecosystem for women entrepreneurs in India.
2. SEHER program is part of WEP’s Financing Women Collaborative (FWC), a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at accelerating access to finance for women entrepreneurs.
Jul 06, 2024 is observed by UN as International Day of Cooperatives. It is observed annually on first Saturday in July. 2024 theme is Cooperatives Build a Better Future for All.
1. Jul 6 is also observed as World Zoonoses Day.
Australia won 2023–24 Men's FIH Pro League Hockey Title (their 2nd), with Netherlands as runner up.
Netherlands won 2023–24 Women's FIH Pro League Hockey title (their 4th), with Germany as Runner-up.
Actor Manoj Bajpayee's Biography Manoj Bajpayee: The Definitive Biography, authored by journalist Piyush Pandey has been released.
Govt notified bringing into force The Telecommunications Act 2023, which was passed by parliament in Dec 2023. It replaces Indian Telegraph Act 1885 and Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act 1933. Key Features include -
1. Authorisation for telecom-related activities : Prior authorisation from central government will be required to: (i) provide telecommunication services, (ii) establish, operate, maintain, or expand telecommunications networks, or (iii) possess radio equipment. Existing licences will continue to be valid for the period of their grant, or for five years, where the period is not specified.
2. Assignment of spectrum : Spectrum will be assigned by auction, except for specified uses, where it will be allocated on an administrative basis. Specified purposes include: (i) national security and defence, (ii) disaster management, (iii) weather forecasting, (iv) transport, (v) satellite services such as DTH and satellite telephony, and (vi) BSNL, MTNL, and public broadcasting services. Govt may re-purpose or re-assign any frequency range, and may permit sharing, trading, leasing, and surrender of spectrum.
3. Powers of interception and search : Messages or a class of messages between two or more persons may be intercepted, monitored, or blocked on certain grounds.
  1. Such actions must be necessary or expedient in the interest of public safety or public emergency, and must be in the interest of specified grounds which include: (i) security of the state, (ii) prevention of incitement of offences, or (iii) public order.
  2. These actions will be subject to procedure, safeguards, and duration as may be prescribed.
  3. Telecom services may be suspended on similar grounds.
  4. Govt may take temporary possession of any telecom infrastructure, network, or services on occurrence of any public emergency or public safety.
  5. An officer authorised by government may search premises or vehicles for possession of unauthorised telecom network or equipment.
4. Protection of users : Govt may provide for measures to protect users which include: (i) prior consent to receive specified messages such as advertising messages, (ii) creation of Do Not Disturb registers, and (iii) a mechanism to allow users to report malware or specified messages. Entities providing telecom services must establish an online mechanism for registration and redressal of grievances.
5. Right of way: Entities laying telecommunication infrastructure may seek right of way over public or private property. Right of way must be provided on a non-discriminatory and non-exclusive basis to the extent possible.
6. Appointments to TRAI: Bill amends TRAI Act to also allow individuals with: (i) at least 30 years of professional experience to serve as the Chairperson, and (ii) at least 25 years of professional experience to serve as members.
7. Digital Bharat Nidhi: Universal Service Obligation Fund has been established under Indian Telegraph Act 1885 to provide for telecom services in underserved areas. The Bill retains this provision, renames the fund as Digital Bharat Nidhi, and also allows its use for research and development in telecom.
8. Offences and penalties: Bill specifies various criminal and civil offences.
  1. Providing telecom services without authorisation, or gaining unauthorised access to a telecom network or data, are punishable with imprisonment up to three years, a fine up to two crore rupees, or both.
  2. Breaching terms and conditions of authorisation is punishable with a civil penalty of up to five crore rupees.
  3. Possessing unauthorised equipment, or using unauthorised network or service, is punishable with a penalty of up to ten lakh rupees.
  4. Fine of upto 2 Lakh for holding over 9 SIM Cards per person (6 for Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, and the Northeast Licensed Service Areas).
9. Adjudication process: Govt will appoint an adjudicating officer to conduct inquiries and pass orders against civil offences under the Bill.
  1. The officer must be of the rank of joint secretary and above.
  2. Orders of adjudicating officer may be appealed before the Designated Appeals Committee within 30 days.
  3. Members of Committee will be officers of the rank of at least Additional Secretary.
  4. Appeals against the orders of the Committee, in connection to breach of terms and conditions, may be filed with TDSAT within 30 days.
July 7 is observed by UNESCO as World Kiswahili Day, proclaimed in 2021. Kiswahili is among most widely spoken languages in Africa and most widely spoken in sub-Saharan Africa.
Supreme Court ruled that all married and divorced women, including Muslim women illegally divorced by pronouncement of Islamic practice of triple talaq, are entitled to claim maintenance from their husbands under Section 125 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1973, irrespective of her personal law.
1. In a separate judgment, SC held that right of Muslim women to seek recourse to Section 125 will not be eclipsed by provisions of Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986, enacted by then Rajiv Gandhi government after landmark Shah Bano judgment of 1985.
  1. Notably, In 1985 Ahmad Khan Shah Bano Begum case, SC delivered a judgment favouring maintenance given to an aggrieved divorced Muslim woman.
  2. Afterwards, Rajiv Gandhi's Congress govt then enacted Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986, which gave maintenance to muslim women only for period of iddat after divorce, and shifted onus of maintaining her to her relatives or Waqf Board. This discriminatory act denied right to basic maintenance available to Muslim women under secular law.
    1. In Islam, Iddat is period a woman must observe after death of her husband or after a divorce, during which she may not marry another man.
8th Edition of Indo-Japan Joint Navy exercise JIMEX 24, held at Yokosuka (Japan). Indian Navy was represented by indigenous Stealth Frigate INS Shivalik.
1. Notably, post compeltion of JIMEX24, INS Shivalik attended Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, which is world's largest naval exercise, at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii (USA). Led by US Navy, approx 29 countries participated in current edition of RIMPAC exercise.
Hemant Soren has been reinstated as Chief Minister of Jharkhand, after a five-month hiatus (during which Champai Soren was named as CM).

Mercedes' British F1 Racer Lewis Hamilton won British Grand Prix 2024.

F1 Season 2024 -

Round	Grand Prix	Winner	Race date
1	Bahrain Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	2 March
2	Saudi Arabian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	9 March
3	Australian Grand Prix	Carlos Saint Jr. (Spanish)	24 March
4	Japanese Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	7 April
5	Chinese Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	21 April
6	Miami Grand Prix	Lando Norris (British-Belgian)	5 May
7	Emilia Romagna Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	19 May
8	Monaco Grand Prix	Charles Leclerc (Monaco)	26 May
9	Canadian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	9 June
10	Spanish Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	23 June
11	Austrian Grand Prix	George Russell (British)	30 June
12	British Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (British)	7 July
13	Hungarian Grand Prix		21 July
14	Belgian Grand Prix		28 July
15	Dutch Grand Prix		25 August
16	Italian Grand Prix		1 September
17	Azerbaijan Grand Prix		15 September
18	Singapore Grand Prix		22 September
19	United States Grand Prix		20 October
20	Mexico City Grand Prix		27 October
21	São Paulo Grand Prix		3 November
22	Las Vegas Grand Prix		23 November
23	Qatar Grand Prix		1 December
24	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix		8 December

RBI's composite financial inclusion index (FI-Index) capturing extent of financial inclusion across the country rose to 64.2 in March 2024, compared to 60.1 in March 2023.
1. It comprises three broad parameters - access (35% weightage), usage (45% weightage) and quality (20% weightage).
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) re-designated its chairman Siddhartha Mohanty as its MD & CEO.
As per Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) Results for 2021-22 and 2022-23 -
1. Number of establishments in sector increased from 5.97 crore in 2021-22 to 6.50 crore in 2022-23 (5.88% annual growth). Among major states, highest number of establishments (rural and urban combined) has been reported in Uttar Pradesh, followed by West Bengal and Maharashtra in both assessment years.
2. During same period, Gross Value Added (GVA) witnessed annual growth of 9.83%.
India's indigenous defence production remained highest ever at Rs 126887 crores during FY24 (2023-24), showing 16.7 % increase over previous year.
1. Of the total production, 79.2% has been contributed by DPSUs/other PSUs and 20.8% by private sector.
2. India's defence exports also touched record-high of 21083 crores in FY24 (2023-24), reflecting growth of 32.5% over last fiscal year.
India's Roshni Nadar Malhotra (Chairperson of IT Firm HCL) has been conferred Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour), The highest French civilian award, as recognition of her outstanding contributions to business world and promotion of economic ties between France and India.
Cabinet Approvals (Jul 8, 2024) -
1. General -
  1. Approved signing the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, as a step towards conservation and sustainable utilisation of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
    1. Often referred to as High Seas, areas beyond national jurisdiction are the global common oceans open to all for internationally lawful purposes such as navigation, overflight, laying submarine cables and pipelines, etc.
    2. BBNJ Agreement, or the High Seas Treaty, is an international treaty under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which aims to address growing concerns over long-term protection of marine biodiversity in high seas. It sets precise mechanisms for sustainable use of marine biological diversity through international cooperation.
2024 Canada Open Badminton -
1. Men's singles - Koki Watanabe (Japan)
2. Women's singles - Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Thailand)
3. Men's doubles - Denmark's Kim Astrup & Anders Skaarup Rasmussen
4. Women's doubles - Japan's Rin Iwanaga & Kie Nakanishi
5. Mixed doubles - Denmark's Jesper Toft & Amalie Magelund
World Competitiveness Index 2024 by International Institute for Management Development (IMD) -
1. Top 3 - Singapore (1), Switzerland (3), Denmark (3)
2. India ranked 39th.
3. Neighbors - China (14).
Govt named B N Gangadhar as Chairperson of National Medical Commission.
Indian Air Force's newly established Weapon Systems School (WSS) at Air Force Station Begumpet (Hyderabad) has been inaugurated. It will have four streams -
1. Flying stream to operate weapons and systems in airborne platforms.
2. Remote stream to operate remotely piloted aircraft.
3. Mission commanders and operators for Surface to Air and Surface-to-Surface weapon systems.
4. Intelligence stream for handling space-based intelligence and imagery.
3rd edition of United Nations (UN)-led international conference on Afghanistan held in Doha (Qatar). The conference ended without any significant development.
1. Notably, Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan govt recently framed new laws imposing strictest restrictions on women, including completely banning their education and complete veil covering, in-line with Islamic literature and rules.
As per RBI Data -
1. Employment in India provisionally grew at 6% in FY24, compared to 3.2% in FY23.
2. 4.67 crore jobs were created in FY24, taking country's total employment to 64.3 crore.
Notable points from PM Narendra Modi's Visit to Russia & Austria -
1. Russia -
  1. Attended 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit in Moscow.
  2. MOUs Signed during Visit -
    1. Program of India-Russia cooperation in trade, economic and investment spheres in Russian Far East and Arctic zone of Russian Federation, for 2024 - 2029.
    2. Co-operation on issues of Climate change and low-carbon development.
    3. Cooperation in study of polar environments and their variability by sharing resources and data.
    4. Cooperation in field of broadcasting, including exchange of programmes, personnel, and training.
    5. Co-operation to ensure availability of high quality medicines for human use through exchange of information and capacity building
    6. Joint Investment Promotion Framework Agreement between Invest India and JSC Management Company of Russian Direct Investment Fund, to Facilitate investment by Russian companies in Indian market.
  3. Other Notable Points -
    1. Russian President Vladimir Putin conferred The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle (Russia’s highest national award) on PM Narendra Modi, for his contribution to fostering India-Russia ties. The award was announced earlier in 2019. PM Narendra Modi is first Indian leader to be conferred with this award.
    2. India and Russia agreed to set bilateral trade target of USD 100 billion by 2030, under Russian-Indian economic cooperation Programme 2030.
    3. Agreed on implementation of Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor, to be established a sea route spanning 5647 nautical miles (approx 10500 km), connecting Indian port of Chennai to Vladivostok in Russia.
      1. Currently, trade between India and Russia primarily relies on Mumbai-St. Petersburg sea route, covering 8675 nautical miles (16000 km) and takes upto 40 days. The proposed Chennai-Vladivostok corridor wil significantly reduce shipping distances by about 5400 km, enabling goods to be transported within 24 days.
    4. However, India and Russia could not agree on signing the awaited Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS), which looks to enable simplified logistical support for military operations between Russia and India.
2. Austria -
  1. It was first visit by an Indian PM to Austria in 41 years (after Indira Gandhi in 1983).
India won 2 Doubles Titles at Asian Squash Doubles Championship 2024 at (Johor, Malaysia) -
1. Mixed Doubles - Abhay Singh & Joshna Chinappa.
2. Men’s Doubles - Abhay Singh & Velavan Senthilkumar.
General News / Events (Jul 1-10, 2024) -
1. Madhya Pradesh Govt launched Lokpath Mobile App, through which road problems of the public will be resolved within 7 days.
2. Global Conclave on Plastic Recycling and Sustainability (GCPRS) held at Bharat Mandapam (New Delhi).
3. 2nd BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat held in New Delhi.
4. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) launched a new MA programme in Bhagavad Gita Studies, offered through open and distance learning.
5. Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy launched portal named Noble Initiative for Rewarding Mains Aspirants of National Civil Services Examination (NIRMAN).
  1. This CSR scheme by Coal India Limited is for meritorious youth of its operating districts who have qualified Preliminary round of UPSC Civil Services exam.
  2. It will provide support of 1 Lakh INR to eligible candidates, with annual family income less than 8 lakhs and belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, female or third gender.
July 10 is observed in India as National Fish Farmers Day.
1. It is celebrated in remembrance of scientists Dr. K. H. Alikunhi and Dr. H.L. Chaudhury who successfully demonstrated technology of induced breeding (Hypophysation) in Indian Major Carps on 10th July, 1957 at erstwhile ‘Pond Culture Division’ of CIFRI at Cuttack.
India proposed setting up South Asian Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Maritime Transport (SACE-SMarT), as a regional hub aimed at transforming maritime sector in India and South Asia into a technologically advanced, environmentally sustainable, and digitally proficient industry.
1. It was proposed during 132nd session of IMO Council in London (UK).
2024 NATO Summit (33rd) held in Washington DC (USA), bringing together 32 NATO member nations from Europe and North America.
1. 2024 marks 75th year of formation of NATO (founded on 4 April 1949).
2. It was first NATO summit since Sweden's Inclusion in NATO.
3. 2025 NATO summit will be hosted in The Hague (Netherlands).
Govt notified Ministry of Minority Affairs as nodal ministry for Haj Committee, instead of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Former Cricketer Gautam Gambhir has been named as new Head Coach of Indian Men's Cricket Team, succeeding Rahul Dravid.
As per IMF World Economy Outlook July 2024 Update -
1. Globally, Growth is projected to stay 3.2 % in 2024 & 3.3% in 2025.
2. Growth in Other notable regions -
  1. India - Set to fall from 7.8 % in 2023 to 7.0% in 2024 & 6.5% in 2025.
    1. Notably, IMF has revised 2024 growth forecast for India from 6.8 % earlier (Apr 2024 update) to 7.0 % now.
  2. US - 2.6 % (2024), 1.9 % (2025)
  3. China - 5.0 % (2024), 4.5 % (2025)
Jul 11 is observed by UN as World Population Day, with 2024 theme To Leave No One Behind, Count Everyone. It marks 11 July 1987, approximate date on which world’s population reached 5 billion.
1. On this occaison, World Population Prospects 2024 were published by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). Key Highlights -
  1. India's population is expected to peak in 2062 at 1.701 billion.
  2. Global population is expected to grow to 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.4 billion in 2100.
  3. Global life expectancy reached 73.3 years in 2024. It is expected to rise to 77.2 years in 2050 and 82.1 in 2100.
2. Jul 11 is also marked by UN as International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica, with its 1st ever observance in 2024.
  1. It marks July 1995 genocidal killing of over 8000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around town of Srebrenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina) during the Bosnian War.
Raksha Rajya Mantri Sanjay Seth launched GRSE Accelerated Innovation Nurturing Scheme (GAINS 2024) of Kolkata-based PSU Shipbuilder Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE). It seeks to solve problems related to shipyards and promotes technology development using start-ups created and nurtured in India.
British Author Chidi Ebere has been named winner of 2024 Royal Society of Literature (RSL) Christopher Bland Prize for his novel Now I Am Here.
1. RSL Christopher Bland Prize was strated by Royal Society of Literature to encourage work of older writers, awarded annually to an author who was first published when aged 50 or over. It carries prize of £10000.
Ministry of Home Affairs amended rules of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, giving more power to Lieutenant Governor (Manoj Sinha Currently) in critical matters including internal security, transfers, prosecution, and many others crucial matters.
July 12 is observed by UN as International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms, observed since 2023.
Govt announced to observe 25th June every year as Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas, marking declaration of Nationwide Emergency on June 25, 1975 by Then PM Indira Gandhi.
NITI Aayog launched GearShift Challenge as part of e-FAST India initiative, in collaboration with IIM Bangalore, Smart Freight Centre India, CALSTART/Drive to Zero, and WRI India.
1. This hackathon aims to foster innovative business models for adoption of zero-emission trucks (ZETs) in India, addressing pressing environmental challenges.
2. It invites ideas on developing innovative business models that address financial, technical, and operational challenges in adoption of electric trucks.
PM Narendra Modi Launched Mukhyamantri Yuva Karya Prashikshan Yojana in Mumbai (Maharashtra) with an outlay of 5600 crores, as a transformative internship program aimed at addressing youth unemployment by providing opportunities for skill enhancement and industry exposure for youth aged 18 to 30 years.
1. He also laid foundation stone for Thane Borivali Twin Tunnel Project, as India's Longest Urban Tunnel with length 11.8 KMs and cost 16600 crores.
Govt announced to launch Agri Fund for Start-Ups & Rural Enterprises (AgriSURE) to support agriculture start-ups through investments in sector-specific, Debt Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and direct equity support.
1. It aims to foster innovation and sustainability in India's agricultural sector through establishment of a Rs 750 crore Category-II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF).
2. NABVENTURES (NABARD subsidiary) will be Fund manager of AgriSURE. The fund is designed to operate for 10 years, extendable by two or more years.
UNESCO approved designation of 11 new biosphere reserves in 11 countries, including Belgium and Gambia for first time.
1. With this, World Network of Biosphere Reserves now totals 759 sites in 136 countries.

NITI Aayog released SDG India Index 2023-24 (4th edition), measuring India's progress on UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG) -

Overall SDG score for India is 71 for 2023-24, up from 66 in 2020-21, 60 in 2019-20 and 57 in 2018 (Baseline report).
Scores for States range from 57 to 79 in 2023-24, compared to 42 to 69 in 2018.
Fastest moving States Between 2018 and 2023-24 - Uttar Pradesh (increase in score by 25), J&K (21), Uttarakhand (19), Sikkim (18), Haryana (17).
State wise -
1. Index Classifies states / UTs into 4 categories -
  1. Achiever - Score Equals 100
    1. No State in This Category.
  2. Front Runner - Between 65 and 99
    1. 32 States / UTs in ths Category. 10 new entrants to this category in 2023-24, compared to 2020-21 report.
    2. Top 3 States - Uttarakhand and Kerala (Score of 79 each), Tamil Nadu (78), Goa (77) and Himachal Pradesh (77).
    3. Chandigarh maintained top spot among UTs with a score of 77, followed by J&K & Puducherry (74 each).
  3. Performer - Between 50 and 64
    1. 4 States in This category - Meghalaya, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Bihar.
  4. Aspirant - Under 50
    1. No State in This Category.
This year, 32 States/UTs have scored between 65 and 99 (Front Runner category), up from 22 in 2020-21 edition.

Goal Wise Progress -

Goal Name	2018	2019-20	2020-21	2023-24
No Poverty	54	50	60	72
Zero Hunger	48	35	47	52
Good Health and Well-being	52	61	74	77
Quality Education	58	58	57	61
Gender Equality	36	42	48	49
Clean Water and Sanitation	63	88	83	89
Affordable and Clean Energy	51	70	92	96
Decent Work and Economic Growth	65	64	61	68
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure	44	65	55	61
Reduced Inequalities	71	64	67	65
Sustainable Cities and Communities	39	53	79	83
Responsible Consumption and Production		55	74	78
Climate Action		60	54	67
Life on Land	90	66	66	75
Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions	71	72	74	74

Responsible Consumption and Production & Climate Action Goals were included from 2019-20 onwards.

Haryana Cabinet approved IT Saksham Yuva Scheme 2024, under which IT skills enhancement training will be given to 60000 youths free of cost. It aims to give jobs to 5000 youths in 1st phase.
1. IT Saksham Yuva will be given monthly remuneration of 20000 in first 6 months and thereafter 25,000 monthly. In case, any IT Saksham Yuva is unable to be deployed, govt will pay monthly unemployment allowance of 10000.
World Health Organization (WHO) launched online platform MeDevIS (Medical Devices Information System), as first global open access clearing house for information on medical devices.
1. It will support governments and users in their decision-making on selection and use of medical devices, including 2301 types of medical devices used for a broad-ranging health issues.
Réunion Open Badminton 2024 (La Réunion, France) -
1. Men's - Tharun Mannepalli (India)
2. Women's Singles - Tasnim Mir (India)
3. Men's Doubles - France's Julien Maio & William Villeger
4. Women's Doubles - Japan's Kaho Osawa & Mai Tanabe
5. Mixed doubles - France's Julien Maio & Léa Palermo
6. Notably -
  1. La Réunion is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located between island nations of Madagascar and Mauritius.
As per a study by InterNations, Vietnam is most cost effective country for Expatriates, for 4th year in a row. It is followed by Colombia, Indonesia.
French launch services provider Arianespace launched first flight of its Ariane 6 launch system from Kourou Spaceport (French Guiana), developed on behalf of European Space Agency (ESA).
1. It replaces Ariane 5, as part of Ariane launch vehicle family.
2. Founded in March 1980, Arianespace was world's first commercial launch service provider. It operates two launch vehicles - Vega C (small-lift rocket), and Ariane 6 (medium-to-heavy-lift rocket).

Inflation and Trade Data for June 2024 -

Inflation -
1. Wholesale price Index (WPI) based (wholesale inflation) -
  1. WPI based inflation increassed to 3.36 % in June 2024 (16 months high)
  2. WPI Inflation in last 12 months -
    1. May 2024 - 2.61%
    2. April 2024 - 1.26 %
    3. March 2024 - 0.53 %
    4. February 2024 - 0.20 %
    5. January 2024 - 0.27 %
    6. December 2023 - 0.73 %
    7. November 2023 - 0.26 %
    8. October 2023 - (-) 0.52 % (Negative)
    9. September 2023 - (-) 0.26 % (Negative)
    10. August 2023 - (-) 0.52 % (Negative)
    11. July 2023 - (-) 1.36 % (Negative)
    12. June 2023 - (-) 4.12 % (Negative) (lowest in 8 years)
2. Consumer Price Index (CPI) Based (retail inflation) -
  1. CPI-based inflation rate for June 2024 increased to 5.08 %
  2. CPI Inflation in Last 12 Months -
    1. May 2024 - 4.75 % (11 month low)
    2. April 2024 - 4.83 %
    3. March 2024 - 4.85 %
    4. February 2024 - 5.09 %
    5. January 2024 - 5.1 %
    6. December 2023 - 5.69 %
    7. November 2023 - 5.55 %
    8. October 2023 - 4.87 %
    9. September 2023 - 5.02 %
    10. August 2023 - 6.83 %
    11. July 2023 - 7.44 % (15 Month High)
    12. June 2023 - 4.81 %

Trade -

Trade in June 2024 (Amount in Billion USD) -

		June 2024 (USD Billion)	June 2023 (USD Billion)
Merchandise	Exports	35.20	34.32
Merchandise	Imports	56.18	53.51
Services*	Exports	30.27	27.79
Services*	Imports	17.29	15.61
Total Trade (Merchandise +Services) *	Exports	65.47	62.12
	Imports	73.47	69.12
	Trade Balance	-8.00	-7.00

Trade During Previous Financial Year (FY24 (2023-24)) -

		2023-24 (USD Billion)	2022-23 (USD Billion)
Merchandise	Exports	437.06	451.07
Merchandise	Imports	677.24	715.97
Services*	Exports	339.62	325.33
Services*	Imports	177.56	182.05
Overall Trade (Merchandise+ Services)*	Exports	778.20 (NEW RECORD)	776.40
	Imports	854.80	898.01
	Trade Balance	-76.60	-121.62

13th edition of India- Thailand joint Army Exercise MAITREE held at Fort Vachiraprakan in Tak Province of Thailand.
1. Last edition of the same exercise was conducted at Umroi (Meghalaya) in September 2019
K P Sharma Oli has been named new Prime Minister of Nepal, for his 4th term.
July 15 is observed by UN as World Youth Skills Day, with 2024 theme Youth Skills for Peace and Development.
1. Also, Jul 15 is observed as Educational Development Day in Tamil Nadu, to mark birth Anniversary of Former CM K Kamaraj.
2. Also, India's National Plastic Surgery Day, which is observed on July 15, has now been Adopted as World Plastic Surgery Day.

2024 Badminton Asia Junior Championships (Yogyakarta, Indonesia) -

Medal Table -

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China	6	1	2	9
2	South Korea	0	3	1	4
3	Malaysia	0	1	3	4
4	Indonesia	0	1	2	3
5	Thailand	0	0	2	2

16th edition of India-Mongolia Joint Army Exercise NOMADIC ELEPHANT held at Foreign Training Node, Umroi (Meghalaya).
Uttar Pradesh cabinet approved UP NIRMAN Bill 2024, aiming to attract significant investment and propel the state towards becoming a one trillion-dollar economy.
1. It proposes creation of 4 Special Investment Regions (SIRs) across state, leveraging a 20000 acre land bank. Similar initiatives have earlier been implemented in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Karnataka.
2. Additionally, cabinet approved signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. It aims to create a conducive environment for industrial investments by constructing significant convention centers in Lucknow and Varanasi.
As per 2024 Military Strength Ranking by Global Firepower -
1. Top 5 most powerful military forces are US, Russia, China, India & South Korea.
2. Pakistan ranks 9th in List.
As per UN's A World of Debt Report 2024 -
1. In 2023, global public debt (comprising general government domestic and external debt) reached record USD 97 trillion (up from 92 Trillion USD last year).
2. 54 developing countries Spend more than 10% of their revenues on net interest payments.
3. India ranks 7th in terms of Public debt, with $2.96 Trillion Debt. Others in Top 6 - US ($33.4 Trillion), China ($14.8 Trillion), Japan ($10.6 Trillion), France ($3.6 Trillion), UK ($3.46 Trillion), Italy ($3.1 Trillion).
Department of Telecommunications (DoT) approved merger of its 3 training institutes into one, namely National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research, Innovation and Training (NTIPRIT), National Institute of Communication Finance (NICF) and Wireless Monitoring Training & Development Centre (WMTDC).
1. Merged entity will be called National Communications Academy (NCA). It will be headed by Telecom Secretary (Neeraj Mittal currently).
Jul 17 - Day of International Criminal Justice. It marks adoption of Rome Statute in 1998. With help of this treaty International Criminal Court (ICC) was established.
European Parliament re-elected Ursula von der Leyen (Germany) as President of European Commission, for her 2nd 5-year term.
Book Power Within: The Leadership Legacy of Narendra Modi, authored by R. Balasubramaniam has been released.
2nd phase of Khelo India Rising Talent Identification (KIRTI) program launched in New Delhi.
1. Earlier, 1st phase of KIRTI was launched in Chandigarh in March 2024, which witnessed 51000 assessments across country, in 11 disciplines.
2. KIRTI aims to conduct 20 lakh assessments across country throughout year, to identify talent through notified Talent Assessment Centres. It aligns with national goal of entering top 10 sports nations in world by 2036 and top 5 by 2047.
Directorate of Publications Division released 4 books -
1. Books Wings to Our Hopes and Aashaon Ki Udaan are collection of selected speeches of President Droupadi Murmu during first year of her Presidency.
2. Kahani Rashtrapati Bhavan Ki is children's book which includes information about Rashtrapati Bhavan and President Droupadi Murmu.
3. Rashtrapati Bhavan: Heritage Meets the Present is a pictorial representation of history and architecture of Rashtrapati Bhavan and contains information about all former Presidents.
July 18 is observed by UN as Nelson Mandela International Day.
1. Notably, United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize was established by UN in 2014, awarded every 5 years. It was last awarded in 2020, to Guinean doctor Morissana Kouyate and Marianna Vardinoyannis of Greece.
2. Also, on this occasion, Guatemalan Human Rights Activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum has been conferred Gandhi Mandela Award 2020, conferred by Gandhi Mandela Foundation.
  1. This is 2nd edition of this award, with 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso as first recepient (2019).
Union Minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated Asia’s first health research-related Pre-clinical Network Facility under Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), at Regional Centre of Biotechnology under aegis of Translational Health Science & Technology Institute Faridabad (THSTI).
1. CEPI has selected BRIC-THSTI as a pre-clinical network laboratory based on its capability to handle BSL3 pathogens. It will be 9th such network laboratory across globe and first in Asia.
2. He also inaugurated Genetically Defined Human Associated Microbial Culture Collection (Ge-HuMic) Facility to act as a repository for providing microbial cultures to research institutes, universities, and industries for research and development.
3. About -
  1. CEPI is a foundation that takes donations from public, private, philanthropic, and civil society organisations, to finance independent research projects to develop vaccines against emerging infectious diseases. It was launched in 2017 at World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos (Switzerland).
Cote d’Ivoire (West Africa) joined 1992 UN Convention on Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (known as 1992 UN Water Convention), a UN treaty to improve joint water management across borders.
1. Cote d’Ivoire became 53rd Party to the Convention and 10th African country to join it.
UEFA Euro 2024 Football (17th Edition, Hosted by Germany) -
1. Spain won the title (their 4th), defeating England in final.
2024 Wimbledon Tennis Championships (137th Edition, Hosted in UK) -
1. Men's singles - Carlos Alcaraz (Spain). He defeated Novak Djokovic (Serbia) in Final.
  1. It was 2nd Wimbledon title for Carlos Alcaraz (consecutive), and his 4th Grand slam title overall.
2. Women's singles - Barbora Krejčíková (Czech Republic). She defeated Jasmine Paolini (Italy) in final.
  1. It was 1st Wimbledon title for Barbora Krejčíková, and her 2nd Grand slam title overall.
3. Men's doubles - Harri Heliövaara (Finland) & Henry Patten (UK)
4. Women's doubles - Kateřina Siniaková (Czech Republic) & Taylor Townsend (USA)
5. Mixed doubles - Jan Zieliński (Poland) & Hsieh Su-wei (Chinese Taipei)
6. Boys' singles - Nicolai Budkov Kjær (Norway)
7. Girls' singles - Renáta Jamrichová (Slovakia)
AIFF Player of the year awards 2024 -
1. Men's Footballer of the year - Lallianzuala Chhangte (2nd year in a row)
2. Women's Footballer of the year -Indumathi Kathiresan
3. Promising Player of the Year -
  1. Men - David Lalhlansanga
  2. Women - Neha
Henley Passport Index 2024 ranked Indian passport at 82nd position, allowing Indian citizens visa-free access to 58 foreign destinations.
1. India shares 82nd ranking with Senegal and Tajikistan.
2. Top 2 -
  1. Singapore (Visa-free entry to 195 destinations)
  2. France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Japan (Visa-free access to 192 destinations).
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched target-oriented 5-year research plan One Scientist One Product, to ensure maximum productivity and improving research in fields of agriculture and animal husbandry.
Himachal Pradesh govt discontinued power subsidy scheme for all consumers falling under tax-paying group, which provided 125 units of free electricity to all households.
1. The subsidy will now be restricted to one family one meter, and electricity connections will be linked to ration / aadhaar cards.
2. The scheme was launched in 2022, by erstwhile BJP CM Jai Ram Thakur.
President Droupadi Murmu appointed N Kotiswar Singh and R Mahadevan as new Judges of Supreme Court, taking SC's current sitting strength to fully sanctioned strength of 34 (Including Chief Justice of India).
July 20 is observed by UN as International Moon Day, observed since 2022. It commemorates First Human landing on Moon on 20 July 1969 by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, under Apollo 11 Mission. It is also observed as Space Exploration Day.
1. July 20 is also observed by UN as World Chess Day, marking date of establishment of International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Paris in 1924.
General News / Events (Jul 11-20, 2024) -
1. Uttar Pradesh govt announced to develop Mitra Van under Vriksharopan Jan Abhiyan 2024, along borders with Nepal.
2. Work began on 2nd phsae of construction of world’s largest Ramayan temple in East Champaran district of Bihar, known as Viraat Ramayan Mandir.
  1. Being built with cost 500 crores, it will be 123 metres high, with capacity to sit 20000 people.
3. IndianOil began producing high-octane petrol used in F1 motor racing, called STORM-X. With this, IndianOil became first Indian firm to produce F1 fuel for motorsports events.
Noted Author Tim Walker's new novel The Prisoner of Bhopal has been released. It commemorates 40th anniversary of India’s most devastating industrial disaster – the Bhopal gas tragedy.
Govt reconstituted public policy think tank NITI Aayog, with inclusion of 4 full-time members and 15 Union Ministers.
1. PM Narendra Modi remains chairperson and Suman K Bery will continue to be vice-chairperson of NITI Aayog.
Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission (UGC) initiated project ASMITA (Augmenting Study Materials in Indian Languages through Translation and Academic Writing), which aims to enrich higher education with a robust collection of translated and originally written books in 22 Indian languages.
1. It aims to develop 22000 books in Indian languages over next 5 years.
Awardees for Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity 2024 -
1. Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (India) - State-wide programme supporting smallholders, predominantly women, switch to natural farming.
2. Rattan Lal (USA/India) - Scientist who pioneered a soil-centric approach to agriculture.
3. SEKEM (Egypt) - For its biodynamic agriculture work, in particular its flagship initiative Egyptian Biodynamic Association, a network enabling farmers to transition to regenerative practices.
4. About -
  1. Awarded annually by Portugal based Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity was Established in 2020.
  2. The prize funding of 1 Million Euros is split equally among awardees, to help continue and scale their work for more secure and sustainable food systems.
  3. Notably, 2024 Jury was headed by Angela Merkel (Former Chancellor of Germany).
COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal 2024 has been awarded to Noted Indian Space Scientist Anil Bhardwaj (Director, Physical Research Laboratory Ahmedabad), presented at COSPAR Scientific Assembly in Busan (South Korea).
1. This award is jointly given by COSPAR (Committee on Space Research, an International body affiliated to the International Science Council and United Nations through UNCOPUS) and ISRO, in honour of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai (called Father of Indian Space Program).
2. It is only the second time that this award has been awarded to an ISRO scientist, after U R Rao in 1996.
46th Session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee Hosted by India at Bharat Mandapam (New Delhi), marking the first time India has hosted this event. Notable highlights -
1. Assam’s historic Moidams (Mound-Burial system of Ahom Dynasty) has been Included in UNESCO World Heritage List, as India’s 43rd World Heritage Site.
  1. It is 3rd World Heritage Property from Assam, following Kaziranga National Park and Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, both inscribed under Natural category in 1985.
  2. Moidams have been included in Cultural category.
  3. Overall, This year, UNESCO added 26 new landmark sites to World Heritage List.
2. Ministry of Culture also initiated Project PARI (Public Art of India), to mark the occasion.
  1. It aimed to provide a platform to uplift aesthetic and cultural outlook of Delhi while adding grandeur to its rich historical legacy.
  2. Over 150 visual artists were invited by Lalit Kala Akademi and National Gallery of Modern Art, for beautification of public spaces in Delhi.
3. During the summit -
  1. India and USA signed first ever Cultural Property Agreement, to prevent and curb illicit trafficking of antiquities from India to USA.
    1. The Agreement aligns with 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, to which both countries are States party. It'll help in quick seizure of Indian antiquities at US Customs and their repatriation back to India.
    2. Notably, India has repatriated 358 antiquities since 1976, out of which 345 have been retrieved since 2014.
  2. India announced to contribute 1 million USD to UNESCO World Heritage Centre, to be used for countries of the Global South.
  3. Nauru ratified the World Heritage Convention and became its 196th State Party.
4. About -
  1. Annual World Heritage Committee meet is held for managing all matters on World Heritage and deciding on sites to be inscribed on World Heritage list.
  2. World Heritage Young Professionals’ Forum and World Heritage Site Managers’ Forum were also held on the sidelines.
  3. Next (47th) session of World Heritage Committee shall be held in Sofia (Bulgaria) in 2025.
Final Report of India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure has been released, led by task force Co-Chairs Amitabh Kant (G20 Sherpa of India) and Nandan Nilekani (Infosys Co-founder).
Maharashtra Govt announced Ladla Bhai Yojana for boys and Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana for girls in state.
1. Ladla Bhai Yojana -
  1. Under this, Male students (aged 18-35 years) who have completed their 12th grade will receive 6000 per month. Diploma holders shall receive 8000 per month and Graduates will get 10000 per month.
  2. Under it, eligible youth will undertake a 1 year apprenticeship in factories.
2. Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana -
  1. Under this, eligible women in age group of 21 to 65 years in Maharashtra will get 1500 monthly financial benefit (whose annual family income is under 2.5 lakh).

McLaren's Australian F1 Racer Oscar Piastri won Hungarian Grand Prix 2024.

Notably, India's Kush Maini won his maiden Formula 2 Sprint Race at Hungarian Grand Prix 2024, after initial winner Richard Verschoor's was disqualified due to a technical infringement.

F1 Season 2024 -

Round	Grand Prix	Winner	Race date
1	Bahrain Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	2 March
2	Saudi Arabian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	9 March
3	Australian Grand Prix	Carlos Saint Jr. (Spanish)	24 March
4	Japanese Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	7 April
5	Chinese Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	21 April
6	Miami Grand Prix	Lando Norris (British-Belgian)	5 May
7	Emilia Romagna Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	19 May
8	Monaco Grand Prix	Charles Leclerc (Monaco)	26 May
9	Canadian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	9 June
10	Spanish Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	23 June
11	Austrian Grand Prix	George Russell (British)	30 June
12	British Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (British)	7 July
13	Hungarian Grand Prix	Oscar Piastri (Australian)	21 July
14	Belgian Grand Prix		28 July
15	Dutch Grand Prix		25 August
16	Italian Grand Prix		1 September
17	Azerbaijan Grand Prix		15 September
18	Singapore Grand Prix		22 September
19	United States Grand Prix		20 October
20	Mexico City Grand Prix		27 October
21	São Paulo Grand Prix		3 November
22	Las Vegas Grand Prix		23 November
23	Qatar Grand Prix		1 December
24	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix		8 December

National Flag Day is observed in India on July 22, marking adoption of tricolour as National flag on this day in 1947.
1. July 22 is also observed by World Federation of Neurology as World Brain Day.
2. July 22, 2024 also marks 100th birth anniversary of legendary singer Mukesh. On this occasion, Ministry of Culture released a commemorative stamp, to honor the noted singer.
QS Best Student Cities 2025 Ranking -
1. Top 5 - London (UK), Tokyo (Japan), Seoul (South Korea), Munich (Germany), Melbourne (Australia)
2. Indian Cities in List - Delhi (111), Mumbai (113), Bangalore (130), Chennai (140)
Home Minister Amit Shah launched National Narcotics Helpline MANAS (Madak Padarth Nishedh Asuchna Kendra), along with toll-free helpline 1933 and web portal /mobile App, so that citizens can connect with NCB anonymously and share information on drug peddling /trafficking or consult related to their drug related issues.
RBI Digital Payments Index for March 2024 stands at 445.50 as against 418.77 for September 2023.
1. RBI has been publishing a composite Digital Payments Index (DPI) since January 1, 2021 (with March 2018 as base 100), to capture extent of digitisation of payments across country.
2. It is updated in March and September every year.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Economic Survey FY 23 (2022-23), which details state of economy ahead of Budget for next fiscal. Economic Survey is Authored by Chief Economic Adviser (V. Anantha Nageswaran currently). Highlights -
1. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - Real GDP growth is estimated to be 6.5%-7% in FY25 (2024-25).
  1. GDP Growth Official Data for Past 5 years -
    1. 2023-24 => 8.2%
    2. 2022-23 => 7 %
    3. 2021-22 => 9.1 %
    4. 2020-21 => -7.3 % (Contraction)
    5. 2019-20 => 4 %
2. Inflation -
  1. Retail inflation in FY24 (2023-24) was 5.4%. RBI estimates inflation at 4.5% in FY25 (2024-25) and 4.1 % in FY26 (2025-26).
3. Current account balance -
  1. In FY 24 (2023-24), India’s current account deficit reduced to USD 23.2 billion (0.7% of GDP) from USD 67 billion (2% of GDP) in 2022-23. This improvement was due to decrease in merchandise trade deficit, increasing net services exports, and increasing remittances.
  2. Notably, India recorded a current account surplus of $5.7 billion (0.6 % of GDP)) in fourth quarter of FY24 (2023-24). This was for the first time in 10 quarters that India's current account balance recorded a surplus.
4. Fiscal deficit -
  1. Fiscal deficit of central govt reduced from 6.4% of GDP in FY23 (2022-23) to 5.6% of GDP in FY 24 (2023-24). It is expected to further reduce to 4.5% of GDP by FY26 (2025-26).
5. Debt -
  1. Govt’s debt to GDP ratio rose to 58.2% in FY24 (2023-24), compared to 57.9% in FY23 (2022-23). It is estimated to decline to 56.8% in FY25 (2024-25).
  2. In absolute numbers, Centre’s debt rose to 172 Lakh Crores in FY24 (2023-24), from 156 Lakh Crores in FY23 (2022-23).
6. FDI & Remittances -
  1. Total FDI inflows in India in FY24 (2023-24) were $70.95 Billion, and total FDI equity inflows $44.42 Billion.
  2. Top 5 Sources - Mauritius (25%), Singapore (23%), USA (9%), Netherland (7%) and Japan (6%).
  3. Top 5 Sectors - Services Sector (16%), Computer Software & Hardware (15%), Trading (6%), Telecommunications (6%) and Automobile Industry (5%).
  4. Top 5 States - Maharashtra (30%), Karnataka (22%), Gujarat (17%), Delhi (13%), and Tamil Nadu (5%).
  5. India is top remittance recipient country, with remittances reaching USD 120 billion in 2023.
  6. India’s external debt remained sustainable, with external debt to GDP ratio standing at 18.7 % at end of FY24.
7. Banking -
  1. Credit disbursal by Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) stood at ₹164.3 lakh crores, growing by 20.2 % in FY24.
  2. Indian SCBs' gross NPA ratio came down to 2.8 %, while net NPA ratio fell to 0.6 %.
8. Agriculture and allied activities -
  1. India’s agriculture sector grew at a rate of 1.4% in FY24 (2023-24), compared to 4.7% in FY 23 (2022-23), due to decrease in foodgrain production.
    1. Notably, Agriculture Sector registered average annual growth rate of 4.18 % over last 5 years.
  2. Agriculture sector provides livelihood support to about 42.3 % of population, and has share of 18.2 % in GDP.
  3. Foodgrain production over last 4 years (In Million Tonnes) -
    1. 2020-21 - 310.7
    2. 2021-22 - 315.6
    3. 2022-23 - 329.7 (all-time high)
    4. 2023-24 - 328.8
  4. Notable Schemes in Agri Sector -
    1. To promote efficiency in agriculture marketing, and improve price discovery, govt implemented e-NAM Scheme (2016). As of now, over 1.8 Crore farmers and 2.6 Lakh traders have been registered on e-NAM portal.
    2. Govt launched scheme to form and promote 10000 FPOs in 2020, with budget of 6860 crores till 2027-28.
    3. To provide social security to most vulnerable farmer families, govt implemented Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojna (PMKMY), offering monthly pension of 3000 to enrolled farmers on attainment of 60 years of age, based on a nominal premium between 55 to 200 per month paid by them. Over 23 lakh farmers have enrolled under the scheme.
    4. PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness Generation, Nourishment, and amelioration of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM) incentivizes states for reducing chemical fertiliser use.
    5. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) was launched in 2016, which offers a safety net against crop losses due to natural calamities, ensuring financial stability for farmers.
      1. PMFBY is largest crop insurance scheme in the world in terms of farmer enrolment and 3rd largest scheme in terms of insurance premiums.
      2. Overall insured area reached 610 lakh ha in 2023-24, with over 1.5 Lakh crores paid to farmers as claims so far.
    6. Banks have so far issued 7.5 crore Kisan Credit Cards (KCC), with a limit of ₹9.4 lakh crores.
    7. It is estimated that for every rupee invested in agricultural research (including education), there is a payoff of ₹ 13.85.
  5. Allied activities (such as livestock and fisheries) performed better than traditional crops. Between 2014- 15 and 2022-23, share of livestock in agriculture gross value added increased from 24.3% to 30.4%, while share of fisheries increased from 4.4% to 7.3% respectively.
    1. In 2022-23, India achieved record fish production of 17.54 million tons, ranking third globally and accounting for 8 % of global production. To bolster this sector, Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) was launched in 2020. Also, Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) was introduced in 2018-19.
  6. India is largest producer of milk and second largest producer of fruits, vegetables and sugar.
  7. Food processing industry has approx 12 % share in total employment in organised sector, and agri-food exports account for approx 12 % of India’s total exports.
9. Industry -
  1. Industrial sector grew by 9.5% in FY24 (2023-24).
  2. Share of electronics goods in merchandise exports of India rose from 2.7 % in FY19 (2018-19) to 6.7 % in FY24 (2023-24).
    1. India's electronics manufacturing sector accounts for 3.7 % of global market share in FY22.
  3. India’s pharmaceutical market stands as world's 3rd largest by volume.
  4. India is world's second-largest clothing manufacturer and one of the top five exporting nations.
10. Services sector -
  1. Services sector constituted 55% of India’s economy in FY24 (2023-24).
  2. Globally, India’s services exports constituted 4.4 % of world's commercial services exports in 2022.
  3. India's share in digitally delivered services exports globally increased to 6 % in 2023 from 4.4 % in 2019.
  4. Computer services and business services exports accounted for 73 % of India’s services exports.
  5. Tourism industry witnessed over 92 lakh foreign tourist arrivals in 2023, implying a YoY increase of 43.5 %.
  6. Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India have grown from 1000 centres in FY15 to over 1580 centres by FY23.
  7. Indian e-commerce industry is expected to cross USD 350 billion by 2030.
11. Infrastructure -
  1. Capital investment in Infrastructure rose from 0.4 % in FY15 to about 1.0 % of GDP in FY24.
  2. Average pace of National Highways construction increased by 3 times from 11.7 km per day in FY14 to 34 km per day by FY24.
  3. So far, Approx 7 Lakh KMs of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) has been laid, connecting Approx 2.1 Lakh Gram Panchayats by OFC, under project BharatNet phase I & II.
  4. India is making progress in R&D, with over 1 lakh patents granted in FY24, compared to under 25000 patent grants in FY20.
12. Employment -
  1. Unemployment declined to 3.2% in FY23 (2022-23).
  2. Over 45% workforce is employed in agriculture, 11.4% in manufacturing, 28.9 % in services, and 13 % in construction.
  3. Youth (age 15-29 years) unemployment rate declined from 17.8 % in 2017-18 to 10 % in 2022-23.
  4. India needs to generate over 78.5 lakh jobs annually till 2030 in non-farm sector, to cater to a rising workforce.
13. Climate change and energy transition -
  1. Renewable energy Capacity of India is approx 191 MW, which is approx 43% of total installed electricity generation capacity in India.
  2. India’s GDP between 2005 and 2019 grew with Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7 %, whereas emissions grew at a CAGR of 4 %.
  3. India's energy transition targets -
    1. Install 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
    2. Produce 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.
    3. Reduce carbon intensity of its economy by less than 45% by the end of the decade.
    4. Achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
14. Health & Social Security -
  1. Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) - It provides health insurance cover of ₹5 lakh/ year for underprivileged families. Under it, Approx 35 crore Ayushman Bharat cards have been generated and over 7 crore hospital admissions have been covered so far.
  2. PM Jan Aushadhi Kendras - It provides quality medicines at 50-90 % cheaper than market rates. Under this, 10000th Jan Aushadhi Kendra was inaugurated in AIIMS Deoghar in 2023.
  3. AMRIT (Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment) - Over 300 Amrit pharmacies are operating across country, providing subsidized medicines for critical illnesses.
  4. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) - Launched in 2021, the Scheme aims to create a national digital health ecosystem across country.
    1. Under it, 64.86 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) have been created, and 39.77 crore health records linked with ABHA.
  5. eSanjeevani - Launched in 2019, this virtual doctor consultations scheme has served 26.62 crore patients in remote areas at 1.25 lakh Health & Wellness Centres, now known as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
  6. For the first time ever, Economic Survey 2023-24 talked about mental health, its significance and implications on policy recommendations.
    1. As per National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) 2015-16, 10.6% adults in India suffered from mental disorders. Prevalence of mental morbidity was higher in urban metro regions (13.5%) as compared to rural areas (6.9%) and urban non-metro areas (4.3%).
    2. 22 procedures related to mental disorders have been covered under Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
  7. Between FY18 and FY24, expenditure on social services increased from 6.7% to 7.8%, while Health expenditure increased from 1.4% to 1.9% (As percent of GDP).
  8. Compared to 50.7 crore persons in 2022, India would need to care for 64.7 crore persons in 2050.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Presented Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament, as her record 7th Union Budget and 1st Full Budget of newly elected NDA Government forming 18th Lok Sabha, led by PM Narendra Modi. Details can be seen here.
July 23 is observed as National broadcasting Day in India. On this day in 1927, 1st ever radio broadcast in country went on the air from Bombay Station under a private company called Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC).
India assumed Chair of Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) from China, for year 2024-25.
1. ADPC is an autonomous International Organization for cooperation in and implementation of disaster risk reduction and building climate resilience in Asia and the Pacific region.
2. India and 8 neighbouring countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand) are founding members of ADPC.
India's 2008 Olympic gold medalist (10 m air rifle) Abhinav Bindra has been awarded prestigious Olympic Order, highest honour given by International Olympic Committee (IOC).
1. Notably, He is first and one of only two Indians to win an individual Olympic gold medal so far (Other is Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra).
RBI issued a Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) Framework for Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs), whose provisions will be effective from April 1, 2025.
1. PCA Framework shall replace Supervisory Action Framework (SAF) issued earlier by RBI, which acted as an early intervention tool for bringing about desired improvements in weak UCBs.
2. Notable Features -
  1. PCA framework is largely principle-based with fewer number of parameters as compared to the SAF, without any dilution in the supervisory rigour.
  2. PCA framework seeks to provide flexibility to design entity specific supervisory action plans based on the assessment of risks on a case-by-case basis.
  3. Hard-coded limit of Rs 25,000 for restrictions on capital expenditure by UCBs under SAF has been dispensed with. PCA framework enables Supervisors to decide the limit depending upon their assessment of each entity.
  4. PCA Framework has been made applicable to all UCBs in Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4, except UCBs under All Inclusive Directions (AID).
    1. Tier 1 UCBs have been excluded from PCA framework for now. However, they shall continue to be subjected to enhanced monitoring under extant supervisory framework.
  5. Revised framework is expected to give more focus on larger UCBs requiring more intensive monitoring by optimal utilisation of supervisory resources.
July 24 is Observed by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) as Income Tax Day (Aayakar Diwas). On this day in 1860, Income Tax was introduced for first time in India by James Wilson.
Indian Navy Launched Triput, as First of two Advanced Frigates being made by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) for Indian Navy.
1. Triput class of ships are follow on ships of the Teg and Talwar class ships acquired from Russia.
Indian Former Tennis Players Leander Paes and Vijay Amritraj became first Asian men to be inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame.
1. While Leander Paes was inducted in Player category, Vijay Amritraj was inducted in Contributor category.
Manolo Marquez (Spain) has been named new head coach of Indian men’s football team by All India Football Federation (AIFF), replacing Igor Štimac (Croatia).
Govt approved implementation of Yuva Aapda Mitra Scheme at an outlay of 470 crores, to be implemented by NDRF in 315 most disaster-prone districts of country.
1. It will facilitate training of 1300 trained Aapda Mitra Volunteers as Master Trainers and 2.37 lakh volunteers (from NCC, NSS, NYKS and Bharat Scouts & Guides), in disaster preparedness and response.
Jul 25 is observed by UN as World Drowning Prevention Day.
Book Jamsetji Tata: Powerful Learnings for Corporate Success, authored by R. Gopalakrishnan & Harish Bhat has been released.
IndusInd Bank launched its CSR initiative Wrestle for Glory, in collaboration with Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS), a high performance Olympic training facility in Vijayanagar (Bellary).
1. It aims to empower 50 talented female wrestling athletes from across country and provide them with coaching at IIS facility on fully-funded scholarships.
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) received approval of funding of $ 215.6 Million from Green Climate Fund (GCF), for creating a corpus of $1 billion for Financing Mitigation and Adaptation Projects (FMAP) of Medium and Small Enterprises (MSMEs).
1. GCF was set up by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to help channel money needed by poor nations to meet their targets to reduce carbon emissions, develop cleaner energy sources and adjust to a warming world.
RBI released Report on Currency and Finance (RCF) for year 2023-24, with theme India’s Digital Revolution. Notable Highlights -
1. India's digital economy is set to constitute 20% of India's GDP by 2026, doubling its current contribution of 10%.
2. Usage - Internet penetration in India was 55% in 2023.
  - India's average per-user per-month mobile data consumption was 24.1 GB in 2023.
  - India has 75 crore smartphone users, expected to reach 1 billion by 2026.
  - India has 2nd largest telecom subscriber base and internet user base globally.
3. Digital Payments -
  1. UPI witnessed 131 billion transactions in 2023-24, 80 % of all digital payment volumes.
  2. RBI Digital Payments Index for March 2024 stands at 445.50 as against 418.77 for September 2023.
    1. RBI publishses composite Digital Payments Index (since January 1, 2021 and with March 2018 as base year), to capture extent of digitisation of payments across country.
    2. It is updated in March and September every year.
    3. It comprises of 5 broad parameters - payment enablers, payment infrastructure – demand-side factors, payment infrastructure – supply-side factors, payment performance and consumer centricity.
4. Global Acceptability -
  1. Countries that accept India's UPI - Bhutan,France, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka & UAE
  2. Countries that accept India's Rupay - Bhutan, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore & UAE
5. Globally, cybercrime costs will reach US$ 13.82 trillion by 2028, up from US$ 8.15 trillion in 2023. In India, average cost of data breaches stands at US$ 2.18 million in 2023 (up from US$ 2.18 million globally).
6. Multidimensional poverty dropped from 29.1 % of total population in 2013-14 to 11.2 % in 2022-23, surpassing a UN sustainable development goal ahead of deadline.
7. Financial Inclusion -
  1. RBI's composite financial inclusion index (FI-Index) capturing extent of financial inclusion across the country rose to 64.2 in March 2024, compared to 60.1 in March 2023.
    1. It comprises three broad parameters - access (35% weightage), usage (45% weightage) and quality (20% weightage).
  2. In rural India, 46 % of population consists of wireless phone subscribers, and 54 % are active internet users.
  3. Over half of FinTech consumers are from semi-urban and rural India and more than a third of digital payment users are from rural areas.
  4. Bank credit to GDP ratio of 58.7 % leaves room for further financial deepening.
8. FinTech -
  1. India leads the world with FinTech adoption rate of 87 %, higher than global average of 64 %.
  2. There are over 8011 FinTechs in India, with Revenues of FinTechs in India expected to grow from US$ 17 billion in 2022 to over US$ 190 billion by 2030.
9. India's Green Energy Targets -
  1. Achieve 50 % cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil energy resources by 2030
  2. Achieve 500 Gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2030, up from 190 GW as on March 31, 2024
  3. Reduce emission intensity of GDP by 45 % by 2030 from 2005 level
  4. Create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes through additional forest and tree cover
  5. Achieve Net Zero emissions by 2070
  6. Reduce projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030
July 26 is Observed by UNESCO as International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem.
July 26 marks Kargil Vijay Diwas. On this date in 1999, India took command of high outposts which were captured by Intruding Pakistanis during Kargil war.
1. On this occasion -
  1. Indian Army opened Khalubar War Memorial (Laddakh) for tourists, as a tribute to heroes of Kargil War. Located in Aryan Valley, this memorial commemorates bravery of Indian soldiers who fought to reclaim the valley during the war.
  2. Department of Posts released a commemorative postage stamp to mark the occasion.
India won 4 Gold and 1 silver medal at International Mathematics Olympiad 2024 held in Bath (UK).
1. India ranked 4th out of 108 participating countries. Top 3 - USA, China, South Korea.
India won 2 Gold and 3 Silver medals at International Physics Olympiad 2024, held in Isfahan (Iran).
1. India ranked at 4th place jointly with Vietnam. Top 3 - China, Russia and Romania.
India won 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze medals at International Chemistry Olympiad 2024, held in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia).
July 27 is Raising Day of CRPF, which was Formed on July 27, 1939.
2024 Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup Cricket (Hosted by Sri Lanka) -
1. Sri Lanka won the title (their 1st), defeating India in final.
2. Tournament was contested by 8 teams.
3. Player of the series - Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka)
4. Notably, India will host next edition of Men's Asia Cup cricket tournament in T20 format in 2025.
2024 Croatia Open Umag Men's Tennis (Umag, Croatia) -
1. Singles - Francisco Cerúndolo (Argentina)
2. Doubles - Guido Andreozzi (Argentina) & Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela (Mexico)
Brunei Darussalam and Laos joined ASEAN Countries' Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC) mechanism, bringing number of member countries to 8.
1. RPC was introduced in November 2022 by Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
2. RPC was established to strengthen payments connectivity, for faster, cheaper, transparent, and more inclusive cross-border payments.
Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav launched Ideas4LiFE Portal, for inviting ideas related to products and services, which induce behavioral changes related to environment-friendly lifestyles.
July 28 is observed by World Health Organization as World Hepatitis Day.
1. July 28 is also observed as World Nature Conservation Day.
Book Breaking Rocks and Barriers: Memoirs of a Geologist and Mountaineer, authored by Sudipta Sengupta has been released.
Observations marked by UN (United Nations) -
1. Years -
  1. 2025 -
    1. International Year of Quantum Science and Technology
    2. International Year of Cooperatives
    3. International Year of Glaciers' Preservation
    4. International Year of Peace and Trust
  2. 2026 -
    1. International Year of the Woman Farmer
    2. International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development
    3. International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists
  3. 2027 -
    1. International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism
2. Decades -
  1. 2025–2034 -
    1. Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences
    2. United Nations Decade on Combating Sand and Dust Storms
  2. 2024–2033 -
    1. International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development
  3. 2022–2032 -
    1. International Decade of Indigenous Languages
  4. 2021–2030 -
    1. United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing
    2. Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism
    3. Second Decade of Action for Road Safety
    4. United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
    5. United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
President Droupadi Murmu approved appointment of New Governors / Lieutenant Governors 1in Several States /UTs -
1. Ramen Deka -Governor of Chhattisgarh
2. Santosh Kumar Gangwar - Governor of Jharkhand
3. C.P. Radhakrishnan - Governor of Maharashtra
4. Lakshman Prasad Acharya - Governor of Assam and also additional charge of Governor of Manipur.
5. Gulab Chand Kataria - Governor of Punjab and Administrator of UT of Chandigarh
6. Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde - Governor of Rajasthan.
7. Om Prakash Mathur - Governor of Sikkim
8. Jishnu Dev Varma - Governor of Telangana
9. C H Vijayashankar - Governor of Meghalaya
10. K. Kailashnathan - Lt. Governor of Puducherry.

Mercedes' British F1 Racer Lewis Hamilton won Belgian Grand Prix 2024.

F1 Season 2024 -

Round	Grand Prix	Winner	Race date
1	Bahrain Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	2 March
2	Saudi Arabian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	9 March
3	Australian Grand Prix	Carlos Saint Jr. (Spanish)	24 March
4	Japanese Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	7 April
5	Chinese Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	21 April
6	Miami Grand Prix	Lando Norris (British-Belgian)	5 May
7	Emilia Romagna Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	19 May
8	Monaco Grand Prix	Charles Leclerc (Monaco)	26 May
9	Canadian Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	9 June
10	Spanish Grand Prix	Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)	23 June
11	Austrian Grand Prix	George Russell (British)	30 June
12	British Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (British)	7 July
13	Hungarian Grand Prix	Oscar Piastri (Australian)	21 July
14	Belgian Grand Prix	Lewis Hamilton (British)	28 July
15	Dutch Grand Prix		25 August
16	Italian Grand Prix		1 September
17	Azerbaijan Grand Prix		15 September
18	Singapore Grand Prix		22 September
19	United States Grand Prix		20 October
20	Mexico City Grand Prix		27 October
21	São Paulo Grand Prix		3 November
22	Las Vegas Grand Prix		23 November
23	Qatar Grand Prix		1 December
24	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix		8 December

July 29 is observed as World Tiger Day. It was proclaimed in 2010 at Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia where signatories declared an agreement that the governments of tiger populated counties would double tiger population by 2022, termed as TX2.
1. As per latest data, number of tigers globally has increased from 3200 in 2015 to 4500 in 2022.
2. In 2018, Nepal became first country to double tiger population. India & Bhutan have also doubled their tiger population so far.
3. As per 5th All India Tiger Estimation 2022 -
  1. India has 3682 tigers, making up 75 % of world’s tiger population.
  2. Number of Tiger reserves in India has reached 53 (latest being Ranipur Tiger Reserve in Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh). Earlier 4 Tiger estimation reports were released in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018.
    1. Tiger reserves were set up in India under Project Tiger, which was launched in 1973, aimed at safeguarding nation's tiger population and preserving biodiversity.
  3. Tiger Count in India grew from 1411 in 2006 to 2226 in 2014, 2967 in 2018 & now 3682 in 2022.
  4. Top States - Madhya Pradesh (785), Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560) & Maharashtra (444).
  5. Tiger abundance within Tiger Reserve is highest in Corbett (260), followed by Bandipur (150) & Nagarhole (141).
Manoj Mittal has been named new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
Nicolas Maduro has been re-elected as President of Venezuela (South America), for his 3rd term.
Indian Curator and author Rahaab Allana has been conferred with insignia of Officier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France, for his career as curator of contemporary South Asian photography and his contributions to Indo-French artistic cooperation.
Indian Para-swimmer Jiya Rai became youngest and fastest para-swimmer in world to successfully swim across the English Channel. She covered distance of 34 KMs in 17 hours and 25 minutes.
1. Jiya is first girl with Autism Spectrum Disorder to achieve this feat.
2. English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It is busiest shipping area in world. It is about 560 KMs long and varies in width from 240 km at its widest to 34 km at its narrowest in Strait of Dover.
July 30 is observed by UN as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
1. July 30 is also -
  1. International Day of Friendship (UN).
  2. Birth anniversary of Muthulakshmi Reddi, India's first female legislator and also known as a woman of many firsts. Tamil Nadu Government declared that every year hospitals will celebrate her birth anniversary as ‘Hospital Day.'
World Health Organization (WHO) launched SARAH (Smart AI Resource Assistant for Health), as a digital health promoter prototype with enhanced empathetic response powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI). It can engage users in 8 languages on multiple health topics.
Asian Cricket Council (ACC) elected Mohsin Naqvi (Current chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board) as ACC president, succeeding India's Jay Shah.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched SEBI’s Virtual Assistant (SEVA), as an artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot, to address investor queries and boost investor protection.
General News / Events (Jul 21-31, 2024) -
1. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched India’s 500th Community Radio Station, as Apna Radio 90.0 FM run by Indian Institute of Mass Communication Aizawl.
2. India’s first sunken museum inaugurated at Humayun’s Tomb complex (Delhi), UNESCO World Heritage Site. It offers visitors a unique perspective on Mughal history and architecture.
3. Bihar Assembly passed Anti-Paper Leak Bill to combat malpractices in government recruitment exams, with strict penalties including minimum prison sentence of 10 years and fine of at least ₹1 crore for those involved in such activities.
4. Belarus announced new visa-free regime allowing citizens from 35 European countries to stay in country for up to 90 days per year.
5. PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (PHDCCI) 4th International Climate Summit 2024 held in New Delhi.
6. Uttar Pradesh Assembly passed UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2024, that enhances punishment for forced conversions.
  1. Punishment for marrying a woman by deceiving her or converting her religion was 10 years with a fine of ₹50,000. New Bill now enhances punishment to life imprisonment.
7. TB-Free Municipalities initiative under Project Swasthya Nagaram has been launched in Telangana, aimed at achieving TB-free municipalities in Peerzadiguda, Boduppal and Pocharam Municipal Corporations over 3 years.
8. India operationalized its new resident Mission in Riga (Latvia).
  1. Latvia is among 3 Baltic states, along with Estonia and Lithuania.
9. President Droupadi Murmu approved renaming two of important halls of Rashtrapati Bhavan – namely, Durbar Hall and Ashok Hall – as Ganatantra Mandap’ and Ashok Mandap respectively.
10. Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) inaugurated One DAE One Subscription initiative, enabling the Department and all its subunits to access, read, and publish national and international research papers and scientific journals.
  1. 1st ODOS agreement with Wiley India Private Limited will provide access to 1353 Wiley journals to the entire DAE community, while 2nd ODOS agreement with Springer Nature Group will provide access to 2,686 Springer Nature titles to all DAE units.
11. Biennial Global conference on space research 2024 held in Busan (South Korea).
Visits to India (July 2024) -
1. Pham Minh Chinh - Prime Minister of Vietnam.
2. Johari Abdul Ghani - Minister of Plantations and Commodities of Malaysia.
3. David Lammy - UK Foreign Secretary. During the visit -
  1. Launched UK–India Technology Security Initiative (TSI), to be headed by National Security Advisors (NSAs) of both countries, to expand collaboration in critical and emerging technologies (CET) across priority sectors including Telecom, Critical Minerals, Semiconductors, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum, Biotech and Advanced Materials.
  2. A bilateral mechanism will be set up for promotion of critical and emerging technology trade and collaboration, including resolution of relevant licensing and regulatory issues.
Visits from India (July 2024) -
1. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Japan, to attend Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meet in Tokyo (Japan), along with Foreign Ministers of Australia, Japan and USA.
2. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Mauritius. During the visit -
  1. Inaugurated India's first overseas JanAushadi Kendra in Mauritius.
3. President Droupadi Murmu Visited Fiji, New Zealand and Timor-Leste.
  1. Notably, It marked first-ever visits by a Head of State from India to Fiji & Timor-Leste.
4. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal attended 14th BRICS Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Mowcow (Russia), under 2024 BRICS Presidency of Russia.
Loans approved for India in July 2024 -
1. Asian Development Bank (ADB) -
  1. $240.5 million - To finance rooftop solar systems in India that will help the government expand energy access using renewable energy.
  2. $200 million loan - To expand metro rail corridors and improve transport connectivity in Nagpur (Maharashtra).
  3. ADB and ENGIE group signed long-term local currency loan agreement (1460 Crores INR) to construct and operate a 400-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant in Surendranagar District (Gujarat).
July 31 is observed as World Ranger Day, to mark founding day of International Ranger Federation (IRF) on this day in 1992.
Indian Places named in TIME's World’s Greatest Places 2024 -
1. Mumbai based children’s museum Museum of Solutions (MuSo).
2. Manam Chocolate (Hyderabad)
3. Himachal Pradesh based restaurant NAAR.

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Latest Current Affairs - July 2024

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