India's Foreign Relations & International Trade

• India-Iran-Armenia Trilateral Dialogue:
  • Held in Tehran, Iran, focusing on the North-South Transport Corridor.
  • The corridor is a 7200 km multi-modal route (road, rail, waterway) connecting Europe to India.
  • Russia recently sent the first coal train to India via this corridor (St. Petersburg to Iran's Abbas Port, then to Mumbai).
  • Armenia's capital: Yerevan. Azerbaijan's capital: Baku (host of COP 29).
  • Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed region between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
  • Previous meetings: Yerevan (first), Delhi (second); next meeting: Yerevan.
• India-Israel Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA):
  • India and Israel signed a Bilateral Investment Agreement to promote investment and protect investors.
  • This agreement renews an earlier agreement from 1996 that had expired.
  • India and Israel established full diplomatic relations in 1992 (India recognized Israel in 1950).
  • Israel is the first OECD country to sign a BIA with India.
  • OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development): Established in 1961, headquartered in Paris, has 38 member countries (India is not a member).

Rankings and Reports

• FT Masters in Management Ranking 2025:
  • Published by Financial Times for Master in Management programs.
  • Global Top: University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
  • India Top: IIM Bangalore (ranked 28th globally).
• Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan Puraskar 2025 (Clean Air Survey Award):
  • Awarded by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
  • Categories based on population:
    • 10 Lakh+: 1st: Indore, 2nd: Jabalpur, 3rd: Agra & Surat.
    • 3-10 Lakh: 1st: Amravati, 2nd: Jhansi & Moradabad, 3rd: Alwar.
    • Less than 3 Lakh: 1st: Dewas (Madhya Pradesh).
  • Wetland Cities: Udaipur and Indore (first in India) received recognition and have now been formally recognized as wetland cities.
  • Ramnar Sites: India currently has 91 Ramsar sites for wetland conservation. Recent additions: Khichan and Menar (Rajasthan).
• State Energy Efficiency Index 2024: Maharashtra ranked first in the top category.

Appointments and Organizations

• Deputy National Security Advisor (Deputy NSA): Aneesh Dayal Singh was appointed.
• National Stock Exchange (NSE) Governing Board Chairman: Srinivas Injety was appointed.
  • NSE was established in 1992, its index is Nifty (includes top 50 Indian companies), and its headquarters is in Mumbai (Dalal Street).
  • Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), established in 1875, is Asia's oldest; its index is Sensex (includes top 30 Indian companies).
  • SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) was established in 1988, became a statutory body in 1992, is headquartered in Mumbai, and its current head is Tuhin Kanta Pandey.
• BRICS New Development Bank: Rajiv Ranjan appointed as Vice President and Chief Risk Officer.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Director: Urjit Patel was appointed.
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO): Established in 1950, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Defense and Security

• Australia's AI-powered Submarine: XLAUV (Ghost Shark) was unveiled. Australia also unveiled the MQ-28A Ghost Bat drone, developed with Boeing.
• INS Udaygiri & INS Himgiri: Commissioned into the Indian Navy from Visakhapatnam.
• Tri-services Seminar 'Ran Samvad': Held in Madhya Pradesh.
• Military Exercise 'Bright Star': Multinational military exercise held in Egypt, in which India participated. India and Egypt also conduct the 'Cyclone' exercise.
• CBI Operations:
  • Operation Hawk: To combat international cyber fraud syndicates and child sexual abuse.
  • Operation Chakra: To combat international fraud.
• Other Operations:
  • Operation Sahyog: To improve connectivity in Manipur.
  • Operation Rahat: For flood relief in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.
  • Operation Brahma: In Myanmar.
  • Operation Sindhu: In Iran.
  • Operation Sindoor: To destroy terrorist hideouts in PoK.
  • Operation Shiv Shakti/Mahadev: To eliminate terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir.
  • Operation Black Forest: Against Naxalism.

Science and Environment

• WMO La Niña Forecast: World Meteorological Organization (WMO) forecasts the return of La Niña in 2025.
  • La Niña: "Little Girl" in Spanish; a cold ocean current that strengthens the Indian monsoon.
  • El Niño: "Christ Child" in Spanish; a warm ocean current that weakens the Indian monsoon (negative impact).
• Fossilized Leaves in Nagaland: Discovery of fossilized leaves in Nagaland has revealed insights into how Antarctica influenced the Indian monsoon.
• National Designated Authority (NDA): The Environment Ministry announced the establishment of the NDA.
• 3I ATLAS Comet Discovery Telescope: Located in Chile.

Infrastructure and Urban Development

• World's First Ceramic Waste Park: To be started in Khurja, Uttar Pradesh (known as "Ceramic City" of UP), converting ceramic waste into a park.
• Integrated Heat Cooling Action Plan: Bhubaneswar, Odisha, launched a plan to reduce urban temperatures, promote greenery, and cool roofs.
• First Mondo Track for Athletes: Started in Delhi, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Social and Cultural Developments

• Apatani Practice: This practice, where women wear wooden nose plugs and face tattoos, is on the verge of extinction. It is followed by the Apatani community, primarily found in Zero Valley, Arunachal Pradesh. The practice was banned in 1970 and is not popular among younger generations.
  • Historical Bans in India: Sati Pratha (1829, William Bentinck), Das Pratha (slavery, 1843, Lord Ellenborough), Begar Pratha (forced labour, Article 23 of Constitution).
• Marvat Utsav (Puppet Parade): Celebrated in Maharashtra (a Donald Trump effigy was notable).
• Book Launch: "Justice Denied, Justice Lost" by Kanchan Chakraborty was launched in Kolkata.
• Project Nanhi Kali Book: "A Million Buds Bloom" (a coffee table book) was launched by Anand Mahindra.
• Oinam 2025: Celebrated in Kerala.
• Mumbai Cricket Association: Unveiled a bronze statue of Sunil Gavaskar at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Museum.
• No Helmet, No Fuel Campaign: Started by Uttar Pradesh.
• Mobile Phone Ban in Schools: South Korea banned mobile phones in schools (Australia banned social media for children under 16).
• First SC/ST Parliamentary Committee National Conference outside Delhi: Held in Bhubaneswar.

Sports

• Youngest Grandmaster to Defeat Gukesh: Abhimanyu Mishra (16, USA) achieved this feat.
  • D. Gukesh is the current World Chess Champion, having defeated Ding Liren in Singapore.
  • Women's Chess World Cup: Held in Georgia, won by Divya Deshmukh (runner-up Koneru Humpy).
  • First Indian Grandmaster: Viswanathan Anand.
  • 88th Grandmaster: Divya Deshmukh.
  • 89th Grandmaster: Rohit Krishna.
  • World Chess Day: July 20.
• FIDE World Cup 2025: To be hosted by Goa, India.
• Neeraj Chopra: Won a silver medal in the Diamond League Final in Switzerland.

Other News

• Former Sri Lankan President Arrested: Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was reportedly arrested on corruption charges (Note: Ranil Wickremesinghe is the current President of Sri Lanka. This information in the transcript might refer to a different individual or be outdated).
• Maruti Suzuki's First Battery Electric Vehicle (eVitara): Launched in Gujarat (Hasalpur).
• Phytosaur Fossil: A 20-crore-year-old Phytosaur fossil was discovered in Rajasthan (Jaisalmer).
• Asian Giant Turtles: First artificial incubation for these turtles was successfully carried out in Manipur to increase their population.
• Puna Tsangchu-I Hydroelectric Project: Bhutan (1020 MW) developed with India's cooperation.
• Biodiversity Index: Chennai launched a Biodiversity Index.