1 Centre lifts ban on government employees participating in RSS activities
The Centre has lifted the ban on government employees from participating in the activities of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-RSS . . The ban was imposed by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions in November 1966 during the reign of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi . Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya said in a social media post that this unconstitutional order issued 58 years ago has been withdrawn by the Modi government. Many state governments, including Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, have already lifted the ban on government employees joining the RSS.
2 CIL gets first mineral license
On July 22, Coal India Limited (CIL) received a composite license for prospecting and mining of graphite . This is the first time that Coal India that Coal India will work in graphite mining business in addition to coal . CIL got the license for Khattali graphite block in Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh. CIL’s composite license is for 1 year and mining lease is for 3 years. CIL has to pay a mining premium of 150.05% of the value of the mineral sent to the state government. Graphite is used in many applications including batteries. The demand for graphite is increasing rapidly in India to promote electronic vehicles (EV).
3 Maitree Express running between India and Bangladesh cancelled due to anti-reservation protest
There is a lot of unrest in Bangladesh due to the anti-quota movement. The situation has not yet returned to normal. Meanwhile, some trains connecting India-Bangladesh have been canceled for a few days. Railways have said that the ticket money of these canceled trains will be refunded. According to the railways, due to operational reasons. Maitree Express running between Kolkata and Dhaka has been canceled due to operational reasons . One trip each of 13108 Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express, 13107 Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express and 13109 Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express will be canceled on some dates.
4 Postal Department released beta version of Digipin for public comments and expert opinion
The Department of Posts is pursuing the initiative to establish a standardized, geo-coded addressing system in India to ensure simplified addressing solutions for citizen-centric delivery of public and private services. In this regard, the Department has of public and private services. In this regard, the Department had partnered with IIT Hyderabad to develop a national addressing grid called Digital Postal Index Number (DigiPIN) . This system will serve as a strong and robust pillar of geospatial governance. It will enhance public service delivery, speed up emergency response and significantly increase logistics efficiency.
5 Black hole in galaxy OJ 287
Recently, a study conducted by a group of 32 scientists from 10 countries including India has confirmed the presence of a smaller black hole orbiting a larger black hole in the galaxy OJ 287. This discovery was made using NASA’s TESS satellite . . This was the first direct observation of an orbiting black hole pair , which supports previous theories proposed by astronomers. NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), launched in April 2018, focuses on discovering exoplanets by monitoring the brightness of more than 200,000 stars to detect periodic dips caused by the motion of the planets. Black holes are extremely dense objects, whose gravity is so strong that they prevent even light from escaping, making them challenging to detect. They are formed when a massive star is at the end of its life, resulting in a dense region that significantly distorts the surrounding space-time. Exoplanets are planets that orbit other stars and are beyond our solar system.
6 Mashko Piro Tribe
Recently, the Mashco Piro tribe, which had been uncontacted for a long time in Peru , has been discovered due to encroachment and search for food and security. The Mashco Piro is the world’s largest uncontacted tribe, with more than 750 members. They traditionally live in isolation in the Amazon rainforest . They sometimes visit the Yin community , with whom they share a language and ancestry, but because they are not immune to diseases, this contact can be detrimental to their health. During the rubber boom of the 1880s, rubber barons invaded their territory, enslaved them and subjected them to severe abuses. In 2002 Peru established the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve to protect them, but it covers only a third of the proposed area. Located in western South America, Peru is bordered by Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile and the Pacific Ocean.
7 Supreme Court stays Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand government’s order to shopkeepers to display their names on Kanwad Yatra route
The Supreme Court has stayed the order of the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to write the name of the owner on hotels, dhabas and food shops on the Kanwar Yatra route . Justice Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti has asked both the state governments to file a reply in this regard by Friday. However, the bench said that the hotel owners will have to give information about the type of food being served in the hotels. Earlier, on July 18, the Senior Superintendent of Police of Muzaffarnagar had given instructions, in which all the hotel and dhaba owners falling on the Kanwar route were asked to put up their name boards. The very next day on July 19, this instruction was implemented in all the districts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
8 Economic Survey estimates GDP growth rate to be between 6.5 to 7 percent
The Economic Survey 2023-24 has projected GDP growth rate to be between 6.5 and 7 percent for the financial year 2024-25 . Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey in the Lok Sabha on the first day of the Budget session. According to the Survey, despite the uncertain global economic situation in the financial year 2023-24, the increase in domestic financial activities has helped in economic growth. The Survey said that the service sector continues to contribute significantly to the growth of the Indian economy and in the financial year 2024, the contribution of the service sector to the country’s economy was 55 percent. According to interim data, the service sector registered a growth of 7.6 percent.
9 PR Sreejesh will retire from international hockey
On 22 July, Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh announced his retirement from international hockey . He will play his last match at the Paris Olympics . Sreejesh participated in the Olympics 2020 with the Indian national team. India’s men’s hockey team won the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Sreejesh has also won three Asian Games medals including two gold at Incheon 2014 and Hangzhou 2022. Sreejesh made his debut for the Indian national hockey team in 2006. Sreejesh has played a total of 328 hockey matches for his country . PR Sreejesh was awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021. He is the second player to win the World Games Athlete of the Year award in 2021. He has also won consecutive FIH Goalkeeper of the Year awards in 2021 and 2022 .
10 Leander Paes and Vijay Amritraj inducted into Hall of Fame
On 20 July, India’s legendary tennis players Leander Paes and Vijay Amritraj were inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame . They are the first Asian players to be inducted into this list . Leander Paes won the bronze medal in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. Paes has won 18 Grand Slam awards in his career . Paes has also been a part of many Davis Cup matches. Vijay Amritraj led India to the Davis Cup finals in 1974 and 1987. He has made it to the men’s singles quarterfinals twice in Wimbledon and the US Open. Vijay Amritraj’s best ranking in singles was 18th . The Hall of Honor is given to such players who have made an impact in this game. So far, a total of 267 legends from 28 countries have been included in this list.
11 BCCI will give Rs 8.5 crore to Indian Olympic Association for the upcoming Paris Olympics
Board of Control for Cricket in India Secretary Jai Shah has announced a grant of Rs 8.5 crore to the Indian Olympic Association for the Paris Olympic campaign . Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has thanked Mr Shah for the financial assistance. Mr Mandaviya said that the country is proud of every player representing India in the Olympic Games. The Indian team participating in the Paris Olympics has 117 players, including 70 men and 47 women. 140 support members are also part of this team. The 2024 Paris Olympic Games will begin on the 26th of this month.
12 Oscar Piastri wins his first Formula 1 title at the Hungarian GP
Australian driver Oscar Piastri has won the Hungarian Grand Prix held on 21 July 2024. This was his first title win in Formula One racing. The Hungarian Grand Prix was held on 21 July 2024 at the Hungaroring racing track in Mogyorod, a small town in Hungary. Team McLaren’s Formula One driver Oscar Piastri finished first and his teammate Lando Norris finished second. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished third. The 2024 Formula One season will have 24 Grand Prix. The Hungarian Grand Prix was the 13th race of the 2024 season. Last year’s winner Red Bull’s Max Verstappen tops the points table with seven title wins and 265 points, followed by McLaren’s Lando Norris in second place. Formula One is a motor car racing sport organized by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
13 Yuki Bhambri won the 2024 Swiss Open Gstaad tennis doubles title
Indian men’s tennis player Yuki Bhambri has won the 2024 Swiss Open Gstaad men’s doubles title in partnership with Albano Olivetti of France . The 2024 Swiss Open Gstaad was held in the city of Gstaad, Switzerland from 15 to 21 July 2024. It is an ATP 250 star event played on clay courts. This was the 56th edition of the Swiss Open Gstaad tennis event, which began in 1915. The pair of Yuki Bhambri and Olivetti won the title by defeating the French pair of Fabrice Martin and Ugo Humbert in the final played at the Roy Emerson Arena in Gstaad on July 20, 2024. Matteo Berrettini of Italy won his 9th ATP title by defeating Quentin Halys of France in the final . This was Matteo Berrettini’s second Swiss Open Gstaad singles title. He had previously won the singles title in 2018.
14 National Flag Day
National Flag Day of India is celebrated to commemorate the adoption of the Indian National Flag by the Constituent Assembly on 22 July 1947 , a few days before the country gained independence from the British (15 August 1947). The Indian Constituent Assembly, headed by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, adopted the national flag on 22 July 1947. The national flag is a symbol of national pride, unity and freedom struggle and a tribute to the sacrifices of freedom fighters. Introducing the resolution, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said, “It is resolved that the National Flag of India shall be a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesari), white and dark green in equal proportions. In the middle of the white stripe shall be a dark blue circle to represent the spinning wheel. The design of the circle shall be similar to that on the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka . The diameter of the circle shall be approximately equal to the width of the white stripe. The width and length ratio of the flag shall be generally 2:3.” The Assembly unanimously accepted the resolution, thereby reaffirming India’s commitment to independence and future prosperity with the end of British rule.