India became the third fastest electricity producing country in the world: IEA report

1 India became the third fastest electricity producing country in the world: IEA report

 According to the latest report of the International Energy Agency (IEA), India  has been   ranked third among the countries registering the fastest growth in power generation capacity in the last five years . At the same time, only China and America are ahead of India. The IEA said that the demand for electricity in India is increasing continuously, due to rapid construction in urban and rural areas, increasing use of air conditioners and other appliances in homes, and energy needs of industrial sectors. To meet this growing demand, the country has rapidly expanded power generation from all energy sources. The report states that the main reason for this development is the emphasis on renewable energy. Especially heavy investment has been seen in the field of solar energy. In the last five years, more than half of the total investment in non-fossil fuel in India was made only in solar energy projects. At the same time, in 2024, 83% of the total investment in the country’s power sector went to clean energy projects. With this, India became the largest recipient of financial assistance from Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) for clean energy in 2024. India received project-based funding of about US$2.4 billion in this sector.

2 India and Croatia signed agreements in the field of agriculture, culture and technology and for the establishment of a Hindi Chair at the University of Zagreb

India and Croatia signed four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) during  Prime Minister  Narendra Modi  ‘s  visit to Croatia   , marking a significant step in bilateral relations during the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Croatia. The first MoU   focuses on cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors . The second agreement relates to  a cultural exchange programme for the year 2026-2030 . The third agreement  outlines a programme of  cooperation in science and technology  between the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth of Croatia and the Ministry of Science and Technology of India  . The fourth agreement is for the establishment of a Chair of Hindi at the University of Zagreb  .

3 110 Indian students evacuated from war-torn Iran under ‘Operation Sindhu’ reach New Delhi

110 Indian students evacuated from war-torn Iran under  India’s ‘ Operation Sindhu ‘  have reached home safely. They were first taken to Armenia from Iran. From there they were brought to New Delhi by flight 6E 9487. Their first flight reached the national capital early Thursday morning. The Indian Embassy in Iran helped them reach Armenia. India started Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian citizens from Iran.

4 Shri Ram Bahadur Rai was awarded Padma Bhushan by Home Ministry officials

Veteran journalist and Chairman of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) Trust, Shri Ram Bahadur Rai  was  conferred with  the  ‘ Padma Bhushan ‘ by Shri Satpal Chauhan ,  Director General,  Ministry of Home Affairs . The award comprised a citation bearing the signature and seal of the President of India and an award medal. As Shri Rai could not attend the official Padma Awards ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan , Shri Chauhan presented the award at the IGNCA office along with Director Shri Pandey Pradeep Kumar and other senior officials of the Ministry. Shri Ram Bahadur Rai is currently serving as Chairman of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) Trust and Chancellor of Sri Guru Govind Singh Tricentenary University, Gurgaon. He also guides several other institutions. Inspired by a vision to contribute intellectually to the reconstruction of India, he chose journalism as his path and has over 40 years of experience in the field. Before venturing into journalism, he was actively involved in student politics and movements for about 15 years. Awards and Honours:

• Bhagwan Das Janjagran Journalism Award – 1990
• Hindi Academy, Delhi, Journalism Award – 1994–95
• Integrated Human Philosophy Research and Development Foundation Award-2
• Madhavrao Sapre News Research Institute Award-2010
• Vikalp Sanstha Journalism Award-2010
• Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Award by Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University – 2013
• Madhavrao Sapre National Creative Award by Chhattisgarh Government – ​​2014
• Padma Shri by the President of India – 2015
• Hindi Ratna Award – 2019

5 UPSC launched Pratibha Setu portal

UPSC will help the talented youth who failed to get a place in the merit list   even after  preparing for UPSC competitive examinations for years to get jobs in other fields  . For this, UPSC has started the ‘ Pratibha Setu ‘ portal. Through the portal, verified employers like ministries, public undertakings, autonomous bodies and private companies will be able to connect with those candidates who could not make it to the merit list despite passing all the stages of the examination. Data of 10 thousand candidates is on the portal. Registered institutions will be able to see the age, qualification, contact details of the candidates. Companies and organizations can shortlist them and start the recruitment process. However, the data will contain only the names of those who had given permission to UPSC to share the data at the time of application.

6 Telangana: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy inaugurated Google’s first security engineering center in Asia-Pacific region in Hyderabad

Google  has  opened  its  first security engineering centre in the Asia-Pacific region and the fourth in the world in Hyderabad  . Telangana Chief Minister  A. Revanth Reddy  formally inaugurated the centre. The launch of Google Security Engineering Centre-GSEC took place on June 17 in Delhi with the unveiling of the “ Security Charter for India’s AI-powered transformation ” by tech giant Google. The official release said that GSEC  will focus on protecting users from online fraud, securing enterprise and government infrastructure and building responsible AI . Apart from this, it will also work as a strategic center for developing security solutions. Google spokesperson Gauri Juneja said that the centre will have dedicated teams for technology or fraud detection and technologies using AI. They will work on cyber security, end user security and building responsible AI. The centre will use AI to provide real-time scam alerts through Gemini Nano on Android, detect fraud across Google services such as Google Pay, Search and Gmail, and strengthen Google Play Protect.

7 Competition to develop drug for treatment of sickle cell disease

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs ,   in collaboration with   All  India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi will hold a competition to develop a drug  for  the treatment of sickle cell disease  . Sickle cell disease is highly prevalent in tribal areas. The proposal selected in the competition will be funded up to Rs 10 crore. Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disorder in which red blood cells become abnormally shaped. These cells are stiff and sticky, which can cause them to get stuck in blood vessels and obstruct blood flow.  World Sickle Cell Day is observed every year on June 19  to create awareness about the disease, its impact and the importance of early diagnosis and management.

8 Joint Military Exercise Shakti between India and France begins at La Cavalerie, France

 The 8th joint military exercise Shakti   between India and France began at La Cavalerie, France  . The Indian Army contingent comprises 90 military personnel. It is led by a battalion of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles. The French Army contingent also comprises 90 military personnel. Exercise Shakti is a biennial training event between the armies of India and France. Its aim is to improve interoperability, operational coordination and sharing of mutual experiences. This exercise will express the shared commitment of India and France towards peace, stability and global security.

9 Two new rehabilitation centers will be built in Dudhwa National Park for the conservation of endangered wildlife in UP

The Uttar Pradesh government  led by   Chief Minister  Yogi Adityanath has launched an ambitious scheme  to preserve the natural habitat of rhinos and other endangered wildlife species  . Under this scheme , two new Rhino Rehabilitation Centres (RRC-3 and RRC-4)  will be set up  in  Dudhwa National Park, Lakhimpur . A total amount of Rs 1.5 crore has been sanctioned for the development of these two centres. The aim of this project is to provide safe and natural habitat for rhinos as well as other endangered species, so that they can live a natural life in the natural environment. Dudhwa has previously set many milestones in rhino conservation. A small population of rhinos brought from Nepal was settled here in 1984, which is now gradually increasing.

10 Central government approves 2.35 lakh additional houses under PMAY-Urban 2.0 scheme

Around 2.35 lakh houses have been approved for construction under  Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban 2.0  during the third meeting of  the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee  held on Wednesday. A total of 2,34,864 houses were  approved in the meeting  in nine states  Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.   According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, thus  the total number of houses sanctioned so far under PMAY-U 2.0 has crossed the seven lakh mark  . PMAY-U 2.0  is being implemented through four verticals – Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP), Affordable Rental Housing and Interest Subsidy Scheme.  The houses approved by the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee, headed by the Secretary of the Ministry, Srinivas Katikithala, fall under the Beneficiary Led Construction and Affordable Housing in Partnership verticals of the scheme.

11 Now Election Commission will give voter photo identity card to voters within 15 days

To ensure faster delivery of Voter Photo Identity Cards (EPICs)   to  voters , the Election Commission of India (ECI)  has introduced a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that  will enable delivery of EPICs within 15 days of any update in the electoral roll  , including new enrolment of a voter or change in any details of an existing voter. According to the Election Commission, this initiative was initiated  by Chief Election  Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar  along with Election Commissioners Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi in line with various measures being taken by the ECI for the convenience of voters. The new system will ensure real-time tracking of each stage right from generation of EPIC by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) to delivery of EPIC to the voter through the Department of Posts (DoP). Voters will also receive notifications through SMS at each stage, keeping them informed about the status of their EPIC.

12 Record 54 Indian institutions ranked in QS World University Rankings

A record 54 Indian institutions have been ranked  in  the QS World University Rankings  . In this ranking,  Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi is  the top ranked institution in the country  . In the new edition of the ranking of higher education institutions around the world, IIT Delhi is ranked  123rd  . Earlier this ranking was 150. This is also the highest QS World University Ranking achieved by the institution so far. This time, apart from IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay is also included in the top 150 universities in the QS rankings. IIT Bombay has got 129th rank in the QS rankings this time. But compared to last year, the rank of IIT Bombay has fallen. Last year, IIT Bombay was ranked 118th in the QS rankings. In the year 2015, only 11 institutions of India were ranked in the QS rankings, but this year 54 educational institutions of India have been included in the QS rankings. Also, after America, England and China, India has the highest number of educational institutions included in the QS rankings. Top 10 QS World University Rankings

13 DPIIT ties up with YourStory to boost startup ecosystem

 To promote  the startup ecosystem in the country  , the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)  has  signed an important agreement with Your Story Private Limited  . Your Story is a leading private digital media platform in the country which is active in promoting stories and resources related to startups, entrepreneurship and innovation. The objective of this partnership is to promote inclusive entrepreneurship across the country, especially to help the youth of tier-2, tier-3 cities and rural India to start enterprises. Under this initiative, a target has been set to empower 10 lakh entrepreneurs under a program called ‘The Bharat Project’.

14 Divya Deshmukh defeated world number-1 player in the Blitz semi-final

Divya Deshmukh  won  the blitz semi-final  of  the  second stage  of  the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championship  . Divya defeated world number-1 player Chinese Grandmaster Hou Yifan  , after which PM Modi praised her. Representing ‘ Hexamind Chess Club ‘, 18-year-old Divya defeated Yifan in a thrilling match of 74 moves. In the blitz format, Divya won six out of eight games, registered one draw and just one loss, giving her an elite performance rating of 2606.