1 India hosts historic 46th meeting of the World Heritage Committee
India hosted the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting for the first time from 21 to 31 July 2024. This important event held at Bharat Mandapam , New Delhi has proved to be a milestone in India’s long-term engagement with the World Heritage Convention since its inception in 1977. Briefing the media about the outcome of the session, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that 24 new World Heritage Sites were listed in the 46th session of the World Heritage Convention, which include 19 cultural, 4 natural and 1 mixed property . Moidams of Assam became the 43rd World Heritage Site of India , which is a significant achievement as it is the first cultural site of Assam to receive this recognition. Located in Charaideo district, Moidams are sacred burial mounds of the Ahom dynasty, reflecting six centuries of cultural and architectural development.
2 In Rajasthan Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde took oath as Governor of Rajasthan at Raj Bhavan
In Rajasthan, Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde took oath as the Governor of Rajasthan at Raj Bhavan . Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava administered the oath of office to Mr. Bagde. After the swearing-in, Governor Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde was given a guard of honour at Raj Bhavan. Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma , Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani , Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari and Premchand Bairwa along with other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
3 Gulab Chand Kataria sworn in as new Governor of Punjab and Chandigarh Administrator
Gulab Chand Kataria took oath as the new Governor of Punjab and Chandigarh Administrator at Punjab Raj Bhawan . Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Sheel Nagu administered the oath to him. Kataria is the 30th Governor of Punjab. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann , ministers, MLAs and senior officials of Punjab and the Union Territory were also present at the swearing-in ceremony .
4 India appointed as Vice President of Supply Chain Council
In a significant achievement, India and 13 other Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) partners have established three supply chain bodies related to supply chain resilience under the key Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) agreement. The inaugural virtual meetings of the Supply Chain Council (SCC), Crisis Response Network (CRN) and Labour Rights Advisory Board (LRAB) marked a significant step forward in cooperation among partner countries to strengthen supply chain resilience. The 14 IPEF member countries elected a Chair and a Vice Chair for these three supply chain bodies for a term of two years.
- Supply Chain Council: Chairman-USA, Vice Chairman-India.
- Crisis Response Network: Chairman- South Korea, Vice Chairman- Japan.
- Labour Rights Advisory Board: Chairman- USA, Vice Chairman- Fiji.
IPEF was launched on 23 May 2022 in Tokyo, Japan, involving 14 countries, Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States. IPEF aims to strengthen economic engagement and cooperation among participating countries with the goal of advancing growth, economic stability, and prosperity in the region.
5 Sadhana Saxena became the first woman DG of Army Medical Service
On 31 July, Lieutenant General Sadhana Saxena has been appointed as the Director General of Army Medical Service . Sadhana will take over on 1 August. As soon as she takes over, she will become the first woman to work on this post. She was also the first woman officer to be appointed to the post of DG. Sadhana is the second woman medical officer of the Air Force , who has reached the rank of Air Marshal . Earlier, Sadhana was transferred to Delhi on promotional basis from Air Force Training Command Bangalore Headquarters. Her husband KP Nair has retired from the post of DG of Inspection and Flight Safety in 2015. In this way, Sadhana and KP Nair are the first couple in the country to reach the rank of Air Marshal. She has done post graduation in family medicine. Sadhana participated in the training program of Delhi AIIMS for 2 years. She has studied chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear warfare and military medical ethics in Switzerland. Before Sadhana, this achievement was achieved by Air Marshal Padma Bandopadhyay. Padma was posted at the rank of Air Marshal in 2002. The last naval surgeon to reach the three-star rank was Vice Admiral Punita Arora, who has retired. Sadhana Nair graduated from the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune. After this, she joined the Indian Air Force in December 1985.
6 India to host Air Force exercise ‘Taranga Shakti 2024’
India will host the first multinational air force exercise ‘ Taranga Shakti 2024 ‘ in Sular , Tamil Nadu from 6th . About 30 countries will participate in this exercise. Out of thirty countries, ten countries will participate in this exercise with fighter aircraft. This exercise will give India an opportunity to showcase its defense power as well as provide a platform to the participating armies to promote operations with mutual coordination. The first phase of the exercise will be held from 6 to 14 August in Sular, Tamil Nadu and the second phase in Jodhpur, Rajasthan from 29 August to 14 September . In the exercise, 10 countries including Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, United Arab Emirates, UK, USA and Singapore will participate in the exercise with their aircraft and 18 countries will participate as observers. Many fighter aircraft including India’s Tejas, Rafale, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, MiG-29 aircraft will take part in the exercise.
7 AERB approves “First Approach to Criticality” of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has officially approved the “ First Approach to Criticality ” of the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam , Tamil Nadu , India’s first indigenous PFBR. This significant milestone includes fueling the reactor core and the commencement of “Low Power Physics Experiments”. In the upcoming final phase, fuel sub-assemblies will be introduced into the reactor core. Once a sustained nuclear fission chain reaction is achieved, indicating the vitality of the reactor, a series of low power physics experiments will be conducted to further assess and understand the behavior of the reactor. This authorization represents a significant advancement towards operationalization of the PFBR, a key component of India’s nuclear power programme.
8 Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare launches pilot project of e-Health tele-consultation in 12 ECHS polyclinics across the country
The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare launched the pilot project of Electronic Service e-Health Assistance and Tele-Consultation (e-Sehat) service in 12 ECHS polyclinics across the country on July 30, 2024. This includes seven in Delhi NCR (Shakurbasti, Timarpur, Faridabad, Palwal, Khanpur, East Delhi and Hindon) and five in remote locations of Baramulla, Imphal, Churachandpur, Dimapur and Aizawl, ahead of its pan-India rollout in November, 2024. This will enable ECHS beneficiaries to avail tele-consultation for medical treatment without visiting the ECHS polyclinic.
9 NCRTC partners with Airtel Payments Bank for NaMo Bharat Yatris
The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) on Wednesday (31 July) partnered with Airtel Payments Bank to provide a better digital ticketing experience to Namo Bharat passengers . This will enable passengers to travel in Namo Bharat trains with the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) issued by Airtel Payments Bank . Also, passengers will be able to travel with this NCMC from other transport systems across the country . Which accept NCMC for seamless and efficient digital payments. NCMC debit and prepaid cards introduced by Airtel Payments Bank are available at all operational RRTS stations. Passengers can get these NCMC cards from the ticket window by paying a fee. To avail this facility, passengers have to share their mobile number, which will link the NCMC card. These NCMC cards issued will enable seamless travel on Namo Bharat trains and other open-loop transport systems across the country like Delhi Metro, DTC buses and Noida Metro etc. Apart from this, they will also be able to avail the facility of retail purchases, ATM withdrawals and e-commerce transactions with these cards.
10 Now biometric Aadhaar authentication is implemented in GST in Uttarakhand too, the first state in North India and the fourth state in the country
A major initiative has been taken to curb fraud in the name of GST . In fact, Uttarakhand has now become the fourth state in the country and the first state in North India to implement biometric Aadhaar authentication in GST. Earlier, this system was in place in Gujarat, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh . State Finance Minister Dr Premchand Agarwal inaugurated it on Wednesday. In this system, such registration applications submitted under GST will be identified on the portal on the basis of certain risk parameters and data analysis. In this regard, verification of documents and biometric authentication will be done from the GST Facilitation Center notified by the Commissioner. The Minister said that GST Facilitation Center has been established in every office building of the State Tax Department to implement biometric based Aadhaar authentication in the state of Uttarakhand, through which verification of documents and biometric authentication will be ensured.
11 SEBI launches service chatbot for investors
Capital market regulator , Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has launched SEBI Virtual Assistant (Seva) Chatbot to help investors in securities market . The Seva Chatbot is an artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot that will answer certain queries of investors. According to SEBI, the chatbot will have several features, such as providing quotes, answering follow-up questions and the ability to convert speech-to-text and text-to-speech. The Seva Chatbot will enable users to ask questions about the securities market and SEBI’s Grievance Redressal Platform (SCORES). The Grievance Redressal Platform (SCORES) was launched by SEBI in June 2011 as an online platform where an investor can file securities market-related complaints with SEBI online against listed companies and SEBI-registered intermediaries. SEBI has launched SCORES 2.0 with advanced features on April 1, 2024.
12 Hamas leader Ismail Haniya assassinated in Tehran
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniya has been assassinated in Tehran . Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that Haniya was killed along with one of his bodyguards at his residence in the Iranian capital. He had come to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian .