1 Vikram Misri takes over as Foreign Secretary
Vikram Misri took over as Foreign Secretary on 15 July . Vikram has been appointed in place of former Foreign Secretary Mohan Kwatra . Vikram Misri is a 1989 batch IFS officer. Vikram was earlier the Deputy National Security Advisor of the country. Vikram was appointed to the NSA Secretariat in 2022. He was appointed as India’s Ambassador to China in 2020. He has worked in Indian embassies in Brussels and Tunis. He was ambassador to Spain in 2014 and Myanmar in 2016. Vikram Misri has also been the private secretary to 3 Prime Ministers. He has worked during the tenure of Inder Kumar Gujral in 1997, Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2012 and Narendra Modi in 2014. Vikram was born on 7 November 1964 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
2 KP Sharma Oli became the PM of Nepal for the fourth time
On 15 July, Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli took oath as the Prime Minister of Nepal for the fourth time . President Ram Chandra Paudel administered the oath of office to Oli at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Prachanda government fell on 12 July after failing to prove the vote of confidence. Oli has the support of 166 MPs, including 78 from UML and 88 from Nepali Congress. After leaving the monarchy and adopting the Constitution in 2008, 13 different governments have been formed in Nepal. Oli was the Prime Minister of Nepal for 10 months in 2015, 40 months in 2018 and 3 months in 2021. Oli’s political career started at the age of 12. KP Sharma Oli was born on 23 February 1952 in Tehrathum, Nepal.
3 Captain Awahilash Rawat and his crew awarded IMO honour for exceptional bravery at sea
Oil tanker Captain Awahilash Rawat and his crew have received the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea 2024. They were honoured for their ” determination and perseverance ” during a rescue operation in the Red Sea where they faced a serious fire when their ship was attacked by an anti-ship missile, believed to have been fired by Iran -backed Houthi rebels . The IMO invites nominations from Member States annually to honour seafarers for exceptional bravery at sea, which are reviewed by an evaluation panel of experts.
4 Uttarakhand opens its first bird gallery, high-resolution photographs of birds of Uttarakhand in the gallery
The research wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department has set up Uttarakhand’s first bird gallery at the Nature Education Centre at Jolly Grant in Dehradun . The gallery displays high-resolution photographs of Uttarakhand’s birds , giving visitors a fascinating glimpse of the state’s birds. Uttarakhand has the highest number of bird species in India , with over 710 species , which is more than 50 percent of the country’s bird species. The bird gallery will facilitate conservation of bird species and create awareness about bird species.
5 India releases first tranche of $2.5 million for Palestinian students
India today released the first installment of $2.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees – UNRWA for the year 2024-25 . India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations said in a social media post that India had announced a contribution of five million dollars for the main programs and services of the UN agency. This includes health, education, relief and social services provided to Palestinian refugees. The Indian mission has said that in the last few years, India has provided financial assistance of three and a half million dollars till 2023-24 through the United Nations agency to provide assistance to Palestinian refugees. At the recent UNRWA conference held in New York, India had announced that apart from financial assistance, it would also provide medicines for Palestinian refugees based on the specific request of the agency.
6 India’s retail digital payments likely to double to seven trillion dollars by 2030: Report
A joint study by Kearney and Amazon Pay said that India’s retail digital payments are expected to double to seven trillion dollars by 2030. According to the study titled ‘ How Urban India Pays ‘, India’s digital payments for retail transactions are set to grow to $3.6 trillion in fiscal year 2023-24, from $300 billion in fiscal year 2017-18. UPI transactions in India were launched on April 11, 2016. The digital transaction level has seen a 138 percent increase in Unified Payment Interface-UPI payment levels from fiscal year 2018 to 2024. The report also said that India’s e-commerce market is expected to grow 21 percent by 2030 from $75 billion in 2022. In India, 10 percent of the digital transaction value is from transactions involving cards and digital wallets. According to the report, in 2022, India’s digital transactions alone accounted for 46 percent of the total digital payments in the world.
7 America: Donald Trump was officially nominated as the presidential candidate by the Republican Party
Former US President Donald Trump has been officially nominated as the presidential candidate from the Republican Party . His nomination became official after he received a majority of the delegates of the Republican National Committee in Milwaukee. This is Mr Trump’s third consecutive nomination after winning in 2016 and losing to President Joe Biden in 2020. The US presidential election is going to be held in November this year. Mr Trump announced that Ohio Senator J.D. Vance will be his vice-presidential candidate. He is a former venture capitalist and author of the autobiography Hillbilly Elegy. Mr Vance’s selection comes at a time of turbulent election campaign after the shooting at a rally of Mr Trump on Saturday last week.
8 Global conference on space research begins in South Korea
The global conference on space research has begun in Busan city of South Korea . According to the Korea Aerospace Administration, about three thousand space scientists and industry officials from 60 countries participated in this 45th Scientific Assembly of the Space Research Committee. South Korea is hosting the biennial global conference for the first time.
9 The annual pilgrimage of Shri Ashta Dashbhuja Mata Sarthal Devi in Jammu and Kashmir started from Kishtwar district
The annual pilgrimage of Shri Ashta Dashbhuja Mata Sarthal Devi started from Kishtwar district in Jammu and Kashmir . The pilgrimage started with a grand havan organized at Gauri Shankar Temple Sarkoot in which a large number of devotees offered sacrifices. Chhadi Mubarak passed through various important places in the grand procession. Today Maha Yagya will be performed at Sarthal Devi Temple. The district administration and police have made extensive arrangements for security and convenience. Sarthal Devi is considered as the Kul Devi in this region . This historic pilgrimage has been organized since the Dogra rule .
10 The doors of the ancient temple “Uma Bhagwati” in Anantnag district opened for devotees after 34 years
The doors of the ancient temple “ Uma Bhagwati ” in Anantnag district of South Kashmir were opened for devotees after 34 years . Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai opened the doors of the temple with his lotus hands. On this occasion, thousands of devotees from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir, especially Kashmiri Pandits, were present to worship Goddess “Uma Bhagwati”. During the re-inauguration ceremony, the idol of Goddess Uma brought from Rajasthan was placed in the sanctum sanctorum. Uma Bhagwati Temple in Barari Angan of South Kashmir is an ancient temple where devotees used to come in large numbers from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir to have darshan of Goddess “Uma Bhagwati” . This temple is situated between five waterfalls including Brahma Kund, Vishnu Kund, Rudra Kund and Shiva Shakti Kund.
11 Swadeshi Agribot MX drone has arrived for the farmers of southern states, will help in spraying
At the conclusion of the 22nd five-day Agri Intex fair held under the aegis of the District Small Industries Association in Coimbatore , Tamil Nadu , the indigenous Agribot MX drone of IOTech World, a leader in agricultural drone technology, was unveiled. This information has been given in a press release from IOTech World. IOTech World is a leader in drone technology used in agriculture. Deepak Bhardwaj and Anup Upadhyay, co-founders and directors (duo) of IOTech World, have said that it has been specially designed for progressive farmers of the southern states of the country who are keen on advanced spraying. This drone is equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The drone includes radar-based ADAS and terrain following capability. He said that ADAS is an advanced drone assistance system. It automatically changes the path of the drone in case of an obstruction in spraying.
12 Squalus hima new species of dogfish shark
Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new species of dogfish shark, Squalus hima, in the deep waters of Shakthikulangara fishing harbour off the Arabian Sea coast , Kerala . Squalus is a genus of dogfish sharks in the family Squalidae . Commonly known as spurdogs, they are characterized by smooth dorsal fins with spines. On the Indian coast, two species of Squalus are found off the southwestern coast of India and a new species, Squalus hima n.sp. It is similar to Squalus lalani but differs from it in several features. Squalus megalops has a short, pointed nose, a small mouth as wide as the nose, a well-proportioned body and their anterior dorsal fin originates behind their pectoral fins. The liver oil of Squalus and Centrophorus species is used in pharmaceutical industries to manufacture high-end cosmetics and anti-cancer drugs due to its high content of squalene.
13 Carlos Alcaraz, Barbora Krejcikova win 2024 Wimbledon tennis title
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Barbora Krejcikova of Czech Republic won the men’s and women’s singles titles respectively at the 2024 Wimbledon Tennis Championships . It was the second consecutive Wimbledon singles title for Carlos Alcaraz and the first Wimbledon singles title for Barbora Krejcikova. The 137th edition of the All England Championships, popularly known as the Wimbledon Championships, was held in Wimbledon, England from 1–14 July 2024. It is the third Grand Slam event of a calendar year after the Australian Open and the French Open. The 2024 Men’s Singles Final was a repeat of the previous year where champion Carlos Alcaraz faced Novak Djokovic of Serbia. It was the fourth Grand Slam singles title for Alcaraz. Barbora Krejcikova of Czech Republic won her second Grand Slam singles title by defeating Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the final of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships played on 13 July 2024.
14 Spain won the Euro Cup for the fourth time
On 14 July, Spain won the Euro Cup football title for a record fourth time. They defeated England 2-1 in the final played at Berlin ‘s Olympia Stadium . In the 90-minute match, Nico Williams (47th minute) and substitute player Mikel Oyarzabal (86th minute) scored for Spain. Cole Palmer scored the only goal for England (73rd minute). Spain’s Nico Williams received the Player of the Match award. Rodri was chosen as the Player of the Tournament, he scored one goal in the tournament. Lamine Yamal was chosen as the Young Player of the Tournament. Lamine scored one goal in the tournament and made the most 4 assists. This is England’s second consecutive defeat in the Euro Cup final. Earlier, in the 2020 Euro Cup final played under their own hosting, they had to face defeat from Italy.
15 Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 to win the Copa America title for a record 16th time
On 14 July, Argentina won the Copa America Football Cup title for a record 16th time. Argentina defeated Colombia 1-0 in the final played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami . The score remained 0-0 in the scheduled 90 minutes of play, the match went into extra time. Lautaro Martinez scored for Argentina in the 112th minute of the match. This lead remained till the end and the team captained by Lionel Messi won the match 1-0 and became the champion. This is Argentina’s second consecutive title win in Copa America. Earlier in 2021, the team defeated Brazil in the final. Colombia last played the 2001 final 23 years ago and became the champion in its own hosting.