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• Prime Minister Narendra Modi to participate in a programme commemorating Sri Aurobindo’s 150th birth anniversary at 5 PM via video conferencing

• Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to preside over celebrations of the 60 years of Customs Act, 1962, in presence of Union MoS for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, Janpath, New Delhi at 6 PM

• Union MoS MeitY & MoS for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar to attend two-day India Global Forum at Dubai

• Four-day meeting of G20 Development Working Group (DWG) to begin in Mumbai under India's Presidency

• Two-day 1st Finance & Central Bank Deputies Meeting under the G20 Presidency of India to begin in Bengaluru

• BJP Parliamentary Party meeting to be held at Parliament Library Building in New Delhi

• Winter Session of two houses of Bihar state legislature to begin in Patna

• Supreme Court to hear a plea filed by Bilkis Bano, who was gangraped & seven members of her family killed during 2002 Gujarat riots, challenging remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the case by state government

• Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to address party functionaries in Meghalaya for preparing a roadmap for assembly elections in northeastern state due early next year

• Bidhannagar Mela (Utsav) to begin in Salt Lake, Kolkata

• At least 17 reputed scientists to address & interact with students during Manohar Parrikar Vidnyan Mahotsav to be held in Panaji,Goa

• Students Federation of India (SFI) national meet to begin in Hyderabad

• Four–day Nagaland Open Basketball Championship to begin at Imkongmeren Sports Complex, Basketball court, Mokokchung

Courtesy: newsonair

For the second time in two years, the Ministry of Women and Child Development on Saturday rejected the Global Hunger Index (GHI) that ranked India 107 among 121 countries. India was accorded a score of 29.1 out of 100 (with 0 representing no hunger), placing it behind Sri Lanka (66), Myanmar (71), Nepal (81) and Bangladesh (84). It referred to the index as “an erroneous measure of hunger”.

The GHI, is a peer­reviewed annual report that endeavours to “comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels”. Authors of the report primarily refer to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) that endeavours to achieve ‘Zero Hunger’ by 2030. According to them, the report attempts to “raise awareness and understanding of the struggle against hunger”. The GHI score is computed using four broad indicators — undernourishment (measure of the proportion of the population facing chronic deficiency of dietary energy intake), child stunting (low height for age), child wasting (low weight for height) and child mortality (death of a child under the age of five).

The Lok Sabha has passed the  National Anti-Doping Bill,2021 by voice vote. The bill provides for constitution of the National Anti-Doping Agency- NADA for regulating anti-doping activities in sports.  Its functions include planning, implementing, and monitoring anti-doping activities as well as investigating anti-doping rule violations. It also seeks to give effect to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation International Convention against doping in sports and compliance of such other obligations and commitments. 

The government has launched Coking Coal Mission to meet the demand for domestic coking coal. Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said this in a written reply in Lok Sabha today. He said, the government has taken steps to explore new coking coal blocks, auction of new coking coal mines, enhance raw coking coal production, and enhance coking coal washing capacity. The Minister said, Coal India Limited has undertaken constant efforts to enhance coking coal production by capacity addition of existing coking coal producing mines and by opening new coking coal blocks

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted CRPF personnel and their families on the Raising Day of the paramilitary Force. In a tweet, Mr Modi said, CRPF has distinguished itself for its unflinching courage and distinguished service. He said, the role of CRPF, be it in addressing security challenges or humanitarian challenges is commendable.

Kerala Government has given nod to exclude residential areas from the buffer zone surrounding protected forests. The State Cabinet today decided to amend the controversial Government order issued in this regard and asked the Forest Department to go ahead with legal remedial measures. The March 2019 order directed to identify areas within the one-kilometer radius around protected forest ranges as a buffer zone with no relaxation to human habitations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the 42nd Convocation of the prestigious Anna University in Chennai on Friday. During the programme, he will award gold medals and certificates to 69 gold medalists. The Prime Minister will also address the gathering on the occasion. Established in 1978, Anna University is named after C. N. Annadurai, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. It has three regional campuses - Tirunelveli, Madurai, and Coimbatore

Kerala Government has decided to launch measures to achieve complete digital literacy in the State. Addressing a school programme in Thiruvananthapuram, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, the initiative is  to make the people, especially children aware of the traps and threats in cyberspace. He pointed out that smartphones had become part of everyone's daily life and a significant tool for online education in post -Covid period. Children cannot be kept away from digital space for ever but their safety and security should be ensured through awareness, the Chief Minister said.

For the first time in the history of Bangladesh women outnumber men in its total population. The preliminary result of the 6th population census of Bangladesh recorded 8.33 crore women, 8.17 crore men, and 12,629 hijras in the total population. Releasing the summary data of the 6th Population and Housing Census 2022 conducted last month, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) revealed that the total population of the country increased from 14.4 crore in 2011 to 16.51 crore in 2022. Bangladesh recorded an average annual population growth rate of 1.22 percent., down from the average annual population growth rate of 1.37 percent recorded in 2011.

India lost two valiant peacekeepers of Border Security Force deployed with UN Peace Keeping Contingent, MONUSCO in Democratic Republic of Congo during violent protest yesterday. They included Head Constable Shishupal Singh and Head Constable Sanwala Ram Vishnoi.

The colourful opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games will begin 28.07.2022 at 11:30 PM IST at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham   England. More than thirty thousand people will witness the opening ceremony.  The mega event is being held at 16 different places in England. Two hundred and 15 players from India will be participating in 16 events. Ace Indian Shuttler P.V.Sindhu will lead Indian contingent. More than five thousand athletes across 72 countries are participating in 280 medal events in the Commonwealth Games

Union Cabinet has approved the signing of guarantees for hosting Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Under 17 Women's World Cup 2022 in India. The tournament is scheduled to be held between 11th and 30th October this year. The seventh edition of the biennial youth tournament will be the first-ever FIFA women's competition to be hosted by India. It will encourage more youngsters to participate in sports and help develop the sport of football in India

In England, the Leicester Cricket Ground has been named after India's legendary cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar. The former Indian cricket team captain Gavaskar is often considered one of the most skilled batters ever. He was the first cricketer to score 10,000 runs and once held the record for most number (34) of centuries. During the 70s and 80s, when West Indies were ruling world cricket, Gavaskar was impressed with his impressive technique against the Windies' fast bowlers. He was also part of the Indian team that won the 1983 World Cup.

International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed that India will host the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup. India, Bangladesh, England and Sri Lanka were named as the four hosts for ICC women’s white-ball events from 2024-27. Bangladesh will host the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, while the 2026 edition will be held in England. Sri Lanka has secured hosting rights for the Women’s T20 Champions Trophy, slated for 2027, provided it qualifies for the event.

The Defence Acquisition Council DAC headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today approved Arms procurement proposals worth 28 thousand 732 crore rupees under Buy Indian Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured IDDM category giving a further boost to AtmaNirbharta in Defence. Considering the demand for enhanced protection against the threat of enemy snippers to our troops deployed along the Line of Control and in close combat operations in counter-terrorism scenarios, DAC accorded Acceptance of Necessity AoN for Bullet Proof Jackets with Indian Standard BIS VI level of protection.

The Central Government has amended the Foreign Contribution (Regulation)  Rules, 2022 aiming to reduce the compliance burden on citizens. The Minister of State for Home Affairs in a press release today said, as per the amended rule any person receiving Foreign contributions of more than 10 Lakh rupees in a financial year from relatives has to intimate to Central Government within three months of receipt. Earlier such monetary threshold limit was one Lakh rupees and intimation to Central Govt. was required within thirty days

Kargil Vijay Diwas will be celebrated across the country today. The Nation will remember its war heroes and pay tributes to the Martyrs on Kargil Vijay Diwas. The day marks the victory of the Indian armed forces in Operation Vijay in 1999 when they evicted the infiltrators backed by the Pakistani army from high outposts in the Kargil sector. The Kargil war was fought for more than 60 days and ended with India regaining control of all the previously held territory. The victory of Tiger Hill was one of the crucial achievements in the 60- day long conflict. Indian soldiers fought the Kargil War under the toughest conditions, on difficult terrain, at an altitude of 18 thousand feet.

FILE PICOver three crore 26 lakh farmers have been issued Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) since February 2020 till this month with a sanctioned limit of three crore 70 lakh rupees. Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Chaudhary informed this during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha today. Replying to supplementaries, the Minister said, the government has taken a special saturation drive to issue Kisan Credit Card aiming to cover about 2.5 crore farmers to provide concessional credit to PM-KISAN beneficiaries.

The Lok Sabha today passed the Family Courts’ Amendment Bill, 2022 by voice vote. It validates the existence of the three family courts in Himachal Pradesh and Two in Nagaland with retrospective effect. The bill also seeks validation of the decisions taken by the two states and the family courts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Gujarat and Tamil Nadu on 28th and 29th of July. At around 12 Noon on Thursday, Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple projects of Sabar Dairy at Gadhoda Chowki, Sabarkantha in Gujarat.

The 23rd Anniversary of ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’ will conclude today at Drass War Memorial. The celebration started from 29th June which comprised a series of events and activities undertaken by Army, Air Force and civil individuals and organization as a mark of honour and commemoration of the saga of bravery exhibited during the War. AIR correspondent reports after a short while the Chief Guest of the event will arrive and will Flag in the Kargil Vijay Diwas Motor Cycle Rally and will receive the Kargil Victory Flame. The event will conclude with the wreath laying ceremony at the Kargil War Memorial.

The 44th Chess Olympiad kicks off in Chennai from Thursday. It will be held till 10th of next month. The prestigious competition, which is being organised since 1927, is being hosted in India for the first time and after 30 years in Asia. With 189 countries participating, this will be the largest participation in any Chess Olympiad. Meanwhile, teams of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago and Aruba arrived in Delhi today.

The 36th All India Postal Weight Lifting and Power Lifting Competition will be organized by Rajasthan Postal Circle Jaipur from today to July 29.  Governor of Rajasthan Kalraj Mishra to inaugurate the competition at Indoor Stadium of Sawai man Singh Stadium Jaipur today. About 160 players of Indian Postal Department from Rajasthan and other circles will participate in the competition.

Russia has decided to quit the International Space Station after 2024. Moscow's space agency Roscosmos's newly-appointed chief  Yury Borisov today announced the decision. President Vladimir Putin was also briefed about it. The announcement comes as tensions rage between the Kremlin and West over Moscow's military operation in Ukraine and several rounds of unprecedented sanctions against Russia. Russia and the United States have worked side by side on the space station which has been in orbit since 1998. Yury Borisov also told Putin that in spite of this decision, space programme will continue to get top priority and Russia will start putting together a Russian orbital station before 2024.

Three Chinese astronauts aboard the country’s under construction space station Tiangong, successfully entered the Wentian lab module in orbit for the first time on Monday, according to the China Manned Space Agency. China launched its space laboratory called Wentian on Sunday, sending the country's largest-ever spacecraft into Earth's orbit to become part of the under-construction space station. The Wentian module consists of a work cabin, an airlock cabin, and a resource cabin.

President Droupadi Murmu greeted the nation on the eve of Kargil Vijay Diwas saying that this day is the symbol of courage of the country's armed forces. She also remembered the contribution of freedom fighters and stressed the need to speed up efforts to meet the expectations that India's freedom fighters had with the citizens of independent India.

The Government has created the Defence Investor Cell to provide necessary information including addressing queries related to investment opportunities, procedures and regulatory requirements for investment in the Defence sector

The government today clarified that fresh milk and pasteurised milk are fully exempted from Goods and Service Tax (GST). Further, milk products like curd, lassi, butter milk and paneer are also exempted from GST if sold in forms other than those pre-packaged and labelled.

Ms Droupadi Murmu was sworn in as the 15th President of India today. She was administered oath by Chief Justice of India N. V. Ramana at the Central Hall of Parliament. Speaking on this occasion, President Droupadi Murmu said, this is the beauty of Indian democracy that a poor lady from a far-flung area has become the President. She said, reaching the Presidential post is not her personal achievement, it is the achievement of every poor in India. She added that her nomination is evidence that the poor in India can not only dream but also fulfill those dreams.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described Droupadi Murmu assuming the Presidency as a watershed moment for India, especially for the poor, marginalized and downtrodden. In a series of tweets, Mr Modi said, the entire nation watched with pride as Ms Droupadi Murmu took oath as the President of India. He said, in her address after taking an oath, President Murmu gave a message of hope and compassion

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Headquarters Building of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) in Gujarat on Friday. IFSCA is the unified regulator for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in International Financial Services Centres in India. The headquarters building of IFSCA has been conceptualised as an iconic structure, reflective of the growing prominence and stature of Gujarat International Finance Tec, GIFT as a leading International Financial Centre.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Headquarters Building of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) in Gujarat on Friday. IFSCA is the unified regulator for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in International Financial Services Centres in India. The headquarters building of IFSCA has been conceptualised as an iconic structure, reflective of the growing prominence and stature of Gujarat International Finance Tec, GIFT as a leading International Financial Centre.

The First Khelo India Women’s Fencing League & Ranking tournament is underway at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium today. The tournament is organized by the Fencing Association of India under the aegis of the Sports Authority of India & Khelo India. The tournament is hosted by Delhi State Fencing Association from 25th July to 29th July.

215-member Indian athlete contingent across 16 disciplines is all set to participate in the Commonwealth Games beginning on July 28 in Birmingham. Sports Authority of India has started a new initiative to cheer for Team India with the campaign "Create for India."

IndiaTokyo Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra created history by winning  Silver medal in men's javelin throw event at World Athletics Championships. In the prestigious competition held at Eugene in Oregon, United States, the champ grabbed second position with his best throw of 88.13 metres this morning. Grenadian javelin thrower Anderson Peters won the gold medal with a throw of 90.54 meters.