National News

NATS 2.0

• Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the National Apprenticeship and Training Scheme 2.0 Portal and disbursed 100 crore rupees stipends to apprentices through the DBT mode in New Delhi.

Initiatives/Schemes related to Education

Conference of Governors

• President Droupadi Murmu will preside over a two-day Conference of Governors commencing on July 5 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• This Conference will be the first Conference of Governors to be presided over by the President.

Articles Related to Governor

National Anthem

• The Himachal Pradesh government has made singing the national anthem compulsory during morning prayers in all schools across the state.

About National Anthem

Uttar Pradesh Special

Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment ) Bill 2024 by UP

• Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly passed the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment ) Bill 2024.
• Current amendments have a provision of punishment of 3 to 10 years for illegal religious conversion in the state and a punishment of 7 to 14 years for mass religious conversions and religious conversions with foreign funds.

Uttar Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill 2024

• Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the Uttar Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill 2024, to check the use of unfair means, question paper leaks in public examination and proscribe solver gangs, includes provisions for life imprisonment, fines up to ₹1 crore and attachment of property for those found guilty of exam malpractices.

About Uttar Pradesh

International News

83rd edition of the prestigious Madras-Colombo Regatta

• Sri Lanka is set to host the 83rd edition of the prestigious Madras-Colombo Regatta on 3rd August in Colombo.
• The Madras Boat Club and the Colombo Rowing Club participants will showcase their rowing prowess.

About Sri Lanka

Defence

Suvidha Software Version 1.0

• Indian Coast Guard (ICG) launched ‘Suvidha Software Version 1.0’ during its maiden ‘Annual Operational Sea Training Conference’ at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• It is a cutting-edge tool designed to enhance training protocols and ensure consistency across all ICG platforms.

About ICG

3 state-of-the-art testing facilities in UP

• The Ministry of Defence (MoD) inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up three state-of-the-art testing facilities under the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC). 
• One facility will be established in Lucknow in Mechanical & Material (M&M) domain, and two in Kanpur - one each in Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and Communications domains.

Defence Industrial Corridors in India

Science and Tech

Launch of MIRA

• Innovations for Defence Excellence-Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO), the flagship initiative of Ministry of Defence, has signed an MoU with Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) for the launch of Medical Innovations and Research Advancement (MIRA), in New Delhi.

First Approach to Criticality" of the 500 MWe PFBR

• The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has officially granted permission for the "First Approach to Criticality" of the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, India’s first indigenous PFBR.

Major Nuclear Power Stations in India

56th International Chemistry Olympiad 2024

• India won one Gold, two Silver and one Bronze medal at 56th International Chemistry Olympiad (ICO) 2024, held in Riyadh city of Saudi Arabia.
• Devesh Bhaiyya from Maharashtra won gold while Mumbai’s Avanish Bansal and Hyderabad’s Harshin Posina grabbed silver medals.

About ICO

E-SeHAT

• The Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) has launched the Electronic Services e-Health Assistance and Tele-consultation (E-SeHAT) module.
• The E-SeHAT would enable ECHS beneficiaries in obtaining online Tele-consultation for medical treatment from their homes without visiting the ECHS Polyclinic.

Major Initiatives Related to Ex-Servicemen

Economy 

Journey Towards Viksit Bharat: A Post Union Budget 2024-25 Conference

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural session of ‘Journey Towards Viksit Bharat: A Post Union Budget 2024-25 Conference’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

About CII

U.S. second largest supplier of LNG to India

• The U.S. emerged as India’s second largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2023, accounting for 3.09 million tonnes (mt). LNG is emerging as a substitute fuel in the transition towards green energy.

About LNG

Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme

• • Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada informed the Lok Sabha that the government has approved seven hundred 55 applications across 14 sectors and realised one crore 23 lakh rupees till March 2024 under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, and around 8 lakh employment has been generated.

About PLI Scheme

Awards and Honours

Kendriya Sahitya Akademi‘s Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2024

• Krishnamurthy Biligere was awarded with the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2024 for his book Choomantrayyana Kathegalu in Kannada language, is in bengaluru for a book or organic farming event.

About Sahitya Akademi

Sports

Paris Olympics 2024

• Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh clinched a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team shooting event after defeating South Korea.
• Bhaker became the first athlete in the history of independent India to win two medals in a single Olympics edition.

Person in News

Preeti Sudan

• Ex-IAS Preeti Sudan has been appointed as new Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Chairman.

About UPSC

Masoud Pezeshkian

• Iran’s newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian took the oath of office before the Parliament to formally start his four-year term.

About Iran