National News

SC ruling on sub-classification of Scheduled Castes

• A seven-judge Bench, headed by CJI DY Chandrachud, in a 6:1 majority ruling, overruled a 2004 judgement in E V Chinnaiah vs State of Andhra Pradesh, which had determined that State Legislatures cannot sub-classify Scheduled Castes for grant of reservation in admissions and public jobs.
• In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court held that the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes would be permissible for granting reservation. This would not violate the President’s exclusive authority under Article 341 to identify Scheduled Castes. The State's power to sub-classify is subject to judicial review.

Additional Info:

State Special

Uttar Pradesh Special

Uttar Pradesh State Capital Region and Other Regions Development Authority Bill 2024

• The UP assembly passed the Uttar Pradesh State Capital Region and Other Regions Development Authority Bill 2024, which will ensure the development of the State Capital Region (SCR) on the lines of the National Capital Region.
• An area of 27,826 sq. km from six districts of Uttar Pradesh, namely, Lucknow, Hardoi, Sitapur, Unnao, Raebareilly, and Barabanki, have been included in the SCR region. 
• The headquarters of the Uttar Pradesh State Capital Region Development Authority will be built in Lucknow.
• The Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh State Capital Region Development Authority will be the Chief Minister, and its Vice Chairman will be the Chief Secretary of the state.

Ayodhya first Solar City of UP

• The Uttar Pradesh government has marked a significant milestone by achieving a 40 MW power generation capacity through solar energy.
• Ayodhya became a prestigious designation of a model solar city under the Uttar Pradesh Solar Energy Policy 2022.

About Uttar Pradesh

MoU between Toyota Kirloskar and Maharashtra

• Toyota Kirloskar has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government to invest ₹20,000 crore in a greenfield project in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, which will focus on manufacturing electric and hybrid cars.

About Maharashtra

4th future city of Telangana: Mucherla

• Telangana unveiled a plan to develop a fourth city after Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Cyberabad, with all facilities at Mucherla and claimed it will be the future city of the State.

About Telangana

International News

2nd Edition of Colombo Security Conclave Seminar

• The Second Edition of Colombo Security Conclave Seminar on "Exchange of Information on Legislations, Cyber Policies, and Incident Mitigation" and Meeting of the Joint Working Group on Cyber Security were successfully hosted by India’s National Security Council Secretariat in collaboration with the National Forensics Science University at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

About CSC

IPEF framework

• USA and India have been elected as Chair and Vice Chair of the Supply Chain Council under Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).

About IPEF

30th meeting of WMCC

• The 30th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was held in New Delhi, two sides reviewed the current situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

About China

Science and Tech

IIT Madras and IDBI

• Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) partnered with IDBI Bank to launch a cybersecurity Lab to develop and deploy security solutions in crucial sectors such as healthcare, fintech and aerospace, among others.
• The ‘IDBI - IITM Secure Systems Lab’ (I2SSL) was inaugurated at IIT Madras campus.

About IDBI

Economy

Alternative Factor Authentication for Transactions

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a draft circular proposing an Alternative Factor Authentication for all transactions to boost digital-payment security.

About RBI

India Ratings GDP Prediction

• India Ratings upgraded India’s FY25 GDP growth projection to 7.5% from an earlier estimate of 7.1%, citing growth momentum set in motion by announcements in the Union Budget.

Other Agencies Predictions

Defence

Exercise Tarang Shakti 2024

• India will host its first multinational air exercise ‘Tarang Shakti 2024’ in two phases, first phase is to be held in Sular, Tamilnadu from 6th to 14th August, and the second phase in Jodhpur, Rajasthan from 29th August to 14th September. 

Books and Authors

India@100: Envisioning Tomorrow’s Economic Powerhouse

• Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyallaunched the book titled ‘India@100: Envisioning Tomorrow’s Economic Powerhouse’ authored by Prof. K V Subramanian in New Delhi.

Call of the Gir

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appreciated the book Call of the Gir written by Rajya Sabha Member Parimal Nathwani.
• The book is based on Gir’s landscapes, which are known for the Asiatic lions.

Person in News

Lt Gen Sadhna Saxena Nair

• Lt Gen Sadhna Saxena Nair made history by becoming the first woman to assume the role of Director General of Medical Services (Army) on August 1, 2024.

About Indian Army

Anshuman Gaekwad

• Legendary Indian cricketer and former coach, and selector Anshuman Gaekwad passed away at the age of 71 in Vadodara, after losing his long battle with cancer.

Ismail Haniyeh

• Palestinian militant group Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an Israeli strike in Iran, where he had been attending the inauguration of the country’s new president.

Important Days

World Ranger Day

• World Ranger Day is observed on July 31, a recently released documentary in South Africa highlights the dangers that rangers face every second of their job, trying to protect precious wildlife from poachers, hunters and traffickers.