India has officially announced that former Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra is India’s Ambassador to the USA.

He is expected to assume charge shortly. Kwatra was working on an extension post-retirement as the Foreign Secretary until July 14th, following which Vikram Misri was appointed as Foreign Secretary.

Kwatra is a career diplomat, however, he is a political appointee for his upcoming assignment.

India’s last Ambassador to the US was Taranjit Singh Sandhu who retired in January this year and since February the position has been lying vacant.

In a major boost to its defence capabilities, India on Thursday approved a major plan to build military airfields in Lakshadweep island territories to keep an eye on growing Chinese activities in the region and expand its reach.

The Central government, at a high-level meeting held on Thursday, cleared the proposals, defence sources told ANI.

The proposal from the three services led by the Department of Military Affairs is to build a new airbase in Minicoy islands and extend the existing air field on Agatti island in the Arabian Sea on western side of India, they said.

The dual-purpose airfields, which would also be used by commercial airlines, would be capable of deploying and operating all types of fighter and transport aircraft, along with long-range drones and would give an edge to the Indian forces in the region.

A new study carried out by a group of 32 scientists from 10 countries including India spotted the smaller black hole of a pair, establishing the ‘sight’ of an orbiting blackhole for the first time.

The other countries from where scientists include the mission are Finland, Poland, China, USA, Czech Republic, Japan, Germany, Spain, and Italy.

Several international research groups have already confirmed the theory that there are two black holes at the center of the four billion light years distant galaxy OJ 287, first suggested by astronomers at the University of Turku, Finland.

India saw the highest 163 per cent growth globally in generating electronic waste from screens, computers, and small IT and telecommunication equipment (SCSIT) between 2010 and 2022, according to a United Nations Trade and Development (Unctad) report.

The ‘2024 Digital Economy Report: Shaping an environmentally sustainable and inclusive digital future’ notes that India doubled its share in SCSIT waste generation in the world from 3.1 per cent in 2010 to 6.4 per cent in 2022. The report states that developing countries in Asia generated most of such waste in 2022, with China contributing almost half of it.

The book ‘Wings to Our Hopes, Volume I,’ which compiles 75 significant speeches from the first year of President Droupadi Murmu’s tenure, will be released in New Delhi today. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will release the e-book in the presence of Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The Publication Division has published this book. The book will be released in Hindi and English. 

A new book chronicling the work and adventures of Sudipta Sengupta, a pioneering geologist-mountaineer and one of the first Indian women to set foot in Antarctica in 1983, will hit the stands on July 24.

"Breaking Rocks and Barriers", published by HarperCollins India, narrates Sengupta's adventures as a geologist studying and doing fieldwork in remote areas across the world — from encounters with snakes in mines of Bihar and trekking across a 'black glacier' in Norway to being engulfed by a thundercloud in Sweden and being greeted by a flock of penguins in Antarctica.

Sengupta was part of the Third Indian Expedition to Antarctica that ran from December 3, 1983, to March 25, 1984.

Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new species of deep-water dogfish shark Squalus hima from Sakthikulangara fishing harbour in Kerala along the Arabian Sea.

Squalus is a genus of dogfish sharks in the family Squalidae. commonly known as spurdogs, and are characterized by smooth dorsal fin spines.

The discovery has been made by a team of scientists led by Bineesh K. K Scientist at the Marine Biology Regional Centre of ZSI and the discovery has recently been published in the journal Records of the ZSI.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) organised an event on 18th July 2024, named “Utkrishtata ki Ore Badhte Kadam: Celebrating Achievements, Inspiring Excellence” to felicitate best performers under PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Yojana and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM).

Shri Manohar Lal, Minister, MoHUA, expressed his gratitude to all the stakeholders, including Central Ministries and State Governments, Urban Local Bodies, Lending Institutions, and partners, for their enormous support and contribution to the success of the schemes.

The event was attended by Shri Manohar Lal, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, as Chief Guest, Shri Tokhan Sahu, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, MoHUA and senior officials from Central Government, State Governments, Lending Institutions, Digital Payment Aggregators, key partners and most importantly, the beneficiaries of DAY-NULM and PM SVANidhi.

The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), a public sector enterprise under the aegis of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB), have joined hands with Netflix India to launch an upskilling programme for voice-over artists in India called 'The Voicebox'.

According to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting press release, Prithul Kumar, Managing Director, National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Joint Secretary (Broadcasting II), MoIB, and Kiran Desai, General Counsel, and Senior Director, Business and Legal Affairs, Netflix India, signed the MoU to formalise the partnership, which aligns with NFDC and Netflix's combined vision to promote Indian cinema and nurture talent in the media and entertainment industry.

Star batter Suryakumar Yadav will lead Team India in the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad on Thursday. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma will be leading the ODI side.

T20I scene

Shubman Gill who led the Men in Blue in the recently concluded T20I series against Zimbabwe, will be Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy in the forthcoming three-match 20-over series against Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, star India all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who last led the team was not given the responsibility to lead the side.

Pacers Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant were also called in the T20I squad after they were given rest for India’s tour of Zimbabwe.