Paraguay has become the 100th country to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) as a full member. The South American nation officially handed over its Instrument of Ratification to the ISA in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The ceremony took place during a meeting between Paraguay’s Ambassador to India, Fleming Raul Duarte, and Abhishek Singh, Joint Secretary of Economic Diplomacy and States Division at India’s Ministry of External Affairs. Singh, who serves as the Head of Depository for the ISA, received the ratification document.

The ISA, co-founded by India and France during the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, aims to promote solar energy deployment worldwide. It serves as a collaborative platform for member countries to increase energy access, ensure energy security, and drive the transition towards sustainable energy sources.

June 27 is observed as Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Day every year. On April 6, 2017, the UN General Assembly decided to observe this day to raise public awareness of their contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

According to a report by the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) make up over 90 percent of all firms and account on average for 60-70 percent of total employment.

The United Nations (UN) also reported that they account for half of global GDP. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Building a Stronger Future Together.” The 2024 MSME Day provides an opportunity for key stakeholders, including large corporations, financial institutions, policymakers, and the international community, to discuss and exchange ideas on how to support MSMEs businesses in advancing the 2030 Agenda and contributing to the achievement of sustainable development goals, such as poverty eradication and decent work for all.

In an advancement for tuberculosis research, scientists at Indian Institute of Science created a novel 3D hydrogel culture system that closely mimics the human lung. This provides a platform to track and study how tuberculosis bacteria infect lung cells and test the efficacy of therapeutics used to treat the infection.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a dangerous pathogen.

In 2022, it affected 10.6 million people and caused 1.3 million deaths, according to World Health Organisation.

Led by Rachit Agarwal, associate professor at the department of bioengineering, the IISc team addressed limitations of traditional 2D culture models. These older models fail to replicate the complex 3D structure of lung tissue, potentially skewing research results. “It is a very old bug, and it has evolved with us quite a bit,” said Agarwal, who’s a corresponding author of the study, published in Advanced Healthcare Materials.

Doon School Srinagar was honored with the “Award for Transformative Education Excellence” at Mind Mingle’s Indo-Norway International Education Summit and Awards 2024, held in Stortinget, Norway, on June 5, 2024. This recognition celebrates the school’s outstanding contributions to education, particularly under the leadership of its Chairman, Showkat Hussain Khan.

The summit, which gathered global leaders to celebrate innovations in education, featured keynote speeches by notable figures such as Chief Guest Himanshu Gulati, Member of Parliament, Kingdom of Norway. Guests of Honor Ole Jacob Johansen, Minister of State for Akershus, and Dr Acquino Vimal, Indian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway, also praised the awardees for their significant contributions.

After 164 years of its existence, the Comptroller and Auditor General has got its first museum with CAG GC Murmu on Monday opening historic Chadwick House at Shimla for the public.

Chadwick House was also the place where Mahatma Gandhi stayed when he came for a meeting for the Cabinet Mission in 1946 that was meant to initiate dialogue for transfer of political powers from Britishers to the Indian leadership.

“Post-independence, in 1950, the first training school for the Indian Audit and Accounts Service probationers was started here,” Murmu said, adding that the museum would serve the purpose of navigating audit heritage from evolution, achievements to important milestones of the federal auditor.

One of the exhibits at Chadwick is Chanakya writing his Arthshastra that was first written document on the principles of accounting.

Rohit Sharma became the first player to hit 200 sixes in T20Is during the T20 World Cup 2024 Super Eight Group 1 match against Australia at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St. Lucia on Monday.

Rohit struck a 41-ball 92 and hit eight sixes in the innings, taking his overall tally to 203 maximums in the shortest format of the game.

During the innings, the Indian opener also became the second-highest six-hitter in T20 World Cup history, surpassing David Warner (40) and Jos Buttler (43). On that list, Rohit is second to only Chris Gayle’s 63 sixes.

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and AIIMS, New Delhi to install a pilot project and study ‘Conversion of Pathogenic Biomedical Waste to Value Added Soil Additives’. an MoU was facilitated in this regard at the inauguration of ‘One Week One Theme’ campaign by Dr. Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh on Monday in New Delhi.

Dr. Jitendra Singh, Vice-President, CSIR chaired the event in which 24 Technology transfers, Product launches, and MOUs were signed with the respective industry partners for technology transfer. Following the success of the ‘One Week One Lab’(OWOL) campaign conducted by all the CSIR laboratories in 2023, Dr. Jitendra Singh proposed to start ‘One week One Theme’ campaign for the year 2024 from the month of June to December to showcase theme-based weeklong activities on technology packages, innovative and indigenized products, processes and devices across the laboratories. OWOT program aims to promote their achievements and foster collaboration with industry to empower MSMEs, SHGs, Agripreneurs and Startups.

Professor Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and Dr. Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, today (June 25, 2024) attended the 23rd Foundation Day of the Society for Electronic Transactions and Security (SETS) in Chennai. Prof. Sood also inaugurated the Quantum Security Research Lab on the occasion.

Conceived by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2002, SETS, an initiative of the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, is a cybersecurity R&D organization pursuing research in the core areas of cyber security, cryptology, hardware security, quantum security, and network security.

The celebration kicked off with Dr. N Subramanian, Executive Director, SETS extending a warm welcome and delivering a brief on SETS’ research and development activities. He mentioned that SETS has developed futuristic solutions like Post Quantum VPN, Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG), Key Distillation Engine (KDE) for Quantum Key Distribution, PKI solution, Ransomware Early Detection Solution, Security for Blockchain, etc. SETS is working with various academic institutions including IITs and IISc Bangalore, government agencies, national R&D organizations, and user agencies such Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Department of Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and state governments for collaborative research and innovation.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs commemorated today the 9th anniversary of three landmark initiatives: the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), the Smart Cities Mission, and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U). These initiatives, launched on June 25, 2015, by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, have collectively transformed urban infrastructure and improved the quality of life for millions of residents across India.

While briefing the media on the occasion, Additional Secretary, AMRUT, Smt D Thara, and Joint Secretary, PMAY- Urban Shri Kuldeep Narayan, outlined the progress of the respective missions since their inception. Smt Thara emphasised on capacity building and involvement of women and youth in the implementation of AMRUT projects at the grassroots.

Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry is rolling out Safai Apnao, Bimaari Bhagao initiative under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 from 1st July to 31st August. This initiative seeks to enhance the preparedness of Urban Local Bodies to handle the challenges posed by heavy rainfall and heightened health risks during the months of June to August. It aligns with the Health Ministry’s ‘STOP Diarrhoea Campaign’. The initiative seeks a collaborative effort among various line Ministries and Departments and inter-sectoral convergence to deal with challenges associated with cleanliness and diseases during the monsoon season. The Safai Apnao, Bimaari Bhagao initiative calls for comprehensive interventions focusing on cleanliness, advocacy and inter-departmental convergence to be implemented by all Urban Local Bodies.