Scientists have discovered that sperm whales living in the eastern Mediterranean Sea appear to have developed a distinct vocal dialect from those inhabiting the western part of the basin, offering fresh evidence that animal communication can evolve in ways similar to human language.

The findings, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, are based on nearly two decades of acoustic recordings collected across the Mediterranean.

Researchers analysed 5,291 "codas", rhythmic sequences of clicks that sperm whales use to communicate socially. For years, scientists believed all Mediterranean sperm whales belonged to a single cultural group identified by a characteristic "3+1" coda, consisting of three clicks followed by a pause and a fourth click. However, the latest analysis found that whales in the eastern Mediterranean, particularly near Greece's Hellenic Trench, produce a noticeably faster version of the same call than whales around Spain's Balearic Islands.

In a profound testament to the civilizational resonance anchoring modern diplomacy, Australia is set to repatriate three culturally significant ancient antiquities to India. Culture Ministry said, these artefacts include a ceremonial bronze trident of Goddess Bhadrakali, a majestic granite idol of Nandi, and a basalt sculpture depicting the six-headed Karttikeya. All of these items date back to the 11th & 12th centuries and were originally sourced from historic temples in Tamil Nadu. The official announcement of this repatriation coincides with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Australia, further emphasising the strong cultural alignment between the two nations.  

Asserting that hydrogen is the future of the transportation industry, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the government is conducting trials on 10 routes across the country on its use as fuel.

The trials are underway on Greater Noida-Delhi-Agra, Bhubaneshwar-Konark-Puri, Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat, Sahibabad-Faridabad-Delhi, Pune-Mumbai, Jamshedpur-Kalinga Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi, Kochi-Edappally, Jamnagar-Ahmedabad, and NH-16 Visakhapatnam-Bayyavaram routes, the minister said.

The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways was addressing a gathering at Prawaas 5.0 and Bharat Prawaas Awards event here.

The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Jagat Prakash Nadda, will lay the foundation stone of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research at Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti on July 11, marking a major milestone in healthcare and scientific research for the Himalayan region.

Being established by the ICMR under the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the centre will be India’s first dedicated institution for high-altitude medicine and public health research. It will upgrade the existing ICMR field station at Keylong into a multidisciplinary hub for research, innovation and capacity building, catering to the healthcare needs of Himalayan and other climate-sensitive regions.

The centre will address health challenges associated with extreme weather, difficult terrain, low oxygen levels and climate variability. Research will focus on high-altitude physiology, acclimatisation, mountain medicine, climate-sensitive and emerging diseases, infectious and non-communicable diseases, maternal and child health, nutrition, mental health, environmental and occupational health and disaster medicine. It will also promote digital health technologies, telemedicine, drone-enabled healthcare logistics and real-time public health surveillance to improve healthcare delivery in remote areas.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday launched the July 2026 round of three key household surveys - the Urban Consumer Confidence Survey (UCCS), the Rural Consumer Confidence Survey (RCCS), and the Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH) - to gather public feedback on economic conditions, inflation and employment, with the findings set to provide inputs for monetary policy.

According to separate RBI press releases, the central bank has launched the latest round of its regular household surveys to assess consumer sentiment and inflation expectations across the country.

The RBI said the Urban Consumer Confidence Survey "seeks qualitative responses from households, regarding their sentiments on general economic situation, employment scenario, price level, households' income and spending." The survey is conducted across 19 cities, and "the results of this survey provide useful inputs for monetary policy."

A second Great Indian Bustard chick born in Gujarat's Kutch district through the 'jumpstart' conservation technique has crossed the critical 40-day survival stage, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Thursday, describing it as a major boost to efforts to revive the critically endangered bird species.

The jumpstart technique is a conservation strategy where an infertile egg in a wild Great Indian Bustard's nest is replaced with a fertile, captive-bred egg.

This allows the wild mother to naturally incubate, hatch, and raise the chick, drastically improving the critically endangered species' chances of survival in its native habitat.

Tamil Nadu continues to record a high gross enrollment ratio (GER) at the primary level with 92%, according to the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2025-2026 which was released by the Ministry of Education recently.

While the GER for upper primary has seen a small decrease from 98% to 95% compared to last year, the State sees a marginal increase in secondary enrollment at 97%. However, the GER for higher secondary section, while seeing an improvement, still stands at 85%, a far cry from the enrollment of the secondary level.

The Ministry of Textiles has launched a national innovation challenge – Handloom Hackathon 2026, aimed at harnessing technology, design, entrepreneurship and sustainable solutions to strengthen India’s handloom sector.

The initiative is being organised as part of the celebrations of National Handloom Day 2026. Online registrations are open until 20th of this month. Students, innovators, startups, researchers, designers, entrepreneurs and handloom practitioners can register and submit their ideas through www.youthideathon.in/handloom. The grand finale of the Hackathon will be held on 1st of August at the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT Delhi, where shortlisted teams will present their solutions before an eminent jury.

Uttarakhand has scripted a new chapter in India's education journey by becoming the country's sixth fully literate state after achieving the adult literacy benchmarks prescribed under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the ULLAS (Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society) – New India Literacy Programme.

The landmark achievement underscores the state's sustained commitment to universal literacy, lifelong learning and inclusive development, while reinforcing its contribution to the national vision of a Viksit Bharat through education and skill empowerment.

GOVERNOR APPROVES FULL LITERACY STATUS
The recognition came after Uttarakhand fulfilled the literacy standards laid down by the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Union Ministry of Education. On July 8, Governor Lt Gen (Retired) Gurmit Singh approved the proposal officially recognising Uttarakhand as a fully literate state.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted a critical Integrated Main parachute Airdrop Test (IMAT) for the Gaganyaan Missions at the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) drop zone in Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh. ISRO said that the objective of the test was to qualify the Main Parachute for its structural integrity and design margins under the maximum expected load conditions in the first uncrewed Gaganyaan G1 mission. ISRO highlighted that this is the 5th test in a series of Integrated Main parachute Airdrop Tests (IMAT) to qualify the critical Main Parachute for the Gaganyaan Mission. It added that the successful completion of IMAT-05 provides necessary confidence in the performance and reliability of the Main Parachute System for the first Uncrewed Gaganyaan Mission (G1).

During the test, a simulated assembly of a single main parachute and a dummy mass was dropped from an altitude of 2.5 kilometres using an Indian Air Force IL-76 aircraft. The complex descent sequence began with an extractor parachute that deployed a Drogue parachute to stabilize oscillations. Upon achieving the requisite conditions, the main parachute was deployed, which slowed the payload to a safe terminal speed.